GUIDE
FEATURES
B1
A4
Foreign Films
DC Influencers Since 1920 FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025
THEHOYA.COM
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 106, No. 11, © 2025
GU Community Protests Detention of Pro-Palestine Student Activist at Columbia Nora Toscano Senior News Editor
Roughly 100 Georgetown University students and community members walked out of classes March 11 to protest the federal detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student organizer and activist at Columbia University. Federal immigration officers detained Khalil, a lawful U.S. permanent resident and prominent activist during proPalestine student protests at Columbia last spring, in his university student housing March 8. Khalil’s detainment incited concerns about violations of First Amendment rights as the Trump administration justified his detainment based on Trump’s executive order prohibiting antisemitism. The Georgetown chapter of
Faculty and Staff for Justice and Palestine (FSJP), an organization that advocates for Palestinian liberation, and Zeytoun, a group of Georgetown graduate students advocating for decolonization in southwest Asia and north Africa, organized the walkout. During the walkout, students went to Red Square and chanted “Free, free Palestine,” “ICE off our campuses” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all the laws have got to go.” Mark Lance, a professor emeritus of philosophy and founding director of Georgetown’s Justice and Peace Studies program, spoke at the walkout and said attendees aimed to support student protesters amid Trump administration promises to deport or expel pro-Palestine college student organizers. See WALKOUT, A7
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
The District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office sent a letter to the Georgetown University Law Center (GULC) dean warning against a continuation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) curriculum, sparking concerns among the Georgetown community.
Students React to GULC Dean’s DEI Defense Ruth Abramovitz GUSA Desk Editor
ARI CITRIN/THE HOYA
On March 11, Georgetown community members protested the federal detention of Palestinian student organizer Mahmoud Khalil.
Georgetown University Law Center (GULC) Dean William Treanor rejected warnings from Washington, D.C.’s top federal prosecutor that his office will stop hiring GULC students unless the school ceases its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) curriculum in a March 6 letter. Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, sent a letter to Treanor on March 3 describing Georgetown’s DEI curriculum as “unacceptable” and advising
him that his office, the largest federal attorney’s office in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), would not consider GULC students for professional opportunities while the policy stood — raising concerns among Georgetown students and faculty. In his response, Treanor emphasized how First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion prohibit the government from controlling Georgetown’s curriculum. Treanor said the First Amendment protects Georgetown’s professors, curricula and educational mission. “Your letter informs me that
your office will deny our students and graduates government employment opportunities until you, as Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, approve of our curriculum,” Treanor wrote in the letter. “Given the First Amendment’s protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.” While the Department of Education can dictate
policy initiatives, the federal government cannot dictate the curriculum of private universities. The federal government can, however, threaten to pull funding for specific programs if an institution is noncompliant with federal law. Martin’s letter comes after President Trump signed a Jan. 20 executive order to end DEI programs, policies and activities across the federal government. A university spokesperson said nothing within GULC’s programming violates the law or is preferential to certain identities See DEAN, A7
RA Union, GU Propose Articles On Compensation in Bargaining Maren Fagan and Aamir Jamil Executive Editors
ELLA WAN/THE HOYA
Georgetown University students emphasized inclusion, loyalty to Jesuit values and dynamic responses to federal policy changes in the search for Georgetown’s 49th president.
GUStudentsCallForInnovation, AccessibilityinNewGUPresident Nora Toscano and Jack Willis Senior News Editors
As Georgetown University continues its search for its 49th president, undergraduate students say they want the next president to commit to diversity, adhere to Jesuit values and offer forward-thinking responses to the contemporary political climate. The Hoya interviewed six undergraduates across class years and schools to learn how they view the university’s ongoing search for longtime president John J. DeGioia’s (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) successor. DeGioia, now president emeritus, suffered a stroke June 5 and retired Nov. 21 after serving as university president for 23 years; the university’s presidential search committee aims to have his
replacement in place by July 1, 2026.
Overall Values Isabella Pamias (CAS ’27) said she hopes the new president prioritizes respect in their approach to university operations. “Being a Jesuit institution, the president should, of course, embody those values, but also adapt them to contemporary needs,” Pamias told The Hoya. “For me, I believe that respect and particularly empathy must be at the core of their leadership approach, having respect for diverse perspectives within the academic community and also empathy for the varied experiences of not just students but faculty and staff.” Karenna Warden (CAS ’25), the service chair of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society, said she
feels a Georgetown graduate could offer a unique sense of familiarity with campus needs as president. “In Georgetown’s next president, I think one of the most important things would be that they’re really familiar with our university and its needs,” Warden told The Hoya. “I feel like that would most likely come from a graduate of Georgetown. I know DeGioia was a graduate, and I feel like his experience as an undergrad here probably informed a lot of his really good work as our last president.” Full Disclosure: Karenna Warden was The Hoya’s City News Desk in the Fall 2023 semester. Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26), the president of the Georgetown University Student Association
After nearly seven months of negotiations, Georgetown University resident assistants and the university are nearing a final agreement on a union contract. The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC), the organization representing Georgetown University resident assistants (RAs) in collective bargaining negotiations, completed their ninth and tenth rounds of negotiations with university officials Feb. 25 and March 13. During the two sessions, the two sides negotiated agreements on training and job descriptions before exchanging offers on compensation, one of three packaged provisions remaining. Sam Lovell (CAS ’25), the interim chairperson of GRAC and an RA in Copley Hall, said the session was productive, but negotiations will continue. “We received an offer, and it’s one that we have to work a little bit more at toward a final agreement, but certainly it was a good first step,” Lovell told The Hoya. “I think that we’ve set our expectations and set ourselves up to succeed.” During the Feb. 25 negotiations, GRAC and the university tentatively agreed to an article regarding training and language related to RA sanctioning and guidelines. At the March 13 meeting, GRAC and the university tentatively agreed on job descriptions, outlining the specific duties expected for RAs, before beginning negotiations
See GOLDWATER, A7
OLIVIA HOLMBERG/THE HOYA
The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition and Georgetown See GRAC, A7 University addressed compensation at a March 13 negotiation.
See PRESIDENT, A7
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
Mike Johnson Speaks at GU
Housing After Study Abroad
The Poignant Handmaiden
Hoyas Bow Out of Big East
A6
A2
B6
A12/A11
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson reiterated his support for the ‘America First’ government funding package.
The Editorial Board urges Residential Living to create a streamlined process for housing selection for students studying abroad.
Celeste Viana (SFS ’26) explores romance and trickery in Japanese-occupied Korea in ‘The Handmaiden.’
Ending their season, the men’s basketball team lost against DePaul University in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Capitol Campus Dean
Stay Artistic
A Miraculous City of God
System-Wide Injury
A8
A3
B8
A12/A11
Kathryn Jennings will become the first associate dean of students for the recently-inaugurated Capitol Campus.
Stratton Rebish (CAS ’28) encourages students to keep exploring the arts when coming to college.
Tanvi Gorripati (CAS ’27) praises the portrayal of gang violence in the slums of Rio de Janeiro in ‘City of God.’
Published Fridays
Eilat Herman (CAS ’26) argues Major League Baseball must take measures to protect their players from injury.
Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com