Serving the GW Community since 1904

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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Letters to the Editor

Rational requests hardly constitute begging

Gabriel Okolski’s charge that the College Democrats have “begged” for additional funding from the Student Association (“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Mar. 22, p. 4) is an unfair attack on our organization. Perhaps the writer is unaware of the substantial fundraising our group has done this year, raising hundreds of dollars to supplement our SA allocation.

Nonetheless, as the largest student organization on campus, why shouldn’t we seek the funding our organization deserves? The SA allocation procedure is like any other good political process: there is real debate and consideration of each group, based on their merit as an organization and the degree to which it contributes to student life.

If the SA Senate Finance Committee does not provide a group with the appropriate level of funding, organizations often appeal to the full Senate. That’s not begging – that’s democracy in action.

When the Finance Committee slashed our funding by 77 percent, we showed the Senate why we needed the additional support. We did not beg for money as the writer suggests, but rather made our case in a convincing way. We have used the additional funding effectively, bringing $25,000 worth of programming to campus and hosting James Carville and Mary Beth Cahill for only $4,500 of that money.

Outside fundraising is great, but let’s not attack student organizations for showing why they deserve appropriate funding from the SA.

-Michael Weil , Junior, Communications Director, GW College Democrats

The other side of Iraq protest story

I am writing in response to the article by Catherine Villnave entitled “March opposes Iraq War” (Mar. 22, p. 11). In the story, there is only a brief mention of the pro-troops rally, The Gathering Of Eagles. Nothing was mentioned about the mission of The Gathering Of Eagles, or the fact that they outnumbered the anti-war protestors.

It’s a shame that these proud veterans and supporters of our brave troops were not given the same coverage as the anti-war protestors. Many members of the latter group were advocating communism and others ideas that run counter to the anti-American ideals we all enjoy because of soldiers serving abroad.

One would think that The Hatchet would wish to give its readers the entire story about what happened in Washington, D.C., on March 17. The Gathering Of Eagles Web site gives pictures and another account of the protest that was lacking in the story. It can be viewed at www.gatheringofeagles.org.

-Terri Szendrodi

Arab student group has a holistic focus

During my interview with The Hatchet for the article “Arab group is reborn,” (Mar. 22, p. 7), I was asked how the Arab Student Association differentiates itself from Muslim Student Association, a cultural organization that promotes the “same things.” My answer was clearly misinterpreted, as the article incorrectly stated that the ASA does not promote Muslim beliefs and Islam.

This question shows blatant ignorance about differences between Muslims and Arabs. The fact that the person who asked not only goes to the George Washington University, but also reports for its major student newspaper to ask this question is surprising to say the least. Unfortunately, this reporter is not the only one to answer this question, and I do not blame her since some people never feel the need to get to know the rest of the world.

To clarify this particular misunderstanding, most Muslims are not Arabs, and not all Arabs are Muslim. Both the ASA and the MSA also have different goals. MSA is a religious organization that focuses on unity and joint action between Muslims and intends to introduce Islam to the rest of the community through educational programming, organizing prayers, events for Muslim holidays and much more.

The ASA does the same for the Arab culture and the Arab world. It mainly focuses on introducing culture and issues of the Arab world to the rest of the community and yes, part of our culture is religion. We actually promote everyone’s beliefs and all Arab religious beliefs (Islam, Christianity, Druze and even Judaism). I just wanted to make sure that this distinction was clear.

-Amal Daher, Senior, President, Arab Student Association

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