by Kayleigh Thompson

As the Class of 2021 celebrates graduation, we at The Rival American (specifically this writer, who is graduating) would like to take a moment to recognize the best AU moments from the reign of the last class to be Wonks for a full four years. It’s been a wild ride, Class of 2021, we hope you continue to live your best, Wonkiest lives for all of the years to come. Now, take a trip down memory lane while you anxiously await those final capstone grades:

The Rise of Sylvia Burwell

The class of 2021 had the unique opportunity of coming in alongside a new university president. We have seen every single quirky email, selfie, and video that Sylvia has personally hand crafted for the end of every semester and every time something happens in the news. We were here for the dishwasher, the Fauci pillow selfie, and the weird crocodile tears moment in front of Kay. Sylvia will still be here after we leave on account of not getting the HHS cabinet position, carrying on the legacy of being the President who ended the reign of Wonk.

Ward Becomes Kerwin

Another major event that was pivotal to the Class of 2021 was the honoring of former AU President Cornelius Martin “Neil” Kerwin by renaming Ward Hall, to Kerwin Hall. Class of 2021 Wonks can look back fondly at all of their upperclassmen friends constantly complaining about the name change and the power trip of being the last class to know the building as Ward.

The Time We Destroyed AU Honors

For those of us who were tricked into joining a living learning community our Freshman year, the destruction of the AU Honors program is a moment of pride. A damning anonymous letter that critiqued unnecessarily high GPA requirements and classes that were decided by pulling names out of a hat resulted not only in one too many focus groups but also completely reworked the AU Honors and Scholars programs. They are now combined into one, larger program that offers no extra money and is probably just as tedious. There’s also the fact that they accidentally admitted everyone into the program not once, not twice, but three times. On behalf of the Class of 2021, we apologize.

Destroying the Quad One Underground Pipe at a Time

In typical fashion, the Class of 2021 enjoyed constant construction on AU’s campus until their senior year, when no one was on campus anyway. During the replacement of every underground pipe on the quad and south campus at least twice, graduating wonks can remember being woken up by drilling in their Anderson, Letts, or Centennial dorm room at 7am and having to add 5 minutes to the commute from the LA Quad to SPA because of the blocked off sidewalks. While we are happy for everyone to have their campus back, we are (more than) a little bitter at not being here to see the final product.

The Hughes Fire of 2018

One of the most iconic moments of the Class of 2021’s four year experience is the infamous fire at Hughes Hall in 2018. We all knew it would happen eventually, but were still somehow astonished at having to all conglomerate on East Campus, order Doordash, and wait for the fire department to let us know that we could go back to our dorms and everything would probably be fine. After a freshman year of constant fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, this was the cherry on top for the last year of many of our on-campus living experiences. Hughes, we won’t miss you.

The Time We Had A Russian Spy

The 2018-2019 school year was a bizarre time to be a Wonk. One of the main reasons for this would be the fact that we discovered that Maria Butina, a former Wonk herself, was convicted of conspiring with the Russians during the 2018-2019 school year. AU has a strong relationship with the Russian Embassy on account of housing the Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History, and many of us Wonks can remember seeing Butina at embassy events acting just like any other Russian policy student who wanted a free meal and to watch a weird Russian movie. It is said that a Wonk appears in the news every 27 minutes, and this certainly held true for Maria.

Exposing Aramark

On a personal note for the Rival American, the exposure of Aramark malpractice was one of our first major reporting pieces. After a long history of poor food quality, employee complaints, and a lawsuit, American University finally decided to break with the company and began a partnership with Chartwells, which ultimately did not go much better. Nevertheless, TDR food improved marginally and our MGC restaurants got a little more interesting.

The Fall of Megabytes

Coinciding with the Aramark scandal, the fall of Megabytes hits home for many of us 2021 Wonks. No more were the incredible smoothies and sandwiches that you would be late to class for. After an incident with the WonkRat and the University changing the lock, Megabytes to this day remains desolate, save for the recent decoration of the new Challenge Accepted branding. These new Challenge Accepters will never know how a strawberry banana smoothie from Megabytes would hit differently after your 12:55 World Politics class, and we will always feel sorry for them. Megabytes, we miss you, we love you, and we hope your smoothies will reign supreme again in the future.

The End of an Era: Challenge Accepted?

While there are many other events that have happened over the past four years, including the COVID-19 Pandemic (check out the honorable mentions below), the final highlight I will mention is the fall of the Wonk campaign and the rise of #ChallengeAccepted. As the last class who can say they were Wonks for all four years, we leave taking with us the remnants of the branding campaign that defined a generation. The Wonk Bus livery is already peeling away, and soon the Wonk Cat will officially be renamed the Challenge Accepted Cat. Future AU Eagles can remember Wonks fondly as we appear in the news every 27 minutes while they struggle with the moral implications of calling themselves the Challengers, which is a little too close to the NASA disaster for comfort. We didn’t pick the name change, and on behalf of the Class of 2021, we offer our condolences to all future AU students who have to go back to 2012 rage comics.

Honorable Mentions:

We couldn’t fit all of the peak moments of our four year experience at AU into one little article, so here are some honorable mentions:

-The time Wonk Cat got a house better than any dorm room on Campus

- The time AU finally decided to renovate the Freshman Dorms

-The time 19 students were expelled for being caught in a banned, underground frat

-The time our Wonk of the Year was John Kaisich

-The time Obama came to campus but no students were allowed to attend

If we missed one of your favorite moments, we’re sorry, we’re very tired. Regardless, we hope you carry your favorite Wonk memories with you as you probably go as far away from AU as possible. As Sylvia Burwell said in one of her weird video clips during commencement, Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle.

Remembering the Class of 2021: A Wonky Highlight Reel