Stewart top choice for Colonials Weekend

[caption id="attachment_2114" align="aligncenter" width="220" caption="Comedian Jon Stewart. Used with permission of GW News Center"][/caption]

           A six month long process, similar to that of selecting the commencement speaker, led to comedian Jon Stewart’s invitation to perform two shows on Colonials Weekend.

           Student suggestions, parent input, and even psychographic assessments, among other methods, were used to identify Stewart as an option according to Peter Konwerski, Associate Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer with GW’s Student and Academic Support Services.

             “Jon Stewart was first choice among many lists and the first act we sought to sign,” Konwerski tells WRGW News.

            Following last year’s Colonials Weekend, which brought comedian Robin Williams to campus, parents were encouraged to fill out a survey asking for musical names, comedy acts, or speakers.

            “Key students and student leaders in the arts community [including] Program Board, Student Activities Center, Student Association, and WRGW Radio” were among student groups consulted according to Konwerski.

            The university reportedly also worked with the graduate level Event Management Program for the first time. The Spring 2009 class “Event Entertainment” worked with demographic and psychographic assessments, which identified potential acts.

            Trends among students were monitored through social mediums like Facebook, as well. Students not connected with any group, and even alumni were encouraged to submit names.

            This data was submitted to the Student Academic and Support Services office where additional information like the availability of performers, cost and format factored into the decision to extend an invitation to Stewart.

           - Jesse Regis

Fall Fest Lacks Crowds, Big Act

Hurricane Hanna dampened Saturday's Fall Fest plans this past Saturday.  The Program Board event was moved to the Smith Center after wind and rain made it impossible to host the event in University Yard.

Canon Logic and the Virginia Coalition played back-to-back around 5:30 in the afternoon to a small crowd of around 50 students.  Wale didn't fare much better, drawing a little over 100 students to the Smith Center for his performance.

Despite the small crowd, some students embraced the lineup, joining arms, swinging from side to side, and singing along to one of Virginia Coalition's songs.

Lead singer of the Coalition, Andrew Poliakoff, said that he and his band were excited to be at the university and that the energy of the crowd more than made up for the small size.

The fair also featured local vendors like DC Snacks, free food, giveaways and performances by students.

Popular band Rooney and DJ Girl Talk, were slated to headline Fall Fest, but both were unable to do so as a result of booking problems.

Tiffany Meehan, chair of Program Board, spent countless hours coordinating last Saturday's event.  She didn't think the lost of Girl Talk affected attendance and said an estimated 1,200 students had come through the doors as of 4:30 that afternoon.

But, GW student Erica Bibbly, who attended the event, said she wished the line-up had been better advertised.  Little was known about the Fest's band line-up until a blast GW email was sent the day before the event, announcing Wale as a last minute addition to the repertoire.

- Matt Rist 

Spring Fling 2008: "Fling It"

For the majority of GW students, the arrival of Spring was celebrated far away from our Foggy Bottom campus. But if you are looking for a chance to bring in Spring, then join fellow Colonials Saturday, April 5th for a GW tradition.

The Program Board will host "Spring Fling 2008: Fling It" on University Yard. Free food, giveaways, and free t-shirts will surely abound, and not to mention free music! This year, the popular music group Gym Class Heroes, known for its hit song "Cupid's Chokehold," will headline Spring Fling. Program Board Concert Chair Tiffany Meehan thinks the group is a "perfect choice for Spring Fling and GW." Tyga and Kidz in the Hall will also be featured. Past performers have included Regina Specktor, The Roots, and Busta Rhymes.

- Shawn Willis

Spring Break Briefs

• Vishal Aswani won the SA Presidency the Thursday prior to Spring Break. The results took only half an hour from the closing of the polls to be verified by the Joint Elections Comittee. With a little over 3,000 students voting, Vishal beat opponent Kevin Kozlowski by a 55.1% to 44.82% margin. Vishal will be joining WRGW sometime this week to discuss the win and his plans for next year.


• Program Board announced last Saturday that Gym Class Heros will be the musical act for Spring Fling. The event is planned for Saturday April 5th in University Yard. Tyga and Kidz in The Hall will also be performing at the event. More on this later in the week.


• Hillary Clinton was on campus last Monday to deliver a foreign policy address. As her third event in the last three weeks, she spoke about Iraq policy on the week of the five year anniversary of the invasion. She remained strong on her belief to pull troops out of Iraq and used this event to focus not on differences with Democratic opponent Barack Obama, but differences with Republican nominee John McCain. "Despite the evidence, President (George W.) Bush is determined to continue his failed policy in Iraq until he leaves office and Sen. McCain will gladly accept the torch and stay the course keeping troops in Iraq up to 100 years if necessary," Clinton said. "They both want to keep us tied to another country's civil war - a war we cannot win."


• The women's basketball team headed west to the big dance on Wednesday. Playing at Stanford University, the Colonials defeated Auburn on Saturday in the first round of the tournament, 66-56. The second round took place on Monday, where the 5-seed team took on 3-seed Cal. Sarah Jo Lawerence made a last second layup propelling the team forward to the Sweet 16 in Greensboro after a 55-53 victory. Check out our sport's director Frank Dale's blog for all the details from the trip.


• GW Baseball inaugurated the new Nationals Ballpark on Saturday. The 9-4 win over St. Joes was the first game played at the park. Nationals officials hoped that this would serve as a practice game for ballpark employees. More on this later in the week.


• The University announced today that Julian Bond, the chairman of the NAACP, will be this year's commencement speaker. The commencement ceremony on May 18th coincides with the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. More on this later in the week.

- Mallory Thompson

Student Association, Marvin Center, Program Board Candidates Announced

SA President
* Vishal Aswani
* Tarek Al-Hariri
* Kevin Kozlowski
* Ogheneruemu Oyiborhoro

SA Executive Vice President
* Kyle Boyer
* Raven Burnett
* Edward O’Neil

CCAS-U Senator
* Lee Barkalow
* Julie Bindelglass
* Christopher Borchert
* Logan Dobson
* Carl Preston Fisher
* Michael Komo
* Maury Nolen
* Christopher Pappas

ESIA-U Senator
* Ernesto Aprezza
* Patrick Hanley
* Loius Lawrence

SEAS-U Senator
* Andrew Breest

SoB-U Senator
* Daniel Preiss

U at Large Senator
* Shawn Dejbaksh
* Rob Lockwood
* Nick Polk
* Michael Rabinowitz

Marvin Center GB-U
* James Barnes
* Ethan Elser
* Melissa Meyer
* Shayn Prapaisilp

Program Board Chair
* Tiffany Meehan
* Kate Prescott

Program Board Vice Chair
* Elissa Davis
* Callie Messerole

BJ Novak Gets Laughs at Lisner

On Friday, February 8th, BJ Novak - stand-up comedian and star of the popular NBC sitcom "The Office," performed at GW’s Lisner Auditorium. In addition to staring in “The Office," Novak is a producer for the show and has appeared in movies like “Reign Over Me” and “Knocked Up."

Novak’s performance was part of the program board’s “Winter Hoopla,” which celebrates GW’s basketball teams.

Dan Mintz was Novak's opening act. Mintz is expected to have his own Comedy Central special some time next month.

Novak’s routine lasted for an hour, with most of his jokes consisting of childhood nostalgia. He also performed with ‘shy puppet’ and a briefcase full of jokes that were, supposedly, never heard before. After his performance, Novak remained in the Lisner Auditorium lobby for a "meet and greet," signing autographs and taking pictures with adoring fans.

- Lyle Leitelt

Program Board's Fall Film Series

As part of GW Program Boards ongoing Fall Film Series, there was a special screening of the summer blockbuster Transformers on Thursday, October 18th in the Marvin Center.

According to organizers, the series is part of an ongoing effort by the Program Board to host "Free weekly screenings of Hollywood's latest releases before they hit DVD."  Periodically, Program Board hosts screenings of films before release to the general public. Some recent hits that have been screened to GW students before release in theaters included Knocked Up, Thank You For Smoking, and The Pursuit of Happiness.

Transformers, which came out on DVD this past Tuesday, is a film adaptation of the popular cartoon series based off of the successful Transformers toys. The film stars Shia Lebeuf and Josh Duhamel and is directed by Michael Bay.

-Jason Levin