While I no longer live on campus, I still wish to voice my discontent with GW closing its residence halls. I believe this policy should be reversed immediately.

Regardless of where you live, travel home is expensive. Roundtrip airfare to and from my home in Massachusetts is about $150. This does not include the costs of getting to and from the airport. This is no small sum, especially considering the cost of a GW education. Plus, the cheapest fares are no longer offered inside the three weeks before one books a flight. This gives students no time to make a reservation. Also, many students live on the West Coast. How are these people supposed to get home?

Perhaps part of the reason for this draconian measure is fear of something happening during the protests. Yet somehow GW students made it through the protests in 2000 with no problems. Why then is it necessary to inconvenience students to the point of kicking them out of residence halls they paid to live in?

Maybe the saddest part of this policy is the effect on GW itself. Part of the allure of coming to this University is that students live in the middle of politics. One cannot escape world events with our campus located so centrally. Why is GW closing its doors to students and preventing them from experiencing what could be the biggest political event of the year?

One of GW’s biggest selling points is the ability for students to experience events like these protests. Hiding students from these events robs them of the very reason they came to GW and makes a lie of the slogan “Something happens here.”

I remind administrators it is not too late to change their policy.

-Eric Benson,
senior