The Student Government Association unanimously passed a pair of resolutions Monday calling on the University to release final exam schedules earlier in the semester and reduce textbook costs for students.
SGA Sen. Sophie Munson (CCAS-U), who sponsored the Undergraduate Final Exam Schedule Act, said the University releases the final exam schedule five weeks into the semester, which forces students to delay booking travel plans and pay higher ticket prices. She said an “overwhelming majority” of students who responded to a July SGA survey about exam schedules indicated that an earlier release would ease travel costs.
“Travel plans can already be a significant expense, and the longer students wait to hear how long they must stay at the end of the semester, the more expensive travel arrangements are,” Munson said at the meeting.
Munson also sponsored the Textbook Affordability Act, which asks the University to launch a website where students can sell their textbooks to peers at an affordable price. She said students indicated wanting lower textbook costs in a recent SGA affordability survey, with 60.5 percent of respondents reporting paying between $201 and $700 for textbooks per semester.
Munson said the GW Libraries & Academic Innovation Office offers a grant of up to $1,000 to faculty who adopt zero-cost course materials. She said she hopes the resolution will encourage faculty to take advantage of this opportunity to support students.
“They are encouraged to utilize more open-access textbooks,” Munson said. “Having more open educational resources lowers the cost of textbooks, thereby lowering the inequity students may face.”
Meera Durvasula, the assistant director of GW Palooza — a student-led annual school spirit celebration — said the event is scheduled for Feb. 21 to Feb. 23 and will feature activities like the battle of the banners, GW basketball tailgates and a Panhellenic dodgeball competition.
Durvasula encouraged SGA representatives to attend Palooza events to help address student concerns about GW’s lack of school spirit and low engagement in school-sponsored activities.
“A lot of you ran on platforms to try and engage the GW community, and I cannot think of an event that tries to do that more than GW Palooza,” Durvasula said.
Dean of Students Colette Coleman, Counseling and Psychological Services Director Laura Finkelstein and Lerner Health and Wellness Center Managing Director Mark Mermelstein also presented updates to student activities, CAPS and campus recreation programming.
Coleman said students have come to her office this week feeling “unsettled” in the wake of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. She said officials from the student activities office are “thinking through” the flurry of executive orders Trump signed last week and how they might affect students at GW.
University President Ellen Granberg said GW is preparing for the “significant” impact Trump’s executive orders could have on higher education institutions across the country, including GW, in a statement to the community Monday.
“I don’t think we know what that looks like, so I’m not gonna lie to you and be untrue in that statement, no one knows what that looks like, but we are going to figure it out,” Coleman said.
Finkelstein said CAPS plans to hire a new “accessibility and advocacy” staff member next month. She said the new hire will join the existing team of four medical professionals in the office who focus on areas like LGBTQ+ patient care, trauma care, alcohol and drug treatment and Black, Indigenous and People of Color patient care. She said the accessibility and advocacy specialist will talk with students about their safety and medical concerns during the Trump administration.
“Thinking about what’s going on with the new president and the administration and what that might mean for our students and making sure that students are really protected and supported,” Finkelstein said.
Mermelstein said officials working on campus recreation and Lerner operations are in the “final days” of the design process for a low ropes course on the Mount Vernon Campus. He said the course is projected to open this spring and will provide leadership and team building opportunities for students.
In a joint statement to the body, SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald and Vice President Ethan Lynne said they “remain committed” to protecting students’ rights to reproductive healthcare and diversity, equity and inclusion programs despite Trump’s recent executive orders. The SGA posted the statement to Instagram Tuesday morning.
Since Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, the president has signed dozens of executive orders impacting federal funding, international environment agreements and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the military and federal government.
“The uncertainty of this moment has been deeply unsettling for many of us, but now more than ever, it is important and vital to come together as a community to support one another,” Lynne said.
Lynne encouraged SGA senators to grab fliers available at the meeting that outlined the rights undocumented students have if they’re approached by immigration agents. The SGA posted the flier to their Instagram last week.
“We all need to hold true to GW values and be good neighbors, be good students, be good peers to one another,” Lynne said. “You may think something as small as taping this up on your door isn’t doing a lot, but it means something to someone.”
Fitzgerald said the Title IX Office conducted interviews for the peer adviser program — an opportunity for students to act as peer advisers in Title IX cases to attend hearings with the student and discuss Title IX Office support resources — over winter break and selected 10 students to begin the training process. He said the Title IX office will hold the training Feb. 1, and it is open to any students interested in learning more about Title IX processes.
Fitzgerald also said the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention recognized GW as a “skin smart campus.” The NCSCP will provide GW with two free sunscreen dispensers that officials will install in high-traffic locations, according to a GW release.
The SGA will hold their next meeting Feb. 10 in the University Student Center Grand Ballroom at 8 p.m.
