The GW
HATCHET
February 2, 2026 Vol. 122 Iss. 18
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
Students say GW must choose a ‘side of history’ after failing to stand against Trump-era policies RYAN SAENZ
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Students say GW’s relative silence on President Donald Trump’s policies targeting higher education, immigrant communities and D.C. has left vulnerable students unsupported and sent the message that officials are tailoring their actions to the administration’s priorities. Over 30 students said GW has remained too quiet on Trump’s controversial policies aimed at D.C., vulnerable communities and higher education, including his continued deployment of National Guard troops across the city, crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and heightened Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations near campus and across the country. Students say they want the University to take stronger action, like joining lawsuits other universities have signed onto, issuing specific public statements rebuking Trump’s policies and providing stronger protections for students and communities directly targeted by the administration’s policies. “GW has the power to be doing a lot, and I am disappointed by how little they truly are doing,” said sophomore Rhiannon Novick. Universities nationwide have navigated unprecedented challenges since Trump returned to power a year ago, including federal funding cuts, crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, national debates over “wokeness,” tax changes, reductions in federal loans and stricter visa and travel policies. At GW, officials are battling a budget deficit that faculty and experts partly attribute to Trump’s higher education policies, with federal research funding cuts,
MATHLYDA DULIAN | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR First-year Savanna Jones poses for a portrait in the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.
First-year Moriah Musick poses for a portrait.
University-wide layoffs and shifting policies hurting international student enrollment and graduate funding options. Officials over the last year signed onto an open letter demanding Trump restore slashed federal funding and condemned the federal government’s “undue” overreach into higher education. They also joined a lawsuit supporting federal funding restoration, confirmed they are not considering
MATHLYDA DULIAN | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Trump’s higher education compact and launched a student loan task force to provide students with additional options to finance college after the Trump administration slashed the Grad PLUS program. But officials in recent months have faced mounting criticism from left-leaning community members who say the University is curtailing to the Trump administration, evidenced by officials quietly rolling back DEI initia-
tives, refusing to disinvite ICE from a GW Law career fair and sponsoring a trip for students to see Melania Trump’s documentary. Students said Trump’s administration is targeting vulnerable communities, and by failing to directly condemn these actions, officials are signaling a lack of support for students under attack. Novick, the sophomore majoring in political science and Spanish, said as a university in the heart
of the nation’s capital, GW’s response to Trump administration policies “sets a tone” for colleges nationwide. They argued that officials should be more explicit in rejecting the administration, particularly given the University’s repeated expression of support for free speech, as Trump is challenging students’ rights at other schools. In deals with other schools to restore frozen federal funding or conclude investigations, members of Congress and civil liberties groups accused Trump of coming after the academic freedom and freedom of speech of college students as administrators prioritize safeguarding federal funding. A deal the administration made with Columbia University last year requires the school to, among other things, adopt a contested definition of antisemitism some faculty at the institution allege restricts their freedom of speech. “We should really be not taking any of the nonsense that he’s pushing onto campuses,” Novick said. Savanna Jones, a first‑year international affairs major, said officials have positioned themselves as neutral on Trump‑era policies, rarely issuing statements or communicating with the community about the administration’s actions, even after events on campus, like the ICE raid at Circa in September. She added that the administration’s silence on key issues creates the impression that officials may be tacitly supportive of the Trump administration. “They are a little too neutral when it comes to what he’s doing and when it comes to having people on our campus, having ICE raids in our campus, not really a big enough response to things like that,” Jones said.
GW renames 10th Diversity Summit ELIJAH EDWARDS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
RYAN SAENZ
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Officials renamed GW’s annual Diversity Summit the OneGW Community Summit after postponing the event twice and signaling plans to rebrand amid President Donald Trump’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. GW’s 10th annual summit, which officials scheduled for March 26-27 after postponing it twice as they worked to “reimagine a new opportunity” for the diversityfocused event, will focus on “community, culture and inclusion.” Interim Provost John Lach in November said officials were adapting the summit to expand beyond diversity to topics like civil discourse, a revamp coming as the Trump administration intensifies its DEI crackdown, including a DOJ review of diversity’s role in GW’s admissions practices. GW’s revamp and removal of the word “diversity” from the summit’s title come as universities face mounting pressure from Trump to eliminate DEI on their campuses through executive orders, targeted investigations and stripping federal funding. Students have voiced concerns that GW’s recent actions — including halting the search for a top diversity official, pushing the summit and shuttering the law school’s DEI website — signal a wide-reaching institutional rollback of DEI. The Hatchet directed questions to Lach about the summit’s name change and programming, but University spokesperson Kathy Fackelmann returned the request. She said officials “intentionally connected” this year’s summit to the University’s strategic framework, which GW launched in October aiming to foster a stronger sense of community by investing in initiatives that “deepen school spirit and belonging.” Fackelmann declined to comment on why officials removed the word “diversity” from the summit’s title, whether the change was influenced by Trump administration pressure to curb DEI, which officials were involved in the decision or what community input, if any, they sought when redesigning the summit’s programming.
Community warns potential FY2027 GWPD staffing surged 20 percent cuts will erode GW’s academic mission since August: officials MADELEINE PHILLIPS REPORTER
SOFIA ANG REPORTER
Community members warned that another round of budget cuts could undermine GW’s educational commitment to students and further strain faculty and staff, already stretched by the fiscal year 2026 reductions. More than half a dozen faculty, staff and student leaders said further University-wide budget cuts in FY2027 — which officials foreshadowed at a Faculty Senate meeting earlier this month — could result in layoffs and a second straight year without merit pay increases, reducing research capabilities, faculty hires and student services. They urged officials to ensure proper consultation with community members during the budget-cut process, noting they have yet to hear from unit leaders about how GW is developing contingency plans, what criteria will guide potential reductions or how they will uphold shared governance throughout the decisionmaking process. Their comments come after University President Ellen Granberg said officials asked school and unit leaders to prepare contingency budget plans for FY2027 WHAT’S
INSIDE
with reductions at the five, 10 and 15 percent levels, in light of the financial impact of President Donald Trump’s travel bans and visa policy changes, which preliminary University data shows has led to a drop in international student applications. GW is a tuition-dependent institution, with tuition accounting for more than 63 percent of its total operating revenue in FY2025. Though officials haven’t provided updates on undergraduate international student enrollment, GW enrolled 293 fewer new international graduate students this fall — a blow to GW’s finances as international students often pay the full cost of attendance, given they aren’t eligible to receive federal aid and typically don’t receive needbased financial aid. University spokesperson Kathleen Fackelmann said final enrollment figures and budget decisions will not be determined until later this spring, following consultation with deans and unit leaders. She declined to comment on projected revenue losses for FY2027 or how faculty will be involved in budget decisions. She also declined to comment on how officials are addressing the impact of consecutive years of budget cuts on the University’s
NEWS Healthcare experts said GW’s forthcoming deal over the Medical Faculty Associates will likely stabilize the enterprise. Page 2
academic programs and operational capacity but said officials are focused on “protecting core academic priorities” as discussions progress and appreciate the community’s patience as they work through the potential cuts. Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair Guillermo Orti said officials’ budget contingency plans are a “very severe exercise” that may lead to major program restructuring, consolidation or cancellations as a whole. Orti, who is also the chair of the biological sciences department, said faculty don’t fully know officials’ processes for building budget plans, though faculty senators at their meeting earlier this month made it clear they need to be involved in conversations about modifying programs or decisions that may include laying off faculty. Orti said officials will “probably” cut faculty and staff’s annual merit-based salary increase again next fiscal year if they implement further cuts, despite Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes’ December commitment that they would reinstate the increases in FY2027. Officials halted merit salary increases at the beginning of FY2026, a decision they said they planned to revisit later in the year after determining fall enrollment revenues.
LAKSHMI DEV REPORTER
The GW Police Department boosted staffing by about 20 percent since August after two years of high departmental turnover, officials confirmed. GWPD Captain of Administration Ian Greenlee said at January’s Mount Vernon Campus community meeting the department had filled 78 percent of its open positions as of January, up from 59 percent in August. GWPD Chief Victor Brito took the helm in August and has sought to rebuild the department, which faced two years of vacancies in senior positions and high turnover amid national hiring challenges, mass officer departures and the former chief’s resignation over concerns of gun safety violations and arming procedures — which were largely confirmed by a third-party investigation into the department. “We still have some postings up on the job site,” Greenlee said “We’re in the middle of a sergeant’s hiring process with a couple good candidates, so that number is going to steadily climb.” The D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection has licensed six new officers to work at GWPD since August, according to its website. GWPD currently lists two openings on the GW jobs
OPINIONS The editorial board argues officials’ PhD program cuts will weaken GW’s research capacity and reputation. Page 6
NICHOLAS WARE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A GW Police Department badge.
board — one for a detective and one for a sergeant — which they posted in December. Candidates for the sergeant position must have at least five years of relevant experience as a police officer if they only hold a high school diploma or GED, but one year of relevant experience if they have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant area of study, per the job posting. The posting states sergeants’ salary range sits between $66,010.50 and $87,387.58 per year. Preferred qualifications for the job include a commitment to GW’s values, “very” high energy and a “roll-upthe-sleeves orientation,” according to the job posting. The Hatchet directed questions about the staffing increase to Brito and Associate Vice President for Cam-
CULTURE Campus ping-pong enthusiasts traded snow boots for paddles at an intramural table tennis tournament this weekend. Page 7
pus Safety Katie McDonald, but University spokesperson Kathleen Fackelmann returned the request. She declined to comment on how many officers GWPD currently employs and the exact number the department has hired since August. Brito told The Hatchet during a sit-down interview in October he is prioritizing finding quality officers who are strong communicators and show compassion and empathy, as opposed to rushing to fill open positions. Fackelmann said despite the staffing increase, only seven officers are currently allowed to carry a firearm while on duty, one less than Brito and McDonald reported in September and less than half the 22 supervisory officers officials intended to arm in their 2023 plan.
SPORTS Men’s basketball fell 79-65 to Fordham Saturday after redshirt senior forward Rafael Castro sat out with an injury. Page 8