1. Please name two accomplishments from the previous two GUSA administrations (combined) that you would like to continue in your administration, and one that you would like to do away with. Explain your answer.
Georgetown Summer Fellows Program:
This initiative started by the Dowd administration has allowed students
who otherwise could not afford student housing over the summer the
opportunity to live and work in Washington. This progressive program
has proven its effectiveness and deserves to be even further developed
and funded which we plan to do if elected.
Events on and off campus
Pat also organized many events both on and off campus, which included
election-related events such as "May The Best Man Win," as well as
off-campus events that allowed students to explore the D.C. area, such
as "Opera in the Outfield". As a way to bring the campus community
closer together, we plan to create and plan more events that optimize
students’ time both at Georgetown and beyond the Hilltop.
Improvement:
Diversity related issues. While this did receive some attention during
the year, we believe it did not get enough notice and deserves to be
explored further in the coming months. While SCU and GUSA have had
their issues, we believe that it’s time to remind everybody about the
macro level goal of SCU’s research: promoting diversity at Georgetown.
Hopefully, we can work to move past the politics between SCU and GUSA to
bring about some much needed diversity awareness here on campus.
2. Have you thought about adding some of your opponents to your cabinet, since they're also individuals who obviously care a lot about serving Georgetown?
We believe that any student who is truly interested in helping better
the students lives both on campus and beyond the Hilltop would be
welcome in our administration, including those who ran against us.
Many of the other candidates have interesting and effective ideas to
help better students’ lives at Georgetown; should we occupy the
executive, we would welcome them to join us in bettering Georgetown.
3. How will you finally get us wireless?
We believe as the more experienced student government members in
dealing with the administration we know the ins and outs of effectively
lobbying for student needs such as wireless on campus. We require no
"on-the-job training" and will be able to hit the ground running as soon
as elected. Wireless is an important issue and one that both Jason and
I have worked on in the past year. We have already spoken with key
administrators of the GU ResLife and Library services and will make this
a top issue next year. After speaking with them we learned it comes
down to is funding and time, and we believe as experienced advocates for
students we will be able to relay the desperate need for more wireless
internet and hopefully expedite the process.
4. SAC recently elected to change its constitution to make its votes secret and let the SAC chair choose his or her successor, as well as every member of the organization. Clubs denied funding by SAC have no method of appeal. Clubs, newspapers and students have been petitioning strongly for reform in the way SAC operates. What steps will you take to make SAC more accountable?
As the more experienced GUSA advocates, we have already worked with SAC
to improve transparency between SAC and the student body. We have a
tentative agreement between SAC and GUSA which will allow for more
transparency and student involvement in choosing SAC commissioners who
ultimately decide the funding. This is a step in the right direction,
but both GUSA and SAC need to work to bring more accountability to SAC.
We don’t expect an instantaneous change, but a gradual move towards a
more elective process seems best for the student body. It's your money
and you deserve to choose who is allocating those funds, not the
administration.
5. What is the most innovative idea/goal in your platform, and how, specifically, do you think you can accomplish it?
The Georgetown Fund: While we would normally suggest intellectual life
and improved relations between students and professors for one of my
main issues, we will substitute a part of our platform which received
less attention in this campaigning period. The executive branch works
under a large budget, and we intend to allocate half of it, along with
other funding, to the Georgetown Fund. Under this plan, we wish to
provide $30,000 to student groups in need of capital. Student
organizations may then apply for money and a GUSA co-sponsorship to host
an event. Considering the already scarce funding available to students,
the Georgetown Fund would provide simple access to much needed money. We
believe GUSA should serve the students, and funding their activities
helps to show this support.
We understand that some students may have other questions or concerns,
and we welcome them as you make your decision. We invite you to check
out our website at www.calenandjason.com There, you will be able to
contact us directly. Thanks and make sure to vote on Wednesday for the
run-off!
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