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VOICE the georgetown

SOUND THE ALARM Are you prepared for an emergency?

By Steven Criss

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w September 11, 2014 w Volume 47, Issue 4 w georgetownvoice.com

the

Voice

SEPT. 11, 2014

Julia S. Tanaka Editor in Chief Steven Criss

Managing Editor Mary-Bailey Frank General Manager Noah Buyon Technical Director Dayana Morales Gomez Editor-at-Large BLOG Editor: Ryan Greene

Bursting the georgetown Bubble

The Voice examines student awareness of public safety issues on and off campus.

Editorial ... Safety not guaranteed, pg. 3 News ... Construction Open House, pg. 4 Sports ... Men’s soccer sends Wisconsin packing, pg. 6 Feature ... Student awareness of public safety is lacking, pg. 8 Leisure ... GEMA to rock Gonda Theatre, pg. 10 Page 13 ... The Seven Circles of Hell, pg. 13 Voices ... Going crazy over the latest food craze, pg. 14

Assistant Editors: Grace Brennan, Marisa Hawley, Jared Kimler, Kenneth Lee

NEWS Editor: Julia Jester

Assistant Editors: Shalina Chatlani, James Constant, Lara Fishbane

SPORTS Editor: Chris Castano Assistant Editors: Kevin Huggard, Joe Pollicino

FEATURE Editor: Caitriona Pagni COVER Editor: Christina Libre LEISURE Editor: Josh Ward

Assistant Editors: Elizabeth Baker, Sam Kleinman, Manuela Tobias

PAGE 13 Editor: Dylan Cutler VOICES Editor: Chris Almeida Assistant Editor: Grace May

HALFTIME Senior Leisure Editor: Daniel Varghese

Assistant Leisure Editors: Micaela Beltran, Simone Wahnschafft

PHOTO Editor: Ambika Ahuja Assistant Editors: Sabrina Kayser, Gavin Myers, Joshua Raftis

DESIGN Editors: Pam Shu, Sophia Super Assistant Editor: Leila Lebreton

COPY Chief: Eleanor Fanto Editors: Judy Choi, Allison Galezo, Rachel Greene, Ryan Miller, Dana Suekoff

EDITORIAL BOARD Chair: Ian Philbrick

Board: Chris Almeida, Shalina Chatlani, Particia Cipollitti, Steven Criss, Lara Fishbane, Ryan Greene, Lucia He, Julia Jester, Caitriona Pagni, Ryan Shymansky, Julia S. Tanaka

Tim Annick Managing Director On this week’s cover: Silent Alarm.

Cover by Christina Libre

editorial

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The georgetown voice | 3

what’s your safeword?

Voice survey data on student safety awareness reveals disconnect As one of the safest parts of D.C., Georgetown is not an area in which emergency protocols are often deemed necessary. Nevertheless, a distinct lack of awareness regarding emergency systems in place on campus persists among Georgetown students. A concerning disconnect between how students perceive their on-campus safetyand theirknowledge of campus security measures highlights a need for greater student and faculty commitment to improving public safety.

This week, the Voice’s blog, Vox Populi, conducted a survey of 75 students asking about their knowledge of public safety issues.

When asked how safe they felt on Georgetown’s campus using a scale of one to five, with one being

the safest, 80 percent responded with a one or two. When asked about the surrounding neighborhood in general, over half respondedwitha one ortwo, indicating that the majority of students feel safe in and around campus.

The survey found vast disparitybetweenstudents’feelingsabout campus safety and their knowledge of campus security procedures, however. Less than half of respondents knew the meaning of the steam whistle alarm system on campus that, when triggered, signals an outdoor emergency. Moreover, just 15 percent of respondents could correctly identify the purpose and function of the Department of Emergency Management and Operational Continuity, which is responsible for determining

emergency protocols and making them visible to the Georgetown community. This lack of emergency awareness has not gone unnoticed by students. When asked how well they felt they had been educated by Georgetown about public safety emergencies on a scale from one to five, with five being “not at all,” 88 percent marked a three orabove.

Sensational public security threats, such as last semester’s ricin incident, are often catalysts for conversations about campus safety. The problem with this is two-pronged. First, extraordinary events prompt too little actual change in either campus safety protocol or student behavior.

When a significantly dangerous event takes place on campus, it is

essential that additional precautions be put in place to prevent recurrence and that students’ awareness of these resources be increased. Second, extraordinary events are rare, and direct campus institutional memory declines with each incoming freshman class. Ensuring sustainable student safety must therefore be about habituating students’ responses to potential threats on a consistent basis rather than responding reflexively to extreme events when theyoccur.

In order to address both problems and the lack of awareness of campus safety procedures revealed by the Voice’s poll, more dialogue regarding more ordinary emergency scenarios, such as fires or robberies, which can eas-

ily occur on campus with regularity. Though events like the ricin incident may generate discussion about campus safety, they should not be relied upon to improve safety.These events are few and far between and will not accomplish what is necessary to habituate appropriate responses to more common public safetyhazards.

The administration and student groups that frequently partner with it should work actively to increase students’ exposure to and familiaritywith public safety issues on campus. If these measures are to succeed, however, Georgetown studentsmustlikewisetakeamore active interest in and better understand emergency response procedures. Ensuring safety on campus runs bothways.

A streetcar undesired

iraq to the future

Ill-advised D.C. streetcar program wasteful, redundant

Obama’s ISIL address targets terrorism and raises questions

Georgetown students making the trek down to H Street NE in the past few weeks likely witnessed D.C.’s latest transit project in action—one that looks straight out of the 19th century. Streetcars, which ran throughout the District from 1862 to 1962, are once again being deployed along the route from Union Station to the Anacostia River. The project, however, represents profoundly misguided—as well as fiscally irresponsible—decision-making on the part of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

The new streetcars run exclusively along a 2.2-mile stretch also serviced by the X2 bus, which additionally covers destinations across the Anacostia and west of Union Station. This makes the new streetcar more like an anachronism than a form of dependable public transportation. Riders can travel up and down the H Street-Benning Road corridor all they want, but to get anywhere farther along the same route they will have to take the bus.

Commuters represent municipal transit

infrastructure’s largest customer base. According to a study from the American Public Transportation Association, work commuters account for 59.2 percent of total transit trips taken. This streetcar system, with limited range and subject to street-level traffic, will be passed over by most commuters in favor of more practical modes of transport. According to a recent article in The Economist, bus systems are cheaper to build, operate, and ride than streetcars. They also have a carrying capacity that is five times greater per hour, and are more attractive to commuters and the economically disenfranchised.

Streetcars have made a comeback in the U.S. in recent years because of federal subsidies for small municipal transportation projects, with lines opening in decidedly non-transit-oriented cities, such as Tampa, Fl, Salt Lake City, Ut, and Dallas, Tx. But none of the 11 major U.S. streetcar systems examined in a recent study by CityLab, an affiliate of The Atlantic, consistently ran every 15 minutes throughout the day. This

time frame is considered the absolute minimum standard for convenient transit—in New York City, for instance, subway trains run every two to five minutes during rush hour. D.C.’s fledgling project is unlikely to perform any better than those already running across the country—and when commuters are the target audience, efficiency is key.

Finally, the project has levied a burdensome cost on both riders and taxpayers.

Although fares have yet to be announced, given the streetcars’ limitations, it is unreasonable to expect anyone to pay a fare close to that of a bus. The line’s construction has already cost $135 million—money that could have been better spent improving the District’s schools or expanding the frequency of service on the Metro’s troubled Blue Line.

Necessities persist in Washington, D.C. that need to be addressed.

Streetcars—expensive, unlikely to turn a profit, and redundant in terms of service—are an unaffordable luxury.

Syria. Ukraine. Gaza.

Iraq. Recent international crises have presented the United States with nothing but bad choices in terms of foreign policy, and have given President Barack Obama a splitting political headache.

Vitriolic criticism of the president’s Middle East foreign policy—or lack thereof—largely glosses over the fact that it is profoundly difficult to lead effectively in times of exigent global conflict. Systemic failures in Iraq and a publicly perceived lack of toughness have inverted the political traction Obama built up by withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq and largely obscured his regional foreign policy successes, argued The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

Obama’s task during last night’s prime time address to the nation was therefore threefold: to make the case for military action against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, chart a strategy for U.S. retaliation, and defend his foreign policy history. He succeeded

on all counts. Urging Congress to approve a “comprehensive and sustained” four-part campaign to “degrade, and ultimately destroy,” ISIL, the President employed an appropriately reluctant, stalwart, and above all, somber tone. To ward off criticism that intervention will mire the U.S. in yet another Middle Eastern imbroglio, Obama emphasized that limited strategic operations in Yemen, S omalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have proven successful and are replicable in the case of ISIL. Obama also wisely emphasized multilateral cooperation with the Free Syrian Army that opposes the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Iraqi Armed Forces, with the U.S. providing military advisement and air support to bomb regional ISIL targets. In addition to distinguishing a potential security threat to the U.S. in the form of pro-ISIL expats and to U.S. interests in the form of Iraqi destabilization, he rightly called attention to the humanitarian impetus behind intervention.

Most of ISIL’s victims

to date have been other Muslims.

Nevertheless, questions about the operation’s sustainability and duration endure. How sustainable, for example, is delegating tasks among coalition partners given that, as Chris Woods wrote in Foreign Policy yesterday, Obama has laid out a strategy in which the U.S. continues to serve as Iraq’s “proxy air force”? And finally, even if ISIL is indeed defeated, what implications does its tactics make about the future face of Islamic radicalism? The War on Terror has demonstrated that trying to kill an idea is far easier to propose than to execute.

The Obama plan awaits both Congressional approval and punditry’s response.

No one disagrees that ISIL’s barbarism is incompatible with international standards of civilization. The question of how best to punish its acts of terrorism, however, are less conclusive. If anything is certain, it is that international crises that raise complex questions will yield no simple answers.

news

4 | the georgetown voice

SAMAN ASDJODI

THESE STUDENTS LOOK SUPER ECO-FRIENDLY.

Georgetown environmental groups come together for annual summit RYAN MILLER

A coalition of environmental student groups, academic departments, and University offices came together on Tuesday for the Georgetown Environmental Leaders Fall Summit, where they discussed how to foster a community of environmentally conscious students and make campus more sustainable.

Groups such as EcoAction, GU FossilFree,andtheCorpGreenTeam engaged in a conversation with other campus groups, as well as professors and university staff. In addition, students were able to meet with the differentclubsanddepartmentstolearn more about theirprograms, activities, and goals for the academic year.

“Our goal tonight is twofold,” said Caroline James (COL ‘16), one

of the directors of GEL. “To talk through what you want for the year, and to establish a friendly community of student leaders.”

James noted that although the Office of Sustainabilitywas present at the event, the GELstill lacks sufficient Universityrecognition and funding.

“While we feel that GEL is developing well right now even as an independent body, we want to ensure continuity over the next few years,” wrote James in an email to the Voice.

“We think GEL is an important enoughadditiontothelifeatGeorgetown that it needs recognition and support from the University.”

Audrey Stewart, director for the Office of Sustainability, showed her support for GEL and noted her willingness to help any student group that comes to her office.

HIGHer Edge:

STAY CLASSY, FOR-PROFIT UNIVERSITIES JULIA JESTER

a tri-weekly column about America’s colleges

In1911,thefederalgovernment tried to rate American colleges, but failed miserably. Undeterred, the U.S. Department of Education is trying again. Later this fall, a draft of President Obama’s Postsecondary Institution Ratings System is set to be released for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Created in response to a plea from the Association of American Universities, the 1911 rankings were designedtohelpgraduateprograms assess the quality of an applicant’s undergraduate education. The proposed PIRS, however, was ultimately designed to help curb America’s skyrocketing student debt.

Unlike U.S. News rankings, which just ranked Georgetown University in a 21st place tie with Emory University, the federal system does not stack colleges against another, but rather groups them into tiers. In the early 20th century, Kendrick Babcock, the U.S. Bureau of Education’s top higher education official, classified America’s over 600 higher

“The Office of Sustainabilitywas created lastyearin part as a resource for the campus community on sustainability, and our doors are always open to students interested in these topics,” wrote Stewart in an email to the Voice. “I am looking forward to learning more about GEL’s goals and student priorities for sustainability this year, and hopefully helping to find practical ways to bring those ideas to reality on campus.”

The office is currently working on its campus sustainability plan, and Stewart hopes to include students in the planning process. “As a next step laterthisfall,wewillbeprovidinganopportunityforcomments and feedback from the whole campus community tohelpinformthisplan,”shesaid.

The GEL Summit was the first opportunity for environmental groups to meet and share some of their own initiatives for the year, such as the Corp’s Kill the Cup Campaign and GU Fossil Free’s proposal to the University to divest from fossil fuel companies.

James said that although GEL brings all of these groups together for common goals, the lack of university funding can still make running events like the summit difficult.

GEL’sjobistogivethegroupsbelonging to it the support that they need.

“Changes are happening slowly but surely[on campus],”James said.

educational institutions into either Class I, II, III, or IV based on preparedness for graduate-level study. In the federal rating system at that time, Georgetown was placed in the Class II tier.

When a draft of the ratings was made public in 1912, universities essentially flipped out about how the ratings would ruin their reputations,leadingPresidentTafttoissue an executive order banning them.

Their reaction was no surprise considering today’s obsession with collegerankings,butthedifference is that in 1910, only 2.7 percent of the population had a bachelor’s degree. A century later, roughly 38.7 percent of working-age Americans (25 to 64 years old) hold a two- or four-yearcollege degree.

Now, the potential impact of college ratings isn’t about the fame—it’s about the money.

Obama resurrected the idea of federal college ratings last August in a speech during his college affordability bus tour. “It is time to stop subsidizing schools that are not

producinggoodresults,andreward schools that deliver for American students and ourfuture,”he said.

PIRS would measure educational access, affordability, and outcomes of university graduates to determine which offer the best value, and then tie the resulting ratings directly to federal aid— thereby rewarding highly rated schools while penalizing schools in the lower tiers. Critics of the federal rating system argue that the success of some schools cannot be measured in data, particularly those with diverse specialties and those that produce graduates who pursue careers with low incomes and high societal value, such as teachers and social workers.

The nuances of exactly how PIRS would rate the 7,000-plus colleges and universities in the U.S. unclear, but its goal is clear:Americans are drowning in student debt, and as both college enrollment and tuition increase, knowing the value of your higher education is more important than ever.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

University implements overnight guest policy for minors MORGAN HINES The University created a new Minor Guest Policy, which dictates that minors visiting Georgetown students living in all on-campus housing are now required to have a signed permission slip to stay overnight. Visitors under the age 16 are not permitted to enter residences unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“Georgetown University is committed to constantly strengthening our ‘culture of care’ on campus, [and] an important part of this work is creating a safe environment for minors who spend time here,” said Assistant Dean for Residential Living Stephanie Lynch.

The policy, however, will not impact Georgetown’s firstyear students who have not yet come of age. “All [Georgetown] students, regardless of age, can host a minor guest,” said Lynch. “Georgetown students under the age of 18 do not need any special permissions to visit or stay with friends.”

In the 2011-2012 academic year, students and families borrowed more than $106 billion to pay for the cumulative $154 billion price tag of tuition and fees at higher education institutions— including for-profit schools, arguably the main target of PIRS. On Sunday’s episode of Last Week with John Oliver, comedian John Oliver lampooned for-profit colleges and universities, which he emphasized were becoming increasingly—and dangerously—popular as states slash funding for their universities and community colleges reduce capacity. Oliver noted that students at for-profit schools, meaning that they are publicly traded on Wall St., represent about 13 percent of the higher education population, yet they constitute 31 percent of all student loans and nearly 50 percent of all loan defaults.

Georgetown boasts a high price tag, but also high quality faculty and research, while for-profit universities spend roughly a quarter of their revenue on marketing while spending only an eighth of total profits on educators’ salaries. It’s no surprise, therefore, that those who

If individuals under 18 arrive without a parental permission form, their parents will be contacted by an employee of the resident’s RHO. In the event that a minor needs to acquire a guest pass when the RHO is closed, Georgetown University Chief of Police Jay Gruber said that the GUPD office under Village C would serve “the same capacity as RHO.” When the University adopted a Protection of Minors Policy in October 2012, the initial requirements only applied to official university events and did not include a policy for minors visiting overnight.

“We’ve taken a comprehensive approach to this work [safety], prompted by changing times and situations, and always with an eye towards continuing to uphold the moral principles that have guided us as a Jesuit institution,” said Lynch. “This policy reflects best practices as seen on other campuses across the country.” do graduate from these institutions end up with lots of student debt, but few job prospects.

Obviously, government action is justified. For-profit colleges can receive up to 90 percent of their revenue from taxpayer dollars through subsidized student aid. It’s not the first step the White House has taken to grade America’s institutions of higher learning. In February 2013, Obama launched the College Scorecard to help prospective students and parents assess and compare colleges and universities on four factors: average cost, graduation rate, loan default rate, and median amount borrowed.

As the Center for American Progress argues, the PIRS would help ensure the integrity of federal student aid programs and hold colleges and universities accountable to their outcomes.

Until then, remember how fortunate you are to attend a quality institution like Georgetown, and, as Oliver said during his segment, “Please make sure your college years are the best ones of your life, because thanks to the debt that we are saddling you with, they almost certainly will be.”

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Jes Res, Northeast Triangle details revealed at construction open house COURTNIE BAEK The open house for students interested in the ongoing construction projects was shared recent progress on the former Jesuit Residence renovations and Northeast Triangle construction, coincidentally using Georgetown’s newest building, the Healey Family Student Center, on Sept. 9.

Jason Wilcoxon, project manager from architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, who is overseeing the reconstruction of the Jesuit Residences, presented the most recent blueprints of the floor plan and the landscaping. The building consists of eight floors, each with a common lounge. These floors accommodate three-, six-, eight-, and nine-person apartments. Out of the 148 beds in the building, two-thirds are apartments and the others are suites.

Compared to the lofts in Nevils, the lofts in the Jesuit Residence have higher ceilings, providing more space. The ground level provides additional spaces, such as faculty apartments, offices, and what was once a dining hall.

Project managers are making an effort to preserve the original architecture of the Jesuit Resi-

AyERS SAINT GROSS TAKES CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. dence. “Elements of the former Jesuit Residence are preserved and incorporated into the architecture,” said Wilcoxon. “The dining hall is merely being refurbished, and we’re keeping these staircases the same. We’re really trying to save the architecture.”

Wilcoxon specified that the old Jesuit dining hall will not operate as a full dining facility comparable to Leo’s. It will, however, provide social space for all Georgetown students.

Greg Davis, also of Ayers Saint Gross and director of the construction project, said that interior demolition and construction have begun already, and the unit mock-ups will be available to students in this October.

“Right now we’re working on the interior work, and in the spring, the exterior including the

LARA FISHBANE

courtyard,” he said. “The only thing you’re going to see is the elevator overrun between Maguire and Ryan, and that’ll take about a week or two. You’ll see some temporary overhead protection coming out of the Maguire entrance,” he said.

Presenters also discussed the Northeast Triangle dorm. Jodi R. Ernst, director of Georgetown planning and project management, laid out the design of the apartments, the landscaping, and the terrace.

“Northeast Triangle exemplifies a more modern design compared to the Jesuit Residence, in its open glass walls and marble material,” she said.

The Northeast Triangle residence hall is also an eight-story project, featuring mostly suite-style rooms designed for sophomores.

Each floor consists of two- to six-person units, a lounge, a kitchen, and a private study room. The ground floor offers social space and outdoor space, while the garden on the roof extends green space for students.

Ernst provided some dates on the Northeast Triangle construction, including when access to the walkway between the site and Reiss will be blocked off indefinitely. “Reiss Road and Tondorf Road will close this year between September 28th and October 1st for foundational works,” she said. “Excavation starts in January 2015, and hopefully construction will complete by July 2016.”

In response to the concerns about the noise level of the excavation, Ernst stated the construction hours are 8 a.m until 7 p.m., though some adjustments will be made.

“We have quiet times during exams and during study periods and that’s part of the contract,” she said.

“But we’re not doing demolition.

We’re not jackhammering.”

Construction includes lowering the gradient of the handicap ramp between Red Square and the Northeast Triangle. Additionally, both the Jesuit Residence and the Northeast Triangle include elevators accessed with GOcard swipes.

In response to the presentation, GUSA Secretary for Disability Affairs Lydia Brown (COL ‘15) raised the issue of physical accessibility for the disabled community.

“We are providing eight accessible units of each type in the Jesuit Residence,” replied Wilcox. “This building helps to mediate the accessibility challenges this campus has already with topography. You can come out of the building onto the sidewalk along Library Walk, enter ground level of Reynolds Hall, and you could work across the lower level and then egress back on accessible ground on Southwest Quad. It’s almost like a short cut.”

After the presentation concluded, Brown shared her positive attitude toward the project. “Historically at Georgetown, our university has done very poorly in creating an accessible environment for people with disabilities,” said Brown, “So I was pleasantly surprised that the new project managers had thought about mobility disabilities access.”

The construction projects open house showed evident progress on the construction. The designers and administrators estimate the Jesuit Residence and the Northeast Triangle to open in Fall 2016.

GU Pride approved to host IgnatianQ conference on campus D.C. police to pilot body cameras CAITRIONA PAGNI

Georgetown’s administration has approved the proposal drafted last spring for the IgnatianQ LGBTQ Catholic conference to be held on the Hilltop, according to GUPride President Thomas Lloyd (SFS ‘15).

TheOfficeofCampusMinistry,Division of Student Affairs, and GUPride will partner to host the event.

The conference, which will be held on campus March 2015, will include delegations from Jesuit and Catholic schools throughout the country.

Lloyd hopes for a turnout of approximately 200 delegates. He believes that participation from as many universities as possible will allow Georgetown to learn from the best and worst practices of other LGBTQ campus communities.

“It’s really important that there is transparency among the LGBTQ communities on Jesuit campuses that allows the progress of one school to influence the actions and progress of another,” Lloyd said.

IgnatianQ was originally founded by a group of LGBTQ students at Fordham University in 2013 who wanted to create a space for finding God in the LGBTQ communities on Jesuit campuses.

Lloyd, who participated in Georgetown’s delegation to the conference, said it filled the rift many LGBTQ students feel when trying to reconcile their LGBTQ and religious identities.

“It was sort of healing for students who felt as though there was no place for that part of their identity on a Jesuit campus,” he said.

Yes, an LGBTQ FLAG CAN FLY AT A JESUIT UNIVERSITY.

KEVIN GOEBEL

GUPride formed a partnership with the Office of Campus Ministry to make sure the conference continues the conversation that began at Fordham last year.

“Students have invited chaplains from various faith traditions to participate in the dialogue whose aimisreconciliation,understanding and growth of a loving community,” wrote Roman Catholic Chaplain of Campus Ministry Fr. Greg Schenden S.J. in an email to the Voice.

The theme of this year’s IgnatianQ will address forming contemplative communities to ignite action drawing on Jesuit values and rich LGBTQ community history, according to Lloyd. Campus Ministry will play an advisory role in planning the content of the conference and will possibly provide monetary support for the conference, although Campus Ministry did not confirm this claim.

“We recognized what Georgetown in particular could bring to this conversation,” Lloyd said.

“There are very few LGBTQ spaces that exist nationally to address this question … that’s why this conference is so important.”

JAMES CONSTANT Some D.C. police officers could be wearing body-mounted cameras as soon as Oct. 1 as part of a pilot program testing their viability for the entire police force, according to Metro Police Department spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump.

Discussions surrounding the use of cameras broached national debate after the fatal shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., this August. D.C. suburb Laurel, Md. was one of the first police departments nationwide to require their use. Last Thursday, the New York Police Department began a 60-officer body camera trial program.

According to Crump, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier was behind the decision to implement a test body camera program, testifying to their usefulness at a budget hearing earlier this year.

“This has been underway for nearly 18 months,” wrote Crump in an email to the Voice.

“The Department is committed

to implementing a body-camera program, and developing a comprehensive policy to govern all aspects of the initiative.”

A one-year study of the 115-member police force of Rialto, Calif. found that that both use of force by officers and complaints about officers declined after each officer was required to wear a camera. The nonprofit Police Foundation, which conducted the study, concluded that both officers and citizens were more civil to one another when cameras were filming.

Questions remain about whether recording should be universally mandatory, or whether recording should be left to individual officer’s discretion.

Delroy Burton, chairman of the D.C. police union, said in an interviewwith the Washington Post that the cameras should always be recording. Giving the officer the power to turn off the camera, “lends itself to the accusation of selective recording—that the officer is unilaterally selecting what to record and what not to record.”

sports

6 | the georgetown voice

September 11, 2014

Men’s soccer sends Badgers back underground ROB IANNACCONE Georgetown’s 2-0 victory over Harvard this weekend did little to inspire championship-level confidence in Hoya soccer fans. The Blue and Gray (2-0-2, 0-0-0 Big East), therefore, had something to prove going into Sunday’s game against the Wisconsin Badgers (1-3-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) and they delivered, with an impressive 4-1 victory.

After only five minutes of play, junior forward Brandon Allen found the back of the net from an assist by junior defender Keegan Rosenberry and senior midfielder Austin Martz. Allen slotted the ball past Wisconsin goalkeeper Adrian Remeniuk at the near post to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.

20 minutes passed and the Badgers had plenty of chances, but the Georgetown defense quickly quashed all scoring chances. The next goal came in the 30th minute, just as junior midfielder Melvin Snoh took to the field. Brandon Allen lofted the ball to the winger who quickly added another score to the Hoyas’ tally.

“After the Harvard game we were up 1-0 the first half and we didn’t try hard enough to get a second goal,” said Snoh. “Leading up to this game we talked about trying to push the game and score more goals and that’s why we were so aggressive today.”

Just four minutes later, Snoh turned creator by feeding sophomore forward Alex Muyl, who streaked down the right and fired the ball across the goal to give Georgetown a 3-0 lead going into halftime.

“We didn’t want to have a one-goal lead going into the second half and then [have] them pressure us at the end of the game. We were trying to score more goals to have more freedom at the end of the game,” said Snoh.

Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese supported this game plan. He was happy to see his team pull out all the stops to put the game to rest.

“I was really pleased with the game today … I think the team started both halves terrifically well and goals came from that … I thought we looked much more dangerous, much more dynamic going for it and created some real good chances today and had some great goals,” he said.

Going into halftime with a lead is never easy. The Hoyas struggled to maintain their momentum from the first half 45 minutes, allowing the Harvard Crimson to get back in the game. The Hoyas were determined to not let this happen again.

“The thought coming out of halftime was, can you kill the game? Can you demoralize the other team by stepping on them again?” said Wiese.

The Hoyas answered their coach’s challenge, scoring a mere 30 seconds after the break. Allen again was involved, taking the ball all the way to the endline before sending in a pass to Muyl, stationed in the middle of the box. Muyl sent the ball into the net to give the Hoyas a 4-0 lead.

On Monday, Allen was given the nod to the Big East weekly honor roll for his performance, the second such accolade of his career and the second for Georgetown

FREDDY ROSAS

The Men’s soccer team gave fans a reason to smile by thrashing Wisconsin.

this year. Allen totalled four points with his goal and two assists in Sunday’s contest, as well as eight total shots in the week.

While the Hoya offense certainly contributed to the win, the defense kept opportunities for Harvard at a bare minimum, only allowing seven shots on goal. The Hoyas controlled possession for the majority of both halves. Their only fault came in the form of a questionable foul called against the Blue and Gray that led to a penalty kick for the Badgers. Wisconsin junior midfielder Drew Connor was able to bury the shot in the back of the net to account for the final score of 4-1, ruining the shutout for the Hoyas.

Wiese attributed this aggressive defensive performance to a strong effort from

the Georgetown seniors. Wiese singled out senior midfielder Tyler Rudy and teammate Martz for praise.

“I thought the key guys today in a lot of ways were Tyler Rudy and Austin Martz in the midfield. Those guys were absolute pests on both sides of the ball. Martz is as fit as he’s ever been … Tyler Rudy, I thought, really ran the midfield. And those are two seniors stepping up for you and that’s what you want at this point in the season,” said Wiese.

This leadership, coupled with strong performances from younger players, such as Muyl, will be absolutely key in Georgetown’s game plan for the rest of the season. The junior duo of Snoh and Allen help bridge the gap between the strong senior leadership and the talented underclass-

men who will be looked at to contribute even more as the Hoyas’ competition heats up.

The Hoyas will face their biggest challenge yet when they face off with Virginia Commonwealth University this Thursday, September 11 at 4 p.m. on Shaw Field.

“It’s just ability to concentrate,” said Wiese. “VCU is going to be a very different kind of team. We just have to be able to handle the details we’ve talked about and hopefully we can handle the challenges that game will present because that’s not going to be an easy one. It’s as hard as any game that we have played all year.”

The Hoyas will cap off their challenging week with a matinee matchup against top 25 ranked UC-Irvine at noon on Sunday on Shaw Field.

Chrisastano’s SPORTS SERMON--C “When you enjoy what you do you don’t lose your hair, and Guardiola is going bald.” -The Special One I’ve been going to the University of Vermont men’s ice hockey games since I could walk. I used to sit down at the bottom of section 18, adjacent to the opposing team’s bench. I would make faces at the visiting players when they weren’t looking. When the second intermission came, my dad would give my brother and me a few dollars to sprint down to the snack bar, buy two slices of Leonardo’s pizza and a pack of Skittles that we’d inevitably spill under the antiquated floorboards of Gutterson fieldhouse. I spent many Saturday nights on that campus and every single one was well worth the price of admission.

I love the Gut, plain and simple. It represents Vermont in the right way with its simply built fieldhouse, a barn-style rink made up almost entirely of wooden benches and steel columns painted green to match the school colors. Everything about it breathes hockey.

Other schools have invested significant amounts of money in building their teams’ ice rinks that include modern amenities commonly seen in professional arenas. Not us. At least, not yet.

Slowly but surely, arenas that have housed passion for years on end like Gutterson are giving way to commercialization.

First and foremost, the Gut is a hockey rink. It’s not a strip-

mall, it’s not a five-star restaurant, it’s not a ritzy club. It’s a place where an entire town congregates to watch their team play the nation’s finest, making outsiders know that no win ever comes easy in Burlington. UVM isn’t really thought of as a traditional hockey powerhouse in the Northeast, but that’s okay.

That chip on our shoulder has turned our hockey rink into a symbol of Vermont pride.

I know that there are arenas out there that mean just as much to their communities as the Gut does to ours. Both Cameron Indoor Stadium of Duke and Allen Fieldhouse of Kansas University command legendary status in their respective campus lores. Thankfully for their student populations and alumni, both schools have elected to renovate already existing facilities rather than replace them with “the future.”

Such upgrades even affect teams at the highest levels of competition. In 2006, Arsenal Football Club left their 100-year-old stadium in Highbury, London for a bigger and better arena constructed, in part, thanks to Emirates Airlines. I bet you probably can’t name a major Baltimore sporting franchise that weren’t tenants of Memorial Stadium at some point in their existence.

No one is immune. They’re rumors that UVM is considering building a new athletics center to accommodate a growing fanbase. Right now, there are more fans than there are seats. The school is missing out on possible ticket revenue and Vermonters are missing out on games. Progress will march on no matter how long I rant about cultural significance or Catamount pride.

They can replace the seats and the snack bar, but the fact is that these shiny new stadiums can’t replace the simple charm of their predecessors.

Sure, they haven’t been around long enough to develop a solid relationship with a city, town, or university, but they’re also far too commercialized. Stadiums named after Levi’s jeans and Etihad Airways? Food vendors everywhere you turn? In-house bars? That’s not personality.

That’s business.

Sport thrives on narrative.

Liquor up any fan and I guarantee you they’ll be more than happy to regale you with tales of where they were when, “that goal was scored.” Any English teacher will tell you that an appropriate setting is vital to the success of a great plot. Winning in the Super Sports Megaplex 9000 just doesn’t sound anywhere near as sweet as winning in a team’s ancestral home.

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the georgetown voice | 7

Football winless after Dayton loss JOE POLLICINO

The Georgetown football team (0-2, 0-0 Patriot League) continues to search for a win this season after falling to Dayton (1-0, 0-0 Pioneer League) 23-14 last weekend. In the first meeting between the Hoyas and the Flyers, Georgetown struggled to stop Dayton senior running back Connor Kascar, who rushed for a school-record 307 yards on 34 attempts, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.

“We didn’t tackle well,” said Georgetown Head Coach Rob Sgarlata. “[Kascar] did a good job of running downhill, and we tackled extremely poorly for the game. That’s something that’s a point of emphasis this week.”

Finding themselves down 6-0 early in the second quarter after a pair of Dayton field goals, the Hoyas scored their first touchdown of the 2014 season. Senior running back Daniel Wright’s one-yard touchdown with 3:35 left in the first half put the Hoyas in front for the first time in the game. Wright’s run concluded a methodical 14-play, 69-yard drive for the Blue and Gray.

However, Dayton quickly responded as Kascar’s 34-yard touchdown run sent the Flyers into halftime with a 13-7. Coming out of halftime, Dayton continued their assault as senior quarterback Will Bardo connected with senior wide receiver Branden Johnson on a 19-yard pass with 4:48 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-7.

To their credit, the Hoyas didn’t quit, as they responded

Fútbol, not Football

MATTHEW FRIED

The football team might’ve improved, but they still have a ways to go. early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown of their own. A five-yard pass from junior quarterback Kyle Nolan found sophomore wide receiver Justin Hill in the endzone to cut the deficit to 20-14 with 14:07 remaining in the game. The offense, however, couldn’t muster any further effort, as they turned the ball over on downs in their last two possessions without crossing into Dayton territory.

Overall, though, the Hoyas offense improved upon its performance in their season opener against Wagner, where they only managed three points and 204 total yards on offense.

Nolan led a balanced passing attack that saw seven different Hoyas tally receptions as he completed 19 of 35 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.

And after a non-existing rushing effort against Wagner, the Georgetown running game, led

by Wright and junior Jo’el Kimpela, rushed for 100 yards. But Coach Sgarlata knows that if his team wants to win games, they must limit their mistakes and

penalties, which proved costly in their past two games.

“We had some bright spots on offense. Kyle Nolan played well at times. Justin Hill is emerging as a legitimate wide-out. Both Daniel Wright and Jo’el Kimpela did good things. But the theme was we didn’t do enough. We had five pre-snap penalties. We had some missed assignments.

But those are things you need to eliminate if you want to beat a good team,” Sgarlata said.

Next up for the Hoyas is a road matchup on Saturday at Marist (0-2, 0-0 Pioneer), who also have yet to taste victory. Although Sgarlata acknowledges the challenges that the Red Foxes will pose to his team, he’s only worried about one thing entering this weekend’s contest.

“We’re worried about Georgetown. My big message to the kids was, ‘I don’t really care if we’re playing Marist or Brown or Harvard or Lehigh or Colgate.

If we eliminate the penalties and eliminate the drops on offense and tackle better on defense, we’ll be where we want to be.’”

At the helm with Nevin Snow KEVIN HUGGARD

This past summer, four members of the Georgetown sailing team represented America at the World University Championships in Italy, defeating defending champions Australia in the finals to take home first place. The Voice sat down with one of those four, Nevin Snow (COL ‘16), to learn a little about the dedication required to become a world champion.

Voice: Can you take me through what an average day of training looks like for you?

Snow: We wake up at 7:30 a.m., and we have weight training from 8:00 to 9:00.

And after that, we’ll do our own cool down, and then we’ll have normal class through the day until 3 o’clock. And

– BuckWild –

Emmy Buck’s TRI-weekly column about sports

then practice starts at 3:15.

We’ll have practice from about 3:15 p.m. to 6:45 or 7:00.

Then once a week we’ll have a meeting that goes from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00, so we’ll start our homework at about 9-9:30.

So that’s about what an average day would be.

Voice: What exactly does a sailing practice involve?

Snow: We’ll do a warmup, just like any other sport would. We’ll do some tacks and jibes in the boats. And kind of just get familiar with whatever person we’re sailing with in the boats … And each practice is different, like Tuesdays, we’ll work on boat handling. Wednesdays are boat speed day, so everyone lines up. We’ll sail for an extended period of time to see which boat is

going faster, and the coach will ask that boat ‘what are you doing?’ as compared to a boat that’s going slower.

Thursdays we have a mock race day. And Fridays could be any one of those three.

Voice: How long does your season go?

Snow: In the fall it goes from the first full week of school, so just last week, all the way through Thanksgiving. And then from Thanksgiving, we have until about the last week of January or first week of February off. And that’s when start practices again. We practice through the month of February, and the first real competition of the spring is at the end of February. And then we sail from the last week of February through the first week of June.

“Gooooooooaaaaaaallllll!” blares over the speakers, echoing throughout the airport terminal. Everybody freezes for a single moment to listen to the announcement and then erupts in a wild flurry of overzealous curses or cries of happiness. This is the world of “fútbol.” All throughout Europe and Latin America, fans go crazy for their team, with vendors selling mock jerseys on street corners, painting the streets in the team’s colors.

But in the U.S., “football” means something entirely different. We associate this term with tailgating, burly men in helmets, unbelievable touchdowns, and fan bases that can literally rattle the foundations of a stadium. It’s no secret that what we call soccer has not yet fully resonated within the American sporting pantheon. Although a world leader economically, the U.S. seems to be falling behind in this particular trend. What about soccer do we just not get?

At its inception, fútbol was largely a bourgeois activity, but quickly spread and grew in popularity among the lower classes. The sport, supposedly (Italians will tell you otherwise), began in England. Two towns would pit their teams against one another, cheering on their neighbors and heckling their competitors. For the most part, they’ve never stopped cheering or heckling. Town teams that began play 100 years ago can still be seen competing in all tiers of English competition.

That sort of tradition never had the chance to truly develop Stateside, as the colonies were more than happy to skip out on the sport. British custom had no place in their new country.

However, as the decades wore on and technology brought the world closer together, soccer inevitably wormed its way into American sporting society.

By that point other sports like basketball and baseball had secured the attention of lower-class athletes, and soccer was left to the more privileged masses. Blue-collar Americans saw the sport as too European and rejected it outright.

Thanks to a slow shift in cultural focus away from the Americana of the 20th century, though, soccer has gained a foothold. However, that didn’t stop the whole planet from drawing a shocked breath when the U.S.

hosted the 1994 World Cup. As a part of the deal with FIFA, America had to start its own professional league, which, while great for the development of the sport, left its conception feeling canned and artificial.

Conversely, almost every American sports fan feels a connection to gridiron action. The sporting narratives are something we’ve grown up witnessing, or at least hearing about.

Even if you’re not necessarily a fan of the sport itself, its cultural influence is nearly inescapable.

Socioeconomically, the sport is for every American. Everyone in this country has a connection to the ol’ pigskin.

This cultural dichotomy has led each sports’ respective professional league in different directions. Because fútbol isn’t taken as seriously in the U.S., professional players treat Major League Soccer as a transitional stage in their careers. The types of players that are attracted to the MLS are not the top-tier athletes within the professional world of fútbol. In contrast, NFL has no reasonable comparison considering the U.S. is the only country where football is a staple in its sporting culture.

From a monetary standpoint, the MLS lacks the funds to be in competition with the NFL. For both sports, each team is allotted a team salary cap and a maximum number of players. The MLS has a maximum of 30 players, with a team cap of $3.1 million. Meanwhile, the NFL is allowed 57 players and a team cap of $133 million.

The average salary for an MLS soccer player is about $141,903, while NFL players have an average salary of $1.9 million. Soccer players simply don’t want to stick around if they think they can get a better deal, and that lack of talent makes for less than pleasurable viewing.

Although a transformed version of British rugby, football has grown and developed as an American sport. Perhaps globalization will bring in fútbol as a premier sport, but with the violent tackles, the inspirational catches, and the loyal fanbases, football has evolved into more than a profession and an industry. Football has become a cornerstone of American culture, while fútbol remains on the margins of our sports-centric society.

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8 | the georgetown voice

September 11, 2014

Bursting the Georgetown The Voice investigates public safety awareBubble { ness among Georgetown students }

By Steven Criss

It was a dark and stormy night.

Maximiliano Astruc (COL ‘16) was walking home from Lauinger just after midnight on an icy Monday morning in January, after spending hours going over stock pitches and poring over different possible scenarios in preparation for a make-or-break interview with Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking division.

The last thing on his mind was his personal safety. A regular at Lau during the early hours of the morning, Astruc had taken his normal route past LXR heading down toward his house on 33rd and M St. countless times at this time of night. Tonight, against all expectation, would be different.

Three hooded figures approached Astruc as he trudged through snow and ice on N St., but no alarm bells went off in his head—after all, his experience in Georgetown had never included immediate danger.

“They turn around and there’s a gun and the first thing they shout is, ‘Give us everything you’ve got,’” Astruc said as he recounted the events of the night.

Battling his utter shock, Astruc was forced to hand over his backpack— full of textbooks, interview notes, and his computer—before the perpetrators also took his phone and the money out of his wallet. “They just took the dollars and they threw my wallet and said, ‘Well, go get it, but before you leave, give us your shoes.’”

Disbelief clouded Astruc’s thoughts as he returned home, shoeless, through the cold, his perception of safety at Georgetown forever changed.

Before this incident, Astruc held the same belief of a majority of Georgetown students that students are relatively safe on and around campus.

56 %

Nestled upon the revered Hilltop, sitting comfortably among $5 million-townhouses, designer stores, and top-tier dining establishments, Georgetown’s public safety concerns are not representative of the District.

In our prime position overlooking downtown Washington, D.C., Hoyas are thought to be well-shielded from the common breaches of public safety endemic in metropolitan areas.

As we take a high level of safety for granted, we remain complacently unaware of proper safety procedures should an emergency occur—in this case, ignorance is not bliss.

According to a survey conducted by the Voice’s blog Vox Populi last week, when asked to rate how safe they feel on Georgetown’s campus and in the Georgetown neighborhood, with one being extremely safe and five being not safe at all, a poll of 75 students responded with an average rating of 2.04 on campus and 2.48 off campus. With both of these average ratings remaining below three, it is clear that the majority of students do not view the University and the surrounding area as particularly threatening locales.

“The campus environment has a feeling of security to it. There are almost always people around, and I have never felt in danger or uncomfortable,” wrote one survey respondent.

While this perception of public safety issues in Georgetown could reflect the infrequency of crimes that involve bodily harm or the threat of bodily harm—known as “crimes against person”— it also lulls students into a false sense of security. As a result, the ever-busy Hoya student body doesn’t make time to educate itself about public safety procedures. As Astruc was

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made keenly aware of on that frosty January night, potential threats to safety are a distinct possibility. In the Spring of 2014 alone, Georgetown experienced a bomb threat in the Leavey Center, a ricin scare in McCarthy Hall, multiple email alerts about armed individuals close to campus, among a number of other public safety threats.

In an interview last April with Voice reporter Caitriona Pagni, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety Jay Gruber explained that students must acknowledge the reality of potential danger in Georgetown area and prioritize educating themselves on public safety issues: “I think students get into this bubble where everything is safe here, but I think students need to understand that there is always risk around us. Students have to take a stake in their own safety to mitigate their own risk,” said Gruber.

“A lot of people actually have this idea that Georgetown’s a really safe place. A lot of my friends thought I was joking [when I told them about the crime]. It took them an actual while, like, ‘Wait was that actually you? Did that really happen or did you just make it up?’”

Astruc said when describing his friends reactions to the robbery.

According to Gruber, the first step students should take in developing awareness for dealing with possible emergency situations is becoming familiar with not only the security measures put in place by the University, but also the resources open to students to either prepare themselves for or report a crime. As per the Department of Emergency Management and Operational Continuity website, two main alert systems are in place to ensure student safety in times of emergencies:

HOYAlert and the Campus Alert System. HOYAlert sends texts and emails to students, faculty, family members, and staff who have given their cellphone number or email address to the service in the event of an emergency.

The University uses HOYAlert to alert the campus on a wide variety of events ranging from incidents as serious as an active shooter on campus to those as simple as a campus closure due to snow. The Campus Alert System, which is also known among students simply as the steam whistles, signal any kind of outdoor emergency necessitating members of the Georgetown community to take shelter inside, such as a tornado approaching campus.

While messages coming from HOYAlert are tailored to each event and clearly report to the student what kind of emergency situation is taking place, that doesn’t mean that students understand them, particularly the use of the steam whistle blasts. When asked what the steam whistle alarm meant, 56 percent of students answered incorrectly. Though relatively uncommon, emergencies that require usage of the steam whistles are serious in nature. An incorrect response to the alarm could be fatal.

In addition to these systems, DEMOC and the Department of Public Safety have made available various resources that are aimed at keeping students safe and aware of potential threats. DEMOC sponsors preparedness efforts and presents emergency response guidelines both on their website and through on campus events, such as Tuesday’s “After the Fire” event in which two victims of a Seton Hall dormitory fire in 2000 were invited to share their story and empha-

85 %

size the importance of being aware of safety procedures.

While DEMOC focuses on larger crises, DPS works mainly to prevent, deter, and respond to crimes in the Georgetown community. With comprehensive descriptions of campus services on their website, DPS provides plentiful information on how to stay safe on and off campus.

Despite the quantity of resources and information readily available to students, there remains a disconnect between the departments and students.

Students’ education about public safety is the responsibility of both the student and the administration, but since DEMOC and DPS are the distributors of this information, the onus falls on them to utilize effective methods to reach students—which is easier said than done.

Gruber admits that it is difficult to grab the attention of students, but attests that for their part, students need to take on a more active role as well.

“We really count on students to take advantage of what has been put in place… Students are so bombarded with information and … are so involved in so many different activities that sometimes it gets lost in the mix, but just doing small things like signing up for LiveSafe, the new app we have, going to HOYAlert and putting in your email address and your text-enabled device, your cellphone number, those little things will make a huge difference in preparedness for our students,” said Gruber.

Director of Residential Education Ed Gilhool echoes these sentiments and supports the notion that students must take time to invest in their own safety education.

“Although Residential Living works hard to keep students informed about safety procedures, as community members, we all share a personal responsibility to [educate] ourselves about campus safety and emergency response,” Gilhool wrote in an email to the Voice.

Gruber also stressed the importance that the administration be consistent in educating students, as each new crop of incoming students are unfamiliar with the area and the school’s safety procedures.

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extremely safe

“I think that with general safety procedures we all need to do a better job from the university leadership standpoint. I think that we need to remember that our students turn over every four years and we need to continually educate our students on what it means to live in a city,” Gruber said last April.

In attempting to achieve an appropriate standard, DPS has been modifying their approach to reaching out to students, adapting to the more prominent usage of personal technology and social media by Hoyas. The

“

They turn around and there’s a gun and the first thing they shout is ‘Give us everything you’ve got .’

”

LiveSafe mobile application that was introduced this year allows students to report safety-related incidents to both the Department and other users of the app directly from their smartphones. While DPS’ presence on Facebook is practically negligible, with only 18 “Likes” and the most recent update a post from November 19, 2013, DPS makes better use of other media

by Tweeting safety tips and information several times a week to its 267 followers using the Twitter handle @GtownDPS. It also rolled out an Instagram account (gu_police) on September 9 dedicated to a similar purpose.

“Social media presence for me is important … I Tweet probably two or three times a week with tips, with information, with other things that I think the community needs to know about and how they can help protect themselves,” said Gruber.

DEMOC formerly utilized Twitter as a common form of disseminating alerts and other safety information to its 246 followers, with Tweets coming multiple times a week back in 2013, but 2014 has only seen three Tweets—all of which were warnings of HOYAlert testing.

Although DEMOC posts timely information for events on its Facebook page, with 125 “Likes”, these posts are reaching a very narrow margin of the

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student population. The Emergency Management blog that their webpage links to also does little to provide adequate information to students, as its most recent entry was on December 20, 2012. As a result, students don’t have knowledge of DEMOC’s existence—of those polled, 85 percent did not know of DEMOC. Regardless, DEMOC also distributes information through avenues outside of social media to promote safety and preparedness.

“DEMOC uses a variety of methods to communicate to the student body, including disseminating information through the Building and Floor Marshal Program, publishing and distributing our ‘Emergency Response Guidelines’ flipbooks, updating and posting Emergency Response Guidelines for students and faculty in each classroom on campus, and working with a variety of student groups to plan for special events on campus,” Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh wrote in an email to the Voice on behalf of DEMOC. By improving their student outreach strategies, the University could make essential strides toward realizing a more proactive approach to dealing with safety concerns in the Georgetown community. DPS uses foot patrols, vehicles, and bicycles to keep Georgetown under watch at all hours of the day, but it is impossible for police officers to observe every corner of the community at all times, underscoring the gravity of the lack of student awareness. The University has sufficient resources to aid a victim after a crime has been committed, but a balance of police patrols and students educated on potential dangers would make for a more capable effort to prevent breaches in public safety.

“There are a lot of services in place that help students deal with these sorts of things, but I do not like the fact that they are reactionary. I think they should be proactive and really help prevent them, as opposed to help you cope with them,” said Astruc of his interactions with the University. According to Astruc, the University offered him a large amount of emotional and psychological support, but did not help him replace his stolen goods.

Wider publicizing of crimes or emergencies when they occur is a large

component of making students more aware of safety procedures. Currently, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires universities to post information about crimes that have been committed on and near campus. In accordance with the Clery Act, DPS sends campus-wide emails whenever certain crimes take place and assembles an annual crime report that summarizes the number of crimes committed in the area, the types of crimes committed, as well as public safety procedures.

Georgetown satisfies this obligation, but with the number of emails that students receive daily, these alerts can get lost in the shuffle. Gruber hopes that, with the addition of the LiveSafe app, students and other members of the community will be able to receive more accurate and immediate updates on public safety issues. Again, though, delivering on this aspiration relies almost entirely on successful outreach to students.

“We just had a meeting with University Information Services and our LiveSafe partners [on September 3] to talk about strategies to reach out to our student body, involving a multimedia approach, involving contests, involving other marketing campaigns that are directed to our students, and some marketing campaigns that are directed to our faculty and staff. It’s not easy, but it’s certainly an effort I enjoy and it’s important to us. The reason I’m here is for the safety of the students,” said Gruber of DPS’ plans to encourage use of the new app.

Potential is the key word underlying improvements to Georgetown’s approach to public safety education.

With technological advancements and increasingly varied and elaborate marketing efforts on the side of the University, students will have more access than ever to educational resources. But information alone cannot make Georgetown an unbreachable safe haven for its students. Bursting the bubble that surrounds Georgetown is fundamental to establishing a safer community for students and can only be accomplished with effort from all sides.

Additional reporting by Caitriona Pagni

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10 | the georgetown voice

September 11, 2014

Gems of Georgetown past and present to rock the Gonda Theatre MANUELA TOBIAS The Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance (GEMA) challenges students to abandon the stereotypical Georgetown legacy with GEMA Rocks, a show celebrating the diversity of comedic and musical talents of current students and professional alumni.

The show for students will occur this Friday at 8 p.m., with an encore for alumni on Saturday night. The executive producer of the Improv Association, Emlyn Crenshaw (COL ’15), will co-host the event with the Senior Director of Music Production at Sirius XM Radio, professional musician and founder of GU Cabaret Teddy Zambetti (COL ’80).

The Georgetown Improv Association will open the show, followed by a comic sketch. Michael Zakarin (COL ’05), member of the band Bravery and percussionist for the award-winning artist M.I.A., Kiran Ghandi (COL ’11), along with members of the critically acclaimed band Honor by August, Michael Pearsall (MSB ’06) and Evan Field (COL ’98), will be performing at the show. Other acts include a host of several other acclaimed musical talents, including Johnny Zambetti (MSB ’09), and Inter-

national Dance and Trance artist Jeza (COL ’09).

In addition to performing, Grammy award-winner Bill Danoff (COL ’68), notable for his hits “Afternoon Delight” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” will be honored with the first GEMA Lifetime Achieve-

sure: Connor Rohan writes for the Voice’s blog, Vox Populi.]

Current students Nora Genster (SFS ’16) and Mary Ellen Funke (SFS ’15) will also be featured. Funke will be performing one of her original songs with her new duo Tigers are Bad for Horses. Genster will perform

In celebrating Georgetown musical talents, GEMA Rocks offers a chance for current students to appreciate the opportunities and talent that surround them every day.

“It’s easy to schlep around campus without a genuine appreciation of these things and

“Honey, I can’t find my hearing aid, have you seen it?” “what? You fear not getting paid?” ment Award for his contributions to both the University and the music industry.

“With Georgetown, we have such an exceptional legacy of alumni that are successful in the entertainment business, it’d be a shame not to celebrate that,” said Connor Rohan (COL ’17), a member of the Georgetown Improv Association. [Full disclo-

BReeches&Bodice

a cover of “Paris (ooh, la, la)” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

“Performing at GEMA Rocks is an awesome opportunity because I will be singing with a full rock band—guitars, drums, bass, the whole ten yards. I haven’t done that before. The songs, the band and the singers are amazing. The show will be incredible,” Genster said.

GEMA

even easier to think of GU as some hyper-tense, unartistic place. That so doesn’t have to be your experience at Georgetown.”

Crenshaw said.

The show offers a different perspective for returning alumni. For alumni, GEMA Rocks provides the rare opportunity to collaborate with Hoyas with similar interests. The return to

Keep your jeans on, denim isn’t going anywhere

A bi-weekly column about style by Tim Annick

Before I bought my favorite pair of jeans, all the Internet fashion kahunas told me, in caps lock, “DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE WEARING THESE JEANS.” They are “raw,” which means I don’t wash them, allowing them to conform to my body and become comfortable. What happens when you wear raw jeans on bikes? Excess friction, which eventually leads to a massive “blowout” in your crotch—all the seams that keep your jeans covering your boxers simultaneously give out. It’s an entirely different and very particular walk of shame.

Everything in style is cyclical, and, like riding a bike in raw denim, periodically, the crotch seams explode and out pours the Fashion Week equivalent of #TBT. My ethics professor thinks we’re in 1989, as far as fashion is concerned. Clearly, she did not read the Wall Street Journal this weekend, because

New York Fashion Week says it wants to be the 60s.

Speaking of the 60s, Yves Saint Laurent, once said, “Fashions come and go, but style is forever.” It’s no surprise, then, that “popular style has been stuck on repeat, consuming the past instead of creating the new,” according to Vanity Fair’s staff writer Kurt Andersen. It’s simple: we know what works.

The genius of timeless closet staples should be our primary focus. From James Dean to Bill Clinton and Audrey Hepburn, not to mention American icon the Marlboro Man, jeans have consistently been the favorite item in everyone’s closet.

In fact, we are so obsessed with denim that it’s become our absolute staple. You, my fledgling fashion peon, can also rock denim. Jeans are the ultimate equalizer. No other item could look so utterly heinous as babelicious couple Justin Timber-

lake and Britney Spears’ matching Canadian tuxedos, so totally perfect on Brooke Shields in the Calvin Klein Jeans ad, or inexplicably fit all four of the girls in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” If all four Sisters can do it, all you have to do is find your match made in Traveling Sisterhood denim heaven.

I can’t play matchmaker of jeans for you. I will not make that right choice, because you know what makes you feel like a million bucks and what is comfortable. Also, your right choice may well be the polar opposite from the one I would make. All-denim looks, as J.T. and Britney showed us, are terrible. (Oh, the 90s.) If it is a snakeskin Canadian tuxedo, as Jim Morrison thoroughly murdered, it can be kind of eccentrically tantalizing. It is a delicate balance that is dificult to articulate, but I can point you towards the starting line.

We’re in Jeans 101 and it’s syllabus day. Professor Raw D. Nim clears his throat and begins. Perhaps you’ve heard of this guy Levi Strauss? In 1873, he and his brother applied for, and were granted, U.S. Patent 139121 A for “the employment of a metal rivet or eyelet at each edge of the pocket-opening, to prevent the ripping of the seam at those points,” on these pants that the ‘Niners liked a lot. Fast forward a number of years to 1947 and that patent became the Levi’s 501 jeans. These jeans are still so popular that Levi’s Vintage Clothing line offers the 501 from 1890, 1933, 1954, and 1978, among others. It is such a classic, so iconic, that you can buy the same pair of jeans your parents bought before they started the ninth grade.

That’s the history, but does the future hold for jeans? We are rapidly nearing the end of 2014, which means that, in sev-

Georgetown also allows them to see the advancements in the arts since their time here.

“For alumni, I think GEMA Rocks is more of a chance to applaud the leaps and bounds that the arts at Georgetown have grown….[alumni are] psyched to see that what they loved about Georgetown is getting more and more support,” Crenshaw said.

GEMA does not stop after Saturday night. The student network provides a vast array of opportunities for students particularly interested in the entertainment and media industries.

“I think it’s such a good resource students should know more about, especially students who are interested in entertainment, because it can seem like there isn’t a lot on campus to help them pursue that, and this network is really helpful in that,” said Ryley Gregorie (COL ’17), one of the student organizers.

Zambetti promises attendees will be impressed with the talent around them, emphasizing, however, that this is not merely a talent show. Instead, “this is a professional concert that they should not miss.”

GEMA Rocks Gonda Theatre Friday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.

eral months, Marty McFly will be stopping by for a visit in a DeLorean from 1985. Isn’t it a little strange, though, that when “Back to the Future, Part II” was made in 1989, 2015 actually looks familiar and only a little bit loud? It’s basically just a mix of extreme modern streetwear and what those average people wear on their way to yoga class today. Even if 2015 felt foreign in 1989, there’s one constant in “Back to the Future, Part II” that stands out, the powerlacing Nike hightops notwithstanding.

Those pants Marty Jr. is wearing inside-out? Jeans.

Now that there is every single cut of jeans available, from jeggings to bootcuts, I have confidence that the future of denim is going to look exactly like the past. One day, I will clumsily age into a crotchety old grouch and my grandchildren will look at my Levi’s 501s, unchanged since 1947, and grimace as much at my swag as when I pinch their cheeks. In other words, looking old is, in fact, hip.

Blowout Tim’s crotch at tra25@georgetown.edu.

“Beat those Commie bastards.” — Miracle

GEORGETOWNVOICE.COM

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE | 11

Tusk on point, a bona fide mindbender EMMANUEL ELONE Have you ever wondered if “man is indeed a walrus at heart?” Director Kevin Smith explores this existential dilemma in his latest film, Tusk, complete with Justin Long sparring with Michael Parks wearing a walrus suit.

The film stars Long as Wallace Bryton, a man who goes to Manitoba, Canada in search of the perfect interview subject for his podcast. On his quest, he stumbles upon walrus-obsessed Howard Howe, played by Parks.

After being drugged by Parks, Long wakes up to find his left leg amputated. Eventually, Long is fully transformed into a walrus, marking the film’s sharp turn to the absurd.

Smith, known for his comedies like Clerks and Mallrats, took a huge step outside his usual repertoire by attempting to make a horror film. From the film’s beginning, it was clear that this was not his typical stoner movie. I was enticed by the first couple of scenes: the crystal-clear picture, the great camera work, and the successful humor made me believe Tusk was to become Smith’s most impressive movie.

The script contained a collection of jokes poking fun at Canadians that Smith had clearly been harboring for decades. One of the most memorable lines is Long whispering, “I don’t want to die in Canada.”

The first half of the movie was a perfect balance of chill-

“When you stare into the Abyss, the Abyss Stares Back.”

IMDB

ing horror and entertaining comedy. Neither genre diluted or compromised the other. The comical scenes were upbeat and saturated with vivid colors, while the eerie grays and browns distinguished the horror scenes.

While the horror aspect of this film may be discouraging to a comedy fan, Parks’ character is the only real horror. With the crazy look in his eyes, disheveled white hair, and his extravagant three piece suits, he embodies absolute creepiness—not to mention the bloody sewing needles, walrus diagrams, and his incessant mocking of Long.

Parks’ performance was chilling, but so laced with a comedic vibe that it was a win-­win.

By the time the movie had finished, I felt like I had been forced to sit through a weird Joseph Beuys fetish performance art piece. Smith’s unique undertaking, though absurd, was a comical exploration of a fundamental quandary in Canadian society. “The walrus is far more evolved than any man I’ve ever known,” Parks contends, leaving the audience to decide whether we’d all be better off as large, tusked, sea mammals, eh?

D.C.’s succulent truck stop

Truckeroo

ELIZABETH BAKER Whoever came up with the zany idea to sell snacks from a revamped ice cream truck deserves a gold medal. For ravenous Georgetown students, whether after an exhausting night in Lau or a sloppy weekend night out, DC Slices glows like a beacon on Library Walk.

Yet lately, there’ve been an awful lot of new food trucks–a grilled cheese truck, a milk and cookies truck, and a Peruvian cuisine truck being among those new to Georgetown. Name the food and there’s probably a truck selling it. Even Nutella has been driving around the District, delivering goopy, hazelnut goodness to the public. How does a student get around to

exploring all the options food trucks have to offer?

Foodies, rejoice, as the Truckeroo Food Festival is rolling in to save the day. Arriving Friday, Sept. 12, more than twenty food trucks will be parked and serving all different kinds of cuisines on Half and M St.. D.C. residents get the opportunity to explore all sorts of savory, spicy, and sweet treats, while enjoying live music and games—all for free. Options vary from wings, to BBQ, to tapas, and include even a pho truck. So, whether you want to try something new or are just tired of Leo’s, haul yourself over to Truckeroo.

Truckeroo Half and M St, SE Friday, Sept. 10, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

New Latin American eatery Tico boasts small plates, big flavors TYLER KRANAWETTER At first glance, chef Michael Schlow’s new restaurant Tico might be mistaken for a recording studio. When designing this new gem of an eatery at the heart of U St., Schlow took careful consideration of an oft-overlooked aspect of restaurants— acoustics. Tico has a ceiling that is perforated and soundproofed to optimize the acoustics of the room. According to Tico’s manager, Steve Uhr, this architecture enables the music to be felt throughout the eatery, while still enabling diners to converse at a normal volume. For Chef Schlow, what you hear is just as important as what you eat.

The restaurant itself is a trendy juxtaposition of regal panache and industrial chic. If you glance upward, the brown, moulded ceiling and elegant lighting evoke a sense of refined style, however, a glance around the room yields a completely different feeling. Paint stains

cover the exposed brick walls and large concrete columns in the center of the restaurant.

Graffiti adorns the walls and three large, sliding panels of artwork. These contrasting styles create an ambiance that is casual and sophisticated.

The word “tico” is a Spanish colloquial term for a Costa Rican native, but the menu is not comprised of Costa Rican cuisine. Instead, Tico tries to create a melange of American cuisine. The dishes have Hispanic influences, which lends some moderate spice to the small but rich portions. They are designed almost like tapas––many dishes can be ordered and shared throughout the table, which also reinforces the restaurant’s theme, according to Uhr, of creating community around its cuisine.

The menu offers a diversity of options, broken down into some amusing (and bemusing) categories, such as “Ceviche, Small Plates, Tacos,” and “A La Plancha.” All dishes, except

those in the “Entree” section, come in the relatively small, sharable portions. And for any table that is still unsure of what to order, the menu offers a “Can’t Decide?” section. This option allows the chef complete freedom to decide the dishes for your table, with prices varying based on the amount of food requested. However, this choice is not the most economical ordering strategy, with prices ranging from $35 to $85 per person.

The food, unlike its pricing, for the most part does not disappoint. The scallop ceviche with avocado dressing and green onion pico holds a smooth, spicy flavor, topped with the added crunch of crispy brown rice.

Sweet, spicy, and salty harmoniously come together in their sweet corn with jalapeños and smoked bacon. The homemade chorizo more so resembles tender steak medallions, rather than the traditional saucisson approach. Surprisingly, the beef tacos are below par, calling

Schlow’s commitment to the basics into question. At times, the concept of simplicity is taken too far. The desserts appeared too derivative to be worth considering, with one option being just a plate of cookies and milk.

Despite these weak points, Tico’s ingenuity and refinement ultimately shines through.

Schlow is a prolific chef and he’s expressed the best qualities of his other restaurants, including Tico’s Boston location, in D.C.. Schlow’s envisioned Mexi-

tacos go vogue: Chorizo Chic at TICO DC

can flare and Hispanic influences are clearly evident in all of his dishes, with the restaurant reflecting a style of trend and sophistication as unique as the food itself. Though Tico may initially appear to be a band’s back room, it is instead an masterful manifestation for Latin American culinary creations.

Tico DC 1926 U St. NW 4 pm to 12 am www.ticodc.com

Anna Runova

leisure

12 | the georgetown voice

CRITICAL VOICES

Tennis, Ritual In Repeat, Communion With the sun still shining and term papers nowhere in sight, Tennis’s third studio album, Ritual in Repeat, is the perfect soundtrack to lazy Sundays on Copley Lawn. Ritual in Repeat is a continuation of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley’s brand of nostalgia-kissed indie-pop. This time, they show more maturity, while holding onto their characteristic candy-coated sound.

Meek Mill, Dreams Worth More Than Money, Maybach Music In an environment as superficial and generic as the popular music scene has become, it is refreshing to find artists who don’t care how others perceive them. In his new album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, Meek Mill fully embodies that attitude. He makes music the way he’s always made it: without conforming to the

Zuck it: Silicon Valley is the new Wall Street

A bi-weekly column about TV by Julia Lloyd-George

Tennis’s melodic dreaminess defines their music. While Riley’s instrumentals are bright and energetic, Moore’s vocals are airy and light, a cool breeze to accompany the warmth of the guitar and piano. Combining the lo-fi feeling and lyrical simplicity, tracks like “A Needle and a Knife” come off as 1950s female group throwbacks. Moore layers her vocals to create retro harmonies, which mix with the disco-influenced percussion for a finger-snapping tune that is enthusiastic without ever sounding coerced.

In each of the songs on the album, Moore sounds sweet and girlish, occasionally to a fault.

Lackluster cooing pervades the album, making most of her murmurs over lost love seem fairly trite. But when she brings her full vocal capability to a track, we receive gems such as “Bad Girls,” an evocative ballad where Moore

sings with impressive energy and soul. It’s clear from the addition of these more nuanced tracks scattered throughout album that the band is growing and developing their sound.

Though Tennis is a premium example of infectious indie-pop, perfectly tailored to summery days and good moods, their pleasant sound continues to be their greatest limitation. Ritual in Repeat will satisfy your sweet tooth and have you humming along for the next week, yearning for the last golden days of summer.

But if depth and complexity are what you crave, you may opt to wait for their next LP in the hopes that Tennis will outgrow its sugar-soaked monotony.

industry’s pressures or even to the constraints of grammar.

There is an established formula to a typical Meek Mill song: shouting, a well-produced, heavy beat, and catchy lyrics that advocate for violence, wealth, drug-dealing, and the objectification of women. Add a few other Maybach Music rappers and artists, such as Rick Ross and Paloma Ford, and you may expect to have heard all that Meek has to offer. But on this new album Meek Mill pushes his repertoire, infusing his music with a personal connection to the material that goes beyond the expected elements of the genre.

On tracks like “Stuntin’” and “Am I Wrong,” the rapper fills his lyrics with anecdotes from his childhood in Philadelphia.

The album’s first single, “Off The Corner,” is Mill’s coming-of-age tale. Through his earnest lyrics

confessing he “graduated from the streets, no diploma” and that he “made a million on that corner,” Meek Mill explains his reasons for “mixing that pedico with baking soda,” and reveals the luxuries that accompany a life of organized crime.

Albeit repetitive, the album is hard-hitting, with enough bass-heavy songs for the listener to forgive the lack of lyrical substance. The album isn’t a space for the listeners’ reflection, but for the rapper’s raw energy, as he muses over his career and personal struggles. When he asks “How you like me now?” on the track “I Like It,” he doesn’t want an answer: he cares as much about that as the Corp cares about the quality of their coffee.

CONCERT CALENDAR

IdiotBox:

September 11, 2014

Voice’s Choices: “Bad Girls,” “Never Work for Free” —Ida Dhanuka

Voice’s Choices: Off The Corner, Stuntin —Emmanuel Elone

Thursday 9/11 Pinback Black Cat, 8:00 p.m., $15

Friday 9/12 Grouplove Merriweather, 6:00 p.m., $35

Sunday 9/14 Jack White Merriweather, 6:00 p.m., $40

Thursday 9/11 Reptar U Street Music Hall, 7:00 p.m., $8

Saturday 9/13 Holy Ghost!

U Street Music Hall, 10:00 p.m., $15

Monday 9/15 OK Go 9:30, 7:00 p.m., $25

Let me get something out of the way: I am not a techie.

Though my parents marvel at my ability to perform such Herculean tasks as shutting down a computer and browsing Netflix, Silicon Valley is not knocking at my virtual door. When I say that a show all about glittering Palo Alto is one of the best things on TV right now, then I do so as a concerned citizen and not someone trying to get my app funded.

I’m just trying to make the world a better place—which also happens to be a slogan the characters of Silicon Valley chant like it’s revalation from the Cloud.

Our hero is, at first, anything but. Richard (the wonderfully geeky Thomas Middleditch) is one of several nondescript programmers getting free roomand-board to develop their ideas in return for giving a share of the company to a vivaciously overconfident marketer named Erlich (T.J. Miller, a revelation).

If it isn’t already clear, the cast is almost exclusively nerdy guys.

The real Silicon Valley, though, is not so different, so the uniformity is easily forgiven. The point, after all, is to accurately lampoon an industry, and there’s obviously a lot of material.

At his day job, Richard’s an easily ignored cog in the machine that is Hooli, a Google parallel with spiritual gurus and absurdly tiny smart cars. The social hierarchy is less Revenge of the Nerds and more Mean Girls, in that there are macho “brogrammers” and groups of timid nerds travelling in packs of five. Richard is one of the latter, with his idea for an app that detects musical plagiarism the brunt of an office joke.

Of course, the joke ends up being on the brogrammers when it’s discovered that within Richard’s aggressively unmarketable app is a really effective compression algorithm (fellow laypeople, that means it’s good at making files smaller). Apparently, that’s all it takes to become a hot commodity overnight in Silicon Valley. Richard is caught in an aggressive bidding war and has to decide whether to sell or keep the nascent company.

Let me digress for a moment and point to a scene at the beginning of the film that detailed the

birth of Facebook, The Social Network, that sets up the entire movie as a creation myth inscribed on the collective millennial consciousness, though it’s only a girl breaking up with her boyfriend because he is, in her words, “an asshole.” It’s not what you’d expect to kickstart an empire, but it’s the loud rip needed to loosen something huge in said boy genius-asshole’s mind. The wheels start turning and, soon enough, there’s a lofty equation written on the window of a Harvard dorm room.

The reality is not so simple.

If it takes an asshole, or at least someone trying really hard to be an asshole, to start Facebook, then Silicon Valley is about the guys without that steely exterior. Richard is shy and unsure of himself, clueless about starting a business and even more clueless about getting people to take him seriously. As Erlich so bluntly puts it to him, “you’re being a complete tool right now and I need you to be a complete asshole. If you’re not an asshole, this company dies.”

Though there are apparently a thousand inside jokes for programmers that go completely over my head, Silicon Valley never loses touch with the broader audience, whose lives are saturated with the products of these overblown companies.

We use these gadgets from afar, seduced by the marketing that the show so brilliantly parodies, without really understanding what it’s like to be the brains behind the operation.

The show is undeniably fresh because it unceremoniously pops the bubble of mystery and glamor of a new frontier that seems to have so many college students pitching app ideas under the influence. (True life: I once spent a summer rooming with someone coding for a website that sells massages.) It’s the irreverence for a such a glorified industry that is the foremost part of its appeal. At the end of the day, it’s just a group of guys sitting around a hotel room calculating how efficiently they could jerk everyone off at a tech conference.

Innovate with Julia at jfl49@ georgetown.edu.

georgetownvoice.com

PAGE THIRTEEN

the georgetown voice |13

– Dylan Cutler

voices

14| the georgetown voice

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Living the life aquatic: Learning to love the liquid diet CHRIS ALMEIDA It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person in possession of a life must be in want of food. They enjoy experiencing different tastes, the art of preparation, and sitting down at a restaurant with friends. Though these experiences don’t make up the entirety of all food-consuming events, they seem to constitute what people recall when I tell them what I intend to do: stop eating.

Don’t be alarmed, I’m still getting all of the calories that I need, but not through traditional avenues.

About a year ago, a friend directed my attention to a new product called Soylent. Simply, the product was a powder that, when mixed with water, formed a beverage that satisfied all of one’s daily nutritional and caloric requirements.

Being a Georgetown student, I don’t often have access to a car, so trips to the grocery store are inconvenient and few

and far between. It’s certainly possible to cook in a Village A kitchen, but the process is a pain. The hours spent at Leo’s waiting in line and trying to find an open table make eating regular meals difficult, and ordering sandwiches from Wisey’s regularly is neither healthy nor budget-friendly.

Thus, the concept of Soylent was particularly appealing to me.

The drink must have also looked interesting to many others, as the Kickstarter-funded product is now backordered by four months. Since I ordered in January and the product arrived in late August, I was provided ample time to poll my family and peers on their thoughts on the food replacement.

While a select few of my friends seemed to view Soylent as a product that was convenient, cheap (the stuff works out to cost about three dollars a meal), and healthy, most reacted violently against the idea.

“It’s gonna kill you!” and “But don’t you enjoy food?” were

among the most common replies.

In response to the first, I gave my explanations: the ingredients are all approved by the FDA and are listed on the product’s bag. The list reads more cleanly than those on all of the processed foods that my detractors regularly consume. The product has an oil component to provide the body with fats, oat flour for carbohydrates, protein from brown rice, and an array of necessary vitamins. If anybody is skeptical of the product’s nutritional utility, they need only to consult the facts.

The second question was, at least in my eyes, more reasonable. Yes, I do like food, but only on occasion. I am a relatively picky eater, but even within my wheelhouse of foods, most meals that I eat, especially at college, I would not classify as enjoyable. Sure, getting a burger across the river at Ray’s Hell Burger is a great experience, but it is far away, expensive, and unhealthy by any standard.

Soylent is healthy, cheap,

and takes only two minutes to prepare. Then, it’s available at your convenience all day long.

Now, the big question is: is it enjoyable? No. It’s not. You’re not going to get the same kind of pleasure from drinking a glass of Soylent as you would from eating your favorite foods, but the drink isn’t repulsive. In fact, at times, I’ve come to like the beverage that tastes like a semi-sweet flour shake.

Given that the drink is tolerable, it allows me to eat breakfast when previously eating a substantial meal before class would have been impossible without waking up earlier—a sacrifice I’m not willing to make. When Leo’s is closed awkwardly between lunch and dinner hours, I am able to have a meal with little to no effort or frustration.

In my circumstances, Soylent makes sense. What perplexed me was the number of people who stood in strong opposition of the product. It seems that people have a strong belief that traditional food, even if it is expensive,

packaged, or full of grease, is better than finding a healthy and unconventional substitute.

Soylent is a product that has the capability to make an impact on a large scale. Though it currently only has a small following, with more widespread use, the product could help address both hunger and obesity issues. Having a simple form of sustenance that is cheap and healthy could help those who struggle with dieting, and once it’s cost is lowered further, as management intends, it could help fight starvation domestically, and potentially, internationally.

However, if the general population approaches the product with such staunch skepticism, Soylent may never become the utilitarian solution that it is capable of becoming.

CHRIS ALMEIDA COL ‘16 TOTALLY DIDN’T HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL AT THE AGE OF 18

Natural tendency toward drinking on campus being taken lightly STEVEN CRISS

In the fall of 2011, I arrived at Georgetown. I was full of excitement for the grand adventure I was going to embark on at this lauded institution. I had no idea what to expect and spent much of my first week highly anticipating the weekend, when I would finally find out what all these college kids did for fun. Oh boy, was I in for a treat.

After class on our first Thursday of the year, I joined some of my new neighbors to talk about plans for the weekend. I went in ready to hear what was in store,

but I was slowly filled with confusion and, admittedly, a streak of brief panic when everyone started referring to things that made little sense to me. Instead of embarrassing myself in front of potential new friends, I retreated back into my room with my questions still echoing around in my head.

How are they going to pregame if there aren’t any soccer or football games until next week? Are the handles connected to something or is that just some game they play in college?

As Friday night finally arrived, the unbridled disbelief at the scene unfolding before my eyes was crushing. I came back

“ACting natural is all about being yourself.” – naturallight.com

MEGAN HOWELL

to my cluster on the eighth floor of Harbin and immediately realized that all plans were focused on drinking alcohol. My friends asked if I wanted to go out and drink, but I told them that I don’t drink and that I guess I would just sit out this time. I told myself not every weekend would be like this and I would eventually find a way to socialize on weekend nights.

But as the weeks went by and nothing changed, I had to stop lying to myself. When word got around that I didn’t drink and didn’t want to join in on parties with alcohol, most of my fellow students decided I wasn’t a lot of fun and wouldn’t make a good addition to their friend group.

After hearing stories of how student clubs made you drink on initiation night, I threw out the fliers I picked up at SAC fair and figured it would be best not to join anything. Georgetown’s drinking culture got in my head early, and at 17 years old, I didn’t stand a fighting chance.

To say that Georgetown has an underage drinking problem is about as much of an understatement as saying our tuition is high. Freshmen face little resistance when it comes to finding and consuming alcohol, which enforces a culture that not only condones unwise, unhealthy, and immature behavior, but also

marginalizes those who choose not to buy into it. Unfortunately, GUSA executives Trevor Tezel and Omika Jikaria made it a whole lot worse last week.

While GUSA is supposed to be advocating for all of Georgetown’s students, they chose only to give freshmen who drink more to cheer about when they helped enact a new policy that allows alcohol violations to be wiped from disciplinary records during a student’s first year, as long as they complete certain sanctions. It is widely understood that freshmen are going to drink, whether it’s against the rules or not, but the threat of having violations on their record was one of the main deterrents keeping alcohol abuse among freshmen from getting out of control.

GUSA and the University administration are terribly misguided if they think that freshmen are going to take their misdemeanors as a learning experience and not just a free pass to be even more belligerent. This new policy tells them that they don’t need to worry about being caught intoxicated or in possession of alcohol because they can just complete some sanctions and all other repercussions will vanish.

When I received the press release detailing this news, I despaired for the current freshmen who choose not to drink and are

currently finding out for themselves just how hard it is to fit in at a place where alcohol is the cornerstone of socializing. Tezel was quoted in the press release as saying, “This change makes the Code of Student Conduct fairer for students.” Fairer for whom, though? It doesn’t seem too fair to the minority of freshman who leave alcohol out of their lives and now have to deal with the subsequent strengthening of the drinking culture that will follow this change.

Seeing the new direction that is being taken makes me more relieved than ever to be in my last year here. Each semester, I become more and more disheartened over how integral alcohol is to socializing at Georgetown. I guess the problem has become so serious that the administration must admit defeat and lighten consequences to alcohol violations. For a university that so vigorously touts its Jesuit values to incoming freshmen, I thought that, maybe, it would hold its commitment to student life in higher esteem.

STEVEN CRISS MSB ‘15 AVOIDS ALCOHOL AT ALL COSTS, UNLESS THERE’S TEQUILA

voices

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice |15

Freshmen: Fight pressure to mold to school surroundings CAITRIONA PAGNI When I see this year’s freshman class wandering around campus, I’m filled with nostalgia for my own first year. I remember the excitement of leaving home and meeting new people.

I remember excitedly sharing my hopes and dreams to random groups of strangers during NSO. I looked ahead to my time at Georgetown with expectations so high that they were far-fetched and naive.

Many of the first year students I have met this year hold similar expectations to my firstyear self. They speculate about GPAs, club positions, and even potential jobs, completely unaware

of what actually lies in store for them in the coming months. They have arrived, but now my question is: will they survive?

Within a matter of months, more and more students will undoubtedly succumb to the pressures of what it means to be a “real Hoya.” Quirky band tees will become few and far between, as Ralph Lauren polos crop up everywhere. Vans will be replaced with Sperry’s, and the Class of 2018, like so many before them, will transition into being an army of Jack and Jane Hoyas.

At first, freshmen will worry about making friends and finding their way to “The Red Square.” After a couple of weeks on campus, they will worry about whether or not they have been deemed

IDA DHANUKA

public service announcement: when hugging, leave room for jesus.

CARRYING ON

worthy to make coffee for The Corp or represent their dorm in GUSA Senate. Once midterms hit, they will worry about grades and perhaps even about securing that career-making internship. At Georgetown, the pressure comes constantly from all sides and it can prove too much to handle.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with trying to fit the mold of the typical Georgetown student, or with striving for success on campus. Problems arise, however, when students don’t adjust their personal goals and expectations about college to be both attainable and true to who they are as an individual. Their efforts are focused on an outward image, when they really should be focused on inward development.

Before I arrived at Georgetown, my expectations of my experience here were largely shaped by the presumptions of others. As soon as family and friends learned I was going to Georgetown, they would immediately mention the first thing that came to mind: words like “government,” “international relations,” “Bill Clinton,” and the occasional “meth lab.”

So when I physically arrived at Georgetown, I already had a rough mental image of myself as the future ruler of the universe, but I soon discovered that I had a lot of competition.

Thinking outside of the lines in Russia

BY NICOLE STEINBERG

A rotating column by senior Voice staffers

It was my second day shopping for school supplies in St. Petersburg. I thumbed the thin, flimsy pages and then turned the notebook over on its spine, and inspected the front cover. My face fell in disappointment as I saw the same old image as in all my previous experiences in Russia: a silhouette of a single horse lined in glitter.

Living in Russia over the past summer has taught me to expect less when it comes to certain products. When shopping for school supplies, for example, I reluctantly accepted that all my stationery was designed with children in mind. I learned to tolerate a corral of kittens on the front cover of my notebook, or even a collection of monster trucks coated in graffiti. I found that the Russian equivalent of a solid-color cover is the image of a horse. I also came to understand that the quality of household products in the United States is simply better.

Americans are lucky because the entire world caters to our economy, the largest and most profitable in the world, but we are able to avoid this truth easily if we never experience the quality of life in another nation firsthand. I became more aware of America’s impressive claim to the international market once I embarked on a summer-long, multi-country quest for a miniature clothing steamer.

I traveled between two eastern European countries before I concluded that neither the Russians nor the Latvians are in need of a steamer. I eventually found the elusive product in the most American-friendly place in St. Petersburg—a five-story shopping mall called the “Galeria.”

My hunt for school supplies was the same narrative. My friend and I spent two whole days searching for notebooks. We decided to compromise on style the second day, but remained unwilling to negotiate on function-

Most of my classmates had equal conviction in their ability to rule the world—and be the best dictator ever.

As my first semester progressed, I continued to strive to become the quintessential Georgetown student, but this become increasingly difficult as I was faced with seemingly endless drawbacks and rejections: my Chinese class proved to be the most difficult ordeal I had ever undertaken; I had an unpleasantly drawn-out break up with my long-distance boyfriend; and it was difficult to get invites to parties, even as a freshman girl. I had lost control over the world I’d managed to maintain as a high schooler, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t live up to the expectations I had set for myself as a college student.

I needed to hit the “reset” button. For most of my freshman year I had allowed my surroundings to dictate my ambitions and self-worth. It was time to figure out my priorities and come up with a different set of expectations that reflect not who I was in high school nor the kind of person I thought a Georgetown student ought to be, but the person I was in that moment.

A huge component of setting realistic expectations is honesty. No one is perfect, not even educated, cultured,

ality. Only later did we discover that the overwhelming majority of notebooks in Russia consist of graph paper instead of lined paper. I found fewer than five

to understand “thatI came the quality of ...prod-

ucts in the United States is simply better.

”

notebooks in all of St. Petersburg that preferred the apparently Western model that is lined paper. It was childish and difficult to explain, but this small detail prompted real frustration in both of us. We confronted culture shock in the least likely of areas.

We looked to the past in an attempt to direct our anger at the source. We cited back-toschool shopping experiences in the States from as young as the age of seven. Our memories were

not unalike: Mom and Dad strolling the aisles of Staples, only to dodge other eager parents, gripping at a shopping cart full of brand new, polished school supplies. These memories also triggered an inexplicable desire for Five-star, spiral-bound, heavylined-paper with a solid-color cover. Another question infiltrated our thoughts—why were our tastes so specific?

Once we extended our self-reflection to our experience in Russia, we were able to identify the hard-hitting truths about American culture and the consumerism deeply ingrained within it. We realized our disappointment in Russian school supplies stemmed from the expectation instilled within us by our American upbringing. Our original frustration over lined paper smoothly transitioned into a greater discussion of this commercialization seen in the United States. Back-to-school shopping, like Valentine’s Day to wedding

and well-manicured Georgetown students, and, as such, we should not expect perfection from ourselves. That’s not to say that we should not have high expectations of ourselves, but picking your battles is important, especially in an environment like Georgetown. In high school, I could be the person who had their work done three weeks in advance and still be able to go out on the weekends, but I would never be able to do that now. It took a long time for me to see this change as anything but a failure, but at Georgetown my circumstances had changed, so really it would be an exercise in futility to even attempt to maintain a standard like that now.

College life should not be an endless to-do list. Trying to do everything just leaves you with nothing. So, freshmen, if I were you, my first priority would be to spend the next four years figuring out who you were meant to be, not trying to be the person you think you should become.

CAITRIONA PAGNI SFS ‘16 IS STILL WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THE CORP

celebrations, is sexed up and twisted into something far beyond ballpoint pens. It is an annual event that has become a staple in American culture but holds no real value or purpose.

Our recognition of our entitlement to lined paper left us feeling ashamed. We not only recognized the privilege-soaked pettiness in our preference but also began to think of the annual event in the context of American society. Back-to-school shopping is a measure of the socioeconomic divide in our country—some children are lucky enough to participate in this event while others are marginalized for their economic inability to do so. It took the same experience in another country to expose this unpleasant reality about an otherwise unexciting tradition.

I’m not criticizing Americans for their expectations of quality in their products, nor am I labeling Russians as backwards for all their glitter-lined horses. It is impossible and unproductive to measure one culture against another. We were surprised, but ultimately happy that we were able to say so much about a difference between lined paper. I just wish I was able to buy the graph paper.