Georgetown University administrators sent a campus-wide email over the weekend discouraging students from hosting strangers for the anti-Trump Women's March on Washington after it was revealed that the campus chapter of College Democrats planned to host protesters.
A Facebook post by the university's College Democrats called on students to open up their dorms and apartments to strangers visiting the area for the weekend's protests.
"Given our location in DC, we are calling all College Democrats to open up their dorm rooms or apartments to help house other college students for the weekend. Floor or couch space is much needed to host as many students as possible at Georgetown. PLEASE consider hosting a student or two for the night of Friday, January 20!"
Campus Reform, a conservative watchdog group focused on higher education, contacted Georgetown administrators to inquire about the visitor policy in their living facilities. After the inquiry, three Georgetown administrators, including campus Police Chief Jay Gruber, sent an email discouraging students from hosting strangers.
Campus Reform obtained a copy of the email, which can be seen here. One section in the email reiterates the school's housing policy for visitors.
"You may host your family and friends as overnight guests," Georgetown reminds students, but "for your safety and the safety of your fellow residents, you are discouraged from inviting guests, with whom you are not familiar, to stay with you. Minor visitors require parent or guardian permission, prior to arrival to campus."
Meredith Forsyth, the president of Georgetown's College Democrats chapter, told Campus Reform that all visiting students would be "properly approved and vetted" by the Women's March on Washington. The group did not respond to questions about how the visitors could be vetted, Campus Reform reported.
Organizers for the Women's March on Washington anticipate at least 200,000 attendees on Saturday, CNN reported.
"The Women's March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights," the march's mission statement reads. "We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us."