Tuesday evening, ASMSU held a Q&A for Harding to address pre-submitted questions and those submitted by attendees. This event typically includes a debate between candidates, but due to Harding being the sole candidate, it was restricted to a Q&A session.

The session preceded ASMSU’s Office of the President elections which will begin Wednesday, where the president, among others, will be formally elected.

Harding, over the duration of the Q&A, addressed various responsibilities of the president and issues facing the student government today. These included low engagement from the student body, fostering inclusivity and community among all backgrounds on campus and ensuring that ASMSU properly represents the needs of its student body.

The event began with a series of pre-submitted questions, all asked by ASMSU Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Isabel Buckles, who served as moderator for the evening.

Greater student engagement was a central theme Harding pushed to attendees. She spoke about bridging the gap between the student body and ASMSU by making the student government more visible to its constituents.

Harding said one way she would make this happen would be to implement town hall forums where students and ASMSU representatives could interact and inquire about issues the students are facing.

"I think that that town hall space is going to really help ASMSU be more connected with students on campus," Harding said.

Currently, there are many empty seats on the General Assembly, meaning that certain student groups on campus are not represented within ASMSU. The Council of Students with Disabilities is one of these groups, lacking a single representative in the GA.

Revamping ASMSU's approach to marketing to make students better understand what the undergraduate student government does can help draw voters for the fall and spring elections to fill those seats, Harding said.

One way to do this would be to emphasize the services ASMSU offers its students in social media posts, she said.

"Ensuring that everything we're saying and doing in terms of advertising should have some kind of plug for one of our services on it, because it's going to be really beneficial if we're able to get more students to be aware of our services so they can understand what ASMSU does for them," she said.

Harding also called attention to ASMSU’s website, which has often not been up-to-date, promising that she would streamline this resource for students.

Ensuring the representation of the entire student body and including diverse perspectives in the decision making process at ASMSU was another topic of conversation Harding touched on.

She said having intentional relationships and communication with the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students (CORES) and Council of Advocacy and Marginalized Students (CAMS) groups could foster those diverse perspectives. 

Oftentimes the student body’s needs may conflict with the administration, with ASMSU being in charge of reflecting those students’ needs. Harding said it is important to balance the working relationships ASMSU has with university administration, while also holding it accountable and accurately reflecting the students’ voices.

"Our job isn't to be friends with administrators," she said. "It's about accurately reflecting the needs of students to administrators, even if it's not what they want to hear, and I'm prepared for those tough conversations."

One question asked how Harding would stand up for students amid increasing federal cuts to higher education and research, in addition to student visa revocations.

She said it's important to stand with those affected and be the bridge for those students to take their concerns to university administrators.

"There's more to be done and more spaces to be vocal about how ASMSU supports its international student community, and we will be advocating to administrators to do the same," Harding said.