5 slates file petitons for student body presidential, vice presidential positions

Victoria Slater, Senior Staff Writer Five slates will vie for next year's student body presidential and vice presidential positions for the next three weeks. Each slate, which includes a presidential candidate and his or her running mate, submitted petitions for positions Feb. 22. The student body will vote for each slate March 27 through March 28. The following lists each slate's background information, involvement and platform stances. Tickets are listed in alphabetical order. Presidential Candidate Anik Chaudhry and Vice Presidential Candidate Ben Cederoth Background Information: Chaudhry is a first-year information systems and analytics major. Cederoth is a first-year accounting major. Involvement: Chaudhry competes on Miami's policy debate time and won the Ohio State Championship for Lincoln Douglas Debate, which involves talking about governmental policies. He is a member of Dorsey Hall community council, serving as a corridor and community service representative. Cederoth is a corridor representative in Dorsey Hall. Platform: Chaudhry and Cederoth believe that student engagement is lacking across campus. They plan on expanding the government in playing a bigger role in the daily lives of students on campus. In addition, the two contend that there are many day-to-day issues that can easily be fixed through simple improvement of technology. Chaudhry said that there many open source sections of software that can notify students when a bus is nearby or tell one how long the wait is for Miami Door-to-Door so he or she can know whether or not to make a reservation. "We believe that implementing these systems into Miami University at a low cost will improve the daily lives of students," Chaudry said. Chaudhry and Cederoth hope to increase their experience throughout the campaigning process. "There has been concern in regards to my experience and ability to lead because I'm a first-year," Chaudhry said. "The only justifiable concern that has been voiced in regards to running for student body president is that I do not have as wide a range of contacts as other candidates. Connections are formed through personal contact with the various groups on campus, which is what I am doing throughout the campaigning situation." In addition, Davis and Shirley are campaigning for reevaluation of the Door-to-Door system, which may include adding a second bus or supplementing it with a student-run system. Presidential Candidate Forrest McGuire and Vice Presidential Candidate Lot Kwarteng Background Information: McGuire is a senior management and leadership major. Kwarteng is a junior political science and entrepreneurship major. Involvement: McGuire is the president of the Havighurst Community Council, and current chief of staff for ASG. He has served at president of Chi Psi fraternity. As chief of staff, McGuire has co-authored legislation such as the Medical Amnesty Bill, attended Student Affair Council meetings, interviewed students for the student trustee position and appointed nearly 100 undergraduates to various university committees. He is also an active member of the Academic Policy Committee. Kwarteng is a current Student Trustee, a member of the Academic Advising Council, and is a member of the Professional Development Faculty Learning Community. Platform: McGuire and Kwarteng's platform is founded upon the catchphrase "It's Your Degree, Take Ownership of experience." Their platform includes support for the medical amnesty legislation, which they argue will increase student safety overall. They will also push for the enhancement of academic advising, with encompasses the release of more digital DARS and a website that will provide a one-stop shop for all academic resources. Additionally, they want to increase professional development in the College of Arts and Sciences by collaborating with faculty, career services and other university entities to ensure that students develop the necessary skills needed to thrive in the labor market.McGuire urged students to consider what is best for Miami's future when voting this election. "When students consider their options for student body president and vice-president we want them to think about which candidates are best able to represent them in the formation of policies that will define Miami," he said. Presidential Candidate Charlie Schreiber and Vice Presidential Candidate Courtney Bernard Background Inf