*This column reflects my personal opinion and is not an official endorsement by The Daily Illini Editorial Board.*

I made it a point to attend the town hall meeting on Tuesday to hear out each slate vying for Illinois Student Government student body president and vice president. I’m glad I did — seeing each candidate in person and hearing out each of their arguments was very helpful in solidifying my decision.

Each slate had a similar goal: Work for the students by improving wellness and inclusivity. What stood out to me were the differences in how they all talked about ISG reform.

In a nutshell, Abigail McGuire, sophomore in LAS, and Alex Koscielski, freshman in LAS — whose platform focused on correcting ISG’s past mistakes — walked away as the clear “winners” of that town hall. I will be casting my vote for them on election day.

Sam Ruggerio, senior in Engineering, and Richard Liu, sophomore in Engineering, comprised the most unconventional slate. Their goal was to weaken ISG from the inside using executive legislation, reforming it to look a lot less like a government. This stance comes as a response to the mishandling and controversy surrounding the organization.

Most notable among these controversies is the Matt Walsh debacle from last semester.

In short, the University branch of the Young Americans for Freedom invited right-wing commentator Matt Walsh for a screening of his transphobic documentary “What is a Woman.” Students responded with mass protests, feeling threatened by Walsh’s being on campus.

The residual discourse placed the blame on ISG. Many people, such as former Sen. Patrick Porter, senior in LAS, believed ISG should have made an effort to either censor the event or at least had taken a hard stance against it. ISG President Garrett Forrest, junior in LAS, put out a controversial statement saying that the documentary fell under free speech, while many more found it to be inexplicably hate speech.

Soon after, Vice President Vindhya Kalipi resigned, citing ISG’s failure to take a stance against hate speech and the University’s lack of affirming their support of the LGBTQ+ community amid Walsh’s visit.

McGuire mentioned that one of her classes was basically empty because students felt unsafe when Matt Walsh came to visit. This, in a way, was the moment that began her candidacy. It makes sense, then, that McGuire and Koscielski are running on a platform that condemns all kinds of hate speech and are prioritizing supporting marginalized groups on campus.

Again, they are making up for the mistakes of the previous administration.

In many ways, McGuire and Ruggerio were saying the same thing. I’m confident that many of Ruggerio’s qualms with ISG would be addressed by a potential McGuire/Koscielski presidency.

Elizabeth LeBeau and Jayden Forté, juniors in LAS, represent continuity. LeBeau is the current ISG vice president — taking the reins from Vindhya Kalipi, junior in LAS. Forté serves as the current communications director. They mentioned already improving ISG culture while in office, particularly with the new Constitution. Being current ISG members, their experience would allow for an easier transition.

In other words, voting for the LeBeau and Forté slate is voting for the status quo.

Is this a status quo we want to enforce? It’s plain to see that ISG is riddled with controversy — and it’s clear that reform is needed. LeBeau failed to speak out against Matt Walsh in the past. The previous administration has failed to put the students’ best interests first. 

Just last month, Porter resigned, citing ISG’s inefficiency, lack of outreach and incompetency. He mentioned that only around 3% of students voted in the elections last spring. In other words, ISG has not established why students should care.

During the town hall, it was revealed that the ISG Instagram account, @isguiuc, became inaccessible due to some kind of ownership-email-mishap. The lack of effort to bring back the account only stands to highlight ISG’s inefficiency in reaching the public. Why not reach students through other means such as Discord or a mailing list?

McGuire and Koscielski vowed to solve these issues that have become glaringly obvious in the last few months.

During the town hall, the pair had mentioned already putting in the legwork to connect with cultural houses whose needs should be addressed by ISG. They also received a shining endorsement from Planned Parenthood. 

Their communication with these groups is an indicator of the importance they are placing on their initiatives of student safety, sexual health access and reducing discrimination. This effort to make connections bodes well for their objective to do more outreach, whereas the previous administration fell short in this.

But what struck out the most was their goal to take elitism out of ISG — to work for the people, addressing their needs to the administration about being transparent throughout. I believed them.

Their actions speak for themselves: McGuire and Koscielski best represent the reform that ISG needs, and they deserve your vote.

Raphael is a freshman in LAS.

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