Josh Goldstein for Executive Vice President of the GW Student Association

Looking Out For The Environment

2010-02-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

Today, I was proud to receive the support and endorsement of Green GW. Working to make this campus an example to the world in sustainability and environmental consciousness is one of my core principles.

Next year, I want to work to make J Street environmentally friendly--eliminating the use of Styrofoam containers because they cannot be recycled.

I believe that the SA should partner with Green GW and the Office of Sustainability to provide funds to modernize and properly insulate aging buildings at GW. This move makes both economic and environmental sense and is a step forward in the process of encouraging a more environmentally minded campus.

Josh Goldstein, Endorsed By:

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What I Will Do As EVP

2010-02-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

Dining Services

As GW’s main dining center, it is unfathomable that J Street is not open on weekends for students to spend their mandatory dining dollars. Although there may be hurdles in working with Sodexho on this issue, it is too important and it must be stressed to the university that it is important to students.

The issue of dining rests on Sodexho's lack of range in terms of catering multicultural student events and, as it stands, the "make-your own menu option" is too costly and ineffective. I believe that there should be a method for students who want to hold events with specific culture-driven foods to be able to purchase items from another source and be able to use the marvin center or other University property to hold their events without being forced into Sodexho's narrow and patently unfair rules. On the issue of food waivers, there should be a list of pre-approved restaurants by GW that multi-cultural groups can use, which will provide assurance that these specific restaurants do not violate health codes and can provide catering for multicultural events at a reasonable and fair price.

In the past, Sodexho has cited union contracts as the reason for providing the poor services that they do. In my eyes, this is an unacceptable and, as EVP, I will work with senior University officials like Assistant Vice President for Events and Venues Michael Peller. During my two years in the Senate, this has been an issue

Columbian College Advising

The lack of communication and information provided by the Columbian College about a student’s status within the University is unacceptable. CCAS needs to expand its advising program and begin to take the issue of advising more seriously. Each undergraduate student should be assigned a member of their professional advising staff before they even step foot on campus. This advisor would then be a resource for the next four years and will provide students the comfort of always knowing where to turn if all else fails. Moreover, the university should take advantage of the fact that most people declare an intended major upon entering GW and the University should assign incoming students faculty advisory in or similar to that intended major. Should a student change their major, CCAS should take the appropriate steps to accommodate that change and CCAS needs to improve their notification system so that a student knows who their current departmental advisor is at all times.

Another problem in advising is the lack of a degree audit-system that is effective and efficient. A working degree-audit system will go further to giving students the information that they need to make the correct decisions when selecting courses and paths of study. As of now, GW has signed a contract to implement such a system, but the current rate of progress must improve. It took GW four years to even commit to a contract and, as EVP, I want to hold responsible for implementing that contract on a faster timeline.

Alcohol Amnesty/Judicial Services

One of the largest problems facing GW today is having an alcohol amnesty program that does not provide amnesty in any sense of the word. However, before we can address this serious problem, we need to hire a new director for CADE. In all honesty, it is almost impossible to take CADE seriously when they have not had a director for over a year. The lack of a director sends a signal to the student body that student welfare is not a priority, this must change.

In terms of alcohol amnesty, GW needs to rethink the "two strikes" policy and liimit fines so that students do not have to balance the health of a friend with possible suspension when calling EMeRG. The time requirement to call parents is unreasonably short and must be expanded to allow the health of the student to be priority #1. For too long has GW put consequences ahead of our well-being.

As EVP, I will put pressure on the University to find a suitable director for CADE. However, this director must be well aware that the current amnesty policy is inadequate for a University of this caliber.

Academic Accountability

As it stands, there is a significant lack of faculty review beyond the process of obtaining tenure. As a result, every student finds at least one professor who clearly should no longer be teaching or should not have been teaching in the first place. As EVP, I will seek to implement a teacher evaluation system carried out by other members faculty at least once every 2 years. I want to allow individual departments to set specific observation criteria, but this cannot happen until base standards are set. This is an issue that I look forward to working on with our new provost.

The fact is current student surveys aren't enough. Most students do not take them seriously and only use them if they deeply dislike or absolutely adore a professor. This problem is not unique to GW, but in order to become a world class university, we must be a leader in establishing an effective faculty review program.

Gelman

I was thrilled to co-sponsor the bill that made the voluntary library gift opt-in, as opposed to the current opt-out system. This puts students in control of their money and eliminates the confusion that previously existed. However, we need to work to make sure that the library system does not remain underfunded. As it stands, the library system receives $14 million from the University each year, but the rising cost of maintaining the library has led to Gelman falling behind the times and being unable provide world-class services for the world-class tuition that we all pay. Further, we need to work with Gelman to ensure that study space is both ample and in optimum condition. With a growing student body, the current stunted growth of the Gelman system hinders the success of the University.

4-RIDE

I'm sure that many students do not know this but, on a given night, 4-RIDE employs only 1 operator about approximately 7-10 vans for a campus of 20,000 students. As EVP, I will work with UPD to expand the 4-RIDE service to ensure that access to 4-RIDE is both safe and convenient. The fact is, there needs to be more than one operator handling the phonelines for the thousands that may want to use the 4-RIDE service at any given moment. 4-RIDE's failure to provide service in an quick and efficient manner is not only frustrating, but a threat to the safety of GW students. Let's be honest for a moment, this is not a campus in the middle of nowhere, in which a safe rides services is a luxury. Washington, D.C. is big city with a high crime rate, as we know from seemingly constant GW Alerts. As a result, 4-RIDE is a necessity and is currently not to the standards of safety that we need at GW.

Event Space/Tech Fees

The issues surrounding booking rooms for co-curricular events are symbolic of larger problems at GW. The excessive red tape and outrageously high fees keep students and student organizations from having the best possible experience while at GW. For example, the International Affairs Society holds a large Model UN summit at GW every year, yet they are forced to devoted significant portions of their budget to paying for rooms and technology in a building that is supposed to be devoted to the study of International Affairs. The costs of using space and technology is unreasonably high, does not reflect accurate market value, and does not make use of the student fee which is intended for student organization programming.

One of the most important functions of the SA is to provide programming opportunities for student organizations. Yet, excessive costs keep both the SA and student organizations from being able to reach their potential. As EVP, I will fight for student organizations be their voice in advocating for the end of room fees.

Graduate Issues

It is appalling that GW has 4 graduate schools ranked in the top 20 of their discipline, yet the University cannot provide graduate housing that even comes close to this level of excellence. HOVA is an antiquated mess that was driven from GW's desire to acquire property over providing effective services to students. Although the lack of space on Foggy Bottom is an issue that the University will always have, we need to take steps to improve the quality and availability of graduate housing.

In terms of graduate student fees, I believe that the SA has no business telling a law student or medical student how their student fee should be spent. As EVP, I will advocate for returning every penny of graduate funds back to their respective graduate student governments.

Finances and Fees

It is common knowledge that GW has continually tried to 'Nickel and Dime' students at every turn. I believe that charging a lab free for a course that is required is equivalent to the University raising tuition for math, art and science classes behind our backs. As EVP, I want to work to reduce or eliminate lab fees in order to begin the process of cutting out unfair or unnecessary additional charges.

FixIt

Many people do not realize that FixIt is merely a call-in service. When you place a FixIt request, it is passed on to Facilities. The problem here is that Facilities is an understaffed, underfunded, and inefficient service. Facilities is reflective of the GW ideology of putting business before student service. The result? Facilities lacks the specialized workforce to handle the variety of housing issues that arise every year. The glacial pace which Facilities responds at is due to having an overworked and overwhelmed staff. This puts student welfare at risk when there are major housing issues. As your EVP, I will sit down with Facilities leadership in order to create a more specialized task force and efficient repair call system. Further, I want to work with Facilities to improve communication between FixIt and students so that we are not left in the dark--literally.

As a freshman Senator, I took house tours of every freshman dorm at GW and was able to meet with residents along the way. In every single hall, there was at least one student with a "Fix It Horror Story". As EVP, I intend to

Transparency

Currently, the SA definition of transparency has been holding town-hall meetings that no one attends and anonymously leaking information to Hatchet at the last minute. The fact is, that the only voices heard in the SA those inside the SA. In my eyes, it is time for every voice to be heard and that cannot happen until students are better informed of the actions of its elected representatives. In terms of financial transparency, positives steps have been made in the past year, but we must be more active in publicizing the locations that students can go to find financial disclosures. Moreover, with regards to productivity and transparency, I propose that each Senator be responsible for submitting a bi-monthly reports of meetings held and bills authored. These reports will be published online and will be available for all students to access in the SA office. This is a tangible, reachable goal, unlike many transparency reforms that have been tried in the past.

First Endorsement

2010-02-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I had the honor of being endorsed by the GW Black Student Union. They are an outstanding organization and I am glad to have their support.

In other news, campaign season is underway. I need your support tomorrow night at the Hatchet Debate (7:30pm, Jack Morton) and on the streets of GW in the coming days.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CAMPAIGN T-SHIRT, please email me at jmgoldstein2010@gmail.com

Josh

How We Begin to Fix "1 in 5"

2010-02-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

During this campaign season, we will talk about many of the ‘1 in 5 Issues’. My opponents have tried to solve them in two sentences on a website post or a cheesy video. Let me be perfectly clear, these are not issues that can be solved without hard work. They cannot be solved with half-hearted effort and must be entrusted to those who are willing to work hard to fix these problems. We can no longer accept ‘no’ as an answer.

What is clear is that we need to build a strong working relationship between the students and their representatives in the Student Association. We must work together to achieve change and put apathy aside.

Even though it may be easier to complain about J Street, for example, just complaining will not accomplish much of anything. At the end of the day, people who have to spend money at J Street still cannot do so on the weekends and still have few healthy options to choose from. Until we design a cohesive plan to tackle these ‘1 in 5 Issues’, little progress will be made.

I believe that if can truly work together in a manner that is efficient and open; we can make substantial progress in the coming months. I have been and intend to continue creating working relationships between the many student organizations on this campus and myself to better understand and the challenges and problems that students are facing.

Let me be clear: as your Executive Vice President, making sure that student’s voices are heard will be my top priority. I know that it is time for Student Association leaders to better acquaint themselves with the students they represent. For too long has the SA sheepishly distanced itself from those it claims to represent.

I know that we can work together in order to solve these problems, but I need to have your support and passion to do this. We as students will always care about the issues directly affect us; however, the apathetic mood towards the Student Association does little to mitigate our problems. I ask for your trust and your help in changing this failing situation. Failure is no longer an option. I need your voice to achieve real change.

I know that we can improve this place and work to fix our ‘1 in 5’ problem so that GWU will finally receive the recognition it deserves. And, more importantly, students will finally feel represented by their leaders. It all starts with your vote on February 24^th/25^th.

My name is Josh Goldstein and I am running to be your Executive Vice President.

A Piece of Information that GW Doesn’t Want You to Know

2010-02-17T22:01:00.000-08:00

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, The George Washington University’s graduation rate is 78 percent. This means that 1 out of every 5 freshman that enter George Washington University will not leave here with a degree.

Let that sink in for a moment…1 out of every 5. I just want to know one thing: why?

Is it the lack of community? Is it the inability of the GW Administration to open their ears to the complaints of the students? Is it because, as former President Trachtenberg put it, GW “is a conglomerate that does a little education on the side”?

In the past few months, there has been a lot of talk about the problems that plague this university. The fact that 1 in 5 incoming freshman will not leave here with a degree is, in my eyes, the manifestation of nearly every problem that our student body faces. This problem underscores all the issues we talk about every day. Whether it is Columbian College advising, problems with alcohol amnesty or issues concerning J Street and Sodexho. This all has to do with frustrations towards Student Judicial Services and all of us being inundated by fees separate from that of tuition or housing. This has to do with why the university should be working to promote the interests of the many student organizations on this campus when, at times, it seems as if the university is only promoting itself. This has to do with GW acting like a Fortune 500 company when it is supposed to be a customer service driven educational institution.

All the major issues we talk about every day are “1 in 5 Issues”—issues that contribute to why it is that almost one out of every five students who enter this university do not leave with a GW degree in hand.

A Journey Of 1,000 Miles Begins With A Single Step...

2010-02-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

If there was one message that was resoundingly clear from the student body vote on the Student Association’s proposed constitution last fall, it was that students are tired of the SA being distracted by internal matters. Although these evaluations are needed for the SA to function well, they do little to help the student body and pull the Senate away from its true purpose.

The Student Association is an organization that was founded with the purpose of advocating on behalf of the GW student body—undergraduate and graduate alike. That is what we each respectively campaigned on and what we were all elected to do. Although many members of the Student Association advocate for the issues that are important to them, there has been a collective failure to make advocacy on behalf of students and student organizations the major focus of the SA.

In the next few weeks, we as students must each assess what the SA has accomplished and, more importantly, where it needs to go in the future. I understand that many people perceive the SA to simply be an organization that looks to justify itself to the student body and is full of people only concerned about bolstering their own resume. The first charge, to a certain extent, is not far from the truth. As an organization, however, we have fallen well short of the standard of excellence that you, the students, hold us to. I will be the first to admit that we have not successfully engaged the student body like we should and that this must change. In my eyes, the current state of the SA is unacceptable—not because of the actions of any one member, but because we, as an organization, have strayed away from our true purpose: advocating for students.

For this reason, along with many others, I want to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for the Office of Executive Vice President of the Student Association.

The chief priority of the Student Association must be to successfully engage students to work together in order to make the improvements we all know must be made. It is very rare that just one student or SA member will be able to achieve substantive change. Thus, it is our collective responsibility to remain active and pursue solutions to major problems that our student body faces.

As your Executive Vice President, I want to work with both Sodexho and the University towards improving dining options on weekends and allowing student organizations increased access to food waivers for cultural events. I want to sit down with the Columbian College and use student input to create a more accessible and useful advising system. I want to use SA resources to enhance school spirit and create the sense of community that GW students want and deserve.

Past SA leaders have accepted the overall apathy of the student body toward the SA and worked past it, instead of trying to change this sentiment. While many of us in the SA have worked diligently on behalf of the student body and fought for tangible improvements, it is the lack of overall student body support—even if it is justified—that hurts the legitimacy of the SA as an organization. I understand why many students feel the way they do, but the SA can be a part of the solution if we, as a student body, work to make it so.

As Executive Vice President, my most important goal is to re-engage the student body by providing it with constructive and effective outlets for students to voice their opinions. In order to achieve true success, it is time to harness the passion and drive I know that we as a student body have and use it towards addressing the issues that we talk about every day. I know it will not be easy to accomplish what I have set out to achieve, but the time for internal bickering in the SA is over. I strongly believe that if we work together to become a unified student body and hold our elected representatives to a higher standard, that we can and will achieve great things in the upcoming year.

Sincerely,

Josh Goldstein