ALT Throughout the course of last week, public discourse surrounding the “Restructure GUSA” referendum, initially prompted by the Voice editorial, “Vote no on ‘Abolish GUSA’—the rushed referendum creates an even more dysfunctional student government,”escalated beyond either organization’s desires. With the election completed, our two organizations want to reiterate that we encourage respect and understanding across all important conversations on campus. While both organizations stand by our original positions on the referendum, we recognize that the conversation, especially on social media, became unnecessarily personal, harmed the reputation of both organizations, and created dialogue that was more destructive than constructive. As two organizations with the power to affect the campus climate at-large, we want to reiterate our commitment to respectful disagreement and ask both our members and the student body to be considerate when engaging in dialogue and assume best intentions while c

ALT Both organizations will continue to reflect on the episode as a point of growth, and ask that others do the same. GUSA is fully committed to continuing work that uplifts, supports and amplifies the needs of our constituency. However, that work is at its strongest when a diversity of opinion and perspectives undergirds its direction. As an institution, we will ensure that we welcome constructive feedback, and when there are points of disagreement, they are expressed productively. Moreover, we value the work the Voice and other campus publications do in sharing our work and other important stories at Georgetown. And as we pursue a litany of new campaigns to improve community wellness, we look forward to working together in the future. It is crucial to the health of campus discourse that journalistic freedom is intact, and the Voice editorial board maintains the right to respectfully disagree with any policies put forward by any university organization, including GUSA. That said, we ack

ALT We intended for the editorial to be a critique of policy, not person, and it upset us to learn our article has been used by some to support personal attacks against GUSA members, including racist comments towards BIPOC individuals. The Voice strongly condemns any such attack, and will never stand by our work being used to personally harm anyone or justify offensive statements. Our articles should never be used to support discrimination of any kind, and personal hostility directed towards GUSA members is not acceptable. At the end of the day, both GUSA and the Voice want to cultivate a kinder campus. We both take responsibility for how referendum-related affairs escalated, and we are taking institutional steps to avoid such incidents in the future. In the meantime, we hope the Georgetown community will also choose a path of kindness and tolerance, recognizing that we all have the same desire to make Georgetown a better place for its students—both now and in the future.