Fix the technology

Jessica Rabinow, in her Sept. 11 Letter to the Editor (“Something for professors to learn,” p.5) laments the fact that problems with using technology in the classroom have disrupted her learning. I too regret this deeply. Especially unfortunate is the fact that technology capabilities in two of the five largest lecture halls on campus (Funger 103 and Funger 108) were not appropriately prepared for daily use when classes started. This means that literally over a thousand students daily are negatively affected.

However, Ms. Rabinow makes a false assumption that the equipment in classrooms is always ready to go and that it is the faculty’s lack of training that leads to the technology problems. This is not true. In my own case, I have been lecturing in Funger 103 for years using the technology every day. I can assure you the technology provided in this room has not been in ready working order in three of the first four lecture sessions this semester. This is unacceptable for students and for faculty.

-Maurice A. East
professor, Elliott School of International Affairs

Irrational fear

Graham Murphy, in his recent column (“Fear conservatives’ fears,” Sept. 8, p. 5), asserts that conservatives exploit irrational fears to win votes. In fact, liberal demagogues are the ones who most often cite “impending crises” as reasons to support their issues.
Shrill liberals often warn that Republicans want to chip away at things like abortion rights or affirmative action. But over the past decade, when conservatives have controlled both houses of Congress, the courts, and most recently the presidency, these sacred issues have remained largely untouched. Liberals would have you believe that conservatives want to rob you of your privacy, your rights and even your fun, but nobody can argue that this has actually happened.
As for the right dominating talk radio, I need to agree with the author. Does anyone think Al Gore could beat Bill O’Reilly during sweeps week?

-Matt Baer
junior

RHA involvement

The Residence Hall Association is looking for enthusiastic people to help catalyze life in the halls this year, and we hope for many to be involved with hall council.

During this year, GW students will have a unique opportunity to have a strong voice on campus. On September 22 and 23, hall elections will take place and each residence hall will have newly elected representation. Each hall council will develop and implement programming for philanthropic and social events, and the RHA is here to help with funding if groups apply for co-sponsorship.

I am going to act as the Housing Committee Chair for this year, where I will head up a selected number of RHA members who will meet weekly with administrators in CLLC. We already have numerous ideas for the upcoming housing selection, which is right around the corner. I encourage you to take an active voice on campus in shaping what will leave GW with over 30 residence halls in the next academic year.

Please feel free to stop by the RHA office in Marvin Center 415 to pick up information regarding this year’s campaign guidelines and petitions to be filled out. E-mail us anytime during the year with any questions you may have at [email protected]. I look forward to working with many of you in what looks to be a very promising year in the residence halls.

-Dan Miller
junior, vice president, Residence Hall Association.

Tri-state bias

A large part of the student body at GW is from the Northeast, specifically New Jersey and New York. Because the student body is the Hatchet’s target audience, it seems odd that the recent “Style” section blatantly insulted those of us from the tri-state area (“What a steal,” Sept. 8, p. 9) by stating, “We are not all Jersey princesses and kings of New England here at GW.” If those stereotypes were not offensive enough, the article goes on to tell students how and where to steal items from on or around campus, in order to save money. Taking toilet paper from Gelman library and free drinks from J Street are just two of the many suggestions found in this article on how to cheat the University out of free goods. As students take these items, they will need to be replaced. Who, may I ask, will be footing the bill? The Jersey princesses who actually pay full tuition to attend this school. And since style is born out of the tri-state, I should tell you that theft is definitely not in this season.

-Laura Heller
senior