Vox invited each ticket to respond to five questions about their campaigns to be the next leaders of the GUSA Executive. They will be posted without editing or comment. Below is the response of Nate Tisa and Sheila Walsh.

Why are you qualified to the GUSA President and Vice President?

Together, Nate and Sheila are the most qualified ticket in the field in spite of their relative youth. We have both served in the senate for two years and risen to leadership roles. Sheila is the Vice-Chair of the Finance and Appropriations committee, and helped to lead SAFE Reform through its multiple phases. Nate is the Vice-Speaker of the Senate. As is clear from our resumes, we are committed to working collaboratively. We do not take credit for initiatives that were too large for either of us to complete alone. When Nate saw that senate elections and leadership selection were skewed and biased, he convened a panel of senators and election commissioners to make the system fair for all. As a co-author of the 2012 Student Life Report, Sheila worked with an expert committee to investigate student life and produce bulletproof recommendations for permanent improvement. We are dedicated, forward thinking, and committed to changing GUSA’s paradigm once and for all. We’re the best TEAM, not just the best ticket. Enough’s enough- Cheers to the Future.

What are your top three goals that you hope to achieve as the GUSA Executives?

1. Make GUSA work collaboratively with advisory boards to better advocate for student space, cut red tape, and streamline funding and access to benefits;
2. Reinvigorate diversity on campus so it becomes more than a lecture series by hosting a campus-wide Unity Fair and engaging in outreach;
3. Reform academic life in simple, effective ways by making MyAccess more user-friendly and improving mentorship programs for freshmen and upperclassmen.

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Vox invited each ticket to respond to five questions about their campaigns to be the next leaders of the GUSA Executive. They will be posted without editing or comment. Below is the response of John Morris and Lauren Weber.

Why are you qualified to the GUSA President and Vice President?

We feel like we are in a unique position as a ticket. John has the most Executive Branch experience in the field this year, having spent his entire Georgetown career in the GUSA Executive, as a member of the Outreach team, as Co-Director of Executive Outreach, and currently, as a Deputy Chief of Staff. He knows how to do things and how not to do things in the GUSA Exec. Strides have been made in all departments to which John was the primary contact point: Student Safety, Student Advocacy Office, Sustainability, and Neighborhood Relations. With the SAO, in particular, John traveled to American University twice, met with the Office of Student Conduct, and worked with Ace Factor and James Pickens in selecting the advocates that currently run the SAO.

The other half of our unique position is Lauren’s work outside of GUSA. Though interested in GUSA from the beginning of her freshman year, Lauren has never been directly involved. Ironically, despite this lack of experience, John thinks that the case can be easily made that Lauren knows more about the Georgetown University campus than any other undergraduate. Whether it was being a beat writer early on in her freshman year, rising through the many levels of The Hoya as Campus News Editor, or during her time as Executive Editor, Lauren was exposed to just about everything on Georgetown’s campus. She will be an incredible asset for GUSA, much like she is already an incredible asset for Georgetown.

That’s why we’re qualified: our “Inside-Outside” experience is unmatched. Both of us, more than anything, want to ‘bring GUSA to the students’; who better to do so than the team with the most Executive experience and the most experience voicing the opinions and concerns of the Student Body that GUSA was created to respond to and to represent.

What are your top three goals that you hope to achieve as the GUSA Executives?

One of our main goals is to strengthen the Student Advocacy Office. Right now, the SAO’s track is to be a resource for students who have allegedly violated the Student Code of Conduct and educate them about their rights. In our vision, not only will the SAO perform these tasks, but it will become a hub for students to learn more about the administration, the bureaucracy, and the red tape at Georgetown.

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With 643 votes tallied, the winner of the Vox straw poll of next week’s GUSA Executive election is the Gustafson-Kohnert-Yount ticket, which received over 22.5 percent of the vote. The Tisa-Walsh campaign came in a relatively close second, garnering 16.17 percent of the vote. Jockeying for third in the poll were the Delaney-Appau and Morris-Weber campaigns, which attracted 13.2 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. In fifth place, the LaMagna-Starks ticket received 10.7 percent of the vote. Not escaping the single digits, the Malkerson-Cleary campaign amassed 9.8 percent. With 6.53 percent of the vote, the Sax-Crouch ticket finished dead last, behind “Undecided/Chicken Madness”, which received 8.86 percent.

It should be noted that while we took all possible steps to prevent tomfoolery, last year’s straw poll did not accurately predict the winner, and this year far more voters than the 643 who participated in our poll are expected to vote in the election.

Vox invited each ticket to respond to five questions about their campaigns to be the next leaders of the GUSA Executive. They will be posted without editing or comment. Below is the response of Colton Malkerson and Maggie Cleary.

Why are you qualified to the GUSA President and Vice President?
We are the most experienced ticket running with the clearest track record. Colton is Chair of the GUSA Finance & Appropriations Committee. He has led SAFE Reform efforts for the past three years, resulting in a more accountable SAC, triple the amount of funding for clubs, and $3.5 million being allocated to NSSC, Georgetown Energy, and SIPS Fund. Maggie is Director of Executive Outreach and Chair of College Republicans. She understands how to run an effective executive. She also knows the needs of clubs and what reforms are needed.

What are your top three goals that you hope to achieve as the GUSA Executives?
1) Bring Zipcars to campus and give students free online newspaper subscriptions
2) Reform the Code of Conduct so it’s fair and reasonable
3) Ensure student ownership and operation of the pub in New South Student Center

What do you believe GUSA’s role should be in interacting with the administration?
GUSA’s job is to advocate for and defend student interests. We are the students’ primary contact with University officials. It’s our job to work with them to get things done, but also hold them accountable. This is why experience is so important. Implementing campaign promises requires a working relationship with administrators. We have this already and are prepared to start working on day one.

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Markel Starks told me I looked “killin” #dreamscometrue#gusadebate

— Maggie Cleary (@mcleary819) February 16, 2012

Between complimenting one of his competitors on her looks, charismatically condemning Leo’s food as “nasty”, and saying he doesn’t think Hollis Thompson will declare for the NBA draft this year, GUSA vice presidential candidate Markel Starks (COL ’14) took some notes during the vice presidential debate last night. Click the photo to more closely examine how Markel was able to tie himself in tic-tac-toe twice.

Vox invited each ticket to respond to five questions about their campaigns to be the next leaders of the GUSA Executive. They will be posted without editing or comment. Below is the response of Clara Gustafson and Vail Kohnert-Yount.

Why are you qualified to be the GUSA President and Vice President?

We are the most experienced, committed, and energetic team to serve Georgetown as the president and vice president of the Georgetown University Student Association. Clara has three years of experience in the GUSA Senate and co-founded the Social Innovation and Public Service (SIPS) Fund, and Vail served as the president of one of the largest and most active student groups on campus and has been a leader at the Center for Social Justice and in many other student groups. With our combined experience both inside and outside of GUSA, we know how things work and how to get things done.

What are your top three goals that you hope to achieve as the GUSA Executives?

The first sentence of the Georgetown University mission statement reads: “Georgetown is a Catholic and Jesuit student-centered research university.” In line with the university’s mission, we hope to achieve the following three goals:

1) We will strengthen Georgetown’s commitment to our Jesuit values of cura personalis, community in diversity, and being men and women for others by supporting and advocating for more and better space for arts and athletics, holding the first ever GUSA Unity and Diversity Summit, and advocating for more staff and funding for the Center for Social Justice.

2) We will hold the university accountable to representing students’ interests by ensuring students have a seat at the table in all decisions that affect us, especially the redesign of the Leavey Center, making professor and course evaluations more accessible, and creating a single centralized space booking system online.

3) We will reinvigorate academic and intellectual life at Georgetown through strengthening our university’s commitment to research and inquiry. We will sponsor the first annual university-wide undergraduate research symposium, advocate for the proposed Undergraduate Institute for Research and Inquiry, and actively participate in the selection of a new provost.

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Vox invited each ticket to respond to five questions about their campaigns to be the next leaders of the GUSA Executive. They will be posted without editing or comment. Below is the response of Daniel LaMagna and Markel Starks.

Why are you qualified to be the GUSA President and Vice President?

We have experience on both the least and most functional organizations at Georgetown. We’ll focus on achieving practical objectives that make a difference in the daily lives of students.

What are your top three goals that you hope to achieve as the GUSA Executives?

Working with the administration to begin developing a smartphone app using the Modo Labs platform, making sure the University overhauls the Facilities system by the beginning of the academic year, and improving transparency by monthly video updates that will keep students informed on what we are doing.

What do you believe GUSA’s role should be in interacting with the administration?

GUSA should advocate for students by cutting through the red tape, holding public meetings with members of the administration, and making sure the administration keeps its promises by formalizing them in writing.

How would you characterize President Meaney’s and Vice President Laverriere’s time in office? If elected what do you plan to do the same/differently?

Mike and Greg do well at guiding long-term reforms to fruition. While this is fine, we think GUSA should emphasize practical goals like overhauling facilities, increasing GUTS bus weekend hours, and keeping students informed through monthly video updates.

Do you believe that student groups are people? [inspired by Mitt Romney]

They are made up of people.

Photos: Craig Hudson

As this week’s feature, Rachel Calvert previews next week’s GUSA Executive election, explaining the candidates’ positions on issues ranging from dining services and student space to diversity initiatives and internal GUSA reform.

The Editorial Board officially endorses the Gustafson-Kohnert-Yount ticket in the GUSA Executive election, saying they are the candidates who will truly “get shit done.”

In News, Morgan Manger examines the GUSA election’s budget debates.

In the Sports pages, Kevin Joseph ponders the uncertain future of Georgetown football after the Patriot League’s decision to allow football scholarships for the first time.

In the Leisure section, John Sapunor asks George Lucas for the $16 he spent on the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. “Dear Mr. Lucas, You suck.”

Recalling her own experience of the earthquake, Julia Tanaka in Voices calls for better remembrance of the natural disasters that struck Japan eleven months ago.