Georgetown students vote overwhelmingly to approve fee for slavery reparations

Georgetown University students voted overwhelmingly on Thursday in favor of creating a $27.20 tuition increase to benefit the descendants of slaves sold by the university in the 1800s. 

More than 66 percent of the student body voted in favor of the increase, which would be steered into a reparation fund for descendants of slaves the institution sold to pay off debts. The resolution must still be approved by the university to go into effect.

The university sold 272 slaves in 1838 to pay off debt, saving the school. Georgetown has a memorial for the slaves sold and offers admissions preference for their descendants.

The results of the referendum are as follows: 66.08% for yes (2541 votes), 33.92% for no (1304 votes). This means that the referendum passes.

— GUSA Elections (@GUSAElections) April 12, 2019

{mosads}The move by the university comes as politicians, notably several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, have proposed ideas of reparations for slavery. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) this week introduced legislation to study granting reparations to African-Americans.

Fellow 2020 candidates Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), have also signaled willingness to look into the issue further.