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

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

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

Corrections, clarifications, editor’s note

Editor’s note: In “Developing GW: Approved plans to change face of University, Foggy Bottom” (April 9, p. 1), a printing error prohibited all of the capital “T’s” and lowercase “b’s” from being visible on the portion of the story that appeared on the front page. Also, in the same story, a production error caused several paragraphs of the story to be left out when it jumped from the front page to an inside page. The error caused Michael Akin, director of D.C. and Foggy Bottom/West End Affairs, to be inaccurately described as part of a neighborhood group that opposed approval of the plan. The story should have read:

Michael Akin, director of D.C. and Foggy Bottom/West End Affairs, said the future success of GW is hinged on much of the recently approved development.

“What students have to understand is (that) what we’re planning for today and what we’re working on tomorrow will increase the value of their degree,” he said.

Akin, who attended GW as an undergraduate and will graduate from the School of Business in May, has worked to improve the relationship between local residents and the University. The town-gown animosity in Foggy Bottom is worse at GW than other D.C.-area schools.

Akin said he believes that he and his office have helped neighbors and cites the 136 supporters of either the 20-year Campus Plan or Square 54 who are not students and alumni.

“We aren’t having a dialogue that quickly devolves into a shouting match about whether the University is expanding too much,” he said. “Everyone has become more educated on the Campus Plan.”

Community opposition to both Square 54 and the Campus Plan is still apparent, despite the work of Akin and other community relations officials.

The neighborhood’s elected body for development issues, the Foggy Bottom/West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, voted 3-2 to oppose Square 54, and members have ardently testified against the 20-year Campus Plan before the Zoning Commission.

Corrections

In “Acceptance rate may be lowest” (April 9, p. 1), The Hatchet erroneously stated that the average admitted student was ranked in the top 91 percent of his graduating high school class. The average student is in the top 9 percent.

The Hatchet mistakenly reported in “Pelham construction to begin 2010” (April 9, p. 5), that reconstruction for the residence hall will begin in 2010. Construction is slated to begin in 2008, while occupancy is planned for 2010. In the same article, it was reported that a revised Mount Vernon Campus Plan was presented at a zoning meeting; a revised plan for Pelham Hall was discussed at a community meeting. The 25-percent budget increase since 2003 was not for the Mount Vernon Campus, but rather for the Vern Express shuttle service.

The Hatchet erroneously reported in “Developing GW: Approved plans to change face of University, Foggy Bottom” (April 9, p. 1) that the 20-year Campus Plan has 16, not 15, planned development sites. In the same article, the decision to submit a revised Campus Plan was a result of a D.C. Office of Planning recommendation, not because of an Urban Land Institute study, according to University officials.

The online map of Campus Plan development sites had inaccurate information in the graphic. It has been removed from www.gwhatchet.com.

Clarifications

The article “Developing GW: Approved plans to change face of University, Foggy Bottom” (April 9, p. 1) reported that “GW has gained D.C. approval” for the 20-year Campus Plan and the Square 54 project. While the revised Campus Plan has gone through all the procedural phases of approval from D.C. and federal officials, the Square 54 proposal still awaits review by the National Capital Planning Commission and final action by the D.C. Zoning Commission. In the same article, Boston Properties was reported to be the developer of Square 54, but it is one of two partners in the site’s construction. The other company is Kettler, formerly KSI Services, Inc.

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet