JOSH FIELDS / Arizona Daily Wildcat ASUA presidential candidate Cade Bernsen answers students' questions regarding his campaign agenda yesterday afternoon on the UA Mall.

Each candidate running for ASUA office has pledged some sort of campaign promise, but past presidents say candidates have to carefully consider the feasibility of their plans.

Ben Graff, 2000-2001 Associated Students of the University of Arizona president, said some candidates "shoot from their hip" with promises, but candidates who want to carry out their campaign promises must do the research beforehand.

"They have to respect the people that hold keys to the doors," he said.

Graff said situations change once a candidate is in office, but the student body will hold that person accountable for what they pledged.

Alistair Chapman, ASUA president, said it is crucial for a president to continue to work hard throughout the year and accomplish what is promised to students.

"In the initial months, you have to go out and prove yourself," Chapman said. "You have to earn the respect of people on campus that you work with and show you are committed to change."

Chapman said he was able to fulfill his campaign promises, including fighting for lower tuition hikes and increasing voter registration, because he researched the feasibility of each idea and was able to establish a course of action before he ran for president.

"I studied goals that could be achieved within the course of the year," he said.

Doug Hartz, 2002-2003 ASUA president, said his two campaign platforms were to maintain low tuition increases and implement a fall break.

Faculty Senate members voted down the fall break, but Hartz said if a new president works diligently, the plan is within that person's power.

Fall break

Several candidates vow to create a fall break, which would give students a few days off in the middle of the semester similar to spring break, even though student leaders have failed at attempts to create it.

Hartz spent a lot of his presidency advocating for a fall break that would cancel classes the three days before Thanksgiving break.

However, when the proposal reached the Faculty Senate, the governing board who would implement such a policy, voted it down unanimously, citing it would interfere with finals only weeks away.

Regardless, Hartz said a fall break could be a possibility if the new president recognizes obstacles in the past and finds a way to please both faculty and students.

"It's not going to be a walk in the park," Hartz said.

Hartz said presidential candidates Nathan Bell and Jacob Reuben, and senate candidate Tyler Reece have all contacted him with interest in re-establishing the fall break proposal.

Jacob Reuben, a business economics junior and ASUA presidential candidate, recognized how the senate denied the plan in the past but wants to propose eliminating just the Wednesday classes before Thanksgiving.

Reuben said compromise is key and looked at the failed proposal to recreate a new plan.

"I had to ask 'what would the Faculty Senate go for?'" Reuben said.

Reuben said while eliminating the entire three days from the UA academic schedule has not worked in the past, Wednesday classes could be removed because many instructors cancel class anyway.

Nathan Bell, a computer science junior, said he still has much to discuss with Hartz, but if president, he plans to ask the Faculty Senate to consider eliminating the three days before Thanksgiving and adding extra days to the beginning of the semester.

Acknowledging the work he would have to put in, Bell said he would meet often with faculty members and lobby to the senate.

"I think some rearrangement is feasible," he said.

Michael Franklin, a secondary education junior, said he wants to ask the senate for a week off nine weeks into the semester, similar to spring break.

Noting that eliminating courses right before Thanksgiving could interfere with upcoming finals, Franklin said his plan would leave students feeling not overwhelmed, especially new freshmen.

"It would create an easier transition for out-of-state students," he said.

Campus Security

All of the presidential candidates addressed safety concerns and promised to make campus a low-crime area.

Sgt. Eugene Mejia, University of Arizona Police Department spokesman, said safety can always be improved, and ASUA involvement with police officers is always welcome.

"We both want education without intrusion," he said. "If we continue to establish communication, it's a win-win situation."

Jacob Hill, a nutritional science junior, said he hopes to work with UAPD to place security cameras in parking garages around campus.

Cade Bernsen, political science senior, favors installing the recording devices in the library.

Although Mejia said security cameras could easily identify criminals, they are not effective in preventing crimes.

Tucson banks have cameras, but Tucson remains one of the highest ranked cities in the Southwest for bank robberies, Mejia said.

Mejia said an ASUA president who promises to place security cameras on campus must also consider costs and student's rights to privacy in a public institution.