The Oregon State University student government Elections Committee will be hosting debates for leadership positions on Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Horizon Room.

Hosted by the Associated Students of Oregon State University Election Committee Chair Aya Ari and Vice Chair Emma Böwadt as well as a representative from Orange Media Network, there will be two debates.

The first debate, at 7 p.m., will feature candidates running for the position of Student Fee Committee chair. However, according to Ari, only three of the nine SFC Chair candidates have signed on for the debate.

The second debate, at 8 p.m., will be between the five tickets for the positions of ASOSU president and vice president. Each candidate will receive one minute to introduce themselves and to share their platform statements.

The candidates will be asked a series of predetermined questions. Each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond, afterwhich, brief one-minute rebuttals will be allowed. The order of the candidates will change after each question to ensure every candidate gets to answer first.

Topics of debate will include: transparency within student government, student and professional engagement with ASOSU and SFC, the candidates’ general understanding of student government along with pressing issues the tickets see at OSU.

Candidates will then give one-minute closing statements.

Students are encouraged to attend in-person, though the event will also be streamed and recorded on Zoom. According to Ari, the Election Committee is planning on having the event catered.

For more election information and to see who is running, check out the 2026 Election Committee’s webpage. Currently, candidate names are listed, though the voter guide is not yet available.