HEALTH, SAFETY AND JUSTICE WEEK Low Turnout for Student Rights Panel Lone Student Attends Health, Safety and Justice Week Event By Derek Richmond Special to The Hoya
Not often are Georgetown students given the opportunity to express their concerns about health, safety and justice on campus. Last Thursday they were given such a chance.
One student showed up.
GUSA’s Health, Safety and Justice Committee played host to the university’s first “Know Your Rights Panel” in Sellinger Lounge, where students are often found studying or conversing with friends. GUSA had arranged for the Department of Public Safety and Metropolitan Police Department officers, as well as members of the faculty to meet with concerned students.
“The purpose behind the panel is to provide a forum for discussion on issues such as alcohol and disciplinary policies,” sophomore GUSA representative Anthony Marinello (COL’04) said.
Rather than attend the panel, however, students chose to take their books and study elsewhere. Thus, panel members MPD Lt. Brian Bray, DPS Associate Director Darryl Harrison, Director of Student Conduct Judy Johnson and Residence Life Associate Director Chuck Van Sant gathered around an empty table.
Health, Safety and Justice Week ran from Jan. 22-25 and was the first of its kind at Georgetown. The GUSA committee organized the weeklong series of events, which included free depression and alcohol abuse screenings, a women’s self-defense training class and a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day among other activities.
Marinello said that the week’s other events were well attended. “We just never know what turnout will be like. Different nights produce different turnouts. It could be that it’s Thursday night and students wanted to go out. It could have been lack of advertising,” he said.
The student who did show up declined to be interviewed, except to say that he only attended because he happened to be walking through Sellinger Lounge on his way to meet some friends, saw the panel and decided to ask Harrison a question. He said he preferred to keep both his name and his concern anonymous.
When asked why he thought so few students took this chance to voice their concerns to campus authority figures, Bray said, “It seems to be one of two things: one, it’s not that big of an issue, just something that people will sporadically complain about; or two, that people are concerned about it but just not concerned enough to spend their own personal time to come out.”
Marinello said that Health, Safety and Justice Week was a success despite the low student turnout at Thursday night’s event. He said he hopes that the student association will continue the week-long series next year.
Before the panel disbanded, Johnson said, “I hope that you let students know, if they’ve got questions, if they’ve got concerns about their rights, there are any number of resources they can come to,” she said. “I think this shows that the DPS, MPD and community representatives are more than willing and interested to talk to students and address their concerns.”
“I hope students know that they can come and talk to folks and I hope they feel encouraged to do so,” Johnson said.
