Step 2: Open up the mygw election portal in a new tab or scroll down to the bottom of this page.

Step 3: Vote…

NO on the additional UPD power to bust you for smoking within 25 feet of University buildings. Giving UPD more ways to go on a power trip = bad idea. Instead, UPD should be focused squarely on preventing crime.

For President: John Bennett

For EVP: Ben Leighton

For U-at-Large Senate: Hugo Scheckter

For CCAS Senate: Markus Batchelor

For ESIA Senator: 

- Alicia Rose
- Peter Starkey
- Will Castagna

For School of Business Senator: Ryan Counihan

Step 4: Submit your ballot. If you want a free Krispy Kreme donut, track down @hugoscheckter using our exclusive HugoTracker™ technology (aka Twitter):

Vote here:

Voters: you can find our full candidate profiles here.

And now, our endorsements:

For President: John Bennett

The GW Patriot’s editorial board believes that John Bennett is by far the best choice for SA President. In fact, Bennett is quite possibly the best candidate GW has had for SA President in recent memory. And he has the track record to back that claim up.

For two years, we have watched with interest as John has risen through the ranks of the Student Association. As an Elliot School Senator last year and U-At-Large Senator and Chair of the Finance Committee this year, Bennett has stood out as a leader and advocate for student interests. He has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the most knowledgeable candidate. His proposals include detailed examples that not only say what he intends to accomplish but how he intends accomplish them. He also has the clearest grasp of the role of the SA President, which as you’ll see in our review of the other presidential candidates, is fairly elusive.

Bennett has run a campaign that used humor to draw attention to his platform, which lists tangible goals regarding the issue of student space (like renovating Columbian Square) as a clear priority.

We strongly encourage you to support him.

As for the other presidential candidates…

President runner up: none.

Something that applies to each of the other candidates is that they seem like they’re all running for finance committee chair, not president.

Here’s the breakdown:

Ben Pincus
Ben’s got the “ordinary student” vibe and has a genuine platform (based on transparency) that speaks to the concerns of many students. However, we feel like his platform of financial transparency would have been better served if he had run for either EVP or a senate seat (with the intent of joining the finance committee).

Ashwin Narla
Ashwin Narla has emerged out of nowhere to claim a leading role among the “outsiders” running for president. Ashwin is obviously well-coached and has the same Sigma Chi campaign apparatus that elected both Jason Lifton and John Richardson to the presidency. Yet, the field for “outsider” campaigns is more crowded than it was last year when Richardson won.

Ashwin’s broad platform lacks the kind of focus that has made most underdog SA campaigns successful in years past (see: Ted Costigan). On student space, Ashwin’s headed in the right direction, but needs to ensure voters that he can make more specific policy proposals. His platform also includes the somewhat sisyphean task of maintaining a student org calendar, an idea which fizzled out after the Bindelglass administration.

Jeremy Iloulian
Jeremy Iloulian ran a campaign that resonated with student org leaders. Although he did not win the endorsement of his own organization – International Affairs Society – his experiences dealing with red tape as IAS chair inspired his bid and we like the fact that he’s so keen on reducing the cost of attendance. That said, we feel like most of his platform could be implemented if he had run for the Elliot School senate with the intention of being placed on the finance committee.

Will Thompson
Will Thompson would not be a good SA President. His platform demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the key issues at hand and a misjudgement of what the SA President can actually accomplish. His main platform ideas – lowering the cost of books and increasing the number of research opportunities – do not fall under the purview of the office he’s seeking. Instead, they are matters for the Senate’s Academic Affairs Committee.

For EVP: Ben Leighton

Ben is the best pick for EVP because of his experience and tight focus on Marvin Center issues. He has a solid track record, having overseen changes as chair of the Dining Services Commission for two years. We hope that in the same way that Ted Costigan zeroed in on the fee issue, Leighton will handle student space. This race might warrant a runoff, but we like Leighton.

As for the other EVP candidates…

EVP runner up: Abby Bergren
Abby has run a good campaign and racked up endorsements from several big organizations. We like how she addresses fees and space in her platform. Ultimately, though, we see Leighton’s experience as the two-time DSC chair as the deciding factor in this race.

Austin Brewster

Austin has run a solid niche campaign, targeting students who crave accessibility from their leaders. His agenda also includes the noble goal of increasing the ties between current students and alumni.

Senate:

For U-at-Large Senate: Hugo Scheckter

Hugo has brought about several significant changes to the GW Sports Council, an organization that before Scheckter’s tenure was virtually irrelevant. He has served at President of GW Cricket and GW Men’s Soccer. In addition, we at The Patriot will fervently endorse any candidate whose main electoral incentive is a donut. In all seriousness, though: Hugo has made the connections necessary to be a successful Senator. He has an affability that will help him succeed in convincing the administration to do the right thing. We firmly believe that he can implement his ideas and fit into the successful Charlie Rybak mold.

Runner up: Justin Pennish
Justin is a freshman with clear goals and the drive to communicate them. He did a great job writing consistently for our Inside The SA blog. We feel that U-At-Large Senate is a position that requires a bit more seasoning than say, a CCAS Senate seat. We hope that he does well, but in the event that he’s not elected, he might have a future in blogging!

For CCAS Senate:
We’re disappointed that more people didn’t run for the CCAS senate. Usually, the number of candidates at least reaches double digits. Maybe CCAS can borrow from the ESIA-U candidate pool? Anyway, there’s one clear choice in this race…

1. Markus Batchelor

Runners up:
Daniel Egel-Weiss, Omeed Firouzi

For ESIA Senator:
This was a tough race, crowded with qualified and genuine candidates. We feel like no matter who is elected, ESIA will be well-represented this year. That said, here are our picks:

1. Alicia Rose
2. Peter Starkey
3. Will Castagna

Runners Up: Michael Morgan, Ross Rattanasena

For School of Business Senator:

1. Ryan Counihan

This really wasn’t difficult. Counihan’s platform is strong and focused on GWSB issues like Duques hours and increasing funding for School of Business student orgs. He’s going to make a great Senator.

Ben Pincus:

@FakeStevenKnapp

Jeremy Iloulian:

Fraternity: Zeta Beta Tau

GW-UNICEF

Afghan Student Association

John Bennett:

Fraternity: Beta Theta Pi

College Republicans

College Democrats

Green GW

Allied in Pride

Student Bar Association

South Asian Society

Club Sports Council

International Affairs Society

Medical Center Student Council

GWYAF

Ashwin Narla:

Fraternity: Sigma Chi

The George Washington University love.fútbol Chapter

GW Women in Business (GWWIB)

Residence Hall Association (RHA)

OMICRON DELTA EPSILON

Will Thompson:

Delta Phi Epsilon Fraternity

Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority

GW Sports Marketing Association

Hippo Grill Masters

The Sirens

GW Parliamentary Debate Society

Eurasian Policy Forum

Eosinian Society

Japanese American Student Alliance

EVP:

Ben Leighton:

Residence Hall Association (RHA)

GW Turkish Club

South Asian Society

Green GW

Chabad GW

Jewish Student Association

GW Women in Business (GWWIB)

GW German Club

OMICRON DELTA EPSILON

D.C. Today D.C. Tomorrow

The George Washington University love.fútbol Chapter

Abby Bergren:

College Republicans

College Democrats

Allied in Pride

Student Bar Association

Liberty Society

Camp Kesem

Delta Phi Epsilon Fraternity

Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority

GWYAF

…

U-At-Large:

Hugo Scheckter:

Club Sports Council

Colonial Army

College Republicans

College Democrats

Allied in Pride

Green GW

Men’s Club Soccer and Club Cricket

@FakeStevenKnapp

GWYAF

Elizabeth Kennedy:

Sorority: Delta Gamma

Green GW

College Republicans

GW UNICEF

Justin Pennish:

…

–

Candidates, tweet @gwpatriot with additional endorsement news.

467 votes were cast in the Patriot straw poll.

467 votes were cast in the Patriot straw poll.

The Facebook page has gone viral, and here is just one of the posts that tell you why…

Results will be announced on Monday.

Results will be announced on Monday.

Today we’re proudly announcing the rollout of our newest site: Inside the SA. As the SA elections ramp up this week, the Patriot has dedicated a new site for candidates to post their detailed policy proposals and positions. Once elected, we expect the candidates to continue to post updates on legislation and initiatives they are working on to best help you.

Ultimately the final decision on who should represent our student body rests with you. Our hope is that you will frequently visit www.insidethesa.com to get to know the candidates and where they stand on important campus issues. You can post comments and directly ask the candidates questions that are important to you. We hope that this will bridge the gap between candidates and voters. The Patriot will continue to bring you coverage and results of the SA elections.

This must be their way of mocking us. Let this be a challenge to SA candidates: outdo Georgetown student government candidates’ posters!

They want to make campaign posters in the form of an American flag? Make yours look like an eagle soaring over the Rocky Mountains. Or Mount Rushmore. If you can’t do that, I would suggest you reconsider why you’re running for student government.