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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Staff Editorial: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

The Hatchet’s monthly wrap-up of GW’s ups and downs:

Thumbs Down: Float finances failure
The inaugural float was anything but a well-carried out project from start to finish, but it was also more costly than was originally let on. The confusing float, which was first projected to cost nearly $90,000, totaled out at around $135,000. Students have a right to be upset by this misuse of money and an itemized report of where exactly the money went is long overdue.

Thumbs Up: Foreign applications rise
In admissions brochures, GW loves to mention that GW students hail from many countries outside of the U.S. and the 20 percent rise in foreign applications over two years will just give us more to brag about. International students cite the “lure of D.C.” as a major reason for applying and GW should do everything it can to encourage these applicants.

Thumbs Down: Don’t let the bedbugs bite
A recent bout of bedbug cases on campus has disrupted students in several residence halls. While bedbugs may be unavoidable in some cases, students report that the University was not especially considerate while handling the situation.

Thumbs Down: SA drama continues
After a tumultuous election season, the Student Association is at it again, with a backhanded attempt to pass a new constitution. Change within the SA would be good on principle, but a last-minute, little-publicized attempt at amending the constitution was not the way to go about it. Even though the proposed changes were tabled, it is troubling that it was brought up in this manner in the first place.

Thumbs Sideways: Bhangra Blowout
Bhangra Blowout, an annual dance competition held by the GW South Asian Society to raise money for primary education in India, was denied funding by the Student Association. The reasoning behind this – that the event would generate a profit – is sound, but the SA should have given the organization more notice so they could better arrange their finances.

Thumbs Sideways: Smith Center renovations inconvenience teams
The much-needed Smith Center renovations are underway and will result in a much more impressive building upon completion. But the renovations come at a cost: Sports teams such as the women’s water polo team are not able to hold their usual practices and even the basketball teams are holding pick-up games in the Lerner Health and Wellness Center instead of the Smith Center. It is understandable that with improvements come minor annoyances, but it would have been nice if the construction could have worked with team schedules to minimize disruptions.

Thumbs Up: Welcome Dr. Chalupa
Leo Chalupa, GW’s new vice president for research, started off with a bang when he awarded GW medical students $500 for winning a contest where usually only certificates are awarded. Hopefully, he will be able to get GW energized and excited about research grants.

Readers can visit the Forum to comment on this editorial.

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