Alex Wright

I would like to formally announce my candidacy for the position of Freshmen Representative to the Executive Board for the Mount Vernon campus.

As a lifelong Democrat and a new GW Colonial, I now have the opportunity to make my mark on a grander scale. I have worked for campaigns at home, exemplifying the very qualities that define my home state, the Volunteer State, Tennessee. The adversity I endured, as a Democrat in the Republican stronghold of my state, has only strengthened my dedication for the party of Thomas Jefferson and Tennessee's own Andrew Jackson.

My experience encompasses both local and national politics. In 2007, I led the Democrats to a decisive victory in a Presidential election simulation during a weeklong politics program in DC. As campaign manager, I had the luck and opportunity to meet and work with some of the finest young Democrats from around our country, many of whom now attend some of the most prestigious universities both in and out of DC.

I promise to translate the success I had at the camp and the other programs I've attended to GW's College Democrats, for both Mt. Vernon and Foggy Bottom. I promise to mobilize Mt. Vernon, to make it as active as Foggy Bottom, and to energize our satellite community for greater results.

This isn't a plan, this is a PROMISE.

Emma Carpenter

I want to be the Freshman Representative for the Mount Vernon Campus because the Democratic party has inspired me and I want to continue to inspire students across the GW campus.

Even though I was raised in a fairly liberal household, I eagerly informed myself about the political process and formed my own opinions about every political issue imaginable. I genuinely believe in our party and the great things it can do for our country. Like out shirts say, change begins at GWU. I hope to help make these big changes possible, with help of everyone in the College Democrats. We need this change, I am willing to do everything possible to elect Barak Obama our next president.

I have been a life long Democrat--literally. I attended my first campaign rally when I was four, and now I'm hooked.In 2007, I was a U.S. Senate Page for Senator Ken Salazar. I worked in the Senate every day for a whole semester. Also, just this passed summer I volunteered on the Obama for America campaign with the floor operations team. You know all of those great signs on the Convention Floor? I coordinated which signs went where, and when they were all supposed to go up, which meant I was on the Convention Floor for the majority of the time. I wasn't lying when I said Democratic politics are my life.

I am dependable, hardworking, organized, creative, and diligent. I am so excited about this election, and this year. I want to make sure our Freshman class gets the attention it deserves so all of you can be excited as I am!

Joe Pratt

I am writing this today not just to express my intention to run for Mount Vernon Freshman Representative, but also to outline why I want to be a leader in the College Democrats and in the progressive movement at large. In America today it seems we cannot turn in any direction without seeing the plagues of violence, war, and poverty stain our land. Every day hard working men, women, and children are driven from their homes as a result of dubious sub-prime mortgages. Every day, in 48 states in our republic deny simple equal rights to gay and lesbian couples. Every day young men and women come home from Iraq to a country much more supportive than we were during Viet Nam, but no less ignorant to their health care needs. Speaking of health care, 40 million men, women, and children must live in constant fear that not only could a disease take their lives, it may very well take their homes and their financial security in old age. We live in a country scarred by pain, bloodshed, and political divide. We are all responsible. No person is exempt. Both the Democrats and Republicans fail, because they won’t work together, and the independents are deluded that just because they don’t like the party system it will magically change on their behalf. So few people take steps to actually make a difference, but that is where we come in. The College Democrats have a sincere hand up on the party-at-large, in that we have the youthful exuberance, commitment, and passion to do what our older counterparts can’t. This is why I want to not only be an active member of this group, but also one of its leaders. Thank you.

Alex Pazuchanics

My name is Alex Pazuchanics, I am a resident of Somers Hall, and I am declaring my candidacy for freshman representative on the Mt. Vernon campus.

As a representative for the freshman class, I would do my best to be the voice of the Democratic student body, particularly the first time voters that are extremely important in this election cycle. In addition to working to increase campus involvement in the issues that matter most to college students such as promoting environmental sustainability and an end to the conflict in Iraq, I would work to promote activism in the bread and butter issues that have bound the Democratic coalition together throughout the 20th century. Growing up in Pittsburgh, the heart of the Rust Belt, I have a unique perspective on the issues that matter most to the voters in post-industrial Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. As a freshman representative, I would try to promote campus activism for economic justice, the rights of workers, strong social safety nets, livable cities, and the philosophy that we are our brothers' keepers.

To that end, I have spent time working in both the state and county levels of government throughout high school, garnering an appreciation for local politics and the way that it can affect the lives of people in both positive and negative ways. Having spent time in constituent services, communications, and economic development, I would bring several perspectives on the political process together. As a freshman representative, I would try to bring the experience I gained in local politics to campus activism.

If elected, I plan to work hard to make sure that the GW Democratic community remains grounded in the core values of the Democratic party as we move into the future.