Monday, January 23, 2023 I Vol. 119 Iss. 17
INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904
WWW.GWHATCHET.COM
What’s inside Opinions
The editorial board condemns the racist abuse that former tennis player Jabari Stafford faced at GW. Page 4
Culture
Take a look at the graffiti that covers Gelman Library, ranging from a dancing parrot to spiky skulls. Page 5
Sports
Meet Mayowa Taiwo, the senior forward leading women’s basketball through the winter season. Page 6
RACHEL SCHWARTZ | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
RACHEL SCHWARTZ | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR The Colonials were able to score a key basket in the paint when senior guard James Bishop found senior forward Hunter Dean for an easy dunk to go up 5 three minutes in.
Men’s basketball downs Dayton to claim fourth place in A-10 in pivotal win LUKE WIENECKE STAFF WRITER
Men’s basketball took down the Atlantic 10-leading Dayton 76-69 in a heated matchup, as GW’s interior defense and elite trio of guards kept them in control throughout. The starting trio of guards – senior James Bishop, redshirt freshman Maximus Edwards and senior Brendan Adams – led the way for the Colonials (10-9, 4-2) with a combined 60 points as they attacked the basket and spread the court, forcing Dayton (13-7, 5-2) into a highpaced matchup. Bishop, who leads
the A-10 in scoring with 21.9 points per game, dropped 27 points on 10 out of 19 shots. Edwards got the scoring underway less than a minute in with a two-handed dunk off the dribble that brought a packed Smith Center of 2,380 to its feet. The Colonials were able to slam it home again when Bishop found senior forward Hunter Dean for an easy dunk to go up 5 three minutes in. Bishop continued to find his teammates throughout the afternoon, dishing out seven assists, including six in the first half alone. “You almost take this decision-
Officials to install contraceptive vending machine in student center HANNAH MARR REPORTER
OLIVIA EMERSON REPORTER
Officials are set to install a contraceptive pill vending machine in the University Student Center Tuesday in an effort to support students’ access to reproductive health resources seven months after the Supreme Court struck down the federal right to an abortion. The machine, which SA members said will be ready to use later this week, will offer Plan B and other medical supplies like Tylenol, Advil and tampons for students on the ground floor of the University Student Center near the GWorld Card Office. Assistant Dean of Student Life Brian Joyce said officials “worked directly” with Student Association leaders since the start of the school year to install the machine, performing research and meeting with Northeastern University officials, who already installed similar machines. “In the wake of Roe v. Wade, students advocated to remove multiple barriers they faced in accessing needs for reproductive health,” Joyce said in an email. SA President Christian Zidouemba and his executive cabinet approached officials at Northeastern University this summer, which installed Plan B vending machines on their campus in October, for advice on how to do the same at GW. Zidouemba said after he pitched the project to Dean of Student Life Col-
lette Coleman in early September, SA members and officials started meeting to plan the logistics surrounding the machine. “I believe that this is a new initiative that will benefit our University overall,” Zidouemba said in an interview. “And those who oftentimes don’t have the money or are shy will be able to purchase the product at a lower cost.” Zidouemba delegated the project to sophomore Neharika Rao – the SA’s executive secretary of diversity, equity and inclusion – in September. Rao then recruited Aiza Saeed, the executive cabinet’s communications director, to collaborate with her on the project. The two worked closely with Joyce and other administrators to develop the logistics behind installing the machine and pricing the contraceptives. “With the implementation of an emergency contraceptive machine at GW’s campus, students will feel supported and at ease in a time of need,” she said in an email. Rao said Plan B from the machine will be sold at $30 as of this week, but she hopes the price will decrease as the machine gains use. CVS currently sells Plan B at $49.99 per pill, according to its website. Northeastern University currently offers sexual health supplies, like condoms and Advil, at no cost to students, while emergency contraceptives, including Plan B, cost $7. Northeastern unveiled its “wellness vending machine” in October, which took about a semester to finalize.
making for granted, it’s so good,” Head Coach Chris Caputo said of Bishop’s playmaking in a postgame press conference. “When he makes a mistake or a bad read, I’m like ‘Wow, I haven’t seen one of those in a long time.’” The Flyers stayed within one possession until the 10-minute mark, when GW went on a midhalf, 10-0 run capped off by another Edwards dunk to extend the lead to 24-12 with seven minutes to play in the first. Edwards trailed only Bishop and Adams in individual scoring during the game, netting 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from
beyond the arc. Bishop notched his sixth assist of the half with just 1:36 to play in the first when he found senior forward Ricky Lindo Jr. under the basket for an emphatic dunk. The first half closed in dramatic fashion when graduate guard Brendan Adams inbounded the ball to Edwards who, with a quick catch-and-shoot in less than 1.6 seconds, drained a fadeaway three to beat the buzzer, igniting the crowd and giving GW a 36-22 halftime lead. “I’m playing with two of the best guards in the A-10 in my
opinion,” Edwards said in the postgame press conference. “So I know they’re going to find me. I just play my part.” Dayton came into the matchup with the highest average rebounding differential in the A-10, yet GW controlled the boards throughout, resulting in a 39-35 glass advantage for the Colonials. With just less than 13 to play in the second half, sophomore DaRon Holmes found an open dunk off a GW turnover to cut the lead to 6. Junior center Noel Brown responded with a post hook off the assist from Edwards to push the lead back to 8. Despite trailing by near double digits, Dayton began to foul GW ball handlers to conserve the clock with just less than two minutes to go, leading Adams to make 11 out of 12 free throws, sealing the game in front of a raging crowd. The A-10 matchup, which was nationally televised on the USA Network, had the highest attendance at the Smith Center this year, including a plethora of NBA scouts. In the end, GW’s trio of scoring guards, the schematic defensive advantage on the interior and their control of the glass proved too much for the Flyers to handle. On that last point, the Colonials are now 9-1 when they out-rebound their opponents. With the win, GW moves to fourth place in the crowded upper-echelon of the Atlantic 10 Conference, just two games back from leaders VCU and Saint Louis. When asked postgame if Edwards thought the Colonials had a chance of winning the conference, he didn’t hesitate. “I don’t see why anyone in the locker room shouldn’t think that we can. I think it’s very possible, very possible,” Edwards said. GW will host Saint Joseph at the Smith Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they look to continue their two-game A-10 winning streak.
GW completes dining system revamp as students flood all-you-can eat dining halls MAX PORTER STAFF WRITER
MOKSHA AKIL REPORTER
Inside the newly opened dining hall in Shenkman Hall, signs of a new dining experience are clear. Students stream down the stairs to the building’s basement and move from station to station picking up hot food like chicken wings, burgers and pasta before sitting down at tables or in an armchair. Upstairs, they visit the Shenkman Market and purchase an açaí bowl or drink before heading to class. “I do think that it creates a nice environment for people, like the seating,” Aaliyah Holland, a sophomore majoring in economics and statistics, said. “It’s very nice, so I think that that could have a positive impact.” GW completed the overhaul of its dining system last week, launching a series of swipe-based meal plans for students to use at a trio of dining halls, the product of years of students’ advocacy
SAGE RUSSELL | PHOTOGRAPHER Shenkman and Thurston halls serve breakfast from 7:30 to 10 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on weekdays.
for officials to respond to food insecurity on campus. The opening of Shenkman’s dining hall earlier this month signaled the fulfillment of GW’s dining transformation – a plan to provide students with meal swipes at traditional buffet-style dining halls instead of limiting them to funds that local GWorld vendors would accept. Students will purchase food around campus this spring un-
der one of seven meal plans, which include varying levels of meal swipes they can use at all-you-can-eat facilities in West, Thurston and Shenkman. Douglas Frazier, the executive director of GW Dining, said officials required freshmen to register for one of the unlimited dining plans because the University wanted to ensure students can dine whenever they want instead of worrying about a
declining number of remaining swipes. He declined to share the number of students registered for each plan or the number of students who requested to change their dining plan. “Our intent is to make the transition as smooth as possible and ensure students have the best experience possible as they assimilate into life away from home,” Frazier said in an email.