“I’m not going to point fingers,” Moller said, while noting that he believes USG is not currently working. “Incentiviz[ing] club fundraising and publish[ing] the budget” will provide the money for his policies, he said.

Earlier in the debate, he criticized SGFC’s cost guidelines for “financially disincentiviz[ing] RSOs from fundraising.”

Guo says the New Generation’s plans for shuttles, a party stipend, and a career committee would require a 15–20 percent cut to RSO funding, according to calculations by the CORE Collective’s slate.

De Beer asked audience members to consider whether they’re satisfied with the way USG has run over the past few years when casting their vote.

“We’ve seen what the issues are and we know how to fix them,” Beatty said in her closing statement, also emphasizing her institutional knowledge and the diversity of backgrounds within her party.

Moller said he believes USG’s delay in publishing its finances is “not an infrastructure problem” but “a willpower problem.” “The infrastructure is Google Drive,” Moller said.

In an interview with the Maroon, Guo had said implementing a budget transparency resolution would require building new infrastructure.

When asked to elaborate on her plan to extend Reading Period and its consequences for the academic calendar, Beatty proposed to extend the period to include the Tuesday of every finals week, with all finals taking place over a period of three days instead of the current four.

Moller proposed a career support subcommittee, endowed with $15,000, to provide students who can bring companies to campus with grants.

Update, April 15, 2:08 p.m.: This live update has been amended to correct a transcription error. 

In response to a question about why USG has not published an advocacy agenda or advocated for an increased budget during the time he’s sat on College Council, Guo said he was not in the Cabinet during that period and had limited input on those issues.

When asked about how she plans to get the University to implement her platform item of free printing, Beatty says that the University should shoulder printing expenses only if professors and faculty members require students to print materials for class. She says the infrastructure for such a change already exists. This would not include printing materials for personal use.

“The Pub is not just a bar… it’s one of the only social spaces on campus that actually feels like it belongs to students,” de Beer said when asked why students who aren’t legally able to access the Pub should vote for his slate. “Why are we constrained to the limits of what USG has done the last couple of years?”

Beatty says she wants RSOs to have more control over how they spend their money, regardless of what they want to spend it on. She says that RSOs already have funding for social events but are limited by SGFC rules in how they spend it.

Guo points to the Student Government Finance Committee’s 50 percent cap on transportation funding, which he believes represents a lack of prioritization of RSO culture. He believes SGFC’s “wasteful” spending culture—a point of criticism from Moller—has changed since his involvement in USG.

“We have slashed our budget by at least half, and I can tell you, 99 percent of our funding goes to RSOs,” Guo said. He says that it was his changes to USG that allow College Council to oversee the RSO funding allocation process.

“I’m running on an outcomes-based government,” de Beer said. He criticized the CLEAR Act, which requires more transparency in RSO funding starting next academic year, for not yet providing any tangible outcomes. The CLEAR Act was passed on March 30.

Election & Rules Committee Chair Jay Love asks how the candidates will get students involved in “the work of Undergraduate Student Government.”

“We’re not only looking at UChicago as a school community but also as an individual experience,” Beatty said. The RSO funding process “has to be managed properly,” and students “deserve” to see where their money is going.

Beatty asked why Moller and de Beer, who have not held USG positions, did not join College Council if they wanted to enact positive change.

“USG is an organization that needs help and needs guidance,” Moller said, touting his experience in the private sector and his plan to bring that experience to his term.

“USG is the means to an end, not an end in itself,” Moller said.

The Ida Noyes Party differentiates itself by its plan to focus less on USG’s bylaws and more on achieving outcomes for students, de Beer said.

“We want to usher in a new generation of Chicago” and break with UChicago’s reputation of being a place where “fun goes to die,” said third-year William Moller, presidential candidate on the New Generation slate.

“The number one priority for me is more RSO funding,” said third-year Kevin Guo, presidential candidate on the CORE Collective slate.

With his opening statement, third-year Daniel de Beer is laying out a “no excuses” platform aimed at eliminating bureaucracy in USG.

Second-year Grace Beatty, candidate for the Premium Party, was selected to deliver her opening statement first.

Candidates and audience members have begun to arrive for the debate, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.