Face-Off at the 52nd Annual Candidates Night and Audience Forum

Nicole Mason September 25, 2012

At the Candidates' Night and Audience Forum on Monday, our presidential candidates got into it. From debates about the rising unemployment rates to China, our candidates voiced their opinions with no problem.

The audience posed a question asking if Medicare should be reformed. Brian Torok exclaimed that Medicare is a "good system and should be reformed" while Hunter Ray changed the topic to Medicaid saying that "Medicaid is abused by the population and we need to make changes to it." One thing reporters noticed at the Candidates' Night is that none of the candidates had solutions to America's issues except for conservative Chris Furter. Furter stated that the government needed to increase the requirements for Medicaid such as making sure the people applying for Medicaid were actively looking for a job. Furter also explains that national programs will have to be cut back a little bit to make sure the reform for Medicaid succeeds.

Southern democrat Alex Bulisheck was late to the Candidates' Night because he was taking care of his family, which definitely won over Nicole's News as the most compassionate candidate- so far. However, when he arrived at Candidates' Night, he seemed quite disgruntled and unprepared. He was also the only candidate to have someone from his campaign team up on the stage with him.

Surprisingly, Rebekah Kim did not have a lot to say at Candidates' Night. Our news team figured that it was probably because she was nervous or intimidated but needless to say, she did voice her opinions on some of the issues presented. 

The next issue that was tackled at Candidates' Night was the issue of China and how to deal with their increasing economic success. John Oh and Chris Furter got into a fierce debate when the China issue was brought up. Chris argued that he would deregulate markets and cut back on government regulkations while John argued that we should implement a stimulus package, even though Obama tried to implement one which ultimately failed. He also believes that outsourcing jobs in China is bad because it takes away from our American citizens who need jobs. The audience went into an uproar against John's statement stating that we would never be able to pay our citizens the same amount that the Chinese work for, which is the exact reason why America outsources to China. Hunter Ray thinks that we should keep some business in China and lower the tax on items there. Adam Simonton, Hunter's campaign strategist spoon-fed Hunter with this answer which rises questions on whether or not Hunter really knows the issues. 

Chris Furter (left) and John Oh (right) battling it out

Other issues discussed were issues on immigration, gun control, and gay rights. Rebekah is for gay rights stating that everyone deserves equal rights, which is a main part of her campaign. Brian also agrees that everyone should have equal rights regarding gay marriage. Alex made everyone in the audience melt when he said that, "If two people love each other, they should be able to get married, no matter the sex." Hunter and Chris agreed that civil unions are fine but gay marriage should be illegal. John was very much against gay marriage stating that marriage is reserved for only "a man and a woman." 

Nicole's News concluded that the Candidates' Nights was a big success. The candidates got their issues out to the public and made an impression on the voters. Chris Furter is a fierce debater but some of the people in the audience commented that he was too stern and too serious about the whole race. However, I'm sure soon Chris will show his fun and happy side to America. 

Stay tuned for more information on your 2012 candidates!

-The news for you and the news for me, America needs Nicole's News!

Your Candidates!

Hunter Ray (center), Matt Lynch (right), Adam Simonton (left)

Chris Furter (middle), Casey Harvey (right), Will Wright (Left)


John Oh (not pictured)

Alex Bulisheck (left), Jacob Bucher (right)

Rebekah Kim (center), Inga Masic (right), Youlee Shin (left)

Brian Torok (center), Alisha Jiwani (right), Savannah Moore (left)

Meet the Candidates

Nicole Mason, September 24, 2012

After interviewing our candidates for the 2012 election, we have gotten the background information on your 2012 candidates.

The first candidate running is Hunter Ray, being a male, white conservative, was born in San Antonio, Texas and moved to Georgia in 2004. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in law. Although he does not have a specific issue in place yet, he does want to improve the economy. Matthew Lynch and Adam Simonton are Hunter's go-to-guys during this election. "I am going to unite the conservative and democratic parties so that we can get things done and not be split in the house; I am an American first and a Republican second," according to Hunter Ray.

Chris Furter is the next, white republican running for president. Born in Georgia and graduating from UGA with a degree in business, he believes he is qualified for the presidency. Furter believes that American success will come from less regulation of the government, having a free market, and lowering taxes. He says that his team that includes Will Wright and Casey Harvey, has "a good combination of creativity and wisdom." Chris has informed Nicole's News that he has not come up with a campaign slogan yet, but his team is working on one now.

John Oh is running as a conservative in our presidential election. Nicole's News did not get much information from John because he was very resistant towards giving information out and somewhat sassy about the basic questions we were asking. However, we did find out that he graduated from Harvard. He said that his Korean heritage has made him more family oriented opposed to not being close with family. Angel Rivera and Christina Shin are part of John's political campaign.

Coming into the race late, Alex Bulischeck is determined to catch up with the other candidates. He is a white, southern democrat, which is strange because he was born in the Queens of New York. However, he graduated from Princeton with a degree in business administration and later got his P.h.d. in economics. Alex believes that the government should stay out of our country's economics but the government should help with social problems. His partner in his race for the presidency is Jacob Bucher who graduated from UGA with a degree in politics. When I asked about the other candidates. Alex commented that he didn't like the other candidates but then he quickly reversed his response and said that he didn't know them very well.


The only female running in this race is Rebekah Kim as an Asian liberal. She obtained her bachelor's degree from Harvard in international affairs and later went on to get her P.h.d in politics. The main idea of her platform states that she wants equal rights for everyone. "I am better than all of the other candidates," said Rebekah. Youlee Shin and Inga Masic are going to be Rebekah's team throughout the election. "When things are dim, vote for Kim. America needs Rebekah."

Our last candidate is Brian Torok running for the liberal party. He was born in New Jersey but raised in Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech and obtained a degree in programming. His three main issues he wants to focus on are the economy, world conflicts, and gay marriage, which is an aspect of American life that he supports. Savannah Moore and Alisha Jiwani are Brian's go-to-girls in his race for the presidency.

Our candidates this year seem so have a great start. However, there is always more to know about our candidates. Stay tuned for more information on the 2012 election!

-The news for you and the news for me, America needs Nicole's News!