Georgetown University student groups say a new redistricting plan for their neighborhood cheats them out of full representation in the District, and are calling for an alternative plan to be sent to the city. It’s the latest chapter in the ongoing turf battle between the city’s universities and the neighborhoods that surround them.
A new redistricting plan for Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, which encompasses Georgetown University and the M Street commercial center, calls for two of eight districts within the ANC to be on Georgetown’s campus. It’s an upgrade from the present arrangement of one student seat out of seven, but some say the divisions are still unfair, noting that most of the residential districts have a much smaller population than the roughly 2,500 students per campus district.
» Source: ANC 2E
| Students drawing the line | |||
| District 1 | 2,200 | District 1 | 2,409 |
| District 2 (GU) | 1,986 | District 2 | 1,660 |
| District 3 | 2,025 | District 3 | 1,705 |
| District 4 (GU) | 2,072 | District 4 (GU) | 2,581 |
| District 5 (mixed) | 2,095 | District 5 | 1,710 |
| District 6 | 2,021 | District 6 | 1,836 |
| District 7 | 2,199 | District 7 | 1,983 |
| District 8 | 1,964 | District 8 (GU) | 2,581 |
John Flanagan, a rising sophomore, has drawn another redistricting map that includes two student districts and one that is mixed student and residential. His expectation is that the mixed district would elect a student representative.
“It’s our neighborhood too — during the winter snowstorms we put out teams shoveling driveways and helping out in the community,” he said. “The issue here is we’re not being treated as individuals.”
Underlying much of the tension is the neighborhood’s resistance this year to the university’s proposed 10-year master plan. At zoning commission hearings this year, community members have consistently objected to the institution’s plan to expand its student population and have asked that the plan include housing all students on campus.
“The residents have seen a growth in the student population and in the practice of the university housing students off campus,” said ANC Chairman Ron Lewis. “And the community is bearing the burden which comes in various forms [like] parties and late night noise.”
In a vote last month by the 16-member redistricting committee, which includes five students, Flanagan’s design was rejected over one proposed by the ANC. But a special hearing at Monday’s scheduled ANC meeting will open up the plans for discussion again. The committee could choose to reconsider its vote, depending on the outcome of the hearing, said Lewis.
Lewis said the districts favored by the ANC were drawn more along neighborhood lines rather than strictly by population, as Flanagan’s map is. He noted the new District 1 just north of campus would encompass 2,409 people. The two university districts would each encompass 2,581 people.
