Music Happens Here

I know most of this school is from the mid-atlantic, not the northeast, but I hope you too can appreciate some good old-fashioned northeast indie rock. The former front man from Dispatch, Chad Urmston, has had the most success of the three with his break off band State Radio. They’re back at the 930 club, having played an awesome show two years ago, one of the music highlights of my sophomore year (though this may be due to the Dispatch sing along on the metro ride back).

It seems ridiculous to think that Dispatch broke up so long ago, but last year’s Let it Go was State Radio’s fourth album. While not their best album, it has several excellent songs and continues their experimentation with reggae beats. The sound meshes surprisingly well with their upbeat rock, and they’re only getting better. They posted their newest music video two weeks ago to the track Knights of Bostonia. It’s one of the best songs on the new album, and the video is real funny.



They’ve also put most of the album on their myspace if you want to check it out. Their energy really translates to a great live show.

The word about Dispatch’s demise generally focused on differing opinions about the message the band wanted to send. Chad was always pushing the band in a more political direction. Chad’s work in Zimbabwe was the inspiration for the classic song Elias, and later the impetus for their reunion show in NYC (my favorite show I’ve ever attended) and their little known Kennedy Center show last year played at the request of Zimbabwe’s prime minister.

These politics have always been at the core of State Radio’s ethos as a band, and Let it Go brings more great political commentary for the enlightened listener. Bohemian Grove is a mellow Dispatch-style jam, one of my favorites on the album, with a great political message. The climb to the chorus is dope:

It's a peculiar situation
When the leaders of the wealthy nations
Don't know all the damage they’ve done

Gotta love Chad.

The first night is being opened by Big D and the Kids Table, a ska band that’s been around for a while. Ska’s not my thing so I’m not going to say too much, but they could be just as popular as State Radio.

The second night is being opened by Can’t Hang, a really solid Baltimore raggae rock group. Their real easy listening sound makes them the perfect warmup for a show that rocks as hard as State Radio. They’re super scrappy and have been around for almost ten years just trying to get by. They’re small time and while they have done a few national tours, they stay mostly in the Maryland/Delaware area so this is a unique chance to see them in the city. Their fifth album, Ride the Lightrail, came out in late 2009 and actually has some really good tracks. If you’ve never heard of Can’t Hang, then listen to Bird River Grove, a 2001 track and a great one.

930 Club
February 26th – State Radio with Big D and the Kids Table
February 27th – State Radio with Can’t Hang
Tickets are $20 per night, or $35 for the two. Hope to see you there!

After The Storm Has Passed...

After witnessing someone in the street come surprisingly close to being demolished this morning by a car spinning out of control, I thought it necessary to highlight some very obvious pointers to those traveling not only through campus but the city and surrounding areas.

1. Be cautious of streets/intersections that usually have two lanes...many of them temporarily have only one lane, and several I've discovered force many to merge into oncoming traffic to get through.

2. Most sidewalks have not been touched; therefore pedestrians are forced to use the streets. Be very cautious, the ridiculous amount of slush/snow left in the streets puts many at risk of slipping and falling, since most means of traveling by foot is unavailable. Also, cars can easily spin out of control and start gliding in crazy directions, so pedestrians should be very cautious of cars too.

3. Remember, anywhere you see water and melting snow, will most definitely turn into black ice at night making walking and driving conditions very dangerous.

4. Don't forget to take advantage of the snow days and have fun!

GW Media Relations Office Switches Focus From Listening to Telling

The GW Office of Media Relations is the point where a bottom-up media landscape meets top-down image management. According to The Hatchet, media consultants are expanding into new media territory. According to me, this is only going to make life more difficult for prospective students trying to separate the bottom line from the toxic Kool-Aid fed to financiers and alumni.

I think our school might benefit from a student-first approach. Students aren’t just filling up vacant hotel rooms here; they are actively creating a community. Teachers and students are the meat and potatoes, and it doesn’t do much good to sprinkle glitter on meat and potatoes (even coveted new media glitter).

How often is facility size, or the opinion of a GW expert on Haiti-relief, the deal-breaker for a prospective student? I can tell you from first-hand experience, the elements that are impossible to express in talking points are more often the deciders. “Kids are stuck up there,” or “I’m in love with the city,” or “my cousin couldn’t stop raving about the journalism program,” or “the ratio of chicks-to-me is satisfactory,” are all familiar explanations, and I doubt any PR consultants can tap into that word-of-mouth media, even if they work for Apple. [case in point: Ipad]

The point is: make students happy, and let the school’s media image build from there. This media relations move is billed as “part of a shifted focus on reaching out to members of the media with content rather than simply fielding questions from the press.” I have mixed feelings about this. There’s nothing wrong with dressing up your reputation, but “shifted focus,” seems to suggest the new image strategy will overlook input from outside of the department. You can’t put lipstick on a pig—or a hippo—and if GW really wants to bring home the bacon, they need to keep getting their hands dirty (like I did with this extended metaphor).

University Fundraising Contract is a Step in the Right Direction, but Red Tape Remains

If there is one thing that students complain about the most at GW - aside from high tuition and dining options - it's the bureaucracy and red tape that hinder the ability to get things accomplished. It's time to refocus the University's efforts and remove some of the hurdles and red tape that student organizations face when booking events.

The GW Hatchet reported that the University is "developing a contract to regulate on-campus student organization fundraisers that collaborate with food vendors such as Crepeaway, Pita Pit and Campus Fresh." While this is certainly a step in the right direction and University administrators should be commended for progressive action, there is another problem they need to address.

"Assistant Vice President for Events and Venues Michael Peller - who declined to comment on the specifics of the contract until it is finalized - said the University wants to ensure that students make a profit from on-campus fundraisers, despite charges from the University for services like renting out Kogan Plaza or UPD presence if cash is on site."

The last part of that quote sheds light on the additional problems. The University fees involving booking rooms for student organizations, the regulations for food vendors allowed to cater events in the Marvin Center, and the list goes on and on. Again, it's great to see the University do something in the best interest of student organizations, but several other hurdles exist that take away from fund-raising profits. They don't stem from vendors like Crepeaway or Pita Pit, they stem from the University itself.

The Yankees of iHousing

Apparently for some, housing at GW isn't quite as frustrating as it is for most of us that have ever used the iHousing system:

Another entertaining bidding war was for the Ivory Tower quad, which occurred between two groups of students outbidding each other from the starting bid of $1,000 to the final bid of $15,000. Top bidders Andrew Shapiro, Nick Melhado, Seamus Kerin, and Harrison Nesbit will be living in the "sickest room on campus" next fall. The group "loves a good auction" and was happy their money was well spent to benefit a charity as well as award them with their top housing choice.

On the surface, I am not a big fan of the principle of the idea, that the best student housing goes to whoever has parent's that are willing to add on to their already incredibly high tuition bill to buy them the "sickest room on campus". I also chaffed when I real that the gaggle of students that got the room "loves a good auction". This is one of the several reasons that GW gets the reputation that it does of having a student body that is almost as wealthy as they are pretentious.

However, after thinking over the idea more, I decided that it really wasn't the worst thing in the world. Sure, students that don't have as much money can't live in one of the top rooms on campus. They are still eligible for hundreds of other rooms that are similar to these rooms, and they do have cheaper, or nicer, off-campus options if they so choose. Also, the proceeds of the event go toward a housing scholarship fund for students.

If students are willing to throw this much money into getting housing, they would likely go off campus to a high-priced option, like the 2400 M apartments, if they got a bad draw in the GW Housing process. While I wholeheartedly disagree with policies by the University that give students with wealthy parents a greater advantage to essential services like housing than other students, in this case, there is a good utilitarian benefit to their purchasing of housing.

As for me, I will pay less than them (or any other Junior or Senior living in GW Housing) to live in a house off-campus for the second year in a row. It's less expensive, you have more freedom, and best of all, you don't have to swipe your GWorld to get inside.

GW Increases UPD Presence

In response to a number of recent robberies occurring at or near the Foggy Bottom Metro Station, George Washington University has added additional university police officers. The GW Hatchet reports that the university hopes the increased patrol units will bring an end to violent muggings that have occurred over the past month. On Saturday, December 7th a man was mugged on 23rd St. and F. According to the GW Hatchet:

According to the report, the subjects approached the victim and asked if they could borrow the man's cell phone; when the victim refused, he was punched in the face.After punching the man and stealing his cell phone, the two subjects allegedly fled the scene, heading westbound on F Street. According to the Crime Alert e-mail, University police officers searched the area for the suspects but were unable to locate them. The victim was treated for minor injuries received as a result of the struggle.

The mugging was the third to occur in the Foggy Bottom area, and clearly residents and students are taking a cautious approach when outside.

U.S. Navy Captain Talks to WRGW About DADT

This morning on WRGW News in Depth, retired U.S. Navy Captain Joan E. Darrah told WRGW that there is "absolutely no evidence that gays serving openly in the military is in any way disruptive to good order and discipline."  Darrah, who served in the Navy for 29 years, said that now is the time to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a policy that keeps gay people from openly serving in the military.

"All the evidence tells you that gays serving openly is fine. To have the best military we can, we should have the ability to recruit and retain the best and the brightest.  This is exactly when we need to have every person that's ready, willing, and able to serve."

Darrah attacked the law as hypocritical, saying that "we are defending democracy and freedom around the world and yet in our own military we are not treating gay people with respect that they deserve."

Darrah also cited statistics that claim that 65,000 people are currently hiding their sexuality in the military, and that 3,000 a year leave the military because of DADT.  26 countries currently allow homosexuals to serve openly: many of them serve alongside US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She compared repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell to President Truman's integration of the military, mentioning that 82% of the country thought the military should remain segregated, "but he had the courage to do the right thing."

Darrah, who had to hide her own sexuality while serving in the Navy, told WRGW that she "didn't realize how incredibly difficult it was until after I'd retired."  She also said that, while serving, she "learned how to work with people of different colors, different religions, different ethnic backgrounds.  You learn to focus on the mission."

"I am incredibly proud of our country," Darrah said.  "I just know we can do a lot better than DADT."

Darrah ended the interview by encouraging listeners to email their senators and representatives to urge them to support the repeal.