Washington
Congress cancels hearing on George Washington U protests after police clear encampment
(JTA) — Police in Washington, DC cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment from the campus of George Washington University and arrested 33 people early Wednesday, hours before a Congressional hearing was set to pressure local leaders on their response to the protest.
Shortly after the arrests, the Republican-led congressional committee canceled the hearing. Lawmakers had planned to grill DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and police chief Pamela Smith on why, prior to Wednesday morning’s arrests, the district had not clamped down on “unlawful activity and antisemitism” at the encampment. Washington police had previously rejected the university’s pleas to intervene on campus, citing the optics of disciplining protesters.
The arrests also follow the publication of dueling faculty letters supporting and opposing the encampment. One of the professors who had circulated the anti-encampment letter backed the arrests.
“It’s always upsetting when police have to get involved in this way, but I think there was no alternative,” Daniel Schwartz, a professor of Jewish history at GWU, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Their presence was a disturbance to many students, especially given the location. Final exams were being moved.”
Concerns about campus antisemitism
The letter Schwartz and a non-Jewish GWU colleague, Eric Arnesen, had circulated was signed by more than 100 university faculty and staff, many of them Jewish and most from the DC area.
The letter endorsed protecting peaceful protest but expressed concern about the allegations of antisemitism and said the demonstrations weren’t representative of the campus as a whole.
“While we oppose any attempt to ascribe antisemitic intent to all or even most of the protesters, it is indisputable that there have been numerous cases of harassment, abuse, and even physical violence against Jewish students on college campuses since October 7,” Schwartz and Ernesen’s open letter states. Later, they write, “We agree that student speech and protest should be respected — provided they follow reasonable university regulations and do not veer into the realm of harassment.”
A separate open letter from area faculty that had expressed support for the encampments, and downplayed reports of antisemitism among their participants, was signed by more than 500 people.
Universities across the country have struggled to find the right response to the encampments, which have gone up at dozens of schools over the past few weeks. Some have struck deals to clear them peacefully, and others have sent in law enforcement to break them up, leading to more than 2,500 arrests nationwide.
Jewish students and faculty on campuses with encampments have reported being harassed by protesters and say they create a hostile atmosphere, while many of the protests have featured Jewish contingents.
Protests at GWU over the Israel-Hamas war have often taken on a more aggressive tone than similar campus protests. Last fall the school suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, and the White House specifically called out the activists’ actions, after “Glory to our martyrs” was projected onto the side of a campus building named after a Jewish donor.
The campus had calmed down since the fall, but tensions flared up again with the recent encampments, Schwartz said. Recent encampment behavior has reportedly included blocking students’ ability to move through campus, replacing an American flag with a Palestinian flag and putting a keffiyeh onto a campus statue of George Washington. GWU President Ellen Granberg has also been a direct target of the protesters, both at fundraisers and on campus.
When the encampments sprang up in late April, GW Hillel called for the university “to take all needed actions to maintain a safe campus environment for all,” calling them “an embrace of hate” and stating, “We say unequivocally that no student’s rights to be safe, to pursue their education, and to be proud Jews should be compromised in response to another student’s actions.”
Days before the arrests, Granberg made a plea to DC law enforcement to help manage the “illegal” protests. Both Granberg and police said they gave the protesters several warnings to leave the encampment before arrests were made and offered an alternative protest site. Granberg wrote in a message to campus that the administration had “conducted regular and sustained dialogues” with encampment leaders.
“I fully support and encourage our community to speak out and engage in controversial and critical dialogues on these crucial issues — as long as they occur within the limits of our university’s policies and the District’s laws,” she wrote. “However, what is currently happening at GW is not a peaceful protest protected by the First Amendment or our university’s policies. The demonstration, like many around the country, has grown into what can only be classified as an illegal and potentially dangerous occupation of GW property.”
Prior to their arrest, members of the recent encampment at the school chanted slogans linking the Israel Defense Forces to the Ku Klux Klan, according to the Hatchet, the student newspaper.
Granberg “deserves a lot of credit for how she’s handled this,” Schwartz said. “And I’m certain she’ll be taking an enormous amount of flak, not only from students but from faculty.”
Vancouver Police Department, West Precinct, in Vancouver, Wash., June 29, 2024.
Anna Lueck / OPB
The legislators will make an initial request of $3.5 million toward plans for the training center, which would serve new recruits and current staff. They will seek an additional $3 million during the 2026 legislative session as well as federal appropriations from Washington’s Congressional delegation, according to a letter from Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle.
“We really need one place to come together and have the ability to give our officers the best training,” said Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Erica Nilsen, who noted Southwest Washington’s booming population. “That’s really why we need the regional academy.”
The academy would primarily serve as a training site for police and sheriff’s department staff from Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties, Nilsen said. Her department hopes to have a facility where prospective officers could train on squad car driving, firearms and scenario training, and do classroom work.
Since January, the Vancouver Police Department has used a repurposed elementary school in the city. They also rent a driving track and send recruits to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission academy in Burien, about two-and-a-half hours north.
That distance creates barriers to hiring potential officers who are female or single parents, Nilsen said.
“To leave your family for four months is incredibly difficult. Sometimes that stops the conversation before they even get past that,” she said.
Lawmakers are pitching the idea of a potential location in Ridgefield on property that’s privately owned by the family of Boschma Farms, near where Clark College is currently building an advanced manufacturing campus.
The likelihood of landing such a request for state funds remains uncertain, given Washington’s projected $10-12 billion budget deficit. Clark County and the city of Vancouver are also navigating multimillion-dollar deficits.
“With the budget issues that we’re going to be facing, it kind of remains to be seen where we’re at. It’s going to be probably quite a stretch, but [law enforcement] is certainly my priority going into this next session,” said state Rep. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver, whose district spans the north end of Clark County.
McClintock said that in addition to being a training academy, she hopes such a facility would provide a new administrative home for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials with the Vancouver Police Department and county sheriff’s office have both recently said they are among the lowest-staffed departments in the state per capita. McClintock said a new training facility could help attract more law enforcement officers.
“We need to send a message that they are a priority,” she said. “It’s a morale issue. And it’s a good recruiting tool to show that we support our law enforcement here in Southwest Washington.”
In November, the city of Vancouver attempted to increase property taxes to fund 80 new police officers. The proposal was rejected by voters. Clark County is considering asking voters to pay for 30 new sheriff’s deputies, according to the mayor’s memo.
From 2020 to 2023, Clark County saw a 3.5% increase in population. While a new law enforcement facility would take years to complete, the need to train officers will increase as the population of Southwest Washington continues to grow.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville (8-4, 5-3 ACC) is set to face Washington (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) in the Sun Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 2:00 p.m. EST at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. Here’s how the Cardinals stack up against the Huskies:
*Mobile users can scroll left and right on the tables below*
|
Washington |
Louisville |
|
|---|---|---|
|
AP/USAT |
NR/NR |
RV/RV |
|
CFP |
NR |
NR |
|
SOS |
12th |
28th |
|
SOR |
46th |
25th |
|
SP+ |
61st |
18th |
|
FPI |
45th |
12th |
|
Sagarin |
47th |
17th |
|
Kelley Ford |
49th |
13th |
|
CFB Insiders |
41st |
11th |
|
Washington |
Louisville |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Total Offense |
68th (383.7) |
10th (455.8) |
|
Yards Per Play |
52nd (5.96) |
3rd (6.88) |
|
Scoring Offense |
109th (22.5) |
9th (36.6) |
|
Passing Yards |
39th (252.3) |
20th (272.4) |
|
Yards Per Completion |
113th (10.97) |
37th (12.82) |
|
Rushing Yards |
93rd (131.3) |
37th (183.3) |
|
Yards Per Rush Attempt |
85th (4.07) |
9th (5.60) |
|
First Downs Gained |
76th (248) |
57th (261) |
|
3rd Down Con. % |
102nd (36.4%) |
74th (39.7%) |
|
4th Down Con. % |
101st (45.8%) |
(116th (40.0%) |
|
Red Zone Con. % |
85th (82.2%) |
95th (80.8%) |
|
Turnovers Lost |
19th (11) |
19th (11) |
|
Interceptions Thrown |
26th (7) |
10th (6) |
|
Fumbles Lost |
15th (4) |
30th (5) |
|
Tackles for Loss Allowed |
87th (5.83) |
19th (4.17) |
|
Sacks Allowed |
111th (2.83) |
23rd (1.25) |
|
Avg. Time of Possession |
66th (30:10) |
73rd (29:57) |
Key: National Rank out of 134 FBS Teams (Value)
|
Washington |
Louisville |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Total Defense |
27th (324.8) |
58th (360.1) |
|
Yards Allowed Per Play |
28th (5.00) |
49th (5.28) |
|
Scoring Defense |
45th (22.8) |
52nd (23.3) |
|
Passing Yards Allowed |
5th (166.8) |
80th (224.7) |
|
Rushing Yards Allowed |
83rd (158.1) |
43rd (135.4) |
|
First Downs Allowed |
69th (241) |
40th (229) |
|
3rd Down Defensive % |
106th (43.9%) |
39th (35.5%) |
|
4th Down Defensive % |
91st (57.1%) |
112th (64.5%) |
|
Red Zone Defensive % |
53rd (81.0%) |
63rd (81.8%) |
|
Turnovers Gained |
91st (14) |
69th (16) |
|
Interceptions Caught |
93rd (8) |
75th (9) |
|
Fumbles Recovered |
69th (6) |
49th (7) |
|
TFL Per Game |
132nd (3.6) |
39th (6.4) |
|
Sacks Per Game |
90th (1.67) |
40th (2.42) |
Key: National Rank out of 134 FBS Teams (Value)
|
Washington |
Louisville |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Net Punting |
131st (34.49) |
109th (36.74) |
|
Avg. Kickoff Return |
30th (22.42) |
60th (20.53) |
|
Avg. Kickoff Return Def. |
92nd (21.83) |
24th (17.42) |
|
Avg. Punt Return |
74th (7.27) |
106th (5.13) |
|
Avg. Punt Return Def. |
126th (14.94) |
31st (5.00) |
|
Field Goal Attempts |
18-26 |
18-25 |
|
PAT |
26-26 |
55-55 |
Key: National Rank out of 134 FBS Teams (Value)
– FPI Prediction: Per ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Cardinals have a 74.8 percent chance to win against the Huskies. Louisville has an FPI rating of 16.4 (12th overall), whereas Washington has an FPI rating of 5.1 (45th overall).
– SP+ Prediction: Per Bill Connelly’s SP+ model, the Cardinals have a 76.89 percent chance to take down the Huskies. Louisville has an SP+ rating of 15.5 (18th overall), whereas Washington has an SP+ rating of 3.0 (61st overall).
– Kelley Ford Prediction: Per the Kelley Ford ratings, the Cardinals have a 73 percent chance to defeat the Huskies. Louisville has a KFord rating of 16.5 (14th overall), whereas Washington has a KFord rating of 5.1 (48th overall).
– College Football Insiders Prediction: Per College Football Insiders’ IPR metric, the Cardinals have a 71.99 percent chance to take down the Huskies. Louisville has an IPR rating of 65.5 (11th overall), whereas Washington has an IPR rating of 53.5 (41st overall).
– Personal Prediction: Louisville 28, Washington 24
(Photo via Jordan Prather – Imagn Images)
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You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky
Notre Dame football continues transfer portal haul with TE Ty Washington
Ty Washington’s 2024 season ended abruptly. The redshirt sophomore tight end was dismissed from Arkansas in late October for what head coach Sam Pittman described as a violation of team rules.
Notre Dame football wants to give Washington a second chance. The 6-foot-4, 247-pound tight end with two seasons of eligibility remaining announced Wednesday his commitment to transfer to Notre Dame.
Maybe Washington can find more success with the Irish after catching 14 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns in 21 career games with the Razorbacks. Pro Football Focus gave Washington the second-lowest offensive grade on Arkansas’ roster for his play in the 2024 season. He received a 42.3 offensive grade on his 116 offensive snaps. The lowest offensive grade on Notre Dame’s offense so far this season is reserve offensive tackle Ty Chan’s 47.8 on eight snaps.
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Washington will be a depth option for Notre Dame’s tight end room. The Irish will lose starting tight end Mitchell Evans to the NFL this offseason with four seasons of eligibility used. Reserve tight end Davis Sherwood will also have exhausted his eligibility. Seldom-used graduate senior Kevin Bauman still has one season of eligibility remaining, but it’s unclear if he’ll be on Notre Dame’s roster next season.
The obvious options to return to Notre Dame next season are current junior Eli Raridon, sophomore Cooper Flanagan, freshman Jack Larsen and 2025 signee James Flanigan. Raridon has played in all 13 games this season and caught nine passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns so far. Flanagan caught four passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games this season.
So Washington’s impact at Notre Dame seems far from guaranteed, but that’s much better than the situation he was in at Arkansas. Washington shared his side of the story about his dismissal on the “4th and 5 Podcast.” Washington refused to enter a 58-25 victory over Mississippi State in the fourth quarter when the coaching staff wanted to put him in the game. Prior to the game, Washington said, he learned that his grandmother was in poor health and that put him in a bad place mentally.
“Our team was kicking butt,” Washington said on the podcast. “Our tight ends were doing their thing. Shout-out to Luke [Hasz] and shout-out to Andreas [Paaske] because they were playing a hell of a ballgame. To be honest, I didn’t think that I needed to go in to just try to fight through something and look bad or mess up the team in general when I’m already going through something mentally.
“To be honest, that messed me up and I should’ve taken accountability for that because that was the reason why I was thrown off the team — for not going into the game. I know I could’ve handled it differently, but at the time I let that shut me down. And it shut me down because mentally I’ve been going through a lot of stuff and physically I’ve been going through a lot of stuff. It broke me down a little bit. I’m only human.”
Pittman declined to expand on Washington’s dismissal after reporters heard Washington’s retelling of it. Hasz, Arkansas’ starting tight end this season, has already committed to transfer to Ole Miss.
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Washington signed with Arkansas as a three-star recruit out of Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County. Rivals ranked him as the No. 31 tight end in the 2022 class.
Washington redshirted his true freshman season by playing in four regular season games and a bowl game. His only catch of the season was a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter of a 55-53 win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl.
Washington’s playing time increased in 2023 with three starts in nine games, but his season ended with a shoulder injury. He recorded 11 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns in the four-game stretch before his injury. The 2023 season was Washington’s best, according to PFF. He received a 77.3 offensive grade with an 86.6 in the passing game.
Washington started just one game this past season and caught two passes for 25 yards and one touchdown in seven games played. His dismissal came after the eighth game of the season for Arkansas.
Notre Dame’s incoming transfer portal class is currently bigger than its outgoing transfer class. The Irish added Alabama defensive back DeVonta Smith, Virginia wide receiver Malachi Fields and Wisconsin wide receiver Will Pauling prior to Washington. Fields and Pauling announced their commitments on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, making Washington the third commitment in three days.
Notre Dame’s three outgoing transfer portal players were no longer with the team for most of the season. Defensive tackle Tyson Ford and defensive end Aiden Gobaira weren’t on the roster this season. Cornerback Jaden Mickey opted to seek a transfer after playing in the first four games of 2024, which allowed him to preserve a season of eligibility. Both Ford and Mickey have already committed to Cal.
Notre Dame has yet to address arguably its biggest transfer portal need this offseason: defensive tackle. At least in terms of public commitments. But at the rate this week has gone, who knows how quickly that could change.
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