Justin Peligri, a junior majoring in political communication, is The Hatchet’s opinions editor.

Your Facebook and Twitter feeds were likely clogged with Student Association candidate announcements for the past few days. But there’s a lot of other news happening on campus, too. Here’s the best and worst news from this week:

Thumbs Down: Fewer students apply to become Colonials

Are admissions scandals driving prospective students away? Not quite. But GW’s admissions decline this year is still concerning.

There may be a logical explanation why 13 percent fewer high school seniors applied to GW this year. Administrators are sticking by an important one: The University exclusively used the Common Application for the first time, forcing prospective to pay the $75 fee before schools can begin reviewing applications.

Fewer applications means GW will admit a larger percentage of its incoming class, making us less selective. That’s okay, administrators say, because selectivity isn’t the end-all, be-all.

But selectivity is still a critical indicator of colleges’ success. If selectivity had improved, the University would herald it in press releases and cover stories. The measure can’t be brushed off.

It is disconcerting to see our competitor schools continue to admit a more exclusive class of students, as GW’s acceptance rate has remained relatively stagnant – at about 33 percent – over the past few years.

GW has big plans to launch itself into the ranks of other top-tier research institutions. But it can’t do that if quality students aren’t applying to be a part of these programs.

When asked how the drop in applications would affect GW, Ed Scott Jaschik, editor and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed had this to say: “Is the sky going to fall? Not necessarily.”

That’s reassuring…I guess.

But in the next few weeks, the Office of Admissions has their work cut out for them to ensure that GW still admits the best and the brightest despite what could be a major setback.

Thumbs Up: Essential campus taxi service builds a bigger fleet

The University plans to build up its fleet of 15-passenger 4-RIDE vans as the demand for this free campus taxi service continues to climb.

You see, as you might remember from your campus tour as a prospective student, 4-RIDE is a huge component of student safety here at GW. And that’s why it’s revered by students as the go-to method of transportation home from the library after a late night of studying (read: after a wild night of drunken debauchery at a bar a few blocks off campus.)

We should all take a moment to thank the powers that be for giving us easier access to Foggy Bottom hot spots like Sign of the Whale and McFadden’s.

Okay, I’m being sarcastic. Realistically speaking, there are a ton of better things the University should be spending money on, like, for example, updating the collections at the library.

But what’s done is done. So the next time you and 14 of your closest friends want to head off campus but are just a little bit too tired or lazy to walk three or four city blocks, you know exactly who to call.