The Senate Branch ensures that the Graduate Student Senate operates smoothly, transparently, and in line with governing documents. We organize meetings, support strategic planning, and make sure all legislation follows the bylaws and constitution. Our work keeps Senate processes structured, fair, and responsive to graduate student needs.
What We Do
We prepare agendas, review decisions, and coordinate the information needed for effective Senate operations. As part of this, we evaluate proposed legislation and amendments to ensure they align with existing bylaws, offer guidance on procedural questions, and support each step of the voting and decision-making process. This includes inserting agenda items, reviewing legislation, advising on parliamentary procedure, gathering materials for Senate deliberation, and ensuring that every action follows a clear and consistent process. We also serve as a point of contact for suggestions and improvements to Senate operations.
Why It Matters
Graduate students deserve a fair, organized, and rule-consistent system of representation. We help ensure that every decision is reviewed, every vote is properly conducted, and every voice follows a predictable and transparent process. This safeguards student interests and strengthens the quality of graduate governance.
Email us at gradgov@georgetown.edu. For questions, agenda requests, and improvement suggestions, make sure to put “[SENATE]” in the email title so it can reach us as quickly as possible!
Overseeing and maintaining contact with the nine different Georgetown graduate schools that GradGov represents.
The Senate Secretary serves as the sole entity of this committee. They are the point of contact between the different caucuses’ administrators and the Senate Leadership Committee to organize GradGov’s biannual elections, as well as the first point of contact between GradGov Senators and the executive team. The Senate Secretary is also responsible for distributing any documents related to meetings of the Senate with student representatives.
Please contact our Parliamentarian for more information:
Judicial Implementation Advisory Board
Supporting the governing of the GradGov Senator and ensuring the proper implementation of the body’s constitution.
The Parliamentarian serves as head of the committee and works on the annual revision of the GradGov’s bylaws and additional amendments to be considered at the beginning of the academic year. The committee serves as the expert overseer of Constitutional functions and works with the executive team to ensure any acts of GradGov and its actors are abiding by this document.
Contact the Members for more information:
Elections & Recruitment Committee
Organizing and promoting GradGov elections for the nine caucuses of the body oversees.
GradGov holds Senate elections at the the second week of the fall semester. All Senate candidates must nominate themselves via the GradGov Nomination form to be added to the elections ballot. Elections for the GradGov executive team (President, Vice President, and VP’s of each committee) and Directors of individual committees are held during the fall election cycle and end of the spring semester.
For more information, contact our Directors:
Siddharth Bharani-Dharan is pursuing his Master’s degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. His background in professional journalism has given him an outlet to express his views to the world. In addition to those responsibilities, he looks to serve the Georgetown community by using his words to improve the student experience. His time working in healthcare has taught him to understand the meticulous needs of those he helps, and he looks to channel that to the graduate students of Georgetown University.
