Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government had a lively second day of debates on March 20. 

Day two consisted of a panel for student directors, as well as the presidential debate. The event was hosted in the Student Center’s dining hall and was live-streamed through Kent Stater TV.

Derrick Tindimwebwa, senator at large for international students, is running for director of community affairs. He is running his campaign with an emphasis on communication, transparency and inclusivity.

“Derrick is a flash, willing to take care of flashes,” he said. 

Elizabeth Pomarico, vice chair of allocations, is running for director of finance and administration. Pomarico hopes to draw voters with her vision of allocating more funds to students for events and conferences, as well as making those allocations “more known” to students. 

“I am best for director of finance and administration given my experience, especially on the allocations committee,” she said. 

Dennis Farahani is senator for the College of Communication and Information and the president of the Spanish and Latine Student Association on campus. 

He is running for director of programming, keeping diversity, equity and inclusion as well as artistic culture and community in mind. 

Farahani’s vision for the future includes bringing back one concert per semester, drawing in diverse cultures and optimizing polling systems to enhance student engagement. 

“Come into office hours,” he said, emphasizing his commitment to engaging with students. 

Earlene Johnson is running for director of student involvement. With a mission to enhance student engagement, strengthen student organizations and foster inclusivity, she feels ready for the job. 

Johnson feels it would be best to structure event schedules in a way that would make students more comfortable to be involved. She plans to achieve this by working with student organizations, leadership and faculty.

“If you ask my parents, they will tell you I was born a leader,” she said. 

Following the panel-style director debates was the presidential debate between candidates Ivory Kendrick and Devin Webster. 

During the debate, Kendrick highlighted his qualifications and experience as the senator for the College of Public Health, his work in the Student Success Programs’ office as a peer success coach and as a peer success academy trainer. 

Kendrick said he envisions his administration connecting USG and students to the administration and fighting for the rights of students, even if it goes against our political climate. 

“We need to empower our directors and our senators,” he said. 

Kendrick focused on his goal of setting up positive communication, recognizing strengths and weaknesses and helping each other out.

During his rebuttals, Kendrick focused on his advantage in terms of experience over Webster, as well as his future relations with USG.

Webster, with previous work as a sports coach, referee and player, stressed the importance of direct communication and open transparency. 

During his rebuttals, Webster focused on the urgent need for more open communication with students about what is going on with USG and the administration. 

He said a clear vision needs to be enacted now, and he hopes to build a family-like community with open doors. 

All candidates ended the night with gratitude and cordiality. 

Tanner Smith is a beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].