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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 106, No. 4, © 2024
Data Leak Exposes GU Students’, Graduates’ Personal Information Clayton Kincade, Evie Steele, Maren Fagan
Contributing Editor, Editor in Chief and Senior News Editor
A data leak through Georgetown University’s GU Experience internal information platform exposed students’ and graduates’ financial aid, social security numbers, GPA, admissions details and visa information. Georgetown users who logged in to GU Experience between 8 a.m. Oct. 16 and 8:30 a.m. Oct. 17 could use the sidebar to access an administrative version of the website. This site contained a page marked “Insights,” which contained a folder named “Datawarehouse.” Within the “Datawarehouse” folder were multiple nesting folders which contained several spreadsheets with the personal information. According to Doug Little, the university’s chief information officer, the leak was a result of a setting error in the GU
Experience platform, known as Ellucian Banner. “Following a maintenance and outage period of the Banner student information system, a subset of student users in the GU Experience platform were able to access certain student data from current and former students,” Little wrote in an email sent to community members at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 17. “This was not the result of an external attack or security compromise of our system, but instead an inadvertent setting change that allowed a subset of existing users with GU IDs to gain access to data that would otherwise only be used by administrative staff,” Little added. It did not appear that individuals could access the data without a Georgetown login, but the platform also allowed users to download and save this information to their personal devices. See DATA, A7
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
According to Georgetown University data, fewer students of color enrolled at Georgetown in the Class of 2028 than in the Class of 2027 and other previous classes admitted using race-based affirmative action, which is now illegal.
GU Sees Drop in Racial, Ethnic Diversity Evie Steele Editor in Chief
I GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
A data leak on the GU Experience platform exposed years of admissions, financial aid, GPA and social security information.
n the first class of Hoyas admitted without race-based affirmative action, Georgetown University enrolled fewer students of color than in previous classes, according to data from an Oct. 9 university press release. According to the university’s data, of enrolled first-years who self-reported their race, 26% identify as Asian, 9% as Black, 1% as Native American, 1% as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 12% as Hispanic and 63% as white. Students could self-select one or multiple racial or
ethnic identities or choose not to report their race or ethnicity; 9% of students did not report, while the university’s data does not report on the racial or ethnic background of international students, who represent 8% of the class. In total, 49% of enrolled students identified as students of color; 53% of students admitted to the Class of 2027 identified as students of color. Although the university has not made public further admissions records using this methodology for the classes of 2026 or 2027, admissions records on the classes of 2025 and earlier using the same methodology as the Oct.
9 data indicate that this year’s class, the Class of 2028, likely has fewer Black, Asian and Hispanic students than earlier classes. In the current senior class, the Class of 2025, 10.3% of admitted students identified as Black, 12.2% as Hispanic and 25.6% as Asian, while in the Class of 2024, 11% of admitted students identified as Black, 13% as Hispanic and 28% as Asian. Nationally, 12.5% of college students identify as Black, 20.3% of students as Hispanic and 7.3% of students as Asian. Notably, the enrolled Class of 2028 has a lower percentage of
Black students than the admitted Class of 2016, which was 10% Black. The university did not release data about the race of enrolled students in either of these classes nor about the race of admitted students this year. Charles Deacon (CAS ’64, GRD ’69), the dean of admissions, said the university aims to ensure its student body is diverse. “Georgetown pursues all available efforts to cultivate and support a diverse Hoya community,” Deacon said in the press release. “We will continue See ADMISSIONS, A4
Community Memorial Service Honors GUPD’s Anthony Allen Ruth Abramovitz
ships, not just about enforcing the law,” Pearson said at the memorial. “He took time to know the people he served, attending community events and engaging with students, faculty and staff.”
GUSA Desk Editor
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
McCourt School of Public Policy Dean Maria Cancian will step down from her position to focus on family responsibilities, with Associate Dean for Faculty Thomas DeLeire replacing her as interim dean.
McCourtSchoolof Public Policy Dean Cancian To Step Down Aamir Jamil
Senior News Editor
Dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy Maria Cancian will step down Nov. 1 to focus on family care responsibilities, Provost Robert Groves announced in an email sent to the Georgetown community Oct. 15. According to the email, Cancian, who started in February 2019, is stepping down to focus on “urgent family care responsibilities.” She will return to McCourt as a professor of public policy in the Fall 2025 semester. McCourt Associate Dean for Faculty Thomas DeLeire will serve as interim dean until a new dean is appointed for the
Fall 2025 semester. Cancian said she was honored to lead McCourt for the past six years as the school has grown and worked towards missions of inclusivity. “It has been an honor and a wonderful opportunity to serve as Dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy,” Cancian wrote to The Hoya. “The last six years have been a period of tremendous growth and development, focused on advancing our aspiration to become the most inclusive school of public policy in the nation, advancing our mission of strengthening the pipeline of future problem solvers and advancing solutions to complex policy problems.”
In the Oct. 15 email, Groves said Cancian left an indelible mark on McCourt and the greater public policy community. “Dean Cancian will leave a lasting legacy on the McCourt School and a strong foundation for continued growth, with an outstanding faculty and staff, deepened connections to the D.C. and policy communities and a diverse and growing set of committed partners,” Groves wrote in the email. Cancian oversaw the launch of an undergraduate program in public policy in 2023 and the opening of the new McCourt building on the Capitol Campus See CANCIAN, A7
The Georgetown University community remembered the late Anthony Allen (CAS ’90), a Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) master officer and former player on the men’s basketball team, at a celebration of life service Oct. 16. Anthony Joseph Allen Sr., who had served as a campus police officer since 1994, died Sept. 10 at 57 years old. Reflecting Allen’s devout Protestant faith, Rev. Ebony Grisom, the director of Protestant Life, and Rev. TauVaughn Toney, a Protestant chaplain in the Office of Campus Ministry, led the memorial service, which featured prayers, gospel music and words of remembrance from various campus leaders. Fred Johnson, GUPD’s patrol operations commander, who worked alongside Allen for more than a decade, said Allen was an honest and exemplary person in all regards. “What you saw is what you got, and what you got was one of the most caring, kindest, nicest and loving people that I’ve ever met in my life,” Johnson said at the memorial. Joyce Pearson, a GUPD lieutenant who spoke on behalf of Associate Vice President of Public Safety Jay Gruber, said Allen’s 30 years of service to campus safety were centered around personal care for the Georgetown community. “He believed that policing was about building relation-
Allen worked in youth ministry throughout his life, joining Athletes in Action, a sports organization that combines youth spiritual growth with athletic growth, after graduating from Georgetown. He later became a minister and worked as an assistant pastor at Mount Horeb Baptist Church, again focused on youth ministry. Pearson said Allen’s commitment to his faith and Christian values was evident in his day-to-day interactions on campus. “His faith guided him in every aspect of his life,” Pearson said. “Anthony believed deeply in the power of kindSee GOLDWATER, A7n e s s a n d forgiveness — principles that he embodied daily.” “He attended church regularly, where he not only found joy, but also shared love with others. His faith inspired him to see good in everyone,
RUTH ABRAMOVITZ/THE HOYA
Georgetown students, faculty and staff memorialized GUPD officer See ALLEN, A7 and former men’s basketball player Anthony Allen (CAS ’90).
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
Mary Beth Tinker
Speak Out About Speaking
Sucks to Suck
Huskies in the Doghouse
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Mary Beth Tinker lectured on student free speech 55 years after the landmark Supreme Court case where she was a plaintiff.
Aria Zhu (CAS ’27) challenges traditional participation grading and advocates for fairer assessments in diverse classrooms.
Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” gives new depth to its titular bloodthirsty villain.
Lockdown defense carried the Georgetown men’s soccer team to a narrow 1-0 win over the UConn Huskies.
Health Roundtable
Support Service
(Point) Breaking the Law
Going for Gold
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Georgetown hosted an inaugural Latino health roundtable addressing mental health and substance use disorders.
Nicholas Voltaggio (SFS ’25) advocates for humility and flexibility in community engagement through CSJ programs.
Keanu Reeves must catch waves and bank robbers as newly-minted FBI agent Johnny Utah.
Published Fridays
Sophia Lu (SFS ’26) has high hopes for the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA, especially if they can get Paige Bueckers.
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