As rewarding as it is to see the positive words of Will Dempster in The Hatchet’s Jan. 27 (“Fix the inept Senate,” p. 4) issue and Kathy Elie’s Letter to the Editor (“Keep focus,” Feb. 3, p. 5) of this past Thursday, actions and results speak louder than words.
I was glad to see that some members of the GW community realize what the SA Executive Branch tries to do for the student body. What made me even happier was an e-mail all students received on Feb. 2. Without your interest, input and involvement, it would not have been possible, but last Wednesday an administration decision was put into place directly because of student effort and dedication.
After last semester’s worries over the final exam schedule, several students, headed by a junior, took it upon themselves to do something about it. Well, something got done. In last week’s e-mail, students were notified that next fall’s final exam schedule had been changed. I can tell you that this change would not have happened if it were not for the student body speaking up and the executive of the SA acting on it.
This is just one of many areas in which students have gotten a say in their academic lives here at GW during the 2004-05 year. The sole purpose of each semester’s Coffee with the Deans Program is to put you, the student, face to face with your deans and faculty and discuss issues important to you within your school. The SA has continued its drive to collect tests and syllabi from both GW departments and students. We still need your help, and we are excited to transfer these files to an online format, so you, the student, can better access them. Working with the administration, hand in hand, again, the SA co-sponsored the Online Course Evaluation initiative. This will result in you, the student, having access to course evaluations online in the coming weeks. Discussions and decisions continue to be made regarding final exam scheduling, so that you, the student, have a schedule that makes sense and that is fundamentally sound.
We are not done, nor are we satisfied. We have an entire semester left and are committed to continuing to answer your calls for help and work with you in finding solutions. Thanks must go out to administration officials willing to work with us, like Cheryl Beil, Executive Director of Academic Planning and Assessment and Craig Linebaugh, Associate Vice President for Academic Planning and Special Projects. Without their help and guidance we would not have accomplished what we have to this point. Never hesitate to pick up the phone, come to Marvin Center Room 424 or e-mail us with what’s on your mind. That is our job and we’re not through just yet.
-The writer, a junior majoring in political science, is Student Association vice president for academic affairs.
