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

The Corp, GUASFCU Receive Record Application Rates

jinwoo chong/THE HOYA Students of Georgetown, Inc. and the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union both received record-breaking numbers of applicants during hiring season this fall, with a focus on increasing diversity.
jinwoo chong/THE HOYA
Students of Georgetown, Inc. and the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union both received record-breaking numbers of applicants during hiring season this fall, with a focus on increasing diversity.

Students of Georgetown, Inc. and the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union collectively received over 750 applications in a record-breaking hiring season for the two student organizations.

Last year’s fall hiring season for the two organizations received over 600 applications and hired over 100 students.

GUASFCU accepted 22 of the 290 students who applied for an internship — a 7.6 percent acceptance rate — while Blue and Gray accepted 32 of the 313 tour guide applications with an acceptance rate of 10 percent according to Blue and Gray President Prayuj Pushkarna (SFS ’17).

The Corp has not yet provided its final hiring numbers as of 2:30 a.m.

According to Pushkarna, Blue and Gray’s acceptance of 32 new guides is the highest number in the club’s history.

“This is actually the biggest guide class we’ve ever taken in the history of Blue and Gray since 1984,” Pushkarna said. “We did everything we possibly could to create more places for more applicants to get spots in the organization.”

While GUASFCU maintained its annual fall hiring cap of 22 new interns, GUASFCU’s Chief Commercial Officer Grace Cole (SFS ’17) said the addition of a new diversity and inclusion auxiliary committee led to a large and varied applicant pool this semester.

“We want to get people from all different schools, all different socioeconomic backgrounds, all different cultures, geographic locations of where they went to high school, race, sexual orientation, everything,” Cole said. “We had a more diverse applicant pool, and I really think a lot of it is to do with that initiative.”

The Corp did not significantly change its hiring practices this year, according to Director of HR Bella Todaro (SFS ’18), as it had already made significant efforts to increase diversity in recent years.

Some organizations do not require an application — including the Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program and the Georgetown Program Board — and look to include all interested students in their clubs, according to GPB Head Nick Bailey (MSB ’17), who also works for The Hoya.

“We try to reach the interests of all Georgetown students,” Bailey said. “This year we’re really pushing on being more inclusive and working with groups that we haven’t happened to work with in the past.”
Bailey said GPB prioritizes inclusivity and is confident that membership will remain consistent.

“We are supposed to represent the whole student body, and so we won’t turn people away because we are looking for diverse interests and diverse people that want to help us plan our events,” Bailey said. “So far we’ve had three meetings already, and the member attendance has not dropped at all.”

Despite active efforts to make clubs more inclusive, the club application process is the first time many students have been rejected, which can be disheartening.

“There are obviously a lot of negative aspects to the selectivity of clubs,” Pushkarna said. “Nobody likes being rejected from clubs. That can definitely have an effect on most students’ minds or their mental health.”

According to Pushkarna, regardless of the arduous application process and low acceptance rates, clubs play a prominent role in the dynamics of the Hilltop.

“I think Georgetown students’ commitments to their clubs contributes to the vibrancy of the Georgetown culture at large, whether its performing arts clubs that are contributing to it or cultural clubs that are contributing to it,” Pushkarna said.

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    Gray&BlueOct 3, 2016 at 11:23 am

    And still, according to Dr. Olson and Dr. Lord, the university doesn’t recognize Greek life because “Student organizations at Georgetown are expected to comply with a standard of open membership, one which contributes to building the inclusive and welcoming student community at the heart of the Georgetown experience.” Sure, that seems like even administration of university policy. What. A. Joke. And certainly none of the organizations mentioned in this article do any hazing, no way, it’s the evil fraternities that do that.

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