SEARCH AND SEIZURE: GWU bans students from retrieving personal property, threatens discipline

The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. has barred its students from returning to campus to move out of their dormitories, instead electing to hire a moving company which will video chat with students as they pack up their belongings for them. According to an email obtained by YAF, the school informed students that they “do not believe it will be safe for students and their families to return to campus in the coming weeks to move out on their own accord” during the COVID-19 crisis. The university is instead hiring a professional moving company who will video-call students and utilize “photographic documentation of belongings.” Students who are in possession of prohibited items, including unauthorized 3D printers, drugs, guns, knives, or other weapons have been urged to self-report the violations. The school admits that self-reporting will most likely not prevent students from getting in trouble, but may be a “mitigating factor.” “Failure to provide this information in advance may be considered an aggravating factor in the university’s response and could also result in additional policy violations,” the email states. The school has also said that students would be charged to cover the cost of shipping textbooks back to them. Any dirty dishes, open food or drinks, candles, plants, and open personal toiletries will be discarded and not packed for the students. More than 1400 students have signed a petition urging GW to allow students to return and pack their own belongings. Have you faced an incident on your campus that you want us to know about? Submit a tip through our Campus Bias Tipline.