A crush of eager candidates squared off about student life and vertical transportation at Wednesday night's debate for the Columbia College first-year class council.

The field, which includes 33 hopefuls spread across seven slates, spent an hour-and-a-half hashing out plans to bring wireless Internet to dorms, Flex points to neighboring businesses, and copies of the New York Times to first-year lounges.

The forum, held in the John Jay lounge, began with a series of opening statements-many of which were inaudible over the murmur of JJ's-gorged audience members and street noise from Amsterdam Avenue.

"The elevator to success is out of order. We'll have to use the stairs-one step at a time," Sue Yang, CC '10 and Nonstop presidential candidate, said. The remark touched off a farcical dispute over how success is best reached-by an escalator, an elevator, the stairs, or a kite.

Financial aid and diversity, the two dominant strands of last spring's Columbia College Student Council elections, made brief appearances in the debate, but perennial first-year squabbles over dining, housing, and social events took center stage.

"We would like to see the John Jay laundry room become ventilated and not be 3,000 degrees," Mark Modesitt, CC '10 and Alma Matters presidential candidate, said.

The Stella Party, led by presidential candidate Jon Hollander, CC '10, put forward a proposal to bring wireless to all of Columbia's dorms. Pressed by Columbia Undergraduates Supporting Progress to explain how the plan would be implemented, Hollander said, "All it would take is some strategically placed routers. ... The cost associated with it would not be that large, and it could be covered by CUIT's budget."

Other proposals included keeping JJ's open on the weekends, increasing the number of free event tickets available to first-years, and allowing not one but two free CAVA rides for students.

"CAVA isn't just for when you get drunk on the weekends," said TOGA presidential candidate Maximo Cubilette, CC '10.

Later, as each slate was given a chance to ask one question of an opponent, Party of Five accused Nonstop of collusion with a like-named party running for Engineering Student Council.

"What we were trying to do was not in any way try to gain publicity," Veronica Colon, CC '10 and Nonstop vice presidential candidate, said. "What we were trying to do is show the class of 2010 we were already building that bridge between Columbia College and SEAS."

As the floor was opened to questions from audience members, candidates scrambled to explain their stances on financial aid and whether they would work to alleviate tuition for students studying abroad.

"Let's be honest. People could come up here and promise you the heavens, but that's not realistic," said Matthew Kudelka, CC '10 and presidential candidate for Columbia Undergraduates Supporting Progress.

Online voting for the first-year class council is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.