Losing his bid for the Student Association presidency taught Kyle Boyer at least one thing: He was good at bringing people together.

Boyer said he plans to capitalize on this talent by launching the Colonial Impact Group, a student organization that will organize students to build a more spirited and unified campus.

“There is and has been a recognizable need for spirit on our campus,” said Boyer, a junior. “This year’s campaign showed myself and a lot of my good friends that we could really bring people together. So we said, ‘If standing on a car and throwing a football in Kogan got people excited, why not do it more often?’ “

Though Boyer was booted from the SA presidential ballot for a financial violation – he borrowed a friend’s car and did not report its fair market value – he said the experience was not a total loss.

“We were able to get 1,600 people on board for SA stuff, so I’m sure we can get at least part of campus more excited about being at GW,” he said.

Boyer said CIG will build spirit on campus by hosting events in visible areas – like University Yard and Kogan Plaza.

“One way will be things like barbecues in Kogan, but then we are also working with some local businesses to start doing regular promotions,” Boyer said.

Boyer said he will also utilize his contacts in the University administration to help build campus spirit.

“One of the main reasons I decided to launch this initiative was because of the good relationship I have with the University’s leadership,” Boyer said. “Administrators at all levels recognize the need for more campus spirit and they know that my campaign had a lot of support during the election, so I look forward to continuing work with them through CIG to build enthusiasm and spirit for our school.”

While CIG would be run by and catered to students, Boyer said he is hesitant to register CIG as an official student organization.

“Being a registered org has some benefits like availability of space, but being independent does as well, especially when it comes to finances,” Boyer said. “I never liked the idea of starting another org to take student fee money. Instead, we think we can work with outside groups, supporters and donors to do some creative fundraising.”

Though Boyer said CIG is currently in planning stages, he said he hopes the group will be up and running for the beginning of next year when students return to campus.

“Hopefully by the fall we’ll have a group of students and supporters that represent every part of campus,” Boyer said.