We voice support, not opposition

"We want SmarTrip on our GWorld Cards" was launched shortly after the University announced the release of a new GWorld. According to an anonymous comment made on our blogpost on Monday, this may mean that we are protesting without giving the administration enough time to accommodate change. The blogger posted:

Why is everyone assuming the administration is completely ignoring the possibility of SmarTrip integration?

None of our official campaign statements have accused GWU of ignoring the possibility of incorporating SmarTrip technology. Rather, we made our proposal after the university first announced the new GWorld because we sensed that the university was already considering this possibility. We therefore felt that the time was ripe to gather support for this initiative within the GWU community.

If the administration is considering implementing our proposal, the time to show our support is now. Let's encourage them to transform dialogue into reality.

Please join our cause, and sign the petition to express your support for a SmarTrip technology on GWorld.

Taylor Swift for Fall Fest 2010!

Let's get Taylor Swift for Fall Fest 2010! Tell Program Board to get started on this now! E-mail them at GWPB@GWU.EDU demanding we start working on getting Taylor Swift for this year's Fall Fest!

Join the movement on Facebook!

FCC Reverses Position, Will Protect Net Neutrality

After signaling on Monday that they would take a weaker position on the issue of net neutrality than they had held in the past, the FCC again reversed course and said it would indeed protect equal access to Internet content, but only after some nudging from Google.

After backlash from Congress, legal experts, and the public, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the FCC will unveil the details of its plans to protect net neutrality in the face of a Supreme Court decision that seemed to tie the hands of the FCC in regulating Internet Service Providers. After suggestions from Google's legal team as to how the FCC could work around the Court's decision by reclassifying the services offered by broadband carriers under a new legal framework, the FCC will reportedly reaffirm its support for net neutrality at an event on Thursday.

Net Neutrality is the concept that Internet service providers should not be able to discriminate between providing equal access to different online content. It means that you'll be able to use your bandwidth as you want, and that you won't face any obstructions in data transference when you download the latest Lady Gaga song from iTunes, steam the newest Glee episode on Hulu, or read that breaking news article on TheNewYorkTimes.com.

Give us More Study Abroad Options

As those of you who have tried to Study Abroad at GW know, the process is incredibly rigid. GW has their own Study Abroad programs, but they will rarely grant exemptions for people to do programs that aren't sanctioned by the University.

The University's Mission Statement contains the following statement:

To promote the process of lifelong learning from both global and integrative
perspectives, the University provides a stimulating intellectual environment for its
diverse students and faculty.

How can the University truly claim that they are "providing a stimulating intellectual environment" when they are intentionally stifling the opportunities that so many students aren't allowed to pursue when looking to study overseas?

One of the programs from the people that have expressed similar outrage at GW's policy took part in Semester at Sea. Check out one of their Professor's of Engineering from The University of Virginia talk about his views on the program (the YouTube channel prevents embedded videos, but check out the link.)

The idea that other schools of comparable quality, such as the University of Virginia, who sponsors the Semester at Seas program, deem these programs to be intellectually beneficial should be enough for our school to support them. Aside from that, the University should be listening to students on issues like this. We are their consumers, and we are the ones that have paid a lot of money to come here to learn. At a University that prides itself on its globally reaching programs and in the globalized world we live in today, there is no question that we should be able to more effectively petition the University to acknowledge these accredited programs.

If you want to join our Facebook group, check it out here.

GW Students for GWorld x SmarTrip

After two weeks, more than 250 people have joined our Facebook group "We want SmarTrip on our GWorld Cards!" and we are continuing to gain support from many students.

More than its mere quantitative progress, however, our group project members would like to share some of the comments that we received from the students who signed the petition. 

Many students, as we had anticipated, showed their support for better convenience and accessibility that this initiative could bring in. 

Save me the hassle, time and cash. I think it would be so easy and efficient and a great selling point for the school to tell parents and kids.

Given that GW is so immersed in DC, so many locales are best accessed by metro. As a result, I think it would be very effective to have SmarTrip integrated into GWorld.  

It would make economical sense because of the smartrip plan, along with making our lives much easier by having everything all on one card instead of having to deal with multiple flimsy and easily lost metro tickets.

At the same time, GW students have commented on American University's recent project to include SmarTrip on their student ID cards.

Our location is way more convenient for the Metro than American; let's be more convenient than American when it comes to SmarTrip! 

If American University can do it, why can't GW?

Please join our cause, and sign the petition to express your support for a GWorld card with a SmarTrip capability.

"I Want To Know!" Update

The "I Want To Know" Campaign launched in early April with a Facebook group to gather students' opinions on whether schools in the University should create optional list servs to let other students know about prominent speakers on campus. The campaign was met with some criticism after its breaking news blog post, but there have been some positive responses to make this campaign a reality.

After discovering the University calendar alert system, a survey was created to gather knowledge on whether students knew of its existence or utilized it. The survey was sent to all Facebook members, now at 100(!), as well as various classes, so far collecting 65 responses. E-mails have been sent to the Business School, Elliot School of International Affairs and SMPA with only two list-serv administrators replying.

The SMPA informed "I Want To Know" that they are working to create a list-serv like this for next fall. At the moment, they are unsure how they will notify students of its existence, but "I Want To Know" is pressing for a once-a-semester university-wide email. The Elliot School said it already has a sign-up option in place and was curious if that was the campaign's goal. "I Want To Know" responded that it wishes for Elliot to also email the students to let them know of this option and currently waits for another response. A couple e-mails to the Columbian School and GWSB have not received responses.

"I Want To Know" also contacted the Alumni Association president, who believed alumni would also like to find out when they can attend prominent speakers. However, no contacts were ever given to promote the cause. The campaign will continue for the next couple weeks, hoping to gain more Facebook supporters, survey responses and the promise of an optional sign-up list serv for each school. Join now!

A Little More Senior Reflection

This week was the snow make-up week and I attended four out of the seven classes I had. Monday was a no-brainer; Thursday I had an exam and a presentation; but Friday was different. Friday was my last day. My last day ever to go to a class. Did I pay attention? Not really. Did I play on my computer? Kind of. Did I sit with my friends and revel in the fact that we were finished with our undergraduate lives? Yes.

What do I do now? Sure, I have another exam and three papers left to write. However, I'm talking about the bigger picture. I, like Senioritis, face unemployment and homelessness (alright, a bit of an exaggeration with my internship and sublet), and freak out when I think about graduating. We're kind of on our own, but after finishing classes yesterday, I am finally starting to look forward to it.

While GW student may complain (a lot) about the University and its shortfalls (housing, Fix-It, food, partying and school spirit), we have been given way more opportunities. As I visited state universities and envied their fun, I wondered if I could re-do college I would change my choice. Today? No. At the beginning of the semester all of my classes discussed our current internships and future aspirations, and it's astounding how privileged and connected we are. There is no doubt that GW students have it made.

We stormed the White House after Obama's election. We attended Inauguration. We work for the Hill and their press. We hang out on the Mall and the Lincoln Memorial is in on our backyard. We might not be in a hurry to get out to the real world, but we're ready.

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