I am appalled by the unsatisfactory nature of the Student Association, the Joint Elections Committee and the state of the student elections process. To limit the exposure and the interaction between candidates and students is an insult to all parties involved.

Though the JEC may have been originally based on legitimate principles, I believe it has by far superseded these principles and now displays and practices tactics reminiscent of the Gestapo: interrogating students as to whether or not they have been approached by candidates, tearing down notices and flyers of particular candidates, fining and embarrassing candidates for innocent encounters, requiring proof of an accident in order to allow candidates to maintain their status – the list goes on and on. And each infraction and fine is displayed on the door of the JEC like a trophy of war!

Additionally, independent candidates who choose to avoid the bureaucracy and power trips of the JEC are, by nature of their independent and outsider status, beyond the bounds of the JEC. Yet certain independent candidates who are making a stand against such ridiculous and counter-productive restrictions of the JEC – and are appealing directly to the students – still are considered by the JEC to be fair game to fine, trash and trample. Whose interests are the JEC really looking after with this behavior?

It’s about time the JEC and the SA reject the pressures of self-interest. In order to be a proper and representative voice for GW students, the SA must free itself of the binds of bureaucracy and self-justification. No longer should the SA serve the interests of only a select few.

The time has come to reject a self-serving Student Association. We must now stand in favor of a common-stock Student Association, more clearly focused on the needs and wants of the students of GW. We must now stand for change! I am now standing!-The writer is a sophomore and write-in candidate forStudent Association president.