Web Extra
Playing host to about 1,500 visitors to campus for inauguration weekend was largely unproblematic, GW administrators, police and students said.
“I think UPD and Housing Programs works well together and planned properly for the weekend,” said Dolores Stafford, Chief of the University Police Department. “The success of the residence hall security was a team effort.”
Stafford said there were times when the security guards had to work with UPD, but that “everything went smoothly.” Director of Housing Seth Weinshel said they did not hear of any issues with people having guests on campus.
Registered guests were given temporary identification cards for the duration of their stay.
The University had initially planned to have the National Guard on campus checking the identification of everyone who passed through campus. John Petrie, assistant vice president for public safety and emergency management, said that plans changed to only checking vehicles.
“.They opened the area for pedestrians when the considered how many people needed to move through here,” Petrie said.
Freshman Angela Kraszewski, who hosted her brother and a friend from home, said her experience was both good and bad. One visitor slept in her bed and the other on the floor. They awoke at 5 a.m. Tuesday to attend the inaugural speech on the National Mall, and the GW inaugural ball at night.
“To have my brother and his friend come was amazing and definitely made the event more festive. Having extra people in my room was not very hard at all,” Kraszewski said. “I think the school handled the extra security well.”
However, her brother was unable to sleep in her room in Potomac House for the last two nights of his stay because he never received his temporary identification card, Kraszewski said.
Alex Byers contributed to this report.