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Monday, September 28, 2020 I Vol. 117 Iss. 8 INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 WWW.GWHATCHET.COM What’s inside Opinions Culture Sports The editorial Read about the Athletic Director Tanya board stresses the student movement Vogel discusses how the importance of signing to rename campus department has adjusted the no-donate pledge. buildings. to the pandemic. Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 How administrators have addressed GW’s budget gap amid pandemic ZACH SCHONFELD enrollment and the abil- temporarily suspended CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR ity to bring students back elective surgeries to al- to campus. Total under- locate more resources to- Administrators have graduate enrollment fell ward COVID-19 patients. been grappling with the sharply this year based On April 27, officials financial impact of the on preliminary estimates, announced they would pandemic on the Univer- and administrators began freeze all employee sala- sity for months. But now, meeting this month about ries and top administra- officials say they have spring operations. tors, including LeBlanc, identified the cuts needed would take a pay cut. to close GW’s projected March At the time, LeBlanc budget gap. Days after students said administrators were University President started taking classes not planning any “imme- Thomas LeBlanc an- online following spring diate” layoffs and would nounced to employees late break, administrators be- only do so if “necessary.” last week steps that will gan implementing the first The Faculty Senate be taken as part of the sec- phase of financial mitiga- subsequently requested ond and final phase of -fi tion. layoffs be used only as nancial mitigation, which Officials announced on a “last resort.” Board of will include reductions of March 25 they would sus- Trustees Chair Grace non-recurring expenses pend most capital projects Speights and LeBlanc said and use of the Univer- and hirings, the first pub- they wouldn’t commit to sity’s unrestricted assets. lic action taken to reduce implementing layoffs only GW’s annual budget gap expenses. Administrators as a last resort, adding is currently projected to had previously suspend- that it would only effect FILE PHOTO BY ARI GOLUB | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER reach $160 million this ed non-essential interna- administrative support GW’s revenue losses from COVID-19 are now estimated at $160 million a year, according to University Presi- year in addition to an es- tional travel and urged rather than faculty. dent Thomas LeBlanc. timated $45 million in lost employees to delay all do- revenues last fiscal year, mestic travel out of health May impact. ment or reserves today June which ended June 30. concerns, which also led As the pandemic’s im- Officials said during would not be a prudent At the summer’s start, “Barring a significant to savings. pact persisted, GW’s fi- fiscal year 2020, which decision or in the best in- administrators said lay- nancial outlook continued change in the pandemic April ended June 30, they pro- terest of GW because it offs were no longer just a and its impact, we believe to worsen. jected the $45 million rev- will only hamper our fi- possibility – they were in- that these final steps will In early April, LeBlanc On May 8, adminis- enue shortfall would yield nancial standing in the fu- evitable. conclude our budget miti- provided the first known trators announced a pro- a net loss of $13 million ture,” Speights, the Board On June 4, LeBlanc gation for this fiscal year,” estimate of the pandem- jected annual revenue after running out the Uni- chair, said at the May sen- wrote in an email to An- LeBlanc said in an email, ic’s financial impact on the shortfall of between $100 versity’s budgeted sur- ate meeting. “We cannot drew Zimmerman, the which was obtained by University. Officials an- million and $300 million plus and implementing sacrifice our long-term then-president of the Fac- The Hatchet, to employees ticipated a $25 million loss for fiscal year 2021, which various mitigation steps. future to resolve the chal- ulty Association, saying Thursday. from the original fiscal runs July 1, 2020, through As officials discussed lenges posed by this pan- that officials would be -un Since the pandemic be- year 2020 budget, driven June 30, 2021, depending more drastic measures to demic.” able to avoid layoffs for gan affecting the Univer- by a $45 million annual on when students return close the budget gap, they The decision quickly “any longer” – marking sity’s operations in March, revenue shortfall. to campus. The Board vowed not to use GW’s led to criticism from some LeBlanc’s first known con- officials have stressed The projection did not delayed the passage of endowment, arguing it faculty who said using en- firmation of impending that financial projections account for the impact of the fiscal year 2021 bud- would jeopardize the dowment funds could pre- layoffs. are subject to change un- the pandemic on the Uni- get from its May meeting long-term financial stabil- vent potential layoffs and til more information be- versity’s medical enter- given the financial uncer- ity of the University. other cuts. comes available about prise. The GW Hospital tainty of the pandemic’s “Tapping the endow- See BUDGET Page 4 SIDNEY LEE | GRAPHICS EDITOR Researchers surpass diversity goal for COVID-19 Power outages, poor air vaccine trials quality disrupt West RACHEL ANNEX in a joint response. STAFF WRITER The team said they Coast students’ lives were able to find a di- Almost two months verse sample population TARA SUTER worst air quality in mid- after GW launched its using connections from REPORTER September, and smoke arm of COVID-19 vaccine their past work on HIV from the fires has spread trials, researchers have and a database that keeps TIFFANY GARCIA all the way to D.C. surpassed their goal for track of people who are ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR More than 10 students including participants interested in participat- taking classes in Califor- from minority communi- ing in vaccine trials. Sophomore Gabriel nia, Oregon and Wash- ties as part of their test They said they’ve Young was woken up in ington said they began population. almost reached the the middle of the night their semester facing “ex- The researchers 300-person capacity for last month in San Jose, treme” heat waves and aimed for 30 percent of the number of people California, from dry knowledge of at least one their trials’ participants who can be enrolled in thunder and lightning wildfire near them. Stu- to be from a diverse the trial, and once the storms, which sparked dents said power outages background, including last person is enrolled, the second-largest wild- and poor air quality have African Americans and they’ll follow the par- fire in California’s record- distracted them from people from the Latinx ticipants for the next 25 ed history. schoolwork, bringing on community, but the tri- months. Young, who is current- another layer of stress for als have surpassed this “There will be several ly taking classes remotely, their families affected by goal, with about half of interim analyses as the said he slept next to a the fires. enrolled participants be- study proceeds to evalu- packed backpack and lug- Sophomore Prerna ing people of color. The ate for vaccine efficacy, gage for a week in mid- Agarwal, an international research team – led by and so it is possible that August after receiving affairs major also from David Diemert, a profes- there will be study re- an evacuation warning San Jose, California, said sor of infectious diseases sults that are released and watching his neigh- she remembers crying – said they’re currently before the completion of bors up the road evacuate. from the toxicity in the air conducting Phase Three the study,” the research- When classes began, he quality around her when of the vaccine trial af- ers said. said he struggled to stay she went outside during ter the first two phases Black residents have motivated and focused as the peak of the fires in proved to be safe and comprised 52 percent SIDNEY LEE | GRAPHICS EDITOR the fires ripped through August. She said it was showed an immune re- of cases and 75 percent five California counties “impossible” to leave her sponse. of deaths related to CO- that have been hit the are being produced will and thousands of acres of house for days because of The team, which in- VID-19 in the District, hardest by the pandemic. likely not continue when land. poor air quality and in- cludes School of Medi- according to a May NPR Michael Osterholm, the pandemic ends. He “Although I am do- tense heat waves. cine and Health Sciences study. the director of the Cen- said making a vaccine at ing internships within Air quality poses little professors Marc Siegel Vaccines can take 10 ter for Infectious Disease this speed is more expen- my area, it just made it or no health risk when the and Elissa Malkin and to 15 years to research, Research and Policy at sive than going through even harder to focus and air quality index is be- Milken Institute School develop and be ap- the University of Minne- the five-to-seven year be productive,” Young tween 51 and 100. At 101 of Public Health profes- proved by the Food and sota, said minority popu- process it typically takes said. “When your condi- to 150 – which Agarwal’s sor Manya Magnus, said Drug Administration lations are at a greater and the government is tions around you are just region reached – the air testing the vaccine on a for widespread use, but risk for COVID-19 in part unlikely to fund those ef- uncertain, not only from is considered unhealthy sample population that Operation Warp Speed, because of their socio- forts when there is not an the [Black Lives Matter] for sensitive groups like includes Black, Latinx a government-funded economic status and be- imminent crisis.