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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Growing pains

The GWorld card saga continues. After an angry student reaction to the GWorld card office’s decision to force students to pay – with cash, check or credit card – for Mick’s employee mistakes, administrators have relented. Students will indeed be able to pay off last semester’s meals at the off-campus restaurant with meal plan points. Hallelujah! It seems that the University administration listened to students and made the right decision. Was the whole episode somehow the result of El Ni?o?

At the same time the GWorld card office announced its benevolence, it also informed everyone that four new eateries (World Gourmet, The Burro, DJ’s Fastbreak and Capitol Grounds) will join the GWorld universe by April. By next year, returning students will find a greatly expanded GWorld. At least 10 off-campus eateries will be part of the program, as well as all residence hall laundry facilities, the GW Bookstore, all University library copiers and GW parking. A market coordinator will be hired to further expand GWorld by enticing off-campus merchants to sign on. Yet some caution is necessary.

GWorld’s credibility is in tatters. It was announced with much fanfare, only to get bogged down in technical and human problems that its supporters told everyone would not happen. Now the system is being touted as “fool-proof,” but is it also “GW proof”? Students have suffered a significant loss of faith in GWorld. It was supposed to revolutionize the way GW students lived, but it came up a bit short. The GWorld office needs some serious public relations damage control.

The outcome of the Mick’s snafu does boast several benefits for students. First, students did not have to pay for the mistakes of others. This is a welcome departure from past GW bureaucratic decisions. Second, hopefully the experiences have taught the GWorld folks how to improve their system and their dealings with GW students. Finally, with the GWorld card office making the right decision, it deprived all election contestants an issue to latch themselves onto and exploit for their benefit as much as possible. The GWorld deities seem to have responded to students’ pleas. This, in addition to the relatively low tuition increase, makes us ask if wonders will ever cease? Must be El Ni?o.

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