The GW
HATCHET
September 30, 2024 Vol. 121 Iss. 8
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
Gun safety violations, limited training during GWPD arming sparked departures: former officers RORY QUEALY NEWS EDITOR
Former GW Police Department officers said the yearlong rollout of the controversial plan to arm some police officers was riddled with safety violations that went undisclosed to the community. Former officers ranked at the sergeant level or above said the department initially failed to register the guns that the force’s top two officers carried and lacked rigorous firearm training that prepared officers to respond to major emergencies, like an active shooter. Interviews with six former officers, human resources reports and emails reveal that the volume of departmental safety concerns related to the arming rollout triggered mass officer departures in the last year, with the force’s current reduced personnel aggravating the former officers’ existing campus safety concerns. The allegations contrast with the gun safety policies and commitments that GWPD Chief James Tate and officials outlined for the department alongside the Board of Trustees’ decision to arm about 20 supervisory GWPD officers in April 2023 in response to growing national gun violence and shootings on college campuses, a contentious decision met with opposing protests and letters. Upon the announcement, officials said arming officers would enhance public safety on campus by allowing GWPD to more immediately and effectively respond to developing emergencies in GW’s “densely populated setting.” “I feel bad for the GW community, because you’ve been lied to,” said Ryan Monteiro, a former sergeant since January 2022 who left in May. “The arming program was a disaster. It was an absolute disaster.” Officials completed the final phase of the plan’s rollout ear-
Inside GW’s refusal to divest from apartheid HANNAH MARR NEWS EDITOR
cies, like the U.S. Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department, take longer to respond and lack access to campus buildings. The former officers said the 56-hour firearms course is minimal and meant for security guards who have never operated a firearm, not armed police officers. Others said GWPD leaders also used the virtual training simulator as a replacement for inperson scenario-based training, which would involve the department practicing its response to an active shooter as a team in a more realistic setting. “The presentation to the outside community, outside of GWPD, is drastically different than what’s inside GWPD,” said Former Captain of Operations Gabe Mullinax, who left the department in April.
When then-University President Lloyd Elliott announced that GW would not divest from companies tied to South Africa in April 1986, he had engaged in months of forums about divestment with the Student Government Association, Faculty Senate and other stakeholders. Now, almost 40 years later, student protesters at GW and across the country have a similar demand — divest from all companies with ties to Israel, as the country’s government continues a military assault on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October. GW has since similarly maintained that they won’t divest. But this time, officials have kept their decision-making process on rejecting divestment from companies that provide arms to Israel more privately, to the chagrin of faculty and students who call for more financial transparency. University President Ellen Granberg, Provost Chris Bracey, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes and Dean of Students Colette Coleman invited seven pro-Palestinian student organizations to a meeting in May, two days after local police arrested 33 pro-Palestinian demonstrators after encamping in University Yard to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. Officials said they planned to discuss issues raised during protests like free speech and Islamophobia on campus but will not consider changes to its endowment investment strategy, academic partnerships or student conduct processes.
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DANIEL HEUER | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR GW Police Chief James Tate takes a question during a campus walk-through last April.
lier this month, saying 22 officers would carry handguns once GWPD fills vacancies. But in the face of department turnover, about six or seven officers are currently armed, Monteiro said. The Hatchet directed more than a dozen questions about firearm training, alleged firearms policy violations and department turnover to Tate or Vice President for Safety and Operations Baxter Goodly, who oversees GWPD. Goodly said the University doesn’t comment on specific personnel matters but said officials take allegations of workplace concerns seriously and that armed supervisors meet “extensive training, certification and safety requirements.” He said all weapons issued to GWPD officers are properly registered. “Effective training for all GWPD personnel is evaluated
continually to ensure continuous improvement and to maintain best practices,” Goodly said in an email. “The safety and security of all students, faculty, and staff remains GW’s top priority.”
Arming training
Officials in June 2023 outlined training requirements for armed officers, which included a police academy course with two weeks of firearms training, a 56-hour firearms training course and the use of a virtual training simulator, a $50,000 piece of equipment. When announcing the arming implementation plan in August 2023, officials described the training for armed officers as “robust.” But former supervisors said the requirements were basic and didn’t adequately prepare officers to use handguns or respond to armed emergencies, especially if other local law enforcement agen-
Trustees report endowment drop, condemn vandalism
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest quarterly Board of Trustees meeting
HANNAH MARR
BROOKE FORGETTE
NEWS EDITOR
Trustees announced that GW’s endowment dropped $200 million this quarter at a meeting held in a hybrid capacity Friday, with the Board of Trustees chair condemning “attacks of vandalism” that some trustees experienced last week. Board Chair Grace Speights said there are “real and complex” issues and tragedies confronting the world, but they will not be addressed through “destructive activities” that “threaten individual safety,” pointing to a University release last week that expressed concerns about reports of pro-Palestinian demonstrators spray-painting outside the homes of several trustees and distributing letters about the University’s alleged role in the war in Gaza to their neighbors. Trustee Michelle Rubin also said the University’s endowment stands at $2.6 billion as of June 30 — $200 million less than trustees’ last report in May, returning GW’s financial foundation to the level it stood at the end of 2023. “This type of behavior undercuts meaningful and productive dialog and stands in stark contrast to our community values,” Speights said. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said deans, the Board observers, like
the Student Government Association president, Staff Council president and other senior officials, were invited to participate virtually Thursday before officials moved the meeting location officially. She said officials moved the meeting to another space to limit any disruption to the “academic operations” and “student experience” in the student center. Metjian declined to say where the Board meeting was held. Rubin, who gave Board Secretary Ave Tucker’s Committee on Finance and Investments report because he was absent from the meeting, said the University’s endowment now stands at $2.6 billion, but GW’s financial performance and liquidity positions remain strong, “especially” relative to GW’s peer institutions. A drop in endowment means the University’s pool for endowed professorships, scholarships, research and facilities has shrunk, but the University’s endowment has grown exponentially in recent years. In March 2021, the endowment sat at $1.803 billion and increased by $1 billion by May 2024. “Despite continued uncertainty in the markets, GW’s pooled endowment has outperformed the benchmarks,” Rubin said, but she did not discuss the endowment drop or specify what caused the fall.
HANNAH MARR | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A screenshot of Friday’s virtual Board of Trustees meeting.
CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR
RORY QUEALY NEWS EDITOR
About 40 pro-Palestinian protesters stood outside of the University Student Center on Friday to call out the Board of Trustees during their first meeting of the academic year, continuing months of protest against the University’s decision to not divest from Israel. In the demonstration organized by DMV Students for Justice in Palestine, protesters gathered at James Monroe Park at 9:30 a.m. — thirty minutes after the meeting’s scheduled start time — and marched to the student center, where the Board typically meets. Five students from the Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU, the Muslim Students’ Association and the Lebanese Student Association spoke to the crowd and said they would continue to protest on campus until the Board meets their demands for financial disclosure and divestment from Israel. University Spokesperson Julia Metjian said the Board moved their meeting to another location to ensure they did not disrupt “academic operations” and “student experience” in the student center. She said officials on Thursday invited Board observers, deans and other senior administrators to attend the meeting virtually, before moving the location of the meeting. Demonstrators at James Monroe Park initiated chants of “We will honor all our martyrs, all our siblings, sisters and brothers,” while standing in a circle, clapping to the beat of the chant. The crowd began marching on Pennsylvania Avenue toward 21st Street at 9:54 a.m., while more
DANIEL HEUER | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Students protested trustees outside the University Student Center on Friday.
than a dozen Metropolitan Police Department cars trailed behind, closing off the streets that protesters walked through. Four minutes later, protesters stopped in front of the 21st Street entrance to the student center, chanting “Board of Trustees have some shame, all our martyrs have a name” and “Stop funding genocide,” before turning the corner to gather in front of the H Street entrance. The group continued chanting for about an hour and a half, while some organizers handed out flyers to passersby that outlined the coalition’s divestment and disclosure demands. The protesters are demanding that GW disclose all investments and funding sources for the endowment, donations, externally funded research and the decision-making process around finances, according to the flyer. A second flyer read “Meet your trustees 4 out of 20 war criminals & genocide profiteers.” The flyer claimed that Board Chair Grace Speights defends corporations in discrimination cases and “purport-
edly supports” Israel and outlined two trustees’ connections to Israel. Jefferey Flaks partnered with the Israeli Innovation Authority, the investment arm of the Israeli government, and Charles Bendit was honored by Israel bonds and awarded the Israel Peace Medal, the flyer reads. The flyer also states that Bendit’s real estate firm is buying buildings and land in Manhattan’s cheapest neighborhood, which the flyer says would likely displace Dominican residents. The flyer claims that Board member Ali Kolaghassi trapped thousands of South Asian workers without food in Saudi Arabia and served as the Senior Advisor to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who was forced to resign in 2019 after embezzling money and electricity. A representative from the Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU said the Board plays an integral role in developing the University’s endowed resources and participates in their strategic initiatives. They added that the University has a $2.8 billion endowment, part of which goes
toward weapon manufacturers that collaborate with Israel. “Most of these trustees, in their own personal endeavors, too, have direct ties to Zionism,” the representative said in a speech. “Charles Bendit won an Israeli war bonds award, and Jeffrey Flaks is partnered with the Israeli government’s investment arm. For each of these trustees at this university, the ties only run deeper.” Last Wednesday, proPalestinian demonstrators allegedly spray-painted in front of the homes of several Board members and sent letters about the University’s alleged role in the war in Gaza, according to an anonymous submission to the coalition’s Instagram. During a speech at the protest, a representative from the Muslim Students Association said officials have told coalition representatives that they cannot divest from a specific industry but noted the Board in 2020 committed to divesting from fossil fuels. “What they’re saying is that divestment for our people is not possible,” the MSA representative said.