The GW
HATCHET
September 28, 2026 Vol. 123
Iss. 8
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
Graduate students say federal loan caps are reshaping their financial plans ARUNMOY DAS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
ZOOMEL GHAURI REPORTER
Graduate students said they feel uncertain about their ability to pay for their education and enroll in further graduate studies after President Donald Trump’s cuts to federal student aid went into effect this academic year. Ten graduate students said Trump’s tightening of student borrowing limits and elimination of the Grad PLUS program — which allowed students to borrow up to their remaining cost of attendance — has forced them to grapple with considering private loans, choosing shorter programs and rethinking how to pursue further studies after their master’s programs following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act going into effect July 1. While most current graduate students have been grandfathered into the program, which means the previous provisions of the plan still apply to them, students reported they are experiencing processing delays for
their federal loans as the University navigates new federal restrictions. OBBBA, which Trump signed into law on July 4, 2024, cut $307 billion in federal student aid when it went into effect on July 1 and capped graduate student lending at $20,500 in federal funding a year, with a $100,000 lifetime borrowing limit, or $50,000 a year with a $200,000 lifetime limit if they’re in a professional school like medical or law, according to the Federal Student Aid website. Erik Lopez, a first-year master’s student studying applied economics, said OBBBA’s changes to federal aid affected his plans for which programs he considered when applying for graduate school since he had to account for the new yearly and lifetime limits. Lopez said he chose to enroll in GW’s applied economics program in part since it’s only three semesters long compared to other similar graduate programs, allowing him to borrow enough federal unsubsidized loans through his time in graduate school without exceeding the new lifetime limit. See OFFICIALS Page 5
The entrance to the Department of Education on C Street Southwest.
GW antisemitism complaint cited in APA accreditation battle
Students laud reinstated weekend dining hours following last year’s cuts MILES QUINI REPORTER
UMA SHANKAR REPORTER
Students said officials’ expansion of dining hours this academic year has provided them with more dining options and allowed for more flexible meal schedules, but they expressed lingering frustration at some halls’ limited hours. Officials announced over the summer that several on-campus dining locations would remain open longer on some nights and weekends this academic year following student feed-
back advocating for more flexible dining hours after officials closed District House and University Student Center vendors on the weekends last academic year. Over 20 students said they are grateful officials partially reversed the cuts to dining hours from last year, which they said caused them difficulty in finding dining options around their schedules, and the new extended hours allow for a variety of meal options on weekends and at night. Officials said in July that True Burger and Halal Shack, both located within Dis-
trict House, would remain open until 1 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and open on weekends from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. this fall. Both locations previously closed at 9 p.m. Officials also opened the Thurston dining hall two hours earlier on weekends, at 8 a.m., while the Buff and Brew cafe on the Mount Vernon Campus is now open at 7 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than it did during the 2025-26 academic year. All University Student Center dining locations, as well as Baba’s Pizza and D.C. Taco in District House, however, remain closed on the week-
LEXI CRITCHETT | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
ends this year. The reopening of True Burger and Halal Shack on weekends comes after officials did not offer weekend dining within all District House and USC vendors during the 2025-26 academic year. At the time, a University spokesperson attributed the closure to reduced foot traffic at those locations on weekends. Students last year said the reduction in hours left them with limited access to food options and forced them to spend more dining dollars on the weekends. See STUDENTS Page 5
AINSLEY SULLIVAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Students wait in line for The Halal Shack located in the District House basement.
ARUNMOY DAS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
SARAH GROSS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
A Department of Education committee recommended suspending the GW professional psychology program’s accreditor’s federal recognition, citing failure to identify antisemitism in its programs, including a 2023 complaint alleging antisemitic behavior by a professor at GW. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity — a federal committee that provides recommendations to the Education Department regarding accreditation agencies who monitor the quality of college academic programs — voted 7-4 to recommend suspending the American Psychological Association’s accreditation arm’s federal recognition for a year after it failed to detect alleged antisemitic behavior in its programs. The committee staff’s report prepared before the meeting cited the APA’s accreditation committee’s lack of knowledge of complaints of discriminatory behavior against Israeli and Jewish students at GW’s professional psychology program during a required course on diversity in 2022 that resulted in an Office for Civil Rights settlement. “The APA-CoA has not demonstrated that it has and effectively applies its monitoring and evaluation approaches to identify problems with an accredited program’s continued compliance with the agency’s standards based on the APACoA’s performance throughout the current recognition period,” a staff report from the committee reads. The committee’s staff originally, in a report compiled by the NACIQI staff prior to their hearing, recommended keeping the APA’s Commission on Accreditation — which accredits the University’s professional psychology program — federal recognition, but the committee eventually voted to recommend its recognition be stripped, which Insider Higher Ed reported came after Jewish advocates
pointed to the 2022 incident during the meeting. The report references a 2023 complaint made to OCR by StandWithUs, a Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy organization, which alleged Lara Sheehi, a then-assistant professor of clinical psychology, was antisemitic toward Jewish and Israeli students. The complaint alleges Sheehi created a “hostile environment” for Jewish and Israeli students in her Diversity Sequence I course — a non-credit course the University requires all doctoral students in APA-accredited programs to take — for GW’s professional psychology program and alleges faculty and administrators initiated “disciplinary proceedings” against students who raised concerns about hostile contact from Sheehi. The OCR launched an investigation into the complaint in April 2023 before GW reached a resolution agreement with the office in January 2025 to resolve the antisemitism complaint and a separate complaint of anti-Palestinian discrimination. The NACIQI staff’s report states the APA’s Commission on Accreditation conducted a site visit to GW in November 2024 and its periodic review in April 2025. The report claims that, by the time of the 2025 periodic review, the APA said it was unaware of the OCR investigation or settlement, despite it occurring months earlier. The report states that the APA was not absolved of its responsibility for identifying problems within GW’s program and ensuring compliance with its standards just because a complaint about Sheehi was not filed with the APA. University spokesperson Julia Garbitt said the APA’s Commission on Accreditation requested information regarding the University’s professional psychology program on Sept. 21, and the University is currently “preparing” the requested information and will cooperate “as appropriate.” Garbitt declined to comment on which officials, faculty and staff are working on preparing the special report.
Blank Street Coffee opens location on Pennsylvania Avenue ISAAC HARTE
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
Blank Street Coffee, the chain known for serving espresso and matcha-flavored drinks, opened a location on the northern edge of GW’s campus Saturday. The new Blank Street location sits at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. — where a sign has read the cafe was “coming soon” since December — near Washington Circle, becoming the company’s third active D.C. location and its first in Foggy Bottom. Blank Street WHAT’S
INSIDE
opened its first location in Brooklyn, New York in August 2020 and has rapidly expanded to over 100 locations in the U.S. and the UK. The Foggy Bottom location will be open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., according to the store’s website. Blank Street did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the new location would accept GW dining dollars. In 2022, Blank Street said they planned to open 10 D.C. locations within a
NEWS The Student Government Association looks to reaffirm long-term goals amid high yearly membership turnover and low incumbency. Page 2
year, but those plans never materialized. Several of the D.C. locations the company opened have also closed, including one on 14th Street NW, which opened in early 2022 and closed in January 2025. Blank Street offers matcha-flavored espressos, tea and coffee options with seasonal options like the “cinnamon bun” and the “harvest chai.” Since opening its first store, the company has expanded rapidly with venture capital backing, reaching a $500 million valuation last year.
MATHYLDA DULIAN | SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR The newly opened Blank Street Coffee shop stands at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave.
OPINIONS The Editorial Board urges GW to reform its academics and enrollment goals to remain competitive in higher education. Page 6
CULTURE Local historians lead attendees on an annual historic neighborhood tour through the streets of Foggy Bottom. Page 7
SPORTS Meet Matt Watts, the new head coach for men’s soccer, pulling the program out of its offensive slump. Page 8
NEWS
September 28, 2026 • Page 2
NEWS
THIS WEEK’S
EVENTS
THE GW HATCHET
LAWMAKERS IN HEALTH: SENATOR BILL CASSIDY Wednesday, Sept. 30 | 6 p.m. | GW Law Attend a talk with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy for a discussion of health and the law.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY Sept. 30, 1985
CHINA WATCHES BACK Friday, Oct. 2 | Noon | Elliott School of International Affairs Join three experts for a talk about Chinese public opinion toward the United States.
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson delivers a speech at Lisner Auditorium and sits down for an interview with The Hatchet.
SGA works to achieve long-term goals amid high yearly turnover BRIANNA NUZZO REPORTER
With high levels of turnover year to year in the Student Government Association and a shortage of incumbent senators, this year’s members hope to establish frameworks to ensure continuity in the body’s long-term goals and previously launched initiatives. Members of the SGA’s legislative branch said while they felt the body as a whole was able to carry over advocacy goals from the previous term, individual committees that have faced a lack of communication from previous leadership and dealt with yearly membership turnover have had difficulty retaining long-term objectives. This year, they said they plan to track committee and assembly progress throughout the term in an effort to more seamlessly transition future chairs into their new roles and pass down unfinished advocacy ambitions
to the next set of SGA leaders. Sen. Jivan Ramesh (LAW-G), chair of the Mental Health Assembly, said he spoke with the assembly’s former chair upon assuming the role in May to discuss continuing events and initiatives from previous years, like a mental health fair, distribution of health pamphlets and the “Resource Revolutionaries” program, but still felt there was a lack of carryover in specific advocacy aims due to the assembly’s unfixed membership. He said a constantly changing membership year to year can lead to increased perspectives for change but also said he suspects many ideas are inadvertently lost due to the assembly’s rotating body. SGA assemblies are composed of co-chairs from the legislative and executive branches and the general student body, none of whom are obligated to return to meetings, according to SGA bylaws. Committees, unlike assem-
SNAPSHOT
blies, are composed of senators who remain on the committees for the duration of the term. The SGA’s mental health and dining assemblies failed to adhere to their semimonthly meeting requirements last fall, which chairs attributed to difficulty transitioning into their new positions along with struggles coordinating schedules among members. Ramesh said this year he hopes to keep a summary document of plans he has for the assembly and provide it to next year’s leaders, something he said did he did not receive last year when he assumed the role. He said while he spoke with his previous chair, he still felt the overall lack of transition documents would have left him feeling unprepared if he had not already served as an SGA senator the previous year. The SGA Senate is composed of seven standing committees, two assemblies and two caucuses,
LOGAN ROTUNNO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
People walk past the flood walls at Washington Harbour in Georgetown as the District weathers a nor’easter.
CRIME LOG LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION
Potomac House 9/19/2026 – 1:07 a.m. Closed Case GW Police Department officers and the GW Emergency Medical Response Group responded to a report of an intoxicated female GW student. Upon arrival, EMeRG evaluated the student and transported them to the GW Hospital for further medical treatment..
Case closed. Referred to Conflict Education & Student Accountability
LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION
South Hall 9/19/2026 – 9:39 p.m. Closed Case GWPD officers and EMeRG responded to a report of an intoxicated female GW student. Upon arrival, EMeRG conducted a medical evaluation of the student and transported them to GW Hospital for further medical treatment.
Case closed. Referred to CESA.
THEFT II/FROM BUILDING
Mitchell Hall 9/22/2026 – Unknown Closed Case A female GW student reported currency was stolen from her purse.
Case closed. Subject barred.
THEFT II/FROM BUILDING
Strong Hall Unknown – Unknown Closed Case GWPD officers responded to a report of vandalism. Upon arrival, officers made contact with a female student who reported vandalism inside the building.
Case closed. No further action.
THEFT I/FROM BUILDING
South Hall Unknown – Unknown Open Case A male GW contractor working on solar panels reported a theft of equipment from the building.
Case open.
—Compiled by Isaac Harte
LOGAN ROTUNNO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Student Government Association senators hold up their placards at the first SGA meeting of the academic year.
which each focus on specialized advocacy efforts like University educational policy and students’ mental health. The groups formulate legislation within their bodies before introducing it to the Senate, according to SGA bylaws. The Senate saw its lowest incumbent return rate in three years during April’s annual elections, with only four of the Senate’s 21 current senators having served on the body last year. Senate elections have historically seen low candidate numbers, leaving the body to fill its vacancies throughout the term— ranging from 10 to over 20 open spots at the start of a given term — with students from outside the SGA. Katy Corcoran, legislative chief of staff, said she is requiring senators this year to complete “goal sheets” — forms for senators to list their advocacy aims for the year at the beginning of the term and compare their progress throughout the year. She said she hopes having senators identify their focuses early on will make them more productive in accomplishing goals and allow senators who have established similar goals to collaborate on initiatives. “For us, setting down and narrowing goals is a way for us to all get on the same page to ensure that they can succeed in this new environment,” Corcoran said. Corcoran said having longterm “sustainable” goals matters when the issues students care about “the most” require multiple years of advocacy. She said the
SGA’s dining-related advocacy, such as pushing administrators to expand dining hours throughout past years, is one example of an effort which could not be completed in a single term. Sen. Cole Bowie (CCAS-U), chair of the Physical Facilities and Urban Affairs Committee, said he did not receive transition documents from the previous chairs, but because he served as executive deputy director of facilities the year before, he was familiar with long-term SGA facilities goals, like completing an accessibility report. He said he attributes efficient advocacy progress to the fact that he was already familiar with the committee and the inter-branch “communications issues” which senators said slowed progress and lowered productivity last year, making up for the lack of carry-over he inherited from the previous chair. He said he has already drafted legislation, which he will introduce at the Senate’s next body meeting, mandating PFUA conduct an annual accessibility report on top of its mandated facilities reports. Bowie said because he knows the previous committee’s obstacles, he can make changes, like increasing communication with the SGA’s executive facilities office, to ensure the committee can be productive this year. He said he also plans to pass down reports of the committee’s progress this year to his successor so they can continue to learn from past errors.
CCAS receives $16 million anonymous gift honoring late English professor PARIS ALBRECHT
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
The Columbian College of Arts & Sciences received a $16 million donation from an anonymous donor dedicated to advancing the arts and humanities. Officials said in a University release Wednesday the gift — one of the largest commitments by a single donor in CCAS history — was made in memory of the late English professor Astere Claeyssens and establishes three endowments, allocating $10 million for need and meritbased scholarships for arts and humanities students, $4 million for a professorship and $2 million for a student scholar cohort. Officials said in the release the University is “matching” the donor’s funds by contributing an additional $10 million to the need and merit-based scholarships endowed by the donation, creating a $20 million fund that officials say will advance GW’s priorities of improving affordability, strengthening student outcomes and increasing graduation rates by providing scholarships and learning opportunities for students. Officials in the release said the University’s decision to match the $10 million endowed scholarship for need and merit-based aid is an early philanthropic “endorsement” of GW’s strategic framework, which contains a goal of supporting the University’s financial sustainability and generating new revenue partially through philanthropic efforts. The framework also outlines a goal of meeting the full demonstrated need of GW’s residential undergraduate
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences medals.
students. The Claeyssens Professorship Endowment — $4 million of funding that endows a “critical” faculty position — will fund a dedicated faculty member to guide curriculum and develop academic programming, according to the release. The Claeyssens Cohort Endowment, which received $2 million in funding and establishes a student cohort, will expand hands-on workshops, field opportunities and experiential learning for students. The gift comes as officials have been working to identify new sources of revenue as a part of the University’s strategic framework by increasing philanthropic efforts — including an annual Giving Day launched in 2021 and a rebrand of the University’s alumni office in March 2025 that officials said would increase donations
NICHOLAS WARE | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
to fund strategic framework initiatives. CCAS this year received over $130,000 during the University’s annual Giving Day, and in 2023 received a $1 million gift from actress and GW alum Kerry Washington, creating a need-based scholarship for undergraduate students in CCAS pursuing liberal arts degrees. CCAS in 2017 raised more than $185 million in a University-wide giving campaign, with $86.6 million of CCAS’ funds raised used for professorships and faculty research. The campaign, which garnered nearly 67,000 donors, established multiple scholarship funds worth millions of dollars and institutes across GW like the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute — a scholarship program program that provides financial, academic and development opportunities for Hispanic and Latinx students — and The
Wilbur V. Harlan Scholarship Trust which provides scholarships and summer stipends for undergraduate and graduate students to pursue their research interests. Officials in the release said the endowments will also fund learning outside the classroom through GW’s proximity to Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Claeyssens — an Emmy award-winning producer, director, writer and public television host who taught at GW for 25 years before his death at 66 years old in 1990 — was known for his attentiveness and “boundless” generosity towards students, according to the release. Officials said in the release he “never” turned a student away and often added class sections instead of capping enrollment.
THE GW HATCHET
NEWS
September 28, 2026 • Page 3
Students expand program connecting GW, exchange students to ease transition DIYA JHAWAR
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
SYDNEY HERSKOWITZ REPORTER
After students launched a program last academic year to connect exchange students with current GW students to ease the transition to studying abroad, the group’s leaders spun it off into a standalone student organization this fall that fosters friendships and crosscultural learning. After operating as a branch of the International Students’ Association last year, Global Buddy obtained student organization status ahead of the fall 2026 semester to become independent and expand its program pairing exchange students with GW students to ease their transition to the country during their semester abroad. Members of the organization’s executive board said exchange students can struggle to adjust to a new country, and the program aims to give students a built-in connection as they join the GW community while giving GW students opportunities to form friendships with people from different countries and preview their own study abroad experiences. Organization leaders said the group’s executive board matches GW students with exchange students based on information from their applications, including shared interests, language preferences and future study abroad plans, to create pairings between students with similar interests and experiences. They said buddies are expected to meet at least once a month and spend time together exploring D.C., attending campus events or participating in Global Buddy activities like dinners, movie nights and group outings. Andrew Han, a 2026 GW alum and founder of Global Buddy in fall 2025, when it operated as a branch of the ISA, said the idea came from his experience studying abroad at Seoul National University in South Korea in fall 2024, which had a similar program to Global Buddy. “I thought it was the best part of my abroad experience,” Han said. Han said he began developing Global Buddy in spring 2025 after
ERIKA LOPEZ-CEPERO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Global Buddy Marketing Chair Zain Masood, President Kely Agkortza and Vice President Mahdi Ataie pose for a portrait in Kogan Plaza.
returning to GW because he wanted students on campus to have access to the same kind of community he experienced in Seoul. After GW deferred the organization’s application to become formally recognized on campus due to worries about the organization’s “sustainability” and later paused approvals for new student organizations for 10 months, Han said the International Services Office connected Global Buddy with ISA, allowing the program to operate as an ISA branch while it continued pursuing independent status. “It was very frustrating at that time, but I didn’t want to take no for an answer,” Han said. Han said the ISO also served as an intermediary between Global Buddy and incoming exchange students, with Global Buddy drafting emails about the program for the ISO to send to exchange students, who could then voluntarily sign up. Han said the office preferred Global Buddy to become an independent student organization because it was more comfortable
sharing exchange student information with an officially recognized organization with its own structure and compliance requirements. “I really wanted us to have a bigger presence on campus and for us to be at an org fair,” Han said. “I just thought we fit right in with the other orgs.” Kely Agkortza, the current president of GW Global Buddy, said her stressful experience adjusting to a new country after moving to the U.S. from Greece at age 16 and her previous work as a peer counselor for international students at her boarding school motivated her to join the organization after learning about it last year when it was still under the ISA. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s actually the perfect opportunity for me to keep doing what I was doing all these years, and to basically show people that it’s not as scary as you think,’” Agkortza said. Since assuming the presidential role, Agkortza said she has focused on raising awareness of Global Buddy among GW students, as more exchange students are cur-
rently participating in the program than GW students because of positive feedback from outgoing exchange students, which requires some GW students to partner with two exchange students. She said the executive board tries to pair GW students with exchange students from countries where they hope to study abroad, so they can learn more about the culture they hope to immerse themselves in before going abroad themselves. “They get immersed in a different culture,” Agkortza said. “They immediately have the built-in best friend, and they get to experience D.C. further.” Agkortza said Global Buddy hosts organization-wide activities where buddies can meet other participants, rather than leaving pairs to interact just one-on-one. She said executive board members coordinated food, games and supplies for a picnic near the monuments last semester to foster student relationships. “We’re trying to do more activities and events that involve
collaboration, so that not only the exchange students feel more welcome in this country, but also we all get to, you know, experience other cultures and grow from that,” Agkortza said. Agkortza said she still keeps in touch with the two exchange students who were her buddies last semester, and many participants still communicate with their buddies after returning to their home countries, with some potentially visiting one another, traveling or studying abroad in their buddies’ countries. Lycci Pan, a sophomore and the secretary of internal affairs for Global Buddy, said she was paired with four exchange students from France, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Japan during the two semesters she participated in the program last year. She said she spent time with her buddies through organization-hosted activities, like a campfire with s’mores, and individually planned outings like trips to Capitol Hill. “It was such a fun way to get to talk to people that were in different countries and just get to bond with them, but also do fun activities as well,” Pan said. “I’ve never toured the Capitol before, but doing it with my buddy, I got to learn so much too.” Zain Masood, a sophomore majoring in international affairs and the marketing chair for Global Buddy, said GW already has a diverse student body and strong spaces for students from different backgrounds to find community. He said Global Buddy can build on that environment by giving students an immediate connection to someone who can help them navigate campus life and explore that community. Masood said he hopes Global Buddy can expand its reach by collaborating with other cultural student organizations across campus to help students build cross-cultural connections beyond their individual buddy pairings and engage with a wider range of cultures and backgrounds. “We’re going to collaborate with a lot of cultural student orgs from all different backgrounds. I’m really looking forward to it,” Masood said.
Professor finds malaria prevention requires targeted, not universal solutions EMILY ZOLJARGAL REPORTER
LAKSHMI DEV
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
A GW professor argues there is no single universal solution to stop the global spread of malaria but instead effective elimination strategies require a combination of context and region specific approaches, in a paper published this month. Nirbhay Kumar, a professor in the Department of Global Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, published the paper on Sept. 17 in the journal Trends in Parasitology, arguing that the complexity of malaria transmission and growing resistance to existing tools make a onesize-fits-all approach to prevention impractical. The paper calls on countries to use combinations of existing and newer tools, including next-generation insecticides, antimalarial drugs and mRNA-based vaccines, to cater efforts to local conditions rather than relying on a single intervention in order to shape future malaria prevention efforts. “To eradicate malaria is a long shot, and we can at least hope for controlling malaria to a point where we can reach a point of elimination,” Kumar said. Malaria, a life-threatening disease spread to humans by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes carrying different varieties of the Plasmodium parasites, continues to affect people across the world, with an estimated 282 million cases in 2024 across the globe — an increase of nearly 9 million cases from 2023 — and approximately 610,000 deaths in 2024 from the 80 countries where the disease remains endemic, according to the paper. The World Health Organization African Region had the highest concentration of global malaria cases and deaths that year, with Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda accounting for nearly 50 percent of malaria cases in the globally, per the paper. Kumar said in his re-
view searching for universal solutions is impractical due to the unique barriers present in each country and that context-specific combinations of tactics tailored to local needs offer the best chance against malaria. “Some countries may not need vaccines,” Kumar said. “Some countries may need different kinds of treatment, for example, so context-dependent combinations will be the way to sort of holistic approach to control malaria to reach a point of elimination.” The paper reviews research and developments in malaria control over the past six decades of malariacontrol efforts and examines the effectiveness of emerging tools including nextgeneration insecticides, new classes of antimalarial drugs and mRNA-based vaccines, alongside existing methods like insecticide-treated bed nets and antimalarial drugs. Kumar then considered how the different tools could work together to address the biological and logistical problems that have slowed malaria elimination in certain countries, including drug and insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, differences in malaria transmission between regions and the different stages of the parasite’s life cycle. Kumar said current malaria-targeted vaccines — including the two licensed by the WHO — face logistical issues because they require four to five doses, which adds barriers to inoculating vulnerable populations due to widespread vaccine hesitancy and lack of compliance and only have around 30 to 50 percent efficacy. He said newer approaches like a combination of mRNA vaccines that target both infection and transmission could allow researchers to develop vaccines that target multiple stages of the malaria parasite’s life cycle, potentially providing broader protection and helping address some of the limitations of current vaccines. “People need to be educated, and there has to be better communication at the level of different agencies responsible for different aspects in any different
country, and it has to be sort of felt within their own societies rather than imposed by outside people that ‘we are giving you money and you do this.’” Kumar said. The paper examines newer tools that could be added to existing malaria programs, including nextgeneration insecticides to control mosquito populations and prevent the spread of malaria, newer antimalarial drugs and mRNAbased vaccines with higher efficacy and fewer doses to encourage vaccination and eradicate cases of malaria. Kumar argues in the paper that these tools should be combined with existing methods such as insecticide-treated bed nets and preventive drugs. Kumar said the countries where malaria is prevalent would need to make both political and financial commitments to addressing the disease, while still relying on financial assistance from developed countries, international agencies and foundations. He added that funding should also come with transparency and oversight from the countries’ governments to ensure the money is used appropriately. “But I think a program can only be successful if there is a national commitment at the level of the countries where these problems exist,” Kumar said. “The countries cannot just rely on support from Western countries, and that has been the problem so far.” Yu-Min Chuang, senior research scientist of infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, said some promising ways in which researchers could accelerate vaccine innovation are using natural environments to create a stable room temperature environments for vaccine storage, delivering vaccines into the body through intramuscular injection — an injection deep into select muscles — devising alternative delivery methods like skin patches as a preceding phase and targeting mosquitoes through their proteins, as opposed to purely focusing on vaccinating people. “I would say we definite-
Professor Nirbhay Kumar poses for a portrait in his office.
Professor Nirbhay Kumar holds a mosquito enclosure in his lab.
ly need more, but the other thing, when you have a new drug or new disease, it definitely will compete the other side of us,” Chuang said. “So instead of natural selection. So it’s not completely solve the issue, we just kind of hope.” Chuang said existing drugs and mosquito-control methods used against plasmodium falciparum — one of the most common parasites carried by mosquitoes — can also help control plasmodium vivax — the second most common type
JOSH STEINBERG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
JOSH STEINBERG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
of malaria — in areas where the two parasites overlap, but researchers still need to develop tools that specifically target plasmodium vivax, including its ability to remain dormant in the liver, which makes it harder to eliminate. “We do need something that can make this happen, and in the past we hope either WHO or something can lead these kinds of things,” Chuang said. “But in the current situation, I’m not fully sure.” Brandon Wilder, assis-
tant professor at Oregon Health and Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, said malaria is often neglected as a research topic and current vaccine barriers include actually garnering enough focus on malaria itself as opposed to vaccine research on other topics. “Getting people to focus and work on something that’s neglected is hard,” Wilder said. “Getting them to focus on something that’s even more neglected is even harder.”
NEWS
September 28, 2026 • Page 4
THE GW HATCHET
SGA seeks to reform ethics committee, pushes efforts to expand judicial branch AMELIA NELSON
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Student Government Association’s highest ranked senators are drafting updated bylaws for the judicial branch and ethics committee in an effort to increase the body’s casework and student’s access to the court. The SGA’s Senate Pro Tempore Mathew Reis and Deputy Pro Tempore Jivan Ramesh said they are preparing to introduce legislation for the senate to vote on next month which would assign the Committee on Ethics the responsibility of updating judicial branch bylaws to create a “functioning” Student Court with clear sentencing guidelines and judicial procedures. Beyond amending the branch’s governing documents, Reis and Ramesh said they plan to increase students’ access to the court by instating office hour requirements for justices and the newly created position of public attorneys. Student Court justices said last month that previous senators’ plans over the past two academic years to increase the court’s activity were unsuccessful due to structural issues within the bylaws and a lack of student awareness about the court’s existence. Their comments about judicial expansion came after senators revived the Student Court last fall by filling five out of seven vacant seats, though the court did not hear any cases. Senators said last month they hoped to continue past senates’ goal of expanding the jurisdiction of the judicial branch, but did not have bylaws drafted and had not announced plans to incorporate the ethics committee into efforts or create a new public attorney position in the SGA. Ramesh, who also serves as the chair of the ethics committee, said he wants to simultaneously reform both the Student Court and ethics committee, which senators established in April 2025 to investigate complaints related to the ethical and professional conduct of SGA officials. “There’s a lack of defined procedures in terms of processes,” Ramesh said. “There’s a lack of definition in terms of sentencing. We need something clear. We need something effective. We need something active.” Ramesh said his legislation will propose the ethics committee gain the ability to initiate its own ethics investigations, revising the current system where a student must submit a formal complaint for the committee to meet. SGA bylaws define reasons for ethical investigations as allegations of “severe” or “persistent” misconduct such as harassment, abuse of power, neglect of duties and misrepresentation of information. The ethics committee, according to current bylaws, includes five
Student Government Association Ethics Committee Chair Jivan Ramesh poses for a portrait.
public members who are not former or current officials in the SGA. Ramesh said he plans to change the committee’s composition to be made up of half SGA senators and half non-SGA members — although he said he has not finalized the total proposed number of members — so the committee can submit legislation and retain an “outside view.” He said he also plans for the ethics committee to become responsible for judicial oversight, which would include clearly writing judicial procedures — specifying standards like the rights of all courtroom participants and minimum and maximum consequences — to help students perceive the court as a legitimate and “fair” system. Students approved a referendum in April 2025 authorizing the legislative branch to amend judicial bylaws. The SGA Senate’s Committee on Governance and Nominations used this power last October to pass the Judicial Branch Bylaws Establishment Act, which recreated the branch’s bylaws after existing bylaws were lost when the former justices who managed them graduated and the content of their GW Google Drive accounts was deleted. Ramesh said, as the SGA currently stands, there is no committee
specifically tasked with monitoring the judicial branch or carrying out senators’ goal of making the Student Court “active,” inspiring his planned reforms to the ethics committee to assume the responsibility. He said the branch and committee exist to monitor the SGA’s performance and effectively react to issues students bring up, but said due to a lack of bylaws requiring them to meet, they cannot carry out their duties. “In the case of the courts, I don’t think anyone’s being actively unethical, but in the sense of the court not being in for two months, I think the court itself is being unethical,” Ramesh said. Reis, who has been working with Ramesh on the proposed restructuring since elected committee chair this summer, said he wants to see the ethics committee and judicial branch serve as “safeguards” to prevent issues from arising. He said he did not think there were issues with ethical or constitutional violations in past years, but pointed to the bodies’ lack of casework and court which sat vacant last fall. “We don’t believe that there are questions of ethics being raised right now, but there’s a veil of uncertainty, just because, right now, it’s no one’s specific job to be look-
COOPER TYKSINSKI | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ing for those concerns,” Reis said. Reis said he wants to make the court more accessible to students through amending bylaws to mandate the judicial branch to hold office hours — a current requirement for the SGA president, vice president and senators, according to SGA bylaws. He said he also wants to create a public attorney office for students to ask questions about bylaws and who could represent them in Student Court. “Having dedicated roles does two things: it makes it a lot easier for people to litigate the SGA, and it also allows students who are interested in the judicial aspect of the law to practice it,” Reis said. SGA Student Court Chief Justice Oliver Bates, who said last month he wanted to increase the judicial branch’s accessibility to students, said he had not received any communication from Reis or Ramesh about their proposed legislation. He said he thought the judicial branch and ethics committee could collaborate on ideas, like providing platforms for students to ask justices questions about bylaws and court processes, but wanted to prevent potentially “duplicative” efforts from both branches by communicating before implementing any policies.
Bates said he gained access to the judicial bylaws — which senators replaced last fall when they thought the document was deleted — in March after logging into a student court email account, meaning there are now two different sets of judicial bylaws. He said he thought the ethics committee could work with justices to condense the original bylaws, which are currently over 100 pages long, but did not think the committee necessarily needed to write new procedures as the bylaws already contain forms and templates students seeking to file lawsuits could use. Avery Boyd, a junior studying political science and international affairs and last term’s ethics committee chair, said he supported senators’ proposal to allow the committee to initiate its own ethics monitoring because he felt the body’s current structure of relying on others to find ethics violations made it difficult for him to accurately gauge student concerns last year. Boyd said he would like to see this year’s senators restructure the ethics committee into a body SGA senators and general body members can turn to when they have issues with other members or concerns about internal operations of the SGA.
Pre-professional fraternities report rising interest amid competitive job market ADELAIDE PETRAS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Pre-professional fraternity leaders said student interest has grown over the last few years, a growth they attributed to an increasingly competitive national job market. Members of preprofessional fraternities across a range of industries said they’ve noticed rising interest in rushing, saying students, especially first-years, are seeking help finding internships amid competitive graduate school admissions and a lagging job market — as employers predict 2026 will be one of the worst job markets for college graduates in five years. As preprofessional fraternities wrap up their fall recruitment processes, executive board members of GW’s pre-professional fraternities reported upticks in attendance at recruitment events and general interest in their organizations. Several of GW’s roughly 14 pre-professional fraternities — according to GW Rev Connect — which span the business, legal, health, engineering and anthropology fields, concluded their fall recruitment periods over the weekend and will be welcoming their new member classes in the coming weeks. Zenisha Arora, a senior and the president of Delta Phi Epsilon, a foreign service fraternity, said this semester was one of the fraternity’s largest recruitment semesters. 189 students attended open recruitment events, compared to 105 in fall 2024, according to data com-
piled by DPE Professional Development Chair Brock Dodds. Spring rush has historically garnered less attendance for DPE but has still seen an uptick in participation, with 136 students attending events in spring 2026, compared to 71 in spring 2025 and 74 in spring 2024, according to the data. Arora said rising uncertainty among students pursuing careers in international affairs — due to federal funding cuts to foreign aid that have led government agencies to slash jobs and internships — has led more students to join DPE in hopes the fraternity will help them secure an internship or job after graduating. She said DPE regularly hosts members-only “applyathons” where members sit together and apply for internships, and older members of DPE review younger members’ resumes, providing advice on how to improve them. Arora said DPE also connects its members with their alumni network across the private and public sectors — giving members a leg up as competition for jobs increases due to federal layoffs and artificial intelligence replaces entry-level positions — with alumni working at government agencies like the State Department and companies like Deloitte. She said an older member of DPE got her an interview at a consulting firm when she was a sophomore. “With increasing uncertainty in the job market, people are really looking for a community
so that it helps them find a job and a career,” Arora said. Arora said around 90 percent of the students who attended recruitment this fall were first-years, and the rest were sophomores, a breakdown she said is typical of fall rush. “Our biggest pull is from first-years,” Arora said. “We do recruitment every semester, but our fall recruitment is most successful, and this year has been most successful.” Abby Liang, a senior and the president of business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, said DSP’s popularity is growing because job recruiting in the business field has become increasingly competitive, and DSP supports members professionally by connecting them with alumni and teaching them how to behave in a workplace setting. She said a DSP alum who worked at CBRE Group, a real estate firm, helped her secure an internship there this past summer. “It makes sense that those that are driven in the business field are likely joining a business organization and then joining some pretty reputable firms,” Liang said. “I think it also just gives you a really early head start.” Sixty-four students applied to join DSP this fall, compared to 42 in fall 2025 and 35 in fall 2024 — an 83 percent increase in applications over the past two years — according to data Liang provided. Liang said 115 people attended this fall’s recruitment events, compared to 80 in fall 2025 and 60 in fall 2024. She
said while membership has grown slightly alongside expanded interest year to year, DSP tries to keep pledge class sizes fairly consistent year to year and typically accepts around 15 new members each semester. She said this year, she has seen a surplus of underclassmen rushing compared to previous years because job and internship recruiting are starting earlier, with first-years and sophomores feeling “pressure” to land internships early. “Even for finance consulting, it’s freshman or sophomore year now, so I think that’s been a general trend,” Liang said. Maria Steans, a sophomore and the vice president of recruitment for Kappa Alpha Pi, a pre-law and pre-government fraternity, said 200 students filled out an interest form for KAPi this fall, and 80 attended the group’s first rush event. She said this year’s attendance is a major uptick from the last two semesters, when pledge classes consisted of roughly 12 students — although the number of new members this semester is not yet available. Steans said this year’s first-year class is particularly “driven,” contributing to this fall’s increase in interest, which she said mostly came from firstyear students. “At GW there’s such a hustler culture, and I think that’s really seen throughout this newest freshman class,” Steans said. Caroline Strickland, a sophomore and returning member of KAPi who
joined her first semester at GW, said she attributed growing interest in the professional fraternity to increasingly competitive law school admissions because students want to join pre-professional fraternities to stand out from other applicants. “I think it’s mostly just law school admissions are getting more competitive,” Strickland said. “People are trying to plan ahead more.” Strickland said word of mouth has been more influential in this fall’s recruitment process than in the past, leading to more sophomores rushing after hearing about KAPi from friends who were already in the fraternity. She said KAPi has focused on advertising through social media, flyers and tabling since students established the chapter at GW in 2023. “I think that when you see a flyer, you’re less likely to join as opposed to when you’re speaking to someone and they’re saying, ‘I’m part of this organization, and I really enjoy it, and I’ve gotten this, this and this from it,’” Strickland said. Sanjana Maddipudi, a junior and the director of prospects for Delta Epsilon Mu, a pre-health fraternity, said students who attended recruitment events this semester typically attended five or six sessions, though they are only required to go to three of six, which she said signaled that students are passionate about finding a community of like-minded students on campus. Maddipudi said increased advertising and
word of mouth has led to rising interest in DEM and other pre-professional fraternities. She said DEM has ramped up its social media presence this semester by posting more graphics advertising rush and asked professors to send out emails promoting the fraternity ahead of recruitment. “I’ve even heard on tours when I’m walking past buildings, and the tour groups on the side, the tour guide will talk about professional fraternities and how they’re a big thing on campus to enhance your learning and giving you an academic environment that’s also social,” Maddipudi said. Sabrinna Ionescu, a senior and the president of Phi Alpha Delta, a pre-law fraternity, said the number of students who go through the recruitment process has been fairly stagnant since she joined PAD the first semester of her first year at GW. She said PAD has consistently posted graphics advertising recruitment events, and the professional events they host each semester — like LSAT preparation, networking and panels with law experts — support member retention. “I think the reason that it’s been the same is because I think we do curate a very positive experience for our members,” Ionescu said. “I think people find that they gain a lot from the professional resources that we provide, but then also the different social opportunities and philanthropy opportunities that we offer.”
NEWS
September 28, 2026 • Page 5
THE GW HATCHET
GW challenges DC’s property value assessment of campus building for third year ISAAC HARTE
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
Officials filed a petition earlier this month arguing D.C. overassessed the value of the University’s property at 600 19th St., marking the third year in a row GW has sought to lower the property’s assessed value. GW officials filed a petition in D.C. Superior Court on Sept. 18 challenging the assessed value of the property — which is leased to the federal government and houses the Washington Passport Agency — for Tax Year 2026, exactly one year after filing a nearly identical petition in 2025 arguing D.C. government officials overassessed the value of the property, which resulted in a settlement last month between D.C. and GW to reduce the Tax Year 2025 assessed value by over $18 million. Officials state in the petition that they believed the adjusted Tax Year 2026 evaluation of $180,150,000 — down $10 million from the original assessment after they filed an appeal with the D.C. Mayor’s office in March 2025 — was too high, arguing it is inconsistent with neighboring properties and exceeds the property’s true market value. Since acquiring the property, the University has repeatedly challenged D.C. assessments of its worth. In 2024, officials petitioned the valuation was too high and reached a settlement in principle with the District to reduce the building’s valuation from $231,624,160 to $218,200,000, a number the University would contest further the following year. The building across the street from the property — 1800 G St. NW — is worth $172,390,400 and has a square footage of 584,000, according to the Office of Tax and Revenue of D.C.’s 2026 estimate. 1625 I St. NW, another office space near 600 19th Street is worth $161,789,360 and has a square footage of 404,814 according to the OTR’s 2026 assessment. University spokesperson Shan-
The Washington Passport Agency building, which is owned by GW, at 600 19th. St.
non McClendon said GW and its external tax counsel regularly review assessments of GW’s real estate and said officials challenge real estate assessments when an assessment “warrants further review.” “Part of responsibly managing university assets is making sure GW’s properties are fairly and accurately assessed,” McClendon said in an email. “Because the District assesses properties annually, GW reviews those assessments each year and uses the established appeals process if an assessment warrants further review.” McClendon said the University is considering how 600 19th St. may “best support” GW’s needs, but said it has no specific plans for the property it can share. GW purchased the building from the World Bank Group in 2022 for $11.5 million, approximately 5
percent of its value at the time. Officials entered an agreement with the World Bank Group in 1980 that allowed it to acquire the property as long as it did so before 2022. GW does not pay property taxes on most of its real estate because the vast majority of its real estate is subject to an educational tax exemption. D.C. can collect property taxes on 600 19th St., along with the more than 20 other properties the University owns but does not use for educational purposes. Before officials filed the petition, the University’s Tax Year 2026 total property tax for the site was estimated at $3,404,835, based on the $180,150,000 assessment. GW paid $4,122,167 in property taxes on the building in Tax Year 2025— a number based on the $218,104,100 assessment, which D.C. and GW officials settled in princi-
Officials say Trump policy increased federal loan processing times From Page 1 The University launched a student loan task force in August 2025 to address the OBBA’s impact on graduate students and how they can navigate the private loan market while avoiding involvement with “predatory groups.” Private student loans have fewer protections and repayment options than federal student loans, with some lenders using mandatory arbitration clauses — an agreement within contracts that forces parties to manage disagreements through a private arbitrator, rather than public courts — to prevent borrowers from going to court over unfair lending practices. Vice President and Dean for Enrollment Management and Student Success Jay Goff told the Faculty Senate in December 2025 the OBBA’s slashing of the Grad PLUS program will require many graduate students to turn to private lenders for loans. Goff said in an email to The Hatchet that the task force, which is made up of financial aid leaders representing undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, has begun implementing its recommendations — like launching ELMSelect in April, a tool to help students and families compare private loans — after evaluating private loan options, emphasizing consumer protection, competitive loan programs and ser-
vice standards. Goff said the task force reviewed historical GW student borrowing patterns, consumer reviews and industry information when coming up with strategies for the task force. Some students said they are having to plan around paying off more debt in the future due to the high outof-pocket costs of their programs. Nationally, graduate students owed an average outstanding debt of $106,000 each in 2025, according to the Education Data Initiative. Jordyn Alderman, a second-year doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, said although the federal government grandfathered her into continued access to the Grad PLUS loan program, the financial aid office told her when she called that they have not yet received the funds from her loan, which could prevent her from registering for spring 2027 classes. Graduate students throughout the country are reporting delays to their Grad PLUS loans, which experts attribute to OBBBA not providing the Department of Education sufficient time to provide adequate guidance to universities about the updated regulations, according to The Hechinger Report. Goff said the University could not finish processing and verifying graduate student loans on the same schedule used in previous years since new regulations
under the OBBBA took effect on July 1. He said by the end of August, the Office of Student Financial Assistance processed new loan requests within approximately four to six business days. He said while loan processing times remain “somewhat elevated” due to typically high number of requests at the begin of the semester, they are not significantly different from processing times during the same period in previous years. The Office of Student Financial Assistance’s website states GW is facing delays in loan processing and disbursements due to changes in the OBBBA, but students’ whose applications are delayed will not be unenrolled in classes or responsible for late fees. Goff said since the 202627 academic year is the first year under the new federal rules and borrowing limits, it is too early to determine if and how private borrowing or enrollment patterns have changed. He said while domestic pre-registration at GW is currently tracking within the University’s planning expectations, officials expect an additional decline in new international student enrollment this year — especially in some graduate programs — given student visa restrictions and broader restrictions to international travel. University President Ellen Granberg’s report to the Faculty Senate this month said GW’s enrollment dropped approximately 6.7 percent this fall.
MATHYLDA DULIAN | SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR Vice President and Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success Jay Goff speaks at a Faculty Senate meeting in February.
JOSH STEINBERG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ple on reducing to $200,000,000 last month — meaning GW will receive a refund of an undisclosed amount pending court approval of the settlement. GW paid an estimated $4,377,696 in property taxes on the building in Tax Year 2023 and Tax Year 2024. The federal government pays GW $23,823,414 annually in rent to use 600 19th St. and its 463,151 rentable square feet, according to federal lease inventory data released last month. While universities must pay property taxes on real estate they own unrelated to their educational mission, they are not required to pay federal income tax on rental income associated with leasing property because income associated with renting is exempt from Unrelated Business Income Tax, a part of the U.S. Internal Revenue
code which typically requires universities and other nonprofit organizations to pay tax on income that is not related to their stated mission. Scott Hodge, a tax and fiscal policy fellow at Arnold Ventures and president emeritus of the Tax Foundation, said the large presence of federal buildings in D.C. — which do not pay property taxes — combined with land owned by universities like GW, along with American University and Georgetown University, means that large swaths of land in the District do not produce revenue for the D.C. government. “The combination of those things can take a lot of the tax base away from the city, and that just puts greater burden on average citizens, both commercial property owners, but individual family homeowners, who have to pay higher tax to pay for the services that are used by these exempt organizations and that’s simply unfair,” Hodge said. Most recently, GW acquired 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2024 for $35 million — where it now houses various administrative units — and the University also purchased The Avenue Apartments, which is also home to Whole Foods Market, in an $140 million deal. Neither The Avenue or 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. is tax-exempt and D.C. collects property taxes on the properties, bringing in an estimated $3,189,487 annually between the two properties, according to D.C. OTR. Hodge said GW and other D.C. universities could engage in a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program, or PILOT program, in which the University would voluntarily pay D.C. to compensate the city for some or all of the revenue it loses due to the tax exemptions. Several U.S. universities have adopted PILOT programs, like Brown University, which voluntarily pays the city of Providence, Rhode Island, in lieu of lost property taxes. Currently, D.C. has only one active PILOT project, and it is on federal land in Southeast D.C.
Students say GW should further extend late-night dining hours From Page 1 A University spokesperson did not return to a request for comment. Junior Emma Johnson, an executive dining director in the Student Government Association’s Assembly on Dining, said she worked with officials to pilot Absurd Bird’s extended hours last year — officials in addition to closing the vendor on the weekends last fall added late-night hours to Absurd Bird, allowing it to remain open until 1 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays — to see if bringing late night hours to other dining locations like True Burger and Halal Shack would be feasible. She said advocating for increased hours at GW Dining locations was her main project last year. “The trial period was so so important for Absurd Bird,” Johnson said. “Because that went so successfully, we were able to transition that to District House and have that open on the weekend.” She said her biggest priority in advocating for these changes was conducting student outreach on the issue by sending out surveys and speaking with students on the street. She said since the hours extension, she has seen a positive response from students. “I have students come up to me and say they’re so happy that the hours have been expanded from their freshman years to now,” Johnson said. Students have advocated for expanded late-night and weekend dining hall hours since the introduction of the dining hall system in 2022, and students said closing District House and USC vendors on the weekends last year restricted their meal options. Restoring weekend hours at District House and increasing late-night food options were also key components of Student Government Association President MJ Childs’ campaign, who made a part of his successful SGA presidential run re-establishing student services officials cut down in the 2025-26 academic year. Johnson said she has heard feedback from students for additional potential changes to dining hours, including making breakfast longer for students with
morning classes, particularly regarding the “traditional” dining hall hours for Shenkman, Thurston and Pelham dining halls. Shenkman opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays, while Thurston and Pelham open at 7:30 a.m. during the week. On the weekend, Pelham and Shenkman open at 10 a.m., while Thurston opens at 8 a.m. She said she plans on speaking to dining officials and doing research into what other universities dining hall schedules look like to inform decisions about potential changes to GW’s dining schedules, particularly for the Mount Vernon Campus, where the only options are Pelham and Buff and Brew. “The Mount Vernon Campus is still a food desert,” Johnson said. “We want to make sure that all the good changes that have been made to Foggy Bottom translate over to the Mount Vernon Campus.” Lola Gantt, a sophomore studying public health, said she enjoys the weekend and late-night dining hours, particularly because she lived on the Vern, where there are limited dining options, for both her years at GW. She said it is nice to have options later at night that she didn’t have last year. Gantt said the Vern can feel like a “food desert” at times, causing frustration while living on the Vern. She said this year is a “great improvement” from last year due to the expanded hours. “Halal Shack and True Burger being open later has been the best because District, I feel like, is such a central location,” Gantt said. “It’s so easy for everybody to get here when they’re out later or have activities later in the evening.” Gantt said it is still a little more challenging to find adequate food options on the weekends because the all-you-can-eat dining halls, like Shenkman and Thurston halls, are still the only dining options open later at night that take meal swipes. She said she hopes to see more options centered on the Vern but is overall happy with the changes on the Foggy Bottom campus. “I would say it’s been a great improvement from last year,” Gantt said. Senior Angad Minocha said that, coming back from being
abroad, the dining experience is better than in previous semesters. He said the additional weekend options have been beneficial for him, even if it is limited hours, adding it is “really useful” to be able to get a meal and eat it somewhere else, or eat it later, which the dining halls don’t offer. “I think it’s nice to have a couple options open late night when you don’t have anywhere else to eat,” Minocha said. Graedy Williams, a sophomore studying international affairs, said he thinks one of the biggest improvements in dining this year is the early opening of Thurston dining hall, especially on the weekends. He said that because he is normally awake early, he likes not having to go out and buy food when he can use a meal swipe to eat breakfast. “Having something where I can spend a meal swipe in the morning is pretty nice,” Williams said. He said throughout the day, the timing of the dining halls taking their midday breaks, between 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., can be inconvenient, which is why he likes having District open. Williams said that while he understands why the dining halls can’t be open at all times, it can be difficult to get dinner there when he has evening classes. Williams said he hopes the University is able to accommodate students with evening classes better by offering later hours at more locations. He said in his case, when he has evening classes, it can be hard for him to make it to the dining halls on time, so he often has to rely on buying food from other places. He said the overall changes have made the dining system a lot better, especially on the weekends. However, he said he is still hopeful for more improvements in the future, like extending the hours to better provide for evening class students. “I’d say the improvements they’ve made so far still are fairly good, since it feels like, besides those two days when I have classes in the evening and then have club work, it does feel like I can get a meal easily for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Williams said.
THE GW HATCHET
OPINIONS
September 28, 2026 • Page 6
OPINIONS
WHAT THE UNIVERSITY WON’T TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK
What information officials are gathering to provide to the American Psychological Association about a 2023 antisemitism complaint. p.1
To weather the higher education storm, GW must rethink its priorities STAFF EDITORIAL Higher education is in crisis. With consistently declining birth rates leading to a looming demographic cliff that is sure to impact enrollment, Americans reporting record levels of distrust in higher education institutions and steeply rising tuition costs making many would-be enrollees decide a college education is just not worth it, universities around the country are going to have to reckon with massive changes to their operations. GW is already feeling the effects of this convergence of pressures, with GW’s enrollment declining nearly 7 percent this fall — its steepest decline since 2020 — and several schools announcing layoffs amid revenue shortfalls. In order to weather this storm, officials must ensure GW lives up to its reputation as a global innovator. Granberg has attempted to do so as she has outlined her overarching plan for GW’s future, but we feel that in order to remain competitive, GW must go beyond these long-term strategies and look for immediate reforms it can make to its academic and enrollment goals in order to attract students that are becoming increasingly reluctant to invest in higher education. This editorial board has repeatedly written about the impacts President Donald Trump has had on higher education: restrictions on visas and travel have significantly impacted international student enrollment, the elimination of the Grad PLUS loan program has made it less feasible for students to afford graduate education and drastic cuts to federal research funding have decreased revenues at leading research universities. Experts have long been sounding the alarm on the impending “demographic cliff”: birth rates in the United States have
CAROLINE MORRELLI | STAFF CARTOONIST
been declining steadily since 2007, with the number of high school graduates peaking in 2025 and expected to decline 13 percent by 2041. Beyond the demographic issues, the college-aged population that is left, fewer and fewer are making the decision to attend college right out of high school. The share of high school graduates immediately enrolling in universities has declined from 70 percent to 62 percent in the last decade. This stems from a growing mistrust in higher education. These largely mirror issues that students on GW’s campus have pointed out, as tuition is continuing to rise every year and over 50 stu-
dents last semester reporting that they are not getting their money’s worth out of their GW experience. Additionally, students have increasingly felt that GW is not preparing them for the workforce with students reporting insufficient career advising resources and others writing in The Hatchet that despite GW marketing its proximity to career opportunities in D.C., the school does not do enough to help students access these opportunities. To combat these struggles GW needs to rethink its academic offerings by conducting a review of its degree programs to ensure it is meeting the moment of what
In the Kennedy Center closure, DC risks losing a pillar of culture
E
arlier this month, the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees voted to immediately shut the center down for renovations following a judge’s ruling barring officials from reinstating President Donald Trump’s name on the building. Trump told reporters that the performing arts venue may be “ripped down” if his name is not imposed soon. To those living in the city, the president’s comments are deeply troubling as his recent “beautification efforts” have taken an axe to the historic landmarks of D.C.. From proposed ballrooms and arches to the drained Reflecting Pool, the administration has left a permanent stain on various parts of the city’s landscape. The GW community cannot be passive observers of Trump’s petty crusade on D.C. history, for we are bound by service to our local community and indebted to the vibrance of culture the Kennedy Center has provided. GW must join members of the District in keeping the spotlight on the Kennedy Center — in the news, in conversation and outside its walls — to prevent the cultural capital of the nation from being reduced to rubble.
Ethan Vargas Contributing Opinions Editor Although Trump is known for making exaggerated remarks, his attacks against the Kennedy Center must be taken seriously in light of the administra-
Hatchet
tion’s other botched renovations. The National Park Service has warned that the proposed D.C. “triumphal arch” will have adverse effects on the surrounding monuments like the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, which face one another as a symbol of reconciliation after the Civil War. Officials have also drained the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following failed efforts to repaint it ‘American Flag Blue,’ which ended in algae blooms covering the peeling gray liner. Perhaps most infamously, workers demolished the East Wing of the White House at Trump’s request to build a $400 million ballroom. This pattern of destruction shows just how far Trump is willing to go to in his grand vision for the nation’s capital, which is why the center remains under a realistic threat. The Kennedy Center has been around for over half a century, and while it remains closed, any future demolition has yet to commence and thereby remains avoidable, so it is imperative that we act now. The leveling of the Kennedy Center would be a profound loss for D.C. as the center serves myriad purposes — preserving history and proliferating the arts. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower first signed legislation authorizing the development of a national cultural center, he hoped it would organize the federal government’s best efforts to actively fund and promote the work of American artists. After the assassination of President John F. Ken-
nedy, the building took on a new meaning as a designated living memorial to the late president. Construction finished in 1971, and the Kennedy Center became iconic as the stage of choice for some of the city’s most acclaimed performers and musicians. A multitude of performers have canceled shows and ticket sales have plummeted because of Trump’s attacks. Until it is entirely toppled, however, the Kennedy Center can still resume its service to the arts and history. The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees — handpicked by the president — have failed to protect the building from Trump’s self-aggrandizement. Furthermore, Congressional leadership has also failed to assert its authority over federal property. It falls on us here at GW living and working in the District as the last line of defense against the destruction of the arts. This is the city many of us have fallen in love with for its rich opportunities, history and culture. Already, last week hundreds of supporters formed a human chain outside the Kennedy Center to protest Trump’s forced closure of the performing arts venue, protecting the memorial from any secret demolition from taking place in the cover of night. GW most certainly has a major role to play before the Kennedy Center becomes yet another victim of the president’s vanity. —Ethan Vargas, a sophomore majoring in political science, is the contributing opinions editor.
eic@gwhatchet.com news@gwhatchet.com opinions@gwhatchet.com photo@gwhatchet.com sports@gwhatchet.com culture@gwhatchet.com copy@gwhatchet.com multimedia@gwhatchet.com
Serving as opinions editor taught me tolerance. It’s easier than you think
I
have been the opinions editor for two years now, which means that more than most students at this University, I have been privy to a variety of different student perspectives, and I also have a lot of opinions of my own that I am eager to argue about. If you’re anything like me, I know it can be easy to immediately want to jump in and counter a classmates’ point that you may disagree with, raising your hand with a retort before the other student has even finished their thought. But we need to remember that GW is an academic institution, and it is part of our educational experience to listen to different perspectives — especially ones we disagree with. It can seem daunting at first and difficult to sit down and listen to an opinion you vehemently disagree with, but if the past few years in the opinions section have taught me anything, it is that there is real value in not only hearing out the other side, but being open to changing your own opinions on certain issues. Because after all, what is college for other than to challenge your worldviews and confront you with differing perspectives?
Andrea MendozaMelchor, Opinions Editor I am now in my third year as the opinions editor, and I can confidently say that it has been quite a ride. My tenure has coincided
with several periods of significant political tension on campus. And during these few years, that has included hearing opinions from across the political spectrum, either in our section meetings or through op-ed submissions. I soon realized that my position as editor simply meant that I had to listen to others and ensure their pieces were well-written and accurate. Once I understood how much of my job was listening to others, it became easier for me to open myself to perspectives I would have never even considered. It has forced me to understand why someone might hold a certain opinion and respect their thought process, even if I still don’t agree with it. My predecessor as opinions editor once said that the opinions section is meant to be a safe space where people should feel comfortable voicing their opinions without feeling immediately judged. And the same goes for the classroom — as a learning environment, our job is not just to learn the material from our textbooks but also from the students around us. I’ve had classmates in the past talk about how Trump’s policies on immigration are justified, and even necessary, because replacement theory — or the idea that immigration is happening in order to replace white people in the country — is a real concern in the United States. As a Hispanic student, I wasn’t very happy to listen to
my classmate’s very prodeportation rhetoric, but I did end up learning about what replacement theory was and why many people might support deportation so heavily because of it. Even though I did not agree with their opinion, I still listened to them and decided to research the topic more on my own time to try and understand their perspective, and from there I made my own judgments about the validity of their argument. And is that not the basis of education? The whole point of a university education is to become equipped with more knowledge — and if that knowledge allows me to better defend my opinions, then technically I did not lose anything. To be frank, I am still learning how to be a better listener every day in my classes and in the opinions section. The great thing about listening to others is that it is extremely lowstakes. Just because we do not interrupt them, it doesn’t mean that we immediately agree with them. So, yes, it’s hard. But healthy communication and dialogue are necessary between humans and when we start losing communication and losing interest in the attempt to understand each other, we lose empathy for each other — a crucial essence of our humanity. —Andrea MendozaMelchor, a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication and creative writing, is the opinions editor.
Jenna Lee, editor in chief
The GW
609 21st St. NW Washington, D.C. 20052 gwhatchet.com | @gwhatchet
will attract students in today’s climate. Balleisen said in his report to senators that it is “crucial” that GW updates its portfolio of degree programs. We believe that means investing in high-enrollment programs and making strategic cuts to programs with low demand. We understand it can be painful to cut programs, but in a time where institutions are already squeezed for cash, officials’ efforts should go toward enriching the program offerings most likely to attract students rather than pouring resources into departments hanging on by a thread. Obviously, these decisions will require sensitive and hard
conversations with faculty and staff, but GW’s focus should be on building up programs that meet labor market needs to ensure student trust that their investment in their education will pay off in the future. In that vein, GW must also prioritize ensuring students see a return on the significant investment they make by choosing to attend. The Revolutionary Promise, which makes the school free for students with families earning less than $100,000 a year, is a good start, but current students have reported feeling left behind as they experience cuts in student services and unexpected financial aid decisions. Northeastern University has a co-op program that helps place students in full-time jobs for a few months to get some work experience and according to their website, 58 percent of students get a job offer from their co-op employer and 97 percent of their graduates either find a job or enroll in a graduate program nine months after graduation. GW could adopt a similar program or require students to take an internship and help set them up with that internship. If GW wants to remain a competitive university and really leverage their location, then they should be innovative in how build up students’ resumes and gives them work experience. As Granberg said, these challenges will not go away anytime soon and for GW to survive this treacherous landscape, they will need to remember who these institutions are meant for: the students. Most students attending GW or thinking of attending the University are not looking for a university that can do a million different things but one that can help them attain a form of security or stability after they graduate.
Molly St. Clair, managing editor Tyler Iglesias, managing editor Mollie Weiner, managing director Sachini Adikari, community relations director Gianna Jakubowski, senior news editor Ryan Saenz, senior news editor Adelaide Petras, assistant news editor Amelia Nelson, assistant news editor Arunmoy Das, assistant news editor Lakshmi Dev, assistant news editor Sarah Gross, assistant news editor Shivu Sathe, assistant news editor Diya Jhawar, contributing news editor Isaac Harte, contributing news editor Paris Albrecht, contributing news editor Andrea Mendoza-Melchor, opinions editor* Ethan Vargas, contributing opinions editor* Milo Rosenzweig, sports editor Sophia Caputo, contributing sports editor*
Ryan Jainchill, basketball editor Diana Anos, culture editor Jessica Rowe, contributing culture editor Carly Cavanaugh, contributing culture editor Mathylda Dulian, senior photo editor Carsten Holst, assistant photo editor – news Kris Park, assistant photo editor – news Lexi Critchett, assistant photo editor – sports Nicholas Ware, assistant photo editor – culture Marcel Richardson Villenas, video editor Misha Cohen, video editor Ethan Tsai, copy chief* Juwon Kim, copy editor Marlene Orantes, copy editor* Raina Pawloski, copy editor Kya Hoffman, research assistant* Louisa Hannoucene, research assistant Ida Liben, podcast host – news
Maddie Flesch, podcast host – news Aadarshini Vijesh, podcast host – culture Arjun Srinivas, podcast host – culture Livi Tuber, design editor Daniela Garcia Perez, contributing design editor Sofia Ang, graphics editor Madeleine Phillips, social media director Andrew Rooney, contributing social media director Victoria Smajlaj, contributing social media director Alex Batzar, ad sales manager Annika Krause, web developer Ryan J. Karlin, donor relations manager Arushi Agarwal, financial manager * denotes member of editorial board
Submissions — Deadlines for submissions are Friday 5 p.m. for Monday issues. They must include the author’s name, title, year in school and phone number. The GW Hatchet does not guarantee publication and reserves the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar and clarity. Submit to opinions@gwhatchet.com Policy Statement — The GW Hatchet is produced by Hatchet Publications Inc., an independent, non-profit corporation. All comments should be addressed to the Board of Directors, which has sole authority for the content of this publication. Opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of The GW Hatchet. All content of The GW Hatchet is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written authorization from the editor in chief. Cost — Single copies free. Additional copies available for purchase upon request.
THE GW HATCHET
CULTURE
September 28, 2026 • Page 7
CULTURE
THE
SCENE
ALIVE IN MANY HANDS Tuesday, Sept. 29 | Library of Congress | Free
RELEASED
THIS WEEK:
PASSPORT TO PATRIOTISM Through Oct. 18 | Art Museum of the Americas | Free
NEW SONG: “PATIENT ZERO” BY TAYLOR SWIFT
Over 30 years later, GW alum brings punk, protest back to National Mall CARLY CAVANAUGH CULTURE COLUMNIST
With the Washington Monument towering ahead of her, class of 2023 alumni Caroline Liaupsin stood on the Sylvan Theater’s stage in front of a crowd of umbrella-grasping punks Saturday afternoon, holding a large transgender pride flag. “The fact that we’re all out here in this really dreary weather is because we love DIY punk music,” Liaupsin said “And this is also an event to celebrate what will be. This is not a beginning. This is not an end. It’s the call for us to rally together and make change in this city.” After the post-hardcore band Fugazi played a show on the same stage in 1995, protesting local budget cuts for Washingtonians, Saturday’s Ward One Mutual Aid Benefit Show marked a resurrection of punk music on the National Mall after three decades of dormancy. The lineup included Somebody’s Daughter, Posición Unida and headliner Glitterer. Organized by Liaupsin, host of the radio show DIYNot, and Eleanor Pampalone, the individual behind the Queer eventplanning operation Den of Thieves, promotional materials said the free show was an act of protest against D.C.’s current state of politics. Concertgoers were encouraged to donate to DC Ward One Mutual Aid, a grassroots organization heading community initiatives and providing resources, like food and emergency cash, to locals in
need. Starting with a smaller crowd that filled the area directly in front of the outdoor stage neighboring the Washington Monument, more attendees arrived as the show progressed throughout the afternoon. To kick off the concert, Liaupsin thanked groups like D.C.’s trans community and the DC Music Journalists Alliance, who she said brought the concept for the show to fruition, and spoke about how D.C. is a city for punks and everyday individuals — not just policymakers and elites. Liaupsin told The Hatchet the “genesis” for the show came from an interview with Ned Russin of Glitterer in January on DIYNot, hosted on the community station Takoma Radio WOWDLP. She said the show is a continuation of one she started during her junior year at GW through WRGW. Liaupsin said when she came to GW from Tucson, Arizona in 2018, she started integrating herself with D.C.’s local music scene. One of the first shows she attended in the city was a “food not bombs” fundraiser show, she noted, where she met some of her current-day friends. At GW, she said she had taken a class about the history of punk and hardcore in D.C., and on her WRGW show, spoke about the history of punk and emo in the District. Liaupsin said Fugazi was dedicated to accessibility, documentation and playing shows for a cause, further refining D.C. punk’s political nature in the 1990s. She said while the city’s currentday scene may not garner
as much recognition as it did in the past, many punk organizations and artists are still active. She said she hopes the concert helps demonstrate the scene’s ongoing pertinence and ability to drive D.C.’s cultural and political landscape. When selecting the show’s lineup, Liaupsin said she and Pampalone wanted to ensure trans woman visibility, selecting Somebody’s Daughter, a group made up of three trans women, as one of the featured bands. The show was organized by two trans women, Liaupsin said, and D.C. is one of the most trans cities per capita in the country, “situated directly next to a place that has some of the most virulently antitrans rhetoric coming out of it.” Lydia Homovich, drummer for Somebody’s Daughter, said Liaupsin interviewed and wrote an article about them earlier this summer, and they have been collaborating within the DIY scene for a few years. She said the concert is a continuation of Fugazi’s motivations, protesting a government that “refuses to serve its people” and is “actively engaging in violence against them.” “I know, at least for me and for all of us in the band, this Fugazi show that happened back in ’95, none of us were alive yet,” she said. “And so it feels like being able to have this opportunity to really look back at the history of our city and all of these different events that shaped D.C.’s punk ethos and scene has been a really great opportunity for us.”
NOAH RABER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER An attendee crowd surfs at the Ward 1 Mutual Aid Benefit Show on the National Mall.
NOAH RABER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER GW class of 2023 alumn Caroline Liaupsin speaks to the crowd on Saturday.
DC walking tour series showcases Foggy Bottom’s historic past DIANA ANOS
BORANA BIXHA
CULTURE EDITOR
REPORTER
OLIVIA OROCHENA
JESSICA ROWE
REPORTER
D.C. residents and tourists alike embarked on a journey through Foggy Bottom’s past Saturday afternoon on a guided tour exploring the stories of the historic neighborhood. The Foggy Bottom Association’s history project led about 25 curious attendees around the neighborhood, detailing the hallowed histories of the homes, people and businesses that have inhabited the area over the past three centuries. Each September for one week, local historians assume the roles of D.C. tour guides, offering over 50 free tours across the city, for attendees to learn about the neighborhoods they call home as a part of the Walkington DC program, hosted by Events DC. The tour began in front of The Fitzgerald House, located on the corner of New Hampshire Ave and I Street, which used to be a grocery store and family home and is now a rental residential building. Guides Frank Leone and Denise Vogt told the crowd a story of a notorious “body snatcher” who lived in the Hughes Mews, also known as Hughes Court, a row of small alley town homes off of Queen Anne’s Lane. The “body snatcher,” named Sam McKeever, was alleged to have stolen bodies from graveyards and sold them to medical schools, according to the guides. The tour continued on through the brightly painted, historic homes that line the streets of Foggy Bottom, with Leone pointing out one home that was rumored to be a direct stop on the underground railroad during the Civil War. Other stories included tales of a beauty parlor that a resident ran out of an 2428 I Street home in the early 1960s, historic call boxes on sidewalks used to call emergency services through interconnected cables and select homes that remained intact after a large portion of the neighborhood was destroyed to make way for the Potomac freeway in the 1960s. Leone, the Foggy Bottom Association history project founder and co-chair, said in the group’s sixth year of giving tours as a part of the Walkingtown DC initiative, he hopes attendees can grasp a greater understanding of Foggy Bottom’s history. He said he sees the area as a “microcosm” of American history from formerly being the home to
Secretea pours its final cups, after 6 years on campus CONTRIBUTING CULTURE EDITOR
JA’SAI SIMMONS | PHOTOGRAPHER Frank Leone leads a tour of historic Foggy Bottom on Saturday.
colonial plantations to the historical effects of the University on the greater neighborhood. Leone said he and his wife started the Foggy Bottom Association’s history project in 2021, which aims to preserve the neighborhood’s history through self guided tours, programming and continuous research on the area’s past. He said about 20 people join the Walkingtown DC tours each year. What started as pure curiosity turned into extensive research, Leone said, spurring him to dive into sources like D.C. Public Libraries, the D.C. History Center and Gelman Library’s special collections. He said among the many stories he has learned through his research, one of his favorites is about his own home, where a woman named Della Shaw in the 1920’s ran a bakery out of the house with just a kerosene light and a coal stove. Leone said he believes the annual Foggy Bottom tour is a chance for attendees to not only learn about the neighborhood but also the history of the United States as a whole. Denise Vogt, Foggy Bottom Association history project cofounder and co-chair, said after moving into her parents’ old home in Foggy Bottom in 2020, she and her husband, Leone, grew “curious” about the people who had lived in the home before her family, leading them to start digging into the area’s past. She said they discovered how Foggy Bottom had changed over time, originally being an industrial area full of gas containers and glass factories in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century due to its proximity to the river. She said she and Leone
continued their research, and began the official project through the Foggy Bottom Association in 2021 when neighbors expressed interest in having a committee to uncover the history of Foggy Bottom, and make it accessible to other residents in the area. “One thing sort of led to another in terms of how we can educate, how how can we serve as an educational venue for the city, the neighborhood, students, researchers, really from all over, and so that sort of became our drive of how can we teach others about this time and place in D.C. history,” Vogt said. In an effort to make the information accessible, she said they created a self-guided walking tour, house history map and partnered with Events DC for the yearly tour event. Tour attendee Diana Rios said she had attended Walkingtown DC tours and other tours around the District before, and this was her first time learning about Foggy Bottom. She said the neighborhood seemed “preserved,” and was intrigued by the story about how the construction of a freeway caused the destruction of many houses. Angel Ventling, who volunteers with Events DC to help facilitate and organize events, attended the tour Saturday. Through volunteering with the organization, she said she finds a strong community of fellow history buffs. “It’s fun to be with other people who geek out over history or the history of D.C. and the diversity of the crowd, age or backgrounds, come together, over a common cause and really, geek out together in the community, which I think is pretty neat,” Ventling said.
After six years of serving up boba tea for students departing their classes at the Elliott School of International Affairs and sweet coffee drinks for tourists returning from their days on the national mall, Secretea has shuttered its door. Opening in 2020 and located in the lobby of the 1959 E Street Residence Hall, Secretea served as a study spot and quick drink staple for GW students. Secretea’s owner, Rong “Carol” Tang, said she opened the shop when she first moved to the United States from China and recently made the decision in July to close Sept. 26 after the University enforced the closure due to low revenue. Tang said she initially wanted to open the shop after struggling to find good boba tea places in the Foggy Bottom area when she came to D.C. and noticed a large number of international students at GW who she wanted to cater to. She said she built Secretea from the ground up, including designing a special menu each season with drinks like a summer mint choco cloud and cherry blossom sakura cloud matcha. Tang said her favorite memories over the years have been serving the GW community, and she’s enjoyed watching students graduate over the years and getting to know regulars. Tang said the decision to close Secretea came over the summer when Secretea’s GW
landlord required the shop to terminate the lease since their sales didn’t meet the requirements, and GW has since found another tenant to fill the spot. She said GW gave her 60 days notice to close, and she is still debating relocation since all the equipment belongs to GW. She said after the shop closes, she will focus on pop-ups and catering throughout D.C., but she has not established any official plans yet. Tang said she is grateful for the GW students and customers who visited the shop over the years. Melanie Slentz, a sophomore studying health data science, said she would frequently visit the shop to study, as the atmosphere in Secretea was quieter compared to other nearby coffee shops. Slentz said after discovering that the shop was closing down last weekend, she wanted to visit the shop everyday leading up to the close. Roxanna Dehghani, a sophomore studying journalism, said she has been a returning customer at Secretea for the past two years. She said she always ordered her usual, a Thai milk tea with boba paired with a chocolate croissant. Along with teas and treats, she said the space operates as both a place to hang out with friends or have a study session. As a first year, she said she spent a lot of time in the surrounding areas of the shop, making it easy to stop in after class or on her way back to her residence hall “I think their drinks were just honestly the reason I kept going back,” Dehghani said.
JOSH STEINBERG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The storefront of Secretea on Friday.
SPORTS
September 28, 2026 • Page 8
SPORTS
THE GW HATCHET
GAMES CRUNCH
Inside Matt Watts’ long road to rewiring men’s soccer CAROLINE APPEL REPORTER
0.469
Women’s soccer shot on goal percentage this season.
Swimming and diving warms up for another championship chase ROWAN BISSETT
MATTHEW CINQUE
REPORTER
STAFF WRITER
As men’s soccer’s first new head coach in over 14 years, Matt Watts is already flipping the script on a program that had grown stagnant. Athletics officials tapped Watts and his 15 years of coaching experience for the role in December, after which he immediately got to work recruiting and integrating 13 new players to pull the program out of an offensive slump that saw last year’s squad finish 2-11-4 and tie a 1970 program record for the fewest goals scored in a season. Just weeks into his first season at the helm, Watts is applying a playbook to rebuild men’s soccer, drawing on experience doing the same thing at programs of all shapes and sizes across the country. Picked last at 13th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the squad under Watts has already surpassed last season’s win total by securing four early road victories. For Watts, those early wins are just the first step in a much longer challenge, with many of his returning players hungry for growth. “They want this program to do well, and so I think they have this desire and this passion to see it do well,” Watts said. “They want to be the catalyst of this. They want to be the start.” The team has already won more games this season than they did in each of the past two years. With a 4-3-1 start, the Revolutionaries have averaged two goals per game and 13.2 shots per game. Watts’ rebuilding mentality was forged far from the District and even further from his hometown. A London native and former English academy prospect, Watts has had his fair share of turning around soccer programs, beginning his coaching career in states like Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. Watts took on his first coaching job out of college in 2010 as an assistant at University of West Florida, where he helped lead the Argonauts to a conference title. One year later, he was tapped to lead Mississippi’s Delta State University soccer program as head coach, where he eventually took the team to the Gulf Conference Championships and
LEXI CRITCHETT | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR GW men’s soccer Head Coach Matt Watts poses for a portrait on the field after practice.
earned Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2012. Under his leadership, the team won four conference games – a single-season total that matched the program’s entire combined conference wins for the six years before he was hired. He mirrored that success two years later when he moved to the Division II University of Alabama in Huntsville, leading the team to NSCAA top-25 rankings in both 2014 and 2015 for the first time in nearly two decades and earning his second Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year award in 2015. Watts returned to Florida in 2016, transforming Division II Nova Southeastern University over eight years and leading it to a DII NCAA Final Four run in 2021. Watts’s tactical resourcefulness and resilience stem from a childhood where soccer was everything. “Some of the fondest memories I have with my parents and my brother was playing football on the weekend or going to watch each other play,” Watts said. At 16, he left home to play for Norwich City F.C. academy in England, training alongside future Premier League greats Peter Crouch and Robert Green. Just three years later, the club decided to let him go. “Norwich decided that I wasn’t a Premier League player, and I wasn’t a Premier League player,” Watts said. “And so, probably one of the biggest disappointments in my life is someone telling you you’re not good enough, and we’re going to release you.” With his top-division dreams shut down, he worked at a
construction site with his father until two friends invited him to join them for an alumni weekend at the State University of New York at Oneonta, where he was recruited to play soccer. After one year at SUNY Oneonta, when the program was downgraded from Division I to Division III, Watts transferred to Division II Lynn University in Florida. Midway through an undefeated season, Watts was ruled ineligible to continue playing Division II soccer, disqualified because he had previously played on a reserve team in England alongside highly paid professionals, which violated NCAA amateurism rules. Finally, he transferred to the University of Mobile in Alabama for his junior and senior seasons to finish his education and play soccer on a non-NCAA team where he also received a bachelor’s degree in education. “I was able to play at three different universities all around the states, in New York, in Florida, in Alabama,” Watts said. “And just had the most amazing experience and met the most amazing people along the way.” Now, Watts is attempting to bring his wealth of experience to GW. Despite opening the season with a narrow loss to Old Dominion, the team responded with a five-game unbeaten streak. The team then had a disappointing 3-2 loss in their conference opener against La Salle, before conceding six to the University of Delaware three days later. In their most recent match, which didn’t have a goal until the 74th minute, the Revs played to a 1-1 draw against Loyola Chicago Saturday night.
vs. Bucknell University on Oct. 3 | 3:00 p.m.
vs. Virginia Commonwealth University on Oct. 2 | 6:00 p.m.
OF THE WEEK
NUMBER
WATER POLO
VOLLEYBALL
Coming hot off another championship-caliber year, men’s and women’s swimming and diving are ready to make waves once again in the Smith Center pool as they kick off their preparations for the 20262027 season, determined to bring home the Atlantic 10 Championship titles to GW. After the men’s team finished last season with its sixth consecutive Atlantic-10 championship win and a second place performance by the women, snapping a four year title reign, the teams are gearing up for another high-stakes campaign. This year’s swimmers and divers enter the season focused on winning the A-10, which they see as the ultimate step toward the end goal of reaching the NCAA Championships. Although the teams are five months away from the A-10 Championship in Hampton, Va., Head Coach Chico Rego said he is confident in the team’s success this season. “We were one good performance away from winning the women’s championship, which was just 27.5, which in our world is not much,” Rego said. During an intersquad exhibition meet over the weekend, multiple meet records were broken, including by freshman newcomers. Rego said both freshmen, Efe Isler, a Turkish distance specialist, from the men’s team — who broke two meet records in the men’s 300 yard butterfly and 600 yard freestyle — and freshman NamAnh Truong, a skilled sprinter, from the women’s team, were two freshmen he’s ex-
pecting to have standout years. Junior Bryce Scully, who played a large role at the A-10 championship last season, competing in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke and the 100 yard butterfly, delivered a strong performance — placing first in the 50 yard breaststroke and second in the 50 yard freestyle — at the intrasquad meet. Going into the season, the women’s team in particular has extra fuel reaching for the A-10 championship, having been beaten by their closest competition, Richmond, 600 to 572.5 in points last February. While Scully and the rest of the women’s team have their sights on reclaiming the A-10 championship title, the men’s team is setting a further goal of sending a group of athletes to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Junior Holden Thomas, a backstroke and sprint freestyle specialist, placed 48th in the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships in March, along with Ava Topolewski, a distance specialist who placed 39th in the 1650-yard freestyle. The Revs will start their regular season in a split meet on October 3, with both men’s and women’s swim teams facing off against The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., while the diving teams will head to Annapolis, Md. to compete against the United States Naval Academy. Later in the month, the two teams will face Auburn University, with both women’s and men’s teams being within the top 25 of NCAA power rankings. On Oct. 28, both men’s and women’s teams will yet again compete against Navy.
NICHOLAS WARE | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR A GW swimmer competes in the butterfly during Saturday’s Buff and Blue meet.
Softball focused on player development during fall ball training ISAAC SCHIEMER REPORTER
MILO ROSENZWEIG SPORTS EDITOR
Following back-to-back seasons ending in doubleelimination exits from the Atlantic 10 Championship, softball’s Head Coach Matt Klampert, armed with returning talent and a slate of newcomers, is focused on using fall ball competition to prioritize player development and learning. As the team kicks off a slate of unofficial autumn games, Klampert has recruited five freshmen and one transfer, and secured the return of now-graduate pitcher and utility Emma Fales, filling the void left by four key players who graduated this spring. Klampert said that while he wants to continue to develop the “team that never quits” identity the Revolutionaries developed last season, he is taking the fall to prioritize player development with his majorityunderclass squad. “My expectation for fall ball games is that we are continuing to learn and grow with our outcomes,” Klampert said in an email. “Good or bad, I want each pitch to be a learning moment for them. Of course we want to win every time we step on the field, but I don’t want the growth aspect to get lost in translation.” After the Revs, who earned the last No. 6 spot in the postseason this past spring, dropped to Dayton and Saint Joseph’s in the same day, the team gradu-
A GW softball player runs to first base during Sunday’s game against Howard University.
ated outfielder Ashley Corpuz — who had emerged as the Revs strongest offensive contributor, setting program records and earning a slew of accolades including A-10 Player of the Year — infielder Daniella Lew, pitcher Chloe Greene and catcher Lucy Goodwin, reshaping Klampert’s roster. This fall, Klampert’s squad includes five new freshmen — outfielders Gabby Cinnamon and Makayla Hammer, pitcher Ashley
James, utility player Riley McAndrew and infielder Payton Stowasser — as well as sophomore catcher and utility Abbie Frisvold, who Klampert snagged from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County this summer via the transfer portal. Klampert said the six newcomers have acclimated to life at the University, but he is using the fall to introduce them to collegiate play. The 2026 season — Klampert’s first at the helm of the
LEXI CRITCHETT | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
program — saw the Revs finish with a 23-22 record overall and an even .500, 12-12 conference play performance before falling to Dayton and Saint Joseph’s in the opening round of A-10 tournament play in May. The spring saw the Revs battle opponents to secure close wins and fall by thin margins, forcing seven games into extra innings as Corpuz, then-juniors Paige Hayward and Cece Smith and then-freshman Sydney
Hogue led the charge for the Revs. Throughout the season, which saw A-10 play interspersed throughout the team’s at-large schedule, the Revs clawed away at opponents’ leads to secure close wins and dropped tight games. “This conference is a dogfight, not only during the regular season but also in postseason play,” Klampert said. Klampert said last sea-
son’s four veteran players — Corpuz, Lew, Greene and Goodwin — helped him guide the team last season. “Upperclassmen play such a pivotal role with the transition of the program in building not only what is there, but also guiding the future of the program,” Klampert said. As softball faces off against competition this fall — the team played a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary’s University earlier this month and a 10-inning faceoff against Howard University Sunday — Klampert is also relying on key returning players including Smith, Hayward and Fales, who graduated this spring but returned to pursue a master’s degree in exercise science. Fales, who plays as both a pitcher and utility, finished with a 2.05 earned run-average in 27.1 innings pitched last season. Offensively, she put together a .267 batting average, with 27 hits, including five doubles, and 13 runs batted in. Smith, like Fales, also pitches and plays utility, for which she earned an AllConference First Team nod for her work in the circle and a second team nomination for utility play. Smith finished with a career-best 2.32 ERA, recording 11 wins. At the plate, Smith recorded a .359 batting average and 37 hits, four of which were home runs. The Revs will play Georgetown on Oct. 3 and playing a game against program alumni on Oct. 4 to round out the fall competition.