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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

Staff Editorial: A hall of potential

The University’s capital budget this year includes funding for the launch of a feasibility study into combining Crawford, Schenley and West End residence halls into a single dorm. The study falls under the 20-year campus plan, an encompassing outline of the goals that GW has for expansion and development. But while approaching the current campus plan, GW needs to consider the unfulfilled potential of Hall on Virginia Avenue, or HOVA, as a solution to some of its current space issues.

One of the primary facets of the campus plan is to expand the amount of academic space. The expense of renting space on K Street and 17th Street could be a financial burden, and complaints over the lack of classroom space are growing. With nine floors available, HOVA could easily house a few floors of classrooms, alleviating some of the pressing academic space issues.

Because it is located close to but not on campus, HOVA could also prove a better location for other University services and administrative space. Putting offices in HOVA that are not frequented daily by students would free up valuable space for offices that see more student traffic, like the Student Health Service and University Counseling Center.

HOVA should also be considered for administrative functions. Human Resources, currently located in 2033 K St., Alumni Relations, located in the Alumni House, and the Office of External Relations, in Rice Hall, could all be moved in order to free up more space on campus.

But utilizing HOVA for new functions leads to the obvious question: what to do with the graduate housing currently there? The fact is that Hall on Virginia Avenue is not desirable graduate housing. When first purchased by GW, the building was used solely for freshmen. Lacking almost any kitchens, the dorm does not meet the general expectations for a graduate student housing option.

The University should invest in renovating HOVA, a move that might pay for itself quickly, considering the resources that would be saved on leasing contracts and the costs of creating entirely new buildings. This would prove a relatively easy change and an unexplored opportunity that could improve the everyday functions of the University.

Readers can visit the Forum to comment on this editorial.

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