Visibility, availability and cooperation with students were some of the campaign promises given by dean of students candidate Mary Beth Mercatoris during a forum Thursday.

Mercatoris, assistant dean at the University of Texas at Austin, told attendees her passion for student affairs set her apart as a candidate.

“I don’t view it as a job,” she said. “I don’t even think of it as a career. I think of it as a calling.”

Mercatoris, if selected as the new dean, would oversee the Department of Campus Life. The job includes the overseeing of Intercultural Affairs, Judicial Programs, Greek Life and the Center for Student Organizations.

The other candidate is Shay Davis Little, director of administrative operations at University Housing, who spoke at a forum on Tuesday afternoon.

Mercatoris promoted compromise and alternative solutions to issues such as administration, student relations and the budget at Thursday’s forum.

When asked if she would be willing to advocate for student issues to the point of butting heads with senior officials at the University, Mercatoris said she believed few things could be accomplished without some compromise.

“I’m certainly willing to advocate for students, but I think in the long run we need to work harmoniously,” she said.

Mercatoris said she planned to look at statistics on alcohol consumption among students if chosen.

She said outsider perceptions of how much alcohol is consumed at the University might have affected the University’s status as The Princeton Review’s No. 1 party school.

“Sometimes the perception is off from the actuality of how much alcohol is consumed,” she said. “I want to know how the statistics match the rankings.”

But she admitted most colleges do have alcohol problems.

Mercatoris told attendees she believed she would be able to fulfill a need for more visibility in University administration.

“I think of myself as a servant-leader,” she said. “Students desire even more administrators to be visible and advocate for students, and I strive to do that.”