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Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Tragedy: Coping Through Faith
DZHULETTA AVANESIAN
Campus faith leaders shared advice for coping with tragedy Monday night
as part of the GW “Peace Not Prejudice” Week. Chaplain Meraj Allahrakha , Rabbi Yoni
Kaiser-Blueth , and Father Greg Shaffer shared their views in a forum
sponsored by the GW Muslim
Student Association. The lecture held at Funger Hall was attending by
about 25 people of different
religions. Members of Muslim
Student Association, GW Hillel and Newman Catholic Student Center participated
in the panel discussion.
Each leader shared examples from recent tragedies.
During the discussion, Father
Greg remembered the Newtown, Conn. school shooting of last year.
''We have to cope through
tragedy,faith richness and to gather together. We are dealing with mystery,'' said Shaffer.
Kaiser-Blueth talked
about his rememberance of Hurricane
Katrina and how people dealt with the tragedy that moment, a time during
which he was working at New York University.
''Why did God allow
the Holocaust to happen? Why would something like this happen?'' he said.
Responding to an audience question on coping with disaster, Allahrakha said, ''It's easy to say when you are not
suffering the tragedy.People are not punished collectively. There is a lesson
in every tragedy.''
Participants lauded the event for connecting the different religious
organizations on campus around the common theme of hope. President of the Muslim
Student Association Aabid Mohiuddin reflected on
the event as bringing the campus community together with relatable experiences,
particularly difficult events.
Regardless of religion, according to participants, everyone experience
grief and tragedy. However, a shared desire for healing lies in faith.
“I believe that when faith shines, people who believe in faith and see
the circumstances, come out through that situations stronger than they were
before, '' said Mohiuddin.
Each leader stressed the importance of uniting to find comfort and hope
through faith.
''Just hope. Each
person has a faith,'' said Shaffer.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Students, Community Join the Knapps for Apple Day Crunch
BY JENNA SPOONT
(From l to r) GW President Steven Knapp, his wife Diane Knapp, and World-renowned Chef José Andrés bite into apples as part of Apple Day Crunch. (Photo Credit: Jenna Spoont)
Diane Knapp, President Steven Knapp’s wife, welcomed students, faculty and community members in University Yard Thursday to celebrate the Apple Day Crunch. At 12:15 p.m., Diane Knapp, led the “crunch” and encouraged everyone to take a picture of themselves eating an apple.
“There are apples all around campus and we are encouraging everyone to participate,” Diane Knapp said. “Take an apple, share it, eat it, and it’s a first step in coming to the challenge of eating more healthily.”
The event was hosted by the Urban Food Task Force, which engages students, faculty, staff and volunteers to promote healthy eating and to discuss food policy and sustainability. The Apple Day Crunch was part of the “weeklong extravaganza.” The students that earn the most points for attending lectures, talks and other events, win a nutritious dinner with the The Knapp’s at the F Street House Oct. 31st.
Baskets of locally grown, sustainable apples, from McIntosh to Red Delicious, were free to take.
“It symbolizes what we’re doing...to make our campus a healthier community and a more sustainable community,” President Knapp said. “By thinking about where we source our food from, by thinking about the way we distribute food, by thinking about what our students do when they go to the various restaurants here. So Diane’s got all of these restaurants signed up to promote healthy eating choices for students here, so it’s all part of a comprehensive effort to practice what we teach.”
The Knapp’s were joined by world-renowned Spanish chef José Andrés, who taught the most popular course last semester, “The World on a Plate: How Food Shapes Civilization.” Andrés will teach at GW again in the Spring.
“This is a generation of students that’s really interested in food and interested in all of the issues that food involves,” President Knapp said.
The Center for Student Engagement co-sponsored the Apple Day Crunch and advertised University community service.
“[The Apple Day Crunch] is important because it’s another opportunity to bring light to the people who are working on the issues within the city,” said Maurice Smith, Academic Service Learning Coordinator at the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. “Specifically [the event] highlights that GW is very invested in not only its students learning about healthy issues here at GW, but also within the District and working with our neighbors here.”
Columbian College Looks to Define Role of Advisors
By MELISSA LEE
With the recent revelation of GW’s Strategic Plan (Vision
2021), as well as new administration changes in the Columbian College, CCAS
advising will be going through a number of changes within the upcoming years. Michelle
Steiner, PhD, recently became part of the GW community as the new CCAS Director
of Undergraduate Advising and she's looking to address the role of Columbian College advisors.
“I
think there are many misconceptions about who advisors are and what advisors
do, and this is a nation-wide problem…To me, a “stigma” surrounding advisors…is
that advisors are paper pushers, schedule creators, and registration helpers.”
Steiner states that in order to ameliorate this “stigma,” she seeks to create
expectations of advisors as faculty who are there to work with, not for,
students, guiding them to find the answers to their questions and teaching
students independent skills to build their own academic success.
In the future,
Steiner would also like to see increased communication between advisors and
faculty in order to inform faculty of the methods used to assist students in
their academic plans and goals. She also hopes to see more public recognition
of advisors for their work with students.
“The more positive
recognition advisors receive, the greater the understanding that advisors are
valued members of the university community, and play an important role.”
Steiner, first and
foremost, will seek to maintain and improve advisor quality within the upcoming
year. Weekly staff meetings have already discussed topics such as effective
communication and leadership skills. Staff meetings in the future will discuss
topics such as “motivational interviewing, appreciative advising, and
assessment of programming.”
Steiner also hopes to “encourage conference attendance,
presentations, and collaborative journal publications so that we are all aware
of [and] participate in the national advising community and best practices that
come out of this community.” She wishes to create a comprehensive assessment
plan for the advising office, with additional assessments taking place through
shadowing of advisors during appointments and offering performance reviews for
advisors.
“[Shadowing advisors] gives me a greater understanding of
student issues and concerns, how students choose to partner with advisors to
make progress, and how advisors communicate with students. Spring staff
meetings will revolve around strategies for more advanced-level conversations
with students so that we are challenging them in a way that helps them learn
and grow as students and as people.”
Regarding performance reviews, Steiner states, “Advisors, in
order to consistently exceed expectations, need to be provided with feedback
and input throughout the year such that they can incorporate that feedback into
subsequent interactions and engagement with students, faculty, other staff,
etc. I take reviews seriously, and appreciate the opportunity they afford me to
discuss best practices with my team.”
Elliott School Professor Releases New Book
BY ALEX NOWAKOWSKI
On
Monday, Professor Henry R. Nau held a discussion at the Elliott School
regarding his recently published book Conservative Internationalism: Armed
Diplomacy under Jefferson, Polk, Truman, and Reagan.
Nau, a
respected professor of political science and international affairs at the
Elliot School, said that the purpose of his book was to end “the cycle of
overreach and withdrawal” in American foreign policy. Nau argued that the
solution is for the United States to enact a policy of “conservative internationalism”
to end this cycle.
“I have
a dire prediction that we are making a mistake that will cost us in treasure in
blood”, Nau said regarding the recent American withdrawal from international intervention.
Nau
continued the discussion of his book by discussing the presidents referenced in
his title and outlining what Conservative Internationalism’s strategy might be.
He argued that the United States should focus its policy on nations that are near
established democracies. The nations on the border of democracy, Nau said, will
be more willing to have a change in government and can be more easily
reinforced if democracy takes place.
He
finished the discussion of his book with the warning that “despots step up when
we leave the world.”
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
SA Senate Calls for Increased Transparency in University’s Admissions Process
BY MCKINLEY KANT
The Student Association Senate met Monday evening in the
Grand Ballroom of the Marvin Center to pass a resolution in response to the university’s
admission that the Office of Admissions sometimes takes into account
applicants’ financial aid statuses when deciding whether or not to admit them.
The Senate passed the Administration Transparency Act,
co-sponsored by Sens. Ryan Counihan, Nick Gumas and Ben Pryde, around 40
minutes after the Senate invoked a rare executive session, where they asked
members of the public to leave.
“I’m tired of this sentiment of finding out that the
university screwed up again and saying there’s nothing we can do about it,” Counihan said.
Many non-undergraduate senators voted ‘present’ because they
felt uncomfortable voting on a resolution pertaining only to the undergraduate
admissions office.
Others questioned the reasoning behind the resolution.
“I’m concerned that [the resolution] could be interpreted in
a negative light,” Senator Daniel Egel-Weiss said. “I want to commend the university
for coming forward and being honest.”
The resolution does commend the university for coming
forward, though it firmly states that the Undergraduate Office of Admissions
must take clear steps toward better transparency.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
GW Sings a Collective Song
By Shoshana Cohen
GW musicians joined together to put on one of the most
popular events of Colonial’s Weekend this past Saturday. Acapella Palooza is one of only two events annually where all of GW's accapella groups come together and sing in the same place. This
event has become so popular that it takes place in two separate venues in the Marvin
Center to accommodate everyone who attends to listen.
The GW Troubadours dressed in classy black and white attire
and started the night off with their classy yet soulful songs such as “Origin of Love” from MIKA and “Killing Me Softly” by Roberta Flack.
Alex Carre and Sarah Bacani each soloed.
Following this performance was the GW Pitches, one of GW's
all female groups. They sang some of the pop hits of today, most notably “Royals” by Lordes, where member Kasey
Page took the center vocalist position. Other songs were “Uncharted” by Sara Bareilles with Julie Buchsbaum as center
vocalist and “Warfaring Stranger” by
Ed Sheeran with center vocals by Michaela Gold.
Next up was the GW MotherFunkers who brought high energy in
their songs. With a set that ranged from a Jessie J and Black Eyed Peas mash-up
to “Buy You a Drank” by T-pain, they
certainty got the crowed going.
After them was The Voice Gospel Choir, known for being GW's
only religious choir group. They sang “I
Love You Lord” and “Jesus is a Rock.”
While GW is known for their diverse religious backgrounds, everyone enjoyed the
melodies that The Voice brought.
Always seen in their pink and black outfits, the GW Sirens
were next. They are GW's other all female acappella group and brought some
classics in Michael Jackson and “Latch”
by Disclosure.
Up next to the stage was the GW Vibes who brought fun and
energy in their performance.
Finishing up the line-up was the Sons of Pitches, GW's only all
male acappella group. They sung a humorous rendition of “My Girl” from the Temptations, where each member interrupted
another. They then ended the show with their traditional finale, “Change in my Life”.
Jessie Gold, whose sister attends GW said, “I thought it was
really, really good.” Visiting parent Jon Cirone said, “It was fantastic, every
one of them was different, but they all sounded great.”
It Was The 14th Grade Players, In The West Hall Blackbox, With "Clue"
By Dzhuletta Avanesian
The 14th Grade Players opened their
production of “Clue” over the
weekend. The show premiered in the West Hall Theatre on the Mount Vernon Campus
and ran from Oct. 17-19. The show was directed by Cameron Hopkins and sold out
each night.
“The opening night was very exciting, it was great to
see what people were laughing at and not, so we would tweak it to make it
funnier than it already is,” says Dillon Lewis, who played Colonel Mustard.
In 1986, Jonathan Lynn wrote the comedy-mystery film
based off the board game. Each show has the possibility of three separate
endings, leaving the audience always on the edge of their seats. The play depicts
the era of McCarthyism.
While some members of the cast avoided watching the
movie prior to the show, some could not resist. “I really hate watching movies
more than once, but Clue I can watch
over and over again,” said Hopkins.
“I think that the show captures the sensationalism of the
era and American culture. I think its really important and a fun thing to see, especially
living here in D.C.,” said Samantha Nesfield, who played Mrs. Peacock.
The board game still entertains many of the actors and
crew members of the show.
“Clue is one
of my favorite board games. All the time when I was a little kid, I have never
won the game. So, I thought that it would be revenge if I got cast and won Clue,” says Maddie Farrington, who played
Miss Scarlet.
The West Hall Blackbox offers unique opportunities
compared to Lisner Downstage, which is the other student theater venue. “It’s
substantially different on the production side because you can do so much more
with this theatre than the downstage, where you can’t do much with lighting,”
says Artistic Director Emily Messing.
The setting of the play is a giant mansion with lots
of rooms. “We got it on stage pretty realistically and that makes it really
special, fun, and exciting,” says Nick Kelly, who played Mr. Green.
The audience laughed every 15 seconds and actors had
to handle the situation of keeping in character.
“The hardest thing that we all have to deal with is
not laughing at each other. We are constantly biting our tongues or pinching
ourselves trying not laugh,” says Farrington.
The play took place during midterms week and colonial
weekend. Audiences members could rely on this production for a nice break and a
laugh during such a stressful week.
“Everybody needs to laugh. The show is a comedy and
it’s a great place to go, relax, and just laugh,” said Lewis.
Upcoming student theater shows include Rent from Oct. 24-26 in the West
Hall Theatre, The Diary of Anne Frank
from Nov. 8-10 in the West Hall Theatre, The
19th Annual Rocky Horror Picture Show from Nov. 8-10 in the Marvin Center
Grand Ballroom and True West from
Nov. 14-16 in the Lisner Downstage.
Photo Credit: 14th Grade Players
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