Colonials Weekend
Colonials Weekend was a rousing success for the University. The Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon Campuses had multiple events going on throughout the weekend, from the sold-out Acapellapalooza that raised voices, to Bill Maher’s routine that raised eyebrows. The women’s volleyball team’s win over Fordham led Colonials Invasion into a spirited rally that heralded in the new basketball season. The University provided programming for students with and without family visiting and showed off some of the best GW has to offer.
Facilities complaints
Facility issues are plaguing students on both the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses. Complaints earlier this year in Hall on Virginia Avenue led residents to file a petition with the University and now a sewage spill in Cole Hall on the Mount Vernon Campus shows that some of GW’s oldest buildings could really use a boost. The University should swiftly respond to these issues in order to ensure that students who pay so much for on-campus housing do not continue to face unsanitary water, pests, rodents and pipe bursts in the future.
GW remains need-blind
The University continues to consider students for admission to GW without looking at their financial statements. As universities nationwide become need-aware in admissions, this is a promising continuation of the University’s dedication to remaining an open and diverse institution. While GW tuition remains high, the fact that the University is need-blind and has an excellent financial aid package system means students from across the economic spectrum can still attend GW if they really strive to.
Men’s basketball picked No. 8 in Atlantic 10
The men’s basketball team received disappointing news from the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, which predicted that the Colonials would come in 8th place out of the A-10’s 14 teams. This prediction is a result of the team’s record last year, a particularly difficult schedule and a transition with new head coach Mike Lonergan. On the brighter side, men’s basketball senior guard Tony Taylor was named to the A-10 preseason first team – the first GW player to garner that recognition since 2005. It would have been nice to see the team ranked higher, but it will give the men’s basketball team something to fight for. Hopefully the Colonials will use these predictions as motivation and not a drag this season.
Residence hall security
Friday night a 34-year-old man entered the West End residence hall and assaulted students living there. While it is laudable that the University and Metropolitan police officers were able to arrest the man, this brings up a troubling issue of security on Foggy Bottom’s city campus. Students should feel safe in their residence halls, and Friday night’s event further reinforces that, as the University evaluates its security strategies, it should elect to put University Police officers in upperclassman residence halls during nighttime hours.
A Thurston burger at Whole Foods
As if the new Whole Foods grocery store in The Avenue wasn’t an exciting enough addition to campus, its “Thurston Fix” burger is the perfect bite for the community. Halloweekend is fast approaching, and students will be hankering for some recovery food. The GW-inspired burger – a burger, fried egg, tater tots, three cheeses, fried onions and roasted peppers – couldn’t be making its introduction to campus at a better time.
