As I’m writing this column, the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) polls are about to close. By the time you’re reading it, the winners of the Fall 2025 elections will have been announced and the campaigns will have ended — and not a minute too soon.
To be frank, as a GUSA outsider, I had pre-conceived doubts about the organization’s efficacy and productivity. While I’m close friends with many senators, I’ve long worried that GUSA’s inherent competition causes it to be overly bureaucratic and focused on practicing politics over enacting real change. This campaign cycle’s intensity reaffirmed my cynicism instead of giving me hope in the Georgetown student government’s future.
I do not want to bash any one candidate. In fact, the scale of these campaigns demonstrates just how ambitious, creative, intelligent and politically-minded Georgetown students can be. Instead of using these skills against each other in student government elections, however, I call on Georgetown students to focus their energy on making tangible change through collaborative means.
While GUSA elections have long been intense, this year’s cycle felt far more contentious than the one I remember last fall. Two tickets were led by highly qualified candidates — the current vice president, Darius Wagner (CAS ’27), and the current senate speaker, Saahil Rao (SFS ’27). Both campaigns were elaborate affairs with multi-person teams, highly professional social media presences and flyering across campus.
To me, much of the campaign cycle felt like a political game rather than a real debate between differing visions for Georgetown. I was impressed by both the Darius-Nazgol and Rao-Weaver policy platforms and knew that all candidates were strong, qualified leaders. Yet moments like the campaigns’ battling Instagram statements on presidential candidate Rao’s affiliation with the Second Stewards Society or the candidates filing election violation reports against each other felt highly combative and distant from the real issues affecting students. I questioned how GUSA could productively function with such levels of internal tension.
Perhaps due to GUSA’s inherent competition, it seemed like the campaigns were often stuck trying to out-politicize one another instead of focusing on enacting effective change. It’s trite to refer to Jesuit values, but it’s nonetheless true that Georgetown’s mission calls us to embody cura personalis, to be people for others. Our student government elections should embody these ideals and reflect the best characteristics of our school, rather than its worst. Candidates should stand up for one another against cruel personal attacks and maintain back-channel communication, prioritizing relationships even as they propose differing policies.
At times over the past few weeks, I wondered if distancing myself from GUSA was the right choice, or if I was somehow dooming a future career in government. The numbers increased my worries: Last fall, 10 first-years ran for seven senate seats and six at-large candidates ran for four spots. This year, 26 first-years and nine at-large candidates threw their hats into the ring.
GUSA is an important organization, and I’ve seen firsthand how hard its elected officials work. Yet, it is inherently exclusionary and limited in its scope. While the prospective Rao-Weaver and Darius-Nazgol campaigns had strong plans for Georgetown, only one is able to serve the school. Even after they’re in office, they will be forced to cooperate with university administration — often a frustrating and inefficient task.
The good news is that Georgetown offers a multitude of inclusive opportunities to make concrete change outside of the GUSA framework. Students interested in government can plan protests and volunteer for campaigns with the Georgetown University College Democrats or Georgetown University College Republicans. Those passionate about advocacy can volunteer with the Center for Social Justice or lobby the Georgetown administration with the Coalition for Workers’ Rights. Those who hope to better student life can plan low-cost events through the Georgetown Program Board or mentor other students through Cornerstone or academic advising.
While organizations like these may not change the university through official means, they can address the root issues GUSA seeks to fix, like protecting Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle drivers and creating more outlets for fun. Furthermore, because they’re not internally competitive, these organizations can focus primarily on policy over politics.
I encourage all students to find outlets to channel their love for Georgetown and passion for government into fostering collaboration. Better yet, students should consider using the creativity demonstrated by the GUSA campaigns to create something entirely new.
Most of us want to solve the same problems, and meaningless political competition hurts our community and our goals. Let’s take down the posters, close the Instagram accounts and collaborate outside of GUSA to make real, positive change.
Hannah Gilheany is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. This is the second installment of her column “Life Outside of Lau.”
