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Critical. Subversive. Irrepressible.

AWOL

Critical. Subversive. Irrepressible.

AWOL

Critical. Subversive. Irrepressible.

AWOL

Recent Stories

The New Dormitory next door

The New Dormitory next door

Plans for new student housing to be built behind Leonard Hall.
Grace Manson, Staff Writer April 21, 2025

The D.C. Zoning Commission approved Wesley Theological Seminary’s plans to construct a 215-unit apartment behind Leonard Hall and fund affordable housing throughout Ward 3 on Feb. 27. The housing...

"Sacred spaces"

“Sacred spaces”

What the introduction of Bill 26-20 means for D.C.’s historic Black cemeteries.
Sydnee Patak, Staff Writer April 21, 2025

Civil War veterans, legislators from the Reconstruction Era, Black artists and some of the first Black doctors in the country are just a few of the people buried in Washington’s historic Woodlawn Cemetery. “The...

Building history: Women’s Suffrage Monument approved for the National Mall

Building history: Women’s Suffrage Monument approved for the National Mall

The first monument on the Mall honoring women’s history projected to be complete by 2033.
Stevie Rosenfeld, Staff Writer April 18, 2025

Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden signed a bill approving the construction of a Women’s Suffrage Monument on the National Mall, the first monument on the Mall to honor the suffrage movement. The...

A Balanced Plate? Exploring AU's Food Systems

A Balanced Plate? Exploring AU’s Food Systems

Understanding how students perceive AU’s food and the campus communities that contribute to the supply.

Do American University’s food systems provide students and community members with nutritious, sustainable, and accessible food on campus? This semester, AWOL’s multimedia team explored this question,...

Protestors listen to a student speaker outside of the Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall.

Georgetown students show solidarity at rally for detained professor

The demonstration came after the Georgetown professor was arrested by Homeland Security officials for alleged antisemitic and pro-Hamas speech.
Ben Ackman, Multimedia Producer April 11, 2025

Chants echoed between buildings at Georgetown University on March 23 as keffiyeh-clad protestors streamed down Library Walk. The demonstrators were attending a rally in support of Badar Khan Suri, a...

Behind the screen: social media fuels political divides for DC students

Behind the screen: social media fuels political divides for DC students

Students report fear and hate on campus due to politics online.
Sage Collis, Staff Writer March 12, 2025

Sophia Joseph, a senior at American University, published an open letter on Sept. 17, 2024, responding to an Instagram post by the American University College Republicans. The AUCR Instagram post said,...

Shayna Caruso, left, and Gabriela Rupp read written remarks to a crowd of 40 students in the Katzen rotunda. 20 more audience members watched on Zoom.

Education students feared loss of their school while massive gift was in the works

AU administrators secretly planned a large private donation to the School of Education for months, even as students and the public believed the school could be dissolved.
Ben Ackman and Ava Ramsdale March 3, 2025

On the evening of Nov. 12, 2024, 40 students stood in the Katzen Arts Center rotunda, listening to two juniors in the School of Education read an email the then-SOE Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy sent that...

Remembering American Airlines Flight 5342

Remembering American Airlines Flight 5342

Memorials across Washington honor victims of Jan. 29 plane crash.
Natalie Monga and Beverly Freidenrich February 14, 2025

Vibrant memorials honoring the victims of the Jan. 29 plane crash over the Potomac River have been established in downtown Washington. After an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S....

Protestors reject DOGE and Elon Musk

Protestors reject DOGE and Elon Musk

Prominent lawmakers and activists led an anti-Musk demonstration outside the U.S. Treasury Department.
Ben Ackman, Benjamin Austin, and Daisy Bateman February 10, 2025

On Tuesday, protestors gathered outside the U.S. Treasury Department on 15th Street Northwest to protest Elon Musk’s influence over the government agency. Musk heads the Department of Government Efficiency,...

Thousands rally at the Lincoln Memorial days before Trump’s inauguration

Thousands rally at the Lincoln Memorial days before Trump’s inauguration

Protestors from around the country gathered in Washington to voice their concerns for the new presidency at the People’s March.
Benjamin Austin, Conny Galvez, and Natalie Monga February 7, 2025

Thousands rallied on Jan. 18 at the People’s March in Washington to advocate for women’s rights ahead of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Activists showed up in support of various...

Global Federation of Chinese Businesswomen in Baltimore members holding their banner to start the parade.

Lunar New Year Parade takes over Chinatown

Families from the Washington area gathered to celebrate community, culture and history.
Daisy Bateman and Jacob Saucier February 4, 2025

Crowds lined the streets of the district’s Chinatown on Sunday for the annual Lunar New Year Parade, a vibrant celebration marking the arrival of the Year of the Snake. The event was hosted by the Chinese...

A photographer frames a shot of the Capitol as Proud Boys look on.

In downtown Washington, President Trump’s supporters celebrate, shiver and gloat

Thousands endured long lines and frigid temperatures celebrating Trump’s second inauguration.
Ben Ackman and Benjamin Austin January 22, 2025

Thousands of Trump supporters gathered in downtown Washington on Monday for President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. In a city where less than 7% voted for the Republican, Trump supporters stood...

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