The Next SGA: A Full Transcript of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Debate

In the height of GU-Q’s election season, an initiative by the current SGA president, Nagla Abdelhady called for a debate between those in running for President and Vice President for the next academic year. At 1 PM to 2:10 PM, 0A11 was filled with students of all classes, interested to hear what our candidates have set for us. The Georgetown Gazette was present during the event and wanted to share the transcript of the debate with you. Below, you will find the presidential and vice presidential debate between the present candidates. 

Disclaimer: The Georgetown Gazette had slight trouble in the transcription due to audio errors, some parts may have been cut out or rephrased. Rest assured, that the message of the candidates stand the same.

I. The Presidential Debate - Transcript

Uday Rosario: So the speaking order as of now goes as follows. So we have Ahmed going first, Kayan going second, Ali also going third, and Youssef going fourth. Each candidate was asked to prepare this question in advance.

Question: What is your opinion on the student campus culture and what will you do to improve it?

Ahmed Noeman: Thank you for this question. As I currently speak, we have had the privilege of observing both the strength and challenges we face as a community. Our campus is diverse, vibrant, yet I have noticed the critical issues that face our campus, which are event fatigue from over-programming, disconnection between students and SGA, and most importantly, the missed opportunities for meaningful engagement.

First, tackling the first point or problem of event fatigue. We have all experienced weeks where multiple important events compete with our opportunities, forcing us to make impossible choices between academic, cultural, and social opportunities. This leads to burnout, lower attendance, and wasted resources.

Under my leadership, I will implement a coordinated campus calendar system that prevents scheduling conflicts and promotes balanced programming throughout the semester. No more empty rooms, no more exhausted students, just better and more thoughtful events that respect your time and energy. Secondly, the disconnection between students and the SGA.

I believe this stems from the lack of visibility and accessible communication channels. Many students do not have to engage with the SGA beyond the election season. My solution is twofold.

Firstly, establishing structured office hours so that they can interact with the SGA and raise their concerns. And lastly, about the more meaningful engagement, I will implement a student-first approach requiring measurable outcomes for every initiative we undertake. Lastly, I understand some may have concerns about voting for someone from the current SGA due to the amendment situation, but I believe we handled it well within the first two hours' messages were directed to students, directing students to the classrooms for feedback and committed comments on the amendment is well understood. 

Kayan Al-Mousawi: Okay, I have a few minutes. Good afternoon fellow Moderators. My name is Kayan Al-Mousawi, and I'm running to be your next student government president.

Not to sit at the top, but to stand with you. Our campus culture has heart. It's vibrant, diverse, and filled with students who care deeply about the communit. But it also has gaps. Spaces where some voices go unheard, decisions feel distant, and resources feel out of reach. Too many of us are navigating a campus that wasn't built with all of us in mind.

That needs to change. I believe the role of student government isn't to define our culture, it is to reflect it, to strengthen it, and to make sure it belongs to everybody. That's the core of my offering, and here's how we'll build a better campus culture together.

First, we'll ensure major decisions are made by you. Whether it's changes to policy, funding for events, or new initiatives, we'll bring it to a vote. No more closed-door policies. A culture of inclusion starts with shared power. Second, we'll create a student mandate every semester. A structured, campus-wide forum where your concerns, your ideas, and feedback drive our priorities. That means a consistent space for listening and ease to action. Third, transparency will no longer be a buzzword. Every committee that impacts students will be open to students.

You deserve to be in a room, not on the sidelines. And fourthly, we'll hold monthly accountability town halls, because culture is shaped by trust. And trust is built through consistency. Leadership doesn't appear after elections, and I won't. And finally, we'll center accessibility in every conversation. That means breaking down physical and systemic barriers. But it also means recognizing invisible exclusions. When students can't access student pantries, attend events, or get academic support, true campus culture is only strong when every student can participate, thrive, and feel like they belong. This isn't just a campaign. It's a commitment to build a campus culture that's immersive and transparent. 

Ali Nasir: Good afternoon. Let's cut the crap. When the SGA tried to pass that amendment, it nearly killed whatever was left of political participation that does exist on our campus.

If that amendment had passed, I would have not been able to sit here and run as a candidate for presidency. That does come to an end. My entire presidency is to put an end to the executive, elitist culture that does exist on our campus. There's going to be no more hiding. No more pretending that they work for you while they go behind doors and vote against you. I will tell you exactly who voted for what on what amendment. And that is not just your weapon. It is your responsibility to hold them accountable. Because I am not here to protect the SGA.

I am not here to protect any of its members. I am not their glorified lawyer. I don't want you to stay quiet. I want you to question us. This is the School of Foreign Service. We are supposed to stand for courage. We are supposed to stand for debate. And we are supposed to stand for the truth. I am tired of seeing students too afraid to even ask for help. Too scared to complain about a professor. Scared to speak up. That ends under me.

I will open a direct complaint mechanism. That will allow you to complain about anyone who disrespects you. Mistreats you. And most importantly abuses their power. Whether they're a student. Whether they're a faculty and whether they're an administration. Because the fact remains. This is not a campus of gods.

It is not a place to win. We are Georgetown. And it is time to act like we are Georgetown. God bless democracy. And God bless Georgetown. 

Youssef Abdelhady: I will briefly start with the fact that stress and burnout define how the students are acting right now. Which causes a level of passive aggressiveness. A level of hostility that needs to be addressed. It needs to be improved through holistic action. And holistic action will be done through multiple things. And this is where my statement comes in with five points: Career support, Facilities improvement, Activism, Respect for faith, and Academic support.

We are a panel that will start efforts towards improving every single part of this campus. With no backing. With no stacking up. With no trying to nod our heads or bow down to whatever restrictions that come from the administration side. And lots of people will say maybe I do lack experience or maybe these promises aren't feasible. I have worked and collaborated outside the campus in company environments which are way more complex than university policies which will help me. And second, that I have proved that all of my ideas have been supported by other institutional practices. And the statement is direct for action. And we need to emphasize the idea that we do not want to make vague promises.

We do not want to say that we will improve campus and just throw it out there without actual promises of actually building a better campus that will improve things overall by improving all the sects and all the directions of what GU-Q believes in. So if you want to vote for someone who will do action, who will get things done, who will get the vote forward, who is ready to put in a fresh new perspective that has never been addressed in Georgetown as the only freshman candidate on the panel today, thank you.

REBUTTAL ROUND:

Uday Rosario: Starting from Kayan, each candidate will get one minute to respond to activist points and we'll do that for all the candidates.

Kayan to Ahmed: You're very confident that there are a lot of arguments going on. How do you think you can handle that? Considering the fact that all the mechanisms are class representatives trying to liaise between the student body and the student body. How do you think you can handle all that?

Ali to Ahmed: This is a question that I'm asking not as a candidate, but just as a community member. It's simply, why should we trust you? Because of the fact that you were the current vice president when that amendment was supposed to pass. And again, back to my point, that would have been for a selective few and would have only allowed the selective few to run again.

So as a community member, not as a candidate, just as a community member, why should I trust you that you have the vested interest for the community when you're just me, completely participating? I would like to also ask one more question for Ahmad. The specificity of your promises is not there. I would like to know where the concrete evidence is? What is the concrete standard that as a student body we're supposed to hold you accountable as an elected president later on if you want? Thank you for your questions.

Ahmed: Addressing the questions in my approach for the calendar has three main sections. First, we'll implement it to engage the student body's interest.

That is, studying the data from SAC from previous years as the chair of SAC. I already have the data for that. I chaired SAC.

So pre-surveys. Second, during the event itself we'll be conducting surveys to test the interest of the students. And thirdly, after the event is done we'll be conducting surveys also to ensure that the student body's interest has been addressed through these events or not.

Addressing the point why we should trust you, I think everyone has the freedom of voting. I think the majority of you guys voted for the current SGA. No one forced you. You were convinced. That's why we were voting.

Ali to Kayan: So you're talking about the mandate, right? Could you just go more into the specification of that? How would that work? Because there are two sort of counter-arguments that if you just say rationally one, doesn't that imply that you don't trust your class representatives enough for them to instinctively make the right decision?

Youssef to Kayan: How would you effectively deal with the issue of addressing the voice of the batch, especially when some of the class reps fail at that task and misrepresent the votes and that leads into catastrophic mistakes?

Kayan: How the mandate is going to work and the implication that I don't trust the class representatives. I don't view it that way. I think it's just securing your voice.

A lot of people can be falsely accused or they can often take the fall for miscommunications and I just don't think that's fair on them. We're all human at the end of the day. Miscommunications can happen and I think that ties into the second point on the importance of the mandate itself.

I don't think it is going to prolong the process of addressing complaints seeing as we will be working with administration and the miscommunication occurred with the whole poster issue. It was very streamlined and the process works better than it did before. As for the second question on addressing voices and how those voices are communicated, I honestly think that's just working on how to communicate within the SGA but also within the student body within the SGA. 

I don't think it's fair to blame class representatives for miscommunicating. I think they did their best. It's just about ways to secure their roles and strengthen their roles to overall benefit the student body as a whole.

Ahmed to Ali:. So you mentioned the way you are narrating your speech. It gives off the notion that you are pushing for the division of the student body and I think as a president you should be in a role that unites the student body and not divide the community.

Kayan to Ali: You were talking about a proposed complaints mechanism. Could you expand on that? And how does this necessarily differ from the current or the existing complaint mechanisms because we do have quite a few in place and they're very layered so it depends on the specific context.

Youssef to Ali: Also, please correct me if I'm wrong. How will you as a student body president be able to address violations or mistreatment? What specific mechanisms or is it just about a big promise? 

Ali: I don't care about dividing the student body at all. If my entire sort of campaign is a promise of standing up against anti-bias and negative nature that does exist on our campus and I'm proud to stand behind that. If it's offending anyone, it doesn't mean that that was my intention but I don't agree with that at all.

I'm not in favor of dividing the student body. I think the student body showed just one month ago the power that they had and I want the student body to continue that. If it's a division amongst the president, well then that's a problem for the president. I do understand the mechanism is there. What I'm sort of advocating for more is to defend the direct support that is from the Student Government Association.

A lot of students here on campus want to complain about a lot of people but just do not have the courage enough. That's why you have a student government to go and represent you and fight for you and that. So we are going to be open for helping anyone out in those cases.

The mechanism already exists but the question is why aren't students using those mechanisms that do exist? Now to your point about vague promises. I don't think any given promise may have been vague in nature. Well, I mean that's pretty straightforward. The only reason that the violations are not reported is because of the fact that the students do not have enough trust in their government.

That's what I want to be as a president, that when you see me in the atrium and you know you're being mistreated in this school by anyone, you know that I'm the person you can talk to. I'm going to be that focal point of communication. That's what a president should be and that's what a president that I'm going to be.

Ahmed to Youssef: Okay, so I've been asked why should the student body trust an already existing member of the SGA? The question now is why should we trust you as a freshman?

Kayan to Youssef: You're talking about the end of false promises, but how do you intend to follow through with false information in that place? Oftentimes, I was having a conversation with an existing member of the SGA and oftentimes processes take so long to go into place.

So, one, like, let's say the current SGA, the policies that they've worked at the beginning of the year, they don't necessarily come into action until perhaps two or three SGAs later. So how do you plan on navigating that? 

Ali to Youssef: One of the points in your manifesto was supposedly prayer breaks that you want on campus. How is that actually going to play out? Because you realize already on campus, if you are in a class and you want to go on a prayer break, the majority of the professors already do comply, right? And most importantly, don't you think it's a far stretch of a promise that you cannot deliver on? Because schedules are something that does not really come under the SGA as well.

And most importantly, don't you think it is appealing to the mass of the Muslim heart by the fact that a lot of students who genuinely do want to pray still take that 15-minute break in between classes and ask their professor, can I meet? And I've been here three years, and I've never had a professor who's refused me from going to a prayer break during class. So don't you think it is a far overreaching promise? Because even though your entire campaign is on the fact that you're not going to be dealing with false promises in the first place. 

Youssef: For the first point, which is Ahmed's point, we understand the concerns about trust for myself as a freshman is the only freshman candidate on this panel. But I will emphasize that I am ready to do whatever is possible to collaborate with the current administration, collaborate with the SGA advisors, collaborate with all resources I can utilize as a president to get my policies and get my things across. So this also not just stops there, but also will make me even more tolerable for listening to others and not have this passive ego of not listening to anyone and thinking I'm that infallible person who's supposed to do whatever they think is the correct thing.

So that's the first thing. Second, for Kayan, for the things that you have mentioned, I understand that it can take a lot of time. That's why we will work with two things.

First of all, effective negotiation, something that I have really done in the past, more outside of the university's environment. And we will also work on–if something fails or has a lot of obstacles, specifically in the ES divestment spectrum, which if pushed forward will meet a lot of resistance. We will rally up even more support from the student body to legitimize even further what are the policies that we're trying to do.

And third, for Ali's concern, you said literally the answer is in your words, majority of the professors. This is a catastrophe. If it is down to the professor for you to do your religious obligation, that is a catastrophe in and of itself.

But we have endless institutions in the US itself having this as a policy, a policy, a legal policy where a professor will be held accountable if he stops you. And let me tell you one more thing. There are professors who do that. There are professors. I have personally experienced having to withdraw from class because of that issue specifically. So the idea that it's an appeal to the Muslim community, that is absolutely not true.

Question: How will you solve the problems of alienation of the campus? 

Ahmed: So one of the main issues that causes the alienation of the campus is the meaningless events that take place. So the events are meaningless to the majority of the student body. And as a result, and as I mentioned in my speech, we'll have a survey based on the student body's interest in order to voice the student body's interest to actually get to unite the student body in events that voice their voice.

Kayan: This campus has a large issue of inclusivity, and I talked about it more in my last manifesto point. Accessibility for one is a huge thing. And I think the solution to that is to just truly connect to the senior body. And that is something that this semester and the last semester we've seen decline. Which causes us a lot of chaotic dis-communication issues.

Ali: It's pretty simple. It's a natural way of building a community.

Which is, you listen and you let people do the events that they want. You provide spaces to people to feel that this is their community and this is their campus. I'm not going to be someone that's just going to curate a space for you. Rather, you give me resources to help create my own space. And that's how you naturally grow the community.

Youssef: For me, no one defined alienation, which is an issue. Alienation, in a sense, is mistreatment built off miscommunication. So, two things should be done. First of all, respecting the rights, all students. From respect of their obligations to respect of their identities and characters. Regardless of what they are. And second is effective collaboration between the SGA and the students.

Where things are pushed in the direction where the student body wants, not the SGA. Thank you. Thank you.

Question: Why did each of you choose this role out of every role in the SGA?

Kayan: That is an excellent question.  Frankly, I find myself equipped to deal with all the descriptions that come into play when I consider the president of SGA. I do have a year of experience as a class rep. That is one of the, I think, most pivotal roles. And I think tying in all the experiences that I've taken from that will truly help me and help you build this campus back up again.

Youssef: For me, it's two things. First of all, this is the most effective and powerful position since it's the one that really voices the voices of the student body and of the SGA. Also, you need to break the pattern of that you need to go through the SGA hierarchy and you need to go through the route that is specified for you.

Ali: Just two reasons. One, that I was extremely vocal against the amendment. So it's only fair that if it didn't pass, then to take on the opportunity that I fought for. And secondly, it's simply why not? Why not an average individual from our community stand up? And if he sees that he can do something about it, why not take the chance? And that's the trust that I want to build in every single one of you.

That when you see something wrong, believe in yourself to stand up and ask yourself, why not me? Why should I just pay for someone else to do it?

Ahmed: Thank you for this question. I mainly chose this role because I want to engage more with the community. And I really enjoy serving the senior body as the vice president. And I feel there has to be a hierarchy: no one is born 5 feet or no one is born 18 years old. You have to go through the steps in order to gain experience. And have the experience of the vice president, which is a step forward than the president. Thank you.

Question: How do we know we are effective in communication?

Kayan: I think that requires a really thorough look into why this communication occurs. But also from previous knowledge of how SGA has worked so far, there often is a lack of sufficient feedback from the senior body. I know currently we have a lot of feedback from the senior body. On a particular issue in the referendum. But I think in general, it's often lacking. And that's mainly due to choosing the wrong time to ask questions. So I think that was very important to take into account.

Youssef: For me, I have two things. First of all, I would make sure that the manifestos and the promises that have been voted upon for the individuals that have been accepted or have won the election, these things would be applied. This is the first thing. Because I don't want people just writing whatever and just trying to go do that. Second, we will try and form roundtables for students to object against policies each week. And also before any major decision within the constitution. To make sure that the actual constitution represents the student's downfall. Not just the members of the current government.

Ali: I think you just need to show that you genuinely care. It's just through genuine conversation. It's not forceful. You need to understand that miscommunication is stemming from an issue that doesn't exist. And that's because there is this fake persona that doesn't exist. Oh, we care about you. And we're going to do this. And here's a cup of coffee. And we're never actually going to do anything about it. It's just a conversation. When you see a student in the atrium, go have a conversation with him. See what his problem is. And you go from there.

Ahmed: I think the biggest part about miscommunication is actually understanding the miscommunication. The reason for the miscommunication happened. Understand where the miscommunication is. Where is the problem? And then you tackle it. Whether it's over a cup of Karak. That's how you reunite the campus. And actually listen to them, and voice their voices through demonstration.

Question: What restrictions would you want to remove from the administration? Why? How?

Ahmed: I think the biggest problem about this statement is the restrictions themselves.

Some restrictions, just like the law of speeding tickets, they're there for a reason. To protect the students. And ensure a fruitful uni experience. So understanding what the restrictions are at the present will solve the issue with the restrictions.

Ali: Well, pretty much similar. But for example, some restrictions just don't make sense. When I was a freshman, I could spend the entire night, overnight, sleeping on campus. That's not a restriction. That is imposed on new students. That's something that we need to merge. So the fact is, there are certain restrictions like that. Which aren't there to protect the community. But some are a stretch. Some are a stretch. Which needs to be negotiated. And as the president, it's my job to negotiate with them.

Youssef: For me, it's more of the administrative and logical barriers. That Ali spoke about. Also, I think that most of the barriers can be navigated. No one answered the how also. It was more of a misrepresentation of the issues or problems we were trying to address. I think that this is more of a problem. And I think that bringing someone a freshman in that has not been part of what has been happening in the past is a very good idea. Thank you.

Kayan: I actually think it's the opposite of that. I think more or less all the years back. I think you should have a certain level of experience in order to navigate the way that SGA works. But also the way that Georgetown works. And I think the biggest restriction is accessibility. And when I say accessibility, I'm not limiting it to one small field. I'm talking about people who refused entry into Georgetown because of the lack of accessibility. But also from things to parking, access to the pantry, access to professors, and also access to the SGA. Thank you.

II. The Vice Presidential Debate - Transcript 

Nagla Abdelhady: I also ask that we don't make any loud noise because for now we are recording to get a transcript of what's happening and put it out to you guys in a minute. So we'll start. The order is Sahana Farleen will be first and then Yasmin Ahmed will be second. Sahana, you have three minutes. Thank you. They were not asked to prepare a specific question, they were asked to prepare a speech. In the meantime, if you guys have any questions for them, Jood and others will pass around to get your questions. Thank you. Sahana, the floor is yours.

Sahana Farleen: Thank you. Okay, I'll start in three, two, one. Hi, everyone. My name is Sahana Farleen and I'm from Singapore. Now, before you come at me with the where are you really from questions, ethnically, I'm half Arab and I'm half Indian. My grandparents are from Dammam in Saudi and Tamil Nadu in South India and nationality-wise, I'm fully Singaporean. I've also been a resident of Japan for the past few years. And a little bit more about me is that despite being from so many different places, home somehow to me isn't a place, but it's rather the people and it's really grown to be the people to me. So, I lived in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere on a mountain in Japan with about 200 students from over 80 nationalities, which is insane when I think back at it. But the people sort of became my family and they became my home even if the place wasn't my home, which is something I'm so grateful that I've been able to replicate with the people also all over the world that I have met here in Qatar and in Georgetown.

Now, the reason why I'm telling you this is because I think it's really important to get to know who you are voting for as people rather than just as candidates as well because ultimately we'd be representing you, may that be me, Yasmin or Hamad. So, segueing into why I'm running for this position, what I stand for and what I bring to the table, I'm not here to tell you that I will chair SAC, that I will speak to club leaders and listen to your concerns and advocate for those concerns like going back to this old club leadership hierarchy or bringing back the leadership retreats and being objective with SAC funding. I view these things as my job and there is no point in me telling you that I will do my job because in that respect I believe and have always believed that actions speak louder than words, which I have shown as a class rep and which I hope that freshmen can attest to. So, on top of me doing my job, here is what I stand for.

I stand for international representation. Your concerns are not minor to me. I understand them. I go through them as well. Whether that be dryers getting broken or time schedules getting mixed up, I have brought up these concerns and will continue to fight for the concerns that we have as international students. I also stand for diversity within the SGA and a new SGA. This is the reason why I have decided to campaign and run with Ali and Jay, who are wonderful people by the way.

So, we have a mix of prior SGA experience and also a fresh face at the top and also a mix of some of the different groups represented at GU-Q. I also stand for community building through SGA planned events. There are undeniable gaps between different groups in our community. For example, the gap between locals, Qataris and internationals. While I cannot force people to go out there and interact with other people, what I can do is to provide people with the opportunities and the avenues to do so. This is why events like cultural night need to happen and cannot be cancelled.

It gives the chance for everyone to interact and learn from each other and about the various cultures we have here, which I can attest to. It's truly a privilege to have. I also have many more possible ideas, but this is all that I will mention due to time constraints.

But feel free to reach out to me whenever and however you'd like to know more about them. Lastly, thank you for being here and I hope for those of you who don't know me especially that now you know a little bit more about me and what I stand for and what I bring to the table and I hope that you support me and by extension that you support Ali Nasir and Jay as well. Thank you.

Yasmin Ahmed: Hello everyone, my name is Yasmin Ahmed and I think one of the most important parts is looking at what a VP actually does and if you all look at the constitution, which I know you all love, the first point of what a VP does is SAC. It is one of the most important parts of the SGA and part of our community and it is not just the VP chairing SAC, but it also reflects on the community, it reflects on the quality of events that are happening, which is why I want to advocate for returning the structure of clubs back to VP and President and making sure that people are held accountable and also reward the people who are already putting in so much effort to plan events, to go through the long process of having those events and be held accountable and improve the quality. And that is why my five points are structured around SAC, it is why I believe that it is so important to also have guidelines, for example, and a guidebook to guide people through how to make an event from start to finish.

From the moment of requesting an event ticket to having the pro card to making sure you keep the receipts, all of those things are very specific and new people coming in won't know that process and they won't know how to do that and I believe making a guidebook would be very important and all these ideas and all my five points are structured around the fact that from my work in SGA. I have always been passionate about clubs and about the role of VP and I have been talking to people from the beginning and I have been talking to club leaders, whether it is MSA or whether it’s the Debate club or any club, I have been talking to a lot of people about the feedback and what needs to be done and that is what my five points are structured around.

And also I want to improve the quality of events, from my work as PRO I know that clubs are going unattended and people and there is a very big fatigue within the student body and I think that is rooted in the fact that people don't know and there is lack of communication which is also why I want to have bi-weekly tabling specific for clubs and specifically for community organizers to be able to come and voice their concerns and be able to give feedback because there needs to be that constant feedback channel, exactly like how SGA has had a conversation and people are able to come and give their concerns and give their feedback, there should be that for club organizers as well. Which is also why I want to improve the training, the five-hour training which I know a lot has complained about from my speaking to club organisers. I want to improve it, the quality of it, the productivity of it and what is actually included in that training and that also includes making a WhatsApp message group chat so that people are able to reach me easier.

And my final thing that I would like to say is that we are all part of this campus and I believe that true leadership means listening to everyone and working, not segmenting the student body and making sure that everyone is heard including club organisers, including the students and I've already started doing that long before I ran for a VP and long before I even thought about it and I'm still going to continue doing that and it's been consistent from the beginning through my work as class chap and then PRO and hopefully your future.

Nagla Abdelhady: Thank you guys for the energy. Jood and Alex, can we get the questions? We'll start with your questions now. Jood, can we get them and then we can do theirs.

Each candidate will have one minute to respond to you guys, okay? And then it will be the same order. Sahana and then Yasmin. Thank you. Alright, we'll start with the first question.

Question: By being part of the SGA, what did you learn and what will you do about that knowledge in your job? Sahana is going to respond.

Sahana Farleen: Alright, so something that I've actually learnt about or at least from the students is that there are two main issues, right? Firstly is that we have confidentiality itself in the SGA and also that there's a lack of official channels. These are two very important things that I've actually learnt while being in the SGA.

This is a reason why people actually are not very aware of the issues that we have and also of the events that are ongoing and whatnot. And two solutions or things that I want to bring forward from what I have learnt of these is that firstly, transparency. As Ali mentioned, transparency is really, really important.

It is important for you to come up to me and for you to keep me accountable to what I am telling you here today and what I have promised, which is also something that you have been doing, but to give you the proper channels for you to do so and to keep me accountable I believe is very important. Another thing is proper feedback channels. If everything is going into spam, which, a lot of the freshmen especially have been complaining about lately, there are group chats being spammed, it's important for us to have a proper one just with official information that people can actually look forward to and also to have anonymous feedback channels as well, so that you're more comfortable with coming up to us. Thank you.

Yasmin Ahmed: So within my role as SGA, both when I was a class rep and PRO, I have continuously been the type of person that's been outgoing and talking to people. Like I said, I've already been talking to so many community organisers because I knew that this is something that I might want to do and I want to know what the issues already are and through my role as PRO, I know that our two most visited events are trivia and SGA cut-off conversation, which is also why I implemented the tabling or would like to implement the tabling because I know that that is our most used form of feedback.

I've already established very good connections through my role and I've been very visible and even throughout this campaigning period and way before it, I've always been the type of person that goes out to people and talks to people and constantly posts feedback forms on our SGA Instagram for continuous communication and feedback. So I just would like to continue that and implement the forms of communication that I know are working through my role.

Question: To Sahana, you talk about prioritising international students in your five points when they already are the minority on this campus along with the Qataris and the local and left behind the worst financial aid, no events, extra community.

Sahana Farleen: Okay, so something that I want to really highlight very quickly is that I'm not saying that I will marginalized or not listen to any other group here, but I am saying that I have a commitment also to international students and let me tell you why.

This is because international students, this is our entire life. We go here, we go to the dorms, this is it. But for locals and for Qataris, you have lives outside of this as well.

And on top of that, right, I'm not saying that you cannot come to me. There are locals that do come to me, there are Qataris that do come to me with all of their concerns. These are concerns that I also take with a lot of heart and it is not concerns that I marginalized in any way whatsoever, but I do say that it is also important for internationals to get this representation regardless, especially because their lives revolve more around Georgetown than anybody else's lives.

But then again, if your concerns are, they will also matter to me at the end of the day and I will also highlight them a lot as well. Even if you come up to me with financial concerns, these are concerns that we bring up anyway in SLC, but I'm just saying on top of that, I also have a commitment to international students. So on top of what I will promise to the locals, I also have the commitment to international students is what I'm trying to say. Thank you.

Question: You mainly discuss what you want to do for international students but what local students in the residence of Qatar, the locals are a minority and internationals have events such as Eat the Chef. So how is claiming that you will focus on international students and bring different groups together? Don't you know the SAC is impartial by law? What bad decisions, biased decisions are you making?

Sahana Farleen: Okay. So another thing that I want to mention as well is obviously SAC funding is objective. It's going to go very objectively to whoever proposes the idea.

That is out of the question in itself. But on top of that, right, what I also want to mention really quickly is that this idea that oh, the fact that we are not even addressing this gap of internationals, locals anyway and if you want to, you can't bridge this without not looking at it entirely. You can't ignore it.

You are going to breed more hatred between different groups. You're going to breed more, you're going to breed more differences between these groups if we don't address it in itself. What I'm proposing here is that we address it and then we bridge it.

Things like cultural night, it's rather to bring people together through the diverse cultures that we have. It's not to institutionalize these differences. Now if we go on without proceeding, without celebrating the diversity that we have, what we're going to do is we're just going to end up in itself ignoring the diversity that we have and in itself also like putting one group over the other, which is something that we don't want to do.

We want to embrace the cultures that we have anyway, right? Thank you.

Question: As PRO, how many events organized by BSA or ASA did you attend to show support to different groups in Georgetown? You said you were present, open, yet I have never felt comfortable raising concerns to you. What are your thoughts on international students and how would you propose your integration with the locals in SAC and in your position within the SGA, what concrete actions and initiatives have you worked on that should make us confident in your ability to be an effective VP?

Yasmin Ahmed: Okay. So to address the, within my position of SGA, what concrete actions or initiatives I've worked on that would make us confident in my ability, I think my commitment has been shown from genuinely this summer, if anything, from the summer I've wanted to be in SGA, from the summer that I've cared about being in SGA, just yesterday I did community organizer tabling as part of my campaign, but also those concerns were not new.

I've noted down every single one that I heard and from before that I've been talking to a lot of people, especially with my VP position, to know what the problem is. With the international students, I do feel like they are the majority and I feel like we should focus more on bridging everyone together than segregating. I feel like as well as VP, it should be to focus on everyone, not segregated groups of individuals.

And as for the organized events, as a member of exec, I don't really, I'm supposed to represent the whole student body and so due to my time as I'm also a student, I will not be able to go to every single club event. So if I go to one, I won't be able to go to all.

Question:  What happens if the others in your administration, so the group you're campaigning with, don't get elected but you do?

Sahana Farleen: Okay, so the thing is that ultimately, I just want to say that I have a lot of respect for the process. I have a lot of respect for the people here and at the end of the day, it is your vote.

If your vote is what institutes other people and not me, I respect that. Or if it institutes me and not the other people that I'm campaigning with, I respect that. And I think that that is honestly the most important thing that I can say because at the end of the day, it is really the process that is what matters.

It is your vote that is what matters because if we are not here for you, then truly what are we here for, right? And to me, at least that is nothing. So that's what I wanted to do, that's what I think I would like to respond if I get elected and not the other two, but if the other two get elected and not me, things like that. Thank you.

Yasmin Ahmed: I would like to state that whoever gets elected, I truly believe that out of all the candidates that I've seen and in general, I would have no issue with working with any of them. I think truly caring about the SGA, you all have one common goal, which is caring for the students and that should at the end of the day be the driving force of how you guys govern SGA. So whether it's me or whether it's any of the candidates, whether I'm running with them or not, I truly believe that everyone should care about the student body and that should be the priority.

And as long as that is truly the priority of those candidates, then I would not have an issue of running with any of them. And I might have preferences as to who do I think would do a better job, but that does not mean that I don't think that all of them are not capable. Again, as long as they all actually care about the students' concerns, I would have no issue with working with any of them.

Question: I went to Karak Tabling and I've never felt comfortable enough to raise concerns. And when I raised concerns to the class rep, it came with no answer.

Sahana Farleen: Okay, so as for Karak and conversation, that is something that for sure we need to restructure a little bit. I think one of the biggest things that students actually feel when it comes to giving feedback to our reps or to whoever and is that they are actually, they want it to be more anonymous in nature in itself because they're sort of, they could be like uncomfortable with the nature of their request or also just with the idea of going and seeking and asking for help, which is something I'm sure we all can relate with, right? So, I think that something to work on, it's something that the avenue we will provide you with as well, like an anonymous suggestion box that could be physical or also like just an anonymous link that works year round, right? So, this is something that honestly I would implement and I hope that it really, whoever sent this, that it really does help you and it does make you want to voice your concerns more. So, I hope being like, having the opportunity to send it anyway will help you a lot as well, yeah.

Yasmin Ahmed: I truly believe that giving feedback is a two-way stream and being approachable or being able to come to someone is two ways. It is part of the student's body's job to be able to reach out, but it's also us first to be visible. I'm glad this was asked because I didn't get time to address it initially, but I believe that if I am always out there and I am always sitting on Kharag and conversations, if you don't feel comfortable telling me in Kharag and conversations, for example, then you can shoot me a text, you can email me, you can come find me, you can tell someone else on the SGA team who is comfortable.

It does not have to necessarily be me. There are a whole 12 of us that you could reach out to and I believe Kharag and conversation if anything was our most productive in the way that most, a lot of people came and I know personally when I sat there and I'd ask people, do you have anything? And I followed up on every single thing that has been brought up to me. Just last Karak and conversation someone told me about the library.

After hours and lights, I told Nagla immediately as that person was telling me. So I know that I've never had an issue with following up. Whether it's doable or not doable, I think the problem is that there needs to be more transparency in what is actually able to be done on this campus because there are a lot of restrictions that people don't know about.

Question: What was the biggest challenge you faced as a current member of the SGA team and how would you use your new position to tackle that issue?

Sahana Farleen: Honestly, one of the biggest issues that I face might be a bit unique because I'm also in SLC and it's the idea that sometimes we come up with requests or there are issues that students face and we do highlight them in SLC. We do highlight them in SGA but there are roadblocks that we face at the end of the day.

We come back with staff saying no, facilities saying no, things like that. These are things that do happen but what I do intend to like or how I think we can work through this is that what I've learned is we can actually push. The more we push, the more they realize that oh okay, there's actually a need for these kinds of things.

The more we push and the more that we go ahead with these, the more that we push, the more that we bring in data. Staff love data for some reason. The more that we give them the data, oh okay, there's actually a need for this, then the more they have the likelihood to change their chance or to change their mind and actually say yes to what we have.

Yasmin Ahmed: I think one thing that I would go forward with is to genuinely push, collect data and to really fight as long as there is a need for it. I think something that I agree with Sahana in the way that the administration, it is very tricky and I feel like a lot of people don't know about it and I also want to improve the communication in the way that I want to be more transparent in what happens but I think the biggest problem that I know that everyone has received and I know that when we've met with the dean, Dean Masri for example, this was also something that he shared that people aren't reaching out to us, people aren't giving us concerns to talk about, people aren't telling us their problems. Now I do understand that a lot of you might not have problems but I do feel like it's also, it's something that I would want to improve is to be more outgoing, to go to people specifically, maybe have prompts, be like what do you think about this, what do you think about this or certain topics to talk about and not just relying on people to come to me.

I know that I'm always in the atrium and people are able to come to me and people have come to me but I think also the other way round, we're encouraging reps to be more out there, encouraging reps to go out and talk more which is something that I would want to do in the leadership next year if InshAllah I get it. But yeah, thank you.

Question: Since you are both first year students, how do you plan on connecting with the upperclassmen that may not know you?

Sahana Farleen: Okay, so the first thing that I would say is that I've been reaching out to a lot of people.

I'm a part of a lot of different groups and a part of different clubs and societies present on campus. That is something that honestly is one of the biggest things is you go out there and you reach out to people, right? That is how people know you, that is how people get to know you as well. So that's something that I've been doing very diligently and also on top of that, I do reach out to people like for example Jay, for example Ali, these are people who are also in upper class batches and these are people that like, okay, through them you know other people as well and we're also able to connect with more people.

And at the end of the day, it's also like an amount of representation, right? Like if you can't come to me because I'm a freshman or whatsoever, then okay, go to somebody else in the SGA. As Yasmin has also mentioned, there are about 12 people there and someone is going to for sure be from your batch because we do have class reps as well. So on top of just going out there and being very present and being very open, there are also going to be other avenues for you to reach out to people from your own batches as well if you do not know me and if I have not reached out to you already.

Yasmin Ahmed: I think through my role as PRO on the executive board, I've already interacted with people from every single batch. I'd say and I feel like I have a very good relationship with majority of people and I'm able to confidently talk to them and they know who I am and I feel like it is not going to be an issue with me since I'm a freshman because it's something that I've been doing throughout the year already and I've already, as I said from the beginning, I've cared about SGA and I've cared about interacting with the student body so it's something that I've been doing continuously and I've been talking to people and putting myself out there and understanding people's concerns. So moving forward, not much is going to change for me in the way that it is something that I already regularly do and it's not something that is different for me. But I would also like to put myself out there even more and make sure that I reach all different groups even if they don't necessarily already interact with me through my work as PRO.

Question: As a community organizer, you've never reached out to me to help with the difficulties we've had even though I've come to student life. Are you only here to support your friends?

Yasmin Ahmed: I'm not the current VP and so as I said, I do talk to community organizers. That doesn't mean that I can grab a list and go to every single one but I have talked to a lot of them and I've understood the majority of the concerns and the general sentiment which is why I want to create a guidebook, which is why I want to do the tabling because I understand the general sentiment from the people that I have talked to. Not saying that I've talked to every single one but if you had a problem with your community organizer, you could have come to me and I would have voiced that to our current VP, Ahmed Noeman, but that is something that you would have had to bring up to the VP.

But again, if you had come up to me, I would have been able to help you, I would have been able to voice your concern but again, I don't know every single community organizer. I don't have a list because that's not accessible to me. But I have talked to the ones that I do know of and a lot of them are not my friends and a lot of them I am not close to, but I've just talked to them in general because of the complaints that I've been hearing and I am still part of the SJ so I do care about the complaints and the voices being heard, which is again why they are within my five points.

Nagla Abdelhady: So thank you guys so much. Thank you for giving us your time. Thank you so much for showing up, we really appreciate it.