This is the platform posted at http://anthonykrista4sg.com/issues/

1. Responsibility
We believe that student government has a responsibility to serve the student body in an effective and efficient manner. This responsibility includes but is not limited to performing our duties; foster collaboration and clear lines of communication; to be transparent in our decision making and proactive in our approach to problems and issues facing Mason students.

2. Accountability
We believe that student government needs to be held accountable to the student body. Student government members need to hold themselves to the highest degree of accountability, and must always remember that student government members are here to serve the students and not the other way around. We also want to defeat the prevailing stereotype that student government is an elitist organization, rampant with nepotism.

3. Visibility
We believe in creating innovative and provocative promotional strategies to keep students informed and involved in decisions facing the student body. By doing so, we hope to insight student activism in areas that can improve the progress of student government, and bring to light issues that may go unnoticed.

4. Communication
We believe that good, clear communication is the foundation to success. By promoting and establishing clear lines of communication, we will initiate venues for students to provide input and feedback that will allow student government to better coordinate and collaborate with students, student organizations, administration, and alumni.

5. Results
WE BELIEVE IN RESULTS! Being able to accomplish goals, on behalf and in favor of the student body is our primary objective and goal. Our unwavering commitment to creating positive changes here on campus to improve the quality of student life, is something we take very seriously, and foundation of our campaign.

School Spirit

There are so many things for Mason students to be proud of, and being a Patriot should be one of them! We are focused on fostering school spirit not only by continuing some successful Student Government events like Gold Rush, Witch Watch, and De-Stress Fest, but also by creating new traditions and increasing communication between student organizations and all students.

In order to increase the atmosphere of community, we hope to plan tailgates for all weekend home Basketball games, so that both students and alumni can celebrate some of Mason’s best athletic talent as well as increased attendance at Games of the Week. We have been in talks with the Alumni Association and they are excited to continue working with us to plan these tailgates for next year.

We also want to extend the Mason Nation into the greater Fairfax community, by finding ways to involved local businesses and organizations into Mason, through discount programs, new events, and communication.

We believe that students deserve to have a stake in the future of the campus, and we hope to provide opportunities for everyone to inject Patriot Pride into the campus, by painting murals and increasing student organizational participation in events. In order to help us all visualize the future of this University, we believe it is important for students to be able to see a diagram of the Master Plan of what the Fairfax Campus will look like once the construction projects have been completed.

With increased communication between Student Government, student organizations, University Administration and students, we hope to begin creating a culture that everyone can be proud of and happy with.

Parking & Transportation

Every year, the number one issue students talk about is parking services, and essentially what they hate about parking. We understand that parking will ALWAYS be the number one issue students have with the University. By no means can we promise that we will be able to lower rates, create additional parking or completely do away with parking tickets. What we can promise is that there will be increased communication with Parking Services on behalf of the student body, both residential and non-residential.

Future discussions with parking services would include student input on what a reasonable rate for the new parking deck opening up in the Fall 2009 would be, promoting a carpool/bicycle initiative, and increasing student awareness about the Student Parking Appeals Board. There is actually a way that students can appeal their tickets to other students!

Most importantly is the continued success of Gunston’s Go-Bus. This service which started in the Spring, has offered students a free alternative to traveling around Fairfax, Fair Oaks, and Fair Lakes. We fully intend to continue this program and service to Mason students, and will hopefully be able to expand the service even further than just the weekends.

Tuition

How many students enjoy the rising cost of tuition? The fact of the matter is that, the cost of attending Mason is going to increase regardless of how we or the student body feel about tuition increases. However there are some proactive ideas that we are proposing that would hopefully address students concerns about tuition increases.

The biggest problem facing George Mason University is the lack of public funding coming from the legislature in Richmond, VA. In conjunction with Virginia 21, and all willing student organizations, we will be sponsoring a letter writing campaign that would stress to Richmond the necessity for increased funding for the second largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Additionally, we would work with the Student Accounts Office and the Financial Aid to try and streamline a process for earlier disbursement of loan checks to students, as well as address the lack of financial aid providing by George Mason University. Also, one of the most proactive ideas that we have is to hold the University administration more accountable to getting out the necessary information about tuition increases to students in a timelier manner.

Students generally understand that tuition is going to go up and that there is very little student government can do, but we pledge that we will actively advocate for students so long as we are involved in Student Government.

President’s Council

According to feedback that we have been hearing from students, the lack of community is a pressing issue for students attending Mason. There is a clear disconnect between student organizations on campus and often times, these organizations tend to focus on their sole, individual events instead of focusing on their efforts towards a larger community.

We propose what we are calling the “President’s Council.” Ideally, we would invite the Presidents of each of the 250 student organizations here at Mason to work with the two of us, on a monthly basis to discuss upcoming university wide events, as well as create a master plan for creating and addressing community here at Mason.

This council would foster inter-organizational dialogue, create increased communication, and most importantly inter-organizational cooperation on a scale that would be unmatched in Mason’s history. Realistically, we don’t expect everyone to jump on board to the idea, however we are willing to work with any and all student organizations who also agree that lack of community is a problem here at Mason, and want a venue where we can work cooperatively to addressing this issue.

Student Services

Since both we call Mason their home, and many other students do as well, it is important for Mason to offer services to students that will improve their living conditions and simplify their lives. Continuing work on the current Student Government initiatives for on-campus dry-cleaning, farmer’s markets, and sustainability we hope to bring convenience to the lives of Mason students.

We plan to put the relationship between students and Mason Police as their top priority, and hope to expand upon the Campus Safety position created by Zack and Claire. We want to provide student with both a fun and safe college campus, knowing that the interests of the students and the police are not mutually exclusive.

We also want to make sure that the needs of commuter students are being met, and we want to continue to work on finding an acceptable 24-hour study space for students. As academics are a main concern for students, we believe that a 24-hour facility will help to encompass all possible study habits of students.

We will be continuing the Vote Van Initiative which provides students with a means of getting to Woodson High School which is the current polling place for registered voters living at Mason. Additionally, we will be working with student organizations, to try and register enough voters here living at Mason to warrant a new polling place being on campus come the 2010 Census and redistricting. This service would allow Mason to host a polling place making it easier for students to become politically involved on campus.

Academics

As members of the Government and Academic Affairs committee in Student Senate, both we have worked tirelessly to improve many academic policies at Mason. Last year, we worked on expanding the credit hour window from 16 to 18, hoping to provide students with an opportunity to take more classes without a tuition penalty fee. Despite talks with the administration, and the current economic situation, we have not given up on the belief that capable students should not be penalized for wanting to take 18 credit hours. We promise to continue working on this initiative and to find a compromise with the administration.

With the first Academic Advising Expo, we hope to begin a conversation between Administrators, Departments and students about academic advising, and enact universal standards that will help students to receive advice and information about registration, majors, minors, and graduation. This also includes an initiative to put end-of-semester teaching evaluations to better use, to increase the number of on-line classes offered, and to find a way to make Blackboard more user-friendly.

We want to work with faculty and the bookstore to find a way to bring the price of textbooks down, and hope to help students to create a used buy-back program that will provide money saving options and help students to afford some of the costs of academic success.

Dining

We think that the Dining Office has done a great job of listening to students and to working with us when we have concerns and issues. We want to increase this communication, and provide many ways for the average student to get involved in providing feedback on the campus dining situation.

Affordability is always an important issue for students, and with economic times being as they are, we want to make sure that students and their needs remain the top priority.
With the introduction of Gunston’s Go Bus and the other free transportation for Mason Students, we to work with local businesses and restaurants to accept Mason Money and offer discounts for students. Students will then have the opportunity to eat off-campus while saving money and using their Mason id.

Housing

We want to foster a better relationship between Student Government and the Housing and Residence Life Office. In doing so, we hope to advocate on behalf of a campus that is becoming more residential and a student population that is feeling the pressure of price increases. We believe that residential students deserve to know about the increases in housing prices with enough time to plan accordingly, and hope to work with the Residential Students Association to plan events that will benefit the on-campus community.

With the new construction of residential buildings, we would like to see a competitive application process for a Living Learning Community dedicated to Student Organizations. By participating in campus events, community service, and academics Student Organizations would be eligible to compete for an LLC for their members. This will help to build a community atmosphere and reward Student Organizations for participating fully at Mason.

Posted on April 2nd, 2009 by Aram Zucker-Scharff
Filed under: Mason Learns