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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

Letters to the editor

Intelligent indulgence

National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week is October 15-21. Through a great deal of media focus as a result of numerous college student tragedies due to alcohol abuse, the subject of alcohol use among college students has taken center stage in the press and on the agendas of college presidents.

In the most recent CORE survey conducted at GW in the fall of 1999, 44 percent of GW students said they engaged in binge drinking in the previous two weeks. In addition, 83 percent of underage GW respondents consumed alcohol within the past 30 days. Furthermore, over 27 percent of GW students reported being involved in public misconduct – trouble with police, fighting/argument, DWI/DUI, vandalism – during the past year due to alcohol-related reasons. These statistics indicate that alcohol use and abuse is a serious issue on our campus just as it is on many campuses across the country.

Numerous campuses have been devastated by the recent death of a student due to alcohol, including Michigan State University, Duke University, the University of Texas and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

GW’s Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education (CADE) has embarked upon a year-long campaign to raise campus awareness of student alcohol use and abuse issues and to make the community aware of CADE’s programs and resources. Faculty, staff, students, administration, student organizations, community members and the student press all impact and are affected by the campus culture relative to alcohol and must take a stance on this issue as a collective community. I encourage all of us to make responsible choices and to be accountable for our actions.

GW students should enjoy the college years safely, as these will likely be remembered as the best times in your life. As you enjoy the freedoms of college life, including its social aspects, I challenge you to make intelligent decisions for yourself relative to how your behavior impacts those around you. You are privileged to attend one of the top universities in the country, and your futures will be promising as a result. Help the University maintain its tradition and reputation as a safe, enjoyable place to live and learn.

-Brian F. Hamluk
manager, Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education

Red Sox reply

I just want to thank Dave Smith for writing an inspiring and invigorating piece about the one and only Olde Towne Team (Beantown boy bashes Yanks, Oct. 10). Dave, you’ve captured the heart of Red Sox Nation, and I am proud to read your writing and join with you in fervent expectation.

Thank you for standing up as a beacon of light amidst an apparently Yankee-swamped University. Thank you for keeping hope alive, and encouraging others to press on. This fan will cherish your words for a long time. I look forward to the day we will celebrate together. Until then, Yankees suck! Go Sox (and Mariners in 2000)!

-Dan Bryan
Harvard University

Race wild card?

In the Oct. 10 edition of The Hatchet, Atif Qarni, a Pakistani gentleman, wrote how he despised it when someone called him Arab or Indian (Ethnic error). Tell me, Mr. Qarni, now that you consider yourself an American, are you a northern yankee aristocrat, a southern confederate gentleman, a western surfer-dude cowboy or an east coast gangster/businessman?

-Eric Marlow
Gelman Library media resources

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