Same old Gelman

I noticed your “thumbs down” for the Gelman Library and its “club” atmosphere. I received a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from GW in 1986, and it appears nothing has changed in 20 years.

Back then, you could get no serious studying done in the “fishbowls” on the fourth, fifth or sixth floors; you had to go to the “stacks.” With desks that were enclosed on three sides (but connected to each other), some studying could be accomplished. However, it would not take long before a friend would find you, stop by and eventually convince you that there were better things to do.

I do not recall anyone actually “guaranteeing” that you could study there, but I do remember it being an essential part of my experience at GW.

-Michael A. Berson, alumnus

Taking too long

I would like to express my discontent with the University’s handling of Student Association President Audai Shakour’s sexual harassment and assault case.

While it is always good news to hear that a fellow student is not going to be suspended or expelled, it is disappointing to hear it weeks too late. This case made news before Thanksgiving break, but news of Shakour’s exoneration came more than a month later.

I think it is disappointing that any judicial case would take that long, especially one involving a public figure at GW. We deserved a quicker resolution in this situation because it bogged down the Student Association, diminished student faith in the SA, diverted the attention of the SA Senate and halted much of Shakour’s work. This was in no way good for the University, the SA or the student body.

I hope that Student Judicial Services and the GW administration will work to expedite such processes in the future.

-Randy Perillo Jr., sophomore

Hobbs’ reality

As an avid GW basketball fan, I am just as excited as the next Colonial about the talent and potential on this year’s squad. And, like most fans, I enjoy attending the games and seeing Coach Hobbs get fired up on the sidelines. But how exactly does the much-trumpeted (and highly compensated) Hobbs feel about the team?

After the team’s first and (so far) only loss to N.C. State, Hobbs was quoted in The Washington Post on Dec. 31 as saying, “I don’t have the same expectations that the media has of us, therefore I don’t look at…(the loss) like (a missed opportunity). … We’re a program that’s clearly overachieving, that’s what we are. I like the fact that people are trying to make us out to be more than that, but we’re a program that’s overachieving.”

OK, great, Coach. Thanks for reminding us that you think your team is much worse than the rest of the country and that you expect much less of them. But what about the overtime win against St. Louis?

Again in The Post, addressing fans that booed GW’s poor first half outing: “I think…(the fans) tend to forget that every game is going to be like this, we’re not going to win every game, we’re going to have moments where we’re just not going to play well,” Hobbs said later. “I think people are over-assessing who we are at this point.”

Granted, booing is not a good way to inspire a team, but neither is a coach saying that he expects his team is going to underachieve and lose. Maybe he can give fans a heads up on the games he thinks they’ll lose and we can save ourselves the time and frustration and just skip them. This goes up there with the comments he made last season about not having NBA-caliber players.

Guess what, Coach? You may not believe in your team, but the fans do. We see talent and potential the likes of which haven’t been seen at the Smith Center in more than a decade. So perhaps the coach can try to muster some enthusiasm and confidence in his team. Maybe that will give them the boost to achieve what most of us know they can. If not, maybe he can at least use some of his fat salary to hire a PR representative and spare us his pessimism.

-Anna Cressman, alumna