3 31 2011

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969  March 31, 2011  Volume 44, Issue 11  georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown

VOICE

GEORGETOWN Spring Fashion

2011

2 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

eo rg e

ne

in g

ing fo r

to

wit h

What sucks: Tombs trivia’s most offensive team names

t e st G

wn

sp r

!

X VO

GUSA passes FY2012 student activities budget

w ard

la

ws

hot off the blog

the

Kevin Rudolf, Dev and the Cataracs to perform at spring concert

Displaced Nevils seniors will get $200 to move out early DC Students Speak wraps up voter registration drive in dorms

Vox Populi

blog.georgetownvoice.com

Voice Crossword “Bracketology” by Scott Fligor 15. Text lingo for “similarly”

Across 1. Holds 7. Ship endangerer 11. Withdraw 14. ___ Book Club

16. Rapa ___ (Easter Island) 17. French fry ingredient 19. Verizon competitor 20. Salesman Willy 21. Can be fixed 23. Italian artist Guido

vox populi NITYA RAMLOGAN

blog. g eorg e town voice.com answers at georgetownvoice.com

25. Food 26. Ascorbic acid 30. Stranger 31. Poet’s “before” 32. Stomach bug 34. Cross-town university: abbr.

36. Squad 38. They defeated 53-across 40. Circle 43. It’s like “like” 45. Caravan stop 47. ___ and feather 48. Verdi aria 51. Won the East 53. See 38-across 55. Actor Stephen et al.

56. Least frequented 58. Castle defenses 62. “Get Capone” author Jonathan 63. Orchid variety 65. Defeated 70-across 66. French summers 67. It can’t be created or destroyed 68. “The Cask of Amontillado” author’s monogram 69. A place to lay one’s eggs 70. See 65-across

Down 1. Spring shape 2. Hörmander’s most famous work: abbr.

3. Composer Khachaturian 4. African desert 5. “Call sometime!”

6. Science fair org.

7. Pay grade 8. Tour de France stage 9. Tejas, por ejemplo 10. They lost to 12-down 11. Make possible 12. See 10 down 13. Nibbles 18. Venezuelan river 22. “American Idol” judge 24. Neonatologist locale 26. Decline 27. Anger

28. ___ Party 29. Hide 33. Shoe modifiers 35. Lively 37. Corn 39. Number of justices 41. Scriptless 42. “Mighty” fine wood 44. Hot 46. Endurance 48. Beethoven’s third 49. Process at the register 50. Greek Catholic, e.g.

52. Tennis tournament 53. Naproxen brand 54. Feared mosquito 57. Meth.

59. Bank rates 60. Galician nationalist party 61. Shorthanded apologies?

64. Albanian coin

ARE YOU A LOGOPHILE? Share your love of words and help us write crosswords.

E-mail crossword@georgetownvoice.com

editorial

georgetownvoice.com

VOICE the georgetown

Volume 44.11 March 31, 2011 Editor-in-Chief: Molly Redden Managing Editor: Tim Shine Editor-at-Large: Juliana Brint Director of Technology: Ishita Kohli News Blog Editor: Geoffrey Bible Leisure Blog Editor: Nico Dodd News Editor: Chris Heller Sports Editor: Nick Berti Feature Editor: Sean Quigley Cover Editor: Iris Kim Leisure Editor: Leigh Finnegan Voices Editor: Aodhan Beirne Photo Editor: Max Blodgett Design Editors: Nitya Ramlogan, Catherine Johnson Projects Editor: Brendan Baumgardner Crossword Editor: Scott Fligor Assistant Blog Editors: Diana McCue, Vincent Tennant Assistant News Editors: Rachel Calvert, Ryan Bellmore, Jeffrey Neidermaier Assistant Sports Editors: Adam Rosenfeld, Rob Sapunor Assistant Cover Editor: Holly Ormseeth, Kelsey McCullough Assistant Leisure Editor: Mary Borowiec, Heather Regen, John Sapunor Assistant Photo Editors: Julianne Deno, Matthew Funk Assistant Design Editor: Michelle Pliskin Associate Editors: Julie Patterson, Jackson Perry Contributing Editors: Keenan Timko, Matthew Collins

Staff Writers:

Gavin Bade, Thaddeus Bell, Akshay Bhatia, Tom Bosco, Kara Brandeisky, Sam Buckley, Matthew Decker, John Flanagan Kate Imel, Satinder Kaur, Daniel Kellner, Matt Kerwin, Eric Pilch, Sadaf Qureshi, Abby Sherburne, Melissa Sullivan, Mark Waterman

Staff Photographers:

Sam Brothers, Helen Burton, Jackson Perry, Audrey Wilson

Staff Designers:

Megan Berard, Richa Goyal, Ishita Kohli, Michelle Pliskin Kathleen Soriano-Taylor

Copy Chief: Keaton Hoffman Copy Editors:

Emma Forster, Emily Hessler, Kate Imel, Tori Jovanovski, Claire McDaniel, Kim Tay

Editorial Board Chair: J. Galen Weber Editorial Board:

Gavin Bade, Juliana Brint, Ethan Chess, John Flanagan, Ishita Kohli, Tim Shine, Cole Stangler

Head of Business: Kara Brandeisky The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

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

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

Office: Leavey Center Room 413 Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 20057

Email: editor@georgetownvoice.com Advertising: business@georgetownvoice.com Web Site: georgetownvoice.com The opinions expressed in the Georgetown Voice do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University, unless specifically stated. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board.

Columns, advertisements, cartoons and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the General Board of the Georgetown Voice. The University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression of its student editors. The Georgetown Voice is produced in the Georgetown Voice office and composed on Macintosh computers using the Adobe InDesign publishing system and is printed by Silver Communications. All materials copyright the Georgetown Voice. All rights reserved.

On this week’s cover ... Spring Fashion Cover Design: Iris Kim

the georgetown voice 3

AD MAJOREM PUB GLORIAM

Funding proposal for Healy Pub holds promise No proposal to spend the $3.4 million Student Activities Fee Endowment has received as much attention as the “Bring Back Healy Pub” movement, and for good reason.

The proposal is well thought-out and shows great promise for the University’s campus culture. Both the endowment commission and the Georgetown community should embrace this historic opportunity and bring back the Healy Pub. The plan to bring the pub to campus is not the outlandish dream of a group of thirsty undergraduates, but rather the result of much research and hard work performed by a handful of current students and alumni supporters.

Detractors have raised many questions about the feasibility of a drinking establishment in the center of campus: potential apprehension from University administrators, competition from other bars and restaurants like the Tombs or Epicurean, and the opportunity cost

of other options forgone, to name a few. But these concerns do not hold as much water as they appear to. For one, the administration has signaled its openness to the idea in meetings with the pub’s coordinators, in part due to the fact that the Healy Pub would hardly be an ordinary bar. As the proposal states, the new restaurant would primarily be a student study and relaxation space, open to everyone on a campus that suffers from an awful lack of student space. This, along with the fact that it would be student-owned and operated, would make it a welcome and viable alternative for undergraduates who don’t feel comfortable at the upperclassman hangout of the Tombs or the overpriced graduate and medical school hotspot Epicurean.

The costs of a new pub in Healy would need to be more fully explored upon its approval, but similar establishments have come with a price tag well within the committee’s

budget. Harvard completed a similar project, the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub, with a $3 million budget. Organizers of the Georgetown movement said in their proposal that alumni have already expressed interest in donating funds to ensure the return of the beloved establishment. If that’s the case, the pub could likely be built with SAFE money to spare for some less expensive proposals, like campus murals or new furniture for Lauinger. Either way, there is no alternative spending plan that holds such promise in improving student life and campus culture as the Pub. It is refreshing to see members of the student body take on a big idea, and do so with the competence and workmanship that has embodied this project thus far. Many lament the fact that Lauinger library is the center of Georgetown’s campus life. A pub would provide a unique and valuable space for generations of students to come.

unexcused absence

Uribe’s tenure offers lesson for University As Álvaro Uribe approaches the end of his yearlong appointment as a Distinguished Scholar in the School of Foreign Service, his tenure offers some clear lessons for the administration on how to handle high-profile and controversial guest scholars. When Uribe arrived, there were reasonable concerns about his record on human rights, but the University promised that the ex-Colombian president would provide students with a “unique perspective” and be a catalyst for fruitful debate. Instead, the administration has sheltered Uribe, preventing the type of open and honest interaction with students that could have justified his appointment.

Uribe’s appearances on campus have not been publicized to the general student body. With the exception of a few guest lectures last fall, the ex-leader has instead spent most of his time on campus meeting with groups of handpicked students. Uribe’s ap-

pearances are veiled in extreme secrecy— those who receive invitations to meetings or events are often told not to share any details of his presence. Many faculty members are unaware of when he is even on campus. It’s unfortunate, but for most Georgetown students, the only reminder that the University is hosting a former president are the occasional protests of the Adios Uribe! coalition in Red Square.

Uribe is not the first scholar of his kind at Georgetown. The hiring of Iraq War architect Douglas Feith brought similar controversy, as did that of former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar in 2006 and former Secretary of Defense Henry Kissinger before him. There is legitimate reason to debate whether these polarizing political figures truly exemplify Georgetown’s Jesuit values.

But if the University is intent on hiring visiting faculty with prestigious names, then

it should take the necessary steps to ensure that the Georgetown community can actually benefit from their presence. Such professors and scholars should be encouraged to make themselves available to as much of the student body as possible, even those students who may disagree with their politics or positions. If interaction is limited to select students and formats, then these kinds of appointments serve no purpose. They generate controversy without productive debate and do almost nothing to broaden students’ understanding of the world around them.

Despite his controversial record, Uribe could have imparted a great deal of wisdom upon Georgetown students. Instead, he managed to leave behind just one valuable lesson: a visiting scholar might have some valuable experiences, but if he chooses to isolate himself from meaningful debate and discussion, he’s not worth the trouble.

THE SILVER YEARS

At 35, Metro should continue focus on growth Thirty-five years ago this week, the Washington Metro opened for business. The original system was a mere 4.6 miles and consisted of five stations from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North. Today, Metrorail is a 103-mile system with 86 stations and an annual ridership in the millions. Its growth is impressive, but it is threatened by the organization’s growing budget shortfall, which is estimated at above $40 million dollars. If the Metro wants to continue serving the city, it should embrace opportunities to expand its reach, while making selective cuts to close the budget gap.

The Metro should push forward with construction of the Silver Line, which will bring Metro service west into northern Virginia. According to current projections, by 2016 Dulles Airport could finally be connected with the Metro system. This would reduce congestion on the freeways outside of D.C. and make Dulles more accessible for residents of the District. With serious budget deficits, plans for expansion are often the first thing on the chopping block. When it comes to the Silver

Line, however, local leaders must protect the project’s funding and work to make sure it is completed as soon as possible.

When looking for places to cut spending, the Metro should also avoid ending latenight service. The Metro will need to draw down service to close the budget gap, but the complete elimination of Friday and Saturday late-night trains would do a great deal of harm to the life and culture of the District. As city councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) noted at one of the D.C. Council’s recent meetings, there was a time in the early ‘80s when the city simply died every night after 6:30 when the last Metro train left. Late-night Metro service is extremely important for the life of any major city, and D.C. would do itself great harm by removing it all together.

Furthermore, many service workers rely on late-night metro service to commute home from their jobs. They should not be denied the convenience of the Metro simply because of the hours they work.

Taking deep cuts to the Silver Line and late night service off the table means the Metro

will need to look for alternative ways to solve its budget woes. Crucially, the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures must step up to the plate and accept more of the burden for Metro funding. With state budget deficits ballooning, D.C. has increasingly been saddled with the expense of funding Metro. Since so many Maryland and Virginia residents rely on the Metro to make their commute into D.C., these states should recognize their greater responsibility to fund the long-term capital improvement of the system. The support of the Federal government is just as important.

The Republican budget proposal would slash $150 million in funding for the Metro and must be opposed. President Barack Obama’s proposal would preserve that funding, which is crucial to maintance of Metro’s facilities.

The Washington Metro has become a hallmark of urban and commuter life in the district and each day close to one million riders use the system. At 35 years, the organization still has room to grow and prudent budgeting will be crucial in avoiding what looks like an impending mid-life crisis.

news

4 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

Student leaders criticize SAC, push for funding changes

by Jeffrey Niedermaier Although student leaders vocalized months worth of pent-up criticism about the Student Activities Commission’s new funding method at a town-hall meeting Tuesday night, SAC commissioners made no definite commitment to change the policy in the nearterm.

After an opening presentation from SAC Chair Andrew Koenig (COL ‘12), various club leaders expressed their concerns with the current SAC program, a lumpallocation system that requires groups to submit programming arcs that outline all of the clubs’ events for the upcoming semester.

SAC then allocates funds based on the average cost for each type of event.

According to International Relations Club Chair Eitan Paul (SFS ’12), the most recent amendments to SAC’s funding guidelines were made in an unannounced meeting during which no minutes were taken. Paul suggested that “a real appeals process” could be an important step away from SAC’s “ad hoc approvals and allocations.”

“We realized only after the fact that it wasn’t the right way to do things,” Koenig said when pressed by Paul, citing deadlines that necessitated rushing through

changes. “We weren’t trying to do [it] in a secret manner by any means.”

Vice-Chair Ruiyong Chen (SFS ’13) stressed that all of SAC’s deliberations are open to the public. The commissioners’ votes, however, are anonymous.

Student groups have criticized several parts of the new system this semester, releasing two open letters addressed to SAC in February. At the meeting, the leaders further clarified their concerns.

“You made up these guidelines and you made up the allocations for them,” Philodemic Society Treasurer Emma Green (COL ’12) said.

Green added that she was also frustrated that SAC prevented groups from hosting “zero-allocation” events unless they were including in the group’s programming arc.

“There is absolutely no reason that an event that costs no money should not be created and supported and advertised on the ListServ.” Green said. She said that SAC was meant to create equity among student groups, but that “not all clubs are created equal.”

“By sticking to [these] guidelines, you actually produce disequity,” Greed said, while several members of the audience nodded in agreement.

Other leaders claimed that the averages used to determine funding encouraged small events that may have little to do with groups’ core missions.

“A basic stats class will show you that’s the wrong way to do things,” said Adam Giansiracusa (SFS ‘12), the International Relations Club’s chief of staff.

During the meeting, the commission repeatedly assured students they did not intend to frustrate groups.

“It was never my intention to prejudice against organizations.”

Koenig said. “There are implicit things that weren’t intentionally in [the new guidelines].”

Some of the appeals were more emotional. GU Jawani members lamented that SAC allocated hundreds of dollars for the club’s barbecues last semester, but not nearly enough for costumes for Rangila, a dance event that Jawani produces and promotes.

Shuo Yan Tan (SFS ’12), International Relations Club treasurer, said that the guidelines encouraged introversion and the formation of exclusive cliques.

“We’ve regressed from where we were,” he said. “[This] goes against the very spirit of student life.”

Chen later assured the audience that the commissioners

Obama lays out energy plan in McDonough speech

max blodgett

President Barack Obama formally introduced his adminstration’s new energy policy during a speech in McDonough Gymnasium on Wednesday morning.

A day earlier, students waited in line for hours in hopes of getting a ticket to hear the speech, a part of Obama’s ongoing “Winning the Future” campaign that called for investments in alternative fuel sources and clean forms of electricity.

“I don’t want to leave this challenge for future presidents,” he said to the approximately 1,000 people in attendance, most of whom were students. “I don’t want to leave it for my children.”

Obama also announced plans to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by one-third within the next decade by substituting the imports with offshore oil deposits.

—Geoffrey Bible

max blodgett

SAC commissioners faced their critics in a town-hall meeting Monday. would talk about amendments regarding SAC policies, but did not promise to make any changes.

“I can’t definitely say that there will be amendments made to affect this fall,” she said.

Despite the tough criticism from the groups, many group

leaders expressed gratitude and appreciation for SAC’s hard work. Nevertheless, they pressed SAC to adopt more definite deadlines moving forward.

“We want to see [these changes] while we are still at Georgetown,” Green said.

Applications up in ‘11, admission rates down

by Sam Buckley After marginal changes in acceptance rates over the last two years, Georgetown’s admission rate has shrunk by more than a point to 18 percent, due in part to the largest applicant pool in the school’s history, according to data provided by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The 2011 application pool of 19,275 students represents a 6.6 percent increase from 2010, reversing a pattern of decreasing numbers of applicants that began after a previous high of 18,695 in the 2008 pool.

The decrease had gone against the general trend of increasing numbers of college applications sent to universities across the country over the past several years.

Admission rates fell across all four undergraduate colleges, with the overall admission rate dropping from last year’s 19.3 percent. The McDonough School of Business admission rates experi-

enced the steepest drop, from 22.3 percent to 19.2 percent.

Overall, Georgetown College continues to have the lowest admission rate among the undergraduate colleges, at 17 percent. But notably, the acceptance rates among all four schools has fallen below 20 percent.

Overall, the accepted body of students is about 55 percent female, with Asian students making up 16 percent of newly admitted students and African-American and Hispanic students making up 11 and 12 percent of admissions respectively.

Some incoming students body have already expressed firm commitment to matriculating on the hilltop.

“There’s something incredibly sexy about D.C. and I absolutely can’t wait to explore all that she has to offer,” Shom Mazumder (SFS ’15), who attended last weekend’s Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program, wrote in a Facebook message.

news

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 5

Working group proposes sex assault conduct changes very chilling effect on people,” she said. “It could serve as a deterrent to people coming forward.”

However, Lovallo expressed some reservations about the omission.

“I personally do not think that taking it out will streamline [the policy],” she said. “Consent is a formal, almost legal term.”

She later stressed that a university setting calls for a discreet definition of consent.

“Relationships going on at Georgetown, it’s difficult for people to understand what is consent, especially in context of parties and alcohol,” she said. “Where it gets dangerous with nonconsensual sex, [is] when people thought it was just a miscommunication.”

This year, the group is also comparing Georgetown’s policies to those at comparably sized schools.

“SAWG has also been reviewing programming and education done by other schools in the area of sexual assault and relationship violence in order to find best practices and identify areas where Georgetown can grow,” Pugh wrote.

Lovallo said SAWG is motivated by several broad questions.

“How do we respond to something we know is happening on campus?” she said. “How can we foster a more supportive community for victims [by providing] resources and information? Also how can we punish offenders?”

According to Pugh, the group’s founding came as a direct response to student concern about the incidence of sexual violence on campus.

Students and faculty formed SAWG in 1995 to lobby for the University to hire a sexual assault expert who would serve as a full-time resource for students. In 1996, the University hired a part-time sexual assault services coordinator, which has subsequently grown into a fulltime position.

“It’s rare for a university to have a full-time counselor just for sexual assault and relationship violence,” Lovallo said.

Jen Schweer, the University’s current counselor, oversees the various SAWG subcommittees.

Comprised of students, faculty, and administrators dedicated to

Politicking the Campus Plan

hog is indicative of his record on town-gown relations and development in general. During Evans’ last re-election campaign in 2008, Georgetown University President John DeGioia praised him as “an extraordinary colleague.” And although Evans got his political start as a community activist—cofounding the Ward 2 Democrats and acting as a Dupont Circle ANC commissioner—he has more recently garnered a repu-

by Rachel Calvert A subcommittee of the University’s Sexual Assault Working Group recently drafted a proposal to change the student code of conduct’s language pertaining to sexual assault in order to clarify the definition of sexual assault.

“We hope to have an updated version of the code of conduct that is more consistent with how students understand the issue and identify their situation,” Rachel Pugh, Georgetown’s director of media relations and a member of SAWG, wrote in an email.

The most noticeable change is the omission of the current code’s definition of consent. Danielle Lovallo (SFS ‘11), a member of SAWG’s language subcommittee, said this change will preclude the possibility of a countercharge, where someone accused of sexual assault claims that the accuser also violated the code of conduct by failing to seek consent.

“Even if it’s a very rare possibility, the fact that that could happen based on the policy at hand had a

With the Zoning Commission’s hearings for the 2010 Campus Plan only weeks away, students may have noticed some serious saber-rattling from D.C.’s legislative branch. In early January, Councilmember Jack Evans (D—Ward 2), whose jurisdiction includes Georgetown, publicly announced that he was “disappointed” in the plan. Evans’ colleague, Mary Cheh (D—Ward 3), has gone even further, recently promising to testify against the Campus Plan during the upcoming Zoning Commission hearings.

That’s not exactly the vote of confidence you’d like from local elected officials when you’re heading into a contentious zoning battle. But does Georgetown have reason to fear that the traditionally friendly relationship it has enjoyed with the District government could be starting to sour?

Although the public pronouncements may seem bellicose, the University can expect little genuine animosity from its direct representative, Evans. Sure, Evans has spent plenty of time at pub-

lic meetings commiserating with Georgetown and Burleith residents and slamming the University’s plan, particularly the provision to dramatically increase the number of graduate students. But that’s about as involved as he’s been willing to get with the issue.

When Cheh announced that she would be testifying on behalf of her constituents in Foxhall, Evans said he would “absolutely not” be joining her. Because the Council is in the process of confirming Zoning Commissioners, Evans said, it would be “inappropriate” for a councilmember to testify at a Zoning Commission hearing.

But even without confirmationrelated conflicts of interest, Evans probably would not have taken up the neighbors’ cause in an official context. When Burleith residents asked him to testify against the plan back in October, he told them that if he got involved with the Campus Plan skirmish, he would be obligated to testify for any Ward 2-related zoning hearing.

Evans’ unwillingness to take up the neighbors’ cause whole

City on a Hill

by Juliana Brint

A bi-weekly column on D.C. news and politics tation for being a reliable friend of development. Since becoming chair of the powerful Finance and Revenue Committee in 1999, Evans has become known for championing major development projects like Nationals Stadium and the Verizon Center.

Although Evans won his 2008 re-election bid handily, the big issue challenger Carey Silverman raised was whether or not Evans was still in touch with neighborhood concerns. Echoing neighbors’ criticism of the cam-

discussing the issues of genderbased violence in the Georgetown community, SAWG typically deals with issues of relationship violence and sexual assault.

Year-to-year, SAWG attempts to address the issues students and service providers identify as the most pressing needs, but time constraints require the group to address only a

few aspects of sexual assault and relationship violence each year.

Lovallo said she would like to see reform of the sexual assault adjudication process, to encourage students to come forward.

“I would like to see the University to generalize what the process will be like, so it adoesn’t seem like a kangaroo court.”

matt FUNK

Jen Schweer oversees SAWG as Georgetown’s sexual assault counselor.

pus plans in public meetings is an easy way for Evans’ to shore up his neighborhood-issues bona fides. But if that’s all he’s willing to do, it’s hard to see his criticism of the plan as anything more than political posturing.

Cheh, on the other hand, has been much more militant than Evans. Although she doesn’t have direct jurisdiction over Georgetown, she does represent some neighborhoods whose residents are agitated about the plan, such as Foxhall and the Palisades.

Cheh said concerns from her constituents about the University’s proposed loop road and the increase in graduate students are the major reasons why she will be joining neighborhood groups as a “party in opposition” to the plan. And campus plan testimony isn’t the only threat Cheh has leveled against Georgetown—she has also recently announced plans to introduce a Payment-in-Lieuof-Tax program that would force local universities and other major non-profits to partially compensate the city for foregone property tax revenue.

While Cheh has been much more willing to take a firm stand

against the University, neither she nor Evans is really putting their money where their mouth is. Politicking aside, probably the biggest single reason why the University needs a positive rapport with the Council is access to municipal bonds.

On that crucial aspect, the relationship seems to be humming along smoothly. Last November, the Council unanimously approved $90 million in tax-exempt bonds to fund the construction of the new science center and other infrastructure projects. At a March 16 Foxhall Community Citizens’ Association meeting, neighborhood firebrand Stephen Brown, of the infamous drunkengeorgetownstudents.com, pressed Cheh to use the bonds as leverage against the University. Cheh politely declined that suggestion.

With emotions running high about the Campus Plan, it may seem like Georgetown is under siege, but fear not—our friends in the Wilson Building still support us when it comes to the important issues.

Rattle Juliana’s saber at jbrint@ georgetownvoice.com

sports

6 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

Lacrosse continues to fall short against elite

by Adam Rosenfeld After a controversial snub from the NCAA Tournament ended last season for the Hoyas, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team has yet to come up with a signature win to boost their playoff resume in 2011.

While such a win has been elusive, the unranked Hoyas have certainly come close. Regardless, entering the season ranked in the top-15 nationally makes losing four out of the season’s first seven games very disappointing.

“Certainly our expectations are always high, so having four losses is below what our expectations were for this team,” head coach Dave Urick said.

“When you lose three games by a combined four goals, you are in those games, but we expected to have a few more wins.”

Earlier this month the Hoyas lost a heartbreaker to the currently No. 20 Harvard Crimson.

The Hoyas trailed by four goals with less than three minutes left in the game, then went on a lightning three-goal rally to bring the score to within one with eight seconds left. Georgetown won the ensuing faceoff, but was unable to level the score before the end of regulation.

Just four days later, Georgetown traveled to Baltimore for the Face-Off Classic and a matchup with top-ranked Syracuse. The Hoyas trailed the Orange nearly all game, but with five seconds left junior Gerry Rielly scored a miraculous goal to send the contest into overtime. Unfortunately, Syracuse

won the faceoff to start the extra period and did not relinquish possession as senior preseason All-American Stephen Keogh found the back of the net to give the Orange the 9-8 victory.

The most disappointing loss this season came this past weekend when the Hoyas fell to No. 4 Duke in Durham. After Duke tied the game at one-toone early in the first quarter, the Hoyas scored five-unanswered goals, taking a distinct advantage. The Blue Devils rallied to bring the game to within three early in the second quarter, but senior captain Max Seligmann finished a designed play coming out of a timeout to give the Hoyas a 9-5 lead going into halftime.

The second half may as well have been a completely different game, however, as Duke became the aggressors and commanded play. Duke blitzed the Hoyas to start the half, scoring three goals in the first four minutes.

“We failed to clear the ball in the second half, which has been a concern for us all season, but against Duke it really came back to haunt us,” Urick said. “We rarely had the ball in the third quarter after jumping on them in the first half.”

The Hoyas were able to temporarily halt the onslaught as Reilly scored his second goal of the day with an assist from sophomore Davey Emala.

Duke then clamped down on defense, holding Georgetown scoreless for the remainder of the third quarter while adding a tally of their own to make it

Courtesy GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

Davey Emala has injected the Hoyas with energy, tallying a team-high 27 points.

a one-goal game entering the final frame.

The end of the quarter did not stop the Duke ambush, and the Blue Devils leveled the game early in the fourth then took the lead with 7:40 remaining. Duke scored the next two goals, bringing the score to 13-10, capping an 8-1 run. Perhaps most impressively, Duke held Georgetown scoreless for over 22 minutes during the comeback.

A late goal by senior captain Rickey Mirabito brought the Hoyas back to within one, but Duke won the ensuing faceoff and scored an empty-net goal to seal the Georgetown loss.

While the loss was a big blow to the Hoyas’ season, the game showed that two of the season’s surprising performers will continue to contribute.

“Davey Emala, from a scoring standpoint, has caught a lot of people’s attention, and Gerry Reilly has emerged as a big part of what we do from the wing on face-offs, as a defensive middie, and certainly the big goal he scored against Syracuse,” Urick said.

Emala has been a revelation on offense, earning two Big East Weekly Honor Roll awards for scoring five goals against both Harvard and Syracuse and tallying four against Duke.

Georgetown looks to get back on track this Friday at home against Navy. The Midshipmen will certainly be out for revenge after last season’s overtime loss at the hands of the Hoyas in Annapolis.

“Over the last few years our games with them have been very close. It doesn’t matter what either team’s record is at the time, it’s an intense contest with two evenly-matched teams and our guys need to realize that,” Urick said. “This season the teams are similar in that we’ve both lost some very close games and are looking to bounce back.”

the Sports Sermon “I beat the shit out of them when they were that big.

Make them 6-1 and let’s go on the court.”—Isiah Thomas now you kind of put a stamp on who the Georgetown women’s basketball team is,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We know exactly what we’re going to do—we’re going to press for 40 minutes and run the transition.”

That is when the Hoyas got the identity they have today— the same identity that created havoc for the greatest dynasty in women’s college basketball history and came within five points of upsetting them. It

Williams-Flournoy said. “Not only do you want to begin Within the last two weeks, strong, but you want to end two Georgetown basketball seastrong as well.” sons have ended. They couldn’t With the team’s identity set, have ended more differently. consistency is the next step for While the men’s team stumbled the program. While you can in the first round yet again, the count on a tough defense every women bowed out in a more night, opponents could adjust bittersweet (and respectable) to such a style. However, teams fashion. The Hoyas’ single-digit have known what the team fealoss to UConn in the Sweet Sixtures every night and the proteen was disappointing, but the gram has continued to grow fact that they nearly won is just stronger, showing that it’s difthe latest step forward for a proficult to adjust to Georgetown’s gram on the rise. constant intensity.

Pete Rose Central G e o rg e t o w n ’ s Can the team Da bettin’ line women’s program rely on their curhas emerged quickrent makeup to Dookies Margin Hoyas ly. The team has make the step into (underdogs) (duh!) taken incremental (favorites) the ranks of elite steps in each of the teams? It may take Ilgauskas 11 inches Wall last three seasons, a little more than with a deep run in that. The team has Kentucky Cheating UConn the WNIT in 2009, relied heavily on Junker Fiesta BCS a second round apSugar Rogers the pearance in the NCAA Tour- was no accident that the team past two seasons, and while nament in 2010, and the Sweet got that close, or that they have Williams-Flournoy is more than Sixteen this year. Not bad for a been steadily improving in happy to have her for another program that previously hadn’t the last few years. Williams- two years, she will eventually had any postseason success Flournoy’s relentless style of have to replace the star. since 1993. play is a strong foundation be“You always need players— These recent triumphs have cause it’s based on hard work, it’s no secret,” Williams-Flournbeen in the works for a while toughness, and speed—traits oy said. “Your recruits coming now. It all began seven sea- that don’t falter unless players in have to be recruits that can sons ago when Georgetown become complacent and lazy. continue to help you be better.” hired Terri Williams-Flournoy And unlike offense, which can Of course, recruiting beas head coach. That was when go cold on any night, defense comes easier as your team wins the face of the program was un- never takes a night off if the more and your national expoveiled. But the program-chang- commitment is there. sure increases. The better you ing moment really came before This constant commitment do, the easier it is to succeed. the 2009 WNIT Tournament, has allowed the team to stay in Williams-Flournoy must make when the team changed their the top-25 for most of the last sure she takes advantage of the style of play to one based on two seasons. And although that opportunity she has created. If tough defense and controlling is a great feat, the Hoyas still she does that, the conversation the pace of play. aren’t satisfied. about the program’s rise could “This is who we are. This “I thought we dropped a soon turn into talk about the is how we’re going to play. So little too far late in the season,” program’s dominance.

by Nick Berti

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Hoyas freeze in first Big East test Lax knocking on the door

by Rob Sapunor The Georgetown baseball team started off Big East play last weekend, winning one of three games against Notre Dame.

A lack of timely hitting cost the Hoyas in the series in which each game was decided by one run.

On the other end, the pitching staff had a great performance, giving up only seven runs over the three games. Senior pitcher Alex Meyer threw eight innings and only surrendered two runs in the first game.

He got little run support, however, leaving the mound with the score tied 2-2.

“It was the best outing of the year,” head coach Pete Wilk said.

“He was throwing three pitchers for strikes and we played good [defense] behind him.“ But relief pitchers Mike Seander and Neal Dennison ulti-

mately gave up the game, combining for four walks, including the winning run.

In the second game of the weekend the Hoyas’ pitching staff of Charles Steinman, Tommy Isaacs, Billy Cosmopulos, and Pablo Vinent pitched a combined eight innings while giving up only one run. Still, Wilk wasn’t satisfied with their pitching, as they walked ten batters.

“I wouldn’t say we’re performing unbelievably well,” Wilk said.

The pitchers weren’t the only ones to fault though, with the offense leaving seven runners stranded on base in the 1-0 loss.

Georgetown was able to salvage the weekend by pulling off a 4-3 victory in late innings of the final game of the series. The Hoyas got out to an early lead when early season MVP Rand

Courtesy GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

Justin Leeson is a steady presence at the plate, hitting .306 with 18 RBIs.

We are (not) Georgetown Now that almost two weeks have passed since VCU ended Georgetown’s fourth straight season of underachievement and disappointment, we need to step back and look at what is really happening. We love our team, but is this program really what we think it is?

In 27 years at the helm, John Thompson, Jr. led the Hoyas to an astounding 596–239 record, with six Big East Tournament titles, three Final Four appearances, and a national championship. The elder Thompson’s résumé alone cements Georgetown’s place in college basketball lore. Yet since the early ‘90s, the idea of Georgetown as one of the country’s elite basketball programs has been based more on reputation than achievement.

While we revere the 1984 championship banner and remem-

ber all the NBA players that have walked through McDonough, the reality is that this team has won almost nothing in two decades and is now on the brink of dwindling into irrelevance on the national scene.

The Hoyas’ 2007 NCAA Tournament campaign was supposed to signal a rebirth, restoring glory to a program that had fallen on hard times. The school’s first Final Four appearance since 1985 seemed to erase memories of futility and usher in a new chapter of glory on the Hilltop.

Instead, the JTIII-led Hoyas followed it with four straight seasons of disaster. Many things have gone wrong, but it starts with the early departure of 2007 Big East Player of the Year Jeff Green. The star of the team’s Final Four run, Green was in a position to lead a Georgetown

Ravnaas hit a sacrifice fly. Notre Dame took the lead in the sixth inning, but the Hoyas responded in the seventh, scoring three runs to regain the lead. Vinent closed the game out and picked up the win, only giving up one run in 3.2 innings of relief.

While Georgetown pitched well all weekend, Notre Dame kept the Hoya bats as cold as the weather in South Bend. The team managed only 22 hits in the three games, down from an average of 10 hits per game.

“They were very good, their three pitchers [Brian Dupra, Todd Miller, and Cole Johnson] were very good, but the weather had an effect on both teams’ offense so it wasn’t a day you wanted to hit,” Wilk said.

On Wednesday, the Hoyas took on Coppin State, which was anything but a pitchers’ duel. The Hoyas’ Tommy Isaacs pitched a complete game and struck out 13 batters, but gave up seven runs. However, the Hoyas jumped on Coppin State’s pitchers early, scoring five runs in the opening inning, and went on to win 19–7. Sophomore shortstop Mike Garza got four hits and six RBIs in the game and senior first baseman Dan Capeless had three RBIs of his own.

The Hoyas continue Big East play this weekend, taking on Cincinnati at home. They hope the combination of getting back on track against Coppin State and the warm weather will be beneficial to the team.

“When the weather is good our offense can play against anyone, but it was just really cold last weekend and it hurt us,” Wilk said. squad returning its entire rotation, likely in line for a preseason No. 1 ranking in 2008. Without him, the Hoyas still won the Big East regular season title, but they couldn’t get past Steph Curry and Davidson.

It hardly seems fair to blame Green for the Hoyas’ recent shortcomings, but since he broke from tradition, DaJuan Summers and Greg

Backdoor Cuts

By Daniel Kellner a rotating column on sports Monroe have both left promising teams to cash-in on NBA contracts, demonstrating a dramatic change in the culture of the program. Under John Thompson Jr., only two players, Allen Iverson and Victor Page, left school early for the pros.

But the problems stretch beyond early departures. The great-

by Nick Thomas In an era of college sports where mediocre non-conference schedules are usually the norm for elite programs, the No. 23 Georgetown women’s lacrosse team stands out as unique.

Though the third-hardest strength of schedule in the country has left the Hoyas with a 2-5 record, the team is still confident that by the end of the season they will reveal their true level of talent.

“It’s frustrating to have the record we have, but when we looked at this schedule the pros outweigh the cons,” head coach Ricky Fried said.

The team experienced some losses in the early season that were not as competitive as they might have hoped, but a 12-11 victory against No. 18 Johns Hopkins, stopped the team’s minor slide.

“The win over Hopkins gave us some confidence against a quality opponent,” Fried said.

“Still, there are things we need to improve upon.”

Georgetown opened up Big East play last Friday with a strong showing against Villanova. The 17-12 final score belied the convincing nature of the win—Georgetown at one point led 15-3 in the second half.

Senior Jordy Kirr continued her fantastic season, scoring the Hoyas’ first two goals. Fellow senior Jacqueline Giles and sophomore Sophia Thomas took over from there, each notching four goals apiece against the overmatched Wildcats.

In addition to their senior leadership, Kirr and Giles have

ness of Georgetown basketball is also crucially intertwined with a series of elite big men. Patrick Ewing is of course the father of this reputation, but Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Michael Sweetney, and Roy Hibbert all prospered doing the dirty work in the paint.

These post players anchored a Georgetown defense that struck fear in their opponents, as well as offering an inside scoring option, a vital alternative to the perimeter shooting of recent teams.

After Hibbert graduated in 2008, Georgetown has failed to live up to its stature of “Big Man U.” Monroe could have been great, but in two years he never established himself as the kind of interior banger that gobbles up rebounds and sends opposing shots flying into the crowd.

Additionally, the Hoyas topranked defense of 2007 is a distant memory. The team finished with

spearheaded the offensive attack for the Hoyas this season.

The pair have contributed 10 and 11 goals respectively, with Kirr adding a team-high of nine assists as well.

Along with their upperclassmen, the Hoyas have experienced tremendous contributions from their talented sophomore class. The experienced group has already accumulated 35 goals and 44 points between them. The impressive class is led by Thomas, a recent Big East Honor Roll selection, who has 13 ground balls and eight caused turnovers to go along with her team-leading 14 goals.

Last Sunday, the team headed to Princeton Stadium to take on the No. 12 Tigers. Georgetown’s offensive firepower was again on display, as the team burst out of the gates in the second half with five goals in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, Georgetown was unable to capitalize on their advantage, and the team lost 12-11. Nevertheless, the Hoyas’ potential for a game-swinging offensive burst offers encouragement as they reenter Big East play.

The Hoyas head to Connecticut to take on the Huskies on Friday, in their second conference game. The team will look to have a strong road showing before returning to D.C. for a four-game home stretch.

“It’s more important to have a good game in Storrs because it’s conference,” Fried said. “It will be nice to be back on our home field and any momentum we can draw from a good game in Storrs will be beneficial.”

the 111th-best scoring defense in Division I this season, in no small part due to the lack of a defensive presence in the paint.

Four consecutive years of early exits to Davidson, Baylor, Ohio and VCU is hardly the mark of an elite program and would be unacceptable at any school that expected greatness. On a given night, JTIII’s teams can beat anyone, but as we’ve seen in this year’s tournament, so can VCU. Is that what this program should aspire to be? It’s time to start demanding a lot more if we want this program to maintain its place in the upper echelon of college hoops. Unless the Georgetown identity is restored, the 2007 Final Four could be the last we see for quite some time.

Join Daniel on the recruiting trail in London. Email him at dkellner@ georgetownvoice.com

8 the georgetown voice

feature

march 31, 2011

The Style Is All Yours Spring at Georgetown brings out the best in most of us, but it’s not sundress season yet. Suit up for interviews, take an afternoon stroll­in style, and look good for class. You never know what might end up in the yearbook.

Does anyone give a damn?

feature

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 9

Andrew Provost (MSB ’13) Model

Molly Gasparre (COL ’12) Model

Above On Molly: dress by Urban Outfitters, cardigan by Rugby. On Andrew: pants by Ralph Lauren.

Holly Ormseth (MSB ’13), Model

Left page On Isabel: jeans by Gap, jacket by Target. On Julia, pants by 7 for All Mankind, tshirt by Hanes, jacket by Urban Outfitters, shoes by Tod’s.

Isabel Buchanan (COL ’11), Model

Left and right On Holly: jacket by Urban Outfitters, sunglasses by Ray Ban.

Julia von Türk (SFS ’13), Model

10 the georgetown voice

Campus Life On Stefane, below left, vintage jacket, shirt by Rugby, shorts by Burberry, shoes by Sperry. Center: blazer by Gant.

feature

march 31, 2011

georgetownvoice.com

feature

the georgetown voice 11

On Hannah: pants by Top Shop, shirt by Elizabeth and James, sweater by American Apparel, shoes by Tod’s, sunglasses by Ray Ban.

On Becky: coat by Burberry, dress by Bensoni, belt by Betsy Johnson, shoes by Tori Burch, scarf by Alexander McQueen, vintage hat.

Stefane Victor (COL ’13) Model

Becky Akinyode (MSB ’11) Model

feature

12 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

MSB

fashion never sleeps

Cameron Hoerner (SFS’ 12) Model

On Michael: suit by Hugo Boss, shirt by Garrick Anderson, tie

by Saks Fifth Avenue, shoes by Calvin Klein.

On Cameron: suit by JoS. A Bank, shirt by Brooks Brothers, shoes by Allen Edmonds.

Brad Crist (SFS ’12) Model

Mike Muller (COL’ 11), Model

On Brad: suit by Cossani, shirt by Ralph Lauren, tie by Versace.

feature

georgetownvoice.com

Kiran Ghandi (COL’ 11) Model

Hannah Haines (SFS’ 12) Model

the georgetown voice 13

Charlotte Japp (COL’ 13)

Model

credits

WGTB

on air and in style On Kiran: vintage, model’s own

Antwaun Sargent (SFS’ 11) Director

Nico Dodd (COL ’12) Producer

Iris Kim (COL’ 12) Photographer

Kelsey McCullough (COL’ 12) Photographer

On Hannah: top and skirt by American Apparel, boots

by Sam Edelman, glasses by Chanel.

On Charlotte: dress by American Apparel, jacket

by Levi’s, boots

by Doc Marten.

leisure

14 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

M&B is in too deep with Rabbit Hole

by Leigh Finnegan From its opening scene, you might expect Rabbit Hole, Mask & Bauble’s latest production, to be the stage version of a genderreversed Knocked Up. Izzie, a carefree woman-child clad in a Beatles t-shirt and skinny jeans, recounts her most recent bar fight to Becca, her tightly-wound older sister. After Becca gives her a verbal slap on the wrist for profanity and some motherly chiding about her partying lifestyle, Izzie reveals the reason for her alcohol-fueled altercation—she is pregnant by the woman’s boyfriend.

But that’s all the comic relief you’ll find in Rabbit Hole—at the scene’s end the real premise of this heavy, emotional drama comes to light. Becca Corbett, the pinnacle of the Westchester stayat-home domestic goddess, and her broker-bondsman husband have suffered a loss that uprooted their picturesque suburban life—their only son, four-yearold Danny, was killed in a car accident. The script, which won a Pulitzer Prize for playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and was

recently adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman, begins in medias res, eight months after the accident, and beautifully explores the persistent nature of grief in the lives of the Corbetts and their relations.

The most glaring disservice to Rabbit Hole’s script is the performance’s pervasive lack of nuance.

Stemming possibly from an attempt to compensate for the audience’s emotional distance, many aspects of the production are exag-

shirt and undone tie, sprawled on the couch with his legs spread—the couple’s dynamic all but slaps the audience in the face.

The play’s other characters suffer from a similar malady. Becca’s mother, played by Sasha Wilson (COL

Moments after this photo was taken...well, we all know what happened. They played Scrabble.

Rabbit Hole is an interesting choice for Mask & Bauble. For a predominantly college-age audience, it can be difficult to relate to the emotional struggles of a highstrung housewife and her rageaddled husband. And despite the best efforts of the cast and crew, the overall performance falls short of the powerful script’s potential.

gerated to the point that they lose the potency of Lindsay-Abaire’s script. Becca, played by Sarah McMahon (COL ’12), is supposed to be proper and controlling, but her over- pronunciation of every word becomes tedious and comes off as forced. In a contrived contrast, the audience first meets Howie (Matt Lai, COL ’11) in an unbuttoned

through a sobering setup chronicling Baartman’s life in a miniature mock-museum. Known as “Venus” by gawking circus goers that demeaned her and a sideshow that exploited her, Baartman came into this identity after leaving South Africa hoping to escape slavery—only to find her freedom taken away once again. Paraded across Europe in a sexual freak show, crowds paid to watch Venus dance and to stare at her “abnormally large” backside.

The Black Theatre Ensemble’s production of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus relates this tragic and upsetting story, pointing out hate and

hypocrisy at every turn. Helen Rave (COL ‘13) plays several roles, but channels Venus’s core emotions through the play’s most unsympathetic character—the Mother Showman. As the one responsible for exhibiting Baartman as a rare and grotesque oddity to reap a fortune for herself, Rave’s portrayal of the Mother Showman expertly elicits disgust with every line.

This powerfully disdainful character dominates the majority of the first act, which makes the surprising failure of the script to portray Venus’s character as an emotional counterbalance all the more apparent. Sitting on a bed in Paris, playing with her platinum wig, Venus fantasizes about marrying the rich doctor who has taken her in, even as he forces her into abortions and hastily awaits her death so he can measure her bones.

In scenes like this one, Venus’s bizarre lack of anguish diminishes the strong feminine image the play claims she represents.

Though Venus addresses a story made even more unsettling by its truth, Parks’ play’s uncomfortable moments hit at the wrong

matthew funk

‘11), is delightfully old and creaky, but her false accent distracts and confuses—is she Jewish? Long Islander? Midwestern? Izzie (Francesca Pazniokas, COL ’11) is the show’s clear highlight—complicated and grief-stricken, with her well-timed sarcasm alternating with genuine concern and fierce sisterly loyalty is one of the play’s high points.

Further redemption comes from the play’s technical merit. The set is superbly designed and crafted, making it highly effective—a three-room spread inside the Corbett’s house, each room impeccably decorated in true suburban yuppie fashion, from the faux grapes on the coffee table of the yellow living room to the robot sheets on Danny’s child-sized bed. Unfortunately, another confusing and decidedly unsubtle element mars the otherwise flawless set—exposed curtains, seen through doors and gaps in the walls, are hung with shattered glass, frames, and pictures of small children. These don’t add to the emotional value of the show, but they do prove distracting.

And in a show like Rabbit Hole, distraction is exactly what the Georgetown audience does not need. It makes it difficult to delve into the emotional trenches of this strained marriage. Maybe Mask & Bauble would do better restaging it ten years from now, once we’ve grown up into middle-aged suburban homeowners.

Rabbit Hole runs in Poulton Hall from Thursday, March 31, through Saturday, April 9.

We like Venus’s big butt, and we cannot lie

by Heather Regen Although the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived in D.C. last week, another sideshow act lurks just beyond Georgetown’s front gates. The set of Venus has transformed Walsh’s Black Box Theatre into the underbelly of a circus’ big tent, outlined by thick, red bands of fabric that drape from ceiling to floor. At center stage dangles a performer’s swing, where Tess Trotter (COL ‘14) plays Saartjie Baartman, or the “Venus Hottentot.”

To reach the circus stage, however, the audience must first pass

julianne deno

“Wait, I thought we were all celebrating No-Shave November.” “...I am.”

Julianne Deno

“Did you get your tickets? No, not to the circus. To the gun show.” points. In an outlandish scene, doctors—dressed as clowns under their white lab coats—face away and pleasure themselves en masse.

These weird and disturbing scenes draw away from the play’s social criticism, making it feel more like a vapid farce. For lengths, BTE’s version of Venus bends to the power of pure spectacle.

The play’s serious underpinning hangs by a tenuous thread, only saved by the Negro Resurrectionist. Played by Jarvis Matthews (COL ‘12), the Resurrectionist serves as the audience’s only connection to the reality behind the dark and grotesque circus act

that unfolds on stage. Sitting atop a platform overlooking the stage below, the Resurrectionist provides a calm perspective to a dark and vivid drama. Even in Venus’ most uncomfortable moments, the Resurrectionist looks on calmly, softly reminding the audience that through all the absurdity, Venus tells a true and disturbing chapter in our history. Though elephants and acrobats are sure to delight, at the points that Venus shines, the play provokes a much deeper reflection in its own circus.

Venus runs in the Walsh Black Box Theater from Wednesday, March 30 through Sunday, April 3.

georgetownvoice.com

“Shoot a nuke down a bug hole, you got a lotta dead bugs” —Starship troopers

Local artists pop up in AdMo

fired pieces. Among her collection for sale are a raku-fired relief of an Italian nobleman blended with a In fiction, the vanishing shop canvas painting, and copper- and is a pretty common convengold- toned sculptures of a reclintion—an exploring protagonist ing male form. is surprised to find a store sitting The shop’s most eclectic where there might have been an offerings come from its selecabandoned building or vacant lot tion of photography and the day before, only for it to paintings, which include disappear soon after. Much contributions from varilike this proverbial protagoous local artists showcasnist, folks traversing through ing all kinds of styles and Adams Morgan over the next subjects—black and white three weeks are likely to see and polaroid transfers, a shop on the corner of 18th and scenes of D.C. life and and Mintwood that isn’t norworld travel. Some of the mally there. However, there’s store’s other offerings are a a more natural force at work little more oddball, includhere: a collection of Adams ing a set of found-object Morgan artists have turned jewelry including scrabble the vacant space into a “poptile- and lego block-cufup shop” until April 16th, as flinks. Another artist had a neighborhood component prepared a series of pins of the citywide Cherry Blosand wallets based around som Festival. a zombie motif, including a “Part of the concept is to memorable scene of Presipromote local art and busident Barack Obama deckness,” said Janet Lugo-Tafur, admo PoP uP ShoP ing one of the undead. the executive director of AdPerhaps the best aspect ams Morgan Mainstreet, “It’s a little pricey, can I trade you for my hat?”

Thanks to a wide variety of of the store is the opportunity to which runs the shop. Lugo-Tafur explained that the shop was in- contributing artists, the shop’s of- bring away the names of local artspired by the Temporiums that the ferings are fairly diverse, featuring ists to look at in the future, and D.C. Office of Planning is current- pottery, clothing, artwork, jewelry, possibly to meet them in person. ly promoting, which take vacant and creations in virtually every Even if you only wind up purchasspaces and transform them into medium. Many of the contributors ing one or two pieces, the experitemporary retail venues. Local volunteer in the shop itself. One ence of organic D.C.-bred art is a artists and entrepreneurs are thus such artist is sculptor Mickey Cuz- free token that every visitor to the able to establish connections with zocoli, who makes original clay- pop-up shop gets to bring home.

by Samuel Buckley

customers while simultaneously utilizing otherwise empty space.

Unlike the city’s Temporiums, the AdMo Pop-Up Shop runs independently on donated space, and promotes itself through partnership with the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Whole Foods, entire budget

When I read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma for a class last week, I violated one of the few rules I live by: eat in near-complete ignorance of where your food comes from.

As a rule, I don’t want to know how my chicken was treated before it became a component of my McNugget, which species of fish are farmed unsustainably, or which vegetables are still awash in pesticides when I buy them at the supermarket. I don’t eat any foods specifically for its locavore … ness, and I just barely can argue that I eat healthy.

My number one goal as someone with a tiny food allowance is to eat cheaply, and it makes for a mighty struggle.

Vegetables for dinner—unless they’re bathed in sodium, frozen, and microwaveable—take

preparation, which takes time I often don’t have. And as Vincent Vega said—and he is just as content as I am to ignore his food’s foul origins—“Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.” I’m not in love with tomatoes, or quinoa, or carrots. I like butter, cheese, and bacon—things that carry moral and health-related baggage.

Of course, living near the inexpensive bounty of the Social Safeway, along with a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s also not too far away, I am keenly aware that I don’t live in a food desert—which makes it a crying shame that I don’t shop as healthy as I can. That, plus my liberal guilt, has given me a food philosophy. But it is composed of the vague notion that Trader Joe’s is better for the environment and/or my body, that fruit

is good, and green is good, and that chicken is better than pork is better than red meat for the environment.

And that’s about it. I rationalize that because I drink red wine (antioxidants, right?), am no good at cooking chicken, often buy vegetables, am slightly

amuse-bouche

by Molly Redden

a bi-weekly column about food and drink allergic to red meat and eggs, and am wary of my genetically awful cholesterol, I come out on top both ethically and healthwise.

This, of course, is bad. I’m not writing in defense of my ignorance, and I don’t believe I have a right to eat destructively. Lazy consumers like me harm our environment and our bodies, and, as I learned

the georgetown voice 15

CONCERT CALENDAR thursday 3/31 Mike Watt & The Missingmen with Suns of Guns Black Cat, 8:30 p.m., $13

wednesday 4/6 Lucia, Lucia with The Droids We’re Looking For and Demivolt DC9, 8 p.m., $8

friday 4/1 Civil Twilight with A Silent Film and The Rassle Rock N Roll Hotel, 8 p.m., $12

thursday 4/7 Wire with Weekend Black Cat, 8 p.m., $20

saturday 4/2 Ginuwine with Tank, Carl Thomas, and Case DAR Constitution Hall, 8 p.m., $55-85 sunday 4/3 The Black Angels with Suuns 9:30 Club, 7 p.m., $20 Royal Bangs with Fine Peduncle and Reindeer Black Cat, 8:30 p.m., $10

Senses Fail with The Ghost Inside, Man Overboard, Transit, and Voyage in Coma Rock N Roll Hotel, 6 p.m., $14 friday 4/8 Black Lips with Vivian Girls and Moon Women Black Cat, 9 p.m., $15 sunday 4/10 Walk the Moon with Alvin Risk DC9, 8 p.m., $10

tuesday 4/5 Destroyer with The War on Drugs Black Cat, 8 p.m., $15

Wednesday 4/13 The Go! Team with Velvet and Dance for Dying 9:30 club, 7 p.n., $15

The Octopus Project with The Torches and The Electricutions DC9, 8 p.m., $12

Thursday 4/14 Toro y Moi with Braids and Adventure Rock N Roll Hotel, 8 p.m., $14

from Pollan, help perpetuate some of the most useless, horrendously expensive agricultural subsidies in America.

Great. The preachy priss in my mind reminds me that my poor choices are feeding into the monster cost of health care and are encouraging an expensive government apparatus designed to pump us full of cow, cheese, and corn in its various processed states.

And yet, I keep eating grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. My new go-to drunk food haunt? Five Guys. I make sound shopping choices when it doesn’t cost extra money or effort, but I cut corners in some bad ways, too—and I’m at least making a half-assed attempt at eating responsibly. What about the people who aren’t?

This is why, the more I read and consider what I eat, I’ve come to believe that there is a

clear role for the government in our grocery stores. Treating your body like a garbage dump has become easy to do and rationalize in America. I defended my diet to my dad once by saying that I definitely eat better than at least half of my friends. “Is that going to keep your blood pressure low?” he asked.

He’s got an excellent point.

Many big-hearted Americans are eating morally, but many more aren’t. The information about how the American food industry is incentivizing crappy eating and maiming our environment is out there. If we won’t swallow the lesson that all that gumshoe journalism is trying to teach, someone is going to have to force feed it to us.

Work off all the calories in that butter, cheese, and ham with Molly at mredden@georgetownvoice.com

leisure

16 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

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

The Mountain Goats, All Eternals Deck, Merge Records Listening to All Eternals Deck, the latest album from indie rock institution The Mountain Goats, is a bit like flipping through a photo album chronicling a stranger’s entire life. Each track is a snapshot—a single image, light on context but with an emotional weight that rings clear. Depression, isolation, fear, and despair permeate the album, but are always tempered by lyricist John Darnielle’s trademark touch of guarded hope. So when Darnielle sings “Rise if you’re sleeping, stay awake/We are young supernovas and the heat’s about to break” on “High Hawk Season,” it’s hard not to feel stirred, even if you aren’t entirely sure why.

But fantastic lyricism should come as no surprise to anyone who is at all familiar with The

Mountain Goats, who have been spinning heartbreaking tales of love and loss for the better part of two decades. What is more interesting about All Eternals Deck is the way the band structurally blazes new territory—the album’s 13 tracks cover a broad swath of musical styles. The opener, “Damn These Vampires,” is a tightly written pop tune, while “Estate Sale Sign” is a frenzied, acoustic punk rocker. Perhaps the most unusual track, “High Hawk Season” sits midway through the album and shuns a percussion section entirely, replacing it with a vocal quartet.

But despite this one anomaly, the album certainly does not want for a rhythm section. Darnielle is joined by his longtime bassist Peter Hughes, and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster lends his considerable talent as well, giving the album a tight percussive backbone and continuing the group’s movement away from its minimal, lo-fi roots.

Unlike previous Mountain Goats records, there is no single unifying subject matter to tie All Eternals Deck together—no squats full of meth addicts, no singularly devastating breakups, and no abusive fathers. Instead, the album is a meditation on raw emotion, and how we struggle

Kicking and streaming

Movie studio execs must be keeping America’s psychiatrists pretty busy. I imagine all their therapy sessions start out with a discussion of the same recurring dream: their spouses have lost all interest in them and have fallen for the small, evil red envelopes that have been moving in on their territory for years. Of course, when they first met, the movie execs thought the envelope was awesome: it babysat the kids, walked the dogs, and trimmed the roses.

Then, boom! One day, said executive catches the little red bastard in bed with their better half.

And so goes the battle between Netflix and Hollywood.

Netflix began as an innocuous business partner to the major studios. The mail-order system, with a policy that included no late fees, unlimited rentals, and fast shipment, made it an immediate rival

to Blockbuster—and that’s all everyone talked about. Yet Netflix’s Manhattan Project was already underway, and its secret weapon would soon be unleashed, leaving Blockbuster and Hollywood alike as prepared as Levi Johnston on prom night.

That weapon was Internet streaming. Soon Blockbuster would find itself on the way out.

As Blu-Ray players and Xbox 360 consoles began to allow Netflix users to stream high-def films onto their televisions, the incentive to go out and rent a DVD all but disappeared. The Blockbuster customer found himself with a limited selection and persistently steep prices, and he soon turned over to the red side.

With Blockbuster out of the equation, Netflix has basically monopolized the rental business, causing great disturbanc-

to prevent it from consuming us.

And it’s all so smartly put together that by the end, you’d want to give Danielle a reassuring hug if you weren’t so sure there was a sly smile behind those despondent lyrics.

Voice’s Choices: “Estate Sale Sign,” “The Autopsy Garden,” “High Hawk Season” —Brendan Baumgardner

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong, Slumberland Records When listening to an album for the first time, people often find it helpful to ignore the lyrics to better get a feel for the album’s musical merit. However, in the case of Belong, the sophomore release from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, this proves an impossible task—the trite, clies to DVD and Blu-Ray sales.

While movie studios could no longer profit from sales of multiple copies of a DVD to Blockbuster, home media sales still remained a lucrative business prospect. Netflix had made yet another enemy.

But the movie delivery service didn’t stop there. Netflix, in its boldest move to date,

fade to Black

by John Sapunor a bi-weekly column about film bought the rights to The House of Cards, a series directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey that carried a price tag rumored to be in the hundreds of millions. The series will be broadcast exclusively to Netflix users, putting the rental service in a position to compete with network television.

chéd lyrics mar the album from its very start.

The album’s opener, “Belong,” sets the tone for the rest of the tracks, complete with uninspired lyrics that sound like they come straight from the pages of a dramatic high-schooler’s diary. Although it begins hopefully with a pop-friendly guitar introduction, it takes a turn for the worse soon thereafter, with scratchily mixed overtones and the murmurs of lead singer Kip Berman’s repetitive and dull chorus of “we don’t belong, we don’t belong.”

But while the bad lyricism does not stop there, the mediocre musicality thankfully does.

As its title suggests, “Heart in the Heartbreak” also carries some irritatingly emo, lovesick lyrics, but here they are accompanied by a catchy indie-pop beat, which persists in many of the later tracks.

In “My Terrible Friend,” for instance, keyboardist Peggy Wang delightfully complements Christoph Hochheim’s dominant guitar, and together the two produce an animated, delightful melody. This theme of enjoyable indie melodies, albeit somewhat blighted by Berman’s subpar voice and lyrics, persists throughout the album.

Beyond the mushy lyrics and the unfortunate song titles Yet perhaps the biggest threat to Hollywood may be the damage Netflix inflicts on box office performances. With instant streaming, studios are worried that audiences may lose the motivation to venture to the movie theater, especially considering a single Saturday night ticket could dwarf the Netflix monthly fee. To add to this problem, movie companies are considering releasing movies on home media just two months after their theatrical release in an attempt to increase DVD and BluRay sales. (Netflix can’t send out movies for a 28-day window after their home media release.)

While there is surely more to come in this ongoing battle, people are already raising questions about how it will affect consumers.

Netflix’s reasonable price ($7.99/ month), which has been highly profitable for them so far, caps the potential revenue from rentals. And while studios may start

(“Girl of 1,000 Dreams,” really?), the seemingly higher production quality of the album also reflects to the band’s unsuccessful attempt to transition from underground to mainstream.

While the band’s collaboration with renowned producer Flood, whose canon includes work with Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins, and mix master Alan Moulder creates a cleaner sound, this refinement hasn’t necessarily lent itself to a more mature sound, just one that has benefited from more advanced technology.

Consequently, it seems that with this new release, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have lost some of their originality and the rough, raw quality of their self-produced, eponymous first release.

By the end of unremarkable album closer “Strange,” the listener is left with an overall impression that is just that—unremarkable. Belong falls into some lyrical ruts and hits some pretty successful musical highs, but the band is definitely fortunate for the cred they built up with their last release—otherwise, those overly saccharine lyrics just might have been their downfall.

Voice’s Choices: “My Terrible Friend” —Mary Borowiec competing against it—like Warner Bros., which has started using Facebook to stream its movies—the task of trumping, or even competing against, the ubiquitous Netflix will prove challenging. As for the box office, dwindling studio profits will likely result in a smaller film output overall, and, sadly, a decrease in daring or ambitious films that carry higher monetary risk.

But despite all the benefits, Netflix still lacks the sentimental value of a night at the movies.

And while studios may struggle for the time being with home media sales, movie theater audiences will likely still remain. The thrill of the big screen and the joy of giant sodas and “buttered” popcorn are ingrained in American culture—and that’s something that can’t be streamed to your TV. John’s always more prepared than Levi. Email him at jsapunor@ georgetownvoice.com

page thirteen

Don’t play it SAFE: georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 17

How to spend $3.4 million

Last December, GUSA passed SAFE reform, freeing up the $3.4 million previously allocated to the Student Activities Fee Endowment. We at the Voice understand the importance of careful consideration when allocating University money, and would like a voice in the proceedings.

Respectfully, these are our suggestions:

• Spend the first four $400,000 renting a blimp.

Then, get $3,000,000 worth of one dollar bills.

MAKE IT RAIN. • Commission high end fashion designers to create a line of luxury dog-wear for Jack.

• Buy 77,272 Natty Caddies. Use the empties to build a fort on the front lawn, and designate the fort as the new Georgetown Pub.

Nitya ramlogan

• Fortify campus with a bigger wall, barbed wire, and siege weapons. If the neighbors don’t want us, we don’t want them either.

• Put it all on black.

• Expand the koi pond outside White Gravenor into a full blown koi lake, and spend the rest of the money developing a SeaWorld-style aquatic spectacular featuring genetically engineered jumbo-koi.

Brendan Baumgardner

• Considering Bill Clinton charges roughly $150,000 per hour as a speaking fee, hire him to deliver a 22-hour marathon lecture. Do not cater.

• Money fight!

• Hire a team of private detectives to monitor Stephen R. Brown at all times, taking photos and posting them to the Internet. Alternatively, buy a spy satellite.

Nitya ramlogan

voices

18 the georgetown voice

march 31, 2011

More practice space is instrumental to musicians’ growth

by John Sapunor When I made the decision to go to Georgetown last spring, I knew what the school was known for and, well, what it was not known for. The strengths, which in my eyes outweighed any drawbacks, included its relatively small size, location in D.C., and academic reputation. But my decision still meant making sacrifices.

As a musician who plays many instruments, including piano, guitar, and (my personal favorite) drums, I found Georgetown had relatively few outlets to satisfy a non-music major ’s cravings for jamming.

At the center of the problem is a lack of musical practice rooms. As of now, the campus has a pair of rundown practice rooms in New South, as well as several other practice rooms in LXR and Reynolds. The New South rooms, open 24/7, have been my go-to place for brushing up on my piano skills. The rooms are shabby and the pia-

nos far from perfect, but it gets the job done for an amateur.

Though the Reynolds rooms are newer, the pianos are never tuned.

However, Georgetown’s diverse student body likely includes more than a handful of extremely talented pianists who have no affiliation with the music department.

When a desire to practice requires the use of a worn, outof-tune piano, the frustration of these talented musicians can be close to unbearable. Again, this isn’t a college known for its music program, but the wide range of musicians not enrolled in any music classes should have access to quality instruments.

While pianists may have to deal with amateur equipment, the option to practice is nevertheless on the table. However, what happens when a drummer or guitarist wants to play?

The sad truth is that these musicians may have to suppress their yearning to jam out for the duration of the school year.

There are currently no practice rooms containing drum sets or guitar amplifiers that are accessible to the whole student body.

The Guild of Bands, a course that requires bands to audition, gives students an opportunity to access this type of gear, but anyone who wants to practice individually or cannot afford to dedicate credits to a musical course is out of luck.

This leaves drummers and guitarists unassociated with the music department with two options: put your equipment where you live, or join the Guild of Bands. The first option could work in a townhouse (if you have understanding neighbors), but as a freshman, I have to wait another full year before my abode has the room to store musical equipment. This disheartening fact means another school year free of any drumming and a summer spent getting my drum skills back to the level I was at three years ago.

The second option would involve an unpleasant conver-

sation with my parents about their tuition money going toward a rock band class, actually forming a band, and then trying out and making the cut for the course.

While frustrating, these unsatisfactory options do not mean all hope is lost. The music department is still growing.

The Guild of Bands may not be a great option for all students, but it is nonetheless open for all students to enroll in and, to give the department credit, represents a step in the right direction.

The primary problems that must be overcome to offer more advanced practice rooms to the general public are space and funding. Music equipment is not cheap, and Georgetown’s lazy approach to the arts hinders the allocation of funds toward new musical equipment and facilities. Since the current practice rooms are spread out across campus, monitoring equipment is difficult, too, and if the public practice rooms

were to add expensive equipment, close supervision would be essential to prevent thefts and mistreatment of equipment.

New practice rooms won’t spring up unless a benevolent patron steps forward.

The Student Activities Fee Endowment is a possible source for the cash, and spending some of the $3.4 million on music space would be a brilliant move on GUSA’s part. Otherwise, while the Department of Performing Arts will likely open additional rooms in the future, as a frustrated musician I may have to sit back and subdue any hope for immediate change. It looks like my air guitar accompaniments to Zeppelin tunes, a pathetic attempt to appease my jamming drought, will continue until I move into a townhouse.

John is a freshman in the MSB. Dropping out of college might be necessary to harness his musical talent.

A mural dilemma: Looking for inspiration on the Leo’s wall

by Sean Quigley Like almost every Georgetown student, I don’t enjoy much of the time I spend in Leo’s. But it’s not the food that bothers me. I love the “Flavors of Home” line, I love the sweet potatoes and the white sauce on the boiled noodles, and I love making myself waffles downstairs. People who complain about the food in Leo’s are either spoiled or not hun-

gry enough. But, though it has nothing to do with the dining hall’s gastronomic offerings, my lunches and dinners are still unsatisfying.

It’s the mural on the top floor that gets to me. Whenever I’m happily eating my fill of steamed corn and oatmeal raisin cookies, my whole meal experience is disrupted every time I look up at that stupid wallto-wall painting of students sitting in a classroom, playing

AODHAN BEIRNE

Currently, Georgetown students eat under John Carroll’s watchful eye.

lacrosse, and graduating. I’m sick of it. It’s tame and uninspiring, boring and inoffensive.

I’m tired of looking at the guy in the classroom’s misspelled “Georgtwon” t-shirt (seriously, look closely next time), and I’m tired of looking at Jonathan Wallace dribble a basketball on top of an open book. There’s no reason I should have to suffer through looking at such a bland mural while I’m enjoying my fresh salad wraps and made-toorder tacos.

I propose an annual competition in which students submit their own new designs for the mural, and everyone votes for a winner online. Ideally, Leo’s would host a week-long festival for painting and visual arts called “MuralFEST” during the voting period. MuralFEST will feature all kinds of student art, but most importantly it will showcase student submissions for the new panorama that will color the top floor. Leo’s staff already has experience throwing carnival-themed lunches and Super Bowl watch parties, so setting up a few exhibits for paintings shouldn’t be too hard.

Over the summer, the design that wins is painted over the old mural. That way, no matter how ugly or unprofessional the winning design is, we can all laugh at it for a year, and then, right when it

starts to get old, we would get a new one.

The biggest obstacle to this idea is the fact that Leo’s continues serving meals throughout the summer to high schoolers here on summer programs and whoever else is around. Having a full-scale painting operation in there would probably disrupt people’s eating schedules.

If this proves to be an issue, the winning design could be printed on paper and then affixed to the wall relatively quickly by a team of students.

Unfortunately—and with all due respect to the Art Department and the people who go to the second floor of Walsh to paint—Georgetown students aren’t exactly known for their creativity or aptitude in the visual arts. In some years, the designs submitted to the competition might be so uninspiring that no one wins. In that case, the outgoing senior class would be forced to design the mural, as a way of preserving their legacy on campus, if only for a single year. Each graduating senior could sign a part of the mural, and the final total of their class’s donations to their senior fund would be listed as a way of shaming next year’s seniors to donate. As a last resort, if no one artist wins MuralFEST and the outgoing seniors refuse to participate, elementary

school students from Trinity would be asked to design and paint it.

It shouldn’t be hard to convince Georgetown administrators of the merit of this idea.

The biggest hurdle will probably be funding, though realistically, the actual costs won’t be too high. The mural will be painted by a team of unpaid student volunteers (ideally around 100 of them, so that the process only takes around a week), so the only costs will be a ton of paint and 100 paintbrushes. These costs are easily offset—all proceeds from paintings sold during MuralFEST will go towards funding the new mural.

This isn’t a joke. I’m really sick of this stupid mural ruining my time in Leo’s. We need something bold, something colorful, something that tests the boundaries of the dining hall mural as a medium of artistic expression. Let’s not let another generation of Georgetown students endure such a visually unstimulating dining experience. We can do this. Let’s change the mural at Leo’s.

Sean Quigley is a junior in the SFS. His first design idea is a dedication to the victims of the norovirus outbreak.

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice

19

Dancing into the hearts of Georgetown’s Best Buddies

by Caroline Garity Ever since I began Irish dance lessons in second grade, the month of March has always been filled with performances.

Whether marching in my town’s parade or dancing at black-tie events, during the week of St. Patrick’s Day, my dance shoes almost never leave my feet.

This season was no exception. The Georgetown Irish Dancers had already booked a series of shows, including our

annual performance for the incredibly enthusiastic (to say the least) crowd at the Tombs. Typically our dance performances follow the same format: turn on the music, get the audience to clap along, dance, finish, bow, and repeat. We sometimes offer an explanation of the dances as a way of connecting with the audience. Yet, despite our efforts to reach out to our viewers, I usually leave a show reflecting on how well we danced, not necessarily what kind of rap-

CAROLINE GARITY

The Georgetown Irish Dancers gear up for a St. Patrick’s Day performance.

The Times, it is a changin’ The New York Times has always held a special place in the hearts of liberal elitists like myself. When I was young, I grabbed the Los Angeles Times on Sunday to read the color comic strips. Decidedly uninterested in the latest shenanigans of Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, or that cheeky bunch over at Family Circus, my parents went for the Gray Lady’s news and opinion sections.

Long after our subscription to the L.A. paper was cancelled, the New York Times remains an integral part of my family’s breakfast routine.

It is considered a grave offense to throw the paper away before both of my parents have the opportunity to read it.

These days, such devoted affection for the printed version of a newspaper is rapidly disappearing.

Major newspapers have collapsed or wasted away to online-only

ghosts of their former selves. America’s de facto newspaper of record has not been immune to broader trends in the industry. Two years ago, the Times’s weekday circulation dipped under one million for the first time since the 1980s, largely on account of the Internet and the recession.

This has been an eventful year for the Times. Its op-ed section, which has been in an unfortunate decline since the retirement of political giant Bill Safire in 2005, will lose further critical heft with the imminent departures of the esteemed Frank Rich and passionate Bob Herbert. The Times must act quickly to encourage a rebirth in meaningfully opinionative journalism. All too often, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks, and Thomas Friedman produce fluff. (When Brooks based a column about humanities education last

Let the Voice be your voice. We accept opinions, letters to the editor, personal experiences, and creative writing that are exclusive to the Voice. Submissions do not express the opinion of the board of the Voice. The Voice reserves the right to edit submissions for accuracy, length, and clarity. To submit, email voices@georgetownvoice.com or come to the Voice office in Leavey 413.

Opinions expressed in the Voices section do not necessarily reflect the views of the General Board of the Voice.

port we established with those in the stands.

A few weeks prior to St. Patrick’s Day, I got an email from the president of Georgetown’s chapter of Best Buddies, a volunteer program that helps establish friendships between Georgetown students and mentally disabled community members. Always eager to perform, we accepted the invitation and began to prepare a lineup of choreography. Though the material we chose was nothing new, the experience we had was something completely unexpected.

As I arrived with eight other dancers to the Leavey Center last Sunday afternoon, we were welcomed by a large crowd of Georgetown students and their buddies, dressed from head to toe in green. At first I was a little concerned about the performance space: rather than a platform, only a few tables had been pushed away to create our “stage,” providing a limited view of our feet and a carpeted surface that would muffle the sound of our fiberglass-tipped shoes. Yet as the nine of us crammed into the center of the space, we were met by an eruption of applause that completely eliminated my brief concern.

June around a made-up undefined term of his, “The Big Shaggy,” I lost some faith in the Times’s op-eds.)

Beyond the opinion columns, WikiLeaks has been the most important feature of the news section.

The paper’s role in publishing Julian Assange’s classified U.S. government documents had the potential to return the Times to the glory days of the Pentagon Papers. Unfortunately, Bill Keller, the paper’s executive editor, has made his condescen-

Carrying On

by Jackson Perry A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

sion toward Julian Assange clear in two articles so far this year. I don’t think the Washington Post commented on the cleanliness of Deep Throat’s socks during its reporting on the Watergate scandal. It would be easier to focus on the activities of our government if the paper wasn’t spending so much time bashing its own source.

The most important moment of the year for the paper came this week. On Monday, the Times launched a paywall for users accessing the newspaper’s online content. After clicking on 20 articles

The music started and the buddies began to clap along to the beat. As the speed of our feet increased our crowd cheered in awe. We finished our first dance to cheers of “Wow!” and “Encore!” It was just a typical routine, but I felt like a rock star on the carpet of Sellinger Lounge.

Some of the buddies were so enthused by the performance that they stood up to tap their feet along to the music. Without the barrier of a stage to separate us from our audience, my fellow dancers and I began pulling them into the center of the floor to dance with us. Before we knew it we had over twenty buddies and their Georgetown partners surrounding us, waiting to learn a traditional Irish folk dance routine. With a little quick thinking and rearranging of tables, the other dancers and I broke down the steps and taught the entire crowd.

After about 15 minutes of somewhat chaotic skipping, marching, and jumping, our interaction had transcended the dance. No longer was our exchange between entertainers and audience. Together on the same floor, the buddies and the dancers began to engage each other in conversation, learning in a month, visitors will have to purchase continued access to content ($15 a month). While charging for online content is a new and uncertain world for newspapers, decline in subscriptions and the evaporation of print advertising revenues over the last decade gives the industry no choice.

To be sure, the new pay model is not perfect. It might be too pricey and drive visitors away. It might not save the declining print edition of the paper on its own. It would be too much to expect an unqualified triumph on the first try: the success of the initiative will depend on its flexibility.

One of the best parts of the new system is the Times’ recognition of the importance of social media. Although users who view more than 20 articles per month on the Times website directly are now required to pay, access to articles available from links on Twitter or Facebook remains unlimited. The paywall also does not apply to five articles per day reached through major search engines.

The Internet’s contribution to the instant spread of news and analysis, coupled with the Times’ financial difficulty, has some pessimistic about the paper’s future. I remain hopeful. The Times has survived the spread of radio and television.

names and discovering mutual interests. I didn’t feel like a performer or a teacher but a participant in an event of mutual understanding. Though we came from different backgrounds, the buddies and the Georgetown students shared the excitement of trying something new solely for the fun of it.

Toward the end of the party an elderly buddy named Catherine-Lee came up to me and hugged me. Before releasing me from her warm embrace she announced, “I love you.” I didn’t know quite what to say, taken aback by her uninhibited remark, but after a moment I realized that her sentiment had completely captured my emotion toward the group. To me, this simple St. Patrick’s Day party symbolized what I feel Georgetown tries to instill in its students. Our diverse group converged on a single platform to build friendships and find a common bond through the shared experience of dance.

Caroline Garity is a junior in the college. She might like her new friend, but she’ll never share her Lucky Charms with her.

The technological advances that brought the broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite into the living rooms of millions of Americans also enabled the Times to dramatically expand its global reach and deliver a better product to our doorsteps. Although there will be fewer copies of the Times landing on front porches in this century than in the last one, I believe that as long as the paper remains committed to providing in-depth reporting and thought-provoking opinion while also adapting to new technology, it will continue to hold its position as America’s newspaper of record.

Although liberals may defend it too strongly and conservatives may disregard it too flippantly, the Times is still one of the largest producers of original content in the world, rivaling the Associated Press and Reuters in its global reach and depth. Financial troubles and the rise of the Internet should not prevent it from continuing to provide its readers with all the news that’s fit to print.

Jackson Perry is a junior in the college. He considers the Voice the second-most reliable newspaper source.

LAST LOOK