Georgetown University students will soon vote on whether they want to tax themselves to benefit the descendants of slaves sold by the university in the 1830s.
Its student government recently authorized a campuswide student referendum on whether to establish a fund for the families of the 272 men, women and children sold by Georgetown in 1838.
If approved, the semesterly fee would begin to be collected in the fall of 2020 and start
at $27.20 per student "in honor of the 272 people sold by Georgetown," states the student government resolution approving the referendum, a copy of which was obtained Wednesday by The College Fix.
"The proceeds of the GU272 Reconciliation Contributions will be allocated for charitable purposes directly benefiting the descendants of the GU272 and other persons once enslaved by the Maryland Jesuits - with special consideration given to causes and proposals directly benefiting those descendants still residing in proud and underprivileged communities," the resolution stated.
Comment: Does the university have DNA samples of the slaves who were sold and can they match that DNA to their descendant beneficiaries? Of course not. This is yet another example of useless virtue signalling and will likely cause more division and resentment among students.