It took 50 minutes, but dissent finally arose in last night’s debate pitting the four candidates attempting to become the next president of the Undergraduate Student Government.

Not surprisingly, the dissent sprung from a philosophical perspective, as moderator Matt Lyons asked candidates Chris Pearcy, Jamie Borowski, Quiana Odom and Josh Kontak what they thought the ultimate role of the organization was.

Some students within the organization have recently attempted to pass a peace resolution, in which the organization would declare that the undergraduate student body is in favor of peace in Iraq.

Two candidates were adamant about their opinions.

“I feel we must take positions on important issues facing students today,” Kontak, currently USG’s state and national liaison, said. “I feel as though students are yearning to know where their leadership stands on certain issues, and we need to make our stances known.”

Kontak said that if anything, students upset about the group’s position will become more involved, which is ultimately the organization’s goal.

Pearcy, a senator representing the east side fraternities and sororities and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, disagreed with Kontak.

“We are here to promote the welfare of students, and to open channels of communication,” Pearcy said. “We do not need to take official stances on issues facing students.”

Borowski — currently the parliamentarian of USG, a resident advisor in Conklin and president of the Resident Student Association — and Pearcy seemed to engage in subtle barbs in their closing statements, as Borowski led off.

“I sat here last night [as parliamentarian], and watched how inefficient we run, I know there needs to be changes made,” he said. “I have the experience as president of other organizations and I have held positions at the executive level.”

Pearcy answered with a powerful statement of his own.

“There’s no better person on this campus than I,” he said. “This is not for my benefit, not for prestige, or power. This is for the benefit of students, and creating their awareness. I want USG to be the powerhouse, and help found out the right people to help us do that.”

Odom, who currently serves as a senator in USG, made her main point known in her closing statement.

“I’m not going to stand up here and urge you to vote for me,” she said. “I try every day to make this campus a better place, and without working 40 hours a week I will continue to do so. But, I will urge you to vote. Last year’s turnout was horrible, so just get out and vote.”

The candidates also discussed issues ranging from tuition cuts, campus safety, students graduating on time, Dining Services, professors’ performance, involvement issues, diversity and publicity of events.

Elections will be held Monday-Thursday at various sites around campus next week. The presidential candidates’ running mates for vice president will debate in 111 Olscamp tonight.

(The BG News will look at each candidate’s platform in depth during next week’s elections.)