Matt in DC

Irena Lasota speaks at Elliott School

2009-11-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Jewish Progressive Political Association and the Polish Club hosted Polish Native Irena Lasota in the Elliott School last Thursday. Lasota gave an impassioned, first-person account of her participation in the 1968 anti-communism protests in Warsaw, Poland. She spent nearly three months in prison--listen to what she says about her time there.

"We thought they could do nothing to us," she said of her participation in the protest.

The crowd was enraptured by Lasota's description of the moment in time that changed her life. For anyone with Polish or Jewish heritage or with an interest in European History, the event was well-worth a trip to the Elliott School.

See the full article at this link.

Ousted Honduran president visits GW!

2009-09-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of sitting in on a lecture that former President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras gave at the Eliott School here at GW today. He only speaks Spanish, so after the speech I asked him in Spanish what is message for GW students who want to support democracy in Latin America was? His response: "It's very important that the students help the fight for democracy." A good standard answer, but still I thought it was so fascinating to see him in person!

2009-04-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

In the vein of Kelley Robinson, I thought i'd post a pic of a few things I'm proud of. First off, I was the recipient of The Gridiron Scholarship as a result of submitting clippings and some other stuff from my portfolio. I also had a front page story in The Hatchet last Thursday.

Check out the lead:

"Elizabeth Acevedo takes the stage with a somber smile and launches into a gripping tale of love and loss. She runs her fingers through her long, frizzy curls or throws her arms up to the sky as she commands her audience with a rhythm that's distinctly Latina, distinctly feminine and distinctly her own."

It's been a great few months here at GW. I have been working on a number of different articles, and I will be appearing in a production with the Dean's Scholars In Shakespeare this Thursday on campus. Here's a pic of our poster.

Election Night in D.C.

2008-11-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

"Nah Nah Nah Nah.. Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye," chanted 1,000 D.C. students gathered in front of The White House after Sen. Barack Obama from Illinois was elected as the 44th President of the United States.

Shortly after news networks called the win for Obama, a literal explosion of voices could be heard across the campus and throughout the city. In a spirit of passion, students ran in droves to the white house to assemble in an impromptu celebration.

"I felt like it was a historical moment...I was overcome by the camaraderie and excitement that I felt from the College Democrats party that when everyone was shuffling out of the Marvin Center I felt compelled to run," said freshman Kate Chaloux, in a raspy voice from all the screaming last night.

In front of the white house, hundreds of students chanted "Yes, We Can!" or "Yes, We did!" continuing to sing the song "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" by Steam.

For the first time in history, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama reached out to the youth vote and mobilized a historically overlooked subset of the population. It was clear last night that students from around D.C. (Georgetown, GWU, Catholic, Howard, Etc.)

Running through the streets of D.C. with screaming college students and a 3 piece brass band playing celebratory tunes, stopping traffic and high-fiving people through car windows...all of these images will pervade my memories of last night's election.

I feel for the first time that the voice of the youth was heard. I am now truly proud to be an American, and I will never forget Tuesday, November 4, 2008.