Tuesday, April 18: Free pizza. Last Senate meeting of the year. A pie in the face of the Student Association President. This is what the posters and e-mails read for EVP Night 2000 – an event which I organized as part of my five minutes as Executive Vice President of the SA.
At RHA’s Martha’s Marathon in February, I bid on and won five minutes as EVP of the SA, a position I ran for and lost in the 1999 campus elections. As part of my campaign, I promised that if I were elected, there would be free pizza at every Senate meeting. I felt that this would increase interest, attendance and participation at SA functions. I felt that EVP Night would be a fun way to fulfill my campaign promise and allow the entire GW community to experience a Senate meeting in the manner that I had hoped to conduct them. At 10 p.m., J Street was flooded with between 200 and 300 GW students – proof that the night, and my proposal, was a success.
On another note, I have read Mr. Silverstein’s editorial (April 20, p. 4, President pulls out), and I have seen Caity Leu’s response (April 24, p. 4, Pie reply). I would like to say that while I hoped that the SA president would come out to support this event as a representative of the students and student organizations at GW, it does not surprise me that I did not see her there.
Regardless of whether there was going to be a pie in her face, I feel that she should have followed through with her promise to those who organized Martha’s Marathon and those who bid on the SA prize package. It was a poor decision on her part to dismiss her responsibility as our student body president and miss an event that was sponsored by 15 student groups and supported by a few hundred students. This was a very poor decision.
So, as we close another year at GW and look forward to what next year – and next year’s SA – has in store for us, we can all think about those people whom we have elected to represent us in the many aspects of campus life. Hold those elected officials accountable. If you are one of these representatives, accept responsibility for your words and your actions. Say to yourself, I accept the responsibility. To others say, I am sorry. And for goodness sake, remember that everything is not about SA politics. Let’s try to change that next year and have some fun!
Most importantly though, support the GW population. Thank you to all those who attended and supported EVP Night 2000. It was truly an honor to serve you as executive vice president. Even if it was only for five minutes.
-The writer is a junior majoring in business management.
