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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

In First Spring Agenda, GUSA Plans 40 Days

As students eye the finish line of the academic year and count the days until summer vacation, GUSAPresident Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) and Vice President Adam Ramadan (SFS ’14) are taking an unprecedented step to encourage no such slacking among their staff.

The Georgetown University Student Association leaders released a spring agenda Thursday, which outlined priorities for each member of their executive cabinet for the remainder of the academic year.

We picked the things we can do this semester and also things that we could start this semester and achieve fully later in the year,” Tisa said.

Tisa emphasized that the agenda was not intended as a checklist, but rather as a means to actively engage with the student body.

“We’re putting this out to hold us accountable and keep us transparent,” Tisa said. “The executive always does a lot of work, but there may be some students out there working on the same thing or [who] have ideas to do things in a better way but don’t know what’s going on with GUSA.”

The first item listed on the agenda was to combat sexual assault, which mandates increased sexual assault awareness programming during New Student Orientation, advocacy for clear disciplinary amnesty policies for victims of assault and sexual assault training for student leaders. These efforts would build on recent agreements to address sexual assault during the NSO show and as part ofAlcoholEdu and address recent failures to incorporate a mandatory hour-long sexual assault discussion into NSO.

“Reporting of sexual assault is extremely low at Georgetown, as it is elsewhere. Part of that is due to taboos and negative culture,” Tisa said. “We want to facilitate an environment that is comfortable for survivors to report cases. If you report a sexual assault you should not be charged with drinking, drug use or any other circumstance that may have been happening at the time but is totally irrelevant to the fact that someone chose to become a perpetrator.”

Since taking office, Tisa has repeatedly cited the 2010 Campus Plan agreement, which mandates that the university house 90 percent of undergraduates on campus by fall 2025, as the largest challenge facing his administration.

As a result, the agenda also includes easing restrictions on on-campus socializing, which would involve extending party hours, relaxing limits on kegs and reevaluating apartment safety capacity levels.

“Especially with Georgetown Day coming up, Georgetown students study hard and work hard, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to party hard,” Tisa said. “There is a lot that students, administrators and the neighborhood can agree upon. While maintaining safety standards, students should be able to socialize without the fear of punishment.”

For athletics, GUSA plans to actively solicit student feedback on the construction of the new Intercollegiate Athletic Center. Tisa also aims to continue advocating for the creation of a clubs sports trainers program, an initiative that former GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13) introduced with limited results during their term.

Student Advocacy Office Co-Directors Ben Manzione (SFS ’15) and Michelle Mohr (COL ’15) said that priority would also be given to the tentative fall 2013 launch of a mobile app containing the Code of Student Conduct.

“We recognize that there is a need to better communicate the code to the students,” Mohr said. “Multiple different sources have come up with the idea that technology would be the best way. The [Disciplinary Review Committee] proposed the idea, Clara and Vail talked about it and individual students have also been discussing about it.”

According to Mohr, the mobile app would detail various scenario cases, better informing students about their judicial process rights.

Manzione added that SAO is also planning to create an online form on the GUSA website and through the mobile app, allowing students to submit questions about their cases or the Code of Student Conduct.

“We’re trying to make it easier for students to navigate the Code of Conduct and know their rights,”Manzione said.

Secretary of Academic Affairs Guy Mentel (COL ’14) prioritized mandating Blackboard Gradebookusage — an initiative the GUSA senate recently launched.Specifically, Mentel said he would work closely with the GUSA senate Intellectual Life Committee to discuss the idea with the academic councils of each school.

“After we’ve spoken to academic councils of each school and garnered their support, then we’re going to take it to the administration and say, ‘We have the GUSA executive, GUSA senate and the academic representative of each school behind this,’” Mentel said.

Secretary of Sustainability Gabe Pincus (SFS ’14) narrowed his focus to purchasing recycling bins for on-campus apartments and townhouses and creating recycling signs throughout campus in residence halls and academic buildings.

In addition, Pincus said he would continue working with the university administration to establish an Office of Sustainability, an unfinished initiative from Gustafson’s administration. However, little progress has been made since the initiative stalled last year.

“We’re continuing to work with facilities to come up with some viable office at the moment,” Pincussaid. “Hopefully, there will be something soon.”

Other initiatives on the agenda include arts advertising to the neighborhood community, practice spaces for performing arts groups in light of Healey Family Student Center construction, recruitment for an LGBTQ mentoring program and certification of double the number of current student Safe Rides drivers.

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