Georgetown University Student Association

Last updated
Georgetown University Student Association
AbbreviationGUSA
Formation1984
Membership
6,675 undergraduate students
President
Jaden Cobb (CAS '25)
Vice President
Sanaa Mehta (SFS '25)
Speaker of the Senate
Meriam Ahmad (SFS '26)
Vice Speaker of the Senate
Rhea Iyer (CAS '26)
Website gustudentassociation.com

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) is the undergraduate student government of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The GUSA bylaws state that the organization's mission is "to (i) empower Hoyas by giving them control over resources, (ii) improve the student quality of life, (iii) safeguard Hoya rights, (iv) involve Hoyas in the governance of the University, and (v) ensure that the University conducts itself in an ethical and responsible manner." [1]

Contents

Structure

Executive Branch

The Executive Branch is made up of a President and Vice President, elected by the undergraduate student body each November to lead for the following calendar year, as well as a staff whose size and structure is largely up to the discretion of the President and Vice President. [2] Since 2023, the executive staff has been restructured and expanded to address many issues raised by members of the undergraduate student body. Membership on cabinet staff, executive staff, and general staff positions is application-based and open to all undergraduate students. [3] The President and Vice President also appoint student representatives to a variety of external boards and committees, and all executive staff positions and external board appointments are subject to review and confirmation by the Senate. [4]

Current and Former Executives
YearPresidentVice President
2024Jaden CobbSanaa Mehta
2023Camber VincentAlyssa Hirai
2022*Kole WolfeZeke Ume-Ukeje
2021-2022Nile BlassNicole Sanchez
2020-2021Nicolo FerrettiBryce Badger
2019-2020Norman Francis Jr.Aleida Olvera
2018-2019Juan MartinezKenna Chick
2017-2018Kamar MackJessica Andino
2016-2017Enushe KhanChris Fisk
2015-2016Joe LutherConnor Rohan

*Due to a change in election timelines, beginning in 2022 the GUSA Executive serves for a calendar year rather than a school year

Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch is made up of a 29-person Senate which can amend the GUSA bylaws, confirm executive and judicial appointments, and engage in advocacy through mechanisms that include resolutions and ad hoc committees. The Senate is led by a Speaker and Vice Speaker during the academic year and over the summer. The Senate also controls the process by which more than $1 million is allocated to student organizations. The process is overseen by the Senate's Finance and Appropriations Committee, which allocates the sum total funds generated by the Student Activities Fee ($164 per student in 2018 [5] ) each year to five club advisory boards, the Lecture Fund, the Georgetown Programming Board, and other groups.

Current and Former Senate Leadership
SenateSpeakerVice Speaker
19th Senate Nov. Session

(Nov 2023 - Apr 2024)

Megan SkinnerDylan Davis
18th Senate Apr. Session

(Apr 2023 - Nov 2023)

Manahal FazalJoshua Bernard-Pearl

Megan Skinner

18th Senate Nov. Session

(Nov 2022 - Apr 2023)

Manahal FazalAlicia Gopal
17th Senate Apr. Session

(Apr 2022 - Nov 2023)

Camber VincentSpencer Woodall
17th Senate Nov. Session

(Nov 2021 - Apr 2022)

Leo RassieurRowlie Flores

The April session runs from April to November consisting of 22 representatives before the new incoming Freshmen class holds elections. The November session runs from November to April with all 29 representatives after elections are held for the Freshmen Class and At-Large senate seats. Leadership elections are held the first meeting following each election cycle.

Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is made up of a 3-person Constitutional Council, which oversees all internal GUSA disputes and is charged with the stewardship of the GUSA Constitution.

Legacy

Student government has been involved throughout its history in the establishment, expansion, and improvement of a plethora of student resources and services. This legacy includes the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttles (GUTS) system, which was founded in 1974 and expanded several times since then through the work of student government, and campus dining, whose improvement has been a focus of student government for decades. Other initiatives include:


Perhaps the most famous service established by student government is Students of Georgetown, Inc., also known as "The Corp", which was founded by SG President Roger Cochetti and Vice President Nancy Kent in October 1971. Until the early 1990s, the board of The Corp remained under the control of student government and the activities of the two organizations were closely linked. [11]

In addition to improving student resources and services, student government at Georgetown has long played a central role in the allocation of resources to student activities. This has been the case since at least the 1970s, but a notable change occurred in 2001 when a GUSA-led effort successfully established a "Student Activities Fee" to be collected from all students as part of undergraduate tuition, and disbursed to all student organizations by GUSA itself. Today, GUSA allocates more than $1 million per year to eight advisory boards, which in turn allocate their funds to over 300 student organizations. [12]

Student government has traditionally remained focused on student life, but at times the organization has also contributed its voice to political debates on campus and around the country. In 1997, for example, GUSA vocally supported the controversial addition of crucifixes to university classrooms. [13] And in 2011, GUSA President Mike Meaney organized a group letter from more than 100 student body presidents to President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner urging a bipartisan compromise on the national debt ceiling. [14]


History

Georgetown University Athletic Association: 1874 to 1920

The earliest form of student government at Georgetown was the Georgetown University Athletic Association, which formed in 1874 in order to coordinate athletics amongst the students of Georgetown College. The Athletic Association was relatively informal in its structure and duties until 1889, when students drafted a constitution and began annual elections. Its leadership consisted of three elected students –– the Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer –– as well as the managers of each athletic team and a Jesuit advisor who held the symbolic title of "President". That symbolism was soon relinquished, however, and by 1900 the student leader of the Athletic Association was called its President. The Association's duties were almost entirely athletic in nature; it coordinated schedules for athletic practices and games, managed the sharing of athletic equipment, and raised funds in order to support activities related to athletics and school spirit. [15]

The Athletic Association was also called "The Yard" interchangeably, in likely reference to the College Yard in which athletic games were played. Its annual leaders were thus referred to as the Yard President, Yard Secretary, and Yard Treasurer.

The 3 Student Councils: 1920 to 1969

In 1920, a College Student Council was formed with representatives from each class year. The Athletic Association continued to exist for the limited purpose of coordinating athletics, but the College Student Council supplanted it as the most important and authoritative elected body of the College and thus assumed the title "The Yard". Unlike the Athletic Association, the Student Council's duties were wide-ranging, including advocacy for student interests and the coordination of social life in the College. Students in the College continued to elect three executives each year –– the Yard President, Yard Secretary, and Yard Treasurer –– who oversaw both the old Athletic Association and the new College Student Council.

In 1940, the students of Georgetown College approved a new constitution for the College Student Council which included representation for the College's most significant student organizations alongside the representatives of each class. Over the next thirty years, the organizations represented on the Council would include the Georgetown College Journal, the Collegiate Club, the Glee Club, The Hoya , the International Relations Club, Mask and Bauble, the Philodemic Society, the Sodality, the Washington Club, and WGTB Radio. [16]

Around the same time that the College Student Council was formed in 1920, the students of the newly-established School of Foreign Service (SFS) founded an SFS Student Council. Like its original College counterpart, the SFS Student Council included representatives from each class year as well as the whole school and took on a variety of responsibilities including advocacy and social life. When the School of Languages and Linguistics was founded in 1949 and the School of Business in 1957, their student bodies were incorporated into the SFS Student Council's representative infrastructure. By the early 1960s, the group was called the "East Campus Student Council" or "Walsh Area Student Council" to reflect the fact that its constituency now included three undergraduate schools but that all three schools were located on Georgetown's "East Campus" (the block between 35th and 36th Streets NW, on which the Walsh Building stands).

At some point in the 1940s or 50s, the students of the Nursing School founded the Nursing School Student Council, which, like its SFS counterpart, included class representatives and school-wide elected officers but not representatives of student organizations. The first women to hold elected office in student government at Georgetown did so on the Nursing School Student Council, since the school was originally open only to women.

Administrative collaboration and social interaction between Georgetown's five separate undergraduate schools began to increase in the 1950s and 60s, and by the mid-60s there was an unprecedented sense of shared community amongst students of the five schools. Students also began to recognize the practical benefits of university-wide collaboration on the issues that affected students in all schools equally. As a result, several attempts were made throughout the 1960s to unify the three disparate student councils. Unification efforts were finally successful in March 1968, when a referendum passed among the constituencies of all three student councils. In December 1968, students from all schools elected 40 delegates to a constitutional convention, which was charged with drafting a structure for the new, unified student government. The convention released its plans within a few months, and the first university-wide student government election was held in May 1969. [17]

Student Government (SG): 1969 to 1984

Simply called the Student Government(SG), the new unified institution included a President and Vice President elected by the entire student body, and a Senate with 5 students elected from each school and 5 from each class (40 in total). [17]

Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA): 1984 to present

In 1984, students replaced the SG with the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), a new institution that over time came to be loosely based on the tripartite structure of the federal government of the United States. GUSA's executive branch included a President and Vice President, elected annually by the student body. Its legislative branch consisted of a 16-person Assembly, with 4 representatives from each class year––thus eliminating the last vestiges of differentiated representation for the five schools. After 1990, GUSA also had a judicial branch, consisting of a 3-person Constitutional Council empowered to resolve constitutional disputes within the student government.

The GUSA Constitution has been amended three times:

Notable alumni

U.S. President Bill Clinton ran for the presidency of the East Campus Student Council in spring 1967 (his junior year), but lost to Terrence Modglin. This flyer advertised his candidacy. Clinton at Georgetown 1967.jpg
U.S. President Bill Clinton ran for the presidency of the East Campus Student Council in spring 1967 (his junior year), but lost to Terrence Modglin. This flyer advertised his candidacy.

Many notable individuals in business, politics, religion, and the arts began their careers in Georgetown's student government, including:

Qatar campus

The Georgetown University in Qatar's Student Government Association (GUQ-SGA) is an annually elected, student-run governance association that works to represent the student body of Georgetown University's Qatar campus and liaise with university administrators. The Executive branch consists of 11 members headed by the President, who chairs the Student Liaison Commission (SLC), and the Vice President, who chairs the Student Activities Commission (SAC). [21] The Legislative branch is made up of two class representatives from each of the four graduating classes. GUQ-SGA has strong connections with the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) and Georgetown University Graduate Student Government (GradGov) on the Main Campus as part of their One Georgetown initiative, in addition to other universities located in Education City. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Madison University</span> Public university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S.

James Madison University is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison College in 1938 in honor of President James Madison and then James Madison University in 1977. It has since expanded from its origins as a normal school and teacher's college into a comprehensive university. It is situated in the Shenandoah Valley, just west of Massanutten Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown University</span> Private university in Washington, D.C.

Georgetown University is a private Jesuit research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the United States and the nation's first federally chartered university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown College</span> Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky, U.S.

Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsh School of Foreign Service</span> School of international affairs at Georgetown University

The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma City University</span> Private university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US

Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Wesleyan College</span> Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky, US

Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John J. DeGioia</span> American academic administrator

John Joseph DeGioia is an American academic administrator and philosopher who has been the president of Georgetown University since 2001. He is the first lay president of the school and is currently its longest-serving president. Upon his appointment, he also became the first lay president of any Jesuit university in the United States. Having spent his entire career at Georgetown, where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees, DeGioia was the dean of student affairs and held various vice presidential positions before becoming president.

The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of Panhellenic sororities and IFC and NPHC fraternities that formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics. The group, which has operated in varying degrees of secrecy since 1914, is credited with selecting and ensuring the election of candidates for Student Government Association, Homecoming Queen, and other influential on-campus and off-campus offices, including the Student Government Association Senate. It was evidently first publicly noted as "a political machine" in 1928 by Alabama's campus newspaper, The Crimson White. Then in a 1945 article in the newspaper, it was referred to as "the machine", and the name has stuck ever since. It is alleged that The Machine plays a real role in both the politics of the student community and in the political careers of numerous Alabama politicians.

The Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver, otherwise referred to as the Alma Mater Society or the AMS, is the student society of UBC Vancouver and represents more than 58,000 undergraduate and graduate students at UBC's Vancouver campus and their affiliated colleges. The AMS also operates student services, businesses, resource groups and clubs. The AMS is a non-profit organization that exists to advocate for student viewpoints and ensure the needs of students are met by the University Administration and the Provincial and Federal governments. The Alma Mater Society is composed of a number of constituency organizations for undergraduate students, and works closely with the Graduate Student Society of UBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Carolina University</span> Public university in Conway, South Carolina, U.S.

Coastal Carolina University is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an independent university in 1993.

King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York College, City University of New York</span> Senior college in Jamaica, Queens, New York

York College is a public senior college in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, United States. It is a senior college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Founded in 1966, York was the first senior college founded under the newly formed CUNY system, which united several previously independent public colleges into a single public university system in 1961. The college is a member-school of Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The college enrolls more than 6,000 students as of fall 2022.

Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus, formerly Armstrong State University, is one of three campuses of Georgia Southern University, a public university in the U.S. state of Georgia. Occupying a 268-acre (1.08 km2) area on the residential southside of Savannah, Georgia, the school became one of three campuses of Georgia Southern University in 2018. The university's flagship campus is in Statesboro, 50 miles (80 km) west of Savannah. The Armstrong campus is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) from downtown Savannah and 25 miles (40 km) from Tybee Island. Armstrong offers undergraduate and graduate degrees; it has a total student enrollment of approximately 5,000 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown University in Qatar</span> Campus of the Walsh School of Foreign Service in Dohas Education City

Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) is a campus of Georgetown University in Education City, Doha, Qatar. It is one of Georgetown University's eleven undergraduate and graduate schools, and is supported by a partnership between Qatar Foundation and Georgetown University.

The Student Senators Council is the chief student deliberative body of New York University representing all students from the 15 schools, colleges, and divisions, including undergraduate, graduate, professional, and non-degree students. The council, commonly known on campus as the SSC, considers matters in which the interests, rights, or responsibilities of students are involved and brings concerns to the attention of the NYU administration and to the University Senate.

The UMSL Student Government Association (SGA) is a student run government set up to provide a voice for students when dealing with administration of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL). SGA has three branches, executive, legislative and judicial, and also a constitution. SGA was started in 1963 when the University was founded and has been through many constitutional changes, the most recent in 2004. SGA includes members from every student organization and students from every college on campus. This government incorporates both undergraduate and graduate in its student body. UMSL's SGA, along with the 3 other campuses in the University of Missouri System student governments sends two members to a meeting of what is called the Intercampus Student Council. SGA has been involved in many changes for students around the campus, including getting funds for the Benton Hall renovation. It is responsible for approving student fees before they go to the board of curators of the University of Missouri System and divides out the campus Activity's Fees to fund student organization's budgets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student governments in the United States</span> American organizations representing high school or college students

Student governments in the United States exist in both secondary and higher education. At the collegiate level, the most common name is Student Government, according to the American Student Government Association's database of all student governments throughout the United States. The next most common name is the student government association. Other names are student senate, associated students, or less commonly students' union. There was one instance of a government of the student body, at Iowa State University. At Yale University, the undergraduate student government is known as the Yale College Council. High school student governments usually are known as Student Council.

Glasgow University Sports Association is a student organisation at the University of Glasgow responsible for the promotion of sport and physical activity around campus.

The Georgetown Heckler is an undergraduate humor magazine founded in 2003 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. by Justin Droms. The satirical and comedic publication is not affiliated with the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington University Student Association</span>

The George Washington University Student Government Association is the student government of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. The SGA is responsible for advocacy on behalf of the GW student body at and is modeled after the U.S. Federal Government and consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

References

  1. "GUSA Bylaws". Georgetown University Student Association.
  2. "Georgetown University Student Association: About". Georgetown University. 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  3. "Georgetown University Student Association: External Boards". Georgetown University. 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  4. "Georgetown University Student Association: Constitution". Georgetown University. 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  5. "Undergraduate". studentaccounts.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  6. Santulli, Stephen (February 25, 2005). "GUSA Assembly Grants Lecture Fund Liberation". The Hoya.
  7. Keller, Caroline (September 28, 2001). "STUDENT LIFE GU One Card Planned To Start Next Semester". The Hoya . Retrieved 2008-04-22.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. McLennon, Maddie (February 9, 2010). "Readership Program Back, Snow Poses No Obstacle". The Hoya.
  9. Talbot, Adam (February 10, 2011). "New Candidates Must Build on Past GUSA Successes". The Hoya.
  10. "Student Advocacy Office". Georgetown University Student Association.
  11. The Corp. "History" . Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  12. "Student Activities Budget Report, Fiscal Year 18". Georgetown University Student Association. March 2018.
  13. Hansen, Ronald J. (November 21, 1997). "Georgetown debate angers D.C. cardinal: Hickey chides university on crucifixes". The Washington Times . Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  14. Rosenthal, Brian M. (July 21, 2011). "Student body presidents urge political leaders to reach compromise on debt debate". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  15. Curran, Robert Emmett (2010). A History of Georgetown University. Georgetown University Press. ISBN   978-1589016910.
  16. "Preliminary Sketch of New Georgetown Constitution". The Hoya. November 20, 1946.
  17. 1 2 Durkin, Joseph (1990). Swift Potomac's Lovely Daughter: Two Centuries at Georgetown through Students' Eyes. Georgetown University Press. pp. 203–214. ISBN   978-0-87840-501-5.
  18. Stewart, Mike (March 23, 2006). "Fixing what's broken". The Georgetown Voice. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  19. Murchison, Twister (November 14, 2006). "Fall Brings Winds of Change for GUSA". The Hoya . Retrieved 2008-03-10.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. Ash, Elizabeth (February 27, 2018). "GUSA Senate Confirms Election Results". The Hoya.
  21. "Student Government Association". Georgetown University in Qatar.
  22. "A Seat At the Table: TGG's Editorial Board Interviews SGA President". The Georgetown Gazette.