While GW is taking a step in the right direction by becoming more environmentally friendly, D.C. has taken steps backward after a series of racially charged incidents.
Here’s the best and worst news from around campus and the District this week.
Thumbs up
GW is about to save a lot more trees.
When students come back to campus this fall, they’ll have an incentive to opt for double-sided printing. The Student Association announced Monday that the price for each side of a double-sided print job will reduce from $0.07 to $0.06 at all WEPA kiosks starting July 1. Meanwhile, the price of a single-sided print job will increase from $0.07 to $0.08. The announcement comes after student leaders first proposed reducing the cost of double-sided printing in February.
Other than saving students some money, the price cuts will encourage students to be more conscious of reducing the amount of paper they waste when they’re printing their 10 plus page papers. This will help further promote sustainability on campus.
In addition, the SA will allocate $1,200 for printing cards available at The Store, the University’s anonymous food pantry, next year to give to students with financial needs. The inclusion of printing cards at The Store is a positive move that proves student leaders are acknowledging the many different costs that can come with being a student.
The SA has been striving to make printing more affordable for students, so it’s encouraging to see these changes implemented. It might seem like a small accomplishment, but it could go a long way in creating a more eco-conscious campus.
Thumbs down
A noose was found hanging outside the National Gallery of Art Saturday.
This was the third similar incident in recent weeks, with a noose being found earlier this month at the National Museum of African History and Culture and the Hirshhorn Museum. Such incidents have not been isolated to just D.C. museums either. In May, bananas hanging from nooses were found at American University and the F.B.I. was brought in to investigate. Nooses were also found at University of Maryland that month as well.
The rise of such racially charged incidents is troubling and disturbing, especially as they are occurring in an area as diverse as the Washington, D.C. metro area in both popular tourist sites and college campuses.
After the rhetoric President Donald Trump used against minorities during his presidential campaign, the rise of racially charged incidents is not surprising. But that doesn’t make it any less saddening. Experts say these events illustrate a growing use of hate symbols in the U.S. to intimidate minorities.
But these racist expressions should not control or intimidate minorities like us – keep going to museums and keep going to class. We’ve come too far to let the racists win by letting this hate bring us down.
Irene Ly, a senior majoring in psychology, is The Hatchet’s opinions editor.
