George Washington University junior Arielle Geismar views the world through an advocacy lens and acts upon it. She’s led student-wide walkouts in her hometown of New York City in a nationwide response from students against gun violence. She spent a gap year between high school and undergrad lobbying on Capitol Hill for youth voices to be heard on pressing social issues. And during the 2022-2023 school year, she has served as GW’s Residence Hall Association president.
Raised in what she calls a framework of justice—her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor—Geismar has felt a duty to speak on behalf of others. And during the 2023-2024 academic year, the international affairs major will be the voice of an entire student body.
Her peers elected her as the GW Student Association president, announced Saturday at the University Student Center after voting took place on Thursday and Friday.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to have been elected as a Student Association president,” Geismar said. “It is incredibly meaningful to me that my peers have elected me. I am really looking forward to advocating with students and serving as a connector from students directly to administration.”
According to uncertified results from the Joint Elections Committee (JEC), Geismar earned 60.5% of votes after 32 rounds of ranked-choice voting. In total, 2,190 students cast ballots during this year’s election. The JEC will vote to confirm results this week.
Geismar has no prior SA experience but believes serving this school year as RHA president has prepared her well for the role ahead and that the experience will help her hit the ground running as SA president. As RHA president, she has created focus groups between RHA members and GW’s new dining provider, Chartwells Higher Education, to facilitate student feedback of the university’s new, transformative dining experience. She also developed a working relationship with administrators across campus addressing student needs, which she thinks will pay dividends when she assumes her presidential duties.
Overall, she is thrilled to continue a lifelong venture of peer advocacy while representing the entire GW student body.
“I believe in student power, and I believe in student voice,” Geismar said. “I will do everything I can to uplift student initiatives and create genuine change at GW, and I'm so excited to get started.”
Sophomore Demetrius Apostolis is the SA vice president elect after securing 52.17% of votes. A history and criminal justice major hailing from Flemington, N.J., Apostolis has previous SA experience serving as a CCAS-U senator, senate chairperson pro tempore and accountability mechanism member.
He has a front-row seat as an active participant to the inner workings of the SA and sought the vice presidency because he believed it provided the best opportunity to unite senators through strong communication to ensure they are properly working on behalf of students. He served as acting vice president for a week last summer and said that taught him not only what it takes to be a senator, but what it takes to run a full senate meeting. Throughout the year, he’s run different events on campus such as the Career Expo and is eager to bring that to a larger scale as vice president.
“I think with my experience in the Senate running meetings, being in every Senate committee meeting and meeting with senators from all around the campus, I think it’s a good opportunity to be able to unite them all to really work for students, and we can make the most valid impact here at GW,” Apostolis said.
His line of communication to students is always open, he said. Especially if it involves a conversation over a cup of coffee. Apostolis is looking forward to leading the student body with Geismar next school year.
“First and foremost, [President Geismar] and I are here to both help and be there for students,” he said. “I'm really excited about that.”
