AWOL

AWOL AU's progressive rabblerousers. Our publication comes out twice a year. Interests include investigat

AWOL magazine aims to continue pushing both ourselves and American University to be more critical of issues that deserve to be understood with nuance; to work subversively when dismantling barriers that suppress certain voices, and to love irrepressibly when it comes to serving our community. We ignite campus discussions on social, cultural and political issues. We want to make our campus more inq

uiring, egalitarian and socially engaged. Our stories have an angle, which is different from having an agenda. Our reporting is impartial and fair, but our analysis is critical and argumentative. We were independently founded by American University students in 2008. While we are still student-run, today we are housed under AU’s Student Media board. AWOL is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Generation Progress Voices Network. This publication has won awards at the National College Media Convention, and its writers have won awards from the Society for Professional Journalists and the College Media Association.

In the basement of American University’s Hall of Science sits an instrument powerful enough to image the inner workings ...
22/10/2025

In the basement of American University’s Hall of Science sits an instrument powerful enough to image the inner workings of a single cell. Right now, logbooks show it’s going unused. 

The device is called a transmission electron microscope, and it’s one of the microscopes in AU’s Microscopy Core. Andrea Blake Brothers was responsible for managing the use and upkeep of the microscopes until June, when AU laid her off because of a budget shortage.

Link to post in bio.

📸/🖊️: Clair Sapilewski

On Sept. 13, “Beauty Behind Bars: The Transformative Power of Art in Confinement,” hosted at St. Columba’s Episcopal Chu...
06/10/2025

On Sept. 13, “Beauty Behind Bars: The Transformative Power of Art in Confinement,” hosted at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, spotlighted visual art and poetry created by current and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Link to photo essay in bio.

📸/🖊️: Sophia Berumen

What is AWOL? Find out in this brief informational post.
02/09/2025

What is AWOL? Find out in this brief informational post.

Applications for AWOL are open! Apply now through the link in our bio.
25/08/2025

Applications for AWOL are open! Apply now through the link in our bio.

Former Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White is running for his seat again after councilmembers unanimously voted him out on...
19/05/2025

Former Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White is running for his seat again after councilmembers unanimously voted him out on Feb. 4 following bribery charges.

White announced his re-election campaign in a March 30 Instagram post. On Aug. 18, White was arrested on charges of accepting a bribe, according to a press release from the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. 

Link to post in bio.

🖊️: PJ Cunningham
📸: Caleb Ogilvie

When Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, then outgoing dean of the American University School of Education, emailed SOE students in No...
09/05/2025

When Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, then outgoing dean of the American University School of Education, emailed SOE students in November 2024 to say the university would likely absorb their school into the College of Arts and Sciences, their emotions ranged from shock to fury to confusion. But not everyone was surprised.

Link to post in bio.

🖊️/📸: Ben Ackman

An American University history student had always considered the restrooms outside his office all-gender. But on Nov. 20...
29/04/2025

An American University history student had always considered the restrooms outside his office all-gender.

But on Nov. 20, 2024, Transgender Day of Remembrance, the history student noticed the signs had been changed to “Male” and “Female.” He awaited guidance from the university or at least notice of the sign change. None came.

Link to post in bio.

🖊️: Will Sytsma
📸: Ben Ackman

Note: A previous version of this post was taken down for incorrectly identifying Jay DiEdwards.

Thousands of people rallied around the Washington Monument on the afternoon of April 6 to protest actions by the current...
29/04/2025

Thousands of people rallied around the Washington Monument on the afternoon of April 6 to protest actions by the current Trump administration, including the mass firing of federal workers, immigration raids and Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government.

Link to photo essay in bio.

📸/🖊️: Daisy Bateman

On March 3, students walked out of classes to the quad in support of immigrants. Latinos En Acción, a club at American U...
28/04/2025

On March 3, students walked out of classes to the quad in support of immigrants. Latinos En Acción, a club at American University that advocates for immigrant rights and promotes Latine community on campus, led the walkout. Student leaders guided the crowd in chants and delivered remarks.

Link to photo essay in bio.

📸/🖊️: Conny Galvez and Ben Ackman

When Sensi Messner-Baker stepped into a classroom in northeast Washington, she said it lacked the basic tools students n...
23/04/2025

When Sensi Messner-Baker stepped into a classroom in northeast Washington, she said it lacked the basic tools students needed to thrive. As a tutor with DC Reads, she saw firsthand how a shortage of supplies and books hindered learning.

The sophomore wanted to make a difference, so she turned to American University’s Eagle Endowment for Public and Community Service for help.

Link to article in bio.

🖊️: Tom Langford and Lucas Powers
🎨: Kalea Grant and Demitra Moutoudis

Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden signed a bill approving the construction of a Women’s Suffrage Monumen...
18/04/2025

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.

Link to article in bio.

🖊️: Stevie Rosenfeld
🎨: Demitra Moutoudis

AWOL’s Multimedia Team investigates how students perceive AU’s food and the campus communities that contribute to the su...
17/04/2025

AWOL’s Multimedia Team investigates how students perceive AU’s food and the campus communities that contribute to the supply.

Link in bio.

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AWOL magazine aims to continue pushing both ourselves and American University to be more critical of issues that deserve to be understood with nuance; to work subversively when dismantling barriers that suppress certain voices, and to love irrepressibly when it comes to serving our community. We ignite campus discussions on social, cultural and political issues. We want to make our campus more inquiring, egalitarian and socially engaged. Our stories have an angle, which is different from having an agenda. Our reporting is impartial and fair, but our analysis is critical and argumentative. We were independently founded by American University students in 2008. While we are still student-run, today we are housed under AU’s Student Media board. AWOL is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Generation Progress Voices Network. This publication has won awards at the National College Media Convention, and its writers have won awards from the Society for Professional Journalists and the College Media Association.