For Student Association presidential candidate Alexis Rice, enhanced communication at GW is key to the success of its students – from the student body to the SA and the SA to the administration.

“The SA should not do things behind closed doors,” Rice said. “The more the average student knows, the more students leaders can get done.”

She cited a recent safety forum she held as an opportunity to cull ideas from her fellow students, who are not part of the ivory towers of campus leadership.

She said the SA should reach out to student groups and understand their needs.

“We should look at internal workings of student groups,” Rice said. She said SA members often are not aware of student group needs, which leads to discrepancies and inequity in funding.

“It is hard to tell a student group that they should run on $75 a year,” she said.

Rice also said campus security will be a priority if she is elected to the SA’s top position. She said she would like to see more emergency blue lights, better street lighting, improved escort services on campus, and peep holes and deadlocks on each residence hall door.

“On an urban campus, it is a lot harder to protect the students,” she said. “I should not have to wait for 45 minutes (for the escort service) to go four blocks.”

To find solutions to these campus issues, and others such as technology and academics, Rice said she wants to hold town hall meetings and set up e-mail listserves to make the student body aware of the issues. In return, she said she hopes to receive input from her peers to resolve these issues. Last year, Rice said students were “left in the dark” about Commencement. But the SA town hall meeting allowed students to voice their opinions about the issues.

“The administration listened,” Rice said. “You just need to make sure students are aware and they know that they have a voice in the process.”

She said she would like to set up a “troubleshooting” system within the SA, which would answer questions about the University’s administrative offices.

“This can be a way of dealing with the University’s red tape,” Rice said.

Hometown: West Palm Beach, Fla.
Major: Political communication
Year: Junior
Key Credentials: SA undergraduate senator; chair, SA Student Life Committee; member, SA Dining Services Commission

“The SA should not do things behind closed doors. The more the average student knows, the more students leaders can get done.”