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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Live-blogging the EVP debate

The Hatchet live-blogged the second annual Hatchet-SA Debate tonight, from Jack Morton Auditorium. This blog post is for the executive vice presidential debate. For the preview, click here. For the live-blogging of the presidential debate, click here.

Analysis | 10:09 p.m. The only SA outsider running for president (Tarek Al-Hariri) fared better than Burnett, the only outsider running for EVP, who found herself at odds with both of her candidates on a few positions. She stumbled at times and appeared nervous, but positioned herself strongly as an outsider, a younger candidate and a candidate for change, which could help her in the election.

Boyer and O’Neil agreed on many points. Boyer was very articulate while championing and defending his work on reducing Metro fares — looking to use that experience to his advantage — while O’Neil was more bolder with his ideas, such as proposing a more dynamic Vern shuttle and changes to the use of study rooms in Gelman.

This is a young field – two sophomores and a freshman. In a race with two SA insiders, it will be interesting to see how Burnett will use her position as an outsider as an advantage, and how Boyer and O’Neil will set each other apart as distinct candidates.

9:07 p.m. Final remarks.
Boyer emphasizes he has a good relationship with all four presidential candidates, and that for the EVP to work closely with the president is incredibly important. Burnett says she was the youngest candidate on stage, and a candidate for change. O’Neil wants to focus on practical changes with “profound effects.”

9:02 p.m. More co-sponsorships.
O’Neil says the SA should adopt a better process for the co-sponsorships, citing his experience in Program Board. He says they should ask how large the event is, whether it is held on campus, etc. (I look at Matt Cohen, who’s sitting on the other side of the auditorium. He’s looking directly at me, gesturing with a smile as if to say, “don’t we already do that?”)

9:00 p.m.
Sen. Nick D’Addario jokingly introduces himself as “almost current EVP” (he lost to Kroeger in the run-off last year) and asks what else Boyer has done this year, other than the Metro fares. Boyer says his title and role in the SA was specifically D.C. relations and initiatives, and that he concentrated very hard on his assignment all year.

8:57 p.m.
A question from the audience: what would you change about what Brand and Nicole did? The moderator gives the question to O’Neil, who says he wants more initiatives spread out to other senators. Boyer wants to build on press relations.

8:55 p.m. Elliot Bell-Krasner. If Burnett has no experience in parliamentary procedure, what leadership experience does she have? As a freshman, she cites her high school credentials: a leader in her peer leadership group, the president of a Darfur initiative.

8:52 p.m. Question from a current SA senator, Tabisa Wawelma: attendance for senators. Boyer says the elimination of slates should greatly improve this issue. Burnett says she simply wants to enforce the rules that are already there. O’Neil wants to keep senators involved.

8:51 p.m. Questions from the audience. First question from the audience comes from current EVP Kroeger: why are you running? Burnett says she is running because she cares, and she wants the students to tell her what they need. Boyer says he believes he can be an effective leader, and O’Neil says he wants to make simple changes that no one has bothered to do.

8:50 p.m. After-hours at Ames. O’Neil is proposing an after-hours Ames Dining Hall initiative, where a class or group can run their own business there, to increase student involvement and provide a good late-night dining service for the students on the Vern.

8:46 p.m.
Boyer says the EVP must be able to effectively advocate for the senate in addition to running the meetings. (Panelist Andrew Ramonas just quoted Kroeger as saying that “90%” of the EVP’s job was outside of the senate.) The other candidates agreed; O’Neil said the senate should not just pass resolutions and that they are not a “constitutional clean-up crew.”

8:43 p.m. Co-sponsorships. Boyer says finance committee chair Matt Cohen’s approach this year was “excellent,” and that it should be continued as a model. (Cohen this year allocated less money on initial allocations, allocating more for co-sponsorships. He is also in attendance; he had asked Kozlowski a question in the presidential debate.) O’Neil agrees. Burnett says it “needs to be improved,” saying they need to submit a “concrete” budget at the beginning of the year that can’t be changed and must be stuck to, as a way to “save money.” She heavily favors a large initial allocation over co-sponsorships.

8:41 p.m. Rules of order.
Andrew Ramonas asks Burnett if she has any experience in parliamentary procedure and Roberts Rules of Order. She says she has “looked at it” this semester, and that she will learn what she needs to know before she starts her tenure as EVP.

8:39 p.m. The moderator gives Boyer a chance to respond to Burnett. Boyer says she is the first person who has “expressed discontent” with the plan. He believes that with “the SA is advocating to save (students) money,” discontent doesn’t make sense.

8:37 p.m. Metro fares. Kyle Boyer wants to continue lobbying for Metro fares as well as for student representation on the Board of Trustees. Burnett does not believe the Metro fares are important to the student body.

8:35 p.m. The debate begins.
Ted O’Neil wants to establish an office of constituent services, and mentions having the Vern stop near Georgetown on weekends. He says students often come to current executive vice president Kroeger because they don’t know who else to ask.

The Hatchet is live-blogging the second annual Hatchet-SA Debate tonight, from Jack Morton Auditorium.

While most people who would want to read this are sitting in this auditorium with me (Jack Morton seats 250 and is more than half full), we hope this serves as a good record of the debate, and I hope to offer some analysis as the event progresses. -Andrew Nacin, web editor of The Hatchet.

The debate of candidates for executive vice president is starting…

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