My name is Paul Prados and a week ago I was running for Student Association president. Many of you passed me sitting in the Quad patiently waiting for you to tell me your problems. I never postered. I never palmcarded. I sat and waited for you. I had some good ideas and the people who ventured to speak with me were impressed with what I was trying to do.

In the March 4 issue of The GW Hatchet, there were letters to the editor complaining about how candidates trash our campus. Monday to Wednesday, you were most likely harassed on the way to and from class with palm cards and treats to entice you to vote for a name, which before that time held no meaning.

What did the student body do?

The student body chose either to ignore the elections or reward the people who harassed them. I never shouted at the top of my lungs that I would not palmcard and poster because my campaign was about my plans to bring students back in the SA and not about a lot of things I wasn’t going to do.

I have a request for the student body: Next year’s student government was elected on the platform of student advocacy. I want you to hold them to it. Go to Student Association meetings, go to presidential office hours, stop senators on the street, even go up to the fourth floor of the Marvin Center. When something bothers you, it is your job to make them know and don’t let up until they’ve done something about it.

You have representatives and no matter how little you care about them, their job is to care about your needs. When they refuse to listen, let the rest of us know. We are apathetic about the Student Association because we don’t see it doing anything for us, it’s time we stopped sitting around and told them what to do.

I wish the new president the best of luck in the coming year and hope he or she will respect his or her position as the head of student government, be responsive to student needs and vigilant in displaying our concerns to the administration. Having been in contact with other candidates in the past few weeks, I know the Senate is full of decent people with many good ideas. They have asked for their positions and titles, let them know they need to earn their positions throughout the coming year.

For those of you who caught my message and believed in me, thank you.

-The writer is a junior majoring in political science.