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Staff turnover has dropped but workers say they lack promotion opportunities

JACKSON RICKERT REPORTER

Staff raised inquiries on benefits and staff retention to University Vice President and Chief People Officer Sabrina Minor at the first public meeting of GW’s Staff Council on Friday.

The 34-member council, which established its roster in July after two stymied attempts to form a staff governing body in 2014 and 2020, aims to give staff members — employees who are not faculty, unionized employees or administrators — more opportunity to raise and resolve University-wide issues. During their Friday meeting, councilmembers raised concerns on staff benefits and retention, discussed rules and procedures for the newly formed body, coordinated logistics of subcommittees and laid out a plan for testing Zoom webinar and YouTube livestream as platforms for their meetings.

Minor, a guest at the meeting, said staff turnover dropped from 28 percent last year to 16.8 percent this year, despite staff concerns over GW’s issue of staff retention due to the lack of promotion opportunities within a school or department. She said staff may need to change schools within the University to enter a higher ranking position if that position is not available in their current school.

Minor added that she is concerned over the current “use or lose” paid-leave system, where staff lose their paid leave if they do not use it by June 30. She said the use-or-lose system incentivizes staff members to use their remaining paid time off hours by the cutoff date, which she said makes campus feel like a “ghost town” during the summer.

“I can tell you what I’m proposing is that we do not have a cutoff date, June 30, to use your leave by,” Minor said. “I am proposing that we have an accrued bank, and then once you reach a certain number of accrued hours either you use them or you stop accruing.”

Minor said administrators are trying to deliver a “balance” of benefits that

satisfy employees of different generations. She said millennials and Generation Z employees value paid time off while Baby Boom and Generation X employees are focused on bolstering their retirement portfolios and health benefits.

Minor said the council should have representatives on the Benefit Advisory Committee — a faculty and staff group that provides feedback to administration on employee benefits — to represent their concerns on leave policies.

Minor also said staff members can serve on an internal review committee that will investigate any use of firearms by the GW Police Department after officials announced in April that some GWPD officers will be equipped with firearms this fall. She said the internal review committee will also include two faculty members and two students.

“You’ll be in charge of looking at the police report, you’ll be in charge of saying ‘Was this an appropriate use of force?’ even if they just pulled out their weapon and pointed it at somebody,” Minor said.

Bridget Schwartz, the president of the Staff Council and the director of student employment, said Minor is one of the Council’s biggest backers.

“Sabrina is arguably the Staff Council’s biggest support and advocate,” Schwartz said. “And she

Officials relaunch course audit program after pandemic pause

IANNE SALVOSA NEWS EDITOR

Alumni and community members can further their education at GW this fall after officials opened registration for the revival of the Course Audit Program last week.

Alumni and residents of Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon may register for a select list of over 300 in-person courses, spanning from Biology of Cancer to Space Law, on a not-for-credit basis and discounted rate. Officials previously allowed alumni and campus neighbors to audit courses prior to the pandemic but placed the program on hold in March 2020 after campus shut down due to the spread of COVID-19.

“GW is proud to offer a variety of educational opportunities to foster a community of lifelong learners,” the course audit website states.

Prospective course auditors must be an alumnus, a Foggy Bottom resident in the 20037 or 20006 zip codes who is at least 60 years old or a resident in the area surrounding the Mount Vernon campus who is at least 60 years old, according to the course audit website.

The course audit website states that auditors must pay $100 per course and associated fees for labs, music and art courses. Alumni must purchase

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Milken researcher links childhood lead exposure to future criminal behavior

ANNA ZELL REPORTER

Lead exposure in utero and during childhood can lead to an increased risk of criminal behavior in adulthood, according to a Milken Institute School of Public Health study released earlier this month.

children have lead poisoning and that countries with a heightened risk of lead exposure, like India and Mexico, have fewer regulations or enforcement for products containing lead compared to the U.S.

worked incredibly hard to have our bylaws approved so that we could move forward.”

Kim Fulmer, the vice president of the Staff Council and a member of the council’s organizing committee, said in April that former interim University President Mark Wrighton tasked Minor to help a 10-person organizing committee establish the Staff Council. Prior to the Wrighton administration, staff members attempted to establish a staff governing body but were unsuccessful due to a lack of support from former University Presidents Steven Knapp and Thomas LeBlanc.

School representatives on the Staff Council said they joined the governing body to amplify staff concerns like staff recognition from administrators.

Tara Davis, the representative for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the director of research operations and finance for the SMHS, said the Staff Council is necessary in order to help give the staff a voice in making change at the University.

She said that as GW continues to grow, more “administrative infrastructure” is necessary to ensure staff are represented in University-wide decisions.

Officials formed a shared governance task force in 2022 consisting of trustees, executive-level staff and faculty to improve

a GWorld alumni card for $10, which allows access into campus buildings and the GW Libraries available to them when they were a student, and community members must purchase a Friends of GW GWorld card for $15, which allows access into campus buildings, Gelman or Eckles libraries, the Vern Express and brunch at Pelham Commons.

GW courses cost $2,080 per credit hour for part-time undergraduate students, ringing in at $6,240 for a three-credit course — $6,140 more than the audited cost.

Officials suspended campus access to Friends of GW cardholders at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and reactivated access in January but did not reinstate the Course Audit Program alongside other community benefits like access to Gelman and Eckles libraries.

Officials said in January that they want to ensure that campus neighbors receive benefits for living near a “prestigious” University.

Alumni under 60 years old could audit courses at $125 per course while alumni at least 60 years old paid $65 to audit courses in the 2009-10 academic year, which enrolled 216 course auditors. Course auditors said in 2010 that they continued their education at GW post-graduation to keep improving their writing skills and “reinvent” themselves.

trust between administrators and the rest of the GW community, which did not include staff members ranked lower than administration level.

The Presidential Search Committee that selected University President Ellen Granberg consisted of five faculty, eight trustees, a trustee emerita, former Student Association President Christian Zidouemba, former Alumni Association President Will Alexander and Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Caroline Laguerre-Brown. The committee did not include nonadministration staff members.

“There’s so many times, especially in the academic environment, [where] of course students are recognized, faculty are recognized, but sometimes staff members, we feel like we’re left out sometimes,” Davis said. “We just want to make sure that everyone, all issues are addressed, and there are professional opportunities and the workplace concerns are addressed.”

Shawn Bayrd, the representative for the School of Nursing and the College of Professional Studies and a program associate at the Office of Community Engagement for the School of Nursing, said the Staff Council is an “exciting” platform through which staff can help shape the operations of the school.

The study — led by Milken graduate student and environmental health doctoral candidate Maria Jose Talayero Schettino — reviewed previous research that correlated lead exposure to increased crime and determined childhood lead exposure is linked to an uptick in criminal behavior. Talayero Schettino said policies to regulate products containing lead, like ceramic pottery, are vital in middleincome countries where lead exposure is more common, like Mexico and India.

Children, especially those under age six, are most vulnerable to lead exposure because they absorb lead more easily compared to adults since their nervous systems are still developing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Average lead blood levels have decreased by more than 80 percent in the United States since the 1970s due to regulations on the presence of lead in water and paint like the Lead Contamination Control Act, according to the CDC.

Talayero Schettino said lead is most often found in clay or ceramic pottery used to store food and drinks in middle-income countries. She said in Mexico, where she was born, 20 percent of

“Even though countries such as the U.S. have very strong policies to prevent lead exposure, in low- and middle-income countries, we’re not doing enough,” Talayero Schettino said. “So we need to go to the sources. We need to really pay attention to this problem and start implementing political action so that we’re not getting exposed to this.” She said lead exposure can have neurological effects, like a lower IQ and attention and behavior disorders, as well as negative health effects like cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and reproductive problems. Talayero Schettino said behavioral disorders caused by lead exposure are associated with violence and aggression, which may result in criminal behavior.

Talayero Schettino said other researchers have determined a correlation between lead exposure and violent behavior at the population level — like research where city-wide crime dropped after officials banned lead from gasoline — but her study is the first to examine the relationship among individuals with lead exposure using previous research. She said individual-level examination allows for less biased results because the study accounts for external factors like socioeconomic status and geographical location.

Classics professor, ancient social structure analyst dies at 62

RACHEL

Diane Cline, an associate professor emerita of history and classical and ancient near Eastern studies, died last month after battling cancer for more than a year. She was 62.

Cline taught at GW for more than 14 years after beginning at the University as a visiting associate professor in 2001 in the Classical & Ancient Near Eastern Studies department, which studies classical and ancient civilizations in the Mesopotamian region. Her students remember her as a professor whose energetic and passionate teaching inspired them to study classics, and her colleagues and friends remember her as a warm presence and impressive academic who they will greatly miss.

Cline won the Columbian Prize for Teaching and Mentoring Advanced Undergraduate Students in 2017 and the Morton A. Bender Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Cline was also twice named a Fulbright Scholar, a prestigious title given to academics seeking out international or cross-cultural research.

In her last autobio-

graphical lecture in April, “A Life in Classics,” Cline said she first became interested in classics when she visited the Parthenon in Greece as a teenager. Cline received her bachelor’s degree in classics from Stanford University and her masters and doctorate degrees from Princeton University.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Cline said in her lecture she wanted to do something “for today” to help her country and left GW to join the National Security Agency, where she did intelligence work for four years. She returned to GW in 2006, where she was known by many students as “Lady Cline.”

Eric Cline, Cline’s husband and a professor of classical and ancient near Eastern history and anthropology at GW, said he first met his wife while they were both studying at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. He said Diane Cline was usually the smartest person in the room but “never showed it.”

Cline said one of his fondest memories of his wife was the summer they spent together in Crete while she was teaching Greek at the University of Crete with her second Fulbright degree. He said they would try different restaurants while they were traveling in Crete and make jokes about one

particular restaurant that the other archaeologist did not like.

“Every time we would go to the restaurant and we’d have a great meal. And then while walking home, one of us would say, ‘But you know, it’s not like it was 10 years ago.’ So that became kind of our catchphrase,” Cline said.

Eric Cline added that their former students told him that he introduced them to archaeology but Diane Cline “brought it to life” by teaching the culture of ancient civilizations and taking students to Greece during spring break to supplement the learning they did in the classroom. He said he fondly recalls the look on students’ faces when he took over one of Diane Cline’s Greek history classes last year and students realized she would not be teaching the course. “I walked in the first day and everybody’s faces dropped. And I’m like, ‘I know, I know. I’m the wrong Cline. You wanted Lady Cline, I’m afraid you got me,’” Cline said. “That was one of my favorite moments, just watching their faces drop when I walked in.”

FILE PHOTO BY RAPHAEL KELLNER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Milken graduate Maria Jose Talayero Schettino said her study is the first to examine the relationship among individuals with lead exposure using previous research.

FILE PHOTO BY KATE CARPENTER

Sta discussions at the Friday meeting ranged from concerns regarding the paid leave system to decreased sta turnover within the University.

COURTESY OF ERIC CLINE

Diane Cline, a two-time Fulbright Scholar and winner of the Morton A. Bender Award for Excellence in Teaching, is survived by her husband, Eric Cline, and her children, Hannah and Josh Cline.

Milken professors develop map to track physicians who accept Medicaid

and a lead researcher on the project, said the tracker’s data highlights areas with shortages of providers who take Medicaid, like Texas, Arizona and New Jersey, and disparities in coverage among states.

body's willing to see you. And so the tracker is an effort to essentially shed light on this problem.”

Two professors in the Milken Institute School of Public Health released an interactive map earlier this month identifying primary care providers in the United States who treat patients with Medicaid.

The Medicaid Primary Care Workforce Tracker displays the ratio of providers who accept Medicaid — a government program that provides health insurance coverage for low-income Americans — to residents in each county and state from 2016 to 2019 and ranks each state based on the percentage of providers who accept patients on Medicaid. Patricia Pittman, the director of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity

Pittman said some providers don’t accept Medicaid because payment rates for Medicaid are lower compared to Medicare — federal health insurance for people 65 or over — and private insurance. She said some providers feel the billing and authorization processes for Medicaid are “bureaucratic” and time-consuming and that there is a negative stigma associated with Medicaid patients because they are low income and often considered “sicker.”

“We know that it's not enough to just enroll and qualify for Medicaid,” Pittman said. “That's a huge hurdle in and of itself, but it's even more tragic when you're enrolled and you have the coverage and no-

The report reveals the total number of primary care providers who saw Medicaid patients rose 13 percent from 2016 to 2019, but Pittman said there is “tremendous variation” between states because each state operates its own Medicaid program and has different payment rates and administrative burdens.

In 2019, the percentage of primary care providers who see at least 11 patients per year and accept patients with Medicaid widely varied, with 55.5 percent in Texas and 59.2 percent in New Jersey but 82 percent in Wisconsin and 85 percent in Vermont, according to the report.

In D.C., 60.1 percent of providers who see at least 11 patients per year saw patients with Medicaid in 2019, an increase from 38.1 percent in 2017, according to the report.

Pittman said the research team

created the tracker using Medicaid claims data — requests for payment that providers submit to the program — and the National Provider Identifier database, which is a directory of all health care providers. She said the tracker is an effort to provide data in an interactive and useful format for researchers and policymakers so they can address disparities in access to health care for patients enrolled in Medicaid.

The number of OB-GYNs who saw Medicaid patients dropped 2.5 percent during the four-year time period and were the only specialty that dropped between 2016 to 2019, according to the report. Pittman said this decrease is likely because OB-GYNs tend to have lower Medicaid reimbursement rates and that increased restrictions on abortion have decreased the overall OBGYN workforce.

Candice Chen, an associate professor of health policy and manage-

RHA prioritizes outreach to first-years, Greek life houses in push to expand services

The Residence Hall Association is prioritizing engagement with new students to gather feedback on housing through outreach to residents of affinity, fraternity and sorority houses and first-years during orientation.

Vero Famadas, the president of RHA and a junior studying psychology, said they plan to attend freshman orientation events to establish RHA as a resource for students early in the year and build interest for the four available hall council positions in each residence hall — which plan events for individual residence halls — especially in nontraditional residence halls like Casa Cisneros and Greek townhouses. They said the RHA’s two main priorities for the upcoming year are continuing to build community in residence halls and encouraging residents to raise potential concerns about their residence halls with administrators.

“I’m really happy to talk about the different things that we’re working on, whether it’s inclusive housing, whether it’s just accessibility or just kind of making sure that we represent the people living in the halls and that we have a voice,” Famadas said.

Famandas said they have worked this summer to get to know their 14-person executive board — a number standard for the organization — on a personal level and set common priorities for advocacy this year, like accessibility in residence halls for students with disabilities and gender-inclusive housing.

“I’ve been really lucky that my e-board has been

quick on their feet, so enthusiastic,” Famadas said. “It’s honestly refreshing because it makes me want to keep working on it.”

Famadas said the RHA e-board spoke and handed out T-shirts at the Buff and Blue Kickoff last week and will give away snow cones, sunglasses and beach balls at a pool party on the Mount Vernon Campus Wednesday.

“It’s scary coming in freshman year, and I just want to make sure that we build a community early on," Famadas said.

Famadas said applications for hall council positions are due Sept. 10, and the RHA will hold information sessions — starting Sept. 5 — and candidate meetings on both the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses. They said hall councils on the Vern tend to be more enthusiastic in their roles because the Vern offers a more traditional residence hall experience.

“Actually, the Vern has been the most energetic, enthusiastic group of RHA ever since I’ve been a freshman,”

they said. “They have an energy.”

Famadas said most members of RHA’s e-board previously served on hall councils but are new to organizationwide leadership. During their two meetings this summer, Famadas and the rest of the RHA e-board listed concerns over dining, accommodations for students with allergies, gender-inclusive housing and housing accessible to students with disabilities as potential areas of advocacy for the upcoming year.

Famadas said they plan to seek specific feedback from hall councils before advocating on their behalf and addressing issues. They said they plan to seek feedback on the move-in process as a first step for advocacy after students have moved into residence halls.

The RHA, in conjunction with the Student Association, published a report detailing security, accessibility and maintenance issues in residence halls in April.

Famadas said their eboard will meet weekly

during the upcoming year, which is typical of past years.

Famadas said the RHA plans to establish hall councils in nontraditional residence halls in RHA programming during the upcoming year, like the Greek townhouses, Strong Hall — which houses Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Beta Phi sororities — and Casa Cisneros, which houses students focused on service and leadership in the Latino community. They said RHA’s bylaws already dictate that each participating sorority of Strong Hall would provide a representative for the hall council and that the RHA hopes to carry out the existing policy.

They said they hope to create a stronger sense of community in these nontraditional halls by providing RHA supplies, like the popcorn machine, cotton candy machine, chocolate fountain and snow cone machine.

“They definitely would use a lot of the supplies and just a lot of the resources that we can offer,” Famadas said. “And I would love to just give RHA to as many halls as possible.”

Famadas said they met with the executive director of GW Dining, Douglas Frazier, at the beginning of the summer to address a student’s allegation of other students using batter containing gluten in the glutenfree waffle makers at dining halls. They said Frazier “immediately” agreed to move the waffle makers behind a counter so dining employees can operate the machines instead of students.

“It shows that they’re in touch with our student feedback, and I’m really happy about that,” Famadas said.

Colleagues, former students reflect on Cline’s teachings in classics, ancient near Eastern studies

From Page 1

Cline said his wife was an “innovative” researcher who was “frequently” 10 years ahead of her field. Diane Cline used her intelligence experience at the NSA of analyzing social networks to begin research in the field of ancient social network analysis, which involved investigating the social relationships between ancient figures.

Eric Cline said Diane Cline was also an accomplished cellist and that their house was always “filled” with the sounds of her playing the instrument.

Christopher Rollston, the department chair of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, said Cline was a “wonderful” scholar and “utterly devoted” to her students.

“Professor Diane Harris Cline had the ability to light up a classroom and to bring

the lives of ancient Greeks and Romans to life,” Rollston said in an email. “Her students loved her, and she loved her students. She will be so very sorely missed.”

Elise Friedland, an associate professor of classical and ancient near Eastern studies and art history, said Cline was an incredible colleague and friend as well as a “fabulous” coordinator for GW’s Classical & Ancient Near Eastern Studies program. Friedland said Cline created a warm, vibrant and “connected” community for students.

“She was an electrifying presence in the classroom and one of the most compassionate and dedicated professors I have had the privilege to know,” Friedland said in an email.

Alexandra Ratzlaff, Cline’s former student and an assistant professor of classical and early Mediterranean studies at Brandeis University, said Cline was

a “dynamic” professor and researcher and a supportive mentor.

“Diane was the first professor for me who really showed the importance of the humanities and looking at the world in a humanistic way,” Ratzlaff said. “Later over the years, I started actually using her research and her work in my own classes, and her work in the digital humanities was very inspiring to me.”

John Ziolkowski, a GW professor emeritus of classics in residence, said Cline was a generous, “spirited” and helpful colleague and friend. Ziolkowski said one of his fondest memories of Cline is when she played the cello at his retirement party in 2007.

Sydni Haggerty, Cline’s former student, said Cline always greeted her with a “bright” smile and addressed her in Greek. She said Cline taught her students how “magical and enriching” studying ancient

history can be.

“I am so grateful to have met her and had her in my life even if only briefly, as I’m sure many of her students feel. To have a mentor in your life so wonderful and compassionate — that is worth more than I can express,” Haggerty said in an email.

Josh Sanchez, a former student who first met Cline in the fall of 2020 during a department “happy hour,” said in 2020 she once stayed on a Zoom call with him for an extra 30 minutes to tell him the story of a classical period leader in Greece. He added that Cline also attended his graduation last spring to watch the last group of classicists she taught graduate.

“She had to leave shortly after but honestly being able to see her in the robes, her seeing us in our regalia,” Sanchez said. “It was, I can’t even describe the feeling. It was just so, so wonderful, so beautiful.”

ment and a lead researcher, said the majority of the increase in overall primary care providers who accept Medicaid comes from advanced practice nurses, like nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. She said policies should support systems and resources, like specialists who accept Medicaid patients, for advanced practice nurses – which she said are the fastest-growing clinician group – and physician assistants so they can continue to be able to treat patients with Medicaid and refer them to specialists if needed.

Chen said the tracker will be ongoing and will update as data from subsequent years becomes available. She said she is “worried” that COVID-19 caused the number of providers who take Medicaid to decrease because of the “pressure” it put on the health care system and workforce, which decreased the overall number of people working in health care.

GW to partner with federal research, innovation institute

RILEY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The University partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce focused on research for advancing quality of life in areas like climate, artificial intelligence and infrastructure, to launch a five-year research program for GW community members and members of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, a collaboration between more than 50 research universities to advance scientific discovery. The program will run through the NIST Maryland campus and provide up to $29.9 million in federal funds for financial and laboratory resources, according to a University release published earlier this month.

John Lach, the dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said the partnership reflects the University’s commitment to advancing scientific educational opportunities and national research efforts, according to the release.

“By partnering directly with our NIST neighbors, we can develop a diverse talent pipeline, create the knowledge and innovate the solutions for our future,” Lach said in the release.

GW graduate and postdoctoral students are eligible to attain financial assistance for research projects and undergraduate students can apply for part-time work or summer research at the campus, according to the release. The release states students who graduated from the University, faculty and researchers not enrolled in a degree program are also eligible to work with NIST projects.

David Broniatowski, the program coordinator, principle

investigator and an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering, works to facilitate connections between interested GW community members and NIST members, according to the release. He said in the release that the program will focus on diversifying the scientific workforce by recruiting members from historically marginalized groups and advancing national industrial, technological and economic research efforts.

“These are synergistic goals – everyone can benefit from the diverse perspectives of our nation’s top talent,” Broniatowski said in the release.

Broniatowski said in the release that researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Media and Health Sciences are already slated to participate. He said the University’s strong government and STEM programs provide NIST with qualified applicants.

“GW has a unique opportunity to contribute because of our historic strength both in policy and in specific fields of engineering that have policy relevance,” Broniatowski said.

Pamela Norris, the vice provost for research, worked with Broniatowski to draft the initial proposal for the program and said the University’s scientific programs support the research goals of NIST, according to the release.

“GW is well positioned to lead a successful NIST-PREP collaboration thanks to our strong research and academic programs, our diverse community of broadly educated faculty and students and our proximity to NIST headquarters,” Norris said in the release.

FIONA

FILE PHOTO BY DANIELLE TOWERS | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Residence Hall Association President Vero Famadas said the RHA plans to establish hall councils in nontraditional residence halls, including Strong Hall, which houses the Chi Omega, Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities.

and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies.

Former University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg welcomed 400 students to “The New Hall,” now known as Amsterdam Hall, saying the residence hall was “the best student residence facility in the world.”

Opinions

“There’s only so much of summer left to soak up before the start of the academic year … on a Thursday.”

— ETHAN BENN on 8/11/2023

To the Class of 2027: Words of welcome and advice

To the Class of 2027: Welcome to GW. You’re poised to be the first “postpandemic” class to enter GW, and, if all goes well, graduate from it in four years. The year 2027 may seem far away, but the clock starts ticking with the first day of the first semester of your first year — classes begin Thursday, in case you haven’t marked it down already.

The incoming classes of the past three years started their college careers with remote learning and face masks, vaccinations and self-isolation. If that was your experience in high school, your first year is shaping up to be the closest thing to normal — variants notwithstanding — since fall 2019. So, now what?

You can take classes with professors at the top of their fields. You can explore a city full of iconic institutions, from grand monuments to hole-in-the-wall establishments. And you can experience what it’s like to live on your own, with all the freedom and responsibility that comes with burgeoning adulthood.

Exciting opportunities await you both on campus and around the District. In this post-pandemic era, you face the challenge of making the most of them.

As incoming first-years new to both college life and D.C., we’re sure you’ve received plenty of advice, like never schedule an 8 a.m. Monday class, “Stand to the right and walk on the left” and so on. We’d like to impart some wisdom of our own.

You’ll hear your fair share of #OnlyAtGW moments — an orientation leader interned for a famous member of Congress or a friend caught a politician in the wild. You might even score a frontrow seat to history in the making, from press conferences to presidential inaugu-

rations.

First, don’t feel the need to compare the experiences you’re having to those of your peers, especially when it comes to University-sponsored hashtags. If you’re enjoying what you’re doing, whether you’re shopping for groceries or hanging out with newfound friends, that’s all that matters. You don’t have to do everything on your college bucket list at once, so pace yourself.

Second, did you spot the theme of the aforementioned experiences? GW is in the heart of the nation’s capital, with the White House only a few blocks away from its Foggy Bottom Campus. Our

proximity to politics and power may be why you came here, but there’s so much more the District has to offer. By all means, go for that Hillternship. Just remember to explore the D.C. you don’t see on TV.

It can be all too easy to make the Foggy Bottom Campus or the Mount Vernon Campus your home base, shuttling back and forth between class and your residence hall. But you’ll be rewarded if you break out of the Foggy Bottom bubble. Whatever you’re passionate about, from bakeries and bookstores to modern art and musicals, you can find somewhere in D.C. that piques your interest.

Some of the city’s staple attractions, like the Smithsonian museums, are even free, a sure bet to take your parents to during GW Alumni & Families Weekend. And don’t forget to use your U-Pass, which allows you to access the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s network of buses and trains.

Speaking of costs, the bounty of activities D.C. offers comes with a price tag. Running out of GWorld before the end of the semester is an all-too-familiar problem. So, be proactive — don’t wait for your dining dollars to dwindle before you make a budget. Make a plan to balance both your finances and your time now.

Finally, know your worth. From time to time, friends will disappoint you and professors will flunk you. When they do — especially when you feel you’re in the right — stand up for yourself. Being able to articulate your needs is a skill worth honing, and it’ll serve you well after you graduate college.

We hope our advice will help you navigate a University that’s undergoing a revolution — we’re not talking about our new moniker, though. The University is changing because of you.

GW is the people who make it: staff, faculty, administrators and, of course, students. From this year on, your voices will join a chorus, ringing out and raising high to cheer at the Smith Center and to protest at Kogan Plaza. What change will you make? What will your legacy be?

On Thursday, start leaving your mark on GW. Make it through your first days, enjoy the weekend and get ready for all the next four years have in store. Graduation is just around the corner.

for The Aston

To quote the opening lines of Petula Clark’s 1964 anthem for urban living, “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely / You can always go downtown.” If only that were still the case. The pandemic put an end to business as usual in downtown D.C., emptying out office space, quieting once-busy streets and slashing the city’s revenue.

Ethan Benn Opinions Editor

Now, Mayor Muriel Bowser is planning downtown D.C.’s “comeback,” attracting new residents, partnering with local universities and, perhaps most of all, getting government employees back to the office. But for downtown D.C. to thrive, it’ll need to become a place where people want to go — not just somewhere they’re forced to be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ask Bowser, and she’d tell you that in-person work is essential to revitalizing downtown in two ways.

First, downtown office workers help support local businesses. Whether they’re student interns living in Foggy Bottom or commuters from beyond the Capital Beltway, office workers have to buy that $16 salad for lunch somewhere, after all.

Second, vacant office space translates to millions of dollars worth of lost revenue for the city. The federal government owns or leases one-third of D.C.’s office space and accounts for 27 percent of the jobs in the city — for D.C.’s struggling downtown, the end of the work-from-home era can’t come soon enough.

So, Bowser called for “decisive action by the White

House to get most federal workers back to the office most of the time” during her inaugural address in January. President Biden heard her loud and clear.

“It’s time for America to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again with people,” he said at his State of the Union address in March.

Even with Biden on board, there’s no guarantee that standalone “return to office” mandates for government employees will revitalize downtown. It’s a simple but pretty heavyhanded approach that ignores one basic fact: Some people just won’t spend money in the city.

Let’s say you’re like my coworker, who has a fourhour round-trip commute from the foothills of West Virginia to D.C.’s Union Station. Once you’re in the office, do you spring for the overpriced, underseasoned grub across the street once lunchtime rolls around? Or do you stick with last night’s leftovers and the coffee pot in the breakroom?

Anecdotes don’t replace data, yet I hope this little comparison exposes a flaw in the city’s plans. Transforming vacant office space into a hub of bureaucratic activity would undoubtedly help D.C.’s finances without tangibly improving downtown for the people who live, work and operate businesses there. Rent translates to revenue, but force workers to come to the office, and they may just keep themselves — and their wallets — at their desks.

Despite all the discussion around these return-to-office policies, they’re only meant to be one part of the city’s plans to “fill the space, change the space and bring the people” downtown. These last two points hold

some real potential for the neighborhood, and they’re a much more solid foundation for the area’s future than memos and mandates ending remote work.

D.C. is improving transit connections on K Street, converting offices to homes and carving public space out of roads no longer trafficked by commuters. And if you can get past some of the consultant-y jargon, there are exciting plans — albeit just plans as of yet — to transform downtown into a place to come to instead of a place to pass through.

When you focus less on reestablishing the prepandemic status quo, the potential for downtown’s revival seems enormous. If you’ve gone down to the National Mall at all this summer, you know that there are plenty of people ready to shop for souvenirs, grab a bite to eat or otherwise enjoy some air conditioning only a short walk or Metro ride away. And students are always in search of affordable housing and places to work, as are aspiring Washingtonians.

All of that’s to say that if the mayor and president want people to spend their time and money in the city, then downtown needs to be a place where people want to be, not just another few blocks with offices, lobbying firms and advocacy groups.

Downtown D.C. may not need the pretty neon signs, bright lights and movie shows of 1964 to be great, nor even a return to the office en masse, to recover from the pandemic. If these plans come to fruition, “Things will be great when you’re downtown.”.

—Ethan Benn, a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication, is the opinions editor.

AMay 2023 report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments found 8,499 people reported experiencing homelessness in the D.C. area in 2023 — that’s enough people to fill more than eight Thurston Halls.

While city officials are attempting to convert The Aston, a former GW residence hall, into a shelter for medically vulnerable unhoused people, neighbors in the District are valuing property more than people. Now, the West End D.C. Community Association — an unincorporated group of unnamed local property owners — is even suing D.C. in a bid to stop the sale.

Providing secure shelter with rehabilitation resources creates more stability for everyone. If the University can house thousands of students just blocks away from The Aston, then it shouldn’t be so hard to provide shelter for unhoused people in the District.

The lawsuit filed by WEDCCA alleges that city officials did not provide enough information about ensuring access for emergency and medical vehicles or delivery trucks, as well as about the construction of dining and kitchen spaces that were proposed for The Aston. While these minute details are important in theory, spending money and time on stopping the entire initiative indicates their larger agenda: to keep unhoused people away.

Can WEDCCA even

claim to be part of the community? You just have to take them at their word. This anonymous citizen’s association simply has the money and resources — the group has retained the prestigious law firm ArentFox Schiff — to take legal action against an extremely vulnerable group.

And exclusion is not new to unhoused people in D.C. The National Park Service shut down an encampment of more than 50 unhoused people in McPherson Square in February.

Nayan Patel, the president and CEO of District Hospitality, which controls the West End Hotel adjacent to The Aston, said in a meeting June 21 that he is concerned about residents with mental illnesses deterring customers from the hotels and restaurants in the area.

Opposing a shelter based on optics and the location’s reputation treats unhoused people as undeserving of space within their own community, and drawing a correlation between unhoused individuals and a lack of safety only perpetuates the struggle of finding permanent housing.

The best way to address homelessness is not by excommunicating the unhoused but by creating space for them and providing resources for future success — and that’s exactly what repurposing The Aston would do.

The Aston is taking necessary steps to go beyond just providing a roof over people’s heads. As planned, a number of mental health staff will support residents in The Aston, and the shelter will prohibit the use of alcohol

and illicit drugs. Instead of working toward this future or seeking input from those it would benefit, West End is too busy fighting itself. D.C. officials and D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto reached an agreement July 26 which would require the creation of a community advisory team who would counsel The Aston’s staff. But the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission adjourned the meeting after disruptions from the audience and arguments between commissioners.

Rather than arguing over who to put on the community advisory team, affluent neighbors and city officials should listen to unhoused individuals, the people most directly affected by these decisions.

Having secure shelter for those who struggle with mental illness is intended to help with stability — not the opposite. And all people deserve housing, regardless of mental state. Instead of asking unhoused people to experience their struggles out of sight and out of mind, we must ask our unhoused neighbors how we can support them and exist as a community together.

Converting The Aston is the right action to address the need for more accessible shelters in D.C. Anyone made uncomfortable by such help is simply failing to recognize their privilege. Rather than fearing what the loss of that privilege looks like, affluent residents should seek out how to use their advantages to help others.

—Riley Goodfellow, a junior majoring in political science, is the contributing opinions editor.

Downtown D.C. is down but not out. To bring it back, think big.

Residents, businesses should embrace, not fear, plans

FILE PHOTO BY SOPHIA GOEDERT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ORIENTATION GUIDE 2023

What first-years should know about GW’s weirder side

Explaining GW’s culture is tricky.

Some might argue it can be defined by the mantra #onlyatGW, which the University has marketed to highlight our campus’ central location to the goings on of politics and power. At a school where the vice president of the United States parked her motorcade on our concrete version of a “quad” and the former secretary of state scootered through campus, there are plenty of worthy moments to choose from.

But at its root, GW is the “not like the other girls” equivalent of a college. Here are GW’s quirkiest elements of which every incoming student should be aware.

We don’t have a football team … anymore

Many students like to joke that

GW’s football team reigns undefeated under the assumption it never existed, but that is a farce. Founded in 1881, the team known up until 1928 as the “Hatchetites” has a surprisingly storied past in the Southern Conference, winning the conference title in 1890 and the Sun Bowl in 1957.

Due to low game attendance and ballooning maintenance costs for the team — at the time about $300,000 — the program was officially cut in 1967.

We get wacky security alerts

Students are opted in to text and email messages known as GW Alert, many of which help students avoid areas where there is dangerous activity. However, sometimes these warnings are both disturbing and comical.

In late-September 2022, students received a puzzling warning about two members of the GW community being “struck by

small round objects” near the Science and Engineering Hall, coincidentally the day after a GW tradition: Apple Day, a celebration of the fall harvest in which free apples are given out to students. Typically, students will receive an “all clear” message once a situation is under control, but this odd alert swept through campus only to never be discussed again. So the next time your phone buzzes and the message GW ALERT pops up, be sure to read the whole text — it might just be a warning to duck.

Why is there a statue of a hippo in the middle of campus?

As you may have heard by now, our University is getting a new moniker: the Revolutionaries. But the student body has also had an unofficial mascot for more than two decades thanks to former University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who held the

Staffers share advice they wish they knew their first year

It’s the start of your first year, and all is bliss.

With parents nowhere to be seen and newfound freedom, this is the start of the rest of your life. Orientation week helps you ease into college life with fun social and professional activities. But there are still plenty of lessons to learn as you enter a more independent stage of your life. Here are a few extra tidbits that probably weren’t covered during orientation.

Ianne Salvosa | News

Editor

In the wise, poetic words of Ed Sheeran, “I’m at a party I don’t wanna be at.”

It’s a situation that nearly every first-year will encounter in the first month of school when they’re taking advantage of every social opportunity to avoid FOMO. Instead of forcing yourself to listen to “Pepas” by Farruko for the third time and participate in conversations you don’t want to be a part of, slip out the door and embrace the Irish Exit. If executed well, the Irish Exit is perfect for extracting yourself from an awkward situation: There’s nothing like a quick escape done with dramatic flair.

New and exciting social opportunities will unexpectedly pop up throughout the school year, but not every social gathering will be a perfect fit for you. If you’re not feeling the party spirit, just remember to shoot a quick text to a friend notifying them of your departure after you sneak

away so they know you weren’t kidnapped. Listen to your mind and body when you’re out socializing — if you don’t want to be there, then don’t be there.

Nick Perkins | Culture Editor

Upon discovering most restaurants in this city shutter by 9 p.m., the last light on campus, Carvings, will beckon you with its siren song of hot tater tots and hearty burgers. Stumbling into the deli-style store on F Street and ordering a chicken sandwich to satiate one’s late-night hunger is an essential first-year experience — after all, Carvings proudly claims on their website to be the “best bite on campus.”

If you’re up for more of a stroll, wander into Georgetown or Adams Morgan and experience a D.C. staple: jumbo slice pizza, a gargantuan slice of pizza sold into the wee hours of the

morning sure to put your stomach grumbling to an end.

Jennifer Igbonoba | Contributing News Editor

The first month of the fall semester is a prime time to make new friends, discover your interests and find your place on campus. Everyone is in the same boat as you, and you’ll find out quickly that your peers are most eager to make friends during orientation week.

But, the same people you meet during the beginning of your first year may not stick with you forever and that is OK. Everything from schedule conflicts to differing political views can cause a friend group to fall apart. People reveal themselves slowly and friends you make at the beginning of the semester might turn into acquaintances by the end as you discover more about yourself and each other. Don't force these relationships.

position from 1988 to 2007. The bronze “river horse” statue right outside Lisner Auditorium has been a fixture of student life since Trachtenberg gifted it to the Class of 2000.

The official story is that when on vacation with his family, Trachtenberg’s wife, Francine, had to go home early. To make up for their time apart, Trachtenberg sent Francine the hippo statue.

She understandably declined the gift and told Trachtenberg to find the river horse a new home. Now, it stands ferociously at the corner of H and 21st streets as students take selfies riding it, throw coins into its mouth and lovingly rub its nose for luck.

Are they the Student Association or the wannabe “West Wing”?

Students looking to enter the political arena can dip their toe into government-adjacent management through the SA. From

divvying up more than $1.3 million in SA fees for student organizations to securing our U-Passes, the SA has the means to impact student life.

As the saying goes: power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Last year, the SA Senate publicly released its operating budget for the first time, revealing they allocated $12,750 for their own spending, $4,000 of which was for food and drink for their meetings.

While voter participation in SA elections has been low, the drama remains at an all-time high. This past spring, the incumbent SA president was disqualified from running for a second term after it was ruled he illicitly claimed to be working for another candidate’s campaign during his own reelection.

This tomfoolery is the reality of our GWorld, but don’t worry, you’ll get used to it eventually.

Embrace the niche with these under-the-radar student orgs

KATHLEEN GIANNI REPORTER

One of the best ways to meet people in college is to get involved in student organizations, and with groups specializing in a range of topics from video game development to the Argentine tango, there’s a group at GW for everyone.

Check out these underthe-radar organizations that you might otherwise miss out on:

Art n Soul Art n Soul, an art club founded last year, is an optimal group for the creative type. The organization creates a space for members to learn new artistic skills through their meetings with studio time and arts and crafts.

For their first big project last year, the club dedicated itself to painting a GWinspired mural across the walls of the University Student Center’s fourth floor, detailed with monuments, hippos and scenes of Kogan Plaza.

GW Table Tennis

The GW Table Tennis Club gives members both a social and athletic organization by uniting GW students who share a love for the miniature sport. The team is a part of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association, and they compete in tournaments at the divisional, regional and national levels.

GW Table Tennis works with the D.C. community through social engagements and fundraising

events like bake sales to promote their mission of inclusion, sportsmanship and an active lifestyle.

George Washington University Fitness Club

Join the George Washington University Fitness Club, also known as GWFIT, for an easy and fun way to stay active during the academic year through group workouts in a lowpressure setting.

The club hosts activities like group lifts and boxing to inspire members to achieve their fitness goals while also offering monthly meetings to discuss topics like body positivity and the obstacles of getting into fitness. By joining GWFIT, members can learn how to program their personal workouts and build relationships that will motivate them in reaching their goals.

GW Reads!

GW Reads! is a campus book club offering a community for GW book lovers. Meeting every few weeks for discussion, the one-book-a-month schedule makes for a casual, low-commitment club for anyone to join. Beyond the book club, the group helps the community have easier access to books by donating to D.C. schools.

OneWorld GW

Members of OneWorld GW dedicate themselves to creating a better Earth through their shared goals of fighting climate change, making a more sustainable future and connecting students to nature. OneWorld GW spends meetings informing members about environmental matters like clean energy, composting and climate legislation while regularly hosting service events for activities like removing invasive species from Rock Creek Park.

Break the Foggy bubble with these DMV events this September

Getting out of Foggy Bottom can feel like a challenge, especially during the first couple of weeks of the semester with many GW-run events anchoring you to the neighborhood.

As we approach the beginning of the new school year, now is the time to explore some of the various events that are going on in D.C. during September. From food-themed festivals to electronic music concerts, there are events sure to entertain everyone, be they coffee lovers, music enthusiasts or foodies.

DC Coffee Festival, Sept. 30

The DC Coffee Festival, taking place at Union Market, is known for its “immersive coffee experience,” according to their website. Here, coffee lovers can enjoy the best specialty roasts with both local and exotic beans from places like Yemen and Panama, tasty snacks and even some live entertainment.

Coffee tastings are included when you buy your ticket while snacks are available for purchase. The festival also encourages visitors to bring their own mugs to limit waste as much as possible and

make the tastings a little more convenient for the visitors. DC Coffee Festival at Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002. Saturday, September 30, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $24 for

general admission. Oktoberfest Weekend at the Sept.Wharf, 15-17 With Oktoberfest — a German

festival known for its traditional beer tents and cheery ambiance — right around the corner, the Wharf is again holding its annual celebration featuring a weekend full of everything from polka by the water

to racing weiner dogs.

This year, the District Wharf neighborhood will host the annual Wiener 500 Dachshund Dash, where volunteered weiner dogs test their speed against one another. Other events include a polka dance party on Transit Pier featuring a how-to on polka and stein-hoisting contests, a classic German game in which participants compete to see who can hold a one-liter glass jug the longest. Throughout the weekend, visitors can enjoy traditional German food like pretzels and sausages as well as Bavarian decor and costumes.

Oktoberfest at The Wharf, 760 Maine Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. Sept. 15 to 17. Free admission. Diplo at Echostage, Sept. 2

Echostage is a hybrid music venue, mostly drawing electronic dance artists into its sprawling 30,000 square-foot layout adorned with flashing LED lights.

Those interested in electronic dance music cannot miss producer and EDM virtuoso Diplo’s DJ set at Echostage. Fans of the disk jockey should dance their way into Echostage for the show.

Diplo at Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE, Washington, D.C. 20018. September 2, 9 p.m. Tickets are $65 for general admission.

JENNA BAER CONTRIBUTING CULTURE EDITOR

MELANIE DEL CASTILLO SEQUEIRA REPORTER

LILY SPEREDELOZZI | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

COURTESY OF GWFIT

For students with a fervor for fitness, the George Washington University Fitness Club provides a low-pressure space for students to stay active during the school year.

HATCHET FILE PHOTO

Pull yourself out of the Foggy Bottom bubble this semester to see Diplo perform your favorite club classics at Echostage in September.

ORIENTATION GUIDE 2023

Leave the fish, take the command hooks

First-years moving into their new, overly compact college dorm rooms have no trouble finding internet packing lists of hundreds of items they simply MUST have for their University housing.

But after settling into Thurston Hall for a few weeks, many soon realize some of the dorm room essentials aren’t quite necessary, while other necessities are nowhere to be found. Here are The Hatchet staff’s picks for what to add and avoid when putting together your back-to-school shopping cart.

DON'T: Seek out a pet fish

Kathleen Gianni |

Reporter

Though I understand it might seem like a great idea to run off to Petco with your new orientation friends and invest in a dorm fish, trust me, it’s not. Ignoring GW’s policy banning pets in the residence halls, my friends and I couldn’t even wait until the first day of classes before we were sneaking a bright blue betta fish through the lobby and up the stairwell of Potomac House, blissfully unaware of the long-term commitment ahead of us.

The shared-custody pet served to amuse us for a short month while we decorated his tank with disco lights and colorful plants before the realization hit that we would have to continue cleaning his tank each week, then the excitement soon wore off. Since none of us did our research on a betta fish’s lifespan, we had little confidence that he would survive through our first semester.

As it turns out, they typically live for two to four years, and we’re getting ready to celebrate our dorm fish’s first birthday. Living on your own in GW housing can be a big transition, from budgeting for your meals to keeping a clean living space, so be sure to focus on how to keep yourself alive before you’re responsible for a pet fish.

DO: Get a

tiered storage cart

Lana Khalaf | Reporter

As a chronic overpacker, one of the biggest problems I dealt with when packing for my tiny freshman room was storage. After scrolling through endless online packing lists, I found the tiered storage cart. The cart offers plenty of storage, looks aesthetically pleasing and won't break the bank, making it a must-have for your first year. My three suitemates and I opted to share one in our bathroom, and I found it a much more favorable option than cluttering the dorm with shower caddies and lugging face wash to and from the bathroom every night.

DON’T: Rely on a chalkboard for communication

Nick Perkins | Culture Editor

When I was moving into college, a family friend gifted me a chalkboard — it was so helpful when they were in school, they said, since they could quickly leave notes for their roommates on it. But after arriving at GW I found much less utility for the classic classroom item.

I struggled to hang up the chalkboard in my undersized freshman year

dorm, as there was barely enough wall space for it and the fairly heavy writing repository tore command strips right off the wall. After finally applying enough command strips and tape to get the chalkboard to stay, my roommate and I barely used it. Outside of one smiley face drawn on it in celebration of the new school year, we just communicated over text and let the chalkboard gather dust as it took up valuable wall space.

DO: Tidy up with a dustbuster

Anna Fattizzo | Sta Writer

While maybe not the most exciting item on this list, a dustbuster is a musthave. My roommate and I bought one for our first year on a whim and it ended up as one of the most prized possessions of our room because we used it in every imaginable way to keep our dorm neat.

A dustbuster, or a handheld vacuum, is more practical for narrow or shoeboxsized dorms that first-years are typically assigned to. The gizmo can be easily stored on shelves or under your bed.

A dustbuster has its advantages over a regularsized vacuum too, as it can easily navigate small spaces like around your mini fridge and pick up crumbs from your desk.

Having your own space for the first time is special and there is pride in keeping it clean. Messes happen — crumbs, dust and hair are everywhere from everyday living to packed Thurston Hall ragers. The tiny-yetmighty dustbuster can handle anything you throw its way from crushed Goldfish crackers to dust bunnies.

Skip the monuments for these starter sight-seeing spots

Sightseeing in a city that is constantly overrun by throngs of middle school tour groups and wannabe West Wingers can prove exhausting to even the most-determined District residents.

Even if you are intent on checking out all the touristy attractions, it can be a tall order for your first time in the city to make it through these crowds. But, if you want to dip your toe into the cultural offerings the capital has to offer, here are a few lesser-known spots that will keep you busy.

Trails

It’s easy to get lost in the concrete jungle of Foggy Bottom. For those who like to retreat from the city once in a while, D.C. is home to stunning trails easily accessible from campus. The Mount Vernon trail, which follows the Potomac River going south on the Virginia side, is 10 minutes away from campus via bike. The trail affords hikers and bikers breathtaking panoramas of the National Mall, Tidal Basin and surrounding monuments from a unique vantage point from the other side of the river.

For Vernies, the Capital Crescent Trail, which is right outside your dorm, is a seven-mile trail that runs from Bethesda, Maryland to Georgetown. You can use the trail to get to Foggy Bottom in 20 minutes, or up to Bethesda, a historic suburb of D.C. and home to boutique eateries and a quaint, upscale ambiance that contrasts the busy, hectic life in Foggy Bottom.

National Arboretum

Spread out over 451 acres, the National Arboretum is overshadowed by its smaller but more popular sibling, the U.S. Botanic Garden. However, this more secluded offering is an urban oasis ideal for anyone who loves plants, flowers and natural beauty, about an hour away from campus.

One main attraction in the Arboretum is the National Capitol Columns, a collection of 22 Corinthian columns originally built for use on the US Capitol building. Built off a beautiful ancient Roman and Greek design and placed near a pond, the Capitol Columns radiate an ancient ambiance that shines through the park.

After seeing those, visitors can then take a walk through 9.5 miles of footpaths in the park, passing through the National Bonsai Museum, the National Herb Garden and the Arboretum’s various collections of flora and fauna from regions near and far.

3501 New York Ave. NE. Open Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Eden Center Foodies unite for the Eden Center, a Vietnamese business center a half-hour away from campus by Metro in Falls Church. Though it has some of the best eats in the area, it's much more than a strip mall with restaurants. The Eden Center is home to the largest Vietnamese American community in the D.C. area and is a center for gathering, shopping and culture.

D.C. is not known for authentic Vietnamese food,

but this shopping center rivals the offerings from Vietnamese exclaves of my hometown in Southern California. Come here to indulge in some phở, then grab some bubble tea at ViVi Bubble Tea, a vital stop in the plaza for drinks and quick bites. It’s easy to get lost in time at Eden Center just watching people experiencing such a different pace of life, especially after a hearty meal.

6751-6799 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, Virginia. Open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Nestled in the heart of Columbia Heights stands the Mexican Cultural Institute, a 20-minute Metro ride from campus. The institute is funded by the Mexican Embassy and exists to promote cultural literacy between Mexico and the United States. Housed in a historic mansion, not only is it the original Mexican Embassy in D.C., every surface is lined with Mexican cultural elements.

Famed Mexican muralist Roberto Cueva del Río’s distinct murals cover the mansion’s interior walls, proudly displaying Mexico’s cultural heritage and diversity. Upstairs, there are various rooms and exhibits featuring artifacts of significance in Mexico, like a library filled with books by Mexican authors and gifts from foreign emissaries to Mexico. The institute is free to the public and sometimes hosts events that highlight various parts of Mexican culture, like the recent Baja California in D.C. event.

2829 16th St. NW. Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Check out these orientation events to get to know GW

As your student email inbox becomes inundated with professors welcoming you to classes while you struggle to fi nd your way around campus, the fastapproaching first week of classes can seem daunting.

Luckily, first-years have Orientation Week, a buffer between summer break and the fast-paced start of the school year to get acclimated with campus life. This year, Orientation Week takes place from Aug. 20 through Aug. 27 and includes a variety of academic and social activities, from small group discussions to laser tag.

Many of these orientation events are not mandatory, but each one provides an opportunity for you to connect with your peers. Here are a couple of the events you won’t want to miss out on:

Orientation week starts strong on Sunday, with small group meetings with your orientation leaders from 8:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and optional campus tours.

After a series of orientation sessions on Monday, Aug. 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., you’ll get a chance to break out of your small group bubble by heading to the Lerner Health and Well-

ness Center for Late Night at the Rec. Choose from a smorgasbord of activities like laser tag, dodgeball, and basketball, in

will be available for free at this market, including everything from second-hand storage bins to cookware. Take your last day of summer break easy with a picnic on the National Mall. Wednesday, Aug. 23, enjoy a kickback at your future graduation stage while playing lawn games.

Even though classes start on Aug. 24, the Orientation Week party does not stop. First Night, a long-held GW tradition, is the ultimate opportunity to collect free swag and food from local vendors like Crepeaway. Held on Friday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. in U-Yard and Potomac Square, students can expect a variety of carnival games, blow-up slides, music and merch.

Bored from seeing the same faces and places on campus, already? Then join a District Connections trip, outings led by upperclassmen that give students the opportunity to discover D.C. through museums, kayaking and zoo trips. The trips span Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 26-27, make sure to RSVP early on because many have limited spots.

to esports and

fitness which will be available from 9 to

some of the club

11 p.m. Get to

sports teams and see if any spark your interest. For those who waited until the last minute to buy room supplies, be sure to check out the Office

of Sustainability's Reuse Market on August 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. in University Yard. During Spring move-out, students donated a variety of their gently used goods to the Office of Sustainability which

This week is the very fi rst page of your college journey, but not where the storyline ends so be sure to pace yourself. There’s plenty of time to take advantage of all your new home has to offer.

NAN JIANG REPORTER

addition

group

know

and intramural

MARAM BAIDER REPORTER

KATHLEEN GIANNI | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Sami the betta fish swims around their tank, a regretful purchase by reporter Kathleen Gianni.

GW HATCHET STAFF

NAN JIANG | PHOTOGRAPHER

Stroll along the Mount Vernon Trail for scenic views of gardens and the Potomac River.

LILY SPEREDELOZZI | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

First-year students break the ice with orientation games in Kogan Plaza Saturday.