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The GW Hatchet

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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Staff Editorial: Jumping through legislative hoops

The red tape. The back and forth. The obscure details of legislative precedent. While Congress was dealing with all of the above in regards to the stimulus bill that will affect the nation, GW’s own Student Association was engulfed in an even more bitter legislative battle.

Over what, you may ask? Signatures.

To give you the Cliffs Notes version, a bill to abolish the need for signatures for candidates to get onto the SA election ballot was passed on Feb. 4. It was then vetoed by SA President Vishal Aswani. The veto was then overridden by the senate. But wait – the override of the veto was then contested by Jordan Chapman, Aswani’s vice president for judicial and legislative affairs. (Why is that position even necessary?)

Bottom line? After a student court ruling, we are back where we started before the whole drawn-out ordeal – no signatures are needed.

The merits of the signatures bill, which was inconveniently introduced just weeks before the election, are of little consequence at this point. The question is, why did our SA utilize each of its three branches for a week over something that turns out to be a nonissue? If they were this motivated about mandatory J Street dining, we would have at least a four-star restaurant in place of J Street Café by now.

And this is no doubt just the opening act of the three-ring circus the election season is shaping up to be. With seven presidential and four executive vice-presidential candidates already declared, we’re in for quite a show.

Despite these 11 candidates, sophomore Julie Bindelglass is the only female who has declared her intention to run. With a student body fairly split along gender lines, it is disappointing to not see a stronger representation among the candidates.

As election season heats up, even if you don’t normally pay attention to the “legislative battles” taking place in the Marvin Center, take a few minutes out to glance at the list of candidates and cast your vote. Past administrations are proof that the SA can be an efficient and productive organization, but it can just as easily get bogged down by bylaws.

We’ll see you at the polls.

Readers can visit The Forum to comment on this editorial.

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