Outside the Bubble

To everyone who was lured into a UW-20 class by its sexy name only to be disappointed:

I am not saying all UW-20 classes are a snooze. In fact, the class I took freshman year was fantastic! I would just like to suggest a class that will not only improve the writing skills of GW students, but will also enhance their college experience in D.C. The class produces a 25-30 page papers, after all.

I am proposing a class that would provide students with the opportunity to give back to the residents of D.C. and improve the relationship of the university with the community.

Assignments would include, but not be limited to:

-Interviews with local residents
-Work with locally oriented non-profits
-Study of local music/art/culture

Such assignments will no doubt lead students to involvement with fantastic local organizations, like M.O.M.I.E.'S TLC, a local non-profit that "nurtures the genius in children."




I am proposing a class that explores D.C. and ALL it's neighborhoods. The class would focus on a number of assignments leading up to a paper focused on an originial aspect of the city of interest to the student. There's so much to explore outside the federal enclave--join me in asking the university to dedicate a class to its exploration!

What Should Chipotle/Qdoba Replace?

What is the worst part of J Street?
Which restaurant in J Street would you get rid of in order to have the delicious Chipotle or Qdoba?

Yaya's Kitchen?
Chick-Fil-A?
Little Italy?
5th Ave Bagels & Deli?
Wendy's?
Freshens?
Wow Wingery?
Or the buffet spot next to Little Italy that gets rotated a few times a year?

Vote in the Poll to the left of this post and let me know where you think Chipotle/Qdoba should go!

Qdoba vs Chipotle

Alright, since J Street is run by Sodexo, one of their National Brands is Qdoba Mexican Grill. It would probably be easier for GW to provide us with Qdoba over Chipotle. But should we settle for Qdoba?
Is it all or nothing?
Is Qdoba better than Chipotle?
Answer the poll on the left, and let me know what you think!
Discuss below!

GW Students Want Chipotle in J Street!

After discussing the idea of having a Chipotle in J Street with many students on campus, I decided to form an organized Facebook group to act as a catalyst for our plan.

Chipotle is one of the most popular restaurants in the country, and its popularity is still growing. It's better than YaYa's fake Chinese food, and the Kosher Deli that is hardly ever open. Chipotle would funnel in a lot more money to GW and students would actually enjoy eating in J Street.

I also created a Blog to act as an open forum for students who would like to see this amazing change happen to J Street.

We need everyone to jump on the bandwagon and help us make this change happen! As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Our Opinions Are "Awaiting Moderation" - Part 2

Last week I wrote a post concerning the GW Hatchet's blog commenting policy. The paramount concern: comments are subject to moderation when posted in response to stories appearing in the Hatchet's blog section. While I still believe that the moderation of comments hinder the integrity of a public forum, a recent email conversation with Eric Roper, the Editor in chief of the Hatchet, has settled some of my fears.

According to Roper, only editors and the Web Director have the authority to moderate comments. He added that in his tenure at the Hatchet he has never seen a comment edited in any way. In addition, as my reader Andrew pointed out, they did approve his comment rather quickly. Roper wrote that they accept criticism and even encourage it, which is the reason why they often post editorials and opinion pieces in the "blog" section.

For more justification as to why the Hatchet moderates their comments, Roper wrote the following:

Blogs are great because of their ability to foster discussion on a given issue. Occasionally, however, someone will post something profane or libelous about someone else, and we as an organization choose not to let those become part of our Web site. Just as we would not let anonymous and unchecked accusations into our paper, the same goes for our Web site. This also applies to mindless name calling -- which can reach critical mass during SA elections, for example.

I greatly appreciate Eric reading my post and replying with what I view as a thoughtful response. As I said before I still don't necessarily agree with their policy. Although admittedly some comment threads can get out of hand, each comment still contributes to the discussion, whether with merit or not.

Please express your opinions on this below! I promise they won't be moderated!

The Good and Bad of Visiting Professors

While at GW, I've had full-time professors, adjunct professors, and visiting professors. I remember when I was applying here a few years ago that one of the many things that the admissions people talked about was how, because the school is located in the center of a fantastic city, we have the added benefit of getting visiting faculty from some of the best companies in all different fields.

But is that really the best thing? BusinessWeek, in their profile of the School of Business (located here) has a break down of faculty. Their report had this to say:

Faculty:
Full-time faculty : 67
Adjuncts and visiting faculty: 53
Permanent/tenured professors: 37

Almost half of the the professors in the School of Business, one of our most prestigious programs, are not full time faculty!

Visiting professors provide students with some of the best insight into their field of business possible. They are able to talk about subjects in detail that people not in their professions would be unable to speak of. And, they are also able to open doors to internships and jobs for the truly committed students.

That being said, our university needs to be more open to hiring full time staff. Part-time staff are, on the whole, forced to teach the same number of classes and provide the same resources to students as full-time faculty. This school is unfairly treating extremely well-qualified faculty, by preventing them from achieving full-time faculty status. And we are driving these professors away.

There is a reason why many visiting professors don't stay on as faculty members for more than a few terms. We are losing these valuable resources because are not giving them the credit (or money) they deserve.

Inaugural Festivities - Worth the cost?

To commemorate the Inauguration of this nation's 44th President, GW pulled out all the stops. To begin, the University put the campus on lock-down mode, hiring extra security and placing UPD on double shifts. Then came the Inaugural themed events around campus all weekend and the mass hysteria in prepping for the insanity on January 20th. But the most notable acts of The George Washington University were the Float in the Inaugural Parade and the GW Inaugural Ball. The money GW spent on the float was previously discussed in "Was GW Inaugural Float Worth Price Tag" and it was made pretty clear that the $88,000 was pretty ridiculous. Does our University really feel the need to spend money on such a unnecessary novelty? Yet, to add even more money into the Inauguration bill, The GW Inaugural Ball brought the University even further into the red. The GW Hatchet reported:

The event cost the University a total of $575,000, which includes renting the ballrooms, hiring security, providing a free coat check and coach bus transportation and absorbing some of the soft drink and water costs, said University spokeswoman Tracy Schario. Revenue from the ticket sales covered only two-thirds of the total cost, partially because the University did not expect virtually all of the tickets to be sold at the discounted Election Day price.

My rough calculations come up with GW losing a whopping $189,750 on its Inaugural Ball. So I ask some questions. Was it necessary to have 7 different Ballrooms? Where does the University make up for the lost funds? The Ball was a success for attendees. It capped off an unprecedented weekend with style and glamour. But was it worth it. Could the money have been spent somewhere else? Perhaps it could have been placed into the University's scholarship fund? I feel as if the ball was a bit overdone and the money could have gone to good use elsewhere. Here is a video of the Inaugural Ball.