by Andrew Elder

       Basira and I had a long and intuitive discussion about running for SGA President and Vice President. It came with several hours of talk with our families and several of our closests friends. After giving it a couple of days, we decided we would run together. We ran together under our five pillars starting with Faces of CUA, Cardinal Pride, Development, Health and Wellness, and “Our Community, My Responsibility.” These pillars are the reason why we deemed it necessary to enter the SGA elections. Student Government is a powerful and influential organization on campus. Therefore, we believe the importance of running was not only for us, but for our CUA community. We know we can enact the change, through representation of every student on campus, rekindling the Cardinal Pride, and be more involved in the future Development and Health and Wellness of all Cardinals. But what we decided to run on did not stop there. We wanted “Our Community, My Responsibility,” to be the highlight of our campaign. It is our responsibility to make sure everyone, no matter where you’ve come from, or who you are, is represented in SGA and the CUA community. Even that is not the full extent on why we have decided to run for office. I, Andrew Elder, am the current Senator for the School of Arts and Sciences, the former Chairman for Student Services, and now the Chairman for University Resources. I have worked diligently throughout my tenure in the Senate, presenting numerous pieces of legislation like a Tuition Guarantee Program, Syllabus Manger, and Cost Efficiency addition to all Syllabi, among many more pieces of legislation that have come forward or are in the process of coming forward. I have been dedicated in all my work and at many times been praised for the amount of work and effort I put into my position on SGA. While this is beneficial for myself, I saw greater issues in our sense of Cardinal Pride on campus. This is where my Vice President, Basira takes the stage. Basira is a 7 time conference champion and holds numerous school and Landmark Conference records for the Women’s Swimming. She is a natural born leader and has held various leadership positions in many organizations on campus; College Democrats, Arabic Club, Black Student Alliance, and Take Note Acapella. Although, we are both seen as leaders, she represents an enormous portion of campus that is often neglected, student-athletes. She outshines me in every aspect of sports. She has educated me on the many issues that athletes face here at Catholic and she is the voice that they have been waiting for. But what makes her the best Vice Presidential figure is her dedication to what she firmly believes in. She will move mountains for anything important to her and as a future President, I believe that the CUA community needs this type of person leading the SGA Senate.
         Both Basira and I believe firmly we are the best representatives for the Catholic University of America. We have dedicated countless hours to our Community. We have advocated for change. We have advocated for representation. As two Cardinals who come from two different aspects of CUA, we believe that what we embody, and what we can bring to the table, represents the CUA community better than any other candidate. This is because Tomorrow Starts Today!

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