#HistoryLivesHere Contest Winner Announced

After two rounds and hundreds of submissions, District House is the winning name for the George Washington University’s #HistoryLivesHere contest.

The social media competition, which began Feb. 8 to name GW’s new residence hall at 2121 H Street, NW, ended March 23 with more than 1,000 votes cast. District House was one of four finalists—along with University Commons, Tricentennial Hall and Unity Hall—out of an original list of 815 names submitted by members of the GW community.

The winning name, submitted by senior Alexandra Blackwell, received 469 of 1,077 votes.

During the first round of the contest, more than 450 GW community members provided submissions. The original list was pared down to 369 and reviewed by a committee of GW students, faculty, alumni and parents. That group narrowed submissions down to four entries for the voting portion of the contest.

Ruffles Hall, a suggestion made during the contest kickoff video to name the hall after GW President Steven Knapp’s beloved dog, fell short of the final round.

“I had to break the news earlier today to Ruffles,” Dr. Knapp said in a video announcing the winning name. “She was a little surprised because she’s very popular on campus.”

University Commons, submitted by GW alumnus Justin Shafa, received 261 votes. Tricentennial Hall, submitted by GW employee and two-time alumnus Josh Schimmerling, received 227. Unity Hall, submitted by sophomore Talha Siddique, received 120.

Ms. Blackwell will receive a new MacBook Air for her winning submission. Each of the finalists will receive a $100 gift certificate to the GW Bookstore. Additionally, three voters were picked at random to receive a $50 gift certificate to the GW Bookstore.