By Ryan Pike
Five eager students duked it out over the four events commissioner positions Wednesday in MacEwan Student Centre’s south stage.
While moderator and current Students’ Union events commissioner Natasha Men kept the tone light and energetic, discussion focused on topics such as events promotion and getting commuter students involved in campus activities.
Incumbent events commissioner Andrea Llewellyn said the biggest issue in keeping commuter students involved is figuring out ways for them to get home, particularly from the Den.
“I think the way we [can] keep students on campus is to help them figure out how to get home after they’re wasted,” said Llewellyn.
Commission hopeful Vicki Ferguson expressed an interest in scheduling more events for times students are already on campus, rather than placing them in the evening.
“Most peoples’ classes end in the afternoon, maybe five-ish, so if events start at nine, what do you do for four hours?” asked Ferguson.
One aspect of the events commission that raised a lot of discussion was the lack of involvement of Dinos athletics.
“I think an event that needs to be improved is Dino Days and to improve that would be more participation from the Dinos themselves,” said Jennifer Abbott.
All commission candidates were given the chance to pitch their platforms and they all agreed on the importance of the events commission.
“If we build an engaged, energized campus, it’s going to benefit everybody,” said candidate Julie Phillips, a Gauntlet volunteer.
Candidates were also given a chance to show off their personalities, which allowed for impromptu musical performances from Ferguson, who accentuated her desire to be a mermaid by singing verses from the Little Mermaid, and fellow candidate Dylan Jones, who rapped.
“I’m a raptivist,” said Jones. “I rap, but it’s mostly about social justice.”
Students will get a chance to choose four commissioners from the five candidates when polls are open for the general election Feb. 10-12.