8 26 2011

VOICE the georgetown

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ANC: IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, PLAN, PLANAGAN PAGE 5

FOOTBALL KICKS OFF WITH FRESH START PAGE 6

YOU WON’T BE AFRAID PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w August 26, 2011 w Volume 45, Issue 2 w georgetownvoice.com

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2 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

hot off the blog summer edition

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X VO

Hoyas game in Beijing ends early after fight breaks out

Prefrosh Preview: A guide to enjoying (and surviving) Leo’s Greg Monroe leaves his wallet on Prospect, finds it via fellow students and Twitter

GUSA president presents student letter on debt ceiling Utraque duo: Will Georgetown’s campus soon stretch across the Potomac?

Vox Populi

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Voice Crossword “NSO 2011” by Scott Fligor

Across: 1. Georgetown nickname 6. Highlander’s pattern 11. Location of 60-across 14. Throat dangler 15. Limerick pattern

16. ___ carte 17. Matador 19. Operated 20. Scottish uncle 21. Rent-___ 22. Pistons’ locale 24. Elvis’s middle name

answers at georgetownvoice.com 25. Entrap 26. Bill Clinton’s dorm 29. In shape 32. Baldwin, and others 33. Permissible Islamic food 34. Jr. and sr.

35. Parliamentary assents 36. Placed in a kiln 37. Egyptian goddess of truth and justice 38. Type of advance directive 39. Drum played without sticks 40. Pronouncements 41. Future location of student center 43. Olympic discus great Al 44. Novello, and others 45. Jason’s ship 46. They can be glazed 48. Fungal spore cases 49. British honourary title: abbr.

52. Finish 53. In a revolting manner 56. Catullus: “Odi et ___” 57. Show runner 58. Dispense 59. The ‘N’ in NSO 60. On-campus EMS agency 61. Food thickeners

Down 1. German WWII general 2. Egg 3. Holiday season 4. 100% 5. Bush trips 6. Polytheist 7. Cowardly Lion actor 8. U.S. dance grp.

9. Dupe’s cry 10. Distant freshman dorm 11. Ventriloquism, e.g.

12. Extended family 13. Ebb 18. Clickable pic 23. Post-coll. test 24. Elementary 25. Pope that stopped Attila the Hun 26. “Father of the Symphony” Joseph

27. Coeur d’___, Idaho 28. 1954 Hitchcock thriller 29. Cry of frustration 30. Angry 31. Red giant 33. Clues 36. Golf group 37. Spanish Surrealist 39. Illegal recording 40. Georgetown president 42. “Law and Order:___” 43. Tolkien monsters 45. Fireplace residue 46. College bigwig 47. “This one’s ___!”

48. “Lemme ___!”

49. Small plateau 50. Camera mishap 51. Hurricane centers 54. Left to right: Abbr.

55. “No ___” (Menu line)

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

E-mail crossword@georgetownvoice.com

editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 45.2 August 26, 2011 Editor-in-Chief: Tim Shine Managing Editor: Sean Quigley Blog Editors: Samuel Buckley, Leigh Finnegan, John Flanagan News Editor: Holly Tao Sports Editor: Daniel Kellner Feature Editor: Kara Brandeisky Cover Editor: Iris Kim Leisure Editor: John Sapunor Voices Editor: Kate Imel Photo Editor: Max Blodgett Design Editors: Michelle Pliskin, Catherine Johnson Projects Editor: Rob Sapunor Crossword Editor: Scott Fligor Assistant Blog Editor: Ryan Bellmore Assistant News Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Assistant Sports Editors: Abby Sherburne, Kevin Joseph Assistant Leisure Editors: Mary Borowiec, Heather Regen Assistant Photo Editors: Julianne Deno, Matthew Funk Assistant Design Editor: Kathleen Soriano-Taylor Contributing Editor: Nico Dodd

Staff Writers:

Nick Berti, Geoffrey Bible, Rachel Calvert, Mary Cass, Kelsey McCullough, Sadaf Qureshi, Adam Rosenfeld, Melissa Sullivan, Nick Thomas

Staff Photographers:

Sam Brothers, Jackson Perry

Copy Chief: Aodhan Beirne Copy Editors:

Claire McDaniel, Kim Tay

Editorial Board Chair: Jackson Perry Editorial Board:

Gavin Bade, Samuel Buckley, Rachel Calvert, Ethan Chess, John Flanagan, Sean Quigley, J. Galen Weber

Head of Business: Keaton Hoffman The Georgetown Voice

The Georgetown Voice is published every Thursday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

On this week’s cover ... The Many Faces of Georgetown Cover Design: Iris Kim

the georgetown voice 3 MAD IN CHINA

Thompson key to salvaged China trip The Georgetown men’s basketball team’s 10-day trip to China this summer was intended to be an opportunity for the University to use “basketball diplomacy” to strengthen its brand internationally and to allow the players to test themselves against a different kind of opponent. But the bench-clearing brawl that cut short the team’s exhibition game against the Bayi Rockets cast a pall over a trip designed to foster goodwill between the University and the most populous nation in the world.

The rest of the trip, however, went off without a hitch, and credit should go to coach John Thompson III both for his on-court leadership during the fracas and for his diplomatic handling of its aftermath.

While the brawl erupted on the court, members of the Georgetown contingent

urged Chinese police to intervene to allow the players to exit the court safely.

But when it was evident that the police would make no attempt to break up the fighting, Thompson pulled his players off the floor and led them to the exit, rallying the team around him as they walked out. Despite the fighting and a barrage of plastic bottles thrown at the team, no one was seriously injured.

The day after the fight, Thompson, along with players Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson, met with Bayi coach Adi Jiang and several Bayi players at Beijing Capital Airport just before the team departed for Shanghai. The coaches exchanged autographed basketballs, and Thompson suggested that Chinese players could attend Georgetown’s summer youth basketball camp next year. Thompson was conciliatory and

delicate enough to satisfy China’s vice foreign minister, who claimed he was “pleased” at the conflict’s resolution, but rightfully stopped short of apologizing for his players’ reaction to the Bayi team’s instigation.

Despite the widespread media attention given to the brawl and its aftermath, it is impressive that the rest of the trip went off without a hitch, as the team went on to defeat the Liaoning Dinosaurs as well as the Taiwanese national team. Thompson’s leadership, both during the brawl and afterward, kept the tour on track when some suggested the team should return home immediately. He also helped ensure that the unfortunate on-court violence will not prevent the University from continuing its broadening engagement in China.

REPRESENT

Protect your voting rights from the ANC The recently-released results of the 2010 Census made official what had already been a reality for years: Georgetown students are dramatically underrepresented on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission that oversees Georgetown University and its surrounding neighborhoods. Students currently have only one representative on the Commission out of seven total, even though we constitute 45 percent of the population under the authority of the ANC. At a hearing on Monday at Georgetown Visitation School, the Commission will defend its latest attempt to ensure that students remain underrepresented.

Last week, the ANC’s redistricting task force, which was created to draw eight single-member districts within the ANC’s turf in order to reflect population growth, adopted a proposal that would cram students living in University-owned buildings into two massive

districts. It is crucial that Georgetown students turn out in force to oppose the continued trampling of their right to equal representation in D.C. government.

Each student district would have 2,581 people, while the smallest of the mainly non-student districts would have a population of only 1,660. Such a vast discrepancy between districts is unprecedented and flies in the face of DC election law. A more equitable drawing of the map would allow students to compete in four of the eight districts, not just two. In a post on the blog Greater Greater Washington, Jake Sticka (COL ’13), the sole student representative on the Commission, warned that the adopted proposal potentially violates students’ rights as minority citizens: According to the D.C. Code, “No redistricting plan or proposed amendment to a redistricting plan shall be considered if the plan or amendment has the purpose and effect of diluting the

voting strength of minority citizens.”

Maturely engaging in local politics can demonstrate that Georgetown students refuse to be bullied by the ANC. The redistricting process also offers students a constructive opportunity to change our relationship with the University’s neighbors, which has too often descended into useless mudslinging. As the continuing battle over Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan demonstrates, student interests are deeply affected by the actions of the ANC. We cannot afford to leave our local government entirely to the whims of those who wish to diminish student voices and gerrymander us out of fair representation.

The hearing will be on Monday at 6:30 PM. The entrance to Georgetown Visitation is at 35th Street and Volta Place, one block north of P Street.

John Flanagan recused himself from the consideration of this editorial.

A CLEAN CONSCIENCE

Fighting for adequate contraceptive access After the Department of Health and Human Services announced its decision to require full contraceptive coverage on all new insurance plans after January 2012, Georgetown Professor Dr. Hal Lawrence, in a commendable break with official University policy, spoke out in favor of the change. In his capacity as vice president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Lawrence said, “The women of this country deserve no less than access to all comprehensive and clinically effective preventative care.”

It is a striking display of support, especially from a professor at a Catholic university that forbids the sale of any contraceptives on school grounds. Such opposition downplays the fact that these contraceptive and screening services are crucial to a woman’s health: family planning allows women to ensure

that they are healthy enough to endure a physically and psychologically straining pregnancy. Furthermore, Lawrence explained, contraceptive services reduce infant mortality, complications of pregnancy, and birth defects.

Despite the many benefits of these services, they are often prohibitively expensive, even under some insurance plans. This is partially due to the longterm nature of most contraceptives. To be effective, they must be taken continuously for a long period of time.

Adequate insurance coverage is absolutely necessary to ensure that women have access to these services. Given the backlash against contraceptive coverage in conservative circles, it is critical that proponents of women’s health vocalize their support. Lawrence’s advocacy is especially laudable since it stands at odds with University policy.

The details of the new regulation have yet to be finalized. One potential caveat to the comprehensive mandate is a conscience clause that would allow religious institutions like Georgetown to opt out of the coverage. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly criticized the earliest version of the conscience clause, saying it is narrow enough to exclude most Catholic schools. ACOG, on the other hand, came out against such a religious exemption, claiming that it would erode a woman’s right to comprehensive birth control.

In the interest of protecting women’s health and preventing abortions, Georgetown should not seek a religious exemption. Rather, the University should prioritize health over personal religious conviction—a woman’s wellness should never be jeopardized by her employer’s religious identification.

news

4 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

Medical student gains science fame, but may be the last

by Ryan Bellmore and Holly Tao David Solomon, an MD/PhD student at the Georgetown School of Medicine, recently gained international recognition for his research identifying a genetic mutation, called STAG2, that is a precursor to some cancers. Solomon, however, may be one of the last success stories to come out of the program, as funding for the MD/PhD program was cut in 2006.

An MD/PhD program at Georgetown is divided into two years of medical school, three to four years of PhD work, and a final two years of medical school work, Despite the success of individual students like Solomon, GUSOM remains the only top-50 medical school that does not have a funded MD/PhD program.

Solomon is currently working on identifying a drug that would target cancer cells with the STAG2 mutation.

“I was fortunate,” Solomon said. “A funded program is the only feasible way to do an MD/ PhD program, and I could not have come to at Georgetown without a

funded position.”

While science PhD programs tend to be funded by the federal government, living expenses and tuition for the four-year MD program cost students approximately $260,000.

“No one wants to go hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and then live on a scientist’s salary,” said Dr. Todd Waldman, Director of the MD/PhD program at GUSOM and Solomon’s research mentor.

Federally funded medical schools in the U.S. receive grants for MD/PhD programs from the National Institute of Health’s Medical Scientist Training Program. Other universities, like Georgetown, fund their programs internally. When Georgetown had a funded program, they admitted around three students a year, according to Waldman. In comparison, MSTP-funded schools like the Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology MD/PhD program provide funded positions to 10 to 12 students annually.

Dr. Howard Federoff, Georgetown’s vice president for Health Sciences and dean of the School

of Medicine said the MD/PhD program is the signature of an institution’s commitment to training physician scientists. Solomon emphasizes the importance of the translational nature of the program.

“For people who do PhDs, they’re studying basic biology like how proteins function in a cell,” he said. “They [may not be] asking, ‘How can I exploit my discoveries and translate them into new therapies for patients or diagnostics for diseases?’”

Since funding was cut in 2006, GUSOM has had difficulty attracting students. Currently, the program has only nine students across about eight years. The sustainability of the unfunded program has been questioned by several individuals, including Waldman.

Joe Murray, a student who entered the program in 2007, echoed the concern about the GUSOM MD/PhD program becoming non-competitive. Murray entered as one of two MD/PhD students in the second year after the funding cuts and did not receive a funded position. Although recent years have seen some GUSOM

Quake surprises response team

by Rachel Calvert An unprecedented 5.8 Magnitude earthquake hit the D.C. area and much of the east coast on Tuesday, sending Georgetown’s emergency responders into crisis mode.

Following the thirty second long quake, the University’s Emergency Response Team rushed to evacuate students from on-campus facilities.

The quake originated in Mineral, Va., at 1:51 p.m., hitting Georgetown shortly thereafter. According to Director of Communications Rachel Pugh, floor marshals and Department of Public Safety officers evacuated students from residence halls and campus buildings once the initial shaking stopped. Still, the quake did almost no damage and left some confused as to whether the shaking had been a full-blown earthquake at all.

Boston, Ma., residents Havani Hammerall and her two high school-aged daughters, visiting Georgetown and other colleges in the D.C. area, were traveling down Massachusetts Avenue from American University when the quake hit.

“It felt like we hit gravel on the road. We didn’t even realize it was an earthquake until we came

out here and [the DPS officer] said ‘Didn’t you hear the earthquake?’”

When Hammerall arrived on Georgetown’s campus, she was forcefully directed by a DPS officer. “He screamed at us, and told us to get on the sidewalk and pipe down,” she said.

Individual DPS officers were directing some students to gather on Harbin football field. They encouraged onlookers to stay out of the roads.

At 2:32 p.m., the University sent a message through the HOYAlert text message system urging students to evacuate and stay out of doors until further notice.

“A HOYAlert was sent as soon as we confirmed that the event was an earthquake. Due to the large regional area affected by the earthquake communication via internet, phones, and cell phones was delayed for hundreds and thousands of people,” Pugh wrote in an email.

She said the University anticipated this communication jam and deployed floor marshals via radio.

After the quake, internal and outside experts conducted on-site examinations of campus buildings to assess safety conditions, ranging from structural integrity to the functioning of utilities and water supply. No damage was found.

Emergency response workers assess damage at Reiss.

holly tao

medical students joining the PhD programs after admission, Murray said the low matriculation “is not good for the longevity of the program.”

Although Murray expressed his concern about the future of the program, he is content with his decision to shoulder the debt because studying at GUSOM allows him to be close to his family. Murray said that the program has provided him with a strong background in pathology and physiology, which has benefitted his research in tumor biology. “[It’s allowed] me to broaden

my views of how cancer therapies should be effective,” he said.

Though an article published on the GUSOM website said that Waldman and Federoff are searching for philanthropic funding for the MD/PhD program, the work on raising money for the program is largely a quiet affair.

“There are no bake sales or car washes going on,” Solomon said.

“It’s a substantial lump sum of money that would need to be reinvested in this program and I can’t comment on how likely it is for funding to be started [again] this year or next year.”

Solomon and Dr. Waldman pair up to fight cancer.

todd waldman

Provost O’Donnell steps down

by Sam Buckley The 2011-2012 academic year will mark Provost James O’Donnell’s tenth and final year as a member of Georgetown’s senior administration, according to an announcement by University President John DeGioia.

“Jim has been instrumental in the development of numerous programs and initiatives as chief academic officer for the Main Campus, all while continuing to build upon his distinguished record of scholarship,” DeGioia wrote in an email to the student body.

During his ten years at Georgetown, O’Donnell has served as one of the most prominent faces of the University to the outside world.

As Provost, O’Donnell served as the chief academic officer for Georgetown’s main campus, overseeing its various offices and faculty departments.

O’Donnell has also been instrumental in the development of several of the Univer-

sity’s key academic expansion initiatives over the past ten years, including the establishment of Georgetown’s SFSQatar campus in 2005.

When asked about his proudest accomplishments, O’Donnell spoke of the Doha campus and the imminent completion of the new science building as projects he was proud to have worked on, also citing the growth of new faculty and students coming to the hilltop.

DeGioia’s announcement noted that although O’Donnell will relinquish his duties as Provost next year, he will ultimately return to the University as a full-time professor in the classics department.

O’Donnell indicated that after taking a year of leave, he will be quite ready to embrace his new duties as teacher.

“They will issue me a hard hat, a lunch bucket, and a Latin book, and I will be able to do something else I love. I’m very lucky,” O’Donnell wrote in an email.

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the georgetown voice 5

Students, residents disagree on ANC redistricting

by Holly Tao On August 17, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E redistricting task force voted in favor of a proposal by ANC 2E chair Ron Lewis, Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino, and Citizens Association of Georgetown President Jennifer Altemus to re-draw the borders of the districts that elect the board’s commissioners. The plan will be subject to community comment at the next public ANC meeting before it becomes an official recommendation.

The co-chairs’ plan creates eight districts within ANC 2E, making two student-only districts with around 2,500 students in each district.

Currently, there are seven districts in ANC 2E and one student-only district.

John Flanagan (SFS ‘14) submitted a separate redistricting proposal that would also split ANC 2E into eight districts, but would create two student-only districts with around 2,000 students each, as well as one mixed student and resident district, which could be winnable by either students or non-students. (Full disclosure: Flanagan is one of the editors of Vox Populi, the Voice’s blog). The ANC

redistricting task force voted for the co-chair ’s plan over Flanagan’s.

ANC Commissioner Jake Sticka (COL ‘13) argued that the Flanagan plan is a fairer proposal.

“Flanagan’s plan followed the redistricting code about the size of the district,” Sticka said. “The code allowed for about 10 percent size deviance [between districts] and the co-chairs’ plan has a 40% deviance” Non-student districts in the co-chairs’ plan have approximately 1,700 constituents.

Sticka also addressed the co-chairs’ response that the Flanagan plan would violate community cohesiveness.

“You have to look at what the law tells you that you need to do. The overriding factor is the size of the district.

Neighborhood cohesiveness is secondary,” Sticka said. “If that’s the real concern, we would be happy to look at it again and to find a way to create that [mixed district] somewhere else, but I suspect that won’t bring us to any other compromise.”

Students argue that a mixed district could improve towngown relations. Sticka and Flanagan said that a mixed

More candidates, better elections

Freshmen, you’ve just gotten to college and probably are overwhelmed with anticipation of the intellectual engagement and rivers of free alcohol in your near future, but I have a favor to ask of you. I’m asking you to run for political office: not in some far-off future where you’ve developed some brilliant plan to get us back into space with renewable fuel recycled from asbestos. I’m asking you to run now. I want you to become an elected official in D.C. by launching a campaign to join this neighborhood’s reigning overlords, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Each neighborhood in D.C. has its own ANC; Georgetown’s is ANC 2E. Right now, there are seven seats in our ANC, and each seat represents around 2,000 people. Commissioners are elected to 2-year terms, and through the efforts of some very dedicated students, at least one

of those commissioners has been a student every year since 1996.

The ANC districts that students hold are being under-utilized. In the past, students have contested seats with residents of the neighborhood, and won them. However, we have never once had an election since 2000 where multiple students have run against each other for an allstudent ANC seat.

That’s tragic, because contested elections are critical to getting people to participate in politics in the first place. A study on municipal elections published in 2002 by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California noted that “the degree of competition for the office (measured by the number of candidates) is positively related to turnout,” and the authors concluded that “uncontested elections draw especially few voters.”

Increasing student voter turnout is tricky, though, be-

district could encourage more students to become involved with local politics, and consequently become more engaged with the issues of the surrounding community. While a mixed district would create a competitive seat for students, the seat could fall either to a student or a non-student commissioner.

While some students called the co-chairs’ plan a form of gerrymandering, Lewis disagreed.

“I understand [the students’ view] but I don’t agree with it,” he said. “Over the past ten years, we’ve had tremendous variety in the number of people within the district.”

He pointed out that District 05 and District 01, both nonstudent districts, have had 2,500 constituents over the

past ten years. Each district will shrink by approximately 100 constituents in the cochairs’ redistricting plan, maintaining approximately 2,400 constituents.

“We’re not creating two 2,500 districts where everything else is 1,600-1,700,” Lewis said.

The largest concern for those who support the cochairs’ plan is that the Flanagan plan would break up cohesiveness of the Burleith community. “If having a third student representative disenfranchises active and engaged residents who have real issues, I think there’s something wrong with that,” said Lewis. He argued that the 5,000 students on campus do not warrant the possibility of three student commissioners.

Lewis also called for more neutral dialogue that avoided terms like gerrymandering.

“I don’t think that how the districts are redistricted is anywhere near as important as the University and residents working on their relationship,” he said.

Lewis cited common interests between the community and the students like strict campus party rules and safety issues, and argued that the University could make policy changes that would be favorable to both students and residents.

“I think the University makes it harder than it should be for the students to be on campus,” he said.

Rubino and Altemus did not respond to requests for interviews.

JEnnIFER altEmUS , Ron lEwIS, lEnoRE RUBIno, John FlanaGan

The co-chairs’ proposal (left) competes with Flanagan’s redistricting proposal (right).

cause students must decide whether to keep their homestate voter registration or to establish residence in the District.

Why should a student choose to vote in a non-competitive election in D.C. when they could vote in races for mayorships and congressional seats back home, where their vote surely matters more?

City on a hill

by Sam Buckley

A bi-weekly column on D.C. news and politics Well, ANCs take votes on issues like liquor licenses, parking and construction permits, and neighborhood recreation, as well as the expansion plans of the University itself. You may not think so now, but since so much of Georgetown students’ social life happens in the houses and bars in the neighborhood around campus, ANC 2E has a lot of power to make life for students at Georgetown easy or dif-

ficult if it chooses to.

The problem is, many of Georgetown’s neighbors would like student life to be confined as much as possible. If you walk north into Burlieth (also ANC 2E territory) and see clusters of pink signs boldly proclaiming “Our Homes, Not GU’s Dorm,” it’s because plenty of Georgetown and Burleith residents see students as a loud, party-oriented, and unwelcome intrusion into their neighborhoods with little regard for Georgetown as a community.

Unfortunately, the fact that student political participation has become so slack has only made this argument easier to make. ANC 2E elections generally draw several hundred voters, and students were once able to match these numbers when campaigning against neighbors of the University. However, turnout in our uncontested district, 2E 04, seldom exceeds a few dozen. Our previous commissioner, Aaron Golds, received

48 votes in 2008. Last year, Jake Sticka gathered just nine.

It makes it a lot harder to claim that students are involved in the community and local politics when such a small fraction of us participate in the process.

We, the Georgetown community, need two or three or four or more of you brilliant, qualified freshmen to run against each other come 2012. We need you to try and beat each other. We need you to mount full-scale campaigns, register students to vote, and hold debates against each other. We need you to offer different visions for how the University should relate to the community and to try and persuade each other’s supporters.

In other words, we need you to give students a reason to vote, since in the long run, only students exercising their votes can prove to D.C. residents that we have the right to call ourselves citizens of Georgetown.

Give Sam’s lever a pull at sbuckley@georgetownvoice.com

sports

6 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

Experience on D gives Hoyas hope in new season

by Kevin Joseph After hitting rock-bottom with an 0-11 record in 2009, the Hoyas bounced back with an inspired start to 2010, despite faltering in the final weeks. But captain Wayne Heimuli is not taking any breaks to pat himself on the back for last season’s improvements, knowing the Hoyas have the potential to take yet another step forward this term.

“We can’t look at the past,” the senior safety said. “We have to look forward … always be ready, always prepared.”

In 2010, the Hoyas took that clean slate and ran with it. While they only finished 4-7, the team rose to the top of the Patriot League early in the season and looked bound for glory, surprising media pundits who expected them to finish near the bottom of the league. Yet, despite winning their first two conference matchups, the Hoyas descended into mediocrity as the season progressed.

Defense has been the Hoyas’ strength in Head Coach Kevin Kelly’s five years at the helm, and this year should be no different.

Despite losing the school’s alltime leading tackler in linebacker Nick Parrish, the Georgetown faithful should expect more of the same this season thanks to a plethora of experienced starters. Inside linebackers Jeremy Grasso and Rob McCabe, both juniors, have full years as starters under their belt. Fellow junior Jeremy Moore, who excited fans last season with his electric kickoff returns, will bolster the secondary with his quickness and coverage skills.

Yet, it will be the efforts of Heimuli and his fellow seniors, namely cornerback Jayah Kaisamba and defensive end Andrew Schaetzke that shape the core of the defense. Kelly has called Schaetzke the best defensive player in the Patriot League, while Heimuli and Kaisamba offer leadership and ball-hawking instincts in the secondary. Kelly is especially excited about his team’s defense after training camp.

“After last season, it really built our confidence,” he said.

“Our guys have come in ready to go this training camp.”

Much of the change last season came on the offensive side of the ball, where offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude’s hiring vastly improved an often stagnant Hoya attack. Quarterback remains a position of contention and the Hoyas are likely to see time split between senior Scott Darby and junior Isaiah Kempf. However, sophomore Aaron Aiken could see significant playing time this season after impressing during camp.

No matter who takes the majority of the snaps, the team’s quarterback will be able to lean on a reloaded set of skill players, led by offensive slot receiver Jeremiah Kayal. The senior captain takes his role seriously and believes he and Heimuli will keep communication lines open between the players and coaches.

“You have to learn to be the middleman between players and coaches, while at the same time holding people accountable,” Kayal said. “It’s definitely an honor to be voted by this team as a captain.”

Kayal will be joined at the wide receiver position by juniors

JACKSON PERRY

The Hoyas will rely on their hard-hitting defense throughout the season.

Brandon Floyd and Kenneth Furlough. Floyd emerged two years ago as the Hoyas’ most dangerous deep threat and returns after a season away from the team.

Furlough, meanwhile, demonstrated himself to be a force in training camp after two seasons with the team.

Second-year tailback Daren Claytor will be joined in the backfield this season by fellow sophomore Nick Campanella, who

Kelly is particularly excited to see unleashed on opposing defenses.

“Nick Campanella is going to be a great back. I think he’s going to have a breakout season,” he said.

The Hoyas got off to a perfect start last season with a win over Davidson. They will try to begin the 2011 campaign in the same manner with their home opener against the Wildcats on September 3 at Multi-Sport Field.

Though Georgetown will be eager to avenge last season’s devastating final play loss against Yale next week, the Hoyas are firmly focused on a win in Saturday’s meeting.

“It’s the season opener,” Kelly said. “We expect to win.”

After last season, the Hoyas have proven they can start. The question remains as to whether they can sustain their momentum and finish strong in 2011.

the Sports Sermon “China-U.S. Basketball Friendship Match” —official match name for the Bayi Rockets v. Georgetown University

ultimately sent the team back to the locker room, abandoning the game altogether.

But if there’s a silver lining to the incident, it’s that few things can inspire team cohesion and solidarity like a proper benches-clearing fight. The China experience was intended to expand the University’s profile overseas, but also to serve as an important team-bonding exercise. Perhaps the fight was the ultimate expression of the latter and will be rehashed by the players to galvanize the team in crucial moments throughout the season.

fists will give the young Hoyas just the spark they need to come Despite their youth and intogether and turn things around. experience, no one can argue Yet perhaps most notably, the that the Georgetown men’s basincident marks a genuine shift in ketball team’s not battle-tested. the Hoyas identity. Generally After four successive seasons of characterized as a disciplined underachievement and nationand fundamentally sound team al embarrassment, the Hoyas with relatively quiet and unmade international headlines assuming players, this year’s last week when an exhibition Hoyas have added a mean match against the Bayi Rockstreak that could be daunting ets, part of Georgetown’s 10for opponents who will be fully day “goodwill tour” of China, aware of Georgetown’s inclinaturned into full-scale, benchtions towards “self-defense.” clearing brawl.

This group could incorpoContrary to the opinions of rate into their play what litersome bloggers, the fight did not ally amounts to a “fighting end up setting off spirit,” something World War III, but that squads of rePete Rose Central was really just the cent years have Da bettin’ line result of an extremedesperately lacked. dookies Margin ly physical game in Too many times Hoyas which both sides apthe Hoyas fail to (underdogs) (duh!) (favorites) parently felt threattake control of ened. The amount Moses Ayegba games as they loaf Chairs Beast of time spent at the on defense only to MLB Schedule Umbrella hats Irene foul line is just one unleash a quick, Monogamy Baller status ill-advised threeD-Wade indication of the game’s aggressive pointer at the other play, as the Rockets attempted While these hopes are pos- end. These momentary lapses 57 free throws compared to just sibly just wishful thinking, the are precisely why Georgetown 15 by the Hoyas. team is in desperate need of in- has been eliminated in the postCoach John Thompson III spiration to regroup following an season by unranked opponents and numerous players have offseason marred by disappoint- in each of the past four years, as claimed the brawl was unfor- ment and frustration. After ca- they consistently appear frozen tunate, but came as an instinc- pitulating to VCU in the opening in headlights while the game tive reaction in self-defense. round of the NCAA Tournament, gets further out of reach.

They point to the disparity in star graduates Chris Wright and The Hoyas need to approach free throws as just part of the Austin Freeman were overlooked games like they are going into evidence that the Rockets were in June’s NBA draft. Meanwhile, battle, with decisive victory as playing a dangerous game, re- injuries have prevented some the only option. While violence peatedly sending players to the players from gaining valuable cannot be condoned as an effecfloor while showing no signs of time on the court as they look to tive means of team-building, backing down. keep their skills sharp for the up- the reality is that an adrenalineLittle argument can be made coming season. pumping event like this brawl that by standing up for themFurthermore, the graduation can only bring a team closer selves, the Hoyas put themselves of three starters from last year’s together. Perhaps with this in a safer position. Chairs and team means the incoming fresh- new mentality, the Hoyas can bottles were thrown as the on- man class will be relied on for avoid crushing losses to inferior court fight escalated, with even steady contributions. Perhaps teams and finally fulfill the posome members of the crowd en- the experience of simultaneous- tential that their talented squad gaging in the melee. Thompson ly dodging chairs and Chinese promises.

by Daniel Kellner

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Hoyas poised for marquee matchup Men’s soccer on the rise

by Abby Sherburne At the start of their season, the Georgetown women’s soccer team has the ball rolling in the right direction. Notching two convincing wins in their first two games, the Hoyas aren’t messing around. They dominated their two district matches against George Washington and American, scoring early and shutting out their opponents.

“I’m always nervous for those games,” senior Ingrid Wells, 2010’s Big East Midfielder of the Year, said.

“I know they want to beat us ... we have a lot to lose in those games so it puts a little bit more pressure on us.”

Senior Kelly D’Ambrisi said she was happy to have beaten opponents that consider the Hoyas their top competition.

“We’re definitely the best team on their schedule, so they get up to beat us like we get up to play Stanford. It’s nerve-wracking,” she said.

So far, the Hoyas have handled the pressure, keeping pace with last year’s squad, which also kept their local rivals off the scoreboard early in the season. But there is still a ways to go before they can rest easy.

Coping with expectations and pressure will be a familiar theme for the team this season in the wake of last year’s strong campaign, which saw the team post an impressive 15-7-2 record and culminated in an appearance in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament. But bigger obstacles lie ahead for the 20thranked Hoyas, who know these games are just a preliminary test for the much tougher opponents that lie ahead.

They players are well aware of the dangers of overlooking these early games. Coach Dave Nolan was hesitant to talk about the team’s Sunday opponent, second-ranked Stanford, reiteraing the importance

JACKSON PERRY

Ingrid Wells and the Hoyas look to overcome #2 Stanford on Sunday.

D.C., a capital for sports?

Washington D.C. is one of the best places in the country for a sports fan. It is one of only twelve cities in the United States that is home to a pro sports team in each of the four major sports. Even if our nation’s capital hasn’t seen a championship since Joe Gibbs’s Redskins in 1991, the Capitals, Wizards, Nationals, and Redskins provide a lot of buzz in the city, year round.

But the city’s sports scene runs much deeper than its four major teams, boasting numerous amateur and charity events with world-class talent.

Last Saturday some of the NBA’s brightest young stars lit up the Trinity University Gym in Northeast D.C. The intimate setting hosted two of the coun-

try’s most celebrated summer league teams—the Goodman League and the Drew League—in a matchup dubbed “Capital Punishment.” Kevin Durant and John Wall led the Goodman team, which represented the East Coast, while NBA up-and-comers James Harden and Brandon Jennings laced their sneakers up for the Drew League, L.A.’s 38 yearold summer league. Joining their colleagues were DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Gary Neal, Ty Lawson, Javelle McGee, and Josh Selby. The basketball hungry sell-out crowd of over 1,500 was treated to a highlight-filled, trashtalking exhibition that ended with Durant making two goahead free-throws with eight

of taking the season as it comes. But Wells says that they “have nothing to lose” and that games against opponents like Stanford, who has made the NCAA Finals for the past two seasons, lets them leave it all out on the field.

Even Nolan cannot hide his anticipation for the Stanford matchup.

“It’s great to have [Stanford] come in and play on our field in front of our fans and to play a team of that caliber,” Nolan said. “I tell them all the time, if we genuinely want to become the best, we’ve got to play the best and we’ve got to beat the best.”

Nine freshmen were added to the squad this year and have meshed well with the team during the month they have spent on campus, according to senior leaders.

Even with the loss of a strong graduating class, the team has a very positive attitude, reiterating their core philosophy: “one game at a time.”

“I’m not big on setting goals. I think goal-setting is overrated,” Nolan said.

Instead, he uses “benchmarks” from previous seasons to gauge their success. The women would like to tally double-digit wins, and make the Big East tournament.

Only a return to the NCAAs would match their strong 2010 season, but Nolan and the team are not ready to look that far ahead.

“Right now I’m just worried about Towson. Towson is a big game for us because it’s a team ... we’d like to think we can take care of,” he said.

The Hoyas will look to protect their winning streak against Towson at 3 p.m. on North Kehoe Field.

Sunday they take on Stanford in a 1 p.m. kickoff.

seconds left. Even though there were no playoff implications or contract incentives on the line, pure pride and competitiveness saw the backand-forth game go down to the buzzer. That much talent hadn’t been on the hardwood together since last June’s NBA Finals and might not be on

Double Teamed

By Nick Berti a rotating column on sports display for a while, depending on how the NBA lockout plays out.

But if the lockout lasts a while, expect to see some pros around the District. Former Georgetown center Roy Hibbert has even said he will be working out with the Hoyas if NBA commissioner David

by Adam Rosenfeld For many teams, being picked to finish fourth in one of the best conferences in the nation would be a source of pride. However, Ian Christianson, junior midfielder for the Georgetown men’s soccer team, feels the prediction was anything but a compliment.

“It’s kind of a slap in the face,” Christianson said.

Last year, Christianson led the Hoyas’ stellar 2010 campaign that saw them win their first regular season Blue Division championship since 1994 season. The Hoyas finished 12-6-2 on the year, including a nine-game win streak late in the season capped by a 1-0 win over then-No. 6 Connecticut that sealed the title for Georgetown.

Georgetown defeated UNCGreensborough in the first round of the NCAA tournament but eventually lost to perennial powerhouse North Carolina on penalty kicks.

While the heartbreaking loss put an end to the Hoyas’ most successful season in recent memory, their performance gave the team a confidence boost heading into the 2011 season.

“We’re going into every game thinking we’re the favorite,” Christianson said. “We’re returning for the most part all of our major contributors, and we have the mentality that we are the team to beat.”

Perhaps the most important contributor the Hoyas return from last year’s team is Christianson himself. Head coach Brian Wiese had no problem expressing just how important Christianson is to his program.

Stern and players’ union head Billy Hunter can’t reach a compromise, which isn’t looking likely. Besides having Hibbert walking around the Hilltop, other NBA players like Durant might make impromptu visits home to the basketball-rich D.C. area.

If basketball isn’t your cup of tea, and you seek some first rate college football, FedEx Field will play host to some of the oldest college football programs in the country. On Nov 12, revamped No. 16 Notre Dame will face Maryland in a mid-season battle. Much of the Irish population in D.C. will pack the stadium to root for the “home” team. Later on Dec 10, FedEx Field will host one of the great traditions in sports, the annual Army-Navy game. While the game almost certainly won’t have any BCS

“Ian’s energy and ability to control the game is paramount,” Wiese said. “When he struggles in a game we don’t have a lot of rhythm. We’re a lot better team when he’s going well.”

The midfielder garnered multiple postseason honors for his role in orchestrating Georgetown’s offense last year, earning the title of Big East Midfielder of the Year in addition to being named to College Soccer News’s Second Team. The accolades continued to pile up for Christianson earlier this summer, as he was recently named a first team Preseason All-American.

Despite his obvious importance to the team and growing national recognition, Christianson doesn’t feel any added pressure.

“It’s really the same as last year. I’m here to win games, and we’re a team,” he said.

Perhaps Christianson doesn’t feel any new pressure because of the extremely talented and experienced core of juniors surrounding him on the field. Along with Christianson, Jimmy Nealis, Tommy Muller, and Andy Reimer have all played an extremely important role in changing the culture and attitude of the Georgetown program.

“We all bring a lot of experience, and we have winning mentality and focus that isn’t just on game days,” Christianson said.

This confident attitude certainly manifested itself this preseason, as the Hoyas rolled over Richmond 3-0 before heading to College Park, where the Hoyas beat No. 4 Maryland 1-0.

Georgetown begins regular season play this Monday at home against Virginia Commonwealth.

Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Championship implications, it is a sight to see for any sports fan.

For fans more familiar with fútbol than football, D.C. United are in the MLS playoff hunt and boast some of the top talents in the U.S. domestic league. Sitting among the loyal supporters of one the nation’s most successful clubs will bring out the inner soccer hooligan in anyone.

These are only a few of the opportunities that the District offers. Just because you can’t afford seats behind home plate at Nationals Park doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the diverse D.C. sports scene. And if it does, you’re probably just not trying hard enough.

Win a free streetball lesson with Nick by contacting nberti@georgetownvoice.com

feature

8 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

georgetownvoice.com

Jennifer Altemus

When you encounter your first “Our Homes, Not GU’s Dorms” sign on a jaunt through the neighborhood, don’t take it personally: you’ve arrived in the middle of an epic town-gown battle over the University’s 2010 Campus Plan, which lays out all of the University’s expansion projects for the next decade.

Under D.C. law, all universities must have their ten-year plans approved by the Zoning Commission. Georgetown residents have made the most of the opportunity: they’ve used the zoning input process to call for the University to reroute shuttle buses, build satellite housing in Virginia, and house all undergraduates on-campus.

The neighborhood’s crusader-in-chief is Citizens Association of Georgetown President Jennifer Altemus (COL ’88). Once a Georgetown student herself, Altemus now leads the charge against the campus plan.

Acrimonious town-gown relations have a more immediate impact on students: Altemus and other community groups leaders encourage neighbors to bypass campus police and call 911 on loud parties. Because D.C. tightened its disorderly conduct law this year, partygoers face arrests and a $500 fine for excessive noise at an offcampus party.

Luckily, you’ll likely get an initial warning from Georgetown’s Student Neighborhood Assistance Program. If SNAP breaks up a party, the University will impose community service hours or other sanctions on the host, but at least SNAP usually intervenes before MPD comes knocking.

Meanwhile, students rights groups such as D.C. Students Speak try to counter this narrative. Jake Sticka (COL’ 13) represents students on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, a hyper-local representative body that advises District agencies. If you’re interested in town-gown relations, ANC meetings are the first Monday of every month.

—Kara Brandeisky and John Flanagan

Father Steck

Catholicism is an integral part of Georgetown’s identity: founder John Carroll (the statue right in front of Healy Hall) was the first Archbishop in America, and throughout the years University GEORGETOWN policy on things like abortions (none performed in the University hospital) and contraceptives (none sold on campus) has remained staunchly and unapologetically Catholic.

But this isn’t Notre Dame—Jesuits have historically had a focus on liberal arts and religious pluralism, which accounts for Georgetown’s strong commitment to interfaith understanding and dialogue. The school was one of the first Catholic universities to hire a full-time rabbi in the 1960s and was the first Catholic school to employ an on-campus Muslim Imam.

One of the most visible and accessible members of Georgetown’s Jesuit community is Rev. Christopher Steck, an assistant professor of Theology and former engineer for Texas Instruments.

Steck is the chaplain-in-residence in New South Hall, and is an active presence on Twitter under the username “csteck.” The easiest way to bump into him, though, is when he’s walking Jack the bulldog around campus—besides his ministry and teaching obligations, one of his biggest duties is taking care of Georgetown’s beloved pooch.

Even if you never meet Father Steck or Jack, there are lots of ways to take advantage of Georgetown’s campus ministry. There are regular Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim services, as well as outreach, interfaith dialogue, and spiritual retreats off in the woods. Make the most of Georgetown’s heritage and take the time to introduce yourself to Jesuits you see walking around campus. And you’d be missing out if you didn’t go to mass in beautiful Dahlgren Chapel at least once.

—Sean Quigley

Courtesy RJSMITH/GEORGETOWN DISH

the georgetown voice 9

Mike Arthur is one of Georgetown’s biggest personalities, but you’ll never see him walking around campus. No, you’ll only find Arthur posted up in his restaurant, Wingo’s, cramped behind the counter in his tiny O Street storefront.

Wingo’s may seem like an unassuming hole in the wall, but ignore it only if you want to miss out on the best chicken wings in Georgetown.

At first Leo’s may seem like it has an endless array of dining options, but there are only so many ways you can make your pasta or tacos before you lose your mind. Not to mention that no one’s going to be there to swipe you in late on a Saturday night. That’s where culinary titans like Arthur step in.

For ten years Wingo’s has been supplying students with not just wings, but burgers, sandwiches, and even funnel cake. There’s no place for you to sit in the store, but you can get your chicken delivered anywhere on campus. Of course, getting delivery means missing out on interacting with Arthur, a jovial guy who knows the importance of building a rapport with his customers.

If there’s one drawback to Wingo’s, it’s that it’s not open late at night. That’s hardly a problem, however, with the preponderance of late night eateries competing for your drunken dollar. Tuscany’s is chief among pizza places thanks to its large slices and convenient Prospect Street location, while burger chain Five Guys stays open until 4 a.m. on the weekend. You aren’t just limited to greasy American joints either, with less mainstream options like Mediterranean restaurant Quick Pita operating late in to the night as well.

The list goes on and on. Sandwich shops Wisey’s and Booeymonger’s are Georgetown institutions, and if you expand your horizons to places where you actually sit down to order, the options are countless. And thanks to all the competition, you really can’t go wrong.

“Years ago, it wasn’t about quality, it was just about how fast it was,” Arthur told the Voice last spring. “If a customer was unhappy, you didn’t care, because there was a line with four more people waiting to replace him. Now, there’s no one to replace you if you’re unhappy. Everything has to be better now.”

—Tim Shine

Six people to know at Georgetown Shiva Subbaraman

GERMS

Drink! Drink! Drink! Upon their first few weeks of school, freshmen, including many first-timers, will face endless streams of alcohol, but with copious consumption of that mystical elixir comes a bevy of unpleasant side effects. Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service, nicknamed GERMS, will be making their rounds at freshmen dorms at an accelerated rate during the first few weeks of school, assisting inebriated freshmen to the University’s hospital if need be. GERMS is made up of student volunteers who provide free emergency response to accidents of all sorts, although when you see their ambulance parked outside of a dorm on a Saturday night, there should be little doubt about what they are responding to.

GERMS is a valuable service, but the last thing you want to be known as is that kid who was rolled out of Darnall in a gurney during orientation week. After all, first impressions do make a difference. So unless any of this sounds appealing, or if you want to get back at your parents by sending them an $800 hospital bill (the ambulance service is free, but if you get to the hospital, the charges start ringing up), there is a way to avoid this humiliating experience.

First, pacing is key. Taking multiple shots back-to-back or shotgunning several beers in quick succession may provide instant self-esteem boosts, but later in the night, your body will give you a piece of its mind. Balance your drinking by mixing (and measuring) your drinks so you know how many drinks you have consumed. Next, never drink on an empty stomach. A lesson often learned the hard way, alcohol mixed with a growling stomach is a recipe for a night spent next to the toilet, or even worse, at the hospital. Finally, if none of these tips work, imagine this shirtless GERMS worker carrying you out of a building. The terror just stricken into your gut should keep you from attempting that eleventh beer bong hit.

—John Sapunor

feature Mike of Wingo’s

Courtesy GERMS

Georgetown’s LGBTQ Resource Center had historic beginnings: it was the first of its kind on a Catholic campus, founded as a result of the “Out for Change” campaign, a reaction to a spate of hate crimes aimed at queer students in spring 2007. But Shiva Subbaraman, the first director of the center, has some smaller aspirations for the Center as well. Subbaraman envisions the Center as another informal space for students to gather. “We want students to see us as a place to hang out and study and meet people in other groups,” Subbaraman said.

Of course, she also sees it as a vehicle for community integration and awareness. “We’re not just here as a response to crises and hate crimes but as a way to form community and educate ourselves about different people in our community,” she said. “We welcome not just LGBTQ students but all members of the student body.”

And that is only one of the resources Georgetown has to offer. The LGBTQ Resource Center’s Leavey Center neighbor is the Women’s Center. According to the Women’s Center website, their mission is to provide support for women of all races, sexual orientations, cultures, and ages. It also executes programming like R.U. Ready, which seeks to raise awareness about sexual assault.

Another resource is Counseling and Psychiatric Services, located under Darnall, which employs licensed psychologists to handle mental health issues like eating disorders and depression. CAPS also employs a sexual assault specialist.

For school-related concerns, the Academic Resource Center caters to the unique academic needs of students with disabilities and student athletes. Meanwhile, the Writing Center, which is located on the second floor of Lauinger Library by Midnight Mug coffeeshop, provides support for the various stages of paper writing, from crafting a thesis to providing suggestions about paragraph order. However, they won’t proofread a paper—and be sure to reserve your spot early.

—Rachel Calvert

Jan Karski

So by now you’ve familiarized yourself with your dormitory and Leo’s, and you can probably find your way to the ICC and Leavey Center. But there’s so much more to enjoy about campus.

Take Jan Karski, the statue sitting on a bench on the east side of WhiteGravenor Hall. Karski was a member of the Polish World War II resistance movement before he taught at Georgetown for 40 years. Now his statue enjoys an eternal game of chess next to the koi pond.

Everyone goes to Dahlgren Quadrangle at least once, but those who make JACKSON PERRY a habit of returning revel in its serenity. If contemplation of the heavens or attention to your tan lines is more your style, stroll over to the grassy esplanade above Leavey Center. Or if you’re up all night working on that first midterm paper, position yourself on the top floors of the library and let the rising sun help you through that last page.

—Jackson Perry SARAH VASQUEZ

IRIS KIM

leisure

10 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

Where have all the space cowboys gone?

by John Sapunor

This summer, NASA’s announcement that it was ending its space shuttle program prompted reactions of nostalgia and sadness from many Americans. The idea of American astronauts having to use Russian space transports to reach the International Space Station seems like a retreat from victories won during the Cold War. But for those wishing to relive the heyday of America’s space program, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum recently opened NASA: 50 Years of Exploration, an eclectic gallery featuring artistic interpretations of NASA in its prime.

Walking into the exhibit, the first noticeable feature is a minimalist classical piece called “Sun Rings” by the Kronos Quartet.

While the downbeat piece could be a dirge commemorating the end of the shuttle program, it is actually a brooding meditation on the Voyager expeditions of the 1970s featuring sounds recorded by the spacecraft themselves.

The subject matter and styles of the visual pieces range from a detailed painting of astronauts

by Norman Rockwell to a spacecraft drawn in crayon that could have been done by a three-yearold. But America is all about diversity, and the variety is captivating enough to keep both adults and the little ones interested—although the latter group has a much better eye at spotting the ridiculousness of the more “interpretive” pieces. Still, many of the exhibit’s artists were able to capture space’s unmatched ability to inspire awe.

Several pieces feature astronauts carrying out their activities aboard spaceships, while others focus on the before and after scenes of the launch and landing process. The artists did a phenomenal job of interpreting the emotional responses of the astronauts, portraying the wonderment of new discovery in the wide, curious eyes of an explorer, and offering a moment of deep reflection in the portrait of an astronaut awaiting a shuttle launch.

Some pieces are better at provoking emotional responses from the viewer. Andy Warhol’s illustration of an astronaut on the moon beside the American flag, reminiscent of MTV’s old logo, is simultaneously a testament to America’s artistic greatness in producing Warhol and its technological achievement in planting its flag on the moon. Another drawing by musician Moby was completed on what looked to be notebook paper, and its simplistic composition rendered it out of place among the other paintings that showed exponentially greater levels of effort.

In a corner stands a pintsized photograph of an American astronaut taken by Annie Leibovtiz. A photograph in the midst of a gallery full of interpretive paintings, it serves as a striking look at a real face of American exceptionalism.

Nearby stood a separate painting of two American astronauts landing on Mars, dated in the year 2019. There is no reminder that the earliest date President Obama has given for a manned Mars landing is 2030.

“Why was Mission to Mars set almost entirely on Mars?”

John Sapunor

50 Years of Exploration is hidden in the back of the Air and Space Museum, an unimposing gallery featuring artists that understand the tremendous implications of mankind’s journey into the stars. If NASA acts

wisely, it should continue to commission artistic interpretations of milestone events, because as soon as a painting of a depressed astronaut stepping into a Russian transport hits the public, there’s a good chance

budget increases may come to the agency. But after witnessing more than a handful of museum visitors turn away from the entrance of the exhibit upon hearing it contained art, let’s hope NASA has a backup plan.

IMDB

The aspiring photographer’s dream was shattered as she got her next assignment: stalking Pauly Shore.

Not afraid of the Dark

by Jake Schindler When screenwriter Guillermo del Toro and director Troy Nixey began work on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, they set out to make a PG13 picture. After all, the film is a remake of a 1973 TV movie that, despite its lack of gore, made quite an impression on a young del Toro. The MPAA had other ideas, and ended up giving the film an R rating, because they found it “pervasively scary.” One might consider this a ringing endorsement of the summer’s latest horror venture, but the MPAA was, as expected, terribly wrong.

Nixey’s directorial debut is undone by the simple fact that its CGI monsters belong in a comedy, not a supposed fright-fest.

The film is a classic haunted house story. A precocious young girl named Sally is sent to live with her architect father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes). Alex is absorbed with his work restoring an old mansion called Fallen Mill, angling for the cover of Architec-

tural Digest magazine. Sally, played by Bailee Madison, is an unhappy little girl. Her mother has, in her words, given her daughter away, and Sally doesn’t care for her dad’s new house or his love interest. Her nascent abandonment complex is compounded when, to no one’s astonishment, the mansion turns out to be inhabited by little monsters that torment her and play on her feelings of being unwanted.

Visually, the movie’s gorgeous. The house and its environs are shot beautifully by cinematographer Oliver Stapleton. Ornate rooms and gardens, soft lighting, and a tinkling score combine to give Fallen Mill a fairytalelike quality typical of del Toro projects. One of the movie’s most memorable shots is the mahogany foyer of the house bathed in warm light from a huge window above the double staircase— the place really could be in Architectural Digest. Madison’s acting stands out here, her blank expressions and chubby face playfully inviting comparison to Danny Torrance in The Shining.

This film has more of an old-school feel than most of the summer’s horror fare.

The pacing is deliberate and suspenseful, and it shies away from what del Toro terms “torture porn.” But when the film reaches the “jump scenes,” the monsters are downright embarrassing.

Their goofy hunched-over gaits and their high-pitched chants of “Sally!” elicited little more than an occasional laugh from the audience. The only genuine scare in the movie comes during the prologue, when we’re shown a previous owner of the house, and what the evil forces there have driven him to do. This would have been a better angle for the whole movie: relying on crazed characters rather than the monsters themselves to deliver the scares.

Should this movie even have been remade at all?

Perhaps del Toro and Nixey should have listened to the advice of Mr. Harris, the wise groundskeeper who in the 1973 original cautions the doomed homeowners: “Some things are best left the way they are.”

georgetownvoice.com

The joy of eating

by Heather Regen As soon as students step foot on campus, Avocado Cafe and its delivery-food rivals make it their mission to litter the school with menus. New to Georgetown, Eat & Joy hasn’t missed out on the race to inundate the lobby of New South with its pamphlets, calling out to Leo’s-weary freshmen who need to stock up on CampusFood.com points.

Though the pan-Mediterranean eatery sits conveniently off M Street on 34th, students should take advantage of its take-out option. The restaurant itself is sparse, with several wobbly steel tables scattered about the floor. And unless Eat & Joy attracts more sit-down diners, expect to stare awkwardly at the plastic gerbera daisies on your table as pick-up customers pass in and out.

Sitting down at the restaurant won’t shave time off of your wait either. Students looking for fast—and far cheaper—Mediterranean food should stick to Quick Pita.

Yet despite these flaws, Eat & Joy offers a menu full of the best dishes in Mediterranean cuisine.

The cacik dip, made with yogurt, cucumbers and olive oil, serves as a refreshing pair to the smoky babaghannoush. Warm pita bread comes with most appetizers, which are priced around five dollars.

It’s not all Mediterranean, though—the menu is littered with standard American fare.

Buffalo wings oddly appear next to the falafel plate and Turkish ezme. Pizza and calzones, ranch dressing, and BBQ chicken crowd up Eat & Joy offerings, adding a bizarre character to the menu as a whole. Next to the restaurant’s oven specials, the pizzas are decent, but unmemorable. Most popular are Eat & Joy’s Turkish-style “pizzas,” called pides, which are cooked up in a brick oven and filled with delicious blends of vegetables, spices and meats.

The spinach pide pairs feta with kaser cheese, and the two are blended together with olives.

Its crust is somewhere between Eat & Joy’s pita and its pizza dough, and it holds up well to the filling, thickly spread blends.

The main dishes offer overcompensating portions of basmati rice and salad, but the baklava is worth saving room for. Though small, Eat & Joy’s sticky desserts are crispy, fresh, and well worth the three-fifty price.

Its take-out menu features coupons for pizzas and wings, but if you decide to order Eat & Joy, do it right and go with the Mediterranean options. You already eat enough pizza from Tuscany anyway.

Beer eye for the frosh guy

The beginning of senior year is a great time for enjoying kegs on the Esplanade, reflecting on your college experience, and above all, desperately searching for an answer to the question posed by just about everyone you come across: “So, what do you plan to do after college?” I am nowhere near close enough to having an answer to that question, but I do have one way to show the people in my life that I have grown and matured at college: my drinking habits.

While all other aspects of my life have some maturing to do, my taste for alcohol, at least, has become more discriminating during my four years in college.

While I wouldn’t dream of offering career advice to anyone, my three years at Georgetown

the georgetown voice 11

“That guy asked for our help. We lit him on fire.”—Cabin Fever

have afforded me a few bits of alcohol-related wisdom that I feel obligated to pass on.

OUT: Whatever you have in your fridge mixed with whatever your neighbor has in his. IN: Making cocktails.

From the classic martini or gin and tonic to the more ambitious mojito or White Russian, cocktails are an excellent way to demonstrate your maturity and refined taste in booze. A wellchosen cocktail can say a lot about a person’s style, mood, and personal financial situation, and practicing for a few years will make ordering at bars a lot smoother. Plus, unlike that combination of Burnett’s and last week’s Mountain Dew, cocktails are delicious.

OUT: Drinking out of water bottles. IN: Flasks.

lez’hur ledger

SLUTWALK 2011

by Rachel Calvert Lafayette Square has never seen so much skin. As I wandered into this designated meeting place to march in the SlutWalk, I was relieved to note my outfit—we’ll call it a costume— fell in the mid-range of concertedly slutty ensembles. That put it just above the leopard-printbra-and-stiletto combo and slightly below the same combo overlaid with a mesh dress borrowed from the Village People.

Two men with canes and fur coats swaggered past me, holding signs declaring, “Pimps for

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Can’t say the same for his cutoffs.

Yeah, we all thought that carrying that water bottle full of mixed drink all night was cool (“Really guys, it looks just like juice!”). Buy a flask.

OUT: Third Edition, Rugby.

IN: Any other bar in Georgetown.

Whiskey Business

by Mary Cass

a bi-weekly drinking column Why waste your time in a dark, crowded pit of sweaty freshmen when you could spend it drinking three-dollar Stellas all night at Mr. Smith’s piano bar, harassing your local college bartenders at The Tombs, or playing a few rounds of pool at Hero? The point is, no matter what your haunt of the moment is, try to make sure your choice in bar is at least little more stringent with its I.D.

Women’s Rights.” They captured the sentiments of the day: the SlutWalk is a somewhat playful protest of sexism and what organizers deem the “rape culture” that excuses—and even subconsciously encourages— sexual assault. Since the inaugural SlutWalk in Toronto, people have donned their “sluttiest” garments to march in protest of the victim-blaming attitudes that consider assault a natural result of a woman’s outfit, persona, or profession. My contribution to this simulated brothel was a slip, my approximation of “the morning after,” as a fellow slut deemed it.

Someone with a blow-horn announced that we would be marching to the National Mall. I had committed to march with a group that came equipped with some impressive signage. Someone decided I looked strong enough to escort one-half of a banner proclaiming “We’ve Had Enough, Demand Women’s Rights, Demand LGBT Rights.” I somehow didn’t share their confidence, but for empowerment’s sake, I took the banner anyway.

Somewhere en route to the Mall, I was simultaneously blinded by the flashes of media cameras and the realization that I could end up in next week’s

requirements than a freshman clubhouse.

OUT: Pounding drinks. IN: Starting early, staying late.

There’s no denying that quickly knocking back a shot or seven has its merits at certain times, but sustaining continued drinking over a longer period of time is also an important skill to cultivate. In addition to impressing a sense of maturity and restraint as well as allowing you to drink more for longer periods of time, it also saves you the embarrassment of being the guy puking in the bathroom before 10:30.

OUT: House parties (at a stranger’s place). IN: House parties (at a friend’s) Going to a party at a house owned by a sports team or a club often means fighting your way through a dark, smelly mess of strangers only to find

Washington Blade in a slip. I also dashed any hopes of being hired by a reputable establishment (here’s to bartending!).

Several blocks later I handed off the banner and devoted my full energy to campy feminist chants (“Hey hey, ho ho, sexual violence has got to go!”). Eventually we reached what struck me as an incredibly ironic terminus for this particular march: the largest phallus in the metro area, also known as the Washington Monument.

At that point it started to rain, putting a momentary damper on the feminist outrage. The third-wavers rallied, though, and embraced what had become an impromptu wet Tshirt contest. The T-shirts fared a lot better than the pasties that some had foolishly chosen to wear.

The speakers delivered optimistic messages about the capacity of humankind to erase our differences and bring an end to violence. Some retold stirring personal accounts of rape. This racy, unconventional rally provided a heartening demonstration of human endurance, unity, and compassion—and proved just how intimidating a marching mob of women in high heels and underwear can be.

a fridge that has been empty since the party’s 10 o’clock commencement. Going to a party at a friend’s house, on the other hand, equals VIP access to the alcohol and speakers. Plus, nothing says “I’m a grown-up!” louder than having friends with houses.

So there you have it, an amateur list of ways to demonstrate (or fake) all the wisdom and maturity of an unaccomplished 20-something-year-old. But in the end, it’s not about impressing your friends with your newly acquired skills, it’s about developing and growing into your own style. After all, your ability to grow (as well as a healthy amount of drinking) are why your parents sent you to college in the first place.

Get your drink on with Mary at mcass@georgetownvoice.com

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

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

Beirut, The Rip Tide, Pompeii Considering that Beirut’s Zach Condon once described himself as a musician in search of an “epic melody,” it might seem odd that his band’s third album, The Rip Tide, clocks in at a decidedly non-epic 33 minutes. But despite its brevity, the album once again showcases Condon’s continuing development as a songwriter and the brooding, lyrical instrumentation that has been the band’s hallmark.

In keeping with the band’s range of global musical influences—spanning from their early roots in Balkan folk songs to later musings with a Mexican marching band for the March of the Zapotec EP—two of the album’s best tracks, “Santa Fe” and “East Harlem,” pay homage to Beirut’s geographical inspirations. “Santa Fe,” a tribute to Condon’s home-

town, intersperses his smooth, simple vocals with a choppy drumbeat to draw listeners in, and then rewards them with a beautifully sunny horn section reminiscent of debut album Gulag Orkestar.

Likewise, “East Harlem,” a song Condon says he originally wrote at the age of 16, opens with him singing sweetly, “Another rose will turn East Harlem.” The combination of his poetic, heartfelt lyrics with rich vocal harmonies creates a romantic quality to the song, which is only reinforced by the strumming and horn flourishes throughout.

While these two tracks share a more pleasant nature, the refined piano chords of “Goshen” capture the melancholy tone of the album as a whole—a sound which reflects the fact that The Rip Tide was recorded in the middle of winter in upstate New York. The seasonal influence is most evident on “Payne’s Bay,” which pairs Jon Natchez’s sonorous horn melody with the lyrics “I can’t belong to winter.”

While just a half-hour of new music may not be enough for some Beirut fans, The Rip Tide still impresses—not only with the songs’ understated, powerful sound, but mostly because, three albums and

Pre-frosh poketacular

Each year, after receiving their acceptance letters and sending in their tuition deposits, most of the new crop of prefreshmen take what must seem like a big step toward becoming part of the Georgetown community: joining the Class of [fill in year here] Facebook group.

This group facilitates Facebook stalking at its finest: it’s full of hundreds of complete strangers, all of whom have the potential to be a roommate, classmate, or new best friend. And before ever meeting them, Facebook allows soon-to-be freshmen to imagine exactly where all these strangers might figure into their next four years at Georgetown.

Going through the profiles of 1,500 new people, however, is a daunting task for even the most seasoned Facebook stalkers. Year after year, though, pre-frosh begin their college-level social network-

ing with furious aplomb, sending out friend requests to scores of other incoming freshmen and posting repeatedly in the group’s discussion topics.

Sending out uninvited friend requests can seem like a great way to get a head start on a few friendships. Noticing that someone else “likes” both the Kings of Leon and Family Guy on Facebook can make the eventual development of a lifelong, unbreakable friendship seem inevitable, even if neither party has a clue who the other is.

The group’s online discussion boards, on the other hand, usually allow for a little more actual communication. Whether the topic is partying, summer reading assignments, or D.C. concerts, these topics become the place where extrachummy pre-frosh really start to stand apart from the crowd and become more than just a profile

three EPs in, Condon and his band show no signs of slowing down.

Voice’s Choices: “East Harlem,” “Santa Fe” —Mary Borowiec

Girls, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, True Panther Sounds Of the litany of complaints that doctors and educators have made about the tolls of the technological age on American youth, one of the most prominent is the obvious shortening of our national attention span. But if Father, Son, Holy Ghost, the sophomore album from San Francisco indie duo Girls, meets any kind of acclaim or success, our nation can rest easy that many of its youngsters are superhumanly attentive—because getting through Holy Ghost’s tediously repetitive 57 minutes in one sitting is enough to with a picture, posting epically under-informed missives on their expectations for the upcoming four years.

Inevitably, there are those students who get so caught up in the excitement of it all, registering hundreds of comments and random friend requests, that by the time they arrive on campus

Byte Me

by Kelsey McCullough a bi-weekly column about technology for New Student Orientation, the majority of the incoming freshman class already know who they are. These are the pre-frosh celebrities.

These people are by no means fame-mongers, but they are nonetheless among the most visible figures on campus to their classmates. Their fame is accidental, an unintended consequence of their over-aggressive online

make anyone feel like a fifth grader trapped in Catechism.

Which is sad, really, because it gets off to such a promising start.

First track “Honey Bunny” is immediate and infectious, rife with the band’s characteristic twangy electric guitars and bouncing ‘60s surf-pop beats that have fun, fun, fun, ‘til vocalist Christopher Owens takes the quick tempo away.

The pocket of slow calm towards the middle is interesting in its unexpectedness, but not so much that the listener is disappointed when the track reaccelerates for its finish.

But the unexpectedness ends there. And as the album goes on, what started as fun and retro quickly reverts to tracks sounding straight off Girls’ debut, 2009’s Album, which alternate without much musical inflection between praises of beautiful love and elegiac laments of when it went wrong, all of which are doo-wop-y enough to come out of the overture of a hipster version of Grease. Only this overture plays for the entire musical.

But at the very least, Holy Ghost gives the impression that the band is at least trying—albeit failing—to branch out. Virtually every song has at least a minute or two of something that deviates from their last album’s sound that, despite not being the most pleasant comamicableness, but that doesn’t stop them from being recognized everywhere. When Facebook celebrities stop being just a profile picture and a name and become real people going to class, eating in Leo’s, or studying in Lauinger, many probably find that living in semi-stardom can be difficult.

An initial meeting with a prefrosh celeb can be as uncomfortable for the celebrity as it is for the common freshman. For both parties, meeting someone in the flesh whom each has only ever known through the Internet can be kind of awkward, to say the least. Both are faced with the dilemma of whether they should acknowledge that they oddly know a lot about a person that they are now meeting for the first time, or try to start over as if they had no idea who the other person was until this very moment. And for those stars who are famous for volunteering their mom to buy alcohol the first night or for

position, at least breaks up what would otherwise resemble an hour stuck in a California elevator. The most radically different of these is “Die,” which, for its first two minutes of heavy, competing guitar riffs, wailing solos, and pessimistic lyrics, sounds straight out of 1970s pretentio-rock. But in a twist that shouldn’t surprise anybody, it soon degenerates into what sounds like a different song entirely. Unfortunately, that song is the band’s twoyear-old hit “Hellhole Rat Race.”

This pattern continues to pop up throughout the album, from “Vomit,” which starts off with a slow guitar and barely-whispered vocals that regrettably hearken Bright Eyes, to an incongruous, emphatic gospel singer, who takes the place of those doo-wop background vocals on this track and album closer “Jamie Marie.”

And if you make it all the way to the album’s finish without falling asleep or ripping out your headphones in growing frustration at monotonous song after song of love gone lost, then congratulations—you’re an anomaly of your generation.

Voice’s Choices: “Honey Bunny,” “Magic” —Leigh Finnegan trying to find out where to get fake I.D.s, they must learn to accept that their start at college will be no tabula rasa.

Luckily, for most pre-frosh celebrities, life in the limelight doesn’t last forever. Many of them will try to shy away from their fame by de-friending people they didn’t actually meet in the first few months of college, or deleting posts from the Facebook group. Slowly, everyone starts to realize that real friendships can’t be formed online, and even the celebrities revert back to the more traditional ways of meeting new people. And soon enough, the stars become just one of many new names and faces around Georgetown’s campus, when they hopefully can become known for more than just their early overeager online friendliness.

Find out if Kelsey’s achieved online fame at kmcculough@georgetownvoice.com

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the georgetown voice 13

THE CHINA VOICE People’s Liberation News Report of Basketball Athletics Competition In August, the great nation of China welcomed the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team to the People’s Republic of China for a series of exhibitions in front of a multitude of crowds. The Hoyas arrived to a great number of cheering and joyous crowds at the airport. The official state dinner provided by the generous and all-loving government exceeded anything inferior Western nations could ever even conceive. University President Jack DeGioia was impressed with the quality of food and drinks and promised great relations for years to come between Georgetown and the People’s Republic of China.

DeGioia said, “Georgetown came here with the goal of increasing communication with this world leader but instead ended up getting an experience of hospitality and pleasure which we will never forget…I’ll never go back to eating regular sloppy joes again!”

This was the biggest sporting event to happen in mainland China since the 2008 Beijing Olympics and even featured a concert at the pregame feast by worldrenowned Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang and American pop singer DMX.

After the final game between Georgetown and an amateur team from a small and extremely loyal island province of China, the team had a farewell meeting where players were issued special gold and The game even featured a powerful slam silver handcuffs courtesy of the army dunk play over Georgetown guard Jason team as a symbol of friendship between Clark. the two countries connected by a common bond.

Georgetown’s coach also praised the officiating of the game. “The referees Georgetown concluded their tour showed fairness in every call they made,” by leaving out of Shanghai People’s he said. “I’m definitely going to invite Liberation Airport, where adoring fans those guys over to my house next time I threw cups of beer at the plane as it took off to remind the players of their home as host poker night.” they returned to college.

The games also proved to be a great One member of the Georgetown delegation testing ground for the new players on Georgetown’s team. But none of the was detained and unable to return players were able to comment because of home with the team. Jack the Bulldog Coach Thompson’s strict rule that no is scheduled to be executed at dawn freshmen talk to the press until second tomorrow for eating a box with a Chinese semester and definitely not because they flag depicted on it. were detained. loud cheering. I think the fans really appreciated the effort showed on the floor by the starters and the players off the chairs…er bench.”

“The players were really excited to get into the fray and get some experience out on the rough and tumble hardwood floor,” Thompson said.

The first game between the Hoyas and the Shangxi Dragons went well as both teams displayed feats of amazing athleticism.

In the second game, Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets tied as neither team was willing to score the winning basket.

After the game, Georgetown coach John Thompson III said, “After such a hardfought game between two skilled teams we just thought neither team deserved to lose. We had some big, warm hugs after the game and walked off the court to

Kathleen Soriano-Taylor

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14 the georgetown voice

august 26, 2011

Fight for your rights before labor unions unravel

by Alexa Lombardo When I told my boss about my father’s position as the leader of a prominent labor union, he responded the way a lot of people do: “Your dad, he must be a real legbreaker.” My father, a legbreaker? My dad is a sweet man who plants the daisies in our family’s front yard and bought me my senior prom dress. He’s a foodie who has taken me to every quality pizza joint in the tri-state area. “Legbreaker” would not make the list of adjectives I’d use to describe him. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time I’ve heard the term in reference to my dad, and it wouldn’t be the last.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on the subject of the American organized labor movement, or on the subject of worker’s rights. But, I am an expert on my father, and I assure you he has never personally broken anyone’s leg. So why is this term so frequently used? Sadly, it’s a product of the historic association between unions and brutal-

ity. Some labor leaders have been connected to the mob or various local thug organizations, but this is by no means the norm. The American labor movement has generally been one of peaceful and rational negotiation. Today, union members continue to argue their cause in a passive manner, but more aggressive factions have once again come to define the entire endeavor. Once seen as the advocates of the American worker, unions are now depicted as the enemy.

Because this movement has been my father’s life’s work, I feel a strong personal connection to unions. Thanks to unions, I’ve been afforded many luxuries, as well as just basic conveniences, in my life. In fact, we all have, but most don’t even realize it. Unions paved the way for all American workers to strive for a higher standards of living and quality working rights. All too often, though, their accomplishments seem to be forgotten. The death of unions has been a story for nearly 40 years.

On one hand, media outlets are to blame for unions’ mis-

characterization. On the other, we can blame the organizations themselves. Many labor organizations are much too closely tied to politics. Rather than working together to establish a national message with national standards, unions have thrown their weight behind political parties or candidates that they feel will safeguard their interests. The problem is, even the politicians they endorse rarely prioritize labor issues. Lately there has been little protection of workers rights, which only continue to diminish across the United States.

Sadly, as the American workforce has evolved, labor unions have admittedly become something of an archaic and outdated institution.

At one point in time, Americans valued integrity and cooperation in the workplace. Now, it’s every man for himself. In my opinion, teamwork and brotherhood are critical to the efficiency of any business or operation.

Losing sight of this means we’re all alone out there in the work-

force, with few to call on for help, and fewer to guide us as we learn.

Why should students care?

Maybe we don’t now, but we will.

Unlike many of our parents or grandparents, most of us won’t work for the same company for our whole lives. What happens when we retire, and the pensions we built, those 401(k) programs in which we invested so much, go unmatched? When social security ceases to exist? What about when retirement comes? By the looks of it, retirement will eventually go hand-in-hand with death: we’ll all be working until the day we die. The rights and benefits—including retirement — which labor unions strived for so many years are slowly disappearing, and no one, not even labor unions, is doing anything about it. While their organizations may be surviving, they are operating more like private corporations, protecting their singular interests rather than insuring the quality and endurance of the message and movement.

If I’ve learned anything from my father’s critiques of the cause

about which he is so passionate, it’s that rather than being so highly politicized and propagandized, unions need to cooperate, in accordance with the values they supposedly advocate, to establish a unified and resilient front. In addition, unions must focus more on educating their members as well as the general public, which would prevent the proliferation of stereotypes and the wrong messages.

In our generation, I fear that no one is asking, “Who’s looking out for my rights as an employee?” It’s a role that labor unions are increasingly unable to fill. Without them, no one has our backs as workers. It would be a terrible shame to squander the gains that so many in the labor movement, like my father, worked to accomplish.

Alexa Lombardo is a senior in the SFS. She’ll be organizing the next strike this Saturday on the Rhino dancefloor.

Multiculturalism shouldn’t take a beating even if players do

by Kate Stonehill The shocking headline appeared all over the country last week: “Wild brawl ends Georgetown’s exhibition game in China early.” Some combination of the words China, Georgetown, and brawl appeared in each of the numerous emails, Facebook messages, and tweets I received this summer from friends and family eager to break the news to their Georgetown friend about our basketball team’s on-court battle with their Chinese counterparts.

Their descriptions—spectators hurling chairs and water bottles, players throwing punches at their opponents, and foul play

all around—portrayed scenes of utter chaos on the court. The incident, which unfortunately coincided with Vice President Biden’s visit to China, was labeled by many major news agencies as a diplomatic disaster.

Like many Hoyas, I applaud the University’s effort to forge cross-cultural relationships through sports. As a dual citizen of both the U.S. and the U.K., I chose to come to Georgetown because of both its international presence and diversity initiatives. Georgetown seemed like a place that championed multiculturalism, a phenomenon that many Europeans consider to be one of the biggest, and most

Georgetown Hoyas leave diplomacy to the diplomats.

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important, experiments of our time.

Sports have often been used in the past to facilitate an ethic of multiculturalism and act as a vehicle for diplomacy—the Olympics are a perfect example of this—and with that in mind, the game’s outcome was surely disappointing. But after all of the extensive media coverage, I found myself disconcerted by the tendency to pin political meaning on a basketball scuffle that most likely occurred because of disagreement with the referee, not as the result of some kind of clash of ideology. It was as if the game had become a microcosm for the future of U.S.China relations, and the fate of this doomed relationship was available for all of us to watch on YouTube in slow motion within the theatrical arena of a basketball court. Would there have been the same media reaction if the team had been playing Sweden or France?

There’s a danger in viewing events as the result of political, racial, or cultural disputes when the conflict in question is not inherently of this nature. The basketball game did not end up being the goodwill game it was intended to be, but neither was it indicative of some kind of U.S.-

China incompatibility factor.

Like the Georgetown basketball debacle, the London riots this summer caused many to decry multiculturalism as a massive failure. Casting events as some kind of clash of cultures has been used repeatedly in Europe to reinforce the all too common belief that multiculturalism has failed. For example, the London riots were rapidly labeled as racially motivated violence, with some news agencies even comparing the disturbances to the civil rights movement. This comparison is absurd. It later became clear that the riots had more in common with opportunistic looting, and were not confined to a particular racial or ethnic demographic. To see the riots as the result of racial conflict is to ignore the larger problem that in Great Britain there is a large contingent of young people who feel they have no stake in either their own future or that of their country.

Slapping a label on a conflict is often the easiest thing to do. It would be simple to say that London’s youth were rioting because they cannot stand white people, or that the fight between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Bayi Rockets erupted due to longstanding tensions between American and Chinese

ideologies. Both of these descriptions, however, would be wildly inaccurate. Citing the failure of multiculturalism has become a means through which politicians, the media, and everyday citizens avoid addressing or explaining the real problem, whatever it may be.

Imbuing a conflict with racial, ethnic, or religious significance often misses the point of the conflict. It readily lends support to the idea that there are some aspects of one’s identity that will put one at odds with another person of a different race, religion, or belief system. While many conflicts exist as the result of tensions between different groups, a lot of disagreements have more nuanced explanations that are not as simple as race or religion. The capacity for conflict resolution—for both a fruitful U.S.-China relationship and peace in the London streets—depends on accepting multiculturalism as a viable way of life, and diversity as something we strive for in society.

Kate Stonehill is a senior in the SFS. This summer she ignored her London calling and missed out on all the looting.

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georgetownvoice.com

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15

From Hoosier to Hoya: a guide to incoming transfers

by Katie Green During my first few weeks at Georgetown, I was asked the question approximately 343 times: “So, why did you transfer?” At first, I would give long-winded explanations, getting tangled in my own reasons and excuses to explain why I decided to leave Indiana University. I learned to avoid this. There are tons of reasons I could list: desire for

a strong international relations program, longing to explore a world outside of the Midwest, hopes for a challenge. Or even the more candid responses: a disappointing Greek system, regrets of choosing the safe option, following a boyfriend.

Eventually I learned that I really didn’t need an excuse to offer other people. Just knowing that my first year wasn’t just right is reason enough.

With bags of clothes, show-

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Transfers blend right in among returning students during welcome week.

Check me out Though most of my West Coast-bred friends scoffed, Tuesday’s 5.8-magnitude earthquake really upset me—mostly because I didn’t feel it at all. As my Facebook news feed blew up with first hand accounts of the quake, I sat at my desk with an acute sense of disappointment.

Somehow I had missed what would surely become one of the biggest news stories of the end of the summer. I had to disappoint the family members who had emailed me asking for an eyewitness report. Worst of all, I had to come home from work and listen to everyone telling me how cool it was to feel an earthquake as if I hadn’t been in D.C. at all.

I admit that experiencing an earthquake would likely not have been as cool as I imagine, but at least I could have said I experienced an earthquake. I would have gotten a story out of it, and that would have been worth more than the experience itself. It’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed in myself and in others, especially during college, when you’re expected to have the wildest and most enriching four years of your life. I don’t think I’m alone in admitting that many of the things I’ve done at Georgetown have only been enjoyable after the fact—when I’m telling people about them.

Take President Obama’s inauguration. I would have

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er shoes, and Mom in tow, I arrived in Georgetown after a year at Indiana. Soon I would learn that the name Georgetown not only represents the University but also the name of the surrounding neighborhood (who knew?). Looking back now as a senior, the most important thing I learned is to let go of what I expected and what I thought I knew. Once I let go of these expectations, I was able to find challenges in classes and new friends in unexpected places. Ultimately, I became inspired by my peers while staying true to my roots.

Regrettably, I tested into a higher level of Spanish than I should have. (At the time, it seemed like a good idea to “refresh” verb tenses, conjugations, vocabulary, and pronouns right before the placement exam.) The first day of Spanish with Profesora Zarate was a cruel awakening. I remember being tempted to ask, “Wait, we don’t speak English in here?” But through hard work, help from classmates, and a fantastic professor, I ended up getting an A. A year and a half later, I found myself standing in El Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain, while studymuch rather sat in warmth and comfort of my New South room and watched it on TV. But, of course, I couldn’t miss out on telling family members and friends from home that I had gone.

I went on to tell everyone how inspiring it was, but in reality I got separated from my friends after a port-opotty trip, was woefully underdressed for the below-

Carrying On

by Aodhan Beirne A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

freezing temperatures, and was almost too tired to stay awake through the entire ceremony after not sleeping and leaving for the mall at 4 a.m.

This is the first time I’m admitting the truth, and until now, I almost believed the story I had been telling everyone. After all, college is no time for uninteresting activities.

Though I didn’t miss an opportunity to mobile-upload a picture of myself at the White House after the

ing abroad. It was incredible to realize that I was re-learning the Spanish painting and history I learned in the class that gave me so much trouble when I first arrived at Georgetown.

When a new friend invited me to a club volleyball practice, I said yes even though I couldn’t make a serve in high school gym class. I eventually stopped going to practices about a month into the season after the whole team was forced to run sprints due to my hopeless serve. Despite my non-existent volleyball skills, the girls on the court that day became some of my closest friends at Georgetown. I am thankful I pushed pride aside and gave it a try.

I remember sitting with my small group on Healy lawn during NSO and was floored by the accomplishments of my fellow transfers. My peers continue to impress me. While I was humbled by their achievements, they did not silence my own ambition. They challenged it.

I now consider myself a Hoya, but I don’t deny my Hoosier roots that in some way lead me here. Sometimes it takes a year of trials to figannouncement of Osama bin Laden’s death, despite being in the middle of finals, I haven’t fully committed to bringing my fear of missing out to the Internet. I easily could, though, with the advent of FourSquare and the ability to check-in to wherever they are using Facebook, thereby making it easier and faster to let everyone know exactly how cool you are based on the places you’ve been. I imagine checking into Third’s will become the new freshman go-to, replacing the classic, “Dude, I was so wasted last night.”

To some degree, I can obviously relate, but I draw the line at the Internet boasting because I know there’s no benefit in checking into a nice restaurant or a cool bar other than to seem like the man, even though no one asked. At least when I talked about the inauguration, it was in response to an interested question.

In addition to eliminating the need for Big Brother, it also eliminates the need for a story. Friends are going to stop listening because they already know that you went

ure out what it is you’re actually looking for. Though some of my new friends assumed I lived and studied in a cornfield (and frankly, some still do), I’ve come to embrace it.

The beauty of the Georgetown student body is the diversity of our backgrounds, not their homogeny.

As a rising senior, I have a list of regrets. Each of these has a common theme: they begin with “I wish I had…” or “I didn’t do…”. Take this advice now and try everything, get out there. You won’t regret trying, even if you fall flat on your face. I know I don’t.

I never thought I’d be a transfer. Indiana was supposed to be everything I wanted, but it is okay that it wasn’t. At the time I was scared, but in time I knew I deserved to be here. I now know that transferring to Georgetown was the best decision I have ever made. I look forward to making the most of my last year here. Hoya Saxa!

Katie Green is a senior in the SFS. Her easy transition into Georgetown has everything to do with her openness and attitude. to Wisey’s, then home, and then to Tombs. Most of the time it seems like people spend more time uploading a picture of their most recent meal than they did actually enjoying it. I imagine that’s why D.C. restaurant Rogue 24 banned cell phones from their tables.

I think it’s natural for people to want other people to think that they’re having fun or being interesting whether or not they actually are, which explains FourSquare’s popularity. It’s still surprising to see how obvious people will be in the pursuit of seeming cool online.

Ultimately, I’m in no position to be speaking, because an online personality is only a more concentrated version of an actual personality. While I may leave my cell phone in my pocket at bars, while everyone is checking in, I’ll still be waiting for the aftershocks.

Aodhan Beirne is a senior in the College. Don’t bother seeing where he checks in, he spends all his time alone.

Don’t get lost in the crowd

Open House September 9 . 6pm . Leavey 413

let your Voice be heard