On April 2 Georgetown University Student Association President Tawan Davis (CAS ‘01) will inaugurate next year’s GUSA President and Vice-President. In a speech Tuesday, Davis addressed the GUSA assembly in his final meeting as president.
Davis said GUSA has made considerable progress this year on projects such as student activities funding, bringing Martin Luther King’s daughter to campus and discussing reform.
Davis said the one goal he was not able to meet as president is the elimination of the fee students must pay to use campus facilities.
“My biggest challenges this year were to make the student association a legitimate, advocate voice for students and to make the presidency a viable and visible entity for students on campus,” Davis said.
Davis said those challenges have been met, though there remains much potential for progress. He said GUSA has become an organization with the ability to affect campus change and work effectively with the administration.
In his speech, Davis outlined the two important challenges awaiting the president-elect, Ryan DuBose (CAS ‘02).
First, Davis told DuBose to use campus publications.
“The media is your vehicle to talk to the entire students body … They are the eyes and ears of a majority of students,” Davis said.
Second, Davis reminded DuBose of his obligation to represent the needs of the students, not the needs of the administration or faculty.
“Don’t be afraid to disagree with administrators. You have an obligation to think independently for students,” he said.
Davis said he had not enjoyed his tenure as GUSA President due to the pressure and distraction of the position. He concluded by wishing the president-elect and vice president-elect a successful year.
DuBose said though he is both nervous and excited to assume the presidency, he is ready to get started.
“Our first goal is to get as many new faces into the student government system as possible,” DuBose said. “An obstacle we will face is continuing the discussion about restructuring student government. This is an issue we don’t want to let die.”
DuBose said he thought Davis had done a good job of gaining the administration’s respect for GUSA, but that now DuBose wants to gain student respect for GUSA.
“My one criticism about Tawan would be that he was too nice,” DuBose said. “For example, with Block Party, he needed to put his foot down … The whole student body was very upset, he needed to represent the student body.”
Jamal Epps (CAS ‘01), a senior GUSA representative, said he thought the main difference between Davis and DuBose is in their leadership style.
“I think Ryan is a more spirited type of leader. Tawan, in terms of leadership style, has great ability to communicate,” Epps said.
