Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Students, Incorporate

In a move to rediscover its original purpose, Students of Georgetown Inc., has added a social impact chair, an external position, to its governing board of directors this month.

If the position is taken seriously by not only The Corp but the rest of the student body as well, it could enact considerable change in the company’s goals and its relationship with the university’s students and administrators.

The Corp inaugurated its first Social Impact Chair, Harrison Williams (COL ’16) in an attempt to return to its original founding purpose as an advocacy group protecting endangered students during the 1971 May Day protests.

The position itself is currently loosely defined, but aims to collaborate with students on initiatives aimed at benefiting the entire Georgetown community, which warrants our attention and consideration.

In a year that saw university initiatives made without adequate input of the student body, including iresome three-year housing and meal plans as well as the GUSA-opposed 2018 Campus Plan, such a move from the company is as exciting as it is promising.

We urge students and student organizations to take advantage of the resources of the largest student-run company in the world extended to them by the Social Impact Chair.

More than a discussion of funds, however, The Corp remains on campus an easily recognizeable and legitimate body of student union. Allying ourselves with such an image would help to foster a more solidified student body as a whole to the university.

Georgetown students want change. From protests and stage-stormings to “Let’s Not Get Screwed Again” banners, there has been serious backlash aimed at the university’s governing body’s projects that seem against the interest of its students.

The Corp’s social impact chair can act as a unifier behind which students should be able to rally and advocate their causes.

At the same time, however, The Corp must be proactive in ensuring that their social impact chair is deserving of our support, and not just another empty gesture.

Kit Clemente, a member of the upper management of Students of Georgetown, Inc., recused herself from voting on this editorial.

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