The GW
HATCHET
December 8, 2025 Vol. 122 Iss. 15
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
GW adds ‘Never Engaged’ grade to aid Title IV compliance BRIEANA SAMANIEGO REPORTER
SHIVU SATHE REPORTER
ARWEN CLEMANS | SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
The walkway between Smith Hall of Art and Phillips Hall.
CCAS weighs future of doctoral program funding, enrollment: faculty GIANNA JAKUBOWSKI ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences faculty say the school is assessing doctoral enrollment and program funding after officials created an advisory group and asked programs to report student outcomes and minimum viable cohort sizes. CCAS Vice Dean for Programs and Operations Kimberly Gross and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Antonio López said in an email to department chairs and graduate-study directors last week that officials formed a faculty advisory group in August to conduct a “strategic review” of doctoral programs — a move they made as GW faces a budget deficit and universities nationwide curb PhD admissions and graduate funding. Faculty outside the advisory group predict CCAS is poised
to trim doctoral enrollment as programs define their minimum ideal PhD numbers, a step they expected but some argue requires broader faculty input. Universities across the United States have paused humanities PhD admissions and cut some arts and sciences doctoral programs over the past year, citing rising costs from higher graduate stipends, decades of union activity, weak job prospects and broader economic uncertainty — including a decade-long contraction in the humanities job market. Gross and López — who have led the group’s monthly discussions since August — said in last week’s email that they tasked the committee with reviewing and making recommendations on doctoral education in CCAS, a project they plan to complete by the end of the spring semester. They said the group will forward its advice to CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck’s office,
which will then present any proposals to the relevant college committees, including the Graduate Studies and Dean’s Council committees. “We are looking at what we want PhD education to be, how to achieve excellence in PhD education, and how to meet those aspirations and reach excellence given available resources and the constraints of the current climate in higher education,” Gross and López said in the email. Mathematics Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies Joel Lewis — one of five committee members — said Gross sent him an invitation to join the group in early August, and they held their first meeting on Aug. 14. He said the group has convened five or six times since they formed, meeting for roughly 90 minutes to two hours as CCAS deans look to members to “bounce ideas around.”
Officials implemented a new grade notation for students professors consider unengaged, part of a broader policy clarifying how failing grades affect academic standing in response to updated federal Title IV guidelines. The Faculty Senate last month unanimously approved a new policy introducing an “NE,” or “Never Engaged,” grade notation for students who remain on the roster but fail to participate, a measure intended to clarify non-passing grades and bring GW in line with updated federal Title IV regulations. Faculty say the measure preserves academic freedom, allowing professors to maintain their own course policies, including attendance and exam requirements, without mandating participation. The Department of Education announced new
guidelines, effective July 1, 2026, requiring higher education institutions to verify student attendance before disbursing Title IV funds. If a student begins attending the school but drops out during the semester, officials are required to return a portion of the Title IV funds allocated to that student. GW does not award students credit hours for courses marked with an NE, Z — unauthorized withdrawal — or a W — authorized withdrawal, according to the resolution. Students who fall below the minimum credit hours required to maintain full-time status — 12 for undergraduates and 9 for graduate students — may be required to return a portion of their federal aid, meaning students who accumulate too many NE, Z or W notations could lose financial support. The new policy defines a failing grade, or F, as an “earned grade” that is given to a student based on graded or incomplete assignments.
KAIDEN J. YU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Forrest Maltzman, a professor of political science, presents the resolution at November’s Faculty Senate meeting.
Title IX complaints hit highest level since office began disclosing in 2022 ELIJAH EDWARDS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Title IX Office received 494 complaints during the 2024-25 reporting period, the highest recorded number since GW began publishing annual reports in 2022. The complaints, which span eight categories, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, dating and domestic violence,
retaliation and pregnancyrelated conditions, totaled 494 in 2024-25 — a 21-percent increase from 408 complaints the previous year and the highest number reported since the office began publishing reports in 2022. Reports of sexual assault alone rose 20 percent, and sexual harassment increased 29 percent, both reaching their highest levels since at least 2022.
A University spokesperson said greater awareness of campus resources and heightened confidence in the reporting process may have contributed to the overall rise in reports, which does not necessarily reflect an increase in incidents. In 2024, the Title IX Office launched a peer adviser program in collaboration with the Student Government Association to expand resources
for students navigating the Title IX complaint process. The report states the office also worked with student organizations during the last academic year to plan programming and awareness campaigns. Designated reporters, as in every year, marked the largest group of those reporting violations to the Title IX office and also the group with the greatest increase
in reports year-over-year. Reports from designated reporters — including faculty and some staff members, who are legally required to report suspected or alleged instances of sexual harassment — rose 24 percent, from 262 reports in 2023-24 to 325 this year. Reports of sexual harassment rose from 273 to 352 in 2024-25 — the largest spike across all categories. Sexual
assault reports rose from 95 to 114, instances of stalking increased from 91 to 97 and domestic violence reports increased from 20 to 26. Other types of complaints saw slight declines, like dating violence which dropped by about 22 percent — from 31 reports in 2023-24 to 24 this reporting period — and pregnancy, which dropped from 19 reports last year to 15 this year.
Meet Santa Jeff, the Capital’s Claus who spreads joy all year long CARLY CAVANAUGH CONTRIBUTING CULTURE EDITOR
With the holiday season in full swing, Jeffrey Hill spends his early weekend mornings in a red fur suit with sleigh bells on his wrist and a dyed-white beard, offering a booming “ho, ho, ho” to crowds of eager children. Children watch in awe, he said, as their faces brighten and that familiar spark of belief flickers to life. Whether at his Breakfast with Santa bookings — where families pile their plates with pancakes, share wish lists and pose for festive photos — or his appearances at private parties throughout the season, he gets a front-row seat to the wonder. It’s a role he never expected to play. When a coworker first suggested he dress up as Santa for his new job’s Christmas program, Hill admits he was offended. “I had just lost a couple pounds,” he said, laughing. But 10 years later, “Santa Jeff” — who also goes by Kris Kringle and the DMV Santa Claus — has embraced the alter ego with gusto, stacking his end-of-year calendar with back-to-back appearances across the D.C. region. Most December weekends, and plenty of weeknights, Hill zips himself into his jolly uniform to WHAT’S
INSIDE
KAIDEN J. YU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Santa Jeff poses for a portrait by a Christmas tree in Dupont Circle.
work holiday parties, community events and Breakfast with Santas. What started as a workplace favor has become a side gig with purpose: a chance to build community among fellow Santa-aficionados
NEWS Officials are weighing bringing back GW’s residential adviser program next year after erasing it in 2021. Page 3
and through groups, like the Santas of Color Coalition, to challenge narrow ideas of what Santa is supposed to look like. For Hill, spreading holiday magic means giving both children
OPINIONS The editorial board urges officials to own up to the changes they’re making to GW’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Page 5
and adults in the DMV a Santa who looks and feels like theirs. “The people that book me trust that I’m going to come through and do exactly what I say I’m going to do,” Hill said. “And so I value the
SPORTS On the Smith Center’s semicentennial, take a look at how the arena has shaped GW Athletics. Page 6
trust they put in me to carry out their vision of what they want Santa to be, to look like and to do.” After his initial stint as Santa 10 years ago, Hill realized he loved making people happy and putting them in the holiday spirit. That affection pushed him to slowly begin dressing up as Kris Kringle for his family outside of work events, first renting a suit and beard to dress up for his now-10-year-old son and his friends. Ten Christmastimes in, Hill’s Santa Claus has evolved over the years. He switched six years ago to growing out and dyeing his real beard and four years ago was able expanded his empire to a fullybooked calendar during the Christmas season. This year, his seasonal bookings started as early as September. He said people hire him off-season too, for events like Christmas in July, and he hopes to begin doing off-season photoshoots in the fall and summer to spread joy yearlong. “It was one of the most rewarding things that had happened to me, particularly at that time,” Hill said. “So from that it was I rented a suit and dressed up for my son and some of his friends, and it just grew from there.” See WORLD Page 8
CULTURE Dive into The Hatchet’s 2025 holiday guide, spotlighting Dan and Bryan Trees and GW Law alum turned baker Yael Krigman. Page 7-8