Students slammed the Division for Student Affairs’ move to freeze new student organization approvals through the 2025-26 academic year, saying the decision undermines community building and eliminates an opportunity officials touted to prospective applicants.
More than a dozen students argue the pause, which officials quietly implemented at the end of the spring semester to “improve the support structures” that serve preexisting groups, will block their ability to fill gaps in campus life and find community on GW’s urban campus. Students reported not learning about the pause until they tried to submit an application, with many voicing frustration over losing access to an opportunity the University previously promoted during the admissions process and some saying they will launch their groups unofficially.
University spokesperson Claire Sabin said in July that the Office of Student Life will revisit the application process after an “extensive review” of the academic year and will use the time to ensure the University is providing “equitable and well-rounded” support to the over 600 active student organizations on campus. The move appears to the be the first time officials have put a hold on student organization approvals, according to Hatchet archives.
Officials updated the DSA’s student organizations webpage to reflect the pause by July, directing students to contact Org Help if they are looking for an organization that fits their interests. The website does not list upcoming New Student Organization Info Sessions on Org Help’s Engage page, which students are required to attend if they want to form a new student organization.
Some students said they only learned about the pause while trying to form a student group, and many worry the move will make it harder to form communities not represented by existing clubs.
“It makes me feel upset and angry and frustrated and very disappointed with this institution because this is supposed to be a school empowering students and uplifting their voices and making sure there’s all these organizations and all these events,” said Alex Villanueva, a sophomore studying biology and a member of GW’s Pre-Nursing Society.
Villanueva said the society applied to become an official student organization at the end of the spring semester and didn’t hear from officials until the summer, when they informed the group of the pause to all applications. He said in not allowing students to form new groups, the University is failing to uplift students’ voices and support their efforts to form communities on campus.
He said the pause is especially disheartening for the pre-nursing society, a group he sees as a vital resource for students pursuing nursing, which hasn’t previously had a presence on campus. The GW Pre-Nursing Society first launched on Instagram in June and advertises its mission to connect students who are interested in joining the nursing field.
Villanueva said the organization plans to move forward with hosting some unofficial events, including tentatively scheduling a general body meeting but noted that attracting interest is difficult without official student organization status because the group can’t rent University spaces.
“We’re still going to continue regardless because it’s necessary, but it’s very difficult because we kind of need to be a part of GW orgs,” Villanueva said.
Cate Holdridge, a sophomore studying political science who formed a new student organization — Baking for Better at GW — last spring before officials implemented the pause, said the pause contradicts GW’s messaging to prospective students that they can create any organization they want on campus.
“I know a lot of GW branding and how they talk about how engaged the students are and how many student orgs we have,” Holdridge said.
Holdridge said she expects students will unofficially form organizations throughout the academic year but may struggle to grow their groups without official recognition from the University. She said the lack of official status with the University detracts from the legitimacy of the organization and can prevent organizations from working with community partners, like food banks.
“I do know GW students are very driven, so if they want to get something done, they’re gonna get it done one way or another,” Holdridge said. “So I do definitely think that they’re gonna work to find ways to fill in the gap of being an official org but still doing those group activities that they want to do.”
Alex Lagrant, a first-year studying mechanical engineering, said the yearlong pause is “stifling” for new students who are exploring preexisting groups and determining whether the offerings align with their interests.
“If this pause lasts longer than that, and I can’t pursue my interests, it would definitely be frustrating. It’d be annoying,” Lagrant said.
Lagrant said he has already found organizations that have piqued his interest, like GW Baja — an organization that builds off-road racing vehicles from scratch for competitions — and attended practices for a frisbee team. Still, he enjoyed forming his own robotics club in high school and wishes he had the same opportunity to build community at GW.
“To be able to make an organization, create an outlet for other people like me, create a community off of that by making a club, and now I don’t have the opportunity in college because of this pause,” Lagrant said.
Aiden Milne, a security policies graduate student — who oversees Gw.propaganda, an Instagram account that posts content about student life and campus culture — said he first discovered the pause when he was looking to make the GW Foghorn, a satire news organization, official on campus.
“I was pretty disappointed when I found out students couldn’t form an organization,” Milne said in a text message. “I feel like there are always new ideas for groups on campus and it stifles campus culture.”
Milne said he’s had to pivot to promoting the organization through his friends and an online interest form because he can’t advertise as a traditional student organization.
“The reasons GW provided don’t seem very reasonable to me as a lot of orgs are pretty self-sufficient,” Milne said. “I think it also hurts promotion, like you can’t do org fair, can’t really get into newsletters, etc.”
Student Government Association President Ethan Lynne said student organizations are the backbone of the GW community, and he anticipates working with the DSA to resume student organization applications. He didn’t specify when the SGA will advocate for officials to resume reviewing applications.
Rayneli Rodriguez, a sophomore majoring in international affairs, said she expects the University’s financial struggles may have contributed to officials’ decision. Still, she said she doesn’t support the pause because it prevents students, especially first-years, from connecting with their peers.
“It makes sense with all the other things that are going on, like the hiring freeze, all these little things that are happening, you’re like, ‘Okay, this makes sense,’ ” Rodriguez said.
GW implemented a hiring freeze in July and said officials would likely lay off staff and faculty as they prepare the fiscal year 2026 budget and combat a yearslong structural deficit worsened by President Donald Trump’s attacks on higher education. The decision came after officials announced in April that they would reduce the FY2026 budget by 3 percent and asked deans and division leaders to submit plans to cut their budgets.
Emma Beach, a senior majoring in international affairs, said the pause is discouraging for some students, especially those whose interests aren’t represented by an existing club. She said students can still form unofficial organizations but would need to keep the cost of activities relatively low because they can’t secure funding through the University.
“I think also it’s quite sad for incoming students, if they come here and they’re going to the org fair, and they’re maybe not seeing something that they would want to join,” Beach said.
