Questions to ask at the debate

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will mark the final debate of the campaign. It takes place at 11:30am in University Centre near the Tim Horton's in the concourse. If only I had a BlackBerry or a laptop I would liveblog it, but I have to resort to just taking notes.

The poorly-written bylaw 1012 concerns the candidates' forum and reads as follows (emphasis mine):

2. The Candidates’ Forum shall be chaired by the CRO. At the Candidates’ Forum, the CRO shall establish and enforce the following criteria:
   
   
   
   1. each candidate has the opportunity to speak for a time period as fixed by the CRO;
   
   
   2. each candidate shall have the same fixed period of time in which to speak;
   
   
   3. if there is a question from the audience at the Candidates’ Forum, each candidate shall have a reasonable and fair opportunity to respond thereto;
   
   
   4. no campaign shall distribute any campaign material during the Candidates’ Forum or within the immediate where the Candidates’ Forum occurs; and
   
   
   5. any person(s) who attempt to disrupt the orderly conduct of the Candidates’ Forum shall be removed from the facility.

Take note of bylaw 2. c., which gives each candidate a "reasonable and fair opportunity to respond" to all questions. Aside from the absurdity of potentially having dozens of people answering the same question (bylaws committee - take note,) this means it is not possible to pose a question to a single candidate. Any question phrased in the manner of "I want to ask little Mikey such-and-such" will not prevent other candidates from getting a chance to answer as well.

That said, there should be plenty of time for questions from the audience, which is the best part of any debate. If you're not sure what to ask, here are a few samplers (and make sure to tell them the kind of answers you don't want):

• Tell me one thing CFS does well, and give me at least one critique. "They don't advertise themselves to students well enough" does not count as a critique.
  
• Which faculty or faculties are you counting on to deliver for you in the vote, and which ones have you written off? "We're competitive everywhere" is an answer that will make me vote for someone else.
  
• Did you bother to vote in the last provincial and federal elections? If so, who did you vote for and why? If not, why should I vote for you?
• Name one single policy from the current UMSU administration that you disagree with, and a single one you agree with. Giving the same answer as the person before you is poor form.
  
• If your slate were disqualified, who would you vote for instead? (I boldly predict no one will give this question a straight answer.)
  

Not sure whether you want to hear from the candidates in person? Just remember what Tessa wrote in last week's Manitoban:

[T]hese five young adults will soon be in charge of a $10.6 million budget — of student money.