Dear President John DeGioia,

As graduates of Georgetown and of the Georgetown Scholars Program, and supporters, we write to tell you that we are vehemently opposed to GSP's proposed move from the hallmark Healy building, where it resided for 10 years, to New South.  This move would not only alienate hundreds of current GSP students, but also over 1,500 GSP grads who contribute time, money, and enthusiastic support to the university.  Georgetown has championed GSP from its infancy and that allowed the program to thrive as a national model. Your intercession here is crucial.

Here’s why we oppose the move:

Symbolism: Where the program is located is both symbolically and practically important. The space that Georgetown offered GSP - Georgetown's most significant form of material support for GSP - spoke volumes about Georgetown's commitment to first-generation students like us. On a campus where we didn't belong in our socioeconomic or educational background, the program’s location in Healy was one indication that we *did* belong. We were proud to show our families that we had space in the most well-known Georgetown building.  Our initial move into Healy propelled our participation in GSP from hesitant and embarrassed to legitimately proud, marking a clear culture shift. If you move the location of the program, it would tell us and the hundreds of students after us that we do not belong; or worse: we do belong but in a basement on the back corner of campus.

Community: Many of us found ourselves spending time in GSP's Healy office between classes and work because it is centrally located on the front lawn. Community building efforts, a central GSP tenet, will be limited in the future when students don't have similar access to the space. Being on the back corner of campus not only signals ‘you are unimportant’, but it would create a further physical distance for students to access the program.

History: GSP’s Healy space has been--and continues to be--a safe haven for hundreds of us for ten years. When we return to campus, visiting GSP in Healy has always been the first, deeply nostalgic stop. Moving the office now would not only limit crucial support for current students, but also for young graduates who are otherwise some of the university’s most encouraging spokespeople. As we remarked earlier, GSP's move into Healy in the first place noted a historic shift for the program.  Moving GSP to a significantly less desirable location takes the program backwards.

We stand with the undergraduate students speaking out against the move across multiple channels, such as social media and campus news.  We are concerned that their voices were silenced during this decision-making process, despite the fact that student voice propelled the program to nationwide recognition at every stage of its development.

When Georgetown centered student voice, we found our way together.  The stunning dismissal of GSP students' voices in this major decision threatens not only space, but it marks a concerning shift from this core tenet of the program and one that you've underscored in your leadership.

We write, disappointed as we are, because we love Georgetown and know it can do better. We write in the hope that you reconsider this move and hear the voices of GSP students who are so strongly against this decision. As you hear those voices and our own, we hope you realize what we see so clearly: GSP belongs in Healy.