Updated: April 8, 2025, at 11:41 a.m. 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this post incorrectly reported that the SGA cited concerns over a speaker’s comments on the war in Gaza as reason for why it pulled out of the “Hands Off Our Schools” protest on Friday. 

The SGA’s withdrawal announcement does not mention the war in Gaza, instead attributing the decision to Bowman’s “hateful rhetoric” toward the Jewish community. In an interview, SGA President Ethan Fitgerald cited one of Bowman’s comments about Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack as an example of this rhetoric, and added that the decision was “not a political statement about Israel and Palestine.” This post has been updated to clarify the SGA’s reasoning for pulling out of the protest and SGA members’ reactions to the decision.

The Student Government Association withdrew its endorsement of a student protest rallying support of the Department of Education one day before the demonstration, citing concerns over a speaker’s history of “hateful rhetoric” and “disrespect” towards the Jewish community. 

In a statement posted to the SGA’s Instagram on Thursday, the governing body said it was pulling out of the coalition of student governments who endorsed the protest due to student concerns about the headline speaker, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and his “history of hateful rhetoric” toward the Jewish community. Current SGA members said organizational issues within the coalition of student governments led to the last-minute withdrawal, adding that the organizers didn’t properly consider the concerns GW’s SGA raised about Bowman.

Bowman — who lost a primary for reelection last June — posted about his involvement in the rally on Tuesday when the Georgetown University Student Association announced the demonstration. Mary Beth Tinker, who sued the Des Moines school district in 1968 with her parents for infringing on her right to protest the Vietnam War, and D.C. State Board of Education LaJoy Johnson-Law were also listed as speakers on the coalition’s Instagram post. 

A number of universities, including GW, Howard and Temple universities initially joined the coalition for the “Hands off our Schools” rally to protest the Trump administration’s recent moves to dismantle the Department of Education. GW’s student government was the only body to pull out of the coalition.

Bowman was first elected to the House in 2020 and was a member of a progressive group in the chamber commonly known as The Squad. Bowman’s primary loss in 2024 was seen by some as a result of the public consensus on the war in Gaza, Politico reported. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee led a campaign against Bowman’s 2024 run, airing ads aimed at highlighting his “atrocious” record on Israel. 

SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald said his knowledge of the “actions and the rhetoric” of Bowman brought his decision to withdraw from the protest “outside of the bounds of politics,” citing testimony from Jewish leaders in his district who said he wouldn’t meet with them and his statement equating sexual violence committed by Hamas to “propaganda.”  

“We didn’t want to share a stage with an individual like that, especially because GW has such a large Jewish population, especially because we have so many people who are allies in the Jewish community on campus,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said there was “a lot” of deliberation within the SGA on whether or not to initially endorse the protest, but said the SGA ultimately decided it was necessary they get involved because of how attacks on the Department of Education could affect GW students. 

Fitzgerald said the SGA after joining the coalition made it known to the other governing bodies that they hoped the process was “deliberative” and hoped they would stay focused on protesting the Education Department cuts, but it became “challenging” when the process “wasn’t as collaborative” as they’d hoped. He said Bowman was added as a speaker “last minute” and without “significant consultation” from the SGA.

Fitzgerald said he and his team “didn’t know too much” about Bowman until students began voicing concerns about previous language Bowman had used toward the Jewish community. He said the SGA brought the concerns to the other coalition members and said they were worried about elevating rhetoric that could be harmful to a community that many members of campus are a part of. 

Fitzgerald said they were also concerned that Bowman’s involvement at the protest could deflect away from the protest’s main purpose of rallying against Trump’s attack on the Education Department, “infusing” a new level of partisanship into what he said was supposed to be a non-partisan protest. 

“Let me state clearly that this was not a political statement about Israel and Palestine,” Fitzgerald said. “Tinker, for example, was speaking at the rally who is very pro-Palestine, and that’s not where the challenge lied.” 

Fitzgerald said Georgetown announced Bowman’s involvement on Tuesday, three days before the rally, and that the SGA had been “working” on the situation and consulted with “as many students as possible” until they released their statement on Thursday.

He said the SGA made the decision to withdraw from the rally after consulting student organizations like ACLU, First Generation United and Democracy Matters, as well as American University and Georgetown University. He said he spoke with students and student groups with diverse viewpoints from 10:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and there was “unanimous consensus” that pulling the endorsement was the right decision.  

“We have so many people who are allies in the Jewish community on campus, we did not want to uplift in any way an individual who has the record as he does,” Fitzgerald said.

In the statement, the SGA wrote that although they recognize everyone’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech, even when it is “offensive or controversial,” there is no protection against actions that create a “hostile or unsafe” environment for students.

“What began as a unified effort to uplift student voices, protect campus resources, and support the integrity of the Department of Education has since taken a partisan turn,” the statement reads.

The SGA said in the statement that the body has a responsibility to protect the “integrity of student advocacy,” and they cannot platform someone who hinders students’ ability to feel “seen, heard and safe.”

The post garnered 119 comments from community members, with some “applauding” the decision and others calling the SGA “wimps” and their statement “embarrassing.” At least one comment in dissent criticized the body’s decision to speak out on issues relating to antisemitism, claiming the SGA didn’t properly condemn GW’s handling of the pro-Palestinian encampment.

SGA Senate Pro Tempore Liz Stoddard, a vice presidential contender in the 2025 SGA election, said Georgetown organizers’ pick of Bowman as the rally’s headline speaker was “divisive” because of Bowman’s “hateful and disrespectful” comments.

“Is that the best we can do for a rally on education where all the D.C. schools are coming together?” Stoddard said. “An individual who has spouted deeply hurtful things, who is no longer a congressman, when we as giant D.C. schools couldn’t put our heads together and actually get someone who had a dog in this fight.”

Stoddard said the SGA also pulled out to protect groups like international students. She said that if the rally had changed its initial intention of advocating for education to a pro-Palestinian demonstration, the Trump administration could have sent immigration officials to police the event and question attendees on their immigration status.

Stoddard said Georgetown organizers selected Bowman to speak because he was “available,” not because he was a strong activist for education, and urged that Bowman speak, even in the face of objection from GW and others involved during conversations between the rally’s organizers.

Ethan Lynne, the current SGA vice president and candidate for SGA president, said he will always listen to the concerns of the 27,000 students he represents, especially when it involves student safety. Lynne said the situation surrounding the protest was mishandled due to a problem with “communication between stakeholders” of the rally.

“The entire situation was handled poorly in my opinion, but right now, I’m fully focused on the future and continuing to engage all students in the fight against attacks on higher education at GW,” Lynne said in a message.

SGA Sen. Claire Avalos (CCAS-U), a candidate vying for the SGA vice presidency, said the planning of the event and GW SGA’s subsequent withdrawal was “a big organizing issue.” She said the way the SGA handled the situation did not give the body a “good look.”

“I hope in the near future that student governments in the D.C. area can plan a better protest that draws attention to the urgent issue of the dismantling of the Department of Education,” Avalos said in a message.

This post has been updated to correct the following: 

The Hatchet incorrectly reported that the SGA withdrew its endorsement of the “Hands off our Schools” rally because of concerns over a speaker’s comments on the war in Gaza. The SGA pulled out because of concerns that the speaker has a history of using harmful rhetoric about the Jewish community. The Hatchet also incorrectly reported that Fitzgerald said Bowman’s rhetoric around the war in Gaza brought the situation “outside of the bounds of politics.” He was referencing Bowman’s history of comments against the Jewish community. We regret these errors. 

This post has been updated to include additional information from The Hatchet’s interview with Fitzgerald.