What has our University become? Four years ago I came to GW with a promise of unparalleled opportunities. The phrase Something Happens Here not only referred to a student’s campus prospects but the use of the entire District as its extended classroom. At the time, we were the largest and brightest class to ever enter GW. Just one week after classes began, we were vaulted in to the top tier of universities, prompting administrators to wear GW is #46 buttons around campus during Parents Weekend.
How the times have changed. Four years later, students sit on the floor in class, and if they are lucky, it’s in a real classroom. Space in J Street is tight at best, and housing is a rare find both on and off campus. I remember when my roommate and I would go to a gathering at the crew house, which stood in a row of now-leveled historic townhouses. And there was a kid who went by Q who worked tirelessly to forge meaningful community relations.
That GW is changing is an understatement. Indeed, not all change has been for the worst; Chick-Fil-A is definitely better than the undercooked chicken that used to exist in its space. However, there is a disturbing trend. Enrollment continues to expand and GW continues to plummet in the rankings.
So who’s happy? We know that the student’s aren’t; they have trouble getting classes, finding places to live and have seen their tuition skyrocket. We know the community isn’t; more students with little increase in housing means higher rents for everyone. We know the faculty isn’t; they wrestle with increasing enrollment and few additional faculty positions.
The things to make GW a top-tier institution are non-existent in this campus plan. The University currently has all of the ingredients to a recipe for success. If GW accepts fewer students, the acceptance rate will drop, the class size and faculty-student ratios will decrease, our students will be even brighter and GW will again rise to the top tier. Our education will increase in value possibly leading to higher starting salaries for post-graduation jobs. It is not difficult to see the immediate tangible benefits of this in terms of academics and quality of life.
The administration wants to continue the current trend for another 10 years. They will have even more students sitting on the floor in classrooms. They will tear down more historic townhouses where students live. More students will live in study halls and hotel rooms. The cumulative effect is a decrease in the value of a GW education and the quality of life in Foggy Bottom. The last 10 years have allowed the University to do whatever it wants, whether beneficial for the University community or not. GW is part of our city, not the other way around. Now is the time to constrain the irresponsibility of GW’s administrators. Now is the time to help make GW a world-class educational institution in the new millennium.
-The writer is a GW graduate (BBA `00, MS `00) and a commissioner of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
