Water leak shuts down J Street
J Street food service shut down Friday when construction workers ruptured a water line while working on Marvin Center renovations.
At about 1 p.m. workers hit a water line leading to the Marvin Center, as they drilled to place a caisson 80 feet in the ground that would provide a foundation for the 21st Street addition, University Construction Manager Warren Yaun said.
University officials asked the city to shut off water service to the Marvin Center, which forced J Street to close because employees could not wash their hands, said Mike Brown, head of Marvin Center operations.
Provisions Market remained open, and students were directed to Thurston Hall for lunch and dinner, Brown said.
Workers placed a temporary clamp on the pipe by 5 p.m., but another break was discovered after the water was turned back on, Brown said. After additional work, another clamp was installed by 10 p.m. and the work was complete by 10:45, Brown said.
J Street reopened Saturday.
“This is a minor incident, and the Marvin Center construction is still set to be completed by April 2002,” Brown said.
-Mosheh Oinounou
Extreme Games hit Quad
ZILO Networks kicked off its Extreme Teams College Games at GW Wednesday afternoon. Students tossed Frisbees, scaled a rock-climbing wall and maneuvered scooters through an obstacle course on the Quad. Winners with the best times in each event received $100 cash prizes, Baby-G watches and Razor scooters.
GW Law School student Jason Williamson said he skipped class Wednesday to compete with five friends in a televised obstacle course against a team from University of Maryland.
“If we win, we each get $100 and over $2,000 in prizes,” Williamson said.
ZILO Networks is a multi-platform entertainment source that targets college students using television networks, the internet and live events.
“MTV targets the teenyboppers, VH1 targets an older crowd. There is no programming for an 18-24 age group,” ZILO President Campbell McLaren said.
CEO and cofounder David Isaacs said he helped start the company to target college audiences.
“Campbell and I have been partners for seven years thinking of new sources of entertainment for college students,” he said.
Monica Jara, ZILO director of communications, chose GW as the first school on the Extreme Team College Games tour.
“GW is in the middle of a college town and a great city,” Jara said. “It was the perfect place to start the tour.”
Laura Lifshitz, who worked with MTV’s “Say What Karaoke” and Total Request Live, served as the master of ceremonies for the event.
“It is about time college students had entertainment catering to their interests,” Lifshitz said.
Sponsorship from General Motors R*Works Pontiac made the event free to students.
“It is an opportunity to get involved with students in an atmosphere they’re comfortable in,” GM representative Andy Schopps said.
-Danielle Sheer
New group manages student complaints
Anyone with a beef about a student group on campus will find a new channel to voice their concerns next year. The Student Association will form the Student Advisory Board to forward student comments to groups, said freshman Josh Hartman, the board’s executive director.
SA President-elect Roger Kapoor chose Hartman to work on planning the committee during the SA elections.
The organization includes the executive director, two members each from the Program Board and the Residence Hall Association and one member each of the SA and the Marvin Center Governing Board. The chair will appoint two representatives from other student groups to complete the nine-member board.
“We foresee that these are the main organizations that people will have issues with, so we would like to have the organizations represented so the issues can be heard directly by a member of the organization.” Hartman said. “If an issue arises from an organization (that a member is from), whether it be positive or negative, then they would know the right people to speak to in (their) organization.”
The board will hold bimonthly meetings open to students, staff and faculty members. The board will act as an arbiter for students and the groups, to assist students who may not feel comfortable addressing problems with the groups directly, Hartman said.
The committee will write letters to the heads of the organizations notifying them what students said.
“We are not mediators,” Hartman said. “We are just letting the students concerns be heard where they need to be heard.”
The Student Advisory Board will replace the Student Advocacy Service, a current service of the SA in which students e-mail comments about student groups. Hartman said the board will be more efficient than the previous system.
-Ilyssa Trussel
