In an effort to keep the student body of George Mason informed about the upcoming City Council and School Board elections, a forum was held in the Mason auditorium during Block 3 on Tuesday where students could ask the candidates questions.

The candidates that appeared for the City Council were Phillip Duncan, Letty Hardi, David Tarter, and Stuart Whitaker. The candidates that appeared for the School Board were Susan Dimock, Laura Downs, Philip Reitinger, and Douglass Stevens. They faced a variety of questions, varying from gun violence to transgender rights. 

Susan Dimock was asked if she was in favor of standards based grading, a system based on growth that has piloted in several classes over the past two school years. She expressed a liking for the system; the idea of formative assessments that lead up to summative assessments connected it to her experience teaching college classes.

Douglass Stevens, who has drawn criticism for his views on LGBTQ+ rights, was asked about how he would address gender neutral bathrooms. He called for inclusion of everybody, including people of different beliefs. He said that his generation failed at being inclusive and drove people further to opposite ends of the spectrum, and that it is up to the generation of the students to fix this. 

“I love that they were all really well spoken and it was really interesting to hear what their plans are for their different positions, like city council or school board, and I’m really excited to talk about it with my parents and see who they’re going to vote for,” freshman Sasha Geisinger said.