Also, while you’re here: Like Inside the SA on Facebook. We’ll be using Inside the SA for SA coverage more often now. Plus, we’re going to give all the newly elected SA members free reign to post about what’s going on in the SA next year.
Are we better off than we were a year ago? How about two or three years ago? I have seen progress, but not the progress that lies within the capabilities of our school and student association. There is a gap that grows wider every year between progressive and quiescent behavior within the SA. I am here to end that gap.
This year’s Student Association election is a packed one. But my experience and fresh vision for the Student Association is what defines my candidacy from my fellow colleagues. It is true that I have never been a part of the Student Association but this in no way means that I lack the experience of dealing with issues or interacting with administrators. My experience as a Colonial Cabinet member and an employee for Hallmark programs allowed me the opportunity to interact with, and converse with a number of administrators.
In previous blogs, I have discussed my demand for a more accountable SA that aims for transparency and focuses on an intra-focused agenda – versus an intro-focused body of the past. While the foundation for my administration will be direct interaction with the student body, my experience working with the administration is what will drive my ability to effectively communicate the concerns between the student population and our university’s leaders.
The reality is that if you want to address student issues you have to be capable of navigating through and working with GW administrators. Over the course of a year, I have connected with administrators such as Provost Lerman, Senior Vice President for Student and Academic Support Services Robert Chernak, Vice President for external relations Lorraine Voles, Associate Vice President Peter Konwerski, and Associate Dean of Students Tim Miller. With each, I have established concrete and valuable working and personal relationships. These leaders have taught me the ins and outs of the GW community, and helped me to develop an understanding of how the administration works. Based on my platform, I know what administrators to contact when addressing student org space, enhancing the Mount Vernon experience, aiding orgs with financial and administrative issues, and even working towards implementing a student org calendar.
The SA President must have a balance of administrative experience as well as an ability to interact with the student body. I have this ability, and I will exercise these connections and my passion, in order to accomplish my goals. This is what separates me from my colleagues. Based on my platform and experience, I believe that I am the best candidate in terms of building a cohesive student body through direct action.
My experience as a Community Building Community leader, Freshman Day of Service leader, Colonial Cabinet member, and an Alternative Breaks leader, have taught me how to interact with different types of people. Through these experiences, I have learned how to mobilize different personalities into a team that works together to achieve mutual goals. It is extremely important as a student body to work as a holistic body in order to achieve the goal of actually addressing student issues. Results, not SA politics, are what truly matter in addressing student issues. Efficiency and direct action will move the SA in the right direction.
My platform focuses on specific direct actions that I would talk to engage the student body. One is a monthly state of the campus article that I would write every month and publish in the Hatchet and Patriot. This article would detail the issues that the SA is working on and informing the student body on the important issues of the day. Podcasting, social media, direct emailing, and attending as many student org events as possible are some of the key avenues though which I will connect with the student body.
One of the biggest problems with the SA is that student leaders from various organizations are allowed to come to SA meetings – to listen and participate, but who does? When frustration with the student government is expressed, our leaders blame the student orgs for not coming to the SA meetings and expressing their frustration. It is a reality that students don’t have incentives to come to SA meetings because they feel meetings are counterintuitive, and they feel ignored – therefore students won’t come to SA meetings, and therein lies a communication gap. With that said, the SA should blame no one other than themselves for an inability to effectively communicate and connect with the student body. It is the duty of the SA leaders to go out to the students: operating out, not in. This is the reason we are elected to these positions in the first place. At the end of the day, the Student Association is here to help promote student life through student orgs and advocate on behalf of the students. In order to make an impact on the community, members of the Student Association should be investing time in attending student org events. Student events are fun and it allows for members of student government to directly understand student issues through personal conversation.
One of the great components of campaigning is the opportunity to meet and speak with so many students and student organizations. But what has always bothered me is that when campaigns are over, our student leaders discontinue those communication links with orgs. These links are at the core of understanding the core issues of the student population, and it is vital to understand and address the needs of the GW student. As SA President, I will meet with new leaders to inform myself as well as student org leaders of what the SA is doing for them, and how we can expand our efforts to aid student orgs.
My belief in continual and effective communication post-election was grounded in gaining knowledge from meeting with groups all over campus. Recently, I was able to meet with Sam, the chapter leader of GW Student Global AIDS Campaign. As Sam explained to me, his organization is the only GW student organization exclusively committed to combating HIV/AIDS. Sam brought to my attention an issue that I was unaware of. In order to get a HIV/AIDS test at GW, which is free in the District of Colombia, you have to pay a $25 fee. This test only takes 20 minutes in total to administer and determine the results. Had this communication never occurred, I would not have know that there were students on campus making a strong effort to advocate for HIV/AIDS testing. With this newfound knowledge on what this org is doing, my administration will focus on eliminating this fee associated with a test that is normally free. This is another great example of one of the many unnecessary fees at GW. This is a health issue and needs to be addressed. If I had not met with Sam I might not have known about this issue. This is a perfect example of how directly meeting with student organizations can help the SA address student issues.
How can the SA bridge the gap between administrators and students when there is a gap between the SA and students? The first step is to make the SA a more efficient body itself. The second step is to follow through on these direct actions in order to interact with the student body. This will create a more cohesive community, which is more effective at addressing student issues. If elected SA President, I want to be held accountable for my promises. The more students advocating for an issue the more likely it will be addressed. Many students working together as one voice will produce the result student’s want.
It has been so interesting to read posts of other candidates both on this page and on other websites. There are quite a few issues that keep coming up over and over again across candidate platforms. I would like to address this campaign season’s hot topics of student space, fees, and SA transparency.
Student Space. This seems to be quite the popular topic this year. Indeed, with the loss of the hippodrome and the fish bowl this past year and the upcoming renovations of the fourth and fifth floor of the Marvin Center, student space is a big deal. This encompasses both student organization office space as well as simply an area for students to do homework, hang out, or meet up. Rather than attempting to take back the fifth floor though, we should focus on making the best of the renovation of the fourth floor to accommodate as many student organizations as possible. The fish bowl is a completely different issue. Located across from the Smith Center and near Funger, the fish bowl is the perfect space for a student-owned business or cafe that students could use to hang out before or after a game or even between classes. A ground level building in such a prime location should not be used for office space, and it is necessary to advocate for the fish bowl to be turned back over to students.
Fees. This past year, the SA did a wonderful job decreasing fees and increasing transparency. I commend the work of John Richardson and Ted Costigan to decrease printing, counseling, and graduation fees this past year. However, fees continue to be an issue discussed by many candidates for the SA. This is partially as a result of rising tuition and housing costs. Tuition is rising by roughly 3.4%, and housing costs also are rising dramatically in the next year. Certainly, this creates tension when on top of these rises, students are expected to pay on top of these costs from study abroad fees to laboratory fees to a voluntary library gift. It is important to toward reducing fees, but also towards increasing university transparency of their decisions.
SA Transparency. Yes, this is a popular topic that has permeated throughout many candidate’s platforms. Unfortunately, many people’s conceptions of the Student Association is the belief that it is closed off and inaccessible to the majority of the student body. Personally, I do not believe that transparency is as large of an issue as many people make it out to be. The SA does make a fair amount of effort to stay transparent. The Senate meetings are open to the public for anyone that would like to attend, and the minutes to each meeting are accessible online to anyone that was not able to make it. Financial allocations were made public and available online this year. On the SA website, there is a feature called G-Voice which allows students to post suggestions, ideas, or concerns directly online for other students to see. Furthermore, the contact information and emails for many students in the SA, including the President and EVP, are listed online. The issue appears to be not necessarily that the SA is not transparent, but rather that students do not realize the information available to them. This rather than SA transparency should be the issue being addressed by candidates.
If I missed anything or if you have a response to my ideas, please feel free to comment below or send me an email at alicia@gwmail.gwu.edu!
If I’m elected as SA Vice President , one of the things I really want to work on is helping small organizations collaborate and achieve more. I believe that in working together, all student organizations but particularly smaller groups, will be able to host more successful programming. By teaming up, organizations will have more members to assist with events and a wider communication network to spread the word about these events and fundraisers. A key reason I feel organizational collaboration is essential is to help combat the lack of funding increase many student organizations experienced this year. With less money to host events, it is harder to design attractive events and spend money on outreach and advertising. In turn, downsized events that reach a narrower audience yield less successful fundraising, since many student organization events have this as a end goal of their programming. In terms of social programming, teaming up is helpful as well because it will allow groups to host more elaborate events through access to more resources and attendees.
In order to oversee these partnerships, I would work to introduce and set-up meetings and communication between executive boards of similarly minded organizations. I also want to work on setting up a digital forum for organization leaders to discuss ideas of fundraisers and social events. I feel that setting up this easy communication space will help organizations communicate regularly and effectively.
Although I know this idea is not entirely new to the GW community: Associate Dean of Students Tim Miller expressed an interest in helping groups work together this fall. I wanted to make this issue one of my platforms because I have friends in many small organizations and I have seen their frustration at trying to host larger events and I feel that working together will benefit everyone. I think it is helpful that this platform coincides with one of the administration’s goals because it will make this cooperation easier to accomplish since I will have the support of the administration. Also I feel that some student groups are already working to host successful, joint events, such as the CR and CD Election and Debate parties. I have also seen SAS, ISA and Satyam work together to host wider-reaching, great events, like the formal I was at a couple weeks ago. I think connecting student organizations to one another is crucial to helping them hold successful events, host valuable fundraisers, and most importantly, work within the organizations’ budgets.
Can’t wait to see everyone at the debate tonight!
Senator Agenda, Day 1: February 24
Focus for Day 1: Start making sure people know their Senator At-Large
I don’t want to do everything I will do next year in the next week, so I’ll leave it at that for now. Most importantly though, I am setting myself up for success, and therefore setting the students up for success. I am letting you know that I am your Senator and I’m here to be of service to GW.
Like I’ve been saying, success is not an option, it’s just what we do. Therefore, I will not wait until next year, next month, or even next week. My work begins February 24.
So don’t gamble on your leaders. With me, you don’t have to guess what I’m going and hope you get a blackjack or a royal flush. It’s laid out, and I am always looking for constructive comments in return when you see room for me to improve. Because let’s face it, we can all benefit from the power of instruction.
Vote Justin Pennish, Senator At-Large, THIS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY!
From posters, to tweets, to manifesto’s, to articles, a series of political “buzzwords” have dominated this past week of campaigning. Experience, outsider, openness, dedication, transparency, and motivation are but a few of the litany of rhetorical elements used to bolster the various candidates’ images and personal records. Among these however, one typical “buzzword” has been visibly lacking – leadership. This glaring omission is very much indicative of the type of campaign which has been run to-date by the various candidates. Yet, the issues that face the SA, and as a result our community as a whole, are far too crucial to be dealt with simply be attacking other candidates rather than proposing lasting solutions. For me, before a change can be made in the SA, a change must be made in the campaign – it’s time for us to choose what’s right for GW, it’s time for us to choose a leader.
We all decided to come to GW for reasons as different as they are vast, but one common thread that joins our community together is the passion for politics that this school is renowned for. Indeed, from Monday-morning classes to Saturday night parties, you are bound to find people discussing the latest political news from around the nation. It’s telling that Mitt, Newt, and Rick are more ubiquitous than Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe. Although our political fascination is profound, I believe that it is having a nefarious effect on the current SA Presidential campaign. The core-essence for political ambition should not be self-glorification; rather it should be a legitimate belief and desire to make our school, our community, and most importantly, our lives better. This is the true essence of leadership. Now it is neither my job nor my place to question the motivations of the candidates for I hope they are all running for the right reasons, however some of their recent publications have caused me to question this. The tit-for-tat arguments, the subliminal mudslinging, the questioning of ability that has occurred this past week is not an accurate representation of what our school is capable of. We do not need a leader who is content in alienating a base of the student population; rather we need a leader who brings everyone together, despite whom or what they believe in.
As Chairman of the International Affairs Society, one of the largest student organizations on campus, I have always held true to my core belief that an organization is only as strong as its members are united. I have constantly strived to better the IAS by making it a more inclusive organization. A prime example of this is my establishment of the Freshman Committee to give all freshmen a voice in the IAS. For me, every individual contribution is valuable. Indeed, a crucial quality for any leader must be to listen to all different opinions. The SA, through its excessive bureaucracy not only fails to listen, but more alarmingly, dissuades people from presenting their ideas or voicing their concerns. This systematic failure is what I have dedicated my campaign to fixing. Who better to address the issues of openness than someone with a proven record of facilitating dialogue between leaders and the constituents? The best leaders are those who listen, and I pledge to you that I will always be attentive to your needs, ideas, and proposal. I am not seeking your vote to fulfill personal ambitions or to seek the influence that comes with the position. I, for one, would not be content with a mediocre SA, I will push not only myself, but the entire organization to perform to the level that our school demands.
The challenges that face our community are indeed vast, but there is no challenge too great, no obstacle too testing, and no issue too broad that cannot be solved by our combined resolve. To address the issues we need someone with a proven record of leadership, not someone who is content with attacking the other candidates and just proposing more of the same policies which brought the SA to it’s current state. That is fundamentally why I have decided to run for SA president. Together, let’s make something happen, and finally make the George Washington University Student Association live up to it’s awesome potential. Vote Jeremy Iloulian for SA President on Feb 22-23!
Hey GW! My name is Ryan Counihan and I’m running for School of Business Senator. I’m not going to bore you with my qualifications; instead, I would like to share a little about myself. I am a sophomore (class of 2014, what up!) in the School of Business concentrating in Marketing, where I am also an FYDP mentor. I just stepped into the Student Association this semester taking the place of a Business School Senator who is studying abroad. Outside of my academic life I am a brother of Beta Theta Pi and an active mountain biker.
I am running because of the reputation of the Student Association and the Senate as a failed body. I am committed to making sure that the voice of the Business School is heard and that WE get proportionate representation that our size demands. Historically, the Business School has been underfunded and underrepresented in the SA and I believe that with my platform WE can change that.
What sets me apart from the other candidates is my unique ability to get things done as soon as I am elected. I am currently serving as a GWSB Senator giving me the ability to familiarize and implement my platform early. I am familiar with the Undergraduate Business School administration and have that rare ability to work alongside them; which is critical to accomplishing OUR goals.
If you are reading this (you made it this far) thank you and I humbly ask for YOUR vote.
Please reach out to us to get involved in the campaign to change GWSB!
Every year we go through the election exercise, usually with a lot of fervor and energy. I have seen it happen three times now and it still baffles me to this day. Posters fly on to walls, palm cards are hurled at your face, and someone knocks on your door as many times as there are candidates. It adds an extra charge to the campus in one of two ways: 1.) in those that are excited it is election season and 2.) in those that enjoy poking fun at the process and the people. I’d like to talk about the election process because I strongly believe it is one of the problems with our government as a whole. I’d like talk to both groups.
To those that are excited. It is encouraging to know that you are excited. It means you have an interest in how these elections will change your life on campus. It means you want to take part and have a voice in what direction this school goes. It means that you wish to be represented as a student, and want to be informed as to whom to support.
To those that are disenfranchised with the process. You may see this as a large popularity contest. You may see it as a spectacle more than a vehicle of change. You may not see the SA as something that can meaningfully impact your life.
To both groups of people, remember that this process is supposed to be, as the fabulous band Boston said, more than a feeling. I’m referring, of course, to the sensationalizing of these elections. For two weeks we work ourselves into a frenzy with endorsements, articles, debates, and a slew of publicity. We build up candidates and show our support. Finally we vote. The general student body lifts up one on top of others and gives that person the right to represent them. Then the sensation fades and we all go back to our normal school lives.
That is where I see the problem of this process. We need to keep that election feeling around. We need to stay informed on what our government is doing. If we don’t continue to stay involved and up to date on what is going on within our school, the exercise of these elections will be just that, an exercise. It will only be a passing fad. This election needs to be more than the sum of its parts. The feelings the elections bring us need to last well beyond the two weeks that they last.
So to the ones that are excited, stay excited. To the ones that are critical, stay critical. We need both types of people. We need those that support initiatives, do the groundwork, and make things happen. We also need those that will keep us in check and hold us accountable. What I’m saying is vote and stay informed. If we can achieve that this election season we will have definitely made our community better as a whole. I may be dreaming, but this should be more than a feeling.
We all have some pretty big dreams. We have some pretty stiff and high demands. We want things done and we want things done in the quickest manner possible. Unfortunately, we may use that as our rallying cry but very few of us have a grasp on the structural limitations of the SA and the GWU administration. In the end, we end up pounding our head against a wall screaming that bloody mantra without a clear idea of how to work around that wall in order to accommodate those demands in the most effective manner possible. In turn, we must make ourselves knowledgeable about what we can and cannot do. Most importantly we need to effectively communicate that with the student body.
Allow me to be one of the first to say it: Cutting the red tape and bulldozing the brick walls of the GWU bureaucracy is admirable and lofty, but it’s not a realistic goal given our relatively short terms in office. I encourage all the candidates to take into account the reality that GWU is an extremely large institution where its multilayered aspect helps it effectively function as a university. But as in any bureaucracy, some parts begin to rot and the clutter leads to inefficiency. Instead of screaming bloody murder at the institution, first take steps to understand how the institution works.
With this knowledge, communicate with the administration, the students, and the student organization leaders to find the parts where the problem persists. Oftentimes, its miscommunication or lack of accessibility to finer points of how the system works that leads to confusion and frustration.
We will not only be the representatives of the students, but we must also be able to work effectively with the various GWU administrative bodies. Our roles are to be voice of the students to the school and vice versa. After meeting with Associate Dean of the ESIA, Dr. Stephenson, I was shocked to discover that the SA had not reached out to the ESIA in any memorable manner to the Dean’s office. If we intend to address student concerns, specifically the school affiliated senators, shouldn’t we first be in contact with the schools that can effectively address their concerns?
Candidates and future elected candidates must keep that closely in mind when they’re working in the SA. It is not simply compiling a list of student grievances and handing it to the school. We have to look at those concerns and armed with the knowledge of how GWU works, inform the students on the feasibility of addressing their concerns and what steps they can take within the system to deal with those concerns.
So I say this: find ways to work within the system by learning more about it (and communicating that knowledge with the student body) and seek out the parts of the institution where disconnect is occurring and fix that. We do not need to overhaul anything; we only need to correct certain parts that aren’t working. It is much more realistic to achieve our goals within our given terms instead of finding ways to dismantle the system in place.
There are two themes I’d like to cover in this post: logic and ethics.
I’ll start with logic.
My opponent makes both false and contradictory claims in his previous response. When discussing a Senator getting their own work done, he says that it is a “basic expectation of being elected, it’s not something I’d need to promise in addition.” However, in the paragraph before, he mentions that there have been Senate meetings where “half the senators haven’t shown up.” Based on these assertions, it seems to me that this expectation apparently does need to be underscored among candidates. If 50% of Senators do not do their work, even the most basic of expectations must be surfaced.
The fact that people are “sick of apathy shown by a lot of the people in the Senate” is the perfect reason to vote for me. In an article I wrote called “Renewing Perspectives, Renewing Optimism,” I outline step-by-step how I will remain accountable and exposed to the student body. With such specific proposals, voters do not have to wonder what I will do or what methods I will take to get there, it’s concrete and therefore real. As of yet, I have not read any specific proposals or actions plans from my opponent regarding the upcoming year.
Likewise, my opponent makes false claims that I “slam on Senior Senators.” In fact, I don’t even mention senior senators in anything I’ve written or spoken. My comments are in direct response to my opponent’s quote: “I have nothing to lose. I’m done with GW after next year.” My comment to this argues that when someone expresses a nothing-to-lose mentality, it sounds dismissive. Word’s don’t lie unfortunately. So when my opponent asserts that I am denouncing senior senators as a whole, that is entirely incorrect. I speak solely of his individual claims and views. I do not judge groups of people, but rather the individual statements and actions of each person alone. If I wanted to slam on Senior Senators, trust me I would have done research first. I am in college after all. These are faulty generalizations.
Now ethics.
My opponent explicitly abandons a great sense of ethical leadership by claiming that the “threat of being publicly identified” for not attending meetings would be encouragement. Like I have said before, the best way to alienate someone and create an enemy is to disclose their low-points to an undergraduate population of nearly ten thousand students. It would be humiliating. If someone did that to me, unless this was a recurring problem and they had talked to me about it beforehand on an individual basis, I would be vey upset and resistant to working together.
In actuality, Senator are accountable to the groups that elect them. As much as both of us would like to think that we have authority over their actions, we do not. The best way to combat inaction is with influence, not authority. If it came to it, I would first speak individually with the Senators, then bring in other Senators to help me if necessary, but I would not resort to such widespread matters. On a broader scale, this would enhance the student body’s distrust of the SA because they would see that we cannot even guarantee mutual respect within the Senate. In any body where compromise is an integral part of its work, we must encourage respect, not authoritative tactics with the sole intention of highlighting somebody’s mistakes.
Though many will not admit to this, I have learned from my experiences that this is unfortunately true: Someone who wants to hold onto what they believe so strongly that it will undoubtedly prevent them from connecting with the student body on an equal level. The fact that my opponent says people may not like how you get things done emphasizes a level of disconnectedness.