For our final On the Issues segment, the candidates respond to the question: "What do you think the SBA's relationship to the undergrad SA should be? How do you think this relationship could be strengthened or changed in the coming year?"

Theresa Bowman - President

The SBA's relationship to the undergraduate Student Association is incredibly important.  Why?  The SA finance committee allocates funding that goes to both student groups as well as the SBA's operating costs and social events.  As SBA President, I will help to strengthen our relationship to the SA in the several ways.

First, I will work with the law school senators in the SA to advocate for the law school's interests.  John Sorrenti has done a great job of coordinating with our senators and I would continue to work closely with them.  I would be in contact with the SA senators following their meetings, discussing what SA issues or initiatives are important to the law school and strategies for how best to support those initiatives.  I would also work closely with the SA senators to secure the funding we need.

Second, I would help get out the law school vote to ensure the law school has adequate representation in the SA.  Unfortunately, we now have fewer senators allotted to the law school than in previous years.  This makes it all the more crucial that the SBA coordinates with our SA senators to advocate for law school interests.  In addition to our law school SA senate spots, there is one graduate-student-at-large senate spot.  As President, I will endeavor to encourage law school candidates for this position and get out the law school vote to fill this position.

Third, I would meet endeavor to strengthen the SBA's relationship with the SA President.  John Sorrenti did a great job of meeting with SA Presidential candidates this past year and endorsing a candidate to the law school student population.  I would continue practice and make every effort to get out the vote.  However, in addition to endorsing one SA presidential candidate I would also provide students with information on the other candidates for SA President.  For the remainder of the year, I will make it a priority to meet with the SA President and keep him or her apprised of how decisions before the SA stand to impact the law school.

Giri Iyengar - President

The SA is definitely a resource for the law school. I think we could do more in terms of finding out what our own students want from GW at large. We could work closer with pre-law students. We could try and work with them about the events and concerts they hold on what the law students consider "our quad." Perhaps we could benefit a little more from their activities that we currently do. Anything we can do to build closer ties would be great, as long as we maintain our independence. I doubt we're going to give that up anytime soon.

Rushab Sanghvi - President

The SBA's should strive to maintain a friendly relationship with the University SA.  Decisions made by the SA can greatly impact the SBA's operations and we should continue to maintain a semi-independent, but cooperative relationship with them.  Additionally, I would propose that we work with the SA to conduct general events open to students of the both the law school and the undergraduate colleges.  I believe greater interaction, in some respects, with the undergraduate student body may help increase connections with alumni that can lead to further career opportunities and possibly even funding.  Moreover, although it's hard to ignore the undergrads when they're blasting music outside Burns and you're up against a deadline, it's easy to get caught up in law school and miss out on speakers they bring in or other events they hold.  Who hasn't had some of the free food from their barbecue's in the quad? :-)

Dan Janow - Executive Vice President

I've spoken to one of our current SA representatives about this.  For those who may not be aware, the SA determines what percentage of the university's budget is allocated to the law school.  This budget is then dispersed by the Senate to the various student groups.  The amount of money we receive from the university is the most important thing about our relationship to the undergraduate SA.

Next year the SA will have 35 representatives.  There are currently three dedicated seats for law school representatives.  Next year we will have two due to reapportionment and the size of our law school.  There will also be two graduate at large seats available.

There are several ways the SBA can help the law school in the SA.  First I think it is important for us to place great advocates for the student body in our two dedicated seats.  While obviously the SBA cannot force anyone to run I think that personal communication with individual law students who are qualified can be very helpful.  It is also important to try and claim the two graduate at large seats for the university by similarly seeking out qualified candidates.  Finally, our school usually casts the deciding votes in the SA Presidential election and mobilizing the law school vote to make sure that our vote is heard is essential to us receiving our desired level of funding.

Deep Singh

The SBA has to have a strong relationship with and have a strong within the GW SA.  While the SA Senate does include representatives from the Law School, we are limited in the amount of direct influence we can have.  One way around this is to push for greater communication between the SA Executive and the SBA Executive.  Additionally, there should be greater communication and collaboration between the Law representative and the rest of the SBA.

Ultimately, the job of the SBA is to protect and advance the interests of the Law School within the SA.  This relationship is especially crucial since the SA can affect the amount of funding that goes to organizations at the Law School.  That is why I supported the decision of the SBA to not support the proposed changes to the SA Constitution advanced earlier this year because we had not been given the opportunity to review them and ensure that the Law School's interests were protected.  The incident also underscores the need to have an Executive that can keep the lines of communication open with other bodies, such as the SA, that can have an effect on life at GW Law.