The Student Government Association’s three presidential and two vice presidential candidates have outlined policy proposals aimed at tackling some of the student body’s largest priorities, including dining options, student organization funding and free speech.
But details on the implementation of such campaign promises in candidate platforms were often scarce — a theme in this year’s cycle that represents a contrast from the more substantive plans produced by last year’s contenders — which made it difficult to clearly ascertain their feasibility. Some of candidates’ straightforward, simple pledges failed to factor in existing policies at GW and the limits of the SGA’s power.
The Hatchet fact-checked candidates’ platforms for misleading, redundant and unclear information to provide additional context as students prepare to vote on April 10 and 11. Here’s what we found:
Candidates for president
Dan Saleem: The junior majoring in political science is a former SGA senator and a 2024 presidential candidate. He shared his platform with The Hatchet on March 28 and launched his campaign March 31 in an Instagram post.
Platform Point: Saleem said Duquès Hall currently shuts off GWorld access to students at 9 p.m. He plans to work with the director of the GWorld office and the executive director of Facilities, Buildings and Grounds to keep the building open until midnight.
Check: Duquès Hall is currently accessible to students on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays, according to the GWorld Card Office’s list of building hours.
Platform Point: Saleem wants to manage waste in residence halls and “bring back” Compost Clash, a campus-wide SGA initiative to raise awareness about composting and sustainability.
Check: The SGA held its annual Compost Clash from Feb. 24 to March 7.
Emily-Anne Santiago: The junior studying political science and accounting is the GW College Democrats’ president. She announced her campaign March 21 in an Instagram post and shared her platform with The Hatchet on March 30.
Platform Point: Santiago wants to increase the number of local businesses and grocery stores that accept dining dollars. She said she will work to bring Whole Foods back to GWorld and add Trader Joe’s, along with local Asian and Latino grocery stores.
Check: Whole Foods stopped accepting GWorld payments in June 2023 after the company decided not to participate in student dining plans across the country, so the University likely cannot add the store back to GWorld. Officials attempted to add Trader Joe’s to the GWorld system in 2007 but the store declined to participate.
Platform Point: Santiago plans to institute a graduate student advisory board within the SGA’s executive branch so graduate students can share their concerns with the SGA president without becoming a senator. She plans to create three subcommittees within the advisory board, one for “general” graduate students, another for law students and a third for medical students.
Check: The SGA already allows graduate students to serve as ex-officio nonvoting members on the body’s two graduate student committees. The SGA Senate passed an act in October 2024 to permit non-SGA graduate students to attend meetings for the designated SGA graduate student life and graduate education policy committees and assemblies.
Ethan Lynne: The junior studying political communication is a former SGA senator and the SGA’s sitting vice president. He shared his platform with The Hatchet on March 26 and announced his candidacy the same day in an Instagram post.
Platform Point: Lynne said he will “fight” to create a 24/7 on-call Counseling and Psychological Services support line.
Check: The Student Health Center’s Counseling and Psychological Services already offers a 24/7 counseling support line where students can speak with a counselor. The University also provides services through TimelyCare, a virtual health care platform where students can access live or on-demand support at any time.
Platform Point: Lynne said he wants to open a content recording suite in the University Student Center with a podcast studio, green screen and free rentable audio and visual equipment for all students.
Check: The CREATE Digital Studio in Gelman Library is a free resource for students, faculty and staff. The space features a reservable audiovisual suite with a green screen and a sound booth for podcast recording. The studio also has an equipment check-out program with cameras, microphones, tripods, lights and more available to reserve.
Candidates for vice president
Claire Avalos: The sophomore studying political science is an SGA senator representing the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences. She announced her campaign March 27 in an Instagram post and shared her platform with The Hatchet the same day.
Platform Point: Avalos plans to reduce tuition costs and said she will urge officials to adopt initiatives like free tuition for students whose families earn under $100,000 annually.
Clarification: The SGA does not have jurisdiction over tuition and would have to work with the Board of Trustees to implement any tuition-based changes.
Platform Point: Avalos said she will push officials to limit the GW Police Department’s number of firearms for GWPD and advocate for officials to include students in future conversations about officers’ usage of guns on campus.
Clarification: University President Ellen Granberg briefed the Faculty Senate at a March meeting on the findings from a third-party investigation of GWPD’s arming rollout and said officials are reviewing recommendations from the report for potential implementation, like engaging the University community in decision-making processes. Granberg said at the meeting she does not foresee trustees revisiting the decision to arm GWPD.
Liz Stoddard: The sophomore majoring in political science and religion is the SGA Senate pro tempore. She shared her platform with The Hatchet on March 28 and announced her campaign March 30 in an Instagram post.
Platform Point: Stoddard wants to work with the “dean of academics” to allow students to access aggregated ratings of courses and professors from the Student Feedback survey conducted at the end of every semester. She said she would keep specific written feedback confidential.
Check: Stoddard would have to work with Associate Provost for Academic Planning and Assessment Karen Froslid-Jones and the Provost’s Office to enact this policy since there is no singular “dean of academics” role. The Office of Survey Research and Analysis designs and administers the Student Feedback survey for faculty to consider improvements to their courses and teaching methods. Officials, department chairs and faculty also use the surveys to assess what students are learning, according to its website. Many students use platforms like RateMyProfessors to access ratings of professors and courses.
Platform Point: Stoddard wants to create an annual celebration for graduating seniors similar to First Night, including live music and food, so they can celebrate their time at GW.
Check: The Office of Student Life introduced “Senior Week” last year, which spanned six days and featured 14 events including a cruise of The Wharf, a “Last Night” event, a trivia night and social events at ExPat. The Senior Class Programs page states that officials will announce more information on Senior Week 2025 soon.
