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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

Questions for Trachtenberg

University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg provides the answers to student questions in the final stretch of his presidency:

Q: How would you best advise students like GW NORML in their efforts to reform drug and alcohol policy on campus?
-Javier Gomez-Levin, freshman

A: Advocacy. Education. Teaching opportunities. Lectures. Articles. And it probably makes sense not to seek an act that actually calls on GW to violate the laws of the District of Columbia or the United States of America.

Q: Why is the tuition going up, while the budget is going down?
-Matthew Seresin, sophomore

A: Good question! Inflation. New initiatives. Better salaries for faculty. More scholarship money. New equipment. New buildings. And, dare I say it? Less efficiency than we ought to strive for. It is not too late. I may leave office in July, but GW isn’t going anywhere. It is still time to think about a 4×4 curriculum. A good idea is hard to kill. It keeps coming back. Some things are inevitable.

Q: After four years of hard work, why do you believe seniors deserve a “diet” at Commencement?
-Jeff Leon, senior

A: I think the culture of celebrity has distracted us from the true purpose of Commencement, which is to underscore and acknowledge the efforts of the people getting degrees and to provide them with some public hugs and farewell greetings as they get their diploma and move on with their lives. University commencements have become too much like circuses. A little pomp and circumstance is altogether appropriate. A full-blown performance of Aida with live elephants is over the top … At Columbia University (my alma mater), the commencement address is always delivered by the president, since Columbia was founded in 1754. GW was founded in 1821. Maybe they know something – but, then again, maybe they don’t.

Q: Is construction in Thurston going to stop during finals, or is the noise going to continue?
-Marta Lopez, freshman

A: Build we must for a growing GW. The renovation work at Thurston Hall is being done so we can better serve forthcoming residents of the facility – and for safety and building code reasons too … People living in Thurston should work together with their colleagues and the administration to try and mitigate any distraction – recognizing we can’t just push the mute button.

Q: What was your proudest moment at GW?
-Pam Sigelaub, sophomore

A: Pride in GW doesn’t take place in a moment. It grows over time … I am proud each year as I watch the months go by and see the faculty and students at work teaching and learning. I am proud at Commencement as I say farewell to the seniors. And then, of course, there are special moments – like the closing seconds of the GW/Charlotte basketball game when we won by one point at the final buzzer, or after Sept. 11 when the campus came together to celebrate our country and memorialize the victims and the heroes of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. All I need to do if I am feeling blue is take a walk from my office across campus to Gelman for a cup of coffee meeting and greeting people as I go. It’s all good.

Q: When you become president emeritus and university professor, what courses will you teach? And how will you continue your great leadership even though you are no longer president?
-Mark Rustad, freshman

A: I am going to be spending some time after I leave the presidency reading about public administration and higher education. A great deal of literature has been generated during the last 38 years while I have been in clinical practice as a dean, vice president and president … There will be a new U.S. president in 2008 and she or he may want to lend a hand to higher education. It will be helpful if we are prepared for the conversation …

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