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Sen. Logan Dobson with his placard at the SA meeting on Tuesday night.

A bill designed to increase transparency in the student organization financial process was sent back to committee at the Student Association senate meeting Tuesday night after the advisor to the SA encouraged senators to allow the University General Counsel to review the bill.

Tim Miller, executive director of the Student Activities Center, said he did not urge senators to vote against the bill, but rather for them to allow the counsel to say whether or not they were comfortable with allowing University financial records to become public.

SA Sen. Logan Dobson (CCAS-U), a sponsor of the bill, said he does not think it was necessary for the senate to delay passage of the bill.

“We don’t need anyone’s authority to change the bylaws,” Dobson said at the meeting. “The SA constitution is signed by the Board of Trustees and that would outrank the General Counsel. We don’t need to ask (the General Counsel) if we wish to amend our bylaws.”

Despite Dobson’s position, other senators said they did not feel comfortable passing the bill without the consent of the Counsel.

“This is the first year that we are receiving increased money from the University to allocate to student orgs,” said SA Sen. Ricardo Pineres (G-at-Large). “I think it is a prudent decision to ensure that the University is content with way we are handling this process.”

SA Sen. Michelle Tanney (CPS-G) said she felt the SA behaved maturely for waiting to pass the bill.

“I think (allowing the General Counsel to review the bill) would set good precedent with administration that we are working with them and not against them, especially with money which is controversial at this University,” said Tanney, a graduate student.

Dobson said he does not think the General Counsel will have a problem with the bill and he is confident the bill will pass when it goes before the senate again on Oct. 21.

“I’m still extremely disappointed in the senate’s decision,” said Dobson, a sophomore. “I feel that the senate took the phantom objections of a GW administration figure over the desires of the students for a more open financial process.”

SA Sen. Rob Lockwood (U-at-Large) co-sponsored the bill, while SA President Vishal Aswani and Executive Vice President Kyle Boyer also voiced their support for the bill.

The Student Association appointed three freshmen Tuesday night to serve in the senate.

Freshmen Stephanie Benedict, Erik Ashida and Josh Goldstein garnered the three nonvoting positions out of a pool of nine finalists.

“We worked hard to be chosen out of 40 (initial) applicants and we are honored to be chosen,” said Goldstein. “We hope we can live up to the standards the executive set for us.”

Goldstein said he plans to improve communication in the SA.

“It is our job to inform the student body about what is going on in the SA and keep it so that they know what we are doing,” he said.

Ashida said it is important that freshmen understand how the University Police Department and EmERG work.

Freshmen Josh Goldstein, Stephanie Benedict and Erik Ashida after their Senate confirmation on Tuesday night. Tim Gowa/Staff photographer.

He said he also wants to work on reforming the guest policy in freshman residence halls.

“It is a hassle to have to sign friends into the dorms,” Ashida said.

Benedict said she is best able to serve the freshmen community because she is a member of both the Mount Vernon Campus community and the Women’s Leadership Program.

At the next SA senate meeting on Oct. 7, the senators will introduce legislation that would allow freshman senators to vote.

Last year, Sen. Julie Bindelglass (CCAS-U), chair of the finance committee, became the first freshman in several years to receive voting rights after the senate voted her into a vacant voting seat.

All three of the freshmen senators said they support the bill, however they also understand that it faces an uphill battle in the senate.

“It is my understanding that the bill may require an expensive referenda from the study body,” Ashida said. “I wouldn’t be opposed to making the best of what we already have.”

Christopher Wimbush was elected Chief Judge of the Student Association Student Court on Tuesday.

Wimbush, a senior, has served on the Student Court since November 2006. He has also held various positions within the SA including associate student senate parliamentarian, and vice president for judicial and legislative affairs.

During his tenure as vice president for judicial and legislative affairs, Wimbush was responsible for dealing with violations of the SA constitution and By-laws. As chief justice of the Student Court, Wimbush said his working knowledge of the SA constitution will be helpful.

“As chief judge, my job is basically to make sure everything runs smoothly,” Wimbush said.

The Student Court is responsible for reviewing complaints filed by members of the SA. In the past, the Student Court has ruled on cases concerning SA elections and disputes over SA senate meetings.

“We don’t act very often but when we do, its usually pretty meaningful,” said Wimbush.

Wimbush will serve on the Student Court with former SA executive vice president, Brand Kroeger, and former SA senator, Kevin Kozlowski. The graduate seat on the court is vacant and must be filled by SA president Vishal Aswani.

Former Student Association executive vice president, Brand Kroeger, and former SA senator, Kevin Kozlowski, were appointed to the Student Court Tuesday at the first senate meeting of the year.

Kozlowski, a senior and former SA presidential candidate, said he looks forward to serving on the Court.

“While not as visible as other branches of our Student Association, the Court is an integral part of the SA,” Kozlowski said.

The SC, which has the power to preside over complaints filed by members of the SA, has five judges.

In the past, the SC has resolved disputes over SA election results, as well as disputes over special meetings called by SA presidents.

Student organizations can now view their account balances online, according to Student Association Sen. Julie Bindelglass (CCAS-U).

Allowing student organizations to view account balances online creates a more simple process for organizations applying for funds, said Bindelglass, chair of the senate finance committee.

“By having up to date account balances, student organizations will know what resources are available to them at (any) given time, which will add a new ease to planning,” said Bindelglass, a sophomore.

The addition of online account information is due to student feedback about the complicated SA financial process, Bindelglass said.

“The Student Association and Student Activities Center are working together to ensure that information is frequently updated and readily available,” said Bindelglass, a sophomore.

Student organizations will receive initial allocation funds during the SA senate meeting Oct. 7.

The first floor of the former DJ’s Fastbreak is slated to become a student lounge said Helen Cannaday Saulny, assistant vice president of Student Academic and Support Services.

Although SASS announced last November that the second floor of the space, located on the corner of G and 22nd Street, will house EMeRG offices, the plan to create a student lounge is not finalized.

Cannaday Saulny said the delay was due to a thorough survey of student opinion.

“My staff held a focus group with students who represented a cross-section of students’ interest and level of involvement,” said Cannaday Saulny. “These students expressed interest in having a space that would allow for students to relax between classes, connect with one another, check email and or use for spirit-related gatherings (such as) before sporting contests, Greek related activities, and other student organization non-event space functions.”

Former SA president and executive vice president, seniors Nicole Capp and Brand Kroeger, helped decide what would occupy the space.

“We flirted with and explored the idea expressed by immediate past student association president Nicole Capp and student association executive vice president Brand Kroger to house a student run a fan and Greek store,” Cannaday Saulny said. “After consultation with the student focus group and other issues, we learned and subsequently decided that this was not the preferred nor more popular preference of our students for that space.”

Cannaday Saulny said that while there will be no substantial food service provider at the space, there will be vending machines for students to purchase snacks.

“There will be canteen style machines, but no full or partial food service providers,” Cannaday Saulny said. “I think soda, snack and coffee machines for sure with, perhaps, a refrigerator and microwave (which were requests from students).”

The logistics of the student lounge, such as hours and security measures, must be worked out before the plan is finalized, Cannaday Saulny said.

The 2008-2009 Student Association senate meeting schedule was released Sunday by SA Executive Vice President Kyle Boyer. Meetings will be held roughly every other Tuesday night at 9 p.m. beginning Tuesday, September 16.

“With little exception, these will be the dates, times, and locations, of standing meetings,” said Boyer in an email. “We are releasing this schedule far in advance to alleviate any possible conflicts.”

See the attached Microsoft Word document for the full schedule.

Study rooms in the Duques Hall will stay open from 6:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. during this spring’s final exam period, Student Association President Vishal Aswani said Tuesday.

Students that cannot find space in Gelman Library or Columbian Square can utilize the study space in the Duques building, he said.

“When I was talking to the administrators in Gelman Library, I realized how filled Gelman is during the midterms and finals period,” said Aswani, a junior. “I felt it was for the best interest of the students at GW to really go out and find the extra ways or other buildings to go out and study.”

Aswani said after talking to many students, Duques was the building of choice for more study space, Aswani said.

“After talking with the deans over at the School of Business, we were able to (get the study space) available,” he said.

The final exam period ends May 13.

The Student Association senate rules committee-elect met to discuss issues of SA transparency Monday in the Marvin Center.

The meeting was sparked by a letter sent by Ben Balter, chair of the committee which oversees student run elections. Balter, a junior, said in his letter that his committee, which worked to ensure a free and fair election for the SA, was held to higher standards than the SA.

“It was general sentiment of the committee that there was a sense of disconnect between the JEC and the senate,” Balter said. “Why should the student voice be held to any less of a standard than committee that elects it?”

Balter said his committee had to make all of their documents public in order for their decisions to hold — something the SA senate did not do this year, he said.

Recipient of the letter, SA senator-elect Nick Polk (U-at-Large), said the senate should use the model the JEC used this year and publish their public documents on the SA Web site to improve transparency.

Fred Girard, a member of the incoming executive cabinet, said the average student would not look at the posted documents.

“Think about the average student,” said Girard, the incoming vice president for judicial and legislative affairs. “Are the really going to use (these documents)?”

Executive Vice President-elect Kyle Boyer disagreed with Girard. He said public documents should be posted online as it is not difficult for senators to do.

SA senator-elect Patrick Hanley (ESIA-U) said the documents should be visible to all students on the Web site.

“I don’t understand why we can’t just get it done,” said Hanley, a freshman.

The rules committee will meet through a conference call over the summer to further discuss ideas for transparency.

The Student Association senate-elect confirmed eight students to serve on the executive cabinet next year.

Junior Tim Little, sophomores Dan Curran and Fred Girard, freshmen Shawn Dejbaksh, Jason Lifton, Chas Pressner and Tabisa Walwema, and graduate student J.P. Simon will all serve as vice presidents for SA President-elect Vishal Aswani.

“I’m beyond ecstatic right now,” said Aswani, a junior.

He added the senate confirmations were “just a matter of reaffirming the decisions we made as a group.”

Little will be the vice president for academic affairs for the third year in a row. Freshmen Shawn Dejbaksh and Tabisa Walwema will serve as the vice presidents for student activities and public affairs respectively.