University Students’ Council presidential candidates were grilled on Friday by members of Western’s media hub.

The annual Media Forum, which took place in the University Community Centre atrium, involved representatives from the Gazette, tvWestern.ca, CHRW and The Big Purple Couch. Candidates Matt Hyland, Ray Park, Mike Tithecott, Marshall Goldfarb, Jeff Rutledge and Matthijs van Gaalen, all fielded questions on the validity of their various platform points, past records of involvement and their preparedness for the role.

“All of my meetings have been more on a casual footing,” Matt Hyland said in response to a question about whether or not he has met with members of the USC board of directors. “As far as understanding everyone’s portfolio, I guess I didn’t meet long enough.”

USC presedential candidates compete in the Gazette's annual presedential skills competition.

Hyland’s response also revealed an ongoing tension between him and two members of the USC. Dan Moulton, vice-president university affairs, and Will Bortolin, vice-president campus issues, were cited as two individuals Hyland did not meet with for personal reasons.

Goldfarb, editor-in-chief of the controversial Student Magazine, was again asked about his view on gender equity at Western, to which he directly responded after a second prompting from the panel. He defended his role in the publication.

“The magazine was designed to create a forum for conversation,” Goldfarb said. “I treat women with high respect all the time.”

Additionally, Tithecott looked visibly uncomfortable when asked about the empty state of tampon dispensers in the UCC washrooms in regards to his two-ply toilet paper platform point. Yet, he acknowledged it was not an idea on his platform and admitted he “wished” it was.

All the candidates agreed on one thing — the current board’s response to the London Transit Commission strike could have been better. They mentioned the USC initiatives in response to the strike were not effectively communicated to the students.

“An open dialogue with students was missing,” Hyland said.

Park also gave a slight critique of Emily Rowe’s visibility as USC president.

“Could she have been more visible? Yes,” Park said in response to a question about his presidential tour platform point, which would involve visiting “different campus buildings across campus.”

In addition, van Gaalen fell under scrutiny for his proposed pass-fail interest credit system, which will put in place specific first-year courses to be marked based on a pass or fail basis.

“I think I am taking exceedingly large risks to say the least,” van Gaalen said.

Rutledge was the only candidate to leave the debate relatively unscathed.

If you missed Friday’s debates, view the full forum, taped live at http://www.livestream.com/uwotv