Helping each other out

Over the course of the past three weeks, our student government has been marred by everything from burning posters, to fraudulent allegations of rape, to student apathy, to the way the elections are run. Programs intended for the common good of the student body have been overshadowed by these trivial and child-like events.

One program that has continued to shine, however, is the Student Association test and syllabus file. There have been more than 800 requests for a test or syllabus during the past year. Requests have ranged from Professor Trost’s economics test all the way to a graduate-level business exam. The SA has been excited to see the increased student interest in this program, but is somewhat troubled by the amount of tests we have in the office.

With all these things in mind, I would like to propose to the entire University community that we unite and help each other out. By increasing the SA test and syllabus file, we can prove that an SA program can run effectively while helping students during finals. It can also increase the communication between students and professors.

I urge professors and students to send in old exams, paper topics, notes and syllabi to Marvin Center room 424. For professors that don’t want to hand in old exams because they still might be using them, please feel more than welcome to send in a study guide a couple of days before the exam so that students aren’t calling you in the wee hours of the morning for lecture notes.

Let’s shy away from the words of criticisms generated by those who have lost in student elections or haven’t spent the time to actually research the things said in op-eds. By increasing the test and syllabus file, finals period will be a little less stressful for all of us.

-Lonnie Giamela
SA vice president for academic affairs

Shining the light on rape

The March 25 article “Rape victims stay silent, unsure where to turn,” (p. 11) addressed research on campus rape conducted by Naomi Hartman and Healey Sutton in my English 11 course, as well as my own research on this topic. I appreciate The Hatchet’s continued coverage of this issue that affects so many students. I would also like to make some clarifications.

The article states that Hartman “sent questionnaires to 35 women and 19 responded. Hartman found that 14 of the respondents wrote about incidents of sexual assault.”

It is important for the GW community to know that 12 of these 14 women responded that they had been sexually assaulted at GW, and two of the 14 women knew someone else who had been. None of these assaults were reported to University Police or Metropolitan Police.

The article also states, “Wilkerson said these reports . did not convey empirical evidence.” Both Hartman and Sutton’s primary research involved interviews with GW students about their personal experiences. These, along with Hartman’s survey, are indeed empirical work, although my own research is not.

It is more important than ever that the GW community work together to make GW a rape-free campus. Research like Naomi Hartman’s and Healey Sutton’s, as well as the attention The Hatchet has brought to the issue, can help students, faculty, staff and administrators work together toward this goal.

-Dr. Abby Wilkerson
department of English