Serving the GW Community since 1904

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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Staff Editorial: Home at last

As renovations to the Mount Vernon Campus continue, the University will unveil the first of many new amenities in the coming weeks. The athletic facilities at the Foxhall Road campus will increase support for and the visibility of often-overlooked sports teams and should improve students’ opinion of MVC. Students returning in the fall should take full advantage of these fields and support teams crying out for fans.

During the summer, 11 new tennis courts, a soccer and lacrosse field, a softball stadium and “state of the art” locker rooms are slated to open, after months of construction delays. Some tennis courts will be enclosed in an inflated plastic bubble allowing them to be used year-round regardless of cold or wet weather. The soccer and lacrosse field is covered with a high-tech artificial surface that realistically simulates natural grass but demands less care.

These new facilities are sorely needed. As an urban university, GW has scarce resources for sports that demand large spaces. Add to that the high cost of real estate in the District and other pressing priorities such as residence hall construction and classroom space, and one can see the difficulty inherent in finding a home for many GW teams.

The MVC athletic complex offers a great opportunity for students to support sports that in the past rarely drew a crowd, due to the distance of competitions from Foggy Bottom. With a place to practice and compete, student-athletes can now feel a new sense of pride and appreciation for their efforts. Students can now watch a soccer game or a tennis match without travelling to rural Virginia or another university. GW can now encourage more students to visit and use the resources at Mount Vernon, hopefully moving a step closer to fully integrating both MVC and the Foggy Bottom campus.

With past delays in other construction projects at GW, though, administrators must work hard to ensure that the MVC project does not get delayed more. Rescheduling an athletic season is much more difficult than shuffling classes. If delays can be avoided, opening the facilities this summer will enhance student life and improve conditions for GW’s athletes.

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