Following a year of budget reductions higher than those in past years, the vice president of Student and Academic Support Services said that cuts could be worse in the future. The amount and frequency of budget cuts fosters a negative perception about GW administrators' ability to effectively plan for future students without adversely impacting our current campus community.
With the prospect of widespread Democratic victories in the November mid-term elections, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that her party would likely make higher education affordability a major priority if they take control of the House of Representatives.
Perhaps the most disappointing part of last week for me came when I read about the plans for George Mason and Georgetown universities' preseason basketball celebrations in The Hatchet ("Area schools beef up baskteball events, Oct. 5 p.1). The story reported that as both of those schools expand their season-opening events, GW administrators had no plans to introduce and promote our men's and women's teams for their 2006-2007 seasons.
Can you imagine a highly competitive higher education system without tuition fees, a university with free access for everyone? The thought might be farfetched around Foggy Bottom, but it is the reality in my homeland of Scandinavia, where tuition is free for all students.
Go one step further for Darfur Having created a scholarship to make it possible for a student from Darfur to come to GW is, as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur indicates, a good first step. But we cannot rest on our laurels. We should try to encourage other universities to put their money where their mouths are and establish similar opportunities.
Vol. 106
An Independent Student Newspaper
Serving The George Washington University Community Since 1904
