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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 107, No. 5, © 2025
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025
For Peñalver’s Presidency Stakes Include Scrutiny, Investment, Finances Ajani Stella
Senior News Editor
When Eduardo Peñalver begins his tenure as Georgetown University’s president July 1, 2026, he will likely face questions on the university’s relationship with the federal government, investment in the Capitol Campus and financial security. Peñalver will succeed President Emeritus John J. Degioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95), who was Georgetown’s president for 23 years, and Interim President Robert M. Groves, who, at the time of Peñalver’s matriculation, will have been president for one-and-a-half years. Peñalver will join Georgetown as the university faces increasing pressure from the federal government, scrutiny over its investment and endowment practices and a changing landscape across higher education. Peñalver said he will focus on centering Georgetown’s Jesuit values and deepening the university’s academic programs. “This is an exciting moment in Georgetown’s history — with the expansion of the Capitol Campus, the
creation of new, interdisciplinary programs, a renewed focus on access and affordability, and a commitment to finding innovative solutions to society’s most pressing issues,” Peñalver said in the university press release. In his former administrative career as president of Seattle University and dean of Cornell Law School, Peñalver has addressed similar issues, including student protesters, divestment referendums, university expansion and federal attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. Peñalver could confront Georgetown’s relationship with the federal government as President Donald Trump attempts to exert more control over universities across the United States. While Georgetown’s undergraduate schools have not faced direct attacks on programs, Washington, D.C.’s former top federal prosecutor warned Georgetown University See PEÑALVER, A7
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A key committee that consults the Georgetown University administration on labor and business practices voted in favor of keeping ɤ̇ͅʊɤʹ̇Ψ˷ڑƥ˷ʧΤɤͣͅʧʹζڑƙͅǸ˷̻ͣ̇ͅʹǸʹʧ̇˷ڑƋʔʹʹ˓ɤڑՄ ƥƙƋՅڑȿͣڑɒͅʧΤɤͣͅڑɤ˰̻˓̇ζɤɒڑȿζʹڑʔɤ˷ڑʧΤɤͣͅʧʹζڑǸ̻̻ͣͣ̇̇ڑɤɒڑ̇ʹڑɆ̇˷ʹͅǸɆʹʧ˷ʊʹڑʔɤ˰ʹ̇ڑռ
Panel Advises GU Against New GUTS Policy
Ruth Abramovitz and president on the ethics of labor and The resolution, approved with the university severed and business policies at the university. unanimously by the ACBP, advises believe that doing so will compromise Nicolas Abreu Senior News Editor and Events Desk Editor
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Eduardo Peñalver will begin his term as Georgetown University president amid concerns about finances, politics and student life.
A Georgetown University advisory committee voted Oct. 23 to advise the office of the president against enacting a plan that would effectivelyremovesomeGeorgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) drivers’ university benefits, following weeks of student and worker advocacy. The Advisory Committee on Business Practices (ACBP) — composed of 12 students, faculty and administrators — consults the
ACBP primarily focuses on implementing the Just Employment Policy, which directs the university to provide livable wages and benefits to employees and to avoid job loss. The plan under consideration, first presented to drivers in September, would subcontract GUTS drivers with the private company Abe’s Transportation. This plan changes GUTS drivers’ employment from being direct university employees to subcontractors, meaning they lose access to most university benefits, including the university’s health insurance and retirement packages.
chief operating officer (COO) David Green to keep the GUTS drivers employed by the university “by any means necessary.” “We understand that it is the conversion to and upkeep of a new fleet of buses — not the cost of driver wages — which represents a significant economic burden to the University,” the resolution reads. “We also understand that the drivers currently employed by Georgetown to drive GUTS buses, who are among its most loyal and beloved employees, strongly object to having their direct employment
the level of commitment that subcontracted drivers feel to serving the Georgetown community,” it reads. Around 20 GUTS drivers and students with the Georgetown Coalition for Workers Rights (GCWR), a student group advocating for labor rights on campus, gathered outside of the Murray Conference Room in Lauinger Library, where the ACBP was meeting to consider the resolution. As committee members entered the room, students held signs encouraging them to “protect GUTS,” See GUTS, A7
Students to Vote on Arts, Noise Fauci Flags Politicization of US Referenda in GUSA Election Health Policy, Misinformation Nicolas Abreu Events Desk Editor
Georgetown University undergraduate students voiced support for two referendums on university investment in the arts and campus noise policy that are on students’ ballots for the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) election, ending 8 p.m. Oct. 24. The referendums —the Securing the Arts in Georgetown’s Expansion (STAGE) Act and the Restore Student Life Act — passed the GUSA Senate unanimously at an Oct. 17 special session and require at least 25% voter turnout and 50% approval to pass. The STAGE Act would encourage Georgetown to publicly acknowledge its academic and financial commitment to the arts, while the student life referendum would call for reform in the conduct process for noise violations and change weekend quiet hours. Student referendums are nonbinding and serve as recommendations to the university’s board of directors, which oversees university operations. In addition to the public acknowledgment, the STAGE Act, which received endorsements from a number of performing arts student organizations, would urge Georgetown to ensure new buildings and developments on all campuses incorporate creative, rehearsal and performance spaces. Elle Marinello (CAS ’28) — the publicity director for Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society, a student theater group that endorsed the referendum — said the STAGE Act would be
critical to addressing student groups’ lack of space on campus. “We really want to support other arts groups on campus, especially things like dance groups,” Marinello told The Hoya. “There aren’t a lot of spaces for them, or just not a lot of art spaces on campus. Even so, there are some spaces that are taken by the department or used for specific groups.” “We want to actually help the arts expand on campus because it’s important to us,” Marinello added. Daniel Tomas (SFS ’26), show director and former publicity director for Nomadic Theatre, said that, while the university has the resources to support the arts, this referendum will help show the student body’s commitment and the need for more spaces on campus. “The university has the resources to give to us,” Tomas told The Hoya. “They just need to understand that theater groups on campus, that other groups on campus that dedicate themselves to the arts, require this access and that they should be promoting the arts in any capacity.” A university spokesperson said Georgetown is working to identify more spaces for student groups and that current performance spaces are accessible for student organizations with access to benefits. “Georgetown has a number of performance, practice and meeting venues available to students and to student groups with access to benefits.” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “University staff are in the process of working with other university
colleagues to identify additional spaces where students may perform without adverse impact on the surrounding community,” the spokesperson added. The Restore Student Life Act, the second referendum, would institute day-long warnings for noise violations that escalate to formal citations upon a second noise violation. The new policy would also remove noise violation warnings from students’ conduct records at the end of an academic year. The resolution would also push weekend quiet hours from 12 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Madeleine Callender (CAS ’26) — co-director of the Student Advocacy Office (SAO), which advises students on disciplinary proceedings — said GUSA worked closely with SAO to create an equitable system for students facing noise complaints. “Given SAO’s direct role in supporting students navigating the disciplinary process, we were able to offer some of the practical insight into how the current system actually operates, what specific issues are top-of-mind for students right now, and how to talk about them in a way that makes sense,” Callender wrote to The Hoya. The Student Code of Conduct restricts “excessive sound which infringes upon the community’s right to reasonable peace and quiet during any time” on campus property. For offcampus housing, noise that can “be heard beyond the property line, taking into account the time and the nature of the activity generating the sound” is
Sam Fishman Hoya Staff Writer
Anthony Fauci criticized the federal government’s public health attitude, growing skepticism of science and health misinformation in an Oct. 23 event at Georgetown University. Fauci, who ran the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a lead agency in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for over 35 years, warned about the dangers of medical misinformation on social media, criticized federal research cuts and speculated about the future of infectious diseases and pandemics. Norah O’Donnell (CAS ’95, GRD ’03), a senior news correspondent at CBS News, interviewed Fauci, who is also a distinguished professor at Georgetown, the university’s highest professional honor. Fauci said he finds changing federal attitudes toward health science especially concerning. “The thing that pains me and worries me more than anything else is the lack of trust and the vilification of science and scientists,” Fauci said at the event. Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employee firings and cuts to government agency budgets have made him concerned that the United States is unprepared for another pandemic. “We’re not prepared because we’re pulling back on scientists, and you don’t need me to tell you — the place I lived for 54 years, they’re firing scientists,” Fauci said at the event. “The CDC is having all of its center
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Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized the federal government’s health See FAUCI, A7 policies and their consequences at an Oct. 23 event.
See REFERENDUM, A7
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
GU Says No to Kings
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Work Toward a Global Education
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Georgetown University students joined thousands at the “No Kings” national protest against President Donald Trump Oct. 18.
The GUSA Election Commission responded to allegations of campaign finance violations by two executive tickets.
Recognizing their plans to address students’ priorities, the Editorial Board endorses the Wagner/Missaghi for GUSA Executive.
In her second “Between Healy and the Hill” column, Neha Jampala (CAS ’27) questions the vulnerability of Georgetown’s global reach.
Mr. Jawani Saatvik Kaul (SFS ’26) won Mr. Georgetown for his showstopping skills and performance in the satirical pageant.
Lorde took to The Anthem as part of her Ultrasound World Tour, offering a breaktaking performance of her June release “Virgin.”
Published Fridays
All 11 members of the Big East conference gathered Oct. 21 to share with the media updates on their teams and expectations.
After falling to Colgate University in every match since 2011, the Hoyas finally defeated the Raiders 21-17 in their Oct. 18 game.
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