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Students and faculty of the University can now enjoy an online George Washington University discount for SuperShuttle Services to and from airports nationwide, according to a Student Association news release.

SA President Vishal Aswani worked closely with SA Sen. Bryce Holman (SoB-U) and Mike O’Connell, the vice president of sales at SuperShuttle Services International, to ensure that student demands were met.

“The SuperShuttle online discount success shows us that with hard work and determination we can improve the lives of students in everyday ways,” Aswani said in the news release.

Aswani had been working to get this discount for a couple of weeks. It was first announced as a possibility at the Board of Trustees meeting last Friday.

“The SuperShuttle discount is going to benefit the University in many ways,” Holman said in the release. “In the past the prices from GW to Dulles and vice versa were exorbitant, but with the new discount suddenly it makes flying out of Dulles an easier and enjoyable experience.”

To access the University’s code, go to the SuperShuttle website and type in GCJ8R. A full story will be printed in the next issue of The Hatchet.

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.

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.

The Student Association Senate-elect met for the first time yesterday to vote on next year’s chairs for the senate committees.

SA Sen. Nick Polk (FYNV) was chosen as the rules committee chair; Sen. Julie Bindelglass (CCAS-U) will be next year’s finance committee chair; Sen. Michelle Tanney (CPS) was approved as the student life committee chair; Senator-elect Louis Laverone (ESIA-U) will head the academic affairs committee next year; and Senator-elect Chris Hedquist (SoB-G) is the newest chairman of the graduate student affairs committee.

Read more about the new chairs in Thursday’s Hatchet.

-Emily Cahn contributed to this report.

Student Association Sen. Vishal Aswani (SEAS-U) defeated SA Sen. Kevin Kozlowski (U-At Large) on Tuesday night to capture the SA presidency, the Joint Elections Committee announced at 9:24 p.m. in the Marvin Center Amphitheater.

Aswani, a junior, received 55 percent of the vote and Kozlowski, a junior, got 45 percent of the ballots cast.

Stay with The Hatchet and the Newsroom for more news on the election tonight.

Student Association Sen. Vishal Aswani (SEAS-U), a junior, and SA Sen. Kevin Kozlowski (U-At Large), a junior, will go on to the run-off election for SA president. Sophomore Kyle Boyer, SA assistant vice president of community affairs, won the SA executive vice presidency, the Joint Elections Committee announced Thursday night.

The results are not official and will be certified by the JEC on Friday.

The run-off election will be held from March 12 to March 13.

Stay with The Hatchet and the Newsroom for more news on the election tonight.