Members of the Student Association Senate said they “strongly disagree” with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in a joint statement released Monday.
The release states that the Court’s decision to ban race-conscious college admissions last Thursday goes against the University’s “core value” of inclusivity and that a diverse student body contributes to a “stronger” community. The SA will continue to hold “administration and admission personnel” accountable to University diversity, equity and inclusion standards and will “assist” applicants and incoming students, according to the statement.
At the senate’s virtual meeting Monday before the statement’s release, SA President Arielle Geismar said the statement communicates that students of color who feel impacted by this decision are “supported and heard.” She said she acknowledges the differing opinions on the Court’s decision.
Geismar said she attended a meeting on invitation from the office of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to learn about the White House’s perspective on the decision.
“I understand that this may not speak for every individual and, at the same time, I am speaking on what I’m hearing from students,” Geismar said. “I think that, at the same time, I can also recognize that not every student agrees with this decision and I think that we leave room in that statement for that as well.”
SA Sen. Jonesy Strell (CCAS-U), who is hard of hearing, said he has experienced alleged ableist “discrimination” by fellow senators since assuming his position in the spring. He said senators have referred to him as the “weak link” of the senate and called his work in the senate “idiocy.”
Strell alleged members tried to collect votes to impeach him due to his disability earlier this summer. He claimed members made “false accusations” that he had violated the privacy of information of the senate’s executive sessions without providing evidence.
“This is a sad, sad day for the GW community when a group of individuals can use the SA to discriminate against their fellow members, rather than use the connections that we have to faculty to better the lives of our fellow students,” Strell said.
Geismar said she and SA Vice President Demetrius Apostolis are not tolerating any mistreatment and that they will be looking “really seriously” into Strell’s allegations.
Senators also unanimously confirmed two nominees to senate staff positions and 14 nominees to executive cabinet positions.
