It is not hard for a GUSA candidate to come up with a wish list of problem-solving proposals. A much greater test, however, is to break through the mesh of bureaucracy and funding difficulties to make those changes actually happen. For a GUSA administration to show results at the end of its term, history has shown that it must combine previous experience with a focused plan of action. It is these qualities that make Kelley Hampton and Luis Torres the most qualified candidates for GUSA President and Vice President in next Monday’s election.
As well-known fixtures of SAC, GUSA and the SFS Academic Council, Hampton and Torres have put together a detailed but focused platform that includes sensible GUSA budget reform, student advocacy and increased communication between the housing authority and the student body. Of the candidates, they offer the most thorough and well researched plan for Georgetown.
Nowhere are these qualities more evident than in the pair’s meticulous budget proposal. Of the four tickets, they are the only one to clearly explain the sources of funding for their initiatives and identify wasteful spending that could be cut from GUSA’s budget. Through line-by-line number crunching, they say they can reduce GUSA’s budget by $1,916, while still finding $600 for a pilot GUTS bus service program on Saturday nights.
The Hampton-Torres ticket is not limited to a shrewd call for fiscal responsibility, however. They focus on issues that they could potentially change, directly impacting students. Their proposals include improvements in transportation and housing, greater communication between GUSA representatives and their constituents and much needed reform of the University’s alcohol and sexual assault policies.
Through inexpensive scheduling changes, they hope to resolve the continuing overlap of service between MedStar and GUTS buses to Dupont Circle and Rosslyn. To improve student housing, Hampton and Torres propose to expand representation on housing committees to students from all four classes and revise eligibility requirements. As a victim of last year’s housing crisis in which many students were denied on-campus housing, Hampton says that she will put all her energy into resolving the many problems of the housing selection and billing process.
The University’s policies on sexual assault and alcohol consumption are another area in which the pair proposes much-needed reform. A well-known advocate for sexual-assault policy reform, Torres is noticeably impassioned about the need to change a policy that has routinely been criticized for keeping students accused of sexual assault on campus. In addition, while Hampton and Torres do not fully support the recent FRIENDS initiative to reform the University’s dry-dorm policy, they address the much-loathed Wednesday deadline for party registration by proposing that an unlimited number of students be allowed to register their parties online.
It is in the realm of improved communication, however, that Hampton and Torres offer the greatest prospects for a successful GUSA administration. The pair offers an impressive resume of working with student leaders and administrative officials to affect change. Hampton, as a two-year member of the SFS Academic Council, was a prominent force in reforming the school’s policy on double majors, while Torres is both Vice President of SAC and the longest serving representative in GUSA.Their proposals to increase communication between on-campus organizations through what they term “Advocacy Committee Consolidation,” and to publish a weekly electronic report of GUSA’s actions are well-founded ideas to better involve GUSA in the day-to-day life of Georgetown students.
While we endorse the Hampton-Torres ticket for next week’s election, other candidates present strong proposals. Compared to the Giblin-Lashner ticket, Hampton and Torres are less experienced in town-gown relations, specifically the University’s relationship with the local governing Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
Giblin and Lashner offer a strong GUSA candidacy that rests solidly on experience and involvement in the University. They have proposed several great ideas to reduce spurious overcharges by housing and facilities, institute a “grab and go” take out lunch program at the cafeteria and fully eliminate party registration, which they deem “pointless.” However, their range of initiatives is less clear and organized, and they put great stress on proposals such as a campus-wide get-out-the-vote drive that are better served by existing groups, such as Campaign Georgetown, of which Lashner is the co-chairman. Giblin and Lashner have much experience serving the D.C. community at large, and it seems their efforts would be best allocated elsewhere.
The Green-Butts and Schmitter-Hartzler tickets offer less of a prospect for a successful GUSA administration. Among these four candidates, inexperience with the ins and outs of campus politics abounds, and unrealistic proposals dominate uninspired campaign platforms. While we commend both tickets for a genuine attempt to improve GUSA’s image and relationship with the student body, each is hampered by serious problems within their platforms. Green-Butts simply promises too much and fails to appeal to upperclassmen, while Schmitter-Hartzler offers little in the way of creative solutions to old problems.
The Hampton-Torres candidacy rests on a solid bedrock of experience and realistic, fiscally prudent proposals. On Monday, vote Hampton-Torres for GUSA President and Vice-President.
