With his tenure as GUSA president winding down and his successor, Ryan DuBose (COL ’02) preparing to take office, Tawan Davis (COL ’01) is looking to wrap up the remaining items on his policy agenda.

Among these items, Davis said, are planning Georgetown Day and Fountain Day, helping to organize a farewell event for University President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., and working with the funding board in a continuing effort to implement the recently approved student activities fee.

Davis and his administration are also working with the International Initiatives Secretary and the provost’s office to organize an on-campus panel discussion. Though no speaker has been finalized, Davis hopes to draw a prominent international relations figure to participate in the event.

In addition, Davis is working with the Department of Public Safety to implement various improvements suggested by students. He also plans to present a detailed report on the administration’s struggles and successes at his last assembly meeting.

Davis expressed satisfaction reflecting on the achievements made during his presidency. “I’m very proud of the student association. We’ve worked very hard and people have been very intelligent,” Davis said. “I am most satisfied with our ability to be task-oriented and get significant things done.”

Coming into his term, Davis had two main goals. The first was to remain both visible and viable as GUSA president, acting as a voice for student concerns. He also wanted to approach his administration in a whole new way, doing things that the student association had never done before.

“That was the harder of the two in many ways,” Davis said, “GUSA has so many entrenched approaches.”

He explained that he wanted to think “outside of the box” and accomplish things that many people didn’t think GUSA was capable of doing. Davis was pleased with GUSA’s ability to act as a mediator between the student body and the administration. This relationship resulted in constructive discussion on difficult issues such as David Schick’s tragic death and division among campus religious organizations.

Davis was particularly proud of the successful referendum on student activities funding, drawing Dr. Bernice King to speak and the impending international relations panel, which he said would be a first.

His biggest challenge as GUSA president was to “stay in touch” in the face of so many demands. “The job is a daunting one,” Davis said, “there are many people pulling at you from every direction . in some ways, you become isolated.”

The one policy proposal Davis was disappointed with was the unsuccessful initiative to eliminate facilities usage fees for student organizations. It was a daunting process, he said, which the student association worked hard on. However, no agreement could be reached with the university because of the significant revenues generated by these fees.

One of the biggest controversies during Davis’ tenure was the arguments presented by proponents of a new Yard Student Association, which has proposed dramatic structural changes to student government at Georgetown. If a compromise is reached and approved by the GUSA constitutional council and two-thirds of the GUSA Assembly, students will vote on the new constitution in a referendum. However, if Yard supporters do not back the new constitution, students will vote on the original constitution on arch 29.

Though the Yard question was a distraction from more substantive matters, Davis admited he viewed the situation optimistically. “It’s given us a wonderful opportunity to look at ourselves in an objective way,” he remarked. “People outside of the system are saying what should be fixed.”

Following his graduation from Georgetown, Davis will head to a position with Goldman-Sachs in New York. He majored in political economy with minors in French and theology.

Davis praised the incoming administration of DuBose and Brian Walsh (COL ’02) and said he was confident that they could build on the successes of the current administration in the future.