Eric Gitson, a sophomore studying political science, has served as chair of the Student Government Association’s Joint Elections Commission since February. 

It isn’t difficult for GW students to identify campus concerns. 

Officials over the last year have implemented budget cuts and layoffs without full transparency or public reporting on the details of what they’re eliminating and why. They are preparing to implement Code of Student Conduct changes that revoke students’ rights to a fair panel hearing and an appeals process in disciplinary cases. They have gone back on GW’s stated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The cost of attendance for students and families rises each year. These are all issues many students want to see officials address. 

Problems at our school are easy to spot. Finding solutions is harder — it takes passion and dedication, fresh ideas and good leadership. If we are to tackle the tough challenges GW faces, we need good leadership in our student government working hard for positive change. This spring, the student body will choose new Student Government Association leadership through an open election, and all students can throw their hat in the ring. 

The SGA president sets the agenda and forms an executive branch that drives policy initiatives on dining, health and student organizations, to name a few. The executive team is able to advocate directly to the administration — including University President Ellen Granberg and school deans — and the SGA president speaks at Board of Trustees meetings each semester, conveying student priorities. 

The SGA’s vice president leads the senate and ensures its efficiency, while passing legislation and resolutions, calling up members of administration to testify and overseeing a large Senate staff. 

SGA senators serve on policy-focused committees, distribute funding to student organizations, hold office hours for student input and question GW officials at full Senate sessions — a key measure for accountability and for uplifting student voices. 

Together, these roles comprise the elected leadership of the SGA who have the power to represent our opinions in the rooms where decisions are made and to compel the University to listen to the students they serve — a power that no other student organization on campus has. 

As the new chair of the SGA’s Joint Elections Commission, I am surprised whenever I hear that students are reluctant to run for an SGA position because they’re not sure whether they, or the SGA as a whole, can accomplish much. The issues we experience on this campus can only be solved by effective advocates determined to take them on. 

Driven students who seized the mantle of leadership and pressed for solutions in the past years won discounted U-Pass Metro cards for GW students, restored 24/7 Gelman library access, increased funding for campus clubs, expanded health services and many more benefits we enjoy each day. 

Now, we need a new generation of leaders and advocates to fight for the GW we want to see and to lift up student voices. 

Sure, many candidates are SGA insiders who have been preparing to lead and are well equipped to win. And if that’s you, I hope you’ll step up because your experience and know-how are essential. 

But the system also benefits from new voices, who represent more students, more organizations on campus. Whether you’re a leader in a cultural group, a religious association, a fraternity or sorority, a club sport or a political organization or a concerned student passionate about making change, the SGA needs your energy and has a place for you. 

I often hear from would-be leaders who are interested in running but daunted by what they deem to be cutthroat competition and a complex process. To address the first concern, I point to the numbers. 

According to official JEC election results, candidates won the 2025 presidential and vice presidential races by significant margins, each over 30 points. By election day, both races had winnowed down to just two candidates competing in each. With turnout struggling to recover from historic lows since the pandemic, it is more attainable than ever for a candidate to secure a winning threshold of votes. The picture is even clearer when it comes to SGA Senate races. Last year, many seats for graduate students were entirely uncontested — which happens almost every year. Because few candidates ran, every single undergraduate candidate from the School of Business, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and Milken Institute School of Public Health was elected to the senate. Healthy competition is essential in a thriving democratic system, to ensure we all have the opportunity to elect the most promising people to these roles. 

Ten candidates from the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences ran for eight open seats — a whopping 80 percent success rate, high considering GW’s strong political science focus. And in the Elliott School of International Affairs, six candidates ran for three seats — an encouraging 50 percent success rate.

The numbers reveal a surprising fact: If you run for an SGA position, whether it’s in the senate or other positions, campaign hard and offer a promising vision, you have a good chance of winning your election. 

The second major hesitation I hear from students mulling a run is the campaign process — long assumed to be time and labor-intensive and ridden with roadblocks. And in previous election cycles, that might have been the case. 

For too long, the JEC was an ivory tower, casting down an ever-growing collection of cumbersome rules and procedures, restricting students instead of including them, especially SGA outsiders, and disqualifying candidates for relatively harmless or unintentional violations.

All that changes this year. The new JEC will have a different mission: open the doors to promising candidates and support them along the way. 

This will include a “How to Run for SGA” forum with previous candidates ready to share their experiences. Information sessions and meetings to explain the process and answer questions. Outreach to many of GW’s 500+ student organizations. A detailed, useful candidates’ manual. Office hours with commission members during election season. And an active Instagram — for updates, follow @GW_JEC. 

Our commission is breaking down the barriers to running, clarifying the process and inviting more students into the fold. We could all benefit from a diverse pool of candidates that more fully represents GW’s many perspectives.

So, if you are ready and determined, then I encourage you to run for an SGA position this spring. And if that’s not the path for you, then I hope you’ll vote — because it’s our best chance to make our voices heard as GW students.