Ellington

No more than an hour after the ASUW Student Senate forum concluded last night, candidates were back in action, speaking about the Greek community, which forum hosts felt is left out of the ASUW.

The forum, co-hosted by the Resident Hall Student Association (RHSA), the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Association, was the last of four in the past eight days.

Candidates from all positions and tickets reiterated the need for greater Greek involvement in the ASUW. They proposed efforts like sending representatives to Greek events and specifically targeting Greeks as volunteers.

Shauna Stadnik, candidate for vice president on the Vote Big ticket, said she wants to bring the student government straight to the Greek community.

“If they love planning events for different philanthropies, let’s use that for the programming committee within the ASUW,” she suggested. “We can’t rely on just sending out e-mails.”

Instead, she said she would emphasize a physical presence in the Greek community.

The Vote Big ticket has been endorsed by several houses and the IFC Executive Council. Vote Big candidate Chris Teeny is also the only Greek this year running for the office of president.

RHSA took a secondary role in the questions, but its endorsement is considered key when it comes to campaigning because it allows candidates to use RHSA supplies and post campaign materials in the residence halls — a great advantage for those looking to attract dorm voters.

All candidates were present, except for Nick Booher, the candidate for director of organizational relations from the Vote Legacy ticket, and Sarah Chow, the vice presidential candidate for the Husky Nation ticket, who could not be there due to personal matters.

At the preceding forum, Booher’s campaign manager spoke for him, but the organizers of the second forum used the big screen in Gowen 201 to Skype him, allowing him to answer questions and make a closing statement as if he were there.

“I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to speak,” Booher said. “These are really bad circumstances, and I obviously would much rather have been there, but being able to participate in the forum made it really equal, because RHSA’s endorsement is such a huge thing.”

With all of the scheduled forums concluding last night, candidates will have to rely on one-on-one interactions with students on campus as campaigning heads into the final weekend before elections begin May 10.

For students still unsure of who all the candidates are or what their platforms are, a voter’s guide will be distributed with The Daily the first day of elections, and election updates can be found at vote.asuw.org.

Reach contributing writer William Dow at development@dailyuw.com.