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VOICE the georgetown

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GEORGETOWN MAY GET METRO STOP BY 2040 PAGE 5

MEN’S BASKETBALL BURIES SETON HALL PAGE 6

ENERGY KITCHEN OFFERS UP A HEALTHY BURGER PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969  January 31, 2013  Volume 48 Issue 4  georgetownvoice.com

STePPiNg UP

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january 31, 2013

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Voice Crossword “What’s with the Weather?” by Andrew Duverney 31.

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ACROSS 1.

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Type of 31 down Relatives (abbr.)

Imposition on your goods When your alarm went off 13. “That” en espanol 14. Partly frozen rain 15. Shank

17. With tonic and don’t forget the lime 19. The devil’s workshop 22. Where the annoying planes over Georgetown go 24. What Dory continues to do 25. Archaic for “actor” 29. Animal from Dunston Checks In 30. J’ai “held”

___ Factor I see this field?

A bloody steak Call us if you’ve had one too many “That” in Latin “What an ____” A bright and noble element Psy World’s largest terrestrial biodome ___ Company “___ us a child is born” Former name for Tokyo Make new MSB graduates seek this Evolves from Geodude and Graveler David, Jack, or Robert for example Sweet suffix Scary lake?

“It’s not the heat, it’s the ___” __ piece A chilly sound

DOWN 1.

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Mystic Jew Harry Potter test Digit Odd obsession Reader of hadith Actress ___ Leoni Darnall health hazard ____ divina; Latin for “thing”

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Type of stratus cloud Talking baby in Teletubbies PE in action Sean Paul single Emergency contact (abbr.)

Don’t drink and drive (abbr.)

Mexican bar Vivid Frat established by Jews Craftiness “Christ is ___” Facebook stalker Weather ___ Vigor Floating cotton ball?

With Perestroika “You damn dirty ___” Iron deficient Response to “Would it?”

Blundered Network port PB&J ___ Nonchalant sound How we chatted in middle school Deity The law in Spain Email subject abbreviation Crystal ball Knight’s title?

Answers to last week’s sudoku

Answers to last week’s crossword

editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 48.4 January 31, 2013 Editor-in-Chief: Keaton Hoffman Managing Editor: Gavin Bade Blog Editor: Connor Jones News Editor: Matt Weinmann Sports Editor: Steven Criss Feature Editor: Julia Tanaka Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Leisure Editor: Julia Lloyd-George Voices Editor: Sara Ainsworth Photo Editor: Miles Gavin Meng Design Editors: Amanda Dominguez, Madhuri Vairapandi Projects Editors: Alec Graham, John Sapunor Puzzles Editors: Andrew Duverney, Tyler Pierce Contributing Editors: Leigh Finnegan, Kevin Joseph Assistant Blog Editors: Isabel Echarte, Ryan Greene, Caitriona Pagni Assistant News Editors: Lucia He, Julia Jester, Jeffrey Lin Assistant Sports Editors: Chris Almeida, Chris Castano Assistant Cover Editor: Lauren Ashley Panawa Assistant Leisure Editors: Alex Golway, Kirill Makarenko Assistant Photo Editors: Tiffany Lachhonna, Andres Rengifo Assistant Design Editor: Teddy Schaffer

Staff Writers:

Emilia Brahm, Rachel Calvert, Will Collins, Emlyn Crenshaw, Brendan Crowley, Alex Lau, Lindsay Leasor, Keith Levinsky, Claire McDaniel, Liana Mehring, Vanya Mehta, Joe Pollicino, Heather Regen, Cole Stangler, Melissa Sullivan, Ambika Tripathi, Cannon Warren

Staff Photographers:

Rebecca Anthony, Max Blodgett, Julian de la Paz, Matthew Fried, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Tess O’Connor, Larissa Ong, Matt Thees

Staff Designer: Karen Bu, Sebastian Sotelo Copy Chief: Morgan Manger Copy Editors:

Kathryn Booth, Grace Funsten, Tori Jovanovski, Rina Li, Sonia Okolie, Caitriona Pagni, Ana Smith, Dana Suekoff, Kim Tay, Suzanne Trivette

Editorial Board Chair: Patricia Cipollitti Editorial Board:

Maitane Arana, Aisha Babalakin, Gavin Bade, Nico Dona Dalle Rose, Keaton Hoffman, Julia Jester, Caitriona Pagni, Julia Tanaka, Galen Weber

Head of Business: Aarohi Vora The Georgetown Voice

INDECENT EXPOSURE

MPD’s sexual assault record condemned

According to a report published by Human Rights Watch last week, sexual assault survivors cannot expect anything more than skepticism, dismissal, and victim-blaming when reporting an assault to the District’s Metropolitan Police Department. The report, which clearly exposes MPD’s mistreatment of survivors as well as their mishandling of sexual assault cases, uncovers a wealth of damning evidence that points to the urgency with which reform of MPD’s approach to sexual assault crimes must be carried out.

Between 2009 and 2011, more than one-third of assaults reported by survivors at Washington Hospital Center, D.C.’s largest private hospital, were not documented in MPD records. Of the incident reports that managed to get filed, more than 10 percent failed to undergo full investigations and were closed prematurely by MPD. In part, this occurred because sexual assault cases are frequently misclassified as cases involving lesser offenses, as found by HRW. Although MPD reported that 110 out of 184 sexual assault cases cleared in 2010, HRW

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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 Web Site: 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: Taylor Wolfe (COL ‘16) of GUDC Cover Photo: Robin Go (SFS ‘16)

found that only 22 arrests for sexual assault were made that year. 2010’s exceptionally high clearance rate of 59.8 percent far surpasses the average rate of 40 percent in similarlysized cities, raising suspicions that MPD is manipulating their data.

In addition to reporting artificially low statistics, MPD officers were found to have further traumatized sexual assault survivors by frequently treating them with disrespect. The discourse employed by insensitive MPD officers was found to be rife with victim-blaming and victim-shaming. One account describes a detective’s response to a survivor’s story of kidnapping and repeated sexual assault: “You are only doing this to get immigration status, aren’t you?” Police treatment of sex workers is even worse—some officers have been known to demand sex in exchange for not arresting workers on prostitution charges.

Although Georgetown employs a fulltime trauma specialist to deal with sexual assault on campus, and DPS has an entire team dedicated to the investigation of sex abuse cas-

es, it is estimated that as few as one in 12 sexual assaults are reported to University authorities.

This most likely has to do with the culture of victim-blaming that persists in our university culture, as well as the negative reputation of the University’s Judicial Hearing Board regarding sexual assault cases. When one in four Georgetown women is sexually assaulted before she graduates, we know our system is broken.

Evidently, our school and our city can do better to halt the tragedy that is sexual assault.

Given the recent failure of Congress to renew the Violence Against Women Act, our nation would also do well to heed the warnings of HRW’s report. As concerned students and citizens, we call not just on MPD but on decisionmakers at all levels to ensure that reporting a crime is not more traumatizing than rape itself. We call on them to empower all who experience sexual abuse to feel like the survivors they are and spare no expense in catching perpetrators, because it is only by bringing these heinous criminals to justice that we will be able to live in a society safe for all.

ESTOS GRINGOS

Non-English speakers face discrimination This past week, the all-Republican Board of Commissioners in Carroll County, Md. voted unanimously to make English the official language of government business. The ordinance follows in the footsteps of Frederick County and Queen Anne’s County, making Carroll the third county in Maryland to declare an official language.

Advocates for the measure insist that it will help the county put a leash on expenditures.

Commissioner Haven N. Shoemaker Jr., who introduced the ordinance last September, argued that such ordinances have become the norm, with 30 other states enacting official language laws. He added that taxpayer-funded translation and interpreter costs are too high to justify.

Considering Carroll County’s fiscal standing, the Commissioner’s argument seems to be a nonstarter. As of May of 2012, the county had a $16 million surplus in the budget, which was used this year as reserve against lowered revenue streams in the form of a one percent-

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

This newspaper was made possible in part with the support of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress, online at CampusProgress.org. Campus Progress works to help

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age point decrease on the property tax rate.

The 2013 fiscal year budget is up three percent from last year.

What the Commissioner fails to see is that this measure is discriminatory. Even though the ordinance excludes matters of public safety and health, government business otherwise includes information on how and where to vote, for example. To restrict this information on the basis of language is to ignore the purpose of government and the history of this country.

It is the duty of democratic government to keep residents safe and informed, as well as to maintain transparency between the people and the elected. It will be difficult to fulfill this obligation without the recognition that Carroll County, and the U.S. at large, is not composed of one homogeneous population. By including an English requirement in the citizenship process for undocumented immigrants, neither President Barack Obama nor the eight Senators responsible for compiling Monday’s plan

for immigration reform seem to fully acknowledge this.

The myth that there is a uniform American culture to which immigrants must assimilate has somehow permeated the thinking of county and state legislature, prompting ordinances such as Carroll County’s. Speaking English fluently certainly presents mutual social and economic benefits, but the idea that immigrants should be forced into learning the language lest they be cut off from the life of civil society is nothing less than discriminatory.

While this measure appears to be primarily directed at the rapidly expanding Hispanic community across the nation, it affects all people who arrive in the U.S. with a limited command of the English language. The adamant refusal to understand that this country does not, and will never, belong solely to one culture or people is one that the Carroll County Board of Commissioners and our national leaders would do well to remember.

VAGINAS VICTORIOUS

DoD’s women in combat decision inadequate In an announcement last Thursday, outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta declared that the Pentagon will lift its official ban on women in combat that has been in place since 1994. According to the Department of Defense, this means that the approximately 237,000 positions which women were previously barred from holding will be going under review. As a result, many of them will become available to women by 2016. It is important to note that this is not true for all positions.

The Pentagon’s decision is a stride in the right direction, even if it falls short of implementing completely gender-neutral standards.

Beyond the step towards parity, the largest gain for servicewomen lies in the professional mobility these newly available positions will provide them. Given that combat tours carry significant weight in career advancement decisions, women’s eligibility to partake in these assignments will hopefully lead to a marked increase in female leadership and gradual promotion through the military’s ranks.

Women’s ability to engage in combat is monumental in the movement toward equality, accompanying President Barack Obama’s landmark repeal of the military’s anti-LGBT “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.

Nevertheless, we should not let this seemingly progressive achievement blind us from seeing that this move only continues to glorify a deeply entrenched culture in which nationalism, militarism, and violence are placed on a pedestal.

Furthermore, we can’t lose sight of the fact that the American military still has the responsibility to protect the women within its ranks. Arguably, this is true now more than ever—putting women in higher-pressure situations may exacerbate the recent spike in sexual assault within the military.

Because of this so-called epidemic, as many as one in three servicewomen has been sexually assaulted according to the DoD statistics. This is compared to an already sky-high one in six rate for civilian women.

Military victims do not have a confidential and effective authority to notify about these crimes, fearing retribution and even removal from service. The prevalence of victim-blaming attitudes within a very male-dominated military only serves to worsen the situation for survivors, who are led to keep knowledge of the assaults to themselves. Consequently, the Pentagon estimates that only 14 percent of assaults are reported. This horrifyingly low number undoubtedly implicates the U.S. military in its failure to properly protect its servicewomen from the violent and patriarchal culture it embodies.

There are still a multitude of issues facing women in the military—and American women generally—that should not be swept under the rug or overshadowed by a move towards gender parity. Equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work are only the tip of the iceberg—a whole culture must be overturned and reformed before the disparities even come close to being eliminated.

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january 31, 2013

Lawsuit pending in dispute over rights to Jack’s Boathouse

by Ryan Greene The dispute over Jack’s Boathouse has entered a new phase as owner Paul Simkin has prepared to file a lawsuit against the National Park Service over its attempt to revoke his right to operate on the property.

Simkin’s attorney Charles Camp confirmed that the lawsuit is ready and will likely be filed within the next few days.

“If the NPS comes to its senses and stands down from its current position, then we will put off filing [the lawsuit],” Camp said. “I’m waiting to see if they’re going to do that—otherwise, I’ll file.”

Before any court proceedings can take place, the NPS will have 60 days to respond to the lawsuit during which Simkin will retain ownership until they resolve the lawsuit. “The Park Service wants to hand over the land to new ownership by

March 1, but that’s not going to happen,” Camp said.

Jack’s claims focus on legally binding conditions placed on the NPS by the District when jurisdiction over the land was transferred.

“The land is owned by the District of Columbia, but there was a transfer of jurisdiction [over the land] from D.C. to the National Parks Service,” Camp said.

“However, there were a lot of limitations on that transfer. That transfer would revert back to the District of Columbia if a number of things ever happened.”

One such condition was that the NPS could make no significant amendments to the deed.

“There was a 50-page amendment to the deed, and so that is a significant amendment,” Camp said. “Under the D.C. resolution, I believe the jurisdiction reverted back.”

Simkin took control of Jack’s after his friend and former Jack’s

owner Frank Baxter died in 2009.

Simkin’s name is not actually on the lease with the NPS, leading the NPS to believe that Simkin has no legal right to control the property or business.

Camp claims that this fact is irrelevant under District law. “My client’s name is not on the lease, but in the District of Columbia, leases are freely transferrable,” Camp said. “If a landlord collects rent, then that’s acceptance of the assignment. My client has been paying rent to the National Park Foundation for years. Whether his name is on it or not, he is a tenant under that lease.”

The lease may not have been completely transferred from the District to the NPS anyway, according to Camp.

“The National Park Service talks about how that lease was assigned to them by D.C., but, in fact, the only thing I know of is that there was an assignment

“In the past five years, the program has nearly doubled in size.

As recently as 2005, there were only about 60 participants in the program,” Shiu wrote.

Even with its growth in the number of positions, Alternative Spring Break organizers still find it challenging to meet the rising demand. This year, around 100 of the 340 applicants will not be offered a place in their desired program.

“Habitat for Humanity gets around 150 applications, and we can only take 45,” said Whitney Pratt (COL ’14), a leader for the Habitat for Humanity trip to Alabama. “I’m really frustrated by it.

I think that no one should ever be rejected from doing community service if they really want to.”

Russell Kreutter (MSB ’13), Chair of the Board of Alternative Spring Break, agreed. “It’s unfortunate that we can’t offer everyone we want a spot. The vast majority of applicants are really good.

Eighty to 90 percent are really highquality applications,” he said.

According to both Pratt and Kreutter, one of the main problems with expanding the Alternative Spring Break program to more students are the barriers imposed by school bureaucracy.

“The biggest difficulty is the contractual process that Georgetown requires,” Kreutter said.

“There’s a lot of bureaucracy

around the process. We would appreciate if the administration could be a little bit more flexible.”

As the number of students participating in these programs has grown, so too has the need for fundraising. According to Maya Chaudhuri (SFS ’13), Fundraising Chair for the ASB Planning Committee, funding for the trips has increased in recent years due to the incorporation of funds by other organizations besides the CSJ Advisory Board for Student Organizations.

“We understand that students aren’t always able to afford the fee and we really don’t want money to be an obstacle for the trip,” she said. “This year, we have a significant amount of scholarship money that comes from the Corp Philanthropy Committee, the GUSA fund and SIPS [Social Innovation Public Service fund].”

This is the third year that ASB has fundraised for scholarships. Last year, 75 full and partial scholarships were given to students participating in the different trips.

“The challenge is making sure that the fundraising program continues,” Chaudhuri said.

Many times, spaces for volunteering are also limited by the nature of the trips themselves.

This year, the Border Awareness Experience in El Paso, Texas, received a total of 119 applications for the nine spots available

of the right to collect rent and an assignment of the District’s duties to my client,” he said.

“There was no full assignment of the lease to the National Park Service. There’s a big difference between transferring a whole lease and transferring your duties under that lease.”

The final piece of Camp’s case rests on assumptions of what the NPS will do with Jack’s land if they win control of it. The NPS’s Request for Qualifications for a new owner, says Camp, shows signs of development, an illegal action under the NPS’s jurisdiction conditions.

“The only jurisdiction you can transfer is for either administrative purposes or maintenance purposes, not for development purposes,” Camp said.

“When you bring in a new, outside business and do things in a new, government way, that’s development.”

Further complicating the matter are comments Simkin made last week, alleging that NPS Deputy Associate Regional Director Steve LeBel is involved in an under-the-table deal with Guest Services, a major competitor of Jack’s. Guest Services operates the concession stands on the National Mall, as well as Thompson’s and Fletcher’s Boathouses.

Vice President of Guest Services Doug Verner denied having underhanded motives with regard to Jack’s. “How could I possibly know why [Simkin] would make an allegation like that?”

Verner said. “The only thing we know about Jack’s is what we read in the paper and what came out in the National Parks Service Request for Qualifications.”

But, Verner didn’t deny his company’s interest in the Jack’s property. When asked if Guest Services intended to apply to the NPS’s RFQ, he only said, “It’s being considered.”

Applicants outnumber available spots on Alternative Spring Break trips

by Lucia He From March 2 to March 9, Georgetown students will travel around the country to take part in the week-long Alternative Spring Break program, engaging in community service and social justice issues under the banner of Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice.

In recent years the number of applications for the program has more than doubled. Despite an increase in scholarship funding, the CSJ is unable to offer every applicant a spot, as it balances bureaucratic and financial concerns with the challenge of having a positive and lasting impact.

“The trips are an opportunity for the students, staff, and faculty from Georgetown University to make a difference during Spring Break, but our goal is much more than that,” wrote Ray Shiu, Associate Director of the Center for Social Justice, in an email to the Voice. “While our trips may accomplish a great deal in the week with the service they conduct, the truly meaningful experiences come from meeting and living in different communities.”

The Alternative Spring Break program at Georgetown started in 1974 with a trip to Appalachia—the first of its kind at any university in the U.S. Since then, it has grown to accommodate over 236 GU community members each year.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps

Georgetown students serve food at Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit. on the trip. The limited space in the Annunciation House, a refugee and homeless shelter where Georgetown students stay during the trip, is one of the main reasons for the limited size of the group able to go to this program.

“For every bed that we take in Annunciation House, that’s another bed that can’t go to someone who needs it,” said Zoe Lillian (COL ’13), one of the leaders for the trip. “It’s good to be of a minimal burden but have a big impact.”

Another area where improvement is trying to be made is the impact students have on social justice issues beyond Spring Break.

According to Erin Riordan (COL ’15), co-leader for the Workers Justice D.C. trip, many students who have taken part of her program moved on to get internships in organizations they visited during the trip.

Additionally, several events are being added to the students’ agendas both before and after the trips are completed such as ASB-wide reflections, trainings, and campaigns.

To many applicants, doing community service or immersion programs is becoming an increasingly attractive and more affordable option than other traditional spring break destinations.

“I have the rest of my life to go to Cancun with my friends, and I don’t have the rest of my life to take a week off my busy student schedule to just learn about a part of the country that I knew nothing about, about marginalized people whose voices are not very loud because they are constantly being silenced,” Lillian said.

Students are expected to learn the final decision on their applications by this Friday.

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the georgetown voice 5

WMATA proposes to bring Metro stop to Georgetown

by Claire Zeng Last week, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) released a broad-reaching, ambitious strategic plan to modernize and renovate the Metro system over the next several decades.

Dubbed Momentum, the 49page plan aims to address the major strains that have plagued the system for the past several years by widening accessibility, improving physical conditions of trains and stations, and easing congestion.

The plan is a much needed step in revamping an outdated and stressed transit system, especially in the fast-growing D.C. metro area.

In a press release, WMATA stated it must “ensure the longterm competitiveness of the national capital region and keep pace with the demand from expected population growth.”

The plan includes a proposal to build a new alignment of the Blue Line from Rosslyn that will run under the Potomac to Georgetown and extend under M St. to reach Thomas Circle.

The tunnel would separate the Blue and Orange Lines to greatly help alleviate congestion and capacity problems at Rosslyn

Miles GAVin MenG

WMATA’s proposal calls for a tunnel connecting Georgetown and Rosslyn by 2040. and bring an unprecedented subway stop to Georgetown.

The plan also has provisions for the development of multiple streetcar routes over the Potomac, as a support for the subway. In the short-term, Rosslyn is already at train capacity according to WMATA spokesperson Dan Stessel, and will become even more of a bottleneck once the Silver Line opens next year, which is in the long term, “definitely driving our desire to get other ways to get across the river,” Stessel said.

Labor under attack (as usual)

Last week, organized labor was dealt a major blow on the federal level, when a federal appeals court ruled that President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board last January were invalid.

The decision, handed down by three Reagan appointees on a D.C. Circuit Appellate Court, which breaks with over 150 years of precedent on recess appointments from Republican and Democratic presidents alike, could invalidate all decisions going back to when the three board members in question were appointed.

Appeals are surely being prepared and the NLRB—the independent federal agency that governs labor relations in the private sector—is still functioning as usual.

But the ruling is unquestionably bad news for workers nationwide, and really anybody who has sympathies for the plight of working people. The most recent incarna-

tion of the NLRB was not exactly pro-union, but it was certainly less sympathetic to business interests than others in recent memory.

Over the last year, the NLRB had issued landmark pro-worker decisions like granting employees greater protections for their use of social media; it also ruled that employer-mandated programs to resolve workplace disputes violated federal labor law, and it strengthened the process of automatic dues deduction that is so critical to unions’ day-to-day existence. Those decisions, and a couple hundred others, are now all in legal limbo.

If this case does eventually reach the Supreme Court, one probably shouldn’t take it for granted that years of precedent will necessarily prevail—especially when the case at hand concerns labor unions.

It’s disappointing enough that this rogue ruling could nullify some commonsense worker protections, but it speaks to a more

The lack of a Metro station in Georgetown has long been a barrier to accessibility and a cause for complaint from students and neighborhood residents. “We currently live on a transit island,” said ANC2E Commissioner Peter Prindiville (SFS ‘14). “Georgetown needs a Metro station and I will support plans to build one.”

However, the project could be contentious with some residents of the neighborhood. Similar ideas have been proposed before but all faced opposition important crisis: the general inadequacy of existing federal labor law to protect union and non-union workers alike. Of course, it has now become a Republican talking point to bash the NLRB as an extension of the mythical Big Labor—Mitt Romney, for instance, called it “an unaccountable and out-of-control agency” on the campaign trail, saying it was “staffed with union stooges.”

union Jack

by Cole Stangler

A bi-weekly column about national politics and policy But the fanciful rhetoric on the right masks the reality that the NLRB and the laws it oversees have always been inadequate for workers, and that the agency has been under attack since its 1935 inception.

The NLRB was created as a means to quell the militant American labor movement of the 1930s.

By bringing workplace disputes out of the streets and into the

for a variety of reasons, including socio-racial concerns. Although fellow Commissioner Craig Cassey Jr. (COL ’15) called such concerns “not legitimate,” he pointed out other potential reasons for concern, such as disruption from construction and increased pedestrian traffic on “already crowded streets,” especially M St. Cassey also admitted that “there’s a little charm to being in Georgetown and being removed [from the city].”

Nevertheless, the plan has had a positive initial reception.

Stessel said technology has evolved significantly and construction will use options less disruptive when compared to the cut and cover techniques used to build the downtown tunnel sections. “Everyone I have heard from with a reaction to the tunnel story has been very positive about the possibility of a Georgetown metro station as part of the plan,” said ANC Commissioner Tom Birch, whose district the proposed tunnel would partially run through.

Despite optimism from many officials, it’s still too early for excitement about a new Metro stop. The GeorgetownRosslyn tunnel and cross-Potomac light-rail networks are targeted to be completed only

courts—indeed a separate set of specialized courts—the agency’s founding mission was to promote “sound and stable industrial peace.” About a decade later, the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act severely limited the ability of workers to go on strike, and paved the way for so-called “right-to-work” laws to take hold across the nation.

Today’s antiquated labor law still prevents workers in increasingly important sectors of the economy from joining a union, like domestic workers and anybody classified as an “independent contractor.” In the context of an increasingly unequal form of late capitalism, where businesses have more and more leverage in all spheres of day-to-day life, antiquated channels for resolving workplace disputes and stripped down labor laws offer only limited protection for workers. When a single court ruling can so easily throw hundreds of millions of workers’ rights into jeopardy, it’s a reminder that the NLRB system isn’t adequate.

by 2040, and Stessel clarified that these expansions were only presented as “concepts” contingent on further public outreach.

Furthermore, Metro board members brought up concerns about funding ambiguities, bringing to question the feasibility of the massive expansions.

The Georgetown-RosslynThomas Circle tunnel is projected to cost $3.3 billion, streetcar connections across the Potomac are projected to cost $200 million, and Momentum may altogether rack up expenses of up to $24 billion. Unlike other transit systems, Metro is funded by a combination of the District, Virginia, Maryland, and the national government, and it is unclear how the costs would be distributed. If fiscal concerns remain an issue, all plans may be delayed and 2040 projects may be shelved in favor of completing more immediate plans for 2025.

Birch said the combined government shareholders have met funding challenges before and they should be able to do it again. But if not, although it would be worth it to have a Metro stop, Cassey would not be devastated. “Georgetown students have always found a way around,” he said.

As Richard Kahlenberg and Moshe Z. Marvit of the Century Foundation put it, “A year’s worth of pro-worker precedent has been erased in a single day; that should be a wake-up call.”

The two have proposed making labor organizing a civil right, allowing workers to sue their employers for discrimination similar to the way victims of gender or racial bias can do.

That might be a good idea in the longrun, but for now, workers and organizers will still have to negotiate through a tenuous set of laws that are far from sympathetic to their interests.

If there are any encouraging signs though, the innovative campaigns to organize non-union workers at Walmart and fast-food restaurants in New York City do offer some lessons in how to build workers’ power with the limited toolbox labor has.

Want Cole ruled invalid? Tell him at cstangler@georgetownvoice.com.

sports

6 the georgetown voice

january 31, 2013

Men’s basketball makes quick work of Pirates

by Keith Levinksy On Wednesday night, the Blue and Gray (15-4, 5-3 Big East) cruised to a 74-52 home win over Seton Hall as the Hoya defense forced the Pirates into 25 turnovers. Georgetown also held Seton Hall to just a 32.6 field goal percentage.

“Our guys really executed on the defensive end,” Head Coach John Thompson III said.

“I thought the effort was there.

The communication was there.

We were very good against what I think is a very good offensive team.”

Sophomore forward Otto Porter, Jr. registered 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Porter, Jr. went 6 of 9 from the field and has now scored 17 or more points in six straight games. Junior guard Markel Starks also shot well, totaling 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Starks was particularly lethal from deep, getting 4 of 5 from three point range.

Although the turnover total was surprising, perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the play of junior guard John Caprio.

He finished with a game-high and career-high of six rebounds to go along with four points and two assists.

“In terms of understanding how to play basketball, Cap is probably one of our better guys,” Thompson said. “As you saw tonight, he is one of our better rebounders.”

In addition, he played for 12 minutes—the most of his career.

When Caprio entered the game with 4:38 left in the first half, Georgetown was clinging to a 7-point lead.

Caprio was even surprised by his playing time.

“No, I definitely wasn’t expecting this,” he said. “Coach always tells me to be ready to go and contribute. That’s what I tried to do today.”

Junior forward Nate Lubick also made a significant contribution to the win as he recorded 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a game-high of 5 assists.

“Nate has been very good the past three, four, or five games,” Thompson said. “I thought we did a good job when we got the ball down to him.”

Lubick led a Hoya offense that passed well on the night, with 19 overall assists.

“For the most part, offensively our guys did a good job of moving,” Thompson said.

“We weren’t as stagnant as we were against Louisville.”

The Hoyas did not waste any time taking control of the game. They got off to an early 20-4 lead 8:09 into the game thanks to 8 Seton Hall turnovers. Georgetown used full court pressure and nifty passing to amass the lead.

“We came out to a great start. We did everything right at the beginning of the game,” Lubick said. “I don’t think coach expected our full court pressure to work that well. We were able to stay in it and kept that momentum going.”

The Pirates, however, responded to reduce the deficit to single digits toward the end of the half. Seton Hall center Eugene Teague made two jumpers to make the score 27-18 with 2:42 remaining the half. Teague, one of the top rebounders in the Big East, would be silenced for the rest of the game, though. The Hoyas would lead 32-22 at half.

“Our post players did a good job of making it hard for him to catch the ball,” Thompson said. “I think he is one of the better offensive post players in our league. We wanted to make it hard for him to get the ball. Our guys did a good job of crowding him.”

John Caprio pulled down 6 rebounds in the blowout victory.

MILES GAVIN MENG

Georgetown came out in the second half with a 12-2 run, essentially putting the game out of reach. Porter Jr. scored 7 points in the run.

The Hoyas were particularly motivated to win this game since they were blown out by Seton Hall last year in Newark, N.J., 73-55.

“I don’t know if you guys remember,” Thompson said.

“Last year we couldn’t stop them and we couldn’t score.”

Caprio actually attended Seton Hall Preparatory in New Jersey. This game was especially important to him.

“I remember pretty vividly losing there last year,” Caprio

said. “Some of my family members were there and were really ragging on me after the game.”

The Hoyas will look to extend their winning streak to four games and climb higher in the Big East standings as they face St. John’s on Saturday at the Verizon Center. The game starts at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS.

the Sports Sermon “I don’t really live on numbers. I really live on impact and what you’re able to do out on the field.

I really think I’m the greatest receiver to ever play this game.” - Randy Moss on Media Day With all the buzz surrounding Super Bowl Sunday, though, comes the scandal. Tuesday is media day for the two teams competing in the Super Bowl and you can always count on this day to bring out an extra dose of drama before the teams hit the field.

Ray Lewis has been accused by the co-owner of Sports with Alternatives to Steroids, Mitch Ross, of using one of their products, deer antler spray, which contains a substance banned by the NFL. Ross broke the news to Sports Illustrated, which has written a full-length feature about the company, that Lewis allegedly used the substance to quicken the healing process in his triceps after his mid-October injury.

lowing investigation, there was still no evidence of Lewis using This Sunday brings Super banned substances found. But Bowl XLVII to New Orleans, what would media day be withwhere the San Francisco 49ers out cries for attention? will be taking on the Baltimore This is where we find Randy Ravens. Regarded by many as Moss, wide receiver for the 49ers. an American holiday, and consisThis past Tuesday, Moss made tently beating its own record as the declaration that he thinks he the most watched television prois the greatest wide receiver in gram of the year, the Super Bowl, the history of football. Whether needless to say, is the most excithe was just pumped up about ing day in American sports. And being in the Super Bowl again yet amidst all the endless Super or whether he is inundated in Bowl traditions, this matchup his own arrogance, such a compromises to offer some historic ment coming from a player who moments to the annual hype. is playing for Jerry Rice’s former For the first time in the histeam is shameful. Rice is not only tory of any of the major American widely considered as the greatest sports, the two head coaches of the wide receiver of all time, but he is competing teams in a championdebatably even the greatest footship game are brothers. Jim Harball player of all time. With three baugh will be leading Super Bowl titles Pete Rose Central his 49ers against older under his belt and Da bettin’ line brother John and his leading almost all Ravens. But there is offensive categories Dookies Margin Hoyas more to this Super for his position, Rice (underdogs) (duh!)

Bowl that makes it so (favorites) towers over Moss. highly lauded over.

Moss has not Rangers Firepower Penguins One of the game’s been known for Red Storm greatest linebackers, his thoughtful Momentum Hoyas Ray Lewis, declared words, but the de49ers Ray’s Exit Ravens earlier in the season cency and respect that this would be his last. Now, This is a large shadow to for someone whose nicknames the future Hall-of-Famer has bat- cast on the exiting titan just include G.O.A.T. (greatest of tled his way into the final game of days before his biggest mo- all time) is severely lacking. It the season. After spending all 17 of ment, especially since Lewis is overinflated egos like these his years in the league with the Ra- has never failed a drug test in that tend to take away from the vens, he has become the physical his entire career. It is no wonder positive hype surrounding a and emotional center of the team. that they put the Super Bowl team. Not to say that Moss is an On top of this, the quarter- media day so early in the week, inept player. He definitely was back he will be trying to pound giving stories like these time to one of the most feared receivers into the ground is a second-year blow over and settle. in the league for about seven player with only nine total starts.

In an emotional media day seasons, but the pathetic plea Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers got response, Lewis mentioned for recognition after a lackluster the starting job when first string something quite accurate. “That season exemplifies just why he quarterback Alex Smith went is a two-year old story that you should not be awarded his selfdown with a concussion midsea- want me to refresh. I wouldn’t proclaimed title. son. Kaepernick’s performances give him the credit, to even menAt least the media got what were so impressive that even tion his name or his antics in my they came for. Despite all of the when Smith regained his health, speeches or in my moment.” egos and storylines, the focus he was not returned to the startThe same company at- should move towards the game ing role. There has only been one tempted to expose Lewis as a itself. A clash between family as quarterback in the history of the cheater two years prior when well as two of the league’s most NFL to win a Super Bowl with they named a list of athletes us- imposing figures vying for the fewer starts—Jeff Hostetler of the ing their illegal substances. After Lombardi trophy will make for a 1990 New York Giants. that news broke and the fol- must-watch final game.

by Steven Criss

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Women’s lacrosse looks past rankings Women’s basketball at .500

by Chris Castano The greatest pain in sports can be summed up in two simple phrases: coming close and falling short.

Knowing that you almost made it to the top of the podium, but just could not make that final push might be the pinnacle of pain in athletics. The only way to add insult to injury in this situation is to watch a rival team ascend as you fall away. The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team knows this feeling all too well. Due to a loss to Syracuse in the semi-final of the Big East tournament last season, when the Hoyas see orange, they’ll be seeing red.

Senior captain midfielder Kelsi Bozel made no attempt to hide the importance of the rivalry between Georgetown and Syracuse when asked about her Orange counterparts. Bozel said, “It’s a huge rivalry, especially because this is their last year in the Big East. The competition [is] even bigger this year.”

The semi-final of the Big East tournament between fourth-seeded

Georgetown and first-seeded Syracuse was fraught with drama and excitement. Any meeting between the Hoyas and the Orange is always a special occasion, but the fact that the game finished 7-6 in favor of Syracuse added to the climax of the Hoyas’ season and also exacerbated the feelings of disappointment in the Georgetown locker room.

“It was really frustrating,” said Bozel, “especially because I felt like we played so well and stuck to our game plan, so I think we’ll use that this year. Although we did lose, it was a good game. I think that we’ve learned from it.”

Head Coach Ricky Fried had a different opinion of the loss. “While we did end up coming short, I think we played really well in our last game against an opponent we had lost to 22-11 two weeks earlier,” Fried said, “They ended up going to the national championship. That perspective helps us realize that we are capable of playing at that level. It’s just a matter of focusing and playing to our ability on a regular basis.”

GEORGETOWN VOICE ARCHIVES

Sophia Thomas led the team in scoring as a junior last year.

Imbalance in All-Star voting

We’re officially in All-Star game season, with the Pro Bowl this past Sunday (the same day the NHL All-Star Game would have been played had there been no lockout), and the NBA All-Star Game set to take place in about two weeks.

Despite the fact that these games have served as a source of entertainment for sports fans for decades, many of them have recently come under fire for various reasons, such as a lack of competitive play, the voting process used to select the All-Stars, the type of players selected and when such games are held during the season. Like many of the critics of these games, I have always found them difficult to appreciate. But, I do not necessarily disagree with how the players play or when they play, just how they are chosen to play.

The main problems with All-Star games are the voting processes involved. In most of these processes, the fans play a

large role, if not the total role, in deciding who gets chosen as an All-Star.

In the NBA and MLB, they have the full power to choose the starters in the games. In the NBA, the reserves are chosen by the coaches, while in the MLB, the reserves are chosen by a mixture of the players and managers, with the final player for each team chosen by the fans from a selection of players chosen by the managers of each All-Star team.

The NHL’s system is even wackier, in that fans vote for six players while the NHL selects the rest, and then those players are subsequently chosen by two captains in a fantasy sports-like draft, regardless of conference.

The NFL has the system that makes the most sense, as the coaches, the players, and the fans do the voting, with each group’s vote counting for onethird of the total. This way of voting is best because it allows fans to have a say while still al-

The Hoyas surpassed any setbacks caused by a lingering bitterness and are looking forward to getting back on the field. Preseason polls and predictions have set the expectations. The Hoyas were selected 4th in the Big East coaches’ preseason poll and 14th overall in a poll produced by Lacrosse Magazine.

However, numbers don’t seem to be the main focus for the Hoyas at the moment.

“We haven’t really focused on the rankings yet, but I think we can use it to our advantage by turning ourselves into underdogs. More importantly, we have higher expectations for ourselves, and we just want to make it up to the top,” said Bozel.

Fried shares his captains high expectations and appears confident in his players’ abilities to keep moving forward this season. “At the end of the day, we kind of broke down the season a couple ways: we want to make sure we win the Big East regular season; we want to win the championship since it’s here; and then we want to be in the Final Four at the end of May,” Fried said.

According to Fried, the Hoyas will look to improve their confidence on the field. He knows his players have the skill, and he now says his players’ attitude will factor into their success on the field.

“I think that we have senior leadership, and the fact that we have a bit of a chip on our shoulder, not that we necessarily have something to prove, will help our mentality and help us on during games.”

The Hoyas open their season at Delaware on Feb. 16. lowing for the people that know the skills of the players best— the players themselves and the coaches—to also have a say.

With the way the NBA and MLB hold the voting, fans are fully responsible for who gets to start, giving them more power than the better informed players and coaches who only

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Alex Lau

A bi-weekly column about sports get to pick the reserves. The NHL game gives the league too much power over the players, coaches, and fans who could provide a better small market to big market ratio than the high rating-seeking and thus bigmarket player seeking NHL. The reason the voting matters is that one of the major aspects by which players are judged is how many All-Star games they have made; go to any professional athlete’s Wiki-

by Brendan Crowley On Tuesday night, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (13-8, 4-4 Big East) looked to get to .500 in Big East conference play for the first time this year, as they took on the struggling Cincinnati Bearcats (8-12, 0-7 Big East).

The Bearcats were held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, allowing Georgetown to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The Hoyas were anchored early on by the dual post threat of senior Sydney Wilson and junior Andrea White, who were dominant down low, bullying the Bearcats’ undersized defenders. Wilson and White would go on to combine for 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game.

Cincinnati, however, remained tough, led by the hot shooting of Alyesha Lovett, the team’s second-leading scorer, who knocked down four three-pointers, scoring 14 of the Bearcats’ 24 points in the first half. Georgetown guard Sugar Rodgers, who finished with a team-best 17 points in the game, led a late scoring push to extend the advantage.

The second half opened with a furious 10-0 run by the Bearcats, who seized the lead from the Hoyas before the 15-minute mark. Georgetown was scoreless in the second half until the 14:41 mark when Rodgers finally converted a jumper.

pedia page and one of the first statistics you will see is how many times they have been an All-Star. Something of so much importance cannot be left up to the fans, many of whom vote for the All-Star game without having seen many games or players.

Fan voting also benefits players who are more exciting but less talented, have been around for a long time, or have been in big markets for a long time, as these players tend to be more famous.

Therefore, players like Kevin Garnett get to start undeservedly, while more deserving players like Tyson Chandler and Brook Lopez are left being reserves (as is the case with Chandler) or left out of the game altogether (as is the case with Lopez).

One could make the argument that the coaches and players still have a chance to vote the more deserving players into the game in basketball and baseball with their control over the reserve voting, but a problem arises from this argument. The problem is that there are only so many

Georgetown received a spark in the form of sophomore forward Brittany Horne, whose hot shooting from downtown proved crucial for the Hoyas down the stretch. Horne drained consecutive threepointers midway through the second half, providing a huge swing in momentum that kept the Hoyas in the game.

As the game waned, Rodgers was involved in all three of the Hoyas’ baskets down the stretch, converting a layup in isolation, two free throws, and feeding White for a layup, guiding the young Hoyas in the tense final minutes.

Besides Rodgers’ stellar play, the game itself produced a wild final 90 seconds. With the Hoyas leading by four, a foul by Georgetown’s center Vanessa Moore sent Cincinnati’s Dayeesa Hollins to the line, where she coolly knocked down both free throws.

The Hoyas’ next possession ended in a missed jumper by Rodgers, but Moore ripped down the offensive rebound, allowing the Hoyas to call a timeout.

After a missed jumper by junior guard Samisha Powell out of the timeout, the Bearcats had two opportunities in the final 13 seconds to tie or take the lead, but each missed the mark, giving the Hoyas a 54 to 52 victory.

Next up for the Hoyas is a trip to Louisville, Ky., to take on the No. 12 Cardinals (17-4, 5-2 Big East) this Saturday at 2 p.m.

spots on these All-Star teams that even one or two bad choices by the fans means that it is tough for the players and coaches to get every deserving player onto the team. Thus, a mistake by the fans, which tends to happen with at least one or two players, means two snubs. There is no guarantee that players and coaches would do a better job than the fans, but with their expertise it is certainly likely, especially if they are not allowed to vote for players on their own team like fans are.

On the surface, such a problem seems miniscule. Technically, All-Star games are just exhibition games that were made for the fans to enjoy. Still, the fact is that the number of All-Star appearances has come to play a big role in how people view the success of a player’s career. Therefore, the proper steps need to be taken to ensure that All-Star voting is more of a talent contest than a popularity contest.

Assess Alex’s Pro-Bowl alau@georgetownvoice.com

at

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january 31, 2013

Georgetown Dance En Pointe From ballet to hip hop, dance is growing, but where will they go?

By Julia Tanaka In a not-so-well traveled corner of Georgetown’s campus, tucked in the maze that are the Village A residences, dance groups of all types find time in between classes and studying to practice in the spaces in Riverside Lounge. Nearly every night of the week, you can find one group or another rehearsing, perhaps for an upcoming show, or to perform at halftime at a basketball game. This space is Riverside Lounge—the New South dining hall until Leo’s opened in 2003—a converted series of dance studios, now fitted with the appropriate adaptations to fit a performer’s needs.

Georgetown has a small but well-established dance community that ranges from the classical and modern ballet style of the Georgetown University Dance Company to the hip hop rhythm of Groove Theory. The groups have a unique structure with faculty involvement in the Performing Arts Advisory Council as well as their ties to the Department of Performing Arts. But, despite their connections to the administration, many groups still struggle to find adequate practice space.

While the dance community doesn’t receive the same publicity as other student groups, such as the International Relations Club, Georgetown dancers feel support from other students, particularly other dancers.

“I feel like the dance teams at Georgetown are all very supportive of each other. During shows, the loudest cheers come from other dancers because we are really aware of the hours of practice, dedication, and passion that goes into every movement,” Dale Andrew Batoon (NHS ‘13), head choreographer for Filipino hip hop dance group Flip Dis Funk Dat, wrote in an email to the Voice.

“The dance culture is also very welcoming. Other students are really excited to come see the shows and help out backstage … it’s normal for our audience to help us clean up and take down lights and chairs after our last performance,” Jaclyn Markowitz, (SFS ‘14), a Black Movements Dance Theater Assistant Student Director last semester, wrote in an email to the Voice.

“You can definitely see the diversity of the student body if you look at dance groups,” Carolina Velarde (SFS ‘14) added. She is in her second year as a choreographer for the Latin American dance group Rítmo y Sabor, which performs regularly each semester in festivals like Reventón Latino, as well as in a special showcase in the spring.

There are many dance events on campus, such as the philanthropic South Asian dance show Rangila, that give students the opportunity to participate and learn about other cultures. However, Velarde feels there has been difficulty in maintaining interest and participation from the general student body in on-campus dance events. “We send emails out to the Spanish and Portuguese departments, but that just gets people who are already interested in Latin culture,” she said.

outreach, to appearing in larger festivities at the Kennedy Center or White House, as Ballet Folklorico de Georgetown did last year.”

Erica Pincus (SFS ’13) is the student co-director for the Georgetown University Dance Company. She cites the variety of dance styles at Georgetown as an important aspect of the dance culture. “Georgetown has a lot of talented dancers, which is exciting. The dance culture on campus is very diverse,” she wrote in an email to the Voice. “From hip hop, to ballet, to Irish Step Dancing or Mexican Folkloric Dance, there is something for everyone.”

***

Despite the community’s relatively small size, many dance groups at Georgetown receive

In part due to the academic credit and in part because the performance spaces on campus—Black Box Theater in Walsh, as well as Gonda Theater—belong to DPA, PAAC includes faculty advisors who are heavily involved in both the administrative and creative aspects of dance.

Faculty advisors have proved useful in many cases.

Catharine Maitner (COL ‘15), the PAAC student representative for dance and the GUDC secretary, cites faculty expertise as essential on issues from budgeting to running performances. Although each group submits a budget proposal for review at the end of each academic year, unexpected mishaps can throw student leadership into uncharted waters.

“When we had to replace Mask and Bauble’s lightboard after it

Groove Theory has been a show-stopper at Midnight Madness and game halftimes for years.

Robynn Stilwell, Associate Professor of Music and the Area Coordinator for dance added that Georgetown dance groups manage to reach out to the greater D.C. community.

“Our dancers are at a remarkably high skill level,” she wrote in an email to the Voice. “They perform in a variety of styles and contexts, and there’s a solid history of performances ranging from formal concerts, to

official backing from the DPA. This is especially true with students in BMDT and GUDC, all of whom receive academic credit for their participation in their co-curricular activities. PAAC is separate from the Student Activities Commission in approving groups and allocating appropriate resources. It fulfils the role of an advisory board in aiding student performing arts groups in development.

COURTESY GROOVE THEORY

broke last September, we needed someone who understood the technical aspects of theater.

How much should a lightboard cost? How long should it last?

I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the faculty,” Maitner said.

Velarde agrees. Many times, faculty members have sat in on her rehearsals and provided advice on specific aspects of staging. “It’s very helpful,” she

said. “They have much more experience.”

“Before I danced here, I’d never touched a light,” Maitner said. “And suddenly, I had a wrench in my hand. So it’s good to have someone who knows about those things. It’s essential to have dancers advise dancers.”

Stilwell agrees that the symbiosis between student and faculty leadership enriches the dance experience for students.

“PAAC really is a collaboration,” she wrote. “We don’t just do nuts-and-bolts administration, but we look for ways to help groups realize their goals, often working through the student leaders of the individual groups … ideas are as likely to come from students as the faculty. I’m always really impressed by the ingenuity and determination of the student representatives.”

There is also an academic element to faculty involvement.

Creative and artistic growth can be difficult without professional guidance, and Markowitz recognizes its importance: “Our dance professors are extremely accessible and work very closely with each student,” she wrote. “It’s nice that both academic companies are small because it allows the dancers to form meaningful relationships with their professors.”

Stilwell reveals that a large part of the creation of the Department of Performing Arts was to accommodate arts groups who wanted to shift towards gaining academic credit.

“The dance companies have syllabi and semester goals just like any course,” she wrote.

“So, they aren’t really extracurricular, they are now academic courses. Some of the practical advantages are also creative, like acknowledging the scholarly component in the work, but sometimes even the little things are tremendously helpful—for instance, even those taking the courses for zero credit have the meeting times blocked out in their schedules via the registrar.”

At the same time, there are many dance groups on campus that feel that gaining experience as a fully student-run group comes with its own benefits.

Stilwell acknowledges that stu-

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georgetownvoice.com dents are capable of handling many of the tasks themselves.

“There’s also still a very active and robust student leadership within the groups,” she wrote.

“They are responsible for devising budgets, creating publicity, and managing aspects of production, along with faculty, staff, and professional production people, like lighting designers,” she wrote.

Although groups that are not affiliated with DPA have limited benefits, some dancers relish the opportunity to not have a faculty member looking over their shoulder. “Non-DPA groups aren’t given priority for practice spaces,” Batoon wrote.

“In fact, they’re technically not allowed to practice in DPA spaces at all. However, I feel that with this independence comes freedom. I have always felt that the creative expression of my dance group has been unlimited; not being restricted by anything other than our own visions is liberating.”

***

Each group has its own way of putting on a show, with students often in charge of choreography and costuming.

Despite Rítmo y Sabor ’s DPA affiliation, each of their performances is completely studentdirected. “There are four student choreographers, two girls and two boys,” Velarde said.

“We often film each other dancing, and pick out a turn or a flip that we like. I often watch Dancing with the Stars to get ideas for stunts, because that’s what people like to watch.”

Markowitz explained BMDT’s creative process. “We do everything—choreographing,

lighting, music, teaching—ourselves,” she wrote. “We bring in a mix of some guest artists who choreograph for us and students who produce original works ... we always start with a theme … both the students and professionals are asked to create their pieces and choose music that would fit their personal interpretation of that theme.”

Camille Squires (COL ‘15). a member of Groove Theory, describes the production process as difficult, particularly when it comes to teaching other dancers her choreography. Absolute dedication to putting on a good show often requires time outside of rehearsal. “You practice at home … we spend the last stage before a performance getting everything perfect.”

“In recent years, [Flip Dis Funk Dat] has had a number of dancers who contribute to choreography, so when putting together a performance, myself and the other FDFD board members get a general sense of how these songs mesh and tell a story,” Batoon wrote. “Dance is a bodily expression of self.”

“It’s very rewarding to see the entire production take form through the efforts of the group as a whole,” Pincus wrote.

The work that dancers put into creating and rehearsing pieces is often the extension of a lifelong passion for dance and expression—and Georgetown has continued to give them reasons to dance. “Dance was one of my main activities in high school and I knew I wanted to continue it in college,” Markowitz wrote. “BMDT ... hosted a ‘meet and greet’ type potluck the night before their auditions.

From that experience, I realized the company was more than a

the georgetown voice 9

group of dancers, they were a family.”

“I heard about GUDC before I started freshman year, I auditioned that fall, and I’ve been a part of GUDC ever since,” Pincus wrote. “The entire experience has truly enriched my time at Georgetown by enabling me to continue my passion for dance and introducing me to a community of students who love to dance as well.”

Velarde had a different experience, coming in with no previous dance experience.

“I was actually an athlete. I played soccer in high school,” she said. “I saw the Rítmo table at SAC fair my freshman year, and I thought, ‘Why not try something new?’ Auditions were the same day as club soccer tryouts, but I’ve stayed with it ever since.”

Velarde believes the creative outlet is important for Georgetown students. Of Rítmo y Sabor’s audition process, she said, “You don’t need experience …

We look for people who have charisma and who learn the moves quickly. This spring, we had 30 people audition for five spots. It’s great to see the group grow.”

***

Although some dance groups have the privilege of receiving practice space from the DPA, the fact remains that facilities are limited for all dance groups, whose membership is only growing. What’s more, the construction of the New South Student Center, which begins this summer, will render the Riverside spaces unavailable for use for a year. The University has not presented a solution to student leaders yet, with

ROBIN GO

GUDC and other dance groups have experienced dramatic growth over the past few years.

ROBIN GO

Dance groups worry about practice space during NSCC construction. assurances that there will be practice spaces in the new center but no concrete plan for the interim. Dancers, meanwhile, are hard-pressed to think of other spaces on campus that can cater to the specific needs of each group.

Markowitz emphasized the need for adequate space to foster the social nature of dancing at Georgetown. “The dance companies on campus allow many students to feel as if they are truly part of something,” she wrote. “I really hope the department, students, and the administration find a place for dance to grow on campus.”

“They said, ‘we’ll deal with it, you’ll be okay’, but there has been no solid response,” said Velarde. “[Performance space] is a significant issue. A non-dancer doesn’t necessarily understand the specific needs of each group. We need wood floors because of the shoes we wear, and the kind of moves we do.

Everybody needs mirrors to make sure [their performance] is clean,” said Squires.

Stilwell is worried about of losing Riverside, but she thinks the loss of space could force groups into creative solutions that would prove beneficial in the long run. “Dance has space demands that are different from

just about anybody else,” she wrote. “But we’re also looking at this as an opportunity … to explore alternate kinds of performance … there could be collaborations between dance and theatre, or dance and various music groups. There really are so many options that we’re developing now that would make this challenge into the opportunity for a really special year.”

In September, Center for Student Programs Director Erika Cohen-Derr wrote in an email, “The transition planning for the New South Student Center will get started in earnest sometime later this semester, and continue throughout the spring.”

But the promise of a plan did not satisfy Batoon. “I was upset. Riverside, the very lifeline of dance, cultural shows and various other student organizations was going to be torn down,” he wrote.

“I’m excited for the New South Student Center and all that it will offer, I am just worried that the future of student organizations, the legacies of generations of Hoyas, might be in jeopardy. To Georgetown’s credit, I do know that they have been asking organizations ... what spaces they may need for the upcoming years. I’m hopeful, but wary.”

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january 31, 2012

Resolved: Energy Kitchen proves burgers can be healthy

by Natalie Magioncalda Hamburgers are my kryptonite. During my senior year in high school, I vowed that I would not eat red meat. But, lo and behold one day at a family picnic, I stumbled upon a juicy hamburger and caved. So of course when I heard about the opening of Foggy Bottom’s new burger joint, Energy Kitchen, my heart skipped a few beats.

Aiming to serve “fast food, not fat food,” Energy Kitchen offers a menu of goodies that all boast a label of less than 500 calories. The restaurant chain also prides itself on providing its customers with natural beef, whole grains, and fat-free condiments.

Upon discovering Energy Kitchen’s uncommon approach to a familiar food, I wondered if its atmosphere would be just as unique. However the moment I arrived, my stomach dropped.

Blinding lime green chairs, posters of burgers plastered to the walls, and nauseatingly bright lights are a few of the things that gave me a headache upon entering Energy Kitchen’s doors.

Trying to remain optimistic about the food itself and preventing myself from thinking about the oxymoronic nature of a healthy burger, I decided to go with the Sirloin Burger with Sea Salt Fries, a side of the Black Bean and Mango

Salad, and a Berries & Cream “Smart Shake.” The decision was a difficult one, as the menu is expansive. Originally, I had feared that Energy Kitchen’s guilt-free approach to burgers would limit my options, but to my surprise, the menu contained a variety of dishes such as salads, wraps, burgers (of the steak, chicken, turkey, rolled oats, and even bison varieties), breakfast sandwiches, and numerous sides.

Within a few minutes, my meal was ready. As the waiter approached my table with the tray of food, I noticed that the meal placed before me did not look quite as appealing as the glossy illustrations of the burgers that lined Energy Kitchen’s walls. I tried to remain unfazed, but I started to wonder if my hopes had been too high.

It turns out though that the burger wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was pretty delicious. Sandwiched between honey-oat buns, the sirloin patty was complemented by lettuce, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and a tangy orange steak sauce. I was surprised to find myself wanting more and more after each bite.

That being said, the high point of my meal was most definitely the Black Bean and Mango Salad. The mango was sweet, the chopped peppers were crunchy, and the cilantro added a nice refreshing kick

thrILLISt.coM

The interior may look classy, but you’re still eating a fattening dead cow.

to an already satisfying flavor combination.

Sadly, I cannot bring myself to praise the Sea Salt Fries and Very Berry shake. While I appreciate the fact that the fries were baked rather than fried, they were limp and lacked ample sea salt. The smoothie tasted like

thickened cough syrup, but it was more likely to induce vomiting than cure any illness. Next time, I think I’ll opt for the peanut butter shake.

All in all, I suggest that you take a trip to Foggy Bottom if you’re in the mood for some healthy grub. While it’s

Hardly a trivial pursuit

As a young child, I can fondly remember rushing to finish my dinner and guzzle down my glass of milk to get in front of the TV. “Finish your veggies, Keaton,” my mom would say as I shied away from the mound of asparagus, “and then you can go watch television.” But unlike other seven-year-olds eager to catch the latest episode of Even Stevens or Hey Arnold!, I was stoked about my half-hour daily trivia session with Alex Trebek on Jeopardy!.

I’ve always been obsessed with Jeopardy!. I’m not sure if it was Alex’s Canadian witticisms, the high stakes gambling of the Daily Doubles, or simply the fact that it gave me a chance to outsmart my parents, but since I could count, I’ve been fascinated by the treasure trove of knowledge that is Jeopardy!.

As I grew older, my love of Jeopardy! grew with me. In middle school physical science classes, I astonished teachers with my knowledge of the chemical symbol for Tungsten, W, which I’d learned in the Double Jeopardy round the night before. In high school Academic League competitions, I was consistently reminded that there was no need to give my answers in the form of a question. “This isn’t Jeopardy!,” the moderator would scold.

In college, despite losing access to cable television for two years, I kept up the spirit of Jeopardy!, wasting precious class time memorizing world capitals on Sporcle, or reading Shakespearean play synopses for that one day when I would need to know the lead female character from Much Ado About Nothing (“Who is Beatrice?”).

So, this past November, I applied to be in the College Tournament. But unlike my previous two attempts, I was invited out to Los Angeles for

a personality interview and mock game, the final steps before getting on the show. So close to realizing a lifetime dream, though, I find myself contemplating how much Jeopardy! has changed since I first fell in love with the program.

The format is essentially the same as it was when Trebek resuscitated Jeopardy! in 1984. Two rounds. 30 questions per round.

Double Jeopardy. Final Jeopardy. Theme song. All unchanged.

The aesthetics, too, have been fairly static, never venturing from the standard blue and white color scheme.

Paper View

by Keaton Hoffman a bi-weekly column about television

And yet, as Jeopardy! has continued to air its standard trivia competition, the world around it has been transformed by the Information Age. The internet and ensuing creations like Google searches, Wikipedia, and Cha Cha have revolutionized the ways we learn about our world.

No longer does it take a trip to the library and a skim through The World Almanac to find out that Mister Robberts by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan won the first Tony Award for Best Play in 1948. Google it. Facts are more widely accessible now than they ever were before, and anyone with an Internet connection can learn almost anything.

In most ways, such technological advancements are positive, but in terms of trivia competitions, the Information Age has done a lot to damage the brand. Look to the bros using their iPhones to look up the answers during Tombs’ Trivia as evidence of a lost art.

no Shake Shack or In-N-Out, Energy Kitchen has a vast selection of meals that are wallet and diet-friendly.

My only suggestion (besides steering clear of the shakes)—if the weather is nice, spare yourself an Energy Kitchen migraine and sit outside!

For Jeopardy! such challenges don’t exist, but technology has not left the quintessential trivia program unscathed. In 2011, Watson, a supercomputer created by IBM, competed on Jeopardy! against two of the show’s greatest contestants: Brad Rutter and all-time earnings leader Ken Jennings.

It was a blowout. Watson dominated its opponents, winning $25,334 more than its closest opponent in the first trial, and bested the humans by a whopping $53,147 in round two. Watson’s victory, though imperfect—it guessed Toronto as a U.S. city whose largest airport was named for a World War II hero—finally proves that, in terms of trivia, machine beats man.

So if we can no longer compete with our hardwired creations, what’s the point of being able to ramble off the capitals of Australian states or the Popes of the 14th century? A computer, or anyone on the internet, can do the same thing without spending the time to actually learn anything.

The simple answer: it’s fun.

Jeopardy! still averages over 10 million viewers an episode, Tombs’ Trivia is always filled to the brim, and nothing quite brings a freshman floor together quite like a group Sporcle session. We still like showing off what we know, even if the skill itself has been cheapened by an infinite access to facts.

And while the facts themselves have been relegated to the non-Jeopardy!-viewing masses, there’s still a skill in being able to quickly connect concepts across a myriad of disciplines in your mind. At least that’s what I tell myself to make my trip to the Jeopardy! auditions seem special.

Call Keaton a know-it-all at khoffman@georgetownvoice.com

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“I just hate you and I hate your ass face.” — Waiting for Guffman

the georgetown voice 11

Quartet overcomes off-key moments Wake and First Bake

by Theresa Wrzesinski The feel-good movie about retirees making the most of their twilight years has practically become a genre in itself, one that has seemed to reach an apex recently with the release of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Hope Springs, that Meryl Streep flick involving a week of old-age marriage counseling and its accompanying awkwardness. Though sure crowd-pleasers for the senior contingent, these films rely a little too heavily on predictable carpe diem tropes to pass the test of time for younger generations.

Quartet, Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, however, manages to avoid such pitfalls.

Set in the beautiful British countryside at Beecham House, a home for retired musicians endowed by a very wealthy composer, Quartet features a star-

studded cast that is largely from across the pond. British old-timers Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, and Michael Gambon fill out a group of acting royalty crowned by none other than quintessential Queen of Everything Maggie Smith.

Anchoring the film as the retired opera singer and diva Jean Horton, Smith expectedly never disappoints in her portrayal of a powerhouse performer. Smith’s character is a new and exciting alternative to the Dowager Countess of Grantham. She has a softer side that relates back to her reluctant retirement and age, and a few regrets of a former starlet.

However, it wouldn’t be a Maggie Smith part without a few remarks about the atrocities of others’ actions that throw censorship out the window.

Swooping into Beecham House just as they are preparing

“Oh heavens, they’ve found us. Quickly, hide the Viagra tablets!”

IMDB

for their annual gala, Horton inevitably stirs up a load of drama as the potential for a reunion with the other three musicians in her former Quartet becomes a point of tension. A rekindled relationship with Reginald Paget (Tom Courtenay) is one of the more predictable elements of the plot, but it’s quickly salvaged by the pitch-perfect comedy—appealing one-liners like, “It tastes like Christmas!” are hardly an endangered species—and the generally irresistible vibrancy of its characters make for a film that’s difficult to deny.

Quartet was originally a play

by Ronald Harwood, the Oscarwinning screenwriter for The Pianist, and Dustin Hoffman approached him in 1999 to adapt the play for the screen. Together, Hoffman and Harwood formed an unbeatable team destined to create a likable screenplay.

However, the true appeal of the film, based on its central themes, is the music—classical staples like Schubert and Verdi’s opera are there, of course, but the soundtrack also features some jazz standards.

Though not immune to clichés, Quartet manages to rise above the typical stereotypes of its genre to offer a heartwarming yet cheeky and self-aware film for audiences of all ages. Unsurprisingly, director Hoffman has managed to play all the right notes.

by Liana Mehring Of the few things worthy of a 7 a.m. wake-up, the new bakery and coffee shop First Bake at parent restaurant Farmers Fishers Bakers is one. I discovered the shop one sleepy, misty morning walking down to the harbor for some coffee and a quiet study spot.

Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., the early morning breakfast venue effectively manages to tread the line between affordability and artisanship.

First Bake offers a selection of organic coffee and breakfast drinks—fresh-squeezed OJ, macchiatos, and custom blend coffee—all under $3. Also available are some light breakfast fare of poached eggs and granola as well as other goods baked on-site including cinnamon rolls, donuts, and a special selection of bakers’ toast.

The breads, a delicious selection of Apple Walnut Raisin, 7 Grain, and Cranberry Orange are served up with a slathering of cinnamon sugar, dulce de leche butter and everything your guilty imagination could conjure. Add to those options a Breakfast Taco, Poached Eggs, and Three-Chili Cheese Bread—all under $5—and you have a breakfast menu worthy of a walk down to the harbor.

First Bake’s quality doesn’t stop with its cuisine, however.

Seating is communal, wi-fi is free, and the bakery decor is in keeping with the restaurant’s rustic, upper-crust farmhouse appeal. Long, varnished wooden tables are surrounded by chicken-wire cabinets and rows of oversized mason jars filled with bright red chili peppers and yellow corn kernels. The tables are uncrowded and the music selection wakes you up gently with soft indie acoustics and bluesy harmonics. My one criticism is the lack of outlets to complement that café’s wi-fi, which you are free to use until your laptop dies.

There are other extenuating perks, however, including free refills of the truly delicious custom house blend. As a bonus, the staff is both welcoming and helpful. When the cashier didn’t have my exact change, she undercharged me by 10 cents, which I dropped into the tip jar. The small kindness was paid forward a minute later at the milk and sugar counter where the man ahead of me insisted on refilling the half and half for me after using it up. All in all, First Bake is a pleasant place to spend your weekday morning with good food, good people, and a good cup of coffee.

Smithsonian’s Nam June Paik puts the “vision” in television

by Kirill Makarenko There’s something to be said about the guy who coined the term “Electronic Superhighway” before Facebook was around to help you keep you in contact with your roommate.

Nam June Paik: Global Visionary is the featured exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Born in 1932, KoreanAmerican Paik, were he still alive today, would be more than 80 years old.

Despite being more than twice the age of the artists at the museum’s other exhibit, 40 Under 40, his art evinces changes of the world beyond art. A pioneer who turned the idiot box of television into an art form, Paik brought a fresh perspective to an art world previously confined to still images.

I accidently started the exhibit at its end, walking into a space with bright neon lights and what must have been hundreds of televisions. I was immediately sucked in by both the sounds and the rotating videos.

Each screen ran footage of events relevant to each U.S. state.

In Kentucky, there are scenes of the Derby. In Oregon, there are clips of waterfalls. Next to D.C., there is a small camera, and inside the District, there is a handheld screen with live footage of you, the viewer.

The whole piece, “Electronic Superhighway,” is undeniably magnetic. For anyone who has an interest in digital media, this piece is shocking in all the right ways. Like good art, it tells a story while submerging its viewer into a whole other world.

Back at the start of the exhibit, there was a lineup of televisions showing still images of the kind of graphic your computer would jump

to when it went on stand-by, simple but intriguing due to the vintage feel of the monitors themselves.

The end of the hallway was decorated with one of Paik’s most acclaimed pieces, “TV Garden.”

Placed at the center of the large room, it darkens the atmosphere of the entire exhibit while bringing life to the interior of the building.

Television monitors are placed intermittently between dark green plants, all showing the same video, “Global Groove,” created specifically for the display.

I was captivated by the vision Paik so effectively brought to life, even though I’m ambivalent toward technology. Paik was different. A strong believer in the endless possibilities of human innovation, he was mesmerized by how the world could be forever interconnected.

Some of the other pieces on display include TV sets formed into robots,

as the artist’s way of personifying technology, as he is perhaps under the impression that the medium of communication itself was worth getting to know.

Paik’s style remained consistent through the years, manifest in the presence of video cameras from the beginning of the exhibit to the end. Opposite the first room of the

exhibit, the gallery put together more modern takes of Paik’s video art. Younger artists are beginning to test the waters, leaving the paintbrush for a roll of film and abandoning the canvas to make room for a new monitor.

Perhaps one day another artist will make an entire exhibit on the Facebook timeline itself.

Smithsonian american art Museum

Florida was left blank because it has never contributed anything to the U.S.

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

january 31, 2012

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

Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob, Sire An indie act’s transition into the mainstream is often fraught with risk, the familiar accusation of “selling out” typically bubbling to the surface before you can say, “radio single.” Treading this pop-laden path deftly is a daunting task, one that Canadian twins Tegan and Sara, unfortunately, fail to achieve as they make a deliberate effort to infuse more pop and electronic influences into their sound.

The new album Heartthrob delivers upbeat tracks that, at points, seem reminiscent of ‘80s synth-pop.

While this slew of songs from the indie rock duo is generally pleasant to the ears, upon deeper investigation it is difficult to find any appealing qualities beyond the very prominent synthesizer production

and trademark Tegan and Sara vocal combination.

The opening track and first single, “Closer,” is easily the best track on Heartthrob. The song is fairly well produced, blending electronic instrumentation with upper register vocals that make for a vibrant offering. Although it is somewhat exciting to see Tegan and Sara fusing pop sounds into their songwriting, the live acoustic rendition of “Closer” proves that a song stripped of synthetics packs more of a punch.

The entire album conveys relatable feelings of love and loss, with track titles such as “I Couldn’t Be Your Friend” and “Goodbye, Goodbye,” leaving very little to be deciphered by the listeners. At this point in their career, the duo could be expected to at least attempt to delve into less conventional themes in their songwriting. However, corny lines like “There’s nothing love can’t do” only leave the listener disappointed and resigned to what are mostly mediocre lyrics.

Appealing piano hooks and keyboard chords on “I Was a Fool” effectively add a layer of depth and melancholy that compensate for sub-par songwriting. As a whole, however, it isn’t challenging to notice the almost formulaic format for the majority of

Beer is good, people are crazy

After the physical stress of 11 days of straight boozing that is add/drop week, my body was in some serious pain. I had clearly had around 15 too many Hot Chicks and not nearly enough sleep. I knew that the only thing that could make me feel like a human being again was a serious detox, but I wanted my detox to be something cool, trendy and obviously not something anyone else had done before. (Because if anyone else had ever done it, I would be just like every other unimaginative soulless pre-professional Barbour coat-wearing Georgetown student.)

I had to figure out what was trending, so I hit up Twitter and sent out a few curious Snapchats.

After extensive research, juice cleansing caught my attention, but I had to make it at home and put some sort of college twist on it. Then it hit me, what I needed was a beer cleanse—nothing but beer for a whole week.

I Googled the idea to make sure it was original. Well, it turns out some crazy guy in Iowa drank only beer and water for all of Lent, but I don’t really believe Iowa is a real place—it’s way too cold and sounds too close to Ohio to be anywhere different. There were also a few German monks who had fasted on only beer back in the Middle Ages, which I think gives the detox a kind of historical ethos and exotic appeal.

Then a second revelation dawned on me; this was a horrible idea. If anything, a beer cleanse would be more appropriate as a summertime activity, when I’ll have no responsibilities and could afford to go around blasted for a week. I gave myself a week to think of something better to write about for my column or I would start my cleanse. There, this deadline would be a sure cure for my writer’s block.

Nope! On Tuesday night I was considering what my last meal should be. Should I be stra-

songs on the EP—a slow start that builds up into a pop anthem chorus, leaving little room for variety.

While the attempt to bring freshness to their sound is commendable, such a dull and uncreative approach can hardly yield an awe-inspiring result. In the end, pop is pop, and no one will remember it tomorrow.

Voice’s Choices: “Closer,” “I Was A Fool” —Dzarif Wan

Ducktails, The Flower Lane, Domino Albums seldom take the form of a holistic work—from the cover art to the music—in a culture geared toward chart-topping singles. This idea of a whole product at times proves detrimental if treated as tegic and eat a salad to cram in all the vitamins I would be missing for an entire week? Or should I fill my stomach with gum to soak up alcohol? I decided, fuck it, I’m ordering fried dumplings from Kitchen No. 1.

The next morning I treated myself to a Natty for breakfast before going to Spanish class to give a presentation. Things seemed to be going well, if anything that beer had really loosened me up and I felt

Loose cannon

by Cannon Warren a bi-weekly column about drunken debauchery more fluent than ever. At the same time, though, I knew I needed to make a game plan. Apparently, that crazy guy from “Iowhere” had lost 11 pounds in three days, but this was strictly a detox for me so I was worried about losing muscle. Since 12 ounces of Natural Light have 98 calories, I planned on drinking around 20 cans a day to keep my caloric intake around 2,000.

an end in itself. Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile’s solo project Ducktails, for instance, delivers a fourth studio album with a clear focus on unity of the LP without the benefits that often accompany such strategies. In spite of solid production and an aura best described as pleasant, The Flower Lane falls short of memorable.

The uniformity gone wrong is revealed in the cover art, a metaphor for the album as a whole.

Black and white patterned tiles meet at a corner, just as effortless indie pop merges with 80s funk and a sprinkling of electronic elements within an ethereal, psychedelic atmosphere, all wrapped in senseless lyrical repetition and rhymes for the sake of rhyming.

Even so, words do not fail Mondanile at the start of each song. “Ivy Covered House” and “The Flower Lane” begin with sentimental displays verging on true emotion, though the lyrics launch into broken record-style reiteration that drags the instrumentation along for the ride.

This pattern continues throughout The Flower Lane, though it gradually becomes less noticeable and intrusive as the album develops.

The appealing instrumentation of the LP, however, manages to I sat down on my couch with a lukewarm Natty—my preferred temperature—and set a timer for 45 minutes. Three hours and four beers later, I was hammered and getting increasingly worried about how I would teach my recitation on Friday. I convinced my roommate to drive me to Safeway to stock up on different types of beer for the week. The dreaded Safeway employee who was stocking beer took the news of my detox in stride. I asked him for beers with a high caloric count but relatively low in alcohol, adding that darker beers also had more vitamins. He pointed me toward the new Magic Hat, which fit none of my criteria.

I decided on Guinness Draught and an assortment of non-alcoholic beers, O’Doul’s and St. Pauli Girl, which I would drink before class.

I popped open an O’Doul’s in the parking lot and felt like a rebel.

Despite my shopping spree the situation was deteriorating rapidly.

I had a headache, felt melancholic, and couldn’t focus on anything.

Sick of the taste, I was now drink-

compensate somewhat for the bland lyrics. Reverberant synthesized saxophone interludes on tracks like “Under Cover” blend well with bouncing cymbals, keyboard arpeggios, and leisurely guitar solos, creating much-needed breathing room between the cyclical verses.

“International Date Line” emerges as a particularly clear instance of such salvaging. Vocals are altogether absent from the track, which contains heavily mixed, moderately crunchy rhythmic guitar riffs in front of a thin wall of sound that makes up the percussive element.

The not quite hypnotic, agreeable nature of “International Date Line” fully encompasses the effect of The Flower Lane; to become completely enjoyable, Mondanile’s smooth whispers must be allowed to blend in with the remainder of the album’s instruments. The resulting simply satisfying mix is best suited for the likes of a Starbucks, ultimately fading from memory as a more promising record plays over the coffee shop audio system.

Voice’s Choices: “Under Cover,” “Letter Of Intent” —Kirill Makarenko ing my beer as cold as possible to avoid any encounter with, God forbid, flavor. Then my roommates started eating Girl Scout cookies: Thin Mints, Samoas, coconut, chocolate, caramel… I had to go to bed to stop thinking about food.

By Thursday morning, the thought of another beer made me want to vomit. I chose to continue my fast but for practical purposes, I was out of the game. By noon, my stomach was seizing up and my headache was throbbing in pain.

Then I remembered it was Chicken Finger Thursday, and I gave up entirely a meager 36 hours in.

What did I learn? Not a lot, but that’s okay since that’s what college is all about. However, I will say that beer is actually a hindrance to fasting, that St. Pauli Girl N.A. tastes like sweet piss-water, and, oddly enough, if you bring a couple of sixpacks of O’Doul’s to a party, freshmen will drink it.

Send your ridiculous fasts to Cannon at cwarren@georgetownvoice.com

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page thirteen

the georgetown voice 13

GUASFCU: Out of Credit

— Teddy Schaffer

voices

14 the georgetown voice

january 31, 2013

In the developing world, contraceptives save lives

by Kat Kelley I used to consider myself “transiently pro-choice,” mainly because I didn’t know enough about the issue to restrict anyone’s rights, but I certainly wasn’t comfortable with abortion.

Then things started to change as I came to college and, through my studies, came to some startling realizations about women’s health.

I felt that way before I developed a greater understanding of healthcare in America, particularly the fact that millions are uninsured and underinsured. Not only that, but also that it is easier in this country to get insurance for Viagra than for birth control.

It was before I understood sex and how much easier it is to be sexually irresponsible than responsible. It is not easy to take one pill at the same time every day, especially when your insurance plan does not cover contraceptives. I was “transiently pro-choice” before I had ever taken Plan B, placed that second pill on my tongue and realized that to some I was now a “murderer.”

It was before I understood

poverty, not that I can pretend to understand poverty. However, I have developed a more sincere empathy for those living in poverty.

Importantly, it was before I understood the meaning of choice. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” If Dumbledore said it, then it must be true. There are no identical choices, and not everyone has bootstraps or even boots with which to pull themselves up.

But most of all, it was before I delved into the field of Global Health.

Internationally, 222 million women have an unmet need for family planning. To provide a clear definition, for those who pretend that statistics about women’s issues are in some way fabricated or exaggerated, women with an “unmet need” are those who are sexually active, and are not using any method of contraception, but either do not want to become pregnant or want to delay their next pregnancy.

Over 40 million women have abortions annually. 40 million. And nearly half of them are unsafe. 47,000 women die from complications due to unsafe abortion every year. 47,000.

Not to mention the 8.5 million others

who suffer serious medical complications from unsafe abortions. A total of 13 percent of maternal deaths are attributable to unsafe abortions.

Women drink turpentine or bleach, insert haphazard herbal mixtures into their vaginas, penetrate themselves with hangers or chicken bones, and jump from roofs or fling themselves down stairs because they don’t have access to abortion services.

This is what is known as a preventable cause of death. This is on us. We can’t ascribe these deaths to the long Latin names of communicable diseases. These women do not die of natural causes. These women die because of us, namely bad governance and worse laws.

These women die because lawmakers ignore science and statistics, and they ignore history. Policymakers are more concerned with the life of a fetus than the life of its mother.

These policies cannot be categorized as “third world problems.”

Less than two weeks after Reps. Joe Walsh (R-IL) claimed that in abortion “there is no such exception as life of the mother [...] with advances in science and technology,” Savita Halappanavar became a martyr to

the cause, dying because despite pregnancy complications and her inevitable miscarriage, she was denied an abortion in a Dublin hospital.

Criminalizing abortion is not a tradeoff. Save some fetuses, lose some women; there are no winners.

Rather than decreasing abortion rates, it merely decreases the proportion that are performed in a safe, sanitary manner. Western European countries, home to some of the most liberal abortion laws, have the lowest abortion rates globally, with an estimated 12 per 1,000 women of childbearing age annually. Whereas regions with highly restrictive abortion laws have rates two to three times that, at 29 per 1,000 and 32 per 1,000 in Africa and Latin America, respectively.

How one can call oneself “prolife” while striving to criminalize abortion is one of the greatest health paradoxes known to humankind.

If pro-lifers want to save lives they should take a leaf out of South Africa’s book. The country has the lowest abortion rates in the continent due to the liberalization of its laws in 1997, which led to a decrease in abortionrelated deaths by 91 percent in the first five years. Another way to save lives

This is our generation’s first chance to have a say after decades of parliamentary cabarets, media stunts, and systematic deception, but as it stands the thousands of students currently away from Italy on exchange or full-time university programs will be denied a voice. The concept of absentee ballot does not exist in Italy, and the last bill presented on the matter was in 1989.

This crucial malfunction is a prime example of the situation in a country that has incredible potential, human capital, and economic culture, but is stalled by structures and legislatures that have deeply

corroded its political culture and finances. In the past 15 years, the Italian political class has seemingly forgotten basic conceptions of political economics, domestic law, fiscal discipline, and local administration.

For over a decade, absurd theatrics have drawn the public’s attention, from Silvio Berlusconi’s private endeavors to a constantlychanging cast of political figureheads. My generation has become used to thinking of the Italian political arena as a gossip forum, a basic form of comedy that we can all point at and laugh about from the outside. Too many times, people will fall for the “macho” effect—the idea that because a man has “made it” (that is, achieving wealth by outplaying the system) he deserves their vote.

Scandal was prioritized over budgetary and fiscal policy, tales of “bunga bunga” became more important than the conditions of the labor market, and wrestling-style parliamentary fights in Rome diverted from justice reform, electoral laws, and basic macroeconomics.

A great businessman surrounded by hawkish accomplices, sleeping moderates, and mediocre opposition led a to a generation of top-down cultural distortion.

Our generation bought this political Truman Show and allowed it to carry through legislature after legislature as our finances and our welfare decayed. Our social contract was basically thrown out the window by the understanding

that decisions were to be made behind closed doors.

Now this bubble has burst. As the crisis erupted and real numbers emerged, many politicians gave up responsibility, some disappeared, and still others were never allowed a chance to make a difference. The public either found a way to continue ignoring the situation, or remained stunned, betrayed by false promises conceived in a worldview in which everything had seemed in its place. This election represents much more than an executive change or the rise of a new coalition. It represents a potential turning point in the political mindset of the country.

Many look to Mario Monti, a technocratic moderate, to lead the way in putting Italy back on track by shaking up the Catholic community.

The problem is not necessarily Monti himself, who may represent the best feasible choice economically speaking. The issue is that most people are attracted to the idea of change, not to its substance. Monti is not infallible.

Despite enhancing Italian bargaining power at the European level, he was responsible for the excessive economic belt-tightening that led Italy back into a deeper-than-expected recession. Italians should look at all candidates and try to apply their proposals and mentality to the challenges we are facing ahead, as reasonably and accurately as possible.

This election’s real potential is not the victory of a specific coalition, but the chance to shift the

is to financially support mothers and women of childbearing age, leading to a drastic decrease in rates of abortion in developed countries.

However, the most direct way to save abortion-related deaths, both those of the mothers and those of the fetuses, is to make modern contraceptive methods affordable and accessible. Approximately 80 percent of unintended pregnancies in developing countries can be attributed to unmet need for contraceptives.

Even here, we have much to gain from improving access to contraceptives. A recent study performed in St. Louis, surveying over 9,000 women, showed that providing a variety of free contraceptives decreased teen pregnancy rates from 34 to 6.3 per 1,000 women, and abortion rates dropped from between 13.4-17 to between 4.4-7.5 per 1,000 women.

Simply, contraceptives, not restrictive abortion laws, save lives.

Kat Kelley is a junior in the NHS. She is known as “Rubbermaid,” because she loves passing out condoms from her fanny pack to frisky couples.

Scandalous Italian politics must become a thing of the past

by Nicolò Donà dalle Rose We Italians studying in the U.S. are emigrants who have left our country with no fixed date of return.

We left looking for a better education and a fresh outlook on life. Unavoidably though, the heart still pounds to the beat of the noise of scooters in the street, the smell of good coffee, and the warmth of our customs. We are not nationalists—we are cultural patriots. Yet, we will probably not be able to vote in the 2013 Italian general election, which will take place starting on Feb. 24, after a dramatic decade of poor administrations and economic stagnation.

KAREN BU

Stop pretending that you’re voting for anyone besides the master of bunga-bunga.

mentality of Italian citizens. The conversation has to change. As we approach the elections, we have to talk about how to ensure that budgetary discipline does not lead to excessive fiscal pressure, about how to ensure workers representation while trying to foster social mobility and generational transition in the workforce, and about how to encourage foreign investment in Italy by reforming our bureaucracy and modernizing our justice system.

These kinds of themes should be put on the table, after over 10 years of nonsense to which we have become accustomed.

This election comes at a dramatic time. It lacks moving idealism, long-term visions, or passionate political discourse. We are at the brink of disaster, and there we remain. However dramatic, Italians have the power to use the crisis to shift the entire political arena. Regardless of how or whether we will vote, the greatest opportunity is that of refocusing on the concrete issues, for that is the only way we will ever be able to restore the sustainability of the state, and more importantly, its people’s collective future.

Nicolò Donà dalle Rose is a sophomore in the SFS. He is the president of Fabio’s fan club and hopes to join his idol on a cover.

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice

15

Evading etymology eschews the excitement of English

by Julia von Türk During Senior Disorientation 2.0 the other weekend, I found myself at McFadden’s. As I sipped a rail drink in the roped off, Georgetown-only section of D.C.’s “douchiest” bar, I wondered if my roommates might accompany me to the main area to be among the “hoi polloi,” as I jokingly put it. “The what?” one shot back. While I explained the meaning of the phrase (Greek for “the many” or “the masses”), I was aware that this type of interaction had happened before.

Occasionally I will be in

conversation, and something abstruse will come out of my mouth, usually having to do with Latin or Greek etymology. My latest insight will be greeted with puzzlement and then, more likely than not, derision.

I am fine with derision. In fact, I think it’s healthy. Derision is the mark of a true friend, preventing me from taking myself too seriously and from sounding—dare I say it—like an arrogant tool. So thank you, friends, for holding me back from the abyss of bombast.

Now back to etymology. The study of the origin of words has always been full of wonders, which is why it

CHRISTIE GEANEY

“Lax bro” comes from the Greek working laxbrous meaning “he of small brain.”

In search of lost experience

What I am about to say may shock you and shake your morality down to its very core, so brace yourself: We, as members of the Georgetown student body, are an extremely privileged bunch.

I’m not talking about the privilege they hammer into our heads from day one, the kind addressed in the convocation speech about multicolored dots and the infinitesimally small decimal of a percentage of people in the world with the opportunities we have as students on the Hilltop. I’m not talking about the kind that makes you swell with emotion when you overcome procrastination, enabling you to put on a gray shirt and yell “Hoya Saxa!” at the Verizon Center.

This kind is a subtler, more cultural aspect, and it’s about how we spend our free time.

The first time I noticed this particular aspect of Georgetown’s student culture was upon returning to the Hilltop for my sophomore year. For the past four months I’d been living at home, working full-time as a waitress at a local country club, and hanging out with my high school friends who were all doing the same kind of low-skill, money-making work. When I told this to a casual Georgetown acquaintance of mine who asked how my summer was, he looked at me like a specimen from another world.

“Wow,” he said. “It sounds so cool not to work behind a desk.”

This is the culture where Georgetown’s privilege becomes so apparent. The kind where 18- and 19-year-old college kids don’t spend their summers waiting tables or lifeguarding or stocking shelves, but at presti-

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tends to creep into my daily conversations. Be recognizing the root of a word, a deeper meaning is revealed to us.

This deeper meaning is everywhere, waiting to be unlocked.

Take the word “lacuna,” for example. We use it synonymously with “gap,” as in, “There were various lacunae in his understanding.” The fun part begins now: “lacuna” is derived from the Latin lacus, which means lake or reservoir. With this little bit of etymological knowledge, we can visualize a gap in understanding as a large body of water, emphasizing the depth of comprehension the person in question is apparently lacking. In this way, etymology enriches language.

Since we have only just begun to explore the treasures to which etymology holds the key, I will present another example. Let’s go with another “L” word: “laconic.” Gerard Butler ’s chiseled abs in the movie 300 and the words molon labe (“Come and take”) come to mind. Is that weird?

Not really, if we realize that “laconic,” meaning concise or short, comes from the Greek lakonikos, meaning “of Laconia.”

Of course we all know the capital of Laconia was Sparta, and gious, largely unpaid internships.

At least at their lowest level, these require less skill than working at Starbucks does, but look better on that all-important resume.

Unpaid internships are a privilege admitted to a tiny fraction of the population, maybe about half a purple dot. They mean that your parents are able and willing to cover your general living expenses, your housing, your food,

Carrying On

by Leigh Finnegan

A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

and your beer money (these are college kids we’re talking about, after all). More than that, they’re emblematic of a culture that values professional achievement above all else, to the point that we’re willing to spend thousands of dollars on top of tuition getting a head start in the industries that 18-year-olds think they’ll want to work in after graduation.

It would be one thing if internships were branded as the domain of the privileged, like spending your summers traipsing around Europe. But their prestige is derived instead from the illusion of the intern

if Sparta is not synonymous with Gerard Butler ’s chiseled abs, I don’t know what is.

Clearly, the root of a word actually illustrates the meaning of that word. This is fascinating stuff. But there is more.

My penchant for etymology reflects a never-ending search for cohesion in life generally.

Discovering, unlocking, revealing—these words I use to describe etymology represent a larger search for meaning in which we all take part. Sure, I bet most of us are too busy to hang around all day like Rodin’s Thinker, pondering the great questions, but we busy ourselves with those activities, classes, and jobs precisely because we find them meaningful (at least I hope we do). We may be born to die, but by continuing to live, to strive, and to love, we stubbornly refuse meaninglessness.

I am aware that Ancient Greece, and therefore the Greek language, did not exist prior to the 8th or 9th century BCE, making my trust in etymology for the source of meaning a shaky one. Greek and Latin are constructions, like any other language, implying that etymology has no absolute meaning. But what is absolute? Is anything absolute? Here, the slope gets slippery. being selected out of all possible candidates as the best and brightest, and the most worthy of the zero dollars that the company is going to spend to hire you. But the “unpaid” label alone thins the applicant pool a great deal. Think back to the college process—if a school had a $6,000 application fee, it’d be making sure that only a precious few bothered to apply.

This kind of prestige breeds one of the most epidemic and least tolerable qualities you’ll find on Georgetown’s campus: self-importance. Nothing turns a Hoya dude into a pre-professional gasbag quite like making him put on a suit and tie for work every morning at age 19. But do you know what can easily cure that king of the world syndrome, or even prevent it from starting?

Wearing a uniform and an apron.

I’m not advocating for some kind of see-how-the-other-halflives social experiment, nor am I suggesting that students let their talents and abilities go to waste by performing semi-skilled labor.

I’m saying that working for money in a non-professional setting is a healthy and valuable way to spend at least a summer during college. It teaches crucial people skills and work ethic, and getting a paycheck every week is a

Veering dangerously close to the realm of metaphysics, I will say this: we find meaning through and in our choices. Whatever meaning there can be will be found within ourselves and within our constructions. But if constructions are just that—objects or systems crafted by a being destined to die—where is the absolute meaning in all of this?

Great question. Here’s a better question: what other living organism is fully conscious of its own certain death, yet continues to work as though it will be around for longer than a millisecond in the grand scheme of the universe?

The entire human situation is one of absurdity. We have two alternatives: die or fashion something meaningful.

While you wonder how I began this piece with a McFadden’s anecdote, only to leave you with an attempt at profundity, I will return to etymology: my rejection of meaninglessness.

Julia von Türk is a senior in the SFS. Her favorite restaurant in Georgetown is Leo O’Donovan’s four Michelin star restaurant. healthy reminder of the value of your time and work.

The way I looked at it, I had my whole life to be in a career and spending some time at a job that keeps me active all day, even on weekend nights when I could be out spending my hard-earned cash, was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. This past summer, when I finally bit the bullet and took a (paid) internship in an office, I spent my days off picking up lunch shifts at the dear old country club for extra money and old time’s sake.

Of course, not applying for internships when virtually all of your peers are has its downsides.

And as I apply for jobs, preparing for my inevitable lurch from college into the real world, I wonder if I might be better positioned if I’d spent those summers serving coffee for free in an office instead of for pay at a country club. But with any luck, my interviewers will realize that I’m just as qualified, if not more so, than my interning peers, and I’ll score the job of my dreams.

If not, then my club polo and black apron are still hanging in my closet at home. As long as I haven’t forgotten how to balance four plates at once, I’ll always be employable somewhere.