The Student Commission for Unity announced a decision to break away from the Georgetown University Student Association on Sunday night, following a Feb. 8 vote on the issue by the SCU.
While SCU was originally created as a commission of the Student Association Senate and obtained funding from GUSA, disagreement between the groups arose when the GUSA Senate altered and rejected some recommendations made by SCU’s study on Feb. 4.
Brian Kesten (COL ’10), principal investigator and commission chairman, said that independence from GUSA will provide greater stability for SCU and will allow the organization to more easily connect with the campus community and fulfill its mission.
“The Board believes that the students who invested thousands of hours conducting the research are the most qualified students to determine the direction of the organization, its research, and its recommendations,” he said in an email.
The commission was first organized last April in response to what was widely considered to be THE HOYA's minimal coverage of a rally and vigil for the Jena Six, six black students from Jena, La. who were initially charged with attempted murder after attacking a white classmate, as well as two alleged hate crimes against Georgetown students.
Over the last 10 months, it conducted a survey of 1,339 Georgetown students about their perceptions of bias on campus. The SCU released its findings, as well as a series of recommendations to the university in a ceremony on Jan. 27. SCU's charter required that the GUSA Senate approve its recommendations before they are officially presented to the university, and the senate voted to amend and eliminate certain recommendations – while approving many others.
GUSA President Pat Dowd (SFS ’09) said in a viewpoint to The Hoya that he was disappointed in SCU’s decision to cut ties with GUSA and is not sure what success that will bring the commission in the future.
“Affirming my worst suspicions, the SCU has decided to cut ties with GUSA in order to unilaterally petition administrators for a number of controversial diversity-related policy changes,” Dowd said. “This development raises serious concerns about what is being advocated on the behalf of students without their informed consent.”
According to Dowd, he gave SCU the opportunity to become an independent organization last September. Following a discussion, Dowd and Kesten reached the mutual decision that SCU should operate within GUSA, maintaining GUSA funding and advertisement.
GUSA Senate Speaker Reggie Greer (COL ’09) said that he was not surprised by the move and expressed his support for both the SCU and their decision to become independent. He added that official decisions still have to be made in order for the SCU to become an independent club, which includes changing the name of the organization. In order to become a new club, the SCU must submit an official application, according to the Georgetown University Web site.
“I hope people realize it’s never been about slighting one group of people. … I’m very proud of what [the SCU] has done,” Greer said.
According to a SCU press release, the relationship with GUSA has not been a positive one.
“The Student Commission for Unity executive board has seen a once productive relationship with the Student Association turn into an inhibiting one,” the press release stated. “As we move forward, we are confident that our move away from GUSA will in no way inhibit our ability to advocate on behalf of the student body for positive change.”
*This article incorrectly reported that Dowd had originally given SCU the opportunity to become an independent organization at the beginning of the semester. This has now been changed. We regret the error.
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