Four more candidates have entered the race for the Student Association’s two top posts Thursday, all underscoring their lack of experience in the organization as key components of their campaign.

Five men are now contesting for the highest spot – only one with a history in the SA Senate. As of Wednesday, just one student is seeking the executive vice president spot – a position that saw five competitors last spring.

Ashwin Narla, a member of last summer’s Colonial Cabinet, announced Thursday that he will bid for the SA’s highest position. As president, the junior said he would focus on maximizing student space in Foggy Bottom, echoing platforms of nearly every other candidate to date.

He said he wants to make better use of existing campus space, such as academic buildings after hours and outdoor areas that some students avoid because of smokers’ presence, like Gelman Library’s patio. Narla proposes late-night access to more University buildings and designated smoking zones on campus to free up “clean air” space.

If elected, Narla also said he would prioritize a campus-wide calendar for all events. Unlike past candidates, Narla said his team would jump start their efforts of compiling the calendar over the summer, seeking help from student organizations and University departments with successful calendars to identify a feasible, effective approach.

“You can’t sit on your butt and expect things to happen. I would go to the departments that have this and start talking about how we can get this,” the candidate said, adding that the GW School of Business and the Multicultural Student Services Center could serve as models.

The junior is a member of Sigma Chi, the same fraternity as SA President John Richardson, and has served as an Alternative Breaks participant and leader. If elected, Narla would become the third consecutive Sigma Chi to hold the presidential title, but he brushed off this comparison, saying he does not define himself as a candidate by his fraternity membership.

Jeremy Iloulian, chair of the International Affairs Society, also announced his run for the SA presidency Thursday, with a platform based on student organizations’ needs. The junior said he would aim for speedier reimbursement of student groups’ out-of-pocket expenses and more formalized communication between departments whose functions overlap, such as the student-event coordinators in the Center for Student Engagement, Office of Greek Life, Sodexo Dining Services and the Student Association.

“[The departments] all have something in common. Everything is interconnected,” Iloulian said, emphasizing the need for staff across the University to work together and clarify procedures like funding processes for student organizations.

Managing a student group with more than 300 members, Iloulian said he is constantly interacting with the SA to coordinate programming and funding requests. “I’m at the advantage where I understand how it works, but I’m not part of it, so I can take a step back and look at it and see all the parts, and see what’s wrong with it,” Iloulian said.

If elected, Iloulian said he would fight for more student feedback in the ongoing overhaul of career services, explaining that input is crucial during the project’s earlier stages. Focus groups kicked off the career services review last spring, but Iloulian pointed out that there are still opportunities for students to impact major decisions.

He said he would make sure that the new career center calls for a greater recruiting presence from major companies and organizations. Iloulian also thinks undergraduates would benefit from updated lists of University and national research grants.

Junior Benjamin Pincus made his bid for president public Feb. 7, seeking signatures in the Marvin Center. If elected, Pincus said he would “call attention to the lack of transparency” within the SA, particularly within the funding process.

As president, Pincus said he would improve the SA’s abilities as the “broker” between the University funds and student organizations. As a member of the Fourteenth Grade Players’ executive board, Pincus said he has many ideas for how to streamline the annual allocations process.

“I understand that the SA has constraints in its own budget and that not every activity can be funded equally, but that does not mean detailed explanations for allocations cannot be provided,” Pincus said.

The candidate said that although his platform is focused on internal SA policies, he would not “shun” ideas brought to him by members of his cabinet or senators about the larger campus issues.

The junior explained that although he is one of four students claiming to represent “outsider interests,” his candidacy does not center on his lack of SA experience.

“I’m not running because I’m an SA outsider,” he said, explaining that he decided to run because “someone has to step in and try to make a change for student organizations.”

If elected, Pincus said he would work to swiftly adapt to the role, pointing out that all students going into the position before him – whether or not they had experience — faced a tough transition.

“While I’m aware of the fact that I’m not as well-networked within the school as most, I believe that once you get the job title, you have to work at it and meet the right people,” Pincus said.

Junior Ben Leighton announced Thursday his campaign to seek the executive vice president position.

Leighton said his experience as chair of the Student Dining Board and member of the Marvin Center Governing Board has prepared him to fight for student space. If elected, Leighton said he would give student voices a microphone for the fifth floor renovation project while recognizing the governing board’s more direct role in day-to-day planning.

“I would give [the Marvin Center Governing Board] the lead,” Leighton said. He explained that the SA needs to play “a supporting role, helping to provide the necessary student input” rather than taking over the project because of the wide range of issues the SA needs to address.

Leighton is in his second year as chair of the organization, which helped plan and oversee massive changes to J Street over the last year.

“My team and I were able to transform the dining facilities and increase satisfaction 11 percent. That’s a big one-year increase,” Leighton said, citing the results of a Sodexo-sponsored survey last fall.

One role of the executive vice president is official leader of the senate, and Leighton said he would move past this year’s SA leader-senator tension by emphasizing the role each senator plays in making broad strides.

“I don’t believe in saying, ‘This is exactly how you should do it.’ I believe in saying, ‘This is our end game, this is what we want to see,’ ” Leighton said, adding that he would give senators day-to-day flexibility in their personal goals.

Candidates can register until Feb. 10, and elections will be held Feb. 22 and 23.

Sarah Ferris contributed to this report