by Matt Berger
Technology, customer service and student life services will be the major priorities of a Student and Academic Support Services strategic planning committee as it draws up recommendations to present to the Board of Trustees this winter.
The panel, led by Assistant Vice President for SASS Special Services LeNorman Strong and including student and faculty representatives, was created earlier this semester after the division underwent a massive reorganization that SASS officials say will make it more responsive to student needs.
by Monique L. Harding
GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg offered 48 students at a District junior high a free ride to GW when they begin applying to college in five years.
Trachtenberg spent an hour last month with seventh and eighth graders at Northwest Washington's Paul Junior High School as part of Teach for America Week.
by Matthew Katz
The expected introduction this week of a resolution to create a Student Association tuition task force marks another step in this year's student-led push for a lower tuition increase and more discussion on University financial issues.
The SA Senate will introduce a proposed amendment to its bylaws Tuesday to form the Tuition Action Commission. The bill's sponsors said they hope the committee will increase student input in the administration's tuition allocation process.
by Seth Weinert
Individualism and valuing one's selfhood were the major tenets of men's basketball Coach Mike Jarvis' "last lecture" Wednesday at Western Presbyterian Church.
Jarvis was the second speaker this semester in a lecture series that invites University notables to deliver a lecture as if it would be their last.
by David Randr
A new distance learning studio at GW's television station will give students the opportunity to monitor and participate in classes without ever setting foot on campus.
A current trend in higher education, distance learning gives students with unusual circumstances the chance to fulfill course requirements and even complete degrees.
by Michelle Higgins
As students find themselves saddled with telephone bills, textbook expenses and miscellaneous expenditures, credit card debt looms large as a challenge of student life.
With credit card solicitors outside the Marvin Center offering free T-shirts, prepaid calling cards and discounts on air travel, credit cards are a ubiquitous temptation.
by Annie Nguyen
When I went to check out the Program Board's latest effort to entertain the GW masses last Thursday at Lisner Auditorium, I wasn't sure who Bill Maher actually was. "Bill who? A host? For Politically what?" were my exact words. But persuaded to do something a little more "cultural" than the weekly frat party or the nightly bar stop, I collected the burdensome $10 and headed over to check out the funniest thing in D.C. since the Hippo was declared my class gift. (Hey freshmen, you may be starting off the new millennium, but we sophomores got George Washington's favorite river horse.)
My friends and I (a.k.a. Procrastinating Queens) waited to get tickets at the door, but to my surprise, the seats actually were pretty decent. We were in the front, to the far left of the stage. Though my neck is still sore from dodging my view around the interpreter for the hearing impaired, I could clearly catch every sparkle in Bill Maher's silver macram? shirt. Not a blazer and tie type of guy, he already caught my liberal interest.
by Chanler Langhamr
George Washington University has one of the most diverse campuses in the United States. We have students here from just about every state, and many countries around the world. We all have different backgrounds, cultures, religions, ideas and interests. Even when you walk down the streets of GW's campus, you rarely hear the same language spoken with each step you take. The University even markets our diversity and uses it to lure in prospective students. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why I came to study at GW.
Personally, I come from a small hick town south of Fort Worth, Texas and I thought I could use a little diversity. I thought that I could learn so much about myself if I could just get on a campus like GW. It is really amazing how many different kinds of people are here. And I must admit that Thurston Hall was an extremely interesting and diverse experience. But as time went on, my dreams of diversity began to fade away. I started realizing that GW has a special kind of diversity thatisn't much different from what I had back home in Texas.
by Brandon Moss
When I was first deciding what college to attend, I saw GW's recruitment video. One of the things I remember best about this video was that at the end, it showed Commencement on the Ellipse, and smiles on everyone's faces. How about this for the next video to send to prospective students - Commencement at the MCI Center and scornful and angry faces on all of the graduates.
When I was a little kid, one of the things my parents instilled in me was to never break a promise. Isn't telling prospective students (which we all were at one time) that we'll have graduation on the Ellipse more or less a promise? Wouldn't it then be unfair to break such a promise? Granted, the slap on the wrist or the warning from Mom and Dad wouldn't apply to this situation, but apparently GW has done what our parents told us not to do. After all, a promise is a promise, and graduation on the Ellipse follows suit.
by Scott Lauf
Save for the War of 1812, has America ever fought a "just war" for her real national interest? During America's last conflict in the Persian Gulf, Pat Buchanan aptly described Kuwait as "an oil company with a seat at the United Nations." It should have been obvious to most Americans that the war we were fighting over this tiny Arab fiefdom was not in America's national interest. Yet the war drums kept beating.
As chairman of GW's conservative Young Americans for Freedom in 1991, a patriotic naivet? overswept me as I led a weekly contingent of protesters to Lafayette Park. Our signs were blazing with "Turn Iraq Into Glass!" and "Kick Saddam's Ass!" Obviously, our real motivation for protesting was not for freedom and democracy in Kuwait; rather, we were incensed by the "anti-war" protesters chanting "No blood for oil!" In mature retrospect, I now realize I was on the wrong side.
by Tryg Olsen
November 10, 1997Dear President Trachtenberg:
I have lived at the GW for the last three years. I am an ordinary senior, majoring in philosophy. I will graduate on time this May. You have never met me, or anyone like me.
GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg recently went to Paul Junior High School, a public D.C. school, and made an offer to the seventh and eighth grade math class that they couldn't refuse. He promised them that if, at their completion of high school, they had the grades to be admitted to GW, their college tuition would be paid for by GW.
Trachtenberg's move is a welcome gesture. It shows that GW actually is playing a beneficial role in its community. The District of Columbia is in miserable shape. Many of the areas that are the local government's responsibility must try to survive with insufficient financial support. The most striking example is the D.C. public school system.
Saddam Hussein is back - and the world doesn't know what to do with him. The United States wants to punish him so that he will abide by United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Persian Gulf War. These sanctions allow U.N. inspectors to verify Iraq is not pursuing development of weapons of mass destruction. While the United States would prefer a diplomatic solution to end the stalemate, it has pointedly not ruled out the use of force. Just when the world thought it had nothing to worry about from Saddam, he's proved everyone wrong. Again.
Iraqi officials have prevented the U.N. inspection teams from carrying out their missions as long as the teams are comprised of a majority of Americans. The Iraqis also have interfered with U.N. cameras placed in suspected weapons development sites.
by Dave Mann
Deficiencies in rebounding, outside shooting and experience added up to last year's disappointing 15-14 season for the GW men's basketball team.
Heading into the 1997-'98 season, the Colonials appear to have solved these three problems.
by Matt Berger
Lisa Cermignano, Tajama Abraham and Colleen McCrea stood on stage at Commencement last May and were honored by the University and President Clinton.
Just six months later, the three senior standouts, who led a talented GW women's basketball team to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season, have left GW, entered the real world and are making names for themselves once again.
by Dan Stoeckel
Leadership and heart are two intangible aspects of athletics. The ability of a leader to motivate the entire team and bring the players to another level is a vital aspect of a winner.
This year, Shawnta Rogers and Alexander Koul will have their leadership skills put to the test as by the GW men's basketball team. Koul and Rogers will be looked to for leadership both on and off the court by a GW team that fell short of its goals last year.
by Dave Adler rr
He flies through the air with the greatest of ease - or at least he does when his knee is healthy. Fortunately for the GW men's basketball team, Darin Green's knee is finally healthy, and fans can once again expect to be riveted to the high-flying senior.
The Charlotte, N.C. native averaged just 10 minutes and 2.6 points a game last year. Green promises that his knee is healed, and his famed transition dunks already have rocked the Smith Center at GW's first preseason game.
by Jamie Lin
A year ago, GW women's basketball star Noelia Gomez was a stranger in a place she now calls home. Still thinking of her mother's cooking in Madrid, Spain, Gomez had no idea what was in store for her at GW.
Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Second team A-10 All-Conference Team. A-10 All-Rookie Team. A-10 All-Tournament Team. Her growing list of accolades goes along with being part of the first GW team to advance to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
by Matt Osborne
This season, the GW men's basketball team is hoping to get back tothe NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years. To do that, it must fight its way through one of the toughest conferences in college basketball - the Atlantic 10.
Here's how the conference breaks down (in The GW Hatchet's predicted order of finish):
by Dustin Goukerr
Going undefeated in any college basketball conference in any season is a special achievement.
GW's undefeated season in the Atlantic 10 Conference last year was one of those rare gems college basketball fans are allowed to witness.
by Dustin Goukerr
After the GW women's basketball team lost three of the greatest players in its history, the team figured it would have to work to earn the respect of the entire nation again.
Or maybe not. Ranked as high as 18th in the polls of several preseason publications, and with a good chance to be ranked when the Associated Press poll comes out next week, the Colonial women have been acknowledged coming into this season as a national powerhouse.
by Dustin Gouker
Lightning isn't supposed to strike the same place twice, let alone five times.
That's what happened this weekend, though, as the GW women's soccer team lost to Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the fifth straight year.
by Dave Mann
The GW men's water polo team fell just short of making its first NCAA Tournament this weekend, as the eighth-seeded Colonials finished in fifth place at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championships in Annapolis, Maryland hosted by Navy.
GW, competing in the Eastern Championships for the first time, needed three straight wins in the tournament to reach the NCAA Championships.
Monday: MBB vs. Around the World 7:30 p.m.*
Tuesday: no games scheduled
November
Wednesday 12 vs. Rossianka (ex) 7:00 p.m.Tuesday 18 at Georgetown 8:00 p.m.Saturday 22 vs. N.C. State 2:00 p.m.Wednesday 26 at U.C. Santa Barbara 7:00 p.m.Friday 28 at UCLA 7:30 p.m.
November
Monday 10 vs. Around the World (ex) 7:30 p.m.
by Maureen Benitz
The GW women's basketball team seeks to improve on an amazing performance last season with the help of newcomers. A solid group of first-year players look to add depth to the Colonial women and bring them closer to the NCAA Tournament.
Petra Dubovcova and Katarina Baskova both played for the Junior National Team in Slovakia. In July, their team won the bronze medal at the Junior Women's Championship in Brazil. Dubovcova is a 6-3 forward/center, while Baskova is a 6-0 forward.
by Clay Fisher
The arrival of three exciting newcomers should have an immediate impact on the GW men's basketball team in 1997-98.
Patrick Ngongba, who sat out last season for academic reasons, Antxon Iturbe, who played at one of the best high schools in the country, and Roey Eyal, a member of the under-22 Israeli National Team, all will be impact players, according to head coach Mike Jarvis
by Claire Duggan
Friday, Oct. 31
It's Halloween, and while many students may have a night of heavy partying planned, freshman Pat Ngongba most likely will take it easy.
Head coach: Joe McKeownninth season at GW (185-66, .737)
Elisa Aguilar #435-8 sophomore guardMadrid, SpainMember of Spanish National Team
Head coach: Mike Jarviseighth season at GW (128-81, .612)
Sam Anyan #246-5 197 sophomore guard/forwardBaltimore, Md.'96-'97:0.5 ppg 1.5 rpg
The 1997-'98 Basketball Preview
Below are the contents of the Basketball Preview
by Michelle Higgins
Bill T. Jones follows just the right formula in his latest work, complete with technical tricks and dramatic details. But the highlights of his show occur when the rules are broken.
"We Set Out Early ... Visibility Was Poor" is Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company's first full-length work since the celebrated "Still/Here" in 1994. While "Still/Here" is based on his personal experience of dealing with a terminal disease and evoked a range of emotions, "We Set Out Early" distances the audience with its use of abstract movements and objects.
by Lesly C. Hallman
When Busta Rhymes' first single from his new album, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" hit the radio, hip hop fans were concerned. It was phat, but was it real? Did Busta Rhymes fall victim to the lure of money, thinking that a style switch would boost his career?
Luckily, the answer is no. Busta Rhymes' new album, When Disaster Strikes (Flipmode/Elektra records) is real and tight. His style is new, but the wildness that hooked people back in the day is still there, with some crazy, new twists.
by Jane Chickr
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (Weisbach/Morrow) is a depressing, but sweet, book of poetry written and illustrated by Tim Burton.
Burton, a former Disney animator, is the creative genius behind the films Batman, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Melancholy is Burton's second book; his previous book, The Nightmare Before Christmas, became a feature film.
by Michelle Higgins
The newest GW comedy group may call itself Purely Coincidental, but it's far from PC.
Recess is no longer the only comedy group on campus. But the appearance of PC was hardly coincidental; founding the group took a lot of planning and hard work.
