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: We wanna ride

After a two-year hiatus, the Freshman Block Party returns to the Quad Saturday, but with a change – upperclassmen will not be allowed to eat the free food or enjoy the carnival rides. While we applaud the freshmen for putting together a great event with a better band than even the Program Board has managed in awhile, we have one humble request: Let us ride.

With as much money as the Program Board and Student Association have, it is puzzling why the intelligent students at GW cannot figure out a way to have an all-inclusive celebration. Did the SA spend too much money on referenda last semester? Didn’t PB save money by not getting a big-name concert this year? Where exactly are these thousands of dollars available for co-sponsorship going if one of the only big celebrations on campus can’t afford to hand out a few extra hot dogs?

Because of the April 16 protests two years ago and a lack of organizations last year, the junior and sophomore classes never participated in block parties. This year’s freshmen should be commended for getting their act together, but we ask that they find a way to spread the $20,000 they got from groups including PB and the Residence Hall Association to their elders.

It will be unrealistic to check every student at the entrances of the Quad to make sure they are of age. It may bring freshman ironic bliss to celebrate their status as minors, but we’re sure students with more than a year’s experience in college will figure out a way to bum a free meal anyway. A better solution is take a few more dollars out of that huge executive SA budget or vastly unused PB concert budget and treat some old-timers to some barbecue.

At a campus where there is only a handful of events in which students from all classes can interact, it would show great maturity and generosity from freshmen organizers to allow everyone in on the fun. While lines for rides may be longer, it will be a sign of a strong turnout and will encourage more students to participate in future years.

With a 20-minute performance by Redman and a cancellation of the Counting Crows, GW students are due for a concert act on the Quad. With Strangefolk performing, students of all classes should be able to enjoy one of the few times a strong band comes to campus. Let’s celebrate it with some refreshments, too.

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