@SANCHEZSPERBER2024/INSTAGRAM | The Hoya sat down with GUSA Executive Candidates Allie Sanchez and Paul Sperber.
Allie Sanchez (MSB ’26) and Paul Sperber (CAS ’26), who are running for Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) president and vice president, say that if elected, they plan to expand dining times on campus and improve campus amenities.
The Hoya sat down with Sanchez and Sperber to discuss their campaign and prospective plans. Voting opens Nov. 5 and closes Nov. 7.
Below is a partial transcript of the candidates’ discussion.
Why are you running for GUSA?
Sanchez: As an outsider, GUSA hasn’t really made a huge impact in my life, and I want to change that because I think I represent a big portion of the student body in that I feel like my voice isn’t necessarily heard. So I kind of want to be that bridge for that.
Sperber: The number one reason why I’m running is that I just love Georgetown, and I know what it’s like to struggle at Georgetown. I know what it’s like to feel a little bit out of place and a little bit overwhelmed, and the main reason I’m running is I really want to see Georgetown be a home for everybody. I want to see that GUSA can be a welcoming venue for change, where students actually feel like their voice is being heard and that they’re not intimidated by a more official or institutionalized GUSA environment.
If elected, what are your top priorities?
Sanchez: The big thing that we’re working on is fixing the little things. A lot of things at Georgetown are these small day-to-day annoyances like the broken doors, the limited water bottle fillers, the slow elevators — that type of thing that you encounter every day but can oftentimes get overlooked by these huge goals that maybe some people in GUSA have. While our policy list isn’t huge, it’s all things that are doable and actionable items that we believe we can get done, or at least get started in our terms.
Sperber: Yeah, just fixing the little things, ensuring that everyone’s day-to-day life at Georgetown is as fast as it can be. Also, ensuring that students feel safe on campus, a large issue that, after talking with a lot of particularly freshmen, a lot of students are feeling unsafe in their residence halls. They’re worried about residence hall security.
How do you believe you will be able to accomplish the goals you set and follow through on your campaign promises during your term?
Sperber: The number one thing for us in order to achieve our goals is communication. So whether that’s communication with other students, with faculty, with the administrators, with the rest of GUSA, with alums, with student leaders, the number one thing is that we want everything to be an open conversation that’s approachable and not intimidating for students. We want students to feel that GUSA is actually a resource to them, something that actually helps them.
How will you address GUSA’s low approval and skepticism from the student body? How will you keep voters engaged with GUSA throughout the year if you win the election?
Sanchez: I think right now it’s definitely seen as kind of an exclusive group of people who aren’t really in touch with the rest of the student body. And I think that’s kind of where we come in as a bridge to the rest of the student population because we are involved in very different things than the typical GUSA kid. That type of different involvement is something that I think can really get people a lot more engaged and hopefully keep people engaged because we bring kind of this new exciting energy into GUSA.
Sperber: The fact that we’re fresh faces is definitely central to that. In terms of GUSA’s low approval rating, it’s just really important that people actually see GUSA as a resource to help them, not as something that’s exclusive or some kind of unattainable institution that seems very distant from actual student life. I think GUSA actually being a resource to students and actually reaching out to students and following up with them and making it easier for students to actually have friendly relationships with the leadership of GUSA is a great first step in increasing GUSA’s approval rating.
Student protests over the war in the Middle East have been occurring across campus since April. What is your position on these protests? Should the administration allow them more free rein or crack down on them?
Sanchez: I think that’s not really relevant to the scope of student government at that point.
Should Georgetown end legacy admissions?
Sanchez and Sperber: No.
Should Georgetown divest from companies such as Amazon and Alphabet with ties to the Israeli military?
Sperber: No.
Why should people care about this election?
Sanchez: I think definitely again because we’re outsiders, I think it adds kind of a nuance to the election and we’re definitely here to make a change. It’s very different than usual just because we’re not insiders.