Diaries of A New Kid On The Block

Is it just me, or does it seem that the spur of criminal acts lately on and around campus are progressively getting worse? The recent thefts of the cell phones in GWU residential areas and the laptop from the Gelman Starbucks has struck me the most.

Being new to GWU’s campus, I am unfamiliar with the criminal activity that goes on. On the other hand, ever since I became a victim of theft via gunpoint my freshman year at my alma mater, crime and violence on any campus has always been a concern of mine.

Has the crime activity here on campus remained consistent, or has it gotten worse in recent times? Does anyone think that the spur of crimes lately are a result of the recent economic downturn, and if so, can anyone assume that it is only going to get worse? According to the Hatchet,

Six robberies have been reported in police service area 207 in the month of February, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's crime map Web site, compared to one in January and three in December. Many reported incidents have occurred within the vicinity of the Foggy Bottom Metro station, and MPD officers have repeatedly mentioned the public transit stop as a means robbers use to flee the area.Are there any suggestions that upper classmen can make to newer students unfamiliar to the campus in order to help keep themselves safer and less of a target?

Are there any suggestions that upper classmen can make to newer students unfamiliar to the campus in order to help keep themselves safer and less of a target?

Is there anything different that UPD can or should be doing in order to keep the criminal acts at bay?

Sincerely,

New Kid on the Block

The Truth About Tools

So, one of the words thrown around most at GW is 'tool' or versions thereof. I was making a white board video about net neutrality (soon to be posted) and ended up making a silly video about tools on campus as well. Alex & Colonialists: the campus crane makes a guest appearance in this video. Enjoy...

EXCLUSIVE UPDATE - GW Student Arrested at HellWell: "The Hatchet twisted my words and conveniently omitted information"

On Thursday, The Hatchet featured a story about Jennifer Sales, a GW student who was arrested after entering HellWell without her GWorld, then calling MPD when UPD tried to detain her.

While several other GWBlogSpot bloggers wrote about aspects of this story, including a critique of the article's placement in The Hatchet, a critique of the article itself and two examinations of the story as a whole, I e-mailed Ms. Sales to get her side of the story, and find out exactly went on. Was she happy with how her side of the story was told? Did The Hatchet do a good job of exposing the facts?

According to the following response e-mail from Ms. Sales, the answers are "No" and "No":

Hey Andrew-

In fear of retribution, I cannot say much. The Hatchet twisted my words and conveniently omitted information. "Student-run paper" i don't think so. I called MPD for a valid reason- i'm not a rebel without a cause.

I asked Ms. Sales to elaborate on her criticisms of The Hatchet, and why exactly she called MPD. I got the following e-mail in response:

retribution from SJS- I just got a judicial letter saying I may be expelled.

Although she doesn't mention specifically what the omitted information was, it's pretty clear that Ms. Sales is unhappy with The Hatchet's coverage. Given Hatchet editor in chief Jake Sherman essentially saying that he thinks The Hatchet did all they could to provide the facts, despite the fact that Sarah and I got additional information, and given the strong student interest that this story seems to be generating:

POLL QUESTION:

~ flexiPoll: free online web poll ~

Aswani on the Tower Records CVS Plan: "I do support seeing a CVS there"

As part of The Hatchet's coverage of the decision to make the old Tower Records space into Foggy Bottom's tenth CVS, newly-elected SA President Vishal Aswani, when asked about his thoughts on the matter, told the paper:

"I do support seeing a CVS there just because as a GWorld vendor - as a partner in the GWorld program - it's just a significant opportunity for students to use their Colonial Cash there at a resource that is kind of multi-purpose," Aswani said.

He added that this CVS would be more convenient than other locations in the area because of its proximity to GW's non-undergraduate population, including law school students and the Marvin Center staff.

"What's going to be a great thing about having that CVS there, because it's a GWorld partner, it will help educate the graduate school population on the advantages of using GWorld," Aswani said.

While I recognize that Aswani represents all students, including law school students, and while I think he is right for praising the GWorld-friendliness of the new store, he fails to address the following:

A) There are two GWorld-accepting CVSs within three blocks of the law school - at 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, and at 1900 K St.

As a visual, here are directions from the Law School (2000 H St. NW) to those CVSs:


View Larger Map



View Larger Map

B) The CVS aside, Aswani makes no mention of the fact that GW administrators bascially dismissed GW students in their comments on the matter:

"Will we actively seek input from the student body? No. Are there mechanisms for student input? Yes." [University Spokesperson Tracy] Schario said." ("CVS may occupy vacant space in Shops at 2000 Penn," The Hatchet, January 28, 2008)

"University spokesperson Tracy Schario said Monday that the CVS would benefit both the campus and the businesses housed in 2000 Penn.

'I think you have to look at the context of that particular space,' Schario said. 'It's in an office building, and while it's in a GW-owned building and in a campus environment, it's a heavy mix of business customers first and students second.'" ("CVS to open in 2000 Penn.," The Hatchet, March 27, 2008)

While it may be too late to do anything about this issue, I am hopeful that in the future Aswani will recognize that in some cases, standing up for students means standing up to administrators.

In the meantime, all those opposed to the construction of another CVS in Foggy Bottom can join the "We Don't Need Another CVS!!!" Facebook group.

Our worst fears realized: CVS No. 10 is on it's way

As first reported by James back in January, as one of the options for filling the empty Tower Records space, GW was considering leasing the building to CVS, making the spot the tenth CVS within walking distance of the GW campus.

Yesterday, word came from The Hatchet's blog that CVS had signed the lease and would be moving into the spot. A story on the deal is expected to run in tomorrow's Hatchet.

Since it was apparent that the school's administration sought no student imput on putting up another CVS, and since many people I spoke with were and still are opposed to the idea (with many more to surely follow once this story hits The Hatchet tomorrow), I propose the following calls to action to counter the "red menace":

1) Join the newly-created anti-CVS in the Tower Records space Facebook group.

2) Write a letter to the editor of The Hatchet and express your displeasure with not only the CVS, but with the GW administrators failure to take student input into account.

3) If and when it opens, boycott the CVS!!!

Campus Safety / Complancency

The Hatchet is reporting a 7% murder rate jump in the District last year after the figure hit a 21 year low in 2006 (with only 169 killings... keep in mind the District is a tiny 68.3 square miles).

However, despite this rise in murders, the GW area has remained largely safe and crimes tend to be of a non-violent nature.

None of these killings occurred in the city's Second District - an area of the city which encompasses Foggy Bottom - though the number of assaults with a deadly weapon has increased in the area, peaking in September with a high of 16, according to MPD data.

"The Second District has continued to have a very low rate of homicides. The prevalent crime problem in the Second District has continued to be property crime, burglaries and thefts," said Dolores Stafford, chief of the University Police Department, in an e-mail.

The Washington Post keeps an interactive crime tracker that overlays crime reports on a map of DC. It is amazing to see the difference between campus and most all other areas of town (though do keep in mind UPD statistics are not included in this... only MPD).

So, while its reassuring to know that campus has remained relatively safe, I feel many students has become complacent and allow themselves to be put in situations that are unnecessarily risky.

Remember the basics you learned as freshmen like staying to groups at night and take simple steps that could make a big difference like putting UPD's phone number in your cell -- I didn't realize we were supposed to call them first until just the other day after this incident became big news on campus and the administration sent an email around with the number. Its (202) 994-6111 fyi...