Counting Crows to play Smith Center
Rock band Counting Crows will play at the Smith Center Oct. 27 as part of their “Hard Candy” tour promoting the album of the same name.
The concert will feature an appearance by Dallas band Graham Colton. Graham Colton opened for John Mayer at the Smith Center last week.
Counting Crows were slated to perform last year but canceled because of scheduling conflicts. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster for $35.
-Alex Kingsbury
Metro Connection celebrates first year
Mayor Anthony Williams and the District’s Congressional Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton were both on hand Wednesday as the Georgetown Metro Connection celebrated its first year in service.
The blue shuttle buses, designed to accommodate employees, residents and visitors to Georgetown’s bustling commercial district, now transport more than 4,000 passengers a day and have tallied more than one million passengers last year.
Norton, who sits on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called the service that links Georgetown with Foggy Bottom, Rosslyn and Dupont Circle a model program for other transportation-starved communities.
Buses leave every 10 minutes from the Metro stops and various locations in Georgetown and cost 50 cents each way.
Ken Gray, executive director of the Georgetown Partnership, called it a “fast, frequent, inexpensive option to get employees to work.”
The GW community has also been instrumental in the success of the Georgetown Metro Connection.
“Outside of the communal population, the single largest user population is based at George Washington University,” Gray said, “It’s overwhelmingly (used by) the GW community and we appreciate that.”
-Emily Green
Masons dedicate Elliott School cornerstone
In a one hundred-year-old tradition, the Grand Lodge of D.C. Masons laid a cornerstone at the new Elliott School of International Affairs building at a ceremony Thursday. The symbolic ceremony precedes the official grand opening of the building, which is set to take place later this Fall.
The Masons conducted the ceremony in front of about 150 GW community members. The traditional square cornerstone is used to show the foundation to be “well-formed, true and trusty,” University officials said.
The new building, at 1957 E St., represents the next step in accelerating growth for GW, officials said.
University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg and Elliott School Dean Harry Harding spoke at the ceremony.
“I was very impressed and very moved by the ceremony,” Harding said.
“(The new building) is a milestone in the evolution of one of the finest International Affairs schools in the United States.”
Grand Master of the ceremony, Robert Starr, explained the use of various symbolic tools in the Masonic cornerstone ceremony.
A trowel represents unity, a square gives the greatest support to the building and a level symbolizes equality.
Starr dedicated the cornerstone to the students of GW and the ESIA, saying it represents truth and morality.
“The future leaders of this nation and the world will be among those who walk through the doors of this new building,” he said.
The final tool used in laying the cornerstone was the same gavel used by George Washington in dedicating the U.S. Capitol September 18, 1793.
Other speakers included University Marshall Jill Kasle, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Charles Manatt and Donald Lehman, vice president for academic affairs.
It expands inadequate former Elliott School space in Stuart and Lisner Halls. The residence hall half, which houses 193 students, was completed earlier this summer for move-in last week. The classroom and office portion will not be complete until October.
Students in attendance said they are excited about the $72 million building.
“For the first time, all aspects of the Elliott School will be consolidated into one building,” ESIA sophomore Victoria Mitchell said.
-Kathryn Collora
GW, Smithsonian to host Walter Cronkite
GW is teaming up with Smithsonian Associates to present “A Conversation with Walter Cronkite: The Most Trusted Man in America,” Sunday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. in Lisner Auditorium.
Cronkite will discuss his career, including his 1944 coverage of the D-Day landing for United Press International. Cronkite is best known for anchoring CBS Evening News for 19 years.
Michael Freedman, vice president for communications at GW and a former general manager of CBS Radio Network, will interview Cronkite as part of the 75th anniversary of CBS.
The anniversary celebration also includes America Through the CBS Eye, a photo exhibit on display in the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery in the Media and Public Affairs building. The display is open Sept. 3 to Oct. 18.
-Amanda Mantone
Officials hand out bikes to promote health
Dining Services and the Student Activities Center gave five freshmen “all purpose mountain bikes” for the first time at the beginning of this semester. The prizes were given out so first-year students could realize the connection between healthy eating and fitness as soon as they arrived on campus, according to officials.
The winners were drawn from a raffle, “Ticket to Ride,” at the five Colonial Inaugurations this summer.
The five winners are Alex Keller, Abhisake Kole, Carolina Rios, Billy Sage and Scot Wilson.
Students said they hope handing out bicycles will be a “step in the right direction” in increasing healthy living on campus.
Junior Darby O’Donnell said promoting fitness by handing out exercise equipment was a “good idea,” but she wishes J Street would add more healthy choices to its menu.
-Julie Gordon
