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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GUSA VP Contenders Meet in Debate

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA The five vice presidential candidates sit poised for the debate to begin.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
The five vice presidential candidates sit poised for the debate to begin.

The five Georgetown University Student Association vice presidential candidates participated in Wednesday’s Election Commission-moderated debate, answering questions from campus media, members of the GUSA Finance and Appropriations committee and those posed through Twitter.

Candidates expressed opinions and delineated plans for such issues as the expansion of campus free speech zones, dining improvements, additional funding for student organizations and campus planning.

Held in a White-Gravenor Hall classroom, the debate — featuring Meredith Cheney (COL ’16), Connor Rohan (COL ’16), Will Simons (COL ’16), Ryan Shymansky (COL ’16) and Reno Varghese (SFS ’16) — facilitated the discussion of platforms and personal backgrounds and perspectives. The debate was moderated by GUSA Election Commissioners Alden Fletcher (SFS ’17) and Grady Willard (SFS ’18).

Opening Statements

Each candidate began by presenting a five-minute opening statement.

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Meredith Cheney (COL '16) of the Wadibia-Cheney ticket.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Meredith Cheney (COL ’16) of the Wadibia-Cheney ticket.

Cheney began by explaining her background as a transfer student from Villanova University with a desire to participate in student advocacy, as well as her and Chris Wadibia’s (COL ’16) passion for connecting with the Georgetown student body through genuine relationships.

“It’s really been the relationships that I have fostered here that has reaffirmed what’s possible,” Cheney said. “We genuinely want to make this place better, because at the end of the day, GUSA is an advocacy body for all of you.”

Rohan opened with a light-hearted approach, mentioning the presence of personal legal counsel in the room stemming from an alleged waffle-iron related incident in a 1999 vice presidential debate of a Denny’s restaurant in Brook Park, Ohio

“Before I begin, I would like to inform you that my lawyer is present right there, and that I will be looking to him for approval before answering any questions,” Rohan said. “There are no ifs, ands or buts about this.”

Rohan concluded by explaining his and Joe Luther’s (COL ’16) campaign slogan, “YouTopia,” and outlined their satirical approach to the GUSA executive race.

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Connor Rohan (COL '16) of the Luther-Rohan ticket.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Connor Rohan (COL ’16) of the Luther-Rohan ticket.

“We want you to be interested, and yeah we are taking a non-traditional approach — yeah, we are taking it with a bit of a satirical bend — but, ultimately, it makes you want to listen to what we’re saying and we are going to inform you along the way,” Rohan said. “You’re going to want to be a part of it, you’re going to want to fight for what you believe in.”

Simons began by emphasizing his past involvement in the “Students Against Restrictive Housing Policy” social media campaign as the vessel that solidified his passion for advocacy and connecting with students through social media, reinforcing his and Abbey McNaughton’s (COL ’16) intention to reform GUSA to better serve a diverse Georgetown student body.

“We see like many other students not one Georgetown, but two; two Georgetown experiences separated by socioeconomic privilege, by racial inequity, by gender bias, by ableism and by other marginalizing forces,” Simons said. “We will fundamentally reform the way GUSA interacts with the student body, to insure that every community is represented, that the student voice is heard, and that we can shape the future of this university, together.”

Shymansky began by emphasizing his experience as co-director of the Student Advocacy Office, an arm of the GUSA Executive, as an expression of his passion for personally connecting with and advocating for students, emphasizing his and Sara Margolis’ (COL ’16) desire to make a mark on Georgetown through improving it for future generations.

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Ryan Shymansky (COL '16) of the Margolis-Shymansky ticket.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Ryan Shymansky (COL ’16) of the Margolis-Shymansky ticket.

“I found out quite a bit about who I was — what Georgetown mean to me — by helping other students [in the Student Advocacy Office],” Shymansky said. “GUSA works best as an advocacy body, and that’s what Sara and I are going to channel our administration toward.”

Varghese emphasized the importance of recognizing the shortcomings of GUSA, presenting tangible solutions to such issues, campus plan reform and garnering student input, concluding by explaining his and Tim Rosenberger’s (COL ’16) love for Georgetown.

“It [GUSA] can be a force for good, it can be an advocacy body, and even more so than that, it’s not just an advocacy body, its a body that can actually create change when you have the right people in charge, when you have sustained pressure and a push from the executive and the legislature working in the same direction,” Varghese said.

“I love Georgetown because I see a potential for a better future.”

 

Media Questions

Candidates then answered questions from campus media outlets The Georgetown Voice and The Hoya — the GUTV representative was absent — as well as from members of the GUSA Finance and Appropriations committee and from students via Twitter. Candidates were provided with 30 seconds to answer each question, and faced difficulties completing their statements in the time allotted. Fletcher cut candidates off mid-sentence, deciding to extend discussion for specific questions to two minutes.

Communication with the Administration

The first question asked what style of communication each candidate would adopt when interacting with Georgetown administration, and how they would affect change through sustained administrative dialogue.

Rohan emphasized the importance of a collaborative approach through finding a middle ground with administration, citing the 2010 Campus Plan as an example of a failure to effectively mold student input with administrative ideas.

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Will Simons (COL '16) of the McNaughton-Simons ticket.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Will Simons (COL ’16) of the McNaughton-Simons ticket.

Simons cited his running mate McNaughton’s history and preexisting relationships with administrators as a strength that will allow for easier communication and interaction with administration moving forward. Additionally, Simons emphasized the importance of mass-mobilization of students in order to legitimize student input in the mind of Georgetown administration.

“We need to make sure that the administration sees GUSA as a legitimate source from the student body,” Simons said.

Shymansky also cited he and running mate Margolis’ experience and track-record with administration, using Margolis’ accomplishments in transfer student affairs such as admittance phone calls, as a major strength in communicating with administration.

Varghese expressed the importance of being forceful and collaborative with administration, by presenting a solution initially and working to find an equitable agreement for both parties.

Lastly, Cheney stated that work in communicating with administration does not begin when a GUSA executive takes office, citing her and running mate Wadibia’s prior meetings and dialogue with administration as indication of their readiness and preparation to advocate for change with administration moving forward.

Thoughts on Tezel and Jikaria

The candidates were then asked to name one initiative of current GUSA Executives Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) and Omika Jikaria (SFS ’15) that stood out as the best thing they accomplished in their term so far.

https://twitter.com/man_z_own/status/565679198342508546

Simons emphasized the importance of tiered access to benefits by unrecognized student groups, and confirmed that he and McNaughton would continue the process of increasing benefits for unrecognized groups.

Shymansky cited the recent cost-sharing plan between the Office of Student Affairs and GUSA, providing disability accommodations such as ASL interpreters to student groups for events that they hold, and explained how that initiative is in conjunction with he and Margolis’ plan to make Georgetown events and the Georgetown campus in general more accessible to the disabled.

 

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Reno Varghese (SFS '16) of the Rosenberger-Varghese ticket.
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Reno Varghese (SFS ’16) of the Rosenberger-Varghese ticket.

Varghese cited Tezel and Jikaria’s willingness to branch into new territory, with their created multicultural council as an example of new initiatives that have been beneficial to certain student groups.

Cheney applauded Tezel and Jikaria’s collaborative nature when reaching out to underrepresented student groups, but acknowledged that there is a long way to go in order to have a campus with equal opportunities for all communities.

Rohan agreed with Cheney, and proposed a tiered funding plan to allow Student Activities Commission resources to be saved and allow students to participate in clubs they want to regardless of funding.

Allocation of Student Group Funding

The GUSA Finance and Appropriations representatives questioned the candidates on their potential plans for expanding the amount of money allocated for student groups.

Rohan facetiously explained that one practical way to expand the amount of money for student groups would be to raise the student activities fee, in addition to robbing students.

“In addition to raising $120 more dollars per student for student activities fees — which can be allocated to specific organizations of their choice — we do plan on robbing kids who look like yuppies, taking their watches, taking their gold rings and contacting their parents,” Rohan said.

Rohan later proposed a reallocation of funds from the Advisory Board to prevent a raise in the student activities fee.

Simons proposed raising the fee $44 a year that can be allocated to a specific student group, covered by financial aid.

Shymansky, in contrast, proposed starting a student activities capital campaign.

“This really is a new way for GUSA to engage a lot of young alumni that aren’t really committed to donating directly to the university, but would be interested in donating to student groups or to students that they have been involved with,” Shymansky said.

Varghese stated that it would be a mistake to raise already high tuition, and that GUSA should look instead to reallocating other tuition dollars to student groups.

“We need to also take a look at what else we are paying for in our tuition that can be shifted to student activities, which impacts us a lot more,” Varghese said.

Cheney proposed a “Buy a Brick” program she experienced at Villanova, where she previously attended.

“Alumni, current students, faculty and staff can purchase a brick for [$200 to 500] and then that money will go to fund other initiatives that we have, or to the GUSA Finance and Appropriations committee,” Cheney said.

Despite this idea, the Georgetown Alumni Association already provides students and alumni a brick on Georgetown’s campus for $500.

Audience Questions

In the audience-solicited questioning period, candidates were asked by students through Twitter to make the audience laugh by telling a joke.

https://twitter.com/aperiarcam/status/565671712499703812

Students also asked how candidates would work to improve dining spaces for Georgetown students, as well as Tezel and Jikaria’s biggest failure as current GUSA Executives.

Cross-Endorsements

The tickets also released their cross-endorsements, naming the ticket they would encourage supporters to rank second on the ballot. Shymansky endorsed the Wadibia-Cheney ticket, Varghese endorsed McNaughton-Simons, Cheney endorsed Margolis-Shymansky, Simons endorsed Rosenberger-Varghese, and Rohan declined to cross-endorse with a specific pair.

Allocation of Space

When asked about space for student activities such as performing arts groups and club sports, as well as individual musicians and athletes, Simons advocated for a centralized booking system for existing facilities and for including multi-purpose space in the next campus plan that may be used for music practice and performance.

Shymansky advocated for the re-allocating and repurposing of existing space on campus more effectively such as the underutilized sixth floor of Reiss, as he and Margolis are opposed to new buildings until existing problems are fixed on campus.

Varghese additionally advocated for a centralized booking system, removing booking fees, as well as removing seniority for groups when attempting to reserve space.

Cheney emphasized the importance of meeting with administrative officials such as Vice President for Planning and Facilities Robin Morey, when moving forward with the campus plan.

Rohan expressed he and Luther’s intention to more effectively use current resources as well as proposed a creation of a new building on top of Leo O’Donovan hall.

Candidates ended the debate with 2.5-minute closing statements to end the hour and a half-long event.

The GUSA Presidential debate will be held on Monday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the great room of the Healey Family Student Center.

 

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  • C

    ConcernedFeb 12, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    Agreed – and student government should be spending its time reaching out to students, not reaching out to alumni and donors. Disappointed that Sara and Ryan made this a central part of their platform.

    Reply
  • A

    AnonymousFeb 12, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    The Student Activities Capital Campaign is completely unrealistic. Scaevola, I agree with you. If Sara and Ryan were to understand funding at this school, they would understand that their proposal is baseless. Raising the Student Activities Fee is the only way to go about what they are proposing. Abbey and Will want to raise the Student Activities Fee, and I think that’s the best option. Vox endorsed Sara and Ryan because of the Capital Campaign. Unfortunately, it’s safe to say Vox doesn’t understand funding at this school.

    Reply
  • S

    ScaevolaFeb 12, 2015 at 11:57 am

    I see several issues with this Student Activities Capital Campaign proposed by Sara and Ryan.

    First – The Office of Advancement is never going to go for this one. You can advocate for it all you want, but Advancement has very specific way that it likes to do things. To raise funds, you need to have a centralized office managing solicitations. GUSA starting up its own capital campaign would dilute the pool of donors, thus hurting Advancement’s collections for things that may be even more important than student activities – namely scholarships for people who deserve to be here but can’t pay for it.

    The other worrisome thing here is that this policy represents a departure from the expressed wishes of students just 4 years previously. We used to have a Student Activities Endowment, which was started in 2001 and was supposed to have reached $10 million in 2011. However, it only got to $1.8 million by that time and would have needed until 2027 to reach the projected $10 million figure. Instead of waiting around for a few decades for the endowment to mature, students voted to liquidate it, which in turn endowed SIPS and the HFSC terrance. The point here is that we’ve already tried to build an SA Fee endowment, but it hasn’t worked and was necessarily voted down just 4 years ago.

    I’d like to see people actually read up on their GUSA history and have a real knowledge of the implications of their policies before they rush headlong into a campaign with promises emptier than Friday night Leo’s.

    Reply