The Metro Line

DC officials consider car-pooling

2011-10-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

By Sandi Moynihan
The Metro Line staff writer

DC government officials used to riding in style might have to get used to sharing the coveted company car.

The DC Department of Public Works is investigating new fuel and fleet-sharing technologies to improve the use, management and environmental efficiency of the city’s nearly 6,000 government-operated vehicles, a DC government official said in a hearing last Monday.

Director of the Department of Public Works, William Howland Jr., told the Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation that his department has been working since 2007 to implement city fleet policy changes. Howland says the new policies are aimed at reaching local and national environmental legislation standards while maintaining a proficient city motor fleet.

“If we can become more efficient in other things we are doing, there won’t be a need to increase the fleet,” Howland said.

Howland says the city has already started implementing fleet-sharing technologies in some of its vehicles to decrease the city’s motor fleet size. The fleet-sharing system allows government employees to share vehicles throughout the day, much like a family car would be shared among household drivers.

“We partnered with Zipcar. We used their technology in our vehicles,” Howland said. “It was a better way to manage our motor pool.”

In addition, Howland says the Department of Public Works is looking to expand its biofuel and natural gas fleet fueling options.

“At least having the government open up a couple fueling sites that are more physically possible for the government,” Howland said.

DC Biofuels, which plans to open and operate a biofuel production plant in the District, says if the government chooses to expand its biofuel consumption, it will team up with the Department of Public Works and offer three months worth of free biofuel for 60-70 government vehicles.

“We can guarantee not only the greenest biofuel, but the cleanest and freshest,” DC Biofuels CEO and president, Wendell Jenkins said at the hearing.

Earlier this year, the District legislature, which allocated nearly $28,000 to fleet management operations in 2010, approved two acts calling for even higher fleet fuel efficiency standards, stricter vehicle management and final mayoral approval on all fleet inventory decisions.

“It’s vital that we use our vehicles in an energy efficient way and streamline our operations to save money,” Chairperson for the Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation, Mary Cheh said.

DC Councilmember Tommy Wells says the Department of Public Works must find exactly what policies work and actively enforce them in order to reach the fleet efficiency goals set by the legislature.

“Ignoring the law is not an option,” Wells said.

Alexandria weighs police department funding

2011-10-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

By Taylor Sears
The Metro Line staff writer

ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- Alexandria City residents urged the city council to consider greater police department funding during a public hearing on the proposed 2012 fiscal year budget last week.

The Alexandria City Council held the public hearing during its Saturday Oct. 15 meeting at city hall to obtain citizen input on the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget and Capital Improvement Program. Nearly 20 people voiced their concerns about city funding of everything from non-profit organizations to road maintenance.

The Alexandria City Police Department budget was the most popular issue for discussion.

During the 2011 fiscal year, the Alexandria City Police Department had a total expenditure of $53,699,405. For the 2012 fiscal year, the proposed budget is 2.6 percent less at $52,347,285. Arlington County’s approved budget for the 2012 fiscal year is $58,455,408.

Resident Sean Casey, the Alexandria Committee of Police President and a detective with the Alexandria Police Department, spoke about the salaries of police officers.

“Unfortunately, because of the economic difficulties the city has suffered, the number of police officers at the police department has been reduced through attrition,” Casey said. “Younger officers have left the police department to seek better compensation elsewhere.”

The proposed 2012 fiscal year budget would cut police department personnel costs by $1,747,008 from 2011. This is due in part to the transfer of 37 positions to the Alexandria City Department of Emergency Communications, which handles fire and emergency medical dispatches.

“I beg of you to please compensate the sworn members of the Alexandria Police Department fair and adequately in this budget year. This will allow the city to recruit and maintain excellent police officers and in turn help preserve an excellent quality of life,” Casey said.

Frank Sokolove is a resident of Alexandria City and a police department volunteer. He too expressed his dissatisfaction with the salaries of city police officers.

“I want the police to be paid for a change. We pay them somewhere in the middle according to what other jurisdictions are paying. I think we should appreciate them and show our appreciation by paying them properly,” Sokolove said.

The base pay for an Alexandria City police officer is $43,617.60. In comparison, the starting salary for an Arlington County police officer is $45,739.20.

The Alexandria City Council was mum in response to the outcry of citizens for greater police department funding. Alexandria City Mayor William Euille was the only council member to offer a response.

“The points are well taken,” Euille said at the conclusion of Sokolove’s speech. “Compensation is going to be a driver in our budget, and certainly an area that we will be having a lot of focus.”

The next Alexandria City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 25 at city hall.

Political experts lament decline of political leadership

2011-10-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

By Miranda Green
The Metro Line staff writer

Political experts, including several former lawmakers, blamed polarization and weak leadership for what they say is America's broken political system, at a panel discussion Monday at The George Washington University.

"It's not working," said former U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah. "The legislative branch is not legislating and the executive branch is not executing."

Bennett is a Republican, and currently a senior professional fellow at GW's School of Media and Public Affairs, but his words were echoed by a Democrat, former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford, Jr. Ford complained that government leadership is in decline and that nothing is getting done.

"I love my guys," Ford said. "I think they have the best ideas, but they are having a hard time turning anything into legislation."

Ford, Bennett, GW political science professor John Sides and CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash conversed and debated in front of a sold-out audience. All agree the chief culprit for the breakdown in government is excessive polarization.

"Part of what makes it difficult to get something done is to find areas of agreement, when there are essentially few centrists or moderates," Sides said. "The parties are just farther apart ideologically than they ever were.

Ambitious student climbs political ladder

2011-10-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

By Melissa Turley
The Metro Line staff writer

It only took 17 votes to turn Deon Jones into the youngest elected official in the nation's capital.

In the fall of 2010, the American University sophomore launched a write-in candidacy for a seat on the Ward Three Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which represents the majority of American University students. Driven by long-standing political ambitions and a desire to be the voice of his fellow students, the 19-year-old campaigned for a seat that had remained unoccupied for 10 years. He won.

"It's a lot of pressure to be the representative of an entire student body," Jones said.

His term so far has been defined by tension between students and neighborhood residents, as the university aims to expand its campus to the Nebraska Avenue parking lot. The move angers many residents who are already unhappy with the students' presence.

"It's been a challenge bridging community relations," Jones said. "It's hard to listen to them call your friends alcoholics and drug addicts."

But Jones noted there are fun parts to his job, as well. Last June, for instance, he joined over 200 other young elected officials at a White House conference and briefing, president over by President Barack Obama.

Jones currently works with Sen. Kristin Gillibrand, D-N.Y., as an education fellow, aiming to help African-American males find success. He also works with the Congressional Black Caucus. Fulfilling his official duties, he attends ANC meetings twice a month and works as a campus campaign coordinator for Teach for America.

"It's like I have my hand in everything," said Jones, who is also a member ofr the Sigma Phi Epsilon fratnery, the AU College Democrats and the Black Student Alliance.

DC environmentalist fights for a greener world

2011-10-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

By Sandi Moynihan
The Metro Line staff writer

In the beginning, there was the DC Environmental Network and Chris Weiss.

And that was about it.

“When I first moved here ten years ago, I would go down to the government and there would be no environmental groups, just us,” Weiss said.

As the current DC Environmental Network Director, Weiss, 47, is one of a handful of seasoned veterans still prowling the shark-tank world of DC environmental issues and advocacy.

The leisure kayaker and vegetarian want-to-be boasts over ten years worth of experience in his field, and has first-handedly witnessed the evolution of environmental legislation and awareness in the District over the past decade.

“I get to pull back a little bit and look at the big picture,” Weiss said.

As Director of the DC Environmental Network, Weiss’ schedule swings between organizing forums, facilitating inter-environmental organization communication and advocating the multiple environmental campaigns in and around the DC area.

“There is a strong environmental undercurrent that you don’t have in other places and I think we have that in DC now,” Weiss said.

A self-professed Santa Barbara, California native, despite being born in San Francisco, Weiss says spending summers volunteering alongside his father in trash-infested border towns first sparked his interest in environmental issues.

“I just realized that even if we had some fairly aggressive environmental polices in California, it would help,” Weiss said.

After studying political science in college in California, Weiss first worked as a campaign consultant and manager in the West Coast area on over 100 campaigns before making the move to DC in 1998.

Originally, Weiss relocated to DC to find a job with an environmental organization, but quickly found himself working as the campaign director for current D.C. City Councilman Phil Mendelson.

Weiss later served as Mendelson’s chief of staff, where he worked alongside the council member for three years to pass environmental initiatives and legislation, namely the D.C. Urban Forest Preservation Act and Clean Water Act.

In 2001, Friends of the Earth, a global network of environmental organizations, appointed Weiss to his current position as Director of the DC Environmental Network.

“This mix of local and international is just a beautiful thing for me,” Weiss said.

In his ten years with the DC Environmental Network, Weiss has focused on environmental legislation ranging from the DC bag law to the tree bill, the later of which he worked closely alongside Mike Buscaino, Executive Director of Casey Trees, and organization committed to tree preservation in the District.

“Chris has some of the best knowledge over what has happened in the district over the past ten years,” said Buscaino. “He works on things with a critical eye.”

Despite his extensive knowledge of the issues swarming the DC environmental sphere, Weiss admits it is difficult to be a constant force in a field with such a quick personnel turnover.

“I try to share my experiences,” Weiss said. “But a lot of groups have to learn for themselves.”

Still, Weiss refuses to let his seasoned status distract him from achieving his overarching goal for greater environmental awareness in the District.

“I have good relationships with council members, but I have to remember I play a role,” Weiss said. “We are supposed to be advocates.”

But even for an environmental guru like Weiss, doing the little things, like recycling on a regular basis can pose the biggest challenge of all.

“The whole idea of consumption is consuming me.” Weiss said. “I think I try, I try really hard.”

GW has lots of grub, some of it gross

2011-10-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

By Emmy Aras
The Metro Line staff writer

Even famished GW students should think twice about where they go to grab local grub. Some Foggy Bottom favorite eateries have track records with the D.C. Department of Health and health inspections.

After a complaint was filed in June 2010 about Lindy’s Red Lion, a D.C. Department of Health inspection was conducted. Roaches? Check. Raw shell eggs stored on top of a container of uncooked bacon? You bet. Dirty food preparation surfaces, lack of expiration dates, lots of flies? All of the above.

The restaurant looked better at a July 2010 follow-up inspection. This reporter went to the scene over the weekend to see how Lindy's looks now. Sadly, the meal started with a dirty glass and punctured jelly pack, finishing with a hair in a fried egg.

The Department of Health rates establishments on a risk scale of one to five, five being the worst. Lindy’s ranked four out of five in the 2010 inspections.

The owner of the establishment said he was too busy to comment on the reports. There were only six diners, including the reporter, present at Lindy’s at the time.

Two of the cleaner places to dine on campus might surprise students: Froggy Bottom and the GW Deli. Both eateries are known as community dives, bringing patrons food that tastes good but isn’t necessarily good for you.

The Froggy Bottom Pub’s report earlier this year received a relatively low risk rating of two, with the inspector citing a few shortcomings like an incorrectly stored mop.

The popular GW Deli, a breakfast to-go hot spot, offers customers a daily variety of sandwiches, soups, coffee, and about any type of potato chip a kid could dream of. Last year, the community even witnessed the ceiling leaking black liquid each time there was a heavy rain. But the deli is also known to be a little gritty and greasy.

“The sandwiches are so greasy and good, ideal for a hangover. It’s like a mom and pop place, but with only the pop,” Cameron Chen, GW junior, joked after crew practice one morning. “But I wouldn’t take my mom here!”

There are currently no available online health inspections for the deli available besides one from May 2009 where the deli’s only infraction was a lack of hairnets for its kitchen crew. Hairnets would insure that no additional hairs end up in this reporter’s eggs.

The deli’s food might be a little messy, but the proprietors seem to take clean and safe operations seriously.

Typically college students aren’t overly concerned about what they ingest: from dozens of cups of cheap coffee to greasy fast food and a variety of calorie-packed beers. But they might want to think twice about where they go to grub.

Metro lags in making stations receptive

2011-10-05T19:00:00.001-07:00

By Jeff Jacobson
The Metro Line staff writer

Only 20 of the 47 stations Metro declared would have cellular reception by October 2010 do, almost a full year after the transit agency said the project would be completed.

With reception in the 20 busiest stations, commuters in the 27 other locations are left without contact to the outside world.

The delay is not Metro’s fault, said Communications Director Dan Stessel. He stated the workers have had problems accessing the tracks and other work came first.

“There were limitations on their track access as a result of the June 2009 Red Line crash. Safety related track work had to take priority,” he said. “It has shaped everything that came since.”

Previously, only Verizon Wireless customers had reception, following a deal with then-Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems in the early 1990s, and that access was limited. With all four carriers – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint – together under one consortium, titled Neutral Host, the cell companies are working toward universal reception.

“They are doing the work. We just provide them with the access,” said Stessel. “We get some updates from them on their level of completion but they are really the primary source on the work. It’s their equipment. It’s their infrastructure.”

Construction began in mid-2008 to upgrade all Metro stations and tunnels to accommodate users from every major cell phone carrier. Supported by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, Congress mandated that all upgrades be completed by October 2012. At the time, Metro publicly announced all work would be finished by October 2010.

Delayed by other pressing needs, Stessel contended that Metro is working hard to complete the project on time.

“We’re working toward that deadline. We’re going to do everything we can to give them as much track access as possible. Neutral Host takes priority over everything else except safety related access,” he said.

State Department contractor Kate Fontana generally commutes through Foggy Bottom. She stated that she values her reception.

“If I’m meeting people, it’s nice to be able to text them or call them while I’m on the Metro,” said Fontana.

M. Ward, a part-time teacher and retail worker, travels from Farragut West every day and her cell reception is critical.

“I have three kids and my phone is my lifeline. If I don’t have reception, then it makes me feel uneasy that I can’t get in touch with my sitter or the teacher,” she said. “It’s a necessity. When you’re in Metro anything can happen. Sometimes a train stalls. Sometimes they’re one tracking. You can’t always get through.”

Others, like retired prison manager Howard Dahill, don’t have the benefit of cell reception. Sitting uncomfortably in Capitol South, Dahill had no service on his cell phone.

“I’m expecting a message. I’m waiting for my family,” he said as he stared at his phone. “We need this upgrade. This is a main mode of communications for everybody.”

Seeking help for D.C.'s seniors

2010-12-14T03:17:00.000-08:00

By Malissa Wilkins
The Metro Line staff writer

The D.C. Office on Aging is searching for more grant money to provide better resources for senior citizens as the government offers little budget increase.

“We will try to continue to transform and enhance all services and try and have new initiatives such as the Needs Assistance Program that we haven’t had since 2005,” said Executive Director Clarence Brown. “We want to put together a program for funding to see what we can do to meet those needs and continue to improve.”

Brown, 62, is in his final days of a four-year term, and unsure of whether he is being kept in the position of executive director for the DCOA. Still, he is preparing for the new year. His office is working to secure more funds through grants so that they can expand programming and services for the year 2011.

So far, Brown says his office has designed a two-year state aging plan, outlining improvements for two years. This way, programs like the Needs Assistance Program, which will provide a scientific approach to determine current and future needs of some seniors living in the district, can be created or expanded for the public.

“We’ve stretched programs through awarded grants. We have extended in some areas such as improving caregiver supported services, transitioning into nursing homes and transportation for dialysis and other medical problems to and from hospitals,” Brown said.

The office receives some funding from the government and all other funds must come from non-governmental organizations. This upcoming year, out of Councilmember Yvette Alexander’s Committee on Aging and Community Affairs’ budget of $340,000, Brown’s office will receive $23,930, barely up from the 2010 funded budget of $23,608.

With more money on hand, Brown’s office can further assist programs like the Long-Term Care Program, which receives most of its funding from the office. The program, which services slightly over 5,000 seniors, is an advocacy program specifically designed for community residence facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.

“We also provide services to the general public for families who have concerns about their loved ones,” D.C. Ombudsman Lynne Person said. “It’s a national entity through which the state ombudsman must ensure quality of care and quality of life for citizens.”

As a non-profit, the program is under the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, and receives primary funding via grants. Lynne Person, who landed the D.C. ombudsman position in august of this year, is looking for more funding to start coming from the government. Her hope, she says, is that, the government will begin to see the issues that lie within the aging community, grant the DCOA more money, and, in turn, the office grants the program more money.

“Our program right now does not have access to providing services in homes,” the program’s manager Lydia Williams said. “We need more money to expand our program to monitor the quality and care seniors are receiving at home. It’s hindering us from being able to monitor all Long-Term Care recipients to ensure they are receiving the best care.”

“I think we need the support of our city council and our stake holders. There is not an agency at this time that has the access to monitor people in their homes,” the program’s attorney Mary Ann Parker added. “We can make sure people aren’t being abused in any way.”

In 20 years, demographics show, the aging community will be the majority. Parker, who has been with the program for five years and is in her 20th year serving the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, says that the program needs to expand their legal mandate if it is to develop with the population and its needs. Williams is in her ninth year as program manager and says she sees a number of issues, the main one being quality of care and protection of seniors’ rights. Person, Parker and Williams all express their intent to initiate changes for the future.

Dr. Brown agrees that there needs to be more money coming in for the improvement of services.

“With the growing aging community, I think there will always be a need for additional resources,” he said.

Finals bring GW students back to 'Gelhell'

2010-12-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

By Jacqueline Corba
The Metro Line staff writer

Gelman, Club G, Gellhell. Whatever you may call it, students at The George Washington University are flocking to the Gelman library to prepare for their final exams.

“The beginning of finals usually means the ending of my social life. I’ve probably spent over 30 hours this past week in Gelman, which basically means I’m there more than my actual apartment,” Alexi Archambault, a pre-med student, said.

The increase in students studying in Gelman has clogged up study space, leaving many to find study space elsewhere. To accommodate the increase in students during exam period Gelman offers some complimentary items.

“The Gelman Library is the same facility regardless of the time period, and is always open 24/7. We offer "Cafe Gelman" and two "Take a Breaks" providing coffee, snacks, and entertainment for some much needed stress relief for students,” Anne Ward, the director of communications for Gelman, said.

Yet, despite these perks many criticize Gelman for its lackluster environment.

“I choose to work in other places because Gelman is just so dull. It’s such a sterile environment, which I find completely uninspiring, so it’s nearly impossible to motivate myself to do work when I’m there,” Emily Note, a senior majoring in journalism, said. “If you look around I think most people feel the same way—they’re all on Facebook.”

Students often leave their books at cubicles in hopes to save their sacred desks during the high volume rush of students during finals, but recently there have been many thefts in the library.

“I left my laptop out on the desk but put my bag and most of my other stuff underneath. At the point I had studied at Gelman hundreds of times and left my laptop out for short amounts of time without a problem so I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal,” Jonathan Fitzsimons said. “When I got back about 30 min later from my walk, my laptop and backpack were stolen.”

Fitzsimons, a junior at The George Washington University, said he continues to study in Gelman despite the incident, but no longer leaves his stuff out.

“The most frustrating part is that it was pretty clear the perpetrator was not a member of the student body," Fitzsimons said. "So how are these non- GW students getting into Gelman undetected?”

According to Ward, there are Gelman staff members at the entrance desk 24 hours a day to help students, but the University Police Department is responsible for security on campus, including Gelman.

Regardless of the poor environment or risk of thefts, students continue to update their Facebook statuses to expressions like “party in gelman,” “dance party in club g,” or “fourth floor stacks until forever.”

Downtown holiday market invites shopping revelers

2010-12-12T04:41:00.000-08:00

By Shivan Sarna
The Metro Line staff writer

The District of Columbia’s residents can get festive by heading to the downtown marketplace for some shopping, tasty treats and live music.

The sixth annual Downtown Holiday Market, which began on Dec. 3, will be open daily from noon to 8 p.m. till the 23rd of this month. It is located opposite the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro Station on F Street N.W. between 7th and 9th. People can enjoy listening to the genres of music ranging from jazz, blues, swing, and reggae, while indulging in cupcakes and other pastries.

Shoppers can also choose to buy from over 180 local artisans and crafters.

One exhibitor, Keith Lane, sells custom-made t-shirts and belts. The market offers his business “good exposure,” he said. Another exhibitor, Paul Gruner from Annapolis, Md., sells handcrafted pottery that can be used for both functional and decorative purposes. Gruner, who also presented at last year’s event, said the crowds are bigger this year - a fact he attributes to better weather conditions.

Last year, a major storm that broke all records for a December snowfall hit on one of the four days Gruner had his display set up.

“We stayed open through the snowstorm and people came and shopped, but it certainly put a big damper on the event,” said Executive Director of Diverse Markets Management Mike Berman.

Berman, who estimated that 150,000 people attended last year’s event, expects more customers this year.

“The downtown area is the core of D.C.,” Berman said. “It represents such a ‘Times Square’ of people that naturally walk through this area.”

Many customers attested to the market’s convenient location.

“It’s nice that they bring these things downtown on the weekends,” said Stefan Z., who is from Baltimore, Md. “It’s something to do.”

Diverse Markets Management and The Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District joined forces in 2005 to form a public-private partnership.The business improvement district, with its connections to the city government, works to obtain the exhibition permit.Diverse Markets Management “handles the administration of the exhibitors and staffs it all,” Berman said.

“Every year we try and get new exhibitors and musicians in,” Berman said. “The look hasn’t changed much but we like to keep the market exciting and fresh.”

A Leah Gurowitz Quartet III

2010-12-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Leah Gurowitz, director of legislative, intergovernmental and public affairs for the D.C. Courts, spoke recently to an Advancing Reporting Workshop at the George Washington University.

By Lauren French
The Metro Line staff writer

Leah Gurowitz could be a premier car saleswoman.

The vibrant, straight-shooting 50-year old would quickly earn the trust of potential buyers, promoting the leather seats in one model and the smoothness of another. She is friendly in a way that makes you trust her, and for that, Gurowitz would probably always make her monthly quota.

But she is not a car saleswoman, and probably will, when reading that hyperbole be offended, because during a 45 minute interview, Gurowitz said six times that she will never lie or mislead to her clients – a characteristic oft aligned with salespeople.

“People say that you have to know your subject matter the best,” the director of legislative, intergovernmental and public affairs for the D.C. Court system, said. “But from my perspective, what I think is the most important is that I am truthful."

Working for the District Court can be tough, Gurowitz said, but it is her job to make sure even the guilty parties have a fair run in the media.

“You see people on the worst day of their lives,” she said. “Other than marriage and adoption, people who are at the court, don’t want to be there.”

Gurowitz said before she took over the media desk for the D.C. Courts, the relationship between reporters and court system was a mess.

“The idea was, we don’t want to interact with you at all,” she said of how press flacks interacted with the media. But then the public information officers would turn around and ask for coverage of events, which reporters rebuffed.

So the former hill staffer met with the court’s beat reporters and learned their style.

“The biggest difference between this job and the Hill is, judges are happy if they don’t get negative coverage,” she said. “Now, I just don’t want something conveyed in a very sensualist way.”

That relationship allows her to set reporters straight when they come to her with juicy gossip.

“They will tell me, ‘did you hear that Judge So-and-so released someone on bail and the next day they killed someone,” she said. “Then I’ll ask around and give them context and background. I’ll often say, “I don’t think it is fair for you to leave [this context] out.”

Not that Gurowitz is on the reporters’ side. She knows her job it make the courts look good, but to do that, it is give-and-take with reporters. Since taking over, she said, more papers have run stories about D.C.’s annual Adoption Day events than before, and more reporters have access to the public information desk. She was even named D.C.’s best flack by the Washington Times in 2008.

Gurowitz is tough but fair and never hides from reporters,” Mark Segraves, a reporter with WTOP, said. “She is knowledgeable about her subject matter and is able to explain the very intricate matters of the court in ways any idiot reporter can understand.”

A Leah Gurowitz Quartet II

2010-12-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

Leah Gurowitz, director of legislative, intergovernmental and public affairs for the D.C. Courts, spoke recently to an Advancing Reporting Workshop at the George Washington University.

By Shivan Sarna
The Metro Line staff writer

The D.C. Superior Court spokesperson switched the dynamic between the press and the court system around.

“The court before I had been there had a really difficult time with the press,” said Leah H. Gurowitz, in a talk given to a group of journalism students at The George Washington University on Tuesday.

Gurowitz, whom the Washington City Paper titled the district’s “best flack” two years in 2008 and 2009, said she made being “helpful and nice” to reporters one of the main focuses of her job.

“I really made this conscious effort. I’m going to talk to the reporters. I’m going to get to know them. I’m going to show them what the courts are like,” she said. “I really want to develop a rapport with them.”

Gurowitz said that trust is the “most important thing” she has to offer to reporters.

“She wants to be good at her job, and part of being good at her job is having good relationships with reporters,” said Henri E. Cauvin, a Washington Post reporter, who covered the D.C. Superior Court from 2003 to 2007.

In return for making herself easily accessible to reporters, Gurowitz expects them to write their court stories in a fair and accurate way.

In regard to the large-scale shootings on South Capitol Street last April, which killed four people, The Washington Examiner published a story titled, “Suspects freed days before killings.”

“My objection was to the way that the paper reported that judges ‘freed’ the suspects just before the crime, making it sound like judges were letting murderers go without punishment,” Gurowitz said.

In fact, prior to the shooting, the judge had sentenced one of the men reported to be “freed” to a weekend in jail for acquiring marijuana. The other man had failed to appear for a drug possession hearing, though the judge released him when he eventually turned himself in.

“It seems misleading and sensationalistic, which may serve the paper's goals, but I believe it does a disservice to the public by creating misimpressions of the court,” she said.

Gurowitz does not want the public to think that the judges don’t care, when in effect “people who are judges want to make a difference and are very much motivated by those who appear before them,” she said.

Cauvin said, “Leah is very good about making sure that the court’s interests and prerogatives are protected.”

Gurowitz recently dealt with the media in the high-profile murder trial of Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy.

“Her court is a very busy one, and she’s pretty much a one-woman show,” said Richard Carelli, the administrative office spokesperson at the United States Courts. Carelli first met Gurowitz when he covered the U.S. Supreme Court for the Associated Press.

“There is an old saying that ‘if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it,’ and she is a very good example of a person who can multitask very well,” he said.

Sarah Larimer, who covered the trial for the local online news start-up TBD said, “Even though we were a new organization and I was doing things a little differently than other people, she didn’t treat me like I wasn’t a real media organization, which I really appreciated.”

Gurowitz, who just turned 50, obtained her undergraduate degree in modern American studies from Brown University in Providence, R.I. She attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. for law school.

Prior to her current job, Gurowitz held positions both on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Justice.

As public information officer she “always keeps the communication open,” said Tom Feeney, Gurowitz’s executive office assistant. “She built a bridge between the press and the courts.”

A Leah Gurowitz Quartet I

2010-12-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Leah Gurowitz, director of legislative, intergovernmental and public affairs for the D.C. Courts, spoke recently to an Advancing Reporting Workshop at the George Washington University.

By Lindsay Life
The Metro Line staff writer

Leah Gurowitz, named “best flack” in D.C. by Washington City Paper in 2008, says the most important part of being a spokesperson for the D.C. Courts is being truthful.

As director of legislative, intergovernmental and public affairs in D.C. Courts, Gurowitz says 80 percent of her work is assisting journalists. According to the 50-year-old Brown University and Vanderbilt law graduate, there are benefits to being helpful.

“If I’m nice to you, I’ll want you to write a soft news story in return,” Gurowitz said.

The Ithaca, N.Y. native also hopes that reporters will feel indebted to her and tell her side of the story. The spokeswoman shared stories of unfortunate events that came out of the courthouse and how she convinced reporters to listen to the whole story and avoid the melodramatic approach.

Gurowitz adjusted her black-framed glasses as she spoke seriously about why she fears news stories that sensationalize the court.

“Here there is a public faith in the judicial system. We think the system works,” Gurowitz explained. “That’s why I don’t want things conveyed in a sensationalist way.”

Gurowitz’s other issue with reporters occurs when they do not follow her rules. In the recent Chandra Levy murder trial, Gurowitz had to balance press and security interests and managed to convince security to allow reporters to keep their cell phones and laptops on them. However, no one was allowed to use these devices and when one reporter pulled out his cell phone, Gurowitz willingly kicked him out of the courtroom.

“I’ll be your advocate, but there are rules. I don’t want to hear any complaints,” Gurowitz said. “One of the other lessons is make the rules and stick to them.”

Henri Cauvin, a Washington Post staff writer who has been covering the D.C. Courts for almost five years, believes that Gurowitz does a solid job of maintaining relationships with the press and her co-workers.

“She sometimes struggles with being an advocate, but also maintaining credibility with who she works for,” Cauvin said, adding that Gurowitz is “a good intermediary.”

TBD reporter Sarah Larimer covered the Chandra Levy trial and was impressed with Gurowitz’s management of the press during such a high-profile case.

“Leah was a pretty good press person. She was always receptive, on top of her game,” Larimer said. “She seemed to know how to handle the show.”

Gurowitz is more than content with her current position handling the show and laughs about how her mother Sandi, who calls her daughter “affectionate and enjoyable,” describes her job.

“My mother says I like this job because they pay me good money to talk on the phone all day, which is kind of true,” Gurowitz giggled.

Before landing the position in the district Court system, Gurowitz worked for the Department of Justice, a public relations firm, and had various stints on Capitol Hill. She always thought of herself as a “policy person,” but ended up enjoying working with the press at the D.C. Courts. The spokeswoman strayed from the traditional way of doing things in the courtroom and applied her campaign mindset to the Court’s way of dealing the press.

Gurowitz’s can-do spokeswoman style captivated the students as well. Junior Haley Lesavoy had some frustrating experiences with public information officers during the semester and appreciated Gurowitz’s eagerness to help reporters.

“It was refreshing to hear from a spokeswoman who seems to understand how to be most helpful to a journalist,” Lesavoy said. “Leah was able to provide insight into the behind the scenes workings of the job.”

TBD reporter Sarah Larimer: Four Variations on a Theme.

2010-11-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

(Editors note: George Washington University students present four different takes on a journalist visiting a journalism class.)

By Maria Shanahan
The Metro Line staff writer

Twenty-three hours into the Washington, D.C. mayoral race, Sarah Larimer hasn’t stopped to sleep.

A self-proclaimed workaholic, Larimer boasted about the longest time she’s spent working.

“Collectively with my editors, we realized we slept eight hours,” Larimer said. “Erik and I were excited, but Julie looked terrified.”

A reporter for TBD, a new Washington, D.C. metro news website, Larimer wanted to be a journalist since age nine.

“I thought she would at least end up trying journalism because she was interested at an early age,” said Mark Larimer, Sarah’s father and abstracter in Salem, Ill., Sarah’s hometown. “She was always a good writer in her English classes in school.”

Previously a sports intern for the AP in London and later an AP sports reporter in Miami, Larimer is excited about her new adventure in the District.

“It was stressful to be a professional sports reporter,” Larimer said. “Like taking the hardest test of your life every day, but worse, because I did well on tests as a kid.”

Her first assignment was the Colorado Rockies verses the Florida Marlins. Clint Hurdle, Rockies’ manager, turned to Larimer and asked what her question was. Intimidated, Larimer said the first thing that came to mind, a question she had been asked shortly before.

“How many pushups can you do?” Larimer asked.

Despite her embarrassment, Larimer returned the next day and embraced the humor that can come with the job.

“Part of being a reporter is being a pest,” Larimer said. “You can joke around, and don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t call you back.”

Despite her jokes, Larimer has earned a reputation as a serious reporter, even during her college years at the University of Missouri she was well respected.

“She fell into a good story one summer about big murder case about a cop and his gay lover,” said John Schneller, associate professor of journalism and Sarah’s editor at the University of Missouri. “She wrote that thing right on out of here that was her big story and she worked it hard and did some great stuff.”

Larimer is embracing her new position at TBD, working to develop her own voice and the voice of TBD.

“Take whatever you can get and make the most of it,” Larimer said. “Journalism is looking for people to write a new rule book.”

Larimer’s TBD coworkers are appreciative of the knowledge and skill set she brings to the table.

“Sarah is the best, she is a really amazing reporter,” said Erik Wemple, editor at TBD. “She is one of the fastest most confident most detail oriented reporters we could ask for, she is really capable and we really lean on her a lot to cover a lot of stuff.”

Visit www.tbd.com for Larimer’s work and for breaking Washington, D.C. metro news. She is also on Twitter.

TBD reporter Sarah Larimer: Four Variations on a Theme.

2010-11-16T19:50:00.001-08:00

(Editors note: George Washington University students present four different takes on a journalist visiting a journalism class.)

By Jacqueline Corba
The Metro Line staff writer

Sarah Larimer, a reporter for TBD.com, shared her experience and knowledge to a journalism class at The George Washington University last week.

Larimer, 26, stressed the importance of learning from failure.

“I wrote a lot of bad stories before I wrote a good one,” Larimer said of her experiences as the Associated Press. “Because I had an editor that allowed me to fail a few times, I learned and grew as a reporter.”

Larimer is a native of Salem, Ill. who graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Larimer was also the editor of the student newspaper, The Maneater.

John Schneller, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, described Larimer as a tenacious reporter.

“One summer she stumbled on an interesting story about a cop who killed his gay lover and she ended up owning it,” Schneller said. “She is a tenacious reporter who understands the importance of getting out of the office.”

Larimer’s time abroad in London where she interned at the Associated Press provided her with valuable experiences that catapulted her to achieve a job at the Associated Press in Miami post graduation.

Now after three years at the world’s largest and oldest newsgathering organization she is working for TBD.com, an online news source that went public in September.

“There is a definite fear with a start-up company, but I believed it could succeed,” Larimer said of TBD.com. “Right now journalism is looking for people willing to write a new rule book.”

TBD stands for “To be determined,” and is a website affiliated with Politico, a highly regarded political magazine. Larimer described it as a “metro version of Politico.” TBD.com also offers a more creative nontraditional approach with a focus on fast news.

According to Professor Albert May, who teaches at The School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, TBD.com is comparable to Politico but has not made as large of a commitment to hiring veteran journalists and a sizeable staff as Politico. This, he said, will make it more challenging for TBD.com to compete in its market.

“I think TBD is an interesting experiment but still a long way from proving itself financially,” May said.

Larimer’s father, Mark Larimer, said Sarah has only become recently interested in online and nontraditional journalism.

“I think when she started out she was more interested in traditional journalism and now this is the new thing,” Mark Larmer said. “On the Internet they can get it whenever they want to.”

While Larimer continues her career in the new-age online journalism she left the class with one piece of advice following her meaningful anecdotes of failure.

“Always say yes and be willing to take a chance,” Larimer said.

TBD reporter Sarah Larimer: Four Variations on a Theme.

2010-11-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

(Editors note: George Washington University students present four different takes on a journalist visiting a journalism class.)

By Nicole Mann
The Metro Line staff writer

Sarah Larimer, reporter for TBD, is young and small. She mumbles a little when she speaks. She has been known to react awkwardly under pressure: when the manager of the Colorado Rockies asked her as an aside how many pushups she could do, she asked him the same question at a press conference later that day.

Larimer tweets as a supplement to her stories. She is the nontraditional reporter for what she escribes as a “nontraditional approach to journalism.”

Larimer, 26, jumped into TBD when she first heard about it, sending in her resume on three separate occasions before the news blog’s launch last August. Though TBD’s legitimacy as a news source was questioned when it first appeared among other Washington media like Politico and The Washington Post, Larimer embraced TBD’s ingenuity.

“I came from the A[ssociated] P[ress],” Larimer said, “so this was a jarring thing that people wouldn’t take us seriously. And with TBD it took four or five calls to get a callback. It takes time to build a reputation. I think we’re well on our way. We proved we can be funny and we can be serious at the same time.”

The switch from the AP to TBD made even her family cringe. Her grandmother still does not fully understand her job “on the internet.”

“I’m a reporter just like everybody else, bloggers are reporters,” Larimer said.

TBD, Larimer recognizes, represents a marked change from the AP and from old media to new. Unlike at traditional newspapers or wire services, at TBD Larimer said her stories do not always go through an editing process; sometimes what she writes is automatically posted to the website without review. Additionally her tweets are unedited; though once an editor did ask her to delete a tweet she felt was too subjective.

“I have a love-hate relationship [with Twitter]. I was afraid to post on Twitter when I started. It ended up being a very quick way to report a story that was breaking and fast. And that was when I started to realize the power that Twitter could bring. I would be sent out to live-tweet debates and afterward I would have to write a story and I realized that my best stuff was on Twitter...Twitter became my story,” Larimer said.

Larimer characterizes TBD as a small organization with a lighthearted approach, and one that thinks “in 15 minute increments.”

“Right now journalism is looking for people who are looking to write a new rulebook. TBD lets you kind of explore how you write. Writing funny is hard. It takes confidence to be funny which I do not have. I am faking it.” Larimer said.

TBD reporter Sarah Larimer: Four Variations on a Theme.

2010-11-16T19:27:00.000-08:00

(Editors note: George Washington University students present four different takes on a journalist visiting a journalism class.)

By Joseph Rabinowitz
The Metro Line staff writer

The future of journalism is up in the air, but good writers will always have jobs.

Reporter Sarah Larimer relayed this information to a class of George Washington University journalism students this Thursday and discussed her experiences as a young journalist for the D.C. startup news site TBD and the Associated Press.

Larimer, 26, looks fresh out of college herself. Her small stature and soft voice do not exude the stern, authoritative qualities of the stereotypical reporter, but it’s clear she is highly skilled and dedicated to her career.

“I’m always thinking ‘Where can I go? What can I do?” Larimer said. “I’ll be a reporter anywhere.”

Despite her own self-accusations of lacking confidence and humor, she appears both confident and funny, even when describing an experience as straight-forward as working for her college newspaper, the University of Missouri’s Man Eater.

“Because we were the Tigers, not some feminist movement,” she said.

Larimer connected with the group of students, emphasizing the importance of getting out there and writing as much as possible. She shared anecdotes of past failures and embarrassments that helped train her as a reporter, including the time she asked Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle how many pushups he could do. Mistakes are helpful, and good reporting comes with time, she said.

“I’ve written so many bad stories,” Larimer said. “I’m trying to think of my worst but it’s hard to pick.”

Larimer advised the students to keep an open mind on the job. She emphasized flexibility and accepting all assignments, even the challenging ones. It’s this attitude that earned her the respect of her editors at TBD.

“Sarah is an outstanding reporter,” said TBD Director of Community Engagement Steve Buttry. “She’s a tenacious reporter obsessed with getting the story.”

As part of her current job, covering the Chandra Levy murder trial, Larimer reports on courtroom activity with an interactive, factual, and often humorous presentation, exemplifying the fresh, unorthodox approach TBD strives for, Buttry said.

Crime reporting has not completely hardened the young reporter yet; she still calls her parents for advice on occasion. Larimer mentioned her parents during her lecture, providing a window in her own life and how it helps form her reporting techniques.

“My mother’s a teacher so I brought candy for anyone who asks questions,” she said during her lecture.

Westboro Baptist protesters get taste of own medicine

2010-11-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

By Emily Adams
The Metro Line staff writer

More than 300 students gathered in Washington Circle on Veteran’s Day morning, to protest the controversial Westboro Baptist Church’s protest near the George Washington University campus.

The Westboro Baptist Church is a small religious group from Kansas, notorious for their anti-gay protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers. The group often touts signs with statements such as “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” as well as stomping on American flags.

Many students came out to rally against what they see as a message of hate. Students carried their own signs, saying things like “Love Thy Neighbor” and “I love my gay roommate.”

“It’s the right thing to do. If they are going to exercise their right to free speech, I should too – without spewing hate,” said Rob Maxim, vice president of the Student Association.

Many students wore custom t-shirts with the words “I’m Gay for Today” proudly emblazoned on the front. The shirts were made and sold to the community by three GW seniors, Charlie Ryback, Jesse Rose, and Tyler Fishbone.

“It has become clear that there is no greater victory for us as students then to show [the Westboro Baptist Church] that they are failing in their efforts to encourage discrimination,” the seniors wrote on Facebook. “We believe they are, in the end, encouraging the very acceptance and open-mindedness that they so vehemently are against.”

About 275 shirts were sold in total, supplies ran out before customer demand did.

Freshman Andy Whitley attended the counterprotest to support the LGBTQ community that the Westboro Baptist Church attacks.

“What they do absolutely disgusts me,” said Whitley. “Even though I am not a part of the homosexual community, there are times when you have to come together behind a cause and show your support.”

The Westboro Baptist Church, which has been labeled a hate group by many, has been actively promoting their anti-gay sentiments since 1991. The church was founded by Fred Phelps, 81, and members of his family make up most of the church. They claim that deaths from war and natural disasters are a result of God’s hatred for homosexuality.

In addition to their opposition to homosexuality, the Church also criticizes members of nearly every other religion, the right to divorce and remarry, and branches of the U.S. military.
Following the protest at GW, the four members of the Westboro Baptist Church moved to Arlington Cemetary to continue their protest.

GW students going loko on booze-caffeine blend

2010-11-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

By Jacqueline Corba
The Metro Line staff writer

While more states and college campuses have recently banned Four Loko, the blend of booze and caffeine some call “blackout in a can,” the drink remains legal and widespread at The George Washington University.

"Once you have your second or third Four Loko you’re asking to have a crazy night,” said one GW student who requested to remain anonymous because he is yet to be of legal drinking age.

Four Loko contains 12 percent alcohol, and makers of the drink say 23.5 ounces of the beverage contain 135 milligrams of caffeine. This is equivalent to two cups of coffee and four beers per serving.

“If you want to get drunk and have fun for cheap just buy Four Loko,” Neil Tuli, a junior at The George Washington University majoring in music, said.

But according to Dr. Daniel Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The George Washington University, there are three problems with Four Loko: the low price, high alcohol content, and large amounts of caffeine.

“Our brains have mechanisms that tell us to stop drinking when we have too much to drink,” said Lieberman. “Four Loko artificially shuts down this breaking mechanism with caffeine. The feelings associated with having too much alcohol in are systems are absent so one will not realize that they are consuming far more than they should until they reach toxic levels. This can involve very scary things like sexual assault.”

Tuli said his friend often behaves aggressively when he drinks Four Loko.

“After drinking Four Lokos my friend punched his roommate in the face and didn’t remember anything,” said Tuli.

Several states have recently taken action against the perilous beverage. The state of Michigan banned the sale of Four Loko on Nov. 5. However, officials placed no restriction on possession of the substance.

On October, 9 students at Central Washington University were hospitalized after they consumed Four Loko. The state announced a ban on the beverage starting Nov. 18.

The George Washington University has yet to take any action towards banning the drink but the D.C. Department of Health has asked EMeRG, GW’s on campus ambulance service, to report any cases involving Four Loko.

Currently 87,717 people on Facebook “like” Four Loko’s fan page. Yet, its wall is full of comments ranging from “DRUNKKK” to “thanks for making me puke on myself.”

“I like to believe that people can filter out what is good and bad for them,” said Tuli. “Four Loko is definitely dangerous.”

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

2010-11-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

By Lauren Schmidt
The Metro Line staff writer

On a beautiful fall day, with temperatures in the lower 50’s and the sun beaming in the sky, the National Mall filled with a sea of people in catchy neon shirts, witch costumes, overstated metallic “I love America” apparel, and signs proclaiming “did I spel this rite?” and “thank God for Mexican food”.

From early in the morning until the late afternoon on Saturday Oct. 30 nearly 215,000 people gathered for Comedy Central icons Jon Stewart and Stephan Colbert in their three-hour Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

“As I look out into the crowd, we have 10 million people,” Jon Stewart joked as the rally began.

As Stewart continued his routine, Stephan Colbert’s face appeared on the projector.

“I’m trapped in my fear bunker, Jon." Colbert proclaimed. "I’m 2,000 feet underground encased in solid bedrock.”

Colbert received boundless applause as he emerged from under stage in a red, white, and blue superhero costume announcing, “oh this feels right, where have you been all my life?” to the audience.

Many surprise guests performed or made an appearance of sorts on stage in the rally including The Roots, the hosts of the Discovery Channel’s show Myth Busters, fictional priest yet real comedian Father Guido Sarducci, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, and more.

At one point in the rally, Yusaf Islam formerly known as Cat Stevens and Ozzy Osbourne had a musical battle that culminated in the performance of “Love Train” by the O’Jays.

“ I believe that the United States is becoming polarized by extremism and that the voice of the silent majority needed to be heard. It took me seven hours by car to get to DC from central Ohio,” said Jesse Goldfarb, a 19-year-old student from Kenyon College in Ohio. “The rally was definitely worth the trip. Being a part of something to that magnitude was unbelievable; it will be part of the history books.”

Horacio Moronta, a resident of southern Maryland stood on lawn chairs with his twelve year old son Nicolas from early in the morning in order to get prime spots to see the stage of this event. As an avid Jon Stewart fan, Moronta explained how he watches the show with his son every night.

“It is important to get kids involved in politics early,” Moronta said. “Most of the population is not attuned to what is going on.”

As Stewart closed the rally, his message of sincerity echoed through the crowd.

“This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear--they are, and we do,” Stewart said, explaining that we live in hard times and not end times. “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.”

The crowd was silenced through Stewart’s thoughtful speech as he examined his faith in Americans and his satisfaction with the event.

“Because we know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is there will always be darkness,” Stewart said. “And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the Promised Land. Sometimes, it's just New Jersey.”

Charter schools push for funding parity

2010-11-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

By Maria Shanahan
The Metro Line staff writer

On average, charter schools across the country receive $2,200 less per pupil than public schools, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Striving for equal recognition in public education, representatives of charter schools nationwide are working to close the funding gap between public and charter schools. The Alliance is working to pass legislation at the state and federal levels to eliminate this disparity in funding.

“Federal programs for jobs in education help fund public schools and staff teachers, but it is hard work for charter schools to obtain access to these funding streams,” Johnson said.

The Alliance spends about $200,000 annually for lobbyists to work on behalf of charter schools, pushing for education reform.

“The biggest challenge is getting policy makers to understand the merits of charter schools right off the bat,” Johnson said.

Lobbying for charter schools and charter legislation is seen primarily at the state level, but has an increasing presence at the federal level.

“Until recently, most charter school policy existed in solely within states,” said Yas Nakib, associate professor of education policy at the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development. “It was invariably a state issue, but legal issues in education have brought it to the federal level.”

As it stands, 40 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws, and supporters of education reform are working to pass laws in the remaining 10 states including West Virginia, Vermont and Kentucky.

Washington, D.C. is ranked as having some of the strongest charter school laws in the nation, according to the Center for Education Reform.

Fitably through the same funding formula and streams that fund Washington D.C.’s public schools, according to the Center for Education Reform’s statistics.

“There shouldn’t be any difference in funding between public and charter schools,” Nakib said. “The schools draw funding from the districts from which the children are enrolled, and funding varies among districts and from state to state.”

Mall rally draws enthusiastic crowd

2010-11-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

By Lindsay Life
The Metro Line staff writer

More than 200,000 people joined Comedy Central satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the National Mall Saturday afternoon to rally for sanity and/or fear. The crowd of students, political junkies, and sign-carrying children answered Stewart and Colbert’s respective calls to action, even if it was unclear what kind of action was expected.

Attendees touted signs that read “If you can fit all your beliefs on a sign… Think harder,” “THIS SIGN IS TOO DAMN BIG,” and “I prefer Coffee.” People stopped to coo over a little boy whose sign said “Glen[n] Beck brainwashed my grandparents.”

Louis Ciccketti, a resident of West Palm Beach, Fla. in town for the Marine Corps Marathon the next day, said he wandered over to the rally for the full D.C. experience, and to check out the hilarious signs.
“My favorite was this one that said ‘I think we all have to agree… Boobs are awesome,’” laughed Ciccketti.

Despite the many wise cracks from the rally’s hosts and guests, the event balanced a mixture of comedy and sincerity. Stewart handed out “medals for reasonableness,” while Colbert awarded NPR, CBS, ABC, and the New York Times with a “Fearie” for restricting their employees from attending the rally. Colbert kept up the hilarity, tweeting at one point, “Let me know if you see an empty porta-potty.”

Stewart and Colbert mastered the combination of jokes and serious discussion with their original song “I’m More American than You.” Notwithstanding a few raunchy lines and their typical competitive spirit, the two comedians managed to convey that every American, no matter his or her political association, can be patriotic.

Christophe Hollocou, a junior at the George Washington University and membership director of the university’s College Democrats, said he thought the rally was successful because of its humor.

“The rally brought a satirical side of politics to light rather than an anti-tea party, liberal agenda pushing rally that many were expecting,” Hollocou said, as he lifted his homemade “Legalize Gay” sign into the air.
“When I watch ‘The Daily Show,’ though I enjoy Stewart’s liberal bias because it aligns with my ideals, I also watch it because it gives humor and simplicity to a field that I find interesting.”
Ultimately, Stewart started and ended the rally with earnestness. Stewart opened the event by clarifying his intentions, claiming that the rally was not trying to make fun of anyone’s political views, but to embrace the diversity of American’s views.

Kennedy Center raises curtain on new gifts

2010-10-26T02:52:00.000-07:00

By Haley Lesavoy
The Metro Line staff writer

David Rubenstein, Chairman of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and co-founder and managing director of the Carlyle Group, recently pledged over $10 million to the Kennedy Center.

The donation, which will be distributed over a 5-year period, will include $5 million to the symphony in support of the orchestra’s new music director, Christoph Eschenbach’s, $2.5 million for a major annual on-site cultural program, and $1.5 million for a program to help bring the arts into schools around the country.

In addition, $200,000 will be used towards major events including the annual Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

In a news release, Rubenstein said that the gift is meant to ensure “that the Kennedy Center and National Symphony Orchestra remain world class organizations.”

Rubenstein, who in 2008 was ranked 155th on Forbes 400 ranking of the wealthiest Americans and who’s estimated net worth is $2.7 billion, says that he hopes his gift will inspire others to do the same. Since joining the Kennedy Center as a board member in 2004, Rubenstein has now given close to 14 million dollars to the institution.

Gifts, like those received from Rubenstein, have made this year a monumental fundraising year for the Kennedy Center. Officials at the center say that when the fiscal year closes in October, they expect to have brought in more than $71 million in private funds. That is nearly double the $37 million that was brought in when Kaiser started at the Kennedy Center in 2001.

In May, Dick and Betsy DeVos donated $22.5 million, the centers biggest donation yet, to go towards a management-training program for arts leaders.

Study finds charter schools relatively underfunded

2010-10-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

By Maria Shanahan
The Metro Line staff writer

Public charter schools in Washington, D.C. are largely underfunded compared to district public schools, according to a national report.

The study, conducted by Ball State University and released last May, found that the district’s public charter schools received 41.2 percent less funding than D.C. public schools in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

“The report verifies our suspicions about inequity,” said Josephine Baker, executive director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board in a statement.
Public schools received $29,808 per pupil, while public charter schools received only $17,525, a difference of $12,283.

Charter schools in the district educated 25.6 percent of D.C. students in 2006-2007, but only received 16.8 percent of funding revenue.
This disparity is cause for concern amongst members of the D.C. Public Charter School Board and of charter school advocates on the national level.

The study notes that the district provides funding for facilities to charter schools, but this allocation falls short of the school construction projects undertaken in the district. Furthermore, while the funding formula works identically for district and charter pupils, D.C. public schools receive funding through other district and federal agencies that charter schools cannot access.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the facilities budget is $6,000 per public school student versus $3,000 per charter school student, according to an analysis by Friends of Choice in Urban Schools.

More than two-thirds of students choose to attend a public charter school in the district, however these schools continue to receive less funding.

There are currently 52 public charter schools on 94 campuses in the district, serving 29,000 students.

Schooling is in the blood for charter school board member

2010-10-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

By Maria Shanahan
The Metro Line staff writer

Education is in the family business for Sara Mead.

"My father, sister and brother-in-law are all professional educators," Mead said. "So was my grandfather."

A member of the Washington, D.C. Public Charter School Board, Mead has been a consultant and policy analyst for 10 years. At 32. she is considered an "amateur" Board member. Along with other young members of the Board, she is required to live in the District.

Mead currently resides in Southwest D.C. and works as a policy analyst for Bellwether Education Partners from her sparse and organize home office. She began working for Bellwether, a non-profit dedicated to improving education opportunities for low-income students, earlier this year. However, her career in education has its roots in her undergraduate work at Vanderbilt University, where she earned a degree in public policy.

"I knew I wanted to do policy work to help children," Mead said. "I ended up getting an internship with the Department of Education during college, and was lucky enough to receive a job offer when I graduated."

Her work has landed her a place on the board of the Apple Tree Early Learning Public Charter School, which led to her current position on the D.C. Public Charter School Board. As a Board member, she is working to increase the number of high-performing public charter schools and shorten the wait lists for the top schools.

"Sara is one of the smartest education policy analysts in Washington, D.C.," said Kevin Carey, senior policy director at Education Sector. "Her opinions and ideas are given a lot of thought."

Mead's passion is apparent through her blog, entitled Sara Mead's Policy Notebook, and through her updates through Twitter.

Metro all a-Twitter about hot cars

2010-10-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

By Nicole Mann
The Metro Line staff writer

Metro passengers can now avoid stuffy "hot cars" thanks to an innovative new reporting service.

The list, unofficially compiled through the social media website Twitter, categorizes cars without working air conditioning – deemed hot cars – by their number and line, and includes the date and the time of each recording.

“I didn’t think much was going to come of it, to be honest,” the creator of the list, who preferred to remain anonymous because of his job, said in a phone interview. “I didn’t realize it was such a wide-spread problem.”

He said he noticed the large number of hot cars around July 4, during one of D.C.’s hottest summers on record.

“People were complaining about hot cars, but none of the data was being aggregated. I didn’t think metro was paying attention at all. So I thought, well shoot, I can just start keeping a list so if you’re standing on a platform you can see if the car you’re about to get on was a hot car,” he said.

Metro passengers tweeted the number of the hot car to warn others reading the list’s creator’s tweets – which he posted on his account, @FixWMATA [www.twitter.com/fixwmata]. Records on the list, which are available in full on FixWMATA.com begin on July 5 and extend to October 12. The list is still updated when a new hot car tweet is posted.

The list creator, 31, intended the list to be a public service, but has not contacted Metro with his results or suggested improvements.

“I know that Metro knows it exists. I just don’t know where to begin on doing that kind of thing. I don’t have any kind of relationship with anyone at Metro, though I know other people following the list on Twitter do,” he said.

Metro board Chair Peter Benjamin could not comment on the list.

“I don’t spend a lot of time reading blogs,” he said.

Frequent Metro riders who struggled with the D.C. heat through the summer were grateful for the service.

“My options were to either walk to work every day, or take Metro and risk sweating in a hot car. Luckily, though, I could check Twitter and make sure I picked a car with working air conditioning,” said junior Matt McDermott, who lived in D.C. during the summer.

GW Junior Dan Hennessey, who also worked in D.C. through the summer, shared the same sentiment.

“A hot car was the worst way possible to begin your day. After climbing down a broken escalator, dealing with the inevitable delays, and the fair chance the SmarTrip readers were broken, a 107 degree car was the last thing I needed,” Hennessey said.

The hot car list was successful enough that the creator began an additional list corresponding with the change in seasons – called the mildew list – for people with allergy problems, though the hot car list continues to receive records.

“I’m glad that it served some kind of purpose. I just know when I get on a car it doesn’t need to be 100 degrees,” the creator said.

Foggy Bottom finds farmers market delectable

2010-10-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

By Lindsay Life
The Metro Line staff writer

College students, businessmen, and scrub-clad nurses sampling an array of organic snacks have become staples of I Street Northwest during Wednesday afternoons. To the disappointment of the market’s many customers, producers will close up their stands next month, ending what managers are calling a very successful fifth season in the neighborhood.

"I am not kidding, this place is the most fantastic place in the world. I stop here every week on my way home from work,” George Washington University junior Elena Adams said as headed towards the market Wednesday afternoon, ready to get her hands on some of the market’s variety of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and breads.

FreshFarm Markets, a nonprofit organization that promotes local farming and production, manages the Foggy Bottom market. According to the FreshFarm website, the group’s mission is to support local food with a face, a place, and a taste in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Laura Genello, FreshFarm market and program manager, is particularly pleased with the growth of the Foggy Bottom market.

“Today we have 11 farmers and producers that sell every Wednesday at the Foggy Bottom market,” Genello said in an email. “The market, like all FreshFarm Markets, is producer-only, which means that all farmers and producers must be selling only products that they make or produce.”

The market hosts farmers and producers from all over the greater D.C. area. Some popular vendors include Baltimore’s Atwater’s Bakery and Chris’ Marketplace, a small company that specializes in seafood located just north of the city.

Yesenia Garcia, an employee of Chris’ Marketplace, says this past season was the company’s first at the Foggy Bottom market. Chris’ Marketplace sells their seafood at various larger farmers’ markets in Dupont and Falls Church, but enjoys the Foggy Bottom environment.

“We like Foggy Bottom because it’s intimate and quaint. It also offers a different clientele with the university students and the hospital workers,” Garcia said, motioning towards the George Washington University hospital directly behind her stand.

The vendors are not the only group pleased with the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. FreshFarms Market Manager Alexandra Alderman is about to finish her third season working at the Foggy Bottom market and is content with neighborhood relations.

“We have great relations with GW and we are constantly working with the Foggy Bottom Association, they were actually the catalyst for this starting,” Alderman said. “We are really dependent on the neighborhood and its groups for our customers.”

Genello adds that the Foggy Bottom Advisory Neighborhood Commission has also been helpful in approving permits and promoting the markets to its constituents.

“Every year we go before the ANC to seek approval for the continuation of the market. The ANC has been very supportive,” Genello said.

When vendors broke down their stands around 7 p.m., the temperature had already dropped considerably. While one vendor packed up his apples, he shivered in his fleece, a sure sign that soon he would be greeting the winter and saying goodbye to his stand at the market.

DC charter schools boost enrollment

2010-10-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

By Ashley Norred
The Metro Line staff writer

A preliminary tally of Washington, D.C. charter school students shows a 7 percent increase in enrollment since last year, for a total of nearly 30,000 students.

This increase comes despite the closing of five schools, which either relinquished their charters or were sanctioned due to poor performance.

Enrollment in public charter schools has been climbing continually, while enrollment in public schools has been declining—though their initial count cites a tentative 1 percent increase this year.

Charter schools are now responsible for educating 39 percent of all public school students in D.C.

Steven Taylor is a researcher and member of the school quality team at FOCUS, a non-profit organization supporting choice in urban schools.” He added that the popular schools like KIPP, a charter school chain with campuses all across the country, can have long waiting lists, though information about waiting lists is not compiled centrally.

Due to the high demand Taylor referred to, three high-performing schools added new campuses this year. All three of these schools, KIPP Grow, Apple Tree East Capitol, and E.L. Haynes, primarily serve preschool children.

For Executive Director Russ Williams of Apple Tree, the focus is not on the numbers, but on service.

“You look to add more sites when you have strong demand, and there is a need for high-quality, full day preschools in the city,” Williams said. “When it’s apparent that there are more families than slots, you want to pursue the opportunity to expand…our mission is serving families.”

This is Apple Tree’s fourth campus.

There will be a community briefing Oct. 21 to explain how to interpret the reports, which will be released Nov. 1.

Takoma Metro station art to come

2010-10-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

By Ashley Reese
The Metro Line staff writer

The District of Columbia is ready to launch its newest public arts project.

“Location, location, location,” says Dierdre Ehlen, DC public art coordinator. "This is the key to any successful public arts project”.

The DC Creates! public arts program in collaboration with the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority have found a location, the Takoma Metro Station underpass, and an artist to undertake the City’s newest beautification project.

Sam Gilliam, a local D.C. artist best known for his use of vivid color and abstract expressionist work, has been selected to lead the $250,000 project. Artistic and structural work is underway to prepare the site for a spring installation of the mosaic.

“Gilliam is the perfect artist for this project,” Ehlen says, “he understands the cultural, social and civic diversity of the community and has a bright lively touch to his work.”

Residents of Takoma Park consistently said they wanted the artwork to express ‘light’ and the greenness of their community, added Rebecca Landwehr, D.C. outreach coordinator.

"Right now the site is a dark hole going down, the project needs to bring light to the site," Landwehr said.

Gilliam said he wants is project to match the neighborhood.

"It's a feeling of gaiety at reviving a community, so that's what I tried to deliver," Gilliam said.

Takoma Park established in 1883 as one of the first commuter suburbs of D.C. was built ignoring jurisdictional boundaries. The community straddled D.C.’s Ward 4 and the Montgomery County, Maryland border region. As the community grew the two sides of town developed distinct personalities, today the citizens are working to redefine Takoma as a "united progressive, forward-thinking, environmentally conscious community,” says Ehlen.

“The very location of the underpass, as it bridges the two sides of the community makes it the perfect place for an inviting gateway to the culturally rich and civically active region,” Landwehr observes.

Outdoor work on the installation of the mosaic will begin Spring of 2011. Images of the planned mosaic can be seen at issuu.com/thedcarts/docs/jan2010artnews.

DC charter schools stiffen standards

2010-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

By Maria Shanahan
The Metro Line staff writer

A policy enforcing more stringent documentation of graduation requirements is in the works for Washington, D.C.’s public charter schools.

The D.C. Public Charter School Board proposed a policy to make sure that every student attending a public charter school in the District meets the minimum 24 Carnegie Unit, or credit, requirement, at its Sept. 20 meeting.

“Students must meet the standard for completing high school,” said Josephine Baker, the board's executive director. “From day one when a high school receives its charter, the Board must make sure the school is clearly informed and the policies are reinforced.”

While the current graduation policies have been in effect since 2007, a plan outlining procedures for a more strict enforcement of the policies will be voted on by the Board’s review at its November meeting.

According to Baker, this call for more rigid documentation stems from annual reviews of various charter schools. Board members went into several schools, which were at risk of having their charters revoked and thus closed, and found missing student records.

Without any indication of whether or not some students were meeting the requirements to earn a diploma, standards which are dictated by D.C. law, the Board must step in and provide oversight to make sure charter schools are at least meeting the minimum requirement.

“Many charter schools exceed what is required,” Baker said. “A charter school must meet a standard of excellence to even be issued a charter in the first place.”

If approved by the Board, one portion of these requirements includes more intensive reviews of students’ transcripts to make sure that students are meeting the minimum D.C. requirements. These reviews will be held at the 10th, 11th and 12th grade levels. The Board wants to make sure that students are on track so they do not have to spend their summers in school.

If this policy is approved and charter schools fail to measure up to appropriate standards, sanctions may be issued for the school, according to Audrey Williams, PCSB public affairs manager.

“The Board holds schools accountable for what they said they were going to do in their charters,” Williams said. “If they said they were going to educate specific grades with a certain curriculum, the Board then needs to make sure that students are proficient.”

While schools failing to meet their annual goals, and are notified by the Board of their low performance, high performing schools are rewarded yearly.

Within the next month, the Board is slated to announce the D.C. charter schools that were “high performing” and those schools will be rewarded with more autonomy and invited to attend an awards gala in December.

GWU and the neighborhood strive to just get along

2010-09-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

By Lindsay Life
The Metro Line staff writer

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission that serves Foggy Bottom is pleased with the college students in the area so far this academic year. Secretary Commissioner Florence Harmon said that although the two groups have had issues in the past, currently they have a good working relationship.

"We have a great group across from us this year," said Harmon, referring to the George Washington University students.

Part of the reason for the improvement is that a George Washington University graduate is currently a commissioner. Asher Corson graduated from the university in 2008 and became a commissioner the year before. Corson ran for the commission claiming that he would offer a unique perspective as a property owner and student.

Harmon said the commission also has a particularly strong relationship with Michael Akin, the university’s executive director of community relations. According to the university website, Akin has “made his office GW’s ‘go to’ resource for community and city residents.”

Harmon agrees.

"Michael Akin has been a splendid resource for us."

In order to augment neighborhood relations the university has made an additional effort to decrease student disorderliness at night. University Police Chief Kevin Hay has continuously said that he wants to improve relations with the school’s neighbors and will be taking a stronger approach to reduce on-campus rowdiness. Harmon said Hay even attended a commission meeting this past month to discuss neighbors’ concerns.

Another reason for the improved relations is the continued joint work on Square 54, the development at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. The university owns the land that Boston Properties is developing. The commission has been involved with the project since the development plans began and recently provided input on the placement of a Whole Foods in the building.

"It was very important for the community to have that grocery store and it’s great that GW brought it here," said Harmon.

Students are generally amenable to working with the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Christopher Clark, a junior at the George Washington University, lives off campus directly on Washington Circle. Clark says that the key to affable neighborhood relations is communication.

"My roommates and I just talk to our neighbors about what’s going on and everything works out because we’re honest and sincere. The same is true for the ANCs; residents and students just have to be honest with them," said Clark.

Blind student sees improvement in GW services

2010-09-19T04:43:00.000-07:00

By Ashley Norred
The Metro Line staff writer

Senior Corbbmacc O’Connor was stopped in his tracks when his cane got caught in a passing biker’s spokes, snatching it from his hand.

“You would think she would notice the blind guy walking down the street,” O’ Connor joked.

Though the busy campus streets can be a hectic scene for a student who can only see a distance of two feet and has no peripheral vision, O’Connor says GW was the right choice for him. His main priority when looking for colleges was the quality of the disability support center. He considered the program here to be one of the best in the country.

Students with disabilities require different accommodations so they can stay on schedule in their classes. Disability Support Services e-mails professors at the beginning of the semester so they are prepared to make adjustments needed for the student. DSS also coordinates note takers for classes, proctors extended time exams, and provides other technical support tailored to students’ needs.

For O’Connor, one of those needs is converting his textbooks to electronic files. DSS obtains his book list and submits it to publishers. They continue to manage the process until the final product is delivered months later. While DSS works to make each students’ experience as smooth as possible, problems do arise that are out of the office’s control.

O’Connor recalled an especially difficult professor who refused to provide him with access to the class PowerPoint slides due to copyright “violations.” He fell so far behind, he had to drop the class.

“The general counsel and lawyers got involved and explained to him that not only should he send me the files, it would be illegal if he refused,” O’Connor said.

He was able to take the class the following semester without a problem.

In addition to supporting students while they are at GW, DSS also tries to prepare them for life after college. According to the National Federation of the Blind, only 30 percent of working age blind adults are employed.

Recent GW graduate Abigail Karow is legally blind and retains only her central vision. She is currently living and working in D.C..

“DSS sent me e-mails about specific disability opportunities in Washington for jobs and internships, which was nice, “Karow said.

As a student, Karow did not use many of the services DSS provides because the vision she does have was adequate enough for note-taking. She said, for her, their help extended beyond those services.

“I had a photography class that I couldn’t bring Dakota, my service dog, to because of the darkroom. The people at DSS always let her stay with them until after my class,” she said.

Disabled students become enabled at GW

2010-09-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

By Shivan Sarna
The Metro Line staff writer

Corbbmacc O’Connor

Natasha Gregory’s life will forever be defined by what happened while riding her horse one day nine years ago. The horse became spooked and jerked over backwards, landing Gregory on her back and into paralysis.

Gregory, 36 at the time of the accident at New York’s Belmont race track, had dropped out of college to pursue her dream of becoming a professional breeder and trainer of Thoroughbreds.

Numb from the neck down, she spent the next 11 months hospitalized. After a series of surgeries and intense physical therapy she began to heal.

Having decided to return to college, Gregory completed her associate degree in geography from Montgomery College in Rockville, M.D. In pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, she debated whether to attend the University of Maryland or the George Washington University.

Through the provision of the necessary resources and assistance, Disability Support Services at GWU plays an integral role in helping disadvantaged students transition to college.

Corbbmacc O’Connor, a senior at GWU who is visually impaired, said “All the schools that I had applied to offered accessible services, though not all had the technology, resources, and historical knowledge of what worked in the past as GW’s disability services had.”

For the 2009 to 2010 academic year, DSS had 741 registered disabled students. Students with physical disorders comprised 5.4 percent of the disabled student body, while students with vision disorders constituted 2.7 percent. Making up 32.7 percent, learning impairments were the most common.

Gregory described the disabilities department at George Washington as “inviting, organized, and accessible.”

In contrast, she said the disabilities office at Maryland “was located in a small stuffy room in a building’s basement. Officials didn’t offer to show you around. I was pretty much on my own.”

Among other adjustments for the physically hindered, GWU will provide wheelchair accessible desks, testing accommodations, and will relocate a class to a more accessible location if needed.

In terms of what is lacking, Gregory said the accessible entrances to buildings are not clearly identified. O’Connor found that the elevators in the Munson residence hall at GWU did not use Braille. He reported this to director of the disabilities center Christy Willis, and within two weeks Braille plates were put in place.

“Because DSS was so helpful and organized, I was able to focus on coming to GW as just any other student,” he said.

GW Disabilities Center helps students cope

2010-09-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

By Shivan Sarna
The Metro Line staff writer

Natasha Gregory’s life will forever be defined by what happened while riding her horse one day nine years ago. The horse became spooked and jerked over backwards, landing Gregory on her back and into paralysis.

Gregory, 36 at the time of the accident at New York’s Belmont race track, had dropped out of college to pursue her dream of becoming a professional breeder and trainer of Thoroughbreds.
Numb from the neck down, she spent the next 11 months hospitalized. After a series of surgeries and intense physical therapy she began to heal.

Having decided to return to college, Gregory completed her associate degree in geography from Montgomery College in Rockville, M.D. In pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, she debated whether to attend the University of Maryland or the George Washington University.

Through the provision of the necessary resources and assistance, Disability Support Services at GWU plays an integral role in helping disadvantaged students transition to college.

Corbbmacc O’Connor, a senior at GWU who is visually impaired, said “All the schools that I had applied to offered accessible services, though not all had the technology, resources, and historical knowledge of what worked in the past as GW’s disability services had.”

For the 2009 to 2010 academic year, DSS had 741 registered disabled students. Students with physical disorders comprised 5.4 percent of the disabled student body, while students with vision disorders constituted 2.7 percent. Making up 32.7 percent, learning impairments were the most common.

Gregory described the disabilities department at George Washington as “inviting, organized, and accessible.”

In contrast, she said the disabilities office at Maryland “was located in a small stuffy room in a building’s basement. Officials didn’t offer to show you around. I was pretty much on my own.”

Among other adjustments for the physically hindered, GWU will provide wheelchair accessible desks, testing accommodations, and will relocate a class to a more accessible location if needed.

In terms of what is lacking, Gregory said the accessible entrances to buildings are not clearly identified. O’Connor found that the elevators in the Munson residence hall at GWU did not use Braille. He reported this to director of the disabilities center Christy Willis, and within two weeks Braille plates were put in place.

“Because DSS was so helpful and organized, I was able to focus on coming to GW as just any other student,” he said.

GW recruits students to aid disabled

2010-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

By Jacqueline Corba
The Metro Line staff writer

The disability support services at The George Washington University offer any student who serves as a note-taker for a student registered with DSS a $100 bookstore gift card for their services.

Compared to other local universities GW provides a strong incentive program, yet some believe it is unnecessary.

“I think people would do it without a gift certificate—sometimes there are too many volunteers,” said Reid Davenport, a student who uses the note-taker services through DSS.

At Catholic University note-takers are paid $25 per credit.

“Generally it is effective, if we have a problem we have the students access friends, being paid is definitely enough,” said Katie Obanheim, who works as a part-time alternate format creator at Catholic University.

American University offers a similar program as GW, where they pay the equal amount for note-taking services.

“It is a voluntary program where we ask students in the class to volunteer, if they serve as primary note-taker they will be paid $100,” said academic support services employee Catherine McDonald.

While some argue over the varying incentive programs, the program has proven to be effective.

“Last year we had 741 students registered with DSS and secured note-takers for 381 classes,” said Christy Willis, director of disability support services at GW. “The bookstore certificates have worked well. Two years ago we developed an online database system, which allows note-takers to post their notes independently, and students to access their notes at any time. It also allows us to track service delivery. I think this system has greatly facilitated service delivery.”

In addition to money, there is additional value for note-takers. “I did it as a favor, and in a large lecture it can offer a way to form a closer relationship with the professor,” said junior Casey Badmington, a political science major.

According to the DSS website, 400,000 undergraduate students in the United States register with their respective service programs, 6 percent of the total student body.

Last year disabled students made up 7.41 percent of the total number of students enrolled in undergraduate programs at GW, over one percent higher than the national average. At Catholic University disabled student’s account for 7 percent of their total undergraduate population.

GW enables the disabled

2010-09-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

By Malissa Wilkins
The Metro Line staff writer

Since 1978, at the George Washington University, the blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk and the autistic could effectively communicate. All thanks to Disability Support Services (DSS).

“GW does wonderful! I don’t know what else they could do,” sophomore Matthew Sampson said.

Sampson, who is a student in the Elliot School, is one of two deaf students on campus. He is deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other. For Sampson, the disability is genetic. His entire immediate family is deaf.

Like Sampson most of the disabled on campus are unnoticeably so. Disability Support Services, however, makes it their mission to see these students and ensure them a better future. DSS attributes the success of GW’s disabled to more than just their services.

“This is a shared responsibility. The entire school is charged with taking care of these students and accepting what they have to offer,” Christy Willis said.

DSS works with over 700 disabled students, 2/3 of which have non-visible disabilities. The office is mostly compliance, and in place, because of federal regulations through Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA.

Sampson does not feel that the office is one in place by requirement, however. To him, the office goes above and beyond what he feels is their responsibility.

“Most schools don’t accommodate as well as GW has. They make sure they are familiar with my schedule, and they ask if I have problems with my interpreter in case I need to get a new one,” Sampson said.

Ann Tobias, a sophomore in the Columbian School, shares the same sentiment.

“They made me aware of things that I didn’t think about because I was 100 percent able and then became disabled overnight. They gave me valuable advice that I hadn’t even thought of. They really thought of day to day behavioral stuff that I would never have considered,” Tobias said.
Tobias, who was temporarily disabled through Bilateral Retinal Detachment, has recovered now.

She still receives emails from DSS concerning her well being and informational data that may be useful in the future.

“They didn’t just push me to the curb, because I no longer needed their assistance, but they did a good job of following up on how I am getting on,” Ann said.
A

Students tipple but avoid arrest records at GW

2010-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

By Lindsay Life
The Metro Line staff writer

Hundreds of George Washington University students get busted for alcohol violations, but few are ever arrested, records show.

In 2008, 468 student liquor law violations were referred to the Student Judicial Services for disciplinary action. None of these students were arrested. Officials have yet to release the 2009 crime analysis, but say the numbers are similar.

GW Captain of Investigations Mark Balazik explained that most liquor violations at the university are given to minors who are publicly intoxicated or in possession of alcohol. Both cases are classified as misdemeanors in the District. Balazik said that the University Police Department refers almost all misdemeanors to Student Judicial Services instead of handing them over to the metro police.

“We’re not about giving students criminal records,” Balazik said in a phone interview.

Balazik did mention that nothing limits university police from arresting a student; they simply tend not to.

Paul Biba, a student justice for Student Judicial Services, believes that students who commit misdemeanors should have the opportunity to learn from these violations. This is an opportunity he says his office provides and metro police may not.

“The SJS process is about helping a student take responsibility and learn from their mistakes after the fact,” Biba said.

Still some students were surprised by the discrepancy between the number of students who go through student trials and the students who are arrested. Katy Heydinger is a senior at GW who transferred from Furman University in Greeneville, S.C. last year. Furman was a dry campus and Heydinger received two alcohol violations while in attendance there.

“There was so much backlash from the students so people usually went off campus to drink. Then the Greeneville police started arresting people. It’s funny because minors definitely go off campus to drink here, but since I’ve been here I haven’t heard of any students getting arrested,” Heydinger admitted.

Others found the incongruity to be expected. Will Doar, who graduated from GW this past spring, laughed when asked about the extreme rarity of student arrests for alcohol violations.

“Of course the school is going to handle it all. In a big city like D.C., kids drinking is not the city police’s top priority,” Doar said.

Sophomore Sam Ehrlich said he feels safer about drinking on campus knowing that the university rarely refers student liquor violations to metro police. Although he admitted it might not make that much of a difference in his drinking habits.

“In all honesty, if more students were arrested, yeah I would drink more carefully, but probably not less,” Ehrlich said.

Ultimately, students agreed that it is better for the students and the university that liquor violations are handled internally.

As Doar said, “thank God it all goes through the school. Going through the police would be way worse.”

iPhone robberies hang up GW campus

2010-09-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

By Emily Adams
The Metro Line staff writer

A trend of iPhone robberies that started last year may have begun again at the George Washington University, after the first iPhone robbery of the school year was reported on Monday.

Two women who were believed to be unaffiliated with GW filed a crime report with University Police at approximately 7:50 p.m. after two men stole an iPhone from the women, according to a UPD crime log report.

One suspect was apprehended outside of the Lisner Auditorium on campus and subsequently arrested by DC Metropolitan Police. The other suspect is still at large.

While this is the first reported iPhone robbery of the year, it certainly may not be the last, after a string of iPhone robberies occurred in the previous school year. Particularly in the spring, In fact, the theft of iPhones and similar portable electronic devices has become a city-wide and even nation-wide problem, according to UPD’s Captain of Investigations Mark Balazik.

“I believe it’s because of the value of the technology. People are spending hundreds or even a thousand dollars on these items,” said Balazik. “Five years ago if someone grabbed a phone, how much value was in that? The new devices are much more valuable targets.”

Senior Diva Bole was a victim of one such robbery last November. Bole’s phone was snatched from her hands while she waited for a traffic light to change at 23rd St. and Washington Circle. The robber grabbed it from her hands while she was texting and ran away.

“It took a minute for me to actually realize it was stolen and by that time he was gone,” said Bole.

Students who own iPhones report feeling more concerned about the possibility of their phone being robbed and some have consciously changed habits to be safer.

“I got a new phone because I had insurance and I’m definitely more cautious with this one than with the first,” said Bole. “I don’t pull it out on the metro as much and when I do, I hold it much closer to me and tighter in my hand.”

Student drinking increases on GW campus

2010-09-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

By Shivan Sarna
The Metro Line staff writer

An intoxicated student was banging her head against her bedroom wall, when James Taylor and two other University Police Department (UPD) officers arrived on the fifth floor of Potomac Hall on Sept. 4. They had responded to a frantic phone call from the girl’s roommate.

“She didn’t have any control over herself,” Taylor said of the inebriated student, whose name has been withheld for privacy reasons. “She tried to act like she was all right.”

The officers did not find alcohol or drugs in the room, and no one had witnessed what happened to her. The student was hospitalized by the university’s Emergency Medical Response Group, EMerG.

Liquor law violations in the initial 10 days of the school year have increased by 44 percent since last year, according to UPD crime logs. The crime log lists 39 liquor law violations from Aug. 28, designated by the university as move-in day, to Sept. 8. Last year, 27 such infringements were reported for the same time period.

“I think students are excited to be back and as a result they consume alcohol in excess,” said Henry Wendel, an assistant director at Student Judicial Services (SJS), which enforces disciplinary action.

Freshmen are the most documented students for liquor law violations, Wendel said. “They are still learning what they can and cannot do.”

Freshmen and sophomores tend to violate liquor laws more than upperclassmen do. This is partly because many upperclassmen live off-campus and are thus not subjected to UPD’s regulations.
With 15 incidents, thefts are the second most common crime. This number represents a slight decrease from the 17 reported in fall 2009.

If a student is hospitalized for overconsumption of alcohol, he or she will have a conversation with a university administrator. If the student has no previous violations, the student will receive amnesty. The violation will go on their administrative and not judicial record.
If a student continually gets in trouble for alcohol, sanctions can range from censure to expulsion.

In an effort to reduce the number of liquor law violations, SJS is making changes to its department through the assistance of student feedback. Starting this year, SJS will hold town hall meetings to hear advice regarding improvements in the disciplinary process. The department has also partnered with the university’s athletics department and the Students Activities Center (SAC), which promotes Greek life among other efforts, to help them educate their respective members on alcohol-related topics.

“We want students to be honest without the fear of punitive punishment,” Wendel said. “If they wish to drink, we want them to do so responsibly. Our main focus is to reduce the secondary effects of alcohol.”

Theft plagues GW community

2010-09-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

By Maria Shanahan
Metro Line staff writer

Instances of theft are already plaguing the George Washington University community, just one week into school, according to the GW Police Department.

Thirteen cases of theft have been reported between Sept. 1 and Sept. 7.

This is nearly double the number of thefts reported just one month prior, between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7, as only seven were reported, according to the university police department's crime log.

The number of reported thefts has also increased in comparison to this time last year, as eight thefts were reported between Sept. 1 and Sept. 7, 2009.

Theft I denotes that the value of the items stolen exceeds $1,000, which is a recent change to the prior amount of $250, according to Frank Demes, assistant chief of GWPD.

“Lately, iPhones have been a hot commodity for snatch and grabs,” Demes said.

Thefts occurring on the street are not the only issue. Instances of theft from buildings are also a problem, which can be prevented.

However, despite taking precautions, many students have still been the victims of theft.

Lauren Walker, junior, had her laptop stolen from her room during the first summer session.

“I’m always careful about locking my door,” Walker said. “I double check it every time, and you never think it’s going to happen to you, then suddenly, you’re without a laptop.”

“In order to protect burglary or theft from the building, keep the room door locked at all times, even if students are in the room,” Demes said.

Michael Wolf, senior, had various items, including a comforter and other room furnishings, stolen from a storage locker in Ivory Tower this summer when he was in the process of moving to his fall housing assignment.

“Despite my best efforts to be cautious, my belongings were still stolen,” Wolf said.
“You feel helpless because you lost your stuff and no one really seems interested in helping you, even when you report it.”

Charter schools try to get into the black

2009-11-18T14:16:00.001-08:00

By Conor McSweeney
The Metro Line staff writer
WASHINGTON -- Washington D.C. public charter schools barely managed to break even in the 2007 fiscal year, making gains that, while small, mark an improvement upon previous years’ deficits.

Seven out of 10 public charter high schools in the District of Columbia ended the tax year with more revenue than expenses, according to data obtained from IRS forms. Only around half of charter schools had positive returns in 2005 and 2006.

Schools which did profit in 2007 did not gain much. None posted excesses greater than $1 million, even though some schools brought in as much as $64 million in revenue for the fiscal year.

Most charter schools beset by deficits, though, were only marginally in the red. The average deficit was only about 7 percent of what the school took in for the year, another improvement over years past.

The D.C. charter schools’ finances appear to be part of a larger national trend. Modest earnings, like in D.C., were common for public charters in cities across the country.

Chicago charter schools, according to the IRS tax documents, gained an average of only $124,000, a small number considering a majority of the schools have revenues in excess of $15 million. Public charters in Los Angeles, while making larger gains than Chicago and the District, posted similarly small excesses when compared to the city’s average revenue.

Greenpeacers canvass for the greenbacks

2009-11-18T03:21:00.000-08:00

By Corey Cohen
The Metro Line
WASHINGTON -- Donors approached on the street by Greenpeace are financing more than just environmental initiatives-upwards of half the green lines canvasser pockets.

Of the nearly $26 million in contributions for the year 2008, over $14 million funded employee wages and benefits according to its filing with the federal government. This leaves some contributors concerned over whether the money is ending up in the right place.

“When I was approached by one of the canvassers off the Foggy Bottom metro stop I was told that 85 percent of the funds go towards education and lobbying,” said Scott Schmelzer, a George Washington University graduate who currently resides in Virginia. “It is misleading that so much of the money gets absorbed by [employees].”

Greenpeace, Inc. was founded in 1971, when a small group of volunteers insisted on witnessing underground nuclear testing by the U.S. government north of Alaska. It is an advocate for environmental conservation, with contributors often ranking Save the Whales as their favorite initiative according to employees of the non-profit.

Laura Gilpin, D.C.’s canvassing coordinator for Greenpeace responded to the criticism.

“It is necessary to pay Frontline employees an hourly wage otherwise we will not have enough funding to spread our message,” she said. “We’re a self-sustaining office that does not accept government or corporate contributions so the only reason we are able to advocate is because of the people signing up with us on the street.”

Frontline is the name of the program that performs canvassing on city streets. After 350 on-street hours are dedicated, full-time employees are entitled to health benefits and 401(k) retirement savings plans.

Part-time canvassers are often recruited during the summertime when college students are seeking employment or internship opportunities. Postings for the positions can be found on websites like Craigslist and Facebook, advertising $12-13 per hour plus bonuses.

Steven Landis, currently a freshman at The George Washington University, worked for Greenpeace in the summer of 2009.

“Kids were just coming and going. A lot of people just didn’t have the stomach to canvass, while others just didn’t care about the issue being pushed at the time,” he said. “There was pressure to perform since it doesn’t make sense for [Greenpeace] to pay those wages if money is not being raised.”

Ms. Gilpin confirmed Mr. Landis’s’ statement.

“You have to make staff. We have pretty high standards and expectations set,” she said.

Bonuses for canvassing positions depend on the average daily gift each week. Ms. Gilpin declined to comment on the financial size of bonuses that employees earn each week, but did say that it is added to the hourly total of canvassers.

Greenpeace Inc. has a sister organization named Greenpeace Fund, which is tax deductible and entirely focused on education. Funding goes directly towards education through lectures, movies and flyers.

Higher salaries force teacher layoffs at well-regarded school

2009-11-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

By Jennifer Tchinnosian
The Metro Line staff writer
WASHINGTON -- KIPP Ujima Village Academy has been forced to fire five faculty and staff due to demands from teacher's unions. It has also had to cut back on spending by shortening the school day, canceling saturday classes, and eliminating field trips.

It is the only way to pay for the thirty-three percent higher salaries the Baltimore Teachers' Union demands of KIPP.

KIPP Ujima is Maryland's highest performing public charter school, surpassing even private schools in their test results and education. It is among the most successful of the 82 Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) schools nationwide.

In recent years, KIPP students earned the highest eighth grade math scores in the Maryland School Assessment.

Part of the reason for KIPP's success is related to longer school days, shorter summer vacation, and longer school weeks. The curriculum also makes room for field trips and after-school activities which enrich the students' education.

KIPP teachers, in turn, work longer hours and plan for more student activities. They are among the highest paid teachers in the city, in compensation for their extra time and efforts.

Though the teachers union believes that amount is not enough, many teachers point to a high job satisfaction as high compensation for their work.

"It all comes down to the students, it comes down to what they give you and what you give them back," said Yasmene Mumby, a teacher at KIPP Ujima Village Academy.

Like the rest of the faculty, Mumby works nine hour days and is available to students 24 hours a day.

Another teacher, Jason Farber said, "People asked me how I liked the extra hours in my first few weeks at KIPP, and I truthfully told them I would rather spend 12 hours here than seven hours at a regular middle school in Baltimore."

The Baltimore Teachers' Union believes the teachers are being treated unfairly.

"We ask that they're paid for the work they do," said Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union.

Though teachers believe they are paid right, Maryland law requires charter school teachers to be a part of the union, so they don't have a lot of say in deciding what the Union fights for.

KIPP continues to struggle to get its schedule and staff back.

Public test scores rankle Alexandria parents

2009-11-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

By Julie Hyman
The Metro Line staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The achievement gap in performance between minorities and whites in Alexandria City Public Schools is nothing new. However, when Superintendent Morton Sherman decided to post scores in the schools showing these gaps last May, many parents and community members expressed fierce opposition.

The scores are broken down into subgroups determined by federally mandated tests, including African-American students, Hispanics, students with disabilities, sex, English language learners and economically disadvantaged students. Principals were instructed to post other things alongside the scores, creating school report cards in the process.

“Use this opportunity for discussion about goals, benchmarks, belief systems, needed areas of improvement, and areas deserving of celebration,” Sherman said in a May 6, 2009 e-mail.

The report cards went up at different times in each of Alexandria’s 19 schools. Some parents weren't happy.

“Many parents opposed posting the report cards because in Alexandria, the data is very stark. ‘Whites’ very high, ‘African Americans’ lower, ‘Hispanics’ even lower,” said one Alexandria mother who preferred to remain anonymous. “Many parents and staff also were afraid that just posting scores would create a situation in which children would see just scores and possibly make horrible inferences about their own capacity and intelligence and also the capacity and intelligence of others."

According to the Virginia Department of Education, 69 percent of African American students and 69 percent of Hispanic students in Alexandria schools passed the mathematics testing in the 2008-2009 school year. Ninety-three percent of white students passed. In English performance, the gap is slightly less significant. Eighty percent of African-American students passed, 81 percent of Hispanic students, and 95 percent of white students passed.

“When I came to Alexandria, it was clear to me that the level of discourse about the achievement gap was almost non-existent meaning that folks had not publicly engaged in why there are huge disparities among the achievement levels of our kids,” said Sherman in an interview with The Metro Line. “So the intent of putting up those report cards was…to be transparent and open and really honest about our levels of achievements.”

Sandy Hudnall, the Superintendent’s executive assistant agreed with Sherman.

“He didn’t want us to look at our achievement through rose-colored glasses. It’s sometimes too easy for a school to say we’re doing great, we’re doing fine overall,” she said in an interview with The Metro Line.

Many parents and community members who opposed the report cards understood the need to facilitate discussion but did not understand why the scores needed to be posted where students could see them.

These scores come from testing mandated by each state in order to mark progress towards the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. The act was signed into law in 2002 and intends to produce education reform based on standards and test scores.

“As informed adults, we know that these scores reflect how our kids are doing in our schools, NOT how intrinsically smart they are or are not,” said the Alexandria mother.

Gwendolyn Hubbard Lewis, founder of the Concerned Citizen Network of Alexandria and a former school board member, learned about what was happening in the schools after the report cards had already been posted.

“I was informed by some of the workers at T.C. Williams (High School) who had observed the students complaining about being teased by other White children. They felt it was embarrassing and demeaning,” Lewis said in an interview with The Metro Line.

Parents and community members, including the Concerned Citizen Network of Alexandria, continued to publicly oppose the report cards. They set up meetings with school principals and met with Sherman. Despite their efforts, the report cards remained until the schools let out in the summer.

“I think there is complete value to transparency and to looking openly and with community discussion at the weaknesses in the system,” said another Alexandria parent who also wished to remain anonymous. “As for that, this did not feel like it was come at with a real feel of democracy.”

Sherman acknowledges that he had no intention of negatively affecting any of Alexandria’s 11,225 students. He wanted to spark conversation and feels that he was successful in doing so.

“They would have had to come down anyway during the summer because they would have been outdated. It was a good time to take them down to update the information and continue the conversation,” said Sherman in an interview with the Metro Line.

“We will come back and put up another version…We’ll keep doing it until we get it right,” he said.

DC schools seek to trim the fat

2009-11-07T03:38:00.000-08:00

By Ricki Maybruch
The Metro Line staff writer
WASHINGTON -- With a new government-funded meal plan and a physical education grant, the D.C. public school board is attempting to prevent obesity in its schools from becoming a bigger problem than it already is.

The new plan will also require school nurses to use an electronic record system to calculate the children’s body mass indexes, said Diana Bruce, the director of health and wellness for the D.C. public school district (DCPS).

"Many students in DCPS are heavy and overweight but we don’t systematically collect that data," Bruce said.

The school system may not have the data, but a 2005 study conducted by the National Survey of Children’s Health shows that obesity is a problem amongst D.C. children. According to the study, 22.8 percent of D.C. children between the ages of ten and 11 were overweight, 36 percent between the ages of 12 and 14 were overweight and 14.1 percent between 15 and 17 years of age were overweight.

A recent grant from the Department of Education to the D.C. public school system may help lower those statistics. According to the department’s website, the Carol M. White physical education grant provides funding for physical education programs, including curriculum development, teacher training, student fitness assessments, data collection and evaluations.

“Teaching health and physical education will show the children how your body works and how to use it when engaging in physical activity," Bruce said. "The focus is on physical fitness, and the grant will help that."

Bruce works with the school district's resident dietician, Whitney Bateson, to deliver the healthiest nutrition possible to students. Bateson, an employee of Chartwells-Thompson dining services, said the district recently stopped providing many schools with preferred meals, or frozen pre-packaged food.

“If a school doesn’t have a kitchen or space to prepare food on site, the preferred meal is a great option because it’s easy," Bateson said.

Despite their convenience, the pre-packaged meals are not the healthiest options for the students.

“The quality is not the best and the presentation is not the nicest looking stuff. It resembles a TV dinner or airplane food," she explained.

By the end of this school year, the district plans to transition all public schools to a freshly-prepared meal plan that includes healthy ingredients such as “whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables and more options”, Bateson said.

Without systematic records of the students’ heights and weights, there is no way to determine if the meal plan has reduced obesity rates in schools, Bateson said.

“Over the past year and a half the reactions that I’ve gotten are that there has been a lot of improvement," she said.

The switch will also bring in more revenue to the district, she said. On average, students pay $1.25 for a meal or at a reduced price of 20 cents.

“Since we don’t charge a lot, our money comes from government. The more meals you serve the more money you get," Bateson explained.

Bruce and Bateson will also be working with the office of family and community engagement to involve parents in the effort as well, Bruce said.

Arlington band teacher conducts himself well

2009-11-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

By Dagny Leonard
The Metro Line staff writer
ARLINGTON -- One day Brian Coffill walked into his office at Yorktown High School to find a new addition to his decor—a mattress, so that he might literally live in his office. It had been planted by a few of his students as a practical joke, the culmination of their quips that Coffill practically lived at Yorktown High School. Coffill devotes a lot of time at work in the Yorktown Music Department, and his students had taken notice.

“Band is pretty all-consuming,” said Coffill.

At 24, Coffill is the Director of Bands and chair of the music department at Yorktown High School.

“I love music, and I love making kids love music,” Brian Coffill said.

Coffill graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2008, where he studied the French horn and natural horn. He then headed south to Arlington County, Va., to join the team at Yorktown. He is by no means the first in his family to enter into the field of the arts.

“I come from an artistic family,” Coffill said. “My father is an art teacher and my sister is an artist, and each member of my family (going back generations) is or has been involved in music in some way.”

At Yorktown, Coffill is able to exercise his two passions—music and teaching—daily. He is director of the Yorktown Marching Patriots, and conductor of the Symponic Band, the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble. He also teaches Advanced Placement music theory and beginning guitar, in addition to overseeing the Percussion Ensemble, Pep Band, and other chamber ensembles.

With around 85 music students, Coffill has his hands full on a daily basis.

“It definitely makes it interesting,” Coffill said. “Fall is an especially busy time for us in the marching band. But it’s definitely worth all the time we put in. I have some pretty lofty goals for us this year.”

Coffill said his main goal is to make the Virginia All Honors Band.

Coffill and the marching band have started off on the right foot, with a showcase last week that had an audience of 1,000 people. Coffill also lead the band to earn “Superior” ratings and the Virgina State Ratings festival last week.

“This is the first time in at least 12 years that Yorktown got straight ‘Superior’ ratings,” Coffill said.

This is just one example of the rewarding experiences Coffill has had during his two-year tenure at Yorktown.

“I love seeing the smiles on kids’ faces when they do something they set out to accomplish,” Coffill said.

Coffill, an avid Red Sox fan, said baseball is his biggest hobby outside of teaching music. But band is his first love and biggest commitment. Coffill said he tries to keep playing on his own as a musician.

“I dabble,” said Coffill. “I sing and play a little guitar. When you are teaching music to students you have to know a little bit of everything.”

Coffill said he has grown close to many of his students, and they often like to play friendly pranks on him. At band camp one summer, Coffill returned to his dorm room to see that it had been filled with hundreds of balloons.

Coffill said he enjoys this kind of camaraderie and the relationships he has with his students.

When asked if this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his career, Coffill responded with a resounding yes.

“Maybe 10 or 15 years down the road I’d like to direct a college band, but that is very long-term. I love what I do.”

Rollergirls fight for financial position

2009-11-01T04:21:00.000-08:00

By Ash McDaniel
The Metro Line staff writer
WASHINGTON -- While the economic downturn worsens for some businesses, the D.C. Rollergirl league manages to skate by unharmed.

The league is a non-profit and the majority of the money to run the organization comes from donations and advertisement sales, according to sponsorship chair officials. For this season the D.C. Rollergirls raised $3,300 from their advertisement contributors. The main sponsors are athletic companies like D.C. Power Stilts and S-One Helmet.

“With the economy down, you'd expect advertising to go down as well, but roller derby is exploding in popularity right now and becoming less of a subculture and more mainstream,” Adrienne “Velocityraptor” Schreiber said. “The governing body of the sport now has official sponsors, who in turn trickle down to each sanctioned league, including us… Derby sponsorships have a protective bubble around it despite the economy.”

The cost of advertising varies between advertisements that are hung in the armory during competitions and ones that are sold in their program that they sell at the bouts. The costs range between $150 and $500 per bout.

The league also receives gifts from some companies that would like to give products rather than monetary donations.

“Sour Puss is an online clothing store and they give us some socks and scarves and different things that we’ll wear during bouts,” said Sponsorship Chair Mara Veraar, known as Scarlet O’ Snap. “We also get 50 percent off helmets from one of our product sponsors as well. And Chipotle also gives us tons of free burritos.”

While the league is holding on to its sponsorships, many of the rollergirls are putting up their own money to subsidize some of the costs that aren’t covered.

“Our sponsors allow us breathing room for rent and provide uniforms,” Schreiber said. “But there are more costs.”

Members pay $40 a month to remain in the league, but there are other costs the girls pick up themselves.

“You have to spend money on skates, you spend money watching people play in other bouts around the area. We even attend the eastern regional tourney in North Carolina, which we all pay for ourselves,” Melissa Cooper, known as Styx N’ Stones, said.

Cooper said the investment to her is worth it, despite the strain on her wallet.

“We spend a lot of money on our own,” she said. “But it becomes your baby, something that you're helping to grow… You have to be 100 percent invested in this league to survive.”

Builders develop support with Alexandria mayor

2009-11-01T04:18:00.000-08:00

By Corey Cohen
The Metro Line staff writer
ALEXANDRIA -- Mayor and Metro Boardmember Bill Euille accepted $22,125 in campaign contributions from real estate companies between 2007 and 2009, more than the next three sectors combined records show.

Euille ran uncontested in the 2006 election.

Erkiletian Construction Corp. and its president Stefanie Erkiletian contributed a combined $4,500 over this period, more than anyone on the list. A project that Erkiletian completed in 2005 is Halstead Tower, a luxury apartment complex. Planning for a new building called The Asher has been underway since the building was originally purchased in 2007 with approval passing unanimously by the council.

“We like Bill Euille because he is good for the community,” an Erkiletian employee that chose not to be identified said. She declined to answer more questions.

The Asher project is still within the review process, according to James Hunt, a City of Alexandria staff member.

The link between these contributions and current construction projects in the neighborhood has gone largely unknown to residents, but some find it troubling.

“Alexandria needs to be preserved,” said Allison Cryor, member of the now defunct Alexandrians for Sensible Growth. “It is a city with rich history and many of these buildings go up without much input from the community.”

Other campaign contributions Erkiletian Construction Corp. has made include $2,500 to both Sharon Bulova for Fairfax County Board Chair and Linda Puller for Senate.

Euille is not new to the real estate industry. According to his website he founded Wm.D. Euille & Associates in 1987, a construction firm that would go on to have millions of dollars in revenue.

Erkiletian is not the only company to offer campaign contributions to Mayor Euille while installing new high rises in the area. Diamond Properties LLC sent the mayor $1,000 in the year 2007. The firm bid on the land that would eventually become The Monarch Apartments in the summer of 2005, with a completion date in 2007.

Still, others are okay with the added development.

“I don’t mind that over there being developed,” said Aileen Price as she pointed to the lot that Erkiletian Construction Corp hopes to soon begin building upon.

Alexandria school board seats cost little, demand much

2009-11-01T04:09:00.000-08:00

By Julie Hyman
The Metro Line staff writer
ALEXANDRIA -- Serving on a city school board is an important jobin a community like Alexandria, where school board members are responsible for 19 schools and 11,225 students. But unlike campaigns for other public offices, school board election campaigns are relatively inexpensive.

In the last Alexandria school board election, which was in 2009, candidates spent money on items such as thank-you cards and t-shirts. District A representative Helen Morris spent $179.30 on balloons and another $95.35 to rent a helium tank. District B representative Arthur E. Peabody Jr. spent $69.30 on wine and $129.34 on food. He also spent $210 on stamps. District C representative Charles H. Morris spent $100 on signage.

District A Representative, Mimi Carter, raised more money than any other school board candidate in the 2009 election.

“I feel that the small amount of money you need for a local campaign is a necessary requirement in order to create awareness about your issues that you are campaigning on. Mailings, website, phone banks all cost money,” Carter said in an interview with The Metro Line.

Compared to other elections, the amounts spent on Alexandria school board campaigns are very minimal.

In the Virginia State Senate election in November 2007, state Sen. George Lincoln Barker spent $14,319 on mail, printing, and postage. He spent $959,463 in total for the 2007 election. Margaret Vanderhye serves in the Virginia House of Delegates and spent $662,636 on the 2007 election. Kathy Byron serves in the Virginia House of Delegates as well. Despite running unopposed in the 2007 election, she spent $66,935 in total on her election campaign.

“I don't approve of the amount of money needed to run for state or national office. Too often some fantastic leaders do not run for office because of the extreme amounts of money required,” Carter said. “And too, often the qualities that allow you to raise a lot of money and run a campaign are not the qualities you need to be a good leader. Good leadership requires a completely different skill set.”

So how do the amounts spent in the elections compare to the funds that the school board allocates to the schools each year?

In the 2009-2010 school year, Alexandria will spend $23,967 on textbooks alone, and $122,996,656 on teacher salaries. The total operating budget for this school year is $198,993,272.

The next school board elections for all three Alexandria city school districts will be held in December 2012.

Fenty far ahead in fundraising

2009-11-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

By Lance Fiasconaro
The Metro Line staff writer
WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is winning the fundraising battle in the 2010 mayors’ race.

The mayor already has raked in millions for next year’s contest. As of October, Fenty has reported nearly $3 million in campaign contributions, according to the District office of campaign finance. Of the 2,126 contributions, most are high-dollar amounts from corporate interests.

Noteworthy contributors include or hold ties to developers Akridge Co. and William C. Smith, Pepco, Marriott and the Washington Nationals. The maximum an individual or organization can contribute in a D.C. mayoral campaign is $2,000.

Democratic challengers Sulaimon Brown and recent entrant Leo Alexander have not yet announced fundraising dollars, but are presumed to be well behind Fenty.

High-ranking D.C. councilmembers Vincent A. Gray and Kwame R. Brown have also been discussed as possible challengers, though neither has made an announcement. Brown, however, reported $6,000 in campaign contributions in July. No Republicans have come forward.

Alexandria school chief pushing ahead 24/7

2009-10-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

By Julie Hyman
ALEXANDRIA -- For the superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools, the day starts with a morning meeting at 7:30 and doesn’t end again until 7:30 p.m. In implementing change in the school system, Morton Sherman has kept with the “methodical, logical, and deliberate pace” he promised in a letter to the community days before he would officially assume office.

Since he started in Aug. 2008, two large middle schools have become five smaller ones, students are now included in parent-teacher conferences, and seven of the districts’ 19 schools now have an International Baccalaureate program, where students can receive internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education.

“I have this silly thing called 24 hours in a day, and I try not to sleep but it happens,” Sherman said in an interview with The Metro Line.

The superintendent only seems to slow down when he spends time with students. During the first school board meeting of 2009, a group of kids from George Mason Elementary School recited the pledge of allegiance. Sherman’s salt-and-pepper mustache spread into a quick smile. While Sherman is serious about his job and is rarely seen without a formal suit, it is apparent to many in the Alexandria community that he truly cares about the districts’ children.

“I believe Dr. Sherman genuinely cares for the success of each student,” said Leslie Stevens, president of the PTA at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. “He appears to feel each day of inaction as a day lost forever in the education of the kids.”

Amy Carlini, executive director of communications for Alexandria City Public Schools, confirms Stevens’ beliefs.

“Dr. Sherman cares deeply about the success of all children. Although many students in ACPS are achieving at high levels, the Superintendent will not rest until all students are achieving at their highest potential. He made this clear from his first day in Alexandria and it drives every decision he makes,” Carlini said in an interview with The Metro Line.

Sherman’s no-nonsense work style comes from years of experience. As superintendent for more than eight years, Sherman helped schools in Cherry Hill, N.J. reduce the achievement gap between students. During his two-year term as superintendent in Tenafly, N.J., 11 of 12 state school assessments improved. Sherman also served as superintendent in South Orangetown, N.Y., and taught public school in Delaware. In Connecticut, Sherman was an assistant superintendent and principal.

He is a well-known educator with over 200 articles published; a board member of the Hawn Foundation, which advocates for children’s achievement in school; serves on the National Superintendents Roundtable; and has also appeared on Montel Williams’ talk show to discuss bullying in schools.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sherman grew up in Allentown, Pa. His father was an auto mechanic who never finished high school, and constantly stressed the importance of education to Sherman and his four brothers.

“My dad would come home every night with grease under his fingernails and say, ‘Education, education, education,’” Sherman told the Inquirer after his contract with Cherry Hill schools was renewed in 2002.

Sherman took those words to heart and educated himself before working for the education of others. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree in English Education from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in educational foundations from Lehigh University.
Despite all of his past experience and his approach, what matters to Alexandria City residents now is seeing improvement in their schools.

In an interview with The Metro Line, PTA President at Lyles-Crouch Elementary School, Hannah Williams, said it simply.

“He gets stuff done. We like that," Williams said.

Here comes the new MTV

2009-10-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

By Lance Fiasconaro
NEW YORK -- Beginning later this year, YouTube will no longer be the go-to location for music videos on the Internet. Users wishing to stream music videos will be directed to a new online destination, Vevo.

“This is going to be the MTV of the Internet,” Sony Music’s president of global digital business, U.S. sales and corporate strategy, Thomas Hesse said.

MTV’s shift away from music, coupled with the success of services like Hulu, which allows consumers to watch television programs online, could be an ideal entry point for Vevo.

“The music industry may be waking up to the fact that music videos are marketing tools to sell albums,” former MTV producer Tom Cheney said. “Denying their audience access to that content doesn't do them any good.”

Google Inc, which owns YouTube, in conjunction with the major record labels, will provide the foundation for the new service. YouTube users looking for music videos will be redirected to Vevo. Live concert videos will also be available on the site. To make the site Vevo easy to use, users will be able to login with their Facebook or Twitter account.

The global music market has halved in the past 10 years, according to Hesse. This is mostly due to illegal file sharing, which makes up 50 percent of Internet traffic, he added. Hesse says he is hopeful that Vevo, along with services like Hulu, can aid in reducing this statistic.

As the profits from record sales wane, remaining actors are feverishly seeking new revenue streams to counter their losses. By sharing ownership in Vevo, record labels will profit from advertisements sold on the new site. The partnership should also ease tensions between Google and the music industry over licensing issues relating to streaming content.

“A shift to ads as a source of revenue may be good in the short term, but will never make up for the loss album sales,” Cheney added.

Vevo and AT&T Inc announced today that AT&T is the first sponsor of the new service. AT&T will be promoted across Vevo on launch, according to the site’s official Twitter page.

Universal Music Group, a division of Vivendi SA, began work on its premium music video service last November. In July 2009, Sony Music Entertainment partnered with Universal on the project. Together they account for 500 billion music streams. The two other major players in the music industry, Warner Music Group and EMI Group, have yet to sign on, but are expected to join the effort this year. Independent distribution company IODA, which was purchased by Sony earlier this year, will upstream content from indie record labels.

Funding for the project is being provided by Abu Dhabi Media, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Financial details have not been disclosed.

The Cheapest Seats Money Can Buy

2009-10-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

By Danielle Meister
WASHINGTON -- For a maximum of zero dollars and zero cents, local Foggy Bottom residents can win a seat in the area’s lowest level political board, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

A Metro Line analysis of 2008 financial statements that commissioners submitted to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance showed that five of the six commissioners received campaign contributions of “$0.” The reports also stated that Commissioners Florence Harmon, Armando Izzidary, David Lehrman, and Eric Malinen also “made (0) expenditures, including from or by me as a Candidates, to support my election to ANC office.”

According to Wesley Williams, public information manager of the DOF, the sixth commissioner, Rebecca Coder, did not submit a financial statement. Coder has not returned repeated phone calls from The Metro Line. The DOF enforces a $25 per person cap on monetary contributions donated to a candidate.

Williams said the low economic cost of ANC elections is likely attributed to the style of campaign.

“ANC campaigns are typically verbal, word-of-mouth, grass roots campaigns,” he said. “In the old days, candidates would tell people to vote for them or go down to the local voting station to let people know.”

Williams noted that when there is money spent on an ANC campaign, it mostly comes from the candidates’ own pocket, rather than from donations. In fact, he said that for the 2008 election, only 10 of more than 150 candidates spent over $100. Candidates are not required to report exactly what they did with the money, Williams said.

Alex Padro, of ANC2C, bank rolled his election himself, spending close to $4,000 of his own money to beat an incumbent; an election in which he amassed a total of zero reported campaign donations. Williams said the Padro’s ANC campaign is one of the most expensive ones in 20 years. Padro failed to return phone calls from The Metro Line.

Juan Lopez, from ANC1C, spent a total of $1,000 for his election to low-level politics. ANC Commissioner Asher Corson spent a few hundred for his first election against an incumbent in2006, but zero for his re-election in 2008. He said the cost of the campaign most likely depends on if the candidate is running unopposed and if he/she is on the ballot.

“For my first election, I attempted to touch all the registered voters in three ways: I set up phone banking in my apartment, I knocked on every single door of every voter in my district, and I sent out a mailer,” Corson said. “The mailer was probably the most expensive.”

Corson noted that he had to put extra effort and extra money into his first campaign because he had an opponent. When he ran in 2008, Corson was unopposed, and so he stood outside the voting station and told everyone who walked in to vote for him.

Part of the reason ANC elections are so cheap, is because the amount of registered voters is so small, Corson said.

“Each single member district [in Foggy Bottom] has about 1,300 people in them,” Corson said. “So I mean if you consider any given time about 60 to 70 people is registered, your dealing with about 900 to 1000 voters at any given time.”

Locals in uproar as city opts for apartments on historic school site

2009-10-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

By Danielle Meister
WASHINGTON -- Community groups are in an uproar this week after a D.C. government office reportedly selected Equity Residential, the company behind the 2400 M St. apartments, to develop the Stevens Elementary School site.

Groups like the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A, which backed another proposal and say they fear another dorm-like apartment building filled with college students, have already begun protesting the decision.

“ANC 2A opposes any rental housing development of the Stevens Elementary building and any neighboring buildings,” a July 2009 ANC resolution stated, which was subsequently sent to a DC City Councilmember in protest late last week.

The ANC, which encompasses the Foggy Bottom area, had ranked Equity's plans last during a special meeting in June when three proposals selected by the city were presented to the community. Commissioners had expressed worries that Equity, the only developer to propose residential apartments, would create a building like its current one at 2400 M St., a popular spot among students who choose to live off-campus.

"They've quickly skewed into glorified dorms," ANC Commissioner Rebecca Coder said about the apartment building in June.

The city was supposed to publicly announce the selection last Tuesday but canceled the announcement, ANC Commissioner Asher Corson said. Corson said D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, also opposed the decision and was working to stop the selection. Evans did not return requests for comment.

"I'm stunned and deeply saddened. This is the nightmare scenario, this is the neighborhood's last choice for developing the site," Corson said. "There was absolutely nobody in the neighborhood that supported the Equity Residential proposal."

Equity plans to turn the historic school site into a mixed-use apartment building with 190 apartments, 9,000 square feet of retail space, and 90 parking spaces. The ANC had supported a small boutique hotel proposed by the Peebles Development Corporation and the Morgans Hotel Group. The third finalist proposal, a medium-sized boutique hotel by the Moddie Turay Company, received lukewarm reception amongst community members.

Commissioner Florence Harmon said the selection represents another example of the city's "continual lack of transparency" and disregard for the community's desires.

"Once again, community input has been ignored," Harmon said. "City officials appear to have so ineptly handled the government contracting process involving Stevens development."

Appalled by the District’s decision, commissioners have begun to play politically leapfrog, opposing the impeding confirmation of Valerie Santos as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

“Because of Ms. Santos' lack of transparency and utter disregard to the neighborhoods expressed desires in [the Stevens School] matter, and the apparent disregard of government contracting and charter school regulations, we OPPOSE the confirmation of Ms. Santos as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development,” Commissioners Asher Corson, Florence Harmon, Rebecca Coder, and Armando Irizarry wrote in a letter to a DC City Councilmember on Sept. 24.

Stevens has been at the center of community debate since the D.C. Public Schools Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, closed it, along with ten other schools to sell to developers. The debate has carried on for two years; residents originally wanted the 100-year-old school, which was originally built to educate children of slaves, to be turned into a museum.

Alexandria school chief is king of all media

2009-10-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

By Julie Hyman
ALEXANDRIA -- The superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools utilizes different forms of communication, including the internet, to interact with and personally reach out to the community.

When Superintendent Morton Sherman was hired in June 2008, he held open forums with over 40 of the city’s civic groups and asked community members to fill out an online survey assessing what needed to be changed in Alexandria public schools. Now, Sherman‘s online blog is updated nearly every week, he writes a monthly column in the local Alexandria Gazette packet newspaper, he has monthly brown bag lunches with each school’s PTA president, and he has encouraged community members to give their opinions through any and all means possible.

“I think he sets a really good example for our parents and for our kids to say, ‘Your opinions and perspectives are so important that we’re going to use all of these different messages to communicate with you,’” says Amy Carlini, the executive director of Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) information and outreach.

In his blog posts, he encourages comments and involvement by asking rhetorical questions and including related links on the subjects. In a June 6, 2008 video interview with a T.C. Williams High School student, Dr. Sherman turned the questions around, asking the student what he thought needed to be changed within ACPS.

“My style of communication is to be as open and transparent as possible,” Sherman said in an August 2008 message addressed to the community.

Although Sherman is the first superintendent to utilize user participation and online media in the Alexandria school district, this has become a trend seen in school districts nationwide. According to a study conducted by the National School Board Association in 2007, 59 percent of school districts say at least half of their staff members participate in some form of social networking related to their jobs, while nearly 37 percent say 90 percent or more do so.

The study also found that 96 percent of all students with online access have used
social networking technologies, indicating that the best way to reach out to students is through the internet.

Despite the success of Sherman’s electronic communications, Carlini acknowledges that more traditional forms cannot and have not been ignored, especially in a community like Alexandria, where 2,293 school-aged children live at or below the poverty line and may not have internet access.

D.C. City Council tries to Barry ethics problems

2009-10-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

By Lance Fiasconaro
WASHINGTON -- There is a new chapter in D.C. government ethics, with the passing of a new code of conduct for city councilmembers.

The council voted unanimously last Tuesday to pass the ethics code, taking swift action after returning from its summer recess. This is the first official code of conduct directed toward councilmembers.

The district pushed through the emergency legislation upon growing concerns of Councilman Marion Barry’s integrity. Barry was arrested July 4 on charges of stalking, and was also under scrutiny for awarding a government contract to a close female friend.

In order to avoid any conflicts of interest in developing the statutes, the council contracted CityEthics, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based company to write the code.

“There were a couple of phases to their work. One was to do all the preparatory work and draft the documents,” council chairman Vincent C. Gray said in Tuesday’s press conference. “The second part was conducting an onsite workshop and the legal review. The contract with them is $5,000 plus travel expenses.”

The code of conduct speaks to such issues as not using one’s office for private gain, giving preferential treatment to any one person and avoiding conflicts of interest. The document is affected by 50 different statutes, including 10 pages just of titles, Gray said.

“In fact, we think there might even be some conflicts in some of these statutes,” Gray added, “but these are steps in the right direction, we believe.”

An ethics officer has been assigned to enforce the ruling. District councilmembers and staff that encounter an ethical dilemma in the course of duty may see confronting the violation directly a conflict of interest and feel the need for an independent arbitrator. The office of the general council has appointed Brian K. Flowers indefinitely to the ethics officer position.

As it stands now, there is no set punishment for violating the new code. The council was unable to determine the proper sanctions in the emergency time frame it allotted to rush the legislation.

“We’re prepared to make changes as we go along,” Gray said. “If we find that there are any difficulties, then we will make adjustments at that point.”

The ethics code be viewed online at http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/ethics.

Wall-less school tries to wall off flu

2009-10-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

By Ricki Maybruch
WASHINGTON -- While GW students and faculty are joining the national effort to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus on college campuses, so is another Foggy Bottom educational institution.

Nurse Pearline Lee of the School Without Walls High School, located on GW’s campus, is the leader of the attempt to protect SWW students from catching the virus. Lee said she had a specific plan of action that included reaching out to teachers, then to students and parents.

“Teachers are the first line of defense against the virus. I wanted to make sure that if they see something suspicious, they ask themselves, ‘What are you recognizing that might tell you to tell the children to go see Nurse Lee?’” she explained.

“Clean hands are essential. The first mode and medium of transporting diseases is the hand,” she said.

Having hand sanitizers in every hallway and classroom in the school is essential in preventing the spread of the virus, Lee said. She said she hopes the budget will cover that cost.

“We must protect one another. You have to be responsible for your health,” Lee explained.

The SWW administration is trying its very best to prevent the spread of the flu, Lee assured.

“We are distributing written information from the CDC, hand sanitizers, flyers and contacting parents through a telephone service every night at 6PM, which is a good way to massively contact parents about immunizations,” she explained.

Nurse Lee said she thinks the SWW administrators must be doing something right because no students have been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus yet. Lee said she also has advice for college students to prevent the spread of the H1N1 germs.

Achievement Prep

2009-09-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

By Jennifer Tchinnosian
WASHINGTON -- Don't you dare call anyone here a student.

Achievement Academy has decided to call their students scholars, to foster an atmosphere where students feel the urge to study and identify themselves not as a number in a classroom but a human being who genuinely wants to learn.

"Why don't you go to the back of the line and shake it all off," a teacher tells a student, with controlled but kind patience.

'Scholars' are lined up along the blue borders on both of the hallway.When he returns, she asks, "Are you ready? Focused and determined? Gonna show your enthusiasm?"

the little boy slouches against a wall, head shaved and looking downward. Everyone else has entered the classroom and the teacher, Ms. Viera, is trying to persuade this one last student to enter the classroom with the right attitude.

"No."

"Look, it shows in your choices," she urges. "What are you gonna do? Fix your posture and show me that you are focused and determined."

The boy gets up from against the wall and stares at her with a glimmer of a better
disposition, and both walk into the classroom.

Achievement Preparatory, a DC Public Charter School located in SE, opened its doors last year to fourth and fifth grade students. The grades weren't chosen arbitrarily.
According to the National Research Council, "high school graduation, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing someone’s reading skill at the end of third grade. A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by that time is unlikely to graduate from high school."

Achievement Preparatory set out with the mission of helping fourth graders with little or no literacy catch up and compete with their peers on a national scale.
Though there is a big gap to cross, the school has put the solution in the hands of longer school days -- 7:30am to 5:00pm -- less summer vacation, and more reading, phonetics and math classes than other schools.

"We will not lower the bar," says Director of Academic Achievement Susan Canon, a GW
Alumnus.

At the end of each day, students complete a quiz-like 'exit ticket' that is ungraded but allows the teachers to understand whether the students learned or not.

"This wipes out that whole gray area," says Canon. "We ask students to identify the
stated main idea and the implied main idea, so the teachers know exactly where they
are standing." A weekly "show what you know" quiz prevents students from falling
between the cracks or going unnoticed for too long.

Rollergirls hit the track, and each other

2009-09-29T19:06:00.001-07:00

By Ash McDaniel
WASHINGTON -- With about 1,500 people in the crowd, the D.C. Rollergirls got back on the track equipped with their skates, kneepads and fishnet stockings as they opened their fourth season at D.C. Armory on Sunday.

The D.C. Rollergirls (D.C.R.G.) is a completely voluntary organization; from the girls that compete on the track, down to those running the concession stands. The league stays afloat through volunteer efforts and makes the majority of its money from ticket and merchandise sales at their bouts.

“We do a lot of self advertising that cost nothing,” said Anita Vermeer, a former rollergirl with the nickname O’Canadoll. “There were some previews of the movie ‘Whip It’ and we just had some girls go out and hand out flyers. And people were all excited watching the movie and we thought ‘what a great way to advertise.’”

With about 60 girls spread between three teams, the league balances between holding practices and having their members volunteer to help market the sport.

The league practices four nights a week, though girls are not required to attend every one. The sessions last three hours a night for registered rollergirls and vary for the “fresh meat” who are girls that are training to be a member of one of the three teams.

“I take care of training and all the organization stuff, as well as attend practices. But with the type of girl that this sport attracts, we’re all strong women in a tough hard hitting violent sport, it requires the higher ups to be tough and hard hitting as well,” said Angela Wall, better known as Condoleezza Slice and the Captain of Scare Force One. “I put in twelve hours a week at practice, time on the weekends and then we play on the weekends too.”

Despite the workload, for most of the girls, both current derby girls and retirees, the job is a passion.

“It’s like a part time job that I love more than my actual job,” Wall said.
The girls strutted around in fishnet stockings, short skirts and their high roller skates before the bout began and were practicing and showing off their moves to fans. But the rollergirls weren’t the only ones in costume. Many fans donned red devil horns for the DC Demoncats or painted designs on their faces for the Cherry Blossom Bombshells.

“Today was about getting geared up for the season. Getting on track and getting zoned in,” said Leigha Gordillo, a.k.a. Demonica Lewinsky. “These girls now have their game faces for the season.”

Flu fears spook sorority Rush

2009-09-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

By Sasha Segall
WASHINGTON -- The threat of the H1N1 virus looms as hundreds of George Washington University femals students go through Greek life recruitment process.

Sorority recruitment is an annual event where nearly a thousand freshman and sophomore students meet the sororities on campus through several rounds in an attempt to find their perfect fit. Recruitment was scheduled to be held in the Marvin Center from Sept. 11 to Sept. 155, but officials fear that a massive flu outbreak may stop the process.

"I will definitely be using Purell on my hands before and after any round and not touching any doors, " says Hillary Yaffe, a senior in Sigma Delta Tau.

The fear is not ungrounded. The University of Michigan, whose recruitment process started earlier, has seen nearly 50 cases in one sorority. The University of Maryland, a neighboring university, has seen 735 students exhibit flu-related illnesses since Aug. 31.

Panhel, the governing body of Greek sororities on tshe GW campus, has been actively preparing.

"We had many meetings before recruitment just concerning swine flu," said Sara Mersky, vice president of programming. "We went over Lysoling the door and areas were the girls were, as well as distributing Purell to chapter members and the potential new members. If any girl feels sick we will immediately send her home."

Former GW pol tries for the big leagues

2009-09-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

By Danielle Meister
WASHINGTON -- Former Student Association President Lamar A. Thorpe's political commitments extend beyond Foggy Bottom. This summer, the 2007 GW alumnus began a campaign to represent Maryland's 47th District -- Prince George's County -- in the state's House of Delegates.

"Anyone who lives in the 47th District knows that there is a great deal of work to be done to make our community and county stronger, and as the gateway to Washington, D.C. our neighborhoods are ripe with potential," Thorpe says on his campaign website.

He was unavailable for comment.

During his time at George Washington University, Thorpe, a double major in both women's studies and sociology, continually worked to get to know the interior politics of the GW community. In 2006, he was elected to serve as the SA president for the 2006-2007 school year. However, Thorpe's politicl fame at GW quickly came crashing down later that year, due to widespread allegations of sexual harassment. Student Judicial Services ultimately found him not guilty of the charges.
Thorpe, 29, grew up in Los Angeles, Calif., where he attended San Gabriel High School. Before enrolling in GW, he enlisted in the Navy and was deployed to Guam, where he first began as an undesignated seaman chipping off paint and rust aboard the USS Frank Cable. Thorpe soon worked his way up the ladder, teaching himself how to read and write as a way to increase his aptitude test scores. Within two years, he started serving as a Second Class Legalman for the JAG Corps.

Matthew Cohen, coordinator for student academic and support services, said he thinks Thorpe has the ferocity to outshine other candidates and become the area's next big leader.

"If he approaches the Maryland State House of Delegates with the same hard work and tenacity that he approached the SA with, then he will no doubt succeed, " Cohen said.

Student pol tries to boost school spirit

2009-09-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

By Corey Cohen
WASHINGTON -- Just days after Kyle Boyer was dismissed from the Student Association presidential contest last spring for spending violations, he took on an initiative to bring more spirit to campus through his newly founded Colonial Impact Group.

But the impact may not be felt.

In an interview, Mr. Boyer stated that on the first Friday of each month, starting on Oct. 2nd, there would be music, food, and “hopefully free giveaways” to supply to students. Each Friday will be themed around a different city, beginning with New York. On the first Saturday of each month there will be five-dollar brunches.

“I think these events, especially before basketball games, have the potential to bring students out of their dorms and into a setting where they can meet new people and unify behind our school,” said Mr. Boyer.

But some students believe the plan lacks enough concrete details that differentiate it from other already established groups like the Colonial Army.

“I am not sure what hosting events every first Friday of the week that give away free food to students in Kogan Plaza is going to do for school spirit,” says Russell Falkenstein, a senior. “I hope that GW does not register this since it would be a waste of strained Student Association resources.”

The desire to increase school spirit on campus is not a new one. Dozens of articles have been published in The Hatchet addressing the issue, and the low attendance at men’s basketball games is a frequently cited example. According to data published by The Washington Post, GW’s attendance record ranked 11th out of 14 teams for its division, the A-10. The women’s team, recently ranking in the top ten nationally, often fails to draw crowds of more than 500 students.

But some students remain hopeful that the new organization can help.

“When you go to schools like Virginia Tech, there is such a swelling pride in one’s school and that does not come out openly here,” said Tiffany Meehan, executive chair of Program Board. “It is often difficult to get students out to events so I am supportive of anything that can help.”

Students currently interested in joining the organization need not bother. The current size of the organization is limited to the executive board upon Mr. Boyer’s insistence.

“The Colonial Impact Group isn't really designed to get a lot of members, it’s just designed to be a small group of people that organize events and initiatives to generate spirit and enthusiasm on campus. So right now I think the membership is at a good place,” he said.

The organization is currently in the process of gaining recognition by the university, a change from Mr. Boyer’s original intention to keep it independent.

GW students' return brings boost in crime

2009-09-22T02:16:00.000-07:00

By Julie Hyman
WASHINGTON -- Moving in to a new dorm is stressful for any student. Add worrying about theft to the mix, and it becomes unbearable.

Senior Phil Bianchi experienced this while moving into his room at the beginning of the semester.

“While I was (in the other room), someone entered and took my bag off of the table. The bag contained a laptop, sunglasses, and a number of other personal items,” Bianchi says. This man walked in and walked out in under 10 minutes. He had a good day.”

Many other students have also been victim to crime on campus during move-in. According to the University Police Department crime log, nearly 20 burglaries have occurred in university residence halls in the past month. During move-in week alone, eight burglaries were reported, and between Aug. 31 and Sept. 10, the crime log states that there were three thefts in residence halls.

“We have been re-emphasizing to students their responsibility in securing their residence hall rooms and their belongings,” says University Police Chief of Police Dolores Stafford.

The Hatchet reports that GW officials are placing decals in residence halls reminding students to lock their doors and offering to sell or lease safes.

Senior Constance Dekis has been attacked and mugged on two separate occasions since she became a student at GW.

“Both times that I was a victim, I found myself asking ‘Where was UPD?’ Especially during move-in week, when heightened security is needed, I don’t see or feel a big police presence at all on campus. This might deter criminals from victimizing GW students,” Dekis says.

The Hatchet reports that the University Police Department is putting as many staff members in the residence halls as possible, but Bianchi wonders why criminals were able to take advantage of the fact that students were moving in and doors all over campus would be open and unlocked.

“These things do not occur in buildings like Thurston where they have 24 (hour) security monitoring the entrance,” he says. “I think that as soon as this incident was reported there should have been changes made to have a guard at the entrance to all campus buildings.”

American golfers now par for the Colonial course

2009-09-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

By Brendan Barrack
WASHINGTON -- For most NCAA golf teams, recruiting American players is business as usual. For the George Washington University Colonials, signing international golfers is standard-- or at least it was.

The 2009- 10 season will mark the first time in five years the GW men’s golf team has not looked outside of the border for its incoming freshmen class. Manny Tulumaris and Brennan Wallman, along with transfer sophomore Taylor Fuqua are the newest Colonial golfers, all hailing from within the United States. Accompanied by the return of American Tyler Wendelken, the Colonials will have doubled the number of Americans on their team in just one season.

This means that the GW golf team will look different- literally- when they defend their title at the Navy Fall Classic this weekend in Annapolis, Md.

Colombian Sebastian Palomares says the team is working hard to get back to their winning ways. “Last year we had golfers from Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, England, and Canada, plus two Colombians. This year, eight of the 11 players on the team are American. They’re all great guys, but it means we have to gel quickly if we want to win Navy again.”

Head coach Terry Shaffer was hired in the summer of 2008 when 14- year coach Scott Allen left the program to become the director of golf at the University of Pennsylvania. When the 2008- 09 campaign ended, GW golf graduated Briton Lewis Sturdy and Colombian Juan Pablo Zuluaga, and lost Spaniard Javier Ballesteros.

“We were sad to see Sturdy and Zuluaga and Ballesteros leave last year, but I’m excited to be bringing in three very talented, proven, and hard working players,” said Shaffer.

Cole Turner, a senior co- captain from Indiana thinks that a player’s nationality should have no bearing on whether or not they are selected to play for GW. “The chemistry of the team may change, but that doesn’t mean it will be worse or better…If bringing in more American players will help the program grow, I’m all for it.”

However, some players believe that a change in chemistry will impact the success of the team. “The dynamic has always been about a balance between international and American players,” says German co- captain Max Hamm. “Our freshmen are awesome, but I do worry about the future international players have at GW.”

At this point, Shaffer does not see a problem with recruiting American players. “If a player has proven themselves in high school, they deserve a chance to play for GW. I will be looking for international players in the future though.”

Hamm says there is one thing everyone agrees on, “If you can win a tournament for us, we don’t care if you are from Pluto.”

A Capella group enjoys wave of new talent

2009-09-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

By Conor McSweeney
WASHINGTON -- GW’s all-male a capella group “Sons of Pitch” held their bi-annual tryouts last week, attracting an unusually large amount of very talented newcomers.

“It was by far the best talent pool we’ve ever had,” says SOP member Will Kamovitch, a senior.

It was difficult to choose between the 15 students who tried out. The group hopefuls were asked to prepare and perform a 30 second piece, sing musical scales, and join the Sons for a few songs to test their chemistry with the group.

“Most of the kids have some choir experience or something from high school. But sometimes we get the ‘I sing in the shower’ types too,” Kamovitch said.

The Sons of Pitch use a number of promotional methods to attract choir members and shower singers alike. Initial recruitment efforts begin at GW’s Colonial Inauguration and student organization fairs over the summer, but the most effective tool at SOP’s disposal is their performance at the freshman showcase.

“That’s where we like to put the prestige on display,” says Kamovitch.

That prestige includes the group’s status with the GW community. The Sons are an annual favorite at the “Battle of the A Capella Groups,” taking home awards for crowd favorite and best in show.

“We can literally say that we’re the best a capella group on campus, and that definitely attracts a lot of potential new talent,” Kamovitch said.

Also attractive to newcomers is SOP’s relaxed group dynamic.

“Some kids don’t want something as formal as what they had in high school, and they’re looking for something looser,” Kamovitch says. “What we have is such a good camaraderie, we’re all friends, and we just enjoy singing. It’s about having lots of fun, and not taking it too seriously.”

The group shares that passion with the community, hosting benefit concerts for various charities such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Scleroderma Foundation every year.

“We’re not out to make money, we’re out to sing,” says Kamovitch. “If we’re going to make money, we might as well give it to charity.”

Get ready for The Rocky Horror Picture Show

2009-09-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

By Elizabeth Cherneff
WASHINGTON -- GW students turned out in unprecedented numbers this Tuesday and Wednesday to audition for one of the school’s most anticipated theatrical productions, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A famed cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has entertained audiences each Halloween on the GW campus since 1994. Representatives from GW’s Forbidden Planet Productions, which puts on The Rocky Horror Picture Show each Halloween, say the show has evolved into a GW tradition, with its provocative blend of science fiction, horror, and a scantily, lingerie-clad cast.

“It’s definitely not your typical musical,” says co-director and GWU senior Nicole Sweeney. “Nevertheless, I’ve been involved with Rocky either directly or indirectly ever since my freshman year, and we actually had to make a lot of really tough casting decisions this year, due to the large and fantastic turnout.”

Originally conceived as a musical comedy production satirizing the cinematic horror film and science fiction genres in 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show follows a seemingly ordinary couple’s journey through an unfamiliar world of transvestites, groupies, and everyone in between. Unmatched by any other student theater production on campus, the show regularly brings sold-out crowds to the GW Marvin Center Grand Ballroom during Halloween weekend.

“There’s a really big emphasis on the fact that it’s our fifteenth year,” says Shaina Lamchick, a GW junior and FPP e-board member who will perform for her first time in show this year. “We had freshmen coming up to us during orientations specifically asking us about getting involved in the show, so word definitely spread even before we announced the dates for auditions."

Typically, the cast, which includes Forbidden Planet Production veterans and newcomers across all years, rehearses Monday through Friday from 9 p.m. until midnight. Beyond actual content, the unique nature of the show is also a result of the limited rehearsal span, given that the cast has a mere seven weeks of rehearsal. But those involved with the show say this is also what makes it so much fun to attend and to perform for the student body.

“I’m not going to lie, these next few weeks are just going to be insanity, but I’m looking forward to it,” says John Taylor, a first-time Rocky cast member, adding, “plus, it’s a great excuse to get up and perform in your underwear onstage.”

College Democrats gas up at Ben's Chili Bowl

2009-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

By Ash McDaniel
WASHINGTON -- College Democrats started off their year following in the footsteps of President Barack Obama—by eating D.C.'s top rated chili dogs at Ben's Chili Bowl.

The landmark restaurant that served as a stop on Obama's campaign in January was also the scene of the College Democrats first social event of the year on Wednesday night. The College Democrats Membership Director Alex Wright, a sophomore, had a lot on the agenda as well as his chili half-smoke. He said that going to Ben’s Chili Bowl was a way for the freshmen to interact with executive board members and experience more of the city.

Wright said that this was just one of the events that the College Democrats were hosting during their Welcome Back Week, which also included a mid-night monument tour the night before. The trip to Ben’s Chili Bowl though was particularly geared towards freshmen and of the 24 members who attended, only seven were sophomores or upperclassmen.

“I think it’s a good transition having mostly just freshman attend,” said Lauren Kalina, a freshmen. “This event is kind of smaller and a good way to meet people because when you’re surrounded by too many students it can get intimidating.”

The event also took place the night after the College Democrats’ first general body meeting—where there were approximately 500 students in attendance.

According to political affairs director Emma Carpenter, a sophomore, the reason for having a social event for the freshman after their first assembly was because she wanted members to know each other on more than just a political level.

“It’s important to stay social with the people you’re working with,” she said.
“And Ben’s Chili Bowl is one of the oldest and historic places to eat in D.C.”

But the night wasn’t all about socializing and enjoying chili. While at the 50-year-old establishment, College Democrat members watched Obama’s address to congress on the big screen in the back room. The members sat in silence while listening to the president and the only noises were murmurs about the speech and frequent applause.

The College Democrats plan on having more social events like Ben’s Chili Bowl and plan to keep with a political theme by “following where Obama goes” throughout the city.

“Well he was [at Ben’s Chili Bowl] and now we’re tracking wherever he goes,” Wright said with a laugh.

Freshmen member Matt Smith said he’s up for following the commander-in-chief as well. “If Obama went here, it’s worth trying.”

Bush administration documents found in dorm

2009-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

By Lance Fiasconaro
WASHINGTON -- Sensitive documents belonging to a former Bush administration official surfaced mysteriously in a George Washington University dormitory last Thursday.

The items belong to Spencer E. Geissinger, an advisor to
former President George W. Bush, The Metro Line has learned.

The items found include:

– Geissinger’s 2004 federal income tax return and banking
information.

– Signed letter from the deputy chief of staff to George W. Bush
regarding Geissinger’s May 20, 2005 Moscow trip.

– Event summary of George W. Bush’s travel to the funeral of
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

– Fall 2002 State Department telephone directory.

– Proposed wireless recommendations for the Homeland Security
Department.

The items were discovered when Ivory Tower resident Brian Herman
noticed that his storage locker had been vacated without consent, and
was secured with a sea green padlock.

“I called UPD to have the lock removed so we could use the locker for
storage,” Herman told The Metro Line.

The university police responded to the storage lockout complaint
around 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 3, at which point an officer forcibly
removed the padlock.

“The officer grew nervous in examining the contents of the locker,”
Herman added.

Plastic folders with the American Task Force on Palestine logo were
found taped to the outside of two cardboard boxes. As a precaution, the UPD officer was required by his department’s anti-terrorism protocol to inspect the 24-by-12-by-12 cartons. Since he saw nothing suspicious, he left the boxes unattended in the storage room.

Geissinger said he had no clue how the boxes ended up there, although
he recalled employing a GWU student during the Bush years.

“I did have a student from GW working for me; he may have put the boxes there,” Geissinger said.

The student who had been working for him was Erik Heil. He confirmed that he lived in Herman’s room three years ago, but didn’t know why the boxes were still there.

“Spencer let me know that some of his documents turned up. I don’t know if one of my roommates put the boxes there, but I would like to find out where they’ve been.” Heil said.

Every floor in GWU’s Ivory Tower has its own storage room, with one locker assigned to each room on the floor. Residents wishing to utilize the facilities must purchase their own lock and secure the lockers themselves. The university, which owns Ivory Tower, assumes no responsibility for stored items, the security of which are the sole responsibility of the resident.

Spencer E. Geissinger served as deputy assistant to George W. Bush for advance and operations during Bush’s second term in office. Working for former President Bush, he also was director of inaugural events and operations at the 55th presidential inauguration and deputy executive director of the 2004 G8 Summit planning organization.

Prior to that, Geissinger held positions at Alpha Protective Services and at his own consulting firm, SEG Global Partners.