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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.

Student Association President-elect Vishal Aswani selected his choices for next year’s executive cabinet.

Thirty-nine students will serve on Aswani’s cabinet – a number the president-elect said he is excited about.

“My transition staff and I could not be happier with the number of applications received this year, as it far exceeded the number of posts available,” said Aswani, a junior. “We believe that this level of interest from the general student body denotes an unprecedented desire for involvement in the Student Association.”

The eight vice presidential cabinet positions, which all must be approved by the senate rules committee and the full senate before they become official, went to many familiar faces within the SA.

Gym Class Heroes drummer Matt McGinley spoke about the band’s college tour and his band’s upcoming album, before performing Saturday night at the Smith Center.

The Gym Class Heroes, an alternative hip-hop band best known for the songs “Cupids Chokehold” and “Clothes Off,” are performing Saturday night as the headliner for Program Board’s Spring Fling event.

McGinley said GW is GCH’s second stop on their college tour. The band arrived this morning from Daytona, Fla. where they played for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University last night.

“The college tours are always incredibly fun because, I mean, we are playing respectively to kids that are kind of around our same age which is cool,” said McGinley in an interview with The Hatchet.

Student Association president-elect Vishal Aswani said on Wednesday that more than 50 students applied for about 30 cabinet positions available next year.

Aswani, a junior, said he is “‘as happy as a cowboy at a rodeo’ with the turnout. ”

This number helps “show the amount of people that truly wish to be a part of change to the University,” Aswani said.

He added, “This is the first real test of how many people the Student Association can reach who may not necessarily fall into the typical SA mold and I am ecstatic with the result.”

Aswani and his staff are currently interviewing applicants and will make a final decision April 8.

Student Association Executive Vice President Brand Kroger’s mom was honored in a resolution passed by the senate Tuesday night.

Writing in Kroeger’s mother’s name on ballots for committees has been a long-running joke within the SA.

“Brand’s mom is truly an ex officio member of the senate,” said SA Sen. Katie Santo (CCAS-G), sponsor of the resolution. “It is time that we recognize her as such.”

Kroeger, a junior, was unaware that such a resolution was to be put on the agenda during the meeting. Caught off guard, he called his mother to tell her the news of the resolution being debated on the table.

“I have to say that I am truly honored by the legislation proposed before this body,” Patti Kroeger said on speaker phone to the senate body. “I am just speechless.”

The legislation was passed almost unanimously, with SA Sen. Nathan Brill (SoB-U) voting against the resolution and SA Sen. Nick D’Addario (U-at-Large) and SA Sen. OG Oyiborhoro abstaining.

The resolution can be viewed here.

Kyle Boyer launched his campaign for Student Association Executive Vice President Tuesday night in front of over 30 brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Boyer, a sophomore, emphasized his platform of “Campus connection, campus convenience, campus city.” Campus connection, Boyer said, is intended to unify GW through his advocating to have a student representative on the Board of Trustees.

“The Student Association of the past several years has proven itself a deliberative branch of student life capable of self-governance and effective action,” Boyer said in his official platform. “For that reason, it is time for Chairman Ramsey and the Board of Trustees to provide sanction for a student representative.”

Under campus convenience, Boyer said he plans to continue advocating for a wireless campus and eliminate mandatory spending at J Street.

“We are bogged down with our contract with Sodexho,” Boyer said. “I will advocate to get out of the contract with Sodexho and Aramark to alleviate mandatory spending or create as little mandatory spending as possible.”

Lastly, under campus city, Boyer said he would continue to lobby for a student discount on the D.C. Metro system.

“As this city gets excited (for the upcoming presidential elections), its important that we get excited too,” Boyer said. “It is important that we take our roles as students seriously and that is what I want to do as EVP.”