After two days of voting, IgniteTU arose victorious in the competition for Temple Student Government on Friday, April 6 by a 629-vote margin.
Gadi Zimmerman will take over as President, Trenton Reardon as Vice President of Services, and Cameron Kaczor as Vice President of External Affairs. The three will be sworn in on Monday, April 30, at Temple Student Government’s General Assembly meeting and will take office starting the 2018-19 school year.
In case you weren’t keeping up with the news, the competition was between IgniteTU and VoiceTU. Originally, three parties were running for office, but the third––UniteTU––dropped from the race at the second TSG debate on Monday, April 2, after their Vice President of External Affairs candidate, Adrienne J. Hines, abandoned the team as she felt like a racial token. UniteTU’s presidential candidate Danny Borine addressed the audience at the debate, saying that “there has been an attack on our character, and it has taken a toll on us internally.”
“It’s with great regret that I must inform all of you here today, that as of this moment, UniteTU will be suspending its campaign and withdrawing itself from the ballot,” Borine said.
After UniteTU’s withdrawal, VoiceTU and IgniteTU carried on with the debate, with each team raising valid points.
The Second TSG Debate included topics such as the proposed on-campus stadium, elitivism in TSG, General Assembly meetings, sexual assault allegations made against Alpha Epsilon Pi, and more.
IgniteTU has always actively advocated against the stadium.
“There’s still not going to be a stadium here in North Philadelphia…,” Gadi Zimmerman, TSG President-elect, said. “As far as students saying that they want a stadium on this campus, I think they need to keep in mind the whole reason this university was built: to serve the North Philadelphia community… if you keep that in mind, then it should be very clear that a stadium is not going to benefit this community at all.”
When asked how to deal with elitivism in TSG, IgniteTU believes a valid solution is to get rid of TSG General Assembly meetings, since many people outside of student government are unable to attend these meetings in person.
“Inclusivity is one of the problems with the elitivism of TSG right now,” Zimmerman said. “That is the problem with the GA meetings, [they’re] not inclusive.”
Moving on to more serious issues, IgniteTU addressed the controversy surrounding Alpha Epsilon Pi at Temple. Trent Reardon, Vice President-elect of Services, stated that “[IgniteTU] want[s] to make sure survivors of sexual assault know what resources are available to them.”
Cameron Kaczor, Vice President-elect of External Affairs, spoke out against the creation of a “crisis center,” stating that it could make people feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
“We believe that by creating a space such as a crisis center, this will not welcome survivors to go into that building,” Kaczor said. “If there’s a building that says ‘crisis center,’ who’s going to want to walk into there?”
Zimmerman added that it is important that the Alpha Epsilon Pi investigation is handled properly at Temple.
“With this fraternity, we need to make sure that this investigation goes through and that Temple is holding them responsible,” Zimmerman said.
Other topics such as housing security, athletic enrollment, supporting international students, and more, were discussed at the debate as well. For further information our new student government’s values and goals for Temple, read their full platform on their website.
Congratulations again, to IgniteTU! We’re excited to see how you make this university a better place for all of its students.