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Gabrielle Bluestone

Gabrielle Bluestone, The Hatchet's metro news editor, is a junior majoring in journalism and mass communication. She has written for nearly every section over the last two years, and previously served as a senior staff writer for news and sports. She is from New York City.
gbluestone@gwhatchet.com
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 3:57 p.m.

Guthridge Hall passageway will close Monday

by Gabrielle Bluestone

The pedestrian passageway that runs under Guthridge Hall will close Monday, Nov. 23  and remain out of service until Spring 2010, according to an e-mail Thursday from Residential Property Management.

The passageway connects F Street to an alleyway adjacent to G Street, and will be closed to build a new green plaza behind Guthridge and alongside South Hall.

An RPM representative said Thursday afternoon that the rear entrance to South Hall will likely be closed as well, though the department is working with contractors to try to avoid that.

Access to and from the Guthridge basement will remain open, according to the e-mail.

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Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 10:43 p.m.

Small increase seen in Halloween infractions

by Gabrielle Bluestone

Twenty-six students were cited for alcohol violations – including hospitalizations for alcohol intoxication – over Halloween weekend this year, according to the director of Student Judicial Services.

That number is a slight increase from last year, said Tara Pereira, assistant dean of students and head of SJS. A total of 23 students were cited for violations last year.

According to the University Police Department crime log, there were 10 reports of destruction over the Halloween weekend, which stretched from Thursday, Oct. 30 to Sunday, Nov. 1.

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Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 5:24 p.m.

School Without Walls loses only two teachers through budget cuts

by Gabrielle Bluestone

The D.C. Council continues to debate D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s controversial budget cuts, but one charter school has weathered the storm.

The School Without Walls lost two teachers, but overenrolled its students, Assistant Vice Principal Sylvia Isaac said. Overenrollment is a good thing, Isaac said and helped soften the blow of budget cuts.

“As a result of having enough students, we didn’t have to cut more,” Isaac said.

Principal Richard Trogisch said that the school saved nearly $150,000 by enrolling 20 more students than required by the school’s budget. The loss of two teachers, a move that saved about an additional $140,000 Trogisch said, helped complete a school-wide $300,000 budget cut.

Isaac said that the two teachers taught science and social studies. The school was able to rearrange schedules, but losing teachers is a difficult solution to budget issues, Isaac said.

“No one ever wants to lost teachers. Teachers are valuable to students,” Isaac said.

Rhee’s budget cuts have drawn fierce criticisms from the D.C. Council, who criticized the Chancellor for firing 266 teachers to meet a $43.9 million budget shortfall, The Washington Post reported. The cuts saved $9 million, according to the Post.

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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 6:23 p.m.

University prepares for Halloween misconduct

by Gabrielle Bluestone

As students gear up for tricks and treats on Halloween, the University is taking special proactive measures – the holiday is a peak time for student misconduct, the director of Student Judicial Services said.

Tara Pereira, assistant dean of students and the head of SJS, said that her office can identify certain peak times when students misbehave by tracking calls to the Community Concern Hotline, and that the University has prepared countermeasures for unruly students on Saturday.

“The George Washington University has once again engaged in proactive planning to address the upcoming events of Halloween. Especially with the holiday falling on a Saturday this year, we have redoubled our efforts,” Pereira said.

Pereira said the University is coordinating with the Metropolitan Police Department, and “just a few of the steps being taken to curb inappropriate behavior,” include an additional University Police Department presence and Neighborhood Action Team patrols. The University will also provide alternative activities on campus and has educated students and housing staff, Pereira said.

Michael Akin, executive director of international, government and community affairs, said that the holiday draws increased occurrences of misconduct.

“Halloween is a time when we expect increased activity,” Akin said. “Each year we undertake a number of efforts to proactively address these issues.”

Pereira said neighbors have also been encouraged to report any misconduct to the hotline.

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Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 7:18 p.m.

Suspect identified in Duques Hall hammer assault

by Gabrielle Bluestone
MohammedNNiazi

City police have identified a suspect in the assault of a graduate student in Duques Hall earlier this month.

Police are looking for 42-year-old Mohammed N. Niazi of Staunton, Va., according to an alert on the University’s campus advisories Web site. The  incident occured Oct. 9, when a man allegedly used a hammer to attack a student in a Duques bathroom.

Metropolitan Police Department officers are seeking help in locating Niazi, who is currently wanted for arrest. The warrant charges him with assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the campus advisory.

University Police Chief Dolores Stafford did not immediately return requests for comment.

Niazi should be considered armed and dangerous, according to the alert, anyone who sees him or knows of his location should contact police rather than take direct action.

In the assault, the student was hit in the back of the head with a hammer, causing a three-inch gash and major, but not life-threatening , injuries. The student, who was using a urinal at the time of the attack, was taken to GW Hospital but released later that night.

According to a GW Infomail from earlier this month, there has been no evidence to indicate the victim and suspect knew one another, and the Oct. 9 incident appears to have been a random act of violence.

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Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009 11:17 p.m.

D.C. city councilmember addresses Foggy Bottom Association

by Gabrielle Bluestone

D.C. City Councilmember Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, spoke to concerned community members about Foggy Bottom issues that included the pending K Street Transitway, the controversial Stevens School decision and the Circulator bus Tuesday at the Foggy Bottom Association’s monthly meeting.

Evans spoke of his decision to fight the deputy mayor’s office’s choice of Equity Residential to develop the Stevens School site at 21st and L streets. Residents had long expressed concern that Equity, the company behind 2400 M, would create a building that students would use for off-campus housing, and Evans said he immediately spoke to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty about the issue.

“I called the mayor and said it was unacceptable and to cancel the news conference, which he did,” Evans said. “We don’t want another residential building here that’s going to turn into a dorm.”

Evans also urged residents to participate in the process when the developers present proposals for the West End Library and fire station, saying “You should participate because it gives you the high ground.”

Evans spoke of a desire to expand the Circulator bus service, and called for a new plan for the K Street transitway.

“When I drive on K Street, the serviceways are always blocked,” Evans said. “What we have just doesn’t work.”

Evans said bikes and buses should both be accomodated in the new plan and that “Nobody is happy with what [DDOT] has put on the table.”

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Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 8:30 p.m.

Carbon dioxide leak shut down part of G Street Sunday night

by Gabrielle Bluestone

A carbon dioxide leak at 2145 G St., the student lounge popularly known as the Fishbowl, shut down several surrounding streets for about an hour Sunday night as D.C. firefighters ventilated the building.

Pete Piringer, a spokesperson for the D.C. Fire Department, said the leak came from a carbon dioxide tank – commonly used for carbonating drinks – that had a defective valve. Fire Department and Hazmat crews responded at approximately 11:15 p.m., shutting down G Street between 21st and 22nd Streets, and part of 22nd Street between G and H streets. Piringer said there were no occupants in the building at the time of the incident.

It took the responders approximately 45 minutes to shut off the tank and ventilate the building. Just before midnight, firefighters tested the air and found the area to be safe, so they cleared the scene, Piringer said.

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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 10:23 a.m.

Two freshmen charged with separate marijuana-related crimes

by Gabrielle Bluestone

Two freshmen have been charged with separate marijuana-related crimes and may face trial.

Simon Abrahms, 18, was charged last month with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia – both misdemeanors – according to court documents.

Abrahms was arrested Sept. 8 after University Police Department officers responded to a report of a suspicious odor in his Thurston Hall room. An administrative search of the room allegedly revealed marijuana, scales, plastic bags, large amounts of money and drug paraphernalia, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report of the incident.

Abrahms has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Neither he nor his lawyer, Barry Coburn, could be reached for comment.

In a separate matter, Brennan Hutson, 19, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance – also a misdemeanor. Hutson was arrested Sept. 3 after UPD officers allegedly discovered him and two other males smoking marijuana in Kogan Plaza. Police searched him and allegedly discovered a “medium size baggie containing 5 small zip lock bags and loose green leafy substance,” according to charging documents.

Hutson also pleaded not guilty to the charges, and could not be reached for comment.

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Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 6:36 p.m.

Man tries to touch several sleeping females in Thurston Hall

by Gabrielle Bluestone

A male unaffiliated with the University was caught trying to touch several females while they slept in their rooms in Thurston Hall early Friday morning. The male entered five different Thurston dorm rooms between 4:30a.m. and 5 a.m., and attempted to initiate sexual encounters, according to a Metropolitan Police report of the incident.

One female student, who lives on the eighth floor, reported that the man woke her up by trying to kiss her, and “attempted twice to place his hands down the front of her shorts,” according to the police report. The female began screaming and the man ran across the hallway to another room, where he woke up another girl, who said he told her he had met her at Josephines, a popular nightclub.

“That’s when I knew I didn’t know him — I’ve never been to Josephines,” the female student said. “Then he grabbed my head and tried to kiss me.”

The girl said after he left her room several students from the room across the hall grabbed him and brought him down to the security desk. The girl was able to positively identify the intruder, who was handcuffed in the lobby of Thurston, and he was arrested, according to the police report.

The student said she and her roommates had accidentally left the door unlocked, which was how the man was able to gain entry to the room. According to a GW Infomail sent out Friday afternoon, a male student signed the man into Thurston Hall, but was seen leaving the building soon after without the man, leaving him unaccompanied in the residence hall.

The female student said the man told her he was a University of Maryland student who had been at GW since Monday visiting his friend on the 7th floor. It is not clear whether he was lying.

The Infomail urged students not to allow people they do not know into residence halls, and warned that “students who violate the security protocols, such as the sign in procedure, may face serious consequences through the Office of Student Judicial Services, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the University.”

The incident is similar to a string of bizarre unlawful entries and assualts around  Georgetown attributed to the “Georgetown Cuddler.” There have been at least 13 reports in the last year and a half where students woke up to find a strange man in their bed.

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Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 6:09 p.m.

Aggravated assault occurs in Duques Hall, MPD investigating

by Gabrielle Bluestone
Police tape blocks off the stairway to the second floor of Duques Hall.

Police tape blocks off the stairway to the second floor of Duques Hall.

This image of the suspect was included in the second Infomail

This image of the suspect was included in the second Infomail

Update 7:03 p.m.

MPD Commander Matthew Klein said that the victim had been struck in the head with a hammer in Duques Hall shortly after 3:00 p.m. today. The victim was transported to GW Hospital and treated for an “apparently non-life-threatening head injury,” Klein said in an e-mail. Klein said the assault was an isolated incident and is under investigation.

A GW Infomail has also been sent out with photographs of the suspect captured from a security camera.

Update 6:52 p.m.

There is no information to indicate the victim and suspect knew each other, and the incident appears to have been a random act of violence, according to AlertDC.

AlertDC has also released an updated description of the suspect, based on a review of the security footage and information provided by the victim, who had been transported to GW Hopsital for treatment. A spokesperson at the hospital could not be reached for comment.

According to the AlertDC e-mail, the suspect is a “20-40 year old male, bald, possibly Middle Eastern descent, 5’10”-6 feet tall, stocky build, wearing three-quarter length light colored pants, long sleeve dark colored shirt, carrying a backpack.”

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An aggravated assault occurred in Duques Hall at 3:05 p.m. today, according to a GW Crime Alert. The assault appears to have occurred on the second floor of the building, which houses the business school.

The e-mail describes the suspect as a 20 to 25-year-old male, 5-foot-10, with a stocky build, black slick hair, wearing a brown shirt and carrying a black backpack. The suspect’s race was not provided.

Assistant Vice President for communications Sarah Baldassaro said the victim had been transported to GW Hospital, but said that no additional information was available currently.

It is not yet clear who was assaulted, but students are reporting the crime occurred in a small conference room on the second floor.

Second-year MBA student Sonali Roy said she entered room 252, where the assault allegedly occurred, around 4 p.m. She said she did not realize that the room was a crime scene until a UPD officer told her to leave because further investigation was necessary, Roy said.

Junior Peter Shambora, who was also in the room after the attack had occurred, said he saw blood on one of the walls next to the door of the room.

The main staircase leading to the second floor has been blocked off by police tape since 4:30 p.m., and students on the second floor were asked to move elsewhere. Though parts are blocked off, the building is still accessible.

Amy D’Onofrio contributed to this report.

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