Monday, October 9, 2023 I Vol. 120 Iss. 8
INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904
WWW.GWHATCHET.COM
What’s inside Opinions
The editorial board argues GW should address gender pay disparities among staff. Page 6
Culture
Alum Savannah DeLullo talks her career as a Wordle influencer. Page 7
Sports
Women’s soccer is shut out by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Page 8
MFA loses $80 million for second straight year, documents show IANNE SALVOSA NEWS EDITOR
D.C. residents took to the White House and National Mall on Sunday after the outbreak of war in Israel and Gaza.
KAIDEN YU AND TANNER NALLY | PHOTOGRAPHERS
Students, demonstrators reckon with violence and history as Israel, Hamas plunge into war FIONA BORK
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
JENNIFER IGBONOBA
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
RORY QUEALY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
On Sunday, Israel’s government declared war on Hamas, a Palestinian fundamentalist group that rules the Gaza Strip, after Hamas militants launched the most devastating attack on Israel in 50 years. Hamas attacked Israel by
land, air and sea in a surprise assault Saturday that included barrages of rockets, mass kidnappings and the destruction of a segment of the border wall separating Israel and Gaza. Israeli forces responded to the attacks with airstrikes and artillery in Gaza. Within 36 hours of the assault, at least 1,100 people have been killed — at least 700 in Israel and at least 493 in Gaza — with thousands more still missing. Hamas’ offensive came on the tail end of a major Jewish holiday, Sukkot, a weeklong
Economics professors identify, combat performance drops in intro courses CONNOR FOXMOORE REPORTER
FIONA RILEY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Economics professors are grappling with a slip in grades in introductory courses, searching for ways to better engage students amid a national drop in academic performance. Economics faculty said national dips in performance stemming from pandemic school closures accelerated the already growing number of students struggling in Principles of Economics I, or ECON 1011, and Principles of Economics II, or ECON 1012. A large cohort of students — those studying international affairs and business, in addition to economics students — need to pass the courses to graduate, and professors are using proctored placement
tests and feedback on class structures in an effort to keep them afloat. “I know the University is very worried,” said Roberto Samaniego, a professor of economics and international affairs. “We are worried. We’re trying to figure out what to do. The University is asking us what we’re doing.” From 2018 to 2022, the number of students who passed the ACT math benchmark that classifies them as “ready” for college-level math dropped from 40 percent to 31 percent. Samaniego said the department is identifying where students need more academic support by asking them for feedback on what content is most challenging and suggestions on what changes they want to see made to the two classes. See FACULTY Page 5
celebration commemorating the fall harvest, and right after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The militant group’s escalation is a return to war following decades of tension. Animosity among Palestinians has remained high amid Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, blockade of Gaza, and repeated police raids of the third-holiest mosque in Jerusalem. In response to the attacks on Israel and the following counterattacks on Gaza, demonstrators convened in rallies
See RESIDENTS Page 4
GW’s endowment increases to $2.5 billion, officials say IANNE SALVOSA NEWS EDITOR
Officials said the University’s endowment increased to $2.5 billion after a slight decline announced earlier this year. Board Secretary Avram Tucker said at a Board of Trustees meeting Friday that the University’s endowment — a financial foundation used to fund professorships, scholarships and construction projects largely from donations — stands at $2.5 billion and stems from real estate and investments. In June 2022, at the beginning of GW’s Fiscal Year 2023, the University had a $2.34 billion endowment, which rose to $2.4 billion roughly halfway through the fiscal year in February. Higher education finance experts in April 2022 said the endowment could continue to decline due to inflation, but officials said in February that they hoped to maintain the $2.4 billion endowment. Tucker said the University’s consolidated financial statements with the Medical Faculty Associates, a group of physicians and faculty from the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and physicians at the GW Hospital, received a “clean” audit opinion, the highest level of opinion from accounting firms. He said despite financial struggles from the pandemic, GW’s finances and liquidity are “strong,” which he attributed to the work of Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes and Associate Vice President and University Controller Neena Ali’s work to keep GW’s finances afloat. “Despite the uncertainty in the markets, they are outperforming the bench-
AN NGO | GRAPHICS EDITOR
marks which is what we count on them to do,” Tucker said at the meeting. Ilana Feldman, the chair of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, said the Physical Facilities Committee is establishing a subcommittee that will advise on the arming of the GW Police Department. Feldman said that the senate’s Executive Committee’s meetings with the Board’s Executive Committee have been “valuable” in promoting shared governance and will help influence strategic planning. “We are excited to one, work on that
process, and work collaboratively,” Feldman said at the meeting. Alumni Association President Maxwell Gocala-Nguyen said 3,100 guests participated in Alumni and Families Weekend last month, an increase from last year. Gocala-Nguyen said he aims to increase the amount of donors who contribute to annual giving. He said the Buff and Blue Fund Challenge, a fundraising campaign for athletics teams, has garnered $341,359 from 1,317 donors, surpassing the previous records of $207,814 and 1,173 donors.
GW to solicit information on applicants’ home lives in new Common App question JACKSON RICKERT STAFF WRITER
YAEL LOUBAT REPORTER
SAMANTHA DESSLER | PHOTOGRAPHER Roberto Samaniego, a professor of economics and international affairs, said faculty identified low attendance rates as one reason for why students are struggling.
and protests in downtown D.C. on Sunday to stand with their respective communities and voice their feelings on the violence that continues to unfold. The groups shared sentiments that likely encapsulate only a portion of the breadth of Israeli and Palestinian emotions about the attacks. But the demonstrations — and the students who led them — represent splintered factions as the federal government clambers to respond to the confl ict.
The Medical Faculty Associates lost nearly $80 million for the second straight fiscal year, losses that have reached nearly a quarter-billion dollars in the last four fiscal years, according to the University’s audited financial statements. The MFA — a group of physicians and faculty from the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and physicians at the GW Hospital — spent nearly $450 million and made roughly $370 million in revenue in FY 2023, a $78,841,000 loss that nearly matches its $78,680,000 loss in FY 2022, according to the University’s audited financial statements. The University’s cash assets also halved between FY 2022 and FY 2023, plummeting from roughly $123 million to about $56 million in FY 2023. In January, CFO Bruno Fernandes said he expected the MFA’s FY 2023 losses to range from $55 million to $65 million. He said a majority of the losses occurred at the beginning of FY 2023. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said officials dealt with “strong headwinds” from inflation but managed to increase the University’s net assets by two percent. Total assets, which include investments and contributions, increased from $4,967,614,000 in FY 2022 to $4,991,886,000 in FY 2023, according to the financial statements, which are consolidated by accounting company Grant Thornton. The University had more than $5 billion in total assets in FY 2021, which fell to $4,974,114,000 in FY 2022. Metjian said officials loaned money to the MFA to help the group recover from pandemic losses. She added that the MFA had paid all principal and interest payments on their loans from the University. GW’s investment income increased by more than $150 million from $21,976,000 in FY 2022 to $176,662,000 in FY 2023, investing $1,152,424,000 in real estate — an increase of nearly $17 million from FY 2022 to FY 2023.
GW’s Common Application will feature a new question about applicants’ home lives for the 2023-24 application cycle. The University will test a new question that asks applicants if they spend more than four hours per week taking care of siblings, assisting or
translating for family members, living independently, working outside the home or experiencing homelessness. The change to the Common App comes as GW continues to evaluate the fallout of the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions. “The questions should allow admissions officers to have a broader understanding of the life circumstances of applicants,” University spokesperson Julia Metjian said in
an email. “With these new optional questions, admissions staff will have a more complete picture of the student’s academic achievement, the circumstances that led to that achievement and how the student positively impacts others.” Metjian said Provost Chris Bracey’s University Admissions Policy task force is currently assessing the school’s admissions policies. Metjian added that the new question is part of a pilot
initiative among 25 institutions called Making Caring Common, a program created by Harvard University. Experts in college admissions and diversity, equity and inclusion said information on applicants’ home lives may increase acceptance rates for low-income students. “Collection of that data helps connect with the community,” said Jamie Remmers, the director of the master’s program office at the University of Southern California.