ByGeorge! Online

Jan. 15, 2002

Campus Plan Moves to Federal Court

GW Argues BZA Ruling Compromises
Academic Mission, Students’ Rights

By Greg Licamele

The University revived its lawsuit against the District of Columbia last week in federal court after the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) ruled GW must house 70 percent of its full-time undergraduate population on campus, an order that potentially threatens the University’s academic mission, students’ rights, and the admissions process. GW also plans to file a motion for summary judgment to expedite the case for a final decision by mid-March.

In its Dec. 21 ruling, the BZA ordered GW to house 70 percent of its full-time undergraduate population within campus boundaries and in University-owned or leased property in the Foggy Bottom/West End area by Aug. 31, 2002. By Aug. 31, 2006, GW must house 70 percent of its undergraduates exclusively within the campus boundaries. The BZA also ordered, in essence, an enrollment cap, says Charles Barber, GW’s senior counsel. For every additional undergraduate over 8,000, the University must provide an additional bed.

“The order disrupts the institutional decision-making process and strikes a balance heavily weighted toward housing, to the detriment of the other parts of the University,” Barber says. “Housing is an important concern, but we are not strictly in the housing business. We are in the education business.”

As of September 2001, the University had 4,056 beds within campus boundaries for its 8,058 full-time undergraduate students. An additional 1,395 beds are used now by students outside the campus plan in buildings such as City Hall, Pennsylvania House, Hall on Virginia Avenue, and the Aston. Barber believes the five-member BZA ruling is illogical because while the University can legally use this housing for students, the properties will not count toward meeting the campus plan housing requirements.

“I don’t know what the BZA expects,” Barber says. “I don’t know whether they expect us to sell these properties or discontinue them for housing. They certainly don’t have the authority or the right to force us to do that.”

The University plans to add more residence hall rooms with the construction of two facilities near the Smith Center on 23rd Street. These two buildings, which are scheduled to be open for the 2004–05 academic year, will add a total of 900 beds to the on-campus system. The University also awaits a ruling by the DC Zoning Commission as to whether the Elliott School of International Affairs building at 1957 E St. and its 193 beds will be approved under the current building permit conditions. If the Zoning Commission approves the project, then those additional beds will be included within the campus boundaries.

Barber also says GW is considering other sites for residential facilities such as the property around the School Without Walls. However, the BZA order does not provide the flexibility necessary to both develop these properties over time and to meet the University’s academic mission. GW owns the tennis courts and other properties next to the School Without Walls. The University is exploring a joint program with the DC School Board to build a new School Without Walls, which would create more space for a larger GW residence hall than what can be constructed now. Barber says the DC School Board has not agreed yet and that these decisions take time, which the BZA order does not afford. This forces GW to alter its planning from primarily academic to residential.

“If we don’t meet this Aug. 31 deadline, then we will not be able to get approvals to build anything that’s not at least 50 percent residential,” notes Barber, citing that building approvals range from new projects to existing structural renovations. “Housing has to really flow from our primary academic mission. Unfortunately, the BZA order turns that on its head.”

Barber believes this order also infringes on the basic rights of students under the equal protection clause of the US Constitution and under the DC Human Rights Act, which protects a person on the basis of their status as a student. Barber says the BZA order discriminates against students by restricting housing options.

“We believe students should have that right to move off campus, particularly as they grow older and more mature,” Barber says. “One of the things the University ends up doing is contributing to the maturation of students. As they mature and want more freedom, they should have that right. This order would push the University to try to restrict those rights of students.”

The BZA order requires GW to adopt a policy mandating freshmen and sophomores, with certain exceptions, to live on campus. Barber says the BZA ruling could have a similar impact on upperclassmen if it is not revised.

“I don’t know of any other jurisdiction that the government tells the private institution that you must house a certain percentage of your students, in addition to capping the enrollment,” Barber says.

According to Barber, Georgetown University is the only institution that faces any type of similar restrictions to those placed on GW. The BZA maintained a cap on Georgetown’s undergraduate enrollment, even as the institution builds new housing. Georgetown is appealing its BZA order.

“Ours goes further,” he explains. “There is a cap on our total enrollment, but also there is a strict housing requirement for full-time undergraduates, which acts as a separate kind of cap on our full-time undergraduate population.”

The enrollment restrictions directly impact the admissions process. With acceptance letters scheduled to be sent in mid-March, the University needs answers from the federal court. If the BZA order were already in effect for this academic year, GW would have to provide 1,400-1,600 more beds on campus given its current full-time undergraduate population of 8,058.

“To the extent that we have any undergraduate population increases, even beyond where we are now, then we have to provide one additional bed for every new undergraduate student,” Barber says. “This makes the burden even greater.”

Barber says the University’s primary aim is to provide the proper balance among the academic, residential, and social needs of GW. “Our ultimate goal is to get a set of conditions in the campus plan which addresses the need for additional undergraduate housing, but allows the University the necessary flexibility to operate as a first class academic institution of higher education.”

 

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