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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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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Letters to The Editor

A lesson from 9/11
Gary Livacari’s Sept. 22 article (“GW above the ideological fray,” p. 5) is a testament to the efforts of GW to honor the victims and heroes of September 11 with respect and solidarity. In addition, we sought to remind our campus and community of the horrendous effects of terrorism and demonstrate why we must remain vigilant in our fight against this threat.

The “blame America first” movement on display at Cornell University (but certainly not limited to that campus alone) must be confronted for its lack of knowledge and insight into the distorted ideologies that drive jihad terrorists and methods to combat them. These terrorists believe Islamic civilization is at war with the entire Western civilization and its way of life.

A lesson from September 11 we cannot fail to remember is that we must defeat terrorists abroad before they strike us again at home. We maintain the right to defend ourselves against this real and growing threat.

Tyler Rounding
senior, director of GW’s
September 11 memorial

Dirty politics
As a Democrat frustrated with the Bush administration, I can relate to James Scott Gilbreath’s disgust with Republican policies and practices (“Passage of voucher bill stinks of politics,” Sept. 22, p. 4). However, I think Gilbreath and many others on both sides of the political spectrum make the mistake of thinking that it is only the opposing party that is full of dirty politicians. To say “Republicans hate democracy” is pure partisanship.

A look at what Democrats have done in the past would probably lead Gilbreath to come to the same conclusion. Politicians from both parties let campaign donations and reelection hopes guide their decisions; just think of how many of the Democrats voted for the war in Iraq and only now will denounce it. Until we set aside partisanship and focus on cleaning up American politics, politicians in both parties will continue to disappoint us.

Cassandra Good
senior

Wireless for Macs
I was heartened to read the front-page article in the Sept. 18 edition detailing recent GW initiatives regarding wireless Internet access (“University to broaden wireless Internet access”). This is a crucial step for GW if it desires to remain on top of current technological developments. However, there is a major weakness in GW’s current stance on wireless Internet access. Macintosh users are currently locked out of the University’s wireless network because there is no client software available for the Macintosh. Since there are many users on campus that have Macs, making GW’s wireless network Mac-compatible should be a priority for the University.

Phil Thomas
junior

Benefits of Crossfire
A student-run television station is an excellent topic for discussion and one that has been talked about in many circles within the University over the last few years. The initiative by the students behind GW-TV.com is to be applauded and perhaps will serve as a catalyst for a bon-a-fide student television channel on the cable service.

At the same time, it is a stretch to compare the University’s unique partnership with CNN to the student initiative or to suggest that student involvement in “Crossfire” is not beneficial, (“GW holds back student-produced TV,” Sept. 25, p. 4).

Yes, students take tickets. They also check bags and greet the audience. Once the live program begins, some GW students are also part of the production crew, running the lights, working the soundboard and assisting the camera operators. They are also in CNN’s production truck observing the producers and technical staff go through the sometimes hair-raising experience of creating live television. So the student experience truly runs the gamut of putting on a program, from the fundamentals of event management to the technical details of television production.

This past summer’s special course offering in TV talk show production taught by the senior executive producer of Crossfire also served as an excellent academic and enrichment opportunity for students.

Over the past 18 months, GW has hosted more than 350 live Crossfire broadcasts and has welcomed over 60,000 people to the Jack Morton Auditorium, many of them students from GW and dozens of other universities. And we are most proud of the more than 100 GW students who have served as volunteers, interns and paid employees. These telecasts have resulted in unprecedented positive global visibility for the University and have allowed GW students to weigh in on major issues in the news on a daily basis.

GW remains the only university in the nation with such a partnership and it should be sustained and nurtured while students continue to push for their own student cable operation.

Bob Ludwig
GW Interim Director of Media Relations

The Golden Rule
Rush Limbaugh has a golden rule: No Democrat is right, no Republican is wrong. From columnist James Gilbreath we have the reverse. In his Sept. 22 article on the school voucher bill (“Passage of voucher bill stinks of politics,” p. 4) Gilbreath does not even address the topic of school vouchers (because it is “boring”). Instead, the entire article is one large rant against Republicans, blaming seemingly every possible evil squarely on the GOP. Instead of proving any of his accusations, he points out “I wouldn’t trust a Republican to baby-sit my pet fish.” Thanks for the heads up. Let us hope next time Gilbreath can address the facts and not simply condemn readers to partisan ranting.

David Bratslavsky
sophomore

Misrepresenting Coleman
Katie Rooney’s article about Norm Coleman’s address to the College Republicans Tuesday night, (“GOP Senator defends file sharers,” Sept. 25, p. 3) misrepresented the Minnesota senator’s stance on AIDS funding. She wrote Coleman “treaded the Republican Party line, calling for…more money to fight AIDS in developing countries.”

While Coleman identified AIDS in Africa as a horrendous problem, he cited it only as an example of all the good things government could be doing – but that tackling problems such as these would raise taxes too much. Indeed, increased funding for AIDS in developing countries is hardly the Republican Party line – President Bush squashed recent Democratic efforts to contribute an additional $1 billion to the cause.

Rooney also failed to mention the only time the audience applauded a specific comment by Coleman: after he spoke out against the legalization of gay marriage and civil unions.

Jason Hipp
freshman

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