By Christopher Giang
After many uncertain months of waiting, behind schedule, GW has secured what other schools could only dream of having: a real building for their campus store. For years, visiting parents looking to buy $35 mugs and sweatshirts with “GW DAD” printed on them had to climb down to a mysterious basement tucked deep underground to do so. Now, the long-vacant building on Eye Street has become a fresh new storefront for them to visit instead.
The building certainly looks impressive, with a huge screen and fancy escalator peeking out through the windows for all to see. Anything would have been an upgrade compared to what we had before, of course. But will the new school store give off the right impression to visitors and prospective students? Is it, dare I say, Revolutionary? I decided to see for myself.
I paid my visit on a breezy Wednesday afternoon, a time that doesn’t lend itself to attracting big crowds of students or visitors; so I was only one of a handful of people hanging around. When people come, though, they’ll be treated to this view of GW’s newest and brightest merch. I was most impressed to see everything displayed in a roomy space, for once—it makes everything look professional in a way that the space in USC was never really able to do. It’s already a massive step up.
The new store is still offering the familiar services and amenities that the old one was, including textbook rentals and the Apple repair section. But what interests me more are the new things that GW has decided to fill the rest of this space with, ranging from the nifty to the rather strange. Some new additions I’d like to highlight include:
The Stanley Tumbler section, which needs no introduction. Their colors, pretty as they are, also tremendously fail to match their buff and blue surroundings. If there’s some significance to the green and gray tones they opted for instead, I’d like to know what it is.
A kids’ section, of all things, complete with some teddies and a little reading nook. It’s very cute, but definitely feels out of place surrounded by the austere professionalism that GW seems to want to project these days. I think the stand holding thousands of dollars worth of branded jewelry just to the right illustrates my point.
And lastly, this specific shelf with a hand-drawn design I have never seen before decorating pillows, totes, and other items. It reminds me of those Starbucks collector’s mugs they have for what seems like every place on Earth. They also featured the first D.C.-scented candles, which I’ve certainly never seen before. (Get the “Georgetown” scent if you must—don’t bother with the rest.)
I closed things out by returning to USC’s Lower Level one last time (I don’t have a picture, sorry) only to be met by a locked door with what seems to be most of the old store’s stock still behind it, intriguingly enough. What they plan to do with it now is beyond me.
I think this move was definitely successful, although I honestly doubt it will become the new “community space” that the administration is hoping it will be. I fear that the eerily empty, warehouse-like vibe that still seems to permeate this space will thwart any attempts at building a real community, and I don’t think any amount of people inside is going to change that. While I expect the store to maintain its flashy good looks to impress Foggy Bottom’s visitors, I expect it to stay just what it is: a store.
