Georgetown University undergraduate students will vote Thursday on a referendum that would create a new fee to honor the descendants of the 272 slaves the university sold in 1838.
If the GU272 referendum passes, it will create a “Reconciliation Contribution” that would begin in the fall 2020 semester. Each semester, undergraduate students would pay a fee, similar to the school’s student activities fee.
The referendum, entitled “Establish a New GU272 Legacy and Create the Reconciliation Contribution,” was introduced by the Georgetown Student Association Senate and the GU272 Advocacy Team in February.
The fee will initially be $27.20 to honor the 272 slaves sold by Georgetown “in recognition of their involuntary role in the founding and preservation of our University.”
According to the proposal, the funds would benefit the descendants of those slaves and would increase “by the rate of inflation.”
Additionally, the funds would create projects that directly affect residents in underprivileged communities, like Maringouin, Louisiana, where some of the descendants reside.
If a majority of Georgetown students vote in favor of the referendum, it does not guarantee it will pass, Maya Moretta, a sophomore and member of GU272 Advocacy Team, told News4. The Board of Trustees would still need to approve the measure.
“The students will show what they care about and that they want to act in reparative justice,” Moretta said. “If you have a large group of the student body who want to provide reconciliation, then I think the Board of Trustees will listen.”
The GU272 Advocacy Team is a student organization trying to get the measure passed. Within the past few months, the organization has advocated for reparations and educated students on Georgetown’s ties to slavery and history.
Recently, universities across the U.S. have been acknowledging their ties to slavery, including American University.
After the news broke about the 1838 sale of slaves, Georgetown University announced initiatives including preference in admission to descendants, renaming two buildings and a memorial, but some say that’s not enough.
One of the descendants attending Georgetown University because of the policy enacted includes a retired New Orleans chef, Mélisande Short-Colomb.
Georgetown undergraduate students vote for this measure starting at midnight on Thursday, with polls closing at the start of Friday.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Moretta said about the referendum. “The Georgetown student body can be grossly apathetic and we have to beat down that apathy.”