CAIRO – A Muslim student has been elected by the Georgetown University student body to serve as the Jesuit school’s student association president, becoming the first Muslim to hold the position in the Catholic university.
“You have students from all over the world who came together to elect someone for the betterment of the community on the basis of what she can do, not on the basis of her gender, religion or ethnic background,” Georgetown University Muslim Chaplain Imam Yahya Hendi told The Hoya, Georgetown’s oldest student-run newspaper.
“And that’s what we need worldwide.”
Enushe Khan was elected Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) President as the first Muslim student to serve as president when she begins her term later this year.
Khan’s activism in Georgetown started from her first year when she noticed the absence of halal and kosher food in the campus.
The then freshman ran for and won a seat on the GUSA senate.
“Food was a big issue, and that was sort of affecting my health. That was a common trend with other Muslim students as well,” Khan said.
“It’s something that was never a concern for Dining or Auxiliary Services until it really came up in GUSA.”
The position as a member of GUSA allowed the young Muslim to address other topics, advocating interfaith outreach inside the campus.
While on the MSA board, Khan helped to expand interfaith programming with other student faith groups like the Hindu Student Association and the Jewish Student Association.
“The MSA was pretty insular and isolated from the rest of the campus ministry community, and one thing I really wanted to do was start some more programming with JSA, HSA and other groups,” Khan said.
Tolerance
Along with Khan, Chris Fisk was elected GUSA Vice President, becoming the second member of the Georgetown Scholarship Program to serve as an executive officer.
“I think a big part of why this ticket happened and why this team happened, a lot of it played into our identities of coming from a sort of nontraditional Georgetown,” Khan said.
The election of Khan and Fisk was inspiring to many students who found it a superior example on the university’s commitment to tolerance and inclusivity.
“This election affirms some key values that Georgetown prides itself on such as equality and diversity, but it also tells the world that Georgetown’s student body will not sit idly as people’s faith or race or whatever reason is attacked,” GUSA Freshman South District Senator Saad Bashir said.
Khan said she hopes her and Fisk’s diverse backgrounds will allow them to bring together different cultures and faiths in Georgetown campus.
“I can speak to how the Muslim community has tended to really isolate itself in the past. You have these communities, these pockets here on campus who feel like they can’t engage with the rest of the Georgetown community,” Khan said.
“A big thing for us is how can we work with these groups to create a Georgetown where that’s no longer a fear.”