Four UK groups will host the final planned debate of the 2009 Student Government election Monday.

The debate will be centered around diversity issues on campus ranging from race to military veterans issues, said James Davidson Jr., president of the UK chapter of the NAACP, one of the groups sponsoring the event.

The other sponsors are OUTsource, the Black Student Union and the Muslim Student Association.

Davidson said he believes this is the first year a diversity debate has taken place. All three candidates — Colby Khoshreza, Tyler Owen and Ryan Smith — are expected to be in attendance.

The debate is information-based, and a candidate will not be endorsed.

The event will have three rounds. During the first round, each presidential candidate will be asked to speak on two of the four questions candidates were given beforehand. During the second round, vice presidential candidates will speak on the other two questions.

The questions submitted include:

• What candidates would do if a racially sensitive incident were to happen in November 2009, including how the candidate and his staff would work with minority groups.
• Whether or not candidates would appoint a current student veteran to a deputy chief of staff position to work with the candidate and his cabinet in developing ways to make our campus veteran-friendly.
• How the candidate would increase religious and ideological diversity on campus.
• How the candidate would address the dietary needs of different religious and ideological groups on campus, such as vegetarian options that are cooked on grills after meat choices.

In the third round, each presidential and vice presidential candidate will answer one question they were not given beforehand.

Davidson said the debate is important because it allows a diverse group of students to come together and allow their voices to be heard. He hopes candidates will answer the questions in a straightforward way.

“It would be my hope they will be sincere and to the point and not give general statements,” he said.

The debate will be from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday in the Gallery Room of the W.T. Young Library, which is next to the library’s auditorium. The moderator will be Chester Grundy, UK’s director of the Office of Multicultural Student Programming.