Name: David York
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Major: Political Science and History;
Minor: American Studies
Year: Junior
Credentials: Internet business owner, congressional intern
Web site: http://www.YORK2000.com
Student Association presidential candidate David York said he wants to change the face of student government.
Instead of focusing solely on internal SA reform and working to get student groups more money, York said he has plans to do everything from making SA legislation available online to initiating a school to school relationship and exchange with a university in communist Cuba.
No one else seems to have any desire to make the SA do what it should, York said.
Despite never being involved with the SA before, York said he has become knowledgeable about GW’s student government and other student governments nationwide. He said his ability to keep his eyes and ears open has helped him know what can and should be done at GW.
I think I’ve researched every student government in the Western world, he said.
York, who boasts a 36-point platform, said he is seeking the help of people who would normally refrain from getting involved with the SA. He said he feels many people are disillusioned with the SA because it does not do enough.
They spend so much money but provide so little service, he said.
Many of the goals he considers to be most important center around expanding the SA’s presence on the Internet. The candidate, who also is an Internet business owner, said he wants students to be able to track legislation online, continually buy books from the SA Book Exchange online, get off-campus housing information online and publish instructor and course reviews, a syllabus, and the test file online.
York said he wants to create a system where students can rent lofts for their residence hall rooms, and he would like to open up the balconies at the Hall on Virginia Avenue.
The less the SA does, the less people want to do with (the SA), he said. If we do the five or 10 things that impact people’s lives, that feeling will spiral upward.
