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VOICE the georgetown

FROM THE GATES TO THE GAMES

by Steven Criss and Chris Almeida

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w February 20, 2014 w Volume 46, Issue 22 w georgetownvoice.com

2 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

georgetownvoice.com twitter.com/gtownvoice facebook.com/georgetownvoice

Voice Crossword “Sochi” by Allison Galezo 35. Sean White

ACROSS 1. Hit the slopes 4. Owns 7. Track event 11. Member of Brooklyn NBA team 12. Durham univ.

13. Olympic light 14. Hank, basketball Hall of Fame coach 15. Chinese “way” 16. Joker and horse

enthusiast Ledger 17. D.C. VIP 18. Olympic sled 20. “Ciao!”

22. Couple you ship in a fandom, abbrev.

23. “Eureka!”

26. Propane, abbrev.

28. Second best 31. 28-across, 35-across, or 57-across 34. Athletic activity

didn’t even win one of these this year 37. Armageddon nation 38. Sound of contentment 39. Brit’s oath 41. Inquire 44. Golf target 45. Upper limit 47. Charlie White and Meryl Davis do this 51. Roadside bomb, abbrev.

53. Kimono sash 54. He holds the Earth on his shoulders 55. VCW’s neighbor 56. Sprint or jog 57. Phelps took quite a few home 58. Moray or Electric 59. Moose relative DOWN 1. Cut 2. Shish ___ 3. They have two silvers and three bronzes 4. Crude shelter

5. Not digital 6. Yell 7. Caviar of sushi 8. Parrot 9. Correlated Color Temperature 10. Canadian “uuh” 13. Frequent title starter 19. Navigation aid 21. Enthusiasm 23. Subdivision of a pataca 24. That woman 25. Museum piece 27. Cordial text abbreviation 29. Beer pong shout 30. Org. for women who are good drivers 31. What MSB students might want for their master’s 32. Epoch 33. Homer’s interjection 36. Braggart’s problem 37. Olympics’ birthplace 40. Crown made of this used to be a gold medal 42. Divers hope for a

10 on this 43. Afghan capital 44. Guys 46. Salmon hue 47. Droop 48. Kuwait Theater of Operations 49. Everything Last Week’s Answers: 50. Smidgen 52. Keyboard key

editorial

georgetownvoice.com

VOICE the georgetown

Volume 46.22 February 20, 2014 Editor-in-Chief: Connor Jones Managing Editor: Julia Tanaka General Manager: Nick Albanese Blog Editor: Isabel Echarte News Editor: Claire Zeng

Sports Editor: Chris Almeida Feature Editor: Lucia He Cover Editors: Noah Buyon, Christina Libre Leisure Editor: Dayana Morales-Gomez Voices Editor: Steven Criss Photo Editor: Ambika Ahuja Design Editors: Pam Shu, Sophia Super Page 13 Editor: Dylan Cutler Creative Directors: Amanda Dominiguez, Kathleen Soriano-Taylor, Madhuri Vairapandi Editors-at-Large: Caitriona Pagni, Ana Smith Assistant Blog Editors: Minali Aggarwal, Ryan Greene, Marisa Hawley, Kenneth Lee, Laura Kurek Assistant News Editors: Shalina Chatlani, Lara Fishbane, Manuela Tobias Assistant Sports Editors: Chris Castano, Brendan Crowley, Jeffrey Lin, Joe Pollicino Assistant Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Assistant Leisure Editors: Emilia Brahm, Daniel Varghese, Joshua Ward Assistant Photo Editors: Gavin Myers, Joshua Raftis Assistant Design Editors: Leila Lebreton, Andie Pine

Staff Writers:

Sourabh Bhat, Max Borowitz, Grace Brennan, Emmy Buck, James Constant, Abby Greene, John Guzzetta, Kevin Huggard, Julia LloydGeorge, Jared Kimler, Claire McDaniel, Dan Paradis, Max Roberts, Abby Sherburne, Jackson Sinnenberg, Deborah Sparks, Chris Wadibia, Annamarie White

Staff Photographers:

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

Staff Designers:

Dylan Cutler, Mike Pacheco, Corrina Di Pirro

Copy Chief: Grace Funsten Copy Editors:

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

Editorial Board Chair: Julia Jester Editorial Board:

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

Managing Directors: Mary Bailey Frank, Allison Manning The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

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

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

Email: editor@georgetownvoice.com Advertising: business@georgetownvoice.com Website: georgetownvoice.com Vox Populi: blog.georgetownvoice.com The opinions expressed in the Georgetown Voice do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University, unless specifically stated. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board. Columns, advertisements, cartoons and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the General Board of the Georgetown Voice. The University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression of its student editors. The Georgetown Voice is produced in the Georgetown Voice office and composed on Macintosh computers using the Adobe InDesign publishing system and is printed by Gannett Publishing Services.

All materials copyright the Georgetown Voice. All rights reserved.

On this week’s cover: Olympic Rings over Georgetown Cover Design: Noah Buyon and Dylan Cutler

the georgetown voice 3 DUCK DUCK GOOSA

Vote Lloyd / Ramirez for GUSA Executive In selecting which ticket to endorse in this year’s GUSA executive election, the Voice had three priorities: collaboration with student groups on existing initiatives, commitment to continued speech and expression policy reform, and overall inclusiveness of platform. After interviewing each ticket, the Voice editorial board chose to endorse Thomas Lloyd (SFS ‘15) for GUSA president and Jimmy Ramirez (COL ‘15) for vice president.

True to their slogan “Together with Georgetown,” Lloyd/Ramirez’s outside experience will bring a fresh perspective to the GUSA administration encompassing the values of the diverse groups of Georgetown students. Bold proposals in their platform take a combative stand against institutional issues within GUSA. Though lacking GUSA-specific experience, we value Lloyd’s ability to effect change without the power of a GUSA leadership role—a praiseworthy feat. His instrumental role with GU Pride in ensuring that future buildings will incorporate gender-neutral bathrooms is a tangible example of his accomplishment.

When asked about their top two priorities, Lloyd and Ramirez said increasing collaboration with other student groups on campus and improving access to speech, space and spending—two important issues to the Voice. They aim to create a climate in which groups are more able to set their own policies, rather than being subject to control by GUSA’s agenda. The What’s a Hoya program incentivized students to attend informative university-sponsored events with housing points. Lloyd/Ramirez and Singer/Silkman both suggested expanding the existing program, however, while Singer and Silkman proposed a GUSA cosponsorship, Lloyd and Ramirez indicated that they preferred to allow student groups to retain more autonomy. With this outlook, groups would be able to set their own agendas on pressing issues while allowing GUSA and its institutional authority help them incentivize students to participate.

Additionally, through their experience with other organizations, Lloyd and Ramirez understand the difficulties that arise while trying to deal with GUSA—often perceived as operating as an independent, impenetrable engine—and thus, would like GUSA to be more accessible to other groups on campus. With respect to free speech, Lloyd/Ramirez said Georgetown should embrace both its Catholic and university identities.

They propose a tiered access system for groups to receive benefits, allowing groups like H*yas for Choice to access space without the university necessarily giving it official approval. This ticket believes in a difference between access and university association. In this way, groups would be able to have greater accessibility while being separate from Georgetown’s Catholic identity.

More broadly, Lloyd/Ramirez believe that there is a culture of self-censorship at Georgetown because of fear of University reprisal if students speak out against administrative action. Lloyd’s view is that “more speech is good speech,” therefore, more lenience could bring about a cultural change toward more tolerant and productive dialogue.

The ticket, at its heart, looks to make both structural and cultural changes to GUSA, allowing greater access and moving money so that it is utilized more efficiently. Though Lloyd has not been a member of GUSA in the past, he has extensive experience in managing an organization and raising its profile, which he did with GU Pride. Ramirez, on the other hand, has worked within GUSAwhile still remaining involved in—and in touch with—a diverse array of campus groups and has shown a strong commitment to social justice.

Due to the instant run off voting system that GUSA elections use, the Voice encourages students to vote Trevor Tezel (SFS ‘15) and Omika Jikaria (SFS ‘15) for their second choice, as their ticket presents a platform including ideas and values shared by the Voice. Tezel and Jakaria create a comprehensive ticket in terms of GUSA experience and have strong priorities for both their campaign and GUSA overall.

Tezel and Jikaria’s platform suggests the same notion of a tiered access to benefits system in order to foster free speech and shows a strong dedication to student rights through its suggestion of making the Office of Student Conduct more transparent.

Furthermore, the Voice supports Tezel/Jikaria’s dedication to multiculturalism and strengthening Georgetown’s sexual assault policy, two important issues to this editorial board. Their platform shares Lloyd/Ramirez’s emphasis on refocusing GUSA resources to help student groups while encouraging accountability with its specific timelines of implementation. However, the number of measures they hope to enact are overwhelming and at times redundant with existing initiatives.

Zach Singer (SFS ‘15) and Dan Silkman (COL ‘15) also emphasized the consideration of both Georgetown’s Catholic and university aspects and have worked toward advancing free and open speech through GUSA policies, though their work has been limited by working soley within GUSA’s bounds. The Voice lauds Singer and Silkman’s commitment to socioeconomic diversity issues, as their ticket wishes to “set the platform on the socioeconomic front” by creating a leadership fund for students who have to front costs as part of their leadership roles and allowing students with outstanding tuition balances to pre-register.

In response to the administration’s proposal of a satellite campus, Singer led the “One Georgetown, One Campus” initiative against the idea, a movement that encouraged students to get involved through social media and petition efforts. Opponents Benjamin Weiss (COL ‘15) and Samuel Greco (SFS ‘15) claim the initiative merely strained the relationship between students and administrators. In reality, Singer’s campaign played a crucial role in preventing the satellite campus.

While Weiss/Greco are the candidates with the most GUSA experience by far, their similar oncampus backgrounds shed doubt on whether they could connect to a campus with diverse needs. Furthermore, they listed a long-term policy approach and internship credit recognition as their top two priorities of their campaign. We do not believe these align with the best interests of Georgetown students.

After considering the values and measures set forth by each campaign platform and which ticket would ultimately be the most effective at enacting change, Lloyd/Ramirez possesses the overall experience and leadership skills to empower both GUSA and student leaders throughout campus to fix the most pressing issues for students at Georgetown. While their platform is the shortest, their ideas are strong and succinct. We value their work outside of GUSA and the connections they have fostered among diverse student groups with even more diverse interests. Both charismatic and qualified leaders, Lloyd/Ramirez have proven themselves as capable leaders on campus, and we believe they would translate this experience into results at the GUSA executive level. Therefore, come election time, we encourage our readers to select Lloyd/Ramirez as their top choice and consider naming Tezel and Jikaria as their second.

PUSSY RIOT

FordhamshouldpermitMonologues performance

This month, Fordham University’s Women’s Empowerment Club was prevented by school officials from performing The Vagina Monologues, a feminist play known for its forthright commentary on female sexuality. Fordham’s decision to stop the play from being performed by a student group reflects poorly on the Jesuit university and brings to light some of the positive ways Georgetown stands for women’s rights.

The Fordham Office of Student Leadership and Community Development refused to allow the Monologues to be performed by a student group, forcing Women’s Empowerment to put on the show with the help of the Women’s Studies academic department. Placing the performance under an academic department, however, has made putting on the show more difficult.

Fordham should permit Women’s Empowerment to perform the show as a student group, such as how the Georgetown Women’s Center and “Take Back the Night” collaborate to put on

the production at Georgetown each year. Nesting the performance under an academic department removes the Monologues’ special ability to empower women by allowing them to coordinate and perform their own version of the play.

Jesuit values of reflectiveness and understanding others demand that universities remain open to a diversity of perspectives, especially those of empowerment, equality, and diversity—ideals the Monologues espouse.

Although Fordham’s Student House Committee, a student representative body formed last year to help students appeal OSLCD’s decisions, has voted against the decision to stop the Monologues performance, Fordham has no obligation to follow its decision.The OSLCD has said that one monologue in particular prevents the entire play from being performed: “The Little Coochi Snorcher that Could,” which tells of a 16 year-old’s first lesbian experience with a 23 year-old who date rapes her. The OSLCD has told Women’s Em-

powerment that they can perform the Monologues if this one monologue in particular is taken out.

Not only is removing a single monologue against copyright rules, removing this monologue from the performance because of the difficult subject matter it depicts undermines the purpose of the Monologues as a whole. The play’s intention is to face reality and give women a chance to move beyond trauma and take on the future for themselves.

Fordham ought to return control of this play to the hands of the students To do otherwise disrespects the very notion of academic and creative freedom that makes Jesuit universities otherwise centers for critical thinking In continuing to support the annual performance of The Vagina Monologues in its entirety, Georgetown University stands on the side of the true spirit of Jesuit values. The student performance of the play here at Georgetown is an important part of the V-Day feminist celebration and not only removes stigmas against female sexuality but empowers the women who put on the show.

news

4 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

GU students protest Maduro ICC Galleria in redesign

by Ian Philbrick Georgetown students protested along with D.C. residents Wednesday in front of the Organization of the American States building on 17th Street, N.W. in opposition to government violence against protesters in Venezuela.

The protest was organized by D.C.-based group A Voice for Democracy in Venezuela. Alberto Alfonzo (SFS ’17), a Venezuelan student, promoted the event to Georgetown students on Facebook. “The purpose of today is to send a message to the OAS that there is a national grief about the violence against students,” he said.

Demonstrators denounced President Nicolas Maduro for human rights violations and ties to Cuba’s Castro regime. Across the street, a smaller contingent bore signs in support of the Venezuelan government, claiming most Venezuelans support Maduro.

Georgetown students also joined anti-government protesters in a demonstration four days prior outside the Venezuelan embassy on 30th Street, N.W. “We’re here to free Venezuela from a corrupt government, to represent the democracy that all Latin Americans are entitled to,” said

Mafe Flores (COL ’15), a Panamanian student who attended the protest.

Many protesters held signs of the ANSWER Coalition, a national antiwar protest group.

The ANSWER Coalition alleged in a post on its website Sunday that Venezuelan students from Georgetown conducted a counter-demonstration. The post accused the “pampered” students of arriving by luxury car, bringing small, costumed dogs to pose for photos with, and hurling obscenities at the protesters.

Teunis Egui (MSB’17), a Venezuelan student who was part of the group described, rejected all these allegations and stated the only accuracy was that the group made some insults.

“The people on the other side of the street were not Venezuelan, I am 100 percent sure of that. … That they all had the same posters [from ANSWER] is suspicious also,” wrote Egui in an email to the Voice. “It is not farfetched to think that these people were offered some money to stand there and do nothing, while the true Venezuelans who care about the country are worried about the current situation.”

He added he was the only Georgetown student in his group. The ANSWER Coalition could not immediately be reached for comment.

by Ana Smith Student leaders of the School of Foreign Service Academic Council sat down with representatives of the Office of the Provost last week to discuss their proposal to increase the amount and quality of student space in the Intercultural Center.

According to SFSAC Vice President and Junior Representative Megan Murday (SFS ‘15), the proposal outlines the need to make the ICC Galleria “a more student-focused space” as one of the most utilized academic spaces on-campus outside of Lau. Representatives of the Provost’s Office outlined plans to increase the quantity and quality of furniture on the first and second floors, install laptop stands in the hallways, add more tables and chairs in the same style as those in Regents and Hariri, and replace underused hallway computers with single-student booths.

The formal proposal was drafted by a committee of representatives from SFSAC, The Corp, the International Relations Club, and the Georgetown University Student Association.

Kyle Zhu (SFS ‘14), SFSAC president and member of the proposal committee, marked this proposal as one of the SFSAC’s first attempts to be more proactive on campus.

“Instead of looking for ways to fund new

buildings and spaces ... more focus should be placed on optimizing spaces that Georgetown already has,” he said, adding the proposal has “expanded into a review of the entire ICC.” Murday and Zhu are not aware of any opposition to the proposal, but members of SFSAC have stressed the need to proceed with caution in striking a balance with all stakeholders. “Faculty are concerned about noise and the Provost is concerned about the capacity to continue holding events. These factors mean that this project includes a lot more planning ... than originally thought,” Zhu said.

According to Murday, the Provost’s Office contracted an engineering firm to investigate the structural challenges of upgrading the electrical capacity, lighting, and soundproofing in the ICC Galleria.

Plans will hopefully be solidified by the end of the semester, according to Zhu, and students can expect to start seeing changes within the next year, with the changes to the first and second floors arriving “as early as before this summer’s first session.”

Future discussion of the project will take place “with Provost [Groves] during his student engagement meeting in March,” Murday said.

Groves, who is out of town, could not be reached for comment.

Adjunct panel talks unionization

by Lara Fishbane

The Capital One branch will be closing after 10 years of service.

Katherine Landau

Capital One branch closing May 21

by Jared Kimler

Vice President of Financial Affairs and University Treasurer David Rubenstein announced in a campus-wide email on Friday that the Georgetown Capital One Bank branch will be closing on May 21.

According to Assistant Vice President for Communications Stacy Kerr, Georgetown’s 10year contract with Capital One is set to expire in June, which Capital One chose not to renew.

“We have had a positive relationship with Capital One for the past 10 years, we of course respect their business decision not to reapply and appreciate their service to our Georgetown community,” Kerr wrote in an email to the Voice.

According to Kerr, 400 to 500 faculty members use the branch for direct deposit, and the number of students who use the bank is Capital One’s private information to which Georgetown is not privy. Capital One Georgetown branch manager April Seymour said she was not able to answer questions at this time.

In the process of reviewing the contract in October, the University invited eight undisclosed banks to apply for partnership and three have done so. The chosen bank will be announced on April 1. The committee assembled to select the bank include representatives from the Faculty Senate, Georgetown University Student Association, Department of Financial Affairs, Department of Student Affairs, Athletics Department, and University Auxiliary Services.

“We wanted to ensure student representation,” said Asad Esmail (MSB ‘15), GUSA treasurer and representative on the committee.

According to Kerr, priorities for the committee include choosing a bank that will support Georgetown in “financial literacy programs, scholarships, mission-driven programming and internships.”

“I am devastated by this news [of Capital One closing],” Parth Shah (COL ‘16), a student who opened a Capital One account last semester. According to Shah, he chose the bank solely because of its partnership with Georgetown.

Georgetown University Student Association and Georgetown Solidarity Committee co-sponsored a panel on adjunct unionization on Wednesday to discuss the issues that adjunct faculty face both at Georgetown and at other American universities.

Guy Mentel (COL ’14), GUSA secretary of academic affairs, organized the event to “inform people about the main plight of adjunct professors, not only at Georgetown, but also on a more national level.”

“I think most students don’t know that some of their professors are adjunct and what being an adjunct means,” said Sydney Browning (COL ‘15), an advocate for adjunct unionization and GSC member.

Anne McLeer, Service Employees International Union director of research and strategic planning, began the panel with remarks on the most pressing issues faced by adjuncts nationwide. “Many students may not realize that over 50 percent of the instructional faculty in institutions of higher education are parttime, paid by the course, have no benefits, no job security,” she said.

The panel’s adjunct professors included Ori Soltes, Kerry Danner-McDonald, and Senior Fellow at the McCourt School of Public Policy Pablo Eisenberg.

Danner-McDonald spoke about the challenges of balancing academia with family

and personal commitments. Soltes stated he has worked for Georgetown for 20 years but still does not have an office and only earns 45 percent of what a beginning assistant professor does. Eisenberg discussed how other professors treat him as an inferior, even after winning an accolade for professor of the year.

All three felt the major concern was a lack of respect. “It really fundamentally comes down to a sense of being disrespected, rather than practical elements,” Soltes said.

According to McLeer, adjunct professors at Georgetown have had it easier in unionization compared to those at other universities.

“The University followed the Just Employment Policy and didn’t try to fight the union or try to dissuade any of the adjuncts from supporting the union,” she said.

Although Georgetown’s adjunct faculty unionized last May, they are still in negotiations with administration. “It’s a very slow process,” Danner-McDonald said. “You make a proposal, there’s a counter proposal, and it goes on until the language of a specific clause is agreed upon.”

“We have been bargaining over the whole semester,” said McLeer. She said they are first working on noneconomic issues, such as job security and academic freedom, but “hope to wrap that part up pretty soon.”

For more news on adjunct unionization, check out Vox Populi at blog.georgetownvoice.com.

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NEWS HIT

ResLife introduces new housing selection policy The Office for Residential Living announced multiple changes to the housing selection eligibility process that will take effect for the 2015-16 academic year housing process.

“The key changes are that rising seniors who receive eligibility will have priority in the housing selection phases over rising juniors and sophomores. Rising juniors will continue to have priority over rising seniors in receiving eligibility,” wrote Patrick Killilee, executive director of residential services, in an email to the Voice. “We have also altered the selection process to allow students to find out prior to the summer between their sophomore and junior year if they will [have] eligibility for their senior year.”

The class of 2017 will still be excluded from housing selection if studying abroad, since the timeline for housing selection will be later. This policy was originally implemented on Jan. 16 for the class of 2016 but was delayed on Feb. 6 after negative feedback from students.

—Claire Zeng

University unveils more social design for NE Triangle

by Shalina Chatlani Georgetown Residential Living, the Georgetown University Student Association, and Sasaki Associates hosted an information session Wednesday concerning recent developments in the design for the Northeast Triangle Dorm, which is slated to begin construction in Oct. 2014, according to University officials. Additions to the original dorm design include greater integration of student socializing space into the overall structure and a new entrance from the south.

“The building has ... two entrances, one that is more referential in terms of architecture and materiality … and the other one that is a little more open, to signify the commitment to living and learning [and] communication between the living and learning programs on the first floor,” said Vinicius Gorgati, principal with Sasaki Associates, the architectural firm designing the Northeast Triangle.

Gorgati described infrastructure in the dorm, such as a laundry room down the hall from an open patio, workplaces, study rooms with natural lighting located throughout the residential

Why you should care about GUSA Last week, as I was fulfilling my duties as the Voice’s crisis-manager-in-chief, I had a meeting with my ethics professor. He asked how I was and I told him—this week was bad.

He asked me if I had to deal with controversies a lot, and I told him about some of the particularly contentious stories I’ve pursued in the past. When I brought up the Stewards controversy of February 2013, he burst out laughing.

I don’t blame him. For an election in which some 3,000 ballots are cast, there are secret societies, anonymous tipsters, televised debates, and endless media coverage. Think about how ridiculous the pseudonym “Steward Throat” is. This year, I’ve already received emails from “Edward Stewarden.”

While it may seem that GUSA elections lack any form of substance, it doesn’t have to be that way. Citizens nationwide underestimate the importance of local governance, of which GUSA is a form. If people do follow the news, they usually follow nation-

the georgetown voice 5

al news and politics. While larger stories are important, what’s going to directly affect you is what’s going on locally.

I’ve heard plenty of students gripe that “GUSA doesn’t even do anything!” Sure, while they’re not a fully-fledged student government and they can’t change the world, they still effect change for undergraduates. In the past year, the keg ban was lifted, open containers were approved in two apartment complexes, the satellite campus was killed, dorms were designed and redesigned, and the What’s a Hoya program began.

When Georgetown elects a GUSA president, we are electing the person who will speak on our behalf in meetings with administrators, whose decisions affect everyone. No GUSA president would speak against student interests, which are usually pretty clear cut.

Differences lie in approach.

Do the candidates view GUSA as a programming body or as an organization dedicated to changing policy? It can be both, but the

area, and meditation spaces on the seventh floor.

“As you come into the living learning community, you come into an open space that is flexible and has panels, and you can you use it for multiple things. It has a kitchen that can support operations for the multipurpose room,” Gorgati said.

The design includes a non-accessible green roof and incorporation of small gardens along the sides. Large, operational windows will be built to allow for ventilation throughout the building.

The Northeast Triangle Dorm will be the first residence hall that will not require a key for entry.

Students will require only their GOCards to enter the building, the halls, and their individual dorms. Some students raised concerns about security at the forum.

“Well, I think there are a couple things to keep in mind. You can always say that your GOCard has been stolen, [so you can deactivate it],” said Stephanie Lynch, assistant dean for residential living. “Second, on your GOCard there isn’t any information which says where you are living.”

Audience members also posed questions about construc-

Trevor Tezel (SFS ‘15) / Omika Jikaria (SFS ‘15) ticket emphasizes policy, whereas the Zach Singer (SFS ’15) / Dan Silkman (COL ’15) ticket highlights programming.

What approach will the ticket take? Thomas Lloyd (SFS ‘15) and Jimmy Ramirez (COL ‘15) promise to take a more combative stance, whereas Benjamin Weiss (COL ‘15) and Sam Greco (SFS ‘15) will likely take a more institutional approach.

Saxa Politica

by Connor Jones

A tri-weekly column about campus news and politics The other salient aspect for candidates is what they choose as their top priority. GUSA executives (who are full-time students, after all) won’t be able to accomplish everything they want to, so it’s important to set realistic goals. Two years ago, it was probably a mistake to focus so heavily on reestablishing the Healy Pub. It was never going to happen.

The same applies with this year’s proposals. Gender neutral housing, an open-door drinking

The Northeast Triangle is slated to open fall 2016. tion in the high traffic area between Leavey and Henle. Robin Morey, vice president for planning and facilities, responded that the University and architects would aim to mitigate impact as much as possible.

Morey also said construction times for the building would be around the same as those for the New South Student Center, beginning at 8 a.m.

“We are in the last third of design development … and it’s going to take us another four to five months after this phase is complete to finish the documentation. ... Then, the construction

policy, and establishing costly buses downtown would all be great reforms for students, but they all probably won’t happen. If planks have been in GUSA platforms year after year and still haven’t been accomplished, it stands to reason the University won’t be giving in soon.

Then again, at this time last year, I wouldn’t have expected there to be a pilot open container policy in Village A and Henle.

There are several innovative ideas in this year’s platforms. Both Lloyd/Ramirez and Tezel/Jikaria say they want to create a tiered structure for access to benefits for student groups—which would allow a greater diversity of perspectives to thrive here. The Singer/Silkman ticket is right to emphasize issues of accessibility for students in lower income brackets. Student leaders often have to pay hefty deposits out of their own pockets in order to perform the regular duties of their group, and that problem has gone unaddressed for too long.

Right now, it’s too early to say which ticket is ahead, but they seem to be running about even.

SHALINA CHATLANI

schedule is about 16 months,” Gorgati said.

Senior University architect Jodi Ernst, however, explained that the process is contingent upon the permit approval process. “It will start early October … you might start seeing construction on the site as early as June, but that is contingent on the permit … we’re juggling approvals right now,” she said.

The University is currently discussing design with the Old Georgetown Board, which needs to approve designs before recommending approval of a permit to the D.C. Fine Arts Commission.

As quasi-incumbents, Singer and Silkman make a formidable team. Lloyd has a strong record as president of GU Pride, where he spearheaded the effort to get gender neutral bathrooms in the Northeast Triangle Dorm. As former president of College Dems, Tezel has a large group of students who know him, which is only enhanced by his vice-presidential pick Jikaria, board member of the Georgetown International Relations Association. Weiss and Greco are well-liked and seem to be widely known, though they’re both branded GUSA insiders.

For some reason, though, enthusiasm seems to be diminished this year. As of Wednesday, only two campaigns have banners up in Red Square. Chatter on social media seems to be down. Maybe it’s the cold weather. Maybe the junior class isn’t inspiring enough. Whatever the case, my participation will remain unaffected. I have a soft spot for civic duty—even on the smallest scale.

Giggle over casting ballots with Connor at cjones@georgetownvoice.com.

sports

6 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

Men’s basketball stumbles in rematch with St. John’s

by Brendan Crowley After a four-game winning streak that sparked renewed hope in the possibility of an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team (15-10, 6-7) received a humbling wake-up call Sunday night, after suffering an embarrassing loss at the hands of St. John’s (17-9, 7-6) 82-60.

The St. John’s Red Storm jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the game’s first six minutes, holding the Hoyas without a field goal until the 12:55 mark in the first half, when Markel Starks connected on a three-pointer. At the half, the Hoyas faced an 18-point deficit, trailing at 46-28.

“We weren’t playing,” said Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III, “[A team] that’s playing as well as they’ve been playing, you can’t spot them that many points.”

Early in the second half, the Red Storm lead swelled to as much as 20, before a long-awaited Hoya run cut the deficit to just seven points with 10:49 left to play. The Hoyas, however, went cold from the field, and were outscored 26-11 over the course of the game’s final eleven minutes.

“We chipped away, we chipped away,” Thompson said.

“We got it to a workable number...

At that point we made some bad decisions, which allowed them to pull it back out.”

A crucial moment came late in the second half when a double technical was called on Hoyas’ guard Jabril Trawick and St. John’s forward Chris Obekpa. The technical foul on Trawick was also his fifth personal foul, ending his night with just over six minutes to play in the game. For Thompson, Trawick’s benching was a major blow to the Hoyas down the stretch.

“Jabril breaks his jaw and we beat them,” Lavin said. “I think pushed Georgetown into the bot- three consecutive games, all part lose five in row,” Thompson re- the bigger picture here is that tom half of the Big East standings, of the five-game losing streak minded the media. “So when he’s the team is continuing to make with difficult matchups against that first cast serious doubt on not on the court, we are not the strides in a positive direction. Marquette, Creighton, and Vil- their hopes for a berth in the same team. His energy and his It’s a team that…has continued lanova looming. All three teams NCAA Tournament. On Thurstoughness are contagious...It prob- to improve on a daily basis and have already beaten the Hoyas day, Georgetown will be looking for increased production from ably gave [St. John’s] courage as now we are seeing the dividends once this season.

First up, however, is a match- Starks and Smith-Rivera, who of that hard work.” much as it sacked us.”

The loss comes at a crucial up this Thursday night at 9 p.m. combined to shoot 7-of-24 in the The Red Storm were led by two dynamic scoring performanc- point in the season for the Hoyas, on the road against the Pirates of teams’ Jan. 18 meeting.

Following Thursday’s game es from backcourt mates D’Angelo who continue to fight for an at- Seton Hall (13-12, 4-8). In their last Harrison and Rysheed Jordan, each large bid to this year’s NCAA meeting, the Pirates stunned the the Hoyas will return to D.C. for a of whom tallied 24 points in the tournament. After impressive Hoyas at the Verizon Center, total- matchup with Xavier (17-8, 7-5) at game. The pair shot a combined 15 wins against national powerhouse ly controlling the pace of the game, Verizon Center on Saturday. The Hoyas lost 80-67 against the Musof 26 from the field, including five Michigan State and Big East rising leading to a 67-57 win.

After the loss, the Hoyas lost keteers earlier this year. star Providence, Sunday’s loss of 12 from beyond the arc.

“I think D’Angelo and Rysheed’s performances were emblematic of our team tonight and really set the tone,” St. John’s Head “Norway currently leads the medal count with 12, followed by the Netherlands and Canada, followed then by white-sylvania and albino-stan.

The Winter Games are really the only games that to do well, you have to look exactly like the surface you’re competing on.” –Jon Stewart Coach Steve Lavin said. “Rysheed, SCAR, to her name: a 2008 Indy- of a front page headline, but early in the game, and D’Angelo in by Chris Almeida car event that is far from being the this is lightyears away from that the second half after Georgetown scenario.

Wimbledon of racing.

There’s always been a lot of made a run helped our cause. Their Of course, media coverage Patrick is not at fault for some buzz surrounding Danica Pataggressiveness and purposeful will always be about viewership of what has been happening.

It rick.

She has been by far the most play made a big difference for us and readership, but there are alwould be silly to turn down marsuccessful female racer in both tonight.” ways degrees of absurdity and keting coverage.

If companies Indycar and NASCAR compeFor Georgetown, an utter nopandering to an audience.

When want to make Danica into a sex tition, and we’ve heard about it. show from the frontcourt was the sports media talks about Patrick symbol and pay her millions in Recently, however, Richard Petty, story on offense. Starting forwards the winningest driver in the his- the process, why would she say and her chances of winning in an Nate Lubick, Mikael Hopkins, tory of NASCAR—widely known no? However, to the sports fan, or objective manner, it’s begging for and Reggie Cameron accumulatin the racing world as “The especially the NASCAR fan, who viewers only marginally less than ed more combined fouls than they King”—has drawn publicity for looks to the media for objective Buzzfeed begs for clicks. did points—eight and six respecWe all enjoy success stories saying that Danica would only sports coverage, it becomes infutively. Virtually all of the Hoyas’ and pioneer tales, but Patrick’s riating to turn on SportsCenter have a chance of winning in the scoring came from Markel Starks, story isn’t that of the first female and hear about a driver outside Sprint Cup Series if, “everybody D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and Jabril competitive driver. It’s not the of the top-25 every time there is else stayed home.”

Trawick, who racked up 41 of the story of a legendary champion. a Sprint Cup race.

Like Brett FaThis statement has drawn the team’s 60 points combined.

What is it?

The story of the first vre’s retirement, the Roger Clemusual criticism.

Many pundits “Offensively, as well as defendecent female participant in racens steroid story, and David Beckand fans alike have called Petty a sively, we have a small margin of ing?

Unless I am largely misguidham’s move to America before sexist, but I have to agree with his error,” Thompson said. “You can’t comment wholeheartedly. Patrick it, the Danica Patrick story has ed, this is not a story substantial have breakdowns.” enough to last ten years, much isn’t a bad driver. She isn’t incom- become, simply, a waste of time.

The result of this game was less one that should warrant a How much do we hear about petent, but we don’t read heada 360 degree turn from when larger spot on the radar than the Michelle Wie now?

Not much, lines about David Ragan or Derek Georgetown and St. John’s last met happenings surrounding Jimmie because she failed to produce reGilliand, the drivers who finished on Jan. 4. The Hoyas dominated the Johnson, who is far and away the sults.

Patrick does not even have behind and ahead of Patrick in Red Storm, 77-60, thanks to a career greatest driver of his generation. to play on the same slope as other last year’s Sprint Cup standings. day from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, There have been 72 Sprint female athletes aiming to compete Yes, we hear a bit too much who notched 31 points.

Cup races over the two years in with men because of her sport. about drivers like Dale Earnhardt “When a team beats you, as which Patrick has participated in Driving-related sports, Jr., most famous for being the son Georgetown did earlier this seathe top level of NASCAR racing. while being highly technical, of Dale Earnhardt, unquestionson, you want to come back and ably one of the top two drivers despite what many may think, She hasn’t won a single one and in NASCAR history. However, do not highlight the physiolog- has one top-three finish. More so, Earnhardt Jr. is no scrub—he fin- ical differences between men in Indycar, her specialty, over sevished fourth in Sprint Cup stand- and women. I don’t think there en years, Patrick has seven topings this year and has a Daytona is any argument that the gap be- three finishes and one win. The tween men and women in their results speak for themselves. Pat500 title under his belt.

Let’s not forget, Patrick isn’t ability to maneuver vehicles is rick shouldn’t be taken seriously Kevin Durant, Phil Mickelson comparable to that of a woman until her performance dramaticalat the U.S. Open, or 1993 Steve sprinting against men or partic- ly improves.

“If she’d have been a male, Young, she’s a driver who has ipating against the opposite sex been in the news for the better in a sport like soccer or basket- nobody would ever know if she’d part of the last decade without ball. If a woman posted the 27th showed up at a racetrack. This is being on the verge of any signif- best time at a world-class track a female deal that’s driving her,” icant happening. Patrick has one meet in the 100-meter dash, it said Petty.

I’d have to agree. race win, in either Indycar or NA- would absolutely be deserving

Men’s basketball is searching for answers after their blowout loss.

the sports sermon

FREDDY ROSAS

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Women’s hoops finish strong High hopes again for Nats

by Arjun Gupta For a team that has spent their whole season looking for a signature win, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (9-18, 3-12 Big East) could not have asked for a better time to beat the No. 22 team in the country. The Hoyas squeaked past St. John’s (19-6, 12-2 Big East) 60-57 on Tuesday night.

In a game that was competitive from tip-off to buzzer, the Hoyas were unable to breathe until the very last second, when St. John’s senior guard Eugenia McPherson shot a 3-pointer that careened off the back of the rim.

Senior guard Samisha Powell led the Hoyas with 13 points, while freshman star Natalie Butler and senior captain Andrea White both pitched in with 11 rebounds each. The Hoyas were down 3129 at the half after being down by 10 earlier in the game. The Hoyas finished the first half on a 12-4 run

to get back into the game. The Blue and Gray had seven players who scored, with Butler leading the way with 8 points and 7 rebounds.

In the second half, the Hoyas led by as many as nine points. Sophomore forward Logan Battle played a big role in building that lead, as she had two timely three-pointers and scored eight of her 12 points in the second half.

Coming into the game, the Red Storm had won eleven games in a row and were first in the Big East.

A win over a conference rival and ranked opponent should help the Hoyas carry momentum into the Big East tournament.

This big win comes on the heels of a disappointing 67-59 loss to Butler (12-13, 7-7 Big East). The Hoyas out-rebounded the Bulldogs and shot a better percentage from the field, but according to Head Coach Jim Lewis, failed to play their best defense when it mattered most.

“The main thing we talked about after was when the game was on the line, we had three areas in our defensive efforts which cost us: we didn’t close out on shooters, our transition defense, and the inability to keep the ball out of the middle.”

The Hoyas were able to solve some of these problems on defense, as they held St. John’s to 4-of-14 shooting on three pointers and under 40 percent shooting from the field. Georgetown, on the other hand, shot 49 percent from the field.

Andrea White and Natalie Butler both continued their strong performances from earlier this season. While White, who is the team’s leading scorer this season, struggled to find the basket, she rounded out her performance in the rebounding department. Last week, she was recognized by earning a spot on the Big East weekly honor roll. Butler was named Big East Conference Rookie of the Week. This was the record-tying tenth time she earned the honor.

With three games left in the season against Villanova, Providence and DePaul, and the Big East tournament coming up, the Hoyas face the most daunting section of their schedule yet. But after Tuesday’s win, a season that many were saying was lost suddenly seems to have a hint of promise.

“World Series or bust,” said former Nationals manager Davey Johnson. “That’s probably the slogan this year.”

That was a year ago. But there was no World Series for the Washington Nationals. The great hope of the District failed to produce in 2013, missing the postseason and leaving fans of District teams distraught as a hopeless football season began to spiral out of control.

With spring training for 2014 commencing, the 2013 World Series favorite Nats sport a similar roster, loaded with talent from top to bottom, but still looking to make a deep run into the postseason.

Last season saw the retention of “Gold Glove” first baseman Adam LaRoche and the trade of outfielder Michael Morse. The signings of outfielder Denard Span, starting pitcher Dan Haren, and closer Rafael Soriano also made headlines. Soriano, supposedly a big time acquisition from the Yankees, was supposed to fill the spot of Drew Storen, who blew a save in the deciding game of the 2012 National League Division Series. More so, Stephen Strasburg entered the season without an inning count.

Soriano, however, was not the flamethrower everybody expect-

ed, and the Nationals 2013 bullpen looked just as unreliable as its predecessor. Haren struggled to meet expectations, Strasburg again struggled with injuries, and even though Span lived up to the hype, Washington fell short of the skyhigh expectations that were a new standard in the nation’s capital.

“I used to hate it when people said we had a young team.

No knock on [Bryce] Harper and [Stephen] Strasburg, but they barely spent any time in the minors at all,” Nationals second baseman Ian Desmond told the Washington Post. “We weren’t just a young team; we were inexperienced. It takes years to learn the details of the pro game.”

The Nationals have not fallen out of the graces of sports pundits. They’re Vegas’ third favorite to take home a World Series title, but their season will center around their ability, or lack thereof, to turn talent into wins.

The Nats are an anomaly.

Washington sports teams are not predicted to succeed, and they rarely find a way to do so. However, if this year’s iteration of the team fails to make a deep postseason run, it will surprise experts and fans alike.

Whether or not it is warranted, for the 2014 Nationals, the pressure is on.

Struck at first by the fact that his professor was questioning his decision dedicate to so much time and money to his education, he soon realized that the question was asking something much more important.

He then concluded that, “you have to ask yourself with every decision you make and every situation you find yourself in, am I here because I want to be here, because I believe in it, or because I feel like I have to believe in it?”

From this conversation Lukezic gained new sense in how he approached his life goals and career path. After proving to himself that he could be a top-caliber athlete when he missed qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games by only a few tenths of a second, his focus on training sharpened. Adversity took a stab at his athletic career, though, when he was injured just before the 2008 Olympic Trials. After giving his dream of competing in Olympics another year, Lukezic made a decision

that would shape a new chapter in his life.

“I spent a lot of time in a very solitary existence and it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Lukezic said.

With new direction and a fresh passion to pursue a career in business, he eventually convinced thenstart up Airbnb to give him a chance to help them build their company nearly from scratch. Lukezic did not forget that conversation with his professor and made sure that passion for his work was the main priority. Today, Lukezic continues to live by this standard, following a new dream of starting a record label alongside his current work in London, expanding Airbnb to the European market.

“Choosing to follow your passion always leads you in the right direction because you are willing to go through all of the struggles it takes to achieve success.”

Converse with Steven at scriss@ georgetownvoice.com

by Chris Almeida

AMBIKA AHUJA

Women’s hoops played clutch defense in their win against St. John’s

Lessons from Lukezic

Moving from a suburban city in the mountains outside of Seattle to the bustle of Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University was not an easy decision for former Hoya track and field standout Christopher Lukezic. For him, the move meant that he would be entering “an incredibly different world” with “an incredibly different set of people”.

I can relate to this sort of decision, being from California and making the jump to the opposite coast just two and a half years ago.

Moving comes with a particular set of risks that much of Georgetown’s Northeastern attendees may not have had to consider. Lukezic took the changes he was confronted with in stride and has set an example of what open-mindedness in the Georgetown setting can accomplish.

“I think that it was an amazing opportunity for me, for someone who ... didn’t grow up with parents

who were super high achievers, or heads of state, or at Fortune 500 companies, to be exposed to people who had actually grown up in that context, who had this incredibly different world perspective,” Lukezic said.

As a 1500-meter runner with promise to compete at an international level, challenging the boundaries of what he thought possible was essential in leading him to his greatest accomplishments. Learning from those around him, though, did not just fuel his ambitions, but also built in him an ability to weigh his life goals against each other.

“I was probably way too focused, way too serious about [track] my freshman year because I didn’t really know anything other than training. I kind of got surrounded by people who in a lot of ways taught me how to have a really good balance,” Lukezic said.

As Lukezic reached his final year at Georgetown, he was again challenged to do some soul-searching when a professor, who also acted as a close advisor to the young athlete, posed a simple, yet difficult question. “Why are you here?” the professor asked.

On the Record

by Steven Criss

A Voice exclusive with former Hoya track star Christopher Lukezic

Lukezic had already signed a professional contract that would guarantee his life would be dedicated to track for the next five years, yet he still felt that it was obvious that he should complete his education.

“Is it something you have to do or is it something you feel like you have to do in order to do something else later? [Is] it a stepping stone to something else? Or [is] it something you really felt that you [had] to do?” his professor continued.

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8 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

CLIMBING TO THE SUMMIT THE STORIES OF FIVE HOYA OLYMPIANS

by Steven Criss and Chris Almeida It’s no secret that the Hilltop is teeming with type-A students. Hoyas have ended up at the top of the financial, political, and entertainment worlds. There are a handful of people, however, who have also reached the pinnacle of the sporting world after wearing the blue and gray. Over 30 coaches and athletes affiliated with the University have been a part of the Olympic Games. The Voice caught up with five Olympians who competed in events from the 1972 Games in Munich to the 2012 games in London.

Samyr Laine

COURTESY SAMYR LANE

Steve Holman

COURTESY GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

After Samyr Laine (LAW’ 10) did not qualify for the triple jump in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he made two major decisions—first, that he would augment his drive and dedication to accomplish his ultimate goal of representing Haiti in the Olympics and, second, that he would become a Hoya by enrolling in Georgetown Law School.

Laine’s passion for law had been sparked while debating in high school and continued throughout his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, where he completed a government major and roomed with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg his freshman year.

With a law degree under his belt, Laine turned his focus to the 2012 London Games, deriving the ambition for his medal aspirations from the opportunity to represent his family’s homeland.

“I get a lot of motivation from the country, the children in Haiti, a lot of whom were orphaned by the earthquake, and just knowing that when I’m representing the country I’m one of a few people doing so,” Laine said.

“There are a lot of people looking to me for inspiration, motivation, hope, or just to be a great representative of the country... It was a great experience just because I was wearing Haiti across my chest.”

Although Laine did not earn a medal in 2012, he continues his pursuit of Olympic hardware while also encapsulating what it means to be a high-achieving Hoya.

In addition to being a full-time professional track and field athlete, Laine has also written a book about how to be successful in law school, started a foundation to help increase athletic opportunities for young Haitians, currently works as govern-

ment affairs counsel to Monumental Sports Entertainment in Washington, D.C., and teaches as an adjunct professor at Marymount University in Arlington, V.A. “A lot of being a professional athlete is your downtime and making the most of [it]. So for me, while I’m resting and while I’m recovering, I can write, I can work on a book, I can work on my foundation, I can do my professional endeavors at Monumental, and a lot of it is just putting things in their proper place, doing them when they have to be done and trying to procrastinate as little as possible,” said Laine.

Laine is in no way planning to slow down in his pursuits, making him a definite focal point for Hoyas looking forward to the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.

After growing up and attending high school in Minnesota, Steve Holman (COL ‘92) really had only one school in mind when searching for the college that suited his running and academic pursuits.

He was determined to become a Hoya.

“Georgetown certainly had a long tradition in track in middle distance, which was my specialty, but I was also looking for a good school academically. … Georgetown fit the bill,” said Holman.

After being recruited to the Hilltop, Holman’s attentions were forced to encompass much more than just his training in the 1500-meter and the mile. Training, traveling, and keeping up with his studies at a school that prides itself heavily on academic achievement pushed the boundaries on just how much he could handle while fatigued, yet Holman credits Georgetown with instilling an invaluable sense of discipline in his life.

“My coach always had a thing—he always said that you have the three spheres of life: you have the academics, you have the athletics, and you have the social. You

can really generally only do two really well, so I think I probably did make some sacrifices,” Holman said.

By the time Holman reached his senior year, his talent was clearly visible.

He was part of one of the best teams in the East, and was also keeping up with another legendary Hoya runner, John Trautmann (MSB ‘90), during training sessions. Head Coach Frank Gagliano wanted to make sure that Holman knew what levels of success Holman was capable of achieving.

“I’ll never forget, it was one of the first practices of the season and Gags [Gagliano] pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, you’re one of the best in the country. Our goal is to get you on the Olympic team, and I believe you can do it,’” Holman recounted.

Holman’s collegiate career culminated in June of 1992 when he graduated from the College, won the NCAA outdoor championship in the 1500 meter, and then qualified to represent the United States in Barcelona that summer.

After returning from the Olympics, Holman continued to maintain strong ties with fellow Hoya track and field athletes.

“I was coming to campus everyday to train all through the nineties. So even though I was only a student, my relationship [with Georgetown] lasted almost a decade,” said Holman.

The decision to retire came after Holman did not qualify for the 2000 Sydney Games, giving him time to attend business school at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and eventually beginning his career at the investment management company Vanguard. Even today, Holman recognizes his achievements as an athlete, but does not undervalue the worth of his work as a student.

“Certainly I flourished as an athlete because of my time at Georgetown. But after all that was over, I was in my thirties and I had the rest of my life ahead of me.

That’s where my education kicked in,” Holman said.

2012

1992

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georgetownvoice.com

Mike Vespoli

1972

Michael Vespoli (COL ‘68) has been around the block a few times. He is the chief executive officer of his own company, Vespoli USA Incorporated, one of the world’s top manufacturers for crew racing shells. But Vespoli’s accomplishments stretch far beyond the business world.

In 1964, Vespoli joined the crew team on the Hilltop, where he quickly found himself enveloped in the team, not only athletically, but also as a community.

“We walked on, we became fast friends. At Georgetown there are no fraternities … but the crew, to us, was our fraternity,” said Vespoli. “We worked together, we partied together, we studied together and, to me, it was a life-altering event, given where I’ve ended up in my career.”

During these years, Vespoli’s Hoya team won a number of national titles and built a strong period in Hoya rowing, allowing the program to grow to its current prominence.

“That set the bond between eight of the nine guys and we have celebrated a number of reunions around the success of our team,” Vespoli said.

After graduating from Georgetown in the spring of 1968, Vespoli was encouraged by his coach, Tony Johnson, who participated in the 1964 and 1968 Games and is the current rowing coach at Georgetown, to “see how far [he] could take the sport of rowing.” So, Vespoli set intermediary goals to make the national team each year until the 1972 Games. While training, he cut out an advertisement that read “this is one of the athletes that you will see in the Olympics” and put it on his mirror.

Soon enough, Vespoli found himself in Olympic qualifying. The former Hoya was successful at the trials, and arrived in Munich for the games of the twentieth Olympiad.

“The real key moment is when you walk into the stadium. The opening ceremony. That really was the moment where you felt, ‘Okay. I’m here with all these other athletes representing the U.S.,” Vespoli said.

Later in the seventies, Vespoli went into coaching, and was selected to oversee the sculling team for the United States in the 1980 Games. However, Vespoli never got to see his team in action, as the Moscow Games were boycotted by the United States.

“We were training and then Carter pulled the plug and used politics and denied the athletes the opportunity to go to the 1980 games,” Vespoli said. For rowers, the only international stage with high visibility is the Olympics, and much of the team missed out on a unique opportunity because of the larger happenings of the time.

Now, Vespoli is a household name in the rowing world, but before his name was plastered on the equipment for the sport he loves so much, he was another Hoya looking to make his mark on the world.

Conal Groom 2000

“Motivation is fickle. I wanted to win. I believed I could win. I thought I was supposed to be the best in the world.”

Conal Groom (COL ‘95), the captain of the Georgetown lightweight crew team for two years in the mid-nineties, found himself at the Olympics half a decade after graduating from the Hilltop.

Groom was a part of the men’s lightweight double at the Sydney Games. While rowing was clearly a significant part of Groom’s life, he did much more than participate in sports while at Georgetown.

“I truly enjoyed the academics and the ability to pursue my interests to the highest levels.

Regardless if I was pursuing sports, theology, or Chinese history, the resources, guidance, and access provided by Georgetown was exceptional,” Groom wrote in an email to the Voice. “The professors were not only some of the most acknowledged in their field, they were personable and exude passion that was infectious.”

During his time on the Hilltop, Groom grew very close with his rowing teammates. Like many others who find their closest friends in their extracurricular organizations, the crew team became Groom’s on-campus family.

“I have to admit I’m not great at staying in touch regularly. But [the] true friends and relationships I have made over my years with Georgetown crew as an athlete and coach and through the Olympic journey are extraordinarily special,” Groom wrote.

Georgetown’s top-notch crew program was able to prepare Groom to compete at an international level physically, but the University also allowed him to gain the necessary discipline to pursue a spot in the Olympics.

“Many young adults and children dream of making the Olympics. While I wanted to pursue that goal it wasn’t until I was around coaches like Whit Fosburgh and Tony Johnson that I knew I could. The athletes and the programs supported my drive and guided my desire productively,” Groom wrote.

Understandably, Groom was deeply affected by his experience on sport’s biggest stage.

“Presidents, surgeons, Nobel Prize winners, and the richest men in the world. These people were present with billions, watching and celebrating sport? That always baffled me as an athlete,” Groom wrote. “It’s humbling to be on the same ground as some of the professional athletes we follow and record books are written about.”

After participating in the 2000 Olympics, Groom’s bid for the 2004 Games in Athens fell short. A lung and spine surgery in 2006 put an end to hopes of a resurgence in Beijing, but since then, Groom has found great success as a coach.

He has overseen a number of boats at the junior, under-23, and senior levels in international competition. Now the head coach at the Seattle Rowing Center, Groom has, on average, four athletes a year on the American national team. Training rowers in all age groups, Groom’s athletes also often medal at the Youth National Championships.

“The ability to critically think, and passion for research, partnerships, and creative thinking has led me to handle challenges ... and explore new avenues throughout my career,” Groom wrote.

the georgetown voice 9

Tony Johnson

1964

Tony Johnson, current head coach for Georgetown’s heavyweight crew team, originally joined the Hoya family back in 1967 when he began his first coaching stint for the Blue and Gray. Although the 1969 season would see Johnson leave the Hilltop to start a 20-year run as the head of the Yale crew program, Georgetown would eventually welcome his return in 1989.

“In large part I was ready for a change. I realized the sport was going to be the same, the students would be good as they were at Yale. [But] I knew Georgetown, I knew the Potomac River,” wrote Johnson in an email to the Voice. “And then there was the knowledge that I could help Georgetown rowing grow.”

Johnson’s attraction to coaching the Hoyas lies mainly in the kind of athletes he gets to train. The qualities Georgetown students embody parallel what he wants to accomplish as a coach.

“Early on I realized that I was a ‘teacher,’ perhaps more so than a coach. I like it most when I have students who are learning, who are improving, who are finding more about themselves and what they can do,” Johnson wrote. “I don’t like to put limitations on them and I like it very much when they find a way to raise their standards and continue to grow and get better.”

When Johnson first joined the Hoyas back in the late 1960’s, he was also one of the best competitors in the nation, with the Olympics at the core of his ambitions after winning the Olympic Trials in pairs in 1964.

“The goal all along was the Olympics, at least in the time leading up to 1964, and again leading up to 1968,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson and his partner Larry Hough fell just short of a gold medal in 1968, which after the the work put into training, left a deep feeling of discontent.

“In 1968, while all of the same emotions and feelings were there about the overall experience, we clearly put everything into winning,” Johnson wrote.

“So coming up short, a silver medal, was enormously disappointing. I take great pride in the silver, but still it was terribly disappointing.”

With over two decades now under his belt as a Hoya coach, Johnson’s main aspiration is to continue to build the Georgetown rowing program to ensure solid future performance.

“Long term, we want to continue to work to have Georgetown build their own boathouse. ... That has been a long struggle, but fortunately there are a lot of folks on campus who also find it important. I want to do everything I can to help the University achieve that goal,” Johnson wrote.

PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE COURTESY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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10 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

Human Rights Watch Film Festival looks at injustice through film

by Emilia Brahm Movies are instant. They happen quickly and they feel immersive.

Talking about human rights, meanwhile, can be heavy and draining.

When the two were combined, something bigger happened.

The Human Rights Watch film festival will appear in 17 cities around the world. It joins us in D.C. this week until Mar. 12 and professes to “empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference.” These may sound like the tropes on a brochure, but the

Human Rights Watch team has selected an array of probing films that cut through the clichés. Films were chosen “equally on artistic merit and human rights content,” providing a palatable array of distractions on Wednesday nights.

Next Wednesday, Feb. 26, Camp 14 - Total Control Zone brings Shin Dong-Huyk’s story of internment since birth in a North Korean prison camp. Shin’s story is told using animation and footage compiled by filmmaker Mark Wiese, who has an with an eye for the compelling and the human. Shin’s story is a diffi-

“Maybe they are taking us to our surprise birthday parties.”

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Arendt and the banality of GUSA

Ah, the season of GUSA campaigns is upon us: “Connect to Georgetown,” “Together with Georgetown,” and “Building your Georgetown.” These slogans come together in the comforting hum of subtle smiles and provide a sense of belonging. While slogans are necessary to distill a candidate’s message, they have fostered a culture of bandwagoning. There is a dearth of intellectual analysis at Georgetown. We simply ignore anything that can’t be solved with a slogan.

I think that political theorist Hannah Arendt would flick her ever-lit cigarette in frustration if she encountered the complacent atmosphere of our campus, a groupthink that makes me want to pick up smoking. The Last Interview and Other Conversations: Hannah Arendt, released by Melville House, contains four interviews that showcase the late thinker’s creative, fearless theorizing as one of the most prominent intellectuals of the last century.

Hannah Arendt was an individualist extraordinaire. Her critical

skills were honed while studying philosophy at the University of Heidelberg under the tutelage of Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger, two preeminent twentieth century German philosophers. She minored in Theology and Greek, combining her passions in a riveting thesis entitled “Love and Saint Augustine.” This work shows her analytic and intellectual ability at a young age and a volatile time (fearing for her future as a German Jew, she left Germany, and her studies, in 1933 after being arrested by the Nazis). More than that, this early work affirms her belief in the interpersonal, in lieu of in ideologies or slogans. She was deeply interested in Augustine’s thought about others because she saw no world divorced from the other.

Arendt was a careful, deliberate thinker who never swallowed what was fed to her directly. She often differed from the mainstream—and was profoundly misunderstood.

Never was her audience more critical than regarding her articles in the New Yorker on Adolf Eichmann’s tri-

cult one, but the production is not a cheap attempt to garner sympathy.

Rather, it shows his life after prison camp and how it led him to become a “human rights celebrity,” as Human Rights Watch calls him. While dealing with the residual pain from years of suffering and violence, Shin must acclimate to his new role and the challenges it presents.

Camp 14 offers a valuable critique of the outside world’s response to victims of human rights violations.

Most compelling are the interspersed stories of a former camp guard and a member of the North Korean secret police. Wiese’s documentary is a well-rounded production that goes beyond Shin’s boyhood pain and paints a holistic picture of the lives so deeply affected by crimes against humanity—a story that is rarely heard on an individual level.

In a separate film, Human Rights Watch gives a pointed and painful analysis of the deficit of care for men and women in small southern towns: “The South is home to nearly half of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States, and has death rates from AIDS that are much higher than the national average. Human Rights Watch has documented the harmful and misguided laws and policies that, in many southern states, fuel the epidemic: ineffective

abstinence-only sex education, criminalizing HIV exposure, and failing to protect people living with HIV and LGBT individuals from discrimination.”

On Mar. 5 at 7 p.m., the film festival will address these domestic infringements on human rights head on. deepsouth is a documentary that humanizes these trends in beautiful and heartbreaking detail.

Filmmaker Lisa Biaggiotti will be holding a question and answer session after the screening. Audiences might be interested in finding out from the movie—and from her—if there is hope for change. Having the film presented so close to the White House, it may be worth to finding out if Biaggiotti thinks that any solutions will come there. People, themselves, are often neglected in the race to affect the world.

But with good intentions and great execution, the last movie in the series turns our attention to a small Bedouin village in Jordan, close to the Iraqi border. Filmmakers Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief followed impoverished village Rafea on her journey to a six month program in solar engineering under the auspices of a scholarship program called the Barefoot College in India. When she returns from the experience envigorated and eager to affect her village,

al, later compiled into a book called The Banality of Evil.

These two sentences in the series elicited the most controversy: “Wherever Jews lived, there were recognized Jewish leaders, and this leadership, almost without exception, cooperated in one way or another, for one reason or another, with the Nazis. The whole truth was that if the Jewish people had been really unorganized and leaderless,

some Jews. Arendt’s main assertion is that their compliance, however minimal, fundamentally altered the nature of the Holocaust.

This was a bold claim, especially considering its context in 1963, shortly after the end of the Nazi concentration camps. In the first of interviews in the book, Arendt addresses the backlash her book caused. To her interviewer’s provocative question regarding her criticisms, Arendt says, “First of all, I must ... state that you yourself have become a victim of this campaign. Nowhere in my book did I reproach the Jewish people with nonresistance.”

She is still forced to elucidate her side of the issue in the final interviews in 1970 and 1973. When others jumped to conclusions about her work, she calmly backed up her well-considered thoughts with evidence. And in doing so, she forced open a lot of closed minds.

All of Arendt’s commentary points to her ability to cut through ideology and slogans. She refrains throughout the interviews from identifying with any specific political party. We find that, although

Under the Covers

by Emilia Brahm

A bi-weekly literary column there would have been chaos and plenty of misery, but the total number of victims would hardly have been between four and half and six million people.”

Arendt refrained from the typical dialogue surrounding the Holocaust. But the truth is that some within Jewish leadership were complicit—often under threat of execution, or under the belief that they could subvert the Nazi plan, leading to the arrest and deportation of

Rafea faces pushback from the patriarchal structure of village life. She calls on the women of the village to join her in implementing a solar program there.

I look forward to the beautiful cinematography that will elucidate a personal struggle in the face of invisible walls, ceilings, and fences. Human Rights Watch says “For women, upon whose shoulders the burden of upholding cultural norms and values often falls, traditional values are often a tool that curtails their human rights.” The struggle for gender equality is pervasive, but it most evident in small, traditional, insular cultures, whether in Jordan or Alabama.

Mona Eldaief will be present to host a question and answer session after the showing.

All the films will be shown at the West End Cinema, located at 2301 M St., just across the Potomac River Parkway at $9 for students. West End Cinema features documentaries and indie films year round in a delightful atmosphere. Plus, their tagline holds true for this series of pictures: “all stories told here.”

HRW Film Festival West End Cinema 2301 M Street N.W. February 12–March 12 ff.hrw.org/washington-dc

she was aligned with them in her youth, she was never a member of the Zionist groups of her time.

Throughout The Last Interview, Arendt had immense foresight into the problems Israel would face and the hypocrisies of the Soviet Union.

When asked if she was a liberal or a conservative, Arendt laughed, put out her cigarette, and said she could not be placed squarely in either camp, as “shocking” as that may be for someone who made her career in political theory.

Arendt would refuse these ideologies on principle, whether based in good sentiments or bad. As she saw throughout her lifelong entanglement in politics, the easy choice is not always the correct one. An unconscious alignment with one tribe is the mark of a non-thinker. To make Georgetown a better place we ought to take up Arendt’s ability to analyze all that we come in contact with, including GUSA slogans. That probably means making the choice to stop smoking, though.

Give Emilia a door-knock at ebrahm@georgetown.edu

georgetownvoice.com

“Don’t have sex in the missionary position, don’t have sex standing up, just don’t do it.” — Mean Girls

the georgetown voice 11

Anderson’s volcano film fails to erupt D.C. Indie Film Fest

by Dayana Morales Gomez Guy is bad. Guy likes girl. Girl is in trouble. Guy becomes good so he can help girl—pretty much every rom-com you’ve seen this year, or ever.

It seems counterintuitive that these terribly boring clichés would be so abundant in a film that markets itself as an epic drama. Paul W. S. Anderson’s new film, Pompeii, is lacking in almost every department, with except for hackneyed tropes.

The film opens with our protagonist, young Milo, who witnesses the death of his mother amid the wartime takeover of his hometown.

Milo grows up to be played by Game of Thrones hunk Kit Harington, but even the glistening abs don’t

help detract from the poor acting.

Harington, famous for his role as Jon Snow, can’t seem to escape the pigeonhole of his emotional character from the small screen.

Milo, now a grown man and a slave, is taken to the city of Pompeii, and the film takes place in the year A.D. 79. A known swordsman, he is placed in a cell with a man he going to have to challenge in a battle to the death. The dialogue they exchange is hilarious, as they attempt to be disdainful towards one another, but much like grade school crushes, they end up being best friends.

The film moves into the introduction of Milo’s love interest, Cassia, played by Emily Browning. They never actually meet, falling in love the old fashioned way: by making eyes at

These abs are the only thing keeping this movie from going straight to DVD.

imdb

one another from across the room.

Besides being totally unbelieveable, the romance makes for more laughs than tears.

Kiefer Sutherland plays the villain, Senator Corvis. Predictably, the conflict stems from their mutual interest in Cassia. Cassia tries to distance herself from the Senator, but the film never gives up the details of what happens between the two, leaving the audience in the dark about what could otherwise be an interesting plot line.

All of this is happening as the famous volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, begins to show signs of a coming explosion. In an interview with the Voice, Harington noted that the volcano erupts just as Milo reshapes his character. The poor scriptwriting and cinematography, however, make it difficult for this change to seem like a mature plot twist. Instead, the volcano feels more like a waste of some pretty swanky, if not overdone, CGI. Game of Thrones fans who watch the film will be in for some serious disappointment. The poor script, mediocre acting, and overreliance on computer effects don’t amount even slightly to the standard set forth by Harington’s previous project. Then again, the five minutes of his killer abs might make the other hundred pretty worth it.

Since 1999, the D.C. IndependentFilm Festival has graced the District with a diverse selection of shorts,documentaries and features from all over the world. Hosted at theaters and conference centers across D.C., this festival fosters workshops and seminars with independent filmmakers and even provides the unique opportunity for discussion with Congress.

This year’s DCIFF is curating over 20 screenings from February 19-23.

The Leisure staff has picked the films they are most looking forward to seeing. Now you know where to ask them on a post-Valentines date.

Sons of the City, Marcus Richardson Thursday, 9 P.M., US Naval Heritage Center An inner city college student faces violence, drugs, romance, and urban culture in a psychological and emotional struggle that forces him to rebel to achieve his potential.

PAAT, Amir Toodehroostra Friday, 9 P.M. Goethe Institut A man in a rocky marriage finds solace in illegally taking care of a dog named PAAT, who eventually runs away when the man’s wife threatens to kill it.

Greencard Warriors, Miriam Kruishoop Saturday, 6:45 P.M., US Naval Heritage Center The story of an undocumented Latino, Angel, who is forced to deal with gangs after his protective older brother goes into the military to achieve citizenship for his family.

Shorts 2: Seeing Through Women’s Eyes Sunday, 2:15 P.M., US Naval Heritage Center This series of shorts tells stories of pain, apocalyptic dictatorships, and coming of age through the unique perspectives of women at different points of their lives. dciff

‘Murica: Land of the free, home of the cool

by Sam Kleinman What does it mean to be cool?

The American National Portrait Gallery attempts to answer that question and more in its new exhibit “American Cool.”

It traces the evolution of “coolness” in the American psyche, from its ostensible nineteenth century origins to the modern day, ending with Jay-Z, of course.

“American Cool” starts in the pre-Jazz Age with the first hipster himself, Walt Whitman.

Whitman is prominently displayed along with a first edition of Leaves of Grass, on loan from the Library of Congress. With this display, the exhibit makes a convincing case that cool can be traced back to the 1920’s.

The Smithsonian moves a few decades ahead with an incredible portrait of Billie Holiday.

The photograph plays with black and white, at once blending them

and contrasting them, a political statement to be sure, though one you can’t quite put your finger on. At the very least, you get a tangible sense of her effortless grace. It’s self-appropriation in every sense, reflecting the Smithsonian’s contention that “cool is an earned form of individuality.”

The third room combines bebop and 50’s Beat culture, and it features prominently (and fittingly) Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool.

Davis is arguably the epitome of what the Smithsonian sees as “cool,” and he does not go unrewarded. When every other “cool” person has but one photo for a portrait, Miles gets three.

His portraits are at once glamorous and crisp. To quote Davis himself, “It’s cleaner than a broke dick dog.”

The fourth room explores the cultural upheavals of the 1960’s and early 70’s. William S. Burroughs is hunched over, long shadows fallen over a sullen face.

Jackson Pollock paint cans are splayed haphazardly.

There is a standout pensive portrait of Malcolm X next to Joan Didion, pen in hand. Didion is unique as one of the only journalists and essayists of American Cool. Fame seems to be the defining factor far more than actual influence over the historical and cultural understanding of cool at that point in time. In fact, the Smithsonian does not highlight “cool” when it was counterculture—only in its later stages as mass culture.

The exhibition puts its greatest focus on what is “in.”

With characters like Bill Murray and Prince dominating the next room, big personalities displace the classic images of Miles and friends. Hair rock and MTV dominate the “modern” room as a computer in the corner of the room belches synth from bighaired Blondie. Perhaps because it reflects an actual shift in American cool from substantial to su-

national portrait gallery

Miles Davis was the 1950s OG hipster. For Miles, it was “all about style.” perficial, this final room lacks fulfillment.

To be fair, the very final portrait of Jay-Z is compelling, almost to a heartrending extent. Clad in a black skullcap, a black peacoat and black everything else, Jay-Z looks longingly at the camera, as if begging for individuality in an era of shouting conformity.

“American Cool” takes the viewer through our history, from cool’s inception as a matter of the individual to today in which

the individual is suffocated to ensure that “cool” equates with mass consumption. By the time the visitor hits the modern room, it is obvious that artists have sold out. Though we start with portraits, we end with still-lifes.

Hipsters everywhere will be left wallowing.

American Cool National Portrait Gallery Feb. 7, 2014 – Sep. 7, 2014 npg.si.edu/exhibit/exhcool.html

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12 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

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

Lost in the Trees, Past Life, AntiUsually, when the worlds of classical and pop music converge, the disconnect between the two genres is apparent. The divide between them is a trap for aspiring artists attempting to reach glory. To create a nuanced and satisfying arrangement of the sounds requires a rare finesse and talent.

A split personality has never been a problem for Lost in the Trees, whose lead singer Ari Picker studied film scoring before he started a band. Previous albums have been notable for their unconventional instrumentation, containing full chamber ensembles alongside the traditional electric guitar, bass, and drums.

But the group’s most recent effort, Past Life, differs from the band’s previous works. The classical instrumentation that brought Lost in the

Trees critical acclaim is gone, leaving behind a five-member group that, at first glance, seems like a shadow of the group’s former self. Fortunately, one listen to the new album completely alleviates any low expectations as Picker uses classical techniques, but this time, in the context of contemporary alternative rock.

Past Life is magnificent. Holistically, the album bears striking resemblances to a modern symphony, as each song feels like a movement in a larger piece. Various stylistic motifs, like the operatic lead singing of Emma Nadeau, recur throughout the record and create a silky-smooth texture. The ornamentations from the electric guitar establish the backdrop for Picker’s melodies to shine.

Picker’s voice is a highlight of Past Life, possessing a fine airiness, without being timid or underwhelming. It soars, framing the beautiful poetry in the lyrics on the record. “Your dreams caught heart, behind my eyes” Picker sings in “Glass Harp.” It is not entirely clear what he is singing about, but the images created are beautiful.

The song “Past Life” is a prime example of the culmination of these elements. The song begins with a chordal duet between Nadeau and the lead electric guitar that unfolds into a moving guitar line, which is

You say you want a revolution

My mom jokes that I should stop traveling because wherever I go, a revolution follows.

It seems hyperbolic, but considering that the two countries I have spent the most time in, Ukraine and Turkey, have both experienced political turmoil in the past year, her observation might carry some weight.

Since May of last year, Turkey experienced weeks of intense protests interspersed with longer periods of relative calmness. I remember the day protests first broke out in Gezi Park, a large park located in the heart of Istanbul, last summer. I was glued to my computer for days, scouring Twitter and Turkish media sites for coverage of the protests. A live stream showed police open fire on crowds with rubber bullets and water cannons, while another site offered video footage of thousands crossing the Bosphorus Bridge as the sun rose in the distance.

The political situation in Turkey had calmed by late summer, but

traces of the protests lingered. Although the protesters had left, taking with them their bright flags and barricades, Taksim Square, a major hub of the protests, was littered with empty gas canisters, soot-stained concrete, and even blood in some areas. These items served as visual reminders of the chaos that so recently wracked the streets of Istanbul.

By August 2013, when I visited, there was no trace of the upwards of 100,000 people who had descended on Taksim to protest the government. This place looked like the one I remembered from before—bustling, hot, loud. Only a few police officers standing off to the side of the square reminded me of the demonstrations that had occurred just weeks prior.

How can one city, one neighborhood—heck, one street—conjure so many disparate images? Which was the real Taksim? The calm one I captured in journals and photographs, or the turbulent one I watched on television screens and Twitter feeds?

joined by a piano that scores the rest of the song. Gentle ride cymbal hits are constant and on every beat in the chorus, adding to the rich, layered feel of the song. “We’ll crumble into flames” is heard in the final chorus before an electric guitar solo closes the song in glorious splendor.

Past Life brings back the abandoned classical sounds in a new way.

If they continue going down this venture, the music will never lose its life.

Voice’s Choices: “Excos,” “Past Life” —Daniel Varghese

Eric Church, The Outsiders, Capitol Records Nashville “Outsider” is the perfect word to describe Eric Church’s state of mind on his fourth studio album. On this That feeling of dissonance reared its head again in November, when massive protests broke out in Kiev. Scandal surrounding the country’s relationship with the European Union and Russia brought thousands into Kiev’s Independence Square. It seemed impossible that the pictures I saw really showed the same Independence Square I had photographed just one year prior.

Day Tripper

by Colleen Wood A bi-weekly column about travel This week marked a devastating turn of events in Ukraine—thousands have been injured and more than twenty have died as the government brutally cracked down on protesters. Fires rage all around Independence Square, Molotov cocktails fly through the air, and police shower protesters with rubber bullets and live ammunition. Seeing so much destruction in such a beautiful city turns my stomach in knots.

LP, Church, a country troubadour, makes the transition from hometown boy to arena superstar, generating an identity crisis. Church spends much of the album trying to reconcile the country boy and rockstar sides of his persona. He plays with the ideas of insider-outsider status throughout the songs, as he tries to determine where his community is.

The songs on the record alternate between introspective, classic country tunes and well-crafted, stadium rock-influenced anthems. The first two tracks, “The Outsiders” and “A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young,” serve as an example of this juxtaposition of musical textures. “The Outsiders” crosses country sounds with Black Sabbath-style riffs and solos.

As Church roars his battle cry-worthy chorus, the bass and guitar trade pounding, metallic riffs that would make this track a crowd pleaser in a live setting.

Church then quickly leaves the bravado and fireworks behind on the reflective and melancholic “A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young.”

Church shines on this track, putting the weight of his soul behind every word. He sings about turning 36 as if it were 66 and uses a Springsteen-esque inflection to convey the weariness in every word he croons.

It’s en vogue as an SFS student to take a passing interest in the most current political uprising happening in the world. At Georgetown, I’m not alone in that I have studied East European politics. Statuses and articles about the protests pop up periodically on Facebook.

What do I care, though, really?

These images of fire, violence, and revolution in a city five thousand miles away should, theoretically, not affect me so much. After all, I spent only a few days wandering through the touristy parts of Kiev, and the extreme cold made it nearly impossible to be outside for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Tourists, including me, can only scratch the surface of a place. There’s something campy and inauthentic about being a tourist that makes it impossible to experience the “true” version of a city or country.

It’s my experience, though, that even tourists can make an authentic connection to a place. My conception of the places I visit is not derived from textbooks or newspapers—it’s

Church tries to blend his country and rocker identities throughout the LP. It works well in places and sounds clumsy in others. Church brings classic country lyrics with arena rock melodies as he crafts the anthemic sing-along “Talladega.” This track embodies Church at his most country, bringing potent recollections of fast cars and great friends that strike a universal chord with the listener.

On “Cold One,” the pedal steel and acoustic guitars are quickly drowned out by the drone of the huge bass riffs he brings in. This experiment in sound goes awry as the bass rhythms do not mesh with the rest of the instrumentation, leading the parts to sound clunky together. Church’s momentum stalls midway through the record on the repetitive “Like A Wrecking Ball,” on which Church, even less than Miley, fails to capture the forcefulness of this image.

While The Outsiders overextends itself, and sometimes bores the listener, Church shows potential for growth. As he continues to reconcile his identity, he gets closer to hitting his stride and attaining insider status.

Voice’s Choices: “The Outsiders”, “Talladega” —Jackson Sinnenberg gained from talking, tasting, seeing, and breathing.

Watching revolutions unfold makes it difficult to maintain an idyllic understanding of these cities.

It’s been jarring to have my mental image of these places shattered.

As more and more images of bloody faces and flaming barricades stream in from Kiev, it seems impossible see an end to the violence. I remember feelings of fear and sadness while watching coverage of the Gezi Park protests. Somehow, though, the violence waned, and it eventually appeared as though protests hadn’t happened.

I can only hope that the violent crackdown of the Ukrainian government against its own people will end soon. Even though it’s disorienting to see such a different image of a city, I hope that when the demonstrations subside, visual reminders of the chaos and violence are not too quickly swept away.

Occupy the universe with Colleen at cwood@georgetownvoice.com

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— Dylan Cutler

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14 the georgetown voice

february 20, 2014

Sotomayor strikes balance for women’s health and tolerance

by Grace Brennan Late on New Year’s Eve, my phone’s New York Times app alerted me that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had granted a temporary injunction to a Catholic non-profit group, The Little Sisters of the Poor, who had requested a stay in administering a provision in the Affordable Care Act. Two things struck me in that moment. The first was more logistical—how was Sotomayor simultaneously granting this injunction while also being on TV about to drop the ball to ring in 2014? And second, how could anyone mess with a group called “The Little Sisters of the Poor?” That just sounds wrong.

Let’s take a look at the Little Sisters of the Poor. Members take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and hospitality. They run about 30 health care facilities for the poor, which cover everything from residential and assisted living to intermediate health care.

According to their mission statement, their service is based upon

their devotion to Christ: “His love urges us to serve him in the poor, and in this way to associate ourselves to his work of salvation.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, religious groups do not necessarily have to provide contraceptives to their employees, however, they do need to fill out a form stating their objection based on their own religious beliefs, which allows an insurer or health administer outside of the religious affiliated organization to provide the coverage.

This affects non-profit groups and Catholic schools like Georgetown.

Many of these non-profit religious groups (47 nonprofits), such as the Little Sisters of the Poor and the University of Notre Dame, filed lawsuits against this provision because they feel that by even by signing this form, they are indirectly providing the contraceptives.

The Affordable Care Act already grants houses of worship such as churches, mosques, and synagogues total exemption from providing contraceptives. What is the difference between The Little Sisters of the Poor and these

houses of worship? Is one more religious than the other?

If Sotomayor did not grant temporary amnesty to the Sisters, they would be fined $100 a day per patient for violating the provision. Do the math. With all of the people that these women serve, they would be fined about 50 million dollars a year, which would quickly force them to shut down completely.

Pushing the women who are serving the poorest of the poor in health care to close their doors because of policies in effect within our own national healthcare system has senselessness written all over it. To take the women who are serving those most oppressed in our nation and to completely wipe out the good work that they do would defeat the intentions of Obamacare.

The Sisters aren’t the only ones affected. If amnesty is not granted to all groups that feel it is against their religion to sign this form, countless religiously-grounded hospitals, schools, and social services across the country will be

levied with crippling fines. Many of these groups, like the University of Notre Dame, have agreed to sign the provision until their lawsuit is addressed to avoid these penalties.

Would it make it easy for the Sisters just to sign the form and allow women to receive their contraceptives? Absolutely. But that’s not what this country is about. A Quaker is absolved from fighting in combat because of his pacifist beliefs. A Jewish prisoner can request an alternate meal without pork. Is this fair? Maybe not. Make the Quaker fight like the rest of the country. Make the prisoner eat what’s provided for him. Make the Sisters sign the form. But that’s not what our First Amendment entails.

While violating the Sisters’ religious values angers me, I still see the benefits of covering contraceptives for women.

I’m a woman. I get it. About 99 percent of all sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 44 use birth control at some point.

Not to mention the fact that birth control can be used for other med-

ical conditions such as relief of menstrual cramps, prevention of ovarian cysts, or ovarian cancer. I don’t think that all women should have to pay thousands of dollars for contraceptives just because their employer does not believe in using them. Women should have reproductive freedom, however, I don’t think these Sisters are trying to take away this freedom.

There needs to be a balance between providing women what they need while upholding religious values. There are ways the government can provide contraceptives to women independent from employer health care. That a liberal justice is the one to grant this temporary injunction presents optimism that the Court will see the side of the Sisters. Time can only tell what my next New York Times update will alert me about progress in the Court.

Grace Brennan is a freshman in the College. The only thing that scares her more than writing opinion pieces is the microwave in Leavey 424.

Born in the USA: Racial lines don’t need to cut so deep

by Chris Almeida I’m the son of two Indian immigrants. My family has only been here for about a quarter century.

Here at Georgetown, while international students are not hard to come by, it is undeniable that the majority of students on the Hilltop are white Americans. Knowing this, many would assume that I’m going to write about my feelings of marginalization. If you are among this multitude, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

There’s been more than one occasion where I’ve been chastised

for “not embracing my culture.” It’s hard for people to understand that my parents, who moved to the United States about 25 years ago, grew up speaking English as their first language. Nobody seems to understand how I have relatives that are rabidly Christian. Believe it or not, some people find it hard to believe that my parents have no preference on the race of the girl that I date.

“Deep down, wouldn’t they be happier if you ended up with an Indian girl?” I’ve been asked. I don’t know how to convince them that the answer is a definitive “no.”

LEILA LEBRETON AND PAM SHU

“Hey, Ma! The meatloaf! We want it now! The meatloaf!”

My parents grew up in Goa, a former Portuguese colony in India, hence my last name. They grew up as Catholics, went to Catholic schools, and spoke English growing up. Both moved to the States in their twenties and never looked back. Many immigrants grow homesick and find themselves entrenched within their ethnic communities, but this has never been the case with my family. As much as India was a part of their lives, and still is, as I have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living hours away, both of my parents will readily admit that they have no desire to go back.

I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in northern Virginia and went to predominantly white schools throughout my childhood. I grew up with a group of very different friends who were all white.

These kids, joining my life at various points during elementary and middle school, are still large parts of my life, and, by virtue of the young age at which we met, our parents are also very close. Sure, my parents have a handful of Indian friends, the few that they met in their earlier years and who also made the decision to come to the D.C. area, but most of their friends are not Indian.

My point is not that my family and I are “better assimilated,”

“more American,” or anything of the sort. It’s just that we are not a group that should be pushed into a simple category. I’m not who I am because of where my ancestors lived or because my skin is a few shades darker than most of the people I know. I don’t have to be a certain way, embrace a certain group of ideals, or be friends with certain people because of the box I checked on my Georgetown application.

During a Socratic seminar in high school, it came up that social groups were often divided among racial lines. Acknowledging this was usually the truth, the class, as well as the teacher, decided that this phenomena was because of tacit racism, a trend of exclusionary behavior that kept people in groups.

I was the only person in the classroom that vocally disagreed and was chastised for my comments. I couldn’t believe that my peers and my educators jumped to such conclusions so quickly. Was it impossible to understand that similarities in interests don’t always, but often fall along racial lines? If everything is simply a reflection of race, why did I feel so at home in a group of friends where I was the only kid who wasn’t white?

My roommate is also Indian.

I didn’t reject him because I was used to having white friends nor

did I feel a deep connection to him because of our shared race. We’ve lived in the same room since the beginning of freshman year, and I consider him to be my best friend here at school. Why? Not because our families come from the same general area, but simply because we get along.

Since getting to the Hilltop, I haven’t lived in a racist climate, but I have spent ample time in one in which race is relevant. I don’t know why I never really looked at race as a relevant factor in who I associate with. Maybe it’s because I was a minority raised amid the majority, but looking at similarities purely by race, just as diversity for diversity’s sake, is ridiculous.

Many people can’t understand why I don’t go to Rangila or why the NFL blares through the Almeida house every Sunday. They assume that I’m ashamed of who I am, that I’m “trying to be white.”

Again, I’m sorry to disappoint.

This is just, one hundred percent organically, who I am.

Chris Almeida is a sophomore in the College. He likes to think that he is the ultimate connoisseur of music, but in reality, he really just gets his kicks from relentlessly playing Lil B.

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 15

‘Boys and girls can be just friends—J.K.,’ says Rowling

by Julia Jester As if J.K. Rowling has not tormented Harry Potter fans enough over the years, she recently revealed she “regrets” developing the romantic relationship between Ron and Hermione, arguably one of the most beloved couples in contemporary literature. While Rowling’s authorial insight upset many fans, her insinuation that Harry and Hermione are a superior match has been bothering me like a rogue bludger—shattering one of the strongest examples of platonic friendship.

Though perhaps difficult at times, a male-female friendship is

a beautiful thing. Until now, I had always admired Rowling for recognizing this fact through her development of Harry and Hermione’s friendship—a striking literary relationship that set the Harry Potter series apart from literary classics.

Rowling could have created a love triangle within the famous trio in order to settle the soulmate debate once and for all (since apparently the tidily constructed “Epilogue” was not enough), but the series was never about romance—it was fundamentally a story of resilient friendship.

Harry and Hermione’s relationship was the perfect embodiment of this theme because, even though Her-

“Umm, Daniel? I don’t remember seeing this part in the script.”

LEILA LEBRETON

What would Scalia say?

The first time I ever visited the Supreme Court, I ended up talking to Scalia while double-fisting two glasses of wine. To be fair, only one glass was mine. But I was 19, and I conveniently failed to correct the Supreme Court justice when he assumed I was a “first year” at Georgetown’s law school.

As a freshman undergrad, that night was a dream come true. Not because I drank underage in the nation’s highest court, but because I met one of my favorite sitting justices. Yes, Scalia is a bigot. But he’s also brilliant. I may have repurposed my convocation robe to dress up as Ruth Bader Ginsberg—my favorite Supreme Court justice—this Halloween, but Scalia still fascinates me.

Perhaps part of this interest derives from Scalia’s ability to absolutely enrage people, all while maintaining an artful wit. He was, after all, a member of both Philodemic and Mask and Bauble back when he attended Georgetown as an undergraduate. You see this practiced dramatism in every one of his dissents. In Lee v. Weismann, a 1992 case addressing religious prayer at public school graduations, he wrote: “I find it a sufficient embarrassment that our … jurisprudence regarding holiday displays has come to ‘requir[e] scrutiny more commonly associated with interior decorators than with the judiciary.’ But interior decorating is a rock hard science compared to psychology practiced

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mione and Ron loved each other romantically, Harry and Hermione loved each other just as deeply, but in a completely different way.

In the interview, Rowling proclaims, “I think the attraction itself is plausible but the combative side of it … I’m not sure you could have got over that in an adult relationship, there was too much fundamental incompatibility,” and instead says Hermione and Harry are the better fit. My apologies, Queen Rowling, but I must dethrone you—you can’t just make these assertions out of left field. Ron and Hermione’s sharp contrasts are what made them attract so fervently. Ron’s lighthearted attitude reminds academically-consumed Hermione to enjoy her life. Though Harry does not share Hermione’s passion for knowledge, he shares her drive. However, his tendency to obsess over suspicions the way she obsesses over schoolwork would make for a dreadfully serious combination.

Not to mention, Harry is more angsty in the fifth book alone than Hermione is throughout her entire teen developmental years.

Rowling had seven books to write the slightest indication that Harry viewed Hermione as anything more than a sister. Yet, regarding a scene in the final movie in which Har-

ry and Hermione jokingly dance, she reveals, “I liked that scene in the film, because it was articulating something I hadn’t said but I had felt … I think you do feel the ghost of what could have been in that scene.” However, not once in her writing of the series did she allude to “what could have been”—hence, Rowling’s matchmaking choice she made for “very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility” was in fact the only credible option. Then again, delving into the conversation of who-belongswith-whom trivializes Hermione’s complexity as a character to a mere romantic pawn.

Ever since When Harry Met Sally made the famous assertion, an assertion that has made an indelible footprint in Western culture: males and females are incapable of being “just friends,” adolescents and adults alike have grappled with the intricacies of male-female friendship dynamics. Add societal skepticism that the platonic is possible, and the feat is near impossible.

Speaking as a person who has been the cliché who has both fallen for the guy friend before and has the brother-esque best friend, I myself can attest to both the nuanced nature of male-female friendship and the absolute possibility—and invaluable

by amateurs.” As always, Scalia’s sass is palpable.

One issue the Supreme Court justice never injects comedy into, however, is his alma mater. Instead, he just seems sadly disappointed whenever he discusses Georgetown. Last year at UVA, he engaged in the classic “Is Georgetown Catholic enough?” debate. Reminiscing on the golden days, he said, “When

Hilltop from both public and other private universities is its particular brand of religiosity. Georgetown embraces the search for faith—all searches for faith—rather than handing its students a well-drawn map. It acknowledges that we’re all trekking different terrains. And this religious inclusion has been a part of our history since the school’s founding.

While it took quite a while to build up the religious diversity we now have at Georgetown, our university has welcomed people of all faiths since its doors opened in 1789.

I didn’t give much thought to the fact that Georgetown was Catholic when I applied here four years ago. I was enthralled by the Hogwarts-esque campus, I nerded out over the International Relations offerings, and I imagined myself living in the Washington, D.C. of the West Wing. But just as in high school, when I landed on an all-girls campus without wondering how that would impact my latent feminism, I’ve found myself surprised

by Georgetown’s religiosity.

Of course, we all take our two mandatory theology classes. But

Carrying On

by Heather Regen A rotating column by senior Voice staffers

I was at Georgetown, it was a very Catholic place. It’s not anymore— and that’s too bad.”

Perhaps Georgetown is not a Catholic university anymore—because it is so much more than that now. Georgetown is a Muslim university. It is a Jewish university. It is a Christian university, a Hindu university, and a Greek Orthodox university as well.

Georgetown is as Catholic as you want it to be, but what separates the

aspects—of purely platonic male companionship.

Nothing infuriates me more than when people assume I am physically or emotionally involved with one (or more) of my male friends. Yes, some of those lines have been blurry in the past. Some of them still are. But that doesn’t mean that a relationship with a boy has to be all or nothing— either filled with romantic meaning, or completely meaningless. My boys calm me, and spending time with them relieves the social pressures that come with being female. They aren’t afraid to be honest, and—plot twist!—still love me unconditionally. Perhaps it would “make sense” if I were in love with my absolute best friend who happens to be a guy, but over the years, I have grown to love him deeply and view him as family—and I don’t mean as a husband. But one day, I’ll fall in love, in a completely different way, and both of these types of relationships will enrich me as a person—as seen with Hermione Granger, the way Rowling originally wrote her.

Julia Jester is a junior in the College. She’s quite experienced in bringing the boys to the yard, but she’s looking to upgrade to the starting lineup.

Georgetown’s commitment to faith rings stronger than six credit hours on our transcripts. Smiti Mohan, one of my old housemates, phrased what happens at Georgetown perfectly: “Who on Earth would think that college kids would go to Shabbat, or Jumu’ah, or Puja, or Mass every week?” At Georgetown, it’s not strange to go to religious services, especially when they’re not your own. We drag friends to holidays, trip over the pronunciations of transliterated prayers, and crash services for the food paid for by Campus Ministry.

The engagement in religious life on this campus makes the debate about whether Georgetown is “Catholic enough” seem either mildly offensive or horribly silly.

At the heart of his argument, Scalia lamented that students nowadays are afraid to express their religious curiosity. “You’ve always got to be open to discussing your faith,” the justice said at UVA. “Be eager to discuss it.” Perhaps I’m blind, but that eagerness is exactly what I see at Georgetown.

SamYr Laine (law '10) Georgetown Olympian