10 20 2011

VOICE the georgetown

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CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FUNDING PRIORITIES DEFINED PAGE 4

FOOTBALL COMES HOME LOOKING TO WIN PAGE 6

GET SOME DIM SUM PAGE 11

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w October 20, 2011 w Volume 45, Issue 9 w georgetownvoice.com

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2 the georgetown voice

october 20, 2011

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According to Campus Grotto, there are 39 schools more expensive than Georgetown

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Minister Shri Sibal speak in Gaston

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Voice Crossword “Lunchtime in Georgetown” by Tyler Pierce

Across 1. Bring up, as a child 6. Hit the books at Lau 10. What the Senate has done 27 times to the Constitution 12. Middle-aged woman who’s still on the prowl?

14. Not on tap 15. Times of revolution when bodies are farthest away from the sun 17. Georgetown deli located at 3265 Prospect Street 19. Blvd.

20. Screws up

21. Whirlwinds off the Faeroe Islands 22. Slang term for a gov’t worker 23. “Are we there ___?”

24. Annoying biting flies 27. Name of the Senate set up

by Solon in Ancient Athens 28. Construction sight?

29. “Jai guru deva,” for example 30. Place to keep bones and skeletons 33. Rubble and a certain purple dinosaur 34. Loquacious 35. Hot winter treat 36. Bert’s rubber-ducky hating roomie 37. Senior member of a group 38. Hi-five pro from “Scrubs,” with “The” 41. Paid helper 42. “A pencil without a tip is pointless,” for example 43. Possible prefix for 55-Across 44. Not used 45. Georgetown deli located at 1236 36th Street 49. Bank robbing essential

answers at georgetownvoice.com 51. Like the Mongols or the Cossacks 52. Meager 53. Affliction 54. Cool teen from “That 70’s Show” 55. 39.3700787 inches Down 1. Snappy comeback 2. Pre-deal bets 3. One way to stand by 4. Appear to be 5. Root of the taro plant 6. Deals with 7. Essens’s river 8. “___ of Reason” 9. Popular sled dog breed 10. ___ Road, recording studio for the Beatles 11. Michael who visited Georgetown recently 12. Places to keep rabid animals 13. Relationship between 17- and 45- Across 16. Trojan War hero 18. It might be on a staff 22. “...every little thing is ___ be all right,” line from a Marley song 24. Shred cheese 25. Not

26. Whichever 27. Snoopy had a 13-Down with a red one 28. Affectionate name 29. Weapon carried by either a brutish man or a valley girl 30. “___ 11,” film about a casino heist 31. Acts like a Banshee 32. Item to buy at either 17- or 45- Across 33. “Black ___,” Richard Wright novel 35. Word before head or after traffic 37. Somewhat dark 38. Totter preceder 39. Gold braid 40. They may be herniated 42. Ski trail 43. Any flat, two-dimensional surface 45. Harry Potter’s is 11 inches long 46. Mangle violently 47. ___ of Man 48. Cheery, go-lucky tune 50. What the 5 might mean in 5/25

editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 45.9 October 20, 2011 Editor-in-Chief: Tim Shine Managing Editor: Sean Quigley Blog Editor: Leigh Finnegan News Editor: Holly Tao Sports Editor: Daniel Kellner Feature Editor: Kara Brandeisky Cover Editor: Iris Kim Leisure Editor: John Sapunor Voices Editor: Kate Imel Photo Editor: Max Blodgett Design Editors: Catherine Johnson, Kathleen Soriano-Taylor Projects Editor: Rob Sapunor Crossword Editor: Scott Fligor Assistant Blog Editor: Ryan Bellmore Assistant News Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Assistant Sports Editors: Abby Sherburne, Kevin Joseph Assistant Leisure Editors: Mary Borowiec, Heather Regen Assistant Photo Editors: Julianne Deno, Matthew Funk Contributing Editor: Nico Dodd

Staff Writers:

Nick Berti, Geoffrey Bible, Rachel Calvert, Mary Cass, Patricia Cipollitti, Emma Forster, Kirill Makarenko, Kelsey McCullough, Vanya Mehta, Sadaf Qureshi, Adam Rosenfeld, Jake Schindler, Melissa Sullivan, Nick Thomas

Staff Photographers:

Sam Brothers, Richard De La Paz, Abby Greene, Lucia He, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Jackson Perry

Staff Designer: Julia Kwon

Copy Chief: Aodhan Beirne Copy Editors:

Claire McDaniel, Kim Tay

Editorial Board Chair: Jackson Perry Editorial Board:

Gavin Bade, Tiffany Brown, Rachel Calvert, Ethan Chess, Sean Quigley, Julia Tanaka, J. Galen Weber

Head of Business: Keaton Hoffman The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

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CLUBS OF THE HILLTOP, UNITE!

Groups seek collective voice through Union For the past few years, student groups at Georgetown have been held down by near-constant struggles with redundant layers of financial and administrative bureaucracy, forcing student leaders to spend endless hours filling out paperwork. When student leaders should be devoting their time to managing their clubs, they are far too often dealing with the Center for Student Programs and advisory boards. Student life at Georgetown suffers from these oppressive levels of bureaucracy.

The formation of the Student Groups Union represents the first concrete step to transforming this unhealthy dynamic.

At last, it seems the power of the funding boards may not be absolute.

This body will be far more representative of Georgetown student life than any advisory board, or even GUSA. The SGU will include one representative from all groups that have formal access to benefits,

as well as The Corp, GUSA and the Credit Union. Groups from all five financial advisory boards will be represented and led by an internally-elected executive board that will oversee the activities of the union.

While the Union’s creation is a positive development for Georgetown, its necessity represents a tragic low-point in the Student Activities Commission’s relationship with its constituent groups. Make no mistake, this movement exists because SAC, the advisory board with by far the most clout, has been transformed into a pedantic court of arbitration for every single event clubs wish to hold. It has overstepped its financial authority and sees no problem in dictating club policies.

A major priority of the SGU must be to advocate on behalf of clubs, a job that SAC has neglected to do. SAC’s draconian funding apparatus should be the Union’s first target. Speaking collectively will

strengthen clubs that before have had to face SAC alone.

The Union’s steering committee also identifies collaboration between clubs as one of its primary objectives. This is long overdue. Committee Co-Chair Eitan Paul (SFS ’12) notes that the inaugural general meeting of the SGU will mark “the first time that student leaders from so many groups will be assembled together in the same room.” The Union will provide a mechanism where they can work together on new and collaborative initiatives that creatively bring together various interests and organizations.

The University should view the creation of the Union as a referendum on the club funding system. The emergence of the SGU demonstrates yet again that the funding process needs a complete overhaul, not just further tinkering around the edges.

NURSE MARY JANE

Support medical marijuana for PTSD victims For those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the outlook has been the same for years. Recently, new medical research has cast serious doubts on the effectiveness of the standard regimen for PTSD. A study in an August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Risperdal, a common anti-psychotic drug given to PTSD patients, is no more effective than a placebo, adding to a growing body of research that questions the effectiveness of standard treatments.

Luckily for PTSD sufferers, whose ranks have been swelled by veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a promising alternative: preliminary trials and user testimony point to marijuana as an effective replacement for Risperdal and other drugs.

Unfortunately, the government will not allow active studies on the subject to proceed. In April, the Federal Drug Administra-

tion approved a study to measure the effectiveness of cannabis to reduce PTSD-linked insomnia and anxiety. But now the Department of Health and Human Services has refused to sell previously guaranteed government-grown marijuana to the nonprofit group conducting the study, effectively halting the process.

This policy is illogical and immoral. Not only is marijuana an effective treatment for a host of physical and psychological issues, it is far less dangerous than both the moodaltering anti-psychotics that are used to treat PTSD and the host of addictive opiates we prescribe for chronic pain. Yet policymakers still treat it exactly like other Schedule I narcotics, such as heroin, that have far greater health risks.

Marijuana may be listed as a Schedule I narcotic, but it was never supposed to be. In 1970 it was put on the list temporarily, pending the findings of a government study. The

study ultimately found marijuana’s harmful effects were so negligible for non-heavy users that personal use should not be illegal.

Nevertheless the drug remains Schedule I. The story gets more troubling when we consider our servicemen and women. A 2009 study by the University of California, San Francisco found 22 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD, a measurement that is probably low since the disorder can take years to develop.

They and their families face it with little hope of effective treatment. The government would take their best hope away because the use of marijuana for legitimate medical purposes is seen as a divisive political issue.

Our suffering veterans shouldn’t have to wait for a favorable political climate. President Obama should direct HHS to reinstate the medical marijuana study, and put the needs of his citizens over the political needs of the moment.

HATERS GONNA HATE

This newspaper was made possible with the support of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress, online at CampusProgress.org. Campus Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Learn more at CampusProgress.org.

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On this week’s cover ... Recruited ex-Athletes Cover Photo: Tim Markatos

Coulter’s hate speech has no place here The Georgetown Lecture Fund has brought many respected figures from across the political spectrum to campus for free guest lectures. But its latest invitee, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, is a disappointing and worrisome departure from the Fund’s standard of speakers.

Although the College Republicans are footing most of the bill, the Lecture Fund should not have paid $1,000 to bring Coulter to Georgetown. Coulter has made a career out of outrageously biased commentary. She has a worldview in which everyone outside of American male conservatives are either ungodly infidels plotting to destroy our nation or demonic liberals hoping to do the same. Her hateful polemic and ignorant invective have no place in the dialogue the Lecture Fund aims to foster here.

The list of religious, ethnic, and political groups that Coulter has slandered is so

long that it seems impossible to recall all of them. Muslims, environmentalists, victims of the Darfur genocide, people with non-straight sexual orientations or nonChristian religious views—all of these have been subjects of her wrath. Her columns and television appearances are not vehicles for ideas or arguments; they are lists of inflammatory punch lines delivered strictly for shock value.

Some might point to the fact that the Lecture Fund also sponsored a lecture by liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, a similarly divisive figure, as justification for the Coulter invitation. But while many on the right took offense to Moore’s critical send up of the George W. Bush administration, Fahrenheit 9/11, it is silly to call Coulter the conservative version of Moore. Moore’s opinions might be politically radical, but he does not paint ethnic and religious groups in broad, slanderous

brushstrokes—his motivations are more political and less bigoted.

Georgetown prides itself on being a place where people of different mindsets and political orientations can come together to discuss issues. While the Lecture Fund probably considered its invitation to Coulter as a move toward balancing the on-campus political dialogue and maintaining this intellectual tradition, her presence at a Georgetown podium is a huge step away from this goal.

Coulter’s shtick is not a funny gag intended to expose the hypocrisy and self-seriousness of some liberals, as her defenders might claim. Her work is prejudiced and abusive, and does nothing to further the American political discourse.

The Lecture Fund should never have used its resources to bring her to campus. Coulter’s ignorant hate speech has no place at Georgetown.

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october 20, 2011

Capital Campaign launch next week, priorities defined

by Holly Tao and Rosie Bichell On the last weekend of October, Georgetown’s Office of Advancement will launch the public phase of its latest capital campaign, the final push for a $1.5 billion fundraising initiative begun in July 2007.

By the end of this June, the University had raised $737 million through the “quiet phase” of the campaign, almost half of its goal. Administrators hope to increase interest in the campaign by announcing the projects the office is planning on sponsoring on the launch weekend.

Vice President for Advancement R. Bartley Moore described the allocation of the different pri-

orities for the capital campaign as a lengthy planning process. “[It] involves deans and other academic leaders, vice presidents, and sector directors,” Moore said.

“Completely unsurprisingly, when all the different units and schools added up their objectives, it totaled about $3 billion, so we did what every institution does and we prioritized.”

The process of deciding the priorities for the funds began in 2005.

“Then something significant happened,” Moore said. “When the economic downturn began in 2008 and hit in earnest in 2009, it became very clear to us that the first priority of the campaign was going to have to be financial aid. … No one questioned that finan-

cial aid and scholarship support for students should be the highest priority.” $500 million, or one third of the funds, is projected to go to student scholarships and financial aid through the 1789 Scholarship Imperative. The bulk of the money—$400 million—will go to aid for undergraduate students, while $100 million will go to graduate students. According to Moore, the 1789 Imperative was the first publicly identified goal of the campaign, and has been a primary objective for the effort for the last two years.

Another $500 million would go toward faculty development and resources for faculty. Roughly half of that would work to endow

faculty positions through professorships and chairs, and the other half would go towards funding research, staff, and new equipment.

Moore said that endowing existing faculty positions would have a positive impact on students as well. An endowed chair that pays for the faculty member’s salary and research means budget relief.

The project “could create a budget that funds stipends and allows a faculty member to hire a student to work in her or her lab,” Moore said.

Student life and campus experience have a $200 million goal that includes infrastructure funding for the Intercollegiate Athletic Center, the Calcagnini Contemplative Center, the Dahlgren Chapel renovation, and the New South Student Center. Other goals include modernizing classrooms, building the W. Proctor Harvey medical teaching amphitheater, and updating Lauinger Library.

The final $300 million would go towards a category called “transformative opportunities.”

While the Office of Advancement will publicly announce the projects that would be included in this category during the Capital Campaign launch weekend, Moore said an example of a transformative opportunity was when Rev. Edmund Walsh started the

School of Foreign Service in 1919.

Some areas the University is looking at are public policy, environmental studies, research in neurologic diseases, personalized cancer treatment, and transactional law.

Forty-one percent of the money raised in the campaign so far will be going to the endowment. In the past, around a third of campaign funds have gone to the endowment, but the Office of Advancement is looking to invest a higher percentage of the funds into the endowment.

Advancement is also looking to diversify fundraising sources for the campaign.

“Like almost all universities, alumni are by far the most important donor segment, and we expect that will always be the case,” Moore said. “We have, however, increased the intensity of and our investment in fundraising from other sources, including corporations and foundations, so that we are leaving no opportunity unexplored.”

A certain number of tickets for each fundraising event in the campaign will be reserved for current students, including the gala that will take place on Saturday night of the launch weekend.

“I am hoping students take interest in it and understand and appreciate its role in the community,” Moore said.

DiversABILITY presents play for deaf, disabled communities

by Fatima Taskomur and Patricia Cipollitti This Saturday, Georgetown’s Department of Performing Arts will put on Visible Impact, a production that seeks to engage with deaf and disabled communities as part of Georgetown’s DiversABILITY Forum, a weekend-long initiative to promote discussion about students’ understandings of diversity through various performing arts and discussions with artists, educators, policymakers and advocates.

Visible Impact is the highlight of the forum and a collaborative effort among students and faculty from both Georgetown and Gallaudet University, as well as the Open Circle Theatre, the city’s first professional theater group that focuses on integrating disabled performers.

The idea for the project originated from a discussion initiated by Professor Susan Lynskey, who taught a

class last semester called “Deaf, Performance and Culture,” and by Richard Curry, S.J., who has been working with persons with disabilities for over 35 years.

Auditions for the play were held during the first week of school, and the first few weeks of rehearsal consisted of discussions among the cast members and faculty involved about disability.

The play is a combination of more traditional pieces as well as more personal monologues that were results of discussions by the cast members.

“It was oddly academic at times.

I’ve been involved in theater my whole time at Georgetown, and we were never given readings,” Andy Stoffel (SFS ‘12), the play’s assistant director and stage manager, said.

But the use of the term “disabled” has provoked some controversy.

Some members of the deaf community feel it misrepresents their identity by carrying overly negative connota-

tions, resenting the suggestion that deafness makes them different.

“The word ‘disabled’ itself already has so much meaning,” Heather Artinian (COL ’15), who said she is the only deaf student at Georgetown, wrote in an email. “If you say ‘disabled’ you usually mean that the person is unable to function in society like normal people. I am normal. Deaf people are normal. We just have a different language, different culture, and a different way of viewing life.”

“There are a lot of differences between the deaf and disabled communities,” said Chase Meacham (COL ’14), one of the play’s actors, said. “It’s tough to put those [two communities] side-by-side, so we did the best we could.” Meachem was diagnosed with the bone cancer osteosarcoma when he was 14.

“What we see in our cast is deaf individuals working very hard for their culture, and cast members

with disabilities working hard for their culture, and the deaf individuals do not always want to be associated with disability group just because they have gone so far to say that ‘We are not any way impaired, we just have a different language,’” Meacham said.

But Stoffel said the forum and play are meant to engage the audi-

ence in various perspectives, and prompt discussion.

“Our show is less about deafness and disability and more about engaging differences in a way that continues to expand the definition of ‘we’ by bringing everyone together to discuss this issue we achieved a level of universality,” Stoffel said. “It’s really beautiful.”

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Visible Impact brings attention and discussion about the disabled community.

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the georgetown voice 5

SGU helps club leaders move toward collaboration of collaboration they’d like to see over the next year,” Eitan Paul (SFS ’12), a co-chair of the SGU steering committee, said.

The Executive Committee of SGU will be comprised of students from the five advisory boards at Georgetown—Club Sports, Center for Social Justice, Media Board, SAC, and Performing Arts Advisory Council—who have knowledge about the institutional and bureaucratic culture at Georgetown. Each advisory board would elect one of their representatives to be a part of the Executive Committee, and these representatives would meet twice each month to discuss issues that come up for their board.

General student groups would be required to elect a representative to attend a monthly general body meeting.

Steering committee members have been making an effort to reach out to a more diverse array of leaders on campus over the past few weeks.

“It’s very important that all groups can feel like they can be a part of this,” Green said. “It’s not something people have to give their time to or make a huge commitment to; it’s an asset or resource that people can tap their time into, especially for people we haven’t reached out to yet. We’re trying to make a huge collaborative effort out of this.”

However, SGU steering committee members do not expect that all 200 student groups will become involved with SGU at the beginning. “Going forward, we do hope that we will have the vast majority of student groups represented,” Paul said. “It’s a free service. . . and it will be a lot easier for students to present issues if they don’t have the time or have a particular [concern].

SGU can do it for them.”

Paul invited Aman Shahi (COL ’13), co-captain of GU Jawani, to join the steering committee for the Performing Arts group. He mentioned competition among performing groups for reserving rehearsal space and said SGU can potentially put these groups in contact and petition to SAC for them on any issues they have.

However, SGU steering committee members emphasize movement away from advocacy.

“Having each other’s contact information will allow students to share calendars and talk informally about when it’s smart to book the rehearsal space,” Shahi said, adding that he views the group as a way to “facilitate discussion outside the bureaucratic structure.”

Green said the utility of SGU in the future is very clear. “It just makes sense to have a way for all these different leaders who are

Coulter incites criticism

conservatives brought to campus.

In 2006, former Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith received a very chilly reception when he joined the Georgetown faculty.

Some of his fellow professors referred to Feith, who had been one of the proponents of the war in Iraq, as a war criminal.

Yet Madeleine Albright, a former Democratic Secretary of State, and Tony Lake, a Democratic Na-

by Vanya Mehta This Sunday, the newly created Student Group Union will have its first meeting in Copley Formal Lounge. Approximately 50 student groups have already signed on to be part of the group, and organizers hope that new groups will come and formalize their commitment to the SGU at the meeting.

Created in response to longstanding frustrations with the way money is allocated to student clubs, the 10 students behind SGU hope to create a network for communication between club leaders. They say that many student groups work together, but do not have a readily available way to communicate with each other.

“Right now, if you want to put a SAC group in contact with a Performing Arts group, it’s hard to do unless you know someone who works there,” steering committee member Emma Green (COL ’12) said. “There is no formalized mechanism by which they can collaborate.”

At the first SGU meeting, one steering committee member will be sitting at each table to speak to students about student group concerns and ideas about how to foster communication.

“The kick-off [this Sunday] is aimed at all students to come together and talk about what kind

Last week, the announcement that the Georgetown University College Republicans and the Georgetown University Lecture Fund was bringing conservative pundit and commentator Ann Coulter to Georgetown set off a firestorm of criticism from students.

Within a few days, Marissa Brogger (SFS ’13) created a Facebook event titled “Hate Has No Place Here: Oppose Ann Coulter’s Visit to Campus.”

“I started the Facebook event opposing Coulter’s visit to campus not only because I feel personally offended by much of what she says, but more importantly because she uses bigotry and alienation of minority groups in order to justify political positions,” Brogger wrote in an email. “Progressive political dialogue means disagreeing. It doesn’t mean spewing hateful sentiments.”

Coulter is well known for provoking audiences with offensive statements. Coulter once implied that a group of 9/11 widows was enjoying the celebrity status caused by their husbands’ deaths.

She has also said that people of the Jewish faith can be “perfected” to Christianity, and that she believes that homosexuals can “pray the gay away.” Coulter is crude, crass, and offensive. Even many conservatives, like myself, do not like her.

But that does not mean that the GUCR and Lecture Fund should not be allowed to bring her. (Full disclosure: I was Chairman of the Georgetown College Republicans last year and have no affiliation with bringing Coulter to campus.)

The outrage over Coulter’s appearance on campus further illustrates the double standard for

Saxa Politica

by Geoffrey Bible

A bi-weekly column on campus news and politics tional Security Advisor—both of whom oversaw several controversial actions by the American government—joined the faculty without any uproar.

Two weeks ago the Lecture Fund brought liberal filmmaker Michael Moore to campus. There were no protests, no Facebook events decrying the significant

doing different things but are ultimately working to make Georgetown a more vibrant community to communicate,” said Green. “It makes sense for all of them to be in contact.”

Although GUSA members Greg Lavarriere (COL ‘12) and Bridget Power (COL ‘12) assisted in the creation of the group, Green said GUSA is merely an SGU constituent, and would get one vote just like every other group.

“The important thing to note is that this is not another activity nor is it student governance. We

are not seeking at all to replace GUSA,” Green said.

When asked why GUSA hasn’t taken on the effort itself, Laverriere said there was an important distinction.

“While GUSA is tasked with representing the average student, this is meant to represent the average student group,” he said. “It can’t be any one student organization facilitating this. GUSA may want to advocate for a change, but other students on campus might be advocating for the same change.”

Eitan Paul looks to include more student group leaders in SGU. amount of student activities fee money spent by the Lecture Fund to bring Moore to Georgetown.

The Lecture Fund also spent $10,000 to bring Moore to campus in comparison to the $1,000 that they are spending to bring in Coulter.

A number of those decrying Coulter’s visit claim that what she says goes against Jesuit ideals and therefore the GUCR and Lecture Fund should not be allowed to bring her to campus. Many of Coulter’s statements, especially those concerning religions other than Christianity, certainly go against the Jesuit ideal of being open to other religions.

However, where were these cries about Jesuit values when Moore was invited to campus?

In a 2004 interview with British newspaper The Guardian the filmmaker said, “There’s a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled. Religion is the best device used to mislead

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them.” Without a doubt, attacking the concept of religion goes against Jesuit ideals.

Students, faculty, and administrators have the right to complain about groups bringing speakers to campus who violate the concept of Jesuit values. However, those who wish to complain about a speaker violating those values should stand up against all of the speakers brought to campus that violate these values.

Using the concept of Jesuit values as a straw argument for complaining about a speaker with whom one disagrees undermines the concept of these ideals that our university holds dear. Ann Coulter is offensive and unapologetic about it, but that does not mean she does not deserve to be invited to speak on our campus.

Let Geoffrey know how you like your conservatives on campus at gbible@georgetownvoice.com

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october 20, 2011

Hoyas come home with chance at major milestone

by Kevin Joseph Last October, then-senior running back Phillip Oladeji waltzed into the end zone in the fourth quarter, giving Georgetown its first Homecoming game victory since 2006. The 17-7 victory against Patriot League rival Holy Cross brought real excitement back to Multi-Sport Field for the first time in over a year and a half.

After putting together a gritty 5-2 start to this season since moving up to Division I, the Hoyas look to build a new Homecoming tradition with a win against Colgate on Saturday.

Oladeji is still on campus, now a Georgetown nursing graduate student. He recalls last season’s Homecoming win vividly. “I remember the stadium being packed––we hadn’t won Homecoming in a while,” he said. “I will miss … just the bond with the guys, being able to celebrate our win together.

It’ll be fun to watch from the crowd.”

Saturday’s contest marks one of the most important contests of head coach Kevin Kelly’s tenure. With a win this weekend, the team could solidify its standing with an often skeptical fan base and clinch a winning record for the season, which would be a first for a Kelly team.

Though Kelly maintains his steady week-by-week approach to the season, he recognizes the importance of the game and the excitement of his team.

“We’re excited—home after five weeks, it’s Homecoming,” he said. “It’s also a Patriot League game—Colgate is a

tough team, going to be a tough ballgame.”

With the ascent of juniors Isaiah Kempf, Max Waizeneger, and Rob McCabe, Oladeji believes the best is still to come from this team, which he played a crucial role in mentoring.

“I’ve heard even more confidence expressed in themselves,” he said. “I think early on they were a little timid, being early in their college careers, but now they know what they’re doing, and they’ve really grown under the leadership of [offensive coordinator] Coach [Dave] Patenaude.”

Kelly, meanwhile, is not surprised by the play of his juniors this season, having watched them mature as players.

“It’s experience,” he said, “year older, bigger, faster, stronger, and another year in the system. All of these things cumulatively contribute to them being better.”

The Hoyas are coming off their best fourth quarter of the season, breaking open a defensive battle against cross-town rival Howard to win 21-3. A touchdown pass from running back Jeff Burke to Tucker Stafford brought Hoya fans to their feet. Another by Kempf to junior Wilburn Logan followed a McCabe interception and iced the Mayor ’s Cup for the Hoyas.

Riding a two-game winning streak, Georgetown’s battle with Colgate features arguably the best running back in the Patriot League in the Raiders’ Nate Eachus. But the senior tailback has been injured with a concussion and may not play.

His presence could make a big difference for the Colgate offense, though Kelly is confident in his defensive unit, starting with his defensive line.

JULIANNE DENO

The Hoyas need to wrap up the Colgate running game to secure their winning season.

“They’re eating up a lot of blockers; it really allows [the linebackers] to make some plays,” he said. “Football—there are a lot of moving parts, it’s not just one guy, and we’re getting a lot of production from our front.”

Aside from Eachus, Colgate has a number of injuries on their offensive side. Kelly said

the Hoyas will not adjust their game plan significantly based on these injuries because of the strength of the Raider coaching.

“Their offense is one where they just plug in guys,” he said. “[Eachus] is a great player, but they have a great scheme. We’ve just got to move on. They’ve had injury issues all year.”

Campus is gearing up for Homecoming, but a decisive victory against the Raiders this Saturday would put an exclamation point on the semester’s most exciting football weekend. The Hoyas’ opportunity to clinch a winning record for the first time as a Division I team kicks off at 2 p.m. at Multi-Sport Field.

the Sports Sermon “Name them all, and then punch yourself in the face.”

— Washington Post columnist Dan Steinberg on the Redskins’ quarterbacks of recent years as other sports have become more popular and accessible, and subsequently, we’ve stopped caring.

This year, the volume of World Series coverage is lower than ever, with news of ongoing NBA lockout negotiations and minutiae of the NFL regular season dominating the consciousness of sports fans. Baseball has been fundamentally supplanted as the national pastime, with even its finest occasion taking a backseat to in-depth fantasy football analysis.

But why is there suddenly so little interest in the Fall Classic?

The “experts” have branded this series as a demonstration of parity in baseball, with two small-market teams giving impartial viewers a breath of fresh air from the ludicrous offseason spending of the

the game’s best in Albert Pujols, arguably the finest player of his America has its sporting prigeneration. They also have a postorities all mixed up. News of quarseason ace in Chris Carpenter, who terback Carson Palmer’s trade to showed he was ready to quiet the the Oakland Raiders dominated mighty Texas bats in six strong inheadlines and SportsCenter all nings in Game 1, leading the Carday Tuesday. The debate raged dinals to a 3-2 victory. around whether the Raiders gave Still, even with some of the up too much and how the Bengame’s best athletes on display gals, his former team, were reactand with everything to play for, ing to his departure. All of this people outside of the Dallas/Forton the day before the start of the Worth and St. Louis areas couldn’t 107th World Series. Baseball has care less about this title bout. never been so belittled in AmeriWith no lack of storylines or can sporting culture. stars, the disinterest in this series is To make matters worse, this proof of a larger movement away week’s baseball news was shroudfrom baseball as a mainstream ed in negativity. Stories of the Red sport in this country. The Super Sox late-season implosion and Bowl has long outperformed the Dwight Gooden’s drug binge durWorld Series in TV ratings, and ing the Mets’ 1986 championship more of America’s youth are turnparade were the most ing to basketball compelling storylines and soccer before Pete Rose Central in what should be a acquainting themDa bettin’ line celebratory week for selves with a basethe sport. ball diamond.

Dookies Margin Hoyas Game 1 of the What used to be (underdogs) (duh!)

World Series used to (favorites) cherished as a timebe a day of profound less and free-flowing Rangers Home field Cardinals meaning in this coungame full of beautiMcNabb A future Ponder try. In the early part ful intricacies have Mizzou of the century, shops 1-2 in Big 12 been condemned as SEC would close as worktedious, boring, and ers gathered near scoreboards set Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox. The drawn-out affair intended for seup in city squares, so people could series has all the characteristics of niors wanting to wax poetic about witness the action relayed by tele- a classic match-up, one that should the good ol’ days. Extra innings graph. Public schools screeched to surely honor rich tradition of Ma- induce feelings of frustration, a halt as entire classrooms huddled jor League Baseball. rather than excitement. Pitching around radios, with teachers and In the road dugout we have duels are lamented for the batters’ students gripped by the drama. the hard-hitting Texas Rangers, futility, rather than the hurlers’ exThe series was the talk of the town seeking their first world champi- pertise. Bunts and small-ball are and nothing, let alone another onship after falling just short last discouraged in favor of swinging sport, could take the public’s atten- season. With a roster of home- for the fences. tion away from the annual culmi- grown talent, they slugged their Viewers are on a quest for innation of the national pastime. way past two red-hot teams and stant satisfaction, something baseBut the World Series has be- look like an imposing force head- ball is not intended to provide. I come an afterthought for many ing into the series. can offer no answers to baseball’s modern sports fans, and the event The St. Louis Cardinals enter dwindling popularity, only sorrow seems to have devolved into a the series as the underdog after at the loss of one of the common shadow of its former self. The clas- an inconsistent regular season. interests that united us as Amerisic series storylines that formerly Unlikely heroes like David Freese cans. Baseball will live on, but captivated our discussions have and Jason Motte have propelled its unique place in our culture is lost precedence, while baseball the Cardinals’ postseason suc- dead and has been for some time. greats don’t possess the same star cess, despite a dearth of proven I just never thought Carson Palmer power in our culture that they major league talent on the squad. would be the one to finally make once did. We’ve stopped watching At the plate, of course, they have me realize it.

by Daniel Kellner

sports

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Soccer battles Big East chaos

by Abby Sherburne For women’s soccer, there’s not another conference quite like the Big East. That was clear last weekend, when Georgetown knocked off defending national champion Notre Dame in a game categorized by typically unpredictable Big East play.

Sunday’s contest against DePaul was a solid 2-0 win for the Hoyas, bringing their record to 13-5-0 on the season and 7-3-0 in the Big East.

The 3-2 upset against Notre Dame on Friday was decided by a pair of own goals, with the decisive score coming late in the second half off the head of a Notre Dame defender. While some may see this 3-2 victory as less legitimate given the sloppy play of the Fighting Irish, the Hoyas are taking the win in stride.

“Winning in the last 13 minutes on a controversial goal, that’s fun,” senior forward Samantha Baker said. “That’s why I love playing.”

Since 1991, Georgetown soccer has called the Big East home, but the announcement that Syracuse

and Pittsburgh will be leaving the conference has called the league’s future into question.

“I love the Big East Conference,” head coach Dave Nolan said.

“There’s so much respect. I really don’t like to see teams leaving, it’s like friends leaving.”

Nolan has been partial to the conference for a long time, playing for Seton Hall, and now coaching the Hoyas. His familiarity with the Big East makes these changes sentimental on some level. But he is realistic about the factors that led to the shift.

“In the big picture of things, women’s soccer doesn’t make those decisions,” he said.

The Big East will sorely miss the departing members, but while it won’t be the same, the league remains imposing.

Arguably the most competitive women’s soccer conference, the conference boasts the defending national champion, Notre Dame, as well as No. 5 Marquette and No. 18 West Virginia.

ABBY GREENE

Samantha Baker and the Hoyas have kept their focus despite the Big East drama.

Schwartz’s fighting spirit Last Sunday, an extremely well played game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers concluded with an interesting post-game tussle between Niners coach Jim Harbaugh and Lions coach Jim Schwartz, with both men attempting to fight in a sea of players after Harbaugh’s postgame handshake seemingly offended Schwartz.

In the aftermath, some commentators have proclaimed that Schwartz ought to be fined or reprimanded for his actions.

But such a display of personality and drive by a head coach is completely justified. In fact, coach Schwartz’s attitude has been a major factor in the Lions great start this season, demonstrating that a coach’s demeanor has a direct impact on a team’s success.

Three years ago, Schwartz, a Georgetown alumnus (COL ’89), took over the Lions after the team completed the first 0-16 season in NFL history. Immediately, it was clear things would be different with Schwartz at the helm. He cut players that weren’t entirely committed to making the Lions a winning franchise, and drafted players to fit his coaching philosophy.

On the sidelines, the former Hoya linebacker is both a calm manager and fiery cheerleader of sorts, fist pumping and chest bumping with his players after great plays. His no-nonsense attitude, combined with his unbridled emotion during games, has helped return the Lions to respectability, with a 5-1 record this season after Sunday’s loss.

“We’ve obviously had good representation through Notre Dame’s national championships,” Baker said. “They’re a top program and I think the rest of the league is stepping up to meet that expectation that the Big East is going to be tough soccer. You’re not just going to be able to come in and walk over one of the top teams.”

Georgetown is making their case as one of those top teams. After reaching the Elite Eight last year, the Hoyas have a bit of a target on their back.

“I think we’ve done a good job of overcoming being the hunted team this year,” Nolan said. “We’ve still managed to get to where I hoped we would be at this point in the season. I think you’ve got to give credit to the kids for staying on task and finding ways to win games.”

Transition among the top teams is not uncommon in the Big East.

Upsets are frequent, and physical games are commonplace. Nolan said that each year is different, and that anticipating anything other than the next game is futile.

Baker finds satisfaction in the difficulty of the league.

“It’s fun to be a part of the Big East,” she said. “It’s fun soccer. Yeah, you could go through some other league and be the top team in the league and go and win every game handily and not really have any competition but that’s not fun.”

Baker and the Hoyas will wrap up the regular season against Villanova this Friday. From there, the women will gear up for the Big East tournament before hopefully capping the season off with a return to the NCAAs. Kickoff for Friday’s Senior Day game is set for 2:30 p.m. on North Kehoe Field.

A loss at home to the 49ers must have been devastating by itself, but an extra hard slap on the back and some extra words from opposing coach Harbaugh sent Schwartz over the edge. He charged after Harbaugh and players crowded to separate Schwartz from the 49ers coach.

Double Teamed

by Adam Rosenfeld

a rotating column on sports The impact of a coach’s actions and demeanor on his organization and players ought not be underestimated. A quick look at two established teams in the NFL demonstrates a coach’s ability to create the culture of an organization.

Rex Ryan has brought the New York Jets to the AFC Championship game in two straight years. Ryan’s person-

the georgetown voice 7

Hockey ices opposition

by Melissa Sullivan Since participating in D.C.’s first college hockey game in 1938, the Georgetown club ice hockey team has sustained a winning pedigree, drawing talent from around the world to represent the Hoyas on the ice.

The team is off to a 3-2 start this year, having defeated local rival George Washington for the second time this season last Friday before shutting out NC State on Saturday night.

The Hoyas notched seven goals in each match, led by the impressive link-up play of senior captains Lukas Autenried and John Ryder. Autenreid registered a hat trick last Friday with all three assists coming from Ryder.

Success is nothing new to the storied Georgetown program. As part of the Division III Mason-Dixon Collegiate Hockey Association, the program excelled, winning league championships in 1997, 1999, and 2000.

They spent the 2001-2002 season participating in the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament before joining their current home, the ACCHL, in 2003.

They’ve since won three more titles to establish themselves as one of the league’s elite programs.

Captain Alex Yale-Loehr said the program has continued to grow during his four years on the team. “We have worked hard to establish good relationships with the local rinks,” he

ality is as big as his gut, and he’s not afraid to use it. In each of the past two seasons, Ryan has predicted that his team will win the Super Bowl, and he’s never afraid to proclaim that he has the best players in the league. He is also not shy about his own talents, describing how he wants to outcoach Bill Belichick whenever the Jets and Patriots play.

But while Ryan’s attitude has produced results, it has perhaps also bred a culture where players make unnecessary comments to the media, as was the case with Santonio Holmes calling out his offensive line for poor play this past week.

The Patriots are a clear foil to the Jets, as Belichick’s reserved, no nonsense demeanor is reflected by the actions of his players. Before arriving in Foxborough, Randy Moss was a loud-mouthed wide receiver seemingly past his prime. In

wrote in an email, “which has been great … for the program as a whole.”

Unlike their competitors who practice at least twice a week in a rink, the Hoyas only practice on the ice once a week.

To compensate, Yale-Loehr notes that the team uses unconventional techniques to keep their conditioning up, including spinning classes at Yates Field House.

Since hockey is a club sport, the team members are responsible for setting up the season schedule, uniforms, and transportation.

“Most of the work has come in making sure kids are motivated and that the daily operations run smoothly,” Yale-Loehr wrote.

The club maintains a strong alumni network through a booster club headed by Stan Lechner. On a weekly basis, Lechner emails parents and past alumni of the team to keep them posted about the team’s season.

“The alumni have been tremendous,” Lechner said.

The team plays an alumni game every year in thanks for their dedicated support.

The team crushed the defending ACCHL champions NC State 7-0 last weekend, outshooting their opponents 52-17.

It’s the sort of win that gives the Hoyas great confidence going forward.

“I think we have great talent this year, a lot of depth, and a fun group of guys,” Yale-Loehr wrote. “All the signs are pointing in the right direction.”

New England, he was once again electric on the field and by all accounts was a great teammate off it. Such a culture can only be instilled through the head coach.

Consequently, Schwartz’s passionate behavior at the end of Sunday’s battles should not be condemned. He has instilled a determined, winning environment in Detroit with his competitive attitude. Such a moment might not look pretty on film, but it could do wonders for the Lions, who will look to right the ship immediately as they seek their first playoff appearance this millennium. Schwartz demonstrated to his players that the franchise has been disrespected for too long, and that it will not be tolerated. The Lions are not pushovers anymore.

Butt heads with Adam at arosenfeld@georgetownvoice.com

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8 the georgetown voice

october 20, 2011

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Turning in the jersey Student-athletes call it quits

by Nick Berti KATIE WING

Former Georgetown soccer player Claire Fuselier (MSB ‘13) had her fair share of experiences on the field for the Hoyas in her first two years on campus. Unfortunately, most of those moments weren’t the ones that made headlines.

Fuselier, who described herself as more of a practice player, entered 12 games as a substitute and quit the team after her sophomore year.

Although collegiate sports have the ability to create national superstars and campus heroes, stardom is only a fraction of the picture. There are thousands whose play does not get recognized. The struggle to balance the rigors of Division I sports with academics, with a social life, and with the search for post-graduation plans— which, for this group, usually doesn’t include the chance to play professionally—can be a lot to handle.

Fuselier ’s is just one of many different stories. Unlike some of her teammates, she hadn’t come to Georgetown expecting to be a star on the team. The defender came onto the team from a unique situation—she hadn’t been formally recruited by head coach Dave Nolan. Fuselier had been accepted to Georgetown on her own and expressed interest in playing soccer on the Hilltop.

Luckily for her, the coach of Fuselier ’s local club team knew Nolan because his daughter had been on the team. Needing players, Nolan offered Fuselier a chance to play on the team after talking with her club coach.

“I had a spot even before Dave had seen me play,” she said. “Technically I walked on, but I still went through preseason and everything.”

After that, she was expected to devote as much effort to the team as her recruited teammates. The Hoyas had an exciting run to the Elite Eight in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and went to Brazil the following March to train. But after playing through a great time in the program’s history, Fuselier took a step back and thought about her future on the team and whether she ultimately wanted to be a part of it.

“When I was starting to think about it, I knew, for instance, that I was seriously considering studying abroad and that’s something that isn’t very compatible with Division I athletics,” she said. “I knew I wanted to focus a little more on academics the last two years.

There were a lot of factors but at the same time I loved the sport and a lot of my friends were still there.”

Making such a huge decision wasn’t easy for Fuselier.

She made sure to talk with her teammates, Nolan, other coaches, and her family. After consulting everyone she could think of, there was only one person that could make the move.

“In the end it’s really your decision and people leave for different reasons,” she said.

“My reasons just happened to be more academic, more personal than anything else. It was a tough decision.”

PURSUING OTHER INTERESTS Fuselier ’s story, while unique in some ways, is one

that has been heard on every collegiate team before, whether by coaches or athletes. But because of Georgetown’s rigorous academics, it’s even more common here, for both walkons and recruits.

Rowing has a much more limited scope. Rowers only make up about 2 percent of college athletes, according to the NCAA. Because of this, some take up the sport in high school to look more desirable to colleges. Still, there are many who row because they like it and see the admissions process as secondary. That’s where Taylor

Dana (NHS ‘12) fits in.

Dana, who rowed for four years at St. Ursula Academy in Ohio, was interested in Georgetown even without being formally recruited. It wasn’t until she made up her mind to apply that she contacted Glen Putryrae, the women’s rowing coach at the time, who has since left Georgetown. Dana wanted to see what it would take to join the team. She let Putryae know that she was fully committed if he wanted her.

Six months later, in the fall, Dana applied during the early action period, even though she

MAX BLODGETT

Inside McDonough Gymnasium, Georgetown’s coaches work to recruit and retain top-notch student-athletes.

MAX BLODGETT

Claire Fuselier decided that that there was more to life than soccer. was told that crew couldn’t help her gain admission then.

After she was admitted, she was then treated as if she had been recruited because of the commitment she had made earlier in the process. During the three years she was on the team, Dana usually rowed in the second Varsity boat, but occasionally rowed in the first boat. She said the experience that collegiate rowing gave her was a valuable one and a great step after rowing in high school.

“High school rowing was a big thing for me, and I thought it would be an awesome thing to be on a team in college, which it was,” Dana said. “I learned a lot from committing my time to that sport for as much as I did.”

After rowing her first two years at Georgetown, Dana missed some time in the fall of her junior year after having her appendix removed. In the spring, she decided to go abroad, since it was something she planned on doing ever since coming to Georgetown.

“I talked to the coach at the beginning of the fall saying, ‘I need to go abroad, I need some time away,’” Dana said. “I kind of put it on the

back-burner when I started rowing.”

Dana said that her coach was fine with the decision, but made sure she knew that she was missing the important spring season and it’d take a lot of effort to keep up her fitness to come back senior year.

Even after getting back from studying abroad, Dana was committed to making a return to the team. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt like dropping rowing.

“Being abroad in the spring, which is the biggest season, I missed so much of team bonding [and training],” she said. “It was an easy out.”

Putryrae also left Georgetown the same summer Dana decided to quit, so there were no real consequences of her leaving, at least from the coaching staff. She said the freedom she felt abroad, combined with the time she’d have to spend improving her fitness, were two main factors of her decision.

AN EARLY OUT Even though she left the team before graduating, Dana stayed on longer than many of her other teammates.

Her teammate during the fall of freshmen year, Alex Kloppenburg (COL ‘12) had a similar experience in high school. Like Dana, Kloppenburg rowed in high school and was committed to continue rowing when she came to Georgetown.

Putryae wouldn’t support her with a bid and waited until after she was accepted to offer her a spot on the team.

“I just submitted my application and ended up talking to Coach Putryae after I submitted my application, saying ‘I’m really interested in rowing, I’m really interested in Georgetown,’” Kloppenburg said.

Kloppenburg said that her experience rowing in high school at Middlesex School in Concord, Mass. was a lot less intense than what she found at Georgetown. Middlesex’s crew season was only two months long, only had “fours” instead of the more traditional eight-seat boat, and wasn’t focused on doing any additional work outside the water. The difference caused her to make a decision to quit after the fall of her freshmen year.

“It takes up so much time, and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to do other things,” Kloppenburg said. “But the one factor that I would say was hard about it was leaving the team.”

Although she decided early in her career to quit, it wasn’t an easy, black-and-white decision. In fact, she didn’t quit at first, she just wanted to take a break and evaluate her stance.

When she made the final decision to leave, Putryrae was somewhat resistant, but there wasn’t much he could do. She said that decision ultimately made her college experience better.

the georgetown voice 9 school’s tough academic standards, Kelly sees it as more of a selling point to hundreds of recruits for whom academics as a priority.

But early in the process, it’s sometimes hard to tell which players will stay on the team for the long haul.

“Each coach will have 200 players that they’re actively recruiting, so you’re talking about eight coaches,” he said.

“Then we whittle it down to a class of about 25 to 30. It’s hard to get to know each kid, so you never know when they get here; some decide that maybe football’s not quite as important as they thought it was.”

That inexact science puts a lot of pressure on the program, and the fit is rarely completely right.

For football players, there is also no financial incentive to stay on the team, because the Patriot League is a nonscholarship league. Any assistance a player receives is either from a grant or financial aid. Because of this, Kelly has to give other reasons to stay on the team.

An important incentive for

players is the future business contacts they will get after coming out of the program.

The Hoya Gridiron club has a mentorship program that matches up football alumni that work in the same fields that graduating seniors want to pursue. These alumni understand the dedication college sports require.

“If you stay with a Division I football program for four years, I think it helps you down the road as far as potential employers,” Kelly said. “You played a Division I sport; they understand the time commitment that you put into it.” Kelly said sometimes it’s the players who don’t have as much playing time—but who also don’t give up—who look the most valuable to future employers.

“I respect the guys that stick it out and may not play much. I always remember those guys,” Kelly said. “It’s easy to remember the guys that play, because it’s easy to be here. The guys that don’t play so much, that stuck it out four years—those are the guys that you respect the most.”

CONVINCING PLAYERS TO PLAY Georgetown’s head football coach Kevin Kelly has seen a few reasons why players end up walking away from the sport. He said students frequently tell him, “My heart’s not into it anymore.

It’s not like it used to be.”

Kelly has to be creative with his recruiting from the beginning. The Patriot League holds each school in the league to an academic standard based on high school GPA and SAT scores. Although Kelly didn’t go into detail about the league’s baseline for scores, he did say that Georgetown has the highest standards in the league. Despite the difficulty of overcoming the

MAX BLODGETT

Coach Kevin Kelly knows attrition is an inevitable part of college sports.

leisure

10 the georgetown voice

october 20, 2011

A room with a view ... of nothing

by Julia Lloyd-George You’ll find no frames or display boxes in Flashpoint Gallery’s Site Aperture—instead, the gallery itself serves as the canvas. In the new exhibit, four artists have attempted to use their installations as a “response” to the ordinary gallery space. Dirt, styrofoam, insect drawings, and fabric fill the rooms.

The artists—Margaret Boozer, Mia Feuer, Talia Greene, and Mariah Anne Johnson— each find personal inspiration in the specific media they use.

Boozer is responsible for the 59-foot trail of dirt and rock that runs the length of the gallery space, an installation that prompts the gallery’s poor receptionist to warn every visitor to avoid stepping on the art (there is a designated bridge). Boozer sourced materials from a local construction site as a reflection on the nature of soil strata. One of the most effective pieces in the exhibition, Line Drawing succeeds in drawing the viewer ’s

For this particular piece, entitled Rebirth, she references Egyptian tombs and Tahrir Square. The piece, however, is less of a response to the gal-

ships with insects, Greene attempted to juxtapose a traditional wall space (as well as a portrait of an unknown man sporting a beard of ants) with

son recalls domestic life using secondhand bed sheets and pillowcases. Stacking layers of folded, meticulously colorcoordinated sheets and drap-

ing them across ceiling piping, Johnson captures the gallery’s space. Teasing in its hidden placement, Johnson’s installation is successful in drawing attention to typically overlooked corners and nooks. In this way, it is effective as a “response” to the given space in that it leads the viewer to focus on what is already there. Nevertheless, the value of what is already there remains unclear.

Installation art is a fragile form of expression, often holding the most meaning for its creator while the viewer struggles with blatant ambiguity.

Piles of dirt, styrofoam tubes, ant trails, and stacks of fabric fail to take on meaning unless used in a striking way. Site Aperture not only fails to do so, but also takes the risk of combining multiple works, ending up with a disjointed artistic collaboration that resembles an incoherent quartet. At the end of the day, the responses to the exhibition space that these installations claim to provide fail to warrant even the slightest response from their audience.

meet the third requirement of the trifecta.

The program’s fate was sealed, and the 16 selected students (out of a pool of 40) began taking classes in the minor, along with the required “gateway” course that would set a base for the program to build on.

Along with securing classes and resources for the minor, the Film and Media Studies Program has been able to expand into the 80-seat screening room in New South—a useful location for holding events and interviews with filmmakers.

While the screening room is now nearing its eighth year, the film program just refinished a second room in New South where students will be able to watch early drafts of projects.

Next semester, the first graduates of the program will take the “capstone course,” which will require each student to work on one of three types of projects. Given the choice among a well-researched analytical essay, a script, or a time-

based production, these students’ original works will not only be important exercises in the creative process, but may also serve as sample pieces submitted to potential employers.

Students who will be taking the capstone course next semester are currently finalizing the concepts for the projects, which range from specific genre histories to more unconventional, experimental media pieces.

But while production is a focus in the program, the minor is not just targeted at students looking for careers in film and media. Rather, a significant number of students have expressed interest in the program because of media’s unavoidable influence on society, a trend that has no signs of slowing down.

“An understanding of film and media is really an essential thing for anybody in the 21st century.” Cook said. “You have to be able to see the effect of media on how we understand the world.”

By the time students complete the minor, they will have completed the required capstone and gateway courses, along with four electives. But aside from gaining a solid grasp of the intricacies of film and media, Cook hopes the students will also take away lessons in social justice and media (one of the electives must focus

on media and social justice).

While the decision for this element in an arts minor may come as a bit of a surprise, it fits nicely into Georgetown’s core Jesuit values.

“Using media you can advocate for the things you care about, whether it’s absolutely local issues or much bigger issues,” Cook said.

attention to what lies beneath his or her feet (if only from a practical perspective).

Feuer, the sculptor behind a tangle of styrofoam animalhead tubes hanging from the ceiling, finds her own inspiration in manmade structures.

lery space than an occupation of it—it’s a chaotic mess that sheds no meaning on the space it is supposed to illuminate.

The far wall of the exhibition space holds wallpaper covered in a paper trail of ants.

Fascinated by human relation-

the influence of these tiny creatures. The trail of trompe-l’oeil ants weaves its way across the wallpaper, but does little to recall the natural world, and even less to reflect the space the insects inhabit.

In the last installation, John-

There’s Picasso, there’s Van Gogh, there’s Michelangelo, there’s da Vinci, there’s Rembrandt, and then there’s this.

flickr

Nascent film minor looks to begin second act

by John Sapunor Last spring, a group of 16 students took part in the first semester of the Georgetown’s Film and Media Studies Program. While Georgetown has a history of alumni involvement in the entertainment industry, the film and media studies minor has set the foundation for students and teachers to focus on media history, criticism, and production with the proper resources and facilities to do so.

As College Dean Bernie Cook put it, the program needed several things to line up before the minor could be set in stone. “We needed the faculty with requisite expertise, we needed students who were really interested in this subject, and we needed alumni accomplishments,” he said.

While professors were hired and student interest grew, Mike Cahill (COL ‘01) and Brit Marling (COL ‘05), put out Another Earth, the 2011 Sundance Festival favorite that helped

Max blodgett

The Film Screening room was nearly cast as the theater in Inglourious Basterds.

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 11

“What knockers!” —Young frankenstein

Dim sum at Ping Pong pleases Reviews, Haiku’d

by Mary Borowiec Though it’s not in the heart of Georgetown, Ping Pong Dim Sum in Dupont Circle offers the District the best of traditional Chinese cuisine, with its modern twist on dumplings. Reinventing the ancient Chinese staple, Ping Pong doesn’t disappoint in its aim to fuse Eastern and Western flavors in their contemporary take on these “tiny parcels of deliciousness.”

Upon first sitting down in Ping Pong’s sleek, tastefully decorated interior, it becomes clear this isn’t your typical Chinese takeout. The menu boasts an impressive and almost overwhelming gourmet selection of dim sum and signature dishes. From the scallop and shiitake steamed dumplings in translucent pastry to the grilled

spinach and mushroom dumplings in crispy wheat flour pastry, the menu embraces its emphasis on fusion by combining traditional flavors in innovative ways.

With its creative, sometimes surprising culinary offerings, patrons are encouraged to order a series of small plates family style.

Ping Pong’s Dim Sum A-Z guide is extremely helpful, as it decodes the menu’s different dim sum samplers, clay rice pots, vegetables, and Asian-inspired desserts. The servers, who were attentive without being overbearing, made the menu a little more decipherable by offering helpful recommendations.

Nevertheless, Ping Pong is not for the faint of heart, or thin-walleted. With an order of three dumplings costing as much as a Wisey’s Chicken Madness, patrons must be prepared to pay for this Asian culi-

PiNgPoNgdiMSUM.US

This is what the University of Virginia’s cafeteria looks like.

The renaissance of reality TV

Earlier this week, I kept running into news about the all-important story of the week: Gene Simmons is getting married. Well, not actually—apparently the ceremony already happened on October 1. But on Monday and Tuesday, Simmons’s wedding was televised in a two-night special edition of his reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

How many people, outside of the Kiss bassist’s family and friends, do you think would give any number of shits that he’s getting married if he didn’t have his own show? My guess is not that many.

And that is the root of the evil that is celebrity reality shows. The first of these shows, or at least the first to gain notoriety, was MTV’s The Osbournes, which placed cam-

eras in the home of Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The family was funny—an aged, half-coherent former frontman and his pink-haired daughter having loud, bleeped-out, British conversations was nothing short of hilarious. The Osbourne crew was eccentric, uninhibited, and loaded with money, and American audiences loved their ridiculousness. The show got the highest ratings MTV had ever seen and even won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program in 2002.

Presumably, the Ozzy formula—old rock star plus cameras equals big bucks—was what A&E had in mind when they started Family Jewels. But if you actually watch the show (and given that it’s been on for an unfathomable six seasons, some people out there must), it’s clear that Gene is no

nary adventure, which borders the fine line between interesting flavor and bizarre creation.

On the other hand, beyond its basic menu, Ping Pong offers a series of special offers. These offers range from Dim Sum samplings to a reasonably priced happy hour, all of which make the eatery more of a place for swanky drinks and small bites than filling meals. In addition to its daily happy hour and nibbler menu, Ping Pong offers a series of fun deals like the “sum’thing special secret dim sum and cocktail of the month,” or its healthy or hearty lunch specials, which are served until 5 p.m. each day.

Furthermore, one look at its well-stocked bar and drink menu, which easily doubles the selection on the basic dim sum menu, makes it obvious that Ping Pong caters to a 21-plus crowd, ideally with parents footing the bill. Still, while the drinks are pricey, their expert presentation combined with the mixologists’ commitment to making a unique concoction makes it a little easier to part with your money.

Though definitely not the place for an over the top dinner, Ping Pong’s Dim Sum and drink specials are worth the departure from the Georgetown bubble. If you have an adventurous spirit, and a willingness to try Asian fusion that may or may not strike one’s palate, Ping Pong takes Chinese food to new and trendy heights.

Ozzy. He’s a regular guy with no accent and a pretty regular family, and the gang’s antics on the show are obviously contrived by the producers.

Sadly, Simmons isn’t the only quasi-famous person with a show that tries its hardest to make him look interesting. The TV lineups

idiot box

by Leigh Finnegan a bi-weekly column about television of recent years have been rife with shows featuring celebrities, with their “wacky” families and the “crazy” lives they are allowed to lead because of their large amounts of disposable income.

But there’s a catch—or rather, a catch-22. Think for a second about Paris Hilton, the veritable reality TV queen of the 2000s. Why was

Breaking Dawn: Part 1 More teen vampires Sucking out movie fans’ souls Leaving us lifeless Johnny English Reborn I love Mr. Bean So much that I’d pay money To see this bullshit

Immortals From the makers of 300: a better way To study Greek gods Paranormal Activity 3 Why make three of these

When you can scare yourself with

GOP debates

The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson Played by Johnny Depp: is this An acid flashback?

Happy Feet 2 More dancing penguins Defying physical laws Ruining our kids

—John Sapunor, Kirill Makarenko

she famous? Because of The Simple Life. But why would they pick her to be on The Simple Life if she wasn’t famous?

It’s the same thing with Gene Simmons. Nobody cared about him until he had a show, but he has a show because, presumably, there was an audience out there that would care about him. I have only one explanation for why such shows get on the air, and stay on the air—they’re cheap. Take one quasi-celebrity or barely-still-kicking has-been, give them and their family a small camera crew and a few thousand bucks per episode, and voila, reality TV. If someone on the show is particularly attractive, insane, or makes a sex tape, your ratings will go up, and you can pay your cast of “real” characters more money, effectively encouraging them to be even more ridiculous and make the show

even more successful. It won’t win Emmys, but nobody’s trying to be The Amazing Race here.

Of course, every rule has an exception, and as much as I hate this breed of show, there’s one TV personality it has birthed whom I consider a gift from the gods of the airwaves—Flavor Flav. He appeared in a whopping five shows on VH1, including three seasons of his incomparable and incomprehensible dating competition Flavor of Love. And right before he started on The Surreal Life, his first show, he was scalping tickets outside Yankee Stadium. Although, to be honest, a show about Flavor Flav scalping tickets would have been just as entertaining as watching him court girls.

Send in your tryout video for The Flavor of Leigh to lfinnegan@ georgetownvoice.com

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

october 20, 2011

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

Justice, Audio, Video, Disco, Ed Banger Do you ever wish you could return to the straightforward goals and limited social interaction of an old-school arcade? If so, the French electro-house duo Justice may have created the album for you. With an overwhelming ‘80s vibe, the band’s second album, Audio, Video, Disco, is crafted mostly from the sounds of the synthesized background music of our video game-playing youth.

But while its resemblance to the Pacman anthem may excite quarter machine wizards, the album’s eternally retro quality is frustratingly inconclusive. Though its synthy nostalgia might strike a sentimental chord, its artistic value is significantly less certain.

Fans of Justice’s first album Cross may be disappointed with this retro curveball, since the majority of their new release lacks the driving,

infectious rhythm of previous hits like “Genesis” and “D.A.N.C.E.” that made audiences across Europe and North America get up and boogie. This isn’t to say the band’s new sound lacks value entirely. At times during Audio, Video, Disco, Justice reaches new strides. “On‘n’On” is a departure from their earlier successes, but it features a mellow, modern tone as well as the only meaningful lyrics on the album. “Brainvision” and “Ohio” make similar, though less successful, attempts at the same effect.

For the majority of the album, however, Justice lands on an unfortunate mix of steady, nondescript techno and over-synthesized ‘80s rock. The most frustrating aspect of the album, especially for fans of Justice’s previous work, has to be the misleading nature of several songs.

The suspenseful, subtly quickening introductions of “Audio, Video, Disco” and “Canon” make listeners nearly tingle with anticipation for a much-needed jam session at the climax of the song. They are destined to be uniformly disappointed when Justice continues most of its songs with a monotonous beat, not conducive to any dancing beyond a disappointed head bob.

Mixed in with these unsatisfactory techno tracks are those songs eerily reminiscent of ‘80s arcade games. The first track of the album,

Ms. Georgetown mishaps

Traditions abound on Homecoming Weekend—alumni return to their old stomping grounds, everyone goes out to see the football game (or at least tailgate for it), and students crown a champion in the annual Mr. Georgetown Pageant. Some of those traditions stretch back over 70 years to Georgetown’s first homecoming. Others have evolved. For example, it wasn’t always about Mr. Georgetown. Up until 1971, it was all about Ms. Georgetown, the Homecoming Queen.

Each year, the Hoya printed photos of the smiling faces of young women from schools in the surrounding area, encouraging students to vote for their favorite candidate. Candidates for Homecoming Queen, called princesses, were nominated by the Student Athletic Social Committee “on the basis of their charm, good looks,

and poise,” according to a 1965 Hoya article. The selection process for each candidate also involved asking potential princesses to respond to questions “on such varied subjects as Van Gogh and American policy in Vietnam.”

While candidates were expected to be politically aware, the Georgetown community was not always sensitive to issues of political correctness.

In 1969, Miss Daryl Chamblee, a black woman, was elected Homecoming Queen. William Barrows, an African-American graduate of the class of 1971, wrote in the Hoya that “instead of announcing the Homecoming Queen at the bonfire rally or the game … the announcement took place on Saturday evening around 10:30,” after all of the ceremonies of the night had concluded. In addition, Barrows noted that although it

“Horsepower,” has such an alarmingly retro vibe that a Space Invaders copyright lawsuit would come as no surprise.

Before you invest in Audio, Video, Disco, ask yourself, “Do I need tunes to listen to while I battle Bowser in the dungeon of Super Mario 64?” If so, confirm the purchase. However, if you’re looking for something to get your back off the wall, take a trip back to something a little less retro—Justice’s earlier work.

Voice’s Choices: “On‘n’On,” “Canon” —Jane Conroy

M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, Mute US When Anthony Gonzalez, also known as M83, promised to release an album that he described as “very, very, very epic” earlier had been customary for the candidates to march onto the football field to be seen by the crowd, “Miss Chamblee was told that this would not be necessary—no reason was given for this change in procedure.”

According to Barrows, none of the candidates marched on to the field that year and, instead, “a rather brief and indescriptive in-

throwback Jack

by Sadaf Qureshi

a bi-weekly column about Hoya history troduction of each candidate was given.” The following year, when a Caucasian woman was elected, Georgetown reverted to its traditional fanfare but, according to Barrows, “did not have last year’s Homecoming Queen [Chamblee] present the bouquet of flowers.”

A few years later in 1976, even after the Homecoming Queen

this year, he was setting the bar especially high. After all, critics had used the term to describe all five of M83’s previous albums’ glorious electro dream pop. But Gonzalez manages to deliver on his promise, making Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming the best M83 album to date, and a huge one at that, clocking in at 22 tracks on two separate discs.

Despite its daunting length, Dreaming is remarkably easy to work through in one sitting.

Gonzalez once again creates a dream world through synthesized instrumentals and often unintelligible lyrics that delve into themes of melancholia and nostalgia. The often quiet vocals, surrounded by saxophone riffs, keyboard solos, and a plethora of guitar chords, are punctuated by one-minute instrumental tracks such as “Train to Pluton” and “Fountains” that are designed to carry the listener through the fantasy world of Dreaming.

These intermissions, however, do become tiring after repeated individual listens. Instead of a collection of individual songs, the new LP is designed as a single cohesive work. From the cover image to the fantasies of tracks like “Raconte-Moi Histoire,” Dreaming must be consumed all at once. pageant had been abolished, The Black Student Alliance (BSA) still hosted its own, separate “Black Homecoming.” The event’s publicity manager told the Hoya “in the past, black input into Homecoming was minimal.”

The Homecoming Queen tradition ended in 1971, with Ann Weiler being the last Queen to be coroneted. The author of a sarcastic article published in the Hoya that same year wrote that “even here at good old Bergdorf Goodman University women are becoming increasingly insulted with the whole rigmarole.” According to the article, residents of St-Mary’sDarnall, an all-female dormitory at the time, were not permitted to nominate candidates. By that time, nomination had been passed over to the student body from the Student Athletic Social Committee.

While any female voice in selecting a Homecoming Queen was ignored, male interest had

The album’s intro features a cameo appearance by Zola Jesus, who adds a certain amount of legitimacy and excitement to the LP. “Midnight City” picks up the pace with its high-pitched synthesized sounds and steady drum beat, ultimately ending in a fading saxophone solo. “Where the Boats Go,” the first instrumental interlude, leads to the slower and less-pronounced period. The melancholia of the high-pitched chorus of “Wait” soon gives way to yet another collection of driving drum beats featured in “Claudia Lewis.”

The wave-like changing styles of Dreaming finally settle at the beginning of the second disc with the excitement of “New Map,” an excitement that flows through the remainder of the album until the slightly suppressed yet bold “Outro.”

This boldness is perhaps the most important defining factor of the album. The fantasy world created by the massive LP demonstrates Gonzalez’s appropriate confidence in his growth as a true musical artist. Despite the tiresome intermissions, Dreaming as a whole lives up to its epic expectations.

Voice’s Choices: “Midnight City,” Claudia Lewis,” “Steve McQueen” —Kirill Makarenko significantly declined. Residents of New South and the Quad (male dorms) did not nominate any candidate, and other dorms chose their nominees at the final hour, on a “whim.” According to the article’s author, the concept of a Homecoming Queen was just “hopelessly out of step with college life of the seventies,” and hence, she correctly predicted “the speedy demise of Homecoming Queen-ships.”

Jane Hoyas are no longer subjected to being “presented…as a special feature of the half-time entertainment,” as a 1965 Hoya article phrased it. And hopefully, we are at least slightly removed from the blind biases of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Let’s just hope no one looks at Mr. Georgetown in the same light 40 years from now.

Send your Prom Queen vote to Sadaf at squreshi@georgetownvoice. com

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page thirteen

the georgetown voice 13

Homecoming Traditions Chimes Night – Come to the Tombs at 8 p.m. on Thursday to hear the 75th annual performance of Georgetown’s most popular bell ringing group, playing selections from their latest album such as Gunther’s “Ding Ding Dong,” “Addicted to You” by Simple Plan, and Lil Jon’s “Get Low.” Mr. Georgetown Pageant – Started back in the 1860s during the Civil War as male students enlisted on both sides of the war. The local females held a pageant with the remaining men to find the best cowards left.

Homecoming Football Game – Also started back in the 19th century, but back then included actual deaths on the field. Today it just marks the death of our football team’s hopes.

Homecoming Tailgate – Georgetown’s only official tailgating event. Get drunk off cheap beer in a crowded environment. It’s a West Georgetown house party you have to pay for. See all of your graduated friends who have become “real people.” Back slowly away when they ask what your plans are for next year.

Lauinger Book Sale – “Wow,” you say, as you see piles and piles of books selling for a buck or t wo. What you don’t know is that any books you don’t buy will be burned with the 100,000 or so others the library is destroying to make room for more desks and outlets. Buy all of them or these books’ blood is on your hands!

Hoyas Unlimited 25th Annual Athletic Recognition Event – For those of you masochists who just don’t want to forget last year’s first round NCAA tournament loss to VCU. Also those of you rich enough to blow 40 bucks sitting in Leo’s watching other people win awards.

Corp Alumni Homecoming Happy Hour – Were you cool enough to make it into the Corp? Well this event is for you, as you get to continually shun away non-Corpies. It’s just a shame that it’s not in Midnight Mug. Hilltop Challenge Homecoming 5k – Want to wake up at 8 a.m. after a long night of drinking to run five kilometers as fast as you can? A simple “no” will suffice. You can leave the expletives out of the response.

Saturday Morning Mimosas and Resumes – Or you can continue drinking in the morning and try not to barf all over the career advisor. If you do, they’ll tell you that’s not appropriate in an interview.

Young Alumni Class Parties at Bars throughout Georgetown– Drink alongside other “young” Hoyas. But the only other people there will be freshmen with fakes.

Alumni Family Pumpkin Party – The info sheet says this event costs $5 per child. That means it’s free to the rest of us! Get your FREE PUMPKINS on Copley Lawn Sunday morning.

Homecoming Mass – We suggest confession as a fun alternative to recount your weekend of debauchery.

DRAWINGS BY MADHURI VAIRAPANDI

voices

14 the georgetown voice

october 20, 2011

For Millenials, too many choices and not enough options

by Iris Kim This week, Georgetown alum (and former Voice editor) Noreen Malone (COL ‘07) wrote a feature story for New York Magazine encouragingly titled, “The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright: My screwed, coddled, self-absorbed, mocked, surprisingly resilient generation.”

I started reading it in the library today and had to leave because I felt near a breakdown (and a breakdown in Lau 2 is just not okay). As if I needed another reminder that the next stage of my life is a complete mystery to me.

It’s not like the article itself made me cry. It was the fact that this article touched upon every single worry I have had in the last couple of months. My best friend from home G-chatted me to express a similar sentiment about the article—“this is me, this is everyone I know.” While she and I acknowledge that we are a small sample of the world, we all think the same things—What am I doing wrong?

Why don’t I understand what I’m

doing wrong? What am I supposed to want? What am I supposed to expect from my life?

These kinds of questions aren’t new or unique to our generation, a generation that Malone grudgingly calls the Millennials. We are used to praise, constant ego boosting, and a strange “entitlement” that older generations now see as a crutch.

Malone points out the irony in all this, as it was our parents’ generation that was so steadfast in instilling in us a high self-esteem.

I never really understood this generalization. I, like any other girl my age, feel the opposite most of the time. I didn’t understand it until I got my first job rejection last night. Our generation gets sad about rejections because, deep down, we think we are qualified.

Don’t I even get a blue ribbon just for participating?

In high school we all padded our resumes to get into the best colleges we could. I rocked the clarinet, neurotically cared about my grades, tutored my peers, involved myself in fundraisers for third world disas-

ters I didn’t understand, and held leadership positions that I barely remember the purpose of. But the end goal was pretty clear—entrance to a school that my mom could then brag to her friends about. And while I used to hate the rigidity of my direction and purpose while in high school, I can’t help but envy my 17-year-old self. At least I knew where I was going.

I am fully aware that I am in a lucky position. I’m still in school and I won’t have the burden of debts, the greatest gift my parents could give me besides, you know, raising me. I am fortunate to be at a school like Georgetown, entitled bubble that it is. Still, this feeling of being in a vague limbo, not sure of where to go, what to do, and who to be still haunts me.

I get anxious when I see my friends walking around in suits, off to second-round interviews, holding their fancy little embroidered folders. “Your resume is not a good layout,” a friend told me after a nauseating visit to a career fair. Shit.

Malone doesn’t spend time pointing fingers at previous generations for the faults that exist now.

She focuses on the things that give our generation the potential to rise from the economic ashes and, just maybe, be great. We may be in a financial rut, but that does not mean that we are any less cultured, educated or capable. In fact, our economic situation can only lead us to figure out what we value beyond money, like family, relationships, or a social impact (something hard to grasp at a pre-professionally minded school like Georgetown).

In the end, I need to remember that no one really has it all figured out. I had ice cream with a friend the other night. To everyone else he seems like he has it all together —he is about to start hearing back from medical schools, of which I am sure he will have the pick of the fancy litter. But he admitted that he too has doubts about his career choice and is kind of just going with his interests, seeing where it takes him. His roommates for the most part have some sort

of future plan, either job offers or early entrance into grad schools.

Even though I know it’s not true, sometimes it is hard not to think I am the only one lost.

My friend told me that no one has it all figured out, that they are just trying to make it seem like they do because they think that everyone else does. What a sad and vicious game we play with each other. Everyone just walks around in suits, heading to interviews, hoping that the job and the career will somehow fit. They are hoping that they too will fit into this weird world. And you know what? Maybe that’s okay that we are playing this game. Maybe being lost and insecure is what this entitled, egotistic generation needs. Maybe it will lead us to great things. I’ve got to hope for something.

a technology behemoth whose annual revenue exceeds $60 billion. The company’s shareholders benefitted greatly from his success, rewarded with a share price currently hovering around the $400 mark, up 430 percent from when Jobs regained control of the company in 1997. And so, the legend goes, Jobs became the poster boy of globalization, enshrined forever as the idol of conservative, free-market philosophy.

Well, almost. There’s something about Jobs that makes conservatives a tad uncomfortable.

Steve was no straight-laced nerd; he publicly reveled, for a while at least, in the bachelor lifestyle

and described dropping acid as “one of the best experiences of my life.” More galling than that, he has no public record of giving to charity. Indeed, when he returned to Apple in 1997, one of his first actions was to abolish the company’s charitable giving arm, insisting it should be the shareholders’ choice of whether or not to donate their money to charity.

Honestly, I have no problem with this stance. After all, why someone would bother to do all in their power to dodge government taxes for a couple decades only to then hand the bulk of their money over to what is likely a more wasteful organization (I’m looking at you, Bill Gates) escapes me. Moreover, to judge the professional legacy of a tech entrepreneur on the size of his heart is like criticizing a quarterback’s performance on the basis of his inarticulate post-game interview.

No, my beef with the way Jobs will be remembered lies in the fact that he will be portrayed as some kind of omnipotent figure who not only ran Apple, but also designed its software, inspected each unit, and was at the store to personally hand you your purchase, $100 rebate and all. Steve Jobs was, without a doubt, a marvelous innovator with sharp business acumen, but to brand him a full-blown genius is to negate the efforts of Steve

Wozniak, Jef Raskin, and thousands of other Apple employees along the way.

Jobs was never a programmer or engineer. His greatest talent was how he added value to everything he touched. “Value added” is a concept that refers to the extra features of a product that go beyond what would normally be expected, that provide the product with something more than normal while adding little or nothing to production cost, (e.g. placing the logo of a small horse on a polo shirt).

In the United States, it has been estimated that, on average, 30 percent of a given product’s price is generated purely from the addition of these extra features. Steve Jobs was the king of added value. His brilliance in this regard can be seen in the minimalist architecture of the iPod, the sleek packaging of each and every product, even in the excitement generated by his presentations.

Nowhere is this concept more clearly elucidated than in an example given by Jobs himself in his Stanford commencement speech, a video recording which was tweeted, retweeted, posted, and pasted ad infinitum over social media following his death. In it, Jobs explains what gave the otherwise unremarkable Apple computers an edge in a competitive market: fonts. Apple computers were the first to indulge consum-

ers’ artistic sensibilities by giving them a choice of which script to write with—simple, virtually costless, and totally unique.

On the day of his death, the internet was flooded with tributes to Steve Jobs. Public figures threw the terms visionary and genius around like they were going out of style. Even President Obama chimed in with a memorable quote, saying, “The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

Yet to think of Jobs as having invented all or indeed any of Apple’s currently marketed devices is to vastly conflate his role in his company’s fortunes and to reinforce the utterly flawed representation of successful entrepreneurs as messianic figures, conquering heroes of laissez-faire ideology. Jobs was not a god. His role was much closer to that of a newspaper editor. He took peoples’ primary creations, cut them down to size, presented them in an aesthetically pleasing manner, and changed the fonts. Steve Jobs should be remembered above all else as The Great Editor.

Iris Kim is a senior in the College. She’s the one who writes all the depressing notes in the cubicles of Lau 2.

Steve’s greatest job: the editor to Apple visionaries

by Max Odenheimer When Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., died a fortnight ago, my dad went out and bought an iPhone. This emotional response was hardly atypical: rock stars, journalists and politicians alike lauded the man whose sense of showmanship had helped him transcend the shadowy ranks of the business world into the stratosphere of celebrity and brought sleek premium electronics to the hands of millions of Americans.

Arguably the most recognizable CEO on the planet, Jobs’s charisma and keen eye for aesthetics helped Apple become

Zoolander isn’t the only one who can strike a “blue steel” pose.

FLICKR

Max Odenheimer is a senior in the SFS. This proud PC owner went apple picking outside the Apple store last week.

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice

15

Beyond Ahmadinejad: the Iranians’ democratic potential

by Nicolo Dona Dalle Rose Gradually through the years, European and American foreign policies have managed to construct a Western vision of Iran that associated the country with the so-called “axis of evil” states and al-Qaeda. But the Iranian government actually desired cooperation with the U.S. on terrorism. However, the Bush administration did little to foster dialogue. As a result, hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President in 2005, ushering in an era of renewed anti-Americanism.

Despite this unsavory situa-

tion, the history of Iran and its recent popular outcry still suggest that a diplomatic partnership can be established. Before developments can be made on this front, however, it is essential for the United States to understand that Iran knows what democracy is and that its people are able to convert to one.

For close to a century, the Middle East has been under constant foreign pressure. Iran’s oil resources, in particular, drove both foreign and domestic powers to gain as much authority in the country as possible. Yet, Iran seems to have developed a re-

Occupy Wall Street doesn’t hold a candle to these guys.

FLICKR

An imaginary community

At the small, private high school in Pennsylvania that I attended, there was no escaping community. One of about 500 students, I knew practically everyone on campus—students, teachers, and even faculty’s children. Last week, the school’s Alumni Association held a reception for all D.C.-based alums to honor the retirement of the Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty, the nearly-20-year incumbent Headmaster and Headmistress of the Hill School.

Not one to miss out on a nostalgia-fest, I enlisted the company of my high school roommate (who also goes to school in D.C.) and registered for the event. I was apprehensive about entertaining a room full of complete strangers, but within five seconds of our arrival, we were greeted into the

welcome arms of what seemed almost like a ridiculously extended family.

When I was a senior at Hill, I felt inextricably connected to the place and to everyone who was a part of it. But when I arrived at the promised land of higher-level academia, I couldn’t help but be let down. Of course it’s natural to feel lost going from being a big fish in a small pond to a lowly firstyear guppy. But as a freshman at Georgetown, once the NSO Cheerleaders strip off their neon t-shirts and cease all their “HOYA SAXA”ing, it is incredibly easy to disappear into gateway class oblivion.

Unless they enter as part of the world of varsity athletics, Georgetown freshmen have a very limited scope of the University’s community, but even if one could

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source that goes far beyond the economic power of oil—people.

During the 20th century, as authority passed from Britain and Russia into the hands of the Iranian Shah, the Iranian population began to speak out. The Iranian people finally demanded a say in their government, and the government rightfully demanded a say in the allocation of the country’s resources. Since then, however, foreign infiltration, the Cold War, and internal military conflict encouraged the formation of a semi-authoritarian government and anti-Western sentiment.

However, the Iranian people continually refuse to be silent—the struggle is not yet over.

Over the past few years, we have seen protests in major European cities by Iranian citizens.

The Iranian embassy in London is now famous for being constantly under siege by Iranian immigrants. One year ago, a large rally was organized in the streets of Berlin to show solidarity with the Iranian people.

More importantly, however, after the controversial victory of Ahmadinejad in the 2009 elections, the people of Tehran began to protest. Iranian youth flooded the streets, clashed with the police, and chanted anti-governescape the confines of her Village C cell, I don’t think that she’d find any other community to tap into.

As an upperclassman, I’ve found my own circle growing smaller and smaller, self-selecting as I go further into my major and withdraw from University-sponsored events in favor of being with my own friends or branching out into the city. For that matter, even my friend groups lack any real cohesion: my freshman-floor friends

Carrying On

by Emma Forster A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

don’t know my Voice friends who don’t know my radio friends, and although I know them all, I sometimes feel like if introduced they wouldn’t get along anyway.

Beyond friend groups, Georgetown is undeniably lacking in a wider community presence. Although I have professors who I’ve liked and now have major advisers, it is very difficult to maintain longterm relationships with teachers or administrators because we really have no common ground outside the classroom. In high school I interacted with the same professors

ment slogans for several days.

Many lost their lives. The reason for the uprising was that the government had once again ignored their voices. Without wanting to mythicize the revolts, it is clear that the new generation is supported by a strong democratic history.

The Western response to Ahmadinejad’s autocratic regime has been sanctions, criticism, and judgment. The political authorities in America and Europe fail to understand the importance of pointing out that Iran’s problems go beyond Ahmadinejad. Iran itself is not evil. Iran has been a victim of past international relations, domestic autocracy, and popular suppression. Iran still has explosive democratic potential and active generational progress which must be recognized.

How do you think Ahmadinejad feels when Bill O’Reilly says on national television that “in a sane world every country would unite against Iran and blow it off the face of the Earth” since “that would be the sane thing to do?”

Such a statement does not ultimately harm him. Iran has endless chances to kindle anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. It is because of chances like this that the Iranian population, in parand team coaches year after year, but since coming to Georgetown I have found that unless I make a concerted effort to take a professor’s class more than once or send excessive emails just to “keep in touch,” I lose contact with all adult figures once a semester is over.

With more than 7,000 undergraduates, Georgetown qualifies as a mid-sized college, and the compact campus should make that number feel even smaller. But without a central social hub for students to interact in, we don’t really have a sense of community here. And we need more than just additional student space. The school lacks any kind of built-in infrastructure that would foster a tight-knit bond among students across classes and majors.

At most schools, community is established and maintained through Greek life or house systems. Princeton has its Eating Clubs, Gettysburg has its thriving Greek system, even Middlebury has its fairly recently-adopted Social Houses. What does Georgetown have? I’m not saying Georgetown should run out and try to emulate Animal House, but it is clear that any large institution needs this kind of establishment in order to avoid the kind of disconnect that we are currently facing.

ticular, the rebelling youth, is isolated. The Western world, which should be the main foreign promoter of democracy and cultural understanding, is now suggesting Iran should be destroyed. No one benefits from this situation. No one except for the Iranian regime.

American and European foreign policies should focus more on the difference between the oppressive regime and the thriving population. The West should emphasize a separation between Iranian authorities and Iranian popular sentiment. To continue with simplistic condemnations and sanctions is not an option. It is clear that there is potential for Iranian democracy to return in the future, and the West has the chance to play a fundamental role in the transformation. Perhaps, one day the Iranian state will represent the population and its rights rather than the current authority. In the meantime, awareness should be raised, and the people of Iran must be peacefully supported and understood.

Nicolo Dona Dalle Rose is a freshman in the SFS. His best pick up line is whispering his name really slowly.

And this problem is not personal or passing. While there are of course other factors, I feel like the lack of loyalty to a personal community is largely responsible for the lack of alumni participation in supporting the school financially.

Georgetown’s endowment of $1 billion—one of the lowest among comparable institutions (especially compared to Harvard’s $32 billion)—seems to reflect that undergraduates who feel disconnected while at school, don’t graduate and suddenly feel nostalgic enough to donate a brand new field house (Someone? Please?).

At the Hill Alumni Reception, as I looked around the room at all the welcoming, knowing faces of men and women who had been where I had and with whom I felt a kind of kinship regardless of where our post-graduate lives had taken us, I realized how much I missed the sense of belonging that a true community can provide. I think that Georgetown has many things to offer, but a real sense of inclusion is, unfortunately, not one of them.

Emma Forster is a junior in the College. 7,000 students and Emma couldn’t find a single friend.

Hoya Saxa