4 19 2012

VOICE the georgetown

0

CSJ STRUGGLES WITH STAFFING PAGE 5

TENNIS FOCUSED FOR BIG EAST PAGE 6

PLEASURE YOURSELF WITH PLEASANT POPS PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w April 19, 2012 w Volume 46, Issue 13 w georgetownvoice.com

THE CAPITAL SWINGS

J

2 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

classifieds Group CJ is seeking an enthusiastic rising star for an entry-level position. Effective communicator, Internet-savvy over-achiever. InDesign proficient.

FOXDOG

NICO DODD

Resume, cover letter and portfolio to meagan@groupcj.com.

Rentals for 1-6 people near Georgetown University campus. Prime West Village locations. Properties currently available: 3215 O Street and 1681 35th Street. Now accepting deposits for 2012-13. Details at HoyaHousing.com or Facebook “Georgetown Rentals.”

Offered by Charles Sullivan, Re/Max Metropolitan Realty.

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

The Voice Photo Contest Send your photos to photo@georgetownvoice.com

by Tuesday, April 24th.

The winning photo will be featured on the cover.

Both color and black-and-white submissions welcome.

Voice Crossword “Class Is Over, Now What? ” by Tyler Pierce 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

12

13

14

15

16

17

19

20

23

24

26

27

31

25 28

29

37

45

38

39

52

42 47

46

30 34

41 44

48 54

53

49

50

59 63

64

65

66

67

68

69

61

43

56

62

60

40

51

55

58

57

11

22

33 36

10

18

21

32 35

9

Across

16. DC bigwig 17. Tequila fruits 1. Darted denied to the 60. Genuine 7. Right out of the 19. Attraction 43. Slanders 4. Doo follower, inpackage music students44. onBoring 35 Across 62. H+, e.g.

7. Flavorless 22. Snape always wore one 8. Big galoot 63. Bucket 12. Bingo relative 23. Have45. Turn into 9.

64. TV, 13.

46. Eye part radio, etc.

Lawyers org. Abreast (of) 24. Not ashore 65. Mold14. Indian coin 10. Reno locale 25. Biblical 48. garden Flowering 11. Exacerbate, as 26. a cut Contra Plastic 66. The 15.

49.container Beatles' "___ Declines for packing Leaving Home" 67. Certain directions 68. GERMS, on campus

12. Foods on a stick 18. Cell-phone button 20. Roam

50. Band's gig divisions 53. Has to have 55.

27. Tumult 28. “Gimme ___!” (start of an Iowa State cheer) 30. Also 31. Catch on 33. Typist 35. See 19 and 58 Across 41. Late 42. Andrew Hamilton’s demise 44. Original “Monty Python” airer 47. Deviation 48. Butt 51. Mai ___ 52. Ponce de ___ 54. Doable 56. Sphere 57. Lawn division 58. Attraction denied to the students on 35 Across 60. Genuine 62. H+, e.g.

63. Bucket 64. TV, radio, etc.

65. Mold 66. The Beatles’ “___ Leaving Home” 67. Certain directions 68. GERMS, on campus 69. They come before o’s Down 1. Getting an updated version

2. Feelers 3. Black, Fr. 4. Spicy sushi side 5. Moon of Uranus 6. Endangered bear 7. Right out of the package 8. Big galoot 9. Abreast (of) 10. Reno locale 11. Exacerbate, as a cut 12. Foods on a stick 18. Cell-phone button 20. Roam 21. Musical muse 29. Motel 32. Received 33. Pigpen 34. Weird

answers at georgetownvoice.com

36. Quantified sunlight 37. Seriousness 38. Astronomer Hubble 39. German speed road 40. Magazines that come out annually 43. Slanders 44. Boring 45. Turn into 46. Eye part 48. Flowering 49. Declines 50. Band’s gig divisions 53. Has to have 55. Blazing 59. Cathedral recess 61. Dog command

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

Email crossword@georgetownvoice.com

editorial

georgetownvoice.com

VOICE the georgetown

Volume 46.13 April 19, 2012 Editor-in-Chief: Sean Quigley Managing Editor: Leigh Finnegan Blog Editor: Jackson Perry News Editor: Vanya Mehta Sports Editor: Kevin Joseph Feature Editor: Rachel Calvert Cover Editor: Richa Goyal Leisure Editor: Heather Regen Voices Editor: Connor Jones Photo Editor: Lucia He Design Editors: Julia Kwon, Kathleen Soriano-Taylor Projects Editor: Rob Sapunor Crossword Editor: Tyler Pierce Assistant Blog Editors: Ryan Bellmore, John Sapunor Assistant News Editors: Soo Chae, Morgan Manger Assistant Sports Editor: Steven Criss, Abby Sherburne Assistant Leisure Editors: Mary Borowiec, Julia Lloyd-George, Kirill Makarenko Assistant Photo Editors: Julian De La Paz, Abby Greene Assistant Design Editors: Amanda Dominguez, Madhuri Vairapandi Assistant Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Contributing Editors: Geoffrey Bible, Nico Dodd, Iris Kim Tim Shine

Staff Writers:

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

Staff Photographers:

Nick Baker, Max Blodgett, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Jackson Perry, Matthew Thees

Copy Chief: Kim Tay Copy Editors:

Keaton Hoffman, Tori Jovanovski, Claire McDaniel

Editorial Board Chair: Gavin Bade Editorial Board:

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

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

The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

This newspaper was made possible in part 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 424 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: Inside the D.C. Jazz Scene Cover Photo: Gavin Bade

the georgetown voice 3 TEST HER IMPACT

Henderson’s record deserves examination This Saturday, D.C. Public Schools chancellor and Georgetown alum Kaya Henderson (SFS ’92, G ’07) will receive an honorary degree from Georgetown for her contributions to education reform in the D.C. public school system since she first became chancellor in 2010. Henderson is known for transforming DCPS classrooms and was named one of “World’s 7 Most Powerful Educators”

by Forbes in 2011, and her honorary degree from Georgetown is an opportunity to analyze and challenge her education policies.

Often cited as Michelle Rhee’s protégé, Henderson has enacted and developed various programs and policies throughout her educational career, most notably IMPACT, a teacher-assessment system aimed to ensure the effectiveness of teachers in DCPS classrooms. However, its focus on standardized test results leaves out many important factors that comprise good teaching. The system’s reliance on test scores also creates a disparity in the distribution of good teachers throughout

the District, since high scores are easier to attain in wealthier school districts.

In addition to a lack of incentives for effective teachers to work in lower-income districts, the system prevents teachers from using interactive teaching methods. Due to the extensive material that needs to be covered in a limited amount of time to prepare students for standardized tests, teachers must implement lecture- and memorization-styled lesson plans coupled with an increase in homework—a style, statistics suggest, that is typically less effective with poorer students.

With a system that leaves little room for flexibility, interactive teaching methods that allow for the simulation of student growth are virtually eliminated.

With IMPACT, teachers can be fired if students’ test scores are not up to par. While valuable in theory, it can lead teachers and administrators to inflate test scores, evidenced by recent DCPS cheating allegations. If the these are proven true, Henderson will have to

further reevaluate the reform she has been defending. Henderson’s response to the allegations went only as far as concern that people would rather doubt that minority children can make significant improvements on tests than believe in the system.

Although her policies can be considered academic hindrance rather than progress, Henderson’s commitment to raising DCPS to national standards and general educational activism justifies her honorary degree. Even so, Education Week and her visit to campus are prime opportunities to discuss academic inequalities and the need for further policy reform throughout D.C., especially when considering the active involvement of campus groups such as D.C. Reads, D.C. Schools, and the After School Kids program. The Georgetown campus only hurts itself and the Washington community if this discourse does not include an examination of the full effects of Henderson’s policies in D.C., and the possibility for a new direction in educational reform.

SPRING INTO ACTIVISM

Spring should mean a new approach for Occupy The key strategies of the Occupy movement have always been rooted in the idea of physically taking up space—democratically reclaiming it as a locus for populist action. However, as winter set in, police forces across the country brutally evicted the activist encampments. Eventually, though, as the movement’s energy fizzled, those who sought to reclaim its communal spirit looked forward to the spring, when they hoped Occupy could move back in to its former camping sites. So far, no major sites have been reoccupied. Now in the middle of what would be “Occupy Spring,” the movement is facing an identity crisis of sorts. If it wants to survive, it needs to rethink its position as a force for social change.

From the onset, Occupy was a local affair. Going forward, the movement should capitalize on the fact that it was manifested in local encampments by mobilizing around local issues. For instance, Occupy D.C. has executed successful actions to save people’s houses from foreclosure, beginning with the

push to “Save Bertina Jones’s Home.” As a result of protests at Freddie Mac headquarters, petitions and social media campaigns, Freddie Mac agreed to rework Jones’s mortgage and called off the foreclosure.

Such small but meaningful victories can help invigorate local activists, but they can also help perpetuate the nebulous nature of Occupy as a whole. The movement has been criticized for not issuing a discrete manifesto with an eye towards national goals. However, translating the broad principles of Occupy to tangible local campaigns will help solidify the movement’s relevance and maintain national focus on its worthwhile ideals.

Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive organizations, including the likes of Moveon. org and Greenpeace, has launched a project called “the 99% Spring.” These mainstream institutions are holding training sessions to school Occupy protesters in traditional direct-action techniques. Although Occupiers tend to be wary of being co-opted into other movements, the 99% Spring is an ex-

ample of meaningful coalition building that could serve to radicalize liberal groups like labor unions and progressive non-profits and make their methods more effective. For instance, MoveOn.org founder Justin Ruben has recently spoke of the need to diversify their efforts beyond support for the Democratic Party, as it has moved too far right on the political spectrum.

One of Occupy’s greatest strengths is its capacity to attach itself to an array of issues that speak to fundamental inequality. Going forward, Occupy should see itself as a movement that can shape national priorities by forming coalitions to tackle specific issues. As a horizontal organization, its tentacles in different cities are in a position to influence local politics and rally local activists to the greater cause. Going forward, this will mean it will be most effective at fighting for progressive goals when it can successfully cooperate with institutionalized and even mainstream liberal organizations on local issues without being co-opted by them.

LOSING THE WAR ON DRUGS

U.S. needs new Latin American foreign policy This past weekend witnessed the surfacing of long standing tensions between several Latin American countries and the United States at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. During the meeting, Washington was publicly criticized for the U.S.’s widely detrimental drug policy in Latin American countries, as well as its non-negotiable position on the disclusion of Cuba in the regional summit, among other U.S. stances.

First convened in 1994 by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the Summit of the Americas has historically aimed to affirm continued American political influence in the region. It is clear, however, that more and more Latin American countries are no longer willing to play “backyard.” Even Juan Manuel Santos, president of traditional U.S. ally Colombia, opened the Summit by deviating from the established line in saying that “it would be unacceptable to have any future Summit in which Cuba is not present.”

American policy in Latin America rarely takes into account the realities of the area’s countries, and overtly values American interest above local and regional priorities. Acknowledging the numerous failures of U.S. involvement in South America, Latin American countries are instead expressing a wish to assert their own policies for the resolution of their own issues.

The presidents of Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador spoke of the obvious failure of the U.S.-led “War on Drugs,” which has had an immense human and financial cost for regional governments in the form of endemic violence, corruption, and law enforcement. While the U.S. has focused on attacking production in Latin American countries, often stepping on national sovereignty by way of “military assistance” and top-down military imposition, it has done little to effectively curb the crucial demand side of the equation within its own borders. In ad-

dition to holding the U.S. accountable for its role of consumer in the vicious drug circle, Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina is leading the charge in suggesting the outright decriminalization and regulation of the production, transportation, and consumption of narcotics as an alternative local strategy.

Although the proposition is controversial, it is well received in a region struggling with escalating violence and corruption. Even so, any cooperation or discussion on the issue with the staunchly anti-drug United States has proved a non-starter.

The U.S. does not bear the burden of the costs of its destructive policies south of its borders—Latin American nations do. Our nation may have gotten away with pursuing its interests at regional expenses in the past, but if the latest Summit of the Americas offers any lesson, it is that Washington needs to allow its neighbors the autonomy they deserve to pursue the well-being of their own people.

news

4 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

Students demand that GU terminate contract with Adidas

by Connor Jones Yesterday, members of Georgetown Solidarity Committee and Georgetown Occupy gathered in Red Square to protest Adidas’s refusal to pay its workers severance at the PT Kizone apparel factory in Indonesia. The students claim the unpaid severance is in violation of both the University’s code of conduct for its licensees and Indonesian law. After demonstrating in Red Square, the crowd marched to President John DeGioia’s office to officially deliver a letter requesting that the University exert more

influence on Adidas to pay $1.8 million in severance for the 2,800 workers.

“Adidas’s refusal to pay is in direct violation of both Indonesian law and Georgetown University’s Code of Conduct for Licensees, both of which require the payment of terminal compensation,” the letter read. “Despite the fact that Adidas sub-contracts with PT Kizone, Adidas remains in violation of Georgetown’s code, as the code applies to both ‘licensees’ and ‘contractors,’ and ‘contractor’ is defined as ‘each contractor, subcontractor, ven-

lucia he

Students protest in Red Square against the University contract with Adidas.

dor, or manufacturer that engages in manufacturing process that results in a finished product for the consumer.”

Georgetown’s code of conduct stipulates that licensees have a direct responsibility to ensure the payment of terminal compensation. The code states: “The remedy will at minimum take all necessary steps to correct such violations including, and without limitation, paying all applicable back wages, or any portion of them, found due to workers who manufactured the licensed articles.”

“Anything that comes to President DeGioia is always given the most careful consideration and reviewed very carefully, and I can promise you we will do that with this,” Joseph Ferrara, DeGioia’s chief of staff, said. “I appreciate you bringing it by. And I appreciate your interest and commitment on this issue.” He went on to say that DeGioia would see the letter that day.

The PT Kizone factory was a subcontractor for Adidas, Nike, and the Dallas Cowboys Merchandising. Nike and Adidas used the factory to produce college apparel.

Nike and Dallas Cowboys Mer-

chandising have already paid the severance to the workers.

According to an email that Adidas representative Gregg Nebel sent to Scott Fleming, acting chair of the University’s licensing oversight committee, during the first six months of 2010, 490,000 units were placed at the factory. On June 30, 2010, the factory informed Adidas that they would no longer be accepting orders.

“Kizone operations stopped at the end of March and bankruptcy [was] declared in early April 2011.

This was 5 months after our last shipment and ten months after Kizone told Adidas they would no longer accept our purchase orders,” the email reads. “Some are asking us to pay the money for severance and call it whatever we think it should be called if not severance… At the end of the day, what we intend to do with relief aid through PT Lidi could cost hundreds of thousands but it will be spent for the most relevant and expedient needs.” Effectively, Adidas contends that they have no obligation to pay severance because it’s not their policy to pay severance to workers who are laid off after their contract ends with the factory.

Gregg Nebel visited Georgetown this Tuesday to explain Adidas’s position to the licensing and oversight committee. “It was definitely good for Gregg Nebel to come here, but he still just gave a lot of excuses, explaining the different kinds of remediation that they’re going to go through.

But they basically said that they would not pay the severance and that they will not accept financial responsibility. On the committee, there was a lot of hesitance about responding to that,” Louisa Abada (SFS ’12), a member of GSC and the licensing and oversight committee, said. “It is a direct violation of our code, as well as it’s illegal in Indonesia.”

GSC wants the University to exert more influence on Adidas to make them pay the severance wages. “We would like to see Georgetown cut its contract with Adidas due to the company’s violation of Indonesian law and Georgetown’s code of conduct,” Rachel Milito (SFS ’12) wrote in an email to the Voice. “We hope that having Georgetown and other universities cut their contracts would pressure Adidas to do the right thing and pay the workers at PT Kizone what they are owed.”

mographics do not support the idea of an explosion in applicants any time soon, he did say that 20 percent more high school juniors have come to visit so far this year than did last year. He joked about hiring a touring agency to help with the 45,000 people going to information sessions and tours.

If applications keep going up, the admissions office will probably have to increase the size of its staff, Deacon said.

“Ultimately, every applicant has some degree of time simply beyond reading the application, whether it means coordinating the alumni interview locally, or answering questions,” he said.

“Right now we’ve been able to manage.”

Applications are reviewed “in a systematic fashion,” Deacon said. “First, all the information is processed into the system and then they are read in a sequence, geographically state by state and high school by high school, then by the regional director and run by me in the end.”

If an application is espe-

cially competitive, it is funneled to a committee of four, usually including a dean, a faculty member, a student, and an admissions officer. Deacon said “maybe a quarter to a third” of cases receive more attention.

The admissions office also benefits from an experienced staff with little turnover, which means people “tend to know their area, know their schools,

which helps a little bit as well in terms of being able to give a fair read but an efficient read,” Deacon said.

Deacon said he hopes to be able to preserve what students have said they value most—the feeling that Georgetown is “trying to know who we are,” and is “going to give a fair shake.” “[It’s not] a numbers game,” he said.

Dean of Admissions says record low admissions rate not paramount

by Matt Weinnman Georgetown’s acceptance rate for next year ’s freshman class was a record low at 16.5 percent, with 3,316 students admitted out of a pool of over 20,000. But while other universities strive to attract more applicants to lower acceptance rates, Dean of Admissions Charles Deacon says his office has not been seeking to increase the volume of applications, due to the time and effort his staff takes to review each candidate.

Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Cornell Universities are also reporting record lows, and among the Ivy League schools, only the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell were in double-digits. Deacon said he thinks Georgetown does not want “to be in a position where we issue a press release saying Georgetown only admitted 5.7 percent.”

“I don’t think that’s a positive message,” he said.

Georgetown does not accept the Common Application,

which makes it easier for students to apply to as many as 20 to 30 schools, making it something of an exception among top-tier schools.

Some schools, like the University of Chicago, Deacon said, encourage unqualified candidates to apply in order to lower acceptance rates.

“Their new president came in and said, we want our numbers to be like Columbia’s. They fired the admissions staff and brought new staff in, changed all the things, and if you were interested in applying to Chicago you probably got a hundred emails,” Deacon said. “We think something as important as a lifechanging decision should not be a sound bite, and the process where a son or daughter leaves home to go to college a hightouch, not a high-tech, moment.”

Deacon said this philosophy comes from President DeGioia and the Board of Directors.

Nevertheless, the number of applicants and interested students is growing. Although Deacon pointed out that de-

Newly admitted students get a feel for the Hilltop.

lucia he

news

georgetownvoice.com

CSJ initiates personnel search

by Morgan Manger and Ambika Tripathi A committee at Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice, which has been without a director since 2010, is currently in search for a new permanent director.

The Center is also missing a business officer, a research director, and a director of student leadership and special programs.

Since founder and director Kathleen Maas Weigert left Georgetown for Loyola University of Chicago two years ago, the undersized staff has been forced to take on extra responsibilities.

“Staff members have to take on multiple jobs,” said Jessica Chaffkin (COL ’13), member of Prison Outreach and the After School Kids program. “Although they’re really willing to do that, it’d be awesome if they had more staff members to get everything that they needed done.”

D.C. Reads Director Nathaniel Roloff agreed, saying that many of the program directors have had to take on additional administrative roles.

“I also do a lot of collaborative work. I support a lot of different

processes here, from student hiring to other student group advisory functions, along with other administrative minutiae,” Roloff said.

The formation of the Executive Director search committee consisting of faculty, staff, and student representatives is the first step in alleviating the staffing problems.

GUSA Vice President Vail KohnertYount (SFS ’13), a member of the search committee, says she has seen the benefits that the CSJ provides for Georgetown, and hopes that finding a new director will allow the CSJ to expand.

“In the past few years the CSJ has just been maintaining its operations, which is really important,” Kohnert-Yount said. “But I hope that soon it will have the time and space to reflect and think strategically about where it will expand, and how it can really grow and progress [to] even better serve Georgetown and the D.C. community.”

In addition to staffing problems, many believe that there are other improvements to be made as well. “Space is very limited within the CSJ,” said Stephanie Frenel (SFS’12), a D.C. Schools Project co-

Wax-a nostalgic-a

Over the past 10 or so years, the crusade to improve student organizations has focused on programming.

The creation of the student activities fee and the subsequent funding board reforms increased groups’ financial capabilities. The ongoing discussions about space are trying to make it easier for groups to find places to program. Although the obvious mission of organizations is programming, their function on campus is to facilitate social life.

As easy as it may be to forget that student groups are social groups, this is a huge factor explaining why people join them. We can justify the importance of student organizations for their pre-professional role and the leadership experience they provide, but we can’t forget that, more importantly, student organizations provide the foundation of the vibrant Georgetown community.

The authors of the 1999 Student Life Report called

for a movement away from drinking and basketball as the centers of student life on campus. Student organizations have the potential to be that replacement. If we want to maximize the student experience, we have to focus on the role student organizations play in the life of the average student, and not just those on the executive boards.

The Philodemic Society is the perfect example of a student organization that exists outside of their programming. Besides their weekly debates and after-events at Martin’s Tavern, Philodemic has built a social structure, culture, and institutional memory that is enviable to any aspiring group on campus. They have four-year tenure of individual members and a culture of theatrical self-importance (I say this in the most endearing way possible) that is mirrored by their room in Healy.

The fact that “Philodemicians” have a room is impor-

ordinator. “There is a shortage of resources; specifically vans that are in pretty bad shape.”

Coordinators also say the CSJ has not been able to make as many partnerships on campus as it anticipated in recent years, making it more difficult to fund projects.

“We need to have more administrative support so that we can gain access to more grants,” Kristina Solum, Program Director for the D.C. Schools Project, said.

There is no timeline for hiring a new director or any other new staff as of yet. But students and staff involved with the Center say they hope to see a new director hired soon, so that the CSJ can more effectively provide students with an opportunity to do social justice work around D.C. “I’m excited for when the center returns to its full capacity, because we are prime to engage the high quality program in a way that we have never had an opportunity to do so before,” Roloff said. “Once we are at full staff, the Center will be in a position to do some improvement in the way that serve our communities and the students that work here.” tant, because it grounds the group in an actual physical space. Despite being traditionally occupied by Philodemic since 1830 and having the group’s name above the door, the President’s office annexed the office in the late ‘70s. This forces the Philodemic Society to ask permission to use their room.

I use the Philodemic Society as an example to demonstrate that the administra-

Saxa Politica

by Ryan Bellmore

A bi-weekly column on campus news and politics tion doesn’t recognize this role organizations play in the lives of their members.

Another example I want to use to demonstrate the administration’s view of student organizations is their policies regarding office space, specifically in the context of the Voice.

According to the administration, an office for a student organization is for work only. This agreement reflects the administration’s view

the georgetown voice 5

Gray: Emancipate the D.C. budget

lucia he

On Tuesday, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act, Mayor Vincent Gray spoke at a panel of Georgetown history professors and local advocates.

While the panelists discussed the legacy of emancipation in D.C., Mayor Gray compared the District’s of budget autonomy to slavery.

“My message today is not that we just want to celebrate the freedom 150 years ago of 3,100 slaves,” he said. “How about freeing the 618,000 in the District of Columbia in bondage today? How about giving us the same rights that everybody else has?”

— Vanya Mehta

that students don’t own the space they use—students’ money and the work they put toward creating a campus life is merely rent we pay to use the Georgetown name.

This view on studentowned space is nothing new; the 1999 Student Life Report described a situation where the APO service fraternity was moved from the Copley basement to a much smaller space, where they had trouble finding volunteers for events because not enough people would frequent the office. “When APO described these problems to the Office of Student Programs, the response was that an office is not a place to spend time, but simply a business center where messages can be retrieved or supplies stored.”

At the Voice, we lost our office in the fall for violating our office space agreement— for treating the space as more than work space. If I may wax nostalgic for a moment, the office had the culture and institutional memory that made a great institution plastered all over the walls. Every

piece of furniture, every wall decoration, every inside joke involving $10 bills, every issue cover, and every weird, hipsterish, liberal, intellectual, self-importantly counterculture piece of paraphernalia had a story behind it.

The office was so much more than workspace—it was the memory center of the institution. And apparently having a personal attachment to what was supposed to be workspace went against the office use agreement.

Reducing paperwork, red tape, applications, restrictions, confusions, and other institutions deleterious to student life is important for creating vibrant student organizations. We also need to look at how we can bolster groups as institutions, and that starts with recognizing groups’ autonomy.

Wanna hear Ryan Bellmore bitch more about the Georgetown administration, ANC, and student life? Well, keep it yourself because he’s leaving at rbellmore@georgetownvoice. com

sports

6 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

Tennis hopes to turn heads in Big East Tourney

by Kevin Joseph For Andrew Bruhn, the Georgetown men’s tennis team’s senior leader, letting out an audible “Let’s go!” chant after holding serve, as he did in the first set against Villanova on Saturday, has become the norm.

Bruhn, in his last home match at Georgetown, has been the team’s fiery, hard-hitting leader all season.

Nevertheless, the loudest ovation during the match came from Bruhn’s teammate, junior Charlie Caris, who had just finished off the Wildcats’ Matt Colonnese 6-1, 6-1 a few minutes prior.

“Let’s go, Andrew Bruhn!” the men’s tennis number-two player yelled in response to Bruhn’s own exclamation.

Evidently, there’s a trickledown effect for Bruhn’s enthusiasm, and these Hoyas hope to extend that passion into next week’s Big East Tournament in Tampa, Florida. They will certainly have momentum on their side, ending their home slate on a high note with a 5-2 win against Villanova behind Bruhn’s gutty three-set victory. The Hoyas also earned a key point in doubles play, sweeping the opposition and allowing just six games in the process.

The victory followed a tough conference loss for the Hoyas on Friday afternoon, as they fell to St. John’s 5-2. The loss broke a streak of five straight wins for the men’s side, a result that left a sour taste in Caris’s mouth.

“Even though we lost, it was so close,” he said. “We could have easily won that match.”

Personally, though, the Des Moines, Iowa native defeated the Red Storm’s Milo Hauk 6-2, 6-4 and paired up with sophomore Casey Distaso for a 9-8, 7-4 triumph. The biggest win, though, came from Bruhn, who defeated the No. 66 player in the nation, Vasko Mladenov, in a three-set grind, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

“Fantastic,” Caris said of Bruhn’s recent play. “Most intense guy out there, most focused guy out there. He’s got a huge serve and he’s been playing well from the back. He’s been playing with a ton of confidence.”

For Caris and the Hoyas, it’s different this time around. In the past, they had hoped to have a respectable showing in the Big East and enjoy their time in Tampa. Now, he feels the team is hungry and ready to turn heads with their play.

“We have the potential to have our best showing in program history,” he said. “I think that’s a real possibility.”

Caris’s confidence is not unfounded. As a junior, he’s been through the ropes twice, and noted that this year’s Hoyas could be seeded the highest since he’s been here. He also feels that, behind Bruhn, the Hoyas are more complete and stronger at every position than they’ve ever been.

“In the past, we’ve kind of looked at the Big East Tournament as icing on the cake,” Caris reflected. “This year, more so than in the past, we’re looking at it as an opportunity to beat some teams that we haven’t before.”

The women’s team remains just as confident, also defeating Villanova on Saturday afternoon behind sophomore Tina Tehrani’s dominant service play. The 7-0 win marks the eighth straight for the Hoyas.

Tehrani’s 6-1, 6-0 victory anchored the Hoyas, but senior Lauren Greco was just as crucial in her final home meet, winning 6-1, 6-3.

The women also swept doubles play, led by a dominant 8-0 victory from Tehrani and junior Vicky Sekely.

The Villanova match followed an exhilarating upset victory over Syracuse on Friday afternoon.

Greco, Tehrani, and Sekely all won their singles matches, with Greco winning in three-set fashion at the number one slot and Tehrani easily dispatching Syracuse’s Maddie Kobelt 6-1, 6-0.

“We were so excited,” Tehrani said. “After the match, we ran towards Grecs because she’s our senior and we were so happy.”

The victories over the weekend brought the women to 5-2 in Big East play and 15-5 overall. The men’s side finished with a 2-1 record in conference play with a 14-7 mark overall. Both teams admit to

GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

Junior Charlie Caris is playing his best tennis of the year.

getting off to slow starts. As a result, though, they honed in, and are now playing their most focused, intense tennis of the season.

“I feel like we could’ve peaked earlier, but in a way, I’m glad that we are right before Big East,” Tehrani said. “It’s a perfect time for us.”

“The challenge there is going to be for us to not enjoy the Florida

sunlight too much and go out there, focus on the match,” Caris added.

It is likely that the Hoyas’ familiarity with some of their Big East foes will not play into their prospects at the Big East Tournament.

This notion remains especially relevant on the men’s team, as they have played just three schools in a loaded 16-team conference.

Still, the Hoyas hope their focused approach will yield a long run in the tournament—a big step for a program that has already taken significant strides this season.

“We’re really pumped because we want to show everyone how good we are as a team,” Tehrani said.

the Sports Sermon “We’re two warriors, man; we’re out there battling on the battlefield” -Celtics guard Delonte West after giving Gordon Hayward a wet willy during Monday’s game capital, Ottawa is one of the smallest major cities in North America. Like other small markets (think Oklahoma City), the city rallied around a singular team, instead of hedging allegiances among 10 professional sports teams like the New York market.

That trip, and a number of trips thereafter, resulted in a closet allegiance to the Senators, right up there with the Devils and Rangers. Still, I remained a passive follower of the sport, quietly hoping for a victory if I saw one of “my” three teams in an intense playoff battle.

Then, I did myself a favor and watched some games. This interest hit an apex with this past weekend’s slugfest between the Philadelphia Flyers

has sold out every season, and has drawn the league’s highOn a Sunday afternoon in est regular-season ratings. The mid-April, I fully expected to great majority of seasons since be watching some prime NBA that 2008 campaign have seen basketball. I might even throw similarly steady growth. some baseball into the mix, or I expect continued growth, maybe golf—neither is as exbut for a different reason. The citing as basketball or football, NHL thrives on its physicality, but I enjoy watching both. which often leads to absoluteThe last thing I expected to ly brutal fights. If I decide to be watching? Hockey. The last sucker-punch someone walkthing I expected to entrance ing down the street today, you me for two hours this weekcan bet I’ll be indicted on some end? Hockey. kind of charge, and rightly so.

Back in 2004, one of my But in hockey, that’s the norm. friends was legitimately disAmerica still loves that brutaltraught over the NHL lockout ity – for instance, last month’s that destroyed the entire hockscripted WrestleMania quickly ey season. became the hottest trending “Good,” I immaturely retopic on Twitter, a title it did plied to him. “This means not relinquish until the event they’ll focus on basketball was over. coverage.”

Sports conPete Rose Central The sad part is sumers’ love for Da bettin’ line that my comment hockey for this was not a reflecreason will remain Dookies Margin Hoyas tion of a disdain high, especially (underdogs) (duh!) for hockey, but an (favorites) with the concurinfatuation with rent scaling down Isaiah Employment everything the NFL Larry Brown of violent hits in Giants Scheduling Patriots and NBA had to ofthe NFL. Comfer. Hockey, to me, missioner Roger Bobby V Stupidity Ozzie just happened conGoodell still has currently, and was relegated and the Pittsburgh Penguins. the most popular entertainto the secondary channels be- The game itself was captivat- ment product on the market, cause no one cared. ing—an 8-4 offensive outburst but football’s former luster as About a year later, I went that would have made Mike the only sport for uninhibited to Ottawa, Canada and real- D’Antoni blush. And once violence is rapidly fading. ized very quickly that I had you’ve been engrossed in a When the violence is coubeen dead wrong. Hailing hockey game, you’re going to pled with the outright parity from New Jersey, I was well keep watching—each single of hockey, its resurgence is no aware that the Rangers had goal is an unbelievable mo- surprise. Right now, the eighttheir faithful, as did the Dev- mentum turn and can come at seeded Los Angeles Kings have ils, but by and large this was any second. a 3-0 series lead over the topa niche market of people who America is taking notice, seeded Vancouver Canucks. bizarrely did not want any too. The league struggled out These upsets are no surprise, part of a Knicks or Giants of the gate once games resumed though, as no league takes ingames. after the lockout, but it finally tensity to the next level quite But the Ottawa crowd lives began to turn things around in like the NHL. and breathes hockey, a revela- 2008, with increases in attenHockey has officially retion that took me back a step. dance and television ratings. turned to its pre-lockout pinArriving in the heat of the Perhaps this can be linked to nacle. Heck, it’s probably Stanley Cup playoffs, Ottawa the birth of the league’s Winter been back for a couple of Senators Red was everywhere. Classic, a savvy move to gener- years, and I’m just late to the This obsession makes perfect ate interest with an annual out- party. Either way, I won’t miss sense—despite being Canada’s door hockey game. The event it this time around.

by Kevin Joseph

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Lacrosse loses close battle to Irish Football set for spring game

by Steven Criss The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team faced No. 6 Notre Dame at home this past Sunday in a game that provided the Hoyas with a prime opportunity to battle into a higher spot in the Big East standings. At 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big East, a win against Notre Dame would have given the team muchneeded momentum going into the final two games of the season, and would have handed Notre Dame their first conference loss.

Unfortunately, the Hoyas were unable to build upon an impressive first half start, and faltered in the last two quarters to lose 9-7 and fall to 5-6 on the year.

With goals from Francis McDonough and Travis Comeau in the first quarter and an additional three from Zac Guy, Zack Angel, and Gerry Reilly in the second, Georgetown jumped to a 5-1 lead by the end of the half.

Head Coach Dave Urick was impressed by their performance early on and saw the team’s poten-

tial in those first two quarters. “They played well, you know,” he said. “I think that’s indicative of what they are capable of.”

After the half, though, Notre Dame’s offense went on the attack with six unanswered goals, until Jason McFadden scored for Georgetown to end the spree. The momentum quickly shifted after halftime and the Hoyas began to falter, giving the Irish numerous opportunities for close range shots on goal.

Both teams continued to play tough and physical throughout, despite Notre Dame’s increasing lead.

Five penalties on Georgetown in the third and fourth quarters took players out in key moments, adding to the pressure on the defensive half and allowing Notre Dame to capitalize.

“It seemed like we played an awful lot of defense in the third quarter, some of it was man-down defense, so you know that is what it is,” Urick said of the Irish comeback. “I think we got to give Notre Dame credit, they never lost their poise, they showed why they are

GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

Jason McFadden has transitioned seamlessly from midfield to attack.

The forgotten Hoyas For four years, Jason Clark and Henry Sims have had a very different Georgetown experience than their classmates—one that featured national television appearances, chartered flights, and the scrutiny of thousands of fanatics. Now that their final Hoya basketball season is over, however, they’ve got a lot in common with many of their fellow seniors— they’re just trying to find jobs.

The two players spent this past weekend in Portsmouth, Va., trying to bolster their resumes and impress potential employers. They were two of the 64 participants in the 60th Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the annual meat market for senior college basketball players looking for one last shot to impress professional scouts.

In the past, Portsmouth was a prestigious tournament, showcasing marquee matchups between top draft picks and even some future hall-of-famers. But the relevance of the tournament has

waned in recent years, for obvious reasons—very few seniors are sure-fire NBA prospects anymore.

Meanwhile, the small minority of seniors that are assured a spot on an NBA roster see no need to risk their draft positions on a couple of glorified exhibitions.

This year’s list of attendees featured a lot of names that even die-hard college fans wouldn’t recognize. Teamed up with guys like Greg Mangano (Yale) and Bryant Voiles (Augustana), Sims and Clark look like superstars. Sadly, it’s probably one of the last times the two Hoyas will stand out so clearly from their basketball peers.

In last year’s NBA draft, just three Portsmouth alumni were selected. Most of the success stories coming out of the tournament are players like Landry Fields and J.J. Barea—competent role-players in the NBA, but not much more.

The biggest names to come out of Portsmouth recently are Wes Matthews and Jeremy Lin, but neither

one of the better teams in the country …They just did what they needed to do, and we just didn’t close the deal. We had opportunities and didn’t get it done.”

As the temperature reached up to 75 degrees with slight humidity, the heat throughout the game took a toll on the players, with less substitution by the coaching staff making hydration and fatigue major issues.

“On a day like today it kind of seemed like we went from spring to summer in one day. Did we go deep enough early enough, you know we didn’t actually play that many more people than we normally would.

I’m kind of wondering now if we needed to get some other people out there in different roles,” Urick said.

“We’re getting a lot of miles out of just six midfielders, and I think as the weather starts to get warmer we have to take a look at that.”

Victories in the last two games of the season will be essential to keep from ending on a sour note.

With more work to be done on taking quality shots and keeping up the energy late into the game, the team will be hard at work preparing matches against Syracuse and Rutgers. With a substantial amount of seniors on this year’s squad, Coach Urick expects many of them to step up and lead the team out strongly.

“This was a chance for us to play our way back into the league standings a little bit. You know the key for us is that we have two more games that we got to deal with, and we got to make sure that we deal with it in a positive way.” was actually drafted after playing in the tournament. This year’s hopeful draftees can point to those two as proof that their NBA dreams are never dead, but they also show that the Portsmouth Invitational can hardly guarantee a ticket to an NBA roster.

Sims may actually be one of the lucky few who do ride a great weekend in Portsmouth to a spot in the draft. The late-blooming big man was named to the All-Tourna-

Double Teamed

by Tim Shine a rotating column on sports ment Team after posting averages of 13.7 points, nine rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in three games. More importantly, Sims impressed with his official measurements, verifying that he has the body to play center in the NBA. Sims measured out at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

That was good enough to earn him a spot in scouting site DraftExpress’s post-Portsmouth mock draft—as the 60th and final pick.

by Daniel Kellner Football season may still be a few months away, but excitement is already sky-high on the Hilltop. After years of being chained to the Patriot League cellar, the Hoyas (8-3, 4-2 Patriot League) defied preseason expectations in 2011 to finish just one game short of their first conference title. However, as the team prepares for its annual spring game this week, players and coaches are keen to combine their celebrations of recent success with determination to continue the steady climb to the Patriot League summit.

The program’s ascent has not been without bumps in the road, and this spring has been no different. In addition to the expected loss of several impact players to graduation, the Hoyas also introduced four new coaches, including a new offensive coordinator in Vinny Marino to replace the departed Dave Patenaude.

Head Coach Kevin Kelly, 2011 Patriot League Coach of the Year, has found the transition to Marino’s scheme to be seamless, having described his new colleague as “the total package.”

“To the casual fan [the offense] is going to look very similar,” Coach Kelly said. “Coach Marino has done a great job blending last year’s terminology into his system.”

The Hoyas can expect more defensive continuity within

Clark played pretty well too, scoring 11 points per game on 60 percent shooting while filling out the rest of the stat sheet with averages of 5.3 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Unfortunately, the most important statistic for Clark was his height: 6-foot-1. Sims will get a close look from the NBA because height is a scarce commodity, but undersized, fundamentally-sound combo guards are everywhere.

In a turn of fate that seems ironic only if you don’t know how professional basketball works, the best and most consistent Georgetown player in the draft is the least likely to be picked (early entrant Hollis Thompson is far from a sure thing, but he’s at least getting some second round buzz). It’s not the end of the world for Clark, who will likely join an impressive international Hoya diaspora.

Last year’s seniors—Austin Freeman (Italy), Chris Wright (Turkey), and Julian Vaughn (Belgium)—are the latest in a long line of former Georgetown stars who have found a way to make a liv-

coaching staff, but will still need to recover from the loss of several key contributors, including Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Schaetzke. Linebackers Robert McCabe and Jeremy Grasso will assume much of this responsibility as the new leaders of a defense that was instrumental to the Hoyas resurgence last season. While replacing the production and presence of a quarterback killer like Schaetzke will inevitably take time, McCabe and Grasso have helped inspire a determined work ethic this spring, laying a foundation for the program’s bright future.

“Their practice habits were awesome this spring,” Kelly said. “I really think that’s spilled over to the rest of the defense because the younger players we have really look up to those two guys.”

With senior leadership on defense and an injection of 20 years of experience from Marino on offense, the Hoyas look poised to challenge for the Patriot League crown once again. But it remains unclear whether the team can handle the burden of expectations, something it has altogether avoided in the past.

You can catch a glimpse of the 2012 Hoyas on Saturday at Multi-Sport Field as they play their final tune-up of the spring. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

ing playing basketball overseas.

The list stretches all the way back to John Thompson Jr. recruits like Kevin Braswell, who despite never cracking a regular-season NBA roster has still put together a decade-long pro career around the world (he currently plays in New Zealand).

Obviously, none of these players grew up hoping to play for the likes of Fulgor Libertas Forlí. The NBA is the brass ring that every college player reaches for, and like Clark and Sims, every one of those former Hoyas did everything he could to attract an NBA suitor before heading overseas.

In all likelihood, at least one of this year’s seniors will be joining them soon. It’ll surely be a disappointment, but if past Hoyas are any example, they’ll keep playing hard in hopes of one day cracking the NBA. As many of their classmates are learning, you can’t always get your dream job right out of college.

Say goodbye to Tim at tshine@ georgetownvoice.com

8 the georgetown voice

“

feature

april 19, 2012

Wait. I hate to do this, but we gotta start over.”

Allen Jones is playing his first gig as the leader of his own group. Seconds after dropping his drumstick from the ride cymbal, he and his fellow musicians launch head-on into “Diamond,” one of the 18-yearold’s original compositions. Despite the false start, the crowd at The Dunes receives him warmly.

It’s a clear day, and yellow rays of evening sun beam sideways through the windows at this small, airy art gallery in Columbia Heights. This is the D.C. Jazz Loft, a monthly event organized by CapitalBop.com, a blog dedicated to promoting jazz music in the District. To walk into here is to be instantly immersed in the city’s hip, creative class. Young people in skinny jeans and tribal patterns and older folks in their Sunday best lounge on the square sofas or swill drinks in the back of the room. Everyone is quiet, except for the occasional whoop or “yeah!” when a musician plays a good lick.

Two other veteran local groups, the D.C. Jazz Composers Collective and the Lyle Link Quartet, round out the event, and the audience swells throughout the night as they perform.

Both the D.C. Jazz Loft and CapitalBop.com are new additions to the jazz scene, according to website founder Giovanni Russonello.

CapitalBop.com started up in September 2010, and began presenting its own shows in December of 201l. Since the beginning, their goal has been to reach a unique audience—as Russonello put it, “students like [the Voice’s] readers, young people, and generally audiences that haven’t been as involved with the scene as they might like to.” Now the shows serve as lowcost options for D.C. jazz fans and as an opportunity for local musicians to cooperate and improvise in a lowpressure environment.

Saxophonist Lyle Link is part of a fertile underground jazz scene in D.C.

Federal city blues: Jazz in the District

by Gavin Bade

PHOTOS BY LUCIA HE

While the Jazz Loft may be a recent addition to the scene, the District has a long and storied history with the quintessential American genre. Besides being the hometown of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, whom many consider America’s finest composer of all time, the D.C. scene also includes the country’s longest continuously operating jazz and supper club, Blues Alley, along with the historic Bohemian Caverns, to name just two influential spots.

Georgetown History and AfricanAmerican Studies professor Maurice Jackson has enjoyed jazz in D.C. for over 40 years, and said that the scene decades ago was comprised of events similar to Capital Bop’s Jazz Loft.

“In the ‘70s there was a different jazz scene,” he said. “It was during the stage of free jazz. It was a loft jazz scene.” In particular, he mentioned a spot on 7th and F Street near the Verizon Center.

feature

georgetownvoice.com “And then of course the One Step Down was right in Georgetown, right between Georgetown and GW, and that was a thriving scene,” Jackson added.

The District’s status as a government town also provided musicians with work at high-society parties—government balls and the like, where Ellington plied his trade as a youngster. “You do have a tradition of jazz being played in clubs and at ‘society functions,’ which obviously are a huge deal in D.C.,” Russonello said. “So there’s always been a lot of opportunities for jazz musicians to get work, and for them to trade their talents and their innovations.”

Although the U Street corridor is a focal point in the jazz scene today, Jackson says this wasn’t always the case. By the ‘70s, the area “had sort of died down as a jazz scene, but there were [other] places,” he said. Many of the well-known clubs on the drag, like Twins Jazz or Utopia, had not yet opened, and Bohemian Caverns closed down after the 1968 riots swept the area and did not reopen until the economic revival of the late ‘90s.

But even without its traditional U Street anchor, the District’s jazz scene was still populated with talented and innovative musicians.

Local colleges—led by Howard University and the University of Maryland—churned out performance-ready musicians looking for work, while high schools like the Duke Ellington School of the Arts inaugurated new generations into the music. Russonello says that these institutions have always acted as “built-in supports” for jazz in the city, even during economically lean times.

The jazz scene has not been impervious to the District’s overall changes in demographics and economic breakdowns over the decades. During the ‘60s and ‘70s, D.C. “was still considered a sleepy, backwater Southern town,” Blues Alley Executive Director Harry Schnipper said. But, as the city acquired more government and professional jobs throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the growing white-collar crowd brought new, affluent listeners to the District, and new institutions opened to serve them.

“In the last 15 years, I think the jazz scene has really revived itself, along with the resuscitation of U Street and of a number of other areas that have become a lot more trafficked,” Russonello said. “People have really been opening up a lot more live venues and incorporating jazz into the greater entertainment scene.”

While this influx of listeners brought about more venues, the costs of attending these clubs have often proven prohibitive for lowerincome residents. Some of the biggest names around the city, like Blues Alley, Bohemian Caverns,

and Twins, routinely charge cover fees well over $40 for their most popular shows, plus drink minimums and surcharges.

“Blues Alley, fuck it, man,” Russonello said. “You’re gonna pay the $30, $40, $50 to get in, you’ll pay the $2.50 surcharge and then you’ll have to buy at least $10 in drinks...

And then there’s Twins and they’ve got at least $10 cover and $10 [drink or food] minimum.”

Not everyone thinks the price is too steep. “I don’t consider Bohemian Caverns or Twins expensive,” Jackson said. “You can’t expect to pay less than that.” Schnipper said that Blues Alley’s prices are not determined by their clientele, but rather by what the musicians want to charge. With only a limited number of seats, he says that high prices are a necessity when big names are playing, so that the club can pay the performer his or her asking price and still turn a profit. “The pricing structure is based on whatever the artist’s agent is demanding... People will say ‘Why don’t you bring [legendary trumpeter] Wynton Marsalis back?’ And I say I can, but it’ll cost you $250 a ticket,” Schnipper said.

The proliferation of these higher-cost clubs has also given rise to a vibrant underground scene, including the D.C. Jazz Loft. The club asks only for a $10 donation, which goes directly to the musicians.

Other low-cost options include jam sessions at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest, shows at HR-57 on 8th and H Street, and Latin jazz at Bossa Bistro in Adams Morgan, along with a number of bars and clubs that play jazz on occasion. Even some of the bigger clubs offer cheap shows. Bohemian Caverns boasts the District’s only resident big band, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, which plays every Monday night for seven dollars.

The unique sound of jazz in D.C. is best found at these smaller venues. As the city remains a stopping point for the biggest names in American and international jazz, and because these artists bring in the biggest crowds, high-profile club space is usually reserved for them. More importantly, smaller venues and jam sessions allow musicians to stretch out and explore new musical avenues.

The musicians at the D.C. Jazz Loft almost exclusively played their own compositions, whereas musicians at larger clubs will often fill sets with covers of standard tunes.

Anthony Pirog, an experimental jazz and rock guitarist, says that the lack of financial pressure allows him to do his own thing at underground gigs.

“The jazz lofts—I enjoy the concerts there…they asked me to put together a group and just do kind of a free improv kind of

thing,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it at Twins, but there, in that setting, it has a very free feel to it. There just isn’t a certain pressure to show up with a certain kind of group.”

While the music played at these smaller clubs varies widely on the surface, Russonello insists that there is a distinct brand of jazz on display in the underground scene.

“It’s very rooted in jazz as an extension of the blues lineage in the era of small-group playing,” he said. “But the point is...the experimental scene has a fluid membrane with the jazz scene, so there’s a lot of exchange back and forth.”

Artists like Pirog contribute to this conversation—his style incorporates elements of indie rock, classical, folk, and experimental

the georgetown voice 9 Not everyone finds the experimental side of the D.C. scene so alluring.

“I don’t know if it’s so much ‘jazz,’” Jackson said. His opinions echo those of many other classical jazz fans around the globe, who see jazz tightly bound to its roots in swing, blues, and bop. But this is the nature of jazz in D.C.—respectful and true to its roots, while simultaneously pushing those boundaries by incorporating musicians and ideas from other genres and backgrounds.

Even though the District has a rich jazz history and is home to some important musicians, it is almost certainly destined to remain a second-tier scene. New York has long been the global mecca for jazz,

18-year-old drummer Allen Jones leads his first combo at the DC Jazz Loft. music in addition to jazz. The dialogue also features a healthy roots influence. “They mixed the stuff like jazz, blues, rock-a-billy—all this stuff into an Americana, rootsbased music,” Pirog said.

According to Russonello, jazz in the District is also infused with the hyper-local brand of funk known as go-go. Heavily influenced by R&B, go-go has essentially stayed in the District since its development in the 1970s.

“People are using go-go influences because there is the occasional jazz musician who is really from D.C., who plays in go-go bands as well, or at least hears them,” he said. “Nowadays, the most common manifestation of the blues lineage is in hip-hop, so you have a lot of people who are bringing that influence into their jazz playing.”

The church has proven important as well. Besides providing steady weekly gigs for musicians and a place to meet and work with other artists, gospel music lends to much of D.C.’s earthy, hard bop-influenced style, and offers an opportunity for artists to gain exposure in the community.

and it continues to exert that influence today. Many of the District’s most talented musicians have relocated to the Big Apple, at least temporarily, to try to make it big.

Historically, this has included the likes of Duke Ellington and bassist Butch Warren, a legendary sideman during the hard-bop era.

The trend continues today with musicians like D.C.-born bassist Ben Williams, who won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2009 and relocated to New York thereafter. However, many of these artists keep their D.C. influences long into their careers beyond the metro area. Ellington never let go of the colorful phrasing and intricate chordal arrangements he concocted so he could play under the voices of statesmen at high-society capital parties while still performing interesting music.

Similarly, Ben William’s latest album State of Art carries go-go influences all but unknown to nonWashingtonians. It seems you can take a jazzman out of the District, but you can’t take the District out of the jazzman.

Even if it is a smaller, less prestigious scene, D.C. has certain elements that New York lacks. “There is a lot of truth to the idea that in New York people are just playing chops all the time, and trying to sound all wild and out and on the next thing when they’re really sort of on their own thing,” Russonello said. “Whereas in D.C., it’s like, ‘Alright, what can everyone get together around? What can we all connect with?’” New York may have a reputation for more innovation in the music, but the D.C. scene offers “music that is both for the musicians and the audience.”

The sense of community in the District jazz scene also distinguishes it from its New York counterpoint.

Where bigger scenes are cutthroat and careerist, the comparatively uncompetitive nature of the District means the true assets of the music— communication, dialogue, respect, and love—can take center stage.

This friendly atmosphere was evident at the D.C. Jazz Loft. Not even out of high school at Duke Ellington, Jones was welcomed with open arms by the veteran musicians at the event. “Beautiful music, man,” one artist offered after his set. “It sounds good!” one of the audience members yelled at him after a solo.

Perhaps this communal nature is the most important element of the D.C. jazz scene, as it encourages not only comfortable collaboration and exchange between musicians, but also the opportunity for new artists to enter the scene.

“If you come in and you’ve got the ability, and you jive with cats, yeah, you can make it into the scene,” Russonello said. “But, being that it’s a community, you learn the names, you learn how to play with everybody... and you’ll get taken under a wing.”

That certainly seems to be what happened with Jones. “He [Russonello] asked me to play for the first Jazz Loft actually. There was a group called the U Street All-Stars, and I got into that because I was playing on U Street at the time at Utopia,” Jones said. As for his first time leading a group, he said, “I enjoyed it. I always like playing my compositions because it’s always a different experience, because I always use different people.”

The D.C. Jazz Loft embodies a feeling that may be the one aspect that unites all jazz in D.C., whether it is a ritzy show at the Kennedy Center or a jam session at a local church—a happiness and respect for the music and those who play it, and a recognition of its significance for the District community.

“There’s never any negativity on this scene,” Russello said. “It’s a good place to learn and be a part of it, but what I also want to emphasize is that it’s a great place to listen. It’s music that’s made for the listener.”

leisure

10 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

Julien Isaacs throws some glitter and makes it rain

by Mary Borowiec In the basement of a Burleith apartment, the floor of Julien Isaacs’s (SFS ’12) art studio is covered in an inch of glitter. These are the remnants of his latest work of glitter-based iconic images, from a glitter sphinx statue outside his apartment to a glitter painting of Madonna. From this explosion of sparkles, Isaacs has taken Georgetown and the D.C. art community, by storm. Divine Chaos, his exhibit at the Adams Morgan coffeehouse Tryst, is running until May 31 after a sold-out opening night on April 5.

As Isaacs puts it, Divine Chaos is “sparkly fabulousness.” Featuring 14 pieces, which the artist chose to represent the most “emblematic of American culture,” the Tryst exhibit showcases glitter-based pop images from Gaga to Obama.

As Isaacs originally designed the display to feature three times as many pieces as the space permitted, each work was specially selected to comment on our celebrity and image-obsessed society.

Whitney Houston stands at the center of the exhibit, which Isaacs

said was an homage to her “enormous talent and tragic, cut-short career.” Contrasting the undeniably talented Houston is an image of Kim Kardashian, who “represents the pseudo-celebrity,” Isaacs said. “The Paris Hilton-type of fame, who everyone in our society nevertheless knows.”

Meanwhile, strategically positioned images of Snooki and President Obama serve as a “foil of American culture.” The image of the popular Jersey Shore persona stands out against the iconic silhouette of Obama, which represents “an image of hope that never truly manifested.”

“It is that image of Obama that will resonate far beyond the legacy of Obama’s presidency,” Isaacs said. “And I want to capture those images as they resonate with us.”

Amongst these images, Lady Gaga and Kanye West also take center stage, along with a small glitter image of the Buddha. The Buddha, even cast in sparkles, embodies what the artist sees as a representation of the small but significant “corners of serenity in the world we live in.”

Divine Chaos based on this notion that celebrity causes both chaos and divinity in society.”

But beyond the deeper artistic significance of his work, it’s really

obsessed generation,” he said.

And for these popular and neardivine images, Isaacs decided that the best way to depict them was “doused in light.”

It was an effort to capture the beauty of light itself that first led Isaacs to glitter as a medium. It was not until his time studying abroad in China, he says, that he realized what power this very simple element has. “Light is really the most beautiful thing,” he said. “Light defines beauty in the world.”

“For me it has been about capturing that light in my art,” he said.

“Glitter does that. It is a little piece of heaven—a visual sensation, but in a way fabulously simple. All it takes is shifting one’s gaze over a work to see it sparkle, to catch the light.”

The use of a simple arts-andcrafts staple has transformed the Georgetown senior’s art into a local sensation, from his sparkledoused chihuahuas adorning the walls of Midnight Mug to Divine Chaos in Adams Morgan.

And like many great artists, Isaacs’ work is a reflection of the way he lives, or the way he wishes to live.

“My genre is pop art, pop icons, that resonate in the time we are living in now. It is about making a lifestyle around it. And I’m ready to have a glittery lifestyle.”

lumbia Heights restaurant opening later this year will be called the Kangaroo Boxing Club instead.

Because food trucks are all the rage from Los Angeles to D.C., the trend of trucks serving as training wheels for physical restaurants seems odd. After all, grounded establishments like Surfside and Sweetgreen progressed in the opposite direction, only adding trucks to their operations after thriving in restaurants. Even José Andrés now offers a taste of Minibar to us plebian masses with his new truck, Pepe.

A look at restaurant codes, however, explains the wave of trucks searching for permanent homes.

As food-on-wheels entered into the mainstream over the past few years, individual cities scrambled to regulate the trendy trucks with a heap of ordinances. In L.A., food trucks need to post letter grades given out by health regulators. In Chicago, vendors were originally not allowed to prepare any food within the trucks themselves. Here in the District, trucks need to own or rent a licensed kitchen space to store and cook their cuisine.

For Pleasant Pops, it was a simple matter of economics. As Horowitz remarked, “you already need a

licensed kitchen, so it makes sense if we’re paying crazy rent for that, we might as well have our own store.”

The new Pleasant Pops Farmhouse Market and Café will offer the traditional menu of popsicles, along with sandwiches and a farmers’ market-esque grocery section filled with the same local dairy and produce that go into the icy treats.

But despite the stability that a brick-and-mortar store offers, running one also presents challenge not faced on the open road.

“Last Friday, our architect told us we needed splash-proof ceilings if we’re going to be making sandwiches,” Horowitz said. “We might get too crazy with the tomatoes and send some juice flying.”

The idea and name for this concept-driven show derived from the artist’s desire to explore the preeminence of the celebrity in everyday society. “Individuality is the seed of all chaos,” he explained.

“I designed and named the exhibit

all about the glitter. The medium lends the exhibit a high degree of, to borrow a term from Isaacs’ aesthetic inspiration, Kimora Lee Simmons, “fabulosity.”

“I am very much a kid of our pop culture- and celebrity-

Julien Isaacs

“Yes, just put some glitter on; that will definitely make you more attractive.”

Pleasant Pops takes off its training wheels for new store

by Heather Regen In Adams Morgan, the cost of fame is steep, but it comes with delicious perks. For $1,000, anyone can become a “Pop Star” at Pleasant Pops—an honor which involves naming your own flavor and getting a free popsicle every time you walk through the door of the store, which opens this July. The Pleasant Pops D.C. food truck started out as a single pushcart at farmers’ markets in 2010, but with two years of experience and the help of a Kickstarter campaign, Pleasant Pops co-owners Brian Sykora and Roger Horowitz are rolling their business into a full-fledged store.

“It was a natural progression,” Horowitz said. “We’ve always wanted to open a store, but didn’t have the time or money until now.”

He and Sykora moved to D.C. after graduating from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to work on the Obama campaign, but missed the Mexican street carts that sold paletas, or ice pops loaded with fresh fruit, back home in New York.

Using local dairy and seasonal fruits, the two friends crafted their own grown-up versions of the popsicles in whimsical flavors like Avocado

Cream and Peach Ginger, selling them out of the food truck they named “Big Poppa.”

But while Pleasant Pops wins hipster points for sourcing smallfarm dairy and holding membership with Think Local First, the business is part of a rising trend. When the store on Florida Avenue and 18th Street opens, it will be the sixth food truck in the D.C. area to transition to a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

District Taco, which also hoped to fill D.C.’s void of authentic Mexican fare, now operates a restaurant in Arlington and is opening another location on F Street this spring. Once a single truck, Sauca did not stop at opening up a store in Arlington—it now bills itself as a “global lifestyle brand,” and its website advertises the chance to cash in on “owning a gourmet food truck franchise.”

El Floridano and D.C. Empanadas are also settling down with permanent restaurants, but perhaps the most amusing truck-turned-establishment is PORC, which stands for Purveyors of Rolling Cuisine.

PORC’s owners Josh Saltzman and Trent Allen recognized the irony in calling a sit-down restaurant “rolling,” so the name had to go. Food Truck Fiesta reported that the Co-

Pleasant Pops

“Hey, other food trucks, why don’t you suck on these Pleasant Pops?”

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 11

“Kevin, you’re such a disease. ” — Home alone

Mock horror fans get Cabin fever Reviews, Haiku’d lez’hur ledger

by John Sapunor

Let’s meet the cast of The Cabin in the Woods: there’s Dana (Kristen Connolly), a moderately attractive college student waiting to be deflowered by the right guy, and her best friend Jules (Anna Hutchinson), a more experienced blonde who is being courted by football stud Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth).

Accompanied by conspiracytheory pothead Marty (Franz Kranz) and not-so-stupid jock Holden (Jesse Williams), they go to Curt’s cousin’s cabin in a setting that looks straight out of a hick-infested History Channel. Sounds like a classic horror movie setup, right?

Well, yes, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

There is very little that can be said about The Cabin in the Woods without spoiling anything, but I can tell you this—creator Joss Whedon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) has pieced together a film that, despite its scary pretenses, transcends the horror genre. Cabin contains too much comedy, too much metaphysics, and too much social commentary to carry the label

of a simple horror movie, but as soon as viewers are willing to accept this minor setback, they will reap boundless rewards from the satirical gem.

The film proves a little too self-aware to be a standard tongue-in-cheek horror movie; within the first five minutes, a subplot is unleashed, hinting that Cabin may be going for more than the shrieks and laughter evoked by horror-comedies like Scream. Unfortunately, an unspoken oath has been reached by film critics everywhere to avoid spoiling this subplot at all costs. If you’re trying to guess it yourself, don’t bother—if you can come up with this, then nothing in life surprises you and you lead a sad existence.

Which is really too bad, because Cabin’s rebellion against clichés is as refreshing as it is surprising, funny, and mind-bending.

The least applicable word associated with this movie is, ironically, “scary”—aside from a few peek-through-your-finger buildups, the “frightening” scenes are oozing with kitschy, Kill Bill- style gore.

It may sound like I’m pitching this movie to you, but the critic’s code of secrecy must be

This baggage is emotional

Have you ever wondered what happens to all that luggage that is never picked up from the baggage claim? I haven’t. I don’t even know anybody who checks luggage anymore, because of those ridiculous baggage fees. But apparently it’s a pressing matter, and Spike TV is hoping to capitalize on this obvious gap in the reality programming schedule with its newest series, Luggage Wars.

Currently in production, Spike’s new series has all the elements of a quirky, cable auction show, but instead of rifling through abandoned storage containers for valuable antiques, the cast of Luggage Wars will seek a profit by bidding on unclaimed baggage that travelers leave behind at airports. Using night vision goggles, metal detectors, and even handheld ultrasounds, these baggage bidders are looking for more than toothpaste and pantyhose—the producers promise ancient artifacts, dazzling jewelry, and stacks of cash in the

inaugural season. Assuming that there’s enough abandoned luggage to prolong the series, it will fit neatly into a burgeoning genre of auction television that includes A&E’s Storage Wars and Storage Wars: Texas, Discovery’s Auction Kings, History’s Pawn Stars, and Spike’s highest-rated unscripted series Auction Hunters.

Antiques Roadshow this new genre is not. Take the original— and most popular—auction show, Storage Wars, as an example. The show has an energizing cast. Dave Hester brings competitive antagonism and guile. Jarrod Schultz and girlfriend Brandi Passante combine bickering with cutesiness. Darrell Sheets serves up redneck charm and blunt honesty. And Barry Weiss couples seasoned antiquing experience with a childlike exuberance. Together, the four groups battle it out each week to try to squeeze out a profit from buying Los Angeles-area storage lockers and selling their contents. The rival-

honored. Trust me, the movie spelled out the punishments for plot spoilers. But it’s your lucky day, reader, as I’ve finally summoned enough courage to give you a taste of the metaplot. Have you ever seen Step Brothers? You know the dad in that movie, played by Richard Jenkins? What if I were to tell you that he and Bradley Whitford, the infamous portrayer of Billy Madison antagonist Eric, gave the most irresistible performances of the year? Where they fit into the story is up to you to find out.

If you’re not drooling by now, then clearly Cabin is not your cup of tea. However, if you’re a die-hard Evil Dead fan, or if genre-mockers like Airplane and Shaun of the Dead make your lips quiver, Whedon has cooked up a wild, nonsensical remedy to your eclectic movie appetite’s woes.

Oh, and one more thing—did I mention there’s a cameo from an actor or actress who starred in a classic horror movie (if it can be called a horror movie) near The Cabin in the Wood’s skull-wrenching climax? No? In that case, just see the goddamn movie already. ries are entertaining. The speedtalking is baffling. But ultimately, the show is all about the finds.

A set of vintage vending machines, a collection of newspapers dating back to the day Elvis died, a piggy bank in the shape of a gorilla—the quirkier, the better. Storage Wars has certainly produced some interesting finds, but not all of them are particularly valuable. It’s not every day that a storage locker contains a

trash talk

by Keaton Hoffman a bi-weekly column about reality television mint-condition copy of Action Comics Number 1 (priced at over two million dollars, it is currently the most expensive item ever discovered in an abandoned storage). In fact, the vast majority of the items found on Storage Wars aren’t much more exciting than a mattress. But even if Barry finds a fake Rolex or Jarred and Brandi get stuck with a futon, we’re still hooked. It is clear, then, that the

The Avengers This new Marvel film Guarantees more one-liners Than you can Hulk-smash.

LOL Title says it all Let’s just hope Miley Cyrus Does not try to sing.

The Raven Bringing Allan Poe To life? Yes, let’s! To hell with Historical facts.

The Five-Year Engagement Another movie Where the trailer gives away All the funny bits.

Safe While Jason Statham Can shoot things on screen, he still Can’t shoot a real film.

Think Like a Man This movie promotes Heteronormative thoughts Do not waste your cash.

discovery of high-valued goods alone is not what fuels the show’s impressive ratings.

Whether you’re sitting around the TV in a retirement home or pounding some Natty pre-Rhino, there’s something about finding a pistol, whether it’s either Civil War-era or squirt, that sparks the curiosity of a broad audience. In that light, the appeal of the auction genre to American audiences boils down to originality and promise.

The auction-genre reality programming offers the unexpected.

In the modern market, we’re bombarded with products that all promise to be new and exciting, but often the roaring cacophony of consumerism drowns out any individuality or uniqueness. Modern companies try to fix this by allowing consumers to customize everything from burgers to boogie boards. But in Storage Wars, each locker is a one-of-a-kind surprise. Much like the wonder of opening a fortune cookie, each locker holds something uniquely special that you can’t find at your local Wal-Mart or on Amazon.

Add on even a small chance that your locker holds a Rockwell original or an ancient Egyptian urn, and the show’s appeal starts to make sense.

In an era of budget slashing and penny pinching, the idea that there’s opportunity out there resonates with American audiences.

Whether that opportunity is hidden in a suitcase, storage locker, or in a president, Americans still hold on to the idea that hope is out there. And while it may seem like a stretch to say that Storage Wars is restoring America’s sense of hope, it is undeniable that the show gets at something deeper than materialism. In the same way that the California gold rush spawned mass westward migrations on the promise of creating a better life, auction genre television is reigniting the American spirit for adventure and (hopefully) prosperity—albeit from underneath that pile of socks you stuffed in your lost luggage.

Dump your baggage on Keaton at khoffman@georgetownvoice.com

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

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

DragonForce, The Power Within, Roadrunner Records Despite, or perhaps because of, its constantly shifting roster of members, British power-metal band DragonForce has always framed its music around guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, whose guitar solos never cease to blow the listener’s mind—and maybe the eardrums as well. And while relying so heavily on the duo has allowed the amorphous band to create a stable sound, such consistency is also largely due to the band’s maturity. As a standalone album, this year’s The Power Within is, for all intents and purposes, perfect.

Surprisingly, the LP does not begin with a rampaging guitar solo, as one might expect from the band sometimes that has been called “Bon Jovi on speed.” Instead, album opener “Holding On” witnesses Li and Totman building up momentum to

a comparatively subdued series of guitar riffs. The track also introduces new lead singer Marc Hudson, whose slightly mellow voice shines above the breakneck pace of the drums, hopefully winning over fans concerned about former singer ZP Theart’s departure from the band.

The introduction is short-lived, as DragonForce quickly launches into its signature solos and formulaic but effective song structure on “Fallen World” and “Give Me the Night.”

These tracks maintain a respectable loyalty and commitment to the band’s origins without appearing unnecessarily derivative—no old melodies find themselves recycled into the newest album.

The Power Within also occasionally branches off into a more experimental realm, which sacrifices speed in favor of style. “Wings of Liberty,” for instance, begins with a Styx-like vocal and piano introduction and builds into a heavy drum-driven gallop that occasionally smoothly interfaces with a classic rock-style guitar solo. The acoustic version of the album’s “Seasons” is another gem: Hudson’s smooth voice and the band’s superior vocal harmonization combine with acoustic guitar runs à la In Flames. This break from metal puts a rare emphasis on DragonForce’s fantasy-themed, hope-against-all-odds lyrics. But no DragonForce song is complete with-

Wes up with these films?

There’s nothing like a new Wes Anderson movie. For many fans, he has yet to release a poor film, and at his best, the acting, coolness, and sheer re-watchability of his films is unmatched among contemporary directors. Like his past achievements, Anderson’s upcoming feature Moonrise Kingdom will prove that Wes has maintained his status as a profoundly original director despite his allegedly homogenous filmography.

If there’s one criticism reviewers jump on when reviewing a Wes Anderson film, it’s that his films are increasingly formulaic. Why, they ponder, does he have to use slow motion four or five times per movie? Why does he insist on pretentious dialogue? How does he brainwash Bill Murray to keep signing on for his films? Could Bill Murray be locked up in the director’s basement? In response, Anderson fans

have elected a go-to defense of this purported filmmaking “formula” to refute these shoddy grievances: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

In 1996, Wes Anderson broke into the world of cinema with Bottle Rocket, offering a slight glimpse into his quirky world of dysfunctional families, depressed has-beens, and ‘60s Britpop. Following Bottle Rocket, Anderson’s movies recycled credit fonts, color schemes, film composers, and, most noticeably, a handful of recurring actors. If it’s not Owen Wilson, it’s Luke Wilson.

If it’s not the Rolling Stones or the Kinks, it’s David Bowie. Anderson has clearly found a method to the madness that can be filmmaking, and the enigmatic products of this method have placed him at the forefront of independent cinema.

Sure, he cannot help but indulge his movies with his idiosyncrasies, but since his films are born and

out some manner of guitar showmanship—the vocals in the acoustic “Seasons” soon melt into a classical guitar solo whose pure elegance rivals the speed of any of the band’s past works.

The more things change, the more DragonForce stays the same.

The Power Within proves that no switch up of members or experimentation can curtail the virtuosity if the group—as long as Li and Totman keep shredding, DragonForce will live on.

Voice’s Choices: “Seasons (Acoustic),” “Wings of Liberty” —Kirill Makarenko

Maps & Atlases, Beware and Be Grateful, Barsuk Records With the recent success of artists like Fun., Kimbra, and Neon Trees, the music market is starting to feel a little overloaded with quirky indie nurtured in these idiosyncrasies, there’s little sense in sacrificing them for range.

Sure, his characters from movie to movie seem to mimic one another, especially considering that the same actor may be portraying both characters. But how often does a character as iconic as Steve Zissou

Box office, Baby!

by John Sapunor a bi-weekly column about film emerge on the silver screen? How could a Max Fischer come from anyone but Anderson’s hands? The director’s detractors fallaciously associate his signature style with derivative content; the fonts, camera shots, and music may be similar, and hell, the back-and-forth bursts of dialogue have become perennial fixtures in his films. But the range of his enticing characters keeps each movie fresh and distinctive—

pop. Which makes Beware and Be Grateful, the latest release from Chicago experimental rockers Maps & Atlases, a small breath of fresh air— the band’s jangly guitars, lo-fi percussion, and bubbly vocals set them apart in a sea of homogenous synthesizers. Unfortunately, though, Beware’s splintering components do not meld into a cohesive album, and the resulting album is significantly less than the sum of its parts.

The album shows promise with opener “Old and Gray.” The lyrics are elegant—vocalist Dave Davidson sweetly sings “When you are old and gray/ I hope that someone holds you the way I would”—and the multilayered backing harmonies develop a feel reminiscent of Bon Iver. But though the song sounds great the first time, it loses its value soon afterwards, as the listener becomes disenchanted with its catchy guitar riffs and harmonies and realizes how painfully overdone the instrumentation really is. This feeling persists for nearly every song on the record. In what seems to be an active effort to mold into the sound delivered by many of its contemporaries, Maps & Atlases delivers tracks that are forced-folksy and overly cheesy, like “Winter” and “Silver Self.”

The main problem that plagues this album is that guitars, percussion, and samples obfuscate good ideas. As a result, there is an apparthe style carries over from movie to movie, but the novelty of his films’ substance never wanes. This stylistic consistency does not keep him from starting carte blanche with character and plot developments.

Anderson’s persistence is admirable. As directors become aware of the way their works overlap, they generally react one of two ways. The first, as in the case of David Cronenberg, is to drop directorial idiosyncrasies in attempt to abide by understood genre techniques (1983’s Videodrome is all Cronenberg, whereas 2007’s Eastern Promises has the makings of a gritty Michael Mann film). On the other side is Anderson. His movies never oscillate between Wes and non-Wes movies—they’re all 100 percent him, as all of Quentin Tarantino’s films are 100 percent Tarantino. And like Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, critics will always dwell on Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs as the pinnacle of Tarantino’s output.

ent lack of continuity within each song, as well as on the album as a whole. “Be Three Years Old,” which sounds like a bad Vampire Weekend knockoff, exemplifies the lack of blend and, ultimately, makes many of the songs quite unmemorable.

The innovation that the band delivered in the past, however, is still discernable in a few tracks, which should keep fans hopeful for their future releases. On “Fever,” we find one of the only examples of a song where the little things—a tempo in flux, soft but steady percussion— come together wonderfully to deliver an anthemic tune that stands above the rest of the album’s songs.

Though it is apparent that Maps & Atlases is trying to get away from its harder-to-listen-to roots, the band falls incredibly short on Beware and Be Grateful.

On what could have been a great record, the hodge-podge of musical components gets lost in translation, and lacks the re-playability that makes catchy indie rock so successful. Although the LP delivers a bunch of fun songs that you can tap your foot along to at an Urban Outfitters, that’s about all we can expect from this album.

Voice’s Choices: “Fever,” “Important” —Shom Mazumder To these critics’ credit, it may be impossible to top the coolness of Max Fischer’s slow-mo elevator exit in Rushmore set to The Who, but comparing that to the coolness of Steve Zissou smoking a joint in slow motion to David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” is as inconclusive as a debate over chocolate and vanilla ice cream. They’re both delicious, they’re made from practically the same ingredients, yet each has its own unique appeal.

As we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom will have no surprises—there will inevitably be traces of Royal Tenenbaum and Max Fischer in its characters. Still, from the trailer alone, fans can already pick up one noticeable deviation in Moonrise Kingdom—the font. It looks like we may be entering Wes Anderson’s cursive period.

Send films of your Bottle Rocket to jsapunor@georgetownvoice.com

georgetownvoice.com

page thirteen

the georgetown voice 13

voices

14 the georgetown voice

april 19, 2012

Emotions and self-expression should not be taboo

by Julia Tanaka I was stalking my brother on Facebook last week when I came across a photo of him in stage make-up, posted by a girl who was working on the school musical. She clearly had too much free time. I nearly clicked past it, until I saw the comment that someone had left: “gay homo fag.”

I spent the next five minutes in a mix of disbelief, rage, and hope that my brother was too busy being obsessed with basketball and other things, like being 12 years old, to notice. At first, I considered the idea that his Facebook friend probably didn’t understand the full implication of what he was saying. Then I looked up the commenter’s Facebook and saw that he was actually 15. That, I felt, gave me full rights to go after him—assuming he wasn’t lying about his age.

I proceeded to tell a close friend about the incident, expressing my frustration at how my younger brother had to suffer from the

perpetuation of homophobia. My friend’s response was that I should calm down. “You’re overreacting,” he said.

“Sorry,” I responded. “I just have a lot of feelings.” I apologized immediately for expressing emotion, and the intensity of that emotion, even among people I trusted.

I corrected myself, steering away from anger into more “acceptable” emotions. I listened to this friend, and in apologizing for my emotions I removed all of their power.

I satisfied the status quo.

The two incidents are entirely related. Both indicate the way that, even as we conceive ourselves to be moving toward an age of equality, the norm of invalidating the experience of minorities still eclipses any progress. Minorities are repeatedly told that they will never be anything beyond two-dimensional stereotypes. Any complexity is immediately filed away under “Woman,” or “Hispanic,” or “Gay.” As an Asian female, I’ve experienced this numerous times: people repeatedly asking, each

time more slowly and loudly than the last, where I’m supposedly “really” from, or interrupting me midsentence to tell me how good my English is. Each time, these people are surprised that my face is not a passport, and that it also isn’t an invitation to ask stupid questions. Stereotypes reduce rich and human experiences into a flattened narrative that suits the majority. This has been done for all minorities—race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

If a boy has make-up on in a photo, he must be gay. If a woman becomes upset, it’s because she’s too volatile, emotional, or, my personal favorite, that she must be on her period—since hormones totally invalidate opinions. I’ve long been of the school of thought that people with thyroids shouldn’t be allowed to vote, but, of course, those are just my feelings. The majority exerts a tyranny of an inconceivable scale, to the point that I felt obligated to apologize for emotions that I knew were true and valid. The dichotomy between

feelings and irrationality is a false one, but somehow we still subscribe to it.

When someone calls my brother a “faggot,” I am angry. My anger is valid. I am angry that I was not able to protect him from the world, and that I didn’t do enough to protect him from this kind of poison. I know that it’s unrealistic to believe that I could keep him from harm, and that it’s a discredit to my brother’s strength if I perceive him as some delicate flower. But goddamn if I can’t still be angry that some kid thinks it’s acceptable to use those words without reverence for hatred that they are afforded.

And goddamn if I am not angry that twelve-year-olds still see homosexuality as a negative thing, associated with concocted traditional notions of femininity. And goddamn if I am not angry that a declaration of emotion is considered an overreaction.

Language is the living evidence of thought. It is a huge influence and indicator of what we perceive as normative. This kind

charity wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command.

To aid us in this imperative, our school worked closely with local San Diego missionaries who were doing inspiring work building houses in Mexico or spreading literacy in Mauritania. Usually after a brief video showing starving babies covered in flies, these missionaries would teach us the tools of the trade—mosquito nets, ministry, and moral ab-

solutism. One of these motivational speakers was a young man named Jason Russell, founder of Invisible Children and the filmmaker behind the Kony 2012 viral video that blew up this March and has been viewed over 100 million times since.

I remember seeing Russell speak for the first time as a brace-faced, bespectacled seventh grader. Just by buying an Invisible Children bracelet and spreading my awareness to others, Russell preached that I could make a difference. To a prepubescent boy, this message of empowerment was enticing, and I quickly caught the charity bug.

Throughout middle and high school I built a total of 16 shoddy houses in Tijuana, Mexico, regularly volunteered at a soup kitchen, raised money by fasting in solidarity with those suffering in famines, and went to Waco, Texas, to participate in a poverty simulation so I could understand what it was like to be homeless. I’d been given so much, how could I not share my blessings with the world?

When I watched the Kony 2012 video this March, however, I felt an unfamiliar rush of emotions— uneasiness, skepticism, and even disgust. With an SFS-educated lexicon now tooled with 10-cent phrases like “cultural imperialism” and “white savior industrial complex,” this time I was quick to realize how films like Kony 2012 simplified complex sectarian strife in sub-Saharan Africa, marginalized regional voices, and cast Africans as helpless victims of “evil” men.

I was frustrated as I attempted

to reconcile these ideas with my wonder-filled seventh-grade self, who had been enamored by similar videos not too long ago.

Looking back on my service experiences I was haunted by a sea of questions. Had all of my hours spent in the hot Mexican sun building homes been spent in an effort to exert my cultural, religious, and intellectual superiority over the economically disenfranchised? Was my work with the black homeless population in Waco based on some racist notion that minorities aren’t good enough to help themselves?

Were all of my service hours wasted on harboring up happy emotions of self-fulfillment with no regard for the wellbeing of others or sensitivity to native culture?

Having the dualistic identity of a top-tier liberal arts university and a religiously affiliated body dedicated to holistic service of the global community, Georgetown is an institutional manifestation of the conflict between Russell’s emotionally compelling narrative and my cerebral analysis of the issues that plague development in the third world. A Georgetown education placates the conflict by marrying passion for the others with intelligent solutions for helping those that people. So how do we address campaigns with all the right intentions that miss the mark policy-wise?

For starters, there’s nothing wrong with empathy, compassion, or heartbreak. Jason Russell is no political scientist, aid economist, or historian. He is a man who saw tragedy and cared. But after the release

of language is an example of the tyranny of ignorance and fear, and it is the whip with which the socially privileged choose to strike others into submission. To demonize the minority. To hurt.

Vilifying certain traits to fit the majority is not the path to a civilized society. Ignoring the opinions of an entire sector of people shows only tacit oppression—it ignores the very basic fact that sexuality takes many forms, and destroys the complexity of experience necessary to continue to write fair and balanced legislation. As long as our culture continues to demean individuals based on what their inherent characteristics are supposed to mean, and as long as we suffer from a structural sapping of privilege based on birth, we will never achieve true liberty.

Julia Tanaka is a freshman in the SFS. She won’t be satisfied until there’s a 5-foot-2 transgendered Chinese-American president.

A misunderstood mission: U.S. charitywork misses the mark

by Keaton Hoffman Growing up in an evangelical Christian household and attending a fundamentalist Christian high school, charity and service were held next to godliness. Each year our school sent off groups of students to preach the gospel and do charity work. Whether in Thailand, the Dominican Republic, or South Africa, we had God’s work to do—

This man later stopped to take his next Facebook profile picture.

FLICKR

of Kony 2012, Russell was bombarded with relentless criticism from the media and academia for his simplicity, naiveté, and stupidity. The backlash drove Russell into a psychotic state that involved a naked public breakdown and hospitalization in a mental facility.

Instead of disparaging young people for misunderstanding the rational choice theory behind authoritarianism or confusing Idi Amin with Elliot Yamin, we ought to be figuring out how to channel that passion for those less fortunate into something productive. While buying a bracelet in solidarity with child soldiers may be a misguided way to stop African warlords, the sympathy behind that purchase is pure.

The problem is that academia and the media disregard the youth, choosing instead to market their superior intellect on development and aid to elites. This is a mistake. If the Kony 2012 phenomenon has taught us anything, it’s that millennials, and not just those in America’s top universities, sincerely care about the poor, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised and that those feelings can spur them to act. Hopefully the next viral video to permeate the Twittersphere will come from the intelligentsia, and forward a development or humanitarian mission that actually makes a difference.

Keaton Hoffman is a junior in the SFS. Now if he goes to Nicaragua to build a house, it’s in between sips of mojitos.

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice

15

You may be able to pay for school, but you can’t buy class

by Ambika Tripathi When the recession began in the United States in the fall of 2008, American universities felt the hit in all of their main sources of revenue—fewer students able to pay high tuition, attendance down at sporting events, and donors contributing significantly less to endowments. Georgetown, for one, set priorities based on financial constraints by attempting to stifle staff layoffs and focusing alumni money on financial aid.

Other colleges, in direr budget straits than Georgetown, had to find other ways to cut costs and increase revenue. Many universities throughout the U.S. resolved to cancel hundreds of classes—in the process laying off adjunct professors and delaying hiring tenure-track positions.

These decisions have caused remaining classes to grow overcrowded, reducing the amount of time each student gets with the professor.

Santa Monica College, however, has taken a different ap-

FLICKR

Barack Obama wants the Department of Education to do more to reduce tuition.

When I first heard there was a mole at Fox News, I was pretty damn excited. For years I have hoped for a popular backlash against not only Fox News, with its blatantly fearmongering conservative agenda, but all the major American news networks, which consistently embellish, distort, and manipulate facts to boost both network ratings and the political stances they subscribe to.

But after a week of behind-thescenes leaks from “America’s most trusted news network,” I feel little more than disappointment for a lost opportunity to instigate a desperately needed change in the culture of news.

The mole, now unmasked as former O’Reilly Factor producer Joe Muto, has little to show for his popular stunt.

Though he was eager to leave

Holy mole-y!

Fox News, he has essentially condemned himself to exile from the network news industry, and faces potential legal action for distributing footage to New York media blog Gawker.

Not only does Muto’s alleged cash reward of $5,000 seem insignificant in the wake of a lost career, but his footage hardly produced a ripple in the battle to bring reliability and integrity to network news.

Did we really need these videos to learn that presidential candidate Mitt Romney is grotesquely wealthy? Was anyone unsure that Fox News host Sean Hannity is an unabashed right-winger? Muto admirably risked his livelihood to unveil the dirty secrets behind his former employers, but failed to reveal a single moment of substance.

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 424.

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

proach to addressing funding problems within the higher education system. Recently, the southern Californian college unveiled its new initiative to remain fiscally sound as well as classroom-conscious. As of summer 2012, the school will increase fees for its most popular summer courses in the hopes of both reducing the overcrowding in its lecture halls and increasing revenue. Santa Monica College currently charges 36 dollars per credit-hour; under the plan, the most popular summer courses would cost 180 dollars per credit hour, a five-fold increase. Theoretically, that money could be used to offset increases in tuition for lower-income students, but the college has not given precise plans about what the increased revenue will fund.

Though the proposal to charge students more money for popular college courses is a product of good intentions on the part of the college’s administration, it creates more problems than it seeks to resolve. For one, many college courses that students need to meet job and graduation requirements fill up quickly, leaving many late registrants disappointed. These students often find themselves in

classes that cater to neither their needs nor the requirements of their own degrees. As a result, many of them end up paying for an education that is not necessarily structured towards practical career development. Those students who would be able to register for pricier courses are not necessarily more experienced, knowledgeable, or deserving, but rather just more wealthy.

For example, some of the largest classes across the United States are introductory biology, chemistry, and other pre-medicine or pre-pharmacy classes. If only wealthy students can register for these popular classes, then how can students in lower income brackets break the cycle of poverty? Education is the key to personal and societal advancement, and gouging students is not the way to move the country forward.

This misguided policy divides students on economic grounds alone, and, as a result, goes against the fundamental values of the United States’s education system. There is no guarantee that hiked fees in the summer and winter will meet the demand threshold—overcrowding may simply proliferate in the fall and spring semesters,

Though I certainly question the ultimate success of his actions, I don’t mean to criticize Muto himself. Perhaps he considered the potential consequences for distributing more classified and condemning material, and felt it was not worth it on a personal level to turn his stunt into a crusade. He has already said he has more insightful information to divulge, claiming he has a “story that

positioned himself for a defense against the public bashing he is going to take. As a former member of one of these news networks, Muto should have known better than to provide his critics with fodder to slander his name. The CNN anchor Howard Kurtz suggested that Muto is merely angling for a lucrative book deal after being a disgruntled employee with little chance for a promotion.

But even more saddening than the expected pounding Muto will take from certain network media sources, is that he is on his own. Perhaps reacting to the legal ramifications or inconsequential impact of his footage, others with Muto’s perspective have been slow to stand by his side. Several former Fox News employees who left the company and now work in the blogosphere have focused more on Muto’s upcoming struggles with the law and job market than on the issues he raises. Hence, they still fail to highlight the ever-more obvious reality that Fox News is a conservative channel, and MSNBC posits a more liberal perspective.

Neither company strays much from these bases in their

Carrying On

by Daniel Kellner A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

needs to be told.” Although I will certainly be listening, it remains to be seen how far he is actually willing to take his quest. If his recent interview with CNN is any indication, network news outlets will confront him with at least mild hostility to ensure the public sees him as a mole working for his own benefits, and not a whistleblower trying to put a stop to the injustices and corruption occurring on a regular basis in the newsroom.

The self-described “traitor,” “weasel,” and “spy” has hardly

causing class fees to continue growing in a never-ending counterproductive cycle. Students, especially immigrants and lowincome family students in community-college classes, may be forced to drop out or delay their college educations in hopes of earning more money.

Earlier this year, President Obama proposed a plan to slow increases in college tuition by cutting federal funding to colleges that continuously increase tuition, incentivizing steady rates.

His plan places the responsibility to keep costs down squarely on the colleges themselves, the institutions which actually have the power to keep college affordable. Santa Monica College is ultimately using its power to hike tuition rates in the present to favor of a positive economic and educational result in the future that may not necessarily occur. Its proposal has intentions, but it is lowering the quality and opportunity for education in the United States.

Ambika Tripathi is a freshman in the SFS. She would not be willing to pay 50 percent more for taking IR with Bennett. news coverage and certainly not in their pointed commentary, which is often mistaken for actual news.

Consequently, I struggle to see this entire “Fox News mole” situation as anything other than a missed opportunity—a botched attempt to shed some light on real controversies within the inner workings of the major news networks. Nevertheless, there is still hope. There are undoubtedly more unhappy liberals (and even unhappy conservatives) working at Fox News who are tired of helping a company that makes money by misinforming Americans. Even Muto could have potentially more incriminating information to pass along than just a brief off-air clip and a few personal gripes about the FoxNation website. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of the network news moles, and others will be inspired to continue the fight against this troubling reality in a better coordinated manner.

Daniel Kellner is a senior in the College. Every week he tries to change his name on his bylines to Dan “the man” Kellner.

What’s Going On In DC?

The Duke Finds Out on Vox. blog.georgetownvoice.com JAFALUV