Candidates for four Student Association offices defended their positions in front of about 50 people Tuesday night in the Holmes Student Center’s Diversions Lounge.

The debate, hosted by the Northern Star, posed questions from the Star’s editorial board to the potential SA president, vice-president, treasurer and student trustee.

Huskie Highlights, an SA-funded and produced magazine, was one of the topics discussed by the presidential candidates.

DuJuan Smith and Raoul Gravel both took stances against keeping Huskie Highlights in its current form. The candidates, however, disagreed on what form the magazine should take in the future.

Smith said he would favor changing Huskie Highlights into an online-only magazine, eliminating the paper edition. Gravel said he would endorse doing away with the magazine altogether and instead offer free color copies of flyers for student organizations to promote themselves.

“It has fulfilled its purpose,” Smith said. “The Northern Star can’t be everywhere at all times. It is almost ridiculous to have only one voice on campus.”

The future of paid positions in the Campus Activities Board also was brought up. Gravel had members of CAB in the audience stand up while making an argument about SA wasting money.

“These people are members and former members of CAB,” Raoul said. “Those people volunteered, those are pay positions now. They were free before, they are not now.”

The vice-president candidates, Daniel Jaquez and Jen Suerth, answered questions about CAB being treated fairly, the current organizational structure and recognition process for new clubs and what the role of the VP should be.

“There’s a lot of duplication and we need to get some of those people to consolidate,” Suerth said. “We should hold workshops on what is missing from this campus.”

Suerth also said CAB was running fine and that the SA should not have interfered with the organization.

Jaquez said it was important the VP represent the diversity of the university. He said CAB asked for assistance with rewriting their constitution and that his “outside presence” could help bridge any problems with CAB.

The treasurer debate was a bit more lively, with Phil Stroud and Aaron E. Langguth answering questions about objectivity in SA funding.

Langguth said he served on four committees and called Stroud out on his experience with serving on financial committees.

“The only reason I didn’t sit on one of those committees is because of no advertisements and I am not a part of their little ‘groupie’,” Stroud said.

Three candidates for Student Trustee also attended the debate: Andrew E. Nelms, Keith M. Krutchen and Jeffrey A. Meyer.

Meyer said his number one priority would be to hold the line on tuition increases, while Nelms said he wanted to incorporate “standardized, meaningful” instructor evaluations and push for Cole Hall to be renovated. Krutchen said his top priority would be getting Grant Hall renovated.

The student association elections will be held March 29 and 30. Polling places will be set up in DuSable Hall, the Holmes Student Center and University Library. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and an NIU OneCard is required.