Bergren Next EVP, President To Be Decided By Runoff

Hundreds gathered in SMPA basement lecture hall tonight to hear the results of the 2012 Student Association Election. With 45 percent of the vote, junior Abby Bergren will be the next executive vice president. The next president will be decided by a runoff vote between juniors Ashwin Narla and John Bennett.

Joint Elections Committee Chair Phil Gardner took the podium at 9:50 p.m. to announce the winners of the general election. After a few moments of thank yous to all those who participated, Gardner announced the winners to the impatient crowd (full list below).

Executive Vice President-elect Bergren's camp met her with hugs and kisses after her victory was announced. Bergren said she's looking forward to starting the job tomorrow in a post-victory interview with WRGW News.

Only 130 votes separated presidential candidates Bennett (1748) and Narla (1618). The two have a long week ahead of them which will culminate in a runoff election scheduled for Feb. 29 to March 1.

JEC Chair Gardner announced that the 2012 election had the highest voter turnout in recent history with 4,806 students casting ballots. Gardner also announced that a new initiative, which bans smoking within 25 feet of building entrances, passed with 67% supporting the plan.

This year's results venue--a small, tucked away lecture hall in the basement of the SMPA building--was the object of scrutiny by those who attended the event. The poorly ventilated room heated up as hundreds of warm bodies packed together. The subterranean "dead zone"proved to be a texter's, tweeter's and radio broadcaster's worst nightmare.

Stay tuned for audio including reactions from Executive Vice President-Elect Bergren, Narla, and Bennett. WRGW also interviewed Student Association President John Richardson regarding the next steps he will take in order to ensure a smooth transition into the next administration.

Full winners list:

Marvin Center Governing Board Graduate Governor: Gary Wong

Marvin Center Governing Board Undergraduate Governors: John Richardson, Jordan Hill, Ian Ceccarelli, Galen Petruso

SEAS Undergraduate Senator: Neil Forquer

School of Business Graduate Senators: Greg Viola, Shashwat Gautam

School of Business Undergraduate Senators: Evan Kline and Ryan Counihan

Elliott School Graduate Senator: Jonathan Kirk

Elliott School Undergraduate Senators: Alicia Rose, Michael Morgan, Ross Rattanasena

CCAS Undergraduate Senators: Markus Batchelor, Daniel Egel-Weiss, Ian Shetron, Omeed Firouzi, Nick Gumas, Anthony Bucci III

Undergraduate Senators at Large: Elizabeth Kennedy, Hugo Scheckter

WRGW Show Lets Students Speak With Administrators

WRGW District Radio's “Ask the Administrator” series provides an opportunity for dialogue among a variety of GW's administrators. In an effort to engage with the student population, GW students are encouraged to call or tweet in their questions or concerns for the guests.


Our first episode includes a conversation with the GW Dean of Students and “Ask the Administrator” co-host, Peter Konwerski, and Jorge Gadala-Maria, WRGW District Radio General Manager. Topics include an introduction about Konwerski's time at the school, an analysis regarding GW's US News & World Report rating and visible changes to the university throughout the summer. 


Associate Dean of Students Tim Miller and Student Association President John Richardson joined Gadala-Maria and Konwerski for the second episode to discuss housing issues and student org allocations and collaboration.


Both episodes covered an overarching theme of student outreach. In addressing the noise issue of the parking garage demolition at the future site of the Science and Engineering complex, Konwerski mentioned a little-known fact about the university.


“Every morning this week, there was a crew of staff and students out on the worksite monitoring the work that was happening, not only listening to what was the noise level, but advocating for 'think if this was happening and it was too loud, we're going to intercede,'” he said.


Moreover, Tim Miller continued to reassure students of the “power of their voices.” He went on to tell them that they “really do have the ability to make change not just here, but in the world...use that voice.”


This is a live and interactive talk show that will air every other Wednesday from 3:30pm-4:30pm (10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 11/30) . The easiest way to listen is at www.gwradio.com, and click the “Listen Live” icon for a pop-up player for your browser. Moreover, WRGW District Radio is also available in the iTunes Radio Directory under the “College” tab.


Click below to download the first two episodes:


Ask the Administrator - September 14th, 2011:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1agjompm3mrl36p


Ask the Administrator - September 21th, 2011
http://www.mediafire.com/?4iokawisfv9axi2


Some Twitter personalities for you to follow:
Hosts:
@porquejorge – Jorge Gadala-Maria & @GWPeterK – Peter Konwerski


Guests (so far):
@JRforGW – John Richardson, @GWTimMiller – Tim Miller




-- Jorge Gadala-Maria