Last Monday, we reviewed the first two years of events that are unique to the GW class of 1999. Now, we reminisce about the summer of `97 to today. (See p. 10 for the same two years of sports highlights.)
June, 1997: “Crossfire” returns to the Marvin Center for the sixth time.
Fueled by the tuition increase, the University implements a “spruce-up” campaign, installing gates and other decorative features around campus.
Muhammad Ali speaks at Lisner Auditorium.
Gelman Library closes its doors to the general public.
July: New Hall opens its doors. It is wired for Ethernet.
August: The GWorld card makes its debut.
GW falls back into the second tier, according to U.S. News and World Report.
GW introduces the ALADIN system at Gelman Library.
Darrel Hammond of “Saturday Night Live” performs at Comedy Night.
September: Democratic National Committee Chairman Steve Grossman speaks on the Quad after a bomb threat evacuates the Marvin Center.
At the Watergate Safeway, 29 carts are stolen in three weeks by students. Poles are installed on the carts to make patrons less prone to theft.
The University announces it will rename Adams Hall (which had been Calhoun Hall 10 years before) as Lafayette Hall.
Mayor Marion Barry attends the ribbon-cutting at New Hall.
October: More than 500,000 Promise Keepers invade the Mall.
Adams Hall residents hold a sit-in to protest the proposed name change. President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg agrees to postpone the change until May.
Mayor Barry dedicates the new Anniversary Park on F Street.
Israeli President Ezer Weizman speaks at Lisner Auditorium. Stephen Wright performs at Parents’ Weekend. Everclear plays at Tower Records across the street from the Marvin Center.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits Washington. Many students (and Richard Gere) attend a “Free Tibet” rally at Lafayette Park.
November: Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe joins the Elliott School faculty.
Bill Maher, in town for “Politically Incorrect” tapings at Ford’s Theater, recruits writers at the Marvin Center and performs at Lisner Auditorium.
President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno talk about hate crime at the Marvin Center. White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry speaks at the Marvin Center.
Hundreds of students rally at Funger Hall to protest a proposed move of Commencement from the Ellipse to the MCI Center.
January, 1998: The University announces that Mount Vernon College will become a GW campus by June 30, 1999.
The GWorld card enters Phase II, which includes its use in laundry machines, copiers, vending machines and at University stores.
Issues like the Lewinsky scandal and the Asian financial crisis inundate students (and law professor Jonathan Turley) with media coverage and financial worries, respectively.
David Spade entertains at the Smith Center.
February: Congress changes the name of GW students’ favorite airport to Reagan National.
GW decides to keep Commencement on the Ellipse.
Students pay dearly for the mistaken idea that they were somehow getting free meals at Mick’s on Pennsylvania Avenue.
GW announces plans for a new GW Hospital across the street from the present one.
The e-mail domain for GW students changes from “gwis2.circ.gwu.edu” to just “gwu.edu.”
March: Carrie Potter becomes the first female SA president when she wins in a runoff election. Jesse Strauss is elected Student Association executive vice-president.
The University Club moves next door to Thurston Hall, where the Uruguayan Embassy had been previously.
Concrete starts to fall off the Marvin Center.
William F. Buckley tapes a “Firing Line” debate at the Marvin Center. Ice Cube appears at Tower Records.
April: Mayor Barry speaks at the Marvin Center while local universities consider offering him a teaching position. Former Clinton aide Lanny Davis announces he will become a GW professor.
Becky Neilson is elected Hatchet editor in chief.
Walter Cronkite is interviewed for Foggy Bottom fixture “The Kalb Report” in front of GW students at the National Press Club.
Cocoa Brovaz and Goldie are among the performers at the Thurston Block Party on F Street.
May: Bob Dole speaks at Commencement on the Ellipse. Hillary Clinton hosts a town meeting on race at the Marvin Center.
June: The Tibetan Freedom Concert is held at RFK Stadium, and a GW law student is hit by lightning.
A policing center opens up on University property across from Columbia Plaza.
July: Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaks on campus.
Sigma Chi is suspended by the University. The following year’s alcohol problems at GW and across the country will put a strain on University/fraternity relations and get several GW fraternities in hot water.
August: The ground floor of the Marvin Center is closed for major remodeling (with an ever-distant completion date).
GW returns to the U.S. News top 50 at number 50. SJT says he’s “not opening any champagne over it.”
Burger King opens at J Street.
Mayor-to-be Anthony Williams speaks at a College Democrats barbecue.
September: Classes are canceled for Opening Convocation at Lisner Auditorium.
Oliver North speaks at the Marvin Center. The GW Independent (nee Independence Magazine) folds.
The Marvin Center hosts a Democratic primary mayoral debate. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein speak at Lanny Davis’ class at Hillel. Richard Jeni performs at Lisner Auditorium.
Rosa Parks visits GW.
October: The SA says, “Hey, we can do that!” and discusses “the impeachment or censure process” in regards to President Carrie Potter.
Gelman Library is named a member of the Association of Research Libraries, which includes only 122 top libraries.
GW hosts a mayoral debate at the Marvin Center.
SJT, named the tenth-highest paid university president, announces he will remain at GW until at least 2003.
Pat Schroeder signs copies of her book at Mount Vernon.
GW hosts a symposium and exhibit on the 1963 March on Washington. The ever-available Mayor Barry speaks.
November: The Dalai Lama speaks at Lisner Auditorium.
ABC’s Cokie Roberts, wife of GW professor Steven Roberts, signs her book at the GW Bookstore.
Jonathan Turley testifies to the House Judiciary Committee about impeachment.
The Tragically Hip opens for Blues Traveler at the Smith Center. The Program Board loses $45,000.
The controversial satirical newspaper Protest THIS! folds its print edition.
December: Congressman Barney Frank, former Portuguese President Mario Soares and Colin Powell speak at GW.
After a recount, Steven Mandelbaum becomes the first GW student on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
January, 1999: Black Enterprise ranks GW 36th on its list of the best schools for African-American students.
Vice President Al Gore visits the Marvin Center to promote adult education. Hypnotist Tom Deluca performs at Lisner. Jerry Springer speaks at the Marvin Center. Two freshmen – one male, one female – demand to live in a residence hall together.
GW announces it will offer Mount Vernon housing to men.
The Shakespeare Theatre and GW create a classical acting academy.
Hillary Clinton speaks at the Marvin Center.
February: The Hatchet becomes the University Wire’s D.C. bureau.
GW breaks ground on the Health and Wellness Center at 23rd and G streets.
New Hall is hit by a fire sprinkler epidemic.
GW celebrates George Washington’s birthday with a Quad bonfire.
March: Alexis Rice wins the SA presidency, while Cat Sadler and Caity Leu battle in a runoff for EVP…Wait, scratch that…Write-in candidate Phil Meisner defeats Rice in a runoff, while Caity Leu defeats the threatened Derek Grosso in a runoff.
Classes are canceled for snow.
Margaret Cho performs at Lisner.
A student in Mitchell Hall is assaulted in the shower with a brick…Wait, never mind. Wrong again.
April: The GW President’s Medal, usually awarded to people who already have that title, is given to “Mr. GW,” Ron Howard.
Former Lewinsky attorney William Ginsburg, who, at the h
eight of his fame, attended a GW basketball game with Wolf Blitzer, is blitzed with tough questions at the GW Law School.
Major work begins on the Mid-Campus Quad. It is soon entirely closed. Dustin Gouker is elected Hatchet editor in chief.
GW provides volunteers and medical service at the NATO Summit.
Bob Dole speaks to GW students at the National Press Club.
May: Millennium Park is opened.
Ground is broken on the new School of Media and Public Affairs building at H and 21st streets.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at Commencement on the Ellipse.
