Capp, who is a Columbian College senator, took a different approach to this year's campaign. While she ran on the Real GW slate last year, she chose against running with a team of candidates this year.
"I don't know if I would have won if I wasn't on a slate and that is not fair," Capp said about running with a team of students last year. She added, "slates can punish qualified students."
Now, she said having an SA full of students from one team could hurt the SA.
"The SA next year should not be a clique and it will be one if it is all Student Union," Capp said.
If she is elected president this week, Capp said she will work with the senators who ran on the Student Union slate.
Abanto said that although many of his friends are on the slate, they are no longer united by the Student Union.
"The Student Union is no longer in existence," Abanto said. "The (senators-elect) are individuals with their own goals and ideas."
Capp said her independence was a major factor in her advancement to the run-off elections.
"I think students want to elect the best candidate that will work with all candidates," Capp said.
Slates became popular in 2004 with the Clean Slate team run by senior Asher Corson and 2006 graduate Ben Traverse. In 2005, Traverse ran on the Coalition for Reform slate, which won 10 out of the 15 seats, but lost Traverse the presidency.
Last year, the Real GW slate-led by senior Morgan Corr also had a strong showing, winning 11 of the 15 undergraduate seats in the Senate. Two other slates, the College Party and GWUnited, took the remaining four seats.
This year there were two slates led by presidential candidates. In addition to the Student Union, the Students for Progress slate, led by junior Michael Ray Huerta, also had five candidates for undergraduate senate seats, however, the slate did not win any seats in the election.
Corr, who this year is the JEC-vice chair and last year was the presidential candidate for Real GW, said that slate affiliation does not hurt independents in a slate-dominated senate.
"When I ran for the SA Senate my freshman year without a slate, I didn't feel excluded and the Senate worked effectively," Corr said. "I believe the same happened last year."
In 2005 and 2006, the success of the slates did not bring the presidential candidates victories in the runoff elections. In 2005, former SA President Audai Shakour, an independent, beat Coalition for Reform presidential candidate Ben Traverse in the presidential runoff election and current SA President Lamar Thorpe, an independent, edged out Corr, who ran on a slate in 2006.
"I don't know if I would have won if I wasn't on a slate and that is not fair," Capp said about running with a team of students last year. She added, "slates can punish qualified students."
Now, she said having an SA full of students from one team could hurt the SA.
"The SA next year should not be a clique and it will be one if it is all Student Union," Capp said.
If she is elected president this week, Capp said she will work with the senators who ran on the Student Union slate.
Abanto said that although many of his friends are on the slate, they are no longer united by the Student Union.
"The Student Union is no longer in existence," Abanto said. "The (senators-elect) are individuals with their own goals and ideas."
Capp said her independence was a major factor in her advancement to the run-off elections.
"I think students want to elect the best candidate that will work with all candidates," Capp said.
Slates became popular in 2004 with the Clean Slate team run by senior Asher Corson and 2006 graduate Ben Traverse. In 2005, Traverse ran on the Coalition for Reform slate, which won 10 out of the 15 seats, but lost Traverse the presidency.
Last year, the Real GW slate-led by senior Morgan Corr also had a strong showing, winning 11 of the 15 undergraduate seats in the Senate. Two other slates, the College Party and GWUnited, took the remaining four seats.
This year there were two slates led by presidential candidates. In addition to the Student Union, the Students for Progress slate, led by junior Michael Ray Huerta, also had five candidates for undergraduate senate seats, however, the slate did not win any seats in the election.
Corr, who this year is the JEC-vice chair and last year was the presidential candidate for Real GW, said that slate affiliation does not hurt independents in a slate-dominated senate.
"When I ran for the SA Senate my freshman year without a slate, I didn't feel excluded and the Senate worked effectively," Corr said. "I believe the same happened last year."
In 2005 and 2006, the success of the slates did not bring the presidential candidates victories in the runoff elections. In 2005, former SA President Audai Shakour, an independent, beat Coalition for Reform presidential candidate Ben Traverse in the presidential runoff election and current SA President Lamar Thorpe, an independent, edged out Corr, who ran on a slate in 2006.
