Students settled into their seats in the Hughes-Trigg auditorium on April 8 to watch the 112th Student Senate debate. The debate focused on candidates running for the four student body officer positions: president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. At 7 p.m., doors closed and Membership Chair Hayden Horn took the stage to begin questioning the first two candidates.
Running for student body treasurer are Pre-Major Senator Byoung Lee and First Year Senator Owen Bartosh. A student body treasurer oversees the finances for the student government and ensures that student funds are managed responsibly.
In the first question for Lee, Horn highlighted Lee’s initiative to create a system for clubs to use high-quality equipment. Lee pointed out that many organizations on campus come to Senate to request expensive equipment to enhance their events. Sometimes, Senate cannot fund these requests, which limits clubs’ abilities to reach students on campus. Lee wants to create a pool of equipment for clubs to share so that both the clubs and Student Senate are not wasting money.
“We will find funding for this, because although it’s expensive, it will be a big investment for the future,” Lee said.
When asked what his plans are for financial transparency, Bartosh said that he wants to send out a newsletter to the vice president and treasurer of every organization on campus to make sure they always know where money is allocated by Senate. While the Senate chamber is open to every student, many lack access to the information presented at their weekly meetings. Bartosh wants to ensure that financial information isn’t just available, but actively communicated.
“I think it’s important that we’re all on the same page, and people know exactly where their student fees are going,” Bartosh said.
Director of Sustainability Ian Stripe and Meadows Senator Crystal Smith are running for secretary. Student body secretary plays a key role in keeping the student government organized, informed and connected.
Both Stripe and Smith have initiatives to redefine the code of conduct and ensure that student voices are heard.
Stripe pledges to make sure issues in the Senate don’t get lost in all the chaos. When asked how he will execute this goal, Stripe said he will hold weekly office hours for students and senators to meet and discuss problems one-on-one. He wants to bridge the gap between administration and students when it comes to addressing concerns that may otherwise go unnoticed, ensuring that student voices are not only heard, but acted upon. Stripe also wants to implement airport shuttles and digital SMU IDs.
Smith wants to create two new director positions that fall under the secretary’s responsibility. Smith wants a director of health and wellbeing to educate students about underused resources on campus that support mental and physical wellness.
Given that, Smith also wants to implement a director of buildings and grounds position. With all of the construction happening on campus, Smith is committed to ensuring each building on campus is safe, secure and working as best as it can.
“Campus safety is a top priority to me,” Smith said.
The next debate featured Finance Chair Omar Jaber and Pre-Major Senator Jazmin Darjean, the candidates for vice president. Both Darjean and Jaber believe that there needs to be more campus collaboration between Greek life organizations and campus clubs. What does the finance chair do?
While Jaber believes Senate could set aside money to fund collaborative events between Greek-life and non-Greek organizations, Darjean wants to administer financial incentives for partnership between these organizations.
“I want to open weekly funding for Greek organizations if they are partnering with non-Greek organizations,” Darjean said.
The candidates also touched on the different financial processes they plan to implement next year. As this year’s finance chair, Jaber has overseen a $1.2 million budget. The finance chair manages the Senate’s financial operations by overseeing the allocation of student fees, promoting fiscal responsibility, and maximizing value for the SMU student body and broader campus community.
When asked why he’s not running for treasurer, Jaber told the crowd that he has “bigger, more macro ideas to give this campus what it needs.” He’d like to implement monthly student forums to ensure voices across campus are heard and reflected in financial decisions.
Darjean, though supportive of her opponent, believes finances should not only support organizations, but also individual students.
“For example, this could include funding for an abroad trip, which has many different avenues we could explore,” Darjean said.
Darjean also promoted her contact with the Board of Trustees as a student representative for student affairs, which she said can bridge the gap between administration and students when it comes to solving campus-wide issues.
Finally, current Vice President Will Leathers and Lyle Senator Markus Mortenson went head to head in the presidential debate. The vice president’s role is to act as the president’s right-hand, performing their duties if unavailable and assisting with specific programs and legislation.
Leathers and Mortenson have both campaigned on having students become more included, not only in campus life, but the processes of Student Senate.
“How many of you have actively played a part in a legislation or a proclamation that has been passed in the Senate, or your opinion has been polled on it, and you are not a current senator?” Mortenson asked the crowd. Mortenson suggested that it was likely no one would raise their hand, and no one did.
Mortenson wants to increase outreach from the Undergraduate Council—a central focus of his campaign. However, according to Horn, a key point of contention between the two opponents is that Mortenson will be enrolled as an SMU graduate student beginning next fall.
Leathers emphasized that he will continue to live the undergraduate experience daily and will stand with the class of 2026 at graduation—unlike Mortenson, who, he argues, may be disconnected from the everyday realities of undergrad life.
However, Mortenson isn’t going anywhere.
“I’m sticking around to serve this community that I love,” Mortenson said.
Leathers and Mortenson have similar stances on improving SMU spirit and tradition. They want to increase Boulevard participation, collaboration projects and maintain the university’s momentum towards excellence.
“I want to stress the importance of the Greek community on campus and our non-Greek community, and the importance of the cultural organizations here on campus,” Leathers said. “I want to emphasize the role that these organizations play in enhancing student voice.”
Mortenson’s ideas are also centered around SMU student experiences.
“We need to maintain this momentum without compromising the things that make student experience what it is like: the experience of Boulevard and what it’s like to go to family weekend, what it’s like to be a part of homecoming as a Greek organization, as a non-Greek organization, and just that student experience that we love,” Mortenson said.
Voting began on April 10 at 8 a.m. and will conclude Friday, April 11 at noon. Students can cast their vote through SMU360.
