The Georgetown Voice, 1/19/24

J A N U A RY 19, 2 0 2 4

THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA DEMANDS ETHICAL AND COMPASSIONATE JOURNALISM By the Editorial Board

'NOT MY CAMPUS ANYMORE': PALESTINIAN STUDENTS MADE TO FEEL INVISIBLE AT GEORGETOWN THE BOY AND THE HERON IS HAYAO MIYAZAKI'S TRIUMPHANT SWAN SONG

By Eileen Chen

By Sabrina Shaffer, Katherine Hawes, and Romy Abu-Fadel

Contents 4

leisure

The Lincoln Experience brings fine dining to Georgetown’s “Trap Manor”

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features

January 19, 2024 Volume 56 | Issue 8 ‘Not my campus anymore’: Palestinian students made to feel invisible at Georgetown SABRINA SHAFFER, KATHERINE HAWES, & ROMY ABU-FADEL

MARGARET HARTIGAN

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news

A new OSEI space presents possibility and creates challenge FRANZISKA WILD

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editorials

The genocide in Gaza demands ethical and compassionate journalism EDITORIAL BOARD

10 voices

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halftime sports

Play ball! How sports began to dominate the video game industry BRADSHAW CATE AND HENRY SKARECKY

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halftime leisure

Percy Jackson returns to screen, this time handled with care FRANCESCA THEOFILOU

leisure

The Boy and the Heron is Hayao Miyazaki’s triumphant swan song EILEEN CHEN

on the cover

There are no thrift stores in Georgetown–but maybe there shouldn’t be

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sports

Men’s winter recap: No pain, no gain LUCIE PEYREBRUNE AND JO STEPHENS

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LUKAS SOLOMAN AND OLIVIA POZEN

sports

Women’s winter recap: Big challenges in the BIG EAST

"What is the piece of magic that ties this adaptation together, immersing the audience in the story just as the book did?

Care."

ANDREW SWANK

“harmony unleashed”

BAHAR HASSANTASH

editor@georgetownvoice.com Leavey 424 Box 571066 Georgetown University 3700 O St. NW Washington, DC 20057

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internal resources Executive Editor for Lukas Soloman Resources, Diversity, and Inclusion Assistant Editor for Aminah Malik Resources, Diversity, and Inclusion Editor for Sexual Violence Alison Karki Advocacy and Coverage Service Chair Margaret Hartigan Social Chair Bradshaw Cate, Jo Stephens Archivist Megan O'Malley news Executive Editor Amber Xie Features Editor Eddy Binford-Ross News Editor Franziska Wild Assistant News Editors Katie Doran, Sydney Carroll, Aashna Nadarajah opinion Executive Editor Barrett Ahn Voices Editor Olivia Pozen Assistant Voices Editors Eileen Miller, Alison Karki, Ali Chaudhry Editorial Board Chair Sabrina Shaffer Editorial Board Connor Martin, Brandon Wu, Nora Scully, Jupiter Huang, Lou Jacquin, Olivia Pozen, Lukas Soloman, Dane Tedder, Andrea Ho leisure Executive Editor Zach Warren Leisure Editor Hailey Wharram Assistant Editors Nikki Farnham, Sofia Kemeny, Rhea Banerjee Halftime Editor Eileen Chen Assistant Halftime Editors Gabriel Mendoza, Sagun Shrestha, Francesca Theofilou sports Executive Editor Jo Stephens Sports Editor Henry Skarecky Assistant Editors Ben Jakabcsin, Andrew Swank, Langston Lee Halftime Editor Bradshaw Cate Assistant Halftime Editors Sam Lynch, Anna Cordova, Andrew Arnold design Executive Editor Grace Nuri Design Editor Tina Solki Spread Editors Olivia Li, Pia Cruz Cover Editor Bahar Hassantash Assistant Design Editors Rachel Zhang, Madeline Jones, Elin Choe copy Copy Chief Cole Kindiger Assistant Copy Editors Rania Khan, Maanasi Chintamani, Isabel Shepherd multimedia Multimedia Executive Connor Martin Podcast Executive Producer Romy Abu-Fadel Podcast Editor Lucy Collins Photo Editor Izzy Wagener online Online Executive Tyler Salensky Website Editor MJ Morales Social Media Editor Kristy Li Assistant Social Media Editor Mark Manaois

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Editor-In-Chief Graham Krewinghaus Managing Editor Ajani Jones

The opinions expressed in The Georgetown Voice do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty, or students of Georgetown University, unless specifically stated.

Columns, advertisements, cartoons, and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the General Board of The Georgetown Voice. The university subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression of its student editors. All materials copyright The Georgetown Voice, unless otherwise indicated.

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

business General Manager Rovi Yu Assistant Manager of Mini Xue Accounts and Sales Assistant Manager of Ninabella Arlis Alumni and Outreach support Contributing Editors Adora Adeyemi, Lucie Peyrebrune, Nora Scully, Lou Jacquin, Andrea Ho Associate Editor Jack Kealey Staff Contributors Meriam Ahmad, Mia Boykin, Elyza Bruce, Romita Chattaraj, Leon Cheung, Yihan Deng, Julia Kelly, Ashley Kulberg, Amelia Myre, Nicholas Romero, Carlos Rueda, Ryan Samway, Isabella Stratta, Kami Steffenauer, Amelia Wanamaker, Fallon Wolfley, Nadine Zakheim

graphic by grace nuri; layout by tina solki

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An eclectic collection of jokes, puns, doodles, playlists, and news clips from the collective mind of the Voice staff.

→ TUNE IN TO PODCASTS Check out this week’s Post Pitch episode to hear the Editorial Board’s Sabrina Shaffer discuss the experience of Palestinian students on campus with Podcast Editor Romy Abu-Fadel using this QR code.

→ SOME SONGS TO KEEP YOU WARM Call Me When You Get This - Corinne Bailey Rae Trade of Hearts - Thee Sacred Souls 3. Aphrodite - RINI 4. HOT TO GO! - Chappell Roan 5. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Dean Martin 6. All My Love - Noah Kahan 7. Clay Pigeons - Michael Cera 8. Just Like Kids (Miau) - Hinds 9. Boogie Wonderland - Brittany Murphy** **Specifically the version from Happy Feet (2006).

1.

“my goat” by tina solki; podcast artwork by grace nuri; “teatime” by tina solki; "bashful finger sammys" by pia cruz

2.

→ REPAIRING OLDS: A new semester, a new look into the Voice Archive.

In 1975, six members of the Voice took to our centerfold in order to profess their love for their oft-hated home state.

At the production of this issue, we polled our staff about their thoughts on New Jersey. 60% of staff present professed a distaste for New Jersey. Sorry, Devaney, Fisher, Kahwaty, Kelly, Koncius, and Wiegand, you may have to try to convince us again.

→ TINA'S TEACUP & PIA'S BASHFUL FINGER SAMMYS

→ GOSSIP RAT

Have you ever stood on a basketball court, dripping, holding two balls in one hand? It’s an endeavor only the rattiest rat man that I am could accomplish. What a sight I am. Dripping. It’s something that could only happen on hardwood, surrounded by your best friends.

Nothing breeds camaraderie quite like rubbing your sweaty bodies against one another in the struggle to grab a ball and put it in a hole.

JANUARY 19, 2024

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FEATURES LEISURE NEWS

The Lincoln Experience brings fine dining to Georgetown’s “Trap Manor”

BY MARGARET HARTIGAN

W

hen I enter one of the townhouses of West Georgetown, the hostess immediately seats me at a table adorned with a blue and white floral tablecloth, faux candles, and a hydroponic plant. The server fills the crystal glass in front of me with water, and I notice a plate with a cloth napkin and a pair of chopsticks next to it. The lights are dim; there’s quiet indie music playing (“Amoeba”

by Clairo and “ocean eyes” by Billie Eilish). I feel immediately relaxed and ready to enjoy the five courses that would culminate in one of the most luxurious dining experiences of my 22-ish years on this planet.

This is, of course, no ordinary restaurant: it’s “The Lincoln Experience”—Lincoln Le’s (CAS ’24) popup restaurant that serves a five-course prix fixe menu of delicious East and Southeast Asian food (including Japanese and

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Vietnamese dishes) from the unexpected hearth of “Trap Manor.”

Shortly after 8 p.m., a crowd of Eating Society (GUES) members sits alongside me and we make Georgetown small talk—MSB and SFS caricatures (I give off SFS energy, apparently)— while studying the framed posters advertising The Lincoln Experience. We sip lychee mocktails as a virtual fireplace crackles on the TV. The mocktail is refreshing and minty, leaving a lingering tingle on the tongue. After sufficiently savoring our libations, we bite into the sweet, citrusy, and juicy lychee resting at the bottom of the glass using our chopsticks, a treat I recommend any future patron to indulge in. “[The mocktails] take about four hours to make from start to finish just because the syrup is made from canned lychee, but then you have to blend it and then add sugar and let it sit on the stove and simmer for a couple of hours,” Lincoln said a few days later in an interview with the Voice. “It comes in this beautiful pink color.

You can’t really see it in the glasses, but it’s a wonderful taste.”

When the first course arrives—Agedashi eggplant—the conversation between me and the GUES folks promptly switches to how much we’re enjoying the food.

The eggplant is plated beautifully, carved into careful rectangles and laid into Dashi broth—a mild fish sauce used as the base for many Japanese soups—with grated daikon and thinly sliced green onions on top. It’s soft, yet flavorful, with meticulously carved lines upon the violet skin of the eggplant creating a lovely aesthetic effect. Inspired by the agedashi tofu at Hanabi Ramen in Arlington, the dish happens to be the favorite dish of the evening of our hostess, server, sous chef, busser, back waiter, and dishwasher—all of who happen to be Lincoln Le’s younger sister, Ailin Le (MSB ’27).

“I’m like a sponge. Anything that Lincoln needs me for, I’ll do it,” Ailin said. “That night I was sous chef, waiter, dishwasher, all of the above.

Everything except the head chef, basically.”

At its core, The Lincoln Experience is a family endeavor. When in their hometown of

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

Lighthouse Point, Fla., the siblings are often in the kitchen together. While Lincoln focuses on making sides and plating, Ailin is often responsible for the protein—both the catching and the cooking of it.

“I do a lot of diving and fishing. I’ve been focusing on trying to just catch my own food and then clean it and then cook it myself,” she said.

“There’s a lot of lobsters and fish here. So we’ll go out and just harvest whatever we can find.”

“She just has a natural inclination for this type of stuff,” Lincoln said. “I'm very grateful for her.”

The duo also gain cooking inspiration and support from other family members, who are all “big foodies.”

“My mom cooks a lot.

She cooks a lot of authentic Vietnamese food, and one of my biggest regrets since moving away was not being able to learn from her,” Lincoln said. “I still call her up sometimes asking her how she does this and how she makes a certain Vietnamese dish that I can try to recreate it here.”

The second course is steamed bok choy, and our discussion shifts to who is and who is not using their chopsticks correctly. The dish is simply seasoned, savory, and light. It’s an excellent appetizer: delectably tasty, but not so heavy or sweet that it might disrupt our appetite before the next course’s arrival.

Lincoln began cooking in January of 2021 during the 2020-21 academic year when all classes were moved online and few students lived on campus, but some—including Lincoln—moved to off-campus residences elsewhere in the DMV. “It was my first time being away from home permanently. I didn’t like the prices of D.C., of the restaurants, so then I forced myself to cook.

It didn’t go super well at the start, but eventually, over time, I found that I was really good at following directions from recipes,” Lincoln said, adding that he gained much of his culinary

photo courtesy of lincoln le; design by pia cruz

knowledge and inspiration from YouTube videos, Instagram accounts, and online recipes.

“About half of the stuff there I’ve found online just from perusing stuff and saving things from TikTok and Instagram, but then I put my own little twist and change it up a little bit.”

The idea to transfer his newfound culinary skills into a pop-up restaurant, however, didn’t come until he was inspired by a friend who had seen similar pop-ups on TikTok and Instagram.

“I wanted to explore more of what it takes to kind of do the fine dining aspect of food,” Lincoln said. “I needed an excuse to plate and serve for other people, so I decided to do the pop-up.”

The third course arrives: chicken dumplings for most of the patrons, with a vegan mushroom dumpling option. (“I have a vegan option for everything on the menu,” Lincoln later wrote to the Voice). The made-from-scratch dumplings are sprinkled with sesame seeds and rest in a concoction of soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili paste. The dough is soft and chewy, while the chicken filling is savory and, when dipped into the sauce at the bottom of the bowl, has just the right level of saltiness. Like the previous two courses, it’s divine.

As one might presume from the methodically crafted menu, preparing for a night of pop-ups— Lincoln generally offers 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. dining options—is a multiday event.

The day before, he buys the ingredients, mostly from Good Fortune Asian Market in Virginia and Costco.

Sometimes a CVS or Michael’s run is necessary to get other supplies for the dining set-up.

The following day, beginning at 9 a.m., is spent preparing food, mixing mocktails, and transforming the house.

“It doesn’t look like a restaurant all the time, so I have to strip the walls of everything, put everything in boxes, hide them in the corner, and take out the tables. There’s a table from the backyard I have to bring in and an extra chair from my room,” he said. “When it’s restaurant day, everything gets transformed.”

As we finish our dumplings, I hear the sound of meat sizzling from the kitchen, which is separated from the dining area by a curtain. Soon, bowls of white rice beneath sprinklings of sesame emerge, followed by heapings of shaking beef—a dish consisting of steak, peppers, and onions on plates of leafy greens. Lincoln later told the Voice he learned how to make the dish from his mother, and that it was among his favorite dishes she cooked. The meat is juicy and perfectly cooked, while the peppers and onions are a welcome addition to the dish, incorporating an element of crunchiness into the entrée’s textures. Lying on a bed of mixed greens, the flavors are almost dreamlike. The beef is delicious, especially when combined with the sesame rice.

Each pop-up has a similar fixed menu, but Lincoln sometimes changes the dishes slightly.

This semester, however, he plans on reinventing it, incorporating other dishes into the menu.

(Lincoln later emphasized to the Voice that the dishes served at the pop-ups so far represent just a fraction of the “rich depth” of Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines). There have been four popup dates thus far, each of which accommodated 16 people (eight at 6 p.m. and another eight at 8 p.m.) but Lincoln is open to expanding the restaurant’s capacity. He plans to host more this semester— likely “one or two a month” on the weekends.

The pop-up feels tailored to Georgetown students. Not only does the outstanding cuisine provide a welcome reprieve for students tired of dining at Leo’s and Epi’s day in and day out, but the distinctly undergrad vibe is also thanks to the location itself. Infamously nicknamed “Trap Manor” by prior tenants, Google classifies the house as a “Historical Landmark.” Lincoln’s residence also has a dozen overwhelmingly positive Google reviews, which Lincoln encourages patrons to write.

“Five stars, and if it was out of five million I’d sit here scrolling for hours until I’d filled every single one,” Dashiell Barnett (SFS ’25) wrote in one review, adding in jest that he “shed a tear in my soy sauce.”

While he doesn’t envision the Lincoln Experience continuing after he graduates, Lincoln does see himself preserving his love of food; the head chef told the Voice that he hopes to one day write for the cooking section of the New York Times. “I do love food and I do love making new recipes and stuff,” he said. “I want to be able to provide that for a bunch of other people.”

“The dream is to develop and share recipes,” he added. “I want to be able to do that because I don’t see a lot of easy Southeast Asian cooking that people can do when they’re in college.”

The final course is black sesame ice cream, for which Lincoln emerges from the kitchen, where he has been dutifully cooking all evening, to personally scoop dollops into our bowls.

Although the texture is slightly grainy due to a small blip in the hourslong preparation process, the flavor is exquisite—not too sweet, but enough so that my taste buds are content.

Made with coconut milk, the vegan ice cream is a satisfying conclusion to the evening’s dishes.

Lincoln and Ailin don’t do the pop-up with the primary purpose of making money; they do it because they love it.

“It's really fun for us,” Ailin said. “This has been Lincoln’s dream for a little bit. And then he made it come to life, which is pretty impressive.”

“Food is very important to us. It's more than just nourishment for our body,” Lincoln said. “I cook because it helps with my mental health, and it gives me an excuse to just not think, you know?”

At The Lincoln Experience, I, too, experienced the gift of being able to “not think” for a little while; the food was so wonderful,

and the experience so immersive, that it felt like I was at a professional restaurant, not in a fellow Georgetown undergrad’s living room. Not only was the food heavenly, but getting to chat with strangers (the night I attended, all patrons were seated at the same long table) and meet the siblings eager to share their food service talents was a mouthwateringly satisfying, genuinely Lincoln experience.

Suggested donation for the five-course Lincoln Experience is $40. Pop-up dates for this semester include Jan. 29, Feb. 11, March 13, and March 24, with more tentative pop-up dates later in the semester. Advanced reservation required: http://Bit. ly/lincexperience. 6

JANUARY 19, 2024

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NEWS

New OSEI space presents possibility and creates challenge

BY FRANZISKA WILD

T

he first thing you notice when entering the new Office of Student Equity and Inclusion (OSEI), located underneath the west corner of the Healey Family Student Center, is the lack of need to push or pull a door yourself. The entrance is equipped with wave-to-open sensors, one of the many intentional accessibility features in the OSEI space into which the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access (CMEA), and the Disability Cultural Center (DCC) moved late last semester.

Having had a chance to work in the new space for a few weeks, student employees at each of the four centers are simultaneously excited about new possibilities and apprehensive about a new set of challenges following the move.

“I have many thoughts about it, but overall I think it's going to be a positive thing,” Isabella Sicilian (CAS ’26), a student assistant at the LGBTQ+ center, said.

The new office includes an all-gender restroom, a sensory room, a main common area shared by all four centers, offices for the directors of all spaces—including a future LGBTQ+ Resource Center director—and additional offices for expanding personnel in the future. The move marks the physical inclusion of each of these four centers under the OSEI and is part of an intentional initiative toward intersectionality and collaboration.

“All the four offices are in there. So there are so many different resources that any student could possibly need down there,” Lily Odenwelder (SOH ’26) said. “We’re really just trying to achieve a more intersectional approach to all of this, as so many of our students can find themselves identifying with multiple of these groups.”

Last semester, the DCC transitioned from being an initiative to being a non-physical center.

This semester, it added an in-person gathering space, the presence of which has fundamentally improved how the center operates, according to DCC student assistant Tara Haas (SOH ’25).

“The community feels a lot stronger now that there is a physical space, and also it’s just nice to know that there is a physical space students can go to,” Haas said.

Bilquisu Abdullah (CAS ’24), who works at the CMEA, sees the new space as opening up greater opportunities for student engagement, especially within the CMEA library.

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

“I knew where all the books were and whatnot, and sometimes that hindered just talking to students because most of the time they were just coming in to find a book they needed for class,” Abdullah said. “Now I find I have more opportunities to just hang out with students that come and visit, and it's not so transactional in experience.”

Dr. Charlene Brown-McKenzie, director of the CMEA, echoed Abdullah’s thoughts that the new space would allow for students to access resources in new and exciting ways.

“Students will find many ways to cultivate their sense of belonging and community as they explore and use the new space,” she wrote in an email to the Voice.

She also emphasized the open nature of the new space. All the student assistants share a common working space that includes a kitchen, lounge area, and shared front desk, which opens up new opportunities for collaboration and communication between all four centers.

“The fact that we’re all together and able to kind of voice what we need as a collective, I think it holds a little bit more power than just if one center was asking for something,” Abdullah said.

But some loss accompanies the move into such an open space, students noted.

“We don’t have our own specific four walls that’s just the Women’s Center in the new space—our boss does,” Odenwelder said. “But specifically for us student workers, we’re all just kind of scattered all around. That's definitely something that we are going to be working out the kinks on.”

Sicilian said she misses the four walls, and accompanying independence, of the former LGBTQ+ Resource Center office.

“It is kind of a loss that at one point we did have an LGBTQ+ center office,” Sicilian said. “I am a little bit sad that we lost our affinity space.

I think it was kind of nice having a space you can go that was exclusively queer.”

They feel that there could have been more consideration given to the need for affinity spaces aimed exclusively at queer students.

“We’re at a Catholic university so being queer is extra difficult here—you have people outside the front gates screaming at us telling us we’re all going to go to hell,” Sicilian said. “It was nice when that happened that we all had a space to go to.”

Dahlia Lozier (CAS ’26), who also works at the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, also said she

thought the unification had its drawbacks.

“While OSEI is gaining a lot of visibility, maybe, the individual centers are sort of melding or fading into the background a little bit more,” Lozier said. “One of the challenges we’ve been working on addressing for this coming semester and the future is, I guess, recreating those affinity spaces we had in the old centers in this new space.”

According to Dr. Annie Selak, the director of the Women’s Center, the process of designing the OSEI office paid mind to these concerns.

“Over the past several years, we have met with architects, held listening sessions, and dreamt together about what ‘community in diversity’ could look like at Georgetown,” Selak wrote in an email to the Voice. “Student leaders from each center, as well as students who were not involved in any of the groups, participated in these sessions. The result is a product of innovation, commitment to values, and imagining a Georgetown where all are celebrated.”

Despite some of these concerns, most student assistants recognize their own ability to shape how the space functions, and are determined to make it an intersectional space that welcomes as many students seeking resources as possible.

“I hope that we can have a chance for all of us student workers to come together and really just be like, ‘How can we be the [most] intersectional and still have those affinity spaces?’” Odenwelder said. “There will be some changes, there are definitely things we’re losing, but there are definitely things we’re gaining, and I’m excited to be a part of maximizing those gains.” .

design by madeline jones

EDITORIALS

The genocide in Gaza demands ethical and compassionate journalism

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

T

he endless social media footage has made the situation in Gaza impossible to ignore.

It is, in the words of a South African lawyer suing Israel at the International Court of Justice, “the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real-time.”

During this time of immense suffering in Palestine, the Voice’s editorial board has been considering the responsibility of journalists in accurately informing the public about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. While seemingly straightforward, ideas on what constitutes accuracy have been deficient when it comes to media coverage of the region.

Journalists must decide: will we continue to adhere to journalistic standards that silence and vilify people of lower standing in the global imperialist hierarchy, or will we embrace journalism that seeks to fully and compassionately share the stories of Palestinians?

One of the first steps to creating more equitable journalism is to confront our understanding of “objectivity” as based in the myth that marginalized people cannot reliably tell their own stories. As journalist Wesley Lowery wrote last April in an essay on the misunderstood concept of objectivity, “Our aim is not to be perceived as impartial by the people we imagine are our readers, but to accurately inform them about the world they live in.”

Although many mainstream news outlets have attempted to live out Lowery’s call and cover the devastation in Gaza with on-the-ground reporting, they have relied heavily on embedded journalism, or the practice of journalists accompanying one side’s military unit during a conflict. Embedded journalism creates both a conflict of interest for reporters via prior review of their material and severely limits their freedom of movement in the Gaza Strip. There are hundreds of independent Palestinian journalists in Gaza whose voices could be centered instead of, or in addition to, relying on embedded journalism. Rather than choosing to platform these journalists, Western media has instead—in a failed attempt at objectivity—overrelied on information provided by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and their own embedded foreign journalists.

Journalists from Gaza hold invaluable insights into the history and context of the most recent Israeli aggression. These voices are the foremost experts on their own experiences and

design by rory myers

the most well-equipped to tell stories about the extensive suffering of their communities. The IDF has killed many of the voices of Gaza, even as these journalists work tirelessly to show the world even a piece of the onslaught they witness firsthand every day.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza, amid its broader occupation of Palestine, is disastrous for ethical journalism. From Israel denying journalists access to Gaza and the conflicts of interest inherent in embedded journalism to language barriers, frequent communications outages, and disinformation/propaganda campaigns, Israel has presented innumerable challenges to free and fair reporting. On top of that, Western news outlets are also culpable. In the time since Oct.

7, many journalists who expressed support for Palestine, even by liking pro-Palestine posts on social media, have been fired.

Nonetheless, these barriers do not excuse news outlets’ failure to refine their language to more accurately convey the extent of death and destruction in Gaza. Most major American news outlets use the terms “Israel-Hamas war” or even “Israel-Gaza war,” misrepresenting the Palestinian genocide as a conflict between two armed groups rather than an armed state bombing defenseless civilians, the majority of which are children. Avoiding the term genocide is a failure to accurately inform readers, given that Israel’s actions in Gaza fit the legal definition of genocide and have been categorized by UN experts as such.

Simultaneously, professional media has hyperfixated on pro-Palestine student activism and its fallout at American institutions of higher education. The irresponsible and sensationalized coverage of events such as the recent congressional hearing on antisemitism and student protests on college campuses

like Harvard University and the University of Michigan distracts from the ongoing genocide.

As student media, we lie at the center of the distracting debates around free speech on American college campuses and have the responsibility, via our coverage, to return our readers’ focus back to what is happening on the ground in Gaza. When major news outlets publish opinions equating Students for Justice in Palestine’s actions with blanket antisemitism, campus media has the responsibility to tell honest and empathetic narratives about our peers.

The Voice has the power to shape student consciousness around social justice issues on this campus. At our most base function, we have the ability and obligation to give our peers context about on-campus activism. We can help the Georgetown and D.C. communities connect events to their origins in the ongoing occupation and genocide happening nearly 6,000 miles away.

There is immense power in providing context.

As we see it, the Voice’s present-day mission is grounded in its origins as a group of student journalists who decided there was a moral imperative to report on the Vietnam War and anti-war activism on campus. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the challenges the movement presented to journalism, the Voice committed to being explicitly anti-racist in its coverage. These dual commitments should inform our coverage of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing and invasion of Gaza.

The Voice must center accuracy by ensuring that we represent what students are saying with full context. It is imperative to use terminology and language that is accurate, avoids Islamophobic and racist tropes, and conveys the full gravity of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Readers should walk away with a central understanding of the genocide at hand and its grounding in the 75-yearlong Israeli occupation.

The Voice has the ability to redirect attention away from distracting discourse and toward what is important: why students are protesting. We should aim to make our coverage relevant and specific to Georgetown but also situate all protest within the larger pro-Palestine, anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist movement—since that is what student organizers are ultimately organizing for.

The Voice, student media, and all journalists have a moral obligation to speak plainly, name Israel’s actions for what they are, and contextualize student protest as grounded in the desire to end the ongoing genocide and work towards a free Palestine. !

JANUARY 19, 2024

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FEATURES

'Not my campus anymore': Palestinian students made to feel invisible at Georgetown

BY SABRINA SHAFFER, KATHERINE HAWES, AND ROMY ABU-FADEL

Content warning: This article includes mentions of racism, Islamophobia, and an anti-Palestinian hate crime.

D

onia, an international Palestinian graduate student who spoke to the Voice on the condition that she be identified only by her first name, sent an email on Nov. 8 to university administrators titled, “My family has been KILLED - University’s Silence on Genocide.”

In the email, she wrote that 52 members of her mother’s family, including 17 children, had been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.

This was one of several emails Donia sent to administrators asking to meet with President DeGioia and urging him to echo Pope Francis’s calls for a ceasefire in Palestine.

She has also urged the university to send an email condemning reported incidents of antiPalestinian harassment on campus.

Administrators responded to Donia’s emails privately, resulting in a one-on-one meeting with Vice President and Chief of Staff Joseph Ferrara. While Ferrara listened to her stories and expressed sympathy, Donia feels the university has not adequately recognized her family’s suffering.

“I'm so frustrated with how Georgetown does not acknowledge what we're seeing. I met with administration, I sent them emails.

They keep telling me how their heart is broken because of my stories, and no action,” she said.

Many Palestinian students, and those in solidarity with them, want administrators to openly condemn Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has killed over 24,000 Palestinians.

Students also want the university to explicitly denounce recent incidents of anti-Palestinian harassment both on- and off-campus.

On Oct. 8, President DeGioia sent a university-wide email condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and mourning the loss of Israeli lives. Many Palestinian students, and those in solidarity with them, responded by calling on the university to also recognize Israel’s airstrikes on Oct. 7, the subsequent loss of Palestinian lives, and Israel’s 75-year occupation of Palestine.

“The initial email sent by the university was an embarrassment. It didn't even mention the word Palestinian,” a Palestinian American undergraduate student who spoke on the condition of anonymity said in an interview with the Voice.

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

Members of the Palestinian community at Georgetown met with DeGioia to ask him to release another statement acknowledging the suffering of Palestinians, which he did on Oct. 19. Many students saw this email as an improvement to DeGioia’s first email, but still expressed frustration with DeGioia’s wording, specifically his characterization of the genocide in Gaza as a “humanitarian crisis.” “‘Humanitarian crisis’ implies that there may or may not be a perpetrator. There could be a humanitarian crisis from a natural disaster where there's no human perpetrator. This is a man-made crisis,” the Palestinian American student who spoke on the condition of anonymity continued.

Since October, students have called on the university to recognize and condemn Israeli violence against Palestinians by meeting with administrators, holding on-campus demonstrations, and circulating a list of demands which has received nearly 1,000 signatures. Many Palestinian students expected the university to release additional communications, given the escalation of suffering in Palestine since then. “[It’s] just the fact that there hasn't been a follow up email since mid-October, when the death toll has gotten so much worse,” Anna Wessels (G ’24), a Palestinian American student, said. “I think it's a really clear omission that they don't feel the need to reach out to us.”

In response to requests to comment on safety and communication concerns Palestinian students expressed, a university spokesperson wrote: “Georgetown University strongly condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and hatred of any kind in our community. We do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, intimidation or threats of harm.”

“We are deeply committed to fostering a safe, welcoming and inclusive community that respects the inherent dignity and shared humanity of each Hoya, promotes the free expression of ideas, and enables every member of our community to thrive,” the spokesperson wrote.

Many Palestinian students described a lack of individualized support from university administrators, especially Palestinian international students.

“I'm registered in the data as a Palestinian.

No [university administrators] reached out to me at all,” Donia said in an interview with the Voice.

Though Georgetown does not have a publicized policy regarding how it offers public and private support for international students facing crises in their home countries, students say the university has responded very differently to other international crises.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Fr. Mark Bosco, vice president for Mission and Ministry, sent a campuswide email expressing support for Georgetown’s Ukrainian community.

Administrators promoted campuswide efforts to bring awareness to the situation, allowing Ukrainian students to feel uplifted on campus while navigating the state of affairs back home, according to Olha Kovach (SFS ’26), a Ukrainian student from Kyiv.

Similarly, when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco in September 2023, university administrators responded with individual and campus-wide emails addressing those impacted.

“As a Moroccan, I got an email from the school about the earthquakes, asking if my family was okay,” Iklil Bouhmouch (G ‘24) said in an interview with the Voice. “But I was very disappointed to hear that none of my Palestinian friends were contacted, even those who are international students from Palestine.”

After hearing about administrators’ timely and empathetic communications with her peers, Donia felt the university did not see her as equally deserving of support.

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With a perceived lack of recognition from the university, many Palestinian students feel that the onus is on them to call attention to the continuing violence against Palestinians, even when this means discussing the murder of their own family members.

“We feel this responsibility to educate, to convince people why they should care, while we're watching this devastation and extreme violence happen to our people, while we're also trying to finish our finals and go to class every day,” Wessels said. “So it's a lot of pressure and it shouldn't be put on individual students.”

Palestinian students said they feel an expectation to continue engaging in campus life normally. This inhibited their ability to grieve their loved ones, resulting in a dissonance between their everyday lives at Georgetown and the events unfolding in Gaza.

“I feel like I'm kind of living in a parallel universe in Georgetown, where there's a few people talking about it and speaking up, but the majority of what's going on, people are just going about their lives like there's not like thousands of people being killed every day in a very sustained effort funded by the U.S. government,” Wessels said.

Palestinian students described feeling unsafe on campus knowing hate crimes and hate incidents against Palestinians have risen across the United States.

“I've been called a racist. I've been called a terrorist. I've been called Nazi on campus,” Donia said.

Palestinian and pro-Palestine students at Georgetown have faced harassment and threats on campus from members of the Georgetown community and bad-faith actors. According to several students, this harassment included having their photos taken in Red Square, a free speech zone, while hanging flyers that brought awareness to the genocide in Gaza.

Reporters from conservative news outlets have also come to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) events on campus to take photos of students’ faces and post them online while mischaracterizing SJP as “pro-Hamas.”

On Oct. 17, several Georgetown students characterized pro-Palestine students as Hamas sympathizers on Fox & Friends. On Oct. 21, a Fox News article included interviews with members of Georgetown Law Zionists saying proPalestinian students at Georgetown condoned terrorism and antisemetic violence. This article exposed the personal Instagram account of a Palestinian law student, after which he received multiple death threats via Instagram. The article was edited on Oct. 30 to remove the student’s name. Several days later, a mobile billboard truck, parked outside of McDonough Hall, both called for the university to stop recognizing SJP and read, “ISIS has no place on campus.”

According to the students affected, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, they brought these incidents to the attention of university administrators at the law campus.

They said that while administrators were apologetic in meetings, they directed the students to the bias reporting system and did not promise to take any action.

Another Palestinian American undergraduate student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described a meeting with President DeGioia in which she and other students recounted on-campus harassment. She said that throughout the meeting, students were pointed towards the university’s bias reporting system, rather than being informed of any proactive steps the university is taking to prevent this harm from occurring. “[The administration is] like, ‘Well, these things might happen to you, and the only thing you can do about it is report, and there's not really much that we can do to stop that,’” she said. “That definitely contributes to my fear on campus.”

The Palestinian student, who is an SJP board member, described an incident in October when an administrator sent an email to her, as well as leaders of the Jewish Student Association and the Georgetown Israel Alliance, inadvertently exposing her name and Georgetown email. She shared that she has worked to remain anonymous in her activism due to the violence that proPalestine activists are facing.

The student met with the administration to explain how being publicly identified could expose her to doxxing and other forms of harassment. She said that the administrator was receptive to her concerns, and future emails were sent using blind carbon copy. But the incident made her realize how little the administration knows about the risks Palestinian students are facing.

“I feel like even in the situations where the administration is trying to help, they're just so naive to what Palestinian students actually have to deal with and the fears that they have to deal with, like doxxing and harassment,” she said.

The student’s safety concerns have increased as violence

against Palestinians in the United States has escalated, including a recent shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont. The shooting, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime, left all three students injured and one paralyzed from the chest down.

The Georgetown student said that one of the survivors of the shooting is a family friend.

The student expressed disappointment that Georgetown did not send out an email condemning the shooting. The university’s lack of public condemnation of anti-Palestinian hate crimes in the U.S. has made Palestinian students feel they cannot trust the university to protect them from harassment, doxxing, and threats of violence from other Georgetown community members.

“The Georgetown administration as a whole has not created an environment that holds people accountable for harassing Muslims and Arabs, for attacking Muslims and Arabs. They have not created an environment where Palestinians feel safe,” the first Palestinian American student who spoke anonymously said. “They have actively contributed to the situation that made hate crimes like this possible.”

Beyond feeling physically unsafe, Palestinian students have also described feeling verbally attacked in classrooms, where their experiences have been questioned and invalidated. Selina, a Palestinian American undergraduate student who spoke on the condition that she be identified only by her first name, described feeling targeted by other students in a class discussion. She was the only Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim student in the class discussion, which took place just days after her aunt had been killed in an Israeli attack.

In class, students used dehumanizing language and repeated false narratives about Palestinians to justify Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians, Selina said. At a certain point, she got up and left the room crying.

“I think what made me upset was the fact that basically so many students, A, had misinformation, and B, were basically referring to my dead family members as collateral,” Selina said.

The ongoing genocide has deeply impacted Palestinian students like Selina with families in Gaza. Inaction from university administrators combined with a lack of empathy from students has made Palestinian students feel alienated from the campus community in a time of need.

“I feel like this is not my campus anymore,” Donia said. “I just don't feel like I'm being heard or respected or acknowledged as a Palestinian.” .

JANUARY 19, 2024

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HALFTIME VOICES LEISURE

There are no thrift stores in Georgetown— but maybe there shouldn’t be

BY OLIVIA POZEN AND LUKAS SOLOMAN

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any of us have probably complained about Georgetown’s lack of thrift shops at some point during our time as students here.

We certainly have. Especially for the “broke college student,” thrifting purports to provide a sustainable, inexpensive alternative to firsthand shopping. Yet, aside from Reddz Trading consignment store on Wisconsin Avenue NW, there are no thrift stores or affordable clothing options around Georgetown (nor are there many in the D.C. area as a whole). But maybe opening a thrift store in Georgetown isn’t actually the best idea—the last thing this already-gentrified neighborhood needs is yet another pricey shop for rich people.

Major thrift stores such as Goodwill and Salvation Army were established during the Progressive Era with charitable intentions, seeking to provide retail goods and social services to low-income populations and those deemed in need. Thrifting became a means of salvaging and redistributing possessions that individuals threw away, particularly as the population density of urban spaces spiked dramatically. However, thrifting also touts a more complicated past than we may initially realize. Jewish immigrants in the United States became the first suppliers of secondhand clothing, using pushcarts as a form of self-employment in light of antisemitic discrimination.

Though this practice initially stigmatized the concept of secondhand shopping, Christian mission programs coopted this idea and officially opened what we now know as thrift shops. The mission programs offered affordable clothing to communities in need, but still

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appropriated the source of income from the American Jewish community.

Since then, thrifting has continued to embrace the notion of moral consumerism while simultaneously taking on a chic, ostentatious new reputation. Within the past decade, thrifting has transformed into a $28 billion industry and has expanded from traditional venues into vintage resale stores and online marketplaces like Depop and Poshmark. Here, vendors are presented with the opportunity to significantly upcharge their clientele as they meticulously curate both trendy and nostalgic collections. In some ways, this is a positive development—a means of promoting recycling and eco-conscious purchases. Yet, thrift shopping has transformed from a necessary resource for lower-income communities to a game appropriated by young, upper-middle-class “entrepreneurs.” As such, modern thrifting strays from its original purpose: individuals compete to find unique items first and view thrifting as a means of producing profit.

Given the overwhelmingly affluent demographics of both Georgetown University and the surrounding neighborhood, opening a thrift store in the area would inevitably serve as little more than part of a Depop seller’s supply chain rather than a resource chiefly for people seeking affordable clothing options. The recent “It Girl Thrift” pop-up store on M Street NW—a so-called “thrift store” marketed toward people who thrift to pursue the trendy “It Girl thrifter” aesthetic—confirms these suspicions. It is important to remember that, despite the overall affluence of the area, there are people both on campus and in the greater Georgetown community who rely on services like thrift stores for affordable clothing.

The complete absence of an economic option would exacerbate gentrification and continue to force unhoused, lowincome, and unemployed people out of the area. As such, we recognize that the eradication of this resource without a sound alternative would come with severe consequences.

Of course, many Gen Zers who thrift, including ourselves, do so because it serves as a more ethical alternative to the fast fashion industry, notorious for its workers’ rights abuses and deleterious impacts on the environment. However, regardless of our reasons for thrifting, thrift shops across the country have

been forced to raise their prices to match the heightened demand for secondhand clothes, on top of the already burdensome inflation patterns of the past few years. Under a capitalist economic system, our attempt to be more ethical consumers has serious limits. Even when we try to undermine the fast fashion industry, we inadvertently become complicit in making secondhand shopping less accessible to the communities who rely on it most.

In an ideal world, there would be no fast fashion industry, no inflation patterns, and even no class stratification that necessitates the existence of thrift shops in the first place. However, until we are able to alter the oppressive socioeconomic systems presently in place, must thrifting remain our most ethical option for shopping?

Community clothing banks and exchanges are an example of a more sustainable and financially equitable alternative to the thrift stores that currently exist. Since these exchanges can take place in public spaces, they eliminate the need to account for overhead expenses (e.g. rent and utility bills) that rise when inflation strikes. This would establish a means of procuring a new wardrobe through a system that emphasizes a unique sense of camaraderie—a stark departure from the present, consumerbased economic model. As opposed to a system that posits monetary exchanges as the only option, community clothing banks are designed to encourage individuals to be more altruistic.

Here, we prioritize the well-being of our neighbors and learn to rely on one another in a mutually beneficial manner.

Of course, community clothing exchanges are not a fix to any of the structural injustices we have mentioned. However, in light of the challenges of this decade’s thrifting boom, such exchanges act as a form of community aid that benefits all participants. People who seek out secondhand clothing for environmental and ethical reasons are able to do so without making the resource less accessible to communities that rely on it to survive.

At the same time, there’s a case to be made for just holding on to, repairing, and upcycling the clothing you already have. Of course, we encourage you to look out for others and donate whenever possible. The rise of fast fashion has generated swarms of microtrends, from cow-print pants to House of Sunny cardigans, encouraging rapid purchases to keep up with popular style. Yet, if we simply choose to love the items we already have, we can develop a sense of individual style while simultaneously avoiding contributing to the fast fashion industry. Truly, this is the most sustainable option of all. 0

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HALFTIME SPORTS

Play ball! How sports began to dominate the video game industry

BY BRADSHAW CATE AND HENRY SKARECKY

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ollege Football (2024), the next addition to the Electronic Arts (EA) NCAA football franchise and its first since 2013, will release this summer after a long hiatus due to concerns about using college athletes’ likenesses. Its return has been highly anticipated by sports and video game fans alike, and their undying loyalty represents the strong following that persists for sports video games today.

From Pong to Madden Sports video games had to start somewhere.

In fact, the first-ever popular video game was technically a sports game: Pong (1972).

Pong featured a ball bouncing back and forth between paddles in an emulation of table tennis. It was a smash hit in arcades as well as homes, with dozens of home consoles being released in the mid ’70s dedicated exclusively to the title.

By the late 1970s, the world began to see other sports being reproduced on the Atari 2600 console, with these games being given straightforward titles like FOOTBALL (1978), HOCKEY (1981), or GOLF (1980). They weren’t named after a league, or even a coach. There were no players on the cover art.

There were no problems with images and likenesses because everyone was a stick figure, and extra information like names took up too much space on a game cartridge.

The first real-life references appeared on the rival Intellivision console, when Mattel developed sports games in the late 1970s that included professional leagues like the NBA, NFL, and NHL in the title. Players’ names didn’t make an appearance until One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird was released for the Apple II computer in 1983, a game which pitted Julius Erving against Larry Bird in— you guessed it—one-on-one basketball.

By the time Tecmo Bowl (1989) and Tecmo Super Bowl (1991) were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), game companies had acquired the licenses to players’ names and also made an attempt at replicating their abilities.

This famously resulted in defenses being unable to stop former Raiders running back Bo Jackson from scoring a touchdown, or even running back and forth across the field until time ran out on the clock.

Thanks to the advances of Tecmo Bowl and other licensed games like NBA Jam (1993), sports video games became

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firmly in the mainstream by the ’90s and 2000s, and the success of titles like Madden NFL (1988), FIFA (1993), and the NHL (1991) series, all of which began in the late 1980s and early ’90s, firmly put EA at the forefront of sports video game development.

In an effort to hold a further grip on the market, EA also acquired a license to the NCAA and began to develop games featuring college sports teams with the same programming and format of the pro-sports games. But unlike the many pro leagues with video games, the NCAA didn’t allow any reference to the names or likenesses of athletes, so players would be given random names or simply a number, such as QB #10.

In the modern era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, student athletes are now permitted to be compensated for their image, which allows companies like EA to pay athletes for inclusion in their games. As a result, College Football is now back on the sports gaming map. This is a cause for celebration, but EA still must reckon with other problems brought on by modern sports games.

Modern Problems Madden today is unrecognizable from its earlier iterations. First, the graphics mirror reality, leading me to believe the Cowboys were playing on a random Wednesday night. Second, and more controversially, the games added new modes that can be financially predatory, especially for younger players.

During the 2010s, Madden introduced “Madden Ultimate Team,” a game mode where players collect cards of their favorite athletes and compete against others online. While players can spend time earning enough virtual currency to buy card packs, they can also spend real money for a higher chance of securing their favorite players.

As a result, a California class action lawsuit in 2020 charged EA for violating gambling laws, as the odds for these packs were not specified, and amounted to virtual slot machines.

Madden and FIFA have since restructured their card pack system, but players can still spend exorbitant amounts on virtual currency trying to draw special athletes like Travis Kelce.

For example, many Yo u T u b e r s

post videos spending over $10,000 on packs, trying to buy their golden team.

Much like the leagues they represent, games struggle to balance simulating a league and its politics without isolating players. Despite an extensive selection of jerseys, NHL 23 (2022) does not allow players to equip the league’s pride collection, special jerseys that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

However, some games are more inclusive.

Madden continues to have “End Racism” on both the in-game helmets and stadiums, in line with the NFL. Since these games are licensed by the league they can often reflect real-world social tensions, and potentially shape how players think about the world.

From Console Generations to Family Generations The long history of sports games means that parents who played older titles can now pass down their passion to their children. My father and I used to play NCAA Football 08 (2008) and MLB 2K12 (2012) together every weekend, sharing memories of when he played past titles during the ’90s. I always wanted to get good enough to beat him! While he had an advantage in the old, I would always beat him in Wii Sports.

Games like Retro Bowl, a spiritual successor to Tecmo Bowl, help bring a new generation to the old.

With its accessibility as a mobile game, the game caught fire, surpassing 3.4 million downloads in less than two years.

Sports video games are a juggernaut. In November 2023, sports made up four of the 10 highest selling games in the United States. The return of NCAA Football feels like the coming of the messiah, entering sports games into a new era.

I, like many others, have stuck with the old NCAA 11 (2010) for over a decade while waiting for this moment. College Football (2024) will bring more people into the new generation, and I personally cannot wait to play ball. 0

JANUARY 19, 2024

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LEISURE

The Boy and the Heron is Hayao Miyazaki’s triumphant swan song

BY EILEEN CHEN

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ayao Miyazaki is infamously bad at staying retired. In 2013, the legendary Studio Ghibli director claimed that The Wind Rises would be his final work. Then, in 2018, he came out of retirement to produce Boro the Caterpillar, a short film touted as his last hurrah. And yet, he’s outdone himself one last time with The Boy and the Heron (2023), a heart-wrenching, whimsical, and brilliant tale of grief and resilience.

As the film begins, we’re introduced to a young Mahito (Soma Santoki), our malevolent protagonist, as he runs toward a burning hospital where his mother is working. Flames engulf the entire screen as fear and angst overtake his body, visually representing the disorientation and claustrophobia one can experience during a panic attack. His mother’s death forces Mahito and his father, who runs a fighter plane factory, to move to the countryside where Mahito’s new stepmother (Yoshino Kimura) resides. Mahito struggles with adjusting to his new life and, in an attempt to avoid returning to school, strikes his head with a stone.

Upon seeing the wound, Mahito’s father just vows to punish the bullies he assumes are responsible; his agonizing failure to recognize his son’s true emotional turmoil makes the cuts burn deeper.

Miyazaki’s own childhood was fraught with uncanny parallels to Mahito’s story: the filmmaker grew up during World War II and fled Tokyo for rural Japan with his family, where his father also worked at a fighter plane factory. The film’s semi-autobiographical nature suggests the film might serve as Miyazaki’s personal reflection on life and living.

As Mahito remains haunted by the painful memory of his mother, a terrifying gray heron lures him into a mysterious tower near his home. In a quintessentially Ghibli turn of events, the tower reveals itself to be a portal to a fantastical, surreal underworld where the dead and the unborn— and a kingdom of parakeets, among other side characters—reside.

Despite being so closely intertwined with the melancholia of death, this magical world is beautiful and breathtaking. Miyazaki has always crafted dreamscapes that push the boundaries of human imagination, but even by the high standards of

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Studio Ghibli animation, this is undeniably his most artistic, detailed, and masterful creation.

Stunning illustrations of night skies and saturated sunsets are accompanied by mystical forests and interrupted by blazing rings of fire. Compared to previous Ghibli films, the art style leans the heaviest into horror undertones, evoking a sense of unease beneath its aesthetic charm. Yet another outstanding Joe Hisaishi musical score elevates the depth of each visual, curating a truly exhilarating viewing experience.

Miyazaki’s underworld is home to a menagerie of otherworldly creatures that confound mortal notions of time and existence. The most lifechanging addition to Mahito’s quest is Lady Himi (Karen Fukuhara), a girl with the power to cast fire who is implied to be a younger incarnation of his mother. With Himi’s guidance, Mahito discovers that this world was created by his granduncle, but as his granduncle is aging, the world itself is also rapidly unraveling. As the earth crumbles and the sky falls, the characters must return to their original worlds to stay alive—and because Mahito and Himi exist at different points in time, they must return to their respective realms, forever a universe away.

The Boy and the Heron doesn’t have a typical hero nor a typical happy ending. Knowing that Himi will inevitably die in the hospital fire, Mahito begs her to stay, but she smiles and tells him that because she gets to give birth to him, everything is okay. The plot dances impossibly between space and time, making your head throb if you try to pin your finger on the exact logic of it all. Still, its emotional message rings loud and clear. It’s a story of acceptance— acceptance that malice and death are inherent parts of human existence. As Himi’s last words signify, a full life lived isn’t one that manages to erase the inevitable, but cherishes every day more because of it.

In some ways, the film’s cryptic and ominous imagery makes the audience’s job more difficult than it ought to be. For newer viewers unfamiliar with Miyazaki’s tendency to jump between dimensions and Studio Ghibli’s host of peculiar and bizarre character species, trying to piece together how each

plot arc fits into one overarching story is a baffling and daunting task. Its ambiguous ending certainly doesn’t help either: we don’t know whether Mahito follows in his granduncle’s footsteps, remedies his relationship with his father, or ever stops mourning the death of his mother.

It’s arguably a disjointed movie, but it’s definitely not thoughtless or lazy scriptwriting.

Instead, the beauty is in the chaos. As Mahito steps through the door to his home, he turns around to see the tower crumbling, and yet the destruction of his granduncle’s world is not apocalyptic—it simply means it’s time for Mahito to create his own.

While most viewers have interpreted the epilogue as an allegory for how Miyazaki has made peace with the nature of being mortal, some believe it also symbolizes how the director views his legacy at Studio Ghibli. In both instances, his outlook is that uncertainty is not synonymous with calamity.

Despite the “cozy Ghibli aesthetic” that pop culture adores, the studio’s films have always been more than pretty pastel colors and soothing instrumentals. Each Ghibli film is a parable of adulthood and being, and The Boy and the Heron is arguably Miyazaki’s darkest tale of all. Perhaps it was deliberately crafted from the perspective of a director who knows he has already told a myriad of stories with universally beloved characters and satisfying resolutions. For his last work, Miyazaki chose to create something polarizing and confusing—something that will make every audience member ruminate, reflect, and likely rewatch.

The Boy and the Heron’s Japanese title is shared with the 1937 Japanese book How Do You Live?

That correspondence isn’t a mere coincidence— the novel’s title is the exact question the movie poses. Without a straightforward plot resolution or a concrete answer to its deeper existential themes, the film challenges us to confront our own internal conflicts at every twist and turn of its beauty and horror. As much as we want to know how Mahito will live, Miyazaki also asks us: how do you live? 0

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HALFTIME SPORTS LEISURE

Percy Jackson returns to screen, this time handled with care

BY FRANCESCA THEOFILOU

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mily Dickinson said it best: “There is no Frigate like a Book / To take us Lands away.”

Diving into a good novel allows you to immerse yourself in another world entirely—hopefully, one more magical than your own. For the same reason, book-to-screen adaptations are plentiful. After all, who wouldn’t want to reexperience their favorite story, cast and filmed just as they imagined it? But a live adaptation is also a double-edged sword. Even with the greatest cast and most gifted directors, a bit of that otherworldly magic often gets lost when onscreen depictions take the place of the reader’s imagination. Fortunately, expectations were met, and the magic was preserved with the premiere of Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians television series.

The premiere season of the television series, set to run for eight episodes on Disney+, adapts The Lightning Thief (TLT), the first of five novels in Rick Riordan's original book series. The story follows 12-year-old Percy Jackson as he discovers that he is a demigod and embarks on a quest with his friends to return Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt.

The first attempt to adapt TLT—the 2010 movie starring 18-year-old Logan Lerman and 24-year-old Alexandra Daddario—is universally regarded as a massive failure by Riordan, critics, and fans alike. Directed by Chris Columbus, the film alters so many important plot points and details from the written work that the story is barely recognizable. Likely a result of the movie’s painful disconnect from the book, Riordan and his wife Rebecca stepped up to serve as executive producers for the television adaptation, and their hands-on influence is immediately apparent.

From the start, the project’s impeccable casting laid the foundation for its success. This time, the children are played by actual children, a choice that takes more coordination, time, and money to execute but ultimately gives the project the authenticity it deserves. Seeing young adults narrowly escape death is one thing, but watching children be repeatedly put in the path of danger by their own parents hits much harder and has strong emotional impacts. It emphasizes one of the series’s central tenets, and one of Percy’s personal mantras: the gods suck. They command their children to do their dirty work and worship at their feet, yet neglect them when they aren’t needed. The people in charge of keeping the peace prove to be incompetent and spiteful

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warmongers, necessitating children not only to save the world, but to change it for the better.

Walker Scobell portrays the titular son of Poseidon with the perfect balance of maturity, audacity, and wit that forms the Percy we know and love, brazenly challenging the gods to be better. Leah Jeffries’s Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, is just as brilliant and brave as she is in the books. With incredible grace and expertise for an actress so young, Jeffries provides nuance to Annabeth’s characterization, planting seeds of the insecurities and vulnerabilities that will become central to her character arc. Aryan Simhadri’s Grover Underwood personifies kindness, capturing the lovable satyr’s humility, altruism, and signature humor. The main trio is the heart of this character-driven series, and the young actors carry their chemistry perfectly from the novels to the screen, filling the first few episodes with so many heartfelt, emotional, and funny moments that one never feels bogged down by the necessary worldbuilding and exposition. As TikTok user @tessa.chb points out, it’s like Riordan shook the book, and these three incredible young actors fell out.

So far, the series has stayed mostly true to the books, but has made a few intentional changes to demonstrate narrative growth and nuanced development from Riordan and place the show in a modern setting.

A great example of this trend comes with the trio’s confrontation with Medusa in the third episode. While the novel portrays Medusa strictly as a monster, the series references a particular version of the myth to expand on her characterization. Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Medusa gets to tell her story—that of a young woman who worshiped Athena, was taken advantage of by Poseidon, and is unfairly punished while he gets off scot-free. Her character exists as a foil to Annabeth

and perfectly sets up Athena’s betrayal of her demigod daughter in the following episode.

Every technical aspect of the show—the score, lighting, cinematography, costuming, makeup—comes together perfectly to immerse the audience in this world and Percy’s story. The scene where Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull), Percy’s mother, first tells Percy about his father is an especially touching example. Illuminated by the soft, warm flicker of a cabin fireplace, Percy is hunched over below his mother, visually highlighting his vulnerability as he laments the recent strange happenings. As Percy realizes his mother knows something, somber strings crescendo into suspenseful horns as the story unfolds and Percy’s anxiety peaks, their heated conversation acting as the vocal melody to the instrumental accompaniment.

When Percy rises to confront his mother, the shot flips as he towers over her, painting the picture of a mother who feels small and defeated by her son’s circumstances. This scene’s simplicity contrasts the intensity of the next, an anxiety-inducing car chase lit with cool tones and backed by a track similar to the main theme, centering the audience in the adventure unfolding before them.

What is the piece of magic that ties this adaptation together, immersing the audience in the story just as the book did?

Care. Every cast member clearly was a fan of the books and committed themselves to their respective characters with passion and precision. Both Riordans, working alongside the rest of the creative team, took incredible care to visually recreate the story as Rick imagined it when he first told it to his son.

Committing to such authenticity was an incredible undertaking— the filming process alone took seven months—but it paid off with this brilliant, magical piece of art wrapped in admiration for the source material. Personally, I cannot wait to see what the back half of this season has in store for the impertinent son of Sally Jackson and his (often exasperated) friends. / JANUARY 19, 2024

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SPORTS

MEN'S WINTER RECAP:

NO PAIN,

NO GAIN

BY LUCIE PEYREBRUNE AND JO STEPHENS

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ast spring, it was difficult to imagine there had once been a time where teams were afraid to play Georgetown. The legendary “Hoya Paranoia” era of the 1980s was long gone, and the Blue and Gray had managed to scrounge up only two BIG EAST wins that season, which was somehow two more than the year before. Then, to the dismay of Friar fans everywhere, Ed Cooley stepped up to the plate for Georgetown. Could he be the spark this team needed?

To be frank, the preseason expectations for this team were far from spectacular. Rebuilds take time, and remarkable turnarounds are rare in the first year of a coach’s tenure.

Cooley was truly starting from scratch with his roster this year—senior guard Wayne Bristol Jr., senior guard Jay Heath, and junior center Ryan Mutombo were the only three players returning from Coach Ewing’s final Georgetown team. Cooley was forced to rely on the transfer portal and four walk-ons to fill out the bench, perfectly demonstrating the difficulties of starting a program from scratch.

With all this in mind, it makes sense that the bar for this team was pretty low. Cooley admitted from the beginning that year one would likely be a rough ride for fans, but he encouraged the Hoya faithful to keep their eyes on the prize: very much long-term success the likes of which could be seen on the Hilltop in previous decades. Despite these warnings (and a bottom-of-the-conference prediction), the team entered the season with energy, hoping to exceed expectations and make a statement.

It would be inaccurate to say that they were fully successful. The Hoyas lost to an atrocious (352 out of 362 teams on KenPom) Holy Cross team in the second game of the season, were handed a controversial and truly gutting defeat at the hands of TCU, and were juiced by longtime rival Syracuse.

With that being said, there’s no denying that non-conference play had bright spots. After a 14

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

deeply embarrassing loss to American last year, the Hoyas claimed redemption in overtime this season. They won close games against the likes of Jackson State and Merrimack, demonstrating an ability to finish strong in crunch time. Finally, in their last game before BIG EAST play, they beat Notre Dame on the road in overtime. None of these wins were exceptionally impressive, but after years of watching tight contests slip away, fans were thrilled to see a bit of grit from this squad.

The Hoyas were also plagued by injuries, with graduate forward Ismael Massoud breaking his hand in a preseason scrimmage and sophomore guard Jayden Epps sidelined with an illness to close out non-conference play. The Hoyas played only two nonconference games (TCU and Syracuse) with their entire rotation, making it difficult to gel ahead of conference match-ups.

The Hoyas opened up BIG EAST play on the road with a 74-64 trouncing from a surprisingly stout Butler team, followed by a 81-51 road loss to then-No. 6 Marquette, both times managing to keep things close through only 10 to 15 minutes. Back home, Georgetown blew a close matchup against Creighton in the second half, losing 77-60 in a series of events all-toofamiliar to those who followed the team during the Ewing era.

The Hoyas kicked off play in the New Year at home against fellow conference-cellardweller DePaul in a must-win game for the Hoyas. Although their victory was close— winning by only three points—it felt like an effort switch flipped for Georgetown. Maybe all of their rotation players had finally been healthy long enough to build some chemistry.

Or, as was in the case of junior guard Dontrez Styles, they wanted it more. Styles pulled down six offensive rebounds, saying in the postgame presser that he’d been “disgusted” watching film of himself just standing there as the ball went up.

The Seton Hall game was a continuation of that flipped switch. Despite the Pirates pulling ahead 18-4 early on, the Hoyas kept playing hard. They clawed their way back into it, cutting things to two at one point before the Pirates regained momentum to finish the half up 39-31.

After a slow start to the second half, the Hoyas reapplied the pressure, slowing the Pirates’ scoring and grabbing defensive rebounds wherever they could. Jay Heath hit a threepointer to make things 62-61 Seton Hall, and on the next possession, Bristol Jr. grabbed an offensive board and laid it up to give Georgetown the lead. Epps hit a two-point jumper on the next possession to put the Hoyas up 65-62.

It was then, with only three minutes left to play, that things turned sour.

Four possessions in a row, Georgetown turned the ball over. They put up a few more points, but it wasn’t enough. Between a couple of questionable foul calls on the Hoyas and the turnovers that put an end to their run, the Pirates ended up on top, 74-70.

Although the Seton Hall loss was disappointing, two things stood out as positives: grit and student turnout. The Hoyas, Bristol Jr. in particular, played not only like they wanted to win, but like they knew they could win, even when down by double digits.

The student section was nearly full, and the atmosphere was electric.

Moving forward, expect some BIG EAST wins from the Hoyas. They’ve shown that they have what it takes to hang with good teams; they just need to play hard for all 40 minutes.

They’re nowhere close to being a tournament team this season, but they already have more wins than each of the past two years. Ed Cooley has given Hoya fans something that they haven’t had since the 2021 BIG EAST tournament run: hope.

Today, it’s not so difficult to imagine a second era of Hoya Paranoia in the not-sodistant future. #

SPORTS

WOMEN'S WINTER RECAP:

big challenges

big east

in the

BY ANDREW SWANK

W

hile most of Georgetown took a break during the holiday season, women’s basketball (12-4, 2-3 BIG EAST) put together a strong run of games. The Hoyas won their final two non-conference games of the season against Wake Forest and Kennesaw State. Georgetown then began their conference schedule with a frustrating loss against Seton Hall and wins against DePaul and Butler. As classes resumed, the Hoyas were blown out by No. 13 UConn and lost a tough overtime game against Villanova.

Here’s a summary of everything you might have missed during the winter break: vs. Wake Forest (12/17) On the last day of exams, Georgetown wasn’t really tested in a 60-44 home win against Wake Forest (4-13, 0-5 ACC). The Hoyas took a lead early in the game and never looked back. Senior guard Kelsey Ransom led the Hoyas in scoring with 22 points—nine of which came from the free throw line—and senior forward Graceann Bennett added 11 points. The Demon Deacons were led by senior guard Alexandria Scruggs, who had 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to make the game competitive. vs. Seton Hall (12/20) Georgetown’s first conference game was a tough 57-49 home loss against Seton Hall (116, 3-3 BIG EAST). The Hoyas had a stellar first quarter, opening up a 21-2 lead on the Pirates.

However, Seton Hall mounted a comeback, cutting Georgetown’s lead down to just one point after three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, the Pirates capitalized on that momentum to complete their comeback and earn a huge BIG EAST victory. Ultimately, it was a difficult loss for the Hoyas after a fantastic first-quarter performance, but it showed that the Hoyas can’t take their foot off the gas. at Kennesaw State (12/28) Ransom’s last-second free throws were the difference in Georgetown’s 57-55 win over

Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-0 ASUN). The game was tied at 55 with 0.9 seconds left, and Ransom was about to inbound the ball near the basket. She bounced the ball off the back of an Owls defender before putting up a layup. Ransom was fouled in her shot attempt and made both free throws to give the Hoyas a two-point victory. Her creative play was yet another example of her standout performance this season as she leads the team in scoring, assists, and steals so far this season. at DePaul (12/31) The Hoyas traveled to Chicago to take on the DePaul Blue Demons (9-9, 1-4 BIG EAST) on New Year’s Eve, getting their first BIG EAST win of the season in a 66-62 victory. The game was close heading into the fourth quarter, but Georgetown pulled ahead in the last few minutes. Junior center Ariel Jenkins, assisted by Ransom, scored a layup to give the Hoyas a 64-62 lead. DePaul missed their game-tying attempt, and Bennett got the rebound and took it down the court before being fouled. She made both free throws to secure the victory for Georgetown. at Butler (1/03) The Hoyas had to come back to get a 60-55 win in a tough away game against the Butler Bulldogs (8-8, 0-5 BIG EAST). They were down nine points at halftime but tied the game in a strong third quarter, and were able to pull away in the fourth to grab another conference victory in the Midwest.

Bennett led the Hoyas with 20 points and eight rebounds on the day, and Georgetown earned a valuable conference win to start the new year. vs. UConn (1/07) The Hoyas hosted the UConn Huskies (143, 6-0 BIG EAST) across the District at the Entertainment & Sports Arena, home of the Washington Mystics. The Huskies are consistently among the top teams in both the BIG EAST and the nation, and this year is no different. Five Huskies scored at least 12 points in a dominant

photos by daniel rankin; layout by graham krewinghaus

83-55 victory over the Hoyas. The Huskies’ highpowered offense was led by senior forward Aaliyah Edwards, who scored 18 points. Bennett led the Hoyas with 13 points, but Georgetown simply could not handle UConn’s talent. vs. Villanova (1/10) Georgetown and Villanova (11-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) played a hard-fought game that went into overtime, but ultimately the Wildcats won 53-51. It took an impressive effort from the Hoyas to force overtime; the Wildcats held a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but Georgetown went on a run to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime, the teams traded baskets, leaving the game tied at 51 with 11 seconds left. Villanova’s junior guard Lucy Olsen was fouled and made one of her free throws to give the Wildcats a one-point lead with five seconds remaining. The Hoyas couldn’t get a shot off, and junior guard Kaitlyn Orihel made another free throw for Villanova just before time expired, leaving the Wildcats with a two-point victory.

Georgetown won 10 of its 11 non-conference games, setting the Hoyas up well for their BIG EAST schedule, where the level of difficulty increased. The UConn game was a tough loss, but the Hoyas can console themselves with the fact that the Huskies’ roster is full of nationally ranked talent. Georgetown’s two conference wins thus far came against DePaul and Butler, who were ranked seventh and eighth respectively (out of 11 teams) in the Voice’s preseason BIG EAST predictions. However, Georgetown’s play in their losses against Seton Hall and Villanova did leave room for positive takeaways, showing that they can be competitive against good BIG EAST teams.

The Hoyas continue their BIG EAST conference play when they host the Xavier Musketeers (1-13, 0-5 BIG EAST) at McDonough Arena at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on X (formerly known as Twitter). # JANUARY 19, 2024

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