Year: Sophomore
Major: Political Communication
Hometown: Ashland, Virginia
Student organizations/activities: GW College Democrats, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Residence Hall Association
SGA experience: CCAS Undergraduate Senator, Financial Service and Allocations Committee Chair, Committee Clerk for Physical Facilities and Urban Affairs
Favorite vendor on GWorld Dining: Onkei at Western Market
Your favorite “Only at GW” moment: Meeting Nancy Pelosi twice
Favorite class: Strategic Political Communication with Andy Burness
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Which actor would play you in a movie of your life: Drew Starkey
Role Model: My mom
Go-to study spot: Gelman Library third floor
During a Student Government Association Financial Service and Allocations Committee meeting last semester, SGA Sen. Ethan Lynne (CCAS-U) decided it was time to “step up.”
Lynne said he became “fed up” with hearing student organizations struggle to secure sufficient funding and meeting spaces. He said if elected as vice president, he will relay funding and meeting space concerns to administrators using connections he built with GW officials and student leaders as an SGA senator and bolster organizations’ budgets by applying the financial literacy skills he gained as the chair of the finance committee.
He said he is running for the “operational” role of vice president because in presiding over the senate, he will serve as the “first point of contact” for student organizations seeking more funding from the University for events and activities. He said he will also advocate to extend GW Dining’s hours of operation so students can access dining halls past 9 p.m. and conduct an audit of all campus spaces to expand available meeting venues for student organizations.
“I’m gonna get told that some of this stuff is impossible,” Lynne said. “But the point is that I’m still someone who’s gonna have the conversation, not take no for an answer.”
Lynne said when he became the chair of the finance committee this fall, he spoke with student organization leaders who struggled to hold events due to funding constraints. He said if elected, he will meet with University President Ellen Granberg and request officials increase the budget for student organizations by employing the “same methods” they used to collect additional funding for the University-Wide Programs Fund.
In 2023, GW donated 50 cents to the fund for every credit hour a student enrolled in after funding ran out in February 2023.
Lynne said he strengthened his experience in student advocacy during his post as RHA president of Thurston Hall his first year where students turned to him for support on problems ranging from losing their GWorld cards to battling “fatigue” when none of the food in the dining hall was appealing.
“In that role, I gained a much deeper understanding of student organizations on campus, the challenges that they face, and then overall, just challenges that different people face on campus,” Lynne said.
He said students often complained about having to wait outside the door to their residence hall because they forgot their GWorld card or walk down multiple floors to open a door for another student. He said if elected he will work with the GWorld office to update tap access technology so students can upload their GWorld cards to their mobile phone wallets and access buildings without the physical card.
Students can currently use the Mobile ID app available on their phones to unlock their residence hall room doors.
Lynne said he also wants to conduct an audit of campus spaces because spaces like the townhouses on G Street are often left “vacant” while student organizations struggle to find available places to book for meetings. He said the idea came from his conversations with some student leaders this year, who said they have to book event spaces up to a year in advance or submit requests for all the meeting spaces they need for the academic year in the fall due to limited availability.
“It’s pretty ridiculous for a school that prides itself on how many student orgs we have and how fast those grow, that we don’t have the adequate spaces to suit them,” Lynne said.
Lynne said he has been on GW’s dining plan for the last two years and understands students’ “displeasure” with the hours of operation for the dining halls and Shenkman Market. He said he will meet with GW Dining officials every week to “elevate” students’ ideas for expanded hours and address frustrations with limited food options in the dining halls.
Current SGA Vice President Demetrius Apostolis launched dining hall focus groups in fall 2023 for students to share feedback on dining hall experiences with administrators.
“Meeting weekly with dining to elevate concerns, I think that’s a very efficient way to get in touch with them,” Lynne said. “I think that that’s not something that’s being done right now.”
