Vol-120-Iss-16

Monday, January 22, 2024 I Vol. 120 Iss. 16

WWW.GWHATCHET.COM

INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

What’s inside Culture

Opinions

Peruse these lowcost, high-class fashion trends.

Page 7

The editorial board argues the 2024 election will be the rematch nobody asked for.

Page 6

Men’s basketball falls to UMass in second conference loss.

Page 8

Restaurants cut staff, add fees as tipped minimum wage grows

University revenue margin fell slightly behind goal in FY 2023, officials say IANNE SALVOSA NEWS EDITOR

The University continues to have a “strong” balance sheet but its revenue margin fell behind the target in fiscal year 2023, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes said at a Staff Council meeting Friday.

Fernandes said officials strive to achieve a 2 percent “safe zone” between revenue and expenses each fiscal year but recorded a 1 percent difference between revenue and expenses in FY 2023. He said officials use the margin to fund unforeseen expenses and will work toward increasing the efficient use of investments to reach the 2 percent target.

He added that the 2 percent margin is the standard held by Moody’s Investors Service, a credit rating agency that affi rmed GW’s A1 credit rating in 2022.

“If anything happens that is unforeseen, and then I like to say sometimes the wind blows in the wrong direction or something like that occurs, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for dealing with those things,” Fernandes said at the meeting.

He said 66 percent of GW’s total revenue came from tuition in FY 2023, which officials can direct

Sports

ERIKA FILTER NEWS EDITOR

MAGGIE RHOADS STAFF WRITER

FILE PHOTO BY CHUCKIE COPELAND | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes at a Faculty Senate meeting.

toward any University expense, while revenue sources like donations are limited to what the donors want their money to fund.

He said the distribution of expenses does not leave much money for funding bonuses, like merit pay for high-performing staff, because 56 percent of expenses were spent on compensation and benefits, 17 percent was spent on purchased services and 5

percent was spent on occupancy in FY 2023.

“The numbers kind of create some tightness there,” Fernandes said at the meeting.

He said the University’s balance sheet is continuing to grow from increases in investments and endowment. Officials announced in October that the endowment, a fi nancial foundation used to fund professorships, scholarships

and construction projects largely from donations, rose to $2.5 billion after a slight decline. He added that GW’s long-term debt, which sat at $2 billion in FY 2023, has “stabilized” after rising to $2.2 billion in FY 2020.

“If you look at our debt profi le over the last few years, we haven’t really raised anything,” Fernandes said. “We’ve been very careful.”

Over a year after the passage of a bill that will continue to raise tipped workers’ minimum wages, Foggy Bottom and West End restaurants have implemented service fees and cut staff to account for new operating costs.

At least six restaurants in the neighborhood have begun charging service fees of 5 percent or lower since the D.C. Council voted to implement Initiative 82 in May 2023, after voters approved the measure the previous November. The initiative consists of gradual increases in the tipped minimum wage, beginning with an increase from $6 per hour to $8 per hour in July, which Foggy Bottom and West End restaurant owners said has stretched their staffs and budgets.

Tonic at Quigley’s, Bindaas, Circa and

Surfside all implemented service fees of 3 to 4 percent. Chef Geoff ’s, which has a location in West End, charges a 5 percent “Initiative 82 fee,” while Founding Farmers began charging a 5 percent “wellness charge” during the pandemic.

The tipped minimum wage increased to $8 per hour in July and will increase again to $10 per hour in July 2024, gradually increasing each year until it matches the minimum wage — currently $17.05 per hour — in 2027.

Jeremy Pollok, the owner of Tonic at Quigley’s, said he began charging a 3 percent service fee after the last wage increase in July, but servers can remove the fee upon a customer’s request.

He said managing the restaurant’s fi nances in a way that keeps customers satisfied and staff appropriately paid is like a “balancing act.”

See OWNERS Page 4

Researchers claim to discover new Tyrannosaurus species AUGUST FRIEBOLIN REPORTER

JENNA LEE REPORTER

Researchers claim to have discovered a new species of dinosaur — Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex — in a study co-authored by a GW professor released earlier this month.

The study analyzed bones from New Mexico previously thought to have belonged to a T. rex and claims that differences in their structure and geographic location from other T. rex fossils indicate the fossils belong to a different species.

Alexander Pyron, an associate professor of biology and a co-author of the study, said identifying the new

species reveals there were more diverse families of dinosaurs than previously thought.

“Previously we only knew a few species, and we thought maybe there were only maybe four or five species of dinosaur walking around in that area of time,” Pyron said. “Then you start finding all of these new species, and they have these morphological differences.”

There are two differing hypotheses relating to tyrannosaurs’ origins — one claims that T. rex and T. mcraeensis came to North America via a land bridge connecting to Asia, while the other argues the tyrannosaurs evolved from animals in Southern Laramidia, a land formation that is modern-day Western North America. Because researchers found that the fossil is 6 million to 7 million years older

than other T. rex fossils found in North America, the study supports the theory that the dinosaur originated in Western North America and was thus classified as a different species.

Pyron said the jaw of the T. mcraeensis is noticeably more slender than the T. rex and has a different ridge over its brow, which, along with the difference in age and location, led the researchers to conclude the fossil was out of the range of what they believe are normal variations found in T. rex bones. Debates over the identification of fossils are a common problem in paleontology due to disagreements about how species should be classified, incomplete skeletons and individual physical variations within species.

See EXPERTS Page 4

COURTESY OF CHIP CLARK/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Foggy Bottom crime rose in 2023 as total crime in Ward 2 remains low MAX PORTER

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

Despite being one of the safest areas in the city, the greater Foggy Bottom neighborhood faced an uptick in reports of crime between 2022 and 2023, an uptick lower than the jump in crime reported around much of the rest of D.C. Crime in Ward 2, which includes the National Mall and neighborhoods like Foggy Bottom, West End and Dupont Circle, climbed by 14 percent between 2022 and 2023, the lowest rise in crime among D.C.’s eight wards, according to Open Data DC. But crime within the bounds of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission — which includes all of the University’s Foggy Bottom Campus — rose by 54 percent from 2022, the fifthhighest rise in crime among all 46 ANCs. About 90 percent of crimes reported in Ward 2 and ANC 2A between 2022 and 2023 were property crimes, including robbery, thefts from auto, theft and burglary.

Before last year, crime in Foggy Bottom’s ANC had been steadily decreasing since 2019, when there were 620 incidents, 124 fewer than the 10-year high of 744 incidents in 2015.

Jim Malec, the chair of the Foggy Bottom ANC, said Foggy Bottom and West End are some of the safest neighborhoods in the District despite the rise in crime. He said assessing changes in

AN NGO | GRAPHICS EDITOR crime levels by percentage can be “misleading.”

“In a neighborhood as safe as ours, any increase in crime looks enormous because the numbers are so low to begin with,” Malec said in an email.

All eight wards in the District experienced a rise in crime in 2023. Crime in Ward 2 increased the least, from 4,805 to 5,477 reported incidents.

Since 2020, crime has remained lower than pre-pandemic levels in Ward 2 after crime in the area reached

a 10-year high of 7,696 incidents in 2016. Crime in Ward 2 rose by about 14 percent between 2020 and 2021, from 4,687 to 5,361 incidents, and dropped between 2021 and 2022 by about 11 percent and from 4,790 to 4,234 incidents.

As crime in D.C. increased in 2023, crime across the U.S. decreased. Between January and September 2023, violent crime dropped by 8 percent and property crime by about 6 percent compared to the same period in 2022, according to FBI data. D.C. was one of the

only major American cities in which homicides rose year over year.

Patrice Sulton, the founder and executive director of the DC Justice Lab, a policy research center advocating for changes to the District’s justice system, said homicides could be higher in D.C. than most other major cities because residents can easily travel to nearby states with loose gun laws and return with firearms. She said D.C. lawmakers have focused more on gun-possession penalties than the gun-ac-

cess issue at the root of homicides in the District.

“We’re going to talk about what the penalties are for having a gun as if a person can’t just get on the Metro and go get another gun,” Sulton said.

Out of all crimes, reports of robbery increased the most between 2022 and 2023 in Ward 2 and Foggy Bottom’s ANC. Last year, robbery rose by 68 percent in Ward 2, from 235 to 394 incidents, and rose by 200 percent within ANC 2A, from nine to 27 incidents.

In American cities where crime is dropping, lawmakers have increased investments in crime prevention and coordinating actions between government agencies — strategies D.C. has ignored, Sulton said.

“D.C. has really failed miserably at both of those things,” Sulton said.

Motor vehicle theft climbed the second-most of all crimes in Ward 2 and the Foggy Bottom ANC between 2022 and 2023, with theft representing the thirdhighest rise.

There were at least 73 reports of theft on campus in 2023, with 35 incidents occurring around the 900 Block of New Hampshire Avenue, the location of a 7-Eleven.

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who chairs the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, introduced a 90-page package of crime bills Jan. 10 that would create new gunrelated offenses like “endangerment with a firearm” that would make it a felony to fire a gun in public, reduce the threshold for someone to be charged with retail theft and increase video surveillance in the District.

While increasing in the Foggy Bottom ANC, theft from vehicles decreased in Ward 2 and was the only crime to decrease in the District as a whole between 2022 and 2023. In that span, assault with a dangerous weapon and burglary decreased in Ward 2 and in Foggy Bottom.

NEWS

January 22, 2024 • Page 2

News

THE GW HATCHET

THIS WEEK’S

EVENTS

POLITICS, PAWS, AND PASSING LAWS Wednesday, Jan. 24 | 4 p.m. | GW Law School Attend a panel discussion about how advocates pass laws for animals.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY Jan. 20, 2009

DSA DINNER & DIALOGUE SERIES: FREE SPEECH

Thursday, Jan. 25 | 7 p.m. | University Student Center Join Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives Dwayne Wright for a discussion about GW’s free speech policies.

Thousands of students flocked to the National Mall to witness former President Barack Obama’s swearing-in, marking the inauguration of the first Black president and the largest event in D.C. history.

PHOTO ESSAY Growing up Asian American has been a lonely experience for me as a second-generation and only child.

This winter was my first time returning to China after five years, and I was left finding my place, having grown into my Asian American identity and relearning how to communicate in my rusting Mandarin.

I documented my trip as a way to rely on a medium that feels native.

Susan K. Sell’s faculty biography.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAGE RUSSELL | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Political science and international affairs professor, former Elliott institute director dies RACHEL MOON

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

FLORENCE SHEN | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Susan K. Sell, a professor emerita of political science and international affairs, died Dec. 24.

Sell taught at the University for 25 years from 1991 to 2016 and served as the director of the Institute for Global and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs from 2007 to 2012. Her colleagues and friends remember her as a vibrant and witty person and a caring mentor.

Kimberly Morgan, a professor of political science and international affairs, said Sell liked to mentor younger faculty and was a role model for women. Morgan added that Sell cared about helping people who “might not have had a shot” advance in the world.

“She always had an eye on people who were a little marginalized, a little on the outskirts, and she liked to promote people’s ability to advance in the way that they wanted to,” Morgan said.

Sell earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado College, her master’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, according to her WGBH profile page. After she left GW, Sell worked as a professor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance at Australia National University.

Sell also served on the board of Intellectual Property Watch, a nonprofit that provides information on intellectual property policymaking. She was also appointed to the expert advisory panel for the United Nations Secretary General’s “high-level” panel on public health and access to medicines from 2015 to 2016, per her faculty profile page.

Morgan said Sell helped develop the Political Science department and the Elliott School into the institutions they are today because she joined the department in the 1990s and fostered high

expectations for its research, civility and humanity. She said Sell also helped foster connections between scholars and students and organized opportunities for students to attend talks and events at the Elliott School as director of the Institute for Global and International Affairs.

“She was at GW until 2016, and it was a time of real expansion of the University and real expansion of the Elliott School and of the political science department, and she was in on the ground floor for all of that,” Morgan said.

Sell specialized in the field of intellectual property rights, something Morgan said Sell embodied because she was always sticking up for the “little guy” in intellectual property regimes where powerful countries and companies set up operations for their benefit, placing smaller countries and companies at a disadvantage.

“Her work really reflected her overall vision about the world, and it was really important because people were not doing that kind of research when she got into it and so she was a path breaker,” Morgan said.

Morgan, Sell’s neighbor in Maryland, said Sell helped Morgan find her current home when she showed her to a house for sale two doors down from her.

Morgan said her favorite memory of Sell was when they would go running or walking in Rock Creek Park on a trail she calls Susan’s Loop. She said they would take a break during their runs or walks to snack and talk — a time when Morgan said she felt she could talk about anything.

“I forever associate it with her, and it was just a time when we could talk about anything, and sometimes other people would join us, sometimes just us,” Morgan said. “That was really a lovely time to spend together.”

Morgan said Sell’s legacy will be her family, including her two sons, as well as the students that she taught and mentored over the years. She said Sell had an “enor-

mous” network of friends and colleagues who carry her with them.

Morgan added that Sell was a cancer survivor who was active in cancer survivor networks.

“There’s people who carry on her strength and her support. So I think in all those ways, she has an impact in many circles and many people that will live on,” Morgan said.

James Lebovic, a professor of political science and international affairs, said Sell was a passionate and enthusiastic professor who imparted her love for the academic material she taught to her students. Lebovic said Sell would follow her students’ professional lives and celebrate their accomplishments as if they were her own.

“She was the real deal,” Lebovic said in an email. “It set a very high standard for the rest of us.”

Lebovic said Sell embraced life and was an “exceptionally” committed colleague, a selfless and loyal friend, and a one-of-a-kind person. Lebovic added that Sell took on the world in her own style and that he fondly remembers their conversations about pop culture and the people they knew.

“She was smart and funny, folksy and wise, edgy and reflective, and a delightful companion even when you had to struggle to keep up with her,” Lebovic said in an email.

Ingrid Creppell, an associate professor of political science and international affairs, said Sell was a hilarious and “exuberant” person with an adventurous, brave and loving spirit who will be deeply missed.

“She infused the world with curiosity about others and the out-of-the-ordinary, and a commitment to truth, as it can be known,” Creppell said.

Creppell added that Sell had a “prodigious energy” and was a freestyle skier as a teenager.

“She relished flipping and flying through the air on her skis, in terrifying, thrilling performances,” Creppell said.

GW installs outdoor anti-rat trash, recycling bins ERIKA FILTER NEWS EDITOR

GW purchased new trash cans and recycling bins to protect the University’s waste and reduce the presence of pests on campus.

University spokesperson Julia Metjian said GW purchased 90 trash cans and 90 recycling bins in September using funds set aside in the June budget, which officials will install through February. She said the bins, manufactured by Bigbelly, curtail rodents from contaminating recycling receptacles by sealing away food remnants.

The cans populate F Street, near South Hall and the Smith Center, and feature a pull-down door to open. Metjian said officials will replace “nearly all” outdoor trash cans on GW campuses with Bigbellies.

“Fully enclosing trash eliminates a key source of food for rodents,” Metjian said in an email.

“Bigbelly has done research to support the conclusion that their products reduce rodent popula-

tions, and cities like New York and Philadelphia use Bigbellies.”

Ian Williams, a technical services manager with the pest control company Orkin and a certified entomologist, said rodents and other pests are unable to access food remnants inside Bigbelly’s metal cans, which are fully enclosed and shut automatically.

“This makes the area less appealing for rats, which will choose to move somewhere else in search of food and therefore reduce their ability to reproduce in that area,” Williams said in an email.

Williams said rats — who build their nests and burrows near reliable food sources — may remain in a given area if there are other sources of food nearby. Orkin ranked D.C. as the fourth-rattiest city in 2023, with residents submitting more than 16,000 rodent complaints for the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September.

“Reducing access to trash is a huge part of rat management but is only part of the overall solution,” Williams said.

KATELYN POWER | PHOTOGRAPHER The new University-issued trash and recycling bins, designed to curtail rodents from contaminating waste receptacles.

NEWS

January 22, 2024 • Page 3

ANC elects vice chair, reelects chair

THE GW HATCHET

CRIME LOG

MAX PORTER

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

THEFT II/FROM BUILDING

Members of a local governing body elected new officers during a meeting Wednesday.

The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission voted to elect 2A03 Commissioner Trupti Patel as the new vice chair.

Commissioners also unanimously voted to reelect 2A02 Commissioner Jim Malec as chair.

Members also welcomed Luke Chadwick, the newest commissioner of ANC 2A who represents singlemember district 2A05, for his first meeting.

Here are some of the meeting’s highlights:

Commissioners elect Patel as new vice chair

Commissioners voted 5-1-3 to elect Patel, who represents the majority of the historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood, to serve as the vice chair of the ANC for the 2024 term in a second round of voting after the first failed.

2A04 Commissioner Ed Comer was the sole member to vote against Patel.

Commissioners voted 4-1-3 for Patel in the first round of voting, with 2A06 Commissioner Joel Causey, 2A08 Commissioner and then-Vice Chair Jordan Nassar and ANC 2A09 Commissioner Evelyn Hudson absent for the vote and Chadwick abstaining.

Following the vote, Comer raised a point of order and said a simple majority of all commissioners in an ANC is required to elect an ANC officer, instead of a simple majority of the commissioners present at a meeting, according to a Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia opinion from July 1997.

Malec said the opinion was “inconclusive” and declared that the first round of voting failed, with the ANC then voting a second time and electing Patel.

Following his initial abstention in the first round of voting, Chadwick said he had no intention of holding up the election and that he only felt comfortable voting for commissioners he was able to speak with before the meeting. He said he was “disappointed” to only just learn about the opinion Comer raised.

“It may have affected my vote,” Chadwick said.

Comer nominated both 2A01 Commissioner Yannik Omictin and Nassar as vice chair in the first round of voting to run against Patel, who both declined the nomination. Commissioners also unanimously reelected Malec as ANC chair and 2A07 Commissioner Dasia Bandy as treasurer, with Comer reelected as secretary with only Patel voting against him.

Commissioners welcome new commissioner

Chadwick, the new commissioner for ANC 2A05 that includes Columbia Plaza, Shenkman Hall and the Remington apartment complex, attended his first ANC 2A meeting Wednesday after the ANC confirmed him the day prior. Chadwick, a second-year master’s student in the urban planning program at Georgetown University, filled the vacancy for the 2A05 position created when Kim Courtney, the former commissioner of the singlemember district, resigned in July.

In commissioners’ opening statements, Chadwick said he is proud to represent Columbia Plaza and 2A05.

“I’m really honored to represent my constituents and glad to be here,”

Mitchell Hall (7-Eleven Store) 1/15/2024 – 12:24 a.m.

Closed Case GW Police Department officers responded to a report that a male subject stole a pack of cigarettes.

No identifiable subject.

THEFT II/FROM BUILDING

Mitchell Hall (7-Eleven Store) 1/15/2024 – 3:07 p.m.

Closed Case GWPD officers responded to a report that a male subject stole consumable goods.

No identifiable subject.

COLIN WAGNER | PHOTOGRAPHER Luke Chadwick, the newest commissioner of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, takes a note during Wednesday's meeting.

Chadwick said.

Chadwick said he works in law in his “day to day” and looks forward to his time on ANC 2A. “I’m really excited to bring my perspective to the ANC and do my best to put things forward that bring as much benefit as possible to the people in our communities,” Chadwick said.

Chadwick received a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations from Syracuse University in 2018 and began attending Georgetown in August 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Commissioners hear New Year updates from MPD lieutenant

Michael Howden, a lieutenant for the Metropolitan Police Department’s Police Service Area 207 — which covers the majority of Foggy Bottom, West End and downtown D.C. — said many of the robberies in greater Foggy Bottom in 2023 were of high-end jackets.

He said community members should consider sewing GPS tracking devices like Apple AirTags in the lining of expensive jackets.

Reports of robbery in Ward 2 and ANC 2A increased more than any other crime between 2022 and 2023, according to Open Data DC. Last year, there were 394 robbery incidents in Ward 2, jumping from 235 in 2022, and 27 incidents in ANC 2A, increasing from nine in 2022.

“We also had a significant impact in the number of robberies and that’s driven by the high-end jackets primarily,” Howden said.

A string of both armed and unarmed Canada Goose jacket robberies near campus in January and February last year prompted a GW Alert that urged students to be cautious while wearing them.

Howden also said there is an upcoming cleanup of a homeless encampment on 23rd and I Street near the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station, which has been delayed by scheduling issues and weather issues.

Commissioners consider three liquor license applications

Commissioners unanimously voted to approve the Washington Marriott Hotel’s application to sell beer and wine in its lobby. While commissioners voted to approve the Washington Marriott Hotel’s application, they voted to change the originally proposed hours of alcoholic beverage sales from 6 to 1 a.m. to 8 to 1 a.m after Patel expressed concern about people being able to purchase alcohol at 6 a.m.

Commissioners unanimously voted to protest Bodega Taqueria y Tequilas’ application to sell alcohol and provide live entertainment. Commissioners, including Patel and Comer, said they were worried about the potential for loud noise late into the night affecting neighbors, with District House across from the location and the Residences on The Avenue a block west.

Commissioners also unanimously voted to protest Hotel AKA Washington Circle’s application to sell alcohol and provide live entertainment because of issues with the hours for the hotel’s “summer garden” in its courtyard, which would be open for alcohol sale, service and consumption from 8 to 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 to 3 a.m. and Sunday from 10 to 2 a.m.

Commissioners fail to consider a resolution concerning the Secure D.C. crime bill

Commissioners ran out of time to consider a resolution Patel introduced and commissioners voted 4-1-4 to add to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, subsequently pushing it back to the end of the agenda, considering the Secure D.C. crime prevention package currently under deliberation in the D.C. Council. Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced the 90-page package of crime bills to the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety earlier this month, passing in an initial committee vote last week.

The package would create new gun-related offenses like endangerment with a firearm that would make it a felony to fire a gun in public and make it easier for people to be charged with retail theft, among other initiatives. A bill Pinto introduced in September that allowed warrantless searches of people charged with violent crimes in any public space was expected to be in the package, but Pinto didn’t include the bill after community members raised concerns about its potential disproportionate impact on people of color.

Commissioners were only able to stay in the meeting location in West End Library between 7 and 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, running over that time before considering Patel’s resolution.

Commissioners said they would communicate about potentially scheduling a special meeting to consider the Secure D.C. resolution after the meeting.

Commissioners will hold the next ANC meeting Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in West End Library.

THEFT II/FROM BUILDING

Thurston Hall Reported 1/16/2024 – Unknown Date and Time Open Case A male student reported his AirPods stolen after leaving them unattended in a third floor lounge.

Case open.

UNLAWFUL ENTRY, THEFT I/FROM BUILDING

School of Media & Public Affairs Building 1/17/2024 – 4:29 a.m.

Closed Case While on routine patrol, GWPD officers observed a male subject inside the School of Media & Public Affairs building while it was closed. Upon further investigation, the officers determined that the subject possessed a stolen GW laptop. Officers arrested the subject and transported to the Metropolitan Police Department Second District for processing.

Subject arrested.

UNLAWFUL ENTRY

1959 E St. NW (Subway Restaurant) 1/17/2024 – 10:34 a.m.

Closed Case GWPD officers responded to a report of a male subject who refused to leave the building. Officers made contact with the subject, issued him a bar notice and escorted him off the property.

Subject barred.

THEFT II/FROM BUILDING

Support Building Reported 1/18/2024 – Unknown Date and Time Open Case A female student reported that property was said to be delivered to the Support Building but discovered it was not there when she went to retrieve it.

Case open.

—Compiled by Max Porter

Officials close Thurston dining hall, Lerner amid water main breaks MAX PORTER

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

Officials temporarily closed Thurston dining hall and Lerner Health and Wellness Center Sunday afternoon in response to two separate water main breaks, according to emails sent to campus residents.

There are two main breaks near campus, according to the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority website – one on 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue of low priority that will be addressed within 30 days and another on 23rd and G Street of higher priority that will be addressed within 48 hours.

The main breaks cut off water access to Thurston and Mitchell halls until about 8 p.m.

Sunday, according to an email sent to Thurston and Mitchell residents, and closed Thurston dining hall and Lerner for the rest of the night.

An email sent to GW residents said Thurston dining hall and Lerner would remain closed until Monday morning while facilities officials inspect both buildings.

GW Dining posted on Instagram Sunday afternoon that Thurston dining hall would be closed for the evening, and facilities officials emailed Thurston Hall residents shortly after stating no water was available for use in Thurston or Mitchell halls.

“We are in the process of evaluating this situation and will provide updates as additional infor-

mation is available,” the email said.

University spokesperson Julia Metjian did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the main break.

John Lisle, the vice president of marketing and communications at D.C. Water, said in an email that the D.C. Water Command Center could not pinpoint a nearby main break based on the information GW Dining provided about why they closed the dining hall in Thurston Hall, but emails from GW officials later cited two D.C. water emergencies.

The main break comes after a host of water-related issues on campus in October and November. On Oct. 31, officials evacuated students from FSK Hall after ceiling repairs on the eighth floor triggered the building’s sprinklers, causing water damage in rooms and at least four students to stay in hotels due to damage. On Nov. 9, officials closed Gelman Library for a day after a water main leak caused flooding on H Street between 21st and 22nd streets, prompting officials to shut off the water supply in Gelman Library.

D.C. Water officials also advised some areas of Ward 3 and 4 on Friday to boil their water before drinking due to harmful pathogens potentially entering the water system due to a loss in pressure. Officials lifted the advisory Sunday after tests determined the water met safety standards.

NEWS

January 22, 2024 • Page 4

THE GW HATCHET

Restaurant owners implement fees to remedy I-82 expenses

Spring sorority recruitment rises for third year after 2020 low JENNIFER IGBONOBA

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

Participation in the Panhellenic Association’s spring recruitment rose by more than 20 percent this year, continuing a yearslong trend of increased sorority recruitment.

A total of 378 students participated in spring 2024 recruitment, an increase from the 311 participants in 2023, according to Assistant Dean of Student Life Brian Joyce. Joyce said 11 sororities offered bids to 266 students this spring, with 260 accepting their offers.

Joyce said Alpha Delta Pi recruited the most new members out of all the chapters with 30 students, followed

by Kappa Kappa Gamma with 29 new members, Kappa Delta with 28 and Alpha Epsilon Phi and Sigma Kappa both with 27. Chi Omega and Alpha Phi both recruited 26 new members, while 25 members joined Pi Beta Phi, 23 joined Sigma Delta Tau and 19 joined Kappa Alpha Theta, Joyce said.

Joyce added that the number of potential new members has steadily increased since 2021 when the Panhellenic sororities shifted to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Panhellenic Association did an excellent job marketing for this year’s recruitment process, and they effectively articulated the value of joining a Panhellenic sorority,” Joyce said in an email. “The rise in membership numbers shows that students are interested in engaging in GW’s vibrant student life.”

The number of accepted bids this year increased from 250 last year, 222 in 2022 and decreased from 289 in 2020. The number of participants in recruitment also increased from 275 potential new members in both 2022 and 2021.

Recruitment reached its peak in 2014 when more than 600 students received bids from chapters — two years before the University announced it would be implementing a deferred recruitment policy in 2018 that required students to complete 12 credit hours before joining any Greek letter organization. That year, 481 students accepted bids, which dropped to 460 in 2019 and plummeted to 289 in 2020.

Panhellenic recruitment week consists of four days, or “rounds,” of activities in the University Student Center.

Day one began with the values round,

messaging.

Some bar and restaurant owners opposed the bill when it went up for a vote in November 2022, saying it would reduce tipped workers’ overall pay after tips because people would be inclined to tip less or stop tipping entirely, and the tipping model allows restaurants to keep labor costs low. The D.C. Council repealed a similar bill that would have eliminated tipped minimum wage in 2018, marking disagreement with voters who approved the initiative. But when the bill appeared on the November 2022 D.C. ballot, Initiative 82 passed with 73.94 percent approval.

Browner said the organization expects the profits from service fees to go directly to workers.

“It does have the desire as anticipated for people in the real life,” Browner said.

Geoff Tracy, the owner of two Chef Geoff’s locations and Lia’s in Chevy Chase, Maryland, implemented a 5 percent “Initiative 82 fee” when the first July wage increase went into effect, with language on menus telling customers to adjust tips accordingly. Tracy said the goal of the fee was to keep servers’ and bartenders’ wages consistent with what they were before the initiative passed, at between $35 and $40 per hour after tips.

Tracy said the incremental wage increases of $2 per hour add up to 30 to 35 percent increases in wages for workers each July. He said the cost of providing tipped workers with the D.C. minimum wage would add up to $400,000 for each of his restaurants.

“It’s been a headache,” Tracy said.

From Page 1

JENNIFER IGBONOBA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Members of the Panhellenic Association's executive board celebrate on Bid Day.

where each chapter taught potential new members about their priorities, followed by philanthropy day, where chapters discussed the sorority’s main service initiatives, sisterhood round, where chapters discussed how they foster community, and preference round, when potential new members had deeper conversations with members of their final two desired chapters.

Senior Evelynn Schoenthal, the president of the Panhellenic Association, said she was “pleased” with the outcome of recruitment this year and proud of members for participation throughout the process.

“I’m optimistic about the future of Panhellenic and our chapters at GW given how well this year went,” Schoenthal said in an email.

Schoenthal said an early start to the opening of recruitment registration and marketing, social media engagement highlighting the members and their accomplishments, and greater financial accessibility increased participation in recruitment this year. She added that Panhellenic granted more recruitment fee waivers than years prior, offered an anonymous Google Form for potential new members to submit concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion concerns to be addressed promptly, and created a new recruitment DEI coordinator position — filled Jacqueline Garibay — to help with diversity and inclusion

efforts.

“Jacqueline’s position was vital to the success of this year’s recruitment,” Schoenthal said in an email.

“They opened up a space for continuous discussions and learning within Panhellenic. It also allowed potential new members a resource for all things DEI-related and concerns they otherwise may have been uncomfortable sharing.”

Garibay, a senior, said their role aimed to show people the values-focused side of recruitment and address preconceptions about Greek life being an unwelcoming space.

Garibay said they had DEI trainings with each chapter’s vice presidents in preparation for recruitment, as well as Pi Rho Chis — temporary disaffiliated members of Panhellenic that help guide potential new members through recruitment — and hosted a training session for potential new members. They added that they brought Victoria Alexander, a doctoral student at the University of Maryland whose research relates to race and identity, to speak about DEI in Greek life and becoming anti-racist as a Greek organization.

“I’ve felt a lot of pressure this year to expand the role as much as I can so that the person after me can have as much room to work with as possible, but it’s been a lot of learning how to fit into the overall recruitment process,” Garibay said in an email.

“If you have too much staff on, maybe the service is great but then your staff doesn’t make all that much money,” Pollok said. “And if you don’t have enough staff on, yeah maybe you’re cutting down on your costs, but then the customer is unhappy.”

Pollok said he had to cut some of his employees’ hours and reduce his overall staff from an average of 80 to 90 employees before the initiative’s passage to between 70 and 80 now. Pollok said hosts may now start work 30 minutes before the restaurant opens, when previously they would have arrived an hour in advance.

Pollok said some Tonic employees quit to find work in Maryland or Virginia after the initiative passed, where they could work more hours or make more in tips. A lawmaker in Montgomery County, Maryland, withdrew his bill Tuesday that would have eliminated tipped wages by 2028 to instead coordinate with a campaign to eliminate tipped wages statewide.

He said maintaining low food prices to ensure GW students can afford to eat at Tonic represents another part of the balancing act. Pollok said his menu has “GW Specials,” like $1 wings for the first two months of the semester or a hamburger with a side and a drink for $10.

Nakia Browner, the national co-organizing director for One Fair Wage, the national organization aiming to eliminate the tipped minimum wage, said D.C. workers have reported that their tips have remained consistent since Initiative 82 passed, despite negative

Experts debate study claiming to discover new Tyrannosaurus species From Page 1 Pyron joined the study, which started in 2013, to analyze the phylogeny, or evolution, and geographic patterns of the bones. He said boaters discovered the fossil in New Mexico in 1983, while most T. rex bones were found in Asia or the Northern United States.

“What I analyzed was their evolutionary history, phylogeny and geographic distribution, their geographic range,” Pyron said.

“The paleontology team, these bones were discovered 40 years ago and after they had created this evolutionary diagram of phylogeny, they asked me to kind of step in on the computational and statistical analysis side to try to understand some of these patterns.”

With the study’s findings of earlier tyrannosaurs living in New Mexico, Pyron said the research supports the theory that tyrannosaurs come from Western North America. He said it is feasible that the creatures could have migrated north from the New Mexico area, but they do not have enough information to confirm the reason for the difference in location.

Pyron said the study tells scientists how these related species were able to evolve and take on different physical traits in different geographic locations.

“What it tells us is that not only were they moving around over these vast different distances, but in these different areas, they were evolving these really subtle and distinct ecological differences as well,” Pyron said.

Experts in paleontology said there are differing opinions among scholars about whether the study’s findings have enough data to conclude the species is different from the T. rex.

Thomas Holtz, a principal lecturer of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Maryland, said the debate exists because there is no specified measure for what amount of difference constitutes a new species, and it is difficult to determine with such limited data.

“I know I have some colleagues who aren’t convinced, they think it really is T. rex, and they think it’s younger, like the old idea,” Holtz said.Holtz said the study raises questions about the differences in size between dinosaurs living in the Northern U.S. compared to the South be-

cause researchers do not know if the differences could be attributed to environmental factors. He said the new species is bigger than the T. rex, which aligns with other species from the South also being relatively big.

“No one has demonstrated what aspect of the environment it is, it’s some environmental difference,” Holtz said. “So is it the types of plants that are present? Is it overall productivity? Is it some other aspect of the habitat? Is it a temperature? We don’t have that narrowed down yet.”

Thomas Carr, an associate professor and director of the Institute of Paleontology at Carthage College, said the initial identification of the fossil as T. rex was correct.

He said its bone structure and location were similar enough to oth-

er T. rex specimens that it could be explained as a different individual, instead of a different species.

Since there has been only one fossil found with these variations, the fossil is not enough evidence to call it a new species, Carr said.

“Part of the problem is that we have such a low sample size that a false positive like this is a relatively high probability,” Carr said.

Mark Loewen, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah and co-author of the study, said one of the defining features of the T. rex skull, the postorbital bone, was notably different in this fossil from every other fossil assumed to be a T. rex.

“The main difference is there’s a bony protuberance that comes right behind the eye, we call it a postorbital boss,” Loewen said.

Former ambassador talks career, reflects on Martin Luther King Jr. ANN DUAN REPORTER

A former ambassador discussed his career and how Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. impacted his professional decisions at the Elliott School of International Affairs on Thursday.

George Moose said King’s opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he decried as imperialist and a diversion of money from domestic programs created to help Black people, led Moose to question whether he should be representing the United States abroad. The conversation with Professor Chris Kojm of the Leadership, Ethics and Practice Initiative was hosted by the Elliott School.

Moose said he faced decisions without clear answers many times throughout his career in Vietnam, Rwanda and at home, navigating deescalation and negotiation in the context of tense political landscapes marred by hostility.

“I remember understanding the need to be mindful of what the consequences are when you fail, but we still are a very, very complicated government,” Moose said.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Grinnell Col-

lege, Moose entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967 and was assigned to Vietnam, Barbados, the State Department’s Office of Southern African Affairs and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Other than serving as U.S. ambassador to Benin from 1983-86 and to Senegal from 1988-91, his diplomatic assignments also included Alternate Representative to the United Nations Security Council from 1991-92 and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1993-97.

In 2002, Moose attained the rank of career ambassador, a title awarded in recognition of “especially distinguished service over a sustained period” to 62 members of the Foreign Service since the creation of the title in 1955, according to the State Department.

As a student studying Vietnamese in the Foreign Service at the beginning of his career, Moose said he remembers King’s “deep criticism” of U.S. involvement in Vietnam as against the self-determination of the Vietnamese people and for money from poverty programs to war efforts in his final Sunday sermon March 31, 1968, held at the Washington National Cathedral before his assassination the

following month.

Moose said although challenging American involvement in the Vietnam War jeopardized King’s relationship with President Lyndon Johnson and other officials who were instrumental in implementing civil rights reform, he said King preached anti-war messages with confidence.

“One of the things he constantly sought to do is to draw the parallels and linkages between what he regarded as imperialistic and the problems of racism, injustice and poverty here,” Moose said.

Moose said he acknowledges that King and the Civil Rights Movement allowed him the possibility of working in the Foreign Service and that there is an “irony” in his Foreign Service assignment to Vietnam during the war despite King’s opposition to the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam War. “As a foreign service officer studying Vietnamese about to go to Vietnam, King’s words did not give me great comfort or confidence in the decision that I had taken to join the State Department,” Moose said.

Moose said his most challenging experience as assistant secretary of African

COURTESY OF THE U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS Former Ambassador George Moose speaks at a U.S. Institute of Peace event.

affairs was navigating the U.S.’s failure to acknowledge instability in Africa leading up to the Rwandan Genocide. Moose said whenever he testified on the Hill, members of Congress weren’t concerned with sending aid.

“The questions I got weren’t, ‘How can we help?’”

Moose said. “It was ‘Why do we need all these embassies in Africa?’”

Moose said the United States played a crucial role

in peacekeeping, ushering in the transition to democracy for many West African nations but did not foresee the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi ethnic minority group in Rwanda and take the necessary action to understand the magnitude of the region’s political tensions before it was too late.

“I think, for all of us who were involved, there was deep regret that we weren’t more shrill and aggressive

and vocal in challenging the administration,” Moose said.

Moose said there were signs of violence and potential genocide in Rwanda but that global awareness of these signs was inadequate.

He said this taught him to be willing to listen and learn and to question his assumptions.

“Rwanda was just a reminder of how little we know and how little we should presume we know,” Moose said.

NEWS

January 22, 2024 • Page 5

THE GW HATCHET

Thousands gather in March for Life, demand federal abortion bans HANNAH MARR

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

MOLLY ST. CLAIR REPORTER

Thousands of anti-abortion protesters gathered on the National Mall on Friday for the annual March for Life to demand legislators implement federal abortion bans.

Large student groups from local colleges and schools from across the country, like the University of Dayton and Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, convened on the Mall in snow and freezing temperatures to show younger generations’ support for the anti-abortion movement. Friday’s protest marked the second March for Life since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutional abortion protections and triggering the implementation of state laws that restrict abortion.

Megan Clancy, the president of GW Catholics, said about half a dozen members from the organization attended mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dupont Circle before heading to the march. She said March for Life was a “really wonderful opportunity” for the organization because many of their beliefs as Catholics revolve around the innate dignity of every human being, including “people in the womb” and those on their deathbed.

Clancy said she hopes lawmakers will pass bills that aim to protect mothers and women who unexpectedly get pregnant, fetuses and children.

She said this legislation will help women avoid feeling as if they’re “backed into a corner” in having an abortion because

KAIDEN YU | PHOTOGRAPHER

Demonstrators push down the National Mall behind a March for Life banner.

they can’t stay in school or afford to have a child.

“What we’re fighting for is policies and solutions and programs that will address and alleviate that crisis, not the unborn baby in the womb,” Clancy said.

The protest comes the day after the Republican-led House of Representatives passed two anti-abortion bills, including a bill that aims to require colleges to disseminate information on the rights and resources available for pregnant students.

The second bill seeks to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from discriminating against pregnancy resource centers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the crowd from a stage and said he was a product of an unplanned pregnancy, but his teenage parents “chose life.” He said the United States needs to build a culture that encourages and assists more people to make the same decision.

He said it is a “critical time” to promote quality health care for both women and their fetuses.

“We’re passing these bills and marching today because it takes a lot of work to convince people that every single unborn child has a value that is too profound and precious to ignore,” Johnson said.

Katelyn Rickert, a George-

town University student, said despite the court overturning Roe v. Wade, there is still “a lot of work” to be done to make sure women and fetuses are supported in all states, including those that already have laws prohibiting abortion. She said abortions should be illegal in all states and hopes legislators will continue to pass legislation for new parents.

“If you look at a lot of the laws the states have done, they also include removing taxes on baby items, or creating resources for a woman who is pregnant to go and get those things,” Rickert said. “Those are the types of things we need to continue to push.”

Nick Cichon, a senior at Catholic University, said it’s vital for young people to be active in the anti-abortion movement to spread “love and awareness” to those experiencing unwanted pregnancies. Cichon said he attended the march “for everybody” because everyone has the right to a “good life.”

He said he hopes the movement will continue moving forward until abortion is illegal in every state.

“I have a lot of friends that have unexpected, unplanned pregnancies,” Cichon said. “I know a lot of people that are getting abortions right now, and it’s really important for them to feel like they are loved and that they are cared for in society.”

GW Reproductive Autonomy and Gender Equity planned to attend a counterprotest hosted by ReproAction — a national organization that aims to spread abortion education — outside the Supreme Court but posted on their Instagram story that they canceled the demonstration due to inclement weather the day of the march.

Isa Pardino, a nursing student in New York City, said she attended the march to celebrate women’s fertility as a prospective midwife and nurse practitioner who is “passionate” about women’s health. Pardino said she combines her Catholic background with her health care perspective in her belief that contraceptives like birth control “belittles what God gave us naturally” since she believes contraceptives diminish the body’s natural functions.

“Health care providers and a lot of like the people today kind of see women’s fertility as a burden,” Pardino said.

Transfer students report struggle for community despite admissions jump NICOLA DEGREGORIO REPORTER

SACHINI ADIKARI REPORTER

Jesse Mutamba stepped onto campus in August for the first time since being admitted, surrounded by first-year students wearing Class of 2027 T-shirts.

He said New Student Orientation would have been great if only he wasn’t a transfer student.

Mutamba, a junior who transferred from Montgomery College last semester, is one of 274 students who transferred to GW for the fall 2023 semester, a sixfold increase from the 44 transfer students admitted in fall 2022, according to an enrollment update released in November. Despite the increase, more than a dozen transfer students said they had trouble finding community with each other — which they said would have made the adjustment to GW smoother — because events like New Student Orientation are catered toward incoming first-years.

Mutamba said he felt

“isolated” at New Student Orientation, where he was the oldest person in his group. He said while students were given the run-down of GW, transfer students experienced orientation with first-year students instead of fellow transfers.

“I did feel out of place,” Mutamba said. “It seemed more like a freshman event than a new student event.”

Mutamba said he found it difficult to find mixers and events for transfer students. He said in the future, the University should make transfer student events more “obvious” so students like him have the opportunity to connect and find community through their shared experience.

“Making it a requirement to go to these events could allow transfer students to integrate more into the community and find people that are in the same boat as them,” Mutamba said. “If I wasn’t an extroverted person, I feel like I would have definitely kept to myself.”

Mutamba said he was only able to “integrate”

TWEETED

Fog Bot Jonas Denenberg on 1/14/2024 @jdlogistcs

Junior transfer student Normand Bayigamba smiles in Kogan Plaza.

into the GW community because of friends he already had at GW. He said he wasn’t aware of the GW

Transfer Student Organization but that knowing about it would have made his transition to the University a lot easier.

“It’s a lot of independent work that you would have to do for yourself as a transfer student,” Mutamba said.

Niha Ramesh, a sophomore who participated in the 2022-23 GW Paris Scholars Program and transferred to GW last fall, said the independent nature of students at GW was part of feeling isolated from campus.

“People that I meet here are already so set in their routine that it’s hard to find people that are looking for new opportunities to socialize and make new friends,” Ramesh said. “I guess that would be the main barrier.”

Ramesh said in her second semester at GW, she doesn’t feel like she is a part of the student body yet because the campus feels more “individualized than community.”

Cecilia Palumbo, a sophomore who transferred last semester from the University of Pittsburgh, said GW lacks a uniting element to bring the community together compared to Pitt, where the students rally around the university’s football team.

MATHYLDA DULIAN | PHOTOGRAPHER

“I don’t think there’s really one thing that brings kids together,” Palumbo said. “Now that the basketball team is doing amazing and everyone wants to go see them play, that has definitely made the community a little bit stronger than what people have said in the past.”

She said orientation is typically where new students form friend groups for the first time but since New Student Orientation combines first-years and transfers, there is not as much of an opportunity for transfers to meet people their own age.

“There wasn’t really much of a separation between being a transfer student and already having like a year under your belt and being slightly older,” Palumbo said. “You’re not 17, 18, you’re 19, 20, which makes a difference.”

She said going into the spring, she feels more included in the community but plans to focus more on making friends this semester.

Rithik Adiani, a sophomore who transferred from Hobart College last semester to be closer to home and his future career goals, said there was one transfer student event during New Student Orientation hidden in the programming schedule but that there was no

email specifically sent to transfer students about it. He said there weren’t many attendees at the event, but he made some of his closest friends at GW by going.

He said there should be a separate orientation for transfer students to help establish a community amongst transfers and avoid repeating first-year orientation for a second time.

“At my last school they had one of those where the transfers came in at the same time as the freshmen, but they just did their own things so I feel like it would be better,” Adiani said. “Again, if you go to the events, it’s good but if you don’t, then that’s when it gets difficult.”

Aly McCormick, a junior who transferred from American University last semester, said she wishes the University grouped transfer students during orientation to better cater to their experience.

“I wish that they made the orientation, at least for transfer students, a little more focused on the transfer experience, because I ended up with a lot of people who were like two years younger than me, which isn’t a bad thing, but we were at different phases in life,” McCormick said.

OPINIONS

January 22, 2024 • Page 6

Opinions

THE GW HATCHET

FROM GWHATCHET.COM/OPINIONS

“I find myself nostalgic for the winter wonderland that once was my hometown. Pennsylvania has changed, I’ve changed — the whole global temperature has changed.”

—PAIGE BARATTA on 1/18/2024

Feeling trapped by this year’s elections? So are we.

STAFF EDITORIAL The same candidates, the same issues, and the same old story about voting for the “lesser of two evils” — the 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be the rematch nobody asked for.

With President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump coasting to the nominations of their respective parties, American voters have, for now, resigned themselves to deciding between two unpopular candidates.

As one independent voter told PBS, “This is probably the most uniquely horrible choice I’ve had in my life.”

Multiply that sentiment a thousandfold for young people who feel disillusioned and disenfranchised by our current political system. It can be hard to know which polls to trust when it comes to younger voters’ outlook on this election, especially this far out, but there are signs that they’re not excited to cast their ballot. In one poll from the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School taken last year, 49 percent of 18to 29-year-old voters said they’d vote for president in 2024.

That figure may not seem all that bad at first glance, but it’s down from 57 percent of respondents who said they’d vote in the 2020 election — a difference of millions of votes. The outcome of a national election could again come down to relatively small margins in states like Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin.

To vote or not to vote? That is the question. The future of the United States might depend on a single young person. But when

A

JENNA BAER | STAFF CARTOONIST

no candidate seems to share their values or concerns, younger voters — and all Americans — are stuck weighing what to do with their vote this year. Back a thirdparty candidate or lodge a protest vote, and be lectured about how you’ve just let Trump win. Keep “ridin’ with Biden,” and be accused of ignoring where his cam-

paign promises have fallen short.

Many voters cannot excuse the flaws and failures of this year’s presidential contenders despite the immense support they’ll draw come election day. Granted, no candidate for office has ever been perfect. But can’t we do better as a country?

Evidently, the answer is no. Our

Rhetoric about GW’s learning environment isn’t reality

s a Deaf student, my journey of selfadvocacy within educational institutions is all too familiar. Why must students like me bear the burden of fostering conversations about disability accommodations?

Rachael Bailey Guest Contributor Having navigated multiple semesters as a graduate student at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the University’s commitment to accessibility has unraveled in the face of recurring faculty insensitivity.

Public health programs emphasize the value of accessible care in the real world. Inaccessible accommodations affect academic performance and perpetuate systemic barriers that hinder the opportunities and success of individuals with disabilities.

Despite legal mandates that require private and public educational institutions to provide reasonable accommodations, students at GW find themselves having to expend substantial effort to receive accommodations in an environment that should actively champion inclusivity.

In a field that claims to value accessible care and diverse learning, selfadvocacy should not be the sole responsibility of any student. It should be complemented by a University that proactively works to remove barriers, educate faculty and foster a more inclusive environment.

Multiple faculty

Hatchet The GW

609 21st St. NW Washington, D.C. 20052 gwhatchet.com | @gwhatchet eic@gwhatchet.com news@gwhatchet.com opinions@gwhatchet.com photo@gwhatchet.com sports@gwhatchet.com culture@gwhatchet.com copy@gwhatchet.com multimedia@gwhatchet.com

members have openly discussed my accommodations and disabilities in front of their classes without my consent, violating my privacy.

This breach undermines the supportive learning environment GW promises, leaving myself and other GW students feeling uncomfortable, frustrated and vulnerable.

I’ve often wondered whether other professors in the department knew about my disability and were discussing it without my knowledge or if other students in my classes doubted my academic performance after professors revealed my status. The toll of these experiences and resulting stress heightens feelings of anxiety and isolation and creates further barriers to academic success for students like me.

The decline in Disability Support Services’ workforce from 11 staff members in the 2018-19 academic year to six staff members in 202223 is a clear manifestation of these challenges, with former employees citing an unsupportive environment and leadership changes as reasons for their departure.

Inadequate DSS staffing further creates a situation where students feel compelled to engage directly with professors to secure accommodations, bypassing DSS altogether. But the University’s current policies indicate that without official DSS documentation, faculty members are not required to meet accommodation requests. To address this issue, GW should prioritize hiring personnel, allocating necessary funding and providing for the well-being and effective operations of DSS.

It’s not enough to rely solely on individual faculty members’ goodwill or student advocacy. As some educators are not well-versed in the range of disabilities and necessary accommodations, it is also critical that the University implement ongoing training programs for faculty members to shift the burden of educating faculty away from students. By providing these essential support mechanisms and resources, GW can prioritize students with disabilities and spare them the exhausting cycle of advocacy and uncertainty.

Accommodating one student for a 12-week semester may seem inconvenient to some professors, but it is the daily reality for students with disabilities. Our disabilities and our advocacy for accommodations are integral parts of our lives. The impact that one professor or one institution can have in understanding and supporting our unique needs goes beyond convenience — it makes a profound difference in our educational journey.

To truly address the challenges faced by students with disabilities, rhetoric about an inclusive learning environment must become reality. Faculty members need proper training and education to effectively support students with disabilities. And the University must actively create an empowering educational experience for all students, irrespective of their disabilities.

—Rachael Bailey is a Master of Public Health Candidate in Maternal and Child Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health.

political institutions have been unable to produce and empower a new generation of leaders.

Biden is 81 years old; Trump is 77 years old. The median age for members of Congress last year was slightly younger: 65 years old in the Senate, a record high, and 58 years old in the House.

And while age can bring wisdom

and experience, it does not necessarily bring new perspectives.

By and large, young Americans want a say in how their country operates. It’s why they run for office, volunteer for campaigns, protest on college campuses and demonstrate in front of the White House — then and now.

Sitting on the sidelines is no way to make change. But for many young people, the notion that a 20th-century government could meet the challenges of the 21st century is beyond parody. This is an age of streaming and selfdriving cars, not rotary phones and radio shows.

It remains to be seen whether younger voters turn out this year, but now is the winter of their discontent. They are angry and apathetic, frustrated and fearful about the direction of our country and it seems as though the binary choice between the current president and a former president will do little to stave off disaster.

Voting can be the difference between whether we make war or peace and stand for justice at home and abroad. And with stakes like that, no one, least of all young people making their first forays into politics, wants to have their vote taken for granted. So when politicians waste the opportunity of their office and betray voters’ trust, do they really deserve another term in office?

Perhaps all young people eventually come to grips with how the game of politics is played, but this generation is still learning that painful lesson.

DC should go all out to win back the Commanders

W

hile District residents hope their favorite football team returns to D.C., the Washington Wizards and Capitals’ nonbinding agreement to move to Alexandria has shocked D.C. sports fans.

Matthew Donnell Columnist With D.C.’s professional basketball and hockey teams being tempted by greener pastures across the Potomac, Mayor Muriel Bowser should throw the kitchen sink at the Washington Commanders to bring them back to the city. Bringing the Commanders back to D.C. would revitalize its economy and electrify sports fandom in the nation’s capital.

Ted Leonsis, whose Monumental Sports & Entertainment owns the Wizards and Capitals, originally said he would keep both teams in D.C. if the city provided $600 million for a proposed $800 million renovation of their shared home stadium in Capital One Arena, which Monumental Sports & Entertainment also owns.

The District came up short. Bowser proposed $500 million for the stadium’s redevelopment the night before Leonsis’ fatal announcement. Virginia’s offer, with an estimated total of $1.35 billion in state and local taxes allocated for the entire Potomac Yards development, means the Wizards and Capitals’ new home would receive the largest ever public subsidy for a project of its kind.

Though the teams’ move still depends on the approval of the Virginia state legislature,

just the thought of losing the Wizards and Capitals should make any D.C. sports fan shiver — let alone city officials.

The Wizards and Capitals’ departure would deal a blow to D.C.’s downtown as well as the entire city’s finances.

Bowser estimated the city could lose $25 million in tax revenue every year if the teams left Penn Quarter, whose small businesses, bars and restaurants have grown accustomed to floods of basketball and hockey fans before and after games.

Leonsis’ announcement about the Wizards and Capitals’ move included a mock-up of Monumental Sports’ proposed $2 billion development at Potomac Yards. The campus would also be home to offices, stores and residential buildings, bringing jobs and revenue to the state.

Similarly, the Commanders’ new stadium would be primed to drive the capital’s economy in the wake of the pandemic. If Bowser’s plans for building a one-team stadium at the RFK site could muster even a portion of the revenue that Virginia expects to pull in from its stadium for two, every D.C. resident would benefit from the Commanders’ arrival.

Thankfully, Bowser appears to be making the Commanders’ return a priority. Last summer, Bowser established a sports task force to grow, maintain and attract professional sports teams to the District.

And by enlisting her top adviser to focus on the stadium while hiring consulting firms to study financial models for it, Bowser signaled that D.C. is serious about bringing the

Commanders back.

Bowser made clear that a new football stadium at the RFK site would not be “surrounded by asphalt.”

But as members of the proposed site’s Kingman Park community continue to ask questions about the details of a multi-purpose development project, the Mayor has been relatively short on specifics.

In turn, Bowser should make a concrete proposal for a development project that engages with the new stadium’s surrounding community. By enticing business owners to open bars and restaurants in the RFK site’s neighborhood, Bowser could replicate the city’s success at transforming Navy Yard into a hub with Nationals Park at its foundation.

Last summer, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) introduced legislation to extend the length of the District’s lease on the RFK Stadium grounds by 99 years.

Though the bill has stalled, D.C. officials anticipate it passing in early 2024.

With bipartisan support for revitalizing the former stadium, D.C. should make a big splash in the bidding for the Commanders’ new home.

Now that the team’s scandal-ridden former owner is finally out of the picture, Josh Harris’ $6.05 billion purchase of his hometown Commanders has provided a renewed sense of pride to D.C. football fans. With the city’s nightlife at stake and the capital abuzz with football’s future, Bowser should bring the Commanders home.

—Matthew Donnell, a senior majoring in political communication and English, is an opinions columnist.

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*

Paige Baratta, editorials assistant* Auden Yurman, senior photo editor Florence Shen, assistant photo editor – features Sage Russell, assistant photo editor – news Jordyn Bailer, assistant photo editor – sports Jordan Tovin, assistant photo editor – culture Sandra Koretz, sports editor Ben Spitalny, contributing sports editor Nick Perkins, culture editor Jenna Baer, contributing culture editor* Eduardo Gonzalez del Valle, contributing video editor Sophia Escobar, contributing video editor Cristina Stassis, copy chief Carly Cavanaugh, assistant copy editor Faith Wardwell, publishing assistant Anna Fattizzo, research assistant

Brooke Forgette, research assistant Dylan Ebs, research assistant Annie O’Brien, podcast host – culture Lizzie Jensen, podcast host – news Isabella MacKinnon, design editor Abby Keenley, contributing design editor Anusha Trivedi, contributing design editor An Ngo, graphics editor Ishani Chettri, web developer Peyton Rollins, contributing web developer Ethan Valliath, social media director* Anaya Bhatt, contributing social media director* Max Gaffin, contributing social media director * denotes member of editorial board Business Office

Eddie Herzig, business manager

Submissions — Deadlines for submissions are Friday 5 p.m. for Monday issues. They must include the author’s name, title, year in school and phone number. The GW Hatchet does not guarantee publication and reserves the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar and clarity.

Submit to opinions@gwhatchet.com Policy Statement — The GW Hatchet is produced by Hatchet Publications Inc., an independent, non-profit corporation. All comments should be addressed to the Board of Directors, which has sole authority for the content of this publication. Opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of The GW Hatchet. All content of The GW Hatchet is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written authorization from the editor in chief.

Cost — Single copies free. Additional copies available for purchase upon request.

CULTURE

January 22, 2024 • Page 7

THE GW HATCHET

THE

Culture

SCENE

KINETIC CANDY Wednesday, Jan. 24 | Workhouse Arts Center | Free Check out this interactive exhibition of animated artwork.

RELEASED

SKETCHING SESSIONS Thursday, Jan. 25 | The Walters Art Museum | Free Bring your imagination and passion for art to this free workshop.

NEW TV SHOW: “TRUE DETECTIVE” SEASON 4

THIS WEEK:

Corcoran students sell zines, short stories at DC pop-up JENNIFER IGBONOBA

CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR

Resting inside a newsstand at the core of downtown D.C. lies a pop-up shop with a little sprinkle of GW. Fifteen graphic design students created publications to be sold and featured in Hometown Newsstand — a local newsstand inside the center — at a pop-up shop that began in December. The short-term store, named “Here & Now,” was a collaborative effort between the students in the Corcoran College of Arts & Design Publication Design course last fall, Assistant Professor Marc Choi and the newsstand’s owner Seda Nak. Choi, who taught the class, said the collaboration came about after he walked past the newsstand one day last spring and was drawn to the displays of magazines, books and zines — a self-published work.

He said he began to have a conversation with a newsstand employee and told them that he would be teaching the graphic design class. The worker then gave Choi the owner’s contact information after he expressed interest in a possible collaboration.

“I reached out, and throughout the entire summer, we talked about what this could be, what the project could be, how the students could utilize the space, what sort of project structure I could set up, and so that’s really how it started,” Choi said.

Choi said students started the course learning about the fundamentals of publication design, including typography and layout, before going into more nontradi-

KAIDEN YU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Graphic design students presented their publications at Hometown Newsstand, a local newsstand on 15th Street.

tional and independent practices like zines and artists’ books. He said the pop-up shop was a part of the class’ final project, where the students showcased what they learned throughout the semester, with the understanding that their pieces would be seen outside the classroom.

Choi said he and Nak settled on the “idea of place” for the prompt, digging into what it means to a person and how it defines someone’s identity. He added that while

he loved all the publications, one that stuck out to him was a coloring book titled “Black Girl Joy” by London Skye Roberson, a senior majoring in graphic design.

“I wanted Black women and Black girls to know that they are seen in a world where we are often overlooked,” Roberson said in an email.

On the right pages of Roberson’s book are illustrations of Black women and girls doing normal activities like dancing, doing

each other’s hair and hugging each other. The book’s left pages feature quotes related to the illustration and a small citation of its source.

Roberson said she searched online for images of Black women doing things like cooking, laughing and overall “just having fun.”

Once she gathered the illustrations, she traced them with Procreate, a graphic design software.

Roberson said she created her own backgrounds, some like a basic living room and others with

spiral patterns of hearts and dots.

Roberson said she used a “loopy illustration style” to define the natural hair on the subjects while also leaving room for consumers to color inside them. She added that the book was important to her because it was a way for her to “bring positivity” to her community.

“I aspire to be a children’s book illustrator in the future,” Roberson said. “Creating this coloring book taught me a lot about publication design.”

Meimei Lu, a junior majoring in graphic design, said she chose to make her zine centered around San Francisco because she fell in love with the city due to its diversity, rich history and beautiful landscape after being placed there on her mission trip in the Bay Area.

Lu said her zine revolves around a fictitious battle in the city during the 1970s through the perspectives of two main narrators and soldiers, Steve Rogers and James Barnes, based on Marvel movies “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

Nak, the owner of the newsstand, said it was her first collaboration with any local school and that she’s open to future partnerships. She added that she was excited to see what the students would create and the publications exceeded her initial forecast of how the pieces would turn out.

The pop-up will remain open until Friday, but Nak said she told Choi that students can keep their work in the newsstand and she can buy it from them as individual artists and creators as inventory.

Warmed, not stirred: The best hot cocktails to try around the District NORA FITZGERALD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The arrival of snowflakes in D.C. calls for celebration, and as temperatures drop, local restaurants and bars are finding ways to melt spirits with a plethora of warm cocktail offerings.

These spots in the District are putting their own spins on classic hot cocktail offerings from mulled wine and hot toddies to spiked cider and hot chocolate. Check out these restaurants to grab a mug filled with a seasonal warm beverage.

Duke’s Grocery

Those looking to escape the snow with a toasty cocktail without leaving campus need to look no further than Duke’s Grocery. Indulge in one of their aptly named “hand warmers” to battle the brutal temperatures outside, while also snacking on one of their many burger options.

Their Apple Farm ($14) features rum, hot apple tea, vanilla-cinnamon syrup and apple cider for a twist on a classic spiked cider.

2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday through Sunday.

Calico

This Mt. Vernon Square restaurant, named in honor of the tri-colored feline, is the ideal spot to spend a winter evening playing

games and sipping on curated cocktails. The establishment offers trivia and bingo nights Tuesdays and Sundays, so head over to compete amongst friends while drinking one of three hot alcoholic beverages ($12).

For an adult twist on a childhood favorite, try their hot chocolate with vanilla vodka, chocolate syrup and cinnamon whipped cream.

For a more traditional cocktail, go for their spiked cider or hot toddy. Match your drink of choice with some of their shareable appetizers, ranging from their baked pretzel ($10) to their tachos ($13), a delightful combination of tater tots and nachos.

50 Blagden Alley NW. Open 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday; and 1 to 10 p.m.

Sunday.

Dirty Habit

This downtown D.C. restaurant’s Winter Chalet menu evokes feelings of après after a long day out on the slopes. Their Grape Reverie ($18) features a mulled cabernet sauvignon, cognac, cranberries, masala chai and honey for an elevated take on mulled wine. For a sweeter cocktail, opt for their Naughty and Nice ($20), with rum, salted dark chocolate, amontillado shery and toasted charcoal marshmallow. These limited-time special drinks are sure to warm both your hands and your heart.

555 8th St. NW. Open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday; and 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Mikko

Saving the best for last, Dupont’s Mikko is the holy grail of warm cocktails in D.C. The Nordic-themed eatery is killing the hot beverage game with nine winter cocktails.

Sticking true to the Scandinavian concept of hygge, Mikko is crafting the coziest of atmospheres with seasonal food and drink. Relax in their heated outdoor patio while sipping from a mug full of their boozy beverages.

Try a spiked cider or chai, or get more adventurous with their Red Glögg, a mulled red wine topped with raisins and almonds, or their Orange Apple Amaretto Punch. Enjoy one of their Norwegian spins on classic cocktails with their Apple Cardamom Toddy flavored with traditional Norwegian cardamom or their Nordic Coffee made with linie aquavit, a Norwegian liquor. Stop by for Mikko’s 4 to 7 p.m. daily happy hour and pair a warm drink with one of their tasty pastries for a celebratory fika to start the new year.

1636 R St. NW. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday.

Two students sport winter scarves in Kogan Plaza.

How to jazz up your winter fashion from coats to accessories BRIANNA KIMMEL REPORTER

FAYE TYSCHPER REPORTER

If the “snow day” last week taught us anything, it’s that winter in D.C. presents a new set of challenges — especially when it comes to choosing an outfit each morning.

Wearing a bulky winter coat that conceals a new outfit is far from ideal for displaying personal style, and sporting Canada Goose could also be a potential spark for theft. To bridge the gap between the furs, Acne Studios-inspired scarves and leather jackets of 2024 Pinterest vision boards with the constraints of a college student budget, it’s possible to get creative with ways to balance trends and practicality.

Here are some of the biggest trends we’re seeing in 2024 and how incorporating what seems like Instagram idealism into everyday style might be easier — and cheaper — than expected:

Coats with character

JORDAN TOVIN | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR A snowy stretch in front of Duke’s Grocery on Pennsylvania Avenue.

JENNIFER IGBONOBA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Leather and fur coats are having their moment with the frigid temperatures, that’s “faux” sure. Faux furlined leather jackets are all the rage for keeping warm while still being able to stray away from the traditional bulky winter coat that often takes away from style.

But purchasing coats made with these fabrics isn’t always feasible for a college student, since authentic pieces can rack up in price very quickly. Despite this, there are still cheap coat options you can acquire at thrift stores or online, whether your goal is to match the look of Austin Butler in the upcoming film “The Bikeriders” with a sleek leather jacket or Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci” via a fluffy faux fur coat.

To go even more bold, some TikTok users are embracing the “mob wife” look, the centerpiece of which are fake animal print coats.

These coats can be found for as cheap as $20, ensuring they’re a cost-effective way to keep warm in style.

The season of scarves

If you’ve been on Pinterest recently, you’ve probably come across the oversized, checkered blanket scarves

by Swedish luxury brand Acne Studios. How hard could it be to style a multicolored scarf?

Well, considering they often cost $300, very difficult.

Influencers began sporting these long, colorful, plaid-adjacent scarves across social media in the fall. Luckily for students, there are plenty of “dupes” on Amazon and ASOS to get the same look when spending an entire month’s

grocery budget on a piece of fabric seems a bit too extreme.

Scarves are a noteworthy gender-neutral way to incorporate pieces that fit your style into outfits that will keep you warm for your walk between classes.

Accessories – more than an afterthought

Cross-body messenger bags with long shoulder straps and lots of storage space have been taking center stage this winter as a way to add layers and utility to an outfit. Bags can contribute to the silhouette of an outfit, providing length or texture.

Just because you’re freezing with the frigid temperatures doesn’t mean that your books and laptop have to shiver. Put the contents for a day’s classes into a fuzzy bag to add more texture to an outfit otherwise characterized by puffy jackets and snow pants.

Another way to add dimensions to your look without sacrificing the necessities of a coat is through jewelry. To match the theme of the season, try a necklace with crystals as shiny as ice and deep blues reminiscent of the shiver-filled season.

Or to go even more all out in your desire to match the season’s themes, pick up a pair of snowflake-shaped earrings that are sure to glimmer under any hat or hood.

January 22, 2024 • Page 8

Sports

SPORTS

THE GW HATCHET

GAMES OF THE WEEK

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

vs. George Mason Wednesday | Noon Women’s basketball welcomes the Patriots for a rivalry game in the Smith Center.

NUMBER CRUNCH

44.6

at the Mason Patriot Games Friday and Saturday Women’s track and field will compete at George Mason this weekend, hoping to bring home the gold.

Redshirt freshman guard Garrett Johnson’s 3-point shooting percentage, the 14th-highest in the country

Swimming and diving notches win against Georgetown in final Smith Center meet GRANT PACERNICK REPORTER

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving dominated Georgetown in what was the last meet in the Charles E. Smith Center.

This weekend, both men’s and women’s swimming and diving took home victories against crosstown rival Georgetown, with the men winning 188-112 and the women winning 215-85 in their last home meet of the season. The Revolutionaries did not waste time on Senior Day, winning the first 12 races Saturday morning.

Officials will demolish the Smith Center’s swimming pool as part of a project that will expand the arena’s basketball facilities.

On the diving board Friday night, sophomore Olivia Paquette led a clean sweep of the one-meter and threemeter diving events, aided by teammates junior Dara Reyblat, freshman Veronica Fyfe and junior Olivia Rosen.

Paquette broke the GW program record for her 6-dive score in the three-meter, a record she previously held.

With a new best of 336.90, she improved on the previous record of 315.83, which she set earlier in the year.

Back in the pool, the Revolutionaries continued to dominate. Graduate student swimmer Mikhail Lyubavskiy took care of business in the long-distance events, taking first place in both the 1000yard freestyle race (9:32.47) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:36.11).

Senior Karol Mlynarczyk swept the backstroke events, winning

the 100-yard with a time of 49.27 and taking the 200-yard race with 1:49.30.

On the women’s side, sophomore Ava Topolewski also won both long-distance events, narrowly defeating her teammate, freshman Zoe Schneider, by .04 seconds (5:01.45 to 5:01.49) in the 500 freestyle and winning by more than 15 seconds in the 1000yard freestyle as part of two more sweeps of the podium.

Topolewski also contributed to the Revs’ winning team in the 200-yard medley relay.

On top of the Senior Day festivities in which fans honored nine Revolutionaries, GW unveiled the 2023 men’s and women’s swimming and diving championship banners that hang in the Smith Center, a symbol of the legacy the class will leave.

“Probably more than any group I’ve had at GW, they’ve kept focus on what they came here to achieve, academically first, and as swimmers second,” Head Coach Brian Thomas said. “Because of that, they’ve gotten better. Because of that, the program has gotten a lot better. They’re just wonderful, wonderful young people, so it is bittersweet.”

But the Revolutionaries had little to be bittersweet about concerning their performance in the pool. It took almost an hour before Georgetown won their first race of the day, with freshman Taplin Seelbach winning the women’s 50-yard freestyle in 24.29 seconds. Hoya swimmer Shaun Kronenwetter followed that up with a 20.9-second winning swim in the men’s 50-yard freestyle before the first break of the day.

FILE PHOTO BY SYDNEY WALSH

Swimmers dive backward into the pool at the start of a race.

However, the Revolutionaries were quick to recover, winning close races over the Hoyas in both the men’s and women’s 200-yard breaststroke. For the women, junior Ava DeAngelis narrowly defeated Hoya swimmer Erin Hood with a time of 2:18.39. DeAngelis also took home the win in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 1:02.78 and contributed to the 200-yard medley relay victory.

While it was Senior Day, newcomer Ralf Roose impressed, eking out a comefrom-behind win for the men in the 200-yard breast over Hoya

junior Stephen Kim. Earlier in the day, Roose won a tight race against Georgetown sophomore Bailey De Luise in the 100-yard breast, coming out on top 57.12 to 57.5.

Djurdje Matic capped things off, winning the 100-yard fly with an unofficial time of 48.14.

“He’s probably, if not the best, one of the best swimmers that the Atlantic 10 has ever had in men’s swimming,” Thomas said.

Men’s diving, composed of three freshmen, was also able to contribute to the victorious effort. Freshman Ben Bradley reached the podium in both

events, finishing first in the one-meter with a score of 303.98 and coming in third in the three-meter. Freshmen divers Michael Wood and Holden Wheeler placed second and fourth respectively in the onemeter competition with scores of 303.30 and 266.85.

The Revs finished out Saturday’s swim session with first- and second-place finishes in both 400-yard freestyle relays.

Swimming and diving heads to New Haven, Connecticut, to take on Yale on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. for their last dual meet of the year.

Women’s basketball suffers back-toback losses after rocky conference start SYD HEISE REPORTER

FILE PHOTO BY MAYA NAIR | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Redshirt freshman Garrett Johnson lofts a floater over a defender.

Men’s basketball handed second conference loss by UMass KRISTI WIDJAJA STAFF WRITER

Men’s basketball (144, 3-2 A-10) fell to UMass (12-6, 2-3 A-10), losing 67-81 on the road and knocking their second loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference play in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Saturday.

The Revolutionaries ended the first half tied with UMass but were not able to gain momentum in the second half as the Minutemen went on a 17-0 run to pull away. The Revs struggled heavily on both ends of the floor, shooting 36 percent on their field goals and allowing the Minutemen to score 51 percent of their field goals.

Redshirt sophomore guard Maximus Edwards recorded his fourth doubledouble this season, collecting 13 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. scored 15 points and redshirt freshman guard Garrett Johnson scored 16 points with four for eight shooting from the 3-point line.

Four minutes into the game, Johnson sank his first 3-pointer of the game which gave the Revs a 9-8 lead.

With 11:46 minutes remaining in the first half, the Revs were down by 5 following an 2-8 UMass run. Three consecutive 3-pointers

by Edwards, graduate student guard James Bishop IV and freshman guard Jacoi Hutchinson allowed the Revs to build a 20-16 lead. Bishop ended the game with 8 points, three assists and three steals, a down game for the Revs’ leading scorer.

In the 19th minute, Bishop made a stepback 3-pointer, assisted by Johnson, to help a 2-point lead with two minutes remaining in the half.

But Minutemen senior forward Josh Cohen made a hook shot in the paint with eight seconds remaining, allowing 3131 at the expiration of the first half.

During the second half, Edwards made a layup 10 seconds into the half as the Revs got back into the lead with the score at 33-31. But for

the next six minutes, the Minutemen went on a 17-0 run as they extended their lead to 51-36 with 13:41 minutes remaining.

The Minutemen gained offensive momentum as they sank six of eight shots, including two for two from 3-point territory. As for the Revs, they committed two turnovers, three fouls and missed seven shots from the field during the run.

Johnson helped the Revs attempt to heat up in their next two offensive possessions with a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the Minutemen’s lead to 12 points with the score of 41-53.

With 5:53 minutes remaining, Buchanan scored 5 points in two consecutive offensive possessions, cutting the Minutemen lead of 22 to 17 points. As the clock continued to near the end with 3:12 minutes left, the Revs reached their largest deficit of the day — 24 points with a 57-81.

The Revolutionaries will head to Richmond, Virginia, to play against Richmond (13-5, 5-0 A-10) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Revolutionaries (810, 1-5 A-10) were handed their second straight loss by a commanding St. Louis team (8-12, 3-4 A-10) Saturday afternoon, falling 66-56.

GW struggled on the perimeter, shooting a measly 22-59 from the field, a performance that could not compete against SLU’s quick-paced and efficient offense, which went 24-50. Three veteran graduate students led the team offensively — Guard Nya Lok anchored the Revs with 19 points, forward Mayowa Taiwo contributed on both ends of the court, adding 13 points and 11 boards, and Guard Essence Brown tacked on 12 points.

Sophomore Nya Robertson, who is usually a focal point of the offense, had a rather quiet game.

Robertson offered a pair of buckets on six shots in her 34 minutes on the court. This offensive jam comes off a career-high 31-point showing from the guard in a victory against the Bonnies last week.

The Revs fought for the lead early in the first

quarter but remained in a 10-15 point bubble deficit for much of the day, with SLU ahead for about 90 percent of the match.

In the first and second quarters, GW went 4-14 and 5-21 from the field, respectively. But in the second half, GW was more selective with their shots, leading to a higher percentage at 8-14 and 5-10 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

The Revs were down by as much as 18 points toward the end of the half but broke out on a 12-2 run that cut St. Louis’ lead to 5 early in the third quarter. GW outscored the Billikens 34-29 in the second half, but their fiery play wasn’t enough to take the lead.

St. Louis dribbled out the clock after some late game back-and-fourth scoring, solidifying a 10-point loss for the Revs.

Scoring has been a seasonlong struggle for GW. They currently sit at 14th — second to last out of their A-10 competitors in average points. The Revs average a lowly 59.1 points per game, while St. Louis ranks third in the conference, averaging 72 a night.

SLU inched out GW in the backcourt as well.

The Billikens grabbed 33 rebounds against the home team’s 29, though six of St. Louis’ boards were off their own misses. GW offered a more distributed stat line with 11 offensive and 18 defensive rebounds but failed to capitalize on the second-chance possessions from their efforts. GW ranks the fourth-best rebounding offense in the conference and fifth on the defensive end.

The Revs showed cleaner ball handling with 15 turnovers compared to the opponent’s 20, but SLU evened out the disparity with 11 steals. GW had nine snags on the night.

After back-to-back losses, GW sits at 12th in the conference. St. Louis stays in the middle of the pack, ranked ninth after their wins against the Revs this week.

The Revs look to bounce back in a “battle of the Georges” against George Mason (13-3, 4-1 A-10) at noon Jan. 24. Catch the game live at the Smith Center or stream it on ESPN+ with the Monumental Sports Network.

FILE PHOTO BY SAGE RUSSELL | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Nya Lok looks back to watch her and-one layup sink into the hoop.