Tonight, Georgetown students will start casting their ballots for next year’s GUSA Senate. Voting will be open from April 14 at 8:00 p.m. to April 16 at 8:00 p.m.
The Voice got to know all 27 candidates from the April 10 GUSA town hall, their candidate statements, and their answers to big questions about their plans for Georgetown. Read on to inform your vote!
Class of 2026 Senate
Scroll to see full list of issues (Key: green = yes, red = no, gray = depends, blank = did not respond)
Name | Campaign Instagram (if applicable) | Returning or New Candidate? | Do you support ending legacy admissions? | Do you believe Georgetown should invest more in financial aid? | Do you support increased student conduct standards for Georgetown club leaders? | Do you think that Georgetown should maintain its DEI policies? | Do you support GUSA sponsoring student protests? | Do you think Georgetown should provide free contraceptives to students? | Do you support the creation of a new queer living learning community? | |
Meriam Ahmad | Re-election | |||||||||
James Beit | New |  | |  | | | | | ||
Rhea Iyer | Re-election | |||||||||
Crystal Liao | Re-election | | | | |  | | | ||
Michael Liu | New | | | | | | | | ||
Christian Spadini | New | |||||||||
Tina Solki | Re-election | | | | | | | |
Candidate responses based on a survey sent by the Voice
Meriam Ahmad (SFS ’26)
If elected, Ahmad will serve her fourth year on the GUSA Senate. She currently serves as Vice Speaker and Student Dining Committee Chair.
During the April 10 GUSA town hall, Ahmad said that her campaign centers on communication between GUSA and Georgetown students at large. She credited Han Li (CAS ’27) for his work growing GUSA’s outreach team.
“We have an amazing outreach team right now, and I want to give a shoutout to Han for that,” Ahmad said. “Every week we’re out there tabling, and I want to be able to create that as a long term structure.”
According to her profile on the GUSA elections Instagram, Ahmad also hopes to bring a bigger Christmas tree to campus.
James Beit (MSB ’26)
At the GUSA town hall, Beit said that one of his campaign focuses is on representing students from the MSB.
“I’m just an MSB student who wants to make the MSAB [McDonough Student Advisory Board] work for the students,” Beit wrote on the GUSA elections Instagram.
On the all-school level, Beit hopes to get more clubs and student businesses to accept Flex dollars for payment and improve transportation between the Hilltop and the Capitol Campus.
“Overall, I think GUSA needs to streamline things on campus and work with the administration to improve Capitol Campus-approved transportation,” Beit said at the town hall.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “More swings”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Tikka Masala”
Rhea Iyer (CAS ’26)
Iyer has been a senator for the past two years. She is the speaker for GUSA Senate and formerly chaired the Finance and Appropriations Committee (FinApp). Iyer was one of the senators who initially established a $30,000 diversity fund for student clubs.
In her final year on GUSA, Iyer hopes to supply more menstrual products in bathrooms and install a “busyness meter” in Leo’s and Lauinger Library so that students can plan their day around crowds.
“I want to advocate for the little things because I think that those are the most impactful things,” Iyer said at the town hall.
Crystal Liao (CAS ’26)
At the GUSA town hall, Liao summed up her campaign in one word: “connectivity.” Liao transferred to Georgetown in her sophomore year and plans to represent transfer students and help get them connected with the Georgetown community.
“There is a lot of important knowledge that you really need to have been a student to understand,” Liao said. “I want to make connections easier with transfer students and especially with GUSA because I think that GUSA passes legislation that a lot of students don’t know about.”
To facilitate more connections on campus, Liao suggested creating a rec room for students who have downtime and would like a social space to go to.
This year, Liao served a term as senator to fill a GUSA vacancy, so this election will be her first time campaigning.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Retractable umbrellas for outdoor tables, like the ones near Epi’s”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “The Launch bao buns”
Michael Liu (MSB ’26)
Liu is running for his first GUSA Senate term. His campaign focuses on affordability for routines like meals and laundry. Liu will advocate for lower laundry prices, a larger laundry credit, and more accessible free color printing.
At the town hall, Liu said that he plans to change the meal plan structure to allow for more cost variety and make meal plans optional for upperclassmen.
“There is no flexibility for meal plan options and fair pricing,” Liu said. “The meal plan goes straight from unlimited to fourteen with a difference of only $1000. It shouldn’t be that anything other than an unlimited meal plan feels like wasting your money.”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Merry-go-round”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Loco moco”
Tina Solki (SFS ’26)
Solki represented the Class of 2026 this year as a GUSA senator. She also chaired FinApp in the spring semester. She was responsible for allocating the student activity fee which funds Georgetown’s clubs and all student life. Solki also helped allocate $30,000 to campus events like Abissa and Holi as chair of the Diversity Fund Committee.
Next term, Solki’s goals include offering a pass/fail option for language classes, bringing back Arts Week for the fall, installing another mural in the Lauinger Library staircase, and creating a code of standards for clubs.
“I believe strongly that if we’re gonna have an insane club culture, the people who lead those clubs need to be fit to do so,” Solki wrote on her campaign’s Instagram. “It’s also insane that we don’t have any standards—every other school does!”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Trampoline”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Taco Tuesday Birria Tacos I will be there no matter what!”
Christian Spadini (CAS ’26)
This is Spadini’s first year running for GUSA Senate. At the GUSA town hall, Spadini said that he intends to represent students in business clubs, fraternities, and pre-professional students.
“I think there’s a large part of this campus that does not care about this body, and I want to represent that part of campus, the people in the business clubs, the people in many of the fraternities, the people who maybe focus on their career more than student politics,” Spadini said. “I think that those people are a huge percentage of the school and should have a voice in this body.”
Spadini also said that the GUSA newsletter needs to be more comprehensive, which he plans to improve during his term. He also wants to post flyers around campus with QR codes to the newsletter so that students can more easily find information about the decisions GUSA is making.
Class of 2027 Senate
Scroll to see full list of issues (Key: green = yes, red = no, gray = depends, blank = did not respond)
Name | Campaign Instagram (if applicable) | Returning or New Candidate? | Do you support ending legacy admissions? | Do you believe Georgetown should invest more in financial aid? | Do you support increased student conduct standards for Georgetown club leaders? | Do you think that Georgetown should maintain its DEI policies? | Do you support GUSA sponsoring student protests? | Do you think Georgetown should provide free contraceptives to students? | Do you support the creation of a new queer living learning community? |
Sara Eyob | New (write-in) | | | | | | | | |
Asha Gudipaty | New | | | | | | | | |
Han Li | Re-election | | | | | | | | |
Sienna Lipton | Re-election | | | | | | | | |
Lecholas Njomin | Re-election | ||||||||
Sadie Nichols | New | | | | | | | |
Candidate responses based on a survey sent by the Voice
Sara Eyob (CAS ’27)
Because Eyob joined the Senate race after the other candidates, she did not attend the GUSA town hall. Evan Cornell (CAS ’27), who recently dropped out of the race, posted an endorsement of Eyob on Instagram on April 10.
Eyob posted seven campaign goals. She wrote that she will advocate for Georgetown to declare sanctuary status; based on the American Immigration Council’s definition, this means that Georgetown would declare that the federal government cannot compel the university to comply with ICE or immigration enforcement. She also hopes to install more water refill stations in Lauinger Library and increase free printing credit.
Eyob wrote that she will push to fix bathrooms more quickly and stock them with menstrual products, to install more trash bins in areas busy with students, and for Vital Vittles to post clear prices.
Finally, Eyob wants to revamp CampusGroups, creating a method to filter out inactive clubs and filter graduate clubs from undergraduate clubs.
“Finding your people shouldn’t feel like a scavenger hunt,” Eyob wrote on Instagram.
Asha Gudipaty (CAS ’27)
Gudipaty currently works in GUSA’s Academic and Administrative Affairs Department. She has worked with administration to organize class planning and registration and plans to get students more involved in these decisions.
Gudipaty also plans to work with GUSA to explain to students how Georgetown makes pricing decisions.
“Every time I think about Georgetown and the process of transferring here, I think about how I’m getting squeezed in terms of tuition and in terms of every added-on cost that comes with being here,” Gudipaty said. “People could spend less if they had more information about buying textbooks, getting transportation, and things like that at Georgetown.”
To mitigate these costs, Gudipaty also encourages students to recycle and reuse their resources. On GUSA, she plans to organize events like textbook drives where students can swap or donate materials that they no longer use.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Swings. Highly support Ethan and Darius’s initiative, and really looking forward to their progress.”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “The pizza bread… like the garlic bread that’s pizza downstairs. It slaps.”
Han Li (CAS ’27)
Li is running for a third term on the GUSA Senate. Li hopes to increase unity among the student body as a GUSA senator.
“First: power of the purse. Funding student life gives students the space to talk to each other, to engage and have lively conversation,” Li said.
Li was FinApp Vice Chair and worked on the Diversity Fund. He believes that GUSA can actively support his goal through these organizations. He also thinks that GUSA should identify issues that the majority of students are concerned about and prioritize communicating those issues to the administration.
“There are certain issues, like wasted funding in Capitol Campus, where students seem to align as a united front,” Li said. “These are the places where GUSA should focus.”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Swings would be nice”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Either the pulled pork at Launch every now and then, or a teriyaki chicken 5 Spice Bowl”
Sienna Lipton (CAS ’27)
After a year on the GUSA Senate and the Dining Committee, Lipton believes that campus facilities are the biggest issue at Georgetown that GUSA must address.
At the GUSA town hall, Lipton said that she will focus her 2025-2026 term on removing mold in residence hall bathrooms, fixing broken dryers and laundry machines, and creating a refund request form if machines break while students do their laundry. Lipton also plans to pass a bill with the Dining Committee to purchase more fryers for Epi’s so the restaurant can provide safe gluten-free options.
“These are not the biggest inconveniences, but fixing each of these things combined could improve the quality of student life,” Lipton said. “These are issues which often slip through the cracks at GUSA.”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “I was a monkey bars kid I fear, so definitely that. Or one of those backyard trampolines.”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Taco Tuesday”
Sadie Nichols (CAS ’27)
This is Nichols’ first year running for GUSA Senate. She said at the town hall that one of the biggest issues at Georgetown is the insufficient response to political change.
“It is not Georgetown’s place to make political judgments, but it is their responsibility to offer support and resources to students who are being more affected by federal decisions,” Nicholas said. “We should be asking, ‘What can Georgetown do to support students who may be facing a lack of access to healthcare and other barriers in their home states?’ GUSA can offer that support regardless of political stance.”
Nichols is also a transfer student and Pell Grant Recipient; she said on Instagram and at the town hall that she wants to make Georgetown a more inclusive space for these students and represent them through GUSA.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Swings”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “I love a good Bodega cheese pizza”
Lecholas Njomin (SFS ’27)
Njomin was a senator for the 2023-2024 term, and hopes to return to GUSA next year.
“I felt that my role and the Senate as a whole had been at a stagnancy. I think that has been addressed at GUSA and it is a good time for me to return,” Njomin said.
Njomin said at the town hall that Georgetown must improve its transparency with students, student workers, and clubs.
“In my experience on AASA and the Corp, we have to chase down the school. The school is not going to tell us things,” Njomin said.
On the other hand, Njomin commended GUSA Exec and Senate for their transparency with students, particularly in communicating decisions about club funding, the Diversity Fund, and FinApp. He plans to join FinApp to increase Georgetown’s communications about club funding.
Class of 2028 Senate
Scroll to see full list of issues (Key: green = yes, red = no, gray = depends, blank = did not respond)
Name | Campaign Instagram (if applicable) | Returning or New Candidate? | Do you support ending legacy admissions? | Do you believe Georgetown should invest more in financial aid? | Do you support increased student conduct standards for Georgetown club leaders? | Do you think that Georgetown should maintain its DEI policies? | Do you support GUSA sponsoring student protests? | Do you think Georgetown should provide free contraceptives to students? | Do you support the creation of a new queer living learning community? |
Roan Bedoian | New | | | | | | | | |
Tyler Chase | Returning | | | | | | | | |
Erik Hsu | New | | | | | | | | |
Nikki Jiang | Returning | ||||||||
Zain Khan | New | | | | | | | | |
Cameran Lane | Returning | | | | | | | | |
Ignacio Loaiza Sandoval | New | | | | | | | | |
Paul Nassar | Returning | ||||||||
Abrahim Sawez | New | ||||||||
Luke Schneeman | New | | | | | | | | |
Amelia Snyder | Returning | | | | | | | | |
Diego Vázquez Perez | New | | | | | | | | |
Zadie Weaver | Returning | | | | | | | ||
Mikey Williams | Returning |
Candidate responses based on a survey sent by the Voice
Roan Bedoian (CAS ’28)
Bedoian, who is running for her first term on GUSA Senate, plans to utilize her experience as Director of Speakers for Georgetown University College Democrats (GUCD).
“I’m increasingly concerned with the current state of federal affairs and how they’re impacting universities, and I believe that I would be well positioned on GUSA to help advocate on behalf of the student body against federal pushback on our curriculum and our community,” Bedoian said.
Bedoian also gained experience planning events and working with the Center for Student Engagement (CSE) in her GUCD leadership role. She said that next semester, she plans to simplify the process of planning events through the CSE. Bedoian said that minimizing GUPD requirements for events would be one of the steps to achieve this goal.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Slide”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Waffles (at lunch)”
Tyler Chase (SFS ’28)
Chase has served one term as GUSA senator, where he joined FinApp. At a two-day FinApp budget summit, he worked with the Advisory Board for Club Sports to restructure their budget.
Chase said that his platform focuses on making efficient use of the student activities fee, which accounted for $193 of student tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year. He also wants to improve dining on campus; this term, Chase was a member of the Dining Committee.
“Campus dining, as I’m sure most of you know, is not where it should be,” Chase wrote on his campaign’s Instagram account. “I intend to continue working with the dining committee to increase weekend hours and ensure that food quality is held at high standards.”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “A seesaw”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Cheese quesadillas, chips, and ice cream with oreos”
Erik Hsu (CAS ’28)
This is Hsu’s first year running for GUSA. He plans to increase dining options after 10 p.m. for late night studying, add tables to the HFSC, expand GUTS weekend hours, and increase printing and laundry credits.
“I’m running for GUSA because Georgetown isn’t short on smart, passionate students—it’s short on structures that actually work for us,” Hsu wrote on the GUSA Elections Instagram.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Monkey Bars”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Quesadillas”
Nikki Jiang (SOH ’28)
During her first term, Jiang served as a FinApp liaison and as Social Media Chair, where she ran the GUSA Senate and GUSA Arts Week Instagram accounts. She also worked on the Dining Committee and the Diversity Fund.
Next term, Jiang plans to advocate for language classes to be offered pass/fail, offer more convenient to-go boxes at Leo’s, add more tables to Lauinger Library’s third-floor renovation plans, and add more color printers to campus.
Zain Khan (SFS ’28)
Khan is running for his first term, and hopes to improve campus facilities and GUTS transportation.
“I’ve found myself at bus stops from Dupont, from the Capitol, waiting uncertainly for buses only to miss them learning I’d waited in the wrong spot because of unclear signs,” Khan said. “That’s one thing I plan to do with my campaign, just put up a few signs.”
Khan also wants to increase students’ access to elevators: he suggests installing QR codes to put in work orders for broken elevators and advocate for late night GoCard access for students with disabilities who need to access locked buildings to use the elevators at night.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Swings”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Sweet Potato Pie”
Cameran Lane (CAS ’28)
Lane is running for reelection after serving on the Student Exploratory Committee and the Dining Committee. He also helped secure additional laundry credit for Georgetown Scholar Program members and advocated for compensation to students who had damaged belongings from the Harbin floods.
“I’m here because I love this class,” Lane said.
Next term, he plans to work with Senator Paul Nassar (SFS ’28) to make GU Farmers’ Market and the GU Grilling Society accept Flex dollars.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “SWINGS! Sometimes we just need to be reminded of where we started.”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “BBQ pork chops with mac and cheese, you can take the man out of NC but not the NC out of the man”
Ignacio Loaiza Sandoval (CAS ’28)
After finding a place in Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) and College Democrats, Sandoval is focusing his senate campaign on supporting student groups on campus. He also wants to guarantee enrollment in the Hoya Transit Program, which provides a D.C. public transportation credit of $50 each month, for GSP members.
“We all have great ideas and we agree on most things, but we don’t follow through completely with them,” Sandoval said. “I want to make sure that all these important initiatives about transit, facilities, and university accountability actually get to the students.”
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “A frog spring rider”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Not a meal, but I love the rice krispies at sweets”
Paul Nassar (SFS ’28)
During his last term on GUSA Senate, Nassar was a FinApp liaison. He also led a joint effort with the Georgetown University Grilling Society, Georgetown Bubble, and The Corp to pass a bill encouraging more student businesses to accept Flex.
“I’m re-running because I’ve spent a semester in GUSA and I’ve managed to identify a few inefficiencies within the system that I think can be fixed,” Nassar said. “We’ve increased visibility and we can get things done.”
Next term, Nassar will continue adding locations where students can use their Flex dollars. His campaign will also focus on increasing efficiency within FinApp.
Abrahim Sawez (SOH ’28)
Sawez is a new candidate who grew up in the Georgetown area, which inspired him to run for GUSA Senate for the first time.
“I would love to give back to the community that has been so kind and welcoming to me during every moment I’ve spent here,” Sawez wrote on the GUSA Elections Instagram.
Sawez’ previous leadership experience includes serving as Inter-Faith Chair for the Muslim Student Association. At the town hall, Sawez said his term would focus on issues like improving WiFi speed on campus.
Luke Schneeman (CAS ’28)
Schneeman is running for his first GUSA senate term. He plans to improve dining services on campus. At the GUSA town hall, Schneeman summed up one of his campaign goals in a phrase: “make Epi’s smell good again”.
“I want to improve our dining services and make sure our class gets the most out of the money they spend to come here,” Schneeman said.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “We should add a swing!”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “FiveSpice for sure.”
Amelia Snyder (SOH ’28)
Snyder is running for a second term on the GUSA Senate. Last term, she joined FinApp and became Vice Chair of the Outreach Committee, where she created the first GUSA student survey.
Next term, Snyder will focus on students’ mental health and plans to add more meditation spaces and add furniture to study spaces on campus. She recently passed a bill to add standing desks to Lauinger Library.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “I think monkey bars (that are tall enough for college students) would be fun”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “General Tso’s tofu stir fry”
Diego Vazquez-Perez (CAS ’28)
This is Vazquez-Perez’s first GUSA campaign. He runs a dining-based campaign: he plans to work with Schneeman to extend Grubhub service hours past 10 p.m. and improve smells in Epi’s.
During the GUSA town hall, Vazquez-Perez also said that he planned to increase students’ access to campus jobs during his term by making it easier for students to apply.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Swings”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Old Bay wings from the Grill Station on Wing Wednesdays”
Zadie Weaver (CAS ’28)
Weaver currently serves at the GUSA Senate Deputy Director for Transportation, Dining, and Facilities. She was also a FinApp liaison and helped plan the Lauinger Library art gallery with Senator Tina Solki (SFS ’26) during Arts Week.
Last term, Weaver passed a bill for free printing and plans to continue expanding printing access to students. During the GUSA town hall, she said that she plans to improve the Union Station bus route to make transit more convenient for students who use Amtrak.
- If you could add one piece of playground equipment to campus what would it be? “Tire Swing”
- What is your favorite Leo’s meal? “Taco Tuesday Nachos”
Mikey Williams (SFS ’28)
Williams is running for re-election to GUSA Senate. Last term, he was a member of the Outreach Committee.
“GUSA is meant to represent the student body, yet the majority of students have no idea who or what GUSA is,” Williams wrote on the GUSA Elections Instagram. “I hope to continue to bridge this gap between GUSA and all students through making GUSA more visible.”
At the GUSA town hall, Williams said that next semester he will advocate to keep Village A fully open for Homecoming and Georgetown Day.
