Tomorrow, Georgetown students will once again be unified in their passion to “juice ‘Cuse.” But Georgetown and Syracuse are not just rivals on the court: Both are candidates for White House recognition for exemplary interfaith service campaigns as part of President Obama’s Interfaith Campus and Community Service Challenge.

Despite the historic rivalry, this year’s game is an opportunity for an unprecedented partnership between Georgetown and Syracuse. Throughout this  week, inter-religious student organizations at both colleges are holding a canned food drive through partnerships with athletic teams and other campus groups. The food drive will culminate at the Georgetown-Syracuse game tomorrow. All donations by Syracuse will be sent to the Food Bank of Central New York, and all Georgetown donations will be sent to Capital Area Food Bank. The goal of the partnership is to increase awareness and mobilize support for the fight against hunger by harnessing each university’s enthusiasm for both basketball and community service.

The idea started almost two years ago. In 2010, the Interfaith Youth Core launched the Better Together campaign, which seeks to mobilize college students to pursue social justice on a wide range of issues through interfaith dialogue and community service. Both Georgetown and Syracuse chose to run Better Together campaigns throughout 2011 in response to the nationwide White House Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.

Georgetown’s Better Together interfaith campaign involves Campus Ministry, The Corp, D.C. Reads,D.C. Schools Project and many other organizations (religious or not) that are committed to social justice. As a Jesuit institution, our school is among the best-suited for an inter-religious campaign. President Obama’s challenge is a unique opportunity for us as  students to strengthen partnerships among seemingly disparate campus groups and to show our commitment to community service to the nation.

Last December, a student from Syracuse’s interfaith organization contacted me to outline the amazing potential to help our local communities if we cooperated with each other. In January, Georgetown and Syracuse students, faculty and staff decided to become partners due to the similar focus of their service campaigns. Georgetown addresses poverty and education in D.C. while Syracuse focuses on hunger in upstate New York.

By integrating their passions for social justice into the much-anticipated basketball game tomorrow, members of both universities want to show the nation that they are, truly, better together. Georgetown and Syracuse, while starkly different universities in many other respects, are united by their commitment to interfaith dialogue and community service. By taking the first step, Syracuse has demonstrated that they are willing to put rivalries aside and join forces in a fight that truly matters: the fight against hunger and poverty.

Obviously, we need to cheer for the Hoyas on the court, but we can also demonstrate our commitment to excellence by donating a few cans for a good cause. As Georgetown students, we have the responsibility to stay true to our Jesuit ideals of men and women for others and inter-religious understanding.

Basketball and religion are two very divisive issues, but this year, we can change that narrative and integrate both of them into an exemplary and unprecedented inter-collegiate partnership by simply donating canned foods. Syracuse has already begun the process, and as Georgetown students, how can we do any less?

AAMIR HUSSAIN is a sophomore in the College. He is the President of Georgetown’s Student Interfaith Council.