GUSA signs bill joining with Jesuit student government

In hopes of expanding collaboration between Jesuit student governments, the Georgetown University Student Association became the twenty-eighth and final member of the National Jesuit Student Government Association on Sunday after the Senate ratified GUSA President Nate Tisa’s  (SFS ’14) signature on a bill establishing membership.

The Senate passed the measure with unanimous approval except for three neutral votes of “present.”

The NJSGA is, according to its constitution established in February, “dedicated to the enhancement of the educational, social, and cultural environment on Jesuit college and university campuses throughout the country.” It is the only entirely student-run conference of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities out of 34 AJCU conferences in total.

According to Tisa, plans for the NJSGA originated last summer at the 2013 National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference at Santa Clara University in California. The delegation from Creighton University proposed the NJSGA as a means to improve communication between Jesuit schools. It is also intended to serve as a communications body between the student governments and the Jesuit Association of Student Affairs Administrators.

Tisa said joining the NJSGA will help GUSA resolve on-campus issues with the help of other Jesuit universities. “During the satellite campus conversation last semester, we asked the other Jesuit schools if they had ever dealt with similar issues before,” Tisa said.

GUSA Senate Speaker Sam Greco (SFS ‘15) said GUSA also hopes to discuss common free speech issues. “We may have some solutions other schools don’t have, other schools may have solutions we don’t have,” Greco said.

According to Vice President for Mission and Ministry Fr. Kevin O’Brien (COL ‘88), administrators of Jesuit universities have been collaborating for years. He expressed approval that the NJSGA will allow student governments to do the same.

“Whenever there’s an opportunity for us to network outside of Georgetown, it’s a very good thing,” said O’Brien. “We can learn best practices and we bring them back to campus.”