Student Court Chief Justice Oliver Bates swore in Student Government Association President MJ Childs and Vice President Aicha Sy at the body’s inauguration ceremony Friday.

Over 100 students and family members gathered at the Jack Morton Auditorium to hear Childs’ and Sy’s inaugural remarks where Childs called on officials to improve student services amid GW’s tuition rise and budget cuts while Sy — who made SGA history as the first Black woman and youngest person to be elected vice president — highlighted her desire to make all students feel like they belong at the University. The SGA Senate also held its first meeting of the new term following the ceremony, appointing executive and legislative staff and passing operational budgets.

Childs said his election campaign — which included a viral video of him asking “Where is my tuition??” referencing GW’s rising cost of attendance and receiving over 750,000 views across multiple platforms — reminded him of how he can use his voice to advocate for issues the student body has raised. He said the purpose of the video was not to say the GW experience has not been worth it, but to call on officials to prioritize student life and services as students’ experiences should improve despite “obstacles.”

Childs ran on a platform of increasing student input in decision-making and restoring student services — which officials reduced in fiscal year 2026 due to University-wide budget cuts and may continue slash in FY2027 — so students get the full value of their tuition.

“I had countless students tell me my campaign inspired them to stand up for themselves, become more involved with the GW community and be able to critique a place that they loved,” Childs said. “It is that very impact that I set to have during my presidency.”

Childs said the “genuine connections” he has made at GW and continues to make are what keep him attending the University. He said he’s now ready to give back to the community as the advocate for the student body and communication “bridge” between students and officials to work to sustain and improve student services.

“The GW community is one that embraces you, supports you and pushes you to put your best foot forward,” Childs said. “As revolutionaries, we rev up to become tomorrow’s leaders and raise high to elevate our highest selves.”

Sy said during her address she has struggled to navigate systems that weren’t built to be accessible throughout her past two years at GW, adding that all students deserve to be supported, feel heard and like they belong in “every space” at GW. She said her answer to the question “Why GW?” is no longer about the University’s location, opportunities or prestige, but rather about the person she has become while attending GW.

“Now, it’s about what I can do to help this place become that for all of you, so that one day when someone asks you ‘Why GW?’ your answer won’t be what you expected from this University, it’ll be what it gave you,” Sy said.

Sy said her experience skipping the second grade and moving multiple times throughout her childhood taught her how to navigate unfamiliar spaces and discover who she was within each of them. She said she wants to create an environment at GW that students can look back on and recognize as having prepared them to take on bigger challenges.

“I have been the student stepping into spaces before I felt ready, the student trying to find my footing in unfamiliar environments and the student learning how to grow into who I was becoming,” Sy said. “Now I’m standing here on stage as your vice president because of every one of those moments.”

Sy ran on a platform of reforming the SGA’s internal structure and culture by creating more opportunities for the student body to shape SGA and University decisions. Her proposed reforms include a policy-writing office where non-SGA-affiliated students can partner with senators to write legislation and roundtable discussions for first-years to discuss issues they face at the University.

“That is what this role means to me, showing up for you, listening and working every day to ensure your experience here reflects the potential you brought here in the first place,” Sy said.

Outgoing SGA President Ethan Lynne said Childs and Sy understand student needs and advocate for them with empathy and trust. He said he isn’t sad to leave the SGA because he is “completely confident” in leaving the presidency to Childs, representing the beginning of a “new chapter” for the SGA with an outside leader students believe in.

“The students saw what mattered,” Lynne said. “They saw someone who was not trying to perform student government, they saw someone who was trying to reimagine it.”

The SGA held its first Senate meeting of the term after the swearing-in ceremony in the lower level of the Media and Public Affairs building where Sy swore in senators for the term and the Senate confirmed executive and Senate staff. The SGA also passed two bills for executive and legislative operations for FY2027. 

The SGA passed the FY2027 Executive Operational Budget Act, providing funding for executive operations, including allocating $13,000 toward “program development activities” like Raise High Wednesdays, a Mental Health Resource Fair and GW Pride Day. The Senate also passed the FY2027 Legislative Operational Budget Act, which allocated $8,241.27 for the Senate to hold meetings, town halls, forums and events. Sy said the SGA will split the executive and legislative funding evenly — the same as last year’s funding.

“MJ and I will be working alongside each other very closely, so we find that there will be no issue splitting this money evenly,” Sy said. 

The next SGA meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5, at 7 p.m. in Room 214 of 1957 E St., where the body will elect committee chairs.