Cheesecake Paradise

Wassup Colonials! 

I know its been a while-- as many of us can tell you April becomes one of the busiest times of the year here at GW. Although it has been very busy, no time is ever a bad time to make some cheesecake! So, as I continue to blog you will probably realize that I LOVE food. I love going out to eat amazing food, I love cooking different kinds of foods whenever I have time, and I also love to bake. 

Since this is a common theme amongst all members of the Stone family, there are a few good family recipes-- one of which is my ultimate favorite: sweet potato cheesecake. So my friends and I, after finishing classes and doing our homework for the day, set to the task of making the cheesecake-- neither of them knew much about baking or cheesecakes but it was a learning experience for everyone. I think we could have assembled the cheesecake faster if we weren’t so out of it but it took about 45minutes to assemble the cheesecake and then it baked for about an hour. You have to let it cool, so we put it in the fridge over night and enjoyed it the next day (nommm!).

I have a huge sweet tooth and used to love running over to the Cheesecake Factory back home in LA when I needed a fix but the closest cheesecake factory is a couple of metro stops away (which really isn’t that far at all). So when I get lazy and need a fix I result to making my own. With Wholefoods right across the street from my dorm, Jackie B. Kennedy Onassis Hall (JBKO), shopping is always made easy. (I think I live in the best sophomore dorm on campus-- just saying). And I guess I should also add that Wholefoods does have an amazing bakery, I just have a habit of getting very specific food cravings. 

My mother would kill me if she found out I blogged about the family recipe so if you ever  want to try to make a sweet potato cheesecake, www.allrecipes.com is a good website to go through to find anything you might be itching to make. It is common for GW kids to bake and make amazing desserts that you would usually only get from the comfort of your home. In addition to there being baking clubs on campus, once you become a sophomore, you are guaranteed to have a kitchen in your room for all the upperclassman dorm options which is awesome. Just remember to buy the right pans and a mixer and you will be all set (:

Until next time: if you have any questions, comments or just want to chat-- always remember I am only an email away! anstone@gwmail.gwu.edu

Stay classy future Colonials,

Alyse

My Buddy Alyssa and Housing Options

Here’s a post in GW Today about my good friend Alyssa, a House Scholar (sort of like an RA) on the Mount Vernon Campus.  She’s a pretty impressive person and a great example of the quality of student you’ll find at GW—or, she’s definitely at the higher end of the spectrum, but still! 

The piece also sheds some light on life on the Mount Vernon Campus, which some of you may be considering as a living option for next year.  Take Alyssa’s words to heart and do some research for yourself on the Mount Vernon residence halls and campus life!

An aerial view of the MV Campus

Field hockey (or Lacrosse or something...) on the MV fields

Best of luck with planning for next year!

Shireen

A Tour of My Room in Pictures

As promised earlier in the year, here are pictures of my room in Ivory Tower, one of the junior/senior residence halls on campus. Ivory is mostly quads (4 people), but also has a good number of doubles (2 people). I live in a quad with 3 of my teammates and even though our room is slightly smaller than the typical quads in Ivory (our living room is quite a few feet narrower), we love our room and the building of Ivory itself. Once you become an upperclassman and if you decide to remain living on campus, I would highly recommend living in Ivory.

Ivory has a great location as it isn’t too far of a walk from pretty much anywhere you are walking (class, Georgetown, library, Smith Center and Health and Wellness Center are both across the street). The laundry room and TV/student area is located on the first floor, right down the hall from my room, which makes it extremely convenient for my roommates and me. Located in the basement of Ivory, is another perk—food. There is Potbellies, Pita Pit, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Gallery Sandwiches, and a mini convenience store all within Ivory. If my roommates and I cannot decide what we want for dinner, don’t have any food to make, or are too lazy to find something else, we always find ourselves traveling downstairs to grab something to eat; it is very convenient and nice that we don’t even have to leave the building. The only slight drawback of Ivory is the kind of small closet space, but we make due. Now enough talk, here are some pictures of my room:

Welcome to our room

view from the opposite side of living room



 

our wall of roommate pictures

kitchen

closer shot of living room

other side of living room

my roommates' bedroom

view from opposite side of room

their smaller bathroom

our bathroom

my bedroom

view from opposite side (view from my bed)

As you might have been able to tell, one of the two bathrooms is attached to one of the bedrooms and it is smaller. The other bathroom (my bathroom) is not attached and is much bigger (in case you were wondering why the bathroom sizes looked so different and why one bedroom has it attached).

On another housing note, I received my housing assignment for next year: South Hall, the senior residence hall that is only 3 years old. I’m quite excited to live there as well, as I’ve wanted to since my older sister, Vickie, did 3 years ago.

Feel free to email me with any questions! cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu

-Christie

Back on Campus.

Hello, all!

Well, I am FINALLY back home here at good old GW and I'm blogging now from my UNBELIEVABLE suite in the lovely sophomore dorm West End. Once I get around to uploading the pictures from my iPhone, I will post so you can see the wonderful place I now get to call home. :)

As you may imagine, the first few days here on campus have been very choatic. With the hurricane drama, I ended up coming down to the district on Friday and unloading everything during a beautiful summer day. The sensation of being back on campus, walking around the streets again and re-remembering the nooks and crannies and shortcuts, is truly indescribable. But unfortunately, I haven't just been able to sit back and adore being back, I've been unbelievably busy!

As part of this year's Forbidden Planet Production (my theatre company)'s board, I was asked to participate in a number for Welcome Week Showcase. I remember my own experience at Showcase last year on the first Monday of Welcome Week, seeing all the performance groups strut their stuff for the first time. I think that was the moment I realized I couldn't not be part of student theatre here. Hopefully, we'll have the same effect on the new freshmen, as we've been working hard to impress. Despite Irene's wrath we had two hours-long rehearsals, but it is truly worth it to be back with the company and performing again. We've put together a really tremendous re-vamped and 80's themed Time Warp, so PLEASE come on down to Lisner tomorrow at 7 and check us out (we're in the second act!)

Outside of rehearsal, there is also a board meeting tonight, I have been fighting endlessly with GW1X since I do terribly with both technology and change and now they are combined, and we've been checking out the new eateries. With the addition of the new Square 54 hotspot, we have gained Circa, Sweet Green and Roti here on campus, all of which have been fabulous. And lucky for me, they're right across the street! Whole Foods is slated to open September 6, and I am a bit too excited to be able to grab groceries directly across the street from me. Despite how busy it is here, things could not be better in my great new dorm with my tremendous roommates and being back at my favorite place. We could not have a better setup here.

How are your first few days going? Talk to me at gmdepalo@gwmail.gwu.edu. Classes begin tomorrow, and I have a lot in store for the next few days. Can't wait to bring you all along for the ride!

See you on campus,
Gina Michele

Gender Neutral Housing

GW Housing is finally understanding of students' wants to live in gender neutral housing. This will be a new option for the coming year and an interesting decision that was made! GNH makes it possible for you to live in an apartment with boys and girls, but only if everyone agrees to this on their housing application (the program has to be mutual.. otherwise that could get awkward!). The rooms available for GNH always have more than one room, allowing for a certain amount of privacy if that is wanted. According to the GW website:

How does the program work? Students interested in this option must

1. Communicate with their prospective roommate group and share RMSIDs.  Students should protect their RMSID as they would their keys and not share this ID number with students with whom they do not desire to live.
2. Complete the iHousing application during their designated application period, answering affirmatively to the GNH lifestyle question and indicating their preferred roommate(s).
3. Students must communicate with GW Housing Programs: All prospective GNH residents will be contacted by a GW Housing Programs professional staff member to confirm their commitment to the gender-neutral rooming option.

You can read the article in the Washington Post or in the GW Hatchet and it turns out we are quite behind on this option. 144 students are taking the opportunity to live in a co-ed environment in the fall! Looks interesting and is a great option for people who are interested.

Questions? marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

Lovely Spring Afternoon for Baking

This afternoon, my friends and I were all home from classes and I decided to cook up some easy scones from a mix I've had all year. My mom sent it to me after the holidays as it is my favorite company from home that makes delicious jams and spreads. She found this mix and knew it was for me because all you had to do was add water and bake :)

The only remaining scones afterwards! (out of 8 total)

We assembled jam, mango lemonade, and freshly baked scones and moved out onto the front porch of Building JJ (you'll see lots of people sitting out there in the sun if you come by on a tour in the spring!). We enjoyed the sun and each others company... and these delicious scones that ended up being quite fluffy and light. It was a great study break and a good way to relax in the sun.

Questions? As always, marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

Freshman Housing Options

I've gotten a slew of emails recently asking about housing--so I decided to share with you the Freshman Housing profile I wrote a few months ago for your reference (and so I don't have to keep copying and pasting the same links into a zillion emails!!!)  I hope it's helpful!

ON THE MOUNT VERNON CAMPUS:

Living on the Mount Vernon Campus is a drawback for some, but others love it, and most grow to like and appreciate it.  It's a fairly quick shuttle ride from the Vern to Foggy Bottom, and shuttles depart from each campus every 15 minutes.  The Vern offers a perfect living situation for those who like urban life, but also want a space that isn't as overwhelming and a bit greener than the city.  There's a pool, tennis courts, a gorgeous quad with a fountain, and fields for various sports.

West Hall (The dorm formerly known as Pelham):  Pelham is really cool.  Yeah, I still call it Pelham for the most part.  But it really is cool.  It's the newest residence hall on either campus, and it's bright and shiny and has weird amenities that most schools don't have in their housing options.  For example, there's a brand-new fitness center, private study rooms, and recording studios and rehearsal spaces for anyone feeling artsy.  Rooms are singles and doubles, and there are kitchens and laundry facilities per  house, which I think translates to per floor.  There's also a dining  hall right there!  It's top-notch.

Clark Hall:  I was only in Clark once, but it was really nice from what I saw.  The rooms are doubles, with a bathroom shared between 2 rooms.  There's a kitchen and laundry facilities, and rooms are a good size.  It's located right by the main classroom building on the Vern, Post Hall.

Cole Hall:  I've never been inside, so my information is purely coming from the Living @ GW site (linked below), and what I know from the outside.  Cole is right next to The Vern's Eckles Library, so that's pretty convenient.  Like Clark, rooms are double suites with shared bathrooms between 2 neighbor rooms, and there is a community kitchen and laundry facilities.

Hensley Hall:  I've also only been in Hensley once!  It's a cute dorm, housing less than 40 kids, so everyone living there got pretty close over their freshman year.  Living options include singles and doubles with community bathrooms, as well as doubles with a shared bathroom between 2 rooms.  Hensley is also close to Eckles Library.

Somers Hall:  I've been in Somers a few times, and it's really nice.  It was built in '45 but renovated pretty recently, so it looks brand-spankin' new.  There are singles with private bathrooms and double suites with shared bathrooms between 2 rooms.  There are also study rooms per floor, and kitchens and laundry facilities.  It's also pretty centrally located on the Vern, near Ames dining hall and the Quad, near where the Vern Express stops.

Merriweather Hall:  Do not read beyond this point if you're a dude!  Merriweather is the all-girls option on The Vern.  There's a kitchen and laundry facilities, and only 43 students are housed there!  So it's tiny, but communal!

FOGGY BOTTOM CAMPUS

Thurston Hall:  Thurston is the quintessential Freshman residence hall, it houses about half our first-years.  Now you may have heard some crazy rumors about Thurston, but it's not as wild as some people will say it is.  I promise!  You get out of Thurston what you put into it, so you could treat it as just the place you sleep every night, or it could be the center of your Freshman year.  That being said, it's certainly a blessing for the social butterfly.  It's virtually impossible to come out of Thurston without a tight group of friends.  Rooms are pretty big, and they vary in how many occupants they have, from only 2 to as many as 6!  Most rooms are quads, though.  There are laundry facilities per floor, and the basement has a bunch of study spaces and common rooms.  Also, it's like, 3 blocks from the White House.  HUGE PERK.

Potomac House:  This house is largely occupied by ED1 students, it's most students' first choice.  The rooms are a good size but have always felt a bit narrow to me.  Rectangular.  But the building is new and the rooms are doubles, with private bathrooms per room.  Also, Carvings is on the first floor!  That's one of my favorite lunch spots--try the Harvard Wrap.  Centrally located on campus, so it isn't more than a 5-7 minute walk to most classes.

Madison:  I've never been in Madison, but everyone I know who lived there liked it!  There are doubles, triples, and quads, but most rooms are doubles.  There's also private bathrooms per room, and community laundry facilities of course.  Athletes often live here because it's close to the Smith Center athletic facilities, pretty central on campus, 7-10 minute walk to class.

Crawford:  Students live in singles, doubles, and quads.  Doubles aren't the biggest, but there are private bathrooms per room.  Laundry facilities are in the basement, I think.  Also, Crawford is right next to the Marvin Center, so if you want to grab a quick J Street meal, it's very easy.  Classes towards the E Street end of campus will be about a 10-15 minute walk, tops, but if you've got class in Phillips or Rome hall, they're a stone's throw away, so that's rather convenient.  Also, Gelman Library and Kogan Plaza are across the street.

For more information on housing, check out http://living.gwu.edu/, some houses are "themed"--but that didn't exactly shape my experience.  I'd say there was about one event per semester in my Freshman hall that had anything to do with our theme.  So don't worry about that.

Keep emailing, I love it!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Affinity Housing

Housing announcements were announced today--but guess what?  I've known my housing assignment for next year since about a month ago!  How does that work?  I made a spur of the moment decision about a month and a week ago to join a friend of mine in her Amsterdam Hall quad!  She and another friend of mine decided to join an affinity housing group, so next year the three of us will be living in the affinity group for the Muslim Student Association!

You don't have to be Muslim to live in our affinity group (in fact 2 of us out of the 4 girls in the room aren't!), but there are certain guidelines to follow so that all those living in our hall are comfortable with the living environment.  And we're not the only affinity group who got primo housing for next year, AND knew ahead of time--certain sports teams, LLCs, and other organizations snagged some great spots, too.

Here's the floorplan for my room:

    

... but I'm still not ready for this year to be over just yet.  So I won't say I'm excited for this now (even though I kinda am!)

Email if you'd like!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

~~~Shireen

Housing for 2011-2012 School Year

This morning, GW Housing program announced housing assignments for next school year through email. Last year, I was unfortunate enough to be one of the people who did not get what they requested/wanted. Although my housing for this year was not what I planned on, it worked out fantastically. I am rooming with two people who I had never met before and we turned out to be great roommates and I am so glad that I roomed with them this year. For next year, I will be rooming with 3 of my teammates in Ivory Tower (a junior/senior dorm) even though one of them will be only a sophomore (an underclassman can be pulled up into upperclassman housing if they are rooming with an upperclassman). We are very happy that it all worked out and are excited to live together next year. As it turns out, a vast majority of my team will be living in Ivory but on different floors. Here is the floor plan for my room next year in Ivory:

The floor plans and more details about housing options can be found here: GW Housing Website

Feel free to email me with any questions you have at cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu .

-Christie

Come to my Wacky Wednesday!!!

Here's some more self-promotion coming your way--sorry!

If you're a current GW student, come to The GLN's Wacky Wednesday tomorrow!  If you're not a GW student (or not yet...!), Wacky Wednesday is a weekly event held on the Mount Vernon campus that allows student orgs to plan their own outreach event to expose newcomers to their organization.  They only take place on Mount Vernon in West Hall, so it's also a way to include Vern kids who may not always care to venture out to Foggy for General Body Meetings throughout the school week.  There's usually fun crafts, food, and various other activities for the group to generate more members.

Keep emailing, I've been getting good ones since I returned from hiatus!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Luxury Cooking

I thought I'd tell you all about the fabulous lunch I had today. I know, random, but I had to share it with someone. Safeway has a large selection of frozen goods that aren't the best, but they do have a 'natural foods' section that I have started to really enjoy. Amy's has some great products that are delicious and easy to make. I love having some hot food every once and awhile that isn't so expensive (like eating out) so this is a great option!

This was what was on the menu today:

After 30 seconds in the microwave and 5 minutes in the toaster oven, tada!! It was delicious :)

Beautiful pizza on our one ceramic plate

marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

FOFAC Housing Announced!

Hello everyone! As iHousing opens for everyone else, I have just found out my housing assignment for next year. Like I said before, I am studying abroad in the fall so I am participating in the Focus on Fall Abroad Community. I will be housed in Amsterdam Hall on the 4th floor with the two girls I requested to live with who are both studying abroad in Argentina. We do not have a 4th roommate at this point because the random girl we were assigned is going to be a house proctor. We'll see if we get another roommate or just end up being the triumphant trio! :)

Amsterdam Hall 

The set up of our room

I'm super excited to come back from abroad and be in this beautiful room!
marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

iHousing Application Time

Today marks the beginning of the online iHousing application for the 2011-2012 school year. Between now and March 4, people who are planning on living on campus next year are able to list their housing preferences, preferred roommates, and answer simple questions about living habits/preferences. In order to request certain roommates, each of you fill in the other person’s RMS ID number. As for the questions, some examples are ‘I prefer to study/stay up late’ and ‘I prefer to live with a non-smoker.’ These are mainly in case you want to live with a random roommate so they can try to match you up with someone with roughly the same living styles and habits as you.

Because the application period started today, I got together with my roommates for next year, exchanged RMS ID numbers, and filled out the form together. Our #1 choice for housing next year is Ivory Tower and we hope we get in! It is a very easy process and only took 5 minutes at most.

-Christie

The absolute most inopportune fire alarm.

I guess there could have been worse times for a fire alarm, but last night in my dorm (JBKO), some jerk caused the alarms to go off at around 3:30 in the morning!!!  My roommate and I are both under the weather to we had long been asleep, and that was the worst wake up call we could possibly imagine.

We had both been wearing shorts, so we had to put on pants, grab our coats and keys, and run out of there.  However, in the hubbub, I forgot to put on shoes!  Also, I had taken alka seltzer before I went to sleep to ease my cold symptoms, so I was a bit loopy to begin with.  It took me about 5 minutes standing on the cold, hard pavement outside before I realized I wasn't wearing shoes!  And that became the majority of discussion among my friends as we waited to be cleared to re-enter the building.  Apparently in my sleepy daze I said, "When we get back inside, I'm gonna put on my shoes AND THEN go to bed... yeah!"  I guess that seemed like a really triumphant action at the time.

Luckily, UPD and the fire department cleared the building fairly quickly, and we were only outside for 10 minutes or so.  And no, I didn't put shoes on before going back to sleep.

But so help me God if I find whoever caused that fire alarm from a frozen pizza gone awry or burnt microwave popcorn for late-night munchies... they'll get a piece of my mind!


Send me emails!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu
~~~Shireen

FOFAC.. What is that?

FOFAC is the Focus on Fall Abroad Community. It is a community for GW students who decide to study abroad in the fall and then return to campus in the spring usually of their junior year. I just joined FOFAC because I am planning to study abroad in Chile next semester (fall) and am looking for a great community to return to. FOFAC will provide a community with other study abroad students all living together in Philip Amsterdam Hall on campus so we can share stories, reflect on our experiences, and more.

Not only does it provide this great bonus of the community, but you also get preferential registration for spring courses, guaranteed housing in Amsterdam, workshops and other community events, and tuition awards for certain programs (up to $1500 off of GW exchanges, CIEE, and IES programs if I have it correct!).

The application process only involved a short essay about your interest in the program and a few ideas of what events would be put on in the spring. You also submit a $300 deposit which is returned to you upon remaining in the program and moving in during the spring.

Amsterdam Hall

Tonight, there is a FOFAC meet and greet at Amsterdam for all accepted FOFAC 2012ers. I am excited to tour the dorm, meet some current FOFAC students, and try some international treats they are advertising!

Hope everyone is doing well. marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

NY Times' "The Minimalist"

If you're planning on coming or already attend GW, you need to start reading a good newspaper source. It can be the Washington Post, NY Times, BBC online, etc- as long as you get some headlines daily, you'll be able to chat up a storm with classmates.


I love to read the NY Times and it's the homepage on my computer. The one thing that always catches my eye though is the food columns :) I have one in specific I tend to gravitate towards- Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist." Usually he has videos along with a description of the food, making it easy for you to watch and play along.


Mark's motto is: "I am striving to make cooking accessible, and battling the ascendance of “convenient” processed food and a general decline in quality." I completely agree with his statements and always find his food accessible. My favorite recipes of his include:

• Crustless quiche if you're just hungry for some savory filling
• Sorbet without needing an ice cream maker!
• The easy, made from scratch, pancake
• And many more!!!

I also recommend his article- "So Your Kitchen Is Tiny. So What?" Sounds right to me :) “All you have to do to cook is want to do it. The kitchen is never the problem.”

- Marisa

Housing at GW Series

I have a pretty unique freshman perspective on housing here at GW as I have lived at both the Mount Vernon Campus (the Vern) and the Foggy Bottom Campus (Foggy) in my first year. I transferred down to Foggy from the Vern right after Thanksgiving break.  I lived in a double in Somers Hall on the Vern before and now live in a double in Mabel Thurston Hall on Foggy. I will explain my experience in both and then give more details as to why I moved.

Mount Vernon

Housing on the Vern is pretty much split into three areas: The new West Hall at the base of campus, Somers Hall on top of the hill, and the Hillside Commons. 

West has a living setup where 4 people have individual rooms with one common area that connects them all and they share one bathroom. In addition, the new dining hall and gym are located in this new facility along with dance studios and a blackbox theatre.

Somers Hall is your typical collegiate dorm. There are primarily double rooms (2 people living in one room) that are connected to another double by a bathroom y’all share. In addition, each floor has a glassed in common room most floors use to study in or chill in.

The Hillside Commons (Clark, Cole, Hensley, and Merriweather Halls) are much smaller, only housing about 25-30 students from the best of my recollection as the other two dorms house about 150 (Somers) and well over that 150 in West Hall.  These smaller dorms are really nice from all of my friends who live in them as they all develop a unique culture because they are in a small dorm and can get very close to one another.

I will continue to post on this talking about Foggy next and giving you my take on the campuses. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me or comment on this.

Peace, Love and Hippos

Brandon

brmoore@gwmail.gwu.edu

Freshman Dorm Profile: Foggy Bottom

And now for the second part of my Freshman Housing Profile: the Foggy Bottom Edition!   Here are all of GW's 1st year dorms on the Main Campus, right in the heart of DC:

FOGGY BOTTOM CAMPUS

Thurston Hall:  Thurston is the quintessential Freshman residence hall, it houses about half our first-years.  Now you may have heard some crazy rumors about Thurston, but it's not as wild as some people will say it is.  I promise!  You get out of Thurston what you put into it, so you could treat it as just the place you sleep every night, or it could be the center of your Freshman year.  That being said, it's certainly a blessing for the social butterfly.  It's virtually impossible to come out of Thurston without a tight group of friends.  Rooms are pretty big, and they vary in how many occupants they have, from only 2 to as many as 6!  Most rooms are quads, though.  There are laundry facilities per floor, and the basement has a bunch of study spaces and common rooms.  Also, it's like, 3 blocks from the White House.  HUGE PERK.


Potomac House:  This house is largely occupied by ED1 students, it's most students' first choice.  The rooms are a good size but have always felt a bit narrow to me.  Rectangular.  But the building is new and the rooms are doubles, with private bathrooms per room.  Also, Carvings is on the first floor!  That's one of my favorite lunch spots--try the Harvard Wrap.  Centrally located on campus, so it isn't more than a 5-7 minute walk to most classes.


Madison:  I've never been in Madison, but everyone I know who lived there liked it!  There are doubles, triples, and quads, but most rooms are doubles.  There's also private bathrooms per room, and community laundry facilities of course.  Athletes often live here because it's close to the Smith Center athletic facilities, pretty central on campus, 7-10 minute walk to class.


Crawford:  Students live in singles, doubles, and quads.  Doubles aren't the biggest, but there are private bathrooms per room.  Laundry facilities are in the basement, I think.  Also, Crawford is right next to the Marvin Center, so if you want to grab a quick J Street meal, it's very easy.  Classes towards the E Street end of campus will be about a 10-15 minute walk, tops, but if you've got class in Phillips or Rome hall, they're a stone's throw away, so that's rather convenient.  Also, Gelman Library and Kogan Plaza are across the street.


For more information, visit the Living @ GW site: http://living.gwu.edu/
... or email me!  ShireenS@Gwmail.gwu.edu


~~~Shireen

Freshman Dorm Profile: The Vern

I've gotten a whole bunch of emails from new ED1 students asking which dorm they should live in.  My response was to read this post (well, it'll be in 2 parts), because I got too many emails to respond to everyone individually!  Also, the perfect residence hall is in the eye of the beholder, we're all looking for different things.  So here goes! 

ON THE MOUNT VERNON CAMPUS:

Living on the Mount Vernon Campus is a drawback for some, but others love it, and most grow to like and appreciate it.  It's a fairly quick shuttle ride from the Vern to Foggy Bottom, and shuttles depart from each campus every 15 minutes.  The Vern offers a perfect living situation for those who like urban life, but also want a space that isn't as overwhelming and a bit greener than the city.  There's a pool, tennis courts, a gorgeous quad with a fountain, and fields for various sports.

West Hall (The dorm formerly known as Pelham):  Pelham is really cool.  Yeah, I still call it Pelham for the most part.  But it really is cool.  It's the newest residence hall on either campus, and it's bright and shiny and has weird amenities that most schools don't have in their housing options.  For example, there's a brand-new fitness center, private study rooms, and recording studios and rehearsal spaces for anyone feeling artsy.  Rooms are singles and doubles, and there are kitchens and laundry facilities per  house, which I think translates to per floor.  There's also a dining  hall right there!  It's top-notch.

Clark Hall:  I was only in Clark once, but it was really nice from what I saw.  The rooms are doubles, with a bathroom shared between 2 rooms.  There's a kitchen and laundry facilities, and rooms are a good size.  It's located right by the main classroom building on the Vern, Post Hall.

Cole Hall:  I've never been inside, so my information is purely coming from the Living @ GW site (linked below), and what I know from the outside.  Cole is right next to The Vern's Eckles Library, so that's pretty convenient.  Like Clark, rooms are double suites with shared bathrooms between 2 neighbor rooms, and there is a community kitchen and laundry facilities.

Hensley Hall:  I've also only been in Hensley once!  It's a cute dorm, housing less than 40 kids, so everyone living there got pretty close over their freshman year.  Living options include singles and doubles with community bathrooms, as well as doubles with a shared bathroom between 2 rooms.  Hensley is also close to Eckles Library.

Somers Hall:  I've been in Somers a few times, and it's really nice.  It was built in '45 but renovated pretty recently, so it looks brand-spankin' new.  There are singles with private bathrooms and double suites with shared bathrooms between 2 rooms.  There are also study rooms per floor, and kitchens and laundry facilities.  It's also pretty centrally located on the Vern, near Ames dining hall and the Quad, near where the Vern Express stops.

Merriweather Hall:  Do not read beyond this point if you're a dude!  Merriweather is the all-girls option on The Vern.  There's a kitchen and laundry facilities, and only 43 students are housed there!  So it's tiny, but communal!

For more information on housing, check out http://living.gwu.edu/, some houses are "themed"--but that didn't exactly shape my experience.  I'd say there was about one event per semester in my Freshman hall that had anything to do with our theme.  So don't worry about that.

And as always, email me!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

Peace and blessings!

<3 Shireen

Freshman Recipe Book

Even while I have a kitchen and largely cook for myself this year, I remember all too well the Freshmen plight of eating relatively the same foods day after day.

It's really great having a kitchen.  Really really great.  Most Sophomore dorms have them here, so get excited, folks!  But until you pass that fabulous threshold into your second year at GW, there's a lot of eating to do!  So I've decided it would be prudent to create a "Recipe Book" for Freshmen (and incoming Freshmen, alike, for your future reference!)  Most meals will be microwaveable or require no heating, and the ingredients will be basic.  I'm not even sure how many recipes I have in my arsenal, so I'm not sure how long this series will be.  But stay tuned for plenty of tasty items coming your way!

Don't get me wrong, GW students really do have a lot to choose from in our meal plans.  As a Freshman, you get the most money alloted to dining dollars, which can be spent at J Street, GDub Java, and on the Mount Vernon campus at West Hall's dining hall.  Then there's also a balance to be spent at other eating establishments, such as DC restaurants, the Ivory Tower food spots, and in 2000 Penn, which houses places like Au Bon Pain, Johnny Rockets, and Wasabi Sushi.

The thing is, you end up finding your favorites--and sticking with them.  By this time last semester, I found that I was in a rut.  The foods that became my go-to's at a bunch of GWorld places no longer ignited my passion!  My taste-buds just got used to them, I guess, and i had to take a significant break from most of those options before I could return to them for my dining needs.

That's when I became creative and invented some delicious, nutritious, and easy recipes that I could whip up with my microwave and a few basic ingredients and tools.  So get ready for some good eatin'!  Recipes coming soon!

As always, feel free to email me with ANY questions--no limits.  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

~~~Shireen