Andre Mitchell & Kate Bergel

Mitchell, a junior and information technology major, said he has a passion for “college livelihood” and bringing that livelihood to the campus of Oakland University.

Mitchell is running with junior and psychology major Kate Bergel. Bergel is involved in the Residents Hall Association, is the national communications coordinator for RHA, a human resources intern for Housing, is part of the Focus Improvement Committee and is part of the Grizzpose Committee, according to the Mitchell/Bergel campaign website.

Mitchell’s prior campus involvement includes Residential Assistant at the Extended Stay hotel, Night Watch Desk worker, Student Congress legislator in 2012 (where he also served on the marketing committee,) Orientation Assistant, Orientation Group Leader, Student Alumni Association, Academic Conduct Committee and the Association for Computing Machinery, according to the Mitchell/Bergel campaign website.

Mitchell said that he “really wanted to take OU to the next level” with his platform, with one of the focuses being on student involvement.

Marketing athletics, Greek fraternities and sororities will give students the opportunity to get more involved and better connected to the campus, according to Mitchell.

Mitchell said his plans, if elected, are not only beneficial to students that live on campus, but to the large group of commuter students as well.

“They have to have a reason to stay (on campus),” Mitchell said in a phone interview. “We just want to market better to those 18,000 to help find where they fit in.”

Mitchell said that he and Bergel wanted to keep their platform practical.

“We wanted to make sure everything in our platform we did ourselves and we knew we could do it,” Mitchell said.

With that, if Mitchell is elected, he said he wants to make sure his “e-board holds us accountable for our platform.”

Creating a campus community is what Mitchell said he really wants to accomplish if elected Student Body President.

Annie Meinberg & Liz Iwanski

Meinberg is an Elementary Education major with a focus on creating sustainability for Oakland University.

Meinberg and her running mate Liz Iwanski are the only sophomore ticket in the 2014-2015 OUSC Presidential Election.

Iwanski’s has been an OUSC legislator (where she is part of the judiciary committee), an Orientation Group Leader, OU’s Strategic Programs Assistant, on the SPB Annual Events Committee, a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, part of the Honor’s College and part of the German Club, according to the Meinberg/Iwanski campaign site.

Meinberg is an OUSC legislator, a coaching assistant for the OU Women’s Basketball team, a recently signed student athlete, an orientation group leader, a member of the School of Business Scholars program, an SPB Committee Member and member of the OU Official Social Media Street Team.

A part of Meinberg’s platform that differs from that of her opponents is that of environmental sustainability.

“We don’t want to see this as a problem years from now,” Meinberg said.

Meinberg wants to hire an environmental manager as well as have someone on the executive board to work on environmental measures.

Keeping the campus environmentally friendly by placing recycling bins in each class is part of Meinberg’s environmental plan.

Meinberg said she also has plans for one of the biggest problems on campus: parking.

Meinberg said she wants the P3 parking lot to be available overnight, to have the parking structures be available 24/7, and to have a parking structure on the north side of campus. Meinberg said she has talked with Director of University Housing Jim Zentmeyer and he agreed with her plans.

“It’s nice to know administration is behind us on this,” said Meinberg, who said she wants to see big things for OU and that she and her running mate can help in this if elected. “I want to see it (OU) on the map.”

Meinberg said that it’s the students that make the university what it is and that she wants to “give the students the best that they deserve.”

Bria Ellis & Andrew Laux

Ellis is a junior and political science and philosophy double major. Both she and her running mate Andrew Laux are legislators on the current Oakland University Student Congress.

Ellis is an Admissions Ambassador, Orientation Group Leader, and Resident Assistant at Oakland University, according to her Facebook page. She is also the Diversity Director for the Studient Program Board and was vice president of Students Advocating for Gender Awareness.

In January 2013 Ellis was one of three students awarded with the 21st annual Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Award, according to Oakland University’s website. The scholarship was awarded to her for her contributions to breaking down cultural stereotypes.

Laux is a junior history major who has only been serving as a legislator for a few months, according to their campaign website. He has also served as a stand-in director for Oakland’s delegation to the Student Association of Michigan on three different occasions

One of the bills Laux most recently motioned to pass at the March 24 OUSC meeting was one concerning amendments that should be made to the Oakland University campus smoking policy to allow designated smoking areas and the provision of ash trays in said areas.

During the debate on Wednesday, March 19, Ellis stated that she would focus on trying to make students feel included and excited about coming to Oakland University. She also said she would continue the free scantron program, involvement in the Bear Bus program and the RideShare program.

“I wish to make sure that every voice even those who might view their own voices to be insignificant to be heard,” Ellis wrote on her campaign website. “That is the whole purpose of ousc is to make sure that students are getting the most out of their college experience. I will make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.”

Ellis was not available for an interview.

Contact Staff Reporter Ali DeRees at [email protected].