The GW
HATCHET
September 22, 2025 Vol. 122 Iss. 7
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
New tax provisions likely to taper donations to GW in FY2026, experts predict DAVIS LENHARDT REPORTER
KAVYA KARTIK REPORTER
Tax experts predict cuts to charitable contribution deductions set to take effect Jan. 1 could cause a brief surge in donations to GW this fall before contributions wane in the new year, which could further shrink a revenue stream weakened by reduced donations in fiscal year 2024. More than half a dozen tax law experts said while tax provisions in President Don-
ald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act may incentivize GW’s donors to give more before the new year, officials will likely see a drop in overall contributions to the University in FY2026 as wealthy donors and companies grapple with reduced tax benefits. The anticipated drop in donations comes as officials grapple with a $25 million drop in total contributions to GW in FY2024 and work to combat a yearslong structural deficit that prompted University-wide FY2026 budget cuts. The University’s non-
governmental donations — which include gifts from families, alumni and faculty — fell $36.8 million in FY2024, coinciding with threats from alumni to withhold donations if officials failed to address campus activism following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Contributions to GW made up 4 percent of its operating revenue in FY2024, down from 6 percent in FY2023, though the University received more than $2 million from 3,596 donors during its annual Giving Day this year, the most revenue generated
since its conception in 2020. The OBBBA’s tax code changes make permanent the individual, estate and business tax provisions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to prevent what Trump described as the “largest tax hike in history.” The changes also add new provisions to allow individuals who don’t itemize deductions or don’t subtract eligible expenses they can claim on federal income tax returns to reduce the amount of taxes they owe, to get a tax break. See TAX Page 5
TALAN MASKIVISH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A banner hangs from the tempietto in Kogan Plaza during GW’s 2025 Giving Day.
As Trump polices DEI, GW stalls Diversity Summit RYAN SAENZ
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wave a flag in front of the Trustees Gate in Kogan Plaza in April.
KYRA WOOD | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Officials move to issue cease and desist to SJP over Instagram handle RYAN SAENZ
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Officials announced they are sending a cease and desist letter to Students for Justice in Palestine for using an Instagram handle containing “GWU,” which they say falsely implies affiliation with the University despite the group’s revoked organizational status. A representative from SJP, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the University, said neither the group nor its members have received any communication from officials about their Instagram username — “SJPGWU” — or the cease and desist letter. Officials’ Thursday announcement follows the University’s yearlong suspension of the organization in April for hosting events without adviser approval and a separate two-year status revocation officials issued over the summer for the group’s petition
calling on officials to fire economics professor Joseph Pelzman — actions that led the group to disaffiliate from the University last month. “The university is issuing a legal letter demanding that the group cease and desist using the university’s name and will seek further remedies as appropriate if this group does not comply,” the Thursday release states. “Any posts or views expressed by this group do not reflect the views of the university.” The SJP representative said the organization has not received any letter from any official ordering them to stop using “GWU” in their social media handle nor did they receive prior notice about officials’ plan to issue the cease and desist. They argued the University lacks any legal grounds to issue a cease and desist because they do not own the trademark for the “GWU” acronym. Officials abandoned the trademark for “GWU” in 2001 when
they did not file to extend it, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Gardner-Webb University, a private Christian university in North Carolina, currently owns the trademark for “GWU.” According to the office’s website, even if a party’s trademark expires or is canceled, it may continue to have “common law” rights to the mark, which could validate a cease and desist. Common law rights are acquired by a business automatically when it uses a name or logo in commerce, and these rights are enforceable in state courts. The representative said SJP’s social media posts never implied the group was trying to represent the views of the University. “SJP does not represent itself as speaking on behalf of the University — we are very clear that the reason we exist is to criticize the university for its ties to the occupation of Palestine,” the representative said in a text message.
GW postponed its 10th Diversity Summit to spring 2026, creating a two-year gap between summits as the office responsible for the event faces a leadership vacancy and universities nationwide revise diversity, equity and inclusion programs to align with President Donald Trump’s policies. Officials said this week they now expect to hold the Diversity Summit in spring 2026 — a shift that follows their decision months earlier to postpone the event from last spring to this October, leaving no summit during the 2024-25 academic year. The decision, which officials said will allow them to “reimagine a new opportunity,” followed community concerns last spring that canceling the event could signal the University is retreating from its commitment to diversity initiatives and comes amid Trump’s ongoing crackdown on DEI programs and a leadership vacancy in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement. Officials initially slated the 10th Diversity Summit for Oct. 16-18, according to a May release. Between Aug. 29 and last week, officials changed the website’s landing page to announce the postponement. According to web archives, officials also removed a “Latest Updates” tab when they updated the site but kept an archive page on past Diversity Summits. “We anticipate that this event will be held in spring 2026,” the current Diversity Summit webpage reads. “Additional details will be forthcoming.” The Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, which hosts the event, is led by the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement — a position that has been vacant since Caroline Laguerre-Brown left the Uni-
versity in July 2024. The decision also comes as universities across the country grapple with Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including the executive order he signed on his second day in office to terminate “to the maximum extent allowed by law” DEI offices and positions. More than 400 campuses eliminated or rebranded their DEI-related programs and centers heading into the 2025-26 academic year, as the executive order warned universities could lose federal funding if they did not comply. A July memo from the Department of Justice warns higher education institutions that receive federal funding and are subject to federal antidiscrimination laws, like GW, of “significant legal risks” if they engage in what the Trump administration defines as discriminatory practices, like DEI programs. University spokesperson Shannon McClendon told The Hatchet in August that GW’s Office of the General Counsel was conducting a “careful review” of the memo and its implications for GW’s approach to abiding by federal anti-discrimination laws. A University spokesperson declined to comment further on why officials postponed the summit, including whether Trump-related DEI policies influenced the decision. GW hosted a diversity summit every academic year since 2015 until the 2024-25 academic year, with officials holding the last event in February 2024. The Diversity Summit’s current page notes only the postponement and an archive of past summits. When officials first announced in April that the summit would take place this fall instead of last spring, past participants and a higher education expert said the decision could signal the University is backing away from diversityrelated efforts.
As GW charts its future, Granberg embraces athletics HANNAH MARR MANAGING EDITOR
University President Ellen Granberg has seen what a winning team can do for a college. As a sociology professor at Clemson University during the football program’s meteoric rise in the 2010s, she watched applications double, donations swell and school spirit seep into every corner of campus life. She also saw stronger faculty hires and a more competitive and diverse applicant pool as the Tigers’ success boosted the school’s national profile. Now, as GW’s president, Granberg is trying to replicate that success in Foggy Bottom. She understands that Clemson and GW are “very different institutions” but believes athletics is an underutilized market officials should be using to recruit stronger students, woo donors and sharpen the school’s national profile. “From my time [at Clemson], I developed an appreciation for how athletics, when aligned with a university’s culture, can help attract and retain highly talented students, faculty and staff beWHAT’S
INSIDE
cause of the role it plays in creating a sense of vibrancy and fun on a campus,” Granberg said in an email. She said athletics has emerged as a recurring priority in conversations with alumni, GW Athletics staff and students since she arrived, and recognizing the role athletics plays in the student experience pushed officials to fold the interest into GW’s strategic framework. Even without a football team — unlike Clemson — GW’s own basketball record shows the benefits a university can have when athletics catch fire. The 1990s saw the then-Colonials return to March Madness for the first time since 1961, launch a thrilling Sweet 16 run in 1993 and secure four NCAA tournament appearances in six years. It was a defining stretch for the program, powered by iconic players, like Yinka Dare, Shawnta Rogers and Alexander Koul, and is a high that the program has been chasing since — though they’ve struggled to produce winning records. See ATHLETICS Page 8
NEWS Security experts recommend that politically active campuses like GW conduct threat assessments and move events indoors. Page 2
PHOTOS BY ARWEN CLEMANS AND LEXI CRITCHETT, ILLUSTRATION BY LEXI CRITCHETT University President Ellen Granberg is looking to grow GW Athletics’ presence on campus in an effort to boost donor and applicant interest.
OPINIONS The editorial board urges GW to teach the country’s future leaders to grapple with the alarming rise in political violence. Page 6
CULTURE Take a trip with the tour guides weaving their way through the District’s intimate and detailed history. Page 7
SPORTS Women’s tennis opens their season with a strong showing in doubles, but falls short in singles at the Bedford Cup. Page 8