George Washington University - Cherry Tree Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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Chris Smith WASHINGTON THE CAPITAL, THE CITY, THE CAMPUS And if the people do make the city, then they also create its character. Downtown murals favor an otherwise barren wall with images of joy amidst strife, challenging the passerby to understand, to empathize. Street musicians live on their art, play for our pleasure and sing from the heart. An elderly woman will sell papers for pennies, take charity from no one, More than a character; a soul, a dream. To live in Washington is to dream of personal challenge, of the mundane now discarded and of a future yet completed. Joggers pound a year-round path beside the silent C O canal, stilled waters which were much of Constitution Avenue a century ago. Rusting, half-buried trol- ley tracks define many a neighborhood side- street with the ambiance of antiquity, though only a generation out of vogue. Rush hour com- muters swarm into Farragut West as the city ex- pands faster and the honeycombed novelty of metroraii fades. And yet the romance of Washington is not found in the offering of things to see or places to go: it is that we not only want to use them, but go out of our way to do so. Washington ' s unique brand of dynamism is both public and private, activist and apathetic. Fireworks high above the reflecting pool draw area- wide crowds to the Mall, Mitchell Hall residents to the roof deck rather than evening classes. We walk hand in hand against the backdrop of the Lincoln id

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WASHINGTON THE CAPITAL, THE CITY, THE CAMPUS celebrated. Motorcades may wisk the important along their annointed routes, leaving but a trail of turned heads and the fading echo of a Secret Service siren. Still it is the city which welcomes home hostages and inaugurates presidents; the city which at once pauses to reflect on a John Lennon while its own reflection serves as an in- spiration, be it imperfect, (oom.j JOJV HfQSAQT Outdoor activities in Washing- ton range from the fervor of a po- litical rally to a friendly game of hoops. CNxs $nvm 13

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Chris Smith Memorial; we march arm in arm to redress our causes and our beliefs. And sometimes unwill- ingly we are reminded of the less fortunate, of the streetpeople. In the end, perhaps the greatest compliment we pay Washington is not that we react to the city in our own way — but that each of us does react. Some may enjoy a vigil outside the White House, hoping to capture an I was there memory; others may seek the free-wheeling de- bate of a House subcommittee. We wait patient- ly in line at our favorite revival house for a mid- night show; we cannot wait to form a Saturday afternoon scrimmage on the Ellipse. Many grab a sub at Bon Appetit; a few dine al fresco at Gusti ' s. In Washington, life is joyfully schizophrenic: there is always a second choice, another way of looking at things. Does living history make us less than pure college students, or more than sea- sonal residents? Our sense of spectacle and ex- perience may jar the memory for some, but does not answer the question for all. For the GWU community, Washington is a true theatre in the round, a stage within our reach — and a very tough act to follow or take on the road. The magic may be explained, and the excitement tempered, but the attraction remains. Some- how, there is just no place like home. Sorry Mom. Text by Eric K, Federing 15