In its final vote on Tuesday night, the Student Activities Fee Endowment Commission made the right move in recommending close to full funding for the Healy Pub, an idea backed by widespread support from students, but it should also be applauded for putting together a set of proposals that responds to popular demand for student space without ignoring the other diverse and creative proposals put forth by the student body.
In particular, the commission deserves credit for the amount of work it accomplished over such a brief timespan. With only six weeks to deliberate the proposals between the initial meeting on March 15 and its final vote on April 26, the commission was able to solicit a wide range of proposals from student groups and evaluated them in a just and transparent manner. Through its town halls and open meetings, the commission received and considered input from a broad portion of the student body and gauged a prevailing desire for more student space.
Besides its final recommendations, the commission deserves praise for resisting the tendency to form a premature consensus and fairly considering a wide range of potential options, including the ultimately successful petition by Georgetown Energy to construct solar panels on University townhouses. The decision to designate a secondary group of recommendations consisting of grants for the Social Innovation and Public Service fund, improvements to study space in Lauinger, funds to jump-start the construction of a student center in New South, and an omnibus grant for the improvement of student spaces across campus represent a recognition of the variety of worthwhile proposals brought before the commission which also further the broader goal of creating and improving student spaces on campus.
The results of the commission’s work reflect a successful balance between students’ desire for more campus space and GUSA’s desire to create a sustainable and long-lasting project. Solar panels for University townhouses are a creative and cost-effective way of improving the University’s energy independence. The Healy student space, if ultimately approved by the University, will at minimum create a vibrant hub for student interaction in the heart of campus, and might even singlehandedly reinvigorate on-campus life at Georgetown. The endowment commission should be praised not only for its final recommendation, but for the thorough and transparent process it took to get there.
