On a campus where Congressional ID cards seem to be as ubiquitous as driver’s licenses, it’s surprising that students are so quick to overlook the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the only branch of D.C. government with a Georgetown student as an elected official.
On Nov. 7, Jenna Lowenstein (COL ‘09) will run unopposed to become the commissioner of Single Member District 4 of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E. While Lowenstein is an extremely qualified candidate who will successfully represent Georgetown, it’s a shame that she has no equally viable opponent.
“Personally, of course I’m happy, because it makes my job as a candidate easier,” Lowenstein said. “But I do wish I had a qualified opponent. A campaign which had two students competing would force people to pay attention.”
While most of us avoid any interaction with the Commission aside from partying at the University townhouse reserved for the student commissioner, the ANC actually does have input on several issues relevant to student life.
The plans for the new performing arts center had to be approved by the ANC, and any proposals for a new crew boathouse will face the same treatment, Lowenstein said.
At last spring’s ANC meeting, many neighbors grumbled about the need for stricter enforcement of the enrollment cap. The University stays below the cap by averaging the numbers of students on campus both semesters, but neighborhood residents want the cap to be enforced on a per-semester basis.
“I want to run because I think a student voice on the ANC is necessary to promote the growth … that the University needs to compete with its peer schools,” Lowenstein said.
The ANC also plays a role in the current keg ban saga, but in this case, they’re on our side—not because they approve of underage drinking, but because they don’t want it in their backyards.
At an Alliance for Local Living meeting on Tuesday night, the ANC, the Citizens Association of Georgetown and the Citizens Association of Burleith planned to submit a letter to Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson explaining their opposition to the ban.
According to Lowenstein, “he will take that just as seriously as the other information coming in.”
It may not be quite as riveting as drinking, but another issue uniting students and neighborhood residents is the recent spike in crime.
“Over the summer, obviously we saw an increase in crime,” Lowenstein said. “That’s absolutely the number one issue that needs to be addressed because it’s reaching crisis status.”
Kegs, crime, enrollment caps—these are issues students talk about, so they should be paying attention to the ANC.
When Lowenstein’s term ends in two years, she hopes to see at least two candidates running in each of the three single-member districts that include parts of the Georgetown campus.
With so many Government majors and future public servants in our midst, it’s not too much to ask for six strong students to step up and actually serve. Let’s take back the ANC in 2008.
CLARIFICATION: This column in its original form stated that the University townhouse reserved for the student representative on the ANC is located at 3628 N Street. While this is true for the current year, the reserved house is not located at the same address each year. We apologize for any confusion the error may have caused.
