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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

WEB EXTRA: A Dream Not Deferred: Local organization hosts event to expose students to art, change DC

This Saturday at 8 p.m. in the third floor Continental Ballroom of the Marvin Center, DreamCity, a youth-run organization, will be hosting an event entitled “Rep Where U Step.”

This event was designed to utilize hip-hop in order to expose GW students to the organization, while integrating the university with the city. In a recent interview with the Hatchet, co-founder John Muller explained that many GW students come to D.C. to experience the city, but they don’t experience the problems that are really occurring. “Students come to GW to come to school in Washington.to experience the monuments, the Smithsonian, the politics,” he said. “That’s fine, but at the same time, there’s art- there are other things going on here.”

The event, which will be hosted by 13-year-old Joseph “Joedy” Melson Jr., will not be just for members of the George Washington community, but also for middle school, high school and college students from the D.C./Metro area. Muller describes the event as “an opportunity for students to express themselves creatively through poetry and hip-hop and have the support of their peers”.

From 8:00-9:15 p.m., there will be an open mic, in which students and other members of the community are invited to perform their own poetry and rap and explore other artistic endeavors. Then, from 9:20-10:30 p.m., there will be a freestyle rap battle with music from D.C.’s own DJ Stylus. During the freestyle battle, one person will rap against an opponent, who then gives their rebuttal. The audience will decide the winner, and that person will continue on to face the next opponent, and so on. Prizes will be awarded to the overall winner. If you’re interested in participating, be sure to either contact Muller ([email protected]) or to arrive early- spots are already filling up.

DreamCity is a D.C. civic arts organization that was started by GW senior Muller and friend Justin McNeil in the winter of 2004. For such a new organization, they have already accomplished an impressive amount. The group does everything from expose D.C. youth to poetry through performances to help obtain scholarships for students. This summer, they created and performed a play entitled “The 70” about the 70 bus that runs through The District. They are currently seeking their official status as a non-profit organization. “Our ultimate goal is to empower our city, empower D.C., by bringing to life the stories that go untold”, recounted Muller. “Art is a means for our generation to take accountability and say ‘this is who we are, this is what we do’.as I see it, art is a method for our generation to address the problems in our society.”

While DreamCity currently has very few GW students, they are looking for dedicated and qualified students to get involved. If you are interested in participating, check out DreamCity’s website at http://www.dreamcity.org.

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