The Advisory Neighborhood Commission has redrawn its district boundaries so that Georgetown students will fall into three districts, one of which will be comprised entirely of students. Voters will elect ANC representatives for a two-year term in the new districts this November.
Campaign Georgetown will sponsor three student candidates in the ANC elections this fall. The names of the candidates will be announced in August, according to Campaign Georgetown Co-Chair Eric Lashner (CAS ‘05).
After receiving the results of the census in April 2001, the D.C. City Council redrew the boundaries of the city’s eight wards based on population shifts. The council member in each ward then appointed a task force to redistrict the ANC accordingly.
Each ANC district is made up of several single member districts, each with their own representative. The members of the redistricting task force had to determine whether to maintain the seven districts or divide into eight districts.
ANC 2E, which includes Georgetown and Burleith, will decrease from eight to seven SMDs.
Two plans were submitted for redistricting the ANC. The first plan called for four districts containing both students and non-students and three districts made up exclusively of non-students. The second plan outlined two all-student districts and five non-student districts.
In the final compromise, it was decided that ANC 2E will be composed of seven districts: one composed of all students, two composed of a mix of students and non-students and four completely non-student districts.
“The way the process was done, it probably wasn’t everyone’s first choice, but it is something we can all live with,” ANC Chair Peter Pulsifer said.
According to ANC Commissioner Justin Kopa (CAS ‘03), the motivation behind creating all-student districts was to guarantee students at least one representative on the ANC. However, Kopa said that he does not feel that an exclusively student district is necessarily the optimal solution.
“All-student districts are not beneficial to either students or non-students. Mixed districts cause both students and non-students to learn about and appreciate each other’s concerns,” Kopa said.
Kopa said he hopes students that run for ANC commissioner next fall take the time to learn about the problems facing non-students.
“I hope that whoever is elected is interested in getting to know the issues of the community,” Kopa said.
In order to gauge student opinion of issues relating to the ANC, Campaign Georgetown took a survey of 87 undergraduate students living both on and off campus, polling them on such issues as noise, crime and trash collection.
According to Campaign Georgetown Co-Chair Matt Ingham (CAS ‘04), “The poll was conducted to prepare student ANC candidates for the November 2002 elections and the preceding campaign.”
Campaign Georgetown Co-Chair Drew Johnson-Skinner (CAS ‘03) said the survey was conducted by phone in order to obtain an objective sample and keep the results scientific. If students were unfamiliar with the ANC, the pollster briefly explained its composition and function.
Survey results show that 41.4 percent of students polled were familiar with the ANC. 94.7 percent of the students polled said they felt it was important that a Georgetown student serve on the ANC. Students responded that they are most concerned about off-campus housing, with 76 out of 87 students stating that they agree with the statement, “I am concerned about the availability of off-campus housing.”
Lashner said that the survey is invaluable to potential ANC candidates, especially those running in districts with both students and non-students.
“The poll is an especially useful tool in the non-student districts, because it allows candidates to show voters that both students and non-students are concerned about the same thing,” Lashner said.
ANC Commissioner Justin Wagner (CAS ‘03) said that he felt that the survey reflects well on Georgetown students.
“It speaks to the fact that Georgetown students are concerned about the issues and want to be involved,” Wagner said.
Neither Wagner nor Kopa will seek re-election in the November elections.
