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‘Wuthering Heights’
Proficiency Requirement Since 1920 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026
THEHOYA.COM
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 107, No. 12, © 2026
In 2025, GU Nearly Doubled Government LobbyingAmid Increased Federal Pressure Ajani Stella and Opal Kendall
Senior News Editor and Senior Features Editor
Georgetown University nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures in 2025 amid a congressional hearing and cuts to federal programs, according to data reviewed by The Hoya. Georgetown spent $380,000 lobbying the federal government last year, the most since 2007 and a 90% increase from 2024. The increase mirrors similar moves across higher education institutions in response to the Trump administration’s education policy changes. In mandated federal disclosures, lobbying firms cited issues related to Interim University President Robert M. Groves’ July testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, a university-administered international education program and other federal appropriations. Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor at California State University, Fresno, who researches lobbying trends, said Georgetown’s
spending reflects universities’ efforts to protect their priorities amid funding losses and threats to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. “There’s a long tradition of this proactive lobbying, but the Trump administration has put universities in the position of doing a lot of defensive lobbying — lobbying to maintain what they have and to resist pressure from the administration for major structural changes,” Holyoke told The Hoya. “The gap between 2024 and 2025 is really quite extraordinary,” Holyoke added. A university spokesperson declined to comment. Between April and December, Georgetown paid law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer $90,000 for issues related to Groves’ July testimony before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where he was questioned on the university’s policies for handling antisemitism. See LOBBYING, A7
OPAL KENDALL/THE HOYA
Georgetown University nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures from the previous year in response to federal pressures.
MATTHEW GASSOSO/THE HOYA
Georgetown University community members are fundraising through performances and a GoFundMe page for formerly detained postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri’s legal fees as he seeks relief from a November ruling deeming him deportable.
GU Community Organizes for Khan Suri Nora Toscano and Ethan Herweck
Executive Editor and City Desk Editor
Formerly detained Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri is seeking relief from an immigration court’s November ruling that he is deportable, spurring renewed community support and fundraising efforts for his legal fees. Student organizers held a benefit concert Feb. 8 that raised more than $4,000 for Khan Suri in
addition to about $40,000 raised on a GoFundMe page that Khan Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh (GRD ’26), launched in late November. As Khan Suri’s legal team seeks relief from deportation, other foreign scholars are also challenging federal deportation attempts in court on First Amendment grounds. Nick Hasbun (CAS ’28) — one of Khan Suri’s former students who performed in two bands at the concert — said taking Khan Suri’s class inspired him to begin organizing.
“His class was not only extremely fascinating and engaging, but he is also simply an astounding person,” Hasbun wrote to The Hoya. “I figured that we as a community and as a school with so much wealth have to find a way to support him in his legal fight to keep his visa.” About 50 community members attended the concert, during which six student bands performed and organizers sold baked goods and clothing. Students also held bake sales in the Leavey
Center throughout the week for additional fundraising. Federal immigration officials detained Khan Suri on March 17, 2025, alleging he threatened U.S. foreign policy. The government released him May 14 following a federal judge’s ruling that his detainment unconstitutionally targeted him for protected speech and familial associations, violating the First Amendment. According to Nader Hashemi — director of the Alwaleed Bin See KHAN SURI, A7
GUPostponesClassTriptoColombia GU Plans to Raise Undergraduate Following US Offensive in Venezuela Tuition for Fifth Consecutive Year Jacqueline Gordon Academics Desk Editor
Georgetown University postponed an experiential learning course that included a spring break trip to Colombia until 2027 following the U.S. military’s capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to email correspondence obtained by The Hoya. The Magis Immersion Seminar, titled “Reconciliation in Colombia: A Pilgrimage,” a justice and peace studies course, was set to examine Colombia’s approaches to transforming conflict and the grassroots movements’ roles in peacebuilding. The trip’s cancellation came just three days after the United States captured Maduro and his wife Jan. 3. Magis Immersion seminars consist of a three-credit course that concludes classes with the trip over spring break, followed by a period of independent study for the remainder of the semester. On the Colombia trip, students would have worked with local organizations and communities in Bogota and Cartagena to understand how their societies have moved from cycles of violence to coexistence and peace. Andria Wisler, the course instructor, and Ryann Craig, Georgetown’s director of academic initiatives for mission and ministry, informed students enrolled in the course of the postponement through two emails Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. In her email to students, Craig said the postponement followed a consultation with the university’s international safety and security team.
Wisler said U.S. operations in South America and the Caribbean prompted the university to postpone the trip. “I’m writing quite heart-broken with disappointing news,” Wisler wrote in her email to students. “The JUPS 2290 Magis Colombia Pilgrimage will be postponed for a year until Spring 2027. I am sure that I do not have to tell you all that the volatility of the Caribbean context due to the actions of the US government, and the lack of clarity and consistency on these actions, creates a new set of circumstances. I’ve found these next to impossible to mitigate at the moment.” Wisler did not respond to TheHoya’s request for additional comment. Georgetown monitors the U.S. Department of State’s assessments of travel advisory risks to promote safety within its international trips, as per the university’s International Travel Policy. Colombia is currently assigned a travel advisory risk level of 3, corresponding to what Georgetown considers an “elevated risk region,” which prompted additional review and authorization of the trip. Craig said the decision to postpone the trip was made to ensure student safety. “The safety of our community is our top priority,” Craig wrote to The Hoya. “University staff monitors the world for events that may impact Georgetown travelers and programs and works closely with on-campus and other partners to ensure the safety and well-being of our community overseas. We continuously discern safety and security for all Magis trips.”
Following the postponement, the Office of Mission & Ministry offered students three options. Graduating seniors could be placed on a different Magis trip or enroll in a one-credit independent study about reconciliation with Wisler, in which more than half of the students enrolled. Nongraduating seniors, juniors and sophomores were told that their spot would be held for the trip next year. Abigail Assadi (CAS ’26), who is now participating in a Magis trip to Spain, said the university handled the postponement well through its early communication before the Spring semester began. “My only criticism is maybe it was a little premature, but I understand why they canceled it, and I don’t think that it was handled without thinking,” Assadi told The Hoya. “I think it was a very hard decision to make, and they just had to make it for liability reasons. So I don’t blame them.” Mia Deschapelles (CAS ’28), who planned to take the course, said she was disappointed the trip was postponed and that she could not take a different Magis trip, so she sought other opportunities through the Office of Mission & Ministry. “I was like, ‘Ooh, maybe I could,’ but no, because all they did was just postpone our spot until next year,” Deschapelles told The Hoya. “For seniors, they had more flexibility. I was disappointed because it’s sad that my education has to come at the cost of the politics that’s going on in the world right now.”
See MAGIS, A7
Noah De Haan
Campus Life Desk Editor
Georgetown University will increase undergraduate tuition rates by 4.75% for the 2026-27 academic year, marking the fifth consecutive year the university has raised undergraduate tuition costs. Undergraduate tuition will increase to $74,520, up from the 2025-26 academic year cost of $71,136, with total cost of attendance expected to increase approximately 4.6%. In the Feb. 9 email announcing the change, the university said it anticipates dedicating $278 million to financial aid for the 2026-27 academic year and expressed a commitment to affordability. Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) and Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Norman J. Beauchamp Jr. said the tuition increase resulted from rising costs. “The tuition rate reflects a balanced approach to managing rising costs, as well as providing the resources needed for academic and student priorities, efforts that expand the value and reach of a Georgetown education, and our commitment to minimizing additional fees,” Colbert and Beauchamp wrote in the email to students. Over the past three decades, higher education tuition has steadily increased and is the fastest growing household expense. Total federal student loan debt rose at an annual rate of 15.7% from 2006 to 2023.
Alazar Teffra (CAS ’27) — a student-athlete in the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), which supports first-generation and low-income students — said tuition increases are detrimental to first-generation students and the university needs to be transparent with students receiving financial aid. “I expected this to happen, but it’s still difficult for students,” Teffra told The Hoya. “I think they need to speak to first-generation and low-income students one-on-one and discuss their parents’ income,” Teffra added. “Aid is based on a year before, and a lot can change within that time frame.” Evan Cornell (CAS ’27) — a senator in the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), Georgetown’s student government — said rising costs, compounded with previous delays in financial aid packages, may deter students from attending the university.
“I think when people are looking at Georgetown — and they’re excited about the possibility of coming to the Hilltop — when they see a price tag that’s nearing $100,000 a year, that’s rather concerning, especially without the promise of solid financial aid because of course, that might not come until the summer,” Cornell told The Hoya. “So there are going to be people who are really waiting until that financial aid package comes.” The average tuition cost for a private nonprofit college is $45,000 per academic year, but many highly ranked private universities charge between $55,000 and $75,000 in tuition. Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge (CAS ’28), a GSP student, said she is pleased with the amount of aid she currently receives but fears See TUITION, A7
OPAL KENDALL/THE HOYA
Georgetown University will increase tuition rates 4.75% to $74,520 for the 2026-27 academic year.
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
Dick Durbin Reflects on Service
Offer Free Speech Spaces
Bad Bunny, Excellent Show
Vince Iwuchukwu Lives in the Now
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Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (SFS ’66, LAW ’69) reflected on the complexities of serving in the Senate at a Feb. 10 event.
The Editorial Board calls on the university to provide alternative speech zones while Red Square undergoes construction.
Funding Preserves Black Cemetery
Debate Difficult Topics
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A foundation protecting the Georgetown neighborhood’s historically Black cemetery received a $250,000 grant from the city.
In the latest installation of the column, Zadie Weaver (CAS ’28) calls on Georgetown students to debate difficult issues on campus.
In the Superbowl LX halftime show, Tanvi Gorripati (CAS ’27) sees Bad Bunny’s love for a culturally-rich America on full display.
J. Cole Bids Farewell
J. Cole’s “The Fall-Off,” with over two dozen singles, brings the artist’s music career to a resonant close, writes Thejas Kumar (MSB, SFS ’28).
B7 Published Fridays
Senior center Vince Iwuchukwu reflected on his collegiate basketball career and his resilience in the face of challenges.
Georgetown Baseball Up to Bat
The Georgetown University baseball team prepares for the spring season, entering with a retooled lineup and a new coach.
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