Vol-121-Iss-11 by The GW Hatchet

HATCHET

BASKETBALL GUIDE

ALL REV’D UP

Buchanan, ‘never’ satis ed, returns for year two with Revs

his breakout campaign last season, cementing himself as not just a rising star on the team but in the NCAA.

After the Revolutionaries

Darren Buchanan Jr. had no intention of leaving GW after his breakout redshirt freshman season.

Many wondered if a second transfer was in the cards for Buchanan. With three years of eligibility left, a power four conference team could have offered the sophomore forward a lucrative Name Image Likeness deal that would trump any oﬀer from GW.

He ﬁnished with 15.6 points per game with 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in

ﬁnished the 2023-24 season with a 15-17 record and dead last in the conference, Buchanan faced a choice — stay at GW for another season or transfer for the second time after spending his freshman year at Virginia Tech.

Buchanan decided to remain a Revolutionary.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, he has his sights set on the team’s triumph and ﬁlling the shoes of some of the team’s since-departed greats — not his individual play. It’s been a “challenge” to step into a leadership role on the team, Buchanan said in a press conference earlier this month, point-

ing to his younger age as a sophomore, but he’s “more than ready.”

“Last year we lost, so my only goal this season is to win,” Buchanan said. “I couldn’t care less about what I do personally. I know everything that I want comes with the team’s success.”

With six new players on the 2024-25 roster, Buchanan and his teammates spent the summer and preseason in the gym and on the court to learn each other’s playing tendencies, like being shot first or pass first. During breaks in practice and during games, Buchanan gives clarification to teammates while uplifting players who make mistakes and cracking jokes to keep the mood light.

See BUCHANAN Page 3

Engel looks to lead as lone senior on women’s basketball team

Forward Maxine Engel is the lone senior on the women’s basketball team and the sole player who has spent her entire collegiate career with the Revs.

Of the ﬁve starters at last year’s season opener against Howard, none are on this year’s roster, and out of the 1,812 points netted last season, just 244 are accounted for by Revolutionaries on the roster for the upcoming 2023-24 season. In her fourth year on the team, Engel has emerged as a key leader and veteran presence among players ﬁlled with youth and inexperience. But she wasn’t sure if basketball was in the cards

when she came to GW. Engel started out at GW as a walk-on, opting to join the team without a scholarship oﬀer. She said leaving behind her basketball career in her high school days in Memphis, Tennessee, was not an option she was willing to accept.

“I decided to play basketball because I didn’t want to regret walking away from it,” Engel said. “GW was a great school, ﬁrstly, academically, and just being in D.C., I met the staﬀ, met the team and just realized I wanted to be a part of it. I walked on and worked really hard.”

After a high school basketball career where Engel netted more than 1,000 points by the time she was a junior, she joined the Revolutionaries and started in 11 out of the 19 games she

Men’s basketball picks up transfers looking to turn tables

for shots,” Castro said. Last season, Castro appeared in 34 games with the Friars, averaging 2.9 points per game on a Providence team that ﬁnished with a 10-10 record in Big East play.

Four transfer students will debut on the men’s basketball team this season, bringing a combined 14 seasons of Division I NCAA play onto the court.

Rafael Castro The 6’11” redshirt junior forward towers over the Revs’ roster. The Dover, New Jersey, native committed to GW this spring after spending three seasons at Providence College, where he primarily was a bench piece. Castro says he hopes to harness his height in the paint this season to create opportunities for his teammates during their matchups this year.

“I get a one-on-one matchup and a high or low post, killing that and making them double me and spreading it out to my teammates

Trey Moss

For this redshirt junior guard from Orlando, Florida, GW will mark the third school he has attended in four years, after hopping from the University of Florida to William & Mary, now bringing his skills to Foggy Bottom. Moss said he’s a two-way player that hopes to be dependable and trustworthy on and oﬀ the court.

“My role would be just a twoway player, be an everyday guy,” Moss said.

The Orlando, Florida, native began his college career at USF, where he spent two seasons with the Bulls, playing in 31 games his freshman season and eight games his sophomore season before redshirting and transferring. Last season, Moss av-

eraged 13.5 points per game for the Tribe, paired with 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

“The main thing for me was to take a step in a diﬀerent conference,” Moss said.

Gerald Drumgoole Jr.

The 6’5″ guard from Rochester, New York, will suit up for the fourth school of his college basketball career by joining the Revs this season. Drumgoole ﬁnished out his undergraduate career at the University of Delaware last season.

With the Blue Hens last season, Drumgoole averaged 13.9 points per game, paired with 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Sean Hansen

The 6’9″ graduate student forward from Ramsey, New Jersey, joins the Revs, adding another piece to a revamped front court. Before transferring from Cornell this fall, the former Big Red captain averaged 8.8 points per game last

played in during her freshman year, averaging 3.5 rebounds and 6.4 points per game. Her sophomore year, she started in two of the 14 games she played in, accumulating a total of 30 points across the season. In her ﬁrst year, she also logged 66 rebounds, good for the most in her college career so far, compared to 38 during her junior year.

Entering her fourth year with the team, Engel will lead nine new players who joined the squad for the upcoming season. Guard Paige Mott joins the Revolutionaries from Northwestern University, guard Makayla Andrews hails from Lafayette College and forward Mariona Plantes Fortuny comes from Lafayette and the international Spanish circuit.

Page

ARWEN CLEMANS | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

From left to right, transfers Trey Moss, Rafael Castro, Sean Hanson and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. pose for a portrait in the Smith Center.

SANDRA

See ENGEL

BASKETBALL GUIDE

Women’s basketball aims to compete in A-10 with size, scorers

Women’s basketball will be looking for a stronger Atlantic 10 performance after ending their season ranked 11th in the conference out of 15 teams.

The Revolutionaries welcomed nine new players to the squad this season after ending their 2023-24 season with a 13-18 overall record, including 6-12 in the A-10. After falling short to the Saint Louis Billikens 75-68 on March 7 in the first round of the conference tournament last year, the team aims to restructure after a massive roster overhaul this offseason that retained just five players from last season.

last season with 16.2, transferred to Southern Methodist University. Assists-leader guard Asjah Innis, who averaged 2.3 assists per game last season, transferred to Appalachian State University. Their absences leave gaps in the backcourt to be ﬁlled by a mixture of new and returning players.

To make up for its lack of GW experience, the team brought in key graduate student transfers like guard Makayla Andrews and forward Paige Mott, who could rely on their years of college play. McCombs said she expects Mott — a 6’1” transfer forward who averaged 4.9 rebounds a game in her senior year for Northwestern last season — to make an oﬀensive impact this season for GW.

“Paige Mott, needing that post presence for

Standing at 6’1,” she played this summer for her native Spain in the FIBA 3×3 Nations League 2024 tournament.

Andrews said despite being new to the team, she, Planes Fortuny and other graduate student transfers serve as a veteran presence to younger teammates.

“I mean, we both have four years under our belt, so we know what it’s like to be in college games in those situations,” Andrews said. “So just bringing our experience and putting it into the system and also following the system and leading by example.”.

Men’s basketball turns to new core to lead season

points and assists.

Men’s basketball is ready to move past last year’s last-place ﬁnish with a revamped roster ﬁlled with new players and young returners ready to make leaps on the court.

After ﬁnishing with a 16-16 record in 2022-23, the ﬁrst year under Head Coach Chris Caputo, the team went 15-17 last year, including a 4-14 Atlantic 10 record. From mid-January until early March, the team lost 12 games straight, the second-longest losing streak in program history.

games last season, averag-

“James Bishop, obvious“Very hard to step into his

wouldn’t be a but as a team we to GW, bring that

Sophomore guard Trey Autry said it will be a team effort to make up Bishop’s scoring. Autry started 15 games last season, averaging 5.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Jacoi Hutchinson averaged 7.3 points and started 10 games. ly a GW legend,” Autry said. “Very hard step into his shoes, but I know me personally, it wouldn’t be a personal goal, but as a team we can find a way to fit in what he did to GW, bring that excitement back to GW.”

Gerald Drumgoole Jr. also joins GW from University of Delaware, the third transfer of his college career. He averaged 13.9 points per game this past season and looks to bring experience to a younger roster. The Revs will be without Johnson for the season after he suffered a torn ACL over the summer.

Engel is the ing player who aver-

Senior forward Maxine Engel is the only returning player who averaged at least 12 minutes per game.

departure for the Revs is forward Mayowa Taiwo, who graduated after ﬁve years

A key departure for the Revs is forward Mayowa Taiwo, who graduated after five years of donning the Buff & Blue and is first and third in program history in games played and total rebounds, respectively. Without her, the team is missing a key fixture in the frontcourt and will need to work together to replace her paint prowess.

Blue and is ﬁrst and third in program hisand total rebounds, respectively. Without her, the team is missing a key ﬁxture in the frontcourt and will need to work together to replace her paint prowess. “It’s gotta be a togonna have one person dominating the boards,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “Just have to be disciplined — one shot, and then everyone’s tracking down that ball.”

“It’s gotta be a total team eﬀort, not just gonna have one person dominating the boards,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “Just have to be disciplined — one shot, and then everyone’s tracking down that ball.”

Guard Nya Robertson, who led the team in points per game

that post presence for us inside,” McCombs said. “Lot of experience for her as well.” Andrews, who scored more than 1,000 points during her four years at Lafayette University, brings with her point-scoring ability that was lost with Robertson’s departure. She averaged 13.2 points per game bounds per game in her senior season. Also bringing height rience is graduate student Mariona Planes Fortuny, who scored more than 1,200 points in her four years at Bryant versity.

The team also welcomes four freshmen to the roster who will look to complement the veteran presences of the transfers. Guard Gabby Reynolds averaged 29.9 points per game in her high school career and was the recipient of the 2024 Michigan Miss Basketball Award.

points per game in her high school career and was the recipient of the 2024 Michigan Miss Basketball Award. ities will be key for the Revolutionaries, who ranked 13th of 15 A-10 teams with a shooting percentage of .370 last season. She said being around older, experienced players has been a big help for her as she’s adjusted to

Reynolds’ oﬀensive abilities will be key for the Revolutionaries, who ranked 13th of 15 A-10 teams with a shooting percentage of .370 last season. She said being around older, experienced players has been a big help for her as she’s adjusted to college ball.

Redshirt freshman guard Garrett Johnson and redshirt sophomore guard Maximus Edwards combined to miss a dozen games, leaving the team dominated by youth as Edwards and ﬁfth-year guard James Bishop were the sole players with past experience playing for GW. As the losing streak continued, the team was forced to rely on a rotation that was thin and young.

Bishop and Edwards were ﬁrst tively, in points and, according to taken. Their absences will leave

Women’s basketball is entering a metamorphic season.

When I was watching games from the Smith Center balcony last year, the team looked dejected and deﬂated. The team struggled to score and couldn’t defend their side of the court. This year, GW is injected with veteran presences and introducing new faces — hopefully turning over a new leaf as leaves fall around the season’s Nov. 4 start date.

The program’s strategic moves, including intense roster and coaching alterations, point to an all-around transformation for the Revs. After a difficult 2023-24 season, in which the team went 13-18 overall, GW is facing a critical juncture. GW’s major roster overhaul signals major efforts to rebuild, adding nine new players to their 14-women roster — four freshmen and five transfers. Key transfers include graduate guard Makayla Andrews, who brings consistency to the free-throw line and strong shooting, averaging 13.2 points per game last season at Lafayette College. Standing at 6-foot-3, Spanish graduate forward Mariona Planes Fortuny adds height to the lineupas well as solid front and bakcourt reliability. Fortuny had the unique opportunity to play on the national stage, priming her for collegiate competition.

Freshman forward Miriam Diala has international experience hailing from Ger-

“Obviously, there’s a high expectation for me to come in and do well and stuﬀ,” Reynolds said. “But just having them, they’ve been very helpful.”

Caputo said he aimed to address the team’s injury and inexperience struggles in the oﬀseason with seven new additions to the roster and more time to grow for returners.

The potential man to take on the point-scoring role is Jr., who had a stellar rookie campaign with an average

Winning 11 out of the 15 games they played at home last season, McCombs said her squad is looking to capitalize on the familiarity advantage to build confidence ahead of facing difficult opponents. The team faces its first conference opponent, George Mason, who finished with a 14-4 A-10 record, Dec. 3.

“We were having good success until the injuries hit,” Caputo said. “I also knew that being young, you’re going to still go through adversities. We certainly had our share.”

wards were ﬁrst and third, respectively, in points scored last season and, according to KenPom, combined for 55.1 percent of GW’s shots taken. Their absences will leave major gaps on oﬀense and force new players to carry the scoring load. man to take on the point-scoring role is redshirt sophomore forward Darren Buchanan Jr., who had a stellar rookie campaign with an average of 15.6 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Buchanan earned All-Rookie Team honors in 2023-24.

ie Team honors in 2023-24. “Darren’s such a focal point,” Caputo said. “Such a diverse, unique player.

this past season and experience to a younger will be withfor the season absence will be felt most hind the arc. He shot .403 from deep been good for 11th in enough shots to be eligible. Despite his absence, Caputo said he combination of the transfers and returners will lead the team to better results than last season.

Johnson’s absence will be felt most strongly behind the arc. He shot .403 from deep last season, which would have been good for 11th in the A-10 had he taken enough shots to be eligible. Despite his absence, Caputo said he hopes a combination of the transfers and returners will lead the team to better results than last season.

“I think by adding those guys and returning a good group, we got a little bit older, a little bit more experienced, and I think may-

I hope we would have done last year,” Caputo said. Caputo said

many and playing a year of club ball in Europe. Transfer forward Paige Mott looks like a solid post presence for the Revs recording a careerhigh 4.9 boards per game and a solid 31 blocks last season at Northwestern University. But the team’s overall rebounding success needs to be a collective eﬀort.

The team will need to rely on leadership from veterans from senior forward Maxine Engel to guide them this season, especially with such a disintegrated roster. Engel’s heartfelt dedication to the program and understanding of team dynamics position her as a player to look to for guidance during this transitional phase. Her ability to help foster team chemistry and winning culture will play a major role in the Revs’ success.

The departure of two top contributors, including Robertson, who averaged an inﬂuential 16.2 ppg last season but transferred to Southern Methodist University for her junior season, and Mayowa Taiwo, a team leader who graduated, will be felt. Tai-

“Obviously we want to improve, we want to be better,” McCombs said. “We want to have a great homecourt advantage. Every time someone comes to the Smith Center, we just want to be somebody that people don’t want to play.”

The team stood at 14-11 when Johnson played in his last game, although a lingering hip injury limited his minutes throughout the latter half of the season.

point,” Caputo said. “Such a diverse, unique player. We’ve got to always be thinking about ways to use him and make him eﬀective and then surround him with guys that can make defenses pay for putting two guys on there.”

“I think by adding those guys and returning a good group, we got a little bit older, a little bit more experienced, and I think maybe we can do what I hope we would have done last year,” Caputo said. Caputo said he hopes the Revs dominate the conference and compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament this season.

The Revolutionaries open the season at 5 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Delaware in the Smith Center.

Column: Women’s basketball should prioritize cohesion

wo’s departure leaves a signiﬁcant void under the rim. GW will need to rely on all players to ﬁll the gap in Taiwo’s rebounding prowess. Competitiveness and chemistry are two pillars that should be at the front of McCombs’ mind when it comes to the rebuild.

In her three years as head coach, McCombs tallies an underwhelming 44-49 record. Fans are itching for success during this stagnant period. It is diﬃcult to follow GW’s three-peat A-10 championships from 2015 to 2017 that saw star players, like WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones. The team has yet to produce the return of talent or wins emulating that of the Jones era. Hopefully, new staﬃng aditions focusing on talent acquisition and player development will help breathe life into the program, pulling McCombs and the Revs out of this motionless bout.

Fans should look forward to seeing the debut of this team come Nov. 4, but whether the new roster produces new beginnings is still up in the autumn air.

Bishop, who is third in program history in points scored, left the team after finishing his fifth collegiate season and is now playing professionally in Finland. The team will rely on a combination of players to fill his production after the guard started every game last year and led the team in minutes,

The team will also look to a collection of new transfers and freshmen, who will be tasked with making immediate impacts. Redshirt junior forward Rafael Castro joins the Revs from Providence College, where he averaged 2.9 points per game.

Graduate student guard

“Our goal is to be towards the top of our league,” Caputo said. “To be a team that can compete for the postseason every year, a team that can be legitimately in contention for a topfour seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Those teams, whether you’re winning a league or you’re in a double buy situation, are going to be in the postseason.”

Column: Men’s basketball must overcome past missteps

With just one week until the start of the 2024-25 season, GW fans are left wondering whether men’s basketball will be able to put aside last year’s defeats and capitalize on this year’s opportunities.

Last week, I was able to attend a practice session and observe the team behind the scenes. As the seats of the Smith Center sat empty, a wildly energetic yet intensely dedicated group of new and old faces checkered the court. But the Revs will have to defy the faults of last season and build on their strengths to commence a “revolutionary” era of GW basketball.

Coach Chris Caputo attributed 2023-24 campaign woes to injuries and inexperience. A youthful roster and late-season injuries derailed what began as a strong 11-2 nonconference season.

Even more troubling is the lack of nonconference competition for the Revs this season. A weak schedule prior to intense A-10 competition proved not to be the proper test for last year’s team, and this season’s lineup looks even lighter.

The graduation of dominant players like GW’s thirdhighest scorer in program history, James Bishop IV and defensive powerhouse Babatunde Akingbola, along with the loss of guard Max Edwards to the transfer portal will hurt the team. Key transfer additions like guard Gerald Drum-

goole Jr. and 6-foot-11 forward Rafael Castro will add shooting and size, respectively. Transfer forward Sean Hansen brings another layer of reinforcement in the paint.

Redshirt junior guard Trey Moss averaged 13.5 points per game last season at William & Mary, a performance that GW can only hope transfers over.

Also powerful can be the small freshman class. Local guard Ty Bevins, one of Maryland’s top high school players, brings a potential backcourt impact. Swiss national Dayan Nessah also boasts international experience developed in the FC Barcelona system, which could propel his performance as a conﬁdent freshman. Returners like Sophomore guards Trey Autry and Jacoi Hutchinson will not only have to sustain their highs but push further to set the team in motion after the loss of key players. With an extroverted style and swagger much diﬀerent than former kingpin Bishop IV, Darren Buchanan Jr. may

be the team’s new leader. However, the unexpected loss of proven scorer Garrett Johnson to a torn ACL over the summer leaves a hole in the frontcourt, further complicating Caputo’s rebuild.

But GW’s roster is not the only piece of the program that has been shuffled. Recent coaching changes at GW reflect a response to internal day-to-day operational challenges and national trends like a heightened focus on NIL rules and continual movement of players through the transfer portal. But in a sea of new faces, Caputo continues to stand at the helm of GW basketball. Despite last year’s bottomof-conference finish, Caputo said he aims for a top seed in the A-10 and postseason run. Fans can only hope that his confidence in the mix of new and old players is proven this season.

In their return to the Smith Center on Nov. 4 with a tipoﬀ against Mercyhurst, the Revs will commence a test of tenacity, commitment and adaptation for the team.

ARWEN CLEMANS | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

The women’s basketball team circles up to end an October practice.

RAPHAEL KELLNER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

An empty Smith Center during men’s basketball practice.

TANNER NALLEY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

RAPHAEL KELLNER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BEN SPITALNY SPORTS EDITOR

JAINCHILL BASKETBALL EDITOR

SYD HEISE SPORTS COLUMNIST

WILL O’CONNELL REPORTER

BASKETBALL GUIDE

George li s curtain on character of beloved spirit stalwart

Behind the facade of an ordinary student is a man with a secret that he hides from classmates and many of his friends.

When day turns to night, the senior transforms into his alter ego, donning a mask and a nearly 40-pound costume to embody the George Washington mascot — complete with bushy white eyebrows, a powdered wig, a tricorn and other traditional colonial garb.

“At this point, when the head goes on, the mindset, you just shift,” said the man beneath the George mask, who requested anonymity to maintain the mystery behind his identity.

As he enters his fourth season donning the mascot of the University’s namesake, the senior has learned to separate the George character from his own.

“George has a little bit of an attitude,” he said. “George is sassy. George is fun. George likes to dance. I feel like there’s a lot of things that have to live in George for a while.”

The senior said he first suited up as the mascot after seeing a flyer for the position his first year. Hours after he applied for the role, he received an email asking if he was available for the season-opening doubleheader.

He said he now can walk the Smith Center blind and the costume has become a “second skin,” but each game day, he needs time

to focus on George’s personality and abandon his own more mildmannered traits.

As games progress, George makes his way around the Smith Center to take pictures with fans and participates in on-court events during timeouts like trivia and fan-competitions.

Over the course of his time as George, he has built close relationships with rival schools’ mascots, both inside and out of costumes. He has become friends with the student who plays George Mason’s Patriot mascot but has a more antagonistic relationship with St. Joseph’s Hawk.

“The entire time, the Hawk just flaps its wings,” he said.

“They do it for two hours, so George always goes and does it back and tries to get him to do a

dance battle.”

George also engages in rockpaper-scissors battles with other mascots and fans alike, in which he’s a frequent loser.

“I consider myself good at rock, paper, scissors, if you can consider yourself that,” he said. “But George is, I don’t think George has ever won a rock-paper-scissors round. It’s weird.”

He said he’ll miss his time as the character and the relationships he’s built with other members of the GW spirit community over the past three years, teasing that he might reveal his identity at the end of the year.

“It’s just been so fun, and it’s such a weird gig,” he said. “The amount of weird things that happen are incredible, but it’s been so fun, and I’ve loved it.”

Engel embraces senior seat ahead of season

residence halls, grabs dinner around campus and in D.C. and see movies and shows.

“We were able to pick up some very experienced graduate transfers and 2 JUCO transfers that know the pace of college basketball, but I think my experience is particularly distinguished by having been a part of Coach McCombs’ GW team for going on my fourth year now,” Engel said. “That experience comes with knowing the ins and outs of the culture and standards that are expected along with knowing all things GW and how best to communicate with McCombs and the staﬀ.” Among the 14-person roster, Engel holds down a fresh roster full of new faces. More than half are new to the University. She said she will work closely with new players as a voice oﬀ the court, helping them acclimate to the team and a college environment.

“Especially for our younger players, a big diﬀerence between high school and college basketball is the level of communication that is expected on the court,” Engel said. “I ensure people talk, encourage teammates and bring energy for most practices because not only does it make us better players on the court but also even better teammates.”

Last season, the women’s basketball team went 13-18 overall and 6-12 in Atlantic 10 play. Their season came to a grinding halt after a ﬁrstround loss against Saint Louis during the A-10 Championship. Out of the nine games she started in, Engel averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.

She said oﬀ the court, the team hangs out together in

“We constantly communicate on the court in drills and after drills to build up trust in each other and the chemistry that makes a team solid,” Engel said. “Additionally, we have a circle after every practice where we gather as only players and create a space for people to give each other shoutouts or praise from practice or even share areas of growth for the next day.”

Engel said her team doesn’t hone in on specific goals but focuses on the everyday process of reaching success. Engel said the team is required to read “Pound the Stone” by Joshua Medcalf every summer ahead of the new season, a novel focused on the development of athletes’ grit in daily life. Engel, who has now read the book several times, said her copy is filled with a melee of different colored highlights and annotations representing each year with the program.

As the only senior on the team, Engel said she holds onto the notion of being a supportive teammate, inspired by a motto from former Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations John Square.

“Our old supervisor, John Square, told me my freshman year that people don’t remember what you did but remember how you made them feel,” Engel said. “I’m sure his knowledge is borrowed from Maya Angelou’s quote, but it still has stuck with me to this day and is in the back of my mind as I enter my senior season. And beyond that, I want us to win as a connected team.”

A pair of brothers, junior Brady and freshman Kyle Rosenstock, enter the Charles E. Smith Center almost every day for women’s basketball practice — but they aren’t on the roster.

The Rosenstocks are two of the women’s basketball team’s nine practice players who help them prepare for games by running drills and acting as scout players on a volunteer basis. Some of the practice players said they take on the speciﬁc role of an upcoming opponent to help the team prepare for the game and that they enjoy helping the team improve and cultivating connections with each other.

Head Coach Caroline McCombs said the nine practice players have developed their own team within the team.

“As far as defensively, they’re able to be faster, be stronger, maybe than some people, or as good as the people that we’re going to play against all year, so they really do a great job in helping us become better oﬀensive players,” McCombs said. The players have a variety of previous experience playing basketball, from casual pickup to high school varsity. One practice player, junior Nico Schwartz, said he was brought in to play in

Buchanan seeks family support midseason

From Page 1

“I’m always laughing and joking to prepare,” Buchanan said. “I am serious, but I can’t be ‘fake mad’ for a game. I got to laugh and have fun.”

Despite speculation about him transferring during the oﬀseason, the choice to stay at GW was easy for Buchanan — he was born and raised in Northwest D.C.

“I just got here,” Buchanan said. “I didn’t want to just up and leave again. That’s three schools in three years. Coach Caputo and the rest of the staﬀ gave me an opportunity here. I succeeded in year one. I was just like ‘Why not try it again?’ My family’s here in D.C., and it wasn’t a good year for me. So I was like, ‘I’m not leaving D.C. unless I have to.’” Buchanan’s family underpinned his motivation in his ﬁrst season with the Revolutionaries and inspires his mission for the second. After his grandmother died in November 2023, leaving him “devastated” and unmotivated to practice or “do anything,” Buchanan said having his mother in his corner provided reassurance for the rest of the season.

“Using her motivation, seeing what she goes through on a day-to-day basis, that’s how strong she is. That motivated me to keep going,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan’s sister gave

him tough love. His self-proclaimed biggest critic and fan, he said she isn’t afraid to tell him when he’s wrong and acknowledge when he’s right.

“My sister had my back for sure, but she was criticizing me,” Buchanan said. “‘If you would’ve never done this, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.’ But that’s how she is though and I love her for that.”

Buchanan said “all” of his NIL earnings went to his community when setting up events, adding that he has yet to spend on himself.

“I gave out like 120 book bags and had an ice cream machine,” Buchanan said. “It was a good event and the kids had fun.”

Buchanan was named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason Second All-Team Conference in October, and he said he sees it as another form of motivation.

“I’m blessed to be on any team, honestly,” Buchanan said. “But I do feel like it gave me something to prove, and I’ll leave it at that.”

But Buchanan views the accomplishment and the season ahead of him as just the start.

“I feel like this is just the beginning,” said Buchanan. “I just turned 20 in July, I’m young and I just feel like the sky’s the limit. I’m blessed to be in the position I am today for sure, and I know that there’s way more work to be done. To be honest, I’m not comfortable with being satisﬁed. Never.”

front of the coaching staff to prove his skills were up to the task. Practice players for the women’s basketball team must be full-time GW students, a women’s basketball Instagram post states. Brady said McCombs recruited him to become a practice player on the first day of classes his freshman year after he stopped by a table event where she was giving out donuts. He said McCombs said he was tall and asked if he had basketball experience. Kyle said he decided to become a practice player as well upon arriving in Foggy Bottom after hearing positive feedback from his brother about his first two years with the program. “It’s my favorite thing

about school,” Brady Rosenstock said. “You’re able to connect with a lot of people that have similar interests as you.”

The practice players receive priority course registration so that they can schedule their classes around practices and attend as many practices as possible. Brady said they try to come to as many of the six weekly practices as possible.

One practice player this season is a recognizable face for the Revolutionaries, having her own spot on the roster last season.

Former women’s basketball player Maren Durant exercised her last year of eligibility as a graduate transfer last season but remains in the program as a practice player.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I don’t know many people who graduate or are done with the program and then come back in a still active way, but it’s been a really great experience,” Durant said.

Schwartz said during his freshman year, Assistant Coach Adam Call approached him on the street attempting to recruit him as the team was looking for more practice players, and Schwartz joined the team after playing in front of the coaching staﬀ that fall. He said his only experience was playing pickup basketball in high school.

“Not only does it keep me in shape, I mean, I feel like I’m helping create something here,” Schwartz said.

SAGE RUSSELL | SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

George poses for a portrait in the Smith Center.

TANNER NALLEY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior practice player Brady Rosenstock faces o with sophomore forward Sara Lewis during practice. SPORTS

BEN SPITALNY SPORTS EDITOR

GRANT PACERNICK STAFF WRITER

AN NGO | GRAPHICS EDITOR

SARAH HOCHSTEIN & TANNER NALLEY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sororities, fraternities rebuke housing rule enforcement that they say targets members with DSS

HANNAH

Sororities and fraternities are criticizing the Office of Student Life’s enforcement of a housing rule that they say will prevent people with disability accommodations from living in their on-campus townhouses.

Officials are now requiring that 95 percent of rooms in townhouses for Greek chapters are filled, even if GW had permitted members with Disability Support Services accommodations to live alone in a two-person room, according to an email sent Tuesday to Director of Student Involvement Meredith Bielaska by members of Kappa Delta, Chi Omega, Sigma Delta Tau, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Sigma Kappa and Kappa Alpha Theta. Sorority and fraternity members said the change in policy enforcement would discourage students with DSS accommodations from residing in their chapters’ houses because chapter leadership will likely be unable to accommodate their need for a single, and chapters will then will have to cover the price for leftover beds in townhouses, which sits at more than $6,000.

“The interpretation of the ‘DSS accommodation’ rule has changed since the last housing roster. FSL has had DSS singles not count against their 95% capacity goal until this sudden change,” the email reads.

University spokesperson Julia Metjian declined to comment on whether officials have changed their enforcement policies but said ensuring accessibility for the student body is a “top priority” for the University.

“The offices of Student Life and Campus Living and Residential Education work with each Chapter individu-

ally to help them meet the occupancy requirements and ensure it is a viable community for all members,” Metjian said in an email.

The six sororities wrote in the email that it is “well understood” that chapter leadership already struggles to fill FSL houses, and the policy enforcement will make it even harder for them to fill rooms in the spring given that many members opt to study abroad during second semester. They wrote that it is “impossible” to secure leases for the spring semester within two weeks, given that the housing roster is due to GW in less than three weeks. They said in the email that there is “not enough time” for chapters to handle the policy enforcement case by case and that the anxiety is “widely felt” by student house managers who worry they won’t be able to fill houses without DSS members.

The members also state in the email that the University

should put the enforcement in “clear writing” so it can then be shared with chapter members. They also requested in the email that officials hold off on enforcing the policy until next academic year so chapters aren’t forced to choose between allowing DSS members to live in the house and accumulating debt, which they said could endanger chapters’ existence on campus.

Sophomore Sigma Kappa Housing Manager Erin Passarello said Assistant Director of Student Involvement Andrea Davis informed house managers of the change in enforcement during a meeting about two weeks ago, where she said each house could have two DSS singles while staying above 95 percent capacity. She said Davis told them this was the University’s decision, not FSL’s.

Passarello said Sigma Kappa is not affected by the new enforcement because many of their members typically want to live in the house.

CCAS to launch joint master’s degree program in museums, history, culture

The Columbian College of Arts & Sciences will offer a new master’s degree in museums, history and culture next academic year.

Four faculty members involved in the program said the 36-credit program is a collaboration between the museum studies, history and American studies departments and has been in the works for three years. The faculty members said the degree sets up students for public-facing museum work, allows them to develop a historical and cultural specialization and takes advantage of the D.C. area and GW’s proximity to museums, historical sites and national parks.

Corcoran School of the Arts & Design Deputy Di-

rector Laura Schiavo — the graduate adviser of museum studies — said students would approach her “conflicted” on whether to pursue a degree in public

history or museum studies and that the new program encompasses both disciplines by allowing students to take history and culture classes and receive museum studies training.

“There are very few programs around the country where you can study history with the clear result being working in a museum and therefore getting museum training while you’re in your MA program,” Schiavo said.

The program consists of 36 credit hours, including three required methodology courses to hone students’ research methods, like an Introduction to Historiography course and a Museum Ethics and Values course, as well as two courses in museum skills, upper-level courses in museum studies, history and American studies along with a capstone class, according to the program’s website.

McAlister said the program will include existing elective courses across the museum studies, history and American studies departments and opens up the

possibility of collaborations and modifications with those classes like faculty from across departments co-teaching courses.

McAlister said the main factor distinguishing the new degree from the existing master’s in museum studies is students’ ability to develop a specialization in a historical or cultural topic. She said this particular degree allows students interested in American studies or history to grasp training in museum studies and specialize in distinct areas of interest to them, like 19th-century American women or 20th-century pop music in Africa through their history and American studies coursework.

McAlister said most graduates of the program will likely be qualified for jobs in museums, archives and academic journals as well as public relations work. She said the three partnering departments for the program have connections with museums and professionals in other fields that students can use to obtain internships.

She said Sigma Kappa doesn’t have any singles, but she has heard from other house managers that they’re struggling to find people to fill the beds.

She said she’s heard from other house managers that students who have DSS accommodations for a single are going to move out of their respective houses, forcing them to fill an additional two beds instead of one.

“The issue with the DSS thing is that now the DSS people that do really want and need a single are gonna be moving out of the house,” Passarello said.

Junior Lucas Golluber, a member of Beta Theta Pi, said he has a DSS accommodation that allows him to live in the Beta townhouse with a single room. He said he believes officials will resolve the issue because the University is “completely in the wrong,” and it’s unfair that they didn’t give the sorority chapters enough warning about the change in enforcement.

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

Shenkman Hall

10/20/24 – 3:30 p.m.

Closed Case Administrators on call at Shenkman Hall alerted GW Police Department officers to a grinder and rolling paper left on a coffee table. The drug paraphernalia was taken by GWPD to the Academic Center for processing. Referred to the Division of Conflict Education and Student Accountability.

HARASSMENT (VERBAL OR WRITTEN)

Hillel Center

Reported 10/21/24 – Multiple Dates and Times Open Case

A female staff member reported receiving harassing letters. Case open.

PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS

University Student Center 10/23/24 – 5 p.m.

Open Case

GWPD officers and GW Emergency Medical Response Group personnel responded to a report of an intoxicated male contractor. When they arrived at the student center, EMeRG conducted a medical evaluation and cleared the man from further medical treatment. The man was terminated from his position and barred from campus. Case open.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Kogan Plaza 10/24/24 – 7:57 a.m.

Closed Case

GWPD officers responded to a report of a contractor who, upon termination from her job, had become disorderly. GWPD officers barred the woman and sent her on her way. Case open.

—Compiled by Ella Mitchell

GW to host data science summer bootcamp for health, climate issues

ANNA ZELL REPORTER

Professors received a grant earlier this month for a summer program that will equip students from underrepresented backgrounds at GW and other local universities with data skills to combat health and climate-related disparities.

The program, a fourweek bootcamp at GW led by statistics professors Huixia Judy Wang and Tatiyana Apanasovich, will teach data science students from GW, Trinity Washington University and the University of the District of Columbia how to compile, interpret and apply data to the field of health equity and climate resilience. Apanasovich said the program, which officials will announce applications for on the Department of Statistics website this week, will help GW bolster diversity in the field of data science by collaborating with local universities that enroll many minority students.

“We have a lot of hands-

on activities, plus interaction with experts in the area of public health and climate resilience,” Apanasovich said. “Specifically, we are interested in looking into vulnerable communities, racial and socioeconomic and how they respond to climate change and, again, specifically health disparities.”

The University of the District of Columbia is a historically Black public university in Northwest D.C. Trinity Washington University, located in Northeast D.C., is a women’s and predominantly Black and Hispanic university serving a majority of students from low-income households.

The program is funded by the Public Interest Technology University Network 2024 Network Challenge, a partnership of 59 institutions that fund public interest projects analyzing the social, legal and economic effects of technology. GW joined the cohort in 2020 and has since led four programs funded by PIT-UN grants, which focused on

ethical applications of technology and coding, according to PIT-UN’s website. Apanasovich and Wang said they will select 21 rising sophomores, juniors and seniors from the trio of partnering schools to attend the program. Eligible students must have taken at least one statistics course and express an interest in public interest technology in their application, and accepted students will receive a stipend that covers the cost of the program provided by the PIT-UN grant, Apanasovich said in an email. Apanasovich said students will analyze climate related and health disparity data from public databases, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other governmentpublished data. Students will also learn from GW data science professors and graduate students who are pursuing degrees in data science, and professors at Trinity, who will mentor students in the program and help organize activities and lectures, she said.

COOPER TYKSINSKI | PHOTOGRAPHER Program director and professor of American studies Melani McAlister sits at her desk for a portrait.

HATCHET FILE PHOTO

Sorority townhouses on the intersection of 23rd and G streets

I Street Mall farmers market vendors, customers reflect on ongoing renovations

A month into GW’s twomonthlong I Street Mall construction project, vendors and customers who frequent a weekly farmers market in the space said operations are temporarily cramped, but the project’s eventual upgrades will improve the area’s look and function.

Officials in September said during I Street Mall construction — which is set to wrap in November and will include additional lighting, anti-rodent infrastructure installations and the removal of planters — the farmers market will continue operating in the same space between the GW Hospital and Ross Hall. Farmers market vendors and customers said the construction has reduced space for market booths and customers, but they are looking forward to increased lighting and the beautification of seating and planters in a currently underutilized space.

Officials said they will renovate the I Street Mall to install anti-rodent Big Belly trash cans, Xcluder anti-rodent mesh in the planters, remove planters to create more open space and add string lighting. This construction closed the middle section of the mall — which previously held benches for seating that were razed — and left narrow walkways on either side of the already heavily trafficked walkways on the I Street Mall.

Adam Aaronson, the assistant vice president of Construction Management and Campus Planning, said in September that the construction crews will move the northern section of the fencing for the farmers market, located near the GW Hospital entrance, closer to the planter beds to give market vendors more space to set up their booths. FRESHFARM, a District-wide nonprofit that runs farmers markets and promotes sustainable food through food education and farmers markets, hosts vendors on I Street Mall on Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. during the on season.

Evan Paramore, FRESHFARM’s market operations manager, said the company is working closely with the GW Facilities team to “minimize disruption” to the farmers market. Paramore said the construction has made space feel a bit “snugger,” but the market is able to run as usual.

“We are very excited that this construction will be bringing additional permanent lighting and seating to the I Street walkway,” Paramore said in an email. “Especially in the winter months, we are hopeful this will encourage customers to spend more time in the market space connecting with each other and our wonderful farmers and producers.”

Kentha Stephens, the owner of the Blue Jamaican Coffee stand that has set up the market for the last six months, said the construction forces vendors to move their booths “a little further out,” congesting foot traffic at the market and the pathway people use to pass through.

“There’s been some impact in terms of sales and foot traffic due to the construction,” Stephens said.

Stephens said I Street Mall had a “rat infestation,” which officials said they hope to mitigate through the construction project. During construction, Stephens said he has noticed

more rats scampering around the parkway. There’s also been an influx in mosquitoes, and many vendors bring bug spray and mosquito nets to repel them, he said.

“I guess the construction is kind of like breaking up where they nest or where they live,” Stephens said. “So, you know, we’ve seen more sightings of rats now that the construction is taking place.”

Stephens said he hopes the construction project will beautify the area because I Street Mall previously underutilized seating space. He said he hopes the area will be more like a parkway and less like a barrier between places.

Senior Florish Momod, a biology student and a shopper at the FRESHFARM market, said Wednesday that she noticed a narrower walking space for customers. She said the space could be difficult for people with mobility issues and disabilities to navigate.

Sophomore Ayla Abra, an international business student who said she has shopped at the FRESHFARM market every month for the past year, said the market offered around the same number of vendors, but she noticed more people hustling through the walkways instead of sitting down at the market or shopping.

SGA adds entry-level positions to recruit first-year students

AIJALON GOURRIER

REPORTER

JACKSON RICKERT

STAFF WRITER

The Student Government Association added first-year assistant positions this semester, which the elected students say will help them advocate for their peers and learn about the governing body.

SGA Vice President Ethan Lynne said 34 firstyear students and firstyear transfer students joined the body this fall, 11 more than last year and the highest number in at least the last three years. Lynne said the SGA Senate added first-year assistant positions to the Legislative Budget Office, legal counsel, communications team and committee on diversity, equity and inclusion to strengthen the body’s knowledge of new students’ needs and encourage more first-years to get involved in the SGA.

Lynne said adding positions will encourage more first-years to learn about the body and prepare them to apply for other positions in the spring, like SGA Senate seats. He said many current SGA

senators and senior staff held committee assistant and legislative adviser positions as first-years, which helped them learn how the body operates.

First-years could previously only serve as legislative assistants, taking notes at committee meetings. Lynne said the new roles will allow first-years to “shine” in the body by allowing them to participate in roles in the budget and DEI offices and give them a chance to expand their knowledge of the body as a whole.

“The assistant positions are a great way for first-years to get involved and kind of learn how everything works,” Lynne said.

“It’s how I got involved. It’s how most current senators, my senior staff, as well as President Fitzgerald all got involved.”

Lynne said the SGA expanded roles for firstyears, so they can develop specific skills that they can then apply to future positions, like legal practices and crafting legislation. He said adding roles for first-years has also helped speed up projects within senate committees because the body can ap -

Officials unveil rehearsal spaces for student performance groups

MICHAELA GONZALEZ REPORTER

Officials announced new spaces in the University Student Center available to student organizations who require rehearsal spaces in an email to registered student groups earlier this month.

The new spaces — located where the previous campus bookstore was on the lower level of the student center — consist of three rooms divided by black curtains, each with one built-in speaker, and opened on Oct. 14. Leaders of performancebased organizations said that the new spaces and waived fees show that the University is considering their complaints of limited availability and rising rental fees for spaces but added that the thin curtains between the spaces allow sound to spill into each room, making the spaces “impractical.”

Student organizations expressed difficulties when booking spaces for programming last fall due to low availability and high rental costs for venues like the Lisner Auditorium and the City View and State rooms in the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Officials announced in an email to student leaders Tuesday that standard fees for housekeeping, venue rental and the presence of GW Police Department officers for venues like

the Lisner and Jack Morton auditoriums and the City View and State rooms will be waived for student organizations.

Media Relations Specialist Shannon Mitchell said the University regularly evaluates and adjusts available spaces for student organizations and is “proud” to offer a variety of venue spaces for a range of events. Mitchell said student organizations are not charged the standard rental fees for spaces in the student center and that fees associated with the use of temporary staff and equipment may be factored into pricing.

Mitchell said an additional event space used by the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life on the lower level of the student center can be booked in coordination with their team.

“The Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life looks forward to building community with student organizations by collaborating with them to host events in this space,” Mitchell said in an email.

Mitchell said the Events & Venues team manages specialty venues like Lisner and Jack Morton auditoriums and City View and State rooms. She added that the rental, housekeeping and GWPD fees are waived for “internal groups,” but additional fees may still be required like for technical needs, staffing, excessive cleaning, setup or breakdown.

FSL launches Greek Program Board, aims to boost chapter engagement

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life formed a student-led group this semester to boost engagement among chapter members and promote Greek life to nonaffiliated students.

The new Greek Program Board will help produce and promote “hallmark” FSL events — like Meet the Greeks and Greek Week — with current student involvement staff, according to an email sent to community members in July. Director of Student Involvement Meredith Bielaska said the program board will allow members to connect through programming “curated and facilitated” by their peers.

point them to work on initiatives across multiple departments.

“Traditionally, freshmen have just been kept in the committee assistant position, and we kind of wanted to move past that and let, you know, people’s talents shine through if they’re better suited for another area,” Lynne said.

First-year SGA Sen. Justin Liu (At large-U) said he joined the SGA because as a first-generation college student, he wants to help represent other first-generation first-year students.

Liu said he wants to work with the Residence Hall Association and the SGA Committee on Student Life to update and potentially rerecord the virtual tours available on GW’s website for students who aren’t able to visit the University before their first year.

“Many students that aren’t able to physically come on campus to get a visit, they can’t really exactly see what the rooms will look like, and that can be very scary, even for people to come onto campus not knowing what the rooms will actually look like,” Liu said.

“All members within the community are invited to join GPB so it is an open opportunity for everyone to ensure that their perspectives and desires are represented, addressed, and worked on,” Bielaska said in an email.

Bielaska said the program board was an initiative that students pushed for after they attended the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values Central conference, a four-day event with programming for all Greek organizations held annually during the start of the spring semester in Indiana.

“After students had the opportunity to attend the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values in 2024, they came back inspired to put on more engaging and interactive programs for FSL members,” Bielaska said in an email.

Bielaska said the program board is an “openaccess volunteer opportunity” with no limits on the number of students that can serve or when members can join. She said the office has promoted the board in FSL community newsletters, on their Instagram page and to chapter and council leaders during meetings. E’Quince Smith, FSL’s area coordinator, is the program board’s adviser and Andrea Davis,

the assistant director of student involvement, provide additional support, she said.

Chapter leaders said cross-council communication in the past has limited because of members’ lack of engagement.

Junior Grace Munn, the vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Association, said she attended the conference last spring, which representatives from each of the four councils participated in. She said representatives related to each other’s struggles, like how to engage members in their organizations and realized how similar their passions were for Greek life.

Munn said the council representatives discussed wanting more collaboration with other councils, but they did not create the idea of having a program board, which may have been inspired by officials after the conference.

“Over the summer, they were brainstorming a little bit of how to keep that connectedness between the councils, and I think that’s how the program board was born,” Munn said. “I don’t recall really saying ‘we are going to do a program board.’”

Munn said FSL often struggles to make council leaders aware of each other and what’s happening in each council. She said council disconnect naturally occurs when members are active in their chapter and council because they commit more time to fostering community within their affiliated organizations instead of cross-council bonding.

“Cross-council collaboration is difficult because people are kind of wary about what they don’t know, and they see another council and they’re like, ‘That’s unfamiliar, therefore it’s scary,’” Munn said. Every year, FSL hosts programming for students in Greek life, like Meet the Greeks, a social hosted at the beginning of the fall semester where potential new members can meet all the social Greek fraternities and

sororities. FSL also hosts Greek Week, a week of programming and “intentional relationship-building” across the four councils, and Greek Awards, a FSL community-wide celebration to honor each chapter’s accomplishments, according to the FSL programming website.

Munn said low turnout at events may be a long-term issue for the program board because FSL-wide events can feel like “forced family fun” as members often do not go unless it’s mandatory. She said a more targeted recruitment strategy would encourage students to apply, including nominating students and encouraging new members to participate as they usually are more eager to get involved in Greek life.

“It’s also so incredibly awkward to stand in a room of people that you vaguely know or that you follow on Instagram,” Munn said. “Waiting for someone to make the first move, or you just want to do something else with your time.”

Junior Henry Lau, the Interfraternity Council president, said Greek life at GW isn’t as “big” as other schools, which allows the entire Greek community to be “very tight-knit.” Lau said the new program board might make events more appealing to members and garner higher turnout by utilizing feedback about the events from their peers.

Junior Alex Berger, the vice president of PHA and external affairs for Sigma Delta Tau, said the establishment of the program board will allow students to have a say in what is being planned but worries students would spend time planning an event that garners low turnout. Berger added that the program board is a good idea because it exists at other schools, like the University of Alabama and Ohio State University.

“It’s definitely hard, but I definitely think it’s a really good idea because it works at other schools and those communities,” Berger said.

NATALIE NOTE STAFF WRITER

DANIEL HEUER & LEXI CRITCHETT | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS

First-year assistants Julia Yams and Avery Boyd pose for a portrait.

DANIEL HEUER | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Pedestrians walk between fences and farmers market tents on the I Street Mall.

ALEX GATES REPORTER

JERRY LAI | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The entrance to event spaces in the lower level of the University Student Center.

OPINIONS

Around this time last year, University Yard was buzzing. People were throwing around frisbees, playing catch with friends and hammocking. But after the installation of the tall, black fences barricading U-Yard — the greener part of campus — the once-vibrant campus spot has become near desolate. It has been five months since officials installed the fences around U-Yard, following the clearing of the pro-Palestinian encampment in May, and as we approach the end of the semester, it’s hard to ignore. Officials said the fences will remain for part of the first semester while officials look for structures that “aesthetically integrates with the campus,” but the arrival of the new fences was delayed due to Hurricane Helene. We don’t know when the fences will come down for good. Officials have also introduced a schedule for the fences to open at 6 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. But the presence of the fences has in turn become a symbol of a tense environment on campus that, at times, physically or symbolically blocks students from using the space.

The University hastily put up the fences after the Metropolitan Police Department cleared the encampment. As the fences remained, officials said “several factors” contributed to their placement, including “fostering a safe campus event” and “maintaining the operation” of GW’s programming. Officials added that “security experts” endorsed the fencing to “better control access” of the space. But the fencing doesn’t feel as if it’s protecting us from unsafe protests — it makes the campus feel ugly and inapproachable. A student earlier this month said, the fencing “shows the school’s apathy and inability to work with students.”

University President Ellen

“I don’t have the power to make a change other than encouraging others to observe their duty in our participatory democracy.”

—ALEXIA GREEN 10/21/24

To reunite campus, the fences must come down

STAFF EDITORIAL

Granberg said at the beginning of the month that we should “recommit to caring for one another and nurturing a shared community,” but it’s particularly difficult to nurture a community when a fence comes between students and one of the few green spaces on campus where they can come together. GW isn’t like other universities with endless greenery, and as some students described it, seeing the fences up made a once lively spot feel dejected. The University hasn’t particularly acknowledged and been transparent about how they erected a fence in one of the most

community-like spaces on campus. GW hasn’t widely disseminated the U-Yard fencing schedule, outside of placing it on their website, or listed alternative spaces for students to congregate. It also appears that at times, officials haven’t been completely transparent about how these spaces can be booked for events. Earlier this month, students from the Student Coalition for Palestine said they booked U-Yard at 7 p.m. to hold a vigil to mourn those killed in Lebanon and Palestine, but the space’s fences were closed before 7 p.m., though per the schedule, it closes at 11 p.m. Officials didn’t like the

In forming FSJP, faculty seek justice for students, Palestinians

Last spring, the world watched as thousands of college students across the country set up encampments on their campuses. Each of them sought to bring attention to and protest the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the complicity of universities through their investments. Students at GW, along with students from other local universities, set up one such encampment on our campus. Participants were peaceful, welcoming and disciplined, according to media accounts of the encampment — which each of us can attest to, having been present at the encampment on multiple days.

Peter Calloway

helen DeVinney

Amr Madkour

Sara Matthiesen

Dara Orenstein

Guest Contributors

In response to this peaceful expression of grief and hope, the University’s administration pressured the Metropolitan Police Department to raid the encampment, unleashing armed police officers against its own students. In the months that have followed, the repression of students alleged to have participated has been unrelenting.

As we pass one year of a genocide funded by the United States and U.S. universities that has expanded to bombing campaigns in Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen, we and other con-

scientious members of GW’s faculty and staff have recently established a chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.

Though our chapter includes many more faculty in solidarity with the students who are unable to be named publicly for fear of retaliation, we want students, community members and the administration to know that there are faculty at GW who are aligned with the movement for a free Palestine.

Each of us is intimately familiar with the details of the University’s response to student protesters — not just from speaking with students but from our personal involvement assisting them through disciplinary and criminal proceedings that occurred after the encampment clearing.

Quietly, and removed from national attention, criminal and disciplinary charges were brought against dozens of students and student groups. For most of the students, the University did not provide details of the accusations against them when they were first notified of disciplinary charges.

Students were then presented with a case folder containing hundreds of files, including many hours of video, most of which was unrelated to their specific charges. Prohibiting them from employing legal representation during disciplinary proceedings, the University allowed students only one “support person”

to accompany them to hearings, a role one of us filled on more than one occasion. The support person was not allowed to speak during hearings, and the University refused to communicate with them outside of the hearings.

Through our involvement in assisting students in the aftermath of the University’s crackdown and our review of the case files, we have learned of the administration’s willingness to resort to extreme forms of surveillance against its students. GW used information sent over its WiFi network, GWorld student ID card swipes and CCTV to make flimsy assumptions about who organized the encampment. The tremendous harm the administration has caused in these students’ lives, and to the reputation of GW, will take years to recover from — if recovery is even possible. And for what? Does the administration actually believe these repressive tactics will silence students? Does it think that they will forget the nearly 200,000 Palestinians killed? Of course they won’t.

—Peter Calloway is a visiting associate professor of clinical law, helen DeVinney is an adjunct professor of clinical psychology, Amr Madkour is an assistant professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sara Matthiesen is an associate professor of history and women’s gender and sexuality studies and Dara Orenstein is an associate professor of American studies.

Aidea of so many congregating and were concerned about “outside agitators.”

Fenced-off campus green spaces isn’t an exclusively GW issue. Other universities have also blocked off their green spaces where encampments previously took place, setting up the fences after the police cleared the encampments. Drexel University has had fences around Korman Quad since Sept. 9, in addition to the University of Pennsylvania who — like GW — quickly put up fences after the clearing of their encampment. Across the pond, Oxford University put up a fence around

the Museum of Natural History as well. Like GW, other universities say safety is their main reason for these fences, but it’s time to truly analyze and understand what these fences say to their respective university communities.

Fences and walls already carry the underlying tone of trying to separate or make a distinction. They’re used to signal one’s property. But the main reasoning is always division — dividing up your property, separating something or someone from others. How is keeping up this fence “holding a community together” when the general purpose of a fence is to divide?

The encampment was already a very serious situation that carries a lot of emotional charge for some students, staff and faculty. Whether it’s from the protesters who were there for around nearly 14 days, the protesters who were pepper sprayed and even arrested, or the people who witnessed this encampment, it has weight. And it’s harder to come together as a campus when GW keeps up a fence — a reminder of everything that happened in the protest, amplifying the emotions of the GW community, including the shortcomings of requesting MPD to clear the encampment and the lack of transparency from GW officials when poorly handling the protest last semester. Granberg says we have to “move forward,” and have “renewed commitment,” but that can’t be done with a fence that has made U-Yard mostly empty.

But as long as that fence is still up, the chances of seeing our student body and community reading and playing in U-Yard seem slim. And the editorial board can only hope that GW will put down the fences so that students can enjoy the shared space and so that campus can heal.

This is the time for a female president

mong the most shocking opinions I’ve heard from people on and off campus throughout the election season is that the United States is not ready for a female president, which is why they won’t vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. This has never made any sense to me. It is vital for the country to elect substantial female representation to government to stand for women’s issues that hang in the balance, like reproductive rights and affordable child care. I am worried that if our country doesn’t step up and elect Harris now, we will continue to wait — too long — for a female president. If she loses, I fear that neither leading political party will nominate a woman in the following few presidential elections because they believe they will stand a high chance of losing.

Green Opinions Writer

Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, women have struggled to gain access to the health care they need. I worry about my rights and how this issue will progress in the future if Harris doesn’t become president.

The vice president has so far shown immense concern for issues, like reproductive rights

promising to support a bill renewing Roe’s protections if voted into office. And currently, we have a male majority in Congress and a male majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, men who are deciding rights about female bodily autonomy that will never physically affect them. This is why we need a woman in as high a position as president, to ensure the health and safety of pregnant people in this country.

But I also worry that if people continue to deny the United States a female president, it will push this milestone further out of reach. The Republican and Democratic parties will eventually become less inclined to nominate a woman if they keep losing. I am perplexed as to how the United States has avoided having a woman as our head of government.

After the 2016 election and Hillary Clinton’s loss, our country took a political hit by electing former President Donald Trump. I believe that the setbacks we experience today with abortion and soaring living costs would not be insurmountable issues if we had had elected a woman to office.

During Harris’s campaign, she has made the conscious decision to not mention her gender, urging voters to make their decision based on her policy stances as a candidate, not as a woman. Clinton’s presidential

campaign relied heavily on the fact that she was the first woman to receive a major party nomination, making it a substantial bargaining point in her messaging to potential voters. This could have been seen as her downfall because people did not want to elect her for the sole purpose of crowning her the first female president. But with Harris, she makes sure people see her for her policies and priorities, like abortion and affordable childcare, not gender.

How can our country call itself diverse if, of the nation’s 45 presidents, only one has been a nonwhite male? Our country can’t properly serve its people if the government only represents one gender.

I believe the people who say our country is not ready for a female leader are ignorant of what our country really needs.

As a country, we need to take action to ensure the rights of our fellow citizens by voting Harris into office. If Trump is re-elected, our country will continue to regress into a shell of what it once was as abortion protections continue to be knocked down. Although our country has never been perfect, there was a time when women could choose what happened to their bodies. And it isn’t now..

—Alexia Green, a firstyear majoring in journalism and mass communications, is an opinions writer.

Alexia

CAROLINE MORRELLI | CARTOONIST

ANNIE O’BRIEN STAFF WRITER

Pull inspiration from your academic archetype at GW to create a one-of-a-kind pumpkin representing your choice of study, whether you’re enrolled in one of the Uni-

A major-speci c jack-o’-lantern carving guide

Be it a freaky

versity’s stereotypical majors or one of its

believe Mary Shelley lost her virginity on her mother’s grave and later kept the heart of her late husband wrapped in a piece of paper

You could use a silhouette of Mary’s face as a stencil or use your imagination to carve her and her beau Percy touching at the tombstones. Memorialize the queen of freak on a pumpkin this season.

Business: LinkedIn Logo

If you’re looking for a finance buff on GW’s campus, you’re sure to find them conducting informational interviews in Duques for the business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, or hounding professionals for a connection on LinkedIn. There’s

nothing a business major craves like telling their 500+ connections that they are “thrilled to announce” the “exciting, new opportunity” at a company named after a white guy from the 19th and 20th centuries, like Deloitte, Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs. As a business major, what better to illuminate with a gourd and a tea candle than your love of LinkedIn? Passersby who see the glowing “in” logo outside your door will be dying to know what the carving taught you about B2B sales.

International A airs: An Airplane

As an international aﬀairs major, you have huge ambitions, like earning a funded international trip through a Fulbright scholarship or strategically de-escalating the next big world crisis. With your farreaching intentions, how can you stay grounded? Represent your interests with an airplane, as you strive to understand and see more about the world around you to craft ideal foreign policy. Copy the generic images of

is merely foreplay for the scariest day of the year: Nov. 5, Election Day. Channel your anxiety into a pumpkin this year by carving a one-word reminder: “VOTE.” Any civically minded political science student would rather encounter a demon than someone neglecting their hard-won right to vote. You can get creative with the letters, turning the “O” into a heart to provide a loving reminder to vote or transforming the “V” into a checkmark to brag that you’ve already mailed in your ballot.

Criminal Justice: The Menendez Brothers

Investigating DC phantoms on a self-guided ghost tour

MARA RIEGEL REPORTER

Certain ghosts and ghouls rumored to haunt iconic locations in District might give locals as much of a fright as the upcoming election.

Be they political luminaries who now inhabit lantern-lit halls or youthful socialites who met tragic ends, D.C. is full of ghost stories. As a ghoul skeptic who grew up in a suspiciously old and creaky house I suspected to be haunted, I took a self-guided tour from the blog of Kirsten Weiss, a mystery and paranormal writer, around the District last week to investigate claims of spooky sights. I began close to campus at the Octagon House on New York Avenue. The aptly named imposing brick building was sprawling yet daunting, and its odd shape made it stand out from the street. The spooky historical home featured photos in the windows, visible from the street, of a mother and her child in 19th century attire and another blankly staring child, eyeing viewers coldly.

the house. The cold October breeze and the silent streets, where only I and some potential ghosts coexisted, created a sense of unease for me. I felt a set of eyes on the back of my head while sitting on the steps of the house, reading about the creepy coincidences that happened inside.

Perhaps the Tayloe clan was eyeing me from out of sight.

My next stops were the White House and President’s Park, only steps away from one another and about four blocks from the Octagon House. The White House gave me a chill down my spine that the perpetually warm fall weather couldn’t shake — and not just because of the question of who will be occupying it in a couple months.

ists who were gawking at the White House while I was there were so transﬁxed that maybe they would’ve thought I was a ghost, had I not done my contour well that day and accidentally disrupted their concentration on the president’s home.

On the other hand, President’s Park, the small section of benches and greenery behind the White House, was more freaky than funny.

The park is where the late adulterous son of Francis Scott Key, the scribe of the national anthem, was killed by his lover’s husband, with ghoul lovers saying this left his spirit to roam the land where his life ended.

Those pictures aren’t the only creepy part of the Octagon House — in the early 1800s, Colonel John Tayloe III’s two daughters supposedly died in the house in the exact same way but at different times. Both sisters argued with their father about their then-scandalous relationships, only to fall down the large spiral staircase of the house and die. Visitors claim the family still haunts

There were simply so many presidential ghost stories in the self-guided pamphlet I was following. The star of this particular haunted experience was someone whose time in D.C. ended in a haunted way itself: Abraham Lincoln. One story in the guide said former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill left the bath with a cigar in his mouth, naked, only to walk into his accommodations and ﬁnd the deceased former president leaning against the ﬁreplace. The story truly made me laugh out loud, even more so since Churchill corroborated the story in 1941.

Though in theory ridiculous, I did wonder: If so many people had really seen Lincoln, does that mean that the stories about his ghost are true? Granted, the tour-

Maybe it was because there were a lot of streetlights illuminating every blade of grass and people talking loud enough to wake the undead, but I did not sense the presence of Key’s son. He must’ve been doing room checks at the GW residence hall named for his father rather than hanging around his typical digs that day.

planes you ﬁnd online, with triangle wings and a cylindrical body. If you’ve got a concentration security policy — scary in itself — and are eager to make a name for yourself as the next big Warhawk, test your artistic muscles by carving your favorite military aircraft, like an F-15 or an A-10C Thunderbolt.

There’s nothing scarier to those seeking to bring criminals to justice than a sexy, charming criminal who attracts fans with loose morals and taut style. The Menendez Brothers — or at least the way Netﬂ ix chose to cast them in their anthology series released in September — provide a quintessential example of killers with fans who’d kill for them.

Political Science: A Pumpkin that Reminds Us to “VOTE” Political science majors know better than anyone that Halloween

Thousands of edits thirsting over the actors who play Lyle and Erik Menendez in Netﬂ ix’s series, as well as the actual brothers, have ﬂooded TikTok since the series’s release. Captions tend to defend the brothers, who were sentenced to life in prison after murdering their abusive parents. You could recreate the image of the brothers dressed in black suits in court or take inspiration from the TV show and draw them on their oversexed shopping spree. Talking about their hotness over their crimes surely sends a shiver down any criminal justice major’s spine.

But the question remains: Do I think the city is actually haunted? Possibly.

But the question re-

I deﬁnitely got an uneasy feeling at some of the stops, primarily at the Octagon House. The house is embroiled in hard memories in the context of the family that lived there and is also both more run-down and more architecturally daunting than the rest of the stops on the tour. If nothing else, I’ll be modifying my route to the National Mall to avoid the Octagon House’s Tayloe ghosts.

The phallic philosophy of Spirit Halloween costumes

CAITLIN KITSON CONTRIBUTING CULTURE EDITOR

Nothing marks the dawn of spooky season like the sight of an orange sign adorned with the Grim Reaper hanging above a previously abandoned storefront.

This infamous sign belongs to none other than Spirit Halloween — a seasonal retail store that sells Halloween costumes, accessories and decorations and boasts more than 1,500 locations across the country, which seem to materialize out of thin air as soon as summer ends.

To understand what makes Spirit Halloween a subject of fascination in the cultural zeitgeist, I ventured to Tysons, Virginia, where one of the superstore’s eight locations in the DMV area resides. Much to my dismay, there are currently no Spirit Halloweens in D.C. proper.

either candidate. The only other item in the political section was a shirt with red, white and blue text that read “I Stand With No One They Both Suck 2024” in capital letters.

Besides presidential politics, nothing screams “America” like “copaganda,” or the glamorization and sensationalization of policing through media and popular culture. And boy, did this show up countless times in Spirit Halloween. The store displayed multiple rows of police officer costumes, with the most unsettling outfits presenting “sexy” takes on cops like “Officer D*ck Udown” and “Lieutenant Ivana Misbehave.” The disconcerting cop costumes lined up next to equally sexualized prisoner costumes, like “Melanie Felony” and “Confined Cutie.”

Elections and Copaganda

Beyond the Freddy Krueger and Harry Potter costumes showcased prominently toward the front of the store, Spirit Halloween had a small section toward the back to make sure you don’t forget that Election Day is just ﬁve days after Halloween this year.

But it seems like the store forgot who is actually running for president this election cycle, as cardboard masks of President Joe Biden’s face hung on the rack next to masks of former President Donald Trump. This juxtaposition may have been accurate in June, but Biden dropped out in July with Vice President Kamala Harris taking his place as the Democratic candidate. Unfortunately, costumed references to Harris’ repertoire of tailored pantsuits or her summer marketing campaign surrounding Charli XCX’s album “Brat” were nowhere in sight.

Sex Sells Spirit Halloween takes the infamous phrase “sex sells” to heart. Prior to venturing out to Tysons Corner, I had seen an X post about a section of Spirit Halloween dedicated to inﬂuencer Haliey Welch of “Hawk Tuah” and “spit on that thang” fame. Unfortunately, the Tysons Corner location did not oﬀer a “Hawk Tuah” section but thankfully did not deprive me completely of the ridiculous sex jokes I was looking for.

As the inaccuracy may indicate, Spirit Halloween does not seem to care much about electoral politics or have a desire to endorse

An entire row of costumes in their Tysons Corner outpost was branded under a “Dirty Work” sign with a retro, 1950s font, serving up an abundance of overdone sex jokes. From utility shirts adorned Just steps away from the “Dirty Work” section laid an inflatable costume of a giant tape measure stretched out to 10 inches with the word “MANLY” written on the side, as well as the somehow even less subtle inflatable penis costume. Spirit Halloween has clearly continued to pay homage to the enduring appeal of the penis joke. The store also solidified itself as a space for safe sex advocacy with an inflatable condom costume embellished with the wise words, “No Glove No Love.” Listen, I can get down

ti ty — doesn’t It’s

with a well-done, innovative penis joke. But the overwhelming number of costumes resembling the same phallic humor left me rolling my eyes. Remember, size — or in this case, quanty — doesn’t matter. It’s how you use it.

Costuming Commodities

In “Capital,” Karl Marx introduced the concept of “commodity fetishism” as the capitalist-driven process of ascribing objects with inherent value, devoid of the labor necessary for production. Even if Marxism isn’t your jam, the persistence of commodity fetishism is palpable strolling through the halls of Spirit Halloween. Start with the store’s row of alcoholic beverage costumes. From a couples costume of a tequila bottle and a lime to a solo costume of a beer keg, you can embody the drinks you’ll be swinging back at parties this Halloweekend — quite a meta experience, if you ask me. And nothing demonstrates the public’s obsession with commodities more than the water bottle costumes in the children’s section, paying homage to the ongoing Stanley Cup craze. A costume called “Spiked Tea,” consisting of a giant, yellow can suit with the words “Two Fisted Tea” written across in blue lettering, is a clear twist (pun intended) on a Twisted Tea. The costume dodges a lawsuit with free promo that I can’t imagine the hard iced tea company would have a problem with. What happened to people dressing up as Halloween classics, like witches and vampires or as niche film characters that challenge you to flex how chronically on Letterboxd you are? The sheer quantity of beverage costumes at Spirit Halloween would make Marx turn over in his grave. I’m right there with him in the depths of despair about the effects of late-stage capitalism on All Hallows’ Eve.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MATHYLDA DULIAN A student carving jack-o’-lanterns in Kogan Plaza

hidden gems.

From a sea of Freddy Krueger look-alikes to a stirring rendition of the “Time Warp,” Hatchet reporters ventured out of Foggy Bottom to immerse themselves in the cinematic worlds fitting for the fleeting, final days of October.

For seniors during Halloweekend, the only thing scarier than ending the night at Sign of the Whale is the realization that

is less than a

Elm Street”

Lily Saunders | Reporter

As I arrived at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Rhode Island Avenue on Oct. 15, I was met with a sea of moviegoers decked out in red and green striped sweaters, fedoras and metal-clawed gloves — homages to Freddy Krueger, the villain of Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

The ﬁlm follows Nancy, played by Heather Lagenkamp, as she tries to uncover the mystery behind an undead serial killer who is murdering teenagers in their dreams.

Before the film, Alamo Drafthouse screened one of their signature, curated “preshows,” which presented archival footage from the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise — which boasts nine films — including an interview with actor Robert Englund about the tedious process of transforming into Krueger using special effects. Catching a rerelease of an older film in theaters

away. Faced with this existential dread last weekend, I decided to visit two D.C. psychics to seek insights about my future from the other realm. I’ve never been one for the mystic arts, but I was lured in by signs across the District advertising “$5 palm readings,” so I called up the closest psychic as soon as the sun set at 7 p.m. Foolishly, I booked an appointment for that night over the phone with a psychic in Dupont Circle before asking the prices. When the psychic told me a palm reading was $50, I instantly tried to back out. She responded that she “sensed” I was having financial concerns, to which I admitted that I’m a broke college student. She offered a discount of $25 for one palm while still on the phone, and, with my editor breathing down my neck about writing this story, I accepted and set off for Dupont.

Window”

Álvaro Ramal | Reporter

There’s no better way to spend a brisk October night than catching one of Hollywood’s most lauded thrillers on the big screen for its 70th anniversary. I attended a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 ﬁlm “Rear Window” on Oct. 18 at Miracle Theatre in Capitol Hill. When I arrived two minutes before showtime, I made my way to my seat, which was fashioned with red rubber and squeaky aging wood. They were the most uncomfortable seats of any movie theater I have visited, and I loved it. The surprisingly funny thriller enthralled the audience with its pioneering camera movements, like one-take long shots, and, most of all, the striking technicolor cinematography — signature of 1950s cinema.

grasping bulgogi tacos and fried oreos from local food stands. Moments later, the Disney logo ﬂashed across the screen, immersing everyone in Sulley and Mike’s misadventures in Monstropolis. The crowd chuckled along to Mike’s musical rendition of “Put that thing back where it came from or so help me” and wiped tears away as Sulley said goodbye to Boo.

The psychic was located on the third ﬂoor of a building tucked beside Decades and Rosebar. The elevator door, decorated with a depiction of a meditating being that looked more alien than human-reaching-enlightenment, opened to the psychic’s oﬃce. Religious and spiritual iconography covered every surface — an eclectic set of everything from angels to a sphinx — and the tables were littered with meditative objects like a Tibetan singing bowl.

Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Shea Carlberg | Senior Staﬀ

Writer Landmark E Street Cinema hosted midnight screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” throughout October.Attendees decked out in gilded garters and corsets, inspired by Susan Sarandon’s Janet transformation, lined up outside the theater before the 11:55 p.m. start of production. Shadow cast members, who act out “Rocky” as the movie plays in the background, swiftly marked my forehead with a lipstick-stamped capital V to signify my Rocky virginity.

The psychic, an earlymiddle-aged woman dressed in an outﬁt not far from what my own grandmother would wear, beckoned me into her palm reading room, which was only slightly larger than a closet with bare walls and dull overhead lighting lacking the charm of the mystical knickknacks in the lobby. I stretched out my right palm, and she began moving her ﬁnger over it, reading the wrinkles and calluses for glimpses of my future.

with the prophecy: “Blondes aren’t my type,” he said.

“Monsters, Inc.”

Noomah Uddin | Reporter

Most Octobers, I’m excluded from hoards of horror ﬁlm fanatics due to my inability to stomach any movie that is too frightening or gory. During the PumpkinPalooza at NoMA’s Alethia Tanner Park on Oct. 24, I was ﬁnally able to enjoy spooky season fun through the screening of the 2001 Pixar classic “Monsters, Inc.”

The crowd’s infectious energy swept me into the traditional prescreening game — competing against other Rocky Horror virgins to perform the best sex positions and fake orgasms.

Never having experienced the wonder of the satirical classic, I was amazed at how the cast cut through the running dialogue of the ﬁlm behind them to make their own comments. The

After about 30 seconds, she asked if I was a musician, saying I had a musical soul. I’m not, but I said my girlfriend is, to which she said I clearly have an appreciation for the musical arts. One look at my Spotify Wrapped — filled with half the Oppenheimer soundtrack, Lonely Island songs and the best of Hans Zimmer — would confirm her reading, so she seemed off to a good start. She brushed her fingers over the bottom of my palm and said I have strong creative lines. She said my current job doesn’t meld with my creative soul — I guess my Hillternship isn’t the most artistic pursuit — and I will eventually find a more creative pursuit. But she didn’t tell me to quit the job, instead saying I should stick with policy because she sensed that my craft still needed “some work.”

of the Church of Scientology, served as The Hatchet’s associate editor during his two-year stint at GW.

There’s so many questions one can ask about Hubbard’s time at The Hatchet. He was, to put it kindly, an odd duck. After dropping out of GW after his second year in 1932 to embark on a voyage to Puerto Rico, Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology in 1954, a cultish dogma shrouded in suspicion due to its disciples’ bizarre practices and frequent mysterious unexplained deaths and disappearances of internal dissenters. I couldn’t help but wonder: Even though his cult is mostly based on the science ﬁction he wrote after being at GW, are there early traces of Scientology in his war-centric creative writings?

“Grounded,” an April 1932 piece, follows Ensign Reynolds, a soldier aboard a boat in China who meets his new commander Lieutenant Hampden. Except Reynolds was already well-familiarized with Hampden — the lieutenant had

Suspicion begins to swirl around Hampden on the boat. Reynolds, too, finds Hampden’s behavior odd at times, like when the lieutenant hides below in a cabin as a gunfight breaks out between the crew and an unknown enemy on the ship’s deck, or when he seemingly pays no mind to a headless body that floats by the boat (the body is never explained further — I guess Hubbard had too many midterms to fully proofread his B plots).

But it’s during that gunfight, after the lieutenant finally makes his way to the bridge, when Hampden redeems himself. He leads his crew through the battle, and after he’s hit badly he declines medical attention, saying that the doctor should go help his crew instead. The story closes on an ambiguous note, with the dying Hampden wishing to his wife and late co-pilot that the world may now finally know “the truth” — which Hubbard never reveals.

I’ll confess that I, at ﬁrst, thought “Grounded” was a harmless, fun

I’m a writer at heart, so she was right in the sense that I was honing my craft — she just didn’t realize I was doing it by writing about this very prophecy. ships in my life, the second of which will lead to marriage. She added that I’ll be a father of two. She then warned me that my heart, mind and soul are not aligned. But lucky for me, she said she has other aura cleansing services for the low price of $120 an hour. I politely declined, knowing that a handful of sessions would leave me bankrupt and likely more

dedication to rizz). Trusting that mystical powers must be genetic, I followed her directions and laid my hand ﬂat on the coﬀee table and outstretched my palm. As she dragged her finger gently across my skin, she told me that I was an old soul,

decades, like current leader David Miscavige’s wife Shelly, who hasn’t been publicly seen since 2007. I’m not going to purport that “Grounded” is the cause of that part of the cult’s ideology, but the resemblances are striking. Hubbard’s final piece for The Hatchet came later in November 1932, entitled “Submarine.” It follows Pinky, a naval submarine officer on a 72-hour leave in San Diego, California, with his paramour Madge. The story is, in a word, boring. The more intriguing nautical drama of Hubbard’s 1932 came from his own journey on the high seas during that summer. The “pilot and adventurer,” as a Lansing State Journal article from the time described Hubbard, set out with some fellow GW students and other budding academics from around the country to tour the Caribbean. They wanted to make pirate movies and shoot film of the area’s flora and fauna, a blend of Frank Capra and Charles Darwin. Everyone agreed the journey was a disaster. The crew ran out of money, barely shot any film, hemorrhaged members the entire time and, in the words of veteran seaman F.E. Garfield, who was aboard the ship, had “the worst and most unpleasant” voyage. Hubbard’s crew even made an effigy of him and hanged it. While we don’t know for certain why Hubbard chose to drop out and hop on a new boat to Puerto Rico rather than returning to school, it’s not a huge leap to say it might’ve had something to do with his relative lack of popularity at GW.

ELLIE SULLIVAN | PHOTOGRAPHER

A crowd watches Monsters, Inc. at Alethia Tanner Park ahead of Halloween.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAGE RUSSELL Hatchet articles written by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1930s during his time at the paper

ABBY KEENLEY | DESIGN EDITOR

my hand ﬂat on the coﬀee

TANNER NALLEY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Marcus Shestack gets a palm reading by Monica Wilson in Psychic Readers on 14th Street. GW HATCHET STAFF