Community Corner

Georgetowners Respond Differently to Washington Post Editorial

Two public letters with different takes on the Georgetown Campus Plan emerge after Washington Post editorial.

Georgetowners took to the list serv, drafted letters to the editor and letters to the ombudsman in response to a Washington Post editorial Monday that framed the debate over the Georgetown University 10-year plan .

In the editorial, Post writers opine, "in the fine balance that must be weighed between town and gown interests, city officials tipped the scale too far."

The central focus of the editorial is the Office of Planning's recommendation that of undergradauate students, whether on-campus or in a satellite location outside the Georgetown Zip code.

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The presidents of the Burleith Citizens Association (BCA) and the Citizens Association of Georgetown (CAG), Lenore Rubino and Jennifer Altemus respectively, responded to the Washington Post's editorial by writing a letter to the Post's Ombudsman, Patrick Pexton.

In it, the citizens association presidents write, "the editorial was biased in favor of this plan..." and argue that they are not “disinterested in promoting a knowledge-based economy” as the editorial stated.

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Rubino and Altemus make a case for responsible growth on the part of the university and argue that the community had been mislead about university growth in the past, to the neighborhood's detriment.

With support from several council members, the mayor and District agencies, the BCA and CAG argue they are in the right.

"The District, rightfully so, recognizes that a strong remedy is necessary in order to repair the damage GU’s enrollment and housing policies have inflicted on these residential communities for over the past twenty years of unchecked growth."

Another letter to the editor will appear in the Georgetown Current later this week, taking a different view entirely. It is signed by six neighbors, one representing each of the neighborhoods surrounding Georgetown University.

In it, these neighbors echo many of the points raised in the Post editorial, including the positive contrivutions of the university to the community and the Distrct as a whole.

They write, "whether we moved here recently or years ago, we each made a decision to live near Georgetown University, knowing that there are pluses and minuses to living near any large institution. On balance, we continue to think that the benefits of living near the University far exceed any negative impacts."

The next Zoning Commission hearing is Nov. 17.

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