Two women will assume the roles of Georgetown University Graduate Student Government (GradGov) president and vice president for the first time in the organization’s history following  executive board elections. 

The elections for the 10 executive board positions took place March 4. GradGov released the results in their March 18 newsletter to graduate students. The election process included staggered deadlines for voting on each position throughout the day and the chance for candidates to give speeches to GradGov members and field questions from senators. The new executive board, including incoming GradGov President Nadia Sarfraz (GRD ’24) and incoming GradGov Vice President Micaila Curtis (GRD ’25), will be sworn into office April 13. 

Sarfraz and Curtis will be the first two women to hold the roles concurrently, according to Sarfraz.

As president, Sarfraz said she hopes to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of GradGov.

“Some initial goals are as follows: strive to make serving on GradGov feasible for any graduate student in regard to time commitments and responsibilities, work with each director and division of GradGov to streamline processes, support senators in developing communication and relationships with constituents to ensure all voices have a direct channel to being heard, strive to make serving on GradGov feasible for any graduate student in regard to time commitments and responsibilities, and strictly uphold full transparency,” Sarfraz wrote to The Hoya.

Curtis said that she will focus on improving communication between GradGov and the students it represents. 

“Putting communication at the foundation of my role will help us be more transparent and responsive to students, as well as be respectful of their perspectives and opinions as we move forward with major decisions,” Curtis wrote. 

The election turnout was higher than usual, with three times more Senators voting this year than last year and candidates running for every vacant position, according to Jonah Klempner (GRD ’22, LAW ’22) the outgoing president of the GradGov executive board.

“We had the first GradGov Presidential Debate that was live streamed and recorded. We had absentee voting, electronic voting and in person voting,” Klempner wrote to The Hoya. “Each candidate was given an opportunity to announce their candidacy which was followed by a campaign event for voters to come and get to know the candidates. Every candidate submitted a public letter of objectives, made a speech, fielded questions from the Senate.”

GradGov now represents a broader spectrum of graduate students. A Nov. 2021 referendum, which granted students from the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) full participation in GradGov, allowed students like Teresa Garcia-Bautista (GRD ’23), the newly elected Director of Communications, to run for executive board positions.

Eric Saldanha (GRD ’23), the newly appointed Chief of Staff, said that communication and representation of all graduate students are two of his top priorities for the next year.

“It’s vital that graduate students can trust and verify that their Student Government is actually working on their behalf. Ensuring that the graduate student voice is part of University decision-making across the administration,” Saldanha wrote to The Hoya. “This includes ensuring that relevant University committees have graduate student representation and that graduate students can contribute to University decision-making that impacts graduate students.”

Luopeng Zheng (GRD ’24), who ran for GradGov President, made unfounded allegations of candidate misconduct that questioned the legitimacy of the elections. Zheng sent out an email to all GradGov senators claiming that an unnamed presidential candidate was discouraging individuals from running in opposition to them, according to a Feb. 19 email obtained by The Hoya. At the time the allegations were issued, Zheng was the only candidate officially running for president, according to Sarfraz and Curtis. 

When Klempner asked for clarification and more details surrounding the nature of these allegations, Zheng did not comment any further on the issue, according to a Feb. 19 email obtained by The Hoya. 

Zheng did not respond to a request for comment from The Hoya.

David Zumbrennen (GRD ’23), the new director of programming, said that the election process was legitimate and fair.

“I believe that the elections were conducted fairly and accurately,” Zumbrennen wrote to The Hoya. “There was no fraud or any impropriety. Based on my knowledge I believe all accusations of fraud and impropriety to be false and designed to either undermine GradGov or the current or incoming leadership.” 

GradGov plays an essential role in connecting graduate students across the university, according to Sarfraz.

“GradGov is unique — it brings together people from across campus with different disciplines, interests and goals,” Sarfraz wrote. “Herein lies the most valuable part of the organization, and when organized efficiently, the possibilities are ample. Graduate school is all about time management, development and interest. I have always been a huge advocate that given the right tools and support, anything or anyone can go above and beyond.”