Generally regarded as a more low-key race, this year’s Program Board Executive Chair election pits friends against each other as three candidates vie for votes among the same peer group.
Juniors Josh Bhatti, Ben Posner and Bryan Gless said they met while working for the PB last year.
Bhatti scheduled concerts for the PB this year. He said compared to the Student Association election, the PB race is “a lot more friendly.”
“We’re running a campaign, but at the same time there is no animosity between us,” said Bhatti, an international affairs major.
Posner, a human services major, agreed.
“The election is really hard on all three of us because we have a similar friend base,” he said.
“All three of us have a lot of things going for us, it’s hard to run against them,” Gless added.
The candidates are all proposing better allocation of PB funds and would like to see an increase in the group’s budget. Although they have similar goals, Posner pointed out that each candidate “differs on implementation and strategy.”
Gless stresses that his experience as political affairs chair has given him a sense of “stinginess which has paid off.” While he has no experience scheduling concerts, Gless said his business courses teach him to ask, “is this event worthwhile based on its cost?”
Bhatti worked on improving relations with booking agency IMP to schedule concerts for GW this year. After rapper Redman cut his Fall Fest performance short, the cancellation of a highly anticipated Counting Crows concert and, most recently, high-priced No Doubt tickets, Bhatti said he thinks he has learned a lot from his PB experience.
If elected, he said he wants to ensure “better communication between PB and the venues” to speed the booking process. Bhatti also cited last-minute planning as one of the problems this year’s PB faced in scheduling big acts.
Posner, this year’s co-parties chair, said he helped plan events like Fall Fest, Winter Hoopla and Spring Fling. An active participant in the PB since his freshman year, his motto “touch every student” stresses the sense of gratitude he feels toward the organization. Like the other candidates, he said wants to increase student involvement and says “whatever you want, we’ll plan it.”
Unlike Gless and Bhatti, however, Posner has a specific agenda if he is elected PB Executive Chair – to draw two big bands and at least one comedian to GW next year.
