“Be on the lookout for authenticity.”
Current Indiana University Student Government student body President Ky Freeman said authentic candidates are the most important thing a student can look for in the upcoming voting season.
“All of the extra gimmicks and tactics that people will take- that’s not going to mean anything in the grand scheme of things if you don’t feel as if this person can truly represent your interests and your desires in any way shape or form. Are they going to be the most useful and adaptive to the needs of the campus community?” said Freeman.
Freeman also advised students to do their own research and look into the candidates’ platforms. He said that the amount of campaigning or visibility a ticket has does not equate to their expertise or qualification.
Current IUSG Student Body President Ky Freeman shares his experience with campaigning, and his advice for future candidates.
Students are already beginning to form opinions on the candidates, and have high hopes for the tickets running. Freshman Andrew Payne said “I’m looking for someone who is going to support mental health. I wish that resources like CAPS were more accessible to people, and I wish it was more financially accessible to people.”
Topics such as sexual assault, antisemitism on campus, environmental concerns, grad students’ rights, and mental health are common topics of concern among IU Students. These will be topics of discussion at the Candidate town hall and Candidate debate happening later this month.
“[Listen for] talking about the things that are really plaguing our student body, and that is the increase in anti semitic acts on campus, the increase in sexual assault, and figuring out ways to really increase those two types of measures put in place for public safety,” said Freeman.
Ky Freeman gives advice to students on what to look for in presidential and vice presidential candidates in the upcoming 2022 IUSG elections.
Two campaign tickets titled Thrive for IUSG and Unite for IUSG will be on the ballot for this year’s election season. Both tickets have been preparing to campaign, and sat down for interviews. To learn more about each candidate team, their interviews can be found here.
Campaigning for these two teams began on the 9th of February and runs until March. February 18th is the first opportunity for students to meet the candidates in person, when they meet for the Candidate Town Hall event at 6pm in the tree suites in the IMU. Students will have another opportunity to see the candidates in action on February 25th at the Candidate Debate, also in the IMU at 6pm.
6pm in Voting officially opens on March 1 and closes on March 2, 2022. To vote, log into BeInvolved and click on the voting link for students. Once voting closes, votes will be counted and a preliminary winner will be announced. Inauguration day is scheduled for April 15, 2022.
