Serving the GW Community since 1904

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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Avra Bossov

Year: Junior
Major: Political communication
Hometown: Cherry Hill, N.J.
Clubs/Activities: House staff in Thurston, Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity, Alternative Breaks, former Hatchet photographer
Dream job: A position that combines advocacy and communication, such as a communications director for a non-profit organization.
Favorite Winter Olympics event: Curling
How far you’ve gotten in the second season of “House of Cards”: Episode No. 4. I would be further along, but there’s this campaign thing going on, you know?
What you would name the new residence hall: The Deeds Not Words Hall.
How many men’s basketball games have you gone to this year?: Most of them. My favorite was the game against VCU.

Avra Bossov began working for the Student Association her sophomore year – as a photographer.

Then she began running the organization’s social media accounts and reaching out to administrators as the assistant vice president for public affairs.

Now, the two-year member of the SA’s executive cabinet is one of four candidates seeking the organization’s second-highest seat. She is the only female candidate out of six competing for an executive spot this year.

Bossov said her experience working for SA president Julia Susuni has allowed her to “see behind the scenes,” and helped her realize the information gap between students and top officials.

She wants to transform the senate’s bi-weekly meetings into open forums for students and administrators, built on her own ties to top leaders.

If elected, Bossov plans to stress in her summer meeting with University President Steven Knapp how he and other officials, such as Associate Dean of Students Tim Miller, Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski and Director of Campus Support Services Nancy Haaga, could work with the SA.

“There are a lot of things wrong at GW, or that could be improved, but there are also a lot of really great things,” said Bossov, who was also a photographer for The Hatchet freshman year. “But at the end of the day, we cannot just complain, we have to do things and be appreciative of the great opportunities we have here because we matter.”

After taking part in the talks to relocate Student Health Service to campus, Bossov said she would now push GW to shell out thousands of dollars to hire more staff members to reduce wait time. She said because more students will go to SHS when it is centrally located, and therefore pay more in appointment fees, the University will have the money to increase hiring.

She will also urge the University Counseling Center to create a platform for students to schedule appointments online and GW to offer more workshops for stress management.

But she said administrators must also be held accountable for student safety, and is calling on officials, such as Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security Darrell Darnell, to more quickly inform students about threats on or near campus through the GW Alert system. The system has come under fire this year after the University failed to alert the community about two gun threats on campus last fall.

Bossov said she would also explore different ways to alert students beyond text messages and emails.

“It is the administration’s responsibility to make sure students are safe,” she said.

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