Burleith Citizens Association makes it easier for residents to complain about 2010 Campus Plan
Posted by: Geoffrey Bible in News, Vox Populi, tags: 2010 Campus Plan, Burleith, Burleith Citizens' Association, Form Letter, Town-Gown Relations
Attention Burleith residents: If you don’t have time to write your own letter about Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan to University officials and local politicians, don’t worry—the Burleith Citizens Association is here to help.
The BCA created a form letter for residents of Burleith to send to a number of people who have the ability to affect the 2010 Campus Plan, including President John DeGioia, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Councilmember Jack Evans and Harriet Tregoning, Director of D.C.’s Office of Planning.
Like any good political campaign, the letter has a few misleading points—many of which Vox debunked following last month’s BCA meeting.
One such issue is the number of students that the University plans to add. The BCA’s letter states that the current plan “to add close to 3,400 new students by 2020 without providing additional housing on campus or in satellite communities is unacceptable.”
However, the BCA fails to mention that the majority of these new students will be graduate students, and a large portion of the students will attend the School of Continuing Studies. Since the SCS is mainly older students, the odds are that the students will be commuters to the area, rather than renters in the neighborhood.
The letter moves on to accuse students of threatening residents, complain about the off-campus housing office, and list seven points that the BCA wants to be modified within the plan (the likes of which include demands for more on-campus housing, limited student enrollment, and stronger off-campus sanctions).
Vox recommends that those Burleith residents reading this—we know you read us, just admit it—edit the letter to be more personal, because nobody likes form letters.
Also, don’t forget about our 2010 Campus Plan sign contest! Submissions are due by Friday to blog@georgetownvoice.com.
Download the BCA’s form letter here.
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I don’t understand how they can so pig headed in ignoring perfectly reasonable responses to their objections. This blog alone has been preaching the “they’re grad students” response for weeks and I’ve yet to see a reasonable response to that.
Noooo, don’t edit the form letters! Leave them exactly as they are, and preferably send them all together in one envelope so that it will be easier for the person actually going through them (who, by the way, is likely either an unpaid student intern or a student employee at DeGioia’s office) to make an address spreadsheet. That way, you’ll get your form response letter that much quicker.
Also, importantly, a significant number of School of Continuing Studies classes are held in…Clarendon! Seriously, check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me. Go to MyAccess and search for classes in something like Professional Studies: Public Relations and Corporate Communication or Professional Studies: Technology Management. Under the course location, you get Clarendon 229, 238, 240, 250A, 250B, 250C, etc. You also have some classes designated “Class will be held at 3307 M St, Ste 202.” I’m glad that the neighbors are so concerned about increased congestion on M Street and the Orange Line.
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