Thurston fire leads to review of hall’s safety
More than three months after a fire charred a ninth-floor room in Thurston Hall and left a freshman badly burned, the University is still evaluating a response to ensure safety in the building.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
News Briefs
'Crossfire' ends run at GW Incoming freshmen and their families excited to see the famed screaming matches on CNN's "Crossfire" will be disappointed after the show's recent cancellation leaves a void in one of Colonial Inauguration's must-see events. The show, one of cable television's longest-running programs and the first debate show of its kind, made its final broadcast June 4.
Ten tips for a useful CI
Colonial Inauguration is GW's jam-packed freshman orientation for the class of 2009. With almost 40 events planned over a three-day schedule, the CI Web site asks "Fact or fiction: It doesn't matter if I skip CI events." The site says fiction, but The Hatchet says fact.
The best of the crime report
Each week, The Hatchet meets with University Police officials and compiles a crime log listing student crimes and misdemeanors that UPD and other authorities respond to throughout the week. Some are bizarre, others serious - perhaps you'll make it in the log as the freshman who entered Thurston covered in vomit.
Editorial: Issue overview
As the newest members of the GW community, freshmen and their parents should be aware several hot-button issues that will affect the next few years of your lives. Strained faculty and administration relations Two integral parts of the University, the faculty and administration, have been at odds recently over a number of issues.
Column: Escape from fantasy land
Before you even arrive at GW, you were bombarded with acronyms, dichotomies and inconsistencies. You are told that "Something happens here," but when you arrive at Colonial Inauguration to the singing and dancing Colonial Cabinet, you wonder if this is what happens here, and if so, what the hell are you doing here?
Column: Choose your own GW
My memories of Colonial Inauguration are as potent as the marijuana smoke that greeted me when I opened the door to my orientation room assignment. I had just parted ways with my mother in the Thurston lobby, already wary of spending two and a half days trying to get a handle on this school.
Column: A University blueprint
Starting off in college is comparable to having a hangover: it's a little rough at first, but you hope it was all worth it. However, to make sure you are ready to handle it, I have compiled a few key terms and issues to make sure you're up to speed from day one.
Freshmen to get big taste of the Vern at CI
Some love it, others avoid it like the plague. Why is there a mixed opinion of the Mount Vernon Campus, why do some embrace the little GW located on Foxhall Road northwest of Georgetown, and why do some hate it? The University acquired the former women's college in 1998 and now houses more than 400 mostly freshman residents there.
Professors use D.C. as teaching tool
Professor Michael Shanahan's Washington Reporting class incorporates interviewing a congressman, listening to a congressional hearing and visiting the House Press Gallery on Capitol Hill in its curriculum. Professor Robert Shepherd's Honors Sociocultural Anthropology course requires students to do social science fieldwork at various Smithsonian museums.
Intriguing freshmen: GW rookies who made a difference
Four years fly - it might be enough time to earn a degree, but it's not enough time for many students to accomplish everything they want to at school. But these four students, who were all freshmen last year, know how to take advantage of their time at GW.
Dorms vary from quiet to party central
by Elizabeth Wozobski Hatchet Staff Writer Freshmen attending Colonial Inauguration this summer will get their first taste of GW dorm life and possibly decide to change their housing preferences. The University offers incoming freshmen the opportunity to change which dorm they would like to spend their first year in after orientation to give them a chance to look at all options and meet potential roommates.
D.C. Neighborhoods
Students come to GW for many reasons: a desire to intern on the Hill, aspirations of medical school, visions of a powerful post-graduate job on K Street or just the awesome maid service in freshman dorms. What they all have in common, though, is an appreciation for Washington, D.
GW has a group for any taste
For the aspiring thespians and musicians of this freshman class, Colonial Inauguration is more than just an opportunity to meet new people - it's a chance to scope out the hottest performing arts groups to join. There are dozens of options for prospective actors, singers, comedians and arts lovers of all types, and these groups are all eager for new talent.
Last year in review
September 2004 Mount Vernon shuttle bus plagued by fire, accidents A Mount Vernon shuttle suffered a severe fire and another overran a barrier within a week of each other in September 2004. A third bus was evacuated due to smoke in April 2005. Following a first evacuation due to a strange noise on Sept.
GW Dictionary: Learn a new language
Freshmen starting their first year at GW will have to learn a new language when they arrive on campus in August. New students will be hit with a variety of acronyms, sayings and nicknames that will undoubtedly confuse them for the first few weeks or even months.
Roommate search: Finding the right one
When then-incoming freshman Sam Buchbinder called his assigned roommate, Chad Harlan, last summer, both students were concerned at the end of their 10-minute conversation. "I thought he was one of the weirdest kids I'd ever talked to," Buchbinder said of Harlan.
“What’s the deal with …” CI Cabinet fashion?
They all smile. They all give directions around campus. They all clap and cheer during the laser light show. And they all match. Ever wonder what the deal is with what the Colonial Inauguration Cabinet members are wearing? Assistant director for orientation Renee Clement Baldwin said it's important for the cabinet members to have standard attire.
Solve the course quandry
For the sea of rising freshmen attending Colonial Inauguration, perhaps no task is as daunting as selecting a class schedule for the fall semester. With no knowledge of GW's professors and minimal guidance from upperclassmen, CI attendees will be codifying four months of their life cold.
Chicago hosts hopefuls
Editor's note: The following article was posted on The Hatchet's Web site in early June as part of its coverage of the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago. The draft takes place (or took place, depending on when this is read) June 28.
Varsity Sports Guide
Fall Season Soccer The men's and women's soccer squads play at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex, just a short shuttle ride up the Whitehurst Freeway. The men's team won the Atlantic 10 title last year and beat the University of North Carolina to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Column: GW is home for sports fans
On behalf of the GW community, come support your team. There is nothing like hearing 5,000 screaming Colonial fans scream "you suck" to an opposing player.
Professional sports fans revel in D.C.
Washington, D.C., professional sports went through its version of the Dark Ages from 1999 through 2004. The District had been devoid of a baseball team since 1971, and more recently, all the beltway teams struggled to even break .500 as the playoffs became a memory of years past.
