Tuesday, January 16, 2024 I Vol. 120 Iss. 15
WWW.GWHATCHET.COM
INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904
What’s inside Opinions
The editorial board weighs the pros and cons of GW’s academic calendar. Page 4
Culture
Sports
Peruse our predictions for this year’s defining pop culture media. Page 5
Women’s basketball won its first conference game of the season against St. Bonaventure. Page 6
Officials cancel classes, activities after campus snowfall GRACE CHINOWSKY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
SAGE RUSSELL | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. soars for a slam.
Men’s basketball routs George Mason in Revolutionary Rivalry showdown, moves to 14-3 RYAN JAINCHILL REPORTER
Monday’s snowstorm couldn’t cool down the Revs as men’s basketball continued their hot start to the season against George Mason, knocking off the Patriots 75-62 to move to 14-3 on the year. With the snow falling outside of a jam-packed Smith Center with 2,585 fans — the highest attendance this season — the Revs (3-1 A-10) ran out to an 8-0 lead just minutes into the game and would lead by as much as 18 in the first half. The Revs held back a George Mason (13-5, 2-3 A-10) offensive in the second half to
reach a 14-3 record for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. led the way offensively for the Revs, scoring 21 points on 11-15 shooting from the field. Fifth-year senior guard James Bishop IV had 20 points of his own and went 8-10 from the free throw line in his 35 minutes of action. “With two of our best players, it’s going to be hard to guard because you choose one,” Bishop said, referring to himself and Buchanan. The other one’s gonna be open, so it’s like you’ve gotta pick your poison.” The Revs’ defense was dominant in the first half, holding
CCAS announces 15 percent budget cut to departments, programs, offices RACHEL MOON
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
Officials told Columbian College of Art & Sciences department chairs to accommodate a 15 percent budget cut to their department’s fiscal year 2024 budget last spring and reified the reduction last semester. Kimberly Gross, the CCAS vice dean for programs and operations, said the University asked the school’s departments, programs and college offices to cut 15 percent of their expected noncompensation spending to meet the budget margin target for CCAS that was set in late March by GW for fiscal year 2024. She said CCAS officials later informed department and program heads of further cuts in September after the school failed to reach the “needed expense savings” in the spring following summer budget meetings to meet the college’s budget margin for FY 24, which involved cutting tenured faculty’s travel reimbursements. “We determined that we needed to reduce the non-compensation spending requests for FY24 from college offices, departments and programs by 15%,” Gross said in an email. “We are continuing to discuss the FY24 budget with the university finance officials.” Officials and department heads did not specify the expenses that would be included in the cut to noncompensation spending. The decision on what to cut from departments and programs’ requested budgets was left up to department chairs and program directors. Gross declined to say if the cuts were a permanent change and added that officials regularly evaluate the budget, which mostly consists of compensation and depends on the college’s revenue and spending margin that the University gives to the col-
lege. The college’s revenue and compensation factors include items like the number of graduate students starting in CCAS programs, revenue based on undergraduate enrollment and potential savings on compensation costs, Gross said. “We prioritize the most important aspects of educational and research mission as we work to meet the margin,” Gross said. In a Faculty Senate meeting Friday, Provost Chris Bracey said the budget cuts are isolated to CCAS and that he and Bruno Fernandes, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, are working with CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck to address the budget concerns. Katrin Schultheiss, an associate professor of history and faculty senator, said the budget cuts harm faculty morale because officials don’t tell professors a “straight story” in their explanations of the reasoning for the cuts. She said officials have given faculty a variety of reasons that feel unsatisfactory because the root of the issues go unexplained. “To say we have revenue issues is kind of like what’s the root of those revenue issues?” Schultheiss said. ”Why is there an imbalance between revenue and expenses if that’s in fact the case?” Schultheiss added that budget reports presented in senate meetings project a “rosy” picture of the University’s financial standing, while individual colleges often report financial problems that don’t reflect the University’s greater finances. She said University President Ellen Granberg did not give her a clear answer about why the discrepancy in finances between the colleges and the University exists when she asked during a November senate meeting and added that officials have not presented CCAS faculty with a financial report.
George Mason to 24 points on just 22.6 percent shooting from the field. The Patriots were only able to connect on seven shots compared to GW’s 14, which included six from 3-point territory. But the Revs would be forced to weather a George Mason storm to start the second half, which saw the Patriots cut the GW lead down to just 5 points just under five minutes into play. This came on the heels of a 7-point run for George Mason to open the half. Eventually, some missed shots from the Patriots and some clutch free-throw shooting from redshirt sophomore Maximus Edwards, who finished 6-6 from the line despite an otherwise
quiet afternoon, allowed the Revs to pull away and pick up the victory in the “Revolutionary Rivalry.” Outside of Bishop and Buchanan, redshirt freshman forward and reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Garrett Johnson contributed 8 points and delivered a big three at the eightminute mark of the second half to thwart the Patriots’ comeback attempt. For Johnson, last week’s honors marked the fourth time he had been named Rookie of the Week this season, a category that he and Buchanan have dominated. See REVS Page 6
GW canceled classes on the first day of the spring semester after about four inches of snow blanketed D.C. on Monday evening. Officials encouraged faculty to make all in-person classes Tuesday virtual in a GW Alert sent to community members Monday night. The University’s class cancellation follows snowfalls between 2.5 and 4 inches in D.C. on Monday night and a subsequent Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service for the area through 10 a.m. Tuesday. Monday’s flurries mark the first snow of more than an inch in nearly two years in the District, according to the Washington Post. Officials first encouraged faculty to move Tuesday classes before noon online in an initial GW Alert sent earlier Monday evening, setting afternoon courses for in-person instruction as normal. But officials changed gears just after midnight Tuesday, canceling all in-person courses Tuesday in a consecutive alert. “Due to worsening weather conditions and other regional closures, all university campuses and centers will be closed and in-person classes canceled on Tuesday, Jan. 16,” the alert reads. Essential staff are required to report for in-person work as scheduled, while all other staff should work remotely, the second GW Alert reads. Officials also canceled all activities and University-sponsored events Tuesday, the alert states. The Mount Vernon Express will run on weekend hours, and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus shuttle will not operate on Tuesday, according to the alert. GW Dining also reduced its Tuesday hours of operation for campus dining halls in response to the weather, with plans to open the Eatery at Pelham Commons and the Shenkman Hall dining hall at 8:30 a.m. instead of their usual 7:30 a.m. opening times, according to a GW Dining Instagram post shared Monday night.
Lack of communication from officials stalls SA progress, senators say HANNAH MARR
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Student Association senators said University officials have failed to communicate with student leaders after the SA Senate passes bills, stifling their advocacy. Of the nine resolutions that called on action by GW officials passed by the two previous senates, University administrators have responded publicly to only one, which some senators say dampens their ability to advocate for students because of the administration’s power to make the changes senators request through their legislation. No clause in the SA’s bylaws or charter states that the administration must review the SA Senate’s resolutions, but senators say their resolutions are a vehicle for student advocacy and are hindered by a lack of University response. University spokesperson Julia Metjian declined to comment on how many SA Senate resolutions that GW administrators have considered, why officials have not responded to bill sponsors about implementa-
CHUCKIE COPELAND | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Student Association senators vote on a resolution.
tion and the factors the University considers when reviewing legislation. The nine resolutions passed over the last two senates included requests that the University offer attendance accommodations on Election Day to encourage students to vote, declare a climate emergency and change the name of the SA to the Student Government Association. “The leadership and efforts
of the Student Association to highlight the topics that are important to the student body are appreciated,” Metjian said in an email. “This information gives the administration valuable insights as the university continues to focus on enhancing the student experience and supporting the growth and wellbeing of students.” See SENATORS Page 3
Opening of new campus store delayed to February ERIKA FILTER NEWS EDITOR
The new campus store at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. is set to open in February, per a University spokesperson. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said supply chain issues delayed equipment and materials needed to complete the store, which was initially slated to open late last fall. Officials had not yet “fi nalized” the opening date for the store in
August. “The construction portion of the project is almost complete and then there will be several weeks to stock and supply the store for its public opening,” Metjian said in an email. The store appears to contain a large video screen and two levels, and the store has nearcomplete flooring and unassembled shelves as of Wednesday. GW first announced plans to move the campus store from
the basement of the University Student Center to a two-story, 16,000-foot property in the 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. building last January. The building also holds a Tatte bakery and a taqueria named Bodega, which is not yet open. The campus store will feature “expanded merchandise,” a children’s book section, a technology store with Apple products and a GW Information Technology help desk, according to the January 2023 release.
NEWS
January 16, 2024 • Page 2
News
THE GW HATCHET
THIS WEEK’S
EVENTS
RUSTIN: FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION
Wednesday, Jan. 17 | 6 p.m. | University Student Center Attend a screening of the 2023 film “Rustin” about Bayard Rustin, who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others organize the 1963 March on Washington.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY Jan. 16, 1951
INDIGENOUS RESEARCH, INDIGENOUS PEDAGOGY
Thursday, Jan. 18 | 5:30 p.m. | Duques Hall Join Stanford professor Lyla June Johnston as she discusses approaches to her work.
Higher education experts projected that GW, along with other universities in the U.S., could lose 80 percent of its male enrollment due to the Korean War draft.
New ANC commissioner to prioritize affordable housing, local business support ERIKA FILTER NEWS EDITOR
A local governing body is set to fill its sole vacancy this week. Luke Chadwick, a second-year master’s student in Georgetown University’s urban planning program living in Columbia Plaza, said he will be sworn in as the newest member of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission on Tuesday, restoring the commission to its nine total members. He will represent 2A05, the single-member district encapsulating Columbia Plaza, Shenkman Hall and the Remington apartment complex, with the goal of informing residents on the local scene and advocating for affordable housing and local business development. “I want to continue making sure people are engaged and aware of what’s going on,” Chadwick said. Chadwick said he heard about the District’s vacancy shortly after former 2A05 Commissioner Kim Courtney resigned from her position in July. He said he submitted his petition to fill the vacancy in December to advocate for Columbia Plaza residents’ interests in the ANC. “When I saw that no one had filled it by the fall, I decided to take my chance at running and filling the vacancy,” Chadwick said. D.C. officials redrew the ANC districts across the city near the end of 2022 to align with new census data. Courtney was the first to fill the new 2A05 seat in February.
COURTESY OF LUKE CHADWICK Luke Chadwick, an incoming commissioner in the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission
The body has struggled to reach legally mandated quorum since Courtney’s resignation, with at least two members having missed every meeting since May. Chadwick said he was happy with Courtney’s efforts to engage and inform Columbia Plaza residents about local happenings. Courtney sent regular emails to constituents while she was in office.
Courtney said she wishes Chadwick the best and is pleased he will fill the vacancy. Chadwick said he plans to promote affordability and discourage development in Columbia Plaza, especially in the ANC’s work providing recommendations to D.C. on the review of the Comprehensive Plan, a legally binding District document that guides the Zoning Commission on housing, land use
and public service policies. The ANC held a community meeting in February 2021 discussing a proposed change to the plan that would have allowed for the construction of a larger building at Columbia Plaza and weighed in on the current iteration of the Comprehensive Plan in February 2020 — recommending prioritizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening
Disability advocacy groups partner to bring greater accessibility to GW EMMA KHODAVERDIAN REPORTER
FIONA BORK
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Two student organizations that advocate for students with disabilities are partnering to work with officials to make GW and its campus more accessible. Leaders of the GW Disabled Student Collective and Chronic Health Advocates said they have been forming a plan to repair and add door activation buttons in all GW buildings on the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses, increase faculty training to avoid academic ableism and push for increased funding in the Disability Support Services office. Executive board members in the groups said they will also meet with Multicultural Student Services Center Director Dustin Pickett this spring to discuss implementing an accessibility branch to the MSSC. Lauren McCutcheon, a sophomore and the vice president of advocacy and education for CHA — a stu-
dent chapter of the National Organization for Rare Disorders — said the two groups have regularly met with Eunice Dollete, GW’s assistant director for cultural programming and social justice education throughout the semester who has connected them with appropriate officials and helped them spearhead the changes they are requesting. She said the groups’ asks have centered around increasing funding and staff to the DSS office after students began complaining of longer wait times for responses and challenges accessing accommodations after staff turnover and loss in the office. “We found that a lot of staff there don’t really know much about accessibility or disability, they’re just put into an admin job in this office,” McCutcheon said. She said the lack of staff and funds in the office leaves students with disabilities unaware of the limited resources offered to them and has diminished their quality. She said the automatic doors in District House — which are
frequently nonfunctional, according to McCutcheon — represent one example of GW leaving consistent accessibility issues unaddressed. She said the DSC — a support and advocacy group for disabled students and nondisabled allies in the GW community — and CHA are planning to meet with Pickett the first week of February to discuss adding an “accessibility branch” to the MSSC’s list of values, which currently include LGBTQ+ identities, race and ethnicity, and religion, faith and spirituality. In October, Pickett said the permanent relocation of the center from its former home in a G Street townhouse to the fifth floor of the University Student Center last January was among his first goals as director because the former townhouse was inaccessible for many disabled students. McCutcheon — who lived on the Mount Vernon Campus her first year at GW as a member of the Women’s Leadership Program, which houses its members in Somers Hall —
SNAPSHOT
Snow accumulates on the George Washington statue in University Yard.
added that the Vern is difficult to navigate for disabled students with its steep hills and lack of elevator in the Academic Building. She said the DSC and CHA are working with administrators to create a timeline for when the Vern will become more accessible for students and faculty with disabilities, starting with making sure all doors on the campus have functional automatic door buttons. McCutcheon said while GW’s buildings are technically compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, facilities that predate the 2010 updates to the legislation do not have features like door activation buttons, which causes the University to relocate many disabled students to housing in Foggy Bottom. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said GW Facilities is conducting a survey of the automatic operating doors across all three of GW’s campuses. “Ensuring accessibility for our entire community is a priority for the university,” Metjian said in an email.
THOMAS RATH | PHOTOGRAPHER
infrastructure in response to climate change and supporting housing for LGBTQ+ residents. Chadwick said he expects the review process of the plan will start this year or next year, with the deadline for the plan’s update set for 2025. He said Columbia Plaza residents discussed the impact of previous development efforts when he conversed with them during the process of collecting more than 50 signatures for his candidacy. “Columbia Plaza is the most important source of affordable housing in our ANC,” Chadwick said. “I had been following the efforts to redevelop the plaza and was worried that no one was going to be there to stand in the way when that issue comes up again.” Chadwick said a local business support project, like the Districtcoordinated Main Street Program proposed in a study released last month, could bolster the businesses in Columbia Plaza and add more “vibrancy” to the area. He said as a cyclist, he also would like to see additional bike lanes in the neighborhood, especially because most GW students do not own cars. Chadwick said he has appreciated the ANC’s support for a new homeless shelter in The Aston, a former GW residence hall, but understands why nearby property and business owners are “nervous” about the proposed conversion. “I’d really like to be supportive of that and ensure that they have all the resources to ensure that it’s successful,” Chadwick said.
Fees for driving, parking on specific roads could improve DC public health: report SKYLAR BLUMENAUER REPORTER
UZMA RENTIA REPORTER
Imposing fees on drivers driving and parking on specific roads could improve public health outcomes in D.C., according to a report published earlier this month by GW’s Sumner R. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness. Rachel Clark and Claire Summa of the Redstone Global Center and Catherine O’Donnell of the GW Climate and Health Institute — both located within the Milken Institute School of Public Health — found that implementing a roadpricing scheme on busy urban roadways across D.C. would discourage driving demand and lessen traffic congestion. Clark said road pricing can help decrease carbon emissions and air pollution which would address chronic disease and climate change crises in the District. Road pricing, also known as congestion pricing, is a policy tool that charges motorists for driving and parking in particular areas by establishing a boundary that drivers must pay a fee to cross. The scheme could be toll-based or nontoll-based — when cameras photograph each driver’s license plate to charge the fees. Singapore, London, Stockholm and Milan have successfully implemented road pricing and experienced improved climate change and public health outcomes, according to the report. New York City is expected to become the first American city to implement a road pricing program in late spring of 2024. Clark, the policy director of the Redstone Global Center, said the District’s traffic congestion has currently returned to pre-pandemic levels while public transit ridership remains low. D.C. recorded the most traffic-related deaths in more than 15 years in 2023, and Clark said road pricing will be an effective way to address traffic safety. Clark and her co-au-
thors analyzed global road pricing models and found that they successfully reduced the number of cars on the road, which led to decreases in carbon emissions and air pollution, increases in the use of active transport and improvements in street safety. Clark said these programs dedicated their revenue toward improving public transportation infrastructure like for buses and cycling, a path the report says D.C. should use to improve community health. “Road pricing would provide revenue for street safety investments to build safer environments for active transport and physical activity and to improve public transportation infrastructure,” Clark said in an email. “Cities implementing road pricing have seen huge increases in bus and rail ridership, as well as increases in trips by public transportation, walking and cycling.” Clark said the D.C. Department of Transportation conducted a study in 2019 evaluating the potential outcomes of a road pricing scheme in the District, with a deadline to release the findings by July 2020. Clark said DDOT failed to release the study, and the D.C. Council mandated that DDOT update and release the study by Jan. 1, 2024. DDOT did not meet the deadline again, Clark said. “Our hope is that this white paper, as well as future research, will help decision-makers see road pricing policy — and all transportation policy — as essentially linked to health outcomes,” Clark said. Clark said road-pricing programs, especially any implemented in D.C., must be carefully designed with “thoughtful” pricing structures, which may provide targeted exemptions to ensure low-income families in D.C. are not penalized by needing to pay. Clark said road pricing can potentially mitigate existing health inequalities like air quality disparities by improving street safety and public transportation, which would decrease air pollution in low-income regions.
NEWS
January 16, 2024 • Page 3
THE GW HATCHET
Alum leads NASA mission to develop tool that redirects asteroids from Earth
CRIME LOG SIMPLE ASSAULT
RYAN J. KARLIN
Public Property on Campus (700 Block of 21st Street NW) 12/23/2023 – Unknown Time Open Case A female staff member reported a male subject walked up to her, gave her a hug and said “Merry Christmas,” subsequently walking away.
REPORTER
A GW alum led the first NASA mission to prove that humans could redirect an asteroid’s path away from Earth. Edward Reynolds, who received his master’s degree in project management from GW in 2013, was the project manager for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, the first tool that allows humans to redirect an asteroid in danger of hitting Earth. Reynolds’ leadership of the DART project landed him a spot on Time magazine’s annual list of 100 most influential people in 2023, alongside prominent figures like Beyoncé, Disney CEO Bob Iger and President Joe Biden. Time has published the annual list for nearly two decades, which has grown to foster a community of leaders who gather throughout the year. The central theme of Time’s 2023 list was “interconnected challenges,” and climate change is at the center of those challenges, with 16 people on the list — including Colombian President Gustavo Petro and King Charles of the United Kingdom — working to defend the environment through policy and advocacy. Reynolds said his recognition in Time was a sort of “proxy” for the larger field of terrestrial protection as the issue comes further into public awareness through media and his laboratory analyzes the data from the DART mission. “You go about life like everybody else, and then here comes this list, and congratulations you’re one of Time’s 100. And it’s in recognition of DART,” Reynolds said. In 1985, Reynolds graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and began working at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, according to Reynolds’ LinkedIn. Working at the APL ever since, he became the space sector project manager for the DART project when the lab partnered with NASA in 2019. Reynolds held many positions
Case open.
DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY/VANDALISM, THEFT II/OTHER
Private Property Within Campus Bound Reported 12/24/2023 – Unknown Date and Time Open Case GW Police Department officers observed a flag stolen from a flagpole near the 1957 E Street building entrance. COURTESY OF NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS APL/CRAIG WEIMAN GW alum Edward Reynolds sits alongside Double Asteroid Redirection Test Mission Project Manager Elena Adams during a press conference at Johns Hopkins.
over his 38-year tenure at the APL, including a 10-year stint in system engineering where he led the team designing spacecraft. The APL chose Reynolds for the DART project because of his experience with deep space missions. As project manager, Reynolds managed funds and personnel for the DART project, which began in 2019 and lasted until 2023. The mission’s goal was to contact an asteroid with a spacecraft and redirect its course away from Earth. Though the asteroid DART was tested on was not on an Earthbound path, the mission was successful in proving an asteroid can be redirected if necessary by slowing its momentum and changing its orbit, which the test does by precisely crashing a spacecraft into a target asteroid. The project received $330 million in funding and had more than 1000 team members. Reynolds said protecting Earth from asteroids is a “real issue” as recent studies have brought into question the odds of an asteroid strike, claiming the likelihood is higher than previously understood. Reynolds said movies about asteroids hitting Earth like the 2021 film “Don’t Look Up” caused the issue to garner public attention.
“The public is interested, the public is concerned,” Reynolds said. “It is a real issue that the Earth could get hit by an asteroid, and this was the first mission that tried to do something about it.” Reynolds said it is “mindboggling” to be included on this list alongside prestigious figures, pointing to how fortunate the APL team was that the DART mission succeeded. He said people influence the public in different ways, and that he likes that influence by those working on scientific issues, like global warming, and those influencing pop culture, like Youtuber Mr. Beast, are recognized on the list. Reynolds said he wanted his master’s degree from GW to give him a formal education in project management, a job he had been doing at the APL for years, and that the GW program was a “perfect fit” and expanded his understanding of project management. Reynolds said having a degree like the one he received at GW is integral when managing projects with a large budget because it expands his qualifications. “It gives you real legitimacy, that the government is entrusting you to properly manage these projects and this money,” Reynolds said.
Case open.
UNLAWFUL ENTRY
South Hall 12/24/2023 – 6:35 p.m. Closed Case GWPD officers responded to a report of a male subject asleep in the lobby area. Officers made contact with the subject, issued him a bar notice and escorted him off the property.
Subject barred.
DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY/VANDALISM
Private Property Within Campus Bound Reported 12/26/2023 – Unknown Date and Time Open Case A male student reported vandalism of the bench in front of the Sigma Chi townhouse.
Case open.
ATTEMPTED THEFT, DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY/ VANDALISM
University Student Center (Loading Dock) 12/27/2023 – 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Open Case A male contractor reported the attempted theft of items from his work truck.
Case open.
—Compiled by Max Porter
Senators want officials to publicly consider SA resolutions From Page 1 SA Sen. Dan Saleem (CCAS-U) has sponsored two resolutions during this senate term — the Accredited Valor Act and the Election Day Voting Act — which he directed toward the Office of the Registrar and GW faculty and administration, respectively. He said he did not have success reaching members of the administration after the SA Senate unanimously passed the bills this fall. Before the writing of the Accredited Valor Act, Saleem had conversations with the Office of the Registrar about why they did not accept military credits known as Joint Service Transcript credits, he said. The bill requests the office to accept the credits, which would
allow members of the military to receive college credits for the skills and knowledge gained during their service. Saleem said he got the green light from his SA advisers to write the resolution but, after the bill’s November passage in the SA Senate, hasn’t heard anything back from SA administrators or the SA’s adviser — Brian Joyce, the assistant dean of student life — about progress on the request. Saleem said SA Vice President Demetrius Apostolis has been in contact with Provost Chris Bracey to discuss implementing the Election Day Voting Act — which asked administration and faculty to provide recorded lectures or virtual classes on Election Day so students would be more inclined to vote. Saleem said resolutions are
“powerless” unless the SA Senate’s action is followed up by the administration, which has the power to make the changes the SA is requesting. “If administration doesn’t either take us seriously, or if administration doesn’t at least meet with us to talk about this, then the impact of SA drops so much,” Saleem said. “I don’t think we’re able to do anything without the help of administration.” SA Sen. Ethan Fitzgerald (CCAS-U), who also sponsored two resolutions this year — including the Student Empowerment Act, which was directed toward the Board of Trustees — said while a University spokesperson told The Hatchet that trustees would not consider the bill, the University did not give him an official response.
He said he was “disappointed” but not surprised by their lack of consideration and will continue to look for different avenues of advocacy. Fitzgerald said while he has been able to meet with the administration previously, he believes the board must consider SA resolutions and proposals to show that trustees are listening and willing to make changes. “When there’s an unwillingness to engage, it signifies the opposite,” Fitzgerald said in a text message. Fitzgerald said ideally, he wishes officials would state how they would move forward with a request, including if they will consider it and if they need any further information from the senator. Former SA Sen. Kai Simson (CPS-G), who served as a senator during the 2021-22 and 2022-23
academic years, said he sponsored a bill during his first year in the position calling on GW to declare Election Day a University holiday. He said he was told in “various conversations” with administrators that they would not speak to him and that he had to go through former SA President Brandon Hill and former SA Vice President Kate Carpenter if he wanted anything done. Simson said he sponsored another resolution requesting accommodations for Election Day during his second term but also did not have any communication with the administration concerning its implementation after its passing. He said he also sponsored a resolution requesting GW to declare a climate emergency but it “went into the ether” when his SA term concluded.
Faculty discuss academic freedom, transparency on admissions policies FIONA RILEY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
RACHEL MOON
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair Ilana Feldman shared plans to create a portal for faculty to report academic freedom concerns at a Faculty Senate meeting Friday. She said the committee and the Senate Office would like to create a portal for faculty to report any concerns they have with exercising academic freedom in the classroom or other professional settings to ensure the University upholds its policy of protecting free inquiry, free expression and “vigorous” discussion and debate. Feldman said the senate Executive Committee discussed “increased threats” to academic freedom at the national level and the importance of faculty utilizing GW’s policy in support of academic freedom at their December meeting. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, faculty at universities across the country have faced criticism from students, alumni and community members for expressing their views on the conflict. At GW, a bill-
board truck displaying the pictures, names and social media posts of faculty who expressed pro-Palestinian views parked on campus in December. Feldman said the Academic Freedom Subcommittee of the senate’s Committee of Professional Ethics and Academic Freedoms would monitor submissions on the portal, which could allow faculty to submit reports anonymously. While the senate does not have the authority to act on complaints, they can refer faculty to the “proper channels” to receive assistance for academic freedom violations and collect information on areas where faculty would benefit from additional support, she said. University President Ellen Granberg said there are currently no plans to alter the University’s policy on academic freedom or freedom of speech but that officials may alter the Code of Student Conduct to make sure regulations are “harmonized,” including by establishing what will occur when a student group has a space booked where another group is protesting a cause. She said regulations are “all over the place” right now and do not all align with the code of conduct, which cre-
ates a lack of clarity on issues like the right to a reserved space. “That’s one example of the sorts of things we realized that last semester are confusing, they’re unclear in the way our code works together with all of our other regulations,” Granberg said. Provost Chris Bracey said he plans to share a message to community members at the beginning of the semester that reinforces the University’s commitment to academic freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of inquiry. Granberg said the University is “on track” with enrollment projections as of January 2024 and officials anticipate GW will keep its distinction as a top-10 largest R1 university, a title the Carnegie Classification of Institution of Higher Education gives universities in the country with high levels of research. Granberg added that at the start of 2024, officials launched the first steps of the strategic planning process. Officials will talk with community members to establish “strategic pillars” this semester that will guide “formal” strategic planning in the fall. Granberg said officials finished implementing the
Faculty senators mingle before a meeting earlier this semester.
necessary technology and policy changes to the University’s admissions selection process to continue to diversify admitted student classes while complying with the Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action in June. “Staff and faculty are training on these adjustments and that we hope will ensure a smooth transition to these changes in our admissions process,” Granberg
SAGE RUSSELL | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
said. Jennifer Brinkerhoff, a faculty senator and professor of international affairs, international business, public policy and public administration, asked officials to release specifics on changes to admissions policies and how these changes affect the work of the Diversity Program Review Team: a provost-appointed group made in February 2022 to complete a yearlong review of diver-
sity at the University and submit recommendations for improving campus-wide diversity to University leadership by fall 2023. “It’s a request that we have some transparency about what changes were necessary in the admissions process and also how the SCOTUS decision has impacted what we can do with the diversity program review report,” Brinkerhoff said.
OPINIONS
January 16, 2024 • Page 4
Opinions
THE GW HATCHET
WHAT THE UNIVERSITY WON’T TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK How many Student Association Senate resolutions officials have considered implementing p. 1 FROM GWHATCHET.COM/OPINIONS “I am grateful for every single memory. One semester just wasn’t enough.”
—NOVA SPIER on 12/11/2023
The pros and cons of GW’s academic calendar STAFF EDITORIAL With classes back in session, there’s one question on everyone’s lips: How was your break? Pauses in the academic calendar give students time to get out of the classroom and go home. More than that, they’re essential to preventing burnout. With breaks on our minds — and more time off in February and March — we’re taking a closer look at GW’s academic calendar. To put it simply, the University’s schedule presents some interesting pros and cons. But what’s best for some students doesn’t work for everyone. The ideal academic calendar would include breaks that enable every student, regardless of their destination and financial status, to truly relax and regroup. Otherwise, the breaks GW provides wouldn’t be much of a break at all. Any student from New Jersey — and there’s no shortage of them — can tell you it’s easy to make the most of shorter breaks like GW’s fall break in October or President’s Day Weekend in February when your hometown is a short train or car ride away from D.C. But for students with hometowns farther away, booking expensive round-trip flights weeks in advance may be the only way for them to reasonably get home — only to come back to Foggy Bottom just a few days later. Here are the facts: Including both domestic and international students, 47 percent of all students enrolled at GW in 2023 lived outside of the Northeast and DMV area. The average cost of a domestic roundtrip ticket during Thanksgiving last year was $268 a person — that’s before prices spiked in October. Meanwhile, Amtrak tickets from D.C. to Delaware could have cost as low as $9. In practice, that means students who live outside of a relatively small region of the U.S. generally aren’t able to go home as frequently or as long as their peers. With almost half of students
JENNA BAER | STAFF CARTOONIST
looking at disproportionately pricey transportation, longer breaks give them more bang for their buck. Fortunately, officials extended last year’s Thanksgiving Break to in-
clude Monday and Tuesday in addition to Wednesday through Friday off from class — a welcome change of pace that students hopefully took advantage of.
The past of Mizrahi Jews has lessons for the present
T
he foods and spices of my childhood are unfamiliar to most of my Jewish peers at GW. Despite sharing common words and phrases, our prayer tunes hardly harmonize. And when I share my grandfather’s story, their eyes widen and jaws drop: a Jew from Egypt?
Sabrina Soffer Opinions Writer Like hundreds of Jewish families, my grandfather’s family was expelled from Cairo in the 1950s. Jewish communities in Arab countries and Iran faced similar repression and expulsion during the 20th century. Israel was the saving grace of thousands of Jews from Arab lands who compose more than half of its population today. Why don’t more people know about us? When Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern European descent are considered the default representation of Jewish identity, the unique identities and experiences of Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula get lost in the mix. The Jewish people, however, are far from monolithic in ethnicity, customs and religious practice. Understanding the Mizrahi story embraces Jews and Judaism in all their richness and diversity and dispels the myth that Israel is a state of European imperialists. The history of Mizrahi Jews holds pertinent lessons as we navigate today’s turbulent times in Israel and Gaza — and on our campus. Jews in Muslim lands were classified as dhimmis, or “People of the Book.” They enjoyed a protected status that permitted their religious practice among other social privileges in exchange for paying the jizya tax while enduring persecution from ancient times until the Ottoman Empire. Jews could practice their religion
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freely, though they remained socially inferior to Muslims. At the same time, Jews in Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and Syria fostered cultural and theological convergences with Muslims. Fast forward to the 20th century: Jews living in the Middle East and North Africa did not escape the violence of Nazism during World War II, facing violent pogroms in Iraq in 1941 and Tripoli in 1945 that echo Hamas’ barbaric attacks Oct. 7. The Axis powers of Vichy France and fascist Italy brought the Holocaust to North Africa, including the establishment of concentration camps, while pro-German Muslim leaders and clerics supported the Nazi regime. However, other Jews were saved by leaders like Morocco’s Sultan Mohammad V, who was appalled by antisemitic laws and insisted on legal protections for the property and lives of his Jewish subjects. Religion is not an inherent wedge between Muslim Arabs and Jewish Israelis — division comes from leaders who pervert religious ideals, distort history and demonize “the other” for their own political agenda. Indeed, an indigenous people — the Jewish people — who were exiled from their ancient homeland and lived across diverse diasporic communities until they were able to liberate their land from dozens of empires cannot be a foreign colonial, imperialist enterprise. Anti-Israel propaganda is clouding campus conversations about Israel with hateful lies. The Israel-Palestine conversation on campus can take a different dimension, away from inflammation and division. We can examine the shared history of Muslim and Jewish intellectuals to illustrate Jewish-Arab religious and cultural convergence. In 2023, the United Arab Emirates took a notable step as the first Arab nation to include Holocaust education in its
curricula and purge antisemitic materials from its literature. The country also built the Abrahamic Family House, a cultural center with a mosque, church and synagogue. Just last week, villagers of the Muslim town of Fureidis, Israel, hung a sign in Hebrew and Arabic with the message “good neighbors even in difficult times” — an attitude we should reflect on campus. I bonded with a Palestinian peer over similarities between Hebrew and Arabic words and traditions: Ra’s Asana and Rosh Hashanah translate to Head of the Year or the New Year on both Hebrew and Islamic calendars, for example. We attended a Shabbat service and dinner together, where our fruitful conversations about a myriad of topics — even political differences — allowed us to express our aspirations for a peaceful Israel/Palestine, which we both call home. Events inside and outside the classroom can create empathy and understanding. And with student councils to advocate for Jewish and Israeli students and Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students, the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, and the Multicultural Student Services Center’s new Religious and Spiritual Life Division, we can build bridges across cultures and faiths at GW. At the same time, we must continue to combat antisemitism and support for Hamas, both of which have skyrocketed around the world. Elevating one ethnic, racial or religious group over another can’t build a culture of tolerance and unity. We must demonstrate that, despite challenging histories, Jews and Muslims, Arabs and Israelis, share much in common and that our differences are worth exploring. —Sabrina Soffer, a junior majoring in philosophy with a public affairs focus and Judaic studies, is an opinions writer.
I
Thanksgiving Break isn’t without its pitfalls, though. The intersection of hometown visits, looming exams, colder weather and less daylight can exacerbate seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder, which makes tasks from getting up in the morning to studying exhausting. Last year’s finals schedule kept some students on campus until Dec. 19. Now, imagine what that’d be like for students who haven’t been able to return home or leave campus all semester — especially when the University closed some of its facilities, like dining options in District House and the University Student Center, on Dec. 15. All of that’s to say that what one student sees as just another long weekend could be a rare opportunity for rest, relaxation and recuperation for another student. Full-week breaks for Thanksgiving do make a difference to students’ well-being, and they should continue. Better yet, officials could consider extending fall break by taking time from elsewhere. Designated make-up days — which most professors seem to disregard, from anecdotal experience — and reading days contribute to a bloated semester. Why not trim the fat and give students more days of break during or after the semester or simply end the year sooner? The University’s schedule isn’t set in stone. GW introduced a two-day fall break in 2016 in response to advocacy from the Student Association. And after students petitioned to cancel classes on Election Day in 2020, officials gave them the day off. The University can be practical when it comes to rearranging its calendar, and the past shows adjustments are possible if there’s a genuine desire for change. GW’s academic calendar should reflect officials’ commitment to prioritizing student well-being: trim the schedule, consolidate days off and address scheduling complexities. The time students have out of class and away from campus is truly makeor-break.
A call for hope amid a time of despair
ntervention abroad leads to turmoil at home. College campuses are a hotbed of unrest and outrage, while protestors outside the White House call on the Democratic president, who is up for reelection, to change course. Losing support from his fracturing party, the president drops his reelection bid. A three-way campaign ensues, with the “law and order” candidate coming out on top as the country sinks further into chaos.
Ethan Benn Opinions Editor That’s not a prediction for 2024. But it is what happened in 1968, and the comparison between the two years is easy enough. History doesn’t repeat — it only rhymes. Yet looking toward the past can help us understand the present. So, if we know how 1968 ended, what does 2024 have in store for us? The world was meant to become a better place in 1968. So much seemed so possible. But a year that began with hope — “World Bids Adieu To a Violent Year,” read The New York Times’ Jan. 1, 1968, issue — ended in despair. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April; Robert F. Kennedy, then running for president, was assassinated in June. Their relationship in life was complicated, to say the least, and they were vastly different. But King and Kennedy were united in death. Their murderers did not just kill men, nor even great Americans. They killed hope: a radical belief in the future of racial reconciliation, economic justice and a gentler, kinder country. It’s impossible to listen to King’s final “Mountaintop” speech, delivered the day before he was killed, without tearing up at its prophetic quality. And from Capetown to Kansas, Kennedy’s weighty words always rouse me to
action. But I know of no preacher, no politician, no person alive today who shares King’s or Kennedy’s rhetorical prowess, their wells of empathy or their abiding belief in a shared humanity. “What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr’s cause has ever been stilled by his assassin’s bullet,” Kennedy said the day after King’s assassination. That cause — a blazing torch of promise — has already passed to us. We cannot let it go out this year. Cue that old cliché about this being “the most important election in our lifetime.” I’ll not ask you to vote or to volunteer — what young person, and all of us were young once, hasn’t been told that their generation will fix everything? I’ll only ask you to believe that a better world is possible. Americans have rehashed the issues of 1968 for the past 55 years: What responsibility do we have to our allies? How should we welcome our newest citizens? What is our country’s role in the world? How can we keep our children fed, our lights on and our waterways clean? Can we bind up our wounds and tend to the awful scars of racial hatred, or will we surrender to ignorance? The past year was a bleak time to be a human being, to have a heart and soul. But we have been here before, as Kennedy told a crowd of supporters in Indianapolis the night King was assassinated. “We will have difficult times; we’ve had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future,” he said. I don’t think there’s such a thing as an “easy” time, but there are times when we will succeed, when the impossible will become achievable and when we will “tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” That time can be now. —Ethan Benn, a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication, is the opinions editor.
Zach Blackburn, editor in chief Nick Pasion, print managing editor Jaden DiMauro, digital managing editor Grace Miller, managing director Nicholas Anastacio, community relations director Grace Chinowsky, senior news editor Erika Filter, news editor Ianne Salvosa, news editor Fiona Bork, assistant news editor Fiona Riley, assistant news editor Hannah Marr, assistant news editor Rory Quealy, assistant news editor Jennifer Igbonoba, contributing news editor Max Porter, contributing news editor Rachel Moon, contributing news editor Nikki Ghaemi, features editor Cade McAllister, events editor Ethan Benn, opinions editor* Riley Goodfellow, contributing opinions editor*
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CULTURE
January 16, 2024 • Page 5
THE GW HATCHET
THE
Culture
SCENE
HERE & NOW DESIGN POP-UP Wednesday, Jan. 17 | 1100 15th St. NW | Free Check out the hard work of Corcoran student-artists at this pop-up shop.
RELEASED
ICE SKATING AT GEORGETOWN WATERFRONT Saturday, Jan. 20 | Washington Harbour Ice Rink | Free Ice skate while taking in the scenic views of the Potomac on this District Connections trip.
NEW TV SHOW: “DEATH AND OTHER DETAILS”
THIS WEEK:
Hatchet writers returning from abroad reflect on European adventures HENRY HUVOS
Henry Huvos | Senior Staff Writer
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
JACKSON LANZER STAFF WRITER
SOPHIA GOEDERT SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Just because it’s cliché to say studying abroad changed your life doesn’t mean it can’t be true. After hopping around Europe last fall, that sentiment holds for three Hatchet writers returning from their study abroad experiences. From immersion around Brits to hours spent alone, here is how their globe-trotting shaped their perspectives on D.C. and the world.
Sophia Goedert | Senior Staff Writer
Going into my study abroad experience in Copenhagen, Denmark, I had virtually no expectations. I hoped I would love it like everyone kept telling me I would — but at first, I didn’t. I struggled to make friends, and I didn’t try to immerse myself in Danish culture, instead opting to explore the city independently. I was significantly less busy than I was used to and had no idea what Copenhagen offered. It wasn’t until almost a month into the semester that I started to appreciate the charm of my new city, a charm I still struggle to explain with descriptors. It just has a certain mindfulness and carefree vibe that you’re unsure of at first but quickly sucks you into the daily quiet chaos of the city. Before I knew it, I was hooked and didn’t want to leave.
COURTESY OF SOPHIA GOEDERT
Sophia Goedert poses during a study abroad excursion in Copenhagen.
While my study abroad still feels like a fever dream, it’s one I want to keep visiting. If given the opportunity, I would love to go back to Copenhagen for a longer period of time. Stay hygge, Denmark.
Jackson Lanzer | Staff Writer
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I had planned on moving to London to pursue my education. But COVID changed those plans. So
when I finally got the opportunity to study in London last semester, I had one goal: immerse myself in British culture. Along my journey to assemble an entourage of friends with immaculate accents, I joined more than a dozen student societies during the first weeks of university. During nights at the pubs, surrounded by empty pints, I met friends from across the United Kingdom and got a glimpse of what life would have been if I had moved
to London years before and studied full time at a British university. As the hours dwindled during my last night in London I couldn’t help but feel like the life I had dreamt about for years was dissolving beneath my feet. The streets I had walked every night, the coffee shop where I chilled between classes, the bridge where I watched the sun set upon the Thames and the friends that would all still be here living their lives once I departed were all becoming memories.
There’s a hill overlooking Edinburgh called Arthur’s Seat. Well, I say hill, but as someone who’s only ever lived in relatively flat places, this thing looked and felt like a mountain — technicalities be damned. Edinburgh is decently big — far too big for me to have explored all of it. Though, the places where I found myself the most I could see Arthur’s Seat, my own solemn waypoint in an unfamiliar city. I loved every part of the city from the second I landed. What I did not love was the isolation. I was a fully integrated student, which meant university housing, being alone in a dorm designed for first-years, being surrounded by nothing but British kids four years younger than me. This would be a tough hand for anyone to play with, but for me, as introverted as they come, it felt like a no-win scenario. I spent a lot of September and October alone. In those moments, walking the 30-minute trek from class back to my dorm, I found myself taking an extra hour to hike Arthur’s Seat a lot. The hill is a part of a bigger city park, and it was in these moments that I forced my love for the city to become a love for my place in the city. The hill allowed me to exist with myself and Edinburgh, just the two of us. Wherever you send yourself, studying abroad is a risk. If you’re struggling to manage it, my advice would be to find your own Arthur’s Seat, whatever that place ends up being, and go from there.
Let it snow with these DC snow day activities DIANA ANOS REPORTER
For the first time in years, D.C. became a snowy winter wonderland Monday. Some might find the weather outside frightful while others find the snow that blanketed the city delightful. If embracing the cold is for you, try these activities around the District to make the most of the snowy season that D.C. will have to offer. Are you a daredevil at heart? Then get your thrillseeking in by sledding around the District. If you don’t have a sled lying around your dorm, try a cookie sheet, trash bag or even a laundry basket for maximum speed. If you prefer to go the academic route, pick up one of the massive textbooks that has been taking up space on your shelf. Appropriately named for being located behind the Georgetown Neighborhood Library, Book Hill Park boasts several hills, all ideal for sledding. If you are looking for real speed, the park features one of the steepest hills in Northwest D.C. A true Only at GW moment, sledding on the Capitol grounds is a must-try for students. Overlooking the National Mall, the Capitol grounds provide a wonderful view of a hopefully snowy city. Sledding on the hill is permitted only if the grounds are open. If you feel more reassured on a solid, slippery
surface rather than soaring through the air, your twirling talents might be better off at an ice skating rink. Surrounded by sculptures, lights, trees and the building itself, the National Portrait Gallery’s ice rink is an idyllic way to spend an afternoon, skating with friends and grabbing a bite to eat at the Pavilion Cafe. Tickets are sold in 45-minute sessions at the top of each hour, so make sure to get there at a time that ensures you won’t be waiting around in the cold. With a student ID, admission is $10 and skate rentals are $6. The rink is open until March 3, weather permitting, giving plenty of time to skate amid iconic works of art. Across from popular music venue The Anthem, the Wharf’s ice rink sits over the water on Transit Pier. There are many restaurants, shops and food stands nearby if a break from the cold is desired. The rink is open until Feb. 25 but does have some closures due to public holidays and private events. If you prefer curling over ice skating, the rink offers sessions that teams of four can sign up for. Admission is $13 and skate rental is $8. A short 15-minute walk from campus, Washington Harbour’s ice rink overlooks the Potomac River, the Kennedy Center and parts of Georgetown. The rink is open until Feb. 25 and has an $11 admission fee and a
$7 skate rental fee. Not only is the rink surrounded by the harbor, but also restaurants and shops, including Bozzeli’s Italian Deli for a quick bite or Farmers Fishers Bakers for a casual sit-down meal. Tickets are sold in 90-minute increments to make the most out of your skating experience. If spending snow days outside is not your vibe, cafes around the District serve up hot chocolate that will keep you warm all day long. Colada Shop, a Cuban cafe offering drinks, smoothies, breakfast, lunch and desserts, offers Chocolate de la Abuela, a classic Cuban hot chocolate. This twist on a regular hot chocolate features spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and clove for a bit of flair. The closest location to Foggy Bottom is 1900 N St. NW. The French-inspired cafe Maman, with locations in Penn Quarter, Dupont Circle and Georgetown, also offers three hot chocolate options off of their vast menu. The normal hot chocolate is decadent and is topped with cocoa powder. The lavender hot chocolate features a lavender flavor alongside the rich hot chocolate drink. Those looking for a notso-hot hot chocolate can opt for the kids’ hot chocolate, preventing any risk of a burnt tongue. The cafe itself is decorated with bright flowers and offers tons of natural lighting, something to look forward to during gray winters.
Zendaya in the highly anticipated film “Challengers,” which is in theaters this April.
Pop culture preview: The music and movies you need to know for 2024 GW HATCHET STAFF No one could’ve predicted that the pop culture of 2023 would be defined by Taylor Swift dating a podcasting tight end. But that won’t stop us from trying our luck at guessing what the seminal events in music and movies will be. From highly anticipated pop albums to movies about love and tennis, here is everything to know about the year to be in pop culture.
Dua Lipa’s Third Album
EÓIGHAN NOONAN | SENIOR STAFF WRITER After wiping her Instagram feed and debuting new auburn hair in a series of cryptic posts in October, the U.K.’s reigning pop princess is ready to start her new era this year. 2024 is slated to be yet another year of Dua Lipa, with the singer’s first album since 2020’s recordbreaking “Future Nostalgia.” In November the singer took on a darker sound with the lead single of her new album “Houdini,” a groovy, synth-pop track. The song marks a shift away from Dua’s usual club tracks while maintaining the same electric edge present in the singer’s biggest hits.
“Challengers” FILE PHOTO BY CAMILLE DESANTO Skaters glide across the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Ice Rink.
COURTESY OF MGM
NICHOLAS ANASTACIO | COMMUNITY RELATIONS
DIRECTOR While the 2023 SAGAFTRA strike delayed its release from September of last year, “Challengers” seems better equipped to define pop culture in 2024. The R-rated film from “Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino has all the makings of a blockbuster: a pearl-clutching love triangle, an inside look into the contentious world of professional tennis and Zendaya. With Zendaya already being in theaters starting March 1 for “Dune: Part Two” and the French Open soon following afterward in late May, “Challengers” looks to hit an ace when it releases April 26.
Mean Girls
Ariana Grande’s 7th Album
NAN JIANG | REPORTER Last summer, moviegoers got a treat with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The film ended with not only a thrilling cliffhanger but also a promise that the conclusion to the trilogy, “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” would be released in March 2024. But due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes last year, the film was delayed indefinitely. Still, with an original March release date planned, there is a good chance it will hit the big screen this year. Coupled with Insomniac’s “Spider-Man 2” video game last year, Spider-Man is an unstoppable hype train and pop culture juggernaut ahead of “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.”
BROOKE SHAPIRO | REPORTER After teasing fans with clips of her in the studio and a rebrand of the “Sweetener” Instagram account, Ariana Grande released her new single, “yes, and?” last Friday. The song features an exciting, club-style beat that nearly forces listeners to dance along. If the rest of Grande’s currently undated anticipated seventh album is anything like “yes, and?” fans can expect the return of her iconic pop sound but with even more house-based elements.
MAANSI CHANDRA | REPORTER Following its premiere in 2004, “Means Girls” took the world by storm. When the 2024 adaptation of the movie — released this past Friday — was first announced, people were skeptical about what the final product would look like since the remake is a musical, centering on songs from the Broadway rendition not featured in the original film. Despite some trepidation around the film, the nostalgia and iconic attitude of the movie will never go out of style.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
SPORTS
January 16, 2024 • Page 6
Sports
THE GW HATCHET
GAMES OF THE WEEK
SWIMMING AND DIVING
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
vs. Georgetown Friday | 7 p.m. The Revs will take on cross-town rival Georgetown in a home meet that starts Friday.
NUMBER CRUNCH
1.7
vs. Saint Louis Saturday | 2 p.m. Women’s basketball will face off against the Billikens in this conference matchup.
Graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo is ninth in the A-10 with 1.7 steals per game.
Women’s basketball takes down St. Bonaventure for first conference win ADRIANO GRASSI REPORTER
Women’s basketball (8-8, 1-3) snapped their three-game losing streak with a 78-62 win over St. Bonaventure (4-12, 1-4) Sunday, Jan. 14, giving them their first win in conference play. Sophomore guard Nya Robertson paced the Revs’ offensive attack, pouring in a career-high 31 points on 10-21 shooting. The monster performance placed her second all time on GW’s single-game scoring list, just 5 points behind Kelli Prange’s record 36. Robertson got off to a scorching-hot start, knocking down five consecutive 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game. Her 15 first-quarter points matched the Bonnies’ collective total for the period. Along with Robinson, graduate student guard Nya Lok provided the Revs with a one-two scoring punch, chipping in 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal on 6-13 shooting. Lok’s eight rebounds were her highest in a single game so far this season. Minus Robinson’s sizzling shooting, the Revs’ looked sluggish on offense, shooting 34.4 percent in the first half of the game. The Bonnies shot 46.4 percent in the first half, and both teams went into halftime
tied 35-35. GW was able to make up for their overall shooting deficit with success from the 3-point line, knocking down eight from behind the arc in the first half compared to the Bonnies’ three. Graduate student guard Essence Brown contributed one of these 3-pointers in addition to grabbing her season-high of rebounds with nine. She finished with 6 points alongside two assists and two blocks. Senior guard Asjah Inniss also had a season high in points, blocks and 3-pointers made off the bench. Inniss scored 14 points, made four 3-pointers and two blocks, tying Essence Brown for the game-high in blocks. GW outscored the Bonnies in bench scoring 19 to 15. The pace of the game picked up after halftime, with the Revs going on a 14-3 run immediately to start the third quarter. They shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and 71 percent from three in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bonnies were able to narrow GW’s lead to 6. However, around the six-and-a-half minute mark, the Revs began to tighten up their defense just as their offense kicked back into gear. After that point, The Revs only missed two more shots and allowed just 4 St. Bonaventure points for the rest of the game. Graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo dominated on
FILE PHOTO BY LEXI CRITCHETT | PHOTOGRAPHER
Mayowa Taiwo goes up for a contested layup.
the defensive end all game, pulling down eight rebounds and snagging four steals. With those eight rebounds, Taiwo moved into fifth place on GW’s career rebounds list with 879, 82 away from former WNBA MVP and current New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones who sits in fourth place all-time. The Revs struggled with
turnovers all game, giving the ball away 18 times, compared to the Bonnies’ 17. The Bonnies were better at capitalizing off GW’s giveaways, scoring 23 points off turnovers, compared to GW’s 9. The Revs made up for their offensive cough-ups with a deluge of second-chance scoring, recording 17 second-
chance points compared to St. Bonaventure’s 8. With the win, the Revs move to 8-8 overall on the season and 1-3 in the Atlantic 10 conference, where they are now in 11th place. The squad will look to improve their conference standing Wednesday, Jan. 17, when they take on Dayton (7-9, 1-4) at 7 p.m. at the UD Arena.
GW secures second place in Lindsey Ferris Invitational CARRIE MCGUINNESS REPORTER
Gymnastics had its second meet of the year, finishing second out of five in the Lindsey Ferris Invitational in the Charles E. Smith Center this past Saturday, The Revolutionaries finished with a total score of 195.025, right behind the University of Pennsylvania, who took home the win with a score of 195.375. Previously, gymnastics traveled down to Gainesville, Florida, to compete against the University of Florida for their first meet of 2024, finishing in second place with a total score of 194.550. The Revs did not participate in the first rotation after receiving a bye. At the start of the second rotation, junior Sarah Zois secured first for vault with a score of 9.850. Zois’s career high on vault is 9.900, which she earned at the 2023 EAGL Championship. Additionally, sophomore Kasey Burke and junior Rachel Katz both totaled 9.725. Katz had earned a career high of 9.900 resulting in her first vault title at a competition in February of 2023. On rotation three of bar, freshman
Sophia Tyeryar, a 2023 Region 7 second-place finisher on the beam, set a personal best for bar, scoring 9.725. Senior Anneliese Silverman scored 9.700 while freshman Delany DeHann and freshman Maya Peter both contributed scores of 9.550. Katz ended the bar rotation with a score of 9.375 while junior Marlee York earned a 9.650. Senior Kendall Whitman, along with Zois and Peters, totaled 9.925 in rotation four of beam. Junior Marlee York scored a 9.775 before the rotation was completed by sophomore Deana Sheremeta, totaling a 9.100. At the end of rotation four, the Revs sat comfortably with a score of 49.025, tied with Cornell for first place. In the final and fifth rotation on floor, Whitman gave the Revs a strong start with a score of 9.925. Senior Payton Lynch and York gave 9.825’s to the Revs. The final rotation was finished off by both Burke, who brought home a career high, and Sheremeta, who scored 9.800’s, respectively. The Revs ultimately were unable to earn first place, but overall had strong performances in all rotations. The Buff and Blue will have a
Revs hold off George Mason comeback at Smith Center From Page 1 For GW, this was the first conference game that did not either venture into the overtime period or come down to the wire, a welcome relief for the coaching staff. “I was encouraged by the way we held that lead and, again, it’s we’re a little more comfortable in onepossession games,” Head Coach Chris Caputo said. “But I thought, part of it is when we play with the lead and you can consistently defend the way we did, we do have a lot of weapons on offense.” Caputo said the key to the squad’s success was their strong start to the game, which he made note of pregame to his team. “I challenged those guys,” Caputo said. “I was thinking about whether I should or I shouldn’t. But I decided to go for it. And I just challenged them a little bit about how
we have to be better than the sum of our parts on that side of the ball.” This is the third straight season where the “Revolutionary Rivalry” has taken place on MLK Day, with GW playing host back in 2022, and the game taking place in Fairfax last year, with the Revs taking both matchups. “I think it’s great,” said Buchanan postgame when asked what this rivalry meant to the Revs. “I didn’t know too much of it before I got here on campus. So when I got here, I did my research. It’s a big rivalry game, and I know we got them at Mason, so I’m looking forward to that but I’m glad we got the first.” With this victory, the Revs moved to 14-3 on the year and 3-1 in A-10 play. They continue conference play Saturday, Jan. 20, when they travel to Amherst, Massachusetts, to take on the UMass Minutemen at noon on ESPN+.
FILE PHOTO BY HAILEY REYNA | PHOTOGRAPHER A Revs gymnast swings over the bar during the second meet of the year.
week break before traveling to Battle Creek, Michigan, to face off against
Illinois State and Western Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.
Redshirt forward secures fourth A-10 Rookie of the Week nod JADEN DIMAURO
DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR
ZACH BLACKBURN EDITOR IN CHIEF
Redshirt freshman forward Garrett Johnson took home his fourth Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week award Monday. The honor, awarded for Johnson’s 23-point, threerebound performance in the Revs’ overtime victory over Davidson at the Smith Center on Jan. 13, added to a triumphant freshman campaign for the redshirt who, just two years ago, wasn’t sure if he would ever play basketball again. Johnson, who was committed to play for Princeton University in 2021, was forced to redshirt after doctors discovered a benign tumor in his leg that required him to undergo chemotherapy. After nearly two years of treatment, Johnson was cleared to play basketball again. And on March 23, 2023, the day after his final chemotherapy treatment, he committed to GW. In his first season with the Revs, Johnson has shined, averaging 14.4 points per game over 17 games, all of which he started, putting him at 12th nationally among freshmen.
FILE PHOTO BY SAGE RUSSELL | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Redshirt freshman forward Garrett Johnson attacks the defense .
Fellow redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. sits at seventh with an average of 15.2. Freshmen have flourished under Head Coach Chris Caputo — guard Maximus Edwards won the conference’s Rookie of the Year award last year. Buchanan has won two Rookie of the Week awards himself. Johnson and Buchanan have combined to
win six of the 10 Rookie of the Week honors awarded so far this season, helping lead GW to a 14-3 start, a feat the team hadn’t achieved since the 2015-16 season That year’s team, which finished 24-9 en route to an at-large bid to NCAA Tournament as a 9-seed, fell in the first round 71-66 to 8-seeded Memphis. But it’s not just the freshmen who are bringing
in the honors. Fifth-year senior James Bishop IV won a National Player of the Week award earlier this week after he hit a gamewinning fadeaway with 1.7 seconds left against VCU. The Johnson, Buchanan, Bishop trio all figure to be key cogs for Caputo’s squad as the Revs set their sights on the program’s first NCAA tournament berth since the 2013-14 season.