“Change” was the word of the hour at the Associated Students, Inc. debate at Malcolm X Plaza on March 17.

ASI launched its election week by giving the candidates the public space to discuss the budget, on-campus events and why students should vote in their favor. The debate was met with applause from former ASI officers, but little response from the scattered crowd of students.

“Musical chairs is not change,” said presidential candidate Anthony “Muscle Up” Zamora of opponent Natalie Nicole Franklin. He was referring to the shuffling of ASI officers from one position to another rather than electing an outside person.

Franklin disagreed.

She said her experience on the ASI Board of Directors as the junior representative and vice chair of the finance and internal affairs committee proved her level of commitment.

Franklin encouraged students to be more involved on campus because it is “essential to fully obtaining the college experience.” If she were elected, her goal would be to organize a free concert on campus that would feature established musicians.

The presidential candidates were divided in their beliefs of where the ASI money flow should go.

“You want to spend a lot of time and money on this concert,” said Zamora. “This is where ASI has gone wrong; not using money to green the campus. Concerts should be left to the student organizations.”

Zamora’s argument was that ASI spends too much time and money on trivial matters. He proposed three pertinent topics: an audit of ASI budgetary spending, improving student-to-student communication and environmental sustainability on campus.

Franklin rebutted, claiming that ASI’s purpose is to give students what they want.

“If I were to walk up to 50 students and ask them if they’d like to see a concert [on campus] I doubt that all or any of them would say no,” she said. She went on to say that ASI is already greening the campus by having an organic farmers market every Thursday.

Aside from Franklin and Zamora, other candidates included Raul Amaya and Obiamaka Eke who argued their merit for VP of Internal Affairs. Extra time allotted for candidates Kenneth Ma (VP of External Affairs), Gordo and Graham Litchman (Senior Representative) to give brief statements.

There were 11 additional candidates (not including the unofficial “write-in” candidates) who did not make an appearance on stage, including Gray Lange, the third candidate running for president.

Of 15 students surveyed at Malcolm X Plaza at the time, 12 said they were not paying attention to the debate.

“I didn’t even know it was happening,” said Kristen Torres, 18, a fashion design major. “There wasn’t much publicity.”

Torres was selling baked goods at the Lambda Theta Alpha table adjacent to the stage with two other sorority sisters.

“We’re undergrad freshman and live on campus,” said Yesenia Martinez, 18, an international business major. “So it’s a surprise we didn’t know.”

The lack of attendance could be attributed to timeliness. During the time of the debate, President Robert A. Corrigan held a town hall meeting about the budget cuts in McKenna Theatre.

But Graham Litchman, an ASI Senior Representative candidate, said that timeliness was not the only factor. Instead, the problem arose from the student body’s apathy toward ASI elections—an observation that has proven true in the past with low voter turnout.

“Historically, no one has voted,” Litchman said. “Last year less than 2,000 [students] voted, and there are roughly 30,000 on campus.”

Litchman admitted there should have been more marketing for the debate.

“It’s sad only four people spoke today and that our students are largely disconnected,” he said. “They don’t know that students in ASI can actually make a difference.”

Students who cannot make it to the voting booths on campus can vote online.