Before returning to D.C. for the summer, I rediscovered my high school yearbook while cleaning my room. Perusing various signatures, my history teacher and mentor etched a credo that particularly stuck in my head. He wrote, “Will – four years tuition is too much money to waste on beer and anonymity.” Over your four years you’ll no doubt drink your fair share of beer. And while drinking yourself into a regular stupor might seem appealing now, you’re coming to a place where things are actually happening and you should take advantage of the opportunity.
Okay, I hate to regurgitate GW’s clich? of “something happens here.” Sometimes, though, I can’t help but agree with it. After being at GW for a while, it becomes easy to see that it’s an up-and-coming institution. Over the past few years the University has constructed, or is in the process of constructing, new state-of-the-art facilities for three of its schools. It is in the process of implementing a strategic plan to improve many facets of its academic program. It has also continued to improve other aspects of student life by building impressive residence halls and expanding its already impressive meal plan.
For all the good things GW offers, it is not without its warts. It maintains an adversarial relationship with the greater Foggy Bottom neighborhood that has held back several aspects of University development. It has stood in the way of teaching assistant unionization and has been accused – with some merit – of treating its food service workers poorly. Above all, despite having an unbelievably politically active student body, GW students just don’t seem to care about what is going on at their University. And while I could go on lamenting this for pages, for you all as incoming freshmen it would be much more useful to hear about organizations you can join to change this.
Given that GW has the highest concentration of students aspiring to be president of the United States in the country, a lot of people think about joining the Student Association, GW’s student government. Sometimes frankly, I cannot understand why. For my two years here the Student Association has been wracked by one scandal after another. During an otherwise positive SA campaign, Executive Vice President Anyah Dembling was accused – with significant evidence to back up the claim – of purchasing memberships for individuals in exchange for votes at the College Democrats’ endorsement hearings. The only thing more tragic than the alleged act itself was the fact that the body charged with overseeing election violations did nothing about it. The year before, SA officials used student money to finance a private party. Fortunately, most of the corrupt SA establishment has been thrown out of office and replaced with reasonable senators and a promising new president. Omar Woodard, whose words you can read on the next page, has the potential to turn things around. If he does, the SA might actually be worth joining and return to being a strong voice for students to the administration.
GW also has a variety of activist groups on campus; many of which deal with campus issues. While some – including myself at times in this column – have written them off as fringe lunatics, the students in the Progressive Student Union have been an important voice in advocating for the rights of mistreated workers on campus. Some of them even got arrested while advancing this cause. While sometimes it is not easy to agree with all of their politics, having more people join a group like this will go a long way in increasing student interest in effecting change on campus.
Or, you could come get involved at The Hatchet. While The Hatchet gets a lot of flack for virtually everything it does, it is an interesting place to come and learn about how different parts of the University work. And while I’ve shamelessly plugged it enough already, The Hatchet has given me an understanding of campus issues that has enabled me to become a more engaged member of the campus community.
Over your four years at GW you’ll have plenty of opportunities to find out which activities are right for you. The great thing about GW is that it is a very diverse place – diverse cultures, diverse people and diverse ideas. There is virtually a limitless number of ways you can get involved in making a difference on campus. Here’s to hoping you take the opportunity.
-The writer, a junior majoring in international affairs, is Hatchet opinions editor.
