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VOICE the georgetown

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HOYALINKS: WEAK CONNECTION PAGE 4

HOYAS DOMINATE HUSKIES PAGE 6

LIVIN’ THE BI(G) LIFE PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w Feburary 2, 2012 w Volume 46, Issue 4 w georgetownvoice.com

2 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

Letter to the Editor:

hot off the blog !

X VO

GUSA Roundup: This is not how a bill becomes a law

SOUTH ENTRANCE OF DUPONT CIRCLE METRO STATION CLOSES FOR OVER 8 MONTHS

GUSA to introduce a Cash Cab lite during Thursday SafeRides Vox Populi

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17. Chipotle option 18. Bananas 70. "The Second Coming" 47. German subs 1. Blackthorn bush13. Charge used to 19. Psyche up poet 21. Chivalrous 48. Ring bearer, maybe make hard drugs 20. I take the “the” out of 71. Snake sound 5. Artist Chagall 22. Not even psychotherapist 50. Catholic mass part 72. "All Things Must ___," 9. Preppy accessory 23. Brouhaha 25. Dratini learns it at level 51. Homer's protagonist 1970 George Harrison 29 14. “Once ___ a time...”

24. “Silent Spring” subject 52. Robs Album 15. Pesticide apple26. Zeus partner spray 25. “___55. Gretchen Weiners Said,” 1966 Beatles from Revolver 27. "___ Brockovich" trackcatch­phrase Down 16. Murky 1. Art movement pioneered 30. Fall behind

by Picasso 31. Column next to the tens 2. Who is on first

It would have been far more useful to have a conversation about the outcomes of the entire SAFE reform process.

I served as the Media Board representative to the GUSA Endowment Commission in spring 2011. The commission considered a range of ideas and decided on our recommendations. The University was consulted on our terms, not its own. Though we considered feasibility of implementation, including the willingness of the University to support proposals, our recommendations were wholly based on what we believed would best benefit the undergraduate student body in the context of Georgetown’s Jesuit identity and mission.

In the coming years, Georgetown will benefit from the SIPS fund, Georgetown Energy, and a significant expansion to the New South Student Center.

I am firmly convinced these projects will contribute immeasurably to the entire Georgetown community. As evidenced by the overwhelming majority in the SAFE referendum, the student body agrees. The clear success of SAFE reform should be celebrated. Framing a transparent and participatory process as a sinister political plot executed by President DeGioia and Dr. Olson neglects to recognize how significantly students will benefit from these endeavors. This approach only fans the flames of a divide between students and the administration, which does not and need not exist.

Especially in the context of a nasty national political environment, we should celebrate the ability of the Georgetown University community to agree upon large-scale, far-reaching, sustainable projects that will change our community for the better. Hoya Saxa.

Rich Rinaldi (MSB ’12)

Voice Crossword “Quick Meme Quick Crossword ” by Tyler Pierce 1

The Voice’s January 26, 2012 edition proved especially scathing about SAFE reform, the yearlong process to allocate over $3 million to projects for the undergraduate community. That issue’s cover story, “‘The University rolled us’: How the administration got what it wanted out of SAFE reform,” framed the SAFE conversation as a political battle. (To be fair, the tone of the article doesn’t match the misleading headline, so cheers to Rachel Calvert for good reporting). Additionally, the editorial board of the Voice chose to focus on GUSA’s “strategy” for interacting with the University instead of the powerful change brought about by SAFE reform.

57. Ingest with loud sucking noises 58. Fingerboard piece

28. Title option, as on a job form 29. Cocaine synonym 33. 29 Across distributor 35. Sixth largest Hawaiian island, known as the Pineapple Island 37. Indian dress 38. My lecturer said “fuck.”

How cool is that?!

44. Arch type 45. CVS, for example 46. Irish accent 49. “___ Yo Fingers,” Little John song 50. Electric alternative, for a stove 53. Defender of everything good, in Egyptian mythology 54. Military in England, abbr.

56. Kay 58. My girlfriend is like my ipad; I don’t have an ipad 62. “La Traviata” mezzo 65. Novice 66. CO(NH2)2 67. Fix firmly 68. Butts 69. Iranian currency 70. “The Second Coming” poet 71. Snake sound 72. “All Things Must ___,” 1970 George Harrison Album

answers at georgetownvoice.com

Down 1. Art movement pioneered by Picasso 2. Who is on first 3. Gold and Pacific 4. 17th Century Jesuit theologian Francois 5. North African country 6. More than a little 7. Like a sex scene 8. Three, they say 9. Slender 10. Veal, once 11. ___ Khan 12. You might get stuck in one 13. Charge 21. Chivalrous 22. Not even 25. Dratini learns it at level 29 26. Zeus partner 27. “___ Brockovich” 30. Fall behind 31. Column next to the tens 32. Gently floats through the air

34. ___ Wednesday 36. 26 on the Periodic Table 38. Detroit Tigers slugger Ty 39. Shrek, e.g.

40. O’Donovan’s on the waterfront 41. Race portion 42. Time period 43. Camera filter option 47. German subs 48. Ring bearer, maybe 50. Catholic mass part 51. Homer’s protagonist 52. Robs 55. Gretchen Weiners catch-phrase 57. Ingest with loud sucking noises 58. Fingerboard piece 59. Henry ___ 60. Rowing machines 61. Rachel’s husband in Friends 62. Futurama redhead 63. Prevaricate 64. Egg cells

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editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 46.4 February 2, 2012 Editor-in-Chief: Sean Quigley Managing Editor: Leigh Finnegan Blog Editor: Jackson Perry News Editor: Vanya Mehta Sports Editor: Kevin Joseph Feature Editor: Rachel Calvert Cover Editor: Richa Goyal Leisure Editor: Heather Regen Voices Editor: Connor Jones Photo Editor: Lucia He Design Editors: Kathleen Soriano-Taylor, Julia Kwon Projects Editor: Rob Sapunor Crossword Editor: Scott Fligor Assistant Blog Editors: Ryan Bellmore, John Sapunor Assistant News Editors: Soo Chae, Morgan Manger Assistant Sports Editor: Abby Sherburne Assistant Leisure Editors: Mary Borowiec, Julia Lloyd-George, Kirill Makarenko Assistant Photo Editors: Julian De La Paz, Abby Greene Assistant Design Editors: Madhuri Vairapandi, Amanda Dominguez Contributing Editors: Geoffrey Bible, Nico Dodd, Iris Kim Tim Shine

Staff Writers:

Geoffrey Bible, Mary Cass, Patricia Cipollitti, Jane Conroy, Emma Forster, Daniel Kellner, Kelsey McCullough, Eileen McFarland, Matt Pacana, Adam Rosenfeld, Jake Schindler, Melissa Sullivan, Fatima Taskomur

Staff Photographers:

Sam Brothers, Helen Guo, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Jackson Perry

Copy Chief: Kim Tay Copy Editors:

Claire McDaniel, Neil Sood, Tori Jovanovski, Keaton Hoffman

Editorial Board Chair: Gavin Bade Editorial Board:

Tiffany Brown, Rachel Calvert, Nicolo Dona Dalle Rose, Leigh Finnegan, Julia Jester, Cole Stangler, Julia Tanaka

Head of Business: Keaton Hoffman Business Staff:

Sara Ainsworth, Zoe Disselkoen, Charmaine Ng, Aarohi Vora

NO FREE LUNCH

Leo’s protest exposes broken Hoya values Last Thursday, the Voice’s blog, Vox Populi published an article on a lunchtime protest held by Georgetown food service workers with facilitation assistance by Georgetown Solidarity Committee. While the inspiring demonstration in Leo O’Donovan’s Dining Hall lasted about two minutes, what followed in many of the comments below the piece amounted to nothing more than a despicable display of ill-informed, amateur economics, elitism, and disregard for the interests of the working class that this campus should be looking to leave behind.

This is not to say that the comments were overwhelmingly negative, but some were offensive enough to merit a response.

A user going by “Johhny” said that “This was beyond annoying. I was stuck waiting 20 minutes for food in line.” “Steve” claimed increased labor costs would be passed down to Georgetown students, saying “the meal plans are only going to get more expensive because of this, pricing out a majority of students.”

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

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

On this week’s cover: Homelessness in Georgetown Cover Photo: Lucia He Cover Design: Rachel Calvert

Others lacked the tact of even attempting to make a real argument. “Winning” said “Leos workers are unmotivated, slow, rude, and cranky. Nothing will change even if they get higher wages.” “...cram it up your cramhole hippies” is what “#Steaming” thought was worth putting online, and “Hoya” simply said “I hate solidarity committee.”

Usually, we wouldn’t pay much mind to such ignorance, but these comments betray a larger flaw in the mindset of many Georgetown students. It seems many students cannot move past the intro-to-economics perspective of simple supply and demand, and it is obvious they have no respect for the dignity of working people or their right to fight for better wages and working conditions.

Truth is, Aramark is more than capable of paying each of its workers a living wage without passing the costs down to students.

The company posted record profits last year, and if it looks to raise prices because its workers want a living wage, Georgetown’s admin-

istration should threaten to cut its contract.

Perhaps they should have done this last year, when prices went up with no increase in labor expenditures. The fact remains that a union is the only practical way for cafeteria workers to have a chance at a higher standard of living in this job. Anyone who truly embraces the Jesuit heritage of this university should be supportive of the workers and what Solidarity is doing to assist them.

Solidarity is not a new-wave, hippie movement—it is an old idea of justice and equality. Many Georgetown students are incredibly privileged, and unfortunately their views seem far too informed by their economic status. Breaking out of this elitist mindset is crucial in embracing the true essence of a Hoya—common concern for the less fortunate and a desire to help change their situation. If students here cannot get behind workers standing up for their own rights with the help of student organization, they need to adjust their poisonous and dangerous mindsets.

ABORT THIS BILL

District residents need their right to choose

A new bill proposed by Arizona Republican Congressman Trent Franks, the “District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” aims to prevent women in D.C. from getting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, claiming that after that point fetuses can feel pain.

A federal spending bill pushed through the House of Representatives by Republicans in mid-December already prohibits the use of government funds to assist low-income women in getting abortions. This means that any Medicaid coverage a family might have cannot be used on abortions in the District.

Franks would take this federal intrusion into local D.C. politics a step further.

The question of a woman’s right to choose is largely immaterial in this debate— the issue here is yet another federal violation of D.C. home rule, and the rights of District residents to their own governmental repre-

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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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sentation. Last year, five states passed similar legislation to Franks’s, but each time it was a state issue, and not one over which the national government had any jurisdiction.

Franks represents an Arizona district that is 85 percent white, overwhelmingly conservative, and wealthier than average.

It is impossible to believe he should have any say over local issues in D.C., whose residents did not elect him and, for the most part, probably have never heard of him.

Once again, House Republicans are using the District as a bargaining chip to score points with constituents at the cost of D.C. citizens. Washingtonians still lack the ability to control their own spending, but for D.C. women, this bill means further restrictions on their abilities to choose the path of their pregnancy by a Congress in which they have no meaningful representation whatsoever.

Different stances on abortion aside, every

American should be united in the belief that we elect officials to represent our interests. If Franks feels so strongly about abortion in the District, he should appeal to the D.C. Council with his ideas. Of course, they would be summarily rejected, for they are completely out of step with the needs of Washingtonians, but this only highlights the abhorrently undemocratic nature of this bill.

Attacks on D.C. home rule will not cease until District residents have appropriate representation in Congress through statehood or some other legal change. This autocratic wrinkle in the American political system undermines all of the ideals which our government is supposed to embody. Until equal representation for D.C.’s 625,000 inhabitants is achieved, the rest of Congress and the President must step up to the plate to combat this and other despicable betrayals of D.C. home rule and the American democratic promise.

CEOS WIN, WE ALL LOSE

Right-to-Work lowers wages with no reward Yesterday, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law legislation making Indiana the first Right-to-Work state in the industrial Midwest. While Indianapolis union members protested the bill for over a month, it took a speedy route through the Indiana House of Representatives and its Republicancontrolled Senate.

Right-to-Work bans workers unions from demanding union membership or dues from every employee of a company, although unions would still supposedly represent them all. At the beginning of the year, Indiana Republicans announced that the bill would be their “top priority”. Their argument is workers unions’ costs are a burden on American job creation, and that representation in the workplace is a dispensable cost of greater employment opportunities.

But Right-to-Work conditions in the state will not beget lower unemployment—only a lower standard of living for the working class. This is purely a political

move by conservatives to break consistently Democratic unions and empower employers to cut wages and benefits. According to studies by the Economic Policy Institute, the bill will decrease the Indiana worker’s annual average income by $1,500, along with health insurance and other benefits, but would fail to boost local job-creation. If anything, this bill will only lower consumption and disposable income for the vast majority of Indiana workers—a far cry from ameliorating the rust belt’s economic woes.

From an economic standpoint, it is far wiser for government to target and fund research and infrastructure. If entrepreneurs decide to produce goods in the United States today, it is because of the transportation and communication opportunities provided by highways and broadband, better-trained workers, and a stable political situation. Lowering workers’ pay will only decrease standard of living, and not stimulate the economy

More importantly, Right-to-Work effectively breaks the power of unions, which remain the only powerful mechanism for workers demanding better wages and working conditions. In the midst of a fragile recovery, Right-to-Work bills destroy employees’ power and increase opportunity for workplace exploitation. Workers in this country should have the right and opportunity to organize, so their collective voice can counter the immense wealth and political clout of their employers.

Martin Luther King, Jr. warned against “false slogans such as ‘right to work,’ whose purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone.” Rightto-Work, like so many other policies, is a question of political priorities, and Indiana’s government has chosen to represent the corporation over the common worker, effectively hurting the common American and inhibiting economic growth.

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february 2, 2012

SAFE reforms move into implementation phase

by Vanya Mehta After the student body passed the three Student Activities Fee Endowment reform proposals last week, three steering committees prepare to guide the proposals toward their implementation in the coming months. The working groups plan to manage the future steps alongside GUSA. The $3.5 million fund includes Georgetown Energy, a new Social Innovation and Public Service fund, and the creation of a New South Student Center.

In a press release, GUSA President Mike Meaney (SFS ’12) and Vice President Greg Laverriere (COL ’12) celebrated the success and looked to the future with high expectations. “The projects we’re funding all contribute unique benefits to the University, and we can’t wait to start in on them,” Meaney wrote in the release.

Laverriere emphasized the collective effort involved in the passing.

“From the Endowment Commission to all the students who put together all the great proposals to the volunteers who knocked on doors all week to build up support, this was a team effort.”

The steering committees for each proposal are already meeting to determine the next steps.

“Although SAFE reform has passed student referendum, there is still much work to be done,” FinApp committee chair Colton

Malkerson (COL ’13) wrote in an email to the Voice. “We want to implement as soon as possible, but must still be careful when doing so.”

One of the three proposals allocated $250,000 to Georgetown Energy to install solar panels on 43 University townhouses.

Any unused funds will go to the Green Revolving Loan Fund, created for any future sustainability projects. According to Malkerson, the first step for Georgetown Energy is to determine with GUSA and the University the number of solar panels to be installed over the summer. Following that decision, the group will select a solar provider after a Request for Proposal process. “We are aiming for installation this summer with panels operational by fall 2012,” Malkerson said.

Peter Nulsen (COL ’12), cofounder and president of Georgetown Energy, said that the group’s goal is to reduce the University’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. “Speaking for myself, I’m very proud of my University when it makes a stronger commitment to sustainability on campus,” Nulsen said.

The New South Student Center proposal steering committee will start this week by meeting with University officials and collaborating with university architects to establish the design for the proposed center and terrace.

“GUSA holds final approval on the designs for the southern terrace and level one, so if students aren’t happy they won’t be approved,” Malkerson said. “I’m very excited to be part of the planning and implementation of these proposals. It has been a long time coming and we’re all very excited.”

The SIPS fund steering committee consists of 10 members,

with three open spots for which members of the student body can still apply. Over the current semester, the group will prepare for its takeoff in the fall, with hopes for a launch event at the end of the semester. “It’ll get people excited to think of some ideas over the summer, the money will start to be given out in the fall,” SIPS co-founder Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) said.

Gustafson, along with many other leaders of SAFE proposals, says she is ready to see the fruits of her months of labor on SIPS. “I have been working on the SIPS fund for over a year and a half…

[I] initially got involved because I liked the idea of students investing our money into making changes in the world. I’m really excited that it’s finally becoming a reality.”

Turkish Ambassador speaks in Copley Lounge

Jackson perry

Namik Tan, Turkey’s envoy to Washington, proudly asserted his country’s crucial role in Middle Eastern and European affairs yesterday in Copley Formal Lounge. “The sick man of Europe is now the healthiest man of Europe,” Tan declared.

—Jackson Perry

CSP seeks to connect student groups with Hoyalink

by Fatima Taskomur In an effort to centralize processes like group registration, event calendars, websites, and transitions in leadership, the University launched a new communications platform for student organizations called Hoyalink at the beginning of this semester. Almost all clubs are expected to adopt the system, introduced by the Center for Student Programs and GUSA. Despite efforts to publicize its utility, however, the system continues to grow at a slow pace due to lack of student awareness and participation. Currently, 120 student organizations and departments are registered to Hoyalink, including many of Georgetown’s approximately 275 clubs. Since the GUSA Finance and Appropriations Committee provides funding for the software licensing and hosting, student

organizations have access to this system, while University departments will pay a modest annual fee to have a departmental presence on the site.

The program is not exclusive to student club leaders. Individual students can also use the system by logging in with their NetID to join clubs and track club events. “The Center for Student Programs is interested in streamlining and improving the student organization and student leader experience,” Erika CohenDerr, Director of the Center for Student Programs, wrote in an email to the Voice. “We wanted to find a new communications platform that could centralize processes like group registration, or posting events in a central calendar.”

Early in the semester, board members of student clubs received an email with instructions for registering and setting up the

group’s website and information.

The email explains that Hoyalink can be used to “publicize organization events, communicate with your members, manage your participation rosters, hold elections, host your organization’s website, and gather information from your advisory board and administrative offices.” It also promises to include some financial procedures in the future.

The Hoyalink system combines the functions of several previous systems such as Keyform, which was used for registration forms; listprocs, for group email communication; and the Explore site, for student organizations’ websites and event calendars. In the next year, student organization financial tracking tools will be added to Hoyalink as well.

Club leaders have been generally enthusiastic about the potential

utility of the system. “I really like it—it’s a great way to organize and stay up to date about what is going on on campus,” Maggie Cleary (COL ’14), chair of the Georgetown University College Republicans, said. “The only flaw is that there are not that many people on it.”

Other students agree. “I think that at the core, it’s one of those things that is an innovation that students need and students want,” Mona Ramadane (COL ’14), CoPresident of NAS Arab Society, said.

“It’s a great opportunity, because besides SAC Fair at the beginning, you don’t really have any opportunities to know what is out there.”

But despite its promises, a lack of general student knowledge remains a hindrance to Hoyalink’s success. NAS Arab Society, for example, continues to use its listserv as the primary mode of contact with the group’s members. “It’s a

great idea, but it was not well-explained and not implemented in a way to reach the widest audience possible,” Ramadane said. “There are not enough people… [and] nobody really uses it, so we don’t see Hoyalink being the main contact in the next semester. There is not enough of a community on Hoyalink to start building on it.”

CSP is aware of this, and is working to increase general knowledge about the system. “We are planning some incentives for individual students and student groups to use Hoyalink to manage their involvement,” CohenDerr wrote. “I think at this point most users are pleased with the system and glad that we are moving to a more connected platform.

However, if there are criticisms I am open to hearing them—we just want a system that will work well for users.”

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Student-led sustainability projects expanding

by Morgan Manger Of the three Student Activities and Fee Endowment proposals passed last week, Georgetown Energy received the greatest support from the student body. With 2,269 “yes” votes, its resounding success serves to highlight a campus-wide increase in student-led sustainability projects. In efforts to make Georgetown a more environmentally friendly campus, many student groups are devoting resources to a range of projects, from composting to the recently passed solar panel proposal.

The most publicized green initiative is an effort to introduce solar panels on University townhouse roofs.

Georgetown Energy, a student group dedicated to facilitating renewable forms of energy, developed the plan for this project recently passed in the referendum. During this coming summer, solar panels will be installed on top of several University-owned townhouses. Additionally, the group is working on other projects, such as solar thermal heating, which involves using the sun’s rays to create steam, which in turn can be used to heat water. According to Peter Nulsen (COL ’12), co-founder and president of Georgetown Energy, the projects

“will allow students to experience using clean energy sources to power university functions.”

While long-term, larger-scale projects like the solar panels and solar thermal heating remain vital to student interests, other groups are undertaking smaller scale sustainability measures as well. The Magis Row living and learning community meditation houses, for example, are implementing a range of smallscale projects.

“We are currently working on making the townhouses more energy efficient, starting with Magis Row,” Colin Davis (COL ’13), a Magis Row resident, said. “We are trying to start off with the real easy things like replacing light bulbs and [adding] low flow showerheads.”

Although the project is currently confined to the Magis Row townhouses, residents hope to demonstrate to the larger Georgetown community the cost-effectiveness and long-term viability of these projects. “If we’re able to show that we can save energy and money... we’d like to have the project expand into other townhouses,” Madeline Collins (COL ’13), a Magis Row resident and Multimedia and Marketing Chair of EcoAction, said.

Demand statehood for D.C.!

Last week, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, five D.C. council members, and a delegation from the non-profit group D.C. Vote flew to New Hampshire to support a resolution supporting statehood for the District. After Democratic State Representative Cindy Rosenwald proposed a bill in the New Hampshire State House supporting the bid, D.C. leaders began their nationwide tour promoting District statehood.

Despite preliminary support, Gray and his team likely sensed that the hearing in front of the Committee on State, Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs held a foregone conclusion when its chair, Republican Alfred Baldasaro, rattled off Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution seconds into the hearing. The section establishes D.C. as “the seat of government” in the U.S. Since the 2010 elections, Republicans have dominated the New Hampshire House by a count of 290 to 93. The group is characteristically conservative, so it came as

no surprise when the District delegation was questioned on issues superfluous to the legal or ethical implications of statehood. The bill supporting statehood was defeated 8-3 in committee. While Democrats hope to circumvent the vote by bringing it before the entire State House, it seems destined to defeat.

Baldasaro’s chief reasoning behind the dissenters’ votes is in constitutional concerns with statehood. An accurate interpretation of the test and full understanding of District history prove these worries baseless. The simplest route to statehood would be a constitutional amendment. One of these was actually approved by Congress in 1978, but was ratified by only 16 states before its time limit expired.

A simpler route in today’s political climate would be to abide by the existing Constitution, and shrink the District of Columbia to only certain federal buildings and landmarks and designate the balance as a separate state. This would satisfy the text’s assignment of a seat

A separate University-wide project to encourage composting originated early last semester in Magis Row. Currently, there are two large compost bins set up in the backyard of one of the townhouses. Any student can pick up a small composting bucket, collect their food waste in it, and empty the bucket into one of these bins once it is full. The expanding program currently has 20 participating households. “Composting affects students by starting a system where it’s super easy to do,” Davis said. “It allows [students] to be more conscious of their effect on the environment.”

GUSA financed the composting project by paying for the individual buckets. GUSA Sustainability Secretary Jessica Robbins (SFS ’12) claims that, compared to other universities, Georgetown is lagging in effective environmental projects, and would like to use GUSA’s funding and power to change this discrepancy. “Speaking honestly, Georgetown is pretty far behind in terms of sustainability,” she said. “It’s our jobs as student government to allow students to live sustainability.”

Georgetown’s Center for the Environment, another sustainability-oriented campus group, hosts of government “not exceeding ten miles squared.” Indeed, the federal government has shrunk the size of the District twice before without Constitutional challenges. Regardless of what reactionary state legislators say, D.C. statehood is anything but unconstitutional.

Additionally, congressional oversight of D.C. affairs has invited attacks from conservatives normal-

city on a Hill

by Gavin Bade

A bi-weekly column on D.C. news and politics ly committed to local government and federalism. Some of the highest-profile issues have involved abortion, a state issue elsewhere.

The federal government has also asserted its authority in areas like the Occupy movement and funding for civil services. Congress often only passes D.C. budgets after adding additional amendments— budget riders, as they’re called— designed to placate political pressures by representatives. Nowhere else in the nation can national rep-

speakers and holds events on important environmental issues. In a partnership with GUSA, the CFE also helped sponsor Visions for a Sustainable Georgetown, a forum created for students to voice their ideas and concerns about sustainability on campus. Robbins is currently composing a report alongside Eco-Action President Claire Austen (SFS ’12) on the ideas and opinions discussed at the forum, which they will publicly release in March.

Students spearheading these sustainability projects often point

to the global implications of neglecting the environment. “With global climate change and population explosion and all of these factors, it is more important than ever that we be energy-efficient, because the world’s under stress right now,” Collins said. “We’re all going to have to compost, live in weatherized houses eventually. We’re all going to have to stop using bottled water and plastic bags. We’re going to have to make these changes if we want to continue to live on this planet.”

MaX BLoDGeTT

Magis Row townhouses have been early adopters of sustainability projects. resentatives use their control over local issues to score political points back home.

But most appalling is that the District’s citizens have no voice in the national legislature. D.C. is less than 5,000 people away from being as populous as Vermont, and passed Wyoming’s population long ago. It is the most unequal city in the nation in terms of income, and is plagued by a broken educational system and high crime rate. This disproportion makes it more necessary for D.C. residents to have a proportional voice in the national legislature. The lack of representation is a betrayal of the U.S. democratic promise that every citizen should have a voice in government.

If any critics of D.C. statehood observed this lack of representation in their core conservative constituencies, they would be the first to protest. This crystallizes the irony in the New Hampshire House’s decision. A state supposedly so committed to the promises and ideologies of the Constitution is willing to deprive the citizens of the District the American birthright

of governmental representation.

This debate is not about whether statehood is legal or constitutional.

It is about conservative leaders conspiring to keep the interests of working-class D.C. residents at bay, and Democracy and American ideology is taking a back seat to immediate political needs.

Opposition has always arisen from, as Ted Kennedy put it, “the fear that senators elected from the District may be too liberal, too urban, too black, or too Democratic.”

It is time to stop playing political games with the American promise of governmental representation.

Gray and his team will be traveling across the nation in the coming months to push for statehood. If the legislators are truly committed to the mission of this nation, they will put aside their class, race, and political differences with D.C. residents and support them in their quest for the fundamental right of a government by the people.

Is this what democracy looks like?

Share your thoughts with Gavin at gbade@georgetownvoice.com

sports

6 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

Hoyas dominate UConn at packed Verizon Center

by Tim Shine All season, the Georgetown men’s basketball team has stressed the need to play a game with a full 40 minutes of consistent effort. The Hoyas got close on Wednesday, but even 37 minutes or so was more than enough for a doubledigit victory.

Hollis Thompson had a bounce-back game with 18 points, and No. 14 Georgetown (17-4, 7-3 Big East) recovered from a double-digit loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday with a resounding 58-44 victory over Connecticut (14-7, 4-5 Big East).

The Hoyas got those bad minutes out of the way early. After falling into an early hole against the Panthers out of which they were not able to climb, the Hoyas looked like they were headed for a repeat performance against UConn. The Huskies seemed unstoppable in the first two and half minutes of the game, connecting on their first four shots.

Freshman center Andre Drummond was particularly impressive, pulling a spinning post move for an easy layup before slamming home an alley-oop. After the dunk put the Huskies up 9-3 with 17:30 to go in the half, Coach John Thompson III quickly called timeout.

“When they scored nine points, it felt like it was under a minute,” Thompson III said.

The Hoyas buckled down on defense after the timeout, taking away the Huskies’ transition game and forcing them into jump shots.

The renewed effort allowed Georgetown to hold UConn scoreless for six minutes after the 16:36 mark.

It took the Hoyas almost that entire stretch to find their offense, but they eventually did, with senior center Henry Sims tying the game at 15 on a free throw with nine min-

utes to go in the half. That was just the beginning of an impressive offensive day for Sims, who had to contend with Drummond for most of the night. He finished with 13 points, although he also racked up seven turnovers.

“I remember Sims as a high school kid in Baltimore,” UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said. “He really has improved as a player.

He’s a nice guy to throw in because he can do an awful lot with the ball.”

In fact, Sims combined with Thompson to score the final 17 points of the first half for the Hoyas, carrying Georgetown to a 31-21 halftime lead.

Despite Sims’ play down the stretch, Thompson was the star of the game for the Hoyas. After struggling offensively in his past two games, the junior forward responded with 18 points and nine rebounds, leading all players in both categories. The junior was effective working both inside and out on offense, and even managed two steals at the other end of the floor.

“I thought that this was one of the better games that Hollis has played, because he did so many things,” Thompson III said. “You can look at the stat sheet and he had 18 and nine, but he was key in that zone defense.”

Georgetown’s 2-3 zone defense was certainly key in holding UConn to 30 percent shooting, but many of the Huskies’ bricks and airballs were self-inflicted wounds. The two lynchpins of UConn’s backcourt, Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier, were especially ineffective.

Lamb managed 14 points, but the preseason All-American had to work for them, connecting on just four of his 18 attempts from the field, including 2-for-11 from beyond the arc.

“Jeremy Lamb is a terrific shooter,” Calhoun said. “He’s not

NICK BAKER

Henry Sims dominated the Huskies in the second half Wednesday night.

shooting like it now, but under normal circumstances he’s going to make another four or five. A couple of them being threes, it might have been a different game.”

Napier, a fellow sophomore, was even worse. The guard, who averages 14.3 points per game, came off the bench for the first time all season as Calhoun shook up his starting lineup on the heels of three straight losses. The move didn’t pay any dividends—Napier was

held to just one point in an 0-for-9 performance.

The Hoyas never fully solved Drummond, however. The big man led the Huskies with 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting and grabbed seven boards.

Georgetown maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but UConn used a quick 4-0 run to cut the lead to six with 7:45 to go in the game. However, after a Hoya timeout, senior

guard Jason Clark scored on a designed inbounds play to stop the bleeding.

After another basket by Clark, Sims effectively ended the game with a rim-rattling dunk that brought the crowd of 15,174 to its feet and prompted the student section to make its first “Hoya Saxa” chant of the game.

“Everybody was just like, ‘Whoa! On his head,’” Thompson said. “It was a great dunk.”

The Sports Sermon “You know, he’ll come in with his UGG boots, and I pretty much just make fun of his life and how terrible it is.“ -Wes Welker joking about teammate Tom Brady

Still, when ESPN turns this commitment process into fullfledged individual press conWith the Super Bowl loomferences, it seems a bit over the ing, Tom Brady and Eli Manline. The media hype inflates ning will be garnering all of the high school players’ egos, only sports media’s attention from to have them sink to the bottoday through next week. Yestom of the totem pole once they terday, however, belonged to a arrive at college as freshmen. new wave of football players— Instead of making the best deciwith Wednesday’s National sion based on comfort and fit, it Signing Day, college football becomes a matter of appeasing fan bases wavered between the media. elation and despair, depending Take Nevada lineman Kevin on whether high school seniors Hart. Three years ago, he commitchose to take their talents to Alted to Cal-Berkley over Oregon abama, Auburn, LSU, or some in an announcement ceremony. other elite program.

However, neither coach at either Though National Signing school had heard of Day has always Pete Rose Central Hart – and for good been a tradition, Da bettin’ line reason, as he was the same hype never recruited by did not surround Margin Dookies Hoyas either school. The Manning or Brady (duh!) (underdogs) lineman felt such when they made (favorites) their decisions.

Patriots Ghost of Tyree high pressure to Giants succeed on the colToday’s college Not so Fab Eligibility Sims City legiate stage that he decision hype maWes Welker Victor Cruz] ]]]]]] Salsa needed to make up a chine produces all story behind his decision.

Wright’s teammate, Elijah kinds of creative decisions, be As fans, we must concede Shumate, committed to Notre they through Twitter, ESPN, or that this is the path that colleDame only a few weeks prior some other high-profile media giate athletics takes. Admittedly, during the Army All-American venue. Who can blame them? If along with other Hoya fans, I Bowl for high school seniors.

17-year-old athletes are getting dreamt of a lineup featuring The event marks the typical prime media attention, we cannot Otto Porter and Kyle Andersetup for Division I-bound fault them for milking that time in son. And while Anderson did athletes, in which the playthe limelight for all it’s worth. not quite work out, the recruiters try on a number of hats, Back in September, prized ing process suitably reflects the spurning most, and eventually basketball recruit Kyle Anderreality of college sports—that selecting their best fit. This trason kept fanbases at UCLA, programs can be built or broken dition has been the standard Georgetown, and Florida in with just one commitment. during the senior showcase for limbo before finally announcing We live and die with our years now, and occurs in the on Twitter that he had picked sports teams–what could be middle of an all-star game. If the Bruins. and what could have been.

NFL players are encouraged Anderson used Twitter to his And for that reason, the meto tweet during the Pro Bowl, full advantage, but such open acdia circus that surrounds high making a college announcecess can also doom some players. school athletes, for better or for ment in a similar venue seems Yuri Wright, a star cornerback at worse, isn’t going anywhere. fair to me.

Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey,

by Kevin Joseph

was actually expelled from the country’s number-one secondary football program after a year of graphic and vulgar tweets came to light. Though it was certainly convenient for Don Bosco to discover the cornerback’s transgressions after the season ended, his high-profile recruiting took a turn for the worse just weeks before National Signing Day, as offers from Michigan and other bigtime schools reportedly fell by the wayside. Wright quietly committed to Colorado, salvaging a mess of a recruiting situation, while also not-so-quietly making a return to Twitter.

sports

Swimming dives into Big East

by Steven Criss With the culmination of the swimming season just two weeks away, the Georgetown men’s and women’s swimming teams are stepping up their preparation and expectations. This weekend, both teams will face the University of Maryland in their last dual meet, their final chance to qualify more swimmers for the Big East Championship meet.

The team spent a part of winter break in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where they put in extra hours to get ready for the upcoming weeks. Their trip to the tropics will be key to a successful Big East Championship meet, as it allowed them access to time uninterrupted by class and practice in a longer, outdoor pool.

“We went to Ponce for nine days, and we had two practices every day and then an hour of dry land and abs. So it was very intense,

and our practices were definitely really hard,” junior diving captain Christina Daquila said. Daquila believes that, because of this training, the Championship meet will yield impressive results.

In the two meets following the break, the Hoyas’ times were not at their best. Both the men and the women were unable to post the highest scores in the quad meet at James Madison, and were very narrowly defeated later at George Washington. Their rough performances at the meet could have been due to residual fatigue coming off their trip to Puerto Rico.

“Honestly we didn’t swim terribly fast during those two meets, but I have kind of been thinking that this is only a testament to how hard we worked over the training trip,” senior co-captain Greg Germain said. “It doesn’t really concern me or worry me.”

Courtesy SPORTS INFORMATION

Greg Germain leads the Hoyas into the Big East Tournament.

Rethinking NBA superteams

In the NBA, the trade rumor mill starts churning every time an All-Star approaches the end of his contract. As such, this season’s headlines have been dominated not by exciting play on the court, but by the trade speculation surrounding Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. The chatter is similar to last year’s, when the media obsessed over Carmelo Anthony’s demands to leave the Denver Nuggets. With the New York Knicks rotting below .500 in that trade’s aftermath, it’s time to ask whether this superstar-centered approach to team-building is effective for assembling a winning squad.

The Celtics launched this craze in the 2007 offseason, when they moved young talent and draft

picks in exchange for two proven superstars, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, to play with Paul Pierce as the first “Big Three” in Beantown.

The Celtics’ super team immediately won a title, and suddenly every franchise felt just a big move or two away from contending.

Many teams, however, applied their newfound optimism to an unconscionable level in hopes of mimicking Boston’s success. Managers gutted their teams of young talent and future draft picks to clear up cap space for a major signing in the lauded 2010 free agent class.

As the Miami Heat reeled in three of the top four free agents, however, the rest of the league was left quivering in fear for the decade to come. With the elite

At this point in the year, the team is working to combine productive practices with rest in an attempt to improve each individual’s events.

As such, both the men and the women appear to be in good shape to place high at the Championship meet, and success has not been limited to only a few members. Only 18 scoring individuals can be taken to the final meet, but both teams have qualified well over that number. With one more opportunity to cut down times, Georgetown could very well be bringing even more competitors with them to Pittsburgh on February 15th. One trouble for the team is injuries on the women’s side, but Head Coach Jamie Holder is remaining positive.

“We’ve improved every weekend since the break, which is what I expected,” Holder said. “I’m pretty optimistic about how well we are going to swim at Big East. We’ve had a few key injuries on the girls’ side that could affect some of our relays, but I’m not going to dwell on it, and [we will] do the best that we can with the people we have.”

Overall, Holder says the team is more “cohesive and a good bunch of kids,” which will be very important as the final meet draws closer and pressure heightens. Germain feels the current qualifiers have good chances of breaking Georgetown’s past records, but whether they will be able to surpass rival competitors in endurance and strength remains undetermined. Still, with the work the Hoyas have put in all season, they seem poised as they enter the Big East tournament. free agents off the market, teams like the Knicks and Nets were left to pay astronomical prices in the trade market for Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams, while others were forced to plug holes with the scraps.

In certain cases, this works out pretty well—the Heat are poised

Double Teamed

by Daniel Kellner

a rotating column on sports to contend for a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance since their big offseason, showing that they’ve benefited from slashing their roster around Wade prior to the 2010 offseason. The Los Angeles Clippers, sitting second in the Western Conference, also succeeded with their acquisition of

the georgetown voice 7

Rodgers honored

What Rocks

georgetownvoice.com

ABBY GREENE

Having already been named Big East Player of the Week three times this season, Georgetown guard Sugar Rodgers has a new accomplishment to add to her 2011-2012 cannon—being one of the Wooden Midseason Top 20 for the second time in her college career.

This list, which includes five players from the Big East, is a lead-up to the Wooden Award for the nation’s best player. But even with the increased pressure that this honor has caused, Rodgers isn’t letting the expectations change her mentality.

“I’m just gonna be Sugar all the time,” she said.

Rodgers, a junior from Suffolk, Va., has hugely impacted the team since she joined the program in 2009. After a standout high school career, she was recruited to help rebuild Head

point guard Chris Paul, despite the high price levied on them by the league-owned New Orleans Hornets.

Nevertheless, the Heat, Clippers, and Celtics seem to be exceptions to the rule that the optimal approach to constructing a roster is not overpaying for superstars.

The season so far has proven that teams do not need superstars to win. The Denver Nuggets have been among the NBA’s best since they shoplifted four Knicks starters in exchange for Anthony, and incorporated them into a deep roster devoid of elite players. The Philadelphia 76ers have opened up a huge lead over the Knicks and Nets in the Atlantic Division, despite featuring unheralded sixth man Lou Williams as their leading scorer. Both teams show that build-

Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s program.

Despite leading the Hoyas to the Sweet Sixteen last season, Williams-Flournoy wasn’t satisfied with Sugar’s preseason awards at the start of the 2011-2012 season.

“She’s only been nominated for everything,” the veteran head coach said. “She has not made anything. The only thing she’s won is Big East Rookie of the Year and Big East First Team. But those aren’t the kind of accolades that get you out there recognized nationally. She needs to start making national recognition.”

Her leadership and scoring ability in the first two seasons may have launched the Hoyas to national attention, but also bore the consequence of bringing her into the limelight. But the spotlight isn’t necessarily bad for the Hoyas. Rodgers has still been able to average 19.9 points per game, and has helped the women keep conference hopes alive at 17-5.

The junior’s contributions to the team are innumerable, and seemingly will continue to be for the remainder of this year and an inevitably historic senior season. While Williams-Flournoy may say that she hasn’t actually won anything of note yet, Sugar’s accolades won’t stop flowing in anytime soon.

—Abby Sherburne

ing depth through the draft and timely trades is a far more effective strategy than just cashing in for a superstar without the necessary compatible pieces.

Thus, while pairing two Hall of Famers with an all-star power forward, à la the Heat, is a semiproven formula for success, simply building a team around stars with few supporting pieces is a haphazard and ineffective approach. So as teams position themselves to trade for Dwight Howard, they need to exercise caution—while he has the potential to instantly push a team into the NBA elite, without the necessary supporting cast, he could find himself on another empty roster.

Want to be on Dan’s superteam?

Join at dkellner@georgetownvoice.com

feature

8 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

feature

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the georgetown voice 9

Street Sense and Sensibility: Homelessness in

By Aodhan Beirne

On January 19, Clark Carvelli was discovered by Georgetown Department of Public Safety officers on land adjacent to University property by Canal Road NW. He was later pronounced deceased of natural causes. He and his friend Joseph Cunningham, along with another person, had been living in the woods between the University and Canal Road for an undetermined amount of time. After the incident, Cunningham said the National Park Police asked him to vacate the woods before the next day.

Unrelated to that incident, Georgetown Ministry Center, a homeless shelter and drop-in center for the area, took part in an initiative called Point-in-Time, conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Similar to a census, the goal was to better understand the breadth of homelessness problem in the District and the plight of its homeless population.

According to the Coalition to End Homelessness, D.C. has the fifth-largest homeless population

in the country as a percentage of total population. With an estimated total population of 5,476,241, the District’s homelessness rate is five times the national average.

The task of surveying is divided betwen the many shelters and homeless organizations in the city. The GMC, unaffiliated with the University and located on Wisconsin next to Grace Church, was tasked with surveying the Georgetown area, spanning from Foxhall to the edges of Dumbarton Oaks.

When Roy Witherspoon, GMC’s director of outreach and case management, conducted the Point-in-Time survey, he was confronted by opposites—searching for those affected by the most extreme level of poverty while walking past the multi-million dollar homes of politicians.

Witherspoon says Georgetown is an ideal area for homeless life.

“People sleep in this area because we’re here, and they have access to us,” he said, referring to the services provided by GMC, the only homeless shelter in the area. With both a

hospital and a shelter, Georgetown can provide many necessary services for the homeless population.

The Georgetown area’s affluence is another attraction for the city’s homeless. “Georgetown is a very lucrative area,” Witherspoon explained. “There are a lot of tours, a lot of bars, and a lot of restaurants, so folks can come here and be guaranteed to get a few dollars.”

Jennifer Altemus, the president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown, said both CAG and the Georgetown Business Association try to “discourage aggressive panhandling, which is illegal.”

However, she did concede that panhandling is often not an issue of homelessness. While panhandling itself is legal in the District, “aggressive panhandling,” which includes intimidation, harassment, contact, and interference, is not. Nor is “setting up furniture on public property,” as Altemus pointed out.

On this note, she and Witherspoon are in agreement. “We have a good relationship with [the GBA], together we develop the best

Hoya Outreach Programs and Education (HOPE) hosts at a Halloween party organized for homeless children.

LUCIA HE

discourse for having people on the streets,” he said. “We try to educate the general public about giving to panhandlers. If folks want to help, we let them know they can give to organizations that help, not just to people on the streets.”

He added that “people can come up with really creative stories to help their illness or addiction.”

Finding panhandlers, however, is not the intended goal of the Point-in-Time survey. Many are not homeless, but panhandle as an occupation. According to Witherspoon, they are also less likely to be afflicted with the types of mental illness and addiction from which most homeless people suffer.

Many homeless people come to Georgetown not for the panhandling opportunities, but for the chance to hide. “Some people like to be isolated, and do not want to be seen by the public eye,” said Witherspoon.

The parks, bridges, and canals of Georgetown help conceal those who do not want to be seen. In turn, the Georgetown landscape also ensures that finding them will not be an easy task for the survey volunteers.

In preparation for the Point-inTime survey, the volunteers at the GMC are split into five groups, each responsible for surveying a specific area in Georgetown. Witherspoon’s group is assigned Dumbarton Oaks. Armed with surveys, blankets, bags of hats and gloves, and $10 McDonald’s gift cards, the group walks up Wisconsin, passing the upscale shopping venues that belie the magnitude of homelessness in the area. Witherspoon approaches the first homeless man on Wisconsin and O St., who promptly and loudly refuses participation, despite the promise of the gift card, blanket, and hat that might prove vital for winter survival.

Witherspoon remembers the man, whom he said visited to the shelter for a while almost four years ago. He notes his location on a survey and moves on.

In fact, because many come into the center, Witherspoon knows most of the people who

consistently stay in Georgetown.

He said most of the homeless living in Georgetown also tend to know each other.

The next stop is behind the TD Bank on Wisconsin, which Witherspoon says is “ideal, because you c a n sleep through the night, get up and roll out before the bank opens and anyone sees you.”

When they do not find anyone behind the bank, the group moves up to Book Hill Park, the site of the Georgetown Public Library, where it comes across the first of the survey’s willing participants.

Like most libraries, this location is an ideal one for the homeless, as it is open to all members of the public during the day. Homeless people find shelter and warmth in daytime, and at night the park benches serve as makeshift beds, which the well-kept greenery effectively hides.

Volunteers start filling out the survey, which includes information about the participant’s name, physical and mental health, literacy, possible reasons for homelessness, and period of time spent homeless. Meanwhile, Witherspoon speaks to a man—presumably homeless—who recommends that the group not go too deep into Montrose Park looking for people who do not want to be found.

When it becomes clear that one man being surveyed is woefully dehydrated, Tony, another homeless man, immediately gives up his water bottle to assist. Afterwards, both decline a hospital visit and are left for the night.

Witherspoon heeds the warning, and the group moves on to Dumbarton, walking only on the path, using flashlights to penetrate the edge of the woods but not venturing any deeper. He has a rough estimate of how many people are sleeping in these particular woods, which is enough to suffice for the survey without putting anyone at risk.

The rest of the survey was not as fruitful for Witherspoon’s group as hoped.

He said that since the GMC had been remodeled in 2011, word

of mouth within the homeless community had spread, and the center had been seeing more people than ever. Given this influx of visitors, the group did not encounter as many people as anticipated.

Though he concedes that the homeless population in Georgetown tends to fluctuate, he came to believe that “people must have heard that we were out here tonight, and either left or hid.” This reaction could indicate the crippling paranoia and mental illness that are epidemic in the homeless community.

“It’s really rewarding, but it’s frustrating, too, because of how hard it is to reach people,” he said.

Witherspoon explained that mental illness is the most pressing obstacle for the homeless population. “Some people come from loving families, who have no background knowledge of mental illness… so it’s hard to manage their loved ones,” he said. “People tend to leave these situations and leave their families, and disappear into the streets.”

Even for those who do not suffer from the paranoia that disables them from seeking or accepting help, mental illness can interfere with the search for employment or housing. According to Witherspoon, “it’s obvious that they’re not capable of getting a job or managing a job, even though they know it’s what they have to do to get out of the situation.”

GMC provides a myriad of essential services, including food, shelter, medical and psychiatric help, laundry, and computer access.

Although it is open seven days a week, 365 days a year, it is difficult to provide occupational services because so many of their clients would, due to their illnesses, be unqualified for employment.

Even for those who do not suffer from mental illness, obstacles abound. For these people, it is tough “to be presentable to get back in the job forces, to find the services that connect you to those jobs, and to be able to get out and do a job search every day,” Witherspoon said. “If someone is not on social security, and is not working,

it’s hard to find the money to properly dress yourself, or even get on the bus to find a job.”

Even if they obtain a job, employment may not be enough to afford someone a steady home. This is the situation for Steve, a GMC client, who is employed, but not steadily enough to accrue savings.

His story is similar to those of many of his fellow homeless: Employment becomes underemployment, which becomes unemployment, which becomes homelessness.

His financial situation quickly spiraled out of control, and despite being employed part-time as a courier at the State Department, he does not yet have enough to return to California, where he once owned a home.

When searching for employment, many homeless people look to available part-time jobs. Many comb through Craigslist on the computers of GMC, Witherspoon explained, while others participate in medical and psychological studies at the hospitals throughout the District.

Differences in financial circumstances and mental health aside, all homeless people share the obstacle of victimization and misunderstanding.

“You have people who misunderstand homeless people, and for fun, or whatever, they attack them,” Witherspoon said, adding that such crimes go “unreported a lot.”

Witherspoon recognizes the stereotype that most people equate with homeless people. “The first thing that comes to mind when you say something about a homeless person, you think of a shabby, scraggly person on the street, screaming, talking to themselves, foul smelling,” he said. “That’s not the case— there are many different faces of homelessness.”

An obstacle that the homeless in Georgetown do not face as often as their counterparts elsewhere in D.C. is police harassment. In past years, Witherspoon explained, there was a Metropolitan Police Department liaison who habitually called GMC about issues with the homeless in Georgetown, trusting their expertise. Last year, Witherspoon drove

in a Metro car during the survey. He considers this indicative of the level of partnership between the organizations in developing the best way to handle an issue that is likely not disappearing anytime soon.

GMC has a similar relationship with the Georgetown Business Association and the Citizens Association of Georgetown.

Even though the existence of the GMC likely increases the number of homeless in Georgetown, Altemus, said that the Association supports all the GMC efforts. “Whenever we have issues about someone we’re concerned about, or when someone’s being aggressive, we usually touch base with Gunther, [the director of the GMC].”

“He’s our first go-to because he knows most of the people,” she said.

She also noted that the neighborhood provides financial support to GMC. According to Altemus, “Taste of D.C.,” an event sponsored by the GBA, raised $38,000 for the GMC this year. She mirrored Witherspoon’s sentiment toward the police, saying that they work closely with the GMC—not too aggressive, and aiming to help people.

The University itself does not officially participate in this unofficial partnership of organizations looking to find the best situation for Georgetown’s homeless. However, many individual members of the University community volunteer on their own initiative or through GMC. One of those people is Professor Sarah Stiles of the Sociology Department, who helped conduct the Point-in-Time survey. Stiles wrote in an email that it was “fascinating for our small group…in how it introduced us to a community within a community [and]… revealed a social network of homeless people looking out for each other.”

Though the Center for Social Justice has sent students to volunteer at various GMC projects, and both Georgetown students and faculty volunteered during the survey, the University is not active in the GMC’s efforts.

Hoya Outreach Programs and Education (HOPE) is the closest

thing Georgetown has to a homelessness advocacy group. It runs events such as food drives, which deliver meals to the homeless in Dupont Circle.

The group is less active with the homeless population of Georgetown, however. As member Bethan McGarry (SFS ’12) said, “there are fewer people and they are less concentrated,” which makes running such an event more difficult. By contrast, the homeless population of Dupont tends to be concentrated around the park benches.

Though McGarry said she wanted to do work with the potentially homeless people who

frequent Lauinger Library and the Leavey Center, she was afraid that it would bring undue attention from the administration to people who might use Lauinger as shelter, just as many do at the public library in Book Hill Park.

Though homeless people often go unacknowledged by their neighbors, organizations like HOPE and GMC work to improve their experience by providing essential resources—and by pulling this community into the larger society.

As Professor Stiles said, “people who are homeless often say what hurts the most is the feeling of being invisible to the rest of society.”

LUCIA HE

GMC provides essential services on a drop-in basis.

LUCIA HE

leisure

10 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

Sparking Infatuation with The Bi(g) Life

by Julia Lloyd-George “A Wilde man once said, ‘A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.’” Spoken with sincerity, this line guides The Bi(g) Life, featuring two dreamers who share with the audience their identities and individual visions of the world as they grapple with the heavy social issues of sexuality and body image.

Comprised of two solo performances by Jeremy Guyton (COL ’12) and Allie Villarreal (COL ’12), The Bi(g) Life is the result of months of work as part of their Theater and Performance Studies senior thesis projects. Since 2004, the senior thesis program has allowed students to explore issues important to them through both written projects and dramatic performances that, according to faculty advisor Maya Roth, “are deeply interdisciplinary, while founded in creative and critical inquiry.”

The process of developing these projects is both personal and thorough, and involves close collaboration between students and faculty. Weekly meetings allow for faculty mentoring, and advisors both direct students to new material and help refine their existing ideas. Staying true to the interdisciplinary aspect of the process meant that Villarreal drew from psychology and gender studies, while Guyton relied on bi/queer theory and design.

Roth said she was proud of the

end result of both projects, commending Guyton and Villarreal for “crafting artistic works that speak to social concerns.”

For Guyton, the social concerns surrounding the issue of sexuality are far-reaching, but often fail to address the stigma surrounding identifications like bisexuality. “It is much more than a sexual orientation,” he said. “It is a mindset.”

Through his solo performance, called Ambiguous, Guyton explores this mindset through a wide range

Matthew Thees

“I am beautiful no matter what they say, words can’t bring me down.”

of media and devices. Employing PowerPoint slides, props, and other tools, he engages his listeners in every stage of his thought process.

He even breaks down the fourth wall when he invites an audience member to the stage. He interrogates the selected person from the point of view of an authoritative doctor, eliciting an empathetic response from the audience. Finding inspiration from both family members and personal experience, Guyton uses his performance space to share his own individual journey, while asking the audience to reinterpret conventions of sexuality.

“My desires are not exclusively defined by a word,” he says.

Villarreal fearlessly tackles a different stigma in Infatuation. “FA-T,” she says to the audience.

“How can such a little word mean so much?” Drawing from a wide spectrum of demographics, she explores with poignant clarity the diversity of individual experiences associated with that one, small word. Finding inspiration in both personal friendships and Tumblr users, she plays an amalgam of characters to represent “real people

dealing with real things.” The commonality linking all of her eclectic characters, which range from a proud black woman struggling with single motherhood to a young boy sharing his athletic aspirations, is their body type.

For every character she introduces and explores, Villarreal immerses the audience in a distinct “state of being.” Transitioning from a mother to a son with the simple addition of a baseball hat, this one-woman show is packed with palpable charisma.

Never losing touch with her audience, Villareal undeniably achieves her goal of “inciting empathy” as she aims to “remove the stigma of ‘fat.’”

Ambiguous Infatuation is an exercise in re-interpreting identity. Both Guyton and Villarreal challenge the audience to re-evaluate typical identifiers of sexuality and body image by fearlessly confronting stigma and stripping terms of their negative connotations. When the lights go down, the audience cannot help but agree that these are issues worth pondering.

of Igor Stravinsky and a “Man in a Bowler Hat,” both of which challenge the traditional proportions of human form, serve nicely to illustrate that while Picasso moved back toward his classic roots, he never stopped innovating.

Picasso’s life and body of work are difficult to divide into neat little categories, and the exhibit does an excellent job of depicting just that.

As both a political activist and bohemian of the free-love variety, he

embodied a revolutionary spirit that challenged conservative notions of his time, and from that first drawing of Hercules to his later masterpieces, he never lost his trailblazing sensibility. Grouping works to create order for the gallery’s visitors while avoiding a categorical taxonomy of Picasso’s works, the National Gallery of Art captures Picasso’s spirit in a manner that is orderly but complicated—just how the artist would have liked it.

Picasso masterfully maneuvers his pencil

by Julia Lloyd-George According to his mother, Pablo Picasso’s first word was “piz,” a shortening of the Spanish word for “pencil.” And although his legacy is as the co-founder of cubism and creator of such groundbreaking paintings as “Guernica,” a new exhibit of his work at the National Gallery of Art demonstrates his power with that most basic of artistic tools. “Picasso’s Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition,” on display through May 6, explores the evolution of the artist’s style as he instigated the rise of a revolutionary movement.

Appropriately, the introductory piece of the exhibit is the artist’s earliest known drawing, a charmingly awkward sketch of a nude Hercules crafted by a nine-year-old Picasso.

From this rudimentary starting point, the first section of the exhibit progresses chronologically, spanning everything from charcoal reinterpretation of post-impressionist Paul Gauguin’s work to a monochromatic portrait of his own father.

Though the disciplinary and artistic influence of his father—also a painter—is visible in Picasso’s early

studies of the classical human form, the artist soon developed his own idiosyncratic approach. From the centerpiece of the exhibit, a transfixing self-portrait of a young Picasso gazing straight at the viewer, to several studies of acrobats, the artist tested the boundaries of artistic media in a shift toward more modern methods. In these works, Picasso employed heavy, dark charcoal outlines to define his figures, progressively neglecting the shading and level of detail demanded by his classical training.

The transition to the cubist method that defined Picasso’s career began with the rise in popularity of African art in European culture, and the stark lines and masklike faces of tribal work found their way into Picasso’s cannon. The exhibit deftly displays this influence, highlighting drawings that challenged the limits of perspective through a range of angles and vantage points. An extensive study of a standing female figure, using exaggerated geometric shapes to portray an abstract human form, stands out in this collection as the first instance of his cubist style.

The exhibit manages to reveal Picasso’s process as well, group-

ing drawings not only by period, but also by technique. A different nude study for the famed “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” an experiment in sharp angles and slashing parallel lines, reveals the same care in charcoal that Picasso lent to paint carried over into his period of “analytic cubism.”

The final section of the exhibit features both a development of Picasso’s cubist style and a renewed interest in classical art, displaying the artist’s full circle in technique. In several still-life drawings and a fascinating portrait of “The Spaniard,” Picasso uses novel materials like wallpaper to distinguish the geometric shapes that underlie his work. But, like many artists in the post-World War I period, Picasso demonstrates with these paintings a return to a more traditional style, marked by careful shading and rounded lines.

This “return to order”—the artistic equivalent of comfort food— helped an older Picasso face the era’s traumatic events. But despite this reemergence of classicism, a series of portraits in this section, which explore distortions of the human body, demonstrate that the artist was not being regressive. A portrait

National Gallery of Art

Picasso’s guitar gently weeped when it saw the artist’s drunken sketches.

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the georgetown voice 11

“Becca, quit being a bitch!” — the ring

Caught defenseless against dark arts Kabombing fine dining

by Will Collins Although Daniel Radcliffe’s brooding face graces posters for The Woman in Black, viewers hoping to find Harry Potter magic in the film are setting themselves up for sore disappointment—the only essence of Hogwarts to be gotten from this film is its foggy intro and outro. But if you’ve been hankering for a creepy, British haunted house film that will give you more than two jumps, then The Woman in Black will deliver. Like Paranormal Activity, it is the kind of film to see with an easily frightened friend and a bag of well-buttered popcorn. And although its trailer sells the movie as a nuanced, psychological thriller, the film is simple, spooky, and fun. Going in with horror movie expectations rather than high hopes for Radcliffe’s budding career will leave you satisfied instead of disgruntled.

In this play-turned-blockbuster, Radcliffe has gone from Harry Potter to Arthur Kipps, a young, widowed law clerk sent to a small town outside of London to work through the extensive will of a recently deceased woman. He leaves his toddler son with his housemaid, expecting the two to join him at the end of the week. Once outside London, the townspeople

immediately surmise Kipps’s purpose and urge him to leave.

Kipps ignores the townspeople, and makes his way to the shadowy marsh where he experiences the film’s title character for the first time. From here, the story unravels, but with no major twists or extreme depth.

Despite the wandering plot, the youngest actors and director James Watkins’s cinematography fuse to create a chilling setup. In the opening scene, the camera quickly pans across three girls’ feet, crushed toys trailing behind them. With calm faces, the little girls march directly out of their attic window. As the picture fades out, a mother ’s anguished scream resounds as a shot of Radcliffe in London fills the screen.

“Let us pass, these are not the droids you are looking for.”

The old me’s dead and gone

Every rapper’s favorite tagline seems to be that the game is always changing. However, I doubt 1988 Ice Cube, having just released the massively influential album Straight Outta Compton, would ever have believed that he would go on to create family fodder like the 2005 kiddie roadtrip film Are We There Yet? In the 24 years since his N.W.A. classic, Ice Cube underwent the amazing development from gangsta rapper to cuddly movie father figure.

The stark contrast between these two personas highlights a trend that the hip-hop/rap genre has witnessed in the past decade.

Put bluntly, industry stalwarts like Big L, Tupac, and Biggie are not dying anymore, let alone being associated with gang violence like they were in the late ‘90s. Rap is now a safe haven for producers and artists committed to a genre that rep-

Most importantly, Watkins plays up the haunted house motif, deftly concentrating the film’s action within several rooms of the old mansion. Porcelain dolls of circus acrobats fill the home’s nooks and crannies, clashing cymbals as their wind-up components create unsettling music for the film.

Radcliffe never seems alone, the house taking on a character in itself.

The Woman in Black serves up real, nerve-racking horror, so its failure to maintain a groundbreaking plot doesn’t take much away from the film.

Though the movie follows a standard plot line and presents a copious amount of “there’s the ghost!” moments, it satisfies as a typical horror movie.

resents artists who are more often topping the charts than starting a jail stint for intent to distribute or murder. Though once plagued by the hatred of parents everywhere, hip-hop is nearing acceptance as a genre of the masses like pop and rock. It is a curious shift in identity that is affecting the perception of the entire hip-hop industry.

Violence and rap have been integrally linked since the beginning of the East-West Coast rivalry.

Rebellion, greed, and pride were the catalysts for open gang affiliation. With label owners like the infamous Suge Knight of Death Row Records supporting and working with members of the Bloods, clashes were inevitable. The two most influential names on their respective coasts in hip-hop, Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, were far from inculpable in the shady deal-

iMDB

ings of their affiliates, but age and family were starting to hit home before they were gunned down a mere six months apart in 1996 and 1997. Some have died since then, like Big L in 1999, but a shift in the definition of hip-hop culture has led to the mega-success of a differ-

Blast that Box

by Matt Pacana a bi-weekly column about rap music ent breed of rapper, personified by Drake and Kanye West. There has been less murder across the board, rappers included. Just this year, homicides dropped out of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S., which has not happened since 1965. But an overall reduction in murder cannot entirely explain away a reduction in this culture of violence.

Kanye West models one theory of gaining rap success without holding street cred, and his 2004 re-

by Mary Borowiec If you were to try one of Red Fire Grill Kabob’s signature dishes at an event, or somewhere outside of their M St. shop, you might enjoy it. Sure, it is not a gourmet kabob, but for a chain restaurant, the food is decent, and maybe even enjoyable. The basmati rice is well seasoned, and the fresh baked bread complements the chicken, beef and lamb kabobs—which sadly give the impression of being overcooked and reheated—nicely.

Yet takeout or catering aside, all hope is lost for Grill Kabob’s two star offerings at their newest location, which used to be home to Aditi’s delightful Indian cuisine. With every meal starting at $11.95 and quickly rising upwards of $15, this supposedly quick lunch spot demands far more money than its fast food quality products are worth. Especially in competition with cheaper, neighboring fare like Qdoba, Grill Kabob will probably alienate student clientele with its overpriced menu. Instead, its prices place it in the same cost bracket as other local Mediterranean notables like Neyla, against which its freshness, quality, and atmosphere simply do not stack up.

On top of the disappointingly expensive cuisine, Grill Kabob’s tacky décor and poor service top

lease of debut album College Dropout embodied the change in focus.

The producer-turned-rapper relies on an image based on fashion and a presupposed grandeur that has catapulted him to mainstream success. Predictably, Kanye displays a voracious desire for money, yet he recognized early on that his audience didn’t need to see him affiliated with this rapper or that gang to ferociously accumulate such wealth. Focusing on his business and actively ignoring the feuding of gangsta contemporaries like 50 Cent enabled Kanye to succeed.

Even after his rise, the rapper remains at the forefront of changing the way hip-hop is perceived. With Watch the Throne, he and Jay-Z created a tribute to their self-indulgent glorification of success, a rare collaboration between rap superstars.

Forgetting antagonistic competition, they produced one of the bestselling albums of the year.

off the negative dining experience. From the bright orange walls to the chrome ceiling hangings, the interior of the restaurant tries too hard to make fast food dining elegant. Overhead, a flatscreen television showing the assembly of kabobs and the carving of meats provides patrons with an undesirable behind-the-scenes look at the food they are about to eat. When it comes to fast food, it is safe to assume no one wants to watch it being assembled—except in a documentary chronicling the rise of American obesity.

While the bad décor could be ignored in the face of a delicious, albeit expensive, meal, unbelievably slow service tops off the negative experience that is dining at Grill Kabob. If you want to wait in the two-hour line down the road for some TV-worthy cupcakes, that’s your own decision. But as the sole customer in a self-described “quick service” establishment, waiting 10, 15, or 20 minutes for a presumably already cooked kabob is frustrating and inexcusable.

In a city teeming with delicious restaurants, Grill Kabob flounders, racking up a bill worthy of a real sit-down dinner while serving up fast-food quality. Unless it is featured for free at a Georgetown event, this new M St. establishment is not worth a try.

A strong academic background has given Kanye and others currently in the hip-hop industry a business acumen not existent in rap startups like the Wu-Tang Clan. Increasingly more rappers have come to the realization that the music sustains itself—the criminal activity that has been associated with rap in the past is irrelevant because of its marketability as a mainstream genre. There is a reason why rappers are abandoning the drug-dealing, gun-wielding lifestyle of Biggie and Tupac.

Growing older, as many of the current greats are, has proven that the money is in the music. Kanye and company understand that there is no reason to project an image of violence when there is so much promise and safety on the golden boulevards of Hollywood.

Challenge Matt to a gangsta rap duel at mpacana@georgetownvoice.com

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

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

Gotye, Making Mirrors, Eleven The Belgian-born Australian singer, songwriter, and musician Wouter De Backer goes by Gotye, the French translation of his name.

Yet despite his adopted Frenchness, the multi-talented artist is immensely popular down under, and Making Mirrors, the singer’s recently released third album, was voted the number one album by listeners of Triple J, Australia’s renowned radio station. With a soulful, ‘60s-style pop vibe featuring simple, poignant lyrics accompanied by a diverse amalgam of instruments—from trumpets and wineglasses to guitars and bells—this album is a standout, and a breath of fresh air, in the current pop scene.

The album opens with titular track “Making Mirrors,” a oneminute number that sets the tone of the LP with soft, haunting lyrics.

While it provides a good introduction, delving further into the album

Doppel-gamers

Ever since arcade games first started sucking down people’s quarters, video games have allowed players to create alternate identities. But we’ve come a long way since Pac-Man limited your digital persona to three letters on a scoreboard.

As games have become more complex, players have had the opportunity to put a lot more than their initials (or, let’s be honest, the word ASS) into them. And while our virtual avatars haven’t quite reached Matrix levels of alternate reality yet, the degree of detail that goes into them has reached a point where their likeness can be a little frightening. Spend enough time with a character and you sometimes see a kind of funhouse mirror,

reveals that, as compared to other tracks, the album’s short namesake is relatively forgettable.

“Somebody I Used To Know,” by contrast, is the album’s obvious show stealer. A duet with New Zealand vocalist Kimbra, the striking song earned international success and is currently at number 20 on the iTunes Top 100 songs chart. Understated vocals leave room for quivering pizzicato strings, suddenly giving forth to an energized chorus.

“Eyes Wide Open” departs from the ethereal sound, providing bolder, more distinctive melodies. The song also reflects Gotye’s talent and innovation by incorporating sounds from the Winton Musical Fence, a major tourist attraction in Australia that links fence posts with tuned strings so that passersby can strike up a spontaneous song. Despite the kitschy idea, Gotye aptly blends the strings into the song’s background, keeping them from overpowering the vocals.

Since a purely ‘60s feel can get a little monotonous, Gotye mixes it up in “I Feel Better,” with some hints of Motown and a new, upbeat rhythm.

“In Your Light” and “Save Me” offer similar unconventional yet up-tempo beats, before the album rounds out with “Bronte” and “Giving Me A Chance,” which conclude on a moving, reflective note.

Together, the songs of Making Mirrors create a cohesive bohemian

sound. Though each one is different, they blend together well and complement each other with a shared style reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, Mika, and The Beatles. Gotye expertly explores self-reflection in his lyrics, while simultaneously experimenting with unique melodies that complement the vocals. And despite carrying what could be labeled hipster undertones—the retro Australian artist skirts mainstream instruments, incorporating the sounds of fence wires into his songs—Making Mirrors remains authentic, and offers a nice break from mainstream cookie-cutter pop songs.

reflecting back a skewed vision of yourself.

This kind of character customization and personalization is typically the province of roleplaying games, but it was actually a sports game that really caused me to consider the implications of our digital creations.

NBA 2K12 is the latest in an annual series of basketball games, and there’s nothing unexpected about it—you play simulations of NBA games. And like most sports games for the past decade (if not longer), NBA 2K12 features a create-a-player mode.

NBA 2K12’s My Player mode, however, doesn’t just allow you to put your name on a shooting guard and throw him in the NBA’s player pool.

First, it offers an insane degree of customization. You can alter every aspect of your player’s

appearance, including a selection of fashion accoutrements that would seem excessive in a Barbie video game, let alone a sports one. And in the name of making your character a fully realized NBA player, you control every aspect of his game,

Voice’s Choice: “I Feel Better” —Lacey Henry

Lana Del Rey, Born to Die, Interscope Records While Lana Del Rey has been incessantly assaulted by a hailstorm of criticism since

God Mode byTim Shine

a bi-weekly column about video games down to the intensity of his leg kick on fadeaway jumpers.

All that window dressing pales in comparison to the gameplay that comes when your player finally puts on a jersey.

My Player mode isn’t really like the rest of NBA 2K12 at all—it’s actually more like a role-playing game. Your player has various goals, both within individual

the release of her single “Video Games,” most of the insults have had little to do with the quality of the rising pop star’s music. Despite being accurately described as spoiled, contrived, and dead inside—or perhaps as a direct result of these qualities—Del Rey has released an album that is far more refined than her debut LP, A.K.A. Lizzy Grant, and more enjoyable than her critics are willing to admit.

Born to Die features less experimentation with synthesizers than her debut, instead utilizing a generally simple background rhythm that aids in accenting Del Rey’s distinctive voice, the most prominent feature of the album. On “National Anthem,” for instance, bass drum beats follow the pitch of Del Rey’s voice, focusing attention on the song’s message. Critics have pointed out a tone of boredom on a number of the album’s tracks, like “Radio” and “Blue Jeans,” but the songs are by no means devoid of emotion, and the effect is not one of apathy— rather, Del Rey manages to add a hypnotic element to her album, further emphasizing her powerful lyrics.

Del Rey’s voice provides the perfect forum for the underlying theme of Born To Die: the inevitability of death. The title track,

games and over the course of his career, that when completed reward you with “skill points” to upgrade your player’s abilities.

Then you have to manage your player’s relationship with his teammates and fans, the rating of which is controlled through your dialogue with the media.

In short, NBA 2K12 gives you complete control, or at least the illusion of it, over the career of an NBA player. And a large part of that is that the player you create develops a personality as the result of your choices. Whether your character becomes the consummate professional or the basketball equivalent of Kenny Powers is based on how you play the game, and it ultimately says something about you.

Of course, that something more often than not might just be that you think Eastbound

however, quickly establishes the carpe diem attitude of the record, which sharply contrasts songs generated by characters like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

While all three singers deal with navigating unrestrained drugand-alcohol-fueled parties in high heels and short skirts with the stereotypical bad boys, Del Rey approaches the subject from a well-orchestrated melancholy position driven by the poignant awareness of death. This sentiment is especially clear on “Summertime Sadness” when Del Rey croons, “got my bad baby by my heavenly side / Oh if I go, I’ll die happy tonight.”

Born To Die will doubtlessly continue to gather both support and criticism, inexorably locked in a battle between fame and infamy. Removing Lana Del Rey as a person—and her wellpublicized, disastrous recent appearance on Saturday Night Live—from the equation, however, provides a more objective view of her album. Born To Die is a powerful, well-produced record that deserves more than a contemptuous eye-roll and a thoughtless dismissal.

Voice’s Choices: “Dark Paradise,” “Radio” —Kirill Makarenko

and Down is hilarious. I’m not trying to argue that a virtual basketball player or any other user-created video game character can be used as tools for psychoanalysis.

But video games from NBA 2K12 to Grand Theft Auto to Skyrim all increasingly let their characters become products of their players’ choices, and that someone can look at these games and determine something about you other than a high score is a little unnerving.

But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. If my video game character can say something about me, all the better—it means that all the time I’ve wasted playing has at least produced something meaningful.

Challenge Tim on the virtual court at tshine@georgetownvoice.com

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page thirteen

the georgetown voice 13

THE FUNNY PAGE

Old Leo's Pizza

By John Sapunor

Foxdog

By Nico Dodd

nicododd.com

Dino-Jack and Toddactyl form a band

by Cannon Warren

voices

14 the georgetown voice

february 2, 2012

In 2012 presidential race, our last hope is Leslie Knope

by Iris Kim No currently airing television show highlights the tedium and frustrations of government bureaucracy with comedic ease quite like NBC’s Parks and Recreation.

The show’s popularity and comic brilliance is assuring to viewers, especially those who double as voting citizens, that government officials like the Deputy Parks Director of the Pawnee Parks Department, Leslie Knope, exist. Sadly, however, it seems characters like Knope only occupy in the fictional sphere.

Leslie Knope, played by Saturday Night Live vet Amy Poehler, is a firecracker of a female lead. As Deputy Parks Director, she works under steak-loving man-among-men Ron Swanson, who displays his fiercely libertarian political beliefs by doing absolutely nothing. But that’s the way she likes to do it—all on her own, with obsessive and maniacal passion.

While her character is unrealistic and cheesy, Knope is endearing in the deep and genuine love that she feels for her city and its people. She takes her role as a government employee with the seriousness and severity of a Supreme Court justice. Her dedication derives from a belief that the government should work for the people and ultimately support them in all public endeavors. This kind of genuine passion and belief doesn’t seem to exist in the (real) public political sphere. And yet, here is someone who is intelligent, with great ideas and the obsessive compulsion to see them through, in a parks department in rural Indiana.

Now in their fourth season, the characters of Parks and Rec are gearing up for a city council race, where they attempt to run a mishap-ridden campaign for candidate Knope. It is hard not to watch the show and see the parallels, with small town flair, to the idiocies and absur-

dities that have been occurring on the national stage with the Republican primaries. Parodying Mitt Romney, Paul Rudd guest stars as Bobby Newport, the spoiled rich heir to a candy empire who decides to run against Leslie for City Council. He represents everything Leslie is not—out-oftouch, entitled, unintelligent, and with little to no regard for the great city and people of Pawnee. Not to imply that the Republican candidates are unintelligent or unfit, but, clearly, there are some out-oftouch and confusing elements circling the political sphere.

Despite his shortcomings, Rudd’s character has clear advantages—a widely-known name, the financial backing that his opponent doesn’t have, and nothing on the line if he loses.

Despite his clear lead, Leslie still remains adamant against a smear campaign, despite what everyone on her campaign committee tells her. And, sadly, that is why this is fiction.

To pacify her staunch insistence on running a clean campaign, her campaign manager instead creates an ad from a home video that Leslie made when she was ten years old. In the clip, she makes a case for why she is running for City Council—to make Pawnee an even better place than she thinks it already is, with safer streets and “a more progressive tax on residential properties.”

This speaks to the kid in all of us, who once thought that politics was about fighting for what we believed in and doing what was best for a city, country, and its people.

Now, I can only equate politics to subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) manipulation for votes and distasteful hunger for power. While Leslie Knope is, at times, tactless, naïve, and a little too selfless, she has nothing but the best intentions in her role within the government.

you sound like a girl.” “Don’t hit that hard because, as girls, it hurts them more.” I have seen households divided along gender lines. When the boys play with their fathers outside, the girls stay inside.

And sadly, it all seems too normal.

Feminist movements have been fighting for equality between the sexes for well over a century. Disregarding the most radical feminist agendas, most of their demands are for equal rights, equal pay, and equal perceptions. Yet women still consistently earn, on average, less than men do, and experience a stressful and sometimes shameful decision between work and motherhood.

While it is helpful for feminist groups to educate the public and lobby Congress, some of the most basic aspects of gender roles are determined by upbringing. Everything that differs between two newly born babies relies on their sex. You find out what their gender is, and you buy clothes, choose the wallpaper, and pick the toys. This is on an either/or basis: pink or blue, flowers or trucks, dolls or footballs. Parents discourage boys from crying and encourage them to be aggressive.

At the same time, they teach girls to keep from getting dirty and to admire material beauty. When these kids reach adulthood, their upbringings contribute to damaging dating stereotypes, and form a rift in healthy communication due to a difference in emphasized emotions and goals.

I accept that, as a child, I loved my Barbie dolls and Breyer horses. I wore itchy dresses made of tulle, I didn’t play catch, I really did want that pony, and my room was painted lavender. Girls ruled, boys drooled—I loved being a girl. And now it’s a little bit awkward. My actions are often mocked because they are considered typical of my sex, rather than something I sincerely emanate. Even in today’s aggressive job industry, I’m supposed to be kind and meek, not tough.

At this age, I’m beginning to feel a conflict between my femininity and my life as a person. I frequently feel the need to translate something that makes perfect sense to me into less “girly” terms that my boyfriend can understand. In other fields, I need to find a way to translate my upbringing as a lamb to running with the lions.

I could reject my femininity on principle. I could refuse to use the hour before I start my day to primp and do makeup, like my male colleagues, who just need to remember deodorant.

I admit, though, that I like to look nice. But why is that specific to women?

The first difference between the sexes is, of course, biological. Many gender differences arise because of the different anatomy and hormone concentrations involved in each sex.

But frequently, gendered traits are learned rather than inherited—as children, we not only follow our parents’ instruction, but we imitate their actions. How parents interact with each other greatly influences the gender expressions of their children. The media’s interpretation of family gender roles has compounded this influence. The family comedic sitcom consists of a dysfunctional relationship between the husband and wife, who often joke about each other’s desires and actions and largely deal in gender stereotypes.

As a government major, I have been asked over and over what I want to do with my degree. I mostly give the snide reply that my government major has taught me that I want absolutely nothing to do with the government. While this is more likely a response to the tiresome nature of that question, I am fairly certain I do not have the tenacity, patience, and ultimate faith in public work that someone like Leslie Knope does.

As for my role as a voting citizen, it may seem naïve and hopeless to ask for a candidate like Leslie Knope. God knows, she is just as nuts as those politicians we see out there, but at least she is the right kind of nuts. That’s why I’m voting Knope 2012.

Iris Kim is a senior in the College. It was the third season when she finally realized that Pawnee, Indiania isn’t real.

The gender spectum spans more than just pink and blue

by Ana Smith A few years ago, when I was coloring with my nephew, he asked me which crayon I wanted to use. I chose purple, saying, “It’s my favorite color.” He picked up pink, and said “I love pink, it’s my favorite color.” Unconventional, but who really cares? Two weeks later he came back, and reported that pink was no longer his favorite color. Only girls like pink.

That particular wavelength of light had been designated effeminate.

Incidents like these are common among my nephew and other young boys. Their parents’ instructions go something like this: “Don’t whine,

A child’s choice in crayon color is more insidious than you think.

FLICKR

I am not suggesting we raise our children to be sexually ambiguous—they’re not.

I only propose that we think about why pink is only for girls, and why boys can play pretend with little plastic animals but not little plastic people. Parents must recognize that how they raise and discipline their children affects their views about the sexes. These silly distinctions should not exist, and my adorable little nephew should like whatever wavelength of visible light that pleases him.

Addressing these differences in child rearing and why society so strongly enforces them is paramount to creating a more receptive audience of policy-makers and to gaining ground on the feminist movement. If parents want their daughters to have all their options open and to possess every talent that they will need, parents need to stop raising them to only be adorable. People may be born a certain sex, but they get to decide their own degree of masculinity or femininity. And who knows?

Maybe my nephew just has great taste.

Ana Smith is a freshman in the College. Her opinions on romance are completely informed by old Disney movies.

voices

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the georgetown voice

15

Obama’s courageous plan to steady the cost of college

by Ambika Tripathi During his State of the Union address last week, President Obama proposed a plan to slow increases in college tuition. His strategy calls for steering federal dollars to colleges that keep tuition low while cutting federal support to colleges that continuously raise price of attendance. Focusing on campus-based aid programs that go to university administrators

instead of the much larger federal grants that go directly to students, Obama’s plan places the incentive to keep costs down squarely on the universities themselves, which ultimately have the power to prevent future increases in tuition.

In today’s challenging economy, such a proposal is necessary to prevent the transformation of college education into a privatized luxury available exclusively to the wealthy. The federal gov-

You should have probably chosen to attend a cheaper college.

KUNAL SHAH

A pirate’s life for me

In the war against online copyright infringement, the Stop Online Piracy Act—better known as the reason you couldn’t use Wikipedia two weeks ago—represents something in between a scorched earth policy and the Death Star’s destruction of Alderaan in Star Wars. The problem with the bill is that its definition of piracy is so general, and its enforcement mechanisms so extreme, that it could require the shutdown of large swaths of the Internet (including pretty much any site with user-generated content). Under SOPA, everyone would be a pirate.

But for everything that’s horribly wrong with SOPA (and there’s a lot), there’s one thing it gets right—we, indeed, are all pirates.

If the SOPA blackouts on January 18 represented the Internet’s potentially dystopian future, the Justice Department’s shutdown of Megaupload the next day epitomized its uneasy

present. The massively popular file-sharing site had always operated in morally ambiguous territory—anyone could upload anything without screening, and if it just so happened that people chose to upload every popular movie, television show, and music album, so be it.

The Justice Department, however, determined that Megaupload wasn’t really indiscriminate when it came to content, but rather that it allegedly encouraged the sharing of pirated materials. So the company’s network of sites was summarily taken down, and some of its top employees were arrested and indicted on charges of copyright infringement and conspiracy.

Megaupload’s founders claim their innocence. And it is possible to argue that Megaupload is a legitimate service for people looking to share personal recordings or back-up files, and the pirates are an unfortunate group who chooses to abuse

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ernment’s present stance on federal aid allows colleges to decide for themselves where to place the burden of a slow economy.

Instead of focusing on keeping the opportunity for attendance available for everyone, universities may decide to sacrifice lower-middle class aid for different improvements, like new facilities.

Obama’s plan will still allow colleges and universities to grow, as long as every student has the opportunity to attend.

Obama’s proposition for reform succeeds in rightly making the affordability of college education a top priority. Universities are constantly faced with competing interests. Highly paid administrators do not want to lose their jobs, professors want more money for research, and students constantly demand more financial aid. The result is a confusion of priorities—in trying to please everyone, tuition slightly increases year after year, which eventually adds up to the monstrous amount that many college students, especially those at Georgetown, are forced to pay.

The president’s audacious plan empowers struggling schools it. On the other hand, innocent men usually don’t hole up in a panic room next to a sawed-off shotgun when the police come to take them into custody.

And according to New Zealand police, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom did just that. Dotcom is an extraordinary person for many reasons—his peculiar choice in vanity license plates, his penchant for changing his name, his ability to become the world’s number

Carrying On

by Tim Shine A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

one player in Modern Warfare 3 while running a $100 million business-cum-criminal conspiracy—but despite his eccentricities I can’t help but see him as an extreme example of the typical internet user.

It’s almost impossible to use the Internet, at least for recreational purposes, without engaging in or witnessing some form of copyright infringement. Of course, it varies in degree—unknowingly watching a YouTube video featuring an unlicensed song is different from seeking out an illegal stream of an NFL game, and both seemingly pale in comparison to uploading a bootleg of

to distinguish themselves against the colleges that do not make stabilizing education costs a priority.

Forgoing tuition hikes for fear of losing federal aid both eases the financial burden on students and keeps college communities open to students who traditionally have not had access to institutions of higher education. A diverse student body not only provides for a more cognizant group of learners, but also allows for a more educated U.S. workforce, which, of course, is imperative for future economic growth.

This education reform also distinguishes sustainable and non-sustainable institutions of higher education. Those schools unable to operate annually without regular annual tuition increases will have to either find alternative means of funding, or shut down. These closures will, in turn, allow the federal government to invest its time and money pragmatically to nurture colleges that demonstrate they truly have the potential to grow.

Along with his plan to incentivize tuition stabilization,

The Grey to Megavideo—but to some extent, everybody’s doing it, and more than that, it’s almost impossible not to be aware that you are doing it.

I don’t think it’s a bold statement to say that piracy is bad.

There’s an argument to be made that free availability of content can have positive side effects— someone listens to a band they never would have otherwise and ends up buying a concert ticket—but it’s a flimsy one. If someone owns something and says they want you to pay for it, you don’t really have the authority to take it and tell the owner they’ll be better off in the long run.

Of course, everybody knows this, and piracy is still rampant.

There’s a little Kim Dotcom in all of us. Unless he never used his own website, Dotcom knew that Megaupload was filled with copyrighted material, but he found a tenuous argument to justify, at least in his mind, what was essentially a piracy emporium. The average Internet user’s engagement with copyright infringement isn’t nearly as large or direct, but we still have our own way of rationalizing— “I’ll buy a concert ticket,” or “I wasn’t going to pay to watch this movie anyway.”

The problem, though, is that the prevalence of piracy is as much a product of market failure as of corrupted morality. As

Obama’s proposal includes other much-needed improvements, including a requirement to publish information on the true price of attendance, graduation rates, average student debt, and employment rates after graduation.

These stats would allow high school graduates and their families to make the most informed decisions on their college futures.

Furthermore, the foundation of Obama’s plan rests on the principal of cooperation and compromise. The administration will not be able to help colleges that are unwilling to help themselves by stabilizing or decreasing tuition.

Backlash from House Republicans against Obama’s liberal approach to educational reform also presents an opportunity for the President to bring media attention to a national problem that has long been left unaddressed— the affordability of education.

Ambika Tripathi is a freshman in the SFS. In the time you spent reading this piece, she fell 40 cents deeper in student debt. much as the supporters of SOPA would like to make it happen, we can’t just reset the clock back to 1995. The Internet will make content readily available for free, and that’s nearly impossible to directly compete with. Business models have to change, whether it’s fair or not. Subscription services like Netflix and Spotify, which get users to pay for convenience as much as content, are part of the solution, but there’s no way to get around the loss of value. A CD used to cost $20.

Now, for $10 per month, you can access more music than you could listen to in a lifetime.

I’m still searching for a personal solution, and all I know is that it’s not found at the extremes. I’m all for protecting copyrights, but SOPA is a draconian law that would do more harm than good. At the other end of the spectrum, if you think the efforts of Kim Dotcom and his ilk are noble, you must either be an anarchist or desperate to catch up on Homeland. In the latter case, I feel your pain. I may not be able to resist the temptation either, but if I can’t, I’ll at least feel bad about it.

Tim Shine is a senior in the MSB. To him, hiding in a panic room with a sawed-off shotgun is a normal Saturday afternoon.

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