Like Free Stuff? How About Free Coffee During Finals?

There are a lot of long term, challenging activism proposals floating around out there. Just two days ago, we set out to make a simple and practical change for students during finals: free coffee. This year the Student Association was able to extend study hours in certain locations on campus, but let's take that one step further. The University should provide students with this necessary component during our stressful exam preparation.

Let the GW administration know what YOU think. Sign our petition to Executive SA President Julie Bindelglass and University Librarian Jack A. Siggins.

In a few days our fan page has soared past 50 members and well on our way to 100 members, help us get there! Become a fan today! http://j.mp/coffee4finals

Gelman Library Wasn't a [Major] Campaign Issue

I told myself that I was going to keep quite on all SA related issues for the rest of my time at GW. But, when my friend Ted Costigan asked me to appear on his radio show last night to comment on President-elect Jason Lifton's new promise to make the Gelman Library renovation his top priority, I broke the promise to myself. Wright10 criticized Lifton for this in his blog post, and I too question Lifton's decision to make the library his main initiative.

Having spent the entire month of February researching, brainstorming campaign issues, and prepping Lifton's opponent for the presidential debates, I know that the Gelman Library rennovation was never a major campaign issue. An alcohol amnesty policy was, campus safety was, reducing the rep tape at GW was, but the library wasn't. For that reason alone, I question why it would be his main initiative to this point.

Secondly, the details of how he plans to improve the library are pretty vague. The Hatchet article does mention the following:

Lifton said he plans to work with Ryan Last, founder of the Facebook fan page
"Get Gelman Going," which has gathered 1,163 fans, and the WRLC to explore the
possibility of relocating more books to an off-campus site to make room for more
study space.

However, the article also states that they already ship 20,000 books per year to the off site location. That's nothing new though, and it's not really an improvement that seems worth while.

Lastly, as the article also points out, the main issue with the library rennovation is the lack of funding for the project. It states that only $150,000 of the $5 million needed for the project had been raised in September. The issue is funding. In my opinion, it is not the job of the Student Association President to fundraise.

WRGW News-- a go-to GW news source?

We've discussed The Daily Colonial and The Hatchet, but besides getting critiqued on its election coverage, we haven't really pondered whether or not WRGW News is considered a go-to place for campus news.

Sure, many of us may not be big radio listeners and tune into our campus radio station, but why don't we consider WRGW News like we do The Daily Colonial or The Hatchet?

Their website, in blog form, seems to be updated daily, with maybe the exceptions of weekend posts. (Their last post was this past Friday).

But the real question is: what is WRGW News lacking in its appeal to our need for campus news?

It has almost everything one could ask for: a savvy streamlined website, embedded videos (their latest an interview with Student Association President-Elect Jason Lifton), and a varying range of coverage (latest posts cover everything from metro delays to an opera performance at the Kennedy Center).

So then we must ask why WRGW News hasn't been discussed as a news source; is it because it isn't considered a main player in the game? Or has it just simply been overlooked by this blog's contributors?

Campus Safety Needs to be a Top Priority

Three. That's the number of crime alerts we have received from the University in the last five days. If I were to go through all of my emails from the last month, that number would probably be closer to ten or more.

UPD increased patrols on the west side of campus at the beginning of the month, but crime is still a major issue on this campus. When I was a freshman, we never received multiple crime alerts in the same week, nevermind the continuous flow of monthly emails that we get now.

UPD and University administrators need to find a more effective way to address this problem and make it one of their top priorities. In every crime alert email, students are urged to take 4-Ride to avoid thefts. If that is the solution that the University has, it should be working towards an increase in the 4-Ride budget to ensure shorter waits times and more effective service of the system. They should also look into rerouting the Colonial shuttle routes to more central locations on campus. This could be a great supplement to 4-Ride but the shuttle system is not well utilized.

The easiest way to put pressure on the University to address this issue is to advocate loudly on behalf of the student body. Towards that end, this should be one of the top priorities for SA President-elect Jason Lifton and his administration. Time will tell if he can deliver on his campaign promises, but let's start with the issue of campus safety.

In the mean time, we could try submitting a number of 4-Ride feedback forms to get UPD's attention. Click here to find the form.

Apathetic

As someone who is graduating in May, I do not know what to think of GW anymore, nothing the administration does surprises me. Changes to J Street, I live off campus and have not eaten on a GWorld card in two years; mandatory spending, just deal with it since there is nothing you are going to do about the contract; lack of study space, just find somewhere else to work; and the list goes on.

Maybe what Rice Hall is trying to do is teach all the students that despite your tuition and fees, and other GW related expenses coming close to a quarter million dollars for a four year GW career, it does not matter how much you complain because you, the student, need to be more self-sufficient and solve the problems on your own. If this means using your mandatory spending at J Street it might just mean that you need to get a lot of water bottles or other snacks to meet the minimum if you do not want to eat from the vendor they chose to install.

Many students choose to get involved in student organizations, some get really involved n the SA, the group which has been so often described as a group of students pretending to play government. In the end all they do is sit there and pass non-binding resolutions and get some articles in the Hatchet (which I do not read) and posts on this blog, are they really speaking for the students when they are kept by university leaders from exercising any real authority.

Student Organizations have trouble getting space to hold meetings and events, instead of complain about the lack of space or the cost to use what is available groups should look for alternatives outside of GW whose space you can use, or whose groups you can join. Organizations need to follow a long list of regulations in order to operate as an official student organization. Since my Freshman year, I have been involved in off campus organizations and have found the experiences I gain from those activities and what I learn from the people there to be better in many cases than the GW student organizations to which I belong.

As for me, I am just apathetic by now, there is nothing I care about that much. I graduate in May, am on my way out the door, and for all the underclassman who are bothered by the poor food selections, lack of study space, or unjust student organization funding, just wait it out, because despite the high price tag this is only four years and you will survive the latest “GW injustice” which you are forced to suffer.

Photo Credit 1
Photo Credit 2

The Non-Binding Decision Makers

Last Wednesday, the GW Student Association introduced a bill that would provide support for gender-neutral housing on campus. Gender neutral housing is probably something that our school should provide for the small minority fo students that don't wish to classify themselves by a certain gender. The problem with this bill, and with the Student Association as a whole, lies when The Hatchet describes the bill in the opening paragraph of the article:

2010 Equal Housing Opportunity Act - a nonbinding resolution that would pledge support for a gender-neutral housing option for students living on campus.

A non-binding resolution. The George Washington University Student Association is spending their time working on non-binding resolutions. Instead of working on getting us more space to study or meet as student organizations, instead of working to resolve inefficiency issues with 4-Ride, or with advising, or with all of the other red tape that restricts people from doing things at GW, they have chosen grandstanding at its very worst. If someone really wished to get a policy change on this issue, they would have a meeting with the administration. If the administration was willing to listen, they would make a change. If not, a non-binding resolution is not even close to being the right way to make that change happen.
To make this inefficiency worse: The SA voted to table to the bill last week.
The Student Association needs to be working on our behalf to make changes that affect all of us, instead of wasting time on a "non-binding resolution" that has no impact and was only pursued in the first place because they take themselves too seriously and have lost sight of what it is the large majority of the students at GW actually want.
Like I said before, gender-neutral housing would be a step forward for the University. I just wish the Student Association would work hard to get things done behind the scenes, and use their meeting time to actually fight for things that they actually have the power to accomplish. Oh yeah, and when you start using terms like "non-binding resolution" and "tabling the bill" tell you that you're taking yourselves too seriously, and probably aren't getting anything of significance done.

Tell the SA to update its website

The 2008-2009 Student Association senate term is over. It has been over for more than a week at this point. Yet the website, which isn't very user friendly to begin with, has yet to be updated. If the newly elected SA is really committed to changing its image in the upcoming year and being "transparent" they should start with something as simple, as allowing students to see who their representatives are. 

According to the SA Constitution, Senators

"shall serve a regular term commencing on the day preceding the first day of the spring semester reading week in the Columbian School of Arts and Sciences."

The first day of reading week this semester was May 1st. 

In addition, the JEC website does not give a list of election results. The site instructs users to go to the "candidate info" page, which then links you to the "certified election results" which then links you to a page that has no information. 

It isn't hard to do and as student representatives, it is their duty. Why can't the SA get its act together??

Get the SMPA a seat in the SA Senate - A strive towards equal representation

It is time that the School of Media and Public Affairs gets its much-deserved seat in the Student Association Senate. For too long SMPA students have been without a representative to voice their distinct and differentiated needs to our SA legislative body. This is not another example of SA politics, but rather, a strive towards equal representation for all facets of our University. For too long our fellow peers in the Columbian College of Art and Science have drowned out students' voices in the SMPA. As students who are part of a distinct school within GW and are heavily outnumbered by the rest of the Columbian school, we need a representative who will look out for our specific needs. 

Please fill out this petition, or join the facebook group to voice your desire for equal representation. 

The SA is an organization that does not welcome change. However, the elected officials of the SA senate are reasonable and well-intentioned students who place the well being of the University high of each of his or her priority list. We need to reach out to those Senators and talk through our issues and come to an amicable conclusion. There is no justifiable reason why SMPA should not be granted its own seat. 

According to the Student Association Constitution,

"Any degree-granting school created or redesignated by Act of the Board of trustees shall be guaranteed representation in the Senate according to the provisions of subsection A of this Section" (Article 1, Section 2, Subsection B).

SMPA offers specified degrees in Political Communication and Journalism & Mass Communication, which are not available in any other section of the University. Although Poli Comm and JMC students receive diplomas that are from the Columbian College of Art and Science, it does not eliminate the SMPA's status as a "degree-granting" school. Students were required to apply specifically into SMPA and take courses offered only for SMPA majors. This, as well as its name, the School of Media and Public Affairs (versus, for example, the Department of Psychology) states clearly that the SMPA should be entitled to its own seat. 

In addition, according to the SA's apportionment model, the SMPA fits the criteria for its own seat. According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning at GW, in the fall of 2008, there were 291 SMPA students. The SA constitution states "One (1) Senator for one (1) to one thousand (1,000) students officially registered therein" (Article 1, Section 2, Subsection A, Part 1)

It is time to engage in a discussion with the SA. We are not here to yell and scream at the people who dedicate much of their time to our University. We are here to sit down, diplomatically, and lay out our argument. As stated in our First Amendment rights, we are free to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances" and this will be our first step in reaching our final goal. 

For the record...

For the record books, poll results below. By the way, anyone see this kinda amazing quote from the JEC Counsel?

"Nowhere in the rules or charter is there an allowance, even for honest mistakes."

New poll question is up.

Breaking: Kyle Boyer to Challenge JEC Decision

In an e-mail message to campaign supporters forwarded to the GWBlogspot Kyle Boyer: said:

YES I am going to challenge the decision. Too many people have volunteered their time, changed their profile pics, etc. for me to not finish this race. As soon as we can, we will file with the Student Court, and hopefully begin the process of reversing the JEC and finishing this election.

As of now elections are slated for the end of March. However, when Boyer does file suit, there is a chance he could postpone the election further.

Breaking: Kyle Boyer off the Ballot

At a special election meeting tonight, the JEC found SA presidential candidate Kyle Boyer guilty of 5 violations.

Three were for overspending, one was for not reporting the use of a car, and one was for not reporting buying facebook ads.

Kyle therefore has a total of 8 violations, and was kicked off the ballot.

During the middle of the JEC announcement in Columbian Sqaure, Kyle got up from his seat and left the area.

Kyle does have the option to file an appeal in SA court.

Great job, GWBlogspot team! w00t!

Over 200 people watched it live on GWBlogspot...

People viewed it in the US, Spain, Canada, Germany, Austria, Venezuela, and other countries around the globe (seriously!)...

Students chose the questions, not just before the event but in a liveblog DURING the event...

What was it? The historic GWBlogspot SA presidential run-off debate, streamed live tonight!

Watch the number of viewers grow...


And grow...


And grow...

It's obvious that word kept spreading and spreading throughout the hour-long debate. Over 200 people watched in all -- as many as 73 or so at any given time. Pretty friggin' awesome.

And there was vibrant chatter at the liveblog (which you can still check out). Many questions asked during the debate came from students' comments in the liveblog -- the essence of bottom-up democracy. Plus, there were some great cameo questions from the Colonialist and GW Ballroom Society.

Props to Neha (the super-duper moderator), Farhan (the stealthy director), Evan (the timekeeper), Nick and Stephen (the liveblog vetters), Lucy/Daniel/Paige (who liveblogged and promoted the debate), Andrew (poster designer), Katelyn (debate announcer and question gatherer), and Owen (logo designer).

I do believe this is the most historic moment in GWBlogspot's history (and heck, in GWU's online history) since January 28, 2008:

SA Runoff Candidate Debate

Free video streaming by Ustream

Runoff candidates to face off here on GWblogspot! Submit your questions today!

Get Excited Everyone!

GWBlogspot will host a live streaming-video debate between the last SA Presidential candidates standing on Monday at 9 p.m. This will likely be the only debate of the run-off.

Don't miss your final opportunity to vet these candidates. This is a chance to ask questions that were not discussed before the elections last week, and we need your help deciding what to ask.

In the last SA debate on GWBlogspot, you chose fiscal responsibility and accountability as some of the top topics, and candidates wrote detailed answers to your questions.

For Monday's live video debate, we want to know what other pressing issues you feel should be addressed before one of these top candidates is elected President.

Please post your questions on the blog and join us on Monday night for this exciting opportunity. (To sign up for an email reminder before the debate, click here.)

SA/PB/MCGB Voting Starts Today

This years elections are taking place from today and tomorrow.

You can vote online at My GWU or Portal (law students) from February 25th at 9:00 AM to February 26th at 9:00 PM.

The Candidates:

There are currently no candidates for ESIA-G,SPHHS-U, SPHHS-G, SMHS-G, and MCGB-G. If you have student-government aspirations, you can be elected as a write-in candidate.

Presidential and EVP candidates need to obtain more than 40 percent of the vote, otherwise there is a runoff election on March 11th and 12th.

Have thoughts on the elections? Voice them in the comment section!

Liveblogging the 2009 Hatchet Debate

Farhan and I are live blogging the 2009 Hatchet Debate. Feel free to join us in Jack Morton or via liveblog! Just press the arrow below to watch and chime in!

Can We Trust You With Our Money?

In our previous post that called for questions for SA candidates, some students were wondering why some organizations received a significant drop in funding while the SA spent large amounts of money on programming events like the Unity Ball.

Nick Fabiani wrote about what he called "flagrant abuses by the Aswani administration concerning financial matters" and identified the Unity Ball as one, while reader Elana pointed to how this year's SA "cut serious funding to a large majority of student organizations in an unprecedented manner," including an over-50% cut for her own GW Ballroom organization. Reader Omar also asked, "how can you regain our trust and confidence in such an important position?"

SA candidates: Is financially supporting events like Unity Ball, while cutting funding for student groups, a responsible use of student money? If yes, please explain to groups like GW Ballroom why slashing their budget by over 50% was good decision-making. If no, please explain to Aswani why his decision to fund the Unity Ball was bad decision-making.

Props to Nicole Capp

I just want to take a moment to give props to Nicole Capp from the Student Association.

Nicole recognized the great opportunity students have to get answers to questions about GW Housing -- when GWblogspot.com conducts a first-of-its-kind YouTube interview with GW Housing Director Seth Weinshel. She (with the help of
"Jaime") put GWblogspot.com on the front page of the SA website -- encouraging students to go to our site and type the questions they want asked to Seth.

After a long (and from what I can tell, successful) year as SA President, with SA transition less than 3 weeks away, it would be forgivable if an SA President were busy packing up boxes and writing up exit memos to her successor -- to the detriment of hyper-responsiveness. But that didn't happen.

On this blog, we've seen that opinions of the SA can be mixed -- and there's indeed plenty to critique with many GW institutions (EMeRG, The Hatchet, iHousing, The Hatchet, study abroad, The Hatchet - to name a few). And frankly, it can be a lot more fun to vent than to praise. But I did want to take a moment to say kudos for a job well done.

(Oh, and Rob Lockwood - we're watching you! You better live up to the high hopes that the bloggers of GWblogspot.com have in you to do good things in office!)

Unfolding debate about news judgement

There's an interesting debate going on over at The GW Patriot about whether or not The Hatchet is sitting on a story about a (former?) SA member getting arrested for allegedly hitting an officer and/or a member of Phi Psi. I have absolutely no information about the incident, nor do I know exactly how The Hatchet determines what is newsworthy and appropriate to print, but it could be an interesting case study in the differences/limitations of both blogs and print media.

Aswani on the Tower Records CVS Plan: "I do support seeing a CVS there"

As part of The Hatchet's coverage of the decision to make the old Tower Records space into Foggy Bottom's tenth CVS, newly-elected SA President Vishal Aswani, when asked about his thoughts on the matter, told the paper:

"I do support seeing a CVS there just because as a GWorld vendor - as a partner in the GWorld program - it's just a significant opportunity for students to use their Colonial Cash there at a resource that is kind of multi-purpose," Aswani said.

He added that this CVS would be more convenient than other locations in the area because of its proximity to GW's non-undergraduate population, including law school students and the Marvin Center staff.

"What's going to be a great thing about having that CVS there, because it's a GWorld partner, it will help educate the graduate school population on the advantages of using GWorld," Aswani said.

While I recognize that Aswani represents all students, including law school students, and while I think he is right for praising the GWorld-friendliness of the new store, he fails to address the following:

A) There are two GWorld-accepting CVSs within three blocks of the law school - at 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, and at 1900 K St.

As a visual, here are directions from the Law School (2000 H St. NW) to those CVSs:


View Larger Map



View Larger Map

B) The CVS aside, Aswani makes no mention of the fact that GW administrators bascially dismissed GW students in their comments on the matter:

"Will we actively seek input from the student body? No. Are there mechanisms for student input? Yes." [University Spokesperson Tracy] Schario said." ("CVS may occupy vacant space in Shops at 2000 Penn," The Hatchet, January 28, 2008)

"University spokesperson Tracy Schario said Monday that the CVS would benefit both the campus and the businesses housed in 2000 Penn.

'I think you have to look at the context of that particular space,' Schario said. 'It's in an office building, and while it's in a GW-owned building and in a campus environment, it's a heavy mix of business customers first and students second.'" ("CVS to open in 2000 Penn.," The Hatchet, March 27, 2008)

While it may be too late to do anything about this issue, I am hopeful that in the future Aswani will recognize that in some cases, standing up for students means standing up to administrators.

In the meantime, all those opposed to the construction of another CVS in Foggy Bottom can join the "We Don't Need Another CVS!!!" Facebook group.