BUZZ
Due to “ongoing federal attacks” against the LGBTQ+ community, the Student Government Association at George Washington University recently passed a bill creating a caucus to “represent and protect GW’s queer community.”
According to The Hatchet, SGA members said the new caucus “could serve to actively monitor the University to prevent any potential rollbacks to community members’ rights.”
While neither The Hatchet nor those interviewed cite specific examples of “federal attacks,” the former links to the ACLU website page “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2026.”
According to the civil liberties organization, such “attacks” include prohibiting minors from “gender transitioning” and official restrictions on the use of personal pronouns.
The ACLU also believes, for example, that Idaho is engaging in “curriculum censorship” via its passage of HB 516, which establishes various parental rights regarding their children’s education.
Ditto the Michigan House of Representatives with HB 4576 (in addition to “other school restrictions”) which notes no state funds are to be used for DEI initiatives. (The Senate version does not contain this provision.)
It is also an “attack” when states such as Missouri attempt to forbid boys from competing in girls’ sports and using girls’ restrooms and locker rooms.
Cole Bowie (pictured), a George Washington SGA senator and co-sponsor of the LGBTQ+ Caucus bill, admitted the university “has not rescinded any protections,” but said the new caucus “will demonstrate to students there is a body on campus who is actively defending queer students’ rights.”
Bowie added the caucus “will remain relevant and garner interest from SGA members in future” due to the high percentage of “queer-identifying” students at GW.
Bill co-sponsor Jivan Ramesh said the caucus needs to “actively represent” its community as LGBTQ+ students “are often marginalized and left out of SGA and University decisions.”
Ramesh said he heard complaints at last year’s Transgender Day of Visibility that students “did not feel ‘heard'” by student government.
These sentiments were echoed by Jet Inglis, president of the “queer fraternity” Delta Lambda Phi. Inglis expressed “hesitation” about the caucus as “they” said the SGA-hosted Pride Day “left out some LGBTQ+ student organizations on campus,” such as the Black Queer Alliance and Transgender and Non-binary Students of GW.
Transgender and Non-binary Students of GW Educational and Political Outreach Programs Secretary Cassandane Smith claimed a “more relevant issue” for “queer-identifying” students is the university’s “homophobic culture” — such as the “common occurrence” of anti-LGBTQ+ comments.
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