Not only has The Hatchet increased its profile in the community by moving into a more prominent building on campus, but its news staff also has shed the confines of the University, reporting on stories that affect the GW community and Foggy Bottom.

Instead of just covering Student Association elections, The Hatchet covered Marion Barry’s comeback in the District mayoral primaries with reporters and photographers covering the Nov. 6 elections.

The biggest conflict between the residents of Foggy Bottom and the school have been over new construction in the area. The University is planning a new residence hall, a new exercise facility, a $10-15 million renovation of the Marvin Center and a new communication center from where WETA, a local public television station, will broadcast its PBS shows.

In addition to these construction projects, the University hospital is planning a new outpatient clinic across from the hospital as part of a $90 million renovation.

Though the University and a few local residents may not agree, GW has been more than involved in the area. While Georgetown was unable to continue its support of the Washington Area Poison Control Center, the medical center has taken this service under its wing.

Medical school professor Steven Eastaugh ran for Congress in the 1st District of Maryland but lost a close race in the Democratic primary.

As tuition continues an upward spiral (it increased 6.9 percent last year and is expected to increase at least another 4 percent to 5 percent this year), The Hatchet has looked into financial issues affecting the University.

University professors are expecting a 3.5 percent increase in pay, while the student services division has increased its contributions to the University general fund. Though not a budget cut, housing is contributing more than $3 million to other areas of the school this year, and the Marvin Center is contributing another half million. The student service division is spending the year evaluating its function, aiming to increase its efficiency.

The Hatchet has also broadened coverage of the University itself, including stories exploring several key administrative jobs, including interviews with GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg on the financial aspects of running the University, and Vice President for Academic Affairs Roderick French on managing 1,300 faculty and all the academic courses.

This year is the third year of record freshman attendance, putting strains on many University departments. The University has rented out half of a luxury apartment building to help ease the housing woes.

Though crime has been down in our area, the GW community has experienced the danger of living in the Washington area. A graduate student was murdered for her Ford Explorer in a seemingly safe Crystal City, Va., suburb two weeks ago. Over the summer a GW secretary was stabbed to death in her apartment.

Though both murders were off campus, two separate cases of armed robbery have taken place near the Medical School and Milton Hall.

A bouquet of speakers have graced GW, including first ladies Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan in a series of former White House women discussing their lives.

The National Center for Communication Studies has welcomed many journalists and politicians to speak including the managing editor of The Times of India, and former presidential candidates Jesse Jackson and George McGovern. Both PBS and CNN have aired panel discussions from the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre.