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D.C. residents respond positively to growth

WASHINGTON–Some residents of Washington D.C. reacted positively to the city’s population growth due to an influx of recent college graduates in search of jobs, according to interviews conducted in Tenleytown on Monday.

Julie Zauzmer, a Washington Post journalist, moved to the city in January after graduating from Harvard University in 2013. She believes the increase of graduates like her moving to Washington makes living here interesting and exciting.

“It’s obviously fantastic that people want to live in the city, it says a lot of good things,” Zauzmer said. “It’s a place that’s desirable. It’s a safe environment.”

Population growth made Washington, D.C. the seventh largest metropolitan area in the nation in 2013, according to the U.S. Census. Development resulting from things like population increases has contributed to making Washington, D.C. a popular place to live.

Luca Vallada, 17, has grown up in Washington, D.C., and said the city has evolved significantly since his family moved there 20 years ago.

“It’s really nice that the entire city is changing,” Vallada said. “The beautification of the city’s just so impressive.”

Luca Vallada comments on changes in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jacquie Lee.
Luca Vallada talks to Teen Observer reporters about population changes in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jacquie Lee.

Nick Frabotta, 60, has lived in Washington, D.C. since college, and hopes that the growth in population doesn’t come at a price. He is concerned with additional stresses on traffic making commuting more difficult but hopes city leaders have plans for the growth.

“I hope in their wisdom, they’re planning for that kind of stuff,” Frabotta said.

However, he also sees the city’s changes as beneficial.

“D.C.’s a younger city now, and I think that’s great,” Frabotta said. “It keeps everything lively.”

 

 

 

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Emotion over commotion–Soccer fans at AU react to FIFA World Cup

Image courtesy of FIFA.
Image courtesy of FIFA.

WASHINGTON — Passionate soccer fans at American University were devastated by the United States’ loss to Belgium on Tuesday in the Round of 16 at the World Cup in Brazil while others who are new to the sport felt indifferent.

Matt Divincenzo, 22, a recent American University graduate, is a passionate soccer fan and was heart-broken by the loss, but he’s excited for the future for American soccer.

“It was a heart-breaker,” Divincenzo said. “After that second goal in extra-time, I wanted to turn off the TV. It was one of the hardest games to watch.”

But fans like William Xu, who watch soccer only with their friends because they feel it’s social, didn’t feel as emotional about the loss. Xu, 26, mainly watches soccer when the World Cup or the Olympics roll around.

“I’ll watch it with my friends at a bar, but not by myself,” Xu said. “Like, I’m not a football player, but if all of my friends want to play football, I’ll play football.”

Elyssa Pachico, 28, is very proud to be supporting Colombia in the World Cup this year because of their new-found success. Colombia made it through to the Round of 16 by beating Greece, Japan and the Ivory Coast, according to the FIFA World Cup website. Colombia, who plays Brazil in the Round of 8 on Friday, also scored the second most goals in the entire World Cup with 11 through Thursday.

The most popular sport in the world has not yet hit the United States as a national phenomenon, although there are many soccer fans within the United States. Every four years the hype surrounding the World Cup is difficult to escape.

Pachico is similar to Xu because they are not normally soccer fans, and they both feel that the commotion surrounding the international games is unavoidable.

“Even if I wasn’t going to watch it, I can’t escape it,” Pachico said. “I was at the airport yesterday and I saw a ton of televisions playing the games. It’s everywhere.”