For more than 22 years, the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS) has fired up grills in Red Square every Friday, serving its signature half-pound burgers to the Georgetown community. What began as a student-run food stand has grown into a campus tradition that brings Hoyas together: the students behind the grill, the university staff stopping by for lunch, the neighborhood residents wandering through, the graduates returning for the memories and even the occasional furry friend (fun fact: Crouton, the three-legged dog, has a “Gold Card” granting him a lifetime of free GUGS burgers).
The Georgetown University Student Association’s (GUSA) newly introduced bill, “An Act to Support Flex Dollar Expansion,” presents a unique opportunity to strengthen student initiatives like GUGS by expanding the dining system in ways that empower student life. If implemented, it would allow student groups such as GUGS and GU Bubble to accept Flex dollars, making it easier for students to sustain these initiatives.
GUSA will likely pass the bill on Sunday. However, GUSA legislation is non-binding, and, as such, the ball would fall into the court of Student Affairs — which liaises with clubs and oversees all core aspects of student life — and Auxiliary Business Services — which handles the logistics of providing dining related services. In short, Student Affairs and Auxiliary Business Services hold the authority to extend Flex access to additional organizations. Indeed, if implemented, expanding Flex access would help long-standing Georgetown traditions like the GU Farmers Market and GUGS’ weekly grills grow even stronger, and would represent an incredible victory for GUSA, financial accessibility and the student body.
At its core, GUGS follows a simple model: it is run entirely by students passionate about grilling, selling burgers for just about as much as it costs to make them. For just $5, students get a burger that GUGS advertises as “pound-for-pound,” the best deal in the DMV. Our friends at GU Bubble operate similarly. Every Wednesday, alongside the food trucks that roll into Red Square for the Georgetown University Farmers Market, Georgetown Bubble sells bubble tea to the wider Georgetown community.
Allowing groups like GUGS and GU Bubble to accept Flex dollars — which all Hoyas on a university meal plan are given — would not only help to eliminate the financial burden to participate in these core Georgetown traditions, but also reinforce them as accessible experiences.
Both groups pride themselves on delivering high-quality, affordable food and drinks. Yet, many students are restricted by their meal plans and cannot regularly budget for food outside of them. Flex dollar access would level the playing field, ensuring every student can fully participate in campus life.
Furthermore, Flex access would also amplify the convening power of these campus institutions. The Corp offers the best example of this model in action. The ability to pay with Flex dollars at its locations has helped turn their shops from simply places to buy coffee into essential shared spaces for Georgetown students. Given the convenience and proximity to cheap coffee that is already covered by the meal plan, the seating area outside Midnight MUG is a favorite for teaching assistants to host office hours. MUG and Hilltoss are often full of students meeting friends or taking advantage of the study spaces.
By expanding Flex dollar access to more student organizations, the university administration could replicate this effect. One of Student Affairs’ pathways to achieving its mission is building environments by fostering community and shared commitment to others. Imagine more students grabbing bubble tea or a hot dog between classes, more students gathering over burgers in Red Square and Copley Lawn, eating and conversing with staff, peers or graduates they’ve never met. It would mean more students coming to the farmers market, making friends and enjoying great food. What better way to foster community than that?
Expanding Flex access is about more than convenience — it is an investment in the traditions, communities and student-run organizations that make Georgetown distinctive. Student Affairs and Auxiliary Services’ implementation of this bill would mark a significant step toward improving our food scene, empowering Georgetown’s vibrant and inclusive campus life and supporting the student passions that keep it running. Let’s expand Flex now.
Ben Manens is a senior in the School of Foreign Service and the President of the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS). Saahil Rao is a junior in the School of Foreign Service and the Speaker of the GUSA Senate.