The two candidates have served as senators and members of the Budgetary Committee for several years. They admitted to being conservative senators with budgetary decisions and were conservative with issuing promises.
Benson and Stein were civil throughout the evening, often complimenting each other's records, but they were clear about their disagreements.
Despite his absence on campus, Stein's campaign for the presidency has been well publicized. Stein has had friends help promote his campaign, most notably with detailed posters and a YouTube video, while he has been abroad this semester. His main campaign platform is his promise to reach out and listen to the student body. He stressed his intentions to actively solicit the advice of students.
In comparison, Benson's campaign has been less publicized, but he has been active in promoting club and intramural sports, particularly ice hockey, on campus. On Sunday evening, he expressed his interest in some specific campus projects-most notably in creating a golf cart service run by student employees to transport students around campus and a bridge from the social dorms to the Hills parking lot.
Stein said he was reluctant to support these proposals because he was unsure of whether they were worth the cost of implementing them. He talked about his interest in reforming the budgetary process and stressed his intentions to eliminate the issuing of a semesterly review of funds in order to allow for a more careful examination of new proposals.
This prospect, rejected by Benson, worries some student senators who argue that semesterly funds help affinity groups that tend to receive less funding from the discretionary funds issued throughout the semester.
During the debate, several senators asked each candidate of his ability to serve as a liaison between the senate and the school administration and board of trustees in his role as president. In response, Benson touts his good relationship with President Tony Marx and Stein mentioned his connection to his first-year roommate's father who serves on the board of trustees.
Benson used his opening and closing addresses to promote a current project of his-"Spirit Week," a series of events including a homerun contest, a tricycle race, a rafting race and other activities which would lead up to Spring Weekend.
Only a few students ventured to ask questions and most lingered on Benson's proposal of the golf cart transportation and the bridge.
The debate, scheduled to start at 6 p.m., did not actually begin until almost 6:40 p.m. because of technical difficulties in connecting with Stein from France, where it was already after midnight. It took the technical support and expertise of Kerimcan Oral '08, Jason Kung '08, Alexandra Berman '08, Ezra Cohn '10 and Ajayi Lawrence '08 to broadcast Stein. His live video image was then projected on the north wall of the room, while Benson spoke from the front.
Current AAS president Charmel Maynard '07 moderated the debate until he had to leave, at which time student senator Adam Bookman '08, who organized the event, took over.
Despite difficulties, Bookman deemed the debate a success overall. Besides being the first telecasted debate, it was the first time the debate was held in the Campus Center instead of the Cole Assembly Room in Converse and the first time it was broadcasted on WAMH 89.3 FM.
Elections were held online on Tuesday and the results will be announced tomorrow.