VOICE the georgetown
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BEDBUGS TO TERRORIZE GEORGETOWN? PAGE 4
HOYA FOOTBALL’S HISTORIC HOMECOMING WIN PAGE 6
TOMBS, 1789 MANAGER RETIRES PAGE 10
Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969 w September 30, 2010 w Volume 43, Issue 7 w georgetownvoice.com
2 the georgetown voice
september 29, 2010
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comments of the week “Thanks to our friends on Wall St. bell ringer may be the only source of gainful employment for these students.”
ur Voi
—Jacob,“Students remotely close NY stock exchange with cowbells”
ce!
“If a quarter of the SFS is getting a certificate in development, and it has the smallest budget, it seems like there is a lot of unmet demand there. Maybe it’s time the SFS do something about it.” —Etan, “GU should prioritize poverty studies”
“Given that, I think the Newsweek ranking is very encouraging
because it, and other rankings like it, could feed into a positive
• writing • editing • photography • • design • business • leisure • blog • • crossword • sports • opinion •
cycle — as more LGBT and allied students come to Georgetown, it becomes an even more LGBT-friendly work.”
—Shruti, “LGTBQ activists reflect on Newsweek rankings”
The Voice’s Open House
“Maybe if the Padres put more than 35,000,000 dollars (which is the second lowest payroll in the mlb) into their team they would be a consistent contender and attract more fans to their games. The country is run by the east coast whether you like it or not. ESPN as a business has to show the Yankee/Red Sox games because it makes them the most money.” —Skippee,“ESPN’s bias boosts Northeast, bullies the rest”
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Voice Crossword “Gypsies Tramps and Thieves’” by Scott Fligor
ACROSS 1. Indian Prince 5. Where you can find F.D.R. 9. Wash away 14. Arab Ruler 15. Japan’s ruling party during WWII
16. Home of Jar Jar Binks 17. Domesticated 18. A way the United States deals with a corrupt official 20. Blackberry Maker 21. Hollywood director once married to Judy Garland 22. Sequel to Iliad
24. Relax 28. A few bucks, perhaps? 29. Store’s caveat 31. New Deal org. 32. Celtic’s great 33. Queeg’s ship 34. Roadside bomb: abbr. 35. David Bowie chart topper 36. Welsh dog 37. Greek willow 38. I, to Caesar 39. Solicitor General under Bush 40. Häagen- ___ 41. Always, in verse 42. Self-absorbed 43. Scandal suffix 44. Halo game type 46. They fight bulls 49. Three-digit figure 52. Small ones are white? 53. How China deals with corrupt officials 56. Nascar’s Yarborough 57. Rogen and Green of comedy 58. Old newspaper section 59. D.O.E. part (abbr.) 60. “ ___ which will live in infamy.” 61. Where Waterloo was won? 62. Always on the house’s side?
answers at georgetownvoice.com DOWN 1. This year’s NSO theme 2. Neil Young’s “A man needs ___” 3. Cleveland’s Boss Tweed? 4. “___ you kidding?!” 5. Less certain 6. A fire station on fire? 7. School reformer Horace 8. Roof’s part 9. Fence in 10. Fraction 11. ___-Wan Kenobi 12. Scooby-___ 13. Huge amount of time 19. Illinois’ Fighting ___ 21. Advanced teaching degree 23. Military survival skills course 25. Where hoards of cash may be found 26. Fencing weapons 27. Nothing 29. Brother of Moses 30. Gemini, for one
32. Goes with lox 33. Known for flatbread sandwiches 35. Professional’s earnings 36. Red wine 37. “Must’ve been something ___.” 39. Shin splints result from this 40. National drug education program 43. Harry Potter is Sirius Black’s, for example 45. Spinnaker’s location 46. Lone Ranger’s companion 47. Like the wrestlers in Dante’s Inferno 48. Tiresias and Cassandra 50. River of Leeds 51. Old fellow 53. That, to Fernando Torres 54. Struck out 55. When you’ll get there, in short 56. Corporate executive
Are you a logophile? Share your love of words and help us write crosswords. Email crossword@georgetownvoice.com.
editorial
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VOICE the georgetown
Volume 43.7 September 30, 2010 Editor-in-Chief: Juliana Brint Managing Editor: Molly Redden Editor-at-Large: Tim Shine Director of Technology: Alexander Pon Blog Editor: Chris Heller News Editor: Cole Stangler Sports Editor: Nick Berti Feature Editor: Sean Quigley Cover Editor: Holly Ormseth Leisure Editor: Brendan Baumgardner Voices Editor: Keaton Hoffman Photo Editor: Jackson Perry Design Editors: Megan Berard, Ishita Kohli Literary Editor: James McGrory Crossword Editor: Mary Cass Assistant Blog Editors: Geoffrey Bible, Julie Patterson Assistant News Editors: Emma Forster, Holly Tao Assistant Cover Editor: Marc Fichera Assistant Leisure Editors: Nico Dodd, Leigh Finnegan Assistant Photo Editors: Matthew Funk, Hilary Nakasone
Associate Editor: Iris Kim Staff Writers:
Thaddeus Bell, Cyrus Bordbar, Tom Bosco, Kara Brandeisky, Matthew Collins, Kate Imel, Satinder Kaur, Matt Kerwin, Scott Munro, Rob Sapunor, Keenan Timko, Imani Tate, Tim Wagner, J. Galen Weber, Sadaf Qureshi, Matthew Decker
Staff Photographers:
Helen Burton, Julianne Deno, Lexie Herman, Hilary Nakasone
Copy Chief: Matt Kerwin Editorial Board Chair: Hunter Kaplan Editorial Board:
Kara Brandeisky, Jackson Perry, Eric Pilch, Sean Quigley, Molly Redden, J. Galen Weber
Head of Business: Eric Pilch The Georgetown Voice
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On this week’s cover ... Radio Remixed Cover Photo Graphic: Holly Ormseth
the georgetown voice 3 BUGGING OUT!
Bedbugs at GU: Insects of mass destruction It was only a matter of time before bedbugs came to Georgetown. Though only one case has been confirmed in University housing so far, Georgetown must address this problem proactively before it worsens and prepare for potential worst-case scenarios. Bedbugs are among the most expensive and difficult kind of infestation to treat, and are becoming more and more prevalent in the D.C. area. If Georgetown wants to stop further infestations, it must communicate with students effectively and spare no expense in treating the few infested areas on campus.Otherwise a few isolated cases can quicklyspread to become a campuswide problem. It is critical that Georgetown give its students all the information they need to avoid and treat infestations, including how to identify a bite, where bedbugs can live, how to wash clothing in order to kill bedbugs, and how to store clothing during the weeks it takes to complete an extermination. Bedbugs can be exterminated, but
only if both the exterminators and students do their part. Georgetown should make it clear what students’ responsibilities are, like washing clothing in very hot water and keeping all clothing in airtight bags while their rooms are treated. Facilities must also respond very quickly to any reports of bedbugs and improve on its poor record of emergency respose. In the fall of 2008, it was ill-prepared to help dozens of students whose Village A apartments were flooded after heavy rains. When norovirus, a very contagious disease that causes gastroenteritis, sickened hundreds of students in the fall of 2008, facilities initially refused to clean up sick students’ highly infectious vomit, saying that if it was in their room, it was their responsibility. If Facilities responds similarly in this instance, they may end up costing Georgetown a good deal of money. Instead, they must be proactive. Carpeted classrooms should be treated if the infestation spreads, since bedbugs can easily attach to shoes and
clothing and move from building to building. Georgetown should make sure that its exterminators will be able to handle the problem on a large scale, in case it grows. Finally, Georgetown must prepare to spend money to prevent this problem from spreading. After the norovirus infection, Georgetown neither refunded students’ meal plans nor helped them pay for their medical bills, even though the infection started in Leo’s. They cannot afford to repeat this mistake. Killing off a bedbug infestation is aggravating, time-consuming, and expensive, and if Georgetown refuses to help affected students financially, chances are good that those students will not do everything in their power to contain and eradicate their infestation. Yes, mounting a full-scale information campaign, offering free garbage bags for storage, and providing affected students with extra money for the many loads of laundry they will need to do will cost the University. But not as much as it would cost to treat the entire campus.
GIMME SOME SUGAR
Soda tax a sweet deal for District residents
Government revenue has to come from somewhere—we all know what they say about death and taxes—so it is valuable when the government can levy taxes that have societal benefits, too. So as the American waistline grows, and state and local governments face an increasingly dire fiscal situation, the District of Columbia’s policymakers made a sound decision in turning to an unconventional tax on sugary drinks for spare change. Starting on Oct. 1, D.C. will charge a one-cent tax for each ounce of sweetened beverages in a given drink, a smart move for a city with health problems and serious budget shortfalls. Councilwoman Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), should be commended for introducing and steering this bill through the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment
in May. The tax represents a necessary and positive step forward for a city where 55 percent of residents are overweight or obese. Like the bag tax, which raised awareness about the unnecessary and environmentally destructive use of plastic bags, the soda tax is likely to cause residents to reconsider the volume of sugary beverages they buy. According to Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the tax, which would increase the price of a 12 oz can by about 10 percent, will likely be the single most effective measure in reversing the District’s obesity epidemic. Some critics of the soda tax have argued that it will hurt low-income consumers, but the tax will actually lead to an increase in quality of life. Healthier beverages, such as water, milk, and juice will be more competitively
priced, and the revenue generated from the tax will support the construction of grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods and healthier school lunches. The tax also places very little administrative burden on small businesses, since it applies to large distributors. The soda lobby has spent tens of millions of dollars around the country fighting against soda taxes like the one that will be implemented in the District. Though it has its critics, this tax will raise up to $16 million for District residents, and will fund worthy programs like healthier school lunches and grocery store development. It’s a welcome sign that D.C. Councilmembers like Mary Cheh put the future health of their constituents at the top of their agendas, rather than folding to the demands of large beverage distributors.
CANARY IN THE COAL MINE
Appalachia Rising to stop surface coal mining This weekend, more than 700 Appalachian residents, retired coal miners, religious leaders, scientists, artists, and students held a three-day conference at Georgetown to protest the practice of mountaintop coal removal. The group, Appalachia Rising, unites residents from West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, Appalachian states whose streams and mountains have been negatively affected by this harmful mining practice. Residents of these states, whose economies are dependent on large coal companies, are seeking economic diversification and environmental protection from President Barack Obama’s administration, and the government should oblige them. The time has come to end the cycle of destruction and deforestation that harms their homes. Government officials must work with local employers to build a sustainable regional economy, where residents do not have to choose between their jobs and their communities.
Mountaintop removal mining is the practice of blowing off the top of a mountain so that coal companies can easily access exposed coal seams and avoid building deep and expensive mining shafts. According to Appalachia Rising, over 500 mountains the Appalachian Mountain Range have been destroyed in this fashion. Mountaintop removal mining has a whole host of detrimental environmental side effects: cancer-causing toxins are blasted into the air, biodiversity suffers, and headwater streams are often buried or polluted at their source. For years, government officials have essentially ignored these effects because the coal industry supports many jobs in coal producing states. In West Virginia alone, for example, 88,000 people are employed by the coal industry. Under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency was essentially gutted. The new EPA then began to roll back environmental regulations such as the Stream Buffer Zone protection provision, which has
since allowed coal companies to place waste directly into headwater waterways. Congress has passed a number of laws, including the Clean Water Act, which if enforced properly, would deter the mining companies from permanently damaging the Appalachian environment. However, simply enforcing existing regulations cannot solve this problem. The Obama administration needs to make the Appalachian region a priority for economic investment and job creation in sustainable industries. The practice of mountaintop removal mining is an abhorrent one. Those who are forced to live with the long-term impacts of this practice can only stare as the landscape that makes their home naturally beautiful is packed with dynamite and blown into their rivers. All this occurs as the EPA sits and watches from the sidelines. It’s time for President Barack Obama and Congress to take a definitive and meaningful stand on this issue, and blow up mountaintop removal for good.
news
4 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
Bedbugs found in University townhouse by Thaddeus Bell & El Roberts At the beginning of September, a group of students living in a University-owned townhouse started finding mysterious bug bites on their skin. They shrugged it off until they found an insect on one of their desks. Early last week, Georgetown University Facilities confirmed that their townhouse had a bedbug infestation. Carmen Mei (NHS ’12), one of the occupants of the infested townhouse, said that she and her roommates will be temporarily living in a Village A apartment for at least one or two weeks while the University exterminates their bedbugs. Before moving to Village A, Facilities gave Mei and her roommates a list of precautions to take so that the bed bug infestation did not spread to Village A, including washing all of their clothes in hot water and inspecting all of their items before moving them.
by
“I didn’t think it would happen to us,” Mei said. “It’s a hassle to move the entire house.” Nicole Cimback (NHS ’12) lives in Henle Village and also suspects that there may have been bedbugs in her apartment. Cimback and her roommates, however, did not report the problem to Facilities and said the problem “seemed to go away with the purchase of a new mattress pad.” The number of bedbug incidents in the United States has been on the rise in recent years thanks to more widespread international travel, the bans of the use of pesticides like DDT, and strains of bedbugs that are resistant to existing pesticides. Until recently, the number of bedbugs in the United States and other developed nations had dropped dramatically due to extensive use of DDT for extermination. The number of bedbug incidents around Washington D.C. has also been on the rise.
Zoellick calls for World Bank reform
W.L. Rick, President of R and J Pest Control in D.C., said that requests for treatment have become fairly common in the area. Bedbug infestations are not easy to treat, as they survive without feeding for up to six months, and not everyone is allergic to the bite. Rebecca Clark of EJF Real Estate Services said that several of the 70 buildings she rents in the area have had to be treated. However, Clark said that bedbugs are a minor enough problem that not everyone who has bedbugs will necessarily notice or report the problem. Bites are usually red with a darker red spot in the middle, and they are commonly arranged in a rough line or cluster, according to a Mayo Clinic Factsheet. Other signs of a bedbug infestation include empty exoskeletons, bloody smears on sheets due to crushed bedbugs, and bedbug excrement, which appears as dark specks along
Jackson Perry
A University townhouse was the site of GU’s first reported infestation. mattress seams. Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, said that there has only been one reported incident of bedbugs this academic year. Normal University protocol has a pest control specialist examine the area and provide the
appropriate treatment, which can require students to bag personal items and even move to a new location. Bataille said that the University purchases mattresses for use in residence halls that are “treated to prevent any kind of insect infestation for use in residence halls.”
GU’s Catholic newspaper returns by Cole Stangler
World Bank President Robert Zoellick spoke Wednesday in Gaston Hall, calling for major changes in development economics and the way his organization conducts research in the wake of the financial crisis.
Hilary Nakasone
Although it received funding from a diverse group of sources when it re-started in 2008, the Georgetown Academy ran out of funds last semester and had to stop production. Now, after a six-month hiatus, the University’s only studentrun Catholic newspaper is back—thanks in no small part to its writers’ willingness to help fund it out of pocket. The paper was able to obtain enough funding to relaunch through donations from current and former writers and their families. The paper began appearing across campus early last week, with all of its 1,000 copies distributed by Friday. The staff expects to release an additional issue this semester, and two more in the spring semester. “I think its definitely providing an important voice that is lacking or lacking cohesion and presentation sometimes,” Matthew Cantirino (COL ’11), the Academy’s editor-in-chief said. “People on campus are
very uncomfortable with [the] prevailing ethos of unconcern for our identity and history, or don’t know a lot about the Catholic Church and like to know more, or have questions about it. We’d like to be out there and present an alternative voice.” When the Academy, which was first published by Georgetown students in the 1990s, was revived in 2008 by David Gregory (COL ’10), it was funded in part by a grant from the Collegiate Network which funds start-up college publications. At that time, the paper also recived funding from the conservative Leadership Institute. Then and now, the self-described “independent journal of faith and reason” aims to discuss and analyze issues that relate to Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit identity. This vision of rational discourse contrasts sharply with the tone the Academy adopted in the mid-‘90s, which was often vitriolic and provocative. “It was basically a culture warrior kind of thing. I have old copies. It’s very vindictive,”
Cantirino said. “We’re trying to be different than that.” Kieran Royal (COL ’13), staff editor, said that the Academy aims to engage in a dialogue on Catholic issues on a “higher…more adult, more mature level.” “It’s not yelling or screaming or name-calling or overly polarized,” Royal said. Cantirino stressed that the paper is independent, even though its board of advisers includes members of conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cardinal Newman Society. “It’s really a lot more rag-tag than it looks,” Cantirino said. He said that it was unfair to label the Academy as “conservative,” adding that the next issue, which will come out in late October or early November, plans to tackle labor issues. “You’ll see us critiquing unbridled capitalism and arguing for labor unions, [and] articles in opposition to the death penalty. It’s much more dynamic than just a left-wing, rightwing thing,” he said.
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the georgetown voice 5
Georgetown faculty salary growth stays stalled by John Flanagan & Emma Forster In an open meeting between President John DeGioia and main campus faculty on Tuesday, plans to address the faculty’s stagnant salary increases were stalled again, to the dismay of some of the professors present. “No one’s been happy with [the stagnant salaries],” Faculty Senate President Wayne Davis said. “On the other hand, everybody recognizes that the rest of the world fell off the financial cliff. Many people
don’t have jobs. Other universities have complete freezes ... However, if there’s nothing in this coming year, there will be greater consternation [among the faculty].” Real increases in faculty salaries have been delayed since January 2009, when President John DeGioia announced that the University would be unable to meet the target increases of 2.5 percent above inflation as outlined in the Financial Plan for 2009 to 2011. At that same time, DeGioia also announced a wage freeze for himself
and senior executives. The financial plan for 2009 to 2011, published in January 2008, had announced a combined faculty salary adjustment rate of 4.94 rate, more than two percent above inflation at the time. When Georgetown realized it could not meet that commitment, DeGioia released a new financial plan that called for a lower salary increase of 2 percent, to be implemented in June 2009. Faculty did not receive a salary increase until January 2010, when they received a
isHiTa koHli
Git ‘er done, GUSA It’s a time-honored tradition for Georgetown University Student Association senate candidates—mostly well-meaning freshmen—to promise us better food at Leo’s and greater access to wireless Internet. But students who have been at Georgetown more than a month know that these issues are thornier, more bureaucratic, and more infuriating than they first appear. So this year, instead of vowing to improve our meal plan options, would-be GUSA senators should focus their energies on changes they can actually accomplish. We learned during last year’s club funding reform process that under ambitious leadership, GUSA has the ability to be effective. But when senators take on fruitless causes and argue over the minutia of toothless resolutions, it’s easy to forget how useful GUSA can be. In recent years, GUSA has
passed resolutions welcoming President Barack Obama to campus, supporting Philly Pizza in its battle against the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and criticizing the students who protested General David Petraeus. These debates really belong at a Philodemic Society after-party. Students don’t benefit from GUSA’s opinion on these matters. Likewise, while I appreciated that Senator Arman Ismail (COL ‘11) supported a cause that was popular among students, his ambitious project to eradicate rodents on campus would have been a job too difficult for even Bruce Wayne. Ismail had a little help from winter, but the rats won out in the spring. It wasn’t GUSA’s place to take on that project. Luckily, GUSA veterans have some workable ideas on the table this year. One of GUSA President Calen Angert’s (MSB ‘11)
campaign promises was to get a Zipcar rental site near campus. With parking so hard to come by and the new Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue so close but ohso-far, a rental car service would be a great addition to campus life. Last year, Josh Mogil (SFS ‘11) explored the possibility of forming a student advocacy group to help students navigate
saxa Politica by Kara Brandeisky A bi-weekly column on campus news and politics
the disciplinary system. Mogil, back from study abroad and running for a contested off-campus seat, should try to make this idea a reality if elected. Also, last year, money for weekend GUTS buses and the College Readership Program dried up. GUSA should work with the administration to extend these vital programs. There are already encouraging signs that GUSA will focus on achievable projects this
2.5 percent adjustment. Last spring, the Main Campus Planning Committee, which reports to the Provost and Board of Directors, proposed no salary increases among faculty and staff for Fiscal Year 2011. Davis, who has been meeting regularly with the Main Campus Planning Committee to address the issue, said that drafting a new long-term faculty salary plan is an important part of the ongoing discussions on the 2010 Campus Plan, but that a concrete salary plan has yet to established. That could be why several faculty members vented frustration about stalled salaries at Tuesday’s town hall meeting with DeGioia. “I was wondering if you could explain to me how at a time when our own salaries are so stagnant… that your own salary has increased by two percent?” Professor of Theology Julia Lamm asked. DeGioia acknowledged that, despite the freeze, his salary had increased because the Board of Directors decided to build a retirement fund from his compensation and that his housing was included as part of his salary for the first time. Lamm said that “salary compression” at Georgetown is a serious issue, and that she felt obliged to ask the question because she was articulating the concerns of numerous faculty and staff.
year. Fortunately, the Finance and Appropriations Committee will be turning its attention to the $1.9 million of Student Activity Fee money invested in the endowment. When GUSA established the student activity fee in 2001, senators hoped that by funneling half of the $100 fee into the endowment, the fund would grow to $10 million and become self-sustaining by 2010 or 2011. But we’re still $8.1 million short. Colton Malkerson (COL ‘13), a former Finance and Appropriations Committee member who is running uncontested for reelection, said the committee has definite plans to tackle this issue, although it won’t announce the specifics for a few weeks. Since the fund will take too long to become self-sustaining, GUSA should begin to use all of the $100 Student Activity Fee to fund clubs and student organizations. As for the $1.9 million that has been saved, GUSA must tread carefully—there are already heated arguments over
The average salary for full professors at Georgetown, which is currently $155,500, according to the most recent data from American Association of University Professors— is already 10 to 15 percent below the average salary at Ivy League schools and schools Davis called “comparable institutions.” Davis added that faculty salaries on the Main Campus are lower than those at the Law Center, which “has been prosperous for decades.” “Their salaries are fully competitive [when compared with peer institutions] and quite good,” Davis said. Despite the seeming lack of progress on the matter, Davis remains optimistic that the Main Campus Planning Committee can establish a new faculty salary plan by the end of the academic year. “I am quite confident good news will emerge in a couple of weeks,” Davis wrote in an email, adding that a meeting will be held on Friday to discuss the matter. “The Main Campus has faced a tough time because of the effects of the recession, but has worked very hard to develop an even better salary long range salary plan than we had before.” Davis said he is hopeful that the Main Campus Planning Committee meeting on March 5 will finalize the plan for faculty.
the $380,000 of student activity fee funding we have right now—but we should begin using some of that money for capital projects, such as student space initiatives. For the past couple decades, students have remained largely skeptical of GUSA. Most usually considered it useless and some even called for its abolition. The current leadership says they represent a “new GUSA”—a new age of efficiency, transparency, and above all, usefulness. There’s reason to believe them. With total control over the allocation of the student activity fee and perhaps more funding to come, GUSA has the power to implement some very tangible changes—not just engage in meaningless debates or make wildly unrealistic populist promises. But now let’s see GUSA put its money where its mouth is. Do you have a job too difficult for even Bruce Wayne? Email Kara at kbrandeisky@georgetownvoice.com
sports
6 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
Hoyas stage comeback on historic homecoming by Daniel Kellner Every sports team has its fair share of doubters. But after Saturday’s homecoming game, you can consider the skeptics of the Georgetown football team answered. The Hoyas proved that their conference-opening win against Lafayette was no stroke of luck by beating defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross 17-7 in a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback. The win keeps the Hoyas at the top of the Patriot League standings, an astounding achievement after last year’s winless campaign. The Hoyas had plenty of support, as a raucous home crowd filled the stands of the football field. “I told the guys before the ballgame we had a lot to play for,” head coach Kevin Kelly said. “It was our first home game, it was homecoming, the defending league champs, a Patriot League game. … It feels really good to finally win and win at home, too.” But even though the defense dominated throughout the game, with the Hoyas held scoreless after the first half, their victory depended on yet another gritty, secondhalf comeback. Unable to establish the run game in the first half, the Hoyas turned to their emerging star at quarterback, junior Scott Darby. Darby had one of his most wellrounded games for the Hoyas, completing 26 passes for 191 yards, and rushing for 98. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. “We had a good crowd, everyone was pretty excited,” Darby said. “Overall we fed off each other, fed off the energy of the crowd, just happy be home and win in front of the home crowd.” The second half opened ominously for the Hoyas after Darby fumbled, which led to Holy Cross’s only score of the day following a
34-yard return and a six-play drive. The Hoyas fought back, completing two fourth-down conversions on the following drive to set up a 31-yard field goal by junior kicker Brett Weiss. The Hoyas took the lead later in the half after Darby and senior wide out Keerome Lawrence, who had eight catches for the second straight week, led Georgetown into the red zone. They enabled senior running back Philip Oladeji to punch it in from seven yards out. On their next possession, an electric 22-yard run from Lawrence off a direct snap set up Darby to connect with junior wide receiver John O’Leary in the back of the end zone. The touchdown gave the Hoyas some breathing room and a 17-7 advantage. Despite the offense’s secondhalf turnaround, the day undoubtedly belonged to the defense, which had allowed over 500 yards of total offense in each of the last two weeks. But they delivered a stalwart performance on Saturday, holding Holy Cross to just 262 yards and 5-for-16 on third down conversions. “In previous weeks the offense had picked us up big time,” said sophomore linebacker Robert McCabe, who led the Hoyas with 7.5 tackles. “This week it was our chance to pick up the offense. That’s what makes a team, that’ll get the W’s.” The Hoyas (3-1, 2-0 Patriot League) will look to move to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since joining Division 1-AA in 2001 when they take on Colgate this weekend in Hamilton, New York. In each of their last three games, the Hoyas have overcome slow starts by outscoring their opponents 5220 in the second half. But Kelly said that this matchup will be the Hoyas’s toughest yet. “As long as at the end of the ballgame we’ve got more points than they do, I have no problem with that. But against a good team
JULIANNE DENO
John O’Leary caps off a thrilling homecoming win for the Hoyas with a TD.
like Colgate, you can’t wait till the second half,” Kelly said. “They’re picked to win the league this year. … On offense, we need to make sure every possession counts because you’re not going to get as many as you normally do.” With the prospect of their first Patriot League title becoming a real possibility, the Hoyas will try to ride the momentum of what amounts to be their best start of the new millennium. But the toughest trials are still ahead in what is shaping up to be an exciting season for Georgetown football. It’s been a long time since anyone could say that.
1
Hoya’s football firsts this season...
Since...
First Patriot League win (vs. Lafayette)
2007
First time winning opening conference game
2005
First time the Hoyas won Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week simultaneously
Ever
First kick-off return for touchdown
2004
F irst victory against Holy Cross First
1999
F irst homecoming victory First
2006
First time with two conference wins in a season
2005
First 3-1 start
1999
the Sports Sermon “Teach me how to dougie, teach me how to dougie. All my bitches love me.” —The Tampa Bay Rays singing in celebration of clinching a playoff spot.
ing on an extension with their team. It wouldn’t make any sense for the Chicago Bulls to trade away Joakim Noah or all-star guard Derrick Rose, only to see Anthony leave after one year. Anthony alone can veto any trade the Nuggets want to make. And the longer the Nuggets wait to trade him, the less leverage they have, because he doesn’t want to
believable explanation: that Anthony slowly became unThere is no question that willing to go to New Jersey in the world of professional and pulled himself out of the basketball, this past summer deal. He realized New Jerwas the Summer of Lebron. sey wasn’t a place he wanted But as the buzz around the to spend most of—if not the king wears off, Denver Nugrest of—his career. Then he gets forward Carmelo Ansaw that the Knicks, his first thony has stepped up to take choice, didn’t have the assets over the spotlight. to get the Nuggets to bite on Anthony has been in the a deal before the season starts. news in recent weeks after His apparent second choice, reportedly dethe Bulls, don’t manding to be want to part with Pete Rose Central traded. Unlike Joakim Noah. AfDa bettin’ line James’sformer ter reaching this team, the Nuggets conclusion, AnDookies Margin Hoyas have a good supthony stepped (underdogs) (duh!) (favorites) porting cast for the back from the situBrooklyn-born star. McNabb Vickadelphia ation and thought Vick Still, it seems like about spending Colgate Keep the Faith one last season Anthony wants to Georgetown Texas Get== your gun with Denver. Oklahoma leave for brighter lights in a bigger “At the end of city—New York, Chicago, and sign an extension with them. the season, I’ll sit down with New Jersey (Brooklyn in two Last week, the Nets my team, I’ll sit down with years) are all reportedly on his seemed to have successfully the Nuggets, and we’ll talk short list of destinations. made a four-team deal to land about it,” Anthony said at But why does he want to the forward by giving up first media day on Monday. “I’ve leave now? Did he get the itch round pick Derrick Favors never said I wanted to be to move after seeing Lebron and Devin Harris. As of Tues- traded. I never once said anyform a team of superstars in a day night, the deal was dead, thing about trade talk.” first-rate city? Or had the me- for unknown reasons. There Who knows if there is dia cooked up this story from have been reports that the any truth to his statement? If scratch? Nuggets backed out because Anthony never asked to be Here is what we know: al- they weren’t satisfied with traded, what was all the methough Anthony is not a free who they were going to re- dia attention for? At the end agent until after the 2010-11 ceive for their franchise play- of the season he will become a season, he still wields a lot of er. With the proposed trade, free agent, and his top choices power. He is in the position they would have not only won’t have to trade anything to control where the Nuggets have lost Anthony, but they for him—they’ll just need to trade him because his contract would have lost money too. take out their checkbook. And only lasts for one season, and It is never good when a team if Anthony can wait out the as a result, opposing teams becomes worse and poorer in winter and the spring, he’ll are not willing to trade the the same year. have what any NBA superstar Nuggets their best players for Although that’s a fair could ask for: a whole sumAnthony without him agree- conclusion, there’s another mer dedicated to himself.
by Nick Berti
sports
georgetownvoice.com
Georgetown snaps streak by Adam Rosenfeld It’s no secret that the Georgetown men’s soccer team has struggled mightily after getting off to a great start in the 2010 season. Even though they beat Northeastern and Michigan State on opening weekend, which led to a top 25 ranking, the Hoyas have been winless since then. Luckily, the Hoyas ended their dry spell on Wednesday night when they played against Adelphi. In a game that started out at a quick pace, the Hoyas controlled the possession early. However, the possession didn’t translate into chances, and senior Jose Colchao’s offtarget shot was the only serious chance from either side early in the half. As the first half ticked down to the final minutes, it appeared
that the relatively mundane period would end in a scoreless draw. Then, in the 42nd minute, sophomore midfielder Ian Christianson’s winding ball found the far post, and freshman Joey Dillon was there to kick the ball into the net with confidence for the first goal of his young Georgetown career. The Hoyas struck again with only eight seconds left in the half when sophomore Tommy Muller was able to put his head to the ball off a set play, which snuck past the Panther goalkeeper to give the Hoyas the two-goal advantage. “We’ve been playing this well for a while,” head coach Brian Wiese said. “The only difference is that tonight, we converted on two chances late in the half, which makes winning a bit easier.” Adelphi was obviously displeased with the offensive on-
KATHY SHABALOV
Ian Christianson channels his inner Tim Riggins, playing under the lights.
Wake me up when September ends I may just be a bitter Mets fan, but the final week of the MLB season is too mundane. Every playoff spot in the American League is already claimed, and while the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are still fighting for the American League East crown, there’s little to no drama. Home field advantage may matter in the postseason, but it doesn’t make the final week interesting. The Twins clinched the American League Central about three months ago, and the Texas Rangers have had the American League West locked up since early May. The American League MVP race—a contest that was in-
teresting during the midseason—has turned into a war of attrition. Josh Hamilton, who was the leading candidate as the calendar turned to September, has been out for the entire month with two small fractures in his right rib cage. His other main competitor, Miguel Cabrera, played on a lost Detroit Tigers team and also has been retired for the season due to an ankle sprain. The American League Cy Young race is just as boring. The leading candidates—Felix Hernandez, a 12-12 pitcher who doesn’t get any run support, and CC Sabathia, a 20-7 pitcher who has fewer strikeouts and a higher E.R.A. and
slaught and came out of halftime playing aggressively and feeling no shame over getting in the Hoyas’ faces. The play became chippy and physical, and both teams were assessed a yellow card in the first five minutes of the half. After settling down, the Panthers began to take the game to Georgetown, controlling play for most of the second half. Adelphi went on to outshoot the Hoyas by a tally of 11-0 in the half. Fortunately, senior goalkeeper Matthew Brutto and the defense stayed strong, keeping the Panthers caged, with no goals to show for at game’s end. The 2-0 victory was important for the struggling Hoyas. Wiese, however, was quick to point out that although a win is a win, his squad needs to step it up in conference play. “It was awesome to play under the lights, and hopefully this is something the coaches will look to do more of in the future,” Brutto said. The Hoyas will get that chance to prove themselves in the Big East this weekend when perennial Big East contender West Virginia come to town. “West Virginia is one of the most athletic teams in the country,” Wiese said. “It is always a close game with them, and I don’t expect it to be any different this weekend.” Wednesday’s game against Adelphi was notable as the first night game at the Multi-Sport Field in the program’s history. But on Saturday, it’s back to North Kehoe, where the Hoyas will look to grab their first conference win. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. WHIP than his main competitor—revisits the traditional “numbers” argument that takes place every year. Hernandez has had a better year. Sabathia will win the award. It happens all the time. The National League is only a little more interesting. The
Backdoor Cuts by Tom Bosco
a rotating column on sports Philadelphia Phillies have already locked up the National League East crown (again). The Cincinnati Reds ran away with the National League Central. And the National League West is a clash between two teams that no one on the East coast cares about; The San Diego Padres
the georgetown voice 7
Lady Hoyas sink Pirates by Abby Sherburne Bolstered by a strong second-half showing, the women’s soccer team snapped a three game losing streak by beating Seton Hall on Sunday. The Hoyas defeated the Pirates (6-4-0) 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to improve their record to 8-3-0. The Georgetown Women’s Soccer team is now 2-1-0 in the Big East, which brings them to No. 2 in the conference. “We’ve got a bit of our swagger back,” head coach Dave Nolan said. In the first half, the team came out attacking the net but was not playing with the same aggression that they usually do. The Hoyas had some chances early on, but couldn’t make a mark on the scoreboard until the second half. Junior defender Gabby Miller and freshman forward Colleen Dinn both gave the Hoyas some good looks, but the Hoyas ultimately did not score until the 73rd minute, when junior midfielder Kelly D’Ambrisi netted a goal off an assist from junior forward Camille Trujillo. Building off the momentum from the first goal, freshman forward Kaitlin Brenn scored off a pass from junior Ingrid Wells a mere three minutes later. The Hoyas asserted control on the offensive end by outshooting Seton Hall 20-6 with eight of the shots coming on goal. The Pirates had no answer for the quick on-
and the San Francisco Giants are two of the blandest teams in the league and will generate few post-season viewers. Like in the American League, the awards races are not that interesting. Sure, The Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitski have ridden a hot September into the MVP conservation. But for what feels like the tenth straight year, the Rockies have played well in September. Basically, at the end of September, Major League Baseball has become boring. There’s no story. There’s only potential for a story. It would be nice to see Bobby Cox have an exciting swan song by going to the postseason for one more year. It would be nice to see the small market Padres make the
slaught, as senior goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin continued her exceptional season by saving all of Seton Hall’s eight shots, including one on goal. So far this season, the upperclassmen have had the best showing on the stat sheets. But with this game, the freshman have made a huge impact on the team’s record. “Their innocence,” Nolan said, “is a good thing on the field.” He said that because of their naïveté, they have no fear when going up against strong players. Their attitude helped the Hoyas a lot in games earlierin the season against tough teams like No. 1 Stanford, and No. 13 Santa Clara, two matches that they ultimately lost. The Hoyas have still had some huge wins this season, like their victory over Big East rival Villanova early on in the season. Nolan said that they have been using the same strategy all season and that they don’t plan to change it for the upcoming weekend matches. “We’re just taking it one game at a time, I’ve never been a goal-setting coach,” he said, adding that they need to keep playing competitively and not passively. Their swagger had better hold through the weekend, when the Hoyas will play the South Florida Bulls on Friday and the Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday. Both matches will be held at North Kehoe Field.
playoffs and do some damage. But I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen the farewell tours in more moving fashion (such as Cal Ripken, Jr.’s). I’ve seen better rags-to-riches stories (The Rays in 2008). I just want to be surprised. That’s all I’m asking for. I want something mind-boggling to happen in the postseason. I want the Diamondbacks to beat the Yankees in the World Series. I want Roger Clemens to throw a bat at Mike Piazza. I want Don Larsen to throw a perfect game. I’ve seen this all before. Please, just give me something different. Don’t disappoint me. I’m a Mets fan. I’m used to that. Make fun of Tom for being a Mets fan at tbosco@georgetownvoice.com
back on the beat
feature
8 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
georgetownvoice.com
feature
the georgetown voice 9
by Tim Shine Courtesy joNh ZAMBETTI
The Golden Years: In the ‘70s, WGTB was a powerhouse in the D.C. music scene.
MATT FUNK
Digging in the stacks: The studio houses decades worth of music archives.
MATT FUNK
Less plaid then we expected: The board of WGTB in their Leavey Center office.
MATT FUNK
Is this thing on? WGTB recently upgraded its mixing equipment and software.
During New Student Orientation this year, freshmen packed into Yates Field House for a “Party Like It’s 1999!” mixer. Of course, NSO’s inherent awkwardness meant there wasn’t much partying going on. So the event’s DJs took it upon themselves to start off the dancing. “Not a lot of people danced, because they’re all freshmen and embarrassed of each other,” GT Wrobel (COL ’11) said. “But we danced a lot.” Most of the freshmen gawking at the seniors grooving to the tunes of the last decade had probably never even heard of WGTB, Georgetown’s student radio station. But they were unwittingly getting their first exposure to one of the major players in Georgetown’s music scene. Even if they never tune into the station’s online feed, Georgetown’s students hear plenty from WGTB. Freshman got another taste of WGTB again the next weekend, when WGTB handled music for SAC Fair. Anyone who attended last semester’s sold out Hood Internet show in Bulldog Alley has been exposed to their sound, too. If the leaders of WGTB have their way, Georgetown will be hearing from its radio station a lot more in the near future. The station has big plans for the new school year, beginning with a new website and music blog, The Rotation, which are the first steps in a process designed to make WGTB a leading voice in music at Georgetown and eventually, all of D.C. The idea is not as far-fetched as it might seem. Although it was decades ago, WGTB was once just that authority. In recent years, however, the station has been stagnant, settled into a niche as a kind of club for passionate fans of predominantly indie rock and not much else. “I remember sophomore year it just mattered to me—like, ‘So what are we thinking long term?’” Wrobel, WGTB’s general manager, said. “And nobody seemed to think about long term issues.” When he entered his junior year, Wrobel knew that he would need to start working to make those issues a priority. Fortunate-
ly, he was not alone in his sentiments. Many of his fellow WGTB staffers had bigger aspirations for the station as well, among them Igor German (COL ’11), currently the music director and editor of The Rotation. With German abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, he and Wrobel began to plot the future of WGTB. “We were on Skype, and we were like, ‘Things have to change!’” Wrobel said. With less than two years left at Georgetown, they knew that they would have to act quickly if they wanted to make the kind of changes that would leave a long-lasting impact on WGTB. So the two left no stone unturned as they planned their grand changes for the station. “I still have a giant Google Doc of ‘Big Ideas,’” German said. “It’s a really long document of all the things we wanted to change and ways we wanted to see WGTB improve, and a lot of it was based on my experience in Edinburgh.” In Scotland, German worked for the radio station at the University of Edinburgh, where he discovered the model for the future WGTB. There was nothing radically different about college radio in Edinburgh—the station was online only, and the staff was all volunteer, just like at Georgetown—but something felt different. Ultimately, it came down to the people who worked at the station, and how they did that work. “The only word I can use to describe it is professionalism,” German said. “I think at the end of the day it’s just because everybody at the top took themselves really seriously and took the organization very seriously, and that definitely trickled down.” That kind of top-down dedication had been missing at WGTB for years. Neither German or Wrobel had anything bad to say about the station’s past leadership, but they knew that those who came before them had accepted a stagnant status quo. People joined because they liked music and wanted to DJ, but there wasn’t anyone holding them accountable for their responsibilities with the station. That wasn’t always the case.
The WGTB call sign originated in 1946 with an AM broadcast station specializing in news and public affairs, and has a long and storied tradition at the University. The station switched to FM in 1960, a transition that would bring about what are now remembered as the golden years of WGTB. Although a relatively new and inaccessible format at the time, FM would soon take over the airwaves. Over the next two decades, WGTB rose to prominence with it, transcending its role as a campus radio station to become a regional powerhouse, attracting the attention of major musical artists and drawing the ire of politicians. Former WGTB DJs John Zambetti (COL ’70) and Walter Egan (COL ’70) were part of the staff that helped transition the station away from its old-fashioned playlist to alternative music and a more experimental format. When they arrived as freshmen, the station did not even allow DJs to play rock and roll; when they left, artists like Neil Young were coming into the station to do interviews. The station became partially defined by the avant-garde or obscure music it played, from Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa to early Miles Davis and John Coltrane. It was not just edgy music that gained WGTB its notoriety. As the music format changed, so did the politics—a hard shift to the left. During their time at Georgetown, Zambetti and Egan aired a live, expletive-filled interview with controversial anti-war protestor Abbie Hoffman. After 1970, the station’s political content only became more radical, speaking out against the Vietnam War and provoking Nixon vice president Spiro Agnew to complain specifically about WGTB. “The voice of a student was being heard by the Vice-President of the United States, and pissing him off,” Zambetti said. But all that political attention would eventually be the end of WGTB-FM. Georgetown administrators, outraged at the negative attention the station’s incendiary left-wing rhetoric was bringing to the University, made repeated attempts to re-
strict the broadcasts coming from the basement of Copley. On Jan. 29, 1979, then Georgetown President Timothy Healy gifted the station’s FM license to the new University of District of Columbia for the cost of one dollar, ridding himself and the University of any troublesome broadcasts. UDC would later go on to sell the station to C-SPAN for $25 million in 1997. Even while its radical politics angered Georgetown administrators, by the mid-70s WGTB had become a giant in the District’s music community. It was often the first to introduce new music to the public and it promoted high-profile concerts. The station’s radical leftism was undeniably at odds with Georgetown’s Catholic identity, but its absence left a big hole in the music scene. “College radio is the voice of people who are coming of age and are getting a chance to think on their own for the first time,” Egan said. “I think that having a radio station, certainly in our time, was a great outfit for saying what you felt about things.” WGTB eventually returned in the ‘80s, broadcasting only to on-campus buildings before switching to online streaming in 2001. It seems natural to question what WGTB would be like today had Healy not surrendered that valuable FM license, but the current staffers don’t spend much time wondering what could have been. “We’re happy with what we’ve got,” Wrobel said. “I just don’t know right now if we could handle an FM station, because it would be a totally different experience. There might have been too much formality for some of the things that we’re trying to do.” Wrobel and his colleagues are not ignorant of WGTB’s storied past, however. In fact, some members of the current board have connected with their predecessors, meeting Zambetti after last semester’s GEMA Rocks concert. “[Zambetti] kind of did in a little way I think what we’re trying to do now,” Wrobel said. “He probably did a better job, because it sounds like it was crazy
good. But just, you know, [it was] a little bit of a renaissance with what was happening.” Even though they are separated by 40 years and a completely different musical environment, the current WGTB staff thinks they can lead a radio renaissance of their own. The core of WGTB will remain what has always been, though: its live broadcasts. As much as the station branches out and attracts attention for its offair endeavors, the music on its internet stream is still the main reason it exists. WGTB’s broadcasts are an impressive undertaking. The station airs live shows nearly continuously from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week, with only a few time slots left without hosts and a dedicated show. Generally, the shows skew towards indie music, but WGTB also airs programs featuring a variety of other genres, from blues to hip-hop. Considering all the airtime that needs to be filled, it’s no surprise that WGTB is a large organization, with around 120 students involved in some capacity. For the passionate music fans at WGTB, having a radio show is an opportunity to consider and share the songs they love. Scott Lensing (COL ’11), co-host of the show “Six Degrees of Jeff Mangum,” discovered the station as a freshman and found a new way to engage with music. He, like many of the stations other DJs, had a passion for music that he was able to channel through WGTB. Having hosted a number of shows during his time at Georgetown, Lensing also has a veteran’s understanding of what being a WGTB DJ really means. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the alternative-focused, online-only station does not draw a lot of listeners. But he says that’s not the point—people DJ because it has its own intrinsic rewards. “It’s no secret, and it’s almost in some ways a joke, that there aren’t that many listeners out there at any given time,” he said. “[But] I think there’s value of [hosting] in and of itself. Even if no one’s listening—which can be a bummer—I think that the radio is just a good time for people to
think about the music they play more sincerely.” That’s the role WGTB has come to fill—an organization that facilitates students’ enjoyment of music. For the diehards, that means giving them a forum to play songs and expose their tastes to the public. But WGTB still finds ways to reach even the most casual listener at Georgetown. Some students may never have any interest in tuning into the online stream, but the organization will reach them nonetheless, like when it DJs events such as SAC Fair. Beyond DJ services, WGTB reaches the greater student body through concerts. The station does not have the budget to book the mainstream acts that can fill McDonough Arena, like the Georgetown Programming Board does, but it uses the space in Bulldog Alley to bring smaller acts that appeal to a sizable group of Georgetown students. “They’ve brought in artists that I think a lot of people would be interested in seeing or at least very passionate about seeing, as opposed to [GPB] who would bring in T-Pain or Coolio,” Lensing said of the station’s leadership. “People would go and see it kind of because it’s a spectacle, but I’m not sure how many people are excited [about GPB concerts.]” Excitement is definitely apparent at the concerts that WGTB stages. Last semester, mash-up artists The Hood Internet drew a packed crowd to Bulldog Alley. And even the breezy pop of Real Estate couldn’t prevent the students in attendance from dancing. The caliber of the shows should only continue to improve, as the station doubles its concert budget for the second year in a row. The members of WGTB saw firsthand the kind of passion Georgetown has for music, and is moving to take full advantage of it this semester. The Rotation represents one of the major ways the station is attempting to expand its role as the source for all things music at Georgetown. A blog filled with album reviews, artist interviews, and general music discussion, it could help set the tone for WGTB as a music authority. “Last semester, our content
MATT FUNK
Mixing it up : A WGTB DJ blends songs into an hour-long mix for his radio show. was essentially just the radio station,” German said. “Our content has tripled or quadrupled. The scope of our content is no longer just radio program, but we’re a media outlet.” With an eye on the station’s past as a model, the radio board sees the blog as a potential launchpad for the station’s growth into the larger D.C. music scene. They want to engage local and visiting artists as well as their fans, just like Zambetti and Egan did in their time. “It was just totally normal that WGTB would show up [to concerts] and there would be a guy with a microphone broadcasting live,” Wrobel said. “We are online now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to events.” Thanks to the Internet, the 2010 version of WGTB has a much larger potential audience than its 1970s iteration. With the overwhelming number of music and media sources available today, though, it’s unlikely the station will ever recapture its former status as a District juggernaut. But perhaps the digital frontier will open up a whole new kind of success, just as FM did fifty years ago. “We had this huge audience available to us and it was up to us to come up with new creative ways of using radio which hadn’t been done before,” Zambetti said. “And I think it’s really relevant today because radio has become so formatted now that it’s just aching for somebody with a little bit of ingenuity to come up and do some-
thing new and interesting.” It is still far too early to say whether the new WGTB will ever be the kind of station Zambetti talked about. But after flying below the radar for so long, the station’s rededication to being at the forefront of the music community is a large step in the right direction. In the end, the station’s renaissance all comes back to the small group of individuals who believed that radio at Georgetown could be more than just an insular group for the most passionate music fans. Wrobel, German, and their fellow seniors don’t have much time left to realize their vision, but they have already begun to convert others to their cause. Lensing, who had previously become disillusioned with radio, has seen the contagious effect of their enthusiasm firsthand. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the community sees it too. “As someone who had a little break in the middle from being a DJ and being involved, coming back last year, I was amazed,” he said of the current board. “As opposed to just being a group of friends who get together and listen to music, they’re really pushing themselves to open Georgetown up to WGTB.”
leisure
10 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
Tombs manager lays his career to rest by Chris Heller Last weekend, William Watts had a lot to handle. Homecoming Weekend brought a flood of customers to the Tombs, and a private party had reserved F. Scott’s for the evening. At the same time, these were just the last few days of his 35-year career managing three Georgetown restaurants. Just one last push. Then, his bakery set on fire. Watts, who has worked as the general manager of the trio of restaurants that line 36th Street since 1985, paced back and forth behind caution tape, wringing his hands while waiting for the D.C. Fire Department to allow him to enter the building. The bakery, which is attached to F. Scott’s, suffered exterior fire damage from the blaze, believed to be ignited by a smoldering cigarette. “We’ll probably have to cancel
that party,” the 65-year old said, looking at the fire and water damage. “But, I won’t know until I get the OK to go inside.” Soon after the fire trucks left the scene, he surveyed the interior of the building—which was largely undamaged—and sent longtime employee Molly Quigley to his house in Alexandria to pick up his tools. Watts keeps tools in the back of his Jeep, but drove another car to work that morning, a restored Mercedes Benz convertible. “William treats these buildings like he owns them,” Quigley said. “If something is broken, he’ll fix it.” Spend a few minutes with Watts and it becomes clear that he has his hands in almost everything that goes on around the restaurants. One minute, he’s behind the bar tidying up mugs; the next, he’s outside tending to the herb garden he planted in
A Social success
the parking lot behind 1789. Last summer, Watts recruited one of the restaurant’s valets to help him repair the roof. And every December, he spends at least 80 hours decorating 1789 for the Christmas season. “He’s such a Renaissance man. It’s really amazing,” Quigley said. But if you ask him, Watts will just say that it’s all in a day’s work. Even for a man who plans to retire in five days. “If I’m not on vacation, I’m working,” he said. “The job’s become a part of my life, it’ll be really difficult to walk away from.” An American University graduate who served in Germany during the Vietnam War, Watts entered the restaurant business after taking a job at Clyde’s of Georgetown in 1973. After college, Clyde’s owner John Laytham asked if he would manage the restaurant; a decade later, Watts
IMDB
by Brendan Baumgardner There is an important scene early in The Social Network, bass heavy dance music throbs as the screen cuts deftly between two symbolic set pieces. The first is typical montage material: the first party of the year at Harvard’s most prestigious clubs, a debaucherous scene of hedonistic excess. The second event, which is taking place simultaneously on the other side of campus, is less expected. Although the action is equally boozefueled, the camera does not tighten on gyrating hips and upturned bottles, but on a computer screen. That’s right—this is a coding montage. There’s a lot of humor in the way director David Fincher contrasts these two extremes of Harvard life in his latest film, but he isn’t just out for laughs. In this sequence, Fincher has laid out the tensions that play out over the rest of the film. Because as much as it’s a film about the birth of Facebook, The Social Network also a film about class and status and the lengths people will go to for acceptance. For example, when Facebook first starts gaining popularity, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) refuses his business partner Eduardo
“He taught me how to be a man,” Brook Tarbell, a former employee, said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without William Watts.” Standing outside of the 1789 bakery with a saw in his hand, Watts was a strange brew of handyman, manager, and connoisseur. He gathered a pile of wood that the fire department had hacked off of the building, which needed to be chopped up and disposed. As drops of sweat rolled down his face, eyes fixed on the soon-to-becut pieces of wood in front of him, he suddenly looked up to explain himself. “This is what a general manager does.”
lez’hur ledger
Frolicking freaks at FreeFest
by Emma Forster
Saverin’s (Andrew Garfield) urge to monetize it. Zuck doesn’t deny his partner as a savvy business move— he does it because, in that moment, Facebook is “cool.” Today, we know Zuckerberg as an incredibly private billionaire responsible for changing the shape of the Internet and the concept of privacy as we know it. And thanks to his ugly legal entanglements with friends and classmates, it’s easy to imagine him as a villain. Fincher, however, takes a different perspective. While he hardly portrays Zuckerberg as an angel, he is anything but the ruthless tyrant we might imagine. He’s just petty, jealous, and a little to smart for his own good. Basically, he’s any college undergrad who gets in over his head. The Social Network is a film about ambitions that dwarf compassion. It’s about a struggle to fit in. And ultimately, it’s a film about a smart kid who’s a bit of an asshole. But it’s a story told with so much honesty and consideration that when we see Zuckerberg, a kid in big boy clothes slouching at the deposition table, face to face with his best friend’s lawyers, we can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for him.
found himself managing 1789, the Tombs, and F. Scott’s. “Thirty-five years down here, I’ve probably seen thousands and thousands of employees. And I’d like to think that I made an impact on their lives,” he said. Some employees, such as bartender Jonathan Quigley, called Watts “the best boss I’ve ever worked for.” At a retirement brunch on Sunday afternoon, where almost three dozen people crowded into the Tombs’ back, the “Sweeps” room, a former employee read a poem, entitled, “An Ode to William Watts.” And although—or perhaps because—he has no children, Watts regularly calls the restaurants’ staff his “family.”
At 9:59 a.m. on a Saturday in July, I entered an epic Internet battle. The stakes? A free ticket to the Virgin Mobile FreeFest. My challengers? The 30,000 others also vying to see Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., and Ludacris without dropping an obscene amount of cash. By 10:03 a.m., the ravenous hordes had crippled Ticketfly.com and claimed all of the available tickets. Thanks to my expert refresh button skills and lightning fast Internet connection, I was among the victorious. My iCal awareness clouded by the triumph, I didn’t realize that FreeFest happened to fall on Sept. 25—Homecoming. When the fated weekend rolled around, I found myself weighing my options: Hoya t-shirts and keg-stands versus jorts and hipster dancing. Although my ticket to FreeFest was free, I felt that giving it up would have been tantamount to Charlie selling his golden ticket to Slugworth. So I put on my Keds and acquiesced. The festival, held at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, was outfitted with three stages—the Pavilion Stage, the West Stage, and the Dance Forest—arranged in a massive trian-
gle. As if two stages surrounded by orgiastic 20-somethings and one forest full of head-bopping nymphs wasn’t enough, the area between the stages featured a state-fair-themed fête. There were unicycle riders, a Ferris wheel, a Chuck Taylors decorating booth, temporary tattoos galore, and authentic NativeAmerican massage teepees (naturally). More obscene than this anachronistic hodgepodge of sweaty decadence, however, were the lines for and general upkeep of the port-o-potties. Oh God, the port-o-potties… Like a neon-clad Odysseus hearing the Sirens, the music drew me immediately towards the Dance Forest. I stationed myself next to a particularly colossal Ent and tucked into the glo-fi throb of Neon Indian’s “Should Have Taken Acid With You.” Given the euphoric madness taking place in front of the stage, the song choice seemed apropos. It seemed that every hands-in-theair nymph-person in the D.C. area was spinning and swaying, so I had no trouble letting go of any agoraphobia and practicing my chill wave dancing techniques. Despite their DJ’s excessive use of the airhorn, the following band, Maximum Balloon was
less exciting. Really? Maximum Balloon? Talk about false advertising. After taking a break to get inked—a tear drop on my face and huge rose and skateboard combo on my chest—I returned to the Forest in time for Sleigh Bells. I braved the horde by climbing onto a fellow concertgoer/new best friend’s shoulders, and from that vantage point enjoyed 30 minutes of noise-pop heaven. Everyone knows that nothing is ever actually free, so I wasn’t surprised when my quick stop at the food tents robbed me blind. My $8 hotdog and $9 Stella in hand, I settled into a Pavilion seat—which was originally available for $125 but was empty, because that was just ridiculous—for the final act: LCD Soundsystem. As if “Dancing Myself Clean” and “Daft Punk is Playing at my House” combined with an overpriced beer-buzz, wasn’t enough reason to freak out one time, the geniuses behind FreeFest set off a spectacular display of fireworks before the performance. As I watched the sky light up with green, pink, and orange lights I knew that I’d made the right choice. Virgin Mobile FreeFest, you are my Homecoming.
georgetownvoice.com
“I’d buy that for a dollar!”—RoboCop
¡Ay caramba! Muchas peliculas by John Sapunor Between limited releases and an Oscar category that nobody pays attention to, Americans don’t give foreign films the credit they deserve. But not the American Film Institute—they’ve been offering D.C. an outlet for foreign films for decades. At the head of their current battle for American appreciation for foreign film is this year’s 21st annual Latin American Film Festival. The 2010 AFI Latin American Film Festival, which is screening several movies per day from Sept. 21 to Oct. 13, certainly won’t run out of material. This year’s collection showcases 41 films from 19 countries. For the first festival, AFI partnered with the Organization of American States, and although the OAS has abandoned ship, AFI decided to keep the event running. Other changes have included a move from inside the District to the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. The selection is extensive, and neither the 13-year-old fangirl nor the snobbiest film buff will leave dissatisfied—although it does somewhat favor the latter. Todd Hitchcock, this year’s Head Programmer, hopes to continue the tradition for which the festival was created. “The festival was created…as a response to thinking that Latin American films were not seen enough in the US as a whole, but
it was thought that we could do something about that in D.C.,” Hitchcock said. ”The interesting thing about [the move] from downtown D.C. to the suburban Maryland location is that it started with more of a focus on the embassy community in downtown D.C., but now that we’ve relocated to Montgomery County, there’s a much larger Hispanic American population that is closer to the festival.” The festival opened with the Mexican film Revolution. This was a deliberate decision. This year marks the 100 anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, and the 200 anniversary of the country’s independence. Revolution is a compilation of short films that focus on the legacy of the Mexican Revolution, and reflect the individual, contemporary sentiment of each filmmaker. “Revolution is additionally a nice choice in that it is a fun film and it has variety of it,” Hitchcock said. “The fact that it was specifically commissioned to commemorate the centennial of Mexican In-
CONCERT CALENDAR THURSDAY 9/30 The Books with Black Heart Procession 9:30 Club, 7 p.m., $20
Foals with Girl in a Coma Black Cat, 8 p.m., $15
Screen Vinyl Image with The Sky Drops, Ceremony Black Cat, 9 p.m., $8
MONDAY 10/4 Bob Nanna with Mark Rose DC9, 8:30 p.m., $8
Okay Okay Twice with Modern Thieves, TN Trio Rock & Roll Hotel, 8 p.m., $10
Bonerama with Damian Kulash Black Cat, 9 p.m., $20
FRIDAY 10/1 Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s with The Lonely Forest and Cameron McGill & What Army Black Cat, 9 p.m., $13
TUESDAY 10/5 Born Ruffians with Winter Gloves and Twins of a Gazelle Rock & Roll Hotel, 8 p.m., $10
Rogue Wave with Midlake 9:30 Club, 8 p.m., $20 SATURDAY 10/2 Mice Parade w/ Les Shellys Rock and Roll Hotel, 7 p.m., $10 Chopteeth with House of Soul Black Cat, 9 p.m., $15 SUNDAY 10/3 The Tallest Man on Earth with S. Carey 9:30 Club, 7 p.m., $15
Gayngs with Glasser Black Cat, 8 p.m., $18 WEDNESDAY 10/6 The Black Swans with Bonnie Prince Billy Velvet Lounge, 7:30 p.m., $7 An Evening with Pete Yorn Black Cat, 8 p.m., $25 Menomena with Suckers, Tu Fawning 9:30 Club, 7 p.m., $15 The Octopus Project with Starfucker DC9, 8:30 p.m., $12
BANDERAS NEWS
Let’s all go to the lobby, to escape our oppresive government.
Addicted to the pump
If you’re anything like me, when you go to the gym, you agonize over the clock as you wait for your 20 minutes of cardio to be over. And when you’re not staring at the clock, you’re gaping in admiration at the energizer bunny in front of you, who has been running hard since before you got there and shows no signs of slowing down. Then you leave the gym thinking, “I wish I could be more like that.” Most of us believe that exercise is so good for you that there is just no way to overdo it. We also tend to think of it as a way to treat addictions and mental health issues. So when exercise itself becomes the unhealthy obsession, it’s hard to notice. It’s natural to be concerned about a friend who regularly turns down dinner dates in an attempt to avoid eating, but we might actu-
dependence is also a nice addition.” The festival’s “Centerpiece Screening,” Linha de Passe, carries viewers into the lives of four halfbrothers living in the favelas of São Paulo. Among the members of the dysfunctional family are a pregnant single mother, an aspiring soccer player, a motorbike courier-turned purse thief, an evangelical convert, and a pre-teen who dreams of driving buses. Other highlights include Chilean documentary Nostalgia for the Night, Uruguayan silent film Hiroshima, Peruvian festival closer October, and La Soga, a crime drama from the Dominican Republic. If the 300-plus attendance at this year’s opening night is any indication, the festival looks forward to continued success. “I was asking questions to this audience when I was doing the introduction,” Hitchcock said. “Most of the people had been to the festival before. We sold more passes this year than ever before, so there have been a lot of good indicators that we are off to a good start.”.
the georgetown voice 11
ally marvel at a friend who schedules his or her life around work-out sessions. The friend who refuses to go to a movie because his or her run around the track just can’t wait until tomorrow morning may annoy us, but we wouldn’t think of telling him or her to start taking better care of themselves. An obsession with exercise, though, can be just as harmful as an eating disorder. It’s estimated that one percent of the U.S. population suffer from exercise addiction. That’s the same as the percentage of the population that suffers from anorexia nervosa. As with any other addiction, addicts who don’t get enough exercise become moody, irritable, and extremely anxious. Besides affecting mental health, too much exercise can also be a problem for physical health. Completing endlessly long work-
out session, every single day—or even several times a day—taxes the body without giving it enough time to fully recover. A stressedout body is a body that won’t be able to respond as well to incoming infections. It’s a body whose immune system is just too tired to do any more work. What’s so alluring about ex-
Rub Some Dirt on It by Sadaf Qureshi
a bi-weekly column about health ercise that some people just can’t live without it? Researchers don’t know all the details yet, but they suspect it has something to do with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is also implicated in other forms of obsession, like drug addiction. Basically, it’s a “feel good” chemical that gets delivered to the “reward center”
of our brains, to give us that postworkout buzz, or runner’s high. In moderate doses, this is great. It’s the reason why some of us love to exercise, the reason why exercise can cheer us up after a particularly upsetting day, and why doctors recommend it as a natural way to help treat depression and relieve stress. It is possible, however, that some sort of threshold effect is in place, so that after a certain point, you and your brain become less sensitive to dopamine stimulation. In fact, researchers at Madison-Wisconsin studied the brains of mice who were trained to become addicted to running. They reported that depriving exercise-obsessed mice of their running wheels stimulated the same regions of the brain that are activated in drug-addicted mice when they are deprived of their daily dose of cocaine or morphine.
Although there is a physiological basis to exercise addiction, in the world of medicine and psychology, exercise addiction is still the subject of debate. Some see it as a disorder in its own right, while others think of it only as a symptom of other issues, like eating disorders. Either way, researchers agree on one thing. College campuses, with all the stress, anxiety, and competition, are ideal breeding grounds for exercise addiction. So are the minds and bodies of driven, ambitious, type-A personalities—not like we have any of those at Georgetown. So while this is not an excuse to avoid the gym altogether, it is a good reason to make sure you are being careful, and that your work-out routines and more energizing than they are exhausting. Make Sadaf sweat at squreshi@ gerogetownvoice.com
leisure
12 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
C r i t i c a l V o i ces Wu-Tang. But it works. Drawing on his extensive production experience, Lazerbeak flaunts his ability to impeccably layer sounds. “Salt and Sea,” which features strings, synths, vocals, and his signature complex drumbeats, is a perfect example. He flexes his creativity further on “Land’s End,” which sounds like something off of Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreak with its tribal bass drums. The album’s sound is less brash than anything Lazerbeak has worked on so far. The imagery is softer than ever, with Lazerbeak singing about “the slopes of the silver stream” and recalls how “the summer ended and the frost started making us shiver.” On the track “Salt and Sea,” he describes his travels to the ocean floor to learn about true love and its innate hardships. Other tracks are lyrically darker, touching on death and the terrifying inevitability of the future. Nevertheless, Lazerbeak is ultimately optimistic. As Beak sings on “Land’s End,” “Hope will pull you upward, awake in the waiting sea.” With Legend Recognize Legend, Lazerbeak has combined elements of indie rock, pop, and hip-hop, while completely ignoring genre conventions. This defiant refusal to confine his music into one genre has always been his M.O.
as Doomtree’s resident producer. Listen to any Doomtree album and you’ll notice both the calm, melodious slow songs and faster, punk-influenced tracks. Legend is no different. It may stand out musically, but it’s still evocative of their complex, polyrhythmic sound. So, if Dessa is Doomtree’s poetic voice and P.O.S. and Mike Mictlan are its furious rebels, then Lazerbeak might just be their indie rock preacher, falling somewhere in between.
Sympathy for the devil
The antihero isn’t by any means a new invention, but in the past few years, television has been taking the concept in a bolder, much darker direction. AMC’s Breaking Bad, for example follows Walter White, your friendly neighborhood high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook. And if that sounds ridiculous, just watch
Lazerbeak, Legend Recognize Legend, Doomtree Records As the primary producer for the Minneapolis-based alternative hip-hop crew Doomtree, Lazerbeak has been responsible for the bass-heavy beats heard behind rappers P.O.S., Dessa, and Sims, as well as working on tracks with D.C.’s own Wale. With hip-hop credentials like these, and Doomtree’s reputation for aggressive, punk rock- infused hip-hop, you might expect Lazerbeak’s first solo album, to be filled with club hits—some real “lavabangers,” as Beak has called them in the past. Instead, on the 10-track Legend Recognize Legend, Lazerbeak channels his inner indie rock star, crooning over acoustic guitars and heavy piano rhythms. The album is a bit of a shock, like if RZA put out a solo album that sounded more like Beck than
You’ve just watched a man drug and kidnap someone. He ties the victim to a table, waits until he wakes up, then ritualistically stabs him in the chest, dismembers the corpse, and dumps it off a small boat into the Atlantic Ocean. Moments later, you see the same murderer holding an infant, cooing and singing the kid to sleep. But you don’t recoil, you don’t hold your breath and pray for someone to come rescue the poor baby from this psychotic, Charlie Manson wannabe. You just hope the kid falls asleep soon, because Daddy Dexter’s exhausted, and has another hard day of killing ahead of him tomorrow. It’s easy to organize a successful, interesting movie plot around a serial killer. That’s why Charlize Theron won an Oscar
for Monster, and the Saw series just won’t die. They’re fascinating because they’re inhuman, sociopathic, and mind-numbingly terrifying. But a sympathetic, lovable protagonist who graphically hacks at least one body to pieces per week? It seems unlikely, but Showtime’s Dexter has made it to the fifth season using precisely that premise. The show’s protagonist is the Clark Kent of serial killers, with his superhuman power deriving from his subhuman urge to slice open everything that moves. And since he only kills people whose deaths are for the greater good of the people of Miami, when he puts on his hunter green thermal shirt and leather gloves, you’re rooting for him to off the bad guy and get home in time to play family man with his wife and kids.
Voice’s Choices: “Bound,” “Land’s End,” “Salt and Sea” —Akshay Bahtia
Mark Ronson & The Business Inl, Record Collection, Columbia Records Mark Ronson can play a mean guitar, but his extensive knowledge of rap, funk, and soul
Warming Glow by Leigh Finnegan
a bi-weekly column about television a few episodes: you’ll hate the government for paying teachers such meager salaries, you’ll hate the police for trying to take drug dealers off the streets, and you’ll even hate his wife for not accepting “I was out” as his excuse when he’s disappeared for days to break more laws than he can count.
was what got him noticed in the first place. Ronson’s past two records have been slick, sampleheavy dance records that hint at his formative years as a club DJ. The formula is no different on his newest album, Record Collection. Record Collection, recorded under elongated the alias Mark Ronson & The Business Intl, glows with a kind of cool-guy charisma. You’re just as likely to hear it on alternative radio as you are to hear in on the next episode of Entourage. Ronson’s usual brand of polished dance tracks make up the bulk of the album and draw from his famously diverse influences. They literally borrow from his vast record collection. He samples classic funk drums reminiscent of early hiphop cuts, uses ‘70s funk and dub horn sounds, and drops ‘80s New Wave and shoegaze vocal stylings on top, creating a sound that is both fun and aesthetically interesting. Though Ronson is a solid musician in his own right (he composed the synth parts on the instrumental tracks “The Colour of Crumar” and “Circuit Breaker,” among others) the guest spots are what really makes Record Collection work. “Lose It” features a cameo from Ghostface Killah, who lays It’s unreasonable to think that a serial killer or a drug chef could keep up his family-man appearance and go about his less-lawful business unscathed for too long, and that’s another field where both shows excel. Although television isn’t limited by the constraints of the real world, neither character lives in Metropolis: they’re not untouchable, and can be recognized even in glasses. Walt’s web of lies rips his family apart, and, despite his strict moral code, Dexter finds himself responsible for a fair number of innocent lives. The police, though inept compared to our heroes, are constant threats, and the viewer stops breathing whenever a cop gets too close to uncovering the protagonist’s grim secrets. It makes these heroes more real, and by extension, a little more relatable to an audience who doesn’t have their own
down a great verse over a beat so ominous that is sounds like it could have come from the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. Ronson also enlists the help of hip-hop heavyweights Q-Tip and D’Angelo, the latter of whom spits the hook on the reverb-drenched disco track “Glass Mountain Trust.” Ronson also gets some help from his own side of the pond, with guest appearances from Boy George and the London Gay Men’s Chorus. Ronson has found success stateside as the producer for some of the UK’s biggest recent musical exports, including Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. But even though Record Collection is a meticulously crafted album, it’s a little heavy on the Euro-dance track for some American ears. Ronson’s unique blend of hiphop and classic Britpop sounds, along with a jaw-dropping list of featured artists makes it a smart and refreshing record. I just doubt it will break into mainstream radio play in the States— not while America is suffering from Bieber Fever. Voice’s Choices: “Lose It,” “Glass Mountain Trust,” “Circuit Breaker” —Matthew Decker meth lab. With the runaway success of these two shows, it’s clear that a dark, disturbing hero can be a success from week to week on TV. Terriers, a new drama which premiered this month on FX, features a loyal but morally ambiguous private investigator who finds himself involved in two murders and a high-profile porn scandal à la The Big Sleep—and that’s just in the pilot. And if this new detective proves unsuccessful at taking down the first episode’s villain? Here’s hoping that the murderous scumbag finds his way to Miami, because there’s sure to be an operating table and a butcher’s knife with his name on it. Wanna impress Leigh? Show her just how dark you can be at lfinnegan@georgetownvoice.com
fiction
georgetownvoice.com
T
Fabulous Prizes
he very first television game show, Spelling Bee, was broadcast in 1938. Did you know that? I didn’t. The very first word written for the entertainment of others was too long before my time. Darkness. I stand in darkness. Why am I standing? What am I leaning into? I am laying my arms gently upon some sort of podium. Oh good lord, who is that next to me? He smiles, I think he smiles, he has one of those gleaming grins too full of teeth. Tan asshole. He sees me see him smile and he leans over to me as if we were buddies in this darkness together. He leans real close and his whisper brings a chill to my spine from this unwanted intimacy with the tan asshole, “You ready for this, buddy? I’ve been studying up all week, you know watching the show, practicing my chit chat with Chip. I really need this, I can’t see any other way of making it to the big time. Good luck to you, buddy!” He readjusts his posture and puts back on his smile. Where the fuck did he get the instruction manual for whatever is happening here? Then I hear a, “Five, four, three, two…” This is when the lights turn on, everything begins a-buzzing, and I discover that I am in some sort of television studio with cameras and lights and even a live studio audience. Then I see that smarmy asshole who haunts the dreams of society’s failures. I don’t know who he is, but I can tell. He’s wearing a blue button up shirt sans tie under a black jacket with all the rest of the trimmings of the executive suite holder. I recognize him, yeah that’s right he was the smartmouthed sidekick on a sitcom from the ‘90s. What was his name again? He enters with his model and mock-dances to the exciting theme. She plays along, but I can tell she’s annoyed with his antics. The audience claps, they are excited. What the fuck is going on here? He speaks. “Hello, and welcome to Writer ’s Roulette, the game where writers become authors! I’m your host Chip Maltherson and we have two brand new contestants looking for their chance to write the next New York Times bestseller. Give a big hello to Rich Cameron, a
self-proclaimed undiscovered superstar. He’s a guy everyone likes that doesn’t like people. Give him a hand! All right, our second contestant is Jack Tandrone, a grad student who never leaves his room so he can write taut psychological thrillers. Let him hear it!” Is the audience cheering for me? It sounds like me, but that’s not my name. Are we using pennames? I like my penname better; I might adopt it. Wait a minute, what the fuck am I doing here? All I remember is sitting in my room staring at a blank screen, I was trying to write some sort of metafiction which didn’t fall into the trap of being boring and selfindulgent and really going nowhere. I wanted bells and whistles and people doing things, not just me thinking about what a genius I am. Speaking of geniuses, Chip has something to say, “Alright, everyone should be well-acquainted with the rules. We have a roulette wheel here with the five elements of storytelling we all learned in high school: character, setting, conflict, plot, and theme. Our two writers will answer trivia questions and my lovely assistant Tania will spin the roulette wheel. Whoever can get all five elements first will move on to the next round where he can win the elements for, say it with me, five bestselling novels!” The audience sings along with him in those last three words and starts going crazy. Chip is clapping real excited-like with his tan asshole teeth showing. “Before we get started, let’s meet our contestants. Now Rich, you say everybody likes you, but you don’t like people. What do you mean by that?” God, I hate Rich. He’s still smiling and it looks like he’s got an answer prepared, “Well, Chip, first of all, thanks so much for having me on the show. I’m having so much fun already! In regards to your question, you know people really like my writing. They like the pacing, the action, the twists. Thing is, I keep hearing that all my protagonists are just me, with a six pack and a six shooter. I don’t really care enough about other people to write about them or use them for characters, so what I’m looking for from this game is some real juicy characters to throw into the humdingers I’ve got up
here.” He points at his head as if it’s a bank account for which he’s trying to remember the PIN. Damn it, Chip is smarming up to me. “Great to meet you, Rich. Now Jack, according to your application, you once wrote an entire story about a donut.” The audience laughs. “Tell me about that.” I should say: Well Chip, it wasn’t all about a donut. It was a psychological piece where an obese man battles between his desire for the donut and his desire for desirability. I thought it was a nice, taut piece with great characterization and a surprising ending, but Ink on Page Magazine didn’t seem to think so. I guess what I’m playing for today are better plots. Instead I say, “Uh, I shouldn’t be here. I don’t know what I’m doing here. Uh, I loved you in Imploring with Scissors. You were a great smart-aleck.” A little bit of the smarm drips from his head; I don’t think he wants his better years discussed. “Well thank you very much, Jack. We’re glad to have you on the show today. Now let’s play Writer ’s Roulette! All right contestants, listen closely to your first question: In their 1967 song, The Beatles sang ‘All you need is’ what?” Rich hits that buzzer like it’s a car horn after he was cut off, “Love!” “That … is … correct!” Rich goes crazy clapping and yelling and jumping up and down. What just happened, what kind of question was that? Rich leans over and whispers to me, “You’re going down, asshole.” He then smiles and pats me on the shoulder. All good, still friends in TV land. Chip yells, “Tania, spin the wheel!” Tania spins the roulette wheel with gracious disinterest. The ball skids across the words and comes to a stop. Tania drones, “It’s character.” She should be doing bigger things, not this basic cable trumpery. This might be a stepping stone, but her voice says that this is as far as it goes. Rich is, of course, excited about his results. Chip pulls out a card, “Rich, the protagonist of your story is a hardened Vietnam War veteran who is missing an
ear and still holds discordant feelings against people of Asian descent. Your antagonist is a Korean grocery store owner in New York City.” This is going to be a long game. It’s a different view from the audience side of the stage. Rich is up there, chit-chatting it up with Chip, perhaps talking about how he’s about to play for, say it with me, five bestselling novels! I don’t want to be up there anyway; this game is completely juvenile. How can a writer win, say it with me, five bestselling novels anyway? How convenient, Chip Maltherson is about to explain it. “Welcome back everyone to Writer ’s Roulette! Congratulations to today’s winner, Rich Cameron! Now Rich, you’re a fan of the game, so I’m sure you know what comes next. As we all know, writers tend to be self-absorbed basement dwellers. Yet, they heap upon themselves the title of transcribers of the human experience, right Rich? This is where Writer ’s Roulette comes in. We give you what you need to know to write a great novel. Want to write a scuba-diving mystery set in Fiji, but you’ve never left the United States? Let Writer ’s Roulette help you! So Rich, we’ve got these three roulette wheels before you. There’s no more trivia, no more buzzers, just the spin of the wheel. The first wheel, you must bet on red or black. If you’re right, you win the elements to write one novel. Next, you have to bet on even or odd. If you’re right, you win three novels. Last, you have to bet on a number. If you’re right you win, say it with me, five bestselling novels! If the wheel doesn’t go your way at any point, though, you go home with nothing. Are you ready to play, Rich?” Rich looks like he’s been ready to play since he picked up a pen at age six. “You bet I am Chip!” “Then let’s play Writer ’s Roulette!” We all know how the story goes here. Rich chooses black, odd, and red 12. He never walks away and indeed wins the elements for five bestselling novels. Everybody claps and Chip is oh-soimpressed. I win the homeversion of the game as well as a flight back home. As the credits roll, I’m supposed to
the georgetown voice 13
By Jared Watkins go on stage and congratulate Rich and have some chit-chat with Chip just to show what a great sport I am. The producer begs me and tells me I will be sued for breach of contract if I don’t do it. “Hey Rich, congratulations. I can’t wait to see your name on the bestsellers list.” He squeezes my hand as if that were as well part of the competition, “Thanks Jack buddy. I’m sure you’ll get there someday. Just gotta get out of the house sometime. Here, give me your address and I’ll send you an autographed first edition of one of my books.” “Gee, thanks. Well, maybe I’ll see you on a book tour or something. Who knows; maybe we’ll have the same publisher someday.” He’s not listening anymore, just soaking up the crowd. I turn around and mumble something like the word asshole, but nobody can hear me. Chip approaches cautiously, “Tough break, kid. Better luck next time. It was great having you on the show. We’ll call you if we have another opportunity for you. I really wish both you and Rich could have won, but that’s just not the way it works. I love my job, I mean I make dreams come true for a living. But I hate this part. Well, have a good life.” The audience cheers one more time for Rich. I guess I can take comfort in knowing that only the old and the bored watch this channel. What do I care whether they know of Rich’s success or my failure? Wave to the camera, wave to the camera, be the gracious loser. I’ll get my chance, I don’t need Chip Maltherson’s tieless ensemble, Tania’s spin of the wheel, or Rich’s sweatless advice. The worst thing I could learn from this experience is to learn something from it, so I’m firmly against that. The confetti has stopped, the fluorescent lights come back on, the audience files its way out, and I’m still standing here. I forgot to put a watch on today and that might have been the fatal mistake of the day. I just wish I could check the time while I’m standing here. I’ve got to go somewhere because they’re filming a game show based on blackjack on this set in a half hour. Game shows, maybe I’ll write about one of those.
voices
14 the georgetown voice
september 30, 2010
Congress is our name and procrastination is our game by Kyle Zhu I love American politics. I love it because it mirrors the way I think and live as a typical college student. Congressmen and college students alike sit in large lecture rooms and ignore what the speaker is saying. Both Congressmen and college students fail to complete crucial readings, forcing themselves to bullshit their way through the relevant sessions. And the most powerful legislative body in the entire world follows the same philosophy that we do: that the best way to complete a task is to deal with it later. Because essentially, completing a task right now would take work—and who would want to do that? On Sept. 21, the United States Senate took one of those huge leaps forward by voting to stall the resolution to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell due to a Republican filibuster. Five days later, in an even greater show
of purpose, the White House and Democrats announced their decision to wait to vote on the repeal of the Bush tax cuts. In spite of Harry Reid’s electionmotivated push, comprehensive immigration reforms took a backseat in the gasless Congressional GM SUV that the U.S. government now helps produce.
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tempt to avoid angering the American voter by making progress on essential issues, Congressional members have angered the American voter by delaying and postponing these crucial votes. All of these very carefully calculated political moves are but a pre-game for the fiesta
We need a Congress that is willing to deliberate the issues that are most pressing
And recently, new Congressional etiquette made it acceptable for congressmen to fight with each other as in an endless, unyielding Ultimate Fighting Championship-like cage match where Congressional procedure is used in place of a roundhouse kick to the crotch. Now why would Congress do all this hard work? To appease the people. But in an at-
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that is the midterm elections. This means that by the time candidates get to the actual party, many are already too drunk with incompetence to muster any semblance of credibility. Yet representatives still forge ahead with what they believe the American people want. Politicians use the phrase “It’s what the American people want” over and over again.
Apparently, the American people want Congress to cut taxes in order to balance the budget, bailout banks to help out poor, needy bankers, and promote bipartisanship by yelling at each other to get their message of cooperation across the aisle. In fact, if Congress’s behavior is any indication, the American people want everything without consequences and are nothing but a bunch of whining, pampered children who cannot take care of themselves. And just like Steve Jobs, Congress makes the public want things that the public doesn’t even know it wants. But discussing illusionary wants are not enough to solve the problems that face our society. We need a Congress that is willing to deliberate the issues that are most pressing. The congresspersons who have sacrificed deliberation to ensure their own reelection have impeded the democratic process, and they’ve also hurt them-
selves. The purpose of elections is to promote democracy, not to cause a legislative hiccup. Party agendas now overshadow the true problems that need to be debated. Our country needs to insert prioritization back into its operation so that the most pressing problems can be solved. Let Joe the Plumber run this country—he wants what Americans truly want: change and hope. Only Joe can unclog the B.S. in our nation’s plumbing and turn these illusionary wants into actual legislation. We need deliberation. We need initiative. We need action. Congress needs to realize that unlike us common college students, they represent and affect the lives of everyone in the United States of America. So grow up.
Kyle Zhu is a freshman in the SFS. He would love to see Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell meet up in the UFC ring.
Scoring a goal: African citizens beeming with pride by Michael Appau “When I get older, I will be stronger, they’ll call me freedom, just like a waving flag! And then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back, oh!” This summer, from Accra to Tamale, little kids ran through the streets and waved their Gha-
naian flag to the rhythm of that K’naan song whenever Ghana, or any African country, was playing in the World Cup. The entire country became engulfed in a spirit of nationalism. The feeling of continental pride was even more overwhelming because the World Cup, the sporting event that we look forward to more than any
AMBER REN
Africa is rising thanks to soccer, development, and the insanely loud vuvuzela.
other, was being held on African soil. This was the very same red soil crisscrossed by the bare feet of hopeful children and adults who harbored dreams of becoming like the heroes whose names were on the back of their jerseys. This particular World Cup was unique in how successful it was in bringing people together. Former President Nelson Mandela rightly explained that “the World Cup will help unify people—if there is one thing in this planet that has the power to bind people, it is soccer.” Indeed, in South Africa, the successful unification of black and white citizens, and of the elite and middle class were necessary to successfully prepare for the tournament. On the continental scale, the World Cup boosted Africa’s image of itself. Two decades ago, no one would have dreamed that the last country on the continent to achieve independence would be the one with the infrastructure best suited to host the World Cup. This was a huge symbol of growth for the continent, and a confirmation of the belief that the African, too, is capable of managing his own affairs. Still, it has been 50 years since a wave of independence swept across the African continent. The decrease of nationalist sentiment at the end of the World Cup was reminiscent of the late post-colonial era. Putting down our flags made us nostalgic for the days
when these very flags were unveiled—the independence era. Those days were characterized by nascent feelings of hope, unity, and sheer pride in being African. And as soccer fans across the continent put on flashy Golden Jubilee celebrations, we must ask ourselves what we have achieved so far. We vehemently fought for self-government, and yet all around us are dictators, military governments, and corrupt leaders who siphon money from their states for themselves. We fought to preserve our culture, and yet our political weakness has allowed globalization to usurp our values rather than merge with them, which has given us a massive inferiority complex. We are losing our most promising young people to other countries that can offer better opportunities. This guarantees the continued stagnation of our economic development, dashing any hopes we may have of discouraging further migration. I had a friend who once said he wished our Ghanaian ancestors had acquiesced to colonial rule for a little longer, so we might have had the chance to undergo development just as South Africa did. Thoughts like this undermine the importance and significance of independence, but also highlight the failures of the post-colonial African states.
So I ask again, what have we achieved so far? We have gained freedom, and freedom, according to Albert Camus “is nothing else than a chance to be better.” A chance to be better is the greatest asset the African continent has right now. The fact that we have the chance to do everything anew is what I love the most about it. This is an opportunity to look at the history of both the Orient and Occident, avoid the crucial mistakes they made, and take on the challenges they couldn’t. Our new African society has the benefit of an educated class and a diaspora whose members will contribute progressive perspectives and indispensable experiences that, combined with traditional values, will help us provide African solutions to African problems. Every new day brings some disturbing news from the continent, but as the little children waving their flags showed me, there is hope. There is hope for a brighter future, hope that we can change the world in which we live so that posterity does not have to endure what we endured. Hope that when I get older, I will be stronger. They’ll call me freedom, just like a waving flag.
Michael Appau is a sophomore in the SFS. Growing up, he always wanted to learn how to scream in ecstasy like his idol Gyan.
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OCSL and SNAP stuck in logistical and ideological snafu by Jay Bush Life on the Village A rooftops last year was a good time. Every weekend, the parties made the week worth wading through. I figured it was only going to get better when my friends and I decided to move into an off-campus townhouse for our senior year. Unfortunately, that is not exactly what happened. In reality, leaving campus doesn’t actually mean you’re free from Big Brother’s scrutiny. In fact,
you’ll find yourself under constant scrutiny from Off Campus Student Living and, of course, an array of fun-phobic locals. I guess that would be fine, if OCSL also helped students out. I mean, that’s what they said their reason for existence was during their mandatory Off Campus orientation sessions, right? Wrong. Even their most basic services, like providing students with new trash cans when theirs are stolen, have been noticeably anemic since the year began. If OCSL is going to continue playing party-police and doing
SHIRA SAPERSTEIN
Burleith is wild. SNAP is the predator, you’re prey, and Stephen Brown’s on safari.
little else, the least they could do is change their mission statement. “The Off Campus Student Life office addresses the needs and concerns of off-campus students,” their mission statement reads. Really? From what I have seen, the statement should really read, “OCSL addresses the needs and concerns of disgruntled neighbors, and cheats students.” If they were honest, we’d at least know what we could and couldn’t expect from them—which does not include basic services they claim to provide. On the 3300 block of Prospect Street, in the first month of school, six trash cans magically disappeared. Calling OCSL made a grand total of two reappear. Trash cans may seem like a stupid thing to harp on, but trust me when I say that West Georgetown residents care more about beautifying their historical neighborhood than the most anal museum janitor. But apparently, OCSL cares less about containing trash (and rats) than it does about curtailing your fun. Say you want to buy a couple bottles of wine and host a soirée, or grill some burgers with a couple sleeveless bros. You’d better hope that your neighbors have their hear-
Stars unaligned for GU Observatory Every time I tell people I’m the President of Georgetown’s Astronomical Society, two things happen. First, they laugh. Then, they ask me if I can give them a tour of Georgetown’s Heyden Observatory. The observatory, which overlooks Georgetown from its perch next to Yates, never fails to intrigue people, but this universal fascination makes the current state of the observatory all the more pitiful. Even though it houses one of the oldest functioning telescopes in the country, a historical treasure, the building is badly deteriorated. The observatory and the telescope desperately need to be renovated—but the University doesn’t seem to care. While I’m not suggesting that the University is fully complicit in the current state of the observatory, it has a responsibility to maintain it. Although the observatory was finished in 1843, the 12-inch refracting telescope wasn’t erected until the 1890s. In the years
after World War II, doctoral students could research their dissertations there, and Jesuit astronomers ran and used the facility up until 1972. That year, however, the astronomy department was closed down and the observatory was turned over to the Department of Biology. Its upkeep was placed in the hands of passionate graduate students who formed the Astronomical Society. Curious as to why this all occurred, I found the reason for the astronomy department’s abrupt end in a 1971 Voice interview with then Director of the Observatory Francis Heyden, S.J., who said, “[The Board of Directors] felt a subject like astronomy at Georgetown was a luxury and should be phased out.” I guess it’s understandable that the University did not want to continue to fund the astronomy department, even though it was once the largest department of graduate astronomy in the world. But it doesn’t take a Ph.D.
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in astrophysics to see that the state of the observatory is embarrassing. It hasn’t been renovated since 1986, and the dome, which needs to open in order to use the telescope, constantly breaks. The telescope’s clock drive, a device used to keep stars and planets in the same field of vision, hasn’t worked consistently for 20 years. There are serious structural problems in the building as well;
Carrying On by Satinder Kaur A rotating column by Voice senior staffers
water leaks and cracks in the foundation are a persistent cause for concern. Unfortunately, according to Professor Wesley Matthews, who has been involved with the observatory since 1985, “the observatory is a National Historical Landmark, but at too low of a level to be eligible for funding to refurbish it.” So, basically, what we have is a crumbling old building with a huge telescope that is barely usable. Why should the University save it? Because students care. They want to know what the building looks like, and they want to try out the telescope for them-
ing aids turned off when Lil Wayne starts blasting from your boom box. Otherwise, the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program will be rolling through the neighborhood and bring OCSL right to your door in no time. Last year’s rooftop festivities actually gave me some hope that Georgetown’s social scene might limp on after the University implemented a stifling alcohol policy in 2007, but what I have seen since then has convinced me that it will need some help to survive. It may be hard to imagine, but once upon a time Georgetown actually lived up to its “work hard, play hard” reputation. Right now, it seems more accurate to describe its mentality as “work hard, play as hard as possible until SNAP or the Department of Public Safety breaks up your party.” The alcohol policy instated in the summer of 2007 introduced party registration, the one keg limit, and harsher punishments for student misconduct. Many of my friends who were upperclassmen at the time regarded that as dagger in the back of fun on campus. Unfortunately, I never got to experience the “good old days,” I merely watched as the off-campus social scene expanded to make up
selves. When I give tours of the observatory, everyone responds with awe. In fact, now that you know that I have the key to the observatory, you’ll probably try to hunt me down and make me take you up there. (Curse you, Georgetown directory!) Aside from satisfying the curiosity of Georgetown students, however, the telescope is still functioning. With a little financial help, it could provide academic enrichment to amateur stargazers and professional astronomers alike. Astronomical Society members who, like me, believe in its potential, have tried to revamp the observatory and telescope, but to no avail. I recently found a binder entitled “CCD Grant Proposal” as I was digging around in the Observatory. It outlines a pitch to have a charge-coupled device attached to the telescope, which would have allowed it to take clear and crisp pictures of the night sky despite the high levels of light pollution present in the D.C. area. In 1993 Joseph Stein, thenpresident of the club, developed the idea for the grant. It didn’t go anywhere until Michael Crisera and Megan O’Brien revived the project in 1996. The 1996 proposal even said that Stein, who by then was working at the Seattle Science Museum, was willing to fly to D.C. to help set up the device. I
for the losses—until OCSL made a habit of bursting our party bubbles. It was like sharks swarming to the scene of a shipwreck—not pretty. Earlier I mentioned the irony of OCSL’s mission statement. They actually go further and claim that “OCSL serves as a liaison between the University and our neighbors, encouraging dialogue about issues of mutual concern.” Perhaps there is dialogue somewhere up there in the bureaucratic clouds, where students seldom venture, but I haven’t heard of any. At least SNAP is more transparent in their mission statement, which partially makes up for their ridiculous pseudo-official patrol cars. Theirs reads, “SNAP is a service provided by the University to respond to our neighbors’ concerns about student conduct off-campus.” For the benefit of students and Georgetown residents, the OCSL and SNAP need to clarify their roles. And one more thing, get the hell off my porch!
Jay Bush is a senior in the College. On the controversial subject of public urination, he is without a doubt thumbs down.
had never heard of this grant proposal before and, as far as I know, it never ended up getting passed. It was almost bittersweet reading Stein’s typed “goals and projects” packet. He called the CCD grant a “monster…like huge!” and wrote, “IT MUST BE OURS!!!” I know how to find Orion’s belt and I keep telling people where Jupiter is. (You can see it right now if you go outside—no lie. It’s the huge white dot in the sky that doesn’t twinkle.) I joined the Astronomical Society to learn more. I actually scoped the group out at my very first Student Activities Commission fair. I’m that kid from New York City who tried to learn the night sky by heart, but couldn’t because of light pollution. I came to Georgetown thinking I could join a club with access to an amazing telescope, only to discover that the observatory was in a terrible state. The University should do something to save the observatory and its telescope. It’s simply far too valuable and has too much potential to be sitting around, slowly falling apart in a black hole of apathy.
Satinder Kaur is a junior in the College. One of her favorite pastimes is gazing at the observatory’s beautiful dome.