One day before voting opens for USG elections, the three candidates for undergraduate president and vice president took part in a civil debate at Anderson Academic Commons (AAC) on April 11.
The event was hosted by current undergraduate president and vice president Morgan Smith and Darylann Aragon and was moderated by DU Debate Union Vice President Maddy Ober. Ober asked the candidates four questions of her own design, as well as questions from the student body via an online google submission form. Throughout the night she was persistent in following up with candidates on their statements and clarifying each team’s platform.
The presidential tickets are: Bryce Armijo and Holden Fitzgerald, Ciera Blehm and Matthew Meyer and Suraj Renganathan and Sophia Sterling.
The first question regarded tensions on free speech and how each candidate would balance the need for community discourse while maintaining an environment in which people in effected or marginalized communities do not feel silenced or at risk.
Fitzgerald was the first to have the floor and said that he and Armijo believe that, “People are more than entitled to their speech and more than entitled to the thoughts that they have concerning different issues. Where we do think the line needs to be drawn is talking about how that speech affects our campus and when that speech is hateful, when that speech is ignorant, that is when the line is crossed, and that is when we as an administration can no longer support that speech, and we need to call it out.” Armijo followed up by stating that freedom of expression does not mean freedom from critique, especially when hateful events are hosted on the DU campus.
Renganathan and Sterling shared a similar belief while also advocating for a strong dialogue within the DU community. “In having a strong dialogue with multiple students and the administration and different groups on campus,” said Sterling, one can understand where the line is. The next step would be to share throughout campus what that line is, “and [make] sure that is known throughout the student body.”
Blehm said she and Meyer are committed to working with DU dialogues to foster the conversation and “[make] sure that staff, professors and our community are learning how to have those conversations in the classroom rather than simply writing a statement afterwards.” She believes her approach is more proactive than reactive, criticizing the vice-versa approach for having the discussion when it’s too late and the emotional impact has already been made.
In the following question, Ober highlighted DU’s 2.5 out of 5 rating on the campus pride index—an overall indicator of institutional commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusive policy, programs and practices—and asked the candidates what their plans are to make practical changes that will improve the experiences of queer students.
As a fellow queer student on campus, Armijo expressed disappointment with the score, pointing out the two prevalent state campuses in CO, CU-Boulder and CSU-Fort Collins, have higher scores. Fitzgerald discussed the importance in being a good ally to LGBTQ+ students and wants to share this with the campus. He also noted that their candidacy has the official endorsement of the DU Queer Student Alliance. Armijo and Fitzgerald, as well as Renganathan and Sterling, want to create a delegated position for LGBTQ+ students to have direct access to administration and a chance to address their concerns.
Blehm shared a similar sentiment, while also pointing out that their platform with the motto, “Your story, our USG” is well-equipped for giving students a platform to be heard. “We are in full support of queer students on campus, and we want to make sure that they have everything that they need, as well as making sure that the administration is listening to their story,” she said.
Perhaps the most controversial question was the final question coming from a DU student regarding DU’s nickname as “pioneers,” Boone as their mascot and whether there needs to be reform on how the school represents itself. Ober asked the candidates what their position on the issue is and what they will do, if anything, about DU’s nickname and mascot.
Renganathan acknowledges that there is pressure from the board and alumni to reinstate Boone but also finds the safety of students as a priority. “We need to acknowledge that at DU every student has a right to be safe and the fact that students do not feel safe right now is a clear indication that the mascot and the nickname ‘pioneer’ has to go,” he said. “If elected, Sophia and I will continue efforts to find an alternative mascot because that the first step in order to change a mascot in general. Boone represents a time of DU’s history that has to stay in the past.” He plans to foster dialogue with the administration to find alternatives.
The Blehm and Meyer team agree with the removal of Boone but want to focus on redefining the word “pioneer.” Blehm said that she does not see the changing of DU’s mascot as the best use of time. While acknowledging DU’s history, she wants all stakeholders to come together rather than each having their own discourse.
Ober followed up with Blehm asking if the redefining of the world will ever completely separate pioneer from the history behind it. Blehm said that it cannot be separated. “For us, redefining it means taking ownership of it; we can redefine it today as a community and what does that mean for us tomorrow. There is definitely no way for us move beyond it but I do think that, based on the current situation of our community, we need to try,” she said.
The removal of the nickname and mascot is integral to Armijo’s and Fitzgerald’s platform. Armijo points out that “pioneer,” in modern times, can have a different connotation, but he thinks it’s time for a grassroots movement at DU. “This institution has a very tattered history and relationship with its Native tribes that have once inhabited this land. And, honestly, it is in our opinion in our administration that we need to seriously relook at this word and lead in a conversation in which we begin to think about if maybe ‘pioneer’ does not to exist here anymore,” said Armijo, who argues that DU has been lackluster in how it’s treated its Native students. “For us,” he continues, “it’s an issue that we want to lead on so that at the end of it, whether we want to keep ‘pioneer’ or we want to redefine it or we want to change our name, we can use that to go further to change our mascots and to change who we are as University of Denver students.”
See Facebook for our live video coverage of the debate and candidates’ closing comments. For campaign statements and the results of this election, visit the DU Clarion’s website. The election begins today and ends tomorrow; students should receive an email with a link to submit their vote.
