Matthew Brennan (SFS ‘03)/Sean Hawks (CAS ‘04)
Brennan: so we bring a very good mindset to GUSA leadership. two viewpoints-I am a finance side, and Sean has a lot of GUSA experience. we have clear goals to achieve in the next year; if you look at our platform, its all things that can happen. also, we want to make college fun again. people get wrapped up in pre-professional, they forget what college is about. apple cider in RS in the fall, lemonade, music out there. Club union-I think its a very important tool to get GUSA to see what students are doing. unfortunately, all that happens now is the club leaders talk at GUSA.
club funding-two things I think needs to happen. lump-sum funding and rollover accounts. so if we ask for funding for 10 events for the next year. rollover-if we don’t spend $$ one year, we hold on to it for future years. a test trade-old tests professors aren’t giving anymore, get students to trade ‘em. Copying/printing-should be free. Housing—one of our best parts. an issue that will never go away. we propose to give students free legal service. there are lawyers in DC who have to do pro bono work. if we could get students in contact with them, students could get legal protection.
homecoming-I think this should be a more important event to bring students and alumni together. block party-I think we can do this. most people don’t have any idea foundation. but that isn’t directly in our platform. Once again our main point is to make it college again. lets make GUSA fun so students can enjoy their time at Georgetown.
VOICE: you are in school of Foreign Service?
Brennan: yes. Sean is a junior in the college.
VOICE: I’m curious about some of your initiatives, where do you see the money coming from for the free printing?
Brennan: I see the money for printing coming from the university.
VOICE: I have two questions. first, you said you were on the Yard last year, what affiliation do you have this year? second, is lump sum funding and roll over new?
Brennan: I resigned from the Yard at the end of last year, it was out of control, we did the constitutional initiative and it was a waste of time. I support the principles of the yard like I did last year, but I don’t support a lot of their funding ideas. Martha Swanson and I discussed a lot of my funding ideas, and they are very feasible. a lot of times they don’t want to use lump sum funding because of paperwork. if club leaders don’t use their money well, they will have to answer to their club members, where did our money go?
VOICE: I’ve never seen the club union used effectively. what do you propose?
Brennan: flyers are too cluttered. we need to send out an email because students always check their email. I think it needs to be used as a counter on SAC as well. it hasn’t worked because it was more of “here’s what GUSA’s doing”. The club union should be addressing us so they can tell us what they need from us.
VOICE: free lawyer service…have you talked to anyone about this
Brennan: have talked to people off campus and they said they would do it. plus the pro bono lawyers of dc have to do it.
VOICE: do you see yourself working with the office of off campus affairs. it is there responsibilities…plus, how do you have relationships with administrators
Brennan: I have a relationship with Mary K and Martha. we need cooperation, but cooperation to an extent. they are here to serve us. you need to take a stand on something.
VOICE: test vault. LSE has that how would you go about doing that? who would you go to
Brennan: go to the biggest classes first. go to the academic council and go to the departments.
VOICE: have you talked to those…couldn’t hear
Brennan: activity fee is going up, with the money coming in, we need to find a way to use it. if it is something students need, we need to use it. the money’s sitting out there.
VOICE: why do you disagree with the yard funding?
Brennan: the problem with the yard funding—-direct funding is a problem-the small clubs that have ten members how are they going to run? numbers-the direct fund is 50%. 25% is going to be left over. the money is just not going to be there. what they are banking on is the students not allocating enough money. plus, it is split up between travel fund and lecture fund-it already takes up more of a percentage of that.
VOICE: why did it change?
Brennan: I don’t know why it changed? Martha wouldn’t give me an answer. I think it was a while back. also, it takes autonomy away form the administrators?
VOICE: take a look at what GUSA has done so far this year, do you agree, campus ministries, resource center
Brennan: : 9-11 thing good. affirmative action was good. need to have the whole body educated. they need to be educated about the center…in favor of the center. people need to understand the point of it. I have heard a lot of resolutions, but I haven’t seen a lot coming back.
VOICE: are you a member of the stewards?
Brennan: yes
VOICE: the resource center talk lasted for months and then the answer came that we expected, is there an answer from GUSA?
Brennan: yes if I think it’s something right and the students think it’s right. a resolution doesn’t say anything, the point is that you have to get the students’ point across. you have to lead by example, people allocate the money and get the hell of out of the office. if you have good leaders you get things done.
VOICE: (vice-pres candidate arrives) …for the President’s search committee, the Provost had three students for student input.
Hawks: the presidential search committee was really quiet, but the student couldn’t tell us what was going on. they should open up the process. she couldn’t tell us the candidates, their stance.
VOICE: an issue we’ve been talking about is the administration spending money and the tuition hike, they haven’t told us where the money is going to, what about disclosure.
Brennan: they have to, we don’t know where the money is going to. when Gonzalez cut off 10% what happened to the money, from the budget. we have a right to know.
VOICE: do you have any measurable ways to make sure that GUSA is heard with the administration.
Brennan: one word is respect, I was talking to a dean, and the person told me that the difference between the Yard and GUSA is that the Yard gets respect.
Hawks: lump sum funding is really important, free up the money, hand it over, let clubs make their own decisions.
VOICE: with SAC again, this was an issue a few years back. a few guys thought that student programs were a waste of money, could you justify why they should exist and what they do.
Brennan: I’ll be honest, Martha does an excellent job, and she sits with SAC and is quiet most of the time. I don’t know why there are someone people in the office, two people could run it. Wisconsin is run by two people, you can take the paperwork out. Mary k works with GPB. I see them in the office and I don’t know what they are doing.
Hawks: they administer a lot of degrees in leadership.
VOICE: I asked that because what concerns me too well is if you are going to be able to challenge this.
Brennan: Martha and I have yelling matches, if you’re at a SAC meeting, we’re not best friends. my opinion is that administrators are not my friends, Martha is my only friend because I sit with her every single year. she respects my opinion and I respect hers to a point. if they’re not serving students and being wasteful, then what is the goal?
Hawks: matt Brennan will really speak his mind and keep the professionalism. I worked with a professor in dealing with distribution and allocation, I thought that this was over…the way they did it was pretty bad. as long as we respect them as people, I’m not talking about abolishing anyone’s job to their face.
VOICE: you wanted to get rid of GUSA with the Yard , now you’re running for GUSA, what is going on?
Brennan: I can’t reform the Yard into GUSA, it’s not my choice. I’ll work with that system. I’m running for GUSA because I’m tired of complaining about things, I’m want to do something. I’m not going in and putting the Yard in place. I wouldn’t do that.
VOICE: lump sum, does that accomplish the goals you had with the Yard?
Brennan: I think so, there are some good things we can accomplish, reform was being discussed before the Yard even came out last year.
VOICE: The principles of the Yard without the Yard? Will you vote yet or nay with the current proposition?
Brennan: I haven’t made a decision yet, to be honest, I need to look at their transitory clauses, to see what issues exist, and I’m leaning towards yes …
Hawks: I’m not sure what Brennan gave stress to, but what makes us different from other campaigns, but we have strong, original ideas, and I want to stress making college again. We want to make it fun, not preprofessional, just slip and slide and cider and doughnuts and fun, lots of people on antidepressants and I think this beings positive feelings back to campus, makes people smile when they walk through red square, we can do something cool instead of buying pens and notepads, we’re not about reforming bylaws and constitutions, we’re about the fun parts.
VOICE: I’m confused, could you walk me through the whole transitory clause thing …
Brennan: The issue is how do we amend the constitution, I don’t want the 25%, 50% … the yard council is a great idea, the thing is reform
VOICE: but you wouldn’t vote for it with the 25%?
Brennan: Yes, I would, but reform it if there was a problem?
VOICE: Sophomores asked not to apply for off-campus, the thing is the great demand, and how do you resolve that? I mean, it’s helpful to offer help to those who have housing, but how to get people housing who don’t have it
Hawks: The legal help is to help keep students from outbidding each other and driving prices up, to get protection, there’s X number of houses and Y number of students
Brennan: I don’t have housing
VOICE: What’s your position on the yard?
Hawks: I think he could have picked a better running mate if he was a one-issue candidate … we’ve had a lot of heated discussions, I need to re-look at the document, I think it has some strong points, and it masses the little power we have with clubs working towards the same end, I think it’s worth a shot.
VOICE: Yard … you joined then resigned because of the finance thing?
Brennan: I resigned last year because of time commitment, I think the funding is a BIG aspect, but I think the format is ideal, the people coming together
Adi Kumar (CAS ‘03) /Rob Hutton (SFS ‘04)
Hutton: (VP, sophomore): the reason I run is that friends tell me that issues they care about go unappreciated. I’m relatively accessible, recognizable. I can take that into office—I will be accessible to students. One of my friends said that while everyone doesn’t fit in, everyone belongs. I want that to be true President
Kumar (junior) (transferred here from Rutgers) One of nine student senators. came to Georgetown and found GUSA hard to get into. instead, taught high school course in human rights and interned with teddy k in senate. on campus, did work with habitat. I’m becoming more acquainted with Georgetown. very good time to run for GUSA office. Why I run with Rob: we’re incredibly different people. we’re able to complement ourselves. we challenge each other’s ideas. On housing: revamp database of off campus housing. contact tenant feature – put information on website and publicize landlord information. second, housing forms – supposed to help students find off campus housing. third, support campaign Georgetown and ANC candidates. also want to support admin legal endeavors, including defending privacy rights (license plates?) Academic: no university-wide requirement regarding teacher evaluations. want to require evaluations and to specify how the evaluations are conducted. too often, they hand out 3 minutes before class ends. that doesn’t encourage student input. second, a non-binding sample syllabi for courses. help students figure out which courses they are going to take. course descriptions are not enough. syllabi would focus on writing or reading intensive, many exams? Performing arts: particularly relevant issue, since new south is opening up and DeGioia seems to be hesitating to give that to students. on the specifics: GUSA should help organize centralized location where groups can get equipment. Club sports: we want club sports to get more clout. not in good position when it comes to field space. do not have authority to request that community exit school fields so they can practice. also, want club sports to work more closely with athletic dept, so clubs know when they can practice. funding: order materials en masse, so we can bargain more effectively. Off campus: use mesa to get dc government to lift sales taxes on textbooks. Campus life: first, sac fair to go online. second, a second-semester sac fair.
VOICE: leadership positions at the university? dealing with administrators?
Hutton: I’ve had some experience. Dean Gallucci. InterHall freshman year – sat in on GUSA meetings
Kumar: not much experience at Georgetown, but I was involved at Rutgers. the senate there was very bureaucratic – a lot of talking, a lot of paperwork. nothing really Georgetown specific
Hutton: I feel like my conversations with officials (Gonzalez, Gallucci) addressing campus issues and suggesting what I think the student position is I believe has accomplished a great deal.
VOICE: platform is kind of a list of small things to change – if you could sum up in one sentence why you should be elected.
Kumar: we want to focus on issues that make a difference in student life at
Georgetown as well as be more accessible to students at Georgetown.
Hutton: I am not the stereotypical Georgetown university student, but I feel as though I represent more issues than would be represented by the stereotypical does; I bring a fresh perspective that would lead to the facilitation and change to make everyone at Georgetown more highly represented. I’d like to make sure everyone belongs.
Kumar: I think rob is one of the most in touch people at this university – whether that’s going to the basketball game and being the fan of the game or being on the gospel choir – he has a handle on what it’s like to be at the university.
VOICE: can you assess how GUSA has done this year?
Kumar: 9/11 – GUSA has done a good job – sponsored a lot of talks, interfaith prayer services – had a lot of non-traditional ways of helping students cope. did a good job of backing student activities as
GLBT – fully support GUSA’s stance on the resource center – I full support the center – something I’d like to see happen. I realize GUSA’s limitations because this is an administrative issues, but GUSA can express its support and desire to work with the administration. I think the res. center is a timely issues, especially given student space opening up. balance with catholic identity and our first lay president – there are issues to be looked at, but we still support it. affirmative action – support Ryan’s first veto. the reasons Ryan gave are the exact reasons that I would have too – not enough student input, moved to quickly to force the university to support affirmative action unconditionally in the future. the university is admitting a pool of candidates that is diverse and representative of all of those applications – good job of reaching out to student body and encouraging assembly to rewrite the resolution.
VOICE: Is either of you stewards?
Hutton/Kumar: nope.
VOICE: you mentioned privacy. re: the BZA, what role can GUSA play?
Kumar: I don’t know where the lawsuit stands. as far as GUSA, I think it is out of GUSA’s hands. we definitely support the administration’s legal endeavors.
Hutton: it is my understanding that the U currently has three lawyers working
on this. according to Dean Gallucci they are very confident that they will be able to support students on this. we would not like to see student information given out that is not unduly asked for.
VOICE: when a paper resolution is brought to you, will you require that there is X amount of input from students? also, what do you think GUSA has done besides pass a resolution regarding the resource center?
Kumar: regards student info, I think you have to break it up. in regards to the affirmative action case in Michigan, it doesn’t affect GU student’s lives. when you’re providing an opinion on an issue like that, it’s very important to make sure that you are representing students. regarding the resource center, this is a case of students fighting an administration’s biases. we are very liberal, and we will take a stance on it. I think if GUSA has to take a stance on an issue, there is a certain amount of discretion left up to the biases of those in office—the assembly and the execs. issues come up during the year which the admin will have to take a stance on. hopefully, the students elect people they can trust to take the stance they want. I don’t want to say that student info isn’t necessary, because feeling out what the students believe is right is very important.
VOICE: can I get your feelings on the Yard proposal?
Kumar: there is a lot that has to be said. I definitely support the yard’s effort to have a referendum on the ballot. specifically, it is not something that I would support. I would not vote for it. let me outline the reasons. regarding funding decisions—I think the yard would significantly degrade student life at Georgetown. I think a lot of money would go to, say, Hoya Blue, while very little goes to maybe GUTV. This will hurt small organizations. we don’t think it is good for student life at Georgetown. it will turn the first part of first semester into a mad fundraising race. the amount of solicitation will be unimaginable when student organizations realize that students direct the funds.
Hutton: yes, I support a referendum and a discussion. I personally do not support the yard for the mentioned funding reasons. a friend of mine started the Georgetown beach club. he started it so he could play a boom box in red square. they have over 100 members and no dues. students come in, they say, wow, that’s great. then students allocate funds to them. allocating funds like that will not be in the best interests of Georgetown students. some clubs require a lot of money to accomplish any reasonable tasks. this goes further—including all club heads in discussion brings in too many people from ridiculous groups.
Kumar: this is not something that will allow student groups to flourish at Georgetown.
Hutton: the end of taxation on textbooks has occurred in my home state of Utah. ended taxation on textbooks, and in New Jersey on food. the public universities met and decided to end taxation, the private universities joined, and they lobbied the state legislation. within three days they decided to abolish taxation on textbooks at a statewide level. since Utah has about the same number of people as DC, I think this is very feasible, especially since
Kumar: I think this is very feasible. I’m excited about the lobbying part. I started the lobbying organization at Rutgers. we think it’s an issue that will affect DC students positively.
Hutton: second semester of my freshman year, I paid 60 dollars on taxes on textbooks. because that money meant so much to me, I wonder how that effects the student who truly struggles to pay tuition. it could mean that they can’t go home.
Hutton: if you look at our fourth part under performing arts…currently if a performing group on campus wishes to have audiovisual equipment, they must go and borrow them from student organizations like GUTV. this prevents them from having quality programming. at GUTV, its close to policy that they have to give things out to people or its stifling other performing arts groups on campus. when it’s borrowed, GUTV doesn’t have the equipment and has to find a way to put on programming without it. specifically regarding WGTB 92.3am…there is no capability to broadcast on that signal. the estimates are 1500 dollars and it wouldn’t be that much more to put out an fm signal with limited range, we’d like to see that happen. performing groups could be heard over the radio instead of having performances that are under publicized or don’t have enough room.
Kumar: clubs and groups that don’t have a lot of money could advertise. it would cut down on litter and allow more people to advertise. this is something that you can’t see the effects of now but would really effect life on campus.
VOICE: the yard. on the small club argument it would enhance the life of students. can students not decide what enhances their own lives?
Kumar: certain clubs that need certain needs need more money to be effect and we don’t think student interest is the most important reason why clubs should or should not get more funding. it is a good theory and good on paper, but you will be a drastic reorganization of student clubs that would degrade the life on campus.
Hutton: an aspect of the yards funding is that students are only allowed to vote for 10 clubs. there are more than ten clubs that have effected my life at Georgetown.
VOICE: for a club to be under funded, either students don’t care, or there is interest but not enough information about the club
Kumar: it also could be a “tragedy of commons”? issue. some students may feel that just others will vote for it. for example, I love the VOICE, but I’m not sure that I world put the VOICE in the ten clubs that I would choose.
VOICE: what about the reserve fund?
Kumar: I do not think this is sufficient.
Hutton: for students interested in beach and beach activities…a lot of members with a small funds. if more money goes to these types of clubs and not to maybe smaller clubs that do affect the campus. n the current status, money is given by need.
Kumar: there is not going to be perfect information. you can have as much as you want find it very hard for students
will: they do not own the rights to fm space. it is not going to happen. the bandwidth here is filled up.
VOICE: misinformation thank you for clearing it up.
Robert Wingate (MSB ‘03)/Vinoda Basnayake (MSB ‘03)
Wingate-Robinson: we want involvement and diversity.
Basnayake: one of our big things is the diversity of thought. when we say that there are viewpoints and ideas that are often not heard by the population at large. there are voices that we feel should be heard. we have the same amount of kids getting their Voices heard and that’s only 20% of the students voting, we want to know how to help them, what we can do.
Wingate-Robinson: we sat down and figured out who is not heard on campus. we figured out the best way to do that is to walk up and talking to the students, asking them to come and contribute to the staff. a lot of people came and told us they felt GUSA was a joke, we got a lot of feedback. we went to a lot of groups, MSA, GU Pride, Mecha, we wanted to be representative of all these student groups. we wanted to let them know we would pay attention to their concerns.
Basnayake: a lot of these groups have people working in our campaign. take for example is GU Pride, one of their concerns is the resource center, and all minority groups have a sort of resource centers. all GU Pride wanted is some system of support, which was denied by the hierarchy, if they got support from GUSA they would more easily accomplished their ends. another group is the underprivileged students at Georgetown, because you’re poor if you have the last selection when it comes to picking classes because of a block, if you can’t afford to pay you have to take the classes that no one wants to take.
Wingate-Robinson: if we get in office, these things are already in motion, why are relationships so bad with the people who live off-campus? we’re trying to bring in together through common needs all the different groups on campus. what do the Knights of Columbus and GU Pride have in common? well the financial aspect is a commonality since SAC tells them how to spend their money.
VOICE: let’s start the questions. what sort of proposal do you have for getting students involved? going door to door?
Basnayake: a lot of minority groups have a lot of representation and we want them to get out to the Georgetown community at large. we’re going to work on a diversity committee to address these issues, and our campaign staff is in touch with so many members of these communities that their voices are heard with them.
Wingate-Robinson: about this panel, it will meet once a month, it can incorporate such diverse groups as minority and business groups. we’ll make the meetings open to the general public.
VOICE: feelings on the Yard.
Basnayake: there is a lack of information pertaining to the Yard. I feel students have a right to represent themselves, in theory it’s great, but looking at the history of the Yard, I have a lot of questions. you have presidents of different clubs electing the leaders. in the Yard history they had one minority member and an Asian vice-president. there was a lack of representation from the whole community. having a selective number of electors there is a risk there.
VOICE: could you assess GUSA’s effect over the past year.
Wingate-Robinson: the things they do have been pretty good, but their ability to inform the general population has not been up to par. a lot of friends don’t know what’s going on. when DuBose vetoed the affirmative action resolution, we didn’t know it had happened. they failed to inform the students.
VOICE: being outsiders what strengths do you have as candidates.
Basnayake: I’m vice president of the south Asian society, rob is the captain of the track team. it’s not the views of two people, it’s a platform of ideas we have to deal with when addressing different issues. it’s a club we’ve never been members of. the only time I went out to vote for GUSA was when Tawan Davis walked up to me and told me about his platform. with GUSA comes a need to win again, we’re not about that, we want to make some changes.
Wingate-Robinson: a lot of people who wanted to be a part of GUSA came to Georgetown to be politicians, so they train in what people want to hear. we’re not about that, I’m the CEO of a group that helps inner city musical productions. we helped super food go to California to record a demo. we’re not practicing to be politicians, we’re just trying to help the community
VOICE: year/class?
Candidates: both juniors in MSB
Basnayake: leaders of MSA, YALA< Pres of BSA, VP of SAS, reps from GU Pride, from Mecha
Wingate-Robinson: We also have a lot of regular students contributing, we didn’t know them, we asked for their help and they’re supporting us, the pres of the biz frat, and also just reg. students who want to get their voices heard?
VOICE: Are either of you Stewards?
Both: Blank looks and laughs
VOICE: Follow-up to Jen’s questions, how comfortable do . when we say that there are viewpoints and ideas that are often not heard by the population at large. there are voices that we feel should be heard. we have the same amount of kids getting their Voices heard and that’s only 20% of the students voting, we want to know how to help them, what we can do.
Wingate-Robinson: we sat down and figured out who is not heard on campus. we figured out the best way to do that is to walk up and talking to the students, asking them to come and contribute to the staff. a lot of people came and told us they felt GUSA was a joke, we got a lot of feedback. we went to a lot of groups, MSA, GU Pride, Mecha, we wanted to be representative of all these student groups. we wanted to let them know we would pay attention to their concerns.
Basnayake: a lot of these groups have people working in our campaign. take for example is GU Pride, one of their concerns is the resource center, and all minority groups have a sort of resource centers. all GU Pride wanted is some system of support, which was denied by the hierarchy, if they got support from GUSA they would more easily accomplished their ends. another group is the underprivileged students at Georgetown, because you’re poor if you have the last selection when it comes to picking classes because of a block, if you can’t afford to pay you have to take the classes that no one wants to take.
Wingate-Robinson: if we get in office, these things are already in motion, why are relationships so bad with the people who live off-campus? we’re trying to bring in together through common needs all the different groups on campus. what do the Knights of Columbus and GU Pride have in common? well the financial aspect is a commonality since SAC tells them how to spend their money.
VOICE: let’s start the questions. what sort of proposal do you have for getting students involved? going door to door?
Basnayake: a lot of minority groups have a lot of representation and we want them to get out to the Georgetown community at large. we’re going to work on a diversity committee to address these issues, and our campaign staff is in touch with so many members of these communities that their voices are heard with them.
Wingate-Robinson: about this panel, it will meet once a month, it can incorporate such diverse groups as minority and business groups. we’ll make the meetings open to the general public.
VOICE: feelings on the Yard.
Basnayake: there is a lack of information pertaining to the Yard. I feel students have a right to represent themselves, in theory it’s great, but looking at the history of the Yard, I have a lot of questions. you have presidents of different clubs electing the leaders. in the Yard history they had one minority member and an Asian vice-president. there was a lack of representation from the whole community. having a selective number of electors there is a risk there.
VOICE: being outsiders what strengths do you have as candidates.
Basnayake: I’m vice president of the south Asian society, rob is the captain of the track team. it’s not the views of two people, it’s a platform of ideas we have to deal with when addressing different issues. it’s a club we’ve never been members of. the only time I went out to vote for GUSA was when Tawan Davis walked up to me and told me about his platform. with GUSA comes a need to win again, we’re not about that, we want to make some changes.
Wingate-Robinson: a lot of people who wanted to be a part of GUSA came to Georgetown to be politicians, so they train in what people want to hear. we’re not about that, I’m the CEO of a group that helps inner city musical productions. we helped super food go to California to record a demo. we’re not practicing to be politicians, we’re just trying to help the community
VOICE: year/class?
Candidates: both juniors in MSB
Basnayake: leaders of MSA, YALA< Pres of BSA, VP of SAS, reps from GU Pride, from Mecha
Wingate-Robinson: We also have a lot of regular students contributing, we didn’t know them, we asked for their help and they’re supporting us, the pres of the biz frat, and also just reg. students who want to get their voices heard?
Robinson-Wingate: We want to create a financial bank for students, we’ve had to talk to administrators just to get this far, we have an angle on block party that required info, we have maintenance helping us hang flyers,
Basnayake: With SAS, everything we do has to go through administrators, same as athletic department, and as far as experience goes, that’s great, but we have passion behind our issues, this isn’t a stepping stone for us, this is an end to itself, and we replace experience with passion.
Wingate-Robinson: We feel like people join clubs in order to get to be pres their junior year, and I think that when you look into leadership, you have to look at what people do without getting noticed, nobody gives us credit for their community scholars, you need to see what people are doing for no credit
VOICE; you had said something about bringing the community on campus, getting students more involved in the neighborhood
Wingate-Robinson: We’re trying to get students involved in the BZA, getting Hoya Court into a social place with having Bingo night where we can have the kids and the homeowners meet and talk at night, so that the next time that the community calls, we’re saying that we’ve reached out, we’ve tried to give you a chance
Basnayake: It’s harder for students to be ridiculous if you know that your neighbor has a 2-year-old baby that needs to sleep, and it’s harder for them to turn you in if they’ve played bingo with you
VOICE; How do you plan to get the word out about GUSA like you said?
Basnayake: We’d love it instead of us 20 people getting the word out, what we would like to see an increase in involvement, so going through different groups who represent numbers of uninvolved students
Wingate-Robinson: I feel like people aren’t involved because they feel that GUSA has nothing to do with them, how to have your party go longer, my parents are both on Metro and we’re trying to figure out a set of rules from the police to know when they’ll be breaking up a party, so that they know that the host of the party has been briefed on the rules, students will Have to be more directly involved because it directly pertains to them,
VOICE: You mentioned a financial bank and a block party?
Basnayake: Lots of students financial aid packets come through and are short a few hundred dollars, they can’t call their parents, and then there’s a registration block, it puts people at a blatant disadvantage. A small amount (under a certain amount) it would provide them with a relief plan, an assistance will be given so that people can get what they need. If it’s 600 people and $500, that can’t be a grant, but low-interest, no-interest, extremely short term loan, that’s extremely feasible
Wingate-Robinson: We’ll have business school students solely devoted to looking around for business looking for money, collecting beer cans a—we’ll get environmentalists and we can sell the cans in SE and make some money that way.
Basnayake: The internally money for loans, and then the external money for grants and such, we’ll establish a committee to just look into that.
Wingate-Robinson: Block party: the problem isn’t the drunk students throwing plates, the problem is the students with houses on S street with people getting in through the houses without having DPS checking ids. We’re looking for an venue where DPS can check—a tent party, around here. People tried bullying the administration and it isn’t going to happen, the idea is getting it to a venue that’s easier for DPS to control
VOICE: The Diversity panel sounds like the Club Union—how will it be different?
Basnayake: There’s a middleman with the club union, through the union, through GUSA, through to the administration. The union is imperative to keeping clubs unified and strong, but we feel like this would be important to have clubs with specific needs to be able to go directly to GUSA .
VOICE: and the yard? it will give you access
Wingate-Robinson: have talked to freeman. have concerns about the yard’s relationship with he administration. seemed anti-admin. freeman cleared that up—not so much anti-admin, as frustrated pro-student.
Basnayake: not opposed to yard. but last time, there were problems. those haven’t been addressed/
VOICE: will your off campus plan directly solve the noise problem. is bingo enough?
VOICE: the two groups need to meet each other so they can be more considerate to each other.
Basnayake: students could know when he neighbors are not there, so party is more acceptable. want to create a venue where good relations can be built.
VOICE: opinion on affirmative action veto?
Basnayake: respect his decision. a lack of education on this issue—that’s an understandable reason.
VOICE: but we do unequivocally support action. don’t agree the president should be able to do that—to veto such a strong vote by the assembly. don’t believe president should be able to veto.
Basnayake: no one student should be able to stop a resolution.
VOICE: would strip yourself of the veto/
Basnayake: make it conditional. amend constitution to put checks—slow down the process.
VOICE: still unclear.
Basnayake need written statement clarifying views. an automatic revote before it goes up for veto.
Kaydee Bridges (SFS ‘04) and Mason Ayer (SFS ‘03)
Ayer: we’re bridging g-town together. we want to bring g-town together and we will do that together.
Bridges: first goal: comprehensive student website. u Oklahoma will give website to gtown, no start up costs. main feature: the calendar. can see what a group is doing each day, the contact person.
Ayer: have spent hours in meetings on calendars. sac wants theirs, GUSA wants theirs, etc. this idea would produce single, one-stop calendar.
Bridges: on website, links to departments as in gtown website. a services page – video rental , art stores. with reviews. I can get online test files, a GBay, book exchanges. plus entertainment page – GUTV could show its productions. mp3s for local bands. University of Oklahoma wants to distribute this. in return, when we do online menus for new south and Darnell, that model would be distributed to other schools. a way to learn from and help other universities. Key point: the start up is going to be GIVEN.
Ayer: second goal: student space. have spent last two years dealing with this. ridiculous that clubs need to rent out Copley formal, paying out of their budgets. New South: absolutely essential that it become student space. need to put up sac and GUSA funding board money to ensure that this become student space. on Gaston, must rent for minimum of 4 hours. need some maintenance to open up. an internal transaction – from student activities to Karen franks in facilities. this is unnecessary. have talked to franks about upfront fee – guarantee that student didn’t have to pay for space. franks asked for almost $50,000.
Bridges: third goal: expansion of Hoyas. I chair junior class committee since last year to manage student bartender night.
Bridges: why not open up Hoyas for more student bartender night? Hoyas after dark. had Jesuit mixer. happy hour, student bartender night, and WGTB provided music—these events we planned. the goal is to provide on campus events.
Ayer: Jesuits could join students at student bartender night. this sort of event is a safer way to go.
Bridges: away b-ball games at Hoyas also on platform. We need to increase accountability within GUSA. need to have monthly information session in which assembly members and cabinet members would field questions from students and media.
Ayer: every week, have executives have dinner with random dozen students to hear concerns. this would make clear that GUSA is there fore them.
VOICE: talking about streamlining the process of getting money for spaces, it seems to me that if you get what you want Karen frank is disenfranchised – are you ready to fight that fight?
Ayer: I’ve dealt with her a lot for the last two years. I don’t think this would eliminate her position. I do think it’s important that people above her know that there are serious issues about the way she runs her department. Dorothy brown hasn’t received these complaints. yes, I’d be willing to fight, and even if I’m not elected, I still well.
VOICE: can you evaluate how GUSA worked this year – 9/11, GLBT resource center, affirmative action, etc.?
Bridges: the most effective part of GUSA has been the committees – they each specialize in an area and then report back to the executives and assembly on what they’ve done. the assembly is a lot less focused and less accountable. accountability for everybody is important to us. SafeWalks has been incredible. my committee has been effective – student technology meetings, university speed dial, we’ve had a lot of success with Hoyas.
Ayer: looking at this year’s GUSA you have to go back to last year’s. Ryan and brain did a good job of connecting the student association to the administration to the point where with 9/11 jack DeGioia immediately contacted Ryan and Brian. what they haven’t done this year is connecting the student government to the students. freshmen in new south don’t care about the student association because there’s nothing for them to do. having information sessions or even just a table where people listen has to be a goal. there’s a lot going on – we have more money now than ever before. I think it’s important that students are aware of what’s going on.
will: what are your sentiments on the yard?
Bridges: I like the administrative parts of the yard – club union and dividing it into groups organized by association – we’ve tried to incorporate that aspect.
Ayer: when the yard came to vote, I sat on the constitutional review committee and spent every night coming up with a compromise between the two. something the yard hasn’t budged on is their funding system – that’s one of the reasons I won’t support it. it hurts the smaller clubs. the reserve board is just like sac – what’s the point? it’s going to create an accounting nightmare. my other big issue with the yard is the way they have set up for amending the constitution – must fill Gaston hall three-quarters full. I think there are good points made with grouping club interests – that there are unified voices within the big group.
VOICE: Is either of you stewards?
Both: no.
VOICE: you both have mentioned various things you have done with GUSA. how will that experience contribute to your ability to work with the admin?
Bridges: we already know who to contact, and have good relationships with administrators. I think part of it is that we know where to go to get these things done, we know who to talk to. we can be a lot more efficient and effective.
Ayer: and, we don’t really overlap in terms of our experience. all of the funding stuff I have done, all of the GUSA stuff she has done.
VOICE: could you elaborate on the affirmative action resolution and the GLBT resource center?
Bridges: we definitely support the resource center. but we haven’t seen anything on paper yet. we like the idea, though.
Ayer: in addition, we think it is important that it is a resource center. I want for the entire university community to be able to go in there and get information. I’ve never been in the women’s center, but I think it is an important resource. I think there is a document, which has been sent to Gonzalez, I want to see what it says.
Bridges: we don’t agree with the way the admin has handled it. re: affirmative action, I agree with fostering more discussion and coming back to vote on the issue.
VOICE: why your ticket? what do you have to get students involved?
Bridges: I think that we put a lot of thought in our platform. look at SafeRides. the waits are too long. our solution isn’t’ buying a van, it is renting a van. we only need ‘em for a few hours, and purchasing another would take forever. if we use avenues like that, compromises that don’t’ compromise students’ needs, you can get things done.
Ayer: we also have perspective on what GUSA can and cannot do. one of the best things I have seen is collaborative effort between GUSA and other groups. the student activities fee couldn’t have happened just with GUSA; we needed other groups. student bartending wouldn’t have happened without junior class committee. stuff like this needs to happen.
VOICE: looking at the platform, I have a few questions. you lay out a lot of things technology-related that you want to change. how many of these issues have you discussed with the relevant groups—corp., GPB, etc.
Bridges: I’ve sat on committees with lots of leaders from those groups. these are priorities. these are things that are partially on the way. I’ve sat down with Ted Bauer and roland reibl to get this stuff together. we need to make the most of what we have.
VOICE: where do you foresee funding coming from for that?
Bridges: it obviously can’t come from one source, it will come from multiple sources. we need to make the long-term improvements that need initial investments, and that is what the funding board is good for.
Ayer: GUSA’s budget for this year was something like $23,000, most of which won’t be used unless we get something like this together. we’re kind of trying to figure out what to do with it. in addition—Dorothy brown’s reserve fund is something we would look in to.
VOICE: just from your responses to my previous question, it seems like you guys aren’t putting a focus on any political issues that GUSA has been involved in. the focus is off of political stuff. so my question is, if your admin takes over, is there going to be a decrease in the amount of resolutions passed. is the point of GUSA going to change. will it not necessarily be about supporting resolutions and more about tangible things?
Bridges: I think it’s the assembly that brings up things like that. our job is to regulate meetings and organize.
Ayer: we want groups to be able to get together and draft proposals. political issues will come up that we will have to deal with, and we will do our best. but our main thing is tangible results. we want people to look at it and see, that’s really great that they got that done.
Bridges: I think that the things we have discussed are our priorities. if you have a website where you can look to find that type of information.
VOICE: on the lump sum and the space issue, two questions. you want GUSA to fund issues
Ayer: the number right now is double what we currently pay. we want a number reflective of what we pay now. in addition it is important the student groups are given priority over outside groups. if it is a reasonable number.
VOICE: do you like lump sum funding.
Ayer: I don’t agree with it because I would not trust myself to deal with a lump sum issue ,how can I ask clubs to do it. for example, the JSA came to us every week with new activities having o do with food…I think lump sum is a good idea, it’s just not going to work. I mean, the fact that clubs can’t come up with their own t-shirt designs sticks, but
VOICE: you put a lot of stock into the website
Bridges: they have 11000 users a day, Cox cable advertises on there they have the money to pay the students who work there. the stores benefit, the students benefit, and the school benefits
Ayer: the one single greatest benefit would be the calendar…it would allow students who are not presidents of clubs to know what is going on.
will. who will take care of this web page?
Bridges: students would take care of the page…we wouldn’t want administrators saying what or what not can go on the page. the students now working seem to be able to do a lot more than they are doing now. different students that are interested in computer science can work
VOICE: I want to talk about DPS-are they well trained and do they need more or less power?
Bridges: patrolling off campus. taking one of those cars and moving it into Burleith to de a deterrent to crime. I think that there have been a lot of efforts. we would like to see the safety card implemented with numbers on who to contact in certain situations.
Ayer: safety is big issue to us if you see in your platform. one of my roommates got mugged right in front of my house. it is kind of scary but there are safety issues. DPS needs to have presence there.
VOICE: have you talked to tucker about that
Bridges: DPS is not supposed to do that. they need to help the students, if there is someone that needs to be picked up, they need to go pick them up. shuttle from Burleith, to Healy Gates
VOICE: Dorothy brown will not be there. student imput
Bridges: for Dorothy brown there is going to be a presentation from the provost committee chair. I believe there are three students on the committee.
VOICE: in some schools once you get down to three people, students can comment on it.
VOICE: thanks guys
Oliver Street (SFS ‘03)/ Dan Spector (SFS ‘04)
Street: why I’d like to be president, I’ve been involved in GUSA for the past three years, involved in student and academic issues. we have been about issue advocacy, housing, funding, we worked on it and moved on. which is good, but I don’t think it’s good for student government and student body. I’m about getting this vision and incorporating it into the student body.
Spector: I’ve been involved with the Jewish fraternity, started the group, I have not been involved in student politics. I have the outsider perspective. I want to bring GUSA back to the people, I want people to get involved, and informed.
Street: now I’ll go over the platform. building community, and increasing activism, and promoting involvement. if not us, who, if not now, when? the changes will not happen overnight, but we need to start the ball rolling. first part, is diversifying the curriculum, environmental, journalism, engineering programs, making journalism a legitimate communications program. art/music/theater, separate those three programs. ethnic studies, divide for Jewish, African American, Chicano, Asian American studies, so we can appreciate different cultures Georgetown incorporates. engineering is a necessary program, we need to have a science-heavy program, despite our liberal arts school status.
Spector: bringing the power back to the people, can be broad or we can have concrete plans. we need a students’ ombudsman office, so when students have a problem, they can a number they can contact. the Georgetown council will combine constituent groups into one council, discussing the issues and achieving a consensus. campus space needs to be preserved for the students. clubs need to maintain their endowments, SAC has too much control over that. clubs would maintain a certain amount depending on how much they spent last year. the club union needs to become more of a powerful organization because clubs are the backbone of the university. club union should be a place to discuss ideas and get ideas out to us.
Street: how do we get people to put aside their differences as students and realize that we are all here to make this place a better place? a retreat program for people coming back from being abroad because people feel disconnected and like they don’t fit in when they come back. this retreat program would take people away on retreats and reconnect them with the gtown community. the next thing we’ve talked about is a block party. I really think block party built some community…a block party is better than no block party and we’ll work with Gonzales to get a block party. Jesuit interaction…having mixers, we need to take advantage of the Jesuit community. we need to work on achieving a GLBT center. we’ve made some progress but we need to sit down at the table and make sure that there is space and funding for all kinds of students. we’d like to make sure that affirmative action is upheld and reaffirming
Spector: we need to work on town gown relationships. they need to be invited to all our events and know that our facilities are open to them. we need to come up with innovative ways to insure that they see us in a better light from now on. It’s for our mutual benefit.
VOICE: this student voice office…my worry is that this would be more bureaucracy. how could you insure that this will not turn into another bureaucratic nightmare?
Spector: we need to make sure that there are competent people in this office. there needs to be a staff to make sure that that doesn’t happen
Street: academic endeavors would have to be dealt with in the same manner. but if you’re having a problem with the registrar’s office, there needs to be an office given authority by the president to say you’re not dealing with this correctly.
VOICE: how would you get the president’s authority?
Street: this is an idea that has been thrown around before. DeGioia seems interested in giving authority to a whole office, not one person. one person would be dealing with auxiliary affairs, and divide it up.
VOICE: what are your opinions on the yard?
Spector we’re willing to fulfill our roles under any framework. if the student body wants to go with it, we’ll do it.
VOICE: will you vote for the yard?
Both: no response
Street: I think overhauling an entire government would be inappropriate at this time. We plan on incorporating Yard funding plans, but there are no bylaws, and we’d spend the year writing bylaws,
Spector: I think there’s no problem with working within the current framework.
VOICE: How do you see yourself implementing diversity of curriculum? How do you foresee yourself working on this? What are the logistics?
Street: Working groups (not committees?) to work out the logistics, but with a new Provost will have new ideas about curriculum, but also looking for grants, talking to the director of institutional programs there are LOTS of grants just out there waiting to be gotten but no one is looking for them, we wouldn’t necessarily need to hire new people,
Spector: If we show that there is absolutely a need, the U. will find the money.
VOICE: My second is about the Block Party and how you’ve said a block party is better than nothing, so how much are you willing to work with Gonzales on changing things?
Street: I feel that Dr. Gonzales needs to realize that the University needs to exist for the students, we’re here to advocate for the University, and we won’t bow down to him on that. I believe in standing up for students, involve alumni and outside organization, in terms of his 14-point plan, it’s ridiculous, but to get the students mobilized
Spector: Trey and I both believe that if the issues’ big enough (not necessarily the block party), well, that’s the kind of student activism that we’re about promoting.
VOICE: Students ombudsman
Street: we have not specifically spoken to DeGioia about this, but we have spoken to the faculty ombudsman admin and he seems supportive, we’d have a faculty member-type, administrator like Dr. Moore who would have authority over administrative things, Dr. DeGioia is very student-oriented, so he’s been very supportive of student events, and we imagine that he’ll be supportive, and if not we’ll help him see them.
Spector: There are pros and cons to having students and faculty, we need to find someone in the administrative who is pro-student, we’d need to find someone, it would be nice to have students but it’s
VOICE: Are either of you two Stewards?
Spector: I don’t feel like that’s a relevant question, too personal
Street: On a matter of principle, no, we will neither confirm nor deny.
VOICE: How do you plan on getting things done? Where is our power? Resolution writing or burning down buildings?
Street: Def. not in resolutions, the resolution speaks as all 6 thousand students, well, the undergrad pop as a whole, feels this way, I feel like alumni are the big thing, I went to a Board of Regents meeting and he bald-faced lied to them, he said he’s very responsive, and they believed him, but then afterwards they were like, “Well, we don’t believe him, and if we knew what was going on we would help to change them” and peaceful, non-violence resistance, marching, etc.
Spector: But only if the issue is big enough and big nasty administrative isn’t responding, well then, that’s when you need to take a stance, there’s no place for resolution
VOICE: We’re on a campus that isn’t very involved, and how do you plan on knowing what’s big?
Spector: Read what people write in letters to the editor, talk to people, if it means going to club meetings than we’ll do that, keep our ears open, going door-to-door
Street: Important that the silent majority isn’t overlooked, door-to-door is a great experience, you’ll hear one-on-one what you don’t at a forum, now, though publ
