Georgetown students voted in favor of two referendums, one calling for a reform of the conduct process and another imploring the university to invest in the arts, the GUSA Election Commission announced via X Saturday morning.
The arts referendum, referred to as the STAGE Act, passed with 82% of the vote. The Restore Student Life Act, the conduct referendum, garnered 2533 votes, or 88% of those who voted.
Both votes reached the voter turnout threshold — 25% of the student body — which is required for a referendum to pass, according to the Election Commission’s announcement.
“It was so heartwarming throughout this process to hear how much students supported it,” said Tina Solki (CAS ’26), the GUSA senator who introduced the STAGE Act.
Both referendums can now be considered by Georgetown’s Board of Directors. However, they do not create university policy nor are they binding to the university, a university spokesperson told the Voice previously about student referendums.
“Any student referendum provides a sense of the student body’s views on an issue,” the university spokesperson wrote.
If the Restore Student Life Act is adopted by Georgetown, the university would institute warnings for noise violations, remove those warnings from conduct records each academic year, and move weekend quiet hours to 1:30 a.m.
If the university opts to adopt the STAGE Act as official policy, Georgetown would explicitly commit to including performing arts spaces in future campus development. They would also commit to considering already existing spaces in future renovations.
Previous referendums have inspired change on Georgetown’s campus, including the 2021 Metro U-Pass and 2019 GU272 referendums. While the Board of Directors ultimately did not adopt the GU272 referendum’s proposal of a $27.20 student activity fee — a number chosen to honor the 272 enslaved people sold by Georgetown — it helped to inspire the reconciliation fund.
The student body’s most recent referendum, calling for Georgetown to divest from companies that support the Israeli military, was quickly rejected by the university after it passed in April.
Solki hopes that these two referendums do create change in university policy. She pointed to the large number of students who voted for both referendums — each passed by nearly 2000 votes — indicating broad support.
“The ball is in the university’s court and I would be overjoyed if they heard the student’s call and acted on it,” Solki said.
