3 22 2012

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w March 22, 2012 w Volume 46, Issue 10 w georgetownvoice.com

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VOICE

spring fashion 2012

2 the georgetown voice

march 22, 2012

comments of the week “I guess this just means I’ll have to go back to putting booze in a Gatorade bottle…”

— not typical anymore, ”How Georgetown Day lost the beer garden and inflatables”

“can we now get back to not caring about GUSA again?”

— And...,“Gustafson and Kohnert-Yount sworn in as the new GUSA Executive”

“the real question how did they get in to St Mary’s, you need a GOCard after hours to get in. ” —Mikey, “Undercover DPS officers foil burglary in

progress in St. Mary’s last night”

Talk Back

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classifieds

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Pretty block. Close to campus. Great parking. $4,050. Available June 1. More details at HoyaHousing.com or Facebook “Georgetown Rentals.”

Offered by Charles Sullivan, Re/Max Metropolitan Realty.

301-526-7894 (cell) or 301-947-6500 (main office)

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Voice Crossword “Rears ” by Tyler Pierce 1

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17. Sauce on a Filet O’ Fish 18. Dined 1. Resistance 19. Churchill’s 63. Rears, 38. Worry “so few”: or a hint to unit12. Composer Copland the starts4.ofDegree 13, 21,from 37, MIT, perhaps Abbr.

13. Gametes 39. Snatches and 45 Across 7. Herzegovina partner 20. “At45. a walking pace,” on a 14. Bygone Italian Kind of salad 13. How dinner might be score 64. Declare money 46. Ram in the sky served 21. Possible vanilla extract 65. Noah's transport 21. Jekyll's counterpart 47. The Bahamas, for 15.

Popular Kia sedan measure 66. Ice cream guy 22. Youofmight 16. Like the conception Jesusbeat 25. Notexample likely Down 1. "I'll handle this" 2. Tortoise rival

around it 23. Ides rebuke 24. Its showers bring

48. Din 49. Bring upon oneself 50. Imprison

28. Tropical cyclone dreamatorium 29. Headpiece for Rowena Ravenclaw 32. To be in France?

34. Like tomorrow’s homework 37. Task to be done 40. Jason of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” 41. Hindu teacher 42. Whitman’s “___ of Grass” 43. In medias ___ 44. Bald, as a tree 45. Annoyance 53. Bad lighting?

54. Degree from the MSB 55. Short life summary 58. Compound made up of sand and quartz 60. Leaves behind 62. Prepares a Titleist for use, perhaps 63. Rears, or a hint to the starts of 13, 21, 37, and 45 Across 64. Declare 65. Noah’s transport 66. Ice cream guy Down 1. “I’ll handle this” 2. Tortoise rival

3. Dashboard abbr.

4. Humdrum 5. Wizard’s instrument 6. Sushi fish 7. Wall-E, colloquially 8. Rare gems 9. Thong 10. Six Flags rollercoaster 11. Adult insect stage 12. Composer Copland 13. Gametes 14. Bygone Italian money 21. Jekyll’s counterpart 22. You might beat around it 23. Ides rebuke 24. ____ ____ of a whip 25. Baal, for example 26. The Doors’ “Light My ___” 27. Lose color 30. Work unit 31. Grieve

answers at georgetownvoice.com

33. Wash 34. Buddhist god 35. Addict 36. To be in Rome 38. Worry 39. Snatches 45. Kind of salad 46. Ram in the sky 47. The Bahamas, for example 48. Din 49. Bring upon oneself 50. Imprison 51. One way to be taken 52. Went to the bottom 55. Agent 007 56. ___ 500 57. CIA preceder 59. Skilled 60. Attorneys’ org.

61. Bad grade

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Share your love of words and help us write crosswords.

Email crossword@georgetownvoice.com

editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 46.10 March 22, 2012 Editor-in-Chief: Sean Quigley Managing Editor: Leigh Finnegan Blog Editor: Jackson Perry News Editor: Vanya Mehta Sports Editor: Kevin Joseph Feature Editor: Rachel Calvert Cover Editor: Richa Goyal Leisure Editor: Heather Regen Voices Editor: Connor Jones Photo Editor: Lucia He Design Editors: Julia Kwon, Kathleen Soriano-Taylor Projects Editor: Rob Sapunor Crossword Editor: Scott Fligor Assistant Blog Editors: Ryan Bellmore, John Sapunor Assistant News Editors: Soo Chae, Morgan Manger Assistant Sports Editor: Steven Criss, Abby Sherburne Assistant Leisure Editors: Mary Borowiec, Julia Lloyd-George, Kirill Makarenko Assistant Photo Editors: Julian De La Paz, Abby Greene Assistant Design Editors: Amanda Dominguez, Madhuri Vairapandi Assistant Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Contributing Editors: Geoffrey Bible, Nico Dodd, Iris Kim Tim Shine

Staff Writers:

Geoffrey Bible, Mary Cass, Will Collins, Jane Conroy, Emma Forster, Daniel Kellner, Morgan Manger, Kelsey McCullough, Eileen McFarland, Matt Pacana, Paul Quincy, Adam Rosenfeld, Jake Schindler, Melissa Sullivan, Fatima Taskomur

Staff Photographers:

Nick Baker, Sam Brothers, Helen Guo, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Jackson Perry, Matthew Thees

Copy Chief: Kim Tay Copy Editors:

Keaton Hoffman, Tori Jovanovski, Claire McDaniel

Editorial Board Chair: Gavin Bade Editorial Board:

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

Head of Business: Keaton Hoffman Business Staff: Sara Ainsworth, Zoe Disselkoen, Megan Fitzpatrick, Charmaine Ng, Aarohi Vora

MIND OVER MATTER

Georgetown should encourage neurodiversity Gender equality, respect for the LGBTQ community, and racial diversity are all common topics of discussion at Georgetown. But most students remain unaware of another movement on campus—neurodiversity, a philosophy that acknowledges neurodevelopmental differences, such as developmental, cognitive, learning, or behavioral disabilities, as a normal part of the human experience. Although this mindset is beginning to take hold on campus, students and the administration alike can do more to ensure that those with mental abilities different from the stereotypical norm are comfortable and welcome on campus. The admissions office should also actively recruit these individuals to encourage a wide range of perspectives and experiences in the Georgetown community.

Last fall, as part of the diversABILITY forum, the Department of Performing Arts sponsored Visible Impact, a show focusing on the deaf and “disabled.” During the event, deaf Georgetown student Heather Artinian

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On this week’s cover: Spring Fashion 2012 Cover Photo: Kelsey McCullough

(COL ‘15) said “If you say ‘disabled,’ you usually mean that the person is unable to function like normal. Deaf people are normal…we just have a different way of viewing life.”

Similarly, people with different mental capabilities are not necessarily disabled. Judgments of their capabilities should rest on the same requirements as any other person, and not the label assigned to them. “Neurodiversity is important in the academic environment because its perspective on issues about disability are profoundly different [from] a purely medical perspective, or a perspective that urges pity and insists on fixing or curing,” Lydia Brown (COL ‘15) an advocate for autism understanding, who has autism herself, wrote in an email. “[It] is about empowering and uniting the people labeled neurodiverse, and deserves discussion and critical analysis in the university environment.”

Brown hopes one day Georgetown will have a Disability Culture Center, like the LGBTQ center. “Acceptance requires that

the neurodiverse are fully included and welcomed as members of the community,” she wrote. “If engaged more now and into the future, we can become leaders in spearheading discussion about the topics and issues that affect us.”

Such a University-sponsored center would be an important step, but much rests on a change in campus social interactions as well. Too often, individuals considered mentally handicapped are socially isolated on our campus. Students considered “normal” often group according to mental labels, just as we continue to separate ourselves based on race or social class. It is not only up to the administration, but also to individual students to break down boundaries on campus based on mental distinctions. Diverse mental abilities have as much to offer our Georgetown community as diverse ethnic or geographic origins, and the sooner we all realize this, the more complete, productive, and inspirational our college experience will be.

PRIVATE EYES

Rutgers suicide highlights persisting prejudice On March 16, a New Jersey jury reached a verdict in the case of Dharun Ravi, a student at Rutgers University who was accused of spying on his former roommate. In September 2012, Ravi set up a webcam with which to record and broadcast his then-roommate, Tyler Clementi, having sex with another man.

Three days later, Clementi, who was not out to the general public, committed suicide by jumping off of a bridge. On Friday, the jury found Ravi guilty on charges including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

This case, and Ravi’s conviction, represent the depth and controversy of the debate that surrounds the definition of a hate crime.

Regardless of Clementi’s sexuality and openness, Ravi’s judgment in his decision to display the innermost details of his roommate’s private life on the Internet is clearly immoral.

But the motivation behind this inexcusable action is a key part of the conviction and pun-

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ishment. Ravi is on record saying that he was “uncomfortable” with Clementi’s sexuality, and this bias was an obvious factor in the way he violated his roommate’s privacy. Clearly, then the crime was a hate crime—an act of terrorism against a person because of his or her identity, akin to last week’s shootings of members of the LGBT community in D.C. The prevalence of violent crime against members of the LGBTQ community clearly shows that homophobia is alive and well in America. While Ravi could face deportation to India in addition to a jail sentence, the political commentators who have sprung to his defense suggest a continued acceptance of homophobia, as the non-heteronormative community remains one of the last groups that it is still socially acceptable to hate. While the struggles of racial minorities, for instance, who still confront obstacles to equality every day, should not be minimized, it would be outrageous to suggest that interracial mar-

riage be banned. Nonetheless, politician and civilian alike feel perfectly entitled to express “discomfort” with people of non-normative sexual or gender identities.

There have been laudable attempts to curb homophobia, such as the ThinkB4USpeak campaign. But as politicians like Rick Santorum continue to compare equal marriage to “man on dog” and “man on child” without suffering reproach from their voter bases, homophobia continues to be entrenched in our culture. This continued mainstream acceptance of bigoted hatred against specific groups must be halted. Targeting individuals for their sexuality—something no less a part of a person’s natural identity than race—is a direct violation of basic human rights and decency. Clementi’s tragic death was unequivocally caused by a hate crime, and if we are ever to move past a society that treats the LGBTQ community as second-class citizens, we must start by calling this case what it is.

SACHS ON SACHS ON SACHS

Goldman won’t change until we make them

Last week, Greg Smith decided to resign from his position as an executive director at Goldman Sachs with a bang. He lashed out, via an op-ed in the New York Times, at the predatory and indecent banking culture that is the norm at Goldman Sachs, claiming that the company had detracted from its previous mission of “teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility and always doing right by our clients.”

This mission does not correlate with today’s public perception of Goldman, a company that has frequently been entangled with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last September, Goldman employee Spencer Midlin and his father were charged $92,000 by the SEC for insider trading based on information he received as an employee. That March, Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta was also charged with insider trading, for allegedly giving information to Galleon Management founder and hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta has since been arrested by the FBI, and his case is pending.

Examples like these stretch back almost a decade, and Smith’s op-ed proves that the consequences have not been enough to create a culture shift at Goldman. On a systemic level, the cost of this kind of culture was felt by the American people with the financial crisis of 2008, when inadequate regulation and unethical corporate practice proved catastrophic for the entire economy.

Smith declares in the op-ed that the public will cease to remain apathetic about these activities, which could lead to serious consequences for the company. This process has already begun: the global Occupy movement began as a protest to the culture and operating practices of big businesses like Goldman, where profits are favored above clients. While while the protests changed the dialogue surrounding the banking system, we can see that they did not fundamentally change its culture.

But although Smith’s piece attracted a lot of short-term attention, it sadly will also

fail to provide the impetus for change in the financial sector. By the following day, countless parody op-eds popped up on the Internet. Goldman stock dropped on the day of the op-ed, but has since recovered.

Companies like Goldman Sachs will never voluntarily sacrifice profits for the common good. As such, the responsibility falls on the government to curb their excesses. If nothing else, this op-ed and Goldman executives’ track records should demonstrate that more regulation is needed to ensure not only an ethical financial sector, but one that follows the law. As future leaders in finance and government, Georgetown students should view this as an opportunity to internalize the lessons of the financial crisis and push for more responsibility in the future. Failure on the part of ourselves or our government to do this not only ignores Greg Smith’s somber warnings of corporate excess, but invites more financial ruin and economic pain for the entire nation.

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march 22, 2012

GUSA executive appoints diverse cabinet and staff

by Vanya Mehta Last weekend, newly inaugurated GUSA President and Vice-President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vail KohnertYount (SFS ’13) announced their selections for their executive cabinet. Out of a record 80 applicants, the executive appointed six women and five men, including former GUSA senators Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) and Yupang Chang (MSB ’15), forming a staff that will be one of the most diverse cabinets in recent memory.

“This is the first time that there have ever been more women than men in the GUSA cabinet,” Kohnert-Yount said.

The position of Secretary of Sustainability received the most number of applications, followed closely by Secretary of Social Justice and Secretary

of Diversity. “With these positions we also reached a new, uncapped group who now wanted to apply to GUSA and were very interested,” Gustafson said.

The executive also appointed two Directors of Communication, one for traditional media and another for social media. “We want to be very proactive about outreach,” Kohnert-Yount said. The positions, filled by Kara Brandeisky (SFS ‘13) and Mike Madoff (SFS ‘13), are devoted to outreach through social networking and a weekly email outlining GUSA’s meetings and activities.

[Full disclosure: Brandeisky is a staff writer for the Voice.]

Gustafson stressed the importance and effectiveness of social networking. “Within a day or two of having admin access to the GUSA page, we

more than doubled the number of likes for the page. We hope that more students will like [the page] so they can see on a more regular basis what is going on and what events are coming up,” Gustafson said. “Vail and I really want to harness that potential.”

Madoff said his aim as Director of Communications for Social Media is to increase student awareness and transparency. “My goal for this administration is to make sure every Georgetown student can answer the question: “What is GUSA?” he wrote in an email.

“I view online interaction as the most transparent and effective way to communicate directly with students and I’ll be using social media and other online platforms not only to send out messages, but also to receive feedback and learn about all

the great ideas that Georgetown students have to offer.”

Malkerson, who will serve as the Director of Student Activities Fee and Endowment Implementation, asked the student body to be patient with the cabinet’s progress as they pursue Gustafson and KohnertYount’s campaign goals.

“The process is still going on, there will be complications along the way, both good and bad,” he said. “But we will implement all three proposals as the students voted for them.

We just want to do it properly and thoroughly, and take our time to make sure it’s done right.”

Kohnert-Yount said Malkerson, who finished fourth in his own bid for the GUSA presidency, is “one of the most knowledgeable people about SAFE reform on campus.”

One major shift between the last executive’s cabinet and Gustafson’s is in size. “In the past there has been a large executive, a lot of members of staff and cabinet but also a lot of deputy secretaries,” KohnertYount said. “We definitely want every member of our executive to be necessary, we don’t want to have a large organization for the sake of a large organization…we want to keep our deputy staff nimble and leaner than it was last year because that’s our style of management.”

Above all, the new executive hopes to create an environment of collaboration within the new staff and cabinet.

“We don’t want it to be such a hierarchical cabinet…but a team environment and that’s what sort of differentiates our administration,” KohnertYount said.

to source a certain percentage of their college apparel through DSP-approved factories within three years. The Workers’ Rights Consortium would keep records on which suppliers’ factories and subsidiaries comply with their standards. Universities would refuse to buy products from factories that do not meet these conditions.

“Many universities look to Georgetown as a model on sweatshop issues,” the Georgetown Solidarity Committee wrote in an open letter to President John DeGioia this Wednesday. “Therefore, we strongly encourage Georgetown to implement the DSP as soon as possible.”

GSC members say they are pleased with the response they have received from University officials on the project, though they request that the implementation move faster. According to GSC member Louisa Abada (COL ’12), GSC’s goal in lobbying the administration is “to make sure that the University continues to prioritize this issue and uses this opportunity to exemplify their leadership in working towards the elimination of sweatshops in university apparel.”

Last year, DSP faced a possible challenge to its legality on grounds of antitrust. On Dec. 16, however, the Department of Justice issued a public statement saying it will not pursue a case against the Workers’ Rights Consortium for organizing DSP. “In the circumstances in which the DSP would likely be implemented, it appears unlikely to lead to significant anticompetitive effects,” wrote the Antitrust Division, in a position backed by Georgetown administration.

According to Fleming, “the University’s Federal Relations office was actively engaged in working with various Congressional offices and the Justice Department” to secure the Department’s approval.

Georgetown is an affiliate member of the Workers’ Rights Consortium, meaning that the University pays one percent of its licensing revenue to the con-

sortium. Further, the University seems poised to begin participation in DSP. “At this point, the Workers’ Rights Consortium, who orchestrated the DSP concept, is planning for implementation of the DSP, after which individual institutions will be able to make independent judgments with regard to participating. We anticipate guidance in that regard this summer,” wrote Fleming. “I think it is fair to say that, especially in light of the extensive work we put into securing the Business Letter, we are predisposed to moving forward with DSP once we have been able to benefit from the guidance that will be forthcoming and it can be reviewed by relevant parts of the University.”

GSC members sent the letter on Wednesday in an effort to speed up the process. “Georgetown has been a leader on this issue in the past. However, we feel that Georgetown, exactly because it has been such a leader on the DSP and anti-sweatshop issues generally, should begin the implementation process as soon as possible, and not simply spend the months until the summer waiting for advice from the WRC,” GSC member Samuel Geaney-Moore (SFS ’12) wrote in an email. “The DSP cannot move forward until universities begin implementing it, and many universities are look-

ing to Georgetown for leadership on this.”

Georgetown already requires its licensees, including the suppliers of its apparel, to comply with strict employment standards. According to the Code of Conduct for Georgetown University Licensees, no company that provides goods to Georgetown can condone forced overtime, child labor, or health violations, among other standards. In addition, all licensees must allow their employees to unionize, and, although the code requires that provider factories provide their employees with the respective country’s minimum wage, providing a living wage is currently not required.

According to GSC, DSP will mostly change the way in which Georgetown enforces no-sweat policies. “Previous approaches address labor disputes as they come to the attention of the Workers’ Rights Consortium and the universities, but this addresses problems at their roots,” Geaney-Moore said. “When DSP is fully implemented, Georgetown apparel will be produced in factories that already have all the conditions that avoid labor disputes. The DSP will make sure that all Georgetown apparel is in good factories, whereas right now we’re just kind of hoping that’s the case.”

University to implement anti-sweatshop regulations

by Connor Jones As early as this summer, Georgetown is likely to implement the Designated Suppliers Program, a system in which all suppliers of University apparel must verify that they pay their workers a living wage and allow their workers to unionize and collectively bargain, according to Associate Vice President for Federal Relations Scott Fleming.

Under DSP, a project of the Workers’ Rights Consortium and United Students Against Sweatshops, participating universities would require their clothing licensees, like Nike and Adidas,

lucia he

GSC presents open letter to University calling for speedy implementation of DSP.

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Students advocate for University Office of Sustainability

by Tiare Dunlap Last week, a group of students and faculty planted flowers and removed trash along O Street between 35th and 36th Streets in an effort to improve neighborhood relations and demonstrate environmental commitment.

The clean-up was a part of D.C.’s “Adopt a Block” program, and was sponsored by GU Wellness and Off Campus Student Life. The action coincided with a recent Hoya Roundtable on March 16, where Chief Operating Officer Chris Augostini addressed the possibility of creating the first Office of Sustainability.

This program is just one example of how Georgetown stu-

dents and faculty are ramping up environmental projects and pushing for the establishment of an institutional home for sustainability initiatives at Georgetown.

“By improving sustainability, we demonstrate our commitment to those beyond campus, and this certainly includes our neighbors,” said GUSA’s newly appointed Secretary of Sustainability, Erin Aeul (COL ’14).

At the Roundtable, Augostini debuted the student-written “Visions for Sustainable Georgetown.”

The report includes a pledge from President John DeGioia for a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, and calls for a comprehensive Climate Action Plan to lay out concrete steps for ac-

TiMOThY MaRKaTOS

Students and faculty planted flowers on O Street to promote sustainability.

Troubled by preemtive arrests

Back in October, Metropolitan Police raided two Capitol Hemp locations in Adams Morgan and two in Chinatown, confiscating water pipes that they claimed were up for sale expressly for the consumption of marijuana. While offering these pipes (most people call them bongs) at head shops is perfectly legal, the police justified their actions by pointing to other items for sale in the store that expressly referenced cannabis use and evasion of law enforcement, such as the book Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use, and the DVD 10 Rules for Dealing with Police.

The owners, Adam Eidinger and Alan Amsterdam, have been charged with misdemeanors and could lose their business if convicted. According to DCist, the duo’s lawyers have advised them to take many cannabis-related items off the shelves. The water pipes are still offered, but any merchandise that alludes to marijuana use, including the aforementioned book and DVD, has been removed. The

fear is that their presence would cause another raid by police and further charges.

It’s likely that the owners of Capitol Hemp are targeting a particular, illegal market with their business model. Even so, their being charged with a crime before any evidence of illegal activity reflects a growing trend in law across the nation for pretextual enforcement. Since the Sep. 11 attacks, acts like these have become more frequent.

After that day, Bush administration officials began detaining foreign nationals suspect of terrorist activities based solely on suspicion. Powers given to immigration enforcement through the Patriot Act allowed them to hold these suspects indefinitely, often without adequate legal representation. These practices persist under Obama, and the act of pretextual enforcement, in cases like the Capitol Hemp raids, has moved even outside of the realm of immigration and counter-terrorism.

complishing this goal. Concluding with a list of recommendations for immediate, medium-term, and longterm goals, the plan includes a litany of proposals, from reduced flyering to improved bike access to reusable cups at basketball games.

“Visions for Sustainable Georgetown” also highlights the importance of commitment to the environment as a part of the University’s goal of producing men and women for others. The report claims it is necessary for sustainability to frame the University’s service on campus and beyond. Georgetown Energy’s international projects, such as solar initiatives in housing development in Haiti, it says, exemplify opportunities for on-campus environmental engagement to extend well beyond the front gates.

“By strengthening on-campus sustainability, we acknowledge our role to positively affect our community, locally and even globally,” Aeul said.

GUSA Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ‘13) said she hopes that the proposed Office of Sustainability would serve that role and “hold our University community accountable.”

Harrison Gale, Georgetown Energy’s project leader of TownIt is widely unknown in which situations the federal government can collect information under the Patriot Act. But two people in the know, Senators Mark Udall (DColo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) of the Intelligence Committee, are disturbed by the government’s powers. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the two wrote that “there is now a significant gap between what most Americans think the law allows

city on a hill

by Gavin Bade

A bi-weekly column on campus news and politics and what the government secretly claims the law allows.” If the legal limitations for the government to collect citizen information are lax, law enforcement has a very different understanding of our privacy rights than we do.

Couple this with the recently signed National Defense Authorization Act, and it seems that everyone is at risk of violations of due process and privacy rights. Under the NDAA, the government

house Sustainability, said that an Office of Sustainability on campus would also “streamline the communications process between student groups, people with ideas, University administrators and facilities,” all of whom are necessary actors in campus environmental initiatives.

An Office of Sustainability would also be an integral part in responding to GUSA President Clara Gustafson’s (SFS ’13) call for “a more unified educational initiative” that would “get more of the undergraduate student body talking about sustainability.”

As for now, Assistant Vice President of Communications Stacy Kerr said an Office of Sustainability is “something we are exploring.”

The office would also help the University meet the goals set forth in the District of Columbia’s College and University Sustainability Pledge, signed in late February by Mayor Vincent Gray, President DeGioia, and eight other D.C. university presidents. A commitment to pursue sustainability in education, transportation, building, and waste reduction, CUSP is an effort to meet the Mayor’s goal of making D.C. “the greenest college town in America.” may now hold foreign nationals and American citizens suspected of terrorist activities indefinitely without formal charge or due process. Similar to the Patriot Act, it is unclear which grounds the government will consider appropriate for enforcement of the NDAA. Will domestic activism, such as involvement in the Occupy movement, be construed as anti-government activity serious enough to warrant arrest? As I saw last weekend with the re-occupation of Zuccotti Park in New York, local police forces already consider a resurgence of the movement this spring enough of a threat to resort to violent tactics.

Obama has said he will not utilize the controversial section of the NDAA, but if the movement gains more momentum and becomes more critical of his administration leading up to the election, he has the legal framework to imprison protesters as threats to national security.

What is billed as an anti-terror bill can just as easily be utilized to challenge political upheaval at home.

Equally important is the legal precedent that these statutes set

“This is the first partnership in the country bringing the higher education sector together with city government on sustainability,” Kerr said.

In recent years, Georgetown has already taken steps toward sustainability on campus. By the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the University had reduced emissions from 2005 levels by over 17 percent, and the approval of the SAFE referenda this past February marks a new period of environmental engagement on campus. The referenda included the establishment the Social Innovation and Public Service Fund that allocates $1.5 million from a $3.4 million Student Activity Fee Endowment for money to go towards students’ projects.

Gale said these projects “will improve the community and also generate a return on the investment.”

Despite these efforts, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done. “Our goal is to continue to harness the immense and unprecedented student support for sustainable initiatives,” Aeul said. “All of these great ideas and enthusiasm, however, must have a home on campus—the Office of Sustainability.” for local law enforcement. The truth is, no one in America truly knows their rights to due process or privacy with the current interpretations of these laws, and this can have consequences far more serious for citizens than petty drug charges.

If our laws were all just, all law-enforcement were ethical, and the entire legal system were fair, there would be no need for privacy rights. But police and politicians will always look to push the legal envelope to catch suspects, as it makes them seem competent. These laws, along with the acceptance of pretextual enforcement, allow authorities to detain you for something you haven’t done. Whether it’s drug paraphernalia sales or alleged terror acts, an individual’s innocence is now in the hands of the accuser more than ever before. And that’s bad news, whether you think you’re a law-abiding citizen or not.

Feel threatened? Hide your kids and especially your wife with Gavin at gbade@georgetownvoice.com

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march 22, 2012

Lacrosse falls to Loyola, ends winning streak

by Abby Sherburne After three consecutive wins by one-goal margins, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team couldn’t hold on to its streak to beat Loyola-Maryland last night. Despite a strong start, the Hoyas fell 11-5 to the No. 5 Greyhounds in Baltimore. The Hoyas led early in the first half, but were only able to score once in the second half.

Still, they’ve exceeded expectations, notching a win against a ranked opponent in Harvard and having four players named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll already this season. However, with three of their four wins resulting in one-goal margins, the Hoyas don’t seem like they have hit their stride quite yet.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Head Coach Dave Urick said. “We haven’t peaked yet, for sure, and we have an awful lot of really good opponents coming up, so we’ll certainly have a better idea of where we are after next Saturday.”

Next Saturday faces the Hoyas with their toughest test yet, when they face a No. 10 Duke team that has hit its stride in the past two weeks. Besides having a historically strong program, Duke posted a more decisive win over Harvard, and has beaten another ranked opponent in North Carolina.

Zack Angel, Brian Casey, Travis Comeau, and Patrick Murray have all been recognized thus far this season, and not undeservedly. Angel, a senior midfielder, has played a big role on this year’s team, and having to step up to a leadership role is not something that he is used to.

“The time flew by,” a nostalgic Angel said. “So my role has changed where people are looking to me to teach them the ways and show them how it should be done.”

Urick, for one, is very happy to have Angel at full strength after last season, when his health was not at full capacity and proved a real hindrance for the team. “I didn’t realize how handicapped he was last year from injuries, because it really affected how well he could maneuver,” Urick said.

But Angel won’t take all the credit for the teams’ success, as he insists that leadership can be found across the team. He jokes that he has a “little competition” with junior midfielder Casey in being named to the Big East Honor Roll.

Urick has also been impressed with Casey, especially his consistency. “Brian is just very deceptive,” Urick said.

“He’s one of those guys that when you look at him, he doesn’t strike fear into you, but when he has a mind to, he’s very effective. He can initiate the offense from behind the cage, he can initiate from up top, and he plays good, solid defense as well.”

Casey has certainly lived up to this praise and proven a crucial lynchpin for this team, scoring the game-winners against Providence and Mount St. Mary’s last week.

With strong midfielders like Casey and Angel, it is easy to see how a team like Georgetown’s has been able to secure these last-minute wins. “We’re playing well,” Angel said. “Our offense has been meshing. We’re a tight unit this year, and it’s been a completely different offensive style [than the past].”

Angel’s coach agrees, saying that they’re doing all they can ask for at this point in the season. “For the team, it’s a work in progress,” said Urick. “We’re reasonably healthy, and that’s all you can ask for at this time of the season.”

After last night, the team definitely has some adjust-

MATTHEW THEES

The Hoyas loss to Loyola broke a four-game winning streak.

ments to make before facing Duke on Saturday. Consistency will be the name of the game, and Angel and Casey will certainly have to step up. In addition, they will need continued output from junior attack Jason

McFadden, who moved from his natural midfield position over the summer. He has nine goals thus far this season.

Until now, the Hoyas have ably maneuvered through the first half of their schedule. The

bulk of the Big East schedule still remains, but the upcoming battle against the Blue Devils will determine if the season will be one for the memories. Faceoff is set for noon on Saturday at Multi-Sport Field.

the Sports Sermon “In the green and gold at his pro day, RG III looks like a Jamaican sprinter.

It’s like Cool Runnings to the nth power.” -WaPo columnist Mike Wise everybody that he’s the best guard that I’ve coached in a while at the beginning of the season—guess they didn’t believe me.”

Smith knows a thing or two about high school players—his academy has churned out superstars that include Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings, Rajon Rondo, Jerry Stackhouse, and Josh Smith, just to name a few, not to mention former Georgetown big man Julian Vaughn. Still, Smith heaps immeasurable praise on the burly Smith-Rivera, a positive for Hoya fans looking forward to next season.

“He should play immediately,” Smith said. “He’ll come in and play like a junior in college right now. He’s strong. Six-three, 230 pounds. But he’s solid, solid muscle, just a big strong kid.”

Though Smith-Rivera was widely recruited, he did not really turn heads until shining for

range to 20 feet.” Smith, speaking only about an hour after the Let’s forget about this year. team’s return from a lengthy postOtto Porter, Markel Starks, Greg season trip to China, pointed to Whittington, and company are the guard’s performance on the definitely returning next season for trip as evidence of his vastly-imJohn Thompson III. And there’s an proved offensive game. outside chance that a certain high“He was scoring 28-30 points ly touted, flat-topped center from every game in China, just doing Massachusetts will be on the court whatever he wanted to do out with them. But with or without there [including 38 points in the Nerlens Noel, Thompson’s incomfirst game],” Smith told the Voice. ing recruiting class is promising, “He’s a big-time scorer. He’s more highlighted by a six-foot-three, of a two [guard] than a point.”

230-pound combo guard who can That prolific scoring did not shoot the lights out. begin in China, either. He scored No, Austin Freeman hasn’t 41 points in each of his team’s fimagically regained some years nal two games, capping off the of eligibility, but Oak Hill AcadWarriors’ undefeated season. The emy’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera is amazing part, though, is that he the highest-recruited Hoya comonly played 22 and 19 minutes in mit since Freeman himself back in each of the contests.

2007. While he may not be FreeThus, Smith-Rivera has disman 2.0, Smith-Rivera’s game has pelled the notion that his offensive turned quite a few heads, includgame is a weakness, perhaps even ing that of his own coach. Oak changing his game to one more Hill’s venerable Steve akin to a FreemanPete Rose Central Smith sees the comlike pure scorer. This Da bettin’ line parison to Freeman, season, Smith says but believes his own that “DSR” has also Dookies Margin Hoyas guard is even better. improved his de(underdogs) (duh!)

“They are a little (favorites) fense considerably, similar,” Smith conto the point where Peyton Role players Oak Hill would pin Elway ceded in a phone inMark Sanchez Jesus Tim Tebow terview with the Voice. him against the op“But I think he’s better Mark Sanchez Everyone Kate Upton ponent’s best perimthan Austin coming in eter player. He was there as a freshman. He’s quicker, Oak Hill this year, leading the also careful to note that Smithhe’s more mobile, and he’s athleti- team to a 44-0 record. His success- Rivera could take on guards taller cally similar to Austin. I think may- ful recruitment culminated in a than him, due to his brawny frame be he’s a better shooter than Austin mid-October commitment to the and physical nature. His passing at the same stage.”

Hoyas, about a year after he de- ability, though, has never been With senior Jason Clark’s committed from Xavier. Coupled questioned, and to Smith, this is graduation and junior Hollis with Brandon Bolden in the class reflective of a high basketball IQ. Thompson’s possible departure of 2012, he is just one of a handful “He is a smart player—he’s ceto the pros, Smith-Rivera’s ar- of great finds for Georgetown’s rebral and understands the game. rival could not be timelier for the coaching staff, one that beat out lo- On top of that, he’s physically Hoyas. The guard’s recruitment cal favorites Missouri and Kansas ready to compete, and some freshhas been fairly low-profile, espe- for Porter’s services last year. His men aren’t,” Smith said. cially compared to Freeman’s. Of interest in Georgetown dates back Taking Smith at his word on course, Freeman was a McDon- considerably, as he visited campus his best player, then at the very ald’s All-American and also a con- near the end of 2010. least, the Hoyas can expect an imsensus top-15 recruit. Smith, for During the first three sea- mediate contributor with a similar one, thought his star player should sons of his career at North Cen- progression to freshmen like Porhave been one as well, advocating tral High School in Indianapolis, ter and Whittington this season. for his inclusion on the roster.

Smith-Rivera’s shooting was the “He’s better than advertised, “I don’t know why he’s not in most suspect aspect of his game. and most kids that come out of top 20 in the country,” the coach His ESPN recruiting profile from high school are not,” Smith said. said. “He should’ve been a lock for last May reflects as much, stating “D’Vauntes, he doesn’t really McDonald’s All-American. I told that “he is a solid shooter with have any weaknesses.”

by Kevin Joseph

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Hoyas follow UNC with Penn win Seniors bow out, reflect

by Melissa Sullivan This past Saturday, the No. 14 Georgetown University women’s lacrosse team hosted a thrilling game against No. 4 UNC-Chapel Hill on Multi-Sport Field. The Hoyas, with a record of 3-3 (1-0 Big East), beat the Tar Heels 9-8, serving up their opponents’ first loss of the season.

Following a loss against No. 20 Johns Hopkins University, where the Blue Jays won 16-12, the Blue and Grey were looking for a win against a tough opponent. Head Coach Ricky Fried used that loss to create new strategies for his team.

“We obviously came off a big loss to Johns Hopkins, so the biggest thing that we tried to focus on was outplay and our confidence, and not to get too caught up in what we didn’t do but what we are capable of doing,” he said.

Going into the game, Fried felt confident in his team. “I [knew] we were able to play with them athletically,” he said. “It’s just a

matter of whether we believe we can play with them.”

The Hoyas were able to use that confidence and outplay during the last 15 minutes of the game. While they were down 8-5, the women staged a huge fourgoal comeback. Their defense put huge pressure on the Tar Heels that ultimately disabled them from using their offense.

The team’s success was due to individual players’ smaller efforts throughout the game, according to Fried.

“I think that as the game went on, even though we weren’t necessarily leading, we knew we could compete at that level,” he says.

“Once that happened, I think the confidence level rose [as we were] consistently doing the little things instead of the big things, and letting [them] cumulatively set us up for success.”

After competing against four nationally-ranked teams in the top 20 lacrosse programs while maintaining a .500 record, Fried

ABBY GREENE

Georgetown followed the UNC win with a victory over Penn Wednesday night.

Goodell sets NFL standard Many have questioned over the years whether the punishments doled out by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have fit their respective crimes.

Similarly, yesterday’s actions in the wake of overwhelming evidence that the Saints organization offered cash payouts to defensive players for inflicting game-ending injuries on opponents were met with considerable skepticism by the accused parties. The most high-profile of those punished, Saints’ Head Coach Sean Payton, was issued a season-long ban without pay, sending shockwaves around the league. But if these allegations are indeed true, then Payton got off easily.

Since he took over as commissioner in 2006, Goodell has campaigned persistently for increased player safety. Though well intentioned, his policies and punishments have not al-

ways met warm welcome from players, who feel that his strict interpretation of the rules has an overbearing impact on the culture and execution of the game.

Rather than protecting players, many argue he has tried to control them, shaping the game to fit an idealized image of sportsmanship and safety instead of truly listening to the desires of the players themselves.

On Oct. 19, 2010, for example, Goodell fined three different players for dangerous hits during the previous weekend of games. “It is clear to me that further action is required to emphasize the importance of teaching safe and controlled techniques, and of playing within the rules,” he said of the decision. Linebacker James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers alone was fined an incredible $75,000 for a hit that inflicted a concussion on an opposing

said he is proud of his team and their season thus far. “[The win against UNC] shows what we are capable of playing,” Fried said.

The challenge now is to do that on a consistent basis, focusing on improving each game, making sure we pay attention to small details.”

The confidence from this win certainly helped the Hoyas as they travelled to No. 8 University of Pennsylvania (4-1) this Wednesday. Coach Fried knew that the Quakers would be a very competitive match for the Blue and Grey, but he is still hopeful for his team.

“I think [the win against UNC] gives us a bit of confidence going into [the UPenn] game,” said Fried before the game. “UPenn is a very good team who has historically been in the top 10. They are very deliberate and smart…While we don’t want to minimize our athleticism, we want to be very patient during the course of the game to execute our game plan and not get caught up in their game plan.”

Shortly after the interview, the Hoyas went out and upset the Quakers, 11-9, in Philadelphia.

Junior Sophia Thomas scored six goals and freshman Caroline Tarzian chipped in one goal to go with three assists.

With the team’s victory Wendesday night, Fried was validated in asserting the team’s record so far shows its ability to play among the nation’s best.

“I think that…we are athletic and skilled enough to compete with anybody,” he said.

receiver. Harrison was firmly defended, however, by influential teammate and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu, who argued Goodell’s power was too unchecked and taking the game away from the players.

But there is no doubt that Goodell’s heavy-handedness has been necessary for the league, which has been increas-

Double Teamed

by Daniel Kellner a rotating column on sports ingly criticized over the past few years, not only for high rates of injury, but also for the long-term health of former players.

Wednesday’s events offer no better example of this need for regulation and enforcement of on-field player conduct. These disturbing allegations not only demonstrate that players are being unnecessarily put in harm’s

by Kevin Joseph A year after putting Georgetown on the national radar with a near upset against Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament, the Georgetown women’s basketball team failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Hoyas, a fiveseed, were undone in the Round of 32 by Georgia Tech, 76-64.

Last year, the upstart Hoyas lost by five to the country’s top team, nearly ousting the Huskies in their first Sweet Sixteen appearance. Although they lost senior leader Monica McNutt in the process, the Hoyas returned with high expectations in 2011.

With junior scorer Sugar Rodgers and senior forward Tia Magee in fold, the Hoyas hoped to replicate their results from last season, but came up just short against the Yellow Jackets. A victory would have meant a matchup with this year’s top-ranked team, the Baylor Bears.

Instead, the Hoyas fell, allowing a six-point halftime deficit to double over the rest of the game. Rodgers scored 14 points but struggled from the field, connecting on just four of her 19 shots. In addition to Rodgers’s poor shooting, they were done in by a 23-point effort from Georgia Tech freshman Sydney Wallace.

But at the end of the game, Head Coach Terri WilliamsFlournoy beamed with pride over her seven graduating seniors, with Magee at her side.

way, but also that this dangerous behavior is being encouraged— and even rewarded—by the front office and coaching staff.

This culture is both dangerous and immoral, as individuals’ careers are being put on the line. Hence, Payton’s surprise that he will miss an entire season and close to $8 million in salary is entirely unfounded.

For putting the well-being of other players in jeopardy, he at least deserves to have his own welfare temporarily challenged.

Goodell has also done right by not merely naming a scapegoat, but tackling the problem on multiple fronts. While Payton deserves considerable punishment, he is by no means alone in perpetrating the bounty culture. The league has also fined and suspended Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, as well as removing the Saints’ next two second-round draft picks. The NFL has gone after the future of the organization, not paralyzing the team,

“I’m very sad to see these seven seniors go, but one thing’s for sure—they know that what they’ve done for this program will never be touched by any other group that comes in here, because they put Georgetown on the map right away,” she said.

The group pieced together four postseason bids, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Including Magee, the Hoyas will lose three starters to graduation. Guard Rubylee Wright and forward Adria Crawford, the two other starters, have played significant roles in all three NCAA Tournament bids. But for next season, the Hoyas return Rodgers, their best scorer, and an emerging forward in sophomore Sydney Wilson to pair with the team’s three freshmen.

Still, their departure represents a great attrition—not just of talent, but of seven leaders who went through thick and thin over their time on the Hilltop. An emotional Magee, reluctant to end her Georgetown career, put it all in perspective for the rest of her seniors.

“I’m crying because I’m sad that it’s over, but at the same time, my four years were amazing, and I wouldn’t change anything about it,” she reminisced.

“It was tough, nothing about it was easy. We lost games we shouldn’t have lost, but we upset a lot of people. We made a lot of noise.”

but certainly curtailing its ability to improve personnel in the offseason. Furthermore, the league has suspended former Saints defensive coordinator and current St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, demonstrating that individuals will be held accountable even after they cut their ties with the accused organization.

These sanctions set an important precedent for future cases in the league. While Payton and the Saints may be stunned by their punishments, they have hopefully learned an important lesson, along with any teams that may be committing similar violations. Their behavior was simply unconscionable, and thus required a hefty sentence.

Justice has been served, and while Saints fans might not be happy, this is an important step toward making the NFL a more safe and honorable league.

Set Dan’s standard at dkellner@georgetownvoice.com

8 the georgetown voice

fashion

march 22, 2012

primary

colors

Left, on Ivy: top by Urban Outfitters.

If you haven’t been living under rock this past week, you have likely noticed that spring fever has reached epidemic proportions on Georgetown’s campus. The symptoms are visible everywhere: Lauinger is empty, Healy Beach is packed, and St. Patrick’s Day proved an unusually fervent Celtic-flavored revelry.

By this time of year, most everyone is tired of bundling up like the Michelin Man. As soon as temperatures inch above 45 degrees, Georgetown students are ready to shed their Barbour jackets and Bean boots in exchange for shortshorts and lax pinnies. And while this look is perfect for a game of cornhole, we think students should broaden their horizons with bold colors and crisp silhouettes.

georgetownvoice.com

fashion

the georgetown voice 9 Left, on Capri: blouse by Urban Outfitters, cardigan

by J. Crew, model’s own headband.

If vibrant patterns are fashion statements, then their absence can create an equally distinctive look. Solid-colored slacks, skirts, and tops can magnify the effect of your favorite hue from this season’s primary-colored palette—bright reds, deep greens, and Smurf blue. Life is too short for taupe, and browns and greens prove vague and uninspiring.

With color-blocking, outfits are exciting at their very core. Augmented by bold colors, sportswear unencumbered by superfluous detail creates a relaxed, long, and lean look. Pencil skirts and other simple, tailored staples soften outfits that incorporate this season’s striking colors.

Above and left, on Ryan: shirt by H&M, cardigan by Ben Sherman, sunglasses by Ray-Ban. Left, on Ryan: shoes

by Sperry.

10 the georgetown voice

fashion

march 22, 2012

georgetownvoice.com

On Ryan: sweater

by Alfani, pants by J. Crew, sandals by Old Navy.

On Capri: Blazer by Urban Outfitters, shirt

by H&M, pants by Spicy Holic, shoes by StyleTread, bracelet

by Ruche.

O n K e l s e y, l e f t : sweater, skirt and shoes by

fashion

the georgetown voice 11

12 the georgetown voice

fashion

march 22, 2012

fashion

georgetownvoice.com On Ivy: dress by H&M.

block party

Left, on Capri: blouse

by Urban Outfitters, cardigan and skirt by J. Crew, model’s own shoes.

Below, on Ryan: shirt by H&M, shorts by BDG, shoes by Sperry.

Models Ivy Otradovec (COL ‘14) Capri LaRocca (SFS ‘13) Ryan Zimmerman (COL ‘12)

Credits Nico Dodd Michael Holper Iris Kim Kelsey McCullough Richa Goyal Kathleen Soriano-Taylor

Below: top by Urban Outfitters, pants by Gap, model’s own sandals.

the georgetown voice 13

leisure

14 the georgetown voice

march 22, 2012

Katniss Everdeen hits the mark in The Hunger Games

by Heather Regen Watching Katniss Everdeen raise her bow in defiance to the Capitol emboldened me to make a heretical statement of my own—The Hunger Games movie is better than the book.

While author Suzanne Collins wove intricate themes of class struggle, civil war, and even counterinsurgency strategy into her trilogy, The Hunger Games movie conveys with complex cinematography and precise casting what prose marketed to eleven-year-olds could not.

Of course, director Gary Ross’s adaptation of the enormously popular young adult novel can only impress because of Collins’ impeccably constructed dystopia, in which an authoritarian central government reminds its 12 surrounding cities of the costs of rebellion by choosing two children from each district to compete in a match to the death. Called the “Hunger Games,” the Capitol televises the bloodbath as quasi-reality TV entertainment to remind their territories of their absolute rule.

Ross translates the sooty descriptions of the downtrodden District 12 into a shockingly real set

deftly gives life to the movie’s fierce heroine, Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games does not rely on its stars alone to hold up the script. Minor characters are memorable, with Lenny Kravitz delivering his few lines as the designer Cinna with heart. The

reminiscent of the mining towns depicted in dramas like North Country. Rusted electrical fence signs, faded linen dresses, and weathered concrete buildings sweep by the camera as it follows a group of men down into the mineshaft.

Against the impoverished districts who must offer up children to compete to the death in annual “Hunger Games,” the lavish Capitol harbors sickening luxury. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky succeeds in draping the wealthy Capitol citizens in the most garish frocks and coats imaginable, while blue hair gilded with silver highlights and beards seemingly shaved with French curves add to the gaudiness of the privileged citizens.

With shots of chrome bullet trains racing behind cascading waterfalls, Ross’s depiction of the Capitol sometimes relies a little too heavily on CGI, but the blatant artifice of the city creates a stark contrast with the realistic, gritty districts.

When Capitol citizen Effie Trinket toddles up the dirty cement steps of District 12 in her wedge heels, grasping onto her silk fuchsia skirt and patting down her matching-col-

ored hair, The Hunger Games depicts the true message of the book it is based on. The opulence is not a caricature, but a deeply saddening and infuriating reminder of the injustice lived daily by the citizens of the broken nation of Panem.

Showing an almost inhuman lack of empathy for the district citizens, actress Elizabeth Banks embodies the aloof Effie Trinket magnificently. While Jennifer Lawrence

careful selection of skilled actors for smaller parts comes, perhaps, from an expectation that their characters will show up again in two following movies to complete the trilogy.

defies the mission of D.C. food truck culture—to provide an easy market entry for chefs hoping to share their take on a particular cuisine without throwing huge sums of money into a piece of real estate. Instead, Andrés intends to

Despite its questionable goals, the central idea behind Pepe’s menu is permissible.

“Those are sandwiches my father, my mother would make for me growing up,” Andrés said of the flautas, which are

an aspect vital in attaining the food truck ideal.

Unfortunately, the prices of these traditional Spanish sandwiches are consistent with those of other establishments flying the Andrés flag. At $20, the Pepito de

IMDB

“You can’t blame me! I swear I didn’t know it was Bambi’s mother.”

The Hunger Games succeeds in part because it sticks so closely to the book’s plot. Where the movie diverges, however, is in its commitment to darkness. While descriptions of severed limbs and bleeding wounds grace the novel, seeing a twelve-year-old beat a fellow child to death with a rock on-screen simply strikes a deeper nerve. Ross doesn’t shy away from the sheer violence of the fight-to-the-death Olympiad, and his willingness to depict killings for a more mature audience gives the movie a deeper feel than one simply aimed at attracting a gaggle of the novel’s fans.

Intertwined in all the action are a few horribly sappy exchanges between Katniss and her fellow fighter Peeta, but audiences can groan along with Gale, the third point in the love triangle. Luckily, the film didn’t fall prey to making the love story bigger than need be—at its heart, The Hunger Games is pure action and dystopic sci-fi. With fans of the novel clamoring to see midnight showings, however, regular moviegoers may have a hard time finding tickets this weekend. As Effie would say, “may the odds be ever in your favor.”

José Andrés shows DC his flautas with Pepe the food truck

by Kirill Makarenko From Minibar to Jaleo, Spanish-born chef José Andrés has slowly been indoctrinating lovers of fine dining and small portions in the D.C. area. While the quality of his bite-sized cuisine has become one of the major attractions of the District, there’s always been one drawback, until now—the food did not literally come to those desiring to taste the legendary tapas. With the launch of Pepe, Andrés’s first food truck, this contrived problem is resolved.

“It’s like a toy to have,” Andrés announced at a press preview prior to the launch. This statement effectively captures the attitude the truck embodies.

And the José Andrés empire can clearly afford to finance such an expensive little “toy;” from its minimalist, brushed-steel exterior to the nearly clinical kitchen area and iPad-turned-cash register, Pepe made the nearby colorful falafel truck blasting tejano music look ridiculous and unprofessional.

Such an irrelevant display of culinary superiority and wealth

Kirill Makarenko

“Hey, baby. Why don’t you skip the chatter and hop in the back of my food truck to try a taste of my flauta?” use Pepe as a marketing tool, hoping to gather data and, at some point, transfer the dishes from the truck to his various establishments scattered across the District.

filled with ingredients from piparra peppers to sweet onions and pulled pork. While somewhat conceited, this concept demonstrates authenticity,

Ibérico, the truck’s most popular flauta, just might be the most expensive item sold at any D.C. food truck. Those who had the opportunity to try this signature

sandwich before it sold out claim that, while they initially hesitated to drop $20 on a rather insubstantial meal, the tender imported Ibérico pork, along with roasted green peppers and caramelized onions, are worth the seemingly absurd fee. Other menu items fall in a slightly more affordable realm, ranging from $8 to $14.

Items on this less expensive portion of the menu are prone to slight changes every two weeks, according to Chef Andre Gaspar.

The $8 Classic Gazpacho, the most recent seasonal addition, is reminiscent of the traditional Spanish chilled tomato soup topped with green peppers, cucumbers, and onions. The resulting concoction, while understandably limited in variety of ingredients, still provides a potent salty kick to start off a meal or relieve the eater from an especially blistering summer day on the D.C. streets.

For a taste of the Spanish childhood influenced José Andrés signature cuisine, Pepe is certainly worth a try. But if you really have a hankering for small quantities of food for ridiculous prices on a regular basis, Minibar is still the place to go.

georgetownvoice.com

“i’m thinking of becoming a male prostitute.” — Tower Heist

the georgetown voice 15

At the Smithsonian, the cake is a lie Real trees wear pink

by John Sapunor In 2010, critic Roger Ebert proclaimed that “video games can never be art.” Up against gamers who appreciate the increasingly cinematic qualities of the medium, the debate over whether video games are a legitimate avenue for art is a contentious one that has been invigorated by new graphic and technological capabilities. Unfortunately, the new Smithsonian exhibit The Art of Video Games ignores the artistic process in the development of video games, focusing instead on the 40-year history of video game consoles.

Walking into The Art of Video Games, the viewer

immediately encounters multiple screens mounted on the wall, which play interviews with various game developers who explaining, literally, why video games are cool. Oh, and there are about 10 or so pieces of concept art used in the development of games ranging from Epic Mickey to Fallout 3. And that’s it; these are the only actual drawings used in the entire exhibit. So what else is could there be in this sizeable gallery?

The next room is entirely comprised of video game stations set up for the public to play. Seriously?

At least half the guests at the exhibit looked like they had mustered up just enough energy to put down their controllers, get off their couch, and head over to the Smithsonian to justify their life-consuming habit as an artistic exercise. But no: all that they are greeted with are 10 mediocre concept drawings and stations for games that they’ve probably already beaten 200 times.

Too cool for old school

The words “hipster” and “rapper” have pretty disparate connotations—keffiyehs and boxy glasses versus platinum grills and blunts. But hipster rappers exist, and their influence is altering the crowd that follows and enjoys rap music. Acts like Das Racist, The Cool Kids, and Chiddy Bang have changed the formula for successful hip-hop, infusing their music with wide streaks of irony or influences from disparate genres.

While the concept of a hipster is ill-defined in nature, ever since the term was coined its definition has been a hot topic of debate. Attempts at characterizing hipsters are considered narrow-minded, and the typical response of someone identifying with the culture would be that “you just don’t get it.” Within hip-hop, hipster rap

is criticized severely by stalwarts of the industry for its shift away from the traditional format. However, it seems extremely contradictory that the revolutionaries of hip-hop, who remixed samples and borrowed lines, question the repurposing of a genre that has always been one of reinvention.

For many of hipster rap’s critics, it is a question of authenticity and aesthetics. Rappers like Drake and Childish Gambino are lumped into this hipster group for their choice in fashion style, and are often panned by rap traditionalists for their “softness.” But though they’re not tough in the way rappers used to be, they’re still wildly successful, commercially and critically.

This shift, like most within hiphop, will never be permanent, but it has helped move the rap

The last room brought the exhibit together in a consoleby-console timeline accompanied by appropriate informational videos. Again, gamers and non-gamers alike are probably aware of the evolution of the Playstation—first came Playstation 1, then Playstation 2, and finally, Playstation 3. This redundant information could have been provided in a short introduction to guests unfamiliar with games, but instead, it became the focal point of the entire exhibit.

The most frustrating thing about the exhibit is that video games truly are an incredible medium for art, and there are artists behind these games who pump out thousands of sketches and storyboards that would be perfect for an art gallery. The artistic development is precisely what doubters like Roger Ebert need to see, because in these ways the originality and imagination running this industry present themselves as formidable opponents to the sequel-ridden world of film. The solution for another attempt at an exhibit like this could not be simpler: next time another Art of Video Games gallery opens, curators should probably plan for more than a trip to Best Buy when acquiring pieces for the exhibit.

paradigm away from the gangsterism that defined the ‘90s and towards a sound more palatable to more groups. While this shift may be a part of a culture embraced by the 20-something crowd, within rap, the economic success that has followed some of these artists has certainly strengthened the movement.

Blast That Box

by Matt Pacana a bi-weekly column about rap music With this transformation, accusations of racism and discrimination abound. Many of these rappers have adapted a formerly frightening and unknown counter-culture and made it their own.

But it isn’t just white kids removing the scary from rap. Within this subgenre, young black artists have taken up the mantle of

by Julia Lloyd-George When they first came to the District back in 1912 as a gift from a Tokyo mayor, cultural ambassadors doubted that Japanese cherry blossoms were strong enough to take root in D.C.’s soil. But now, 100 years later, the longevity of the brilliant blooms has proven these amateur botanists incorrect.

This year, the centennial 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival reveals this same strength in the Japanese people, reflecting on the March 2011 tsunamis while celebrating the enduring spirit of Japan.

This year, the festival has woven films and art galleries depicting the Fukushima tragedy among the usual calendar of parades and dances. One of such events is a screening of the Oscar-nominated The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, which, according to the festival’s website, “links the disaster with the power of Japan’s most beloved flower to heal and inspire.”

2:46 and Thereafter, an exhibit at Pepco’s Edison Place Gallery, will display emerging Japanese artists’ work in response to the catastrophe through March 25.

The programming kicked off on Tuesday with a “Pink Tie Party” fundraiser, which brought together culinary powerhouses

nerdy cool as well, including The Cool Kids and Chiddy Bang. Although the critics of the movement claim that hipster rappers only attract the culture they represent to their shows, they have managed to entice a truly diverse array of listeners.

From my own experience attending a Chiddy Bang concert in Philadelphia, I couldn’t accurately judge what group defined the crowd—most racial and socioeconomic groups seemed equally represented at the performance.

The ages of concertgoers spanned generations, including an odd white-haired couple chilling at the bar. It is a persuasive narrative when a concert is able to appeal to so many different types of people.

But if the youthful hipster movement, considered counter-culture, can have such widespread charm, it speaks to the progressive nature of their beliefs.

José Andrés and Roy Yamaguchi.

The festival packs in a full schedule over five weeks, rather than the usual two, to fully celebrate the centennial of Japan’s prolific gift. Close to home, the 2nd Annual Bike Ride and Cycle Expo will take place at the Georgetown Waterfront. The Blossom Kite Festival on March 31, an annual festival favorite, looks to be a spectacle on the Washington Monument grounds.

The centerpiece of the Japanese events is the April 14 Japanese Street Festival; the largest cultural festival of its kind in the U.S., it figures to be a utopia for sushi and J-Pop enthusiasts. Other highlights include the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival, which features a Food Truck Rally in addition to live entertainment and a firework display.

According to the festival’s website, The Cherry Blast: Art + Music Dance Party will entertain with “cutting-edge DJs and cool sensory experiences.” The festival’s true and much less trippy tour de force, however, is the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on April 14. Featuring flower-covered floats and international marching bands, the Parade is arguably the festival’s greatest spectacle—it might even inspire you to pull a Ferris Bueller and take part in the event yourself.

To criticize hipster rap as illegitimate or fake is offensive to hip-hop and the impact rap has made as a form of artistic expression and musical culture. Hipster artists have seemingly invaded a genre that was distinct to urban communities in the ‘90s and taken it to a group of people who define themselves as “different.” Successfully marketing to such a hazy crowd is impressive, and it speaks to the popularity of the movement among the masses. Ironically, hipster rap has made the larger genre of hip-hop more agreeable to many different cultural groups.

Whether the hipster movement within rap will remain has yet to be determined, but at the very least, it has certainly expanded the number and type of people that have been affected by the genre.

Criticize Matt ironically at mpacana@georgetownvoice.com

leisure

16 the georgetown voice

march 22, 2012

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

The Shins, Port of Morrow, Columbia Records “You gotta hear this one song.

It’ll change your life, I swear.”

Back in 2004, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the Shins still consisted of its original members, the band was forever immortalized in the words of Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State, as “New Slang” catapulted the group to indie stardom and exposed them to a wider audience. But since then, James Mercer, the frontman and beating heart of the band, has dismantled the original lineup to introduce an entirely different cast of characters. Their new LP, Port of Morrow, consequently sounds more like Mercer ’s side project, Broken Bells, than traditional Shins, which

might alienate some fans who preferred the more charming sound of Oh, Inverted World.

The album’s opening track, “The Rifle’s Spiral,” clearly delineates this shift, as it rides a tidal wave of electric sound that distorts even Mercer ’s appealing vocals. The rather likable “Simple Song,” however, saves the LP from the downward spiral indicated by its introduction. Anything but simple, the lead single is wrapped in attractive layers of guitars and ever-present drums.

“It’s Only Life” is billed as the other hit, satisfying in spite of its cloying lyrics. “September,” however, is the album’s real gem and is most like The Shins’ earlier work, a woozy love song that demonstrates Mercer ’s lyrical mastery. “Love is the ink in the well / when her body writes,” he croons.

The remaining songs adhere closely to the pop sensibilities that pervade Mercer ’s recent work. This is especially evident in the title track, “Port of Morrow.” The song clearly signals Mercer ’s departure from the unassuming sound that so seduced early fans. It seems that the last Shin standing favors

Gamers of the world, unite!

Over the past few months, my housemates and assorted visitors have spent an inordinate amount of time playing video games. Sadly and unsurprisingly, I don’t have much to show for it, save one semi-profound realization. I’ve discovered the secret to great multiplayer game design—socialism.

Pinning down what makes a game addictive or engrossing can be difficult. When it comes to defining good gameplay, I use Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s definition of pornography: I know it when I see it. But after wasting countless hours playing a variety of multiplayer games, a common thread has become clear.

The games we keep coming back to are invariably the ones most likely to spark a Tea Party protest outside Nintendo headquarters.

By far, the two games that have most engrossed my roommates and me are Mario Kart and

Mario Party (that assessment is based on objective criteria like number of objects thrown and threats of violence made). Both games involve plenty of elements of skill—fast-twitch reactions, knowledge of levels, etc.—and both are perfectly comfortable with rewarding players who excel at none of them.

Mario Kart is probably the more meritocratic of the two. On the political spectrum, it wouldn’t be too far left of center—some progressive taxation and a basic welfare system, but not much more. The racing game simply tries to keep things fair by bestowing more helpful items on players the farther behind they fall. If you’re running in first place, you’re locked out of the most powerful items entirely and subjected to the occasional heat-seeking projectile, but if the talent gap is wide enough, it’ll be only a minor nuisance on the way to victory.

more electronica than ever in a movement toward a sound more reminiscent of a—deep breath—pop-rock genre. Needless to say, it’s difficult to imagine any of these songs changing lives.

Voice’s Choices: Song,” “September”

“Simple

—Julia Lloyd-George

Anti-Flag, The General Strike, SideOneDummy Records As its name suggests, AntiFlag is notorious for its leftist brand of political punk. And, perhaps because of a recent trend of distaste with the government and capitalist institutions, the band has found friendly ears for its latest album, The General Strike.

When players’ skill levels are relatively close, however, the game’s biased item system turns an ordinary race into a backand-forth tug of war, invariably ending with a last-second, comefrom-behind victory and a lot of angry yelling (the latter may only be in our house). Of course, it also means that most races end up being exciting right to the very

God Mode

by Tim Shine

a bi-weekly column about video games finish. It’s the main reason why a 15-year-old video game with just 16 tracks still holds our attention hundreds of races later.

Then there’s Mario Party, a game that makes Mario Kart look like it was designed by Rush Limbaugh. Mario Party is essentially a board game, the defining feature of which is the redistribution of wealth. Main villain and occasional master of ceremonies

While by no means for everyone, the LP is a must-hear for those who find themselves identifying with people who spent some part of the past six months camping out in parks.

Right from the beginning, lead singer Justin Sane comes out full force against the American legal system’s mistreatment of the poor and marginalized.

“The Neoliberal Anthem” packs a catchy hook that backs up the lamenting lyrics about the major powers’ absence as the world devolves into turmoil. The band then ramps up the energy with “1915,” delivering more thoughtprovoking lyricism: “Who is wrong and who is righteous? / Will never be our own decision.”

Framing the album around the First Red Scare, Anti-Flag suggests that this same vilification of leftists may occur again.

With a direct shout-out to the Occupy movement, “Nothing Recedes like Progress” records the popular mic-check technique used at many of the movement’s General Assemblies. “Broken Bones” proves the album’s most authentic highlight, giving the listener a shout-filled punk rock anthem to scream along with. Anti-Flag Bowser can literally start a “revolution,” where the richest players’ coins are given to the poorer players until everyone has the exact same amount. Taking an early lead in the game is enough to make you sympathize with Mitt Romney—getting rich only means you’re about to undergo a vicious assault from your competitors and the random machinations of the game board.

Needless to say, tensions usually run high—one friend of mine saw a particularly long and alcohol-accompanied game result in a climactic attempted choking. But Mario Party’s unique mechanics also ensure a dramatic, competitive game every time you play, not to mention plenty of schadenfreude.

What really makes these games work so well is that neither one actually boils down into games of chance. If that’s all it took to make a game fun, my roommates and I could just shoot dice all the time. Instead, each

does a lot of what it’s good at in this album, and it does it well.

Though The General Strike serves up a non-stop flurry of passionate punk rock, it does so at the expense of some emotional depth to the album. The LP has no rise or fall—just a constant climax which, at some points, feels overwhelming. It may not be Anti-Flag’s intent to create music that may potentially alienate listeners, but the lack of accessibility to the album does not help get its rebellious message through to an audience outside of its usual fans.

At a brisk 22 minutes, The General Strike pulls no punches.

Staying true to its socio-politically conscious roots, Anti-Flag creates an album that serves as an anthem for the revolutionary spirit both in America and around the world. Unfortunately, the LP’s lack of depth makes it inaccessible to those who do not share the same views as Anti-Flag. In that respect, The General Strike ends up being a rally cry shouted at deaf ears.

Voice’s Choices: “1915,” “Broken Bones” —Shom Mazumder game is designed with a careful balance between skill and luck.

Somehow you always feel like you’re in control of your own destiny, even if you know you’ve previously won by pure chance.

Of course, plenty of games that emphasize pure skill make for great multiplayer experiences. There’s a reason Call of Duty and Madden sell millions of copies every year, and it’s not because they give you a magic gun or an extra man on the field when you start losing. What separates these “socialist” games, however, is that they don’t get old quickly.

When even the weaker play can get a few wins in from time to time, it’s much harder for them to lose interest. Seriously—my housemates and I have been playing these stupid N64 games for over a decade, and we’re still not bored.

Join the revolution with Tim at tshine@georgetownvoice.com

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Georgetown Day 2012

the georgetown voice 17

voices

18 the georgetown voice

march 22, 2012

Irish heritage marred by St. Patrick’s Day culture

by Aodhan Beirne I have developed a sixth sense during my time at Georgetown, and five times a semester, as each of my new professors calls attendance for the first time, I am able to use it.

“Here,” I interject, recognizing the glimpse of panic on the professor’s face moments before he or she is surely about to butcher my name.

“It’s pronounced like Aidan.” At times I’ve entertained hearing what awful, but understandable, pronunciation they might offer, but usually I save us both the embarrassment.

Though few can immediately pronounce it correctly, most can recognize that my name is Irish.

With that recognition comes an assumption that I spend the year biding my time until March 17.

People continuously asked me “you excited for your holiday?” in the days leading up to last Saturday, as if I were the bishop himself. And yet for how proud I am of my Irish heritage, my excitement ends on March 16, in anticipation of Irish culture being dragged

through green sludge in what has become the worst thing for IrishAmericans since “No Irish Need Apply” posters on storefronts. For a religious holiday also responsible for celebrating Irish culture, Saint Patrick’s Day has come to perpetuate the pernicious Irish stereotypes that made Irish-American assimilation so difficult in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Though I understand that college students seize any opportunity to drink, and especially day-drink, Saint Patrick’s Day has become a celebration not of Ireland, but of binge drinking, even beyond the gates of college campuses. Take, for example, the ubiquitous “Irish Yoga” shirts sold at Urban Outfitters, which depict three men drunkenly passed out in various positions. This sentiment, reinforced by the equally popular “Irish I were drunk” tanks, doesn’t raise public ire the way archaic stereotypes of other ethnic groups do.

The association between the Irish and alcoholism is so ingrained in American society that these obvi-

ously offensive shirts have become popular enough to transfer the image onto hats, sweatshirts, and mugs, so much so that either no one even realizes they’re offensive, or no one cares enough to complain. Irish stereotypes have always been allowed.

As a result, binge drinking is expected on Saint Patrick’s Day, and March 18 comes with popular viral videos of drunken fights, drunkards stumbling, and police clashes from the day before. Few see, or care to see, the dancing, the music (other than “Shipping up to Boston”), the parades, or anything that portrays being Irish as something other than being drunk.

For many of the 35 million people in the U.S. who trace their lineage back to Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day represents one of the few opportunities to celebrate their roots. What they end up celebrating, however, beyond even alcoholism, is a set of hackneyed icons, like leprechauns and shamrocks, which, though not offensive in themselves, contribute to the

culture of denigrating Irishness to stereotypes and clichés, as if all you had to do to gain an understanding of Irish culture was drink a Guinness and watch a Lucky Charms commercial.

These clichés and stereotypes, however, are not entirely to blame for Americans losing sight of the reality of the culture that greatly shaped their own. Being a proud Irish-American, or even understanding Irish culture, means reconciling two greatly differing manifestations of patriotism. For Americans, national pride is derived from perceived exceptionalism—the remarkable history and success of the great American experiment and the international power derived from it. Irish national pride, however, exists in spite of a near complete lack of military and economic success. Ireland’s history is full of leaders who come so close to liberating the island from the British before joining their predecessors in failure. Irish patriotism cannot exist without a hint of humility in a way that makes it almost

anathema to American patriotism.

This disparity makes considering Irish-American pride a challenging notion, and makes using clichés, as well as long-standing stereotypes like alcoholism, to celebrate a heritage and culture significantly easier.

When I was in Ireland last fall, during the throes of the country’s economic downturn, I noticed much less binge drinking than I notice at Georgetown. I also noticed the resilience of the Irish despite, and in acceptance of, economic difficulty. Avoiding difficulty is something that no one does as they accept Irish clichés and stereotypes on March 17, though I too admit to taking the easy way out. Perhaps next semester, in honor of Saint Patrick, I’ll allow my professors to make my first name sound like a guttural moan.

after he got the shit kicked out of him by Apollo Creed.

I began running in my freshman year of high school, because I was uncoordinated and because it was a no-cut sport. However, while the stars of the team were out winning state and national championships, I was more like the ex-planet Pluto, missing out on medals in JV races by a second. But after a while I started to like running, and I stuck

with it for four years of cross-country and track.

But college was a whole different story. No way in hell I was going to be waking up for 6 a.m. runs. No, freshman year I did most of my runs around midnight, in a mad attempt to procrastinate for another hour before starting homework. It started off well, with me running to the Capitol and back, but as the years went on, my runs started to shrink. The landmark I used as my turnaround point became the Washington Monument, then the Lincoln Memorial, then the Marine Memorial in Rosslyn, then the John Carroll statue on Healy Lawn.

Next thing you know, my formerly skinny runner’s figure had given way to a beer belly. But I never gave up my dream of powering through 26.2 miles, and so this year, I decide I would run the Marine Corps Marathon.

Unfortunately, it was sold out.

So I signed up for the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon on St. Patrick’s Day instead.

Fast forward to race day. I’m at the start line, being herded forward from carrel four. I’m wearing my old cross country uniform, which includes shorts that are a third of the length of those that my girlfriend, Katie, is wearing for the half-marathon. That’s how you can always tell a good runner (or maybe just a dumb one), by the shortness of their short shorts. Finally, I’m at the start line, scared out of my breath at the thought of the 26.2 miles ahead of me. And it’s a bad thing to be breathless—turns out, breathing is an essential part of running. But when the race begins, I trot down

the street away from RFK stadium, happily intending to go at a steady pace of eight minutes per mile for the entirety of the race, but then— holy shit! Seven-minute mile! That wasn’t the plan. And next thing I know, I’m running another sevenminute mile, and another, until I’m about 18 miles into the race and have kept up that pace the whole time.

And that’s when I ran into the wall at Nationals Ballpark. Sadly, I hadn’t transformed into Nyjer Morgan trying to catch a fly ball in center field—I’d hit the dreaded marathon runners’ wall. Most runners hit it around mile 20 or later, but here I was at mile 18 and I wanted nothing else but to quit. And as the sun grew hotter, those St. Paddy’s day beers seemed further away than ever. At one point I thought I saw a water station, which were spaced at about one per mile, but it turned out to be a mirage, and was actually just a row of cheerleaders. I haven’t been that disappointed in seeing cheerleaders since the last Georgetown game.

Now, this being a “Rock ‘n’ Roll” marathon, there were bands set up about every mile. This was a little useless, since runners could only hear them for about a minute before the next bout of silence. Luckily, thanks to the Voice’s deranged production night traditions, I had Clarence Carter’s classic song “Strokin’” playing through my head the whole time, keeping me going through the next stretch. With Clarence in my head, before I knew it I had reached mile 25, and was getting on the last long bridge across the Anacostia River for the home stretch back to

RFK. At this point I was hardly shuffling. It was by far the slowest mile I have ever “run.” I was thinking I would get some miraculous burst of energy, but instead just faded faster.

My memory of the final stretch, like the memories of many of my fellow Hoyas from St. Patrick’s Day, is gone. But suddenly and somehow I was at the finish, and although I didn’t fall over, I clearly looked bad enough for someone to push me quickly into the medical tent and into a nice comfy bed. As I lay there chugging three Gatorades, two water bottles, and a carton of chocolate milk, the medics took my pulse, gave me ice, and informed me that I was bleeding at the spot on my leg right under where my shorts ended.

Once I’d recuperated a little and was wandering semi-conscious out of the tent, Katie found me and took me to her family, whom I had never met before. As we reached them I collapsed on the grass, unable to speak a single word. They kind of just stared at me. So, yes—my first introduction to my girlfriend’s parents came as I was lying passed out on the ground wearing short shorts on St. Patty’s Day. I always figured that’s what my introduction would be like, but not from running. Bottom line, I’m never drinking again!

I mean running again. Until next weekend, of course.

Aodhan Beirne is a senior in the College. Even though he stays sober on March 17, he gets completely smashed on cinco de mayo.

A return to marathon running yields 26.2 miles of chafing

by Rob Sapunor From the time I was a little kid, I had imagined myself triumphantly crossing the finish line of a marathon, with my hands clenched high over my head like Rocky— ideally with the Rocky theme playing. Last Saturday I had my opportunity to fulfil this dream, but unfortunately, as I crossed the finish line, I looked more like Rocky

This is the second-most nipples ever featured in a Voice picture.

FLICKR

Rob Sapunor is a senior in the MSB. After he caught his breath, he still didn’t say anything to his girlfriend’s parents.

voices

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19

Scandals obscuring real issues: In defense of uncivil dialogue

by Vanya Mehta After the controversy surrounding Mike Daisey’s fabricated stories in This American Life and the subsequent attacks by leading journalists from almost every major publication, I became keenly aware of both the average reader’s priorities and the nature of corporate media: the news cycle is, to put it bluntly, suicidal.

When Daisey told his stories of life in an Apple factory in Shenzhen, China, he aimed to do what other journalists had not. Although he embellished his interactions to create a more compelling storyline, Daisey revealed the basic reality of the abysmal working conditions at FoxConn.

Statistics exist to back up this truth.

Unfortunately, what resonates today in readers’ minds is the Daisey scandal. His supposed lies are simultaneously side-stepping and undermining an injustice which activists live to expose—that factories in China exploit workers on a daily basis.

Stories come to life—they’re pampered by fleeting circulation in small affected pockets of the world, and then they peter off unceremoniously into a black hole. With the media constantly flashing images of protests in Syria, malnutrition in Sudan, mass murder in Afghanistan, and the like, every day is a bad day for news, and readers can’t be expected to have the time or impetus to care about every issue. This trend is larger than forgetfulness. A common

“But here’s my number, so call me Daisey...”

MATTHEW THEES

Georgetown Day letdown

Earlier this week, The Hoya broke the news that Georgetown Day would be scaled back this year, due to a delay in planning caused by “a lack of student interest” this past fall. Of course, “lack of student interest” and “Georgetown Day” aren’t phrases you commonly find in the same sentence, and sure enough, Vox Populi editor Jackson Perry shed a little more light on what happened to Georgetown’s annual end of the year celebration in a blog post.

That lack of interest may be a product of the University’s failure to solicit any interest in the Georgetown Day planning committee, as they have done in the past. More troubling than that, however, were Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Jeanne Lord’s comments to Vox regarding “concerns about the scope and purpose of the day.”

For many students, that mission is day-drinking and a bac-

chanalia of food, bouncy castles, and lounging under the (hopefully) sunny sky on Healy Lawn.

Needless to say, administrators are opposed to one part of that equation. Lord referred to “concerns about health and safety,” but Provost James O’Donnell was more explicit in his an email in the lead up to the event in 2009, saying the day “doesn’t need alcohol for its good times.”

It’s often hard for students to credibly gripe about Georgetown Day because they’re often arguing that the University should be encouraging public drunkenness. It’s naïve to think that administrators will unconditionally support what some students see as a drinking holiday. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the way the University has handled its concerns over Georgetown Day’s alcoholic focus represents a fundamental problem with the relationship between administrators and the

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thread in the news cycle appears to be an obsession with drama that unfortunately leaves the original cause behind in the dust.

The Kony 2012 scandal perfectly encapsulates a reader’s tendency to dodge the point in question. The docudrama, created by Invisible Children, Inc., quickly accumulated at least 80 million views and called for the arrest of a Ugandan warlord.

The video inspired donations and campaigns, but a week later Kony was a passing scandal. As a friend of mine aptly put it, “What happened to all the ‘Stop Kony’ statuses? Did America win? Or did it just stop trending?” The cause lost itself in a vast ocean of scandal.

Here at Georgetown, news appears to be cycling in a similar manner, as is shown with Rush Limbaugh’s comments on Sandra Fluke. Last week, I wrote the Voice’s feature story about birth control in Georgetown’s student health plan.

Sure, I had to mention that what brought Fluke national fame was Limbaugh calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute.” His insults prompted backlash from the national media, yet no one seems to remember why Fluke was in the news cycle in the first place.

While Limbaugh’s comments were undeniably heinous, the actual debate over the availability of birth control took a backseat to the outrage over his insults. My story, just like many others, focused on the important conflicts that a lack of birth control in student insurance presents. At the end of the day, the news cycle killed that too.

We promote civility, discourse, dialogue, engagement, or whichever buzzword sounds the least committed. But we at Georgetown forgot something in our desperate attachment to scandal—women at Georgetown don’t have access to birth control. Women at Georgetown are hampered by antiquated ideals that many other Jesuit universities have had the courage to override.

The Voice ran a feature on the practices and the finances of the Corp, and a huge part of the organization exploded with outrage.

The online commenting was seemingly endless, eventually landing at 92 mostly pissed-off comments.

Law Students for Reproductive Justice garnered just six. I see a disparity between what matters and what trends.

Each example shares a common link to drama and scandal over

students they’re supposed to be serving.

Lord was right in saying that the focus of Georgetown Day has changed since it first started in 2000. The inaugural event was created by students as a way to bring together the Georgetown community after a school year that saw a number of hate crimes on campus and a student, David Shick (MSB ’01), killed by another student in a drunken fight. The next year, an article in The Hoya painted a famil-

day we know it as today because there was a vacuum to be filled.

The legendary Block Party, a kind of proto-Georgetown Day that took place right outside the front gates, was in its death throes as Georgetown Day was beginning.

If alumni comments on blogs and message boards are to be believed, Block Party was an even crazier party than modern Georgetown Day. It also happened to be completely independent of the University, operated by a student-run non-profit (it even raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity).

That all came to an end, however, when the University formally voiced its objection to the event, prompting the Alcoholic Beverage Commission to deny Block Party organizers a liquor license.

Georgetown Day obviously needs student volunteers and advocates to step up and help plan the event that students want.

Administrators have no reason to encourage drinking without pressure, and they certainly aren’t going to work to facilitate it. But Block Party is a cautionary tale about the limits of participation.

Even when students managed to independently put on a campuswide party, University officials still interfered. The fight to bring back Block Party continued futilely for a number of years, but all that student planning and advocacy fell on deaf ears in the administration.

Carrying On

by Tim Shine A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

iar picture of the event’s second iteration—games and rides, student performances, cotton candy—minus any drunken debauchery.

Then, over the next few years, the “clarity,” as Lord calls it, of Georgetown Day’s mission became muddled. It’s not hard to imagine how the giant outdoor carnival lost track of its somber origins and turned into a party. The students who knew the event’s original purpose graduated, and the University probably wasn’t eager to remind them of such a tragic incident in Georgetown history.

Of course, Georgetown Day also became the drinking holi-

forgotten priorities. Daisey may very well be a pathological liar, but that doesn’t matter, at least not to the original cause of labor rights in Chinese manufacturing. He spoke up for the facts and statistics that remain unnoticed on the websites of labor think tanks, and, as he alleges, prompted a New York Times article that conducted the real research.

Tomorrow, Georgetown student leaders will hold an event called Stand for Civility to support President John DeGioia’s letter urging rhetorical restraint. Last Sunday, our beloved GUSA passed a bill supporting Fluke and DeGioia’s civility in the debate over birth control.

Let us not forget that our University promotes social justice and the health of all students just as much as it does productive and civil debate.

Rather than shying away from yet another divisive topic, we could actually take a stance.

Go forth and be uncivil. At least you’ll be making a difference.

Vanya Mehta is a junior in the SFS. This piece will draw a mass email to the Georgetown community by Jack DeGioia.

It’s not a unique problem.

When presented with proposals for student-backed and studentrun initiatives, the administration often stonewalls them (Healy Pub may be the most recent example).

They do it, for one, because they can get away with it, but also because they don’t necessarily have student interests in mind. Administrators face a winnable war of attrition against students—the leaders of a cause will graduate soon enough. What University officials have to be more concerned with are the stakeholders with whom they have to deal for the long haul.

Students work on a four year time frame, and the administration is focused on Ten Year Plans.

As it happens, another critical Zoning Commission decision on the 2010 Campus Plan comes on April 30, just three days after Georgetown Day. In her email to Vox, Jeanne Lord cryptically said that Georgetown Day is supposed to be a celebration of “the campus community,” not by “the student community” [Her emphasis].

Something tells me that this year, Georgetown’s neighbors are a major part of that former category.

Tim Shine is a senior in the MSB. Even if Georgetown Day happens, he’ll be in his room playing video games alone.

last look

last look