West Virginia Secretary of State and West Virginia University alumna Natalie E. Tennant will moderate the Student Government Association debate on Monday (April 9) at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair Food Court.

“I am very excited to moderate this debate of future WVU leaders,” said Secretary Tennant. “It is important for these students to have the opportunity to share with their peers their vision for West Virginia University. I hope students attend this debate to hear what the candidates have to say, and I hope they vote – because it is entirely up to them who their student leaders are.”

The debate is sponsored by The Daily Athenaeum. Candidates for athletic council and board of governor will begin the debate by introducing themselves and answering one question. The rest of the debate will center on each president and vice president for the Golden Ticket and the United Party.

“It is very exciting that a former SGA Officer and now Secretary of State Tennant will be moderating the SGA Debate. Natalie was so active in her leadership role as a student and it is wonderful she is able to share those experiences with WVU Students,” said Ron Justice, director of Student Organizations Services. “Her dedication to education is evident by supplying her knowledge as Secretary of State to the very important process of the student election.”

In addition, she will speak to interested students in 260 Hodges Hall from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. on Monday prior to the debate. The speech is titled: “Choosing Your Future: Voting, Elections & Why it Matters in 2012.” The event is free and open to the public.

“I hope this engagement will inform people how important it is to get out and vote,” said Scott Crichlow, chair of the Department of Political Science. “This is a chance to hear and speak with a leading state official. It’s a way of bringing the most up-to-date perspectives of West Virginia’s leaders directly to our students.”

Secretary Tennant is perhaps best known as the first female Mountaineer Mascot, serving in 1990-91. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism and also a master’s degree in Corporate and Organization Communication from WVU.

The Daily Athenaeum is accepting debate questions via Twitter (@DailyAthenaeum) and email (DAperspectives@mail.wvu.edu). Questions will also be taken prior to the debate at the event.

For more information on SGA, visit http://sga.wvu.edu/. For more information on the Golden Ticket, visit http://thegoldenticketwv.com/ and follow it on Twitter @THEGOLDENTICKETWV. For more information on the United Ticket, visit http://ReddingZuccari2012.com/ and follow it on Twitter @reddingzuccari.

-WVU-

td/04/05/12

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