C2M Student Government Reporter Hana Hanfi

Student government to expand advertising for next year's election

On April 4, 30 senators were elected in the student government elections as well as a new president and vice president. The election this year was competitive for senators, with 41 candidates running for 30 seats.

Some student government officials believe that additional advertising for the election helped increase the number of candidates running.

Mason searching for new vice president of research and economic development

George Mason University officials are currently searching for a new vice president to lead the Office of Research and Economic Development.

There were originally around 80 candidates for the job. This week, the list was narrowed down to the five finalists.

Among those interviewing the candidates is James Olds, the director of the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study and chair of the search committee.

Mason students give back through BIG event

The BIG event, first started at Texas A&M University, is spreading to college campuses all over the United States, including George Mason University. Nearly 200 Mason students, faculty and administrators are registered for the upcoming event.

Mason Student Government holds spring elections

Students have until 11:59 p.m. on April 3 to cast their vote for student body president, vice president and 30 senators (photo courtesy of George Mason University Student Government).

This week marks the end of the Spring 2013 elections, in which a new president and vice president will be elected.

One executive ticket includes Jordan Foster and Samantha Wettesinghe, two current members of student government. The other executive ticket includes write-in candidates Donald Garrett and David Noyes.

Garrett, a student senator from 2010 to 2012, is running for president while David Noyes, a senator from 2012 to 2013, is running as his vice president.

Though Garrett is a write-in candidate, he believes that he has an equal chance of winning.

“We’ve found that talking to people face to face is better than throwing events,” Garrett wrote in an email. “Building rapport with students this way is the best path towards victory.”

Mason student government finances lean compared to other Virginia universities

With about 22,000 undergraduate students to represent, the George Mason University student government association is a major powerhouse on campus. However, the funding they receive is significantly less than that of other Virginia schools including University of Virginia, The College of William & Mary and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.