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FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2026

RAs Condemn Updated Roommate Policies After Housing Selection Process Chloe Taft and Jacqueline Gordon Graduate Desk Editor and Academics Desk Editor

Georgetown University resident assistants (RAs) criticized recent housing policy changes that prevented them from choosing their suitemates during the second phase of housing selection, which began April 14. The Office of Residential Living (Res Living), which oversees RAs, announced in November a new roommate policy that permits RAs living in suite-style apartments to choose only their direct roommate. The policy change meant some RAs were unable to pull their preferred suitemates into apartment-style dorms because other students had already selected the room. Naomi Banner (SFS ’27), an RA currently living in a townhouse, said RAs should be able to choose their suitemates, just like other Georgetown students.

“It’s the right of every Georgetown student to choose who they’re going to live with,” Banner told The Hoya. “To take that right away from somebody who has served the residential living department and who has done that as literally their job for several years, to take that right away when it is a right of every other student at Georgetown, even if they violated other residential living expectations, it just seems ridiculous to me.” Previously, RAs selected all of their suitemates in advance and Res Living placed the group in a room without the RA entering the standard housing portal. However, the change — announced at a Nov. 7 meeting alongside five other changes, one of which was later reversed — represents a departure from that past policy. A university spokesperson said Res Living aims to make housing decisions that best serve the Georgetown community. See RAs, A7

HAAN JUN (RYAN) LEE/THE HOYA

RAs said the policy change has made it more difficult to do their jobs while decreasing the quality of their housing.

MATTHEW GASSOSO/THE HOYA

Experts are questioning the efficacy of the U.S. Department of Education’s new portal, which does not specify the source and purpose of Georgetown University’s nearly $1.5 billion in foreign gifts and contracts.

Portal Discloses GU’s Foreign Funding Aamir Jamil Executive Editor

Georgetown University received almost $1.5 billion in foreign contracts and gifts between 1992 and 2025, though data reviewed by The Hoya reveals a more nuanced picture based on countries of attribution and the associated years. The data comes from an updated portal released by the Department of Education earlier this year, which details foreign funding disclosures required by Section 117, a federal law mandating higher education institutions disclose gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more. According to

the portal, which summarizes data previously released as unanalyzed spreadsheets, Georgetown has received the ninth-largest amount of foreign contracts and gifts out of recorded U.S. universities, totaling $1.466 billion, including $1.1 billion from entities in Qatar. Though the portal consolidates Georgetown’s disclosures, experts on foreign funding highlighted the lack of specific information about foreign gifts and contracts. The portal currently only includes a country of attribution, does not specify donors and does not accessibly include the years of gifts and contracts. Amanda Ferguson — senior director of education and research

at Huron Consulting Group, which provides guidance to industries including higher education — said the federal law compels universities to make their foreign funding available to the public, though the portal remains vague. “Really, what Section 117 does is try to push transparency,” Ferguson told The Hoya. “So, it’s trying to make universities disclose publicly where they’re getting this funding from, and then to some degree what they’re using it for. Right now, the way that information gets disclosed and reported back, the information that we as the public can see doesn’t give a ton of clarity into any of those.” A university spokesperson

said Georgetown complies with Section 117 and discloses foreign gifts and contracts as required by the Department of Education. “Georgetown takes its obligations to report foreign gifts and contracts seriously and regularly provides the information required by the Department of Education,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “Georgetown carefully reviews all gifts to ensure they are in alignment with our values and our educational objectives and retains full authority over expenditure decisions.” In 2025, Georgetown disclosed over $58 million in gifts and See FOREIGN FUNDING, A7

Students Struggle to Find Work UN Ambassador Praises Trump Amid High DC Unemployment Administration’s Foreign Policy Noah De Haan, Michael Scime, Luke O’Connor Campus Life Desk Editor, Senior Multimedia Editor and Special to The Hoya

Georgetown University students are struggling to secure employment and internships amid Washington, D.C.’s recordbreaking unemployment numbers. In the city’s report released April 8, D.C. recorded the highest unemployment rate among U.S. states at 6.7% in January, surpassing the 4.3% national average. The rate is due in part to various federal workforce reductions implemented by the Trump administration, leaving 2026 graduates and current students with fewer employment opportunities. Brandon Labman — cofounder of ROCS Grad Staffing, an agency that matches college students and graduates to jobs — said the problem stems from an influx of applications. “Everybody’s applying to so many different jobs,” Labman told The Hoya. “From the employer side, they’re getting so many applicants coming through — it’s hard to even follow up from their perspective. That’s why we hear a lot from students, ‘man, I never hear back.’ Well, they’re getting flooded.” Anjali Ofori (CAS ’27), who has applied to nearly 50 summer positions in the D.C. area, said she is experiencing heightened pressure to find an internship as she enters her senior year. “Summer after junior year, there’s a lot of pressure on it, of getting a

return offer, having job security post-grad and just figuring out what you want to do, what they actually want to go into,” Ofori said. “I got an internship this semester so I could build out my resume. And I thought doing that would elevate my resume. Obviously, that didn’t work.” Edan Kauer (CAS ’28), who applied to dozens of summer internships and has yet to receive an offer, said her experience has been consistent with the overall trends Labman identified. “I’ve heard back from a little under half of them,” Kauer told The Hoya. “I’ve gotten rejected from all of them, except three, where I’ve gotten interview requests, and I’m still waiting to hear back from one of them on that.” The D.C. region lost roughly 72,000 jobs in 2025 as a result of the Trump administration’s reduction of the federal workforce and overall spending. Kauer said she views the Trump administration’s layoffs as a cause of the D.C. job market’s competitiveness. “I think it’s just more competitive this summer because a lot of people who are in government jobs, whose jobs got cut, or just different organizations who have lost funding because of the current administration, are now on the hunt,” Kauer said. “It just makes it even more competitive.” The federal workforce decreased by 10.3% — nearly 238,000 jobs — in 2025 amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize the government.

Kieran Hickis (CAS ’29), a current U.S. House of Representatives intern, said breaking into the D.C. job market depends less on qualifications than personal connections. “It’s definitely, unfortunately, a market of who you know, and I’ve seen that because there are a lot of qualified applicants that I’ve spoken to, some that have applied to multiple different congressional offices, and still can’t break in because they don’t know someone on the inside,” Hickis told The Hoya. Will Thomas (CAS ’27) — who has a summer internship with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces employment discrimination laws — said while his initial applications were unsuccessful, he was able to secure a position through his personal network. “Initially, the process went pretty poorly — super competitive applications,” Thomas told The Hoya. “I think one place emailed and said they got 400 applications for 20 spots or something. So pretty tough in that respect. But then I think it took me doing some networking with people I hadn’t met before, doing some cold emailing and reaching out.” Hickis said those looking for Capitol Hill internships, colloquially “Hillterns,” should build connections through district initiatives before applying to positions in D.C.

Annie Quimby Hoya Staff Writer

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN), defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy, including the Iran war, at a Georgetown University event April 14. Waltz, who previously served as national security advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, argued that U.S. foreign policy is strengthening international security. At the event, hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Politics and Public Service (GU Politics), Waltz praised the efficacy of U.S. foreign engagements, including the Iran war, while encouraging Georgetown students to pursue a career in public service. Waltz said the Trump administration has aimed to generate international change by demanding results from the UN. “International government is espoused by how much money and people you’re throwing at the problem,” Waltz said at the event. “We’re saying, ‘Where have the results been?’ and asking those tough questions. I know it’s a lot of tough love.” Waltz said the United States is looking to put a greater security burden on allies, including in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which Trump has accused of freeloading off the United States. “Ten years ago, only seven out of 30 NATO nations were contributing,” Waltz said. “Now it’s 30 out 30, and not only are they contributing a minimum, there’s a whole new slew that’s looking to double their defense

CONNOR EMMERT/THE HOYA

United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz praised the Trump See WALTZ, A7 administration’s foreign policy, including the Iran war.

See UNEMPLOYMENT, A7

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