GUTS Bus Stops Relocated to Ease Congestion, Improve Safety
Several GUTS bus stops will be relocated on Monday in an attempt to ease congestion and improve pedestrian safety at existing stops.
The Dupont Circle route stop, currently located adjacent to Henle Village, will be moved to the front of the Kober Cogan Building at the intersection with Tondorf Road. The Wisconsin Avenue route stop will also be relocated from Henle to the entrance of Darnall Hall. And the Arlington loop stop will move from in front of Kennedy Hall to West Road in front of Reynolds Hall.
A broadcast e-mail sent from University Facilities and Student Housing to the university community on Friday said that the relocations were made in response to growing concerns from bus riders over the need to reduce traffic congestion on North Road and behind the Leavey Center.
“By moving the Dupont Circle stop to the front of Kober Cogan, passengers, including those in wheelchairs, will . be able to walk on sidewalk all the way to the [Georgetown University] Hospital and Medical Center and cross only one intersection, avoiding all other vehicular traffic,” the e-mail said.
The announcement suggests that such “minor modifications” will promote the welfare of pedestrians and campus safety in general, “despite the inconvenience that some will experience.” In February, changes to the GUTS bus Arlington stops met opposition from riders.
Robert Robinson, director of main campus operations for the Office of University Facilities, declined to comment, and Vice President for Facilities and Student Housing Karen Frank was unavailable for comment.
-Kayla Branson
Georgetown NAACP Continues Race Dialogue With Howard Students
Georgetown students joined their peers from Howard University to discuss race in the second Face-to-Face Forum yesterday in the Intercultural Center.
The forum was the continuation of a discussion that began at Howard last semester and was hosted by Malik Washington, a sophomore at Howard. It took the form of an open conversation between three panelists and the approximately 50-person audience.
“The chain is as strong as the weakest link. And in America, that link is race,” said panelist James Rada, professor of communications at Howard University.
There was debate over presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) identity as a black male and the public’s perception of him.
“If he represented what white Americans think of as an average black male, regardless of his degrees, he would not have the appeal that he does,” said Will Quinn (SFS ’10).
Discussion frequently returned to images and stereotypes of both the black and white communities.
“For most of us, we learn about ‘others’ on TV. And that’s bound to screw things up,” Rada said.
Some students voiced frustration with the treatment of race on campus.
“I’m tired of talking to the same people, having the same conversations. The black people who know white people? All of us know the same five white people,” panelist Dominique Cauley (COL ’09) said.
The GUSA Student Commission on Unity has hosted two forums to discuss diversity on campus this year.
The forum was hosted by the Georgetown chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
-Amelia Salutz
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