Posted Friday, July 8, 7:00 p.m. The school year may be well over, and the summer in full swing, but members of the Student Association have been busy working on an Internet marketplace, recruitment and various other projects.

Goodman’s appointment draws flak

SA President Audai Shakour appointed junior Jeff Goodman to be his general counsel in late June.

Goodman, who could not assume a similar post he needed Senate confirmation for, will continue to serve as Shakour’s chief legal advisor, a position he held during last semester’s election.

“Jeff was crucial to the campaign,” Shakour said. “We wanted to get Jeff involved, and keep him involved.”

Goodman said he was looking forward to the opportunity.

“Audai’s job is to help students,” Goodman said. “Our job is to help him achieve that goal.”

Goodman said he will “help the Shakour administration navigate the bylaws and work on legislation that will serve the interests of the student body.”

Executive Vice President Morgan Corr questioned Shakour’s move however, saying that it adds more bureaucracy to the SA.

“I don’t overtly object to the position,” Corr said. “I just don’t completely understand its necessity.”

Corr is the highest-ranking member of the Coalition for Reform, a slate whose presidential candidate, senior Ben Traverse, lost to Shakour by 29 votes in the final election.

Goodman’s nomination to be SA vice president of judicial and legislative affairs received resistance last May, when it was blocked by the SA Senate’s Rules Committee members, who cited what they called Goodman’s character flaws.

Corr said the Senate and executive have a “positive working relationship,” but added that Goodman is still a controversial figure in the SA.

“His appointment does not eliminate the concerns expressed during the confirmation hearings,” Corr said.

Swap-Swoop Web site

After nearly two months of negotiations with the University’s legal department, the SA’s plans for an online trading Web site have been approved.

The site, dubbed Swap-Swoop, will combine Shakour’s idea of an online market with plans for creating the trading center envisioned by Swap-Swoop, a company founded by a GW alumnus. Shakour said the site will be launched by Oct. 1.

“It’s well on its way,” Shakour said. “It’s better that we release it then to ensure that students will be able to trade books in time for the end of the first semester.”

Acting Vice President of Judicial and Legislative Affairs Will Donovan worked out a one-year contract worth $8,000 with Swap-Swoop.

The idea behind the site, Donovan said, is to provide GW students with various resources while raising money for the SA without having to raise the student fee.

“The money the Web site raises can be spent on student initiatives such as GW Votes and other executive initiatives,” Donovan said. “But the extra money means extra responsibility for the SA.”

Complementing the site will be a card providing students with discounts at local restaurants and stores. The SA has started to sell the cards at Colonial Inauguration for $10.

Discounts will be available at Domino’s Pizza, Karma, Aroma and Juice Zone, but the SA is “looking to expand the project to 50 vendors by December,” Donovan said. “The local businesses have been surprisingly (more) receptive and generous with the discounts than I would have imagined.”

CI Recruitment

SA executive and Senate members have been schmoozing at the five CI orientations in the hopes of recruiting freshmen to work for in student government this fall.

Shakour said he is pleased with recruitment.

“It’s going really well,” Shakour said in an interview before the fifth CI, which ended July 8. “At last count we had 109 incoming freshmen sign up, which is really great turnout for the executive.”

Shakour has created an initiative called “House of Freshmen,” a program devoted solely to recruiting freshmen and integrating them into the SA in the fall.

He said, “It’s a way to groom freshmen into understanding how the University works, and how they can be a part of their student government.”

Corr said he has worked with other senators to recruit incoming freshmen for the Senate.

Check back in the fall at www.GWHatchet.com for a link to the Swap-Swoop Web site.