Beginning this weekend, SNAP will increase enforcement of existing off-campus party policies through more “proactive patrolling and stopping,” GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) wrote in an email to Vox.

Gustafson sits on the Georgetown-Community Partnership steering committee, which plays a large role in implementation of the provisions included in last summer’s campus plan agreement. “[T]he neighborhood partners have felt the need for some time, since the summer Campus Plan Agreement, for an improvement in their quality of life, namely noise on the weekends. Therefore the increased and more effective enforcement of existing policies and procedures will go into effect.”

The email Dr. Todd Olson, the Vice President of Student Affairs, sent to students yesterday reminding them of the school’s and the neighborhood’s policies for off-campus parties seems to confirm this coming stricter enforcement. He did not respond to Vox‘s requests for comment.

Likely in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day events this weekend, Olson reminded students that their behavior affects those living near the school. ”First, as the weather begins to warm, it is important to remind everyone about the high standards that guide life both on and off campus,” Olson wrote. “As members of a university community, we simply cannot behave in ways that disrupt life for our neighbors.”

The email emphasized being quiet when walking by Georgetown homes and ensuring that parties remain manageable in terms of size and noise. Olson also reminded students that a first noise violation can have serious consequences, since it is considered disorderly conduct under District law.

Olson’s email intended to remind students of existing policy. “There have been no changes in University policy, and Dr. Olson’s letter served to inform, as much as to start a broader dialogue with students about the Georgetown community,” Gustafson wrote. “I am sure some students will feel put upon, and frankly—they have a right to feel that way. However I hope that that feeling gets translated into helping create an on-campus environment where we, the undergraduates, rule the roost.”

Olson also announced that the University will start providing regular bus service to DuPont Circle and Adams Morgan on Friday and Saturday nights. The bus new late-night bus service is set to start up this Friday.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Jake Sticka‘s (SFS ’13) last week as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, the ANC held its monthly meeting on the Georgetown University campus in “recognition” of the school, as announced at the last meeting. In the meeting, the Commission planned to discuss the campus plan with students on campus but instead focused on pressing issues afflicting local residents, such as “distressing” Comcast boxes, flashing neon signs, and tall tree fences.

The campus plan: No questions? Moving on
Chairman Ron Lewis said that the campus plan is now being implemented and is off to a good start. He said that the “approach to partnership” and improved relationship between the school and various neighborhood communities was important in the approval of the plan.

“We expect that to continue,” said Lewis ‘The issues are not easy, even in implementation.”

Lauralyn Lee, Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Strategic Initiatives at Georgetown, said she is pleased at how quickly the school and neighborhood created a working relationship.

No one in the audience had questions about the campus plan.

Comcast boxes are no longer “making an aesthetic wreck”
Last month, many residents expressed concerns about small, refrigerator-sized boxes sprouting up in Georgetown’s brick sidewalks—without the ANC’s approval.

Read the rest of this entry »

Administrators have promised student representatives will take a spot in the Georgetown Community Partnership negotiations, starting with Georgetown University Student Association President Clara Gustafson (SFS, ’13). A press release was sent to campus media announcing this new development.

The campus plan agreement led to the creation of GCP, which is the new negotiating body for future discussions between the University and neighborhood groups. GUSA advocated strongly for student representation in the GCP, as the decisions made during these conversations will have a direct impact on the future of student life at Georgetown.

Advisory neighborhood commissioner Ron Lewis was also recently named co-chair of the GCP.

According to the press release, administrators promised student representation on the steering committee and on other committees, indicating that there will be at least a handful of students in the conversation.

“Since student interests were not adequately represented in the campus plan negotiations, it is of utmost importance that students are part of the GCP, which will set the tone for neighborhood relations going forward,” Gustafson said in the press release. “I really look forward to working with neighborhood leaders on safety, transportation, housing, and other student and community concerns, and I hope to involve as many other students as possible.”

Post to be updated with more details soon.

While the majority of the student body drained off-campus soon after final exams were finished last May, a certain duo were just getting into the swing of things. GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS’13) and vice president Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS’13) spent the summer hard at work on developing the Campus Plan and other aspects of their campaign to make the campus a more welcoming space for students.

Despite the numerous challenges over the past year to create a Campus Plan that appealed to students, administration, and neighbors, Gustafson and Kohnert-Yount insisted that the revamped agreement over the summer “allowed more leverage in certain areas to create change in terms of student conduct, which will hopefully be one of the big focuses this year.”

Working on plans for the New South Student Center was one of their major priorities, as they met with architects to create a floor plan with the promise of an ideal gathering space. Emphasizing the need to “stay vigilant and involved with the design process,” the GUSA executive brought up ideas that would have staying power with students of all ages.

The concept of a terrace that extended from the pub out onto the Potomac for students of drinking age was one of those ideas, though “there was some resistance to that from the administration.” Persisting for the implementation of the terrace, however, the two stressed the “need to have something unique” for older students so they don’t just stick with the Tombs staple. For the younger demographic, the GUSA executive suggested having 18-plus nights so everyone can benefit from the communal space. Overall, the vision for a student center that “reflected the character of Georgetown” was the primary issue in meetings with architects that enabled student feedback.

Read the rest of this entry »

During the D.C. Zoning Commission’s speedy meeting last Monday, the expansion of the Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center was briefly mentioned in discussions over the campus plan. As part of the revised agreement, the University will house an additional 450 students on campus by fall 2015. Sixty-five of those beds will come from relocating the townhouses on the 1400 block of 36th street, but a whole 385 beds will come from the conversion of the Leavey Center into a dormitory.

According to University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr, the building as it stands now can only house an estimated 250 beds, so the remaining 135 beds will come from an extension of the building to the East. “There is no finished design,” Kerr wrote in an email to Vox. “We’ll begin design work in the next few months.  Our goals with the addition are to keep the height equal to the current building, and to build eastward from the hotel tower – toward the bookstore.”

The campus plan agreement allows Georgetown to add on and renovate the Leavey Center without further approval from the Zoning Commission, even though there are not yet any definitive plans yet for its construction. The commissioners were initially unsure about whether they should allow the University to bypass zoning procedure without knowing any specifics about the building.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, Georgetown administrators and neighbors gathered before the D.C. Zoning Commission to discuss the 2010 campus plan for the final time as the University, ANC 2E, and neighborhood groups submitted a revised version of the original campus plan that they hammered out last month. The commission voted 3-0 with one abstaining to accept the proposal in its entirety.

After the Zoning Commission voted last February to postpone any decision on the campus plan until the parties reached an agreement, neighbors and administrators restarted negotiations. The commissioners were highly pleased with the result. “We don’t always get the results we would like to see, and, in this case, I feel like we got everything and more,” Commissioner Peter May said. “And so I really am very, very happy with this result.” The other commissioners agreed: “I think that what’s happened in this case is no less than exceptional,” commissioner Michael Turnbull said. “To see Georgetown and the neighborhood come together like this is just wonderful.

The room erupted in cheers after the commission voted without opposition to approve the agreement, and Georgetown administrators joined in the sentiment. “What this process has made clear is that there is great strategic advantage for the University to align ourselves with the city,” University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr said. “I think you’re going to see from this a lot of opportunities for us to find new ways to engage deeper with the city and engage beyond just Northwest D.C. and beyond that historical 37th and O street. And, really over the long term, we see that as… [an opportunity] to strengthen the residential undergraduate experience at 37th and O street.”

Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago, ANC Chair Ron Lewis said at a meeting: “They’re still in our communities and on Reservoir Road in our neighborhood and that is unacceptable.” If you can’t already guess who the “they” is in that sentence, well, it’s us, the students. And we just won’t stop living and transporting ourselves around the city. Shocking.

After escalated pressure from neighborhood groups, the University tested out a different, longer route for the Dupont GUTS buses in 2009. Now we’re back at square one with a proposed route in the new Campus Plan which uses Canal Road instead of Reservoir to get to Dupont.

“The new circuitous GUTS bus routes through Canal Road will lengthen the commute to Dupont, making it more difficult for students to access the city,” GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS’ 13) and Vice President Vail Koehnert-Yount (SFS ’13) said in a press release to all students last night. This was one of the several provisions the GUSA executive agreed was a disappointing result of the campus plan.

The route change has the potential to offset students’ trips to their internships and jobs in the city. This decision will affect undergraduate students but also graduate students living off campus, faculty, and staff. Some of the most frequent users of GUTS bus are in fact staff working for the Georgetown hospital and other parts of campus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday night, GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13) released a statement on the campus plan agreement. The executive indicated that certain aspects of the plan will need to change and committed to lobbying for student interests. ”We will fight for student spots on the Georgetown Community Partnership, which will have broad power to mediate town-gown disputes,” the statement read.

While praising the plan for provisions that increase quality of on-campus student life (e.g. potentially eliminating party registration), the executive said in the statement that they were “extremely disappointed” by compromises in the plan that have the potential to hurt student life.

The group came out against converting the Magis Row townhouses into faculty and administrative offices. “While the Magis Row houses will be located elsewhere, administrators should not have agreed to remove great on-campus housing options at a time when they have also promised to increase the percentage of students living in university housing.” GUSA also voiced disapproval over the GUTS bus rerouting changes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, Vox reported on a few of the finer points of the campus plan agreement, from what future student housing will look like to what the plan might mean for graduate students. At the same time, CHARMS began for incoming freshmen, which started off this summer’s line of prefrosh previews. The week ended with the ANC rubber stamping the campus plan agreement, clearing the way for the proposal to go into effect.

Beltway Greg feels that Georgetown is doing the right thing to rein in our excessive reveling.

The plan is long overdue. Georgetown is not sleep away camp in Maine where you can earn a badge in boozing and property destruction. Undergrads have become increasingly immature so this is the solution. Next.

While that may be true, it doesn’t have to be. Coming soon: The College offers two new minors teaching students how to get their drink on and how to destroy public property.

d00$h has a different idea about how the University could have fought back against the neighbors.

The real issue isn’t that the students are having their rights infringed. It’s that the school is too weak to stand up to a bunch of over entitled neighbors. We need a stronger administration who isn’t afraid of turning the entire city against us as we gradually expand to encompass the entire NW quadrant and Rosslyn. But it’s not really their fault. We also need enough money so that we can bribe or intimidate anyone who tries to stand in our way. And possibly to mobilize the ROTC and just invade. But, since this is Georgetown and we have no money, maybe we could just hire some convicted felons and put them in the “faculty/staff” housing and let them loot West Georgetown. The neighbors will come begging to have the students back.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday evening, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E held a special meeting to consider proposed revisions to the Georgetown Campus Plan. The ANC commissioners in attendance voted unanimously, 6-0, to endorse the revised plan. Then the floor opened up to residents (to complain more about student behavior) and students (to attempt to maintain our dignity).

“The university is very encouraged – the members of the community and the students here echoed a lot of sentiments that were expressed in the negotiations and through this process,” university spokesperson Stacy Kerr said to Vox. “This isn’t a victory for one side or the other, but for everybody, and it’s a path to move forward.”

The next step entails filing the plan with the DC Zoning Commission by June 18. According to ANC Chair Ron Lewis, the Zoning Commission should have a decision by July, setting off a series of processing deadlines for both the University and ANC. But, as Lewis noted during the meeting, “If the Zoning Commission says ‘OK’, this [remainder of the process] becomes a formality.”

Read the rest of this entry »