Student Government
Jordan Foster elected as new student body president
|George Mason University’s Student Elections & Disputes Commission announced on April 4 that Jordan Foster, a rising senior, was elected as the next student body president for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Samantha Wettasinghe, also a rising senior, was elected as student body vice president as part of a combined ticket.
The pair won with 796 votes over write-in candidates Donald Garrett and David Noyes, who received 32 votes.
Mason Student Government holds spring elections
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| 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.”
Students speak out against polling location change
|At a public hearing held by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, students spoke out in opposition to a motion that would have changed the polling location on campus from University Hall to Mason Hall.
“There were challenges with the University Hall location. We had people voting in a concession area rather than in a closed room,” said Cameron Quinn, general registrar for the county. “There have also been issues with parking over at University Hall.”
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.
Students provide input on Code of Conduct
|George Mason University's Student Government held a roundtable discussion with students and University Life representatives on Tuesday Feb. 26 to gain input about the Student Code of Conduct.
“This is the first year we are sitting down to discuss the code in its entirety and get student feedback,” Rachel Grimesey, a student senator and junior government and international politics major, wrote in an email.
Fairfax city council discusses future of downtown with Mason student government
|Representatives from George Mason University Student Government met with the full Fairfax City Council to discuss the relationship between the city and the university.
The special session, held on Feb. 19 in Mason Hall, focused on encouraging more students to spend time in Old Town Fairfax, located less than a mile north of the Fairfax campus.
Student government prepares for spring elections
|Mason Student Government is preparing to hold its spring elections for student senate, president and vice president of the student body.
According to the student government website, “the Senate is responsible for passing all legislation brought before it, including resolutions that give statements on the opinions of the student body, and bills that provide funding for Student Government events and activities.”
Starting Monday, Feb. 18, packets to file for candidacy are available for students to pick up at the Office of Student Involvement.
Mason students lobby state government in Richmond
|On Thursday, Feb. 7, the Mason Student Government led a group of students, faculty and alumni to the state capitol in Richmond to lobby state politicians on behalf of the university.
Junior Savannah Edwards, student government’s Secretary of MASON, and Vice President Jordan Foster began planning for Mason Lobbies in September 2012.
“Months ago we started coming up with an idea that we wanted lobbying to have a bigger place at Mason,” Edwards said in a statement to students, alumni and faculty.
Mason student government reaffirms shared governance, does not address UVa request
|When confronted to condemn the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors rector, George Mason University’s student government took a stance—to not be involved.
“We are not involving ourselves in the affairs of U.Va. nor its BoV; it is not in our place to do so,” reads Resolution 27, which upholds Mason’s student government’s belief in “shared governance.”
New freshmen and transfer students elected to student senate
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Last week, the student body voted to fill ten seats in the George Mason student senate.
“I am very pleased to learn that I arrived in second place when so many great candidates were in the running,” Aaron Yohai, a freshman, said in an email.