BoUNCe SBP candidate forum takes form of murder mystery

A murder got in the way of any real discussion Monday night at a student body presidential forum hosted by BoUNCe, UNC’s satirical magazine.

The forum began by giving each candidate the chance to state his platform, but the abrupt death of moderator Joey Rasmus quickly changed the focus of the debate.

Will Leimenstoll, Calvin Lewis Jr. and Tim Longest were then interrogated as the prime suspects in the murder. Each managed to prove their innocence and even name a few of the audience members as culprits.

The detective, who coincidentally resembled Rasmus, deputized the candidates and gave them the important task of helping him solve the murder.

Each candidate underwent training, which involved watching a movie and then being quizzed afterward.

The questions were based off the video and were meant to test the candidates’ deductive skills. Leimenstoll scored the highest by answering one and a half questions correctly.

At that point in the forum, the detective then questioned students for willingly signing the candidates’ petitions, which qualified the candidates for the ballot.

The three were told that the moderator’s death was probably caused by food poisoning.

Each candidate’s campaign manager was then required to feed their candidate Vienna sausages.

Candidates were told to rap their platforms to the Inspector Gadget theme song.

“We like to see ingenuity in our student body candidates,” Rasmus said.

BoUNCe endorsed Longest after Lewis rejected an offer to spend time with the detective this weekend.

Leimenstoll captured many of the remaining endorsements leading up to today’s vote.

The Sierra Student Coalition endorsed Leimenstoll after its forum Monday night.

Katie Orndahl, media coordinator for the group, said Leimenstoll had a strong environmental background and that a lot of his values align with the group’s campaign.

Orndahl added that the group almost chose Longest because of his emphasis on transparency within the University, such as with the endowment.

The Out-of-State Student Association endorsed Leimenstoll after a Friday forum.

Vice President Tracy Blauweiss wrote in an email that members chose Leimenstoll because of his clear platform.

“(It) best addressed the concerns of out-of-state students at UNC as well meeting the expectations set by the entire Carolina community,” she said.

The Black Student Movement held a forum on Sunday and also endorsed Leimenstoll.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.