WRGW News at 6: Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

WRGW News at 6: Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 by Wrgw_News on Mixcloud

BREAKING: 23rd Street Closed to Traffic Due to Fallen Tree

A large tree fell at the intersection of 23rd and I Street, Northwest late Wednesday afternoon.  WRGW News reporter Henry Reeve was on the scene a short time ago and is reporting that the tree, located next to JBKO residence hall on GW’s campus, fell shortly before 4pm this afternoon.  It landed  on three cars, a van, a BMW, and a taxi parked on 23rd Street.  No one was injured but 23rd Street remains closed to traffic.  There is no word on when the street will reopen.  The cause of the tree falling appears to be from wind gusts and Henry Reeve is reporting that the tree appears to have had a weak root structure. The street is closed just feet from the Foggy Bottom Metro Station and GW Hospital.  

credit: Henry Reeve   

GW Pulls All Nighter to Fight Cancer

By Chris Evans

This was not your typical college all nighter. The Smith Center hosted 53 teams Saturday into Sunday morning for GW’s Relay For Life. Around 900 participants walked, played games, and celebrated life while raising money to fight cancer.

Students from many of GW’s student organizations took turns walking laps around the Smith Center for a full 24 hours. 

“The reason it goes all night is because cancer never sleeps,” said Chelsea Brewer, one of the event’s organizers.

The combined all-night effort raised around 60,000 dollars.  Still, this is not the only goal of the event. 

“It is not all about raising money, but creating awareness too,” said participant Milan Gary. 

When not walking, participants enjoyed tie dying and playing games including tug-of-war.
Taking the time to raise money and participate in Relay means a whole lot more than a fun night with friends. It hits home for a lot of participants including organizer William Hanna.  

“Relay is important because my grandmother battled cancer three times. It was hard to see someone that strong endure so much,” Hanna said.

It is for this reason the community comes together in pajamas and wrapped up in blankets. To many, it’s all about the community. 

“The most profound thing about Relay For Life is how as a community we come together and walk around this track all for one cause,” said Gary.

Relay For Life began when Washington State resident, Dr. Gordy Klatt, raised 27,000 dollars running around a track for 24 hours. Today, the event occurs in all 50 states and throughout the world.

This year’s event coincided with GW Buzz, an event that gave GW students the opportunity to raise money for fighting cancer by cutting or buzzing their hair. Both students and members of the Foggy Bottom community joined in by both donating and sitting for a buzz or cut.

Together, the two events raised over 70,000 dollars. 


Sara Schaeffer contributed to this article. 

Ezra Klein and Bay Buchanan Square Off

By Sam Michel


Ezra Klein, a blogger for the Washington Post, and conservative political commentator Bay Buchanan faced off in a debate sponsored by the Young America Foundation, College Democrats and the Student Association last Tuesday night.  The debate, moderated Dr. Derek Malone-France of the University Writing Program, touched on a number of key issues such as the budget deficit, immigration, gun control and Washington’s persistent gridlock. 

The debate began with a discussion on the economy, the budget deficit and entitlement reform. Buchanan, who served as Treasurer of the United States under President Ronald Reagan, criticized President Obama for failing to cut the budget deficit and address the growing entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Klein, who runs the Washington Post’s popular “Wonkblog,” noted that the deficit has led to interest rates being uncharacteristically low, which means the United States can borrow money at virtually no cost. Although this policy is not sustainable in the long run, Klein said it meant the United States could implement “moderate deficit reduction” while stile investing in infrastructure. 

The discussion then turned to immigration, where Buchanan criticized a Senate bipartisan proposal as amnesty. The influx of illegal immigrants, Buchanan argued, meant employers would be more inclined to pay for the cheap labor over employing unskilled American workers. Klein responded by noting the unique national identity of the United States as a country of immigrants, noting the diverse population of California, where he grew up and attended college. Both debaters agreed that employers needed a system to verify the legality of workers, but Klein disagreed with Buchanan over the benefits of the ‘e-verify’ system, which has resulted in a number of false positives.

In the final portion of the debate, Buchanan and Klein debated gun control legislation in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Buchanan stated her clear opposition to an assault weapons ban, but signaled her support for expanded background measures. Much to the surprise of the crowd, Klein stated his opposition to increased restrictions on types of weapons. Klein noted that there was little evidence to prove that more weapons meant more violence. Rather, he said that background checks needed to be applied to gun shows and online purchases.

In the Q&A section, Buchanan and Klein answered questions from the audience on a wide range of topics including energy independence, health care reform and marijuana legalization. Buchanan said that Reagan, for whom she worked both on his presidential campaigns and in the White House, would have a very difficult time raising money in the current political climate, given the loose campaign finance laws. Klein, who features many graphs and charts on his Wonkblog, said that his favorite chart was one produced by Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) that charted Congress’ approval ratings compared to other unpopular people and events. Klein said that currently Congress is less popular than “BP during the oil spill, Nixon during Watergate, Paris Hilton, the United States becoming a communist country, head lice and Nickelback.” 

SA Senate Passes "11th Hour" Bills in Final Session

By Kyle Menyhert

The Student Association introduced substantial legislation at the final legislative session for the 2012-2013 Senate.  The SA passed a  resolution encouraging GW to “take a set of proactive measures to stop sexual assaults and launch an awareness campaign against sexual assaults”. 

Senator Omeed Firouzi also proposed a bill to extend the grace period for returning a substitute dorm room key. Today, if you fail to return a substitute key within 24 hours to the key depot, you are charged $150 for replacing the lock.  Firouzi proposed that the administration write a formal explanation  for the $150 penalty and extend the period from 24 hours to 72 hours. 

Finally, the SA finalized  financial allocations for student organizations  for the Academic Year 2013/2014. 

SA President-Elect Julia Susuni and the new Senate will take office on May 3rd.  

News at 6: Monday, April 15th, 2013

WRGW News at 6: Monday, April 15th, 2013 by Wrgw_News on Mixcloud

Includes extensive coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings.

GW Hillel Hosts Holocaust Remembrance Memorial Service

by Melissa Lee

On Monday the University commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day and the start of Genocide Awareness Week with a memorial service and guest speaker in the Marvin Center.  The event was hosted by GW Hillel and gave guests the opportunity to hear the story of Holocaust survivor Edith Pick Lowy.

Before Lowy told her story, electric votive candles were handed out to each of the guests. Individuals were invited up to the front of the room to participate in candle lighting, including relatives or descendants of Holocaust survivors. A moment of silence was then taken, and the rest of the remembrance proceeded in the form of a traditional Jewish memorial service.

After the service Lowy was introduced and spoke about her experiences as a young child in Poland, a place that saw some of the worst atrocities of the Holocaust. She showed the audience the actual uniform dress that she was forced to wear during the time that she spent in Poland’s labor-concentration camps. Lowy talked about how growing up her rights were slowly stripped away. She and her family were prevented from leaving their community, starting at age ten she had to wear a starred armband identifying her as Jewish, and eventually she couldn’t even attend school.

By the time Lowy was thirteen, her mother had been deported and executed, and she and her father were sent to a Polish labor-concentration camp. Lowy’s little brother, Erik, had also been executed by this time, and Lowy’s father was required to bury him. Although life was terrible in conditions that brought on severe hunger, Lowy and her father supported each other. Lowy talked about her father’s many sacrifices for her—at one time receiving a severe beating just for trying to take a carrot from the kitchen garbage so he could give it to her.

Despite the challenges they faced, Lowy and her father both survived.

Following Lowy’s story, the memorial service closed with prayer.

Estranged Son of Westboro Baptist Church Leader Speaks at GW

by Justin Lee

On Monday night, Nate Phelps, estranged son of Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps, gave a talk about his upbringing in the extreme Calvinist sect and his experiences adapting to secularism.  The event was co hosted by the GW Secular society and Allied in Pride, along with Phelps’ own organization, Center for Inquiry. 

Phelps talked for an hour about his father and the harsh set of religious doctrine and physical abuse he subjected Nate and the rest of the family to. Phelps recounted instances of his father’s deteriorating mental health, ranging from amphetamine abuse while his father was in law school to the detailed accounts of Fred Phelps beating his children and wife.  

Phelps then told of his life after he ran away from home. He talked about his experiences with different types of religion and coming to terms with his father’s abuse through therapy. Phelps ended his talk with a warning about how faith based organizations could pose a threat to the development of society.   A question and answer session then followed.

GW Women in Business Look to "Start Something" at Annual Conference

by Melissa Lee

credit/ Melissa Lee

The banner for the GW Women in Business Spring Conference hung at the entrance of Funger Hall, where the keynote addresses for the conference were held. 

On Saturday classrooms in GW’s Funger and Duqués Halls became business workshop centers for over 250 people who attended the university’s fourth annual GW Women In Business Spring Conference. The conference was sold out for the first time this year as hundreds of women and even some men gathered to hone their skills in business, learn more about new fields of interest, and network with accomplished female professionals. Most attendees were university students, but the event was open to people of all ages looking to improve their business skills.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Start Something,” with GWWIB encouraging conference attendees to tweet about the event throughout the day using the “#startsomething” hashtag.

Sarah Robb O’Hagan, former Global President of Gatorade and current President of the fitness company Equinox, opened the conference by describing her business journey through the athletic product industry. O’Hagan noted the importance of sports in her own life.  She stated that sports were a great source of empowerment for women, as they taught principles of perseverance, teamwork, and dedication to accomplishing goals. Ultimately, she stressed the importance of “playing to win” in business and other areas of life instead of playing not to lose.

After O’Hagan’s welcoming address, conference attendees made their way to different classrooms in Duqués Hall, each home to a workshop session on topics including law and policy, marketing, entrepreneurship, and personal branding. Each workshop session included four or five panelists who were professionals in some aspect of the subject covered.  They served as both instructors and potential job or internship resources for the session attendees.

The second workshop session included topics on technology, sports, fashion and design, and finance.

credit/Melissa Lee

The technology in Business workshop session.

After a catered networking lunch, there was a keynote address by Janet Gurwitch, founder of Laura Mercier Cosmetics, and Alli Webb, Co-Founder of Drybar. The two described their own personal business experiences, as well as their joint business venture in Drybar, a bar that specializes in affordable, quality blowout hairstyling. Both women described how they took two different paths in their personal lives (Webb chose to rethink her career strategy in order to account for her growing family, and Gurwitch was always more or less strictly career-oriented), but both found success doing something that they loved.

Two more workshop opportunities followed the second address. The first round of sessions included workshops on philanthropy and business, food and events, media and communications, and food and events. The second round included topics such as Financial Literacy and How to Start Something.

The final keynote speech of the day was made by former Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan magazine Kate White, who emphasized to the audience to always “go big or go home.”  She told the audience that when pursuing dreams in business, people should always ask themselves how they could make their goals and ideas bigger. Her speech included hilarious self-references when describing her work at Cosmo. Each conference attendee was also given a copy of White’s new book, I Shouldn’t be Telling You This.

Catherine Jessen, a GW student attending the event, said she loved the conference. 

“I chose to attend the event because I saw it online and it looked like there were a lot of amazing speakers,” Jessen commented.  “I’m a women’s studies major and I think it’s so invaluable to learn from women who have been successful in their own careers. There just seemed like there would be amazing women speaking and a great opportunity to learn.”

credit/Melissa Lee

Conference attendees gather to receive free "swag bags" from Rent the Runway and to pick-up their catered lunch.

GW Veterans Discuss their Views on Media Coverage of War

By Emma Thomson

Wednesday evening the GW Veterans and Office of Veteran Services presented War in the Media: A Veteran’s Perspective before a diverse crowd in the Marvin Center Amphitheater. The panel, moderated by School of Media & Public Affairs Professor Michael Shanahan, discussed the role of the media in war coverage, the interactions between soldiers and reporters, the embedding process, and the transition for veterans from the Army to life at GW.

Participants in the panel included current George Washington students and Army veterans Mitchell Bent, Elena Kim, and Dominic Amaral. They were joined by national correspondent for McClatchy Newspaper Hannah Allam and foreign policy-defense analyst Andrew Lubin, both of whom participated in Iraq as embedded soldiers and have extensive experience in combat zone reporting.

The panel began with a discussion on the issue of embedding, a program in which the military places a civilian press member in a specific unit to record and report on its activity. Not surprisingly, the members of the panel all had different individual experiences with their respective reporters. Bent  described his own experience with an embedded reporter. He remembered when a journalist assigned to his unit witnessed a misfired mortar that hit a civilian’s home. Though Bent insists the incident was an accident, he recalls the journalist’s immediate response as, “Oh my God, you just mortared civilians.”

According to Bent, the reporter’s words inflicted devastating shame on the men who had fired the mortar, which had been aimed at the enemy, and made them, “wish they had never been born.” As a result of his personal experience, Bent perceives the media as an institution “not to be trusted.”

Allam passionately responded to Bent’s remarks. She protested that journalists are not in war zones to cover up soldiers’ mistakes but to report the truth.  She said they are not cheerleaders, nor are embedded press members obligated to write positive stories if nothing positive is happening.   

Some veterans want to see more graphic depictions of the war. Amaral, who encountered many embedded journalists during his service, expressed his desire for news sources to publish the gory images of the realities of war. In addition, he stated his frustration with civilians who do not understand war or who base their opinions on the war scenes from video games or movies.  Amaral supported the use of embedded journalists their use as long as they follow the ground rules set by the military and do not interfere with missions.     

Kim, who during her 5 year career served as a Human Intelligence Collector through a 15 month tour in Iraq, stressed the importance of covering not only veterans’ issues, but female veterans’ transition back into civilian life. As the only female veteran on the panel, she added a unique perspective to military themes often seen as inherently masculine. According to her, transitioning into college life was even more difficult as a female veteran due to the lack of community among other returning women soldiers.    

Before the panel began, Shanahan, a Vietnam veteran, provided a history of media-military relationships beginning with the Civil War. Mentioning Lincoln’s struggles to raise support following the publication of Matthew Brady’s photographs depicting fallen soldiers, Shanahan stressed the importance of the media in gauging public perception of war. Particularly in the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War, the media played an immense role in conveying war themes and images to the American public. Shanahan noted that the press has the ability to influence the public, and also must use the information given by the government. As an example, he remembered the misinformation given about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that was used by both the president and the media to justify the war.     

WRGW News at 6: Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

WRGW News at 6: Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 by Wrgw_News on Mixcloud

SA Senate Meeting Brings Little Fanfare but Plenty of Progress

by Sam Michel

For those who thought the Student Association Senate would accomplish little now that SA election season was over, last night’s meeting would have been a surprise. In one of the final SA Senate meetings of the 2012-2013 academic year, the Senate passed a number of resolutions and made significant progress on lesser-known initiatives nonetheless considered important to the student body.

Outgoing Executive Vice President Abby Bergren presided over the meeting in which several SA Senators were not present and as such were represented by proxies. Still having enough senators present for a quorum, the Senate quickly passed a number of resolutions. One resolution, sponsored by Senator Nick Gumas, asks future GW applicants to specify on their application whether they were gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Although the question would be optional and would have no effect on an applicant’s prospects of admission, Gumas argued that if GW can gather statistics on an incoming class’ religion, geographic background or race, then sexual orientation should be included in that category. The resolution passed with unanimous support.  Gumas said he would be bringing the issue up to the incoming Director of Admissions at the earliest convenience.

Dr. Bernard Demczuk, Assistant Vice President for DC Relations, addressed the Senate to promote increased communication between the GW community and the DC city government. An Aid to former DC Mayor Marion Barry, Demczuk described his job as helping GW students get a better understanding on how the DC government works, both in the city council and the mayor’s office. 

In his update to the Senate, a proxy for Student Association President Ashwin Narla informed the body of progress that had been made to allow food trucks to begin accepting GWorld cards as a payment option. He stressed however that while the negotiations were still ongoing, there was optimism that food trucks could begin accepting GWorld cards before the end of the school year.

In recognition of April Fools Day, Bergren temporarily resigned her position and allowed Hugo Scheckter, who ran an unsuccessful satirical campaign for SA President, to preside over the conclusion of the meeting. In his remarks, temporary-EVP Scheckter, dressed in his full royal attire, complimented the Senate on passing updated bylaws to the Senate Constitution “which the GW student community was really begging for.”