GUSA President and Vice President Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) and Omika Jikaria (SFS ’15) will not endorse a ticket for the upcoming GUSA executive election, but said that this decision is fluid and could change in the future.
“At this point, we think it’s best to not endorse any candidates,” Jikaria and Tezel wrote in a statement to The Hoya yesterday. “All the candidates have unique perspectives to bring to the GUSA executive. While we believe there are those that may be better suited for the positions, we believe that it’s best to let the campaign season play out. In the event we feel making an endorsement is necessary, we will do so.”
Jikaria and Tezel declined to elaborate on why they would make an endorsement later into the election.
According to Tezel, he and Jikaria hope for an executive group with a knowledge of student needs and an ability to work constructively with the administration.
“I’m looking for a ticket that combines wide knowledge of campus issues, involvement with groups outside of GUSA and who can smartly negotiate with administrators on behalf of students in the next campus plan,” Tezel wrote in an email.
Half of the twelve students vying for the executive spots have been or are currently involved in student government. Sara Margolis (COL ’16) and Ryan Shymansky (COL ’16) are the only candidates currently working under the Tezel-Jikaria administration.
Shymanksy said that although he has worked with the current executive team, he and Margolis understand why they have decided against endorsement.
“We respect Trevor and Omika’s decision to stay neutral and we are not actively seeking their endorsement,” Shymansky wrote in an email. “We are looking forward to the Georgetown student body choosing their next President and Vice-President from a qualified field of contenders.”
Candidate Tim Rosenberger (COL ’16) agreed, and said that he and running mate Reno Varghese (SFS ’16) respect the executive team’s decision.
“While Reno and I each have the utmost respect for Trevor and Omika, we are neither seeking, nor do we desire, their endorsement,” Rosenberger wrote in an email. “It is our understanding that this administration will adhere to precedent and remain neutral in the race to succeed them. While we of course would appreciate their support, votes and counsel, we do not expect any formal show of support.”
Abbey McNaughton (COL ’16), the current GUSA senate vice speaker, and her running mate Will Simons (COL ’16), also said that they respect the decision.
“We greatly respect Trevor and Omika, and the work they’ve done for Georgetown over the past year,” Simons and McNaughton wrote in a statement. “We would love their support for our campaign, but we completely understand their desire to remain neutral and let the race play out on its own.”
Previous GUSA President and Vice President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) and Adam Ramadan (SFS ’14) decided against endorsing any ticket during the 2014 executive race in late February last year. Tisa said that he and Ramadan made their decision in the beginning of the spring semester, far before the executive elections began.
“Fairly early on in the spring semester, we felt confident enough in several of the teams that we really didn’t think there was a need to voice an opinion one way or another,” Tisa said. “Fundamentally, it wasn’t our choice. The student body was going to vote and make their choice. We think our role as trying to improve the level of the race as much as possible in terms of understanding of the issues, strategic positioning on the campus plan and a couple of other long term issues like that.”
Tisa said that despite this initial decision, he and Ramadan would have endorsed had they recognized a ticket that threatened GUSA as a whole.
“We decided that should something go wrong or should there be a clear danger to the institution that we would have voiced an opinion to make sure a competent, qualified team won,” Tisa said. “In our case, that wasn’t really necessary.”