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NEW SOUTH PUB DREAMS ON THE FRITZ PAGE 4

TENNIS TEAM LOOKS TO STAY HOT PAGE 7

SAVOR A MOUTHFUL OF BIRDS PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w January 16, 2014 w Volume 46, Issue 17 w georgetownvoice.com

IS IT TOO EASY TO GET AN A?

G INF RA LA DE TIO N

by

Lara Fishbane

2 the georgetown voice

january 16, 2014

editorial

georgetownvoice.com

VOICE the georgetown

Volume 46.17 January 16, 2014 Editor-in-Chief: Connor Jones Managing Editor: Julia Tanaka General Manager: Nick Albanese Blog Editor: Isabel Echarte News Editor: Claire Zeng

Sports Editor: Chris Almeida Feature Editor: Lucia He Cover Editors: Noah Buyon, Christina Libre Leisure Editor: Dayana Morales-Gomez Voices Editor: Steven Criss Photo Editor: Ambika Ahuja Design Editors: Pam Shu, Sophia Super Page 13 Editor: Dylan Cutler Puzzles Editor: Tyler Pierce Back Page Editor: Minali Aggarwal

Creative Directors: Amanda Dominiguez, Kathleen Soriano-Taylor, Madhuri Vairapandi Editors-at-Large: Caitriona Pagni, Ana Smith Assistant Blog Editors: Ryan Greene, Marisa Hawley, Kenneth Lee Assistant News Editors: Shalina Chatlani, Lara Fishbane, Manuela Tobias Assistant Sports Editors: Chris Castano, Brendan Crowley, Jeffrey Lin, Joe Pollicino Assistant Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Assistant Leisure Editors: Emilia Brahm, Daniel Varghese, Joshua Ward Assistant Photo Editors: Gavin Myers, Joshua Raftis Assistant Design Editors: Leila Lebreton, Andie Pine

Staff Writers:

Sourabh Bhat, Max Borowitz, Grace Brennan, Emmy Buck, MaryBailey Frank, Abby Greene, John Guzzetta, Kevin Huggard, Julia Lloyd-George, Claire McDaniel, Dan Paradis, Max Roberts, Abby Sherburne, Jackson Sinnenberg, Deborah Sparks, Chris Wadibia, Annamarie White

Staff Photographers:

Marla Abdilla, Katherine Landau, Alan Liu, Muriel van de Bilt, Annie Wang

Staff Designers:

Katarina Chen, Dylan Cutler, Mike Pacheco, Corrina Di Pirro

Copy Chief: Grace Funsten Copy Editors:

Eleanor Fanto, Sabrina Kayser, Samantha Mladen, Dana Suekoff, Isobel Taylor, Suzanne Trivette

Editorial Board Chair: Julia Jester Editorial Board:

Gavin Bade, Emilia Brahm, Patricia Cipollitti, Lara Fishbane, Juan Daniel Gonçalves, Ryan Greene, Lucia He, Quaila Hugh, Connor Jones, Jeffrey Lin, Ian Philbrick, Ryan Shymansky, Ana Smith, Julia Tanaka

Managing Directors: Mary Bailey-Frank, Mollie Rodgers, Nick Mendiola, Allison Manning The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

Mailing Address: Georgetown University The Georgetown Voice Box 571066 Washington, D.C. 20057

Office: Leavey Center Room 424 Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 20057

Email: editor@georgetownvoice.com Advertising: business@georgetownvoice.com Website: georgetownvoice.com Vox Populi: blog.georgetownvoice.com The opinions expressed in the Georgetown Voice do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University, unless specifically stated. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board. Columns, advertisements, cartoons and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the General Board of the Georgetown Voice.

The University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression of its student editors. The Georgetown Voice is produced in the Georgetown Voice office and composed on Macintosh computers using the Adobe InDesign publishing system and is printed

by Silver Communications. All materials copyright the Georgetown Voice. All rights reserved.

On this week’s cover: Grade Inflation Cover Design: Christina Libre

the georgetown voice 3 POOR BABY

House anti-abortion bill targets poor women On Jan. 9, members of the House held a hearing on HR7, otherwise known as the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) led the House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, composed of 12 additional male Congressmen, in discussing the legislation that would permanently prohibit health insurance coverage of and subsidies for abortion in federal programs, including the Affordable Care Act. Parties on both sides continue to argue whether abortion is a public good worthy of funding and whether it should be included in a “women’s health agenda.” However, the core issue is not reproductive rights. Instead, it is a matter of socioeconomic fairness.

While anti-abortion activists are fighting to prevent taxpayer dollars from financing abortions, HR7 would not just end “taxpayer funding,” but also have significant consequences for both the tax code and the

insurance industry, which could lead to private insurance no longer including termination of pregnancy. If passed, the bill would make the procedure less affordable, putting the operation out of reach for many lower class women across the country.

Adorned with a misleading title that insinuates that it will only affect taxpayer funding, the bill not only bans abortion coverage in Obamacare’s recent state-level insurance marketplace, but also extends restrictions into private insurance plans. HR7 would require small businesses offering their employees insurance plans covering abortion to pay additional taxes on their health benefits.

Furthermore, it would alter the tax code by eliminating medical-expense deductions for termination of pregnancy except in instances of rape, incest, or life endangerment, thus giving the IRS the responsibility of “auditing” victims in order to prevent fraud. Giving this power to the IRS is unacceptable.

The Supreme Court used its legal authority to make decisions on both abortion and the Affordable Care Act. As long as abortion is legal and its associated policies are based on the principle of bodily autonomy, it should be included in medical care costs covered by insurance. The purpose of health insurance is to provide patients with security and to be available for a variety of unanticipated needs and emergencies. The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” places low-income women at a disadvantage. The bill is a clear economic barrier that threatens access to all abortions, including emergency procedures. The aim of the anti-abortion movement is to protect unborn lives, but this should not come at the sole expense of existing female lives in unfortunate economic conditions. If anti-abortion activists must use economics to deter women from getting abortions, clearly they are missing the meaning behind their own message.

SCHEUER-FIRE

Adjunct professor Scheuer crosses the line

In a recent column published on his own website, Georgetown adjunct professor Michael Scheuer seemed to endorse the assassinations of President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Borrowing words from seventeenth-century British political theorist Algernon Sidney, he wrote, “every man might kill a tyrant; and no names are recorded in history with more honor, than of those who did it.” Scheuer clearly identifies Obama and Cameron as these tyrants, and the context of his column allows for little debate over the meaning of the concluding quote. Openly advocating for the assassination of two world leaders is questionable content for political dialogue—especially for an educator at a prestigious academic institution.

A fierce anti-war critic of the Bush administration, he wrote on a Ron Paul online forum in 2012, “Fox television would be missing a bet if it did not create a pro-

gram called ‘Let’s Kill US Kids and Bankrupt America,’” and as a result, he was fired from his job at Fox News. Scheuer has also criticized the influence of Jewish policymakers in the United States, claiming in a 2008 column that “Israel-Firsters” had led the United States into the Iraq War and that Israel “owns the Congress.” Furthermore, he also suggested that Osama bin Laden is a beloved figure in Islam and that fighting al-Qaeda is akin to fighting the entire Muslim world.

Comments like these only serve to deepen religious and political division. In today’s constant cable news cycle, developing a tolerance for such extreme and dangerous rhetoric is unavoidable. Freedom of speech is important, therefore, Scheuer’s opinion that Obama and Cameron are tyrants, though extreme, deserves to be heard and included in open dialogue and debate. However, his encouragement of political violence against our own president and close ally is troublesome.

Scheuer’s remarks are particularly troubling due to his position as an adjunct professor at Georgetown’s Center for Peace and Security Studies. Students, especially those with leadership roles, are held to a certain standard when it comes to public remarks and assertions, as they are associated with their universities. Therefore, professors should be held to the same standard. Though the right of free speech extends to both students and professors alike, a professor who calls for the assassination of a president should not be associated with a university that prides itself as fostering rational debate among divergent opinions.

Professors should be cognizant of their connection to the university before publishing radical remarks, as any member of its academic community who advocates for murder as a potential solution to real foreign policy and security challenges reflects poorly upon Georgetown and its values.

THE BOEHNER OF EXISTENCE

Unemployment benefit extension is essential

In its monthly labor report released on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the United States generated a mere 74,000 jobs in December—a disappointing number for economists who optimistically expected an 196,000. On the other hand, though economists were anticipating the unemployment rate to hold steady at 7 percent, it fell to 6.7 percent, the lowest it has been since October 2008. The drop, however, was not due to more opportunities in the workforce, but to the lowest Labor Force Participation Rate since 1978.

It is the result of the combination of the composition of the American labor force and the continued pressing challenge of long-term unemployment. The contradiction between the employment rate and job numbers indicates the need for Congress to extend unemployment insurance.

The LFPR, which includes both the employed and the unemployed who are actively seeking work, now stands at an alarming

62.8 percent. The American labor force has seen such a decline due to the retirement of the Baby Boomers, who will account for roughly two-thirds of the decline in the LFPR by 2020. Unable to find job prospects without experience, younger workers are not entering the workforce at a similar rate.

Due to the expiration of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program at the end of 2013, 1.5 million Americans have lost benefits and 72,000 continue to lose theirs each week. Congress has ignored the harm of cutting these benefits for Americans in search of work, since, once they are cut off from this minimal financial support of unemployment benefits, their chances of successfully seeking work significantly declines.

Nearly 38 percent of unemployed Americans have been without work for six months or longer—a troubling issue that requires immediate action. Unreasonable partisanship within Congress has prevented the necessary reform of unemployment benefits

and insurance. Conservatives insist any increase in unemployment benefits will lead to significant cuts in other areas of the federal government’s budget, but Democrats have taken the initiative to accommodate for this demand by proposing that Medicare continue its 2 percent cut for an extra year. Yet, Republicans still shot down both bills proposed

by Democrats in the Senate.

Republicans claim that there is not enough being done in job creation and too much being done to reduce poverty. “Every American has a right to ask the question ‘Where are the jobs?’” says House Speaker John Boehner. It’s astonishing that their ideals state that it is even possible to find a job without a dime in one’s pocket.

Unemployment insurance should be one of the last forms of stimuli to go into the economy, as it is a critical lifeline for Americans who have fallen victim to current poor economic conditions and cannot find work despite extended searches.

news

4 the georgetown voice

News Hits

Moran’s position at SFS unaffected despite NIC dismissal

Pro-life event Monday

by Deborah Sparks

Georgetown Right to Life, the Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas will sponsor the 15th annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Monday, which aims to address anti-abortion issues in medical practices and the theme of “Morality and the Law.” According to Evelyn Flashner (COL ‘15), co-director of the conference, the discussion will cover issues from the sale of human eggs, to the death penalty, to sex-selective abortion practices such as those in China and India.

“We think it is crucial in this culture of mud-slinging and political polarization to have a space at universities in which people can seek the truth of these highly politicized issues through reasoned discussion,” Flashner wrote in an email to the Voice.

Due to logistical difficulties in reserving Healy Hall, the conference will be held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As a result, the attendance of young professionals, clergy, and college students, including those from Yale, Dartmouth, Holy Cross, and Marquette, is expected to be slightly lower than in the past.

—Daniel Paradis

Despite being forced to resign from his position as an international business associate to the United States National Intelligence Council in September 2013 due to accusations of conflict of interest, Georgetown professor Theodore H. Moran will maintain his position at the School of Foreign Service.

Moran had been an associate to the NIC for six years before his resignation. Currently, Moran holds the Marcus Wallenberg Chair in International Business in the School of Foreign Service. He also founded the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy and serves as a consultant to the United Nations and to the international business and financial communities.

Moran was asked to leave the NIC after James Clapper, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, received a complaint in a letter from Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) about how Moran’s paid

New MD/MPH program Georgetown’s School of Medicine announced on Jan. 3 the formation of a new dual degree program with Johns Hopkins that will allow students to complete a doctor of medicine at Georgetown and a master’s in public health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Georgetown does not currently offer a MPH degree. According to Georgetown Medical School’s Dean of Medical Education Stephen Ray Mitchell, students will complete both degrees in five years, which would normally take six separately. Students will pay four years of tuition for Georgetown Medical School and one year for Bloomberg.

“The one thing that was deterring me from [the EAP] was that [Georgetown] doesn’t have a specific MPH program,” said Herminio Navia (NHS ‘16), who is currently applying to Georgetown Medical School through its Early Assurance Program. “To hear that they are actually offering one with an MD is really awesome.”

—Daniel Varghese

december 5, 2013

work with the International Advisory Council of Huawei compromised his ability to advise for Clapper’s office.

“It is inconceivable how someone serving on Huawei’s board would also be allowed to advise the intelligence community on foreign investments in the U.S,” Wolf wrote in his letter.

According to a Congressional report on U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications released in 2012, the United States considers Huawei a security threat due to assertions that the telecommunications mega-corporation is linked to the People’s Liberation Army.

However, Moran told the Voice in an email that once he had been invited to join the International Advisory Council of Huawei in 2010, he promptly notified officials. “I immediately informed the NIC of the situation, as well as informed Huawei of my work for the U.S. NIC,” he wrote.

Moran additionally asserted that his dual employment was

Ted Moran will continue to hold his professorship in the SFS. not a threat to U.S. national security, writing that he did not believe his relationship with Huawei “ever compromised” his ability to serve as an advisor to the NIC and that “both sides knew that if I uncovered serious signs of espionage on the part of Huawei, I would resign from Huawei and report it to the NIC.” Wolf declined to comment on Moran’s resignation. The NIC did not respond to the Voice’s requests for comment by press time.

GAVIN MYERS

Moran wrote that he chose not to “make a fuss” due to his belief that he “was not going to win against Congressman Wolf.”

He stated the events will not affect his role on campus and that “faculty and senior administrators at SFS and GU have been very supportive.”

Despite his dismissal from NIC, he will continue to serve on the International Advisory Council of Huawei, the experience of which Moran said will strengthen his teaching and research on the Georgetown campus.

MSB for rural entrepreneurship GUASFCU to launch GWallet

by Caitriona Pagni

Georgetown students now have the opportunity to build entrepreneurship in America’s rural communities through a partnership among the American Farm Bureau Federation, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Global Social Enterprise Initiative, and Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative announced on Monday.

The AFBF has collaborated with other universities on rural entrepreneurial development in the past, but this partnership is the first of its kind, according to Bill Novelli, Georgetown professor and head of GSEI. “Our Global Social Enterprise Initiative is ideal for this partnership and this program because we focus Georgetown’s many resources on creating both economic value (for farmers and ranchers and for rural America) and social value (for all stakeholders),” Novelli wrote in an email to the Voice.

According to Jeff Reid, founding director of GEI, the partnership arose from Georgetown and AFBF’s mutual concern for rural entrepreneurship following the 2007 recession. Novelli hopes the partnership will help resolve the issues that hinder the development of rural communities.

The program’s goal is to give farmers tools to connect with other rural communities across the country and reenergize the agricultural industry. According to Novelli, Georgetown students will play an integral part at every level of the project by conducting fieldwork and research, and organizing initiatives such as summits on rural leadership, online rural innovation hubs, and training workshops and webinars.

Mace Thornton, AFBF executive director of communications, emphasized that the program would have a holistic approach to rural entrepreneurial development. “We want robust rural communities where our farmers and ranchers can live and raise their families, to entice their kids to want to stay there and continue farming, and to attract new and beginning farmers and ranchers to rural areas,” Thornton said.

Novelli expects this initial partnership to continue to grow in size and scope in the future. “We expect rural entrepreneurship to be the first of several initiatives between AFBF and Georgetown. The mission of strengthening rural America is an ideal and very important undertaking and will be important for the entire country.”

by Jack Rosenberg The Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union will soon release a mobile financial planning platform called GWallet, which will be integrated into GUASFCU’s existing mobile app offered to Credit Union clients.

The GUASFCU app currently gives users the ability to check balances, transfer funds, and deposit checks remotely. According to GUASFCU Chief Executive Officer Chris Kelly (COL ‘14), the addition of GWallet will allow clients to create budgets, develop spending goals, and track all transactions made with their GUASFCU accounts. Credit cards and other bank accounts can also be monitored through the GWallet app in addition to a client’s GUASFCU account.

“Adding these services is a natural step for us because it will modernize our services and move towards mak[ing] Georgetown as financially literate as possible,” said Chief Financial Officer Michael Matuozzi (MSB ‘14).

According to Kelly, GWallet is a two-year project in the making,

developed in conjunction with Geezeo, a company that provides similar personal financial management platforms to money management organizations. GUASFCU originally intended to incorporate Mint, a mobile financial planning tool with over 10 million users. After a contractual dispute, however, between the Credit Union’s core processor and Intuit Inc., the owner of Mint.com, GUASFCU began planning its own financial planning tool which became GWallet.

Kelly believes that GWallet will help push GUAFSCU toward a branchless model beyond the sphere of Georgetown’s physical location through which its clients can “manage [their] finances from anywhere in the world.”

Although the contract with Geezeo will cost the Credit Union subscription service expenses, the service and app will remain free for download and use by clients from both the Apple and Android application stores.

“Learning to manage your finances is something that goes hand in hand with being in college, and we think that students will definitely be very receptive to using it,” Matuozzi said.

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the georgetown voice 5

Healy Pub plans move forward despite Brogan’s departure be reached for comment. When asked about these issues, Deborah Morey, chief business officer for university services, said that the administration would not disclose any financial information at this point in time to avoid compromising the process of finding another vendor.

The Healy Family Student Center Pub was a concept developed last year as an addition to the NSSC as a revival of the original Healy Pub, which closed in 1988.

“This is a really important project, because the campus is changing. Students are expecting a higher level of on-campus opportunities, and the on-campus pub is one of the crucial parts of this plan,” said Nate Tisa (SFS ‘14), Georgetown University Student Association president.

According to Morey, prior to Brogan’s agreement to operate the pub, the University faced difficulties in presenting the pub as an attractive business investment.

“The pub is on a college campus, so it’s not necessarily open to

the public. We also have a very cyclical business, where we are busy in the fall and the spring semesters, but not during the holidays and summer. Moreover, there’s only a certain part of our population that is of legal drinking age, and bars make their money off of alcohol sales,” she said.

Despite these concerns, Morey said that the University has received more interest than before because potential vendors can now take advantage of previously unavailable options due to progress in construction of the NSSC. “I think the reason why we have had more success is because we can take people through the building and actually show them the actual architectural rendering,” she said.

“We’re giving people a better sense of the space.”

Tisa added that because details such as those on the pub’s design and food options are more concrete, vendors could more easily “envision the business.”

Joelle Wiese, associate vice president for auxiliary services,

Cooperation, not gentrification

for the rich and famous while regular citizens were left dealing with rising costs, declining wages, and rapidly dwindling options. And here at home, the G-word has passed each mayoral candidate’s lips many times. Just last week, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said any deal to give D.C. United a new stadium at Buzzard Point must include affordable housing allocations.

Affordable housing is the most common solution. Government

by Shalina Chatlani University administrators confirmed this week that plans for the New South Student Center Pub will move forward despite former vendor Fritz Brogan’s (COL ‘07, LAW ‘10) decision to withdraw from an agreement with the University. The administration says it has received interest from several potential business partners and that the pub will open on time with the rest of the NSSC in fall 2014.

Brogan, a third generation alumni, is the owner of several businesses throughout D.C. In April, administrators announced that Brogan would manage the pub, though he withdrew from the agreement in December, writing in an email to the Voice that his company was unable to reach a financial agreement with Georgetown that “satisfied [his company’s] substantial investment of financial and other resources into the project.”

Brogan did not provide any specific details as to the financial conflicts at the time and could not

Talking about gentrification in D.C. has just about become passe.

It’s not that young professionals and other high earners pushing long-standing District residents out of their neighborhoods is suddenly not trendy enough to be a big problem. It is, and by all measurements the problem is getting worse. But, the rhetoric has become tiresome because no one seems to have new ideas. Everyone pays lip service to the problem, but no one seems to know what to do about it.

In the District, gentrification is particularly pronounced. The statistics are troubling enough. The “Chocolate City,” whose black population peaked at 71 percent of the total in 1970, officially lost its black majority in the 2010 census, a symptom of the massive forced migration of poorer African Americans out of the increasingly expensive city and into surrounding areas like Prince George’s County in Maryland.

Three D.C. zip codes rank among the top 20 fastest gentrifying in the country, according to a study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and a

recent study filed with the D.C. Tax Revision Commission asserts that 18 neighborhoods citywide can be considered gentrifying. While the changes often occur along racial lines, there are numerous examples in neighborhoods like Anacostia of wealthier black workers pushing out those at the bottom of the income spectrum.

Too often, statistics mask the human face of gentrification. Hundreds of thousands of families and individuals in this city alone found their housing complexes unexpectedly razed to make room for luxury housing or have simply seen their rent and living expenses rise so high that they must relocate, costing them their neighbors, sense of community, and often their jobs.

It’s not that politicians are ignoring the problem. In fact, in D.C. and other major metro areas, it’s high on the list of campaign talking points. In New York, Bill de Blasio won the mayoral race playing on his “tale of two cities” theme, asserting (correctly, in my view) that the city had become a playground

City on a Hill

by Gavin Bade

A bi-weekly column about D.C. news and politics. should use its zoning powers, politicians argue, to increase the number of affordable living quarters in a given municipality. Definitions of “affordable” and different regulatory schemes for enacting such proposals abound, but it’s plain to say that this is the stock response to gentrification.

What’s also obvious is that it isn’t working. In major metro areas, affordable housing allotments have failed to meet demand in their com-

The New South Student Center is slated to open fall 2014. said that she is working with a student pub committee to contact and interview possible restaurant and bar vendors. Tisa added that the committee hopes to figure out how to incorporate students under 21 as well.

“Finding a way that all students, not just 21 and up, can use the space is essential. We still need to figure out how to involve students that are underage in the pub, whether it’s in the restaurant or in the social space,” he said.

Although it has a list of 19 potential business partners used during the original search, munities, and politicians are easily sold on new high-cost developments when real estate firms sweeten the pot with investments in other areas.

Conservatives love to decry this failure as a classic symptom of market disruption, that if government gets out of the housing market, it will naturally correct itself. But that analysis, intentionally separated from the immediate realities in gentrifying neighborhoods, is situated much too comfortably in the land of theory. In places like New York and D.C., housing prices continue to rise even with massive booms in production, and it’s lunacy to think that simply allowing low income communities to be evicted from their longstanding homes in the name of the “free market” can be considered responsible public policy.

Fresh ideas are clearly needed. As often happens, the old wine tastes better than the new: in 1955, New York passed the Limited-Profit Housing Companies Act, better known as Mitchell-Lama, which allows selected households to buy shares in their property at a discounted rate. In exchange for the bargain, shareholders are obligated to observe limits on the

JORDAN SMITH

the administration has updated it in search of a vendor that would be able to work well with the student body.

“The list we are working with now is not the exact same list, but there might be some overlap. We would definitely like an alum or someone who operates in the DC area or who has a lot of experience in local pubs and restaurants, not so much national companies,” Tisa said. “[In regards to the loss of Brogan], this kind of thing happens, but I’m confident that we will find a new vendor and move forward without any problems.” profits they can make from selling the shares over an extended period of time. Studies show that such arrangements can keep rents down without leaning heavily on zoning regulation, a weak tool in the face of the market forces propelling costs skyward.

Cooperative housing is unlikely to be a panacea for gentrification, at least in the short-term. Even in the most progressive cities, policymakers still too often swear by the conventional model of property ownership and view an expansion in co-ops as a challenge to the economic system that brought them to the top. Even in New York, Mitchell-Lama buildings are converting to market-rate apartments faster than new ones are being established. But, as more residents are forced out, it’s only a matter of time until we realize that tweaks to the housing system simply won’t solve the problem. Those thinking about combating gentrification need to think bigger about how property ownership can be changed, and cooperative housing schemes are the best place to start.

Cooperate with Gavin at gbade@ georgetownvoice.com

sports

6 the georgetown voice

january 16, 2014

Musketeers gun down Hoyas in Big East duel

by Joe Pollicino In the final game of a threegame road trip, the Georgetown men’s basketball team (11-5, 3-2 Big East) surrendered a 17-point second half lead in a loss to Xavier (14-4, 4-1 Big East), falling 8067 on Wednesday night. Down 67-64 with 6:14 left to play in the game, the Musketeers closed the game on a 16-0 run en route to their decisive victory over the Hoyas, who missed their final eight field goal attempts.

The Hoyas struggled to stop a well-balanced Xavier offense, with four Musketeers scoring in the double figures. Xavier sophomore guard Semaj Christon led the way with 18 points on 9-of12 shooting from the floor. His penetration especially caused problems for the Hoyas defense, as six of his nine field goals came via dunk or layup. Junior guard Dee Davis added 17 points, on 5-of-6 shooting.

The Georgetown backcourt, senior guard Markel Starks and sophomore guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, rose to the challenge, especially early on the game, and gave the Hoyas a 4229 halftime lead. However, their hot shooting abated in the second half, with Starks missing his final six attempts from the floor.

For the game though, Starks had a game-high 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting, and Smith-Rivera scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Both players combined to shoot 7-of-13 from threepoint range, in a game where the Hoyas converted ten three-pointers, their second-highest of the season. Starks also added seven assists and five rebounds.

Georgetown freshman forward Reggie Cameron and senior forward Aaron Bowen continued their strong play in the

absence of junior guard Jabril game, with Ayegba eventually Trawick for the second consec- fouling out.

With the continued absence utive game. Trawick is out indefinitely with a broken jaw. of Trawick and Smith for the Cameron, in the first start of his near future, Thompson expects career, stepped up and scored a his other players to step up and career-high 13 points, shooting fill their voids.

“We’re a tough group, a re5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point land. silient group. Guys are going to Bowen provided nine points off get opportunities now that hathe bench, shooting an efficient ven’t had them in the past, but they practice hard every day, 4-of-5 from the field.

The Musketeers’ frontcourt, they show it every day what however, overwhelmed the they can and can’t do in pracHoyas’ frontline at times, espe- tice,” said Thompson during the cially on the boards. Xavier out- team’s media availability this rebounded Georgetown 36-25, including 11 offensive rebounds.

Junior center Matt Stainbrook had a game-high eight rebounds “And I said: we said – are you – I said: are to accompany his seven points and six assists. Senior forward

by Chris Almeida Isaiah Philmore added 14 points This may be the worst season and five rebounds, all offensive, of Georgetown basketball in eight and junior forward Justin Martin years, and somehow I’m not upset also tallied ten points and seven about that. rebounds.

We all know the usual narFor the third consecutive rative.

We see a tumultuous but game, Georgetown missed the high-flying season bookended by low-post dominance of junior a dramatic flameout early in the center Joshua Smith, who did NCAA tournament.

This year, the not travel with the team due to Hoya faithful have had few reasons an academic issue. He has no set to celebrate.

We’ve seen a missed timetable for his return. When opportunity in the season opener asked before the game if Smith’s against Oregon, who beat us even situation is as serious as former without their star player, an embarHoya Greg Whittington’s indefrassing loss in Puerto Rico against inite suspension of last season, lowly Northeastern, who has won which sidelined him for the enfewer than a quarter of their games tire second semester of 2013, this season, a shellacking at the Head Coach John Thompson III hands of Kansas, and a surprising declined further comment. loss against Providence, who had As a result, the Hoyas strugnot beaten the Hoyas since 2005. gled to counter this behemoth The lone surprise on the schedule frontline.

The Georgetown was a win against then No. 10 Virfrontline trio of senior forward ginia Commonwealth, who have Nate Lubick, senior center Mosince fallen from grace, most reses Ayegba, and junior forward cently losing to our crosstown “riMikael Hopkins all combined val” George Washington. for an underwhelming eight This Hoya team has not sniffed points and ten rebounds for the the rankings this season, something entire game. All three strugwhich has not happened in years. gled with foul trouble the entire Not only have the Hoyas been ranked every year in recent memory, they have been in the top ten each year for the past seven seasons, even during the 2009 season when the team lost in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Now, if we had seen similar results last season, I would have been upset, but the ceiling of this year’s team is nothing near that of Otto’s Hoya team. Over the summer, hopes of returning junior forward Greg Whittington, Otto Porter’s replacement, were

past Tuesday. “As long as everyone plays as has hard as they can within themselves - we don’t need anyone to now try and step out and not be who you are.”

The Hoyas concluded their three-game roadtrip with a disappointing 1-2 record. After a resilient overtime victory against Butler and a blowout loss to Providence, this last game fit into a pattern of inconsistencies./* The Hoyas will now return home, for the first time in two weeks, to play Seton Hall (10-7, 1-3 Big East) on Saturday

afternoon and Marquette (10-7, 2-2 Big East) on Monday night.

A marquee win still remains elusive for the Hoyas, who find themselves on the cusp of NCAA Tournament viability as they enter the heart of their schedule. Following their two-game homestand, the Hoyas face Big East contenders, No. 20 Creighton and No. 6 Villanova, and No. 4 Michigan State in a rare, mid-season non-league matchup in New York’s Madison Square Garden the day before the Super Bowl on February 1.

the sports sermon

ANDRES RENGIFO

Mikael Hopkins and the rest of the frontcourt have struggled as of late.

you strong? They said: I’m strong if you strong. I said we strong then.” -Jameis Winston

dashed when it was announced that the swingman had torn his ACL, an injury which generally takes a year to recover from. More so, after our trip to Puerto Rico, Whittington was dismissed from the team for undisclosed reasons, crushing hopes of receiving a talent injection late in the season. He has since transferred to Rutgers.

When the spring semester began last week, the Hoyas were riding a three-game winning streak after the whipping in Lawrence.

However, when the Blue and Gray traveled to Providence, junior center Josh Smith did not make the trip.

The reason? Academics. For any fan who has been following Georgetown basketball over the past year, this situation should sound ominous. Whittington did not play at the beginning of last year’s spring semester for the same reason, and we quickly saw that his suspension would not only be a few games, but would last the rest of the season.

This marked a season-saving turnaround for last year’s squad, but this year when Smith left the team, in two matchups against Big East bottomfeeders, the Hoyas found a blowout loss against Providence and a thrilling, yet depressing overtime win at Butler.

With the offense relying on three players, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Markel Starks, and Smith, the loss of the center is crippling and reveals a scary lack of depth. Without Smith, offensive non-factor Moses Ayegba plays many of the minutes at center along with Mikael Hopkins, who has thrived this season at power forward, but struggles to produce against the opponent’s biggest players. Now, all of the offense needs to

come from the Hoya guards. Despite DSR’s spectacular season, his performances will not be able to carry the team to victory, even with the aid of Starks. As Kansas coach Bill Self said, the difference between this year’s team and most Georgetown squads is that they “don’t have that lottery pick” that has carried the team during tough times.

If the team was not strapped for players quite enough, junior guard Jabril Trawick, the team’s top defensive player, and a key part of the starting lineup, broke his jaw in the game against Providence and will now be out indefinitely. Now, the Hoyas are starting players from their already shallow bench. Combining these losses with foul trouble, we are forced to give substantial minutes to players lower on the depth chart, who are not prepared for a major role. While muddling through games in this fashion may grab wins against the likes of Butler, it surely will not pass against Big East giants No. 20 Creighton and No. 6 Villanova, or national powerhouse No. 4 Michigan State who all lie just on the horizon.

Yes, this year hasn’t brought the usual exciting Georgetown basketball season, and things, honestly, look like they will get much worse before March. But it’s misfortune rather than just pure underachievement that has brought this team to this point, so there’s still hope. If the Hoyas make the tournament, it will probably be in the lower half of a section, but that may not be so bad. With all of the unexpected early tournament exits in recent years, maybe being the underdog is just the change of pace that we need.

sports

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the georgetown voice 7

Women’s basketball leashes Bulldogs Tennis prepped for big 2014

by Kevin Huggard

The Georgetown women’s basketball team (7-9, 1-3 Big East) fought back from a 15-point second-half deficit to take Saturday’s game at McDonough Arena from the Butler Bulldogs (7-9, 2-3 Big East). Senior forward Andrea White led all scorers with 25 points for the Hoyas.

The game featured a series of runs during which Butler tried to pull away but couldn’t because of the Hoyas’ solid defense and accurate shooting. Georgetown managed to battle back from deficits of 19, 14, and 10 points before sophomore guard Katie McCormick hit a three-pointer with 2:01 left in the game to give the Hoyas the lead for good.

“I give our players so much credit because they withstood the barrage of three-pointers from a really good Butler team,” said Georgetown Head Coach Jim Lewis. “We have a great group of young women, and we’re in a position where we’re getting better ,so good things are ahead of us.”

Much of the game swung on impressive three-point shooting from both teams. Butler started off the game in a rhythm from deep, going 9-18 in the first half. Their early hot shooting allowed the Bulldogs to take a 19-point lead by the midpoint of the first half. But the Hoyas managed to withstand this run until the shooting began to cool off. White then provided six points of a 12-1 run that saw the Bulldogs’ lead cut to only eight points with 2:38 left in the first half. From there, both teams struggled for decisive control, and they went into the halftime break with the score at 40-30.

The Hoyas responded to Butler’s early shooting by hitting 51.9 percent of their shots from the floor for the game as well as 50 percent of their three-pointers and 88.5 percent of their free-throws. The Bulldogs finished at 16 of 35 from three as they could not maintain their early form. Rebounding was another key factor, as the Hoyas dominated on the glass with a 4024 rebounding advantage.

Women’s hoops win snapped a six-game losing streak.

by Sourabh Bhat The Georgetown men’s and women’s teams anticipate a strong spring season after impressive showings in tournaments in the fall. Reflecting on the fall season, Head Coach Gordie Ernst said, “The top goal you want to have is you want teams to come together and be this cohesive unit, and they did that.” He sees both teams as having a unique blend of talent and experience that should be, at the very least, competitive in Big East play.

The experience of co-captain senior on the men’s team Andy Dottino was missed in the fall because of a shoulder injury, but his return to form is something to look forward to in the spring.

His return along with the steadying presence of co-captain Casey Distaso will help steer this young team through the intensity of collegiate team tennis. Coach Ernst commented on the largest difference in the spring season: “In the fall you’re still playing for yourself because you’re not playing team events.” It will represent a new experience for many on the team.

Two important young players on the team are freshman Yannik Mahlangu and sophomore Daniel Khanin who both will play key roles in the upcoming spring sea-

son, the collegiate tennis season begins in the fall and runs through the second semester. Mahlangu, the first five-star recruit for the men’s team in years will continue to develop, and Khanin is, in the words of Coach Ernst, “capable of beating anyone in the country.”

The emergence of freshman Sophia Barnard highlighted the fall season for the women’s team, which also saw strong performances from seniors Kelly Comolli and Madeline Jaeger. Unfortunately, the womens’ team faced a rash of injuries, underscored by the loss of freshmen Victoire Saperstein and Madeline Foley during the fall season. Saperstein was the first five-star recruit that Coach Ernst brought in during his tenure, and her addition would have brought a needed punch to the roster.

This year, conference realignment took Louisville, South Florida, and Syracuse away from the Big East. Without these traditional powerhouses, both the men’s and women’s teams will have a better chance of a strong campaign, even though they will face tough competition from DePaul, Marquette, and St. John’s.

The next home match for the men’s team is Feb. 5 against Richmond, and the next home match for the women’s team is Feb. 7 against St. John’s.

ANDRES RENGIFO

The NBA’s lenience problem

On April 12, 2013, University of North Carolina hoops star P.J. Hairston announced that he would return to Chapel Hill for his junior season. Today, less than a year later, Hairston’s statement has become a punchline. Since that April day, shame and embarrassment have replaced any hopes fans had for a storied season from Hairston at UNC. Multiple arrests, ties to a convicted felon, and an NCAA investigation have culminated in Hairston’s permanent dismissal from the Tar Heel basketball program.

Strangely, however, in NBA offices around the country, P.J, Hairston’s troubled past seems to be a minor factor in his pro stock. A risk?

Sure. But to call him unlawful or deviant appears to be considered a slight to his character. Hairston, now a member of the NBA’s Development League, will be paid a modest salary this season playing for the

Butler would then go on another run to open the second half, taking a 14-point lead five minutes into the half. But, once again, the Hoyas responded, going on a 14-2 run powered by the scoring of White and freshman center Natalie Butler, who had six and five points respectively over this stretch. McCormick also hit a crucial three to turn the momentum for the Hoyas.

The Bulldogs would retake control of the game, however, to give themselves a 10-point lead. Again, the contributions of both White and Butler, along with the lethal threepoint shooting of McCormick allowed the Hoyas to claw their way back into the game. It was with the score at 71-70 in favor of Butler that McCormick hit a three with 2:01 remaining to give the Hoyas a lead which they would hold on to for the rest of the game.

Following this play, White and McCormick each scored transition layups created by steals allowing the Hoyas to take control of the game. As Butler then started fouling to prolong the game, Georgetown went 8-8 from the free-throw line over the closing seconds to put it away, with a final score of 85-79.

The victory ended a six game losing streak for the Hoyas, four of which were by only two points. It also marked the team’s first Big East win of the season. Next, the team travels to take on Providence on Wednesday.

Texas Legends and will likely be drafted in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft in June.

Hairston’s situation represents the most high-profile case in what is now a series of players who have fled for professional waters after their off-court activities damaged their collegiate careers.

Consider Glen Rice Jr., today a member of the NBA’s Washington Wizards. Three separate suspensions during his career with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets culminated in dismissal after Rice both shot a gun and drove under the influence. Eight months later, Rice joined the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Shabazz Muhammad, currently a guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was suspended during his one-year career at UCLA for receiving improper benefits and was discovered to have been lying about

his age (he was a year older than he suggested). After leaving college, the trend continued: Muhammad became just the fourth player to be sent home from the NBA’s rookie transition program when he violated program rules by having a

Rise and Fire

by Brendan Crowley A bi-weekly column about sports

female guest in his room. Today, Muhammad is fighting to stay in the NBA. The common takeaway from each player’s story is the growing role of the NBA, and its Development League, as a safety net for college basketball’s “problem” players.

The irony is incredible. Reaching the NBA is supposed to represent the pinnacle of a player’s development, both on and off the court. At least in the days of high school-to-NBA

pros like LeBron James, the prerequisite for making the jump was talent. Today, the catalyst appears to be the end of a privileged opportunity, as players appear to be ushered out of deteriorating situations and into the open arms of the pros. We don’t think of the collateral damage players like P.J. Hairston cause for the teammates and coaches they leave in their wake. This season, UNC is 10-6 and is one piece away from being a legitimate championship contender. Instead of joining his teammates this week in ACC play, P.J. Hairston and the Texas Legends will suit up against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers this Friday in a game “broadcast nationally” on YouTube.

A system must be put in place to prevent college and high school players from “getting out of Dodge” and replacing their legal troubles with salaries in the millions. The idea that a player can be kicked off his college team for too many arrests and then find a home in the NBA

will be labeled by many as “the business side of sports.” Players like Hairston have talent that leads to wins that lead to revenue. Regardless of his off-the-court problems, some NBA teams will be willing to roll the dice on Hairston.

To me, that’s absurd. I am all for giving someone a second chance, but in cases where a player has demonstrated repeated irresponsibility and has NCAA investigations hovering over his head, I see no reason why he should be allowed to move on to a paid basketball career.

Create a mandated waiting period, wait until the NCAA investigations are resolved and penalties are served. Just do something. It’s time to make basketball a little more respectable and fair for players who do things the right way. Let’s start with the P.J. Hairston.

Discuss with Brendan at bcrowley@georgetownvoice.com

8 the georgetown voice

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A FOR EFFORT

said Marilyn McMorrow, visiting assistant professor in the School of Foreign Service. “There have been very few times that I have given a grade below a C.” The shift to a grading system that is skewed to the higher end of the grading scheme consequently has led to an increase in the number of students graduating with honors.

According to John Q. Pierce, University registrar and assistant provost, the percentage of students who earn honor degrees has been steadily increasing. In the graduating class of 2013, 64.35 percent of the students Last December, after learning in the SFS, 56.23 percent of the stufrom the Harvard Dean of Undergrad- dents in the College, 58.79 percent uate Education that the most com- of students in the NHS, and 38.51 monly awarded grade at Harvard was an A and the median was an A-, longtime government professor Harvey Mansfield publicly expressed concern that this rampant grade inflation does Top 5% not reflect the quality of work that students are producing.

College 3.902 “The situation is at its worst at Harvard now,” Mansfield wrote in an email to the Voice. “Recent studies SFS 3.904 show that today's students are working much less hard than students of a generation ago.”

Even though recent headlines NHS 3.928 have been mainly targeting Harvard, the case of grade inflation extends beyond the gates of Cambridge. AcMSB 3.835 cording to The Washington Post, since the 1960’s, grades in the United States have been on the increase with more students earning grades in the percent of the students in the MSB A range and fewer in the C range— graduated with honors.

Although grade inflation is beGeorgetown being no exception.

“When I joined Georgetown, I coming increasingly prevalent among learned that the faculty on the main universities, educators disagree on its campus had a resolution for a reform causes and the implications for higher of grading practices on campus, in education. Michael Bailey, chair of the order to address a nationwide issue Georgetown Government Department, of grade inflation, or more properly believes that inflation can be a com‘grade compression,’” Provost Robert pletely natural phenomenon as a result Groves wrote in a blog post on Dec. of shifting of the expectations between 25, 2013. A year and a half after com- students and faculty over time.

On the other hand, other proing to Georgetown, Groves has anfessors believe that the quality of nounced changes in the grading system in order to address the situation. students coming to Georgetown has Groves’ announcement comes at a just been increasing, which leads to time when grade inflation is attract- higher grades. “If you got in here, it’s ing nationwide attention. Professors for a reason. You have taken acaat Georgetown have been noticing demics very seriously, and we’re all an adjustment in grading habits and used to doing well,” said Parnia Zanorms in the past years. “I thought I hedi (COL ’15), vice president of the had seen a change in time from a B College Academic Council. “I think being considered a good grade to now coming here and being against even a B being seen as not a good grade,” brighter people than you were in high

If you were sitting on Healy lawn at graduation in the Spring of 2013, there’s a 55 percent chance that you were one of the many students graduating with the “distinctive” recognition of receiving honors. Three years from now, the statistics won’t be as great.

Only approximately 25 percent of the class of 2017 will be granted the same recognition. This conspicuous reduction will be a result of new university-wide policies aimed at addressing an issue that’s been leading headlines nationwide—grade inflation.

• • •

january 16, 2014

HOYAS ARE USED TO GOOD GRADES, BUT DO WE DESERVE THEM? BY

school makes you want to try that much harder.”

Mansfield argues, however, that even if students are becoming more hardworking, the solution is to raise standards and push toward excellence rather than lower them.

• • •

Professors could also have an incentive to give students higher grades so that students rate them more highly on evaluations. “Some faculty believe (and there is evidence to support this) that high average grades lead to positive teaching evaluations, a key criterion in their own merit review and promotion decisions,” Groves wrote in his

GPA THRESHOLDS UNDER NEW HONORS POLICY (‘13) Top 15%

Top 25%

3.796

3.728

3.806

3.730

3.803

3.736

3.713

3.614

blog post on grades.

Erick Langer, professor of history, agrees with Groves and believes that some professors are tempted to be dishonest when grading because higher grades may act as proof of good teaching. “If you give an exam where most people don’t do as well as they should, that means you haven’t done your job,” Langer said. “A curve will hide that. It hides poor teaching.”

According to Groves, another explanation might be found at the departmental level as a result of students switching into majors known to attribute higher grades to their students.

As the chair of the government department, Michael Bailey is concerned that some departments inflate grades in order to attract students to a major. “That means some majors can compete by giving lots of A’s and having lower standards. Now the other departments are losing lots of students,” Bailey said.

Lara Fishbane

Problems arise also from the larger framework of how higher education is structured in the country. Because U.S. News & World Report college rankings take job and graduate school placement rates into consideration, it is in the interest of universities to produce candidates with higher GPAs. Even though higher grades might give universities higher leverage in college rankings, uncovering grade inflation might affect universities’ credibilities. “If employers come to realize that 65 percent of the class is getting honors, well then it becomes meaningless,” Pierce said.

Some professors at Georgetown also feel that the problem with grade inflation is that it compresses the range of grades that can be offered. “As the grade system becomes compressed into only one or two grades, … how can you distinguish between the truly excellent and those who just did well enough?,” Langer said.

Furthermore, as the number of A’s increase the value of the grade consequently decreases. “If I actually think of a straight A as outstanding, that implies that you stand out in comparison to others,” McMorrow said. “So if many people are getting outstanding, just the notion of outstanding is undermined.”

Widely-known grade inflation presents other issues. Once students know that grade inflation exists, it’s possible that they will have less incentive to achieve as highly as they could. “We are not necessarily striving to completely grasp the course material, but just know it well enough to get some points,” Antonia Kopp (NHS ‘14), co-chair of the NHS Academic Council, said. “We are relying on the curve rather than our own academic capabilities.”

With the increasing concern about grade inflation, some departments at Georgetown have taken independent measures in order to address the increasing grades.

The McDonough School of Business, for instance, restructured its grading system at the beginning of the 2009 academic year to prevent grade inflation. All core courses’ syllabi stipulate that the average grade awarded to students cannot be above a 3.3 and that no more than 35 percent of the class can receive A or A- grades.

Reena Aggarwal, finance professor in the MSB, teaches a class that follows these regulations. “I think that by having a policy like this, it makes it com-

feature

georgetownvoice.com pletely clear to students what to expect and it’s consistent,” she said. “There’s a lot more objectivity and it’s transparent.

Everybody knows it.”

On the other hand, although this policy addresses concerns of grade inflation, some people are concerned that it creates new problems.

Zahedi believes that curves could foster an environment of excessive competition. To get a good grade, a student doesn’t only have to do well, they have to perform better than the person sitting next to her or him. “If you walk onto Lau 2 … you see people studying and helping each other out,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to hurt that part of our community if it became more competitive because of the grading system.”

• • •

orous in the awarding of honors is to make students work harder. If you work harder, you learn more and the whole point is to take advantage of the opportunity to learn,” Pierce said.

The University changed the cutoff requirements for students receiving degree honors beginning with the class of 2017. Summa cum

“

By promoting competition, curves could also discourage students from learning from fellow students, which Langer believes to be as important as learning from teachers. “A curve promotes people stabbing each other in the back rather than getting together to learn mutually,” he said.

Aggarwal, however, has not found this to be the case in her classes. “Students have not become more cutthroat in competition. I really haven’t seen that. 35 percent for core courses still allows a lot of leeway,” she said.

Even though this might be the case, that doesn’t mean that a definitive curve is the absolute solution to grade inflation. Curves only work when there is a large enough pool of students for it to follow regular grade distribution. “If you have only 15 students in a course, it’s harder to have a policy like this,” Aggarwal said.

Georgetown has looked for other ways to deal with grade inflation at a University-wide level by making grading policies more transparent and rigorous at the time of awarding honors.

“One of the benefits of being more rig-

the georgetown voice 9

know that the policy in the catalogue says that only 25% of the students in a class get honors, then you realize that there are a lot of students with good GPAs that don’t have honors.”

The other new policy beginning this academic year is that mean grades will be offered as an option on unofficial transcripts so

IF EMPLOYERS COME TO REALIZE THAT 65 PERCENT OF THE CLASS IS GETTING HONORS, WELL THEN IT BECOMES MEANINGLESS.

laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude will be awarded to those with a GPA equivalent to the top 5 percent, 15 percent, and 25 percent of the previous graduating class, respectively.

“The faculty and deans were noting that very large proportions of the classes were graduating with Latin honors and it was deluding the meaning of Latin Honors,” Groves said.

According to Pierce, in the graduating class of 2013, the twenty-fifth percentile cutoff was 3.728 in the College, 3.736 in the NHS, 3.730 in the SFS, and 3.614 in the MSB. All of these GPAs are higher than the previous cutoff for honors of 3.5.

Pierce believes that this policy might actually help students overall, especially the ones who wouldn’t be receiving honors in either case.

“If you know that 65 percent of the class is getting honors and some student don’t have honors, then they must be way towards the bottom of the class,” he said. “However, if you

that students can determine how well they are doing in classes relative to other students. “I think in my memory as a student, I wanted the highest grade point average as possible, but I also wanted it to mean that I was doing well relative to others,” Groves said.

To some, this adjustment has been more controversial. “Cornell did something kind of similar and what it lead to was students were just using that information to take those classes that were easier,” said Bailey.

Although the mean transcript results are private so that only the student in the class can see them, Bailey suspects that word of mouth will get out about which classes are easier to get A’s in. “I think that kind of already gets out,” he said. “But now people have evidence.”

Beyond the role that this new policy might have in students’ selection of classes, Bailey believes that the idea of calculating class means

without taking other factors into consideration is in itself inherently flawed. “To determine whether a grade in a particular class is inflated, there are two factors, one is what the average grade level is, but two is what the average ability of the students is,” he said. “We’re only doing the former and we’re not taking any account of the latter.”

According to Bailey, in the Government Department, about 25 percent of the students in introductory level classes receive A’s or A-’s, while upwards of 50 percent of students in upper level classes receive them. “I’m less concerned about a high average in an honors class where [students] had to apply to get in,” he said. “That class probably should have a higher GPA and this policy would make it look like this terrible gut class.”

• • •

Three years from now, the lawn won’t be as covered in distinguished graduates as before, but the ultimate solution to the grade inflation problem remains elusive.

To many, the reality of grade inflation is only a slight manifestation of a larger problem in institutions of higher education.

“We have to decide as an education institution: what do we want grades to mean? What are they trying to measure?” Groves said.

McMorrow believes that the importance placed on grades is actually leading students to prioritize their GPAs over learning.

“The grade is supposed to be the measure, not the goal, but we always mistake the measure for the goal,” McMorrow said. “That’s why grading is problematic to begin with.

That conflation between the measure of what we’re seeking, and what we’re seeking. What we should be seeking is learning.”

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO GRADUATED WITH HONORS IN 2013 WITH HONORS

College

SFS

WITHOUT HONORS

NHS

MSB

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10 the georgetown voice

january 16, 2014

A Mouthful of Birds gives audiences something to chew on

by Elizabeth Baker Dionysus conjures the image of a smiling man with a flowing black beard, passing around grapes and dancing through the forest. As the Greek god of wine, festivities, and theater, you would think Dionysus didn’t have a bad bone in his body. Of course, if high school English taught us anything, it’s that all gods have a dark side.

And for Dionysus that is the power to temporarily drive his women followers, the Bacchae, completely insane. With the wave of a hand or a kiss on the forehead, these Grecian women would lose all sense, tearing through the woods eating animals, shouting and dancing uncontrollably. The story of the Bacchic women is dark, terrifying, and little-known.

Carol Churchill’s A Mouthful of Birds resurrects the story of the Bacchae, combining gruesome mythological tales with our modern world. Director Brendan Quinn (COL ‘14) found that Churchill’s masterful writing and adept combination of psychology and Greek tragedy allows both him and audience members “to have their artistic imagination ignited in a way many people can respond to” and chose it for his senior thesis project.

Divided into several vignettes and moments of well-choreographed dance, Mouthful is often defined by the divides in its theatrical elements. The cast is split between the mythical, including Dionysus (Chris Coffrey , COL ‘16) and Semele (Norah Rosengarten, COL ‘14) and the modern, a group

of Bacchae controlled by Dionysus. The mythological characters are constantly on stage, invisibly watching the modern characters struggle with their innermost demons, and, according to producer Sarah Konig (COL ’16), “manipulating the situation so things go their way.” Just as in Greek myth, Dionysus’s kiss on a character’s forehead causes a transformation, forcing the characters to fall into a craze and to become the Bacchic followers of myth.

Each act is dedicated to the problems of one particular member of the ensemble. Some are easy to relate to, while others are confusing and, at times, uncomfortable. Yvonne (Natalie Caceres, MSB ‘16) faces her alcoholism, an unfortunate and familiar issue.

But when Lena (Maddie Kelley, COL’16) is depicted as openly fighting with her inner demon, screaming as she slowly spirals into insanity, the play becomes difficult to watch amidst her screams of pain and fear that drive her to murder. Other characters explore themes of gender identity, dark magic, and one character’s mental collapse when he falls madly in love with a pig.

What’s most interesting about Churchill’s work is her ability to question society’s conventions.

Mouthful combines the stories of “people who feel the need to express themselves without conforming to norms,” Quinn says.

“As a result they often experience a deep internal struggle, which the play makes completely visible.”

Although A Mouthful of Birds is serious in content, there are sev-

KYLE O’DONNELL

The Greek gods are sending their wrath in the form of invisible chains.

eral moments of levity and beauty throughout the play. The dance scenes, in particular, are notable and not only do an excellent job of transitioning, but also gives the audience an emotional breather, while allowing the actors to “express themselves in ways words merely cannot describe” according to both Quinn and Konig.

What was Churchill’s intention in writing A Mouthful of Birds? Did she intend to illustrate how society has progressed as a whole?

Was she saying that even today, we are prone to returning to our basic instincts? Are we not that different from the Bacchic women at all? Konig believes that Churchill “is bringing into question ‘what is normal.’ Most of these characters originally have extreme responses to daily life, but in the end, their responses all appear appropriate to their struggle.”

In A Mouthful of Birds, Churchill brilliantly exposes the human condition and its flaws by forcing

Slow and steady eating

“It’s ze power of ze chocolat, no?” the French stranger asked me. I had just dropped a heavy jar of chocolate spread on the table with a massive clatter, and he had looked over at me with a smile from across the long French country table. This is the kind of spontaneous interaction you will encounter in places that embrace the Slow Food movement, one which encourages remembering the values of the past and bringing them into our modern lives.

Some of those values are the very ones that my parents taught me growing up. I learned to make conversation at the table by listening to my parents at meals. I learned not to waste food by finishing every last vegetable on my plate. I learned to respect other people by waiting for everyone to sit down together before touching any food. I learned to contribute to the natural cycle by taking the compost out every night. And I also learned to value the nutrition found in my father’s organic vegetables.

In recent years, the movement towards incorporating organic food into restaurant menus and individual diets alike has gained a huge following. Organizations like Slow Food are helping bring awareness to the global community on issues regarding food appreciation and the importance of changing our modern food culture.

The movement, started in Italy in 1986 by Carlo Petrini, is staunchly opposed to our fast food culture.

The movement aims to promote the consumption of local, traditional, genuine food.

The Slow Food movement is part of the broad Slow movement that began when Petrini protested the opening of a McDonald’s near a famous landmark in Rome. The entire philosophy revolves around

the age old motto “quality, not quantity,” advocating for balance in our frenetic modern world. It is not about returning to the lifestyle that our grandparents and great-grandparents lived, but rather about incorporating the best aspects of the old and the new in order to allow us to appreciate life more fully.

This philosophy is revolutionary in that it advocates for a complete rejection of the modern food culture. Food, like sleep and free time, is not enjoyed to the extent that it once was, seen more as an essential for survival, rather than a pleasurable activity which can draw people together.

Eating Out

by Sabrina Kayser A bi-weekly column about food For Georgetown students like myself, it is easy to just go to Leo’s Grab ’n’ Go, forgoing the sit-down meal with friends.

But what does this have to do with food in the greater context of D.C.? Thirteen restaurants are listed on the “Where to Eat” page of the DC Slow Food movement website.

At the top, the page states that “the Washington, D.C. metro area has become one of the nation’s hottest restaurant destinations, with many of its finest restaurants buying as much local, sustainable food as possible.” It is notable that the high end restaurants are not the only ones accepting the Slow Food philosophy. Chains like Le Pain Quotidien, whose philosophy, “sitting together around the idea of pleasure,” incorporates a central ideal of the Slow Food movement.

Le Pain Quotidien incorporates the traditional French farm table ritual where strangers rub elbows while they enjoy the “elegant bou-

us to suspend our disbelief. According to Churchill, even amid the growth of civilization, science, and technology, we are just as likely to return to our primal natures as before. One scene in particular, involving a fruit dance, epitomizes the inconsistency of the human mind: at one moment the ensemble is dancing harmoniously and laughing, and the next, as if by the wave of the hand or a kiss on the forehead, they are tearing one another apart. langerie fare made with organic ingredients whenever possible.”

This kind of practice promotes sustainable food practices as well as sustainable social practices and lifestyle choices. Once a small bakery and now a global chain, the restaurant exemplifies the spread of the Slow Food philosophy.

In our own city, the mission of the Slow Food chapter is “Supporting good, clean, and fair food.”

This mission has spread to much of the general culture, evident in the increase of local farmers’ markets in the D.C. area. Take our own university, for instance. The Georgetown University Farmers’ Market, which provides students with fresh produce in the spring and fall, started in the spring of 2011 and has become a staple of the food culture at the university.

Such movements create the opportunity for people to be able to access fresh, local produce. This push is especially relevant to city dwellers and also to college students who have fewer options and fewer means to seek out sustainable, local food. By bringing fresh produce directly to us, the Farmers’ Market becomes a part of the Georgetown community and thus is able to retain its sense of charm.

Leonardo DiCaprio tells us in Inception that “the most resilient parasite” is an idea. The idea we are seeing spread across the globe is that, while we have gained a lot as a society with the progress and advancement of technology, there are certain negative aspects to this way of life that we must learn to see. The only way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is by remembering balance, and the Slow Food movement is attempting to address that need by reminding us of the values we had in the past.

Get natural with Sabrina at skayser@georgetownvoice.com

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“You realize if we played by the rules right now we’d be in gym?” — Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

the georgetown voice 11

Bridging the Gibraltar, Catch 15 hits DC Hilltop Horoscopes

by Emilia Brahm A sensational mix of Spanish and Moroccan, the Mediterranean wares of Catch 15 will hook the most elegant of tastes. You can find it just a block from the Farragut Metro stop at 1518 K Street.

Catch 15 employs subtle chandeliers and T.V. screens to light the place. The screens are built into the walls to look like aquariums, playing footage of über-cool jellyfish that pulsate to the beat of a Sam Cooke remix.

In fact, the music was almost as good as the food. Tunes ranged from classic to contemporary, remixed in a soft-funk manner, like a downright groovy version of Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.”

To start the night, lean back and relax in one of the white couches in the ‘70s-style lounge area adjacent to the bar. Order

a drink with some friends for the adventurous. I would recommend, “Brine on You Crazy Pearl”: gin, vermouth, oyster brine and smoked oyster. For the less daring, the wine list is expansive.

Next, from swigging to shellfish. The twentieth century French poet Leon-Paul Fargue said that eating oysters “is like kissing the sea on the lips,” and Catch 15’s oysters don’t disappoint.

The Misty Point oysters balance the freshness of the sea with the tangy Sicilian salmoriglio sauce and horseradish aioli, coming together splendidly. The salmoriglio is particularly delicious a fresh mix of olive oil, garlic, oregano, and parsley compliment the oyster ’s flavor perfectly.

For dinner, move to an intimate booth upholstered in brown suede reminiscent of a classier “American Hustle.” I almost see

“I read that it takes all of the nutrition out of our food!”

Catch 15

Jennifer Lawrence sitting down next to me with her New Jersey accent on full blast, which is fine, so long as she orders the vegetable empanadas for an appetizer.

Goat cheese, artichoke, pinenuts and green olive are encased in a melt-in-your-mouth thick, crisp crust. Hot, and potentially spicy, if you add the zesty orange hot sauce they give you on the side.

Follow those with any of the phenomenal seafood offerings. As a group, you can order a variety of small plates to share—about 2 per person—in tapas-style bliss. The salads are a delicious vegetarian option.

The main course should unequivocally be the planchaseared yellowfin tuna steak. Luscious and rich, the tuna is flavorful on its own, but a dusting of coriander and black peppercorn adds just the twist to make this dish above the norm.

If you make it to Catch 15 before Sunday, take advantage of the three-course Restaurant Week deal. The tuna steak isn’t on the special menu, but is absolutely worth trying. Regardless, Catch 15’s menu is full of fresh takes on Mediterranean fare in a transcendent environment.

Catch 15 1518 K Steet, N.W. 11:30 a.m. - 2 a.m. daily catch15dc.com

Cancer: 6/22-7/22 Play out your Wolf of Wallstreet fantasies by applying to GUAFSCU. They’re now accepting applications.

12/22-1/19: Capricorn Don’t worry if you don’t have your books yet, the bookstore will be getting a shipment in mid-April.

Leo:

7/23-8/22 Your namesake dining hall is destroying your spirit (and GI tract). Avoid it at all cost. Please.

1/20-2/18: Aquarius There’s rain in the forecast for next week.

Don’t forget to grab The Hoya on your way out of Leo’s.

Virgo:

8/23-9/22 Yeah. That 9 a.m. class has got to go. You just aren’t yourself when you don’t brush your teeth.

2/19-3/20: I think it’s probably time to stop binge watching Arrested Development, buddy. Let the Bluths go.

Libra: 9/23-10/22 Winter break affected your physique. Your sign isn’t a scale for nothing.

Scorpio: 10/23-11/21 If you wait any longer to scalp those basketball season tickets, you won’t break even.

Sagittarius: 11/22-12/21 If at first you don’t succeed, the deadline for transferring is quickly approaching.

Pisces

5/21-6/21: Gemini If you start double-fisting this long weekend, you might just make it past 10 a.m. on Georgetown Day. 4/20-5/20: Taurus The Corp has special plans for your morning fix. Beware of the uncommon grounds.

3/21-4/19: Aries Start the semester off right by doing your readings, airhead.

Ralph Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman, a tale of two biddies

by Emmanuel Elone Some imagine Charles Dickens sitting in front of a Victorian desk, armed with quill and parchment, creating his masterpieces. A few might even envision him reciting sections of his work in front of a large audience in London. But does anyone think of Charles Dickens, one of the most influential writers in the world of English literature, as having a love life?

Ralph Fiennes does.

As director and star of the new film The Invisible Woman, Fiennes ignores Dickens the author and focuses on Dickens the husband and father. The movie revolves around 18-year-old Nelly Turnan, the daughter of a poor, single mother, and her illicit relationship with the married Mr. Dickens. Throughout the film, both characters struggle

to hide their love amid rumors of adultery to no avail. This movie tries to depict tragedy between these characters, and just manages to pull it off.

The awkward sexual tension between Dickens (Fiennes) and Nelly is performed well. In one scene, Charles and Nelly are standing in front of each other, just barely touching one another. They go in for a kiss but their lips never actually meet.

The effective portrayal of this awkward tension distracts the audience from the poor scene changes and the consistently odd organization throughout the film.

Fiennes’ main failure in his film arises in pacing and unclear transitions from past to present, making the plot difficult to follow. In one scene, Charles and Nelly are on a French train that crashes, almost killing them. The scene fades

away with Nelly bleeding only to be replaced by a non-injured Nelly walking around her manor.

Only after she begins referring to Charles in the past tense does the audience realizes that the movie has leapt a few years ahead, forcing the audience to backtrack and try to actually find out what happened during the train crash.

Unlike the typical rising action, climax, and resolution layout of most films, The Invisible Woman has many small climaxes separated by melancholic dialogue between characters. Even so, the movie gives the feeling it’s being rushed. In the span of 15 minutes, Charles divorces his wife, marries Nelly, gets her pregnant, holds his stillborn child, and has his first argument with his wife.

Felicity Jones plays the perfect Nelly, a curious girl who doesn’t

know whether she loves Dickens or not. She is also battling the idea of whether or not it is right to love someone who is already married.

She gets the audience to sympathize with her, calling into question the importance of marriage in patriarchal society at the time, making the

film not just about an individual but about the culture as well.

Despite the many quotes from Charles Dicken’s novels and the interesting view into Dicken’s hidden affair, the film’s lack of cohesion leaves the viewer asking, “Please, sir, can I have some more?”

imdb

These ladies have great expecations for Brown House on Saturday. Jk lol.

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

january 16, 2014

C r i t i c a l V o i c es

Burial, Rival Dealer, Hyperdub Records “This is who I am,” the first vocal sample of the EP resonates. Six years after his album, Untrue, was crowned the best album of 2007 (based on aggregate reviews), William Emmanuel Bevan, or Burial, has discovered himself on his latest release, Rival Dealer. This record of self-acceptance comes as a shock to much of Burial’s fan base, which had canonized his sound as a secure staple in the electronic music industry. This EP, however, is Bevan’s most accessible work to date, even as it manages to pack an intense emotional experience into the brief 30-minute recording.

Rival Dealer, like Burial’s previous albums, is highlighted by his deep-listening style and iconic

sound, composed of thick breakbeats and droning synth progressions. The lead and title track lucidly illustrates Bevan’s confusion and yearning for self-discovery.

The 11-minute song is broken into multiple chapters, starting with a dense, shuffling beat that abruptly shifts to a segment of soft, meditative synth drones adorned by distorted vocal samples. As the song continues to develop, it is punctuated with sounds of police scanners, traffic, and even the metallic clank of a spray paint can.

Though Burial’s mastery of timing and dynamics lays the emotional backdrop, it is his vocal samples that give this EP its allure.

The record’s most enticing track, “Hiders,” employs tastefully curated samples to tell a story of isolation and loneliness. “There’s a kid, somewhere,” the leading sample tells the listener, as a slow-moving keyboard riff builds to a cathartic arena-rock beat.

But the most moving segment of the EP comes toward the end of the final track, “Come Down to Us.” Burial ends this song with a passage from the speech delivered by trans* filmmaker Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) after receiving the Human Rights Campaign Visibility

Don’t sell yourself short

I really like Brand New. No, that’s an understatement. I worship Brand New. I started listening to them in the middle of high school, and they form the basis of my love for punk. Brand New’s evolution from youthful pop punk to their current brand of heavy-hitting post-hardcore is legendary and is the perfect example of how a band should evolve and innovate their sound over time. There’s just one problem with Brand New: it’s almost impossible to see them live.

After a few years off from touring, Brand New played four shows in the Midwest this fall. Brand New followed up this mini-tour with an announcement in the first weeks of winter: they had so much fun playing for fans that they are going to play four more shows this winter.

I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. I was going to be home for Christmas break in time to catch Brand New’s show in Long Island, New York. I had waited years for

this band to play a show in New York, and this was finally my chance.

That’s what I thought, anyway. My hopes were smashed when the tickets sold out in under 30 seconds.

Sitting in front of my computer and hitting refresh until the tickets were available didn’t help. Every other Brand New fan in New York was doing the same thing. Turning to StubHub for help was useless.

The cheapest general admission ticket I saw on StubHub was priced at $220, and that price climbed higher as fans grudgingly paid the jerks who bought tickets with the sole intent of gouging diehard fans. One week before the show, the cheapest ticket I saw was more than $300, well above the original price of $35.

After a couple weeks, the outrage from fans over not getting tickets and the ridiculous scalping prices prompted Brand New to alleviate the tension by adding one more small-venue show to each coast.

They even bought back many of the

Award. The passage describes her hopelessness, her courage, and her acceptance of her own lovability.

This inclusion may be an intentional frame for Burial’s album or may simply be parallel to Bevan’s journey for self-acceptance. Whether of gender identity, sexual orientation, or simply as an emergence of his new sound, Rival Dealer is Burial’s coming out, and his most beautiful music yet.

Voice’s Choices: “Come Down to Us”

“Hiders,”

—Joshua Ward

Switchfoot, Fading West, lowercase people records It’s understandable if you don’t remember Switchfoot. After all, it has been ten years since they scalped tickets and offered them to honest fans. Luckily, my hard work on the F5 key paid off the second time, and I got a ticket for their show in Brooklyn.

I feel very conflicted over who is to blame for this mess. The StubHub resellers are the clearest targets for the wrath I feel on behalf of the fans who missed the shows. It kills me to know that there are hundreds of other Brand New fans, some of whom

Deadbeats

by Ryan Greene

A bi-weekly column about music were probably with Brand New from their early days of playing Long Island dive bars, who couldn’t get tickets because greedy people wanted to earn a few hundred bucks off of fans.

A discography show like this for a band as popular as Brand New is a special event. Fans who support the band are the ones who deserve to go. Unfortunately, even without

released that song, “Dare you to moooove!”

In their newest release, Fading West, Switchfoot moves into a more mainstream sound while exploring the deeper themes of identity they dwelled on since releasing their last album.

The LP opens with “Love Alone Is Worth The Fight,” in which lead singer Jon Foreman expresses his intention to get “back to the basics.” I presume these “basics” are metaphorical rather than musical, because the band’s style is unrecognizable from the start. Rather than their standard soft-rock sound, Switchfoot opts for a pop feel, throwing in metallic “ooh-ee-oohs” to carry the melody.

The track list continues with “Who We Are” and “When We Come Alive,” both of which have a catchy—yet terribly unoriginal— sound. The lyrics in the song seem like something we’ve heard before: “We light the sky/ When we ignite.”

It’s one firework away from being a Katy Perry song.

Despite the shaky start, the album redeems itself with “Say It Like You Mean It,” a rougher, guitar-heavy song in the middle of the record. The anger in the lyrics and gritty sound of the vocals work well using Ticketmaster, there are few reliable ways to prevent this kind of ticket scalping. I refuse to give any of the resellers a single penny, no matter how cheap the tickets become.

But unless all the fans go along with the boycott idea, it won’t accomplish anything, and only wealthy fans will be able to get tickets.

Brand New made a serious effort to prevent reselling for the two West Coast shows they’re playing.

To further prevent scalping, Brand New announced a strict two-ticket limit per customer and required that the credit card that originally bought the tickets be presented prior to entry. Those measures, though, only stopped the West Coast scalpers and did nothing for the East Coast.

But resellers aren’t the only reason tickets were scooped up so quickly. There are more desperate fans dying to see Brand New play than can fit into the venues they book. Beyond that, Brand New rarely plays shows. I think the band takes the biggest share of blame for the fans’ disappointment.

together, and remind us that when Switchfoot breaks from their indicative formulaic pop rock sound, they can be great.

Unfortunately, this track is followed by the rather melodramatic “The World You Want,” which opens with the faint sounds of a playground. Just as you think “Kids”

by MGMT is starting, Switchfoot dives suddenly into an intense, piano-heavy ballad. “Every day you’re alive/ You change the world,” Foreman repeats, as the music fades back to the playground.

This heavy-handed symbolism stays strong through the final track, entitled “Back to the Beginning Again.” With this song—like most of the album—the problem is not the sound, but the lack of depth and originality.

Ultimately, while Fading West may be nice to listen to, it doesn’t offer much in terms of emotional resonance. “I wanted something with meaning,” Foreman sings in the closing lines of “Who We Are.” Yeah, me too.

Voice’s Choices: “Love Alone Is Worth the Fight,” “Say It Like You Mean It” —Andrea Keklak Brand New insist on playing very few shows and only play them in relatively small, intimate venues. The sparse touring schedule makes me wonder how much frontman Jesse Lacey and the rest of Brand New care about the people who are responsible for their success and legacy. Brand New’s fan base spans from young kids in high school to 30-year-olds who have followed the band for over a decade.

If Brand New wants to return that love and support, they have to play either more shows or in bigger venues. It’s understandable that the band wants to keep the shows intimate, but doing a large tour in small venues would still allow the crowd to get close to the band.

But maybe I’m overreacting.

Even I’ll admit that there’s more to life than getting knocked down by a drunk, bearded, and sweaty 27-year-old in a mosh pit.

Sell yourself to Ryan Greene at rgreene@georgetownvoice.com

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page thirteen

the georgetown voice 13

— Dylan Cutler

voices

14 the georgetown voice

january 16, 2014

Christie’s got 99 problems and Bridgegate’s one

by Chandini Jha The residents of Fort Lee, NJ aren’t the only ones in a jam after the apparently politically motivated closure of their town’s bridge. The ensuing bickering, dubbed “Bridgegate” by the media, has created a definite setback in Governor Chris Christie’s contention for the White House in 2016.

Since no documents have yet directly implicated Christie himself in the scandal, it remains to be seen what effect this squabble will have on his political career. Christie initially dismissed queries about the issue, joking that he “was actually the guy working the cones” restricting traffic on the bridge. Contributing to the troubling implications for his political image, he also suggested that the officials leading the inquiry have “nothing better to do.”

At the very least, his statements make him seem like someone who has callous disregard for the resi-

dents of Fort Lee, who were stuck in traffic for hours, and in some cases for no reason other than seemingly political vengeance. Indeed, because of a lack of advanced warning on the dubious “traffic study,” emergency vehicles were also stuck on the bridge, posing a very real threat to human safety.

This perception is not the kind of image a potential contender for the presidency would want, especially in the wake of the last election cycle in which Mitt Romney, with his $10,000 bet and political gaffe about representing only 47 percent of Americans, was criticized as being out of touch with common Americans. Christie’s defensive remarks darken the GOP’s overall image.

To be fair, Christie’s indignant rebuttals may very well be because he did not orchestrate the bridge debacle and is, in fact, innocent. It is only human nature to react defensively when charged with a crime you did

not commit. Even if this is the case, the fact that Christie did not know about his senior aides’ malicious form of political retaliation shows he does not know what is going on in his own staff, which liberal critics will surely label incompetence.

This debacle also raises the question of how senior aides working for a man as politically savvy as Christie—who in the last election was even a hit with Democrats—could possibly consider such a move with plenty of risk and no political reward.

The only rationale seems to be petty retribution against a relatively politically insignificant mayor. Could the Governor have created a type of office culture that permits, or even fosters, this kind of bullying behavior?

Some may rightly point out that prominent Democratic figures have overcome scandal on their path to the Oval Office. (Monica Lewinsky, anyone?) But Christie’s situation is markedly different in that he is still early in his road to the White House.

Given his resounding victory in New Jersey, many Independents (and perhaps Democrats as well, given his popularity with New Jersey Democratic voters) are still making up their minds about him. Many of the Governor’s accomplishments have been discussed as results of innovative, in-your-face, and no-nonsense politics. This new dilemma has the potential to rebrand his image into that of a bully, casting a cloud over his achievements and souring his relationships with non-GOP voters.

If Christie can avoid being labeled a vindictive political agent, he very well has the ability to weather this scandal and continue his political ambitions. However, the odds may not be in his favor. Americans crave scandalous news, but often pay less attention to the more mundane details of the bureaucratic political chain of command or who precisely did what. Many Independents or moderate Democrats may revise their positive opinion of Christie and

fail to educate themselves if or when he may emerge as innocent.

Only time will tell what the precise political fallout of Bridgegate will be for Gov. Christie. He has shown great innovation and versatility in his successful bid for governor, and if selected as the 2016 Republican nominee, his taking office could signal a return to power for moderates in the Republican Party.

Part of his political fate no longer lies with how he spins the scandal but rather with what image the voters construct of him after new national scrutiny. In a nation already deeply cynical toward Congress and generally suspicious of politicians, it may be hard for Christie to gain the green light to continue his political ambitions. He might just get jammed.

Chandini Jha is a sophomore in the College. She secretly aspires to become the second Hoya to conquer the Oval Office.

Dennis the Menace: Promoting peace all the way from North Korea

by Chris Almeida Dennis Rodman has been many things: a formidable rebounder, an NBA champion, an owner of ever-colorful hair, but he certainly is not a master of foreign relations. Recently, the former NBA star has made headlines for his trips to North Korea where he has spent ample time with Kim Jong Un, who is known to be a basketball fan.

Rodman first visited North Korea in early 2013 to organize basketball exhibitions. While

there, he and his group met Kim Jong Un, becoming the first Americans to become acquainted with the dictator. Since then, Rodman has repeatedly said that President Obama should reach out to North Korea and has gone back to the country three times, most recently for basketball exhibitions held between a team of former NBA players and North Korean players in an event for Kim Jong Un’s birthday.

Despite this globetrotting, Rodman insists that he is “not a diplomat.” Rodman recently re-

NAFISA HUSSEIN

Nothing can bring together a giant and a tyrant like some good ‘ol B-ball.

fused to speak to Kim about Kenneth Bae, an American missionary who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for “plotting to overthrow the North Korean government.” In a recent interview with CNN, Rodman implied that Bae’s imprisonment may have been his own fault, though he has since apologized for the comments.

I want to believe that Rodman has the world’s interest in mind, but his actions have not demonstrated any sort of selflessness.

Rodman and the other players who recently traveled for the exhibition games insist that they were not paid by the North Korean government, though many, including NBA commissioner David Stern, are skeptical. Stern said that the team made the trip because they were “blinded by the payday.”

Rodman has said, “I’m sorry for all the people and what’s going on. I’m sorry. I’m not the president, I’m not an ambassador, I’m just an individual that wants to show the world the fact that we can actually get along and be happy for one day.” However, he still pushes the United States to reach out to North Korea. There is a degree of hypocrisy in Rodman’s actions. It makes little sense that Rodman

insists that he is not interested in diplomacy, but at the same time says that he is trying to open doors between the two countries.

The most logical conclusion is to see that Rodman is using his position to keep himself in the news or, worse, has become a tool of the North Korean government trying to maintain some strange degree of relevance. Despite Rodman’s frequent visits to North Korea, nothing has changed between the two countries. No diplomatic doors have been opened; the disregard for human rights in the secretive state has not been corrected, at least to our knowledge; and even the Americans that are wrongly imprisoned have not been released.

Rodman may be well-intentioned, but it seems much more likely that this is an extended publicity stunt. Since his retirement, Rodman has been in the news much more for his involvement with Kim Jong Un than any of his other ventures, which include being the commissioner of the Lingerie Football League, winning a season of Celebrity Mole, or fighting as a professional wrestler. Keeping this in mind, if Rodman has no qualms with bringing the North

Korean government into the spotlight, what would be his motivation to end his noble quest?

Rodman’s misguided attempt at “basketball diplomacy” needs to end, not because it necessarily brings any imminent danger, but because it is essentially putting a man spouting North Korean propaganda on American news stations. Rodman’s claims that Kim is a “great dad” and describing him as his “best friend” are not productive in any way. And, if Rodman refuses to stop his antics, the news networks should know better than to keep putting him in headlines.

But it is unlikely that Rodman’s actions, or coverage of said actions, will change. Rodman is, in the end, a harmless figure, but the fact that he is promoting a totalitarian regime that runs one of the most oppressive states in the world, is a sad one. Dennis, if you’re reading, please, just go back to fighting with Hulk Hogan. You’ll probably be doing more good for the world overall.

Christopher Almeida is a sophomore in the College. His dislike for Dennis Rodman stems mainly from his overwhelming jealousy of the big man’s height.

voices

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the georgetown voice 15

No Pants Metro riders embrace life, liberty, and the breeze

by Benjamin Jury Boxer-briefs fluttering in the breeze, I stood in Hancock Park just across the street from L’Enfant Plaza awaiting the call to action. Capitol Improv was hosting the seventh annual No Pants Subway Ride, and on a brisk Sunday afternoon, a friend and I went to give it the old college try.

The No Pants Subway Ride began in 2002 as a prank by the notorious improvisational com-

edy group Improv Everywhere in New York. It quickly became a global phenomenon, with 60 cities in over 25 countries participating.

Here we stood, dressed in suits, sans pants: business casual in the truest sense imaginable. We brought carry-on luggage with us, planning to tell sadly uninformed Metro riders we had our pants confiscated on the way through security at Reagan National Airport. Joined by more than a hundred other

“It’s actually quite chilly in here, why do we do this in the winter?

LEILA LEBRETON

“Victim” label not an identity

We’ve heard nearly every side of the debate about how to properly treat sexual assault perpetrators and victims, but one. Victim-blaming, slut-shaming, we’ve heard it all.

But we shouldn’t press the “victim” label onto those who have been sexually assaulted. Haven’t they experienced enough without having to be redefined by the horrific experience? This label is just another reason why those who have been sexually assaulted may choose not to be open in the first place. It’s either be truthful and forever have a societally imposed label when your name comes up, or tell no one.

Such a position is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Neither is acceptable.

When I was a freshman in high school I was wedged on the floor between the back seat of the bus and the one directly in front of it by two friends who assaulted me and thought I was having a good time. And, while my story is by no means the most horrific or the worst that could have happened, I told no one. I felt that it was bad enough to mentally be, for the rest of my life, the 16-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted on the back of the bus without everyone else-my school, my town, my family--thinking it too. Though I have

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pantsless people, we descended into the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station.

Walking around without pants in public conjures up some strange feelings. I felt like I should simultaneously be laughing with and apologizing to the people who were staring at me, or more specifically, staring at my pale, unevenly hairy legs. Metro officials, who had been alerted to the event ahead of time, looked on in mild amusement.

The diversity of the group surprised me even more. There was a broad range of age groups and ethnic backgrounds, represented in the people standing around without pants in a Metro station. I would find it hard to believe that this wasn’t a revealing experience for most of us: sharing a laugh and raising eyebrows together. Viewed as voyeurism by some and exhibitionism by others (it’s all about perspective, right?), the No Pants Subway Ride is community-building in all its half-naked glory.

Our train arrived and we stepped on. There were laughter, double-takes, a mixture of stares and averted eyes. A few people

laughed off our story, joking with us and asking for pictures.

One woman cursed us all for riding around in public, “with our butt cheeks hanging out on the Lord’s Day,” during flu season. My friend Jack even had a personal request to show a little more skin.

We met up with another group of underwear-clad pranksters and decided to take the show upstairs. Walking between Metro Center and Gallery Place, we braved the elements, ignored the jeers, and embraced the catcalls from Washington Capitols fans on their way to the game.

I’m surprised we didn’t cause an accident.

After parting ways with our new friends, Jack and I caught a train to Dupont Circle and checked out some pictures from the day. Putting my pants back on, I was warmed not only by the high thread count of the slacks but also by the friendships we built and the exposing experience as a whole.

To walk the streets and ride the subway trains of Washington D.C. without pants is to liberate oneself from social norms, but it’s also testament to how simple

some selfish measure of pride for going through it all on my own, coming to terms with it, and owning it, and being able to stand in front of practically anyone today as someone who wasn’t defined by this event, it shouldn’t have had to be that way in the first place.

In my position, to be open was to lose my identity and rad-

counter. But what people don’t seem to understand is that a survivor’s shame doesn’t just come from the assholes who persist in blaming the victim or excusing the perpetrator.

The sexual assault debate is seemingly made of two sides: those who work to support the survivor, and those who seek to blame and outcast them. But, the “good side” isn’t seeing how it shames the survivor too. This mistreatment lies in the pitying glances, unsought puppy-dog eyes, and victim label often oh-so-caringly served up to survivors in the name of being a good supporter of women’s rights. It’s not that these people shouldn’t care or be human, or that survivors’ experiences aren’t that serious, but that when you see survivors as tragic sexual assault victims, instead of as Jane Hoya or Ana Smith, you inflict perhaps the worst consequence of being sexually assaulted—the permanent loss of identity.

Even the most seemingly understanding supporters don’t typically see that endless pity

Carrying On

by Ana Smith A rotating column by senior Voice staffers

ically stunt whatever potential I had to represent something to other people.

Perhaps the most fundamentally important and obvious thing sexual assault survivors deserve is the right to be open about their experiences. They need to be able to talk, to let the perpetrators be turned over to the law. They shouldn’t have to fear being open with family, the law, or health practitioners because of the shame they may en-

events without a definite cause can bring people together in solidarity. There were plenty more laughs and smiles than looks of disgust, more skin shown and less of ourselves hidden from each other.

No, there is no overarching cause being championed, though many chose their own to address, but there are people making other people happy at a time when the glass isn’t always half-full. We shared in an incredible experience unparalleled by anything I’ve ever done in my life, and it was legal. How often can you say that?

I’m 90 percent sure the two of us will end up on someone’s Christmas card or family photo album next year, and I couldn’t be more proud. It was daring, it was fun, it was spontaneous and come next year, I’ll be doing it again. There’s no need to plan anything, we sure didn’t.

One could say we flew by the seat of our pants. Sorry. I had to.

Benjamin Jury is a freshman in the SFS. Other than taking off his pants in public, Benjamin enjoys a nice game of strip poker.

labeling someone “victim,” to redefine their identity and place a footnote next to their name forever in your contacts list, is almost as bad as anything the victim-blamers and slutshamers can throw at them.

This issue of loss of identity, besides the obvious gender imbalance, is perhaps also the reason why many men feel like they can’t speak out about being sexually assaulted. To be assaulted is to seem weak. To be pitied takes away your ability to see yourself as strong.

I am not weak. We are not weak and defenseless.

I should have felt I could do what was right and speak out without feeling like I would no longer be me. I still don’t talk about my sexual assault, only because it is obsolete to me now; it is unrelated to who I am. I wanted to be who I wanted to be—the master of my own identity.

So don’t pity us. Understand us, stand beside us, not because we are victims, but because we are people too. We can handle it.

GEORGETOWN CLASS OF 2018 ETHNICITY BREAKDOWN

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