Student Government Members Discuss Involvement

By Broadside Correspondent Nick Walker

The semester may be coming to an end, but Student Government has plenty more planned before winter break.

“Starting on Monday, Nov. 17, we are marching around to different locations to give out Gold Rush T-shirts, including by the statue, the DUCC area, Liberty Square and President’s Park,” said Richard Louie, who became a senator in 2007 and serves on the advocacy and outreach committee.

Louie is double majoring in psychology and film, with a minor in business.

“Another project we just finished was the Witch Watch, one of the biggest events we do,” said Mhehvish Khan, junior psychology major minoring in women’s studies and serving her second year in the Senate.

“At Witch Watch, we sent 150 plus college kids into the neighborhoods around Fairfax to make sure trick-or-treaters were safe, then we worked with the city of Fairfax to make a haunted garden,” Louie added.

Janay Phillips, a 4th year senator set to graduate in May with a degree in communication, serves as Chair of Diversity, Student Government’s newest standing committee.

“As of right now, it’s so brand new we are working to form relationships with several other offices—ODPS, MRRC, ODS, etc,” Phillips said, who is also a Peer Companion for Sexual Assault Services and Secretary for GMU NAACP on campus. “We are also working on a holiday fest on December 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Patriot’s Lounge. The purpose is to bring together various religious and international organizations to educate the public on different holidays.”

During that same week, Student Government will also have its usual de-stress fest, providing snacks to students throughout the day. And yet another project launching in the spring is Mason’s new social shuttle, also known as “Gunston’s Go Bus.”

“The bus will be going to the Fair Lakes, Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax Corner and possibly Old Town Fairfax,” said Zack Golden, Student Body President and a senior government major. “We’re also advocating for opening Damon’s Restaurant to accepting freedom plans for students during the week.”
Jeremy Miller, Speaker of the Senate and a junior majoring in conflict analysis and resolution with minors in international conflict and comparative studies is currently busy working with Mason’s Quality Enhancement Program. Of twelve QEP proposals, four have come out of the eight-member Student Government committee.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Senate and Vice Chair of Student Services Neha Gulati has been working with multiple committees to collaborate with Mason’s parking, dining, housing and IT services.

“One recent event was Night Walk, where we break into groups of four to five students with administrators and police cadets, and walk the campus looking for safety concerns,” said Gulati, a junior finance major. “We looked for unlit areas, broken call boxes, damaged sidewalks and make sure the campus is safe for students.”

No matter the time of day, there are almost always a few representatives at the Student Government office. The Senators form a tightly knit group, well aware of each other’s tasks and often able to finish sentences for one another.

Occasionally, a Senator will fall asleep on the couch located in one of the back offices, exhausted from long days of serving the Mason community.

For Mason students interested in knowing what Student Government is doing on a more regular basis, Senator Keegan Luczak, a third year Senator and junior computer science major, has some suggestions.

“They can look right in Broadside—every week Zack puts something out,” said Luczak. “Or they can come by the office, right here in the Johnson Center.”

“We have a Senate meeting every Thursday in the Johnson Center meeting rooms at 4:30 p.m.; they can talk during the public session and bring up issues and concerns.” said Luczak. “We’re Mason students as well, and we’re just trying to make campus better.”