Both tickets prioritize: outreach to Registered Student Organizations and Greek Life and emphasize following up with legislation after it has been passed to ensure implementation on campus; mental health and sustainability regarding the environment; and finances of the organization.

The tickets have completed their first round of debates and will finish the second round from 7-9 p.m. March 29 in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium

Voting for presidential tickets will take place April 1-6 on OrgSync. The president and vice-president elect will replace current SGA President Anna Owens and Vice President Derek Sturvist.

Guenin-Harrison: "Committed to Change"

Presidential candidate and Indiana senior Shane Guenin is a first-term SGA senator and member of the organization's Student Budget Allocation Committee. Guenin's vice-presidential selection, Greenville senior Allison Harrison, generated some confusion and controversy as she has no prior involvement in SGA.

"I do understand the worry," Guenin said. "A lot of people ask me, ‘Why bring in someone who’s not in SGA to run with you?’ I think SGA has lost sight of what its mission is, and I think it will be very beneficial to have someone who understands what we do but isn’t necessarily embroiled in tradition."

Harrison also said not being an SGA member could be beneficial to the ticket.

“I don’t know the inside process, so it’s a good spark for change," Harrison said.

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Indiana senior Shane Guenin and Greenville senior Allison Harrison of the Guenin-Harrison SGA presidential ticket stand in front of the Bovee University Center on March 18.

As for this inside process, Guenin said he requested Harrison to read the SGA constitution and bylaws so she can lead knowledgeably. The candidates said they have more to offer than a fresh perspective.

“Primarily, we want to lead change in how SGA is fundamentally running," Guenin said.

Guenin emphasized how Central Michigan University is entering a transitional period in its leadership and believes it's the perfect time to pioneer change.

“We’re going to have a new university president," he said. "If we establish right off the bat that we’re here, we mean business, we want to get things done, I think we’ll start to see (that happen).”

One objective unique to the Guenin-Harrison ticket is the duo's push for the reorganization of CMU's health services and counseling center.

"We want to rekindle energy to focus on the counseling department," Harrison said. "Currently, it’s understaffed and there are too many people who want these services.”

Guenin said the ticket also wants to establish a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.

"A lot of university campuses have them, and if we’re going to be serious about sexual assault and sexual aggression, that’s something we need," he said.

Guenin also emphasized the importance of Greek Life representation in SGA.

"Greek Life is such a pillar of student involvement on campus," he said. "We see them, we want to hear from them.”

The ticket has proposed the addition of a "Greek Life Liaison" position to the organization's cabinet.

Hendricks-Rose: "Elect Engagement"

Presidential candidate and Traverse City junior Jake Hendricks is currently SGA senate pro tempore and Governmental Affairs Committee chair. Hendricks' running mate, Nashville sophomore Lyndi Rose, is currently an SGA senator and a first-term Spirits and Traditions Committee chair. Both candidates have been involved in the organization for two years.

"We want to provide transportation to the yearly Women’s march in Lansing,” Rose said. for the organization," Hendricks said. "We think the organization is a change agent on campus (and) allows students to get involved, to talk about the issues are important to them."

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Traverse City junior Jake Hendricks and Nashville sophomore stand in the Bovee University Center Auditorium on March 18, 2018.

One focus of the ticket is civic engagement on and off campus.

"We want to provide transportation to the yearly Women’s March in Lansing,” Rose said.

Rose added the duo plans to carry out its focus locally by continuing to hold student body town halls, registering students to vote and contacting peer universities' student government associations.

Hendricks and Rose shared Guenin and Harrison's aspirations to connect with Greek Life on campus. The ticket has proposed adding community and network building to the responsibilities of the organization's Volunteer Coordinator.

"Especially because we have so much Greek representation in our student government, we want to make sure that’s reflected in our cabinet positions that we have without adding more positions to the cabinet," Hendricks said. "We think (the Volunteer Coordinator position) hasn't been utilized to the point it can be."

Hendricks said the decision to add responsibilities to an already-existing position rather than adding another cabinet member was also a fiscal decision.

"We have to pay a lot of our members, and we want to make sure we aren’t allocating more student dollars when we can re-task resources we already have," he said.