The Hoya: Feb. 3, 2012

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 93, No. 29, © 2012

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012

LET’S MAKE A DEAL

MSB grad Tim O’Shaughnessy talks about co-founding LivingSocial.

FACILITIES There are simple ways to unclog Facilities’ work order system.

GUIDE, G8

Hoya Staff Writer

After months of recruiting student groups and revising its constitution, the Student Group Union will hold its first executive committee election Feb. 5 through Feb. 8.

The SGU, an initiative designed to facilitate better coordination

among student organizations, was launched in October with the hope of resolving the frustration some groups have felt in their dealings with the university administration and the Student Activities Commission.

“Since the kickoff, we’ve been building momentum, raising awareness and gathering feedback,” Co-Chair Eitan Paul (SFS

WEEKEND From DC Improv to U Street Music Hall and 51st State, 4E has you covered.

NEWS, A4

BLOG.THEHOYA.COM

OPINION, A2

SGU to Elect First Board ANNIE CHEN

FOOD TRUCKS Changes to long-standing regulations for vendors are sparking debate.

ENDOWMENT CONTINUES TO REBOUND

’12) said. “We’ve been communicating with numerous groups to make sure SGU is something they feel comfortable about.

Overwhelmingly, student groups have been incredibly excited about this opportunity.”

When the group got off the ground last semester, students

$1.067 billion

$1.162 billion

$1.059 billion $895.1 million

$1.007 billion

$1 BILLION

See SGU, A6

POSTERIZED: SIMS’ DUNK SPARKS GEORGETOWN IN ROUT OF UCONN

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

DATA: 2010-2011 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT; SHAKTI NOCHUR/THE HOYA

After falling below $1 billion during fiscal year 2009, GU’s endowment has grown almost 30 percent over the last two years to reach an all-time high $1.162 billion.

Endowment Rises for Second Straight Year MARIAH BYRNE Hoya Staff Writer

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Henry Sims throws down a ferocious dunk in the second half of the Hoyas’ beatdown of Connecticut Wednesday night. The senior center had 13 points in the 58-44 victory. See A10.

Georgetown’s endowment reached a record-high $1.162 billion for the 2011 fiscal year but fell four places from 63 to 67 in the National Association of College and University Business Officers-Commonfund Study’s rankings.

The university’s endowment grew 15.4 percent to reach the new high, up from a growth rate of 12.8 percent during the 2010 fiscal year, but still below the national average of 19 percent annual growth reported in the study.

Chief Investment Officer Michael Barry attributed the university’s drop in the rankings to the defensive positioning of the endowment portfolio, the impact of gifts received by peer institutions and Georgetown’s higher-than-average spending rate in the last fiscal year.

Barry added that the relatively small endowment represents a major competitive disadvantage for the university.

“The challenge of being just over $1

billion in size, from an operational standpoint, is that Georgetown must remain competitive with its peer institutions while relying on a smaller pool of supporting capital,” he said.

The continued growth of the endowment is primarily the result of returns to university investments in public equity markets, which came in at a rate of 16.8 percent.

Georgetown’s investments, comprised of unrestricted gifts, are managed by the university’s investment office. The total endowment also includes assets intended for a specific purpose.

Over the course of last year, $66.5 million of the endowment’s pooled funds were distributed.

“The purpose of the distribution policy is to strike a balance between current spending and endowment growth,” according to the university’s 2010-2011 Financial Statement.

The spending of endowment funds was See ENDOWMENT, A6

For GU Employees, ANC 2E: A Town-Gown Battleground Classes Come Free BRADEN MCDONALD Hoya Staff Writer

Tuition Assistance Program a huge benefit for staff LAURA ENGSHUBER Hoya Staff Writer

A Georgetown education typically comes with a hefty price tag, but some have found a way to take classes on the Hilltop without paying a penny.

Each year, an average of 230 university employees, ranging from Department of Public Safety officers to alumni relations coordinators, take classes at Georgetown. Most of them enroll through the Office of Faculty and Staff Benefits’ Tuition Assistance Program, which provides a free education for university employees.

Any staff member who has been at the university for one year and works at least 36 hours per week is eligible for the program, which covers full tuition at Georgetown or, after three years of work, partial tuition at other accredited institutions of

higher education.

For many, the Tuition Assistance Program was a strong factor in choosing to pursue graduate studies at Georgetown.

“I knew that Georgetown offered tuition reimbursement for employees. I always wanted to go here, but the program was definitely a noteworthy factor in my choice,” Steve Bailey (GRD ’13) said.

After graduating from the University of Mary Washington in 2009, Bailey has worked the Office of Advancement for the past two years, first as coordinator of regional programs and now as an analyst and administrative coordinator. In 2010, he began his studies in the master of public policy program.

Bailey said that of the 25 students in his class, most work on Capitol Hill or for consulting firms. But his co-worker in the Office of Advancement, Caroline Gardner (GRD ’12), has also managed to mesh her job as director of the innovations team of class programs and reunion campaigns with her studies in See EMPLOYEES, A7

Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E has long been an arena for perennial neighborhood relations debates.

With the D.C Zoning Commission preparing to make its ruling on the 2010 Campus Plan next week, the commission’s monthly meetings are frequently the sites of heated battles about issues ranging from student noise to safety regulations in rental apartments.

But despite long-standing tensions between the ANC and the university, commissioners believe that there is potential for cooperation between the two groups.

“We’re one community,” ANC 2E Chair Ron Lewis said. “We have a lot of the same interests in the same things, although we don’t always come out on the same side of a particular question.”

KYLE YOUNG FOR THE HOYA

Neighborhood relations monopolized the conversation at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting Monday, as they have for decades.

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

“GRASSROOTS” GOVERNMENT ANC 2E, which is comprised of seven commissioners, each representing a geographical district, focuses on matters of municipal government in Georgetown, Burleith and Hillandale.

Ron Lewis, who is in his second twoyear term as chair of the commission, described it as a bridge between residents and the often-complex D.C. government.

See ANC, A6

Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, February 3, 2012

THE VERDICT

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EDITORIALS

If It’s Broken, Please Fix It: Facilities Needs a Work Order At Georgetown, the question isn’t how many people it takes to screw in a light bulb, but how many days it takes to get a light bulb screwed in.

University Facilities and Student Housing is already stretched thin. An inefficient system, in which large problems are not properly prioritized over smaller ones, only exacerbates delays.

We need to develop structures that help students solve minor problems on their own so that Facilities can tackle more pressing issues.

Currently, when a student has a problem with university housing, he or she must fill out a work request form on the Georgetown University Facilities website. In response, the student receives an email with a work ticket number. If the problem is an emergency, the student is advised to call the Work Management Center directly, or the Department of Public Safety if it’s after hours.

The problem, however, is that students have lost faith in the work ticket system. When requests go unanswered for months, it creates an incentive for students to go directly to calling the center every time they have a problem, even if it isn’t really an emergency.

We propose a website that could serve as a resource — a do-it-yourself guide for more common, easily solved housing problems. Paired with rentable basic tools (like screwdrivers, wrenches or a

stepstool) made available in Residence Hall Offices, a web resource could clear up the congestion by allowing students to take initiative in solving some of their own problems.

Not every student is comfortable with handiwork, but some are. University Information Services has a student-staffed help desk that deals with basic problems. By implementing a similar system for Facilities, the university could both create new work-study jobs and filter simpler maintenance problems out of the current system. With some basic training, student staff members could make house calls and either solve problems or recommend more challenging cases to the current staff.

With housing rates nearing $5,000 per semester, students should not be subjected to cold showers, rodents in their roofs or power outages. Many other problems that occupy the department’s time are easily solved, but they currently distract from attention that could otherwise be paid to more pressing issues. With a little support from the university, many students would be happy to gain some fix-it know-how in order to benefit from Facilities’ increased efficiency.

Even in ivory towers of academia, faucets leak. But some basic adjustments could unclog the system and allow Facilities to focus on the problems that matter most.

Off to See the Wizard – This Saturday, What’s After Dark will feature a performance by a magician-hypnotist in Bulldog Alley.

Bulldogs > Huskies – The Georgetown Hoyas wiped the floor with the UConn Huskies on Wednesday night with a 58-44 win. See A10 for full coverage.

C C

Founded January 14, 1920

Opening Notes – The 39th Annual Cherry Tree Massacre, featuring all seven Georgetown a cappella groups, will begin today at 7:30 p.m. in Gaston Hall.

Going Nowhere – Portions of the Orange and Blue lines and the Rossyln and Arlington Cemetary metro stops will be closed this weekend for track work.

Winter Woes – Yesterday, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

FROM THEHOYA.COM READER’S RESPONSE

“

My point is that people take advantage of different things on campus, and it’d be a nightmare to track how much each person deserves to pay for each. ... We don’t want students choosing not to participate in something or choosing not to exercise just to save a few bucks on the additional fee.

”

Anonymous on “Making Gym Fees Work Out” Posted Feb. 1, 2012

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD US ... @MobilizeGreen

Feb. 2 @thehoya Thanks for writing “The Cost of Experience: Paying to Work.” #Students need reminders re #unpaid #internships. @GUSALaverriere

Jan. 31 Great piece in @thehoya: @GUSAssociation has made great strides over the past yrs, but we must continue to make more @JMAlatis

Jan. 31 So excited! RT @thehoya Amanda Carlton, an administrator at UCBerkeley, will become adviser for the SAC & deputy director of @ GeorgetownCSP

THE RAW DEAL by Anthony Mastroianni

Report Crimes, Not Students When out on a Saturday night, does the sight of a Department of Public Safety officer reassure you? Or, instead, do you straighten up and try to walk by without being noticed?

For too many students, campus police conjure apprehension rather than an increased sense of safety. DPS’s mission statement declares a commitment to securing the Georgetown community, but in reality, its resources have been diverted too far away from the purpose of protecting the public and redirected too heavily toward the pursuit of hunting petty misconduct.

There is a fine line between watching out for students and trying to get them in trouble. Officers should not actively search out drinking violations.

Cases such as vandalism, creating a disturbance or drinking outdoors warrant police intervention, but unless students are openly violating the drinking age in public, DPS need not lurk outside parties. DPS should make its highest priority the prevention and prosecution of hostile crimes, not private behavior.

Last month, there were nearly 30 combined thefts and burglaries reported by DPS, a significant increase from the number in January 2011. These crimes pose a much greater threat to campus safety than the private conduct of individual students, and protecting

our campus security by preventing further instances of burglary and robbery is directly in line with DPS’s mission statement. Perhaps patrolling a sidewalk late at night is less exhilarating than busting parties, but it provides a much greater service to the university community.

By no means do we condone breaking university rules, nor do we advocate a system in which campus police are helpless bystanders to overt student displays of misconduct. But student fear of DPS officers does little to dissuade drinking or partying; rather, efforts taken to elude DPS can put students in greater danger. In order to evade being caught at an on-campus party, students sometimes venture deep into Burleith alone, often at odd hours of the night. Though drinking might be dangerous, walking alone through the neighborhood at night can be even riskier. The university may have a genuine desire to prevent underage drinking, but a system that results in intoxicated students wandering the streets late at night is contrary to the paramount objective of student safety.

DPS needs to be reminded of whom it is primarily responsible for protecting: the community. Officers deserve our respect and cooperation. In turn, they should develop student trust by working for us, not against us.

Connor Gregoire, Editor-in-Chief Upasana Kaku, Executive Editor Suzanne Fonzi, Managing Editor Mariah Byrne, Campus News Editor Sarah Kaplan, City News Editor Pat Curran, Sports Editor Steven Piccione, Guide Editor Katherine Foley, Opinion Editor Chris Bien, Photography Editor Stephen Levy, Online Editor Remy Samuels, Layout Editor Samantha Randazzo, Copy Chief Fiona Hanly, Multimedia Editor Michelle Cassidy, Blog Editor

Contributing Editors Kavya Devarakonda, Kathryn DeVincenzo, Eddie Fearon, Lawson Ferguson, Meagan Kelly, Shakti Nochur, Eamon O’Connor, Michael Palmer, Mairead Reilly, Glenn Russo, Lauren Weber

Matthew Strauss Rita Pearson Braden McDonald Evan Hollander Ashwin Wadekar Victoria Edel Alex Sanchez Bethany Imondi Hanaa Khadraoui Sari Frankel Christie Shely Zoe Bertrand Jessica Natinsky Emory Wellman Nikita Buley Emily Perkins Martin Hussey

Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Blog Editor

Editorial Board Katherine Foley, Chair Sidney Chiang, Laura Engshuber, Danny Funt, Alyssa Huberts, Nneka Jackson

CORRECTIONS The article “GUSA to Launch Game Show, Prizes in SafeRides Program” (The Hoya, A6, Jan. 31, 2012) mistakenly stated that the Office of the Chief Operating Officer would provide prizes for the test run of the program. The Office of the Chief Operating Officer did not provide prizes for the test run.

The article “Moot Court Is Anything But” (The Hoya, A6, Jan. 31, 2012) mistakenly stated that 73 of the 78 cases argued in the Supreme Court this year had been argued at the Georgetown Law Center beforehand.

These numbers were from the October 2010 through June 2011 Moot Court.

The article “Student Investors Stand Apart” (The Hoya, A6, Jan. 31, 2012) mistakenly referred to the Georgetown University Student Investment Fund as the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union.

The article “Restored Painting Now at Rest on Hilltop” (The Hoya, A1, Jan. 27, 2012) mistakenly referred to Upshur Street as Upture Street.

Jonathan Rabar, General Manager Glenn Russo, Director of Corporate Development Kelly Connelly, Director of Finance Claire Willits, Director of Marketing Michael Grasso, Director of Personnel Bryn Hastings, Director of Sales Caroline Boerwinkle Catherine Hendren Evan Marks Sara Eshleman Shane Sarver Kent Carlson Keeley Williams Max Gottlieb Mary Nancy Walter Michael Lindsay-Bayley Ryan Smith

Alumni Relations Manager Special Programs Manager Accounts Manager Operations Manager Publishing Division Consultant Human Resources Manager Institutional Diversity Manager Public Relations Manager Local Advertisements Manager Online Advertisements Manager Web Manager

Board of Directors

Carolyn Shanahan, Chair Connor Gregoire, Web Leslie, Jonathan Rabar, Sam Schneider, Lauren Weber, Amanda Wynter

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OPINION

friDAY, february 3, 2012

THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • Kevin Sullivan

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VIEWPOINT • Dan Healy

SFS: Foreign to Service Keep Game Shows on TV W L

e see the legacy of Georgetown’s Jesuits everywhere: all over the historic buildings, on the inscriptions, in the mottos and banners that hang across our campus and in the people we meet everyday. Jesuit Heritage Week is our opportunity to reflect on what has been passed down to us by the Society of Jesus, by St. Ignatius of Loyola and by the great men who have turned our little Hilltop into a site of global importance.

Theoretically, the School of Foreign Service should be the shining example of the values held by Georgetown as a Jesuit university. Fr. Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., recognized that these Jesuit values, combined with the history and unique position of our beloved school, necessitated an institution to train Catholic diplomats.

Unfortunately, the SFS has strayed from its mission for the sake of attaining unquestionable academic excellence.

Our university in general has been abandoning its traditional role as a beacon for the humanities, and the core curriculum of the SFS leaves very little room for its ambitious and eager students to ask, “Why is the world this way?” We are instead forced to sit through class after class that asserts how the world functions.

We cover game theory as if it were the theory of gravity, and we hear the names of the world’s most controversial thinkers, such as Marx, Hayek, Kant and St. Thomas Aquinas, without ever truly delving into their ideologies and influence. The only times I ever found myself actually in deep thought were in the few courses I had with discussion sections.

“Political and Social Thought” was my favorite course at Georgetown precisely because professor Mitchell provoked discussion and forced his students to form opinions.

Yes, it is important that one learn about what the world is like before asking how it can or should be changed. But the academic culture here at Georgetown suppresses the very ambition and intellectual hunger that would otherwise be brought to its full potential.

Their absences leave us yearning for more. Georgetown students crave debate, discussion and controversial thinking. We all have passionate and fierce opinions. But that desire to seek absolutes — to argue about what is right and what is wrong — is neither cultivated nor encouraged.

Clear evidence of this reality is the heavy involvement of Georgetown undergraduates in campus groups. Unable to find what they should be getting in the classroom, students devote more time to their extracurricular activities than they do to studying. They attempt to recreate the kind of intellectual environment that they do not find in the classroom by dedicating their time to groups outside of it. Intellectual forums flourish because they offer truly intellectual experiences. Advocacy and political groups abound because students want to show that they believe in something without challenging concepts or being challenged themselves.

The particular academic culture of the SFS will undoubtedly impact the future success of an institution that once thrived because of its unique Jesuit identity. SFS students learn about innovative theories and ideas in all international fields, but merely memorizing and regurgitating those different ideals is not the same as being on the cutting edge of the field.

Recreating the atmosphere spearheaded by the Jesuit community would again unleash the ambition and desire to ask “why?” not just in SFS students, but in students from all four schools.

We would once again become the innovators, grounded in a humanizing liberal arts education, instead of the first to learn about what others are doing.

Jesuit Heritage Week should remind us all that our Jesuit identity should be more than a legacy that we look back upon. It should be the reality that compels us to “go out and set the world on fire.” Without it, we would only go out and watch the world burn.

Kevin Sullivan is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

ast Sunday on its website, The Hoya broke a story that detailed a proposal — passed by the Georgetown University Student Association — to turn one SafeRides van into a “cash cab” (“GUSA to Institute Game Show in SafeRides,” Jan. 29). Students will answer trivia questions for the chance to win prizes, and their responses will be taped and posted on the Georgetown and GUSA websites, provided that they sign two waivers. While this program will undoubtedly capture some hilarious evenings, it will not improve SafeRides and is a waste of university resources.

According to GUSA Vice President Greg Laverriere (COL ’12), GUSA hopes that the new program will encourage students to wait for the SafeRides vans they call, which would keep the program effective and timely. This statement raises two questions: What is the purpose of SafeRides, and why are students leaving before the van gets to them?

The purpose of SafeRides is to ensure that students can return to their homes safely when they feel vulnerable, whether they are coming back from a party or

merely walking alone at night.

SafeRides provides a valuable service to Georgetown students; we have all received many Public Safety emails detailing assaults and thefts across campus and the surrounding areas. The game will not improve SafeRides’ response time or put more vans out on the street, both efforts that would actually benefit students. Given the importance of SafeRides’ function, GUSA should focus on maximizing its benefit to students, not its entertainment value.

Students who call SafeRides and leave before the van gets to them could have two reasons for doing so: First, the students may have never really needed SafeRides to begin with, and just decided to walk home. The second reason that students may desert their SafeRides is because, frankly, the vans take too long to reach their destinations. Rather than linger where they feel unsafe, students decide to start walking home so they can at least move away from a sticky situation.

The bottom line is SafeRides is subjected to too many superfluous calls, and there aren’t enough vans to take the students who genuinely

don’t feel comfortable traveling on foot late at night. Snack Cab, as GUSA has coined it, won’t add any cars to the SafeRides program, and game show may in fact increase the number of unnecessary calls.

Bringing the Snack Cab game to SafeRides will only further increase this problem; students may call for a van just in the hopes of playing trivia and winning a prize. Consequently, SafeRides’ response times will become even longer, and students who actually do need the service will be forced to wait in potentially unsafe or uncomfortable locations.

Lastly, spending money on prizes is a waste of resources.

According to The Hoya, GUSA is working on a way to install lights that flicker when passengers enter the van to signal that they have been chosen to participate in the game. Rather than focusing on trivia prizes and gameshow lights, GUSA should work on improving SafeRides’ response times and on making it easier to use. After all, if students want to play drunken trivia, they can always just go to The Tombs.

Dan Healy is a junior in the College.

THE DISCONCERTED DEMAGOGUE by Daniel Yang

A CANADIAN CONTENTION

Intergrating Immigrants

T

he immigrant ethos pervades all as- port found that as of 2009, there were 11.1 pects of American society, from the million individuals living illegally in the concept of birthright citizenship to United States.

Especially for those in the United States the mythology of Ellis Island. Some can trace their lineage in this country back illegally who live in constant fear of bealmost 400 years, while other families are ing deported, this status quo is untenable. just arriving in the United States. Because There are also costs to the American govimmigration has always been a part of U.S. ernment, in terms of resources used and tradition, it is ironic that the American im- taxes unpaid. At the same time, illegal immigration system is broken and in desper- migrants provide massive contributions to the U.S. economy and take on jobs that ate need of fixing.

Few disagree that one of America’s great- many American citizens do not want.

Congress should work to put these milest assets is its diversity. Walking down the street you encounter people who can trace lions of hardworking immigrants on a their ancestry to countries all over the path to citizenship. This does not mean world. This diversity does not just make the granting blanket amnesty. Those presently United States an interesting country to live in the United States illegally should have in; it also gives the nation unique competi- to go through an application process, like tive advantages. Many of America’s greatest the millions who wait in line and enter the United States legally. minds, from Sergey More needs to be Brin, the co-founder done to reduce the of Google, to former number of people trySecretary of State Mading to illegally enter eline Albright, are imthe United States as migrants. Whether it well. At the moment, is in intellectual life the United States acor in business, immicepts roughly one milgrants invigorate the lion legal immigrants United States with per year, which may their different perspecsound like a lot but is tives and unique outScott Stirrett only about one-third looks. to one-half of Canada’s Too often in AmeriIt’s time to create an immigrant acceptance can history, certain figrate. By increasing the ures and groups have effective immigration legal rate of immigraembraced xenophotion and security at system, one that can bia, using immigrants border, the United as convenient scapebenefit both new and old the States could encourage goats. From the misillegal immigrants to treatment of Irish imAmericans. follow the proper legal migrants in the 19th process. century to discriminaComing from Canada, I have often found tion against Hispanics today, this trend has it difficult to understand some of the hostilbeen a disturbing aspect of public life.

Creating smart immigration policies ity toward immigration. In my home provwill be integral for the United States to ince of Nova Scotia, the government has progress. Reforming how the United States been working for years assiduously to inadmits highly skilled immigrants should crease the number of immigrants. Among be one of the country’s top priorities. In his the different Canadian provinces, it is a State of the Union address Jan. 24, President source of pride to see who can attract the Obama remarked on how illogical it is for most newcomers.

The American government has a moral the United States to train hundreds of thousands of foreign students only to send them and strategic imperative to end this unsusback home because of stringent immigra- tainable system. Passing comprehensive immigration reform will result in a surge tion rules.

According to the United States Census of skilled workers and new businesses and Bureau, almost one-third of all Americans will convert those who are here illegally who possess engineering degrees are, in into taxpayers and citizens.

Immigration has always been a defining fact, foreign-born. But foreigners who receive technical PhDs in the United States aspect of the United States. It’s time to creare returning to their native countries in ate an effective immigration system, one ever-greater numbers. More needs to be that can benefit both new and old Ameridone to increase the number of work visas cans. for highly skilled immigrants so that the United States does not invest resources in Scott Stirrett is a junior in the School of Fortheir training without benefiting from eign Service. He is the former chief of staff of the Georgetown University College Demotheir ventures and skills in return.

On the flip side, illegal immigration crats and former chair and co-founder of also remains a persistent problem in the D.C. Students Speak. A CANADIAN CONTENUnited States. A Pew Hispanic Center re- TION appears every other Friday.

Quorum Call

Romney Resuscitates Campaign

F

lorida is home to an almost magical political vibe.

Whether handing George W. Bush the White House after an agonizing recount in 2000 or sealing the deal for John McCain’s presidential nomination in 2008, the Sunshine State, often to the befuddlement of the rest of the country, is the engine that makes U.S. politics run.

We saw this Tuesday, when Republican primary voters delivered a resounding victory to Mitt Romney, giving him a much-needed boost after his South Carolina shellacking at the hands of Newt Gingrich. The outcome in Florida will likely cement Romney’s status as the most likely presidential nominee of the Republican party and reveals a great deal about the state of politics in our country today.

Two weeks ago, the world seemed to be crashing down around Romney’s ears. His juggernaut campaign was reeling from a double-digit thumping in South Carolina’s primary — which had been won by every GOP nominee since 1980 — and his squeaker eight-vote win in Iowa had been rescinded and made a narrow loss to Rick Santorum. Suddenly, we saw a guy who had only carried quirky New Hampshire, a “Massachusetts moderate” (as his rival Gingrich never fails to label him) who was hemorrhaging conservative support.

Truly successful presidential candidates undergo trials by fire, though. They are judged by how they pick themselves up after falling down. Barack Obama and George W. Bush underwent such rough patches in stunning primary losses in New Hampshire, yet by dusting themselves off in an effective manner, they charged forward to the nomination and the presidency.

Perhaps that’s what we’re seeing with Romney. His victory in Florida can be attributed to six critical factors that tell us how he’ll attempt to sew up this nomination and beat Obama in November.

One, Romney got started early.

With estimates that about a third of the primary’s ballots were cast before polls opened Jan. 31, Romney’s organization aggressively banked thousands of early votes as an insurance policy — a testament to their organizational savvy and fortitude.

Two, Romney relied on powerful endorsements and tacit support from neutral parties. In heavily Hispanic South Florida, his support from Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, former Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, and Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (SFS ’82) was critical to his

Sam Dulik

Now, it seems that Romney’s momentum will only increase. big numbers. Additionally, the officially unaligned big hitters of Florida GOP politics, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), defended Romney against Gingrich’s attacks. Look to that pattern of local support networks continuing in the future.

Three, Romney not only threw a lot of money at Florida, he did so in a smart and effective fashion. His campaign, and of course affiliated super PACs, ran a sophisticated get-out-the-vote and advertising effort. One ad, featuring Tom Brokaw’s 1997 newscast detailing the ethics indictment of Gingrich, was particularly devastating. This was part of a wise strategy to bludgeon Gingrich and squash his post-South Caro-

lina bounce.

Four, Romney effectively changed the narrative in Florida.

What had long been an “Anybody but Mitt” race almost instantly transformed into an “Anybody but Newt” race. As Gingrich nabbed a primary win, the GOP’s leaders began to coalesce all the more around Romney. Conservative publications like The National Review, commentators like Ann Coulter and elected officials like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vocally and repeatedly warned that Gingrich was at best unelectable, and at worst unstable.

Five, Romney got his groove back in debates. He was polished, persuasive, aggressive and downright presidential, particularly in the last debate on Jan. 26. He outflanked Gingrich on Gingrich’s most comfortable terrain, the debate stage. Expect Romney to be even more ferocious and effective if he gets the chance to face off against Obama in the fall.

Six, Gingrich is a profoundly flawed competitor. To a large extent, Romney’s continued success in the primaries is rooted in the ex-speaker’s foibles. Gingrich has demonstrated through his rhetoric and his past that he is undisciplined, unfocused, unprincipled and erratic. Time and again, Newt Gingrich has shown that his principal concern is for himself.

It seems that Romney’s momentum will only increase, with favorable turf approaching in Nevada, Michigan and Arizona.

Barring an implosion, he is likely to be the GOP nominee. In that case, Florida will be remembered as the state where Romney got his act together and started waging a vigorous campaign for president.

Sam Dulik is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. He is the Director of Special Events for the Georgetown University College Republicans. QUORUM CALL appears every other Friday.

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THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012

MULTIMEDIA The Hoya sat down with Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon to get his take on this year’s admissions numbers. See thehoya.com.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

verbatim

JESUITS SERVE IT UP

“ This isn’t about product. ... It’s about skills.

”

Bill Huff, a facilitator with A Different Dialogue on what the experience is all about.

See story on A5.

from

KYLE SHORT FOR THE HOYA

AMANDA SODERLUND/THE HOYA

The Jesuits claimed the championship trophy at the annual Spike-a-Jesuit event Tuesday, beating out a student team in two of three games in the tournament. The sporting event was part of Jesuit Heritage Week, which ends Saturday.

BEST OF FOGGY BOTTOM Kyle Short explores the next neighborhood over in this week’s installment of Rambling D.C. blog.thehoya.com

SAC Reforms Ease Process EMMA HINCHLIFFE Hoya Staff Writer

While the Student Activities Commission is still ironing out the details of its new policies, student leaders praised the changes implemented so far this semester.

The new allocation system, which was adopted in October, requires student organizations to submit semester budgets, which allow them to internally allocate funds.

Groups previously submitted programming arcs that proposed events requiring designated amounts of money.

Groups submit event proposals online and are only required to meet with the SAC commissioners if an event involves a significant risk factor.

“The system is a big improvement from ... where SAC came from,” SAC Vicechair Eric Neidle (COL ’14) said. “It’s still new, so we’re still ironing out a lot of kinks and small details and starting to look at minor changes to make to the system this semester.”

Student leaders agree that more, smaller reforms could be made to the budgeting system.

“I hope [SAC continues] to support and encourage the organizations and streamline its processes,” Georgetown University Grilling Society President Chris Griffin (MSB ’13) wrote in an email.

According to Neidle, unplanned funding for events not included on clubs’ original budgets has been both the most popular yet most challenging aspect of SAC reform.

“One thing that was not anticipated and that we need to make sure the system better accommodates in the future is the number of ad hoc events, which is straining the money allocated to the ad hoc budget and making [SAC] meetings longer than expected,” Neidle said.

President of the College Democrats Joe Vandegriff (COL ’14) said that the new system has been beneficial in the adaptability it allows.

“It’s very hard to transition executive boards between semesters, and ad hoc provides flexibility for events that come up,” he said.

The College Democrats have used the ad hoc system for funding multiple events, including open houses and a club dinner at Ben’s Chili Bowl. “[The new system] definitely makes you better as a club leader at planning events,” Vandegriff said. “In the end, it will be a good thing that clubs will use funds honestly and reduce waste.”

SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA

Proposed changes to the District’s food truck regulations would allow mobile food vendors to operate in more places and for longer hours.

Food Fight: Debate Over Trucks Heats Up SARAH KAPLAN Hoya Staff Writer

With less than three weeks left for public comment on proposed updates to the District’s 30-year-old food truck regulations, members of both sides of the debate are stepping up efforts to ensure that the new laws best serve their own interests.

Under the new regulations, food trucks will be able to park at any legal parking spot so long as they pay the meter, though vendors selling desserts will not be allowed to remain stationary for more than 10 minutes unless they have a line of customers.

All trucks will be permitted to operate until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. The regulations allow them to stay open later than their current hours, but trucks must still close earlier than restaurants.

D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Director Nicholas Majett explained the proposed rules at the monthly meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E

on Monday.

“We thought [the regulations] struck a balance between the brick and mortar stores, who obviously have a right to survive … and the mobile vending trucks, who also have a right to operate their businesses,” he said.

The rules would also provide for the creation of vending development zones intended to give community members a say regarding the number of vendors allowed in their neighborhood.

“It’s basically meant to really allow the local community and businesses and business associations to work with us to really develop a public space management plan for vending for their particular area that works best for them,” DCRA Legislative Affairs Specialist Helder Gil said.

“The zones are not envisioned to exclude vending. You can’t create a zone and say we don’t want vending in our area,” he added.

Food truck owners said the new regulations would be an improve-

ment over the District’s current policies, which strictly limit areas in which trucks are allowed to operate.

But they are also lobbying to strike clauses governing the time restriction on dessert trucks, operating hours and the creation of the vending development zones.

Patrick Rathbone, owner of the Big Cheese Truck, helped launch an online petition two weeks ago with the Washington, D.C. Food Trucks Association to have the rules removed.

By the beginning of the month, the petition had received 568 online signatures.

While truck owners are mostly happy with the new regulations, neighborhood restauranteurs who hoped the legislation would place tighter restrictions on the city’s mobile eateries were less satisfied.

At Monday’s ANC meeting, Andrew Kline, an attorney with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, argued that food trucks were usurping public space and that DCRA should stipulate that food

trucks only operate on fixed sites.

According to Rathbone, restaurant owners are more concerned with limiting competition than with protecting public space.

“We’re lobbying to get the rules passed and they’re lobbying to get the rules changed,” he said. “They want to restrict competition, that’s what it boils down to.”

Some neighbors also expressed concern about the effect of food trucks parked in residential areas.

On Monday, the ANC passed rules banning food trucks from operating out of residential parking permit spaces.

But Rathbone reiterated that residents had little to worry about.

“Food trucks aren’t going to go park in a residential area because there’s not enough foot traffic,” he said. “It’s a non-issue.”

The 30-day public comment period for the bill ends Feb. 20, after which the D.C. Council will vote on the regulations. If approved, the rules will come into immediate effect.

News

friday, february 3, 2012

THE HOYA

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NAACP Revamps Black Dialogues Speak to Diversity History Month Events Sarah Patrick Hoya Staff Writer

Carly Graf

Hoya Staff Writer

Hoping to boost awareness of Black History Month on campus after years of low visibility, Georgetown’s chapter of the NAACP is planning to dramatically increase the number of events celebrating African-American culture this month.

“Last year, there weren’t enough events for Black History Month and it seemed like leaders in the organization lacked enough people to put on a successful event,” Thea Fowles (COL ’14), the Students of Color Alliance representative for Georgetown’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said.

The NAACP and its peer organizations, including the Black Student Alliance and the Black Theatre Ensemble, have identified AfricanAmerican history as the primary focus of the month. According to the NAACP board, African-American history is often left out of the curriculum in standard American history classes.

“My biggest concern is that George-

town students won’t feel the need to attend Black History Month events.

I really would like to see the campus community come together and celebrate Black History Month and recognize that it is an integral component of American history,” NAACP Press and Publicity Chair Deborah Williams (COL ’13) said.

Fowles said one of the highlights of the month’s festivities will be a performance by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at the Kennedy Center.

“I’m extremely excited about Alvin Ailey because it amazes me how the company is able to take a story that truly reflects the African-American experience and transform it into art,” she said.

Other events will include a screening of “Malcolm X,” a day of service at Ballou High School in Southeast D.C., a dinner honoring NAACP Founder’s Day and a coffeehouse night to honor African-American culture.

“Our community has a lot to offer and has offered a lot to American society,” Williams said. “We want to emphasize that the African-American community is diverse and that we have an array of experiences.”

A Different Dialogue, Georgetown’s diversity program that aims to foster conversation about hot-button topics that underlie college life, has grown in size but narrowed in focus as the program enters its third year.

“I think the one thing that we’ve learned is to make sure that everything is really localized and focused on Georgetown [students’] experiences,” Area Coordinator for the Southwest Quad Bill Huff said.

The dialogues grew out of a series of working groups that reflected on diversity in the context of academics, admission and student life. The working groups were created in 2009 by University President John J. DeGioia in response to incidents that exposed insensitivity to underrepresented groups on campus.

The project was originally spearheaded by DeGioia, representatives from the Office of Residence Life and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access and a consultant from the University of Maryland.

The dialogues are designed to

give students a safe space to talk about who they are and how they construct their identities and to teach students how to discuss these sensitive topics.

“The problem is, the reason we don’t talk about them is because they are hot-button issues that make us get nervous and stop talking,” Huff said.

Hanna Woodburn (GRD ’13), the graduate assistant for A Different Dialogue, believes the program is important to Georgetown because it provides an outlet to discuss topics that hit close to home for students.

“Our social class dialogue … is really popular because there are certain perceptions and misperceptions about the socioeconomic status of students who are at Georgetown,” she wrote in an email.

The dialogues encourage students to apply the discussions to other aspects of their lives, a practice that facilitates the acquisition of lifelong communication skills and an appreciation for different perspectives, according to Woodburn.

The A Different Dialogue program offers three discussion topics every semester; each dialogue

runs for seven weeks. Each dialogue program consists of two facilitators and eight to 14 student participants who meet for dinner and discussion two hours a week.

The conversations differ from typical classroom discussions because they follow a more casual format, according to Jacqueline Mac, who is a facilitator of the dialogues, like Huff, and a program coordinator for the CMEA. “The way that you’re talking with staff members is not the same as talking to professors in a class setting, so it helps build a relationship between the students and the facilitators,” she said.

The program leaders are attempting to make the dialogues more accessible to a wider audience through an email, flyering and word-of-mouth marketing campaign. Presently, the discussions are not offered for credit because facilitators do not want them to resemble a typical college class where the goal is the final grade.

“This isn’t about product,” Huff said. “A lot of college is final papers and final tests, but this whole thing is about process. It’s about skills.”

DPS BLOTTER Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

The case is under investigation.

Theft, New Research Building, 12:26 p.m.

A staff member left his backpack unattended in an unsecured office.

When he returned, his backpack was missing.

Theft, Henle Village, 4:30 p.m.

A student reported that his secured bicycle was stolen from a bike rack at the listed location.

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 Simple Assault, Alumni Square, 11:33 a.m.

A staff member reported that he was physically assaulted by another staff member at the listed location.

Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 Burglary, New Research Loading Dock, 4:30 p.m.

A staff member reported that two males were seen on camera stealing property from the listed location.

Saturday, Jan.28, 2012 Drug Violation, LXR, 3:50 a.m.

DPS officers investigating a suspicious odor made contact with the occupants of a room and, as a result, drugs were recovered. The case has been referred to student conduct.

DPS officers recovered drugs and drug paraphernalia. The items were taken into evidence. The case has been referred to student conduct.

Burglary, Building D, 11:30 a.m.

A staff member reported that when he arrived to work at his office, he found that forcible entry had been made. The case is under investigation.

Sunday, Jan.29, 2012

Theft, Lauinger Library, 2:19 p.m.

A student reported that she left her laptop unattended on top of a desk. When she returned, her laptop was missing.

Drug Violation, Village C West, 2:19 a.m.

While investigating a call for a loud party and suspicious odor,

Burglary, LXR, 8:21 p.m.

A student reported that his MacBook Pro was stolen from his unse-

cured room. The case is under investigation.

Monday, Jan.30, 2012 Burglary, Med-Dent Building, 7:30 a.m.

A professor reported that his office had been broken into and items were stolen. The case is under investigation.

Burglary, Med-Dent Building 9:19 a.m.

A staff member reported that an office had been broken into and money was taken. The case is under investigation.

Tuesday, Jan.31, 2012 Theft, Yates Field House, 12:38 p.m.

A student reported that his wallet, which contained cash, was tak-

en from inside the weight room.

Theft, Henle Village, 6:15 p.m.

A student reported that she parked and locked her bicycle with a cable lock at the bike rack. When she returned, she found her bike missing and the cable cut.

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 Domestic Violence, New South, 11:17 p.m.

A student called DPS regarding a couple who was fighting and screaming. One of the parties sustained minor injuries and was transported to Georgetown University Hospital Emergency Room. The case is under investigation.

The blotter is compiled weekly by the Department of Public Safety.

This Valentine’s Day

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friday, february 3, 2012

Collapsed Building Endowment Rankings Fall Two Spots Sparks Questions ENDOWMENT, from A1

Sarah Kaplan Hoya Staff Writer

The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has ordered an investigation into the cause of the November collapse of a building at Wisconsin Avenue and O Street.

Nicholas Majett, director of the DCRA, announced at a meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E Monday that the building’s owner will be charged with hiring an engineer to determine the cause of the collapse at 1424 Wisconsin Ave. that occurred Thanksgiving weekend.

The DCRA announcement sparked a heated debate at the meeting, provoking a particularly dissatisfied response from ANC 2E commissioner Bill Starrels.

“Since in this case there is bad history, a history of abuses of the system I think … there should be a third party inspector driven by the city, not by the owner,” he told The Hoya. “The city should take a much harder stance on its approach with this particular incident.”

Starrels pointed to a previous incident involving the building’s owner, Mohammad Esfahani. In 2002, a building he was leasing at 1329 Wisconsin Ave. suffered a partial roof collapse during renovations.

The ANC’s annual report for that year termed the incident “illegal demolition of a historic building” and some neighbors speculated that Esfahani had used the incident to avoid compliance with strict zoning regulations on historic buildings.

According to Helder Gil, a

legislative affairs specialist for DCRA, it is standard procedure for building owners to take responsibility for examining the cause of any structural damage.

“The site is the responsibility of the property owner,” Gil said. “That’s the ways it’s done on any structural issues.”

Esfahani bought the building at 1424 Wisconsin in July 2011 and was granted a construction permit for interior demolition and basement excavation in August, according to DCRA records.

Given Esfahani’s history, Starrels questioned why he was granted the permit.

“Somehow or another whenever he touches a building it falls down,” he said. “For someone like that … it would be good if when [they] put in in a permit [application] that that would trigger some kind of red flag in the system.”

The DCRA has sent inspectors to the site numerous times since the incident, according to Gil. The agency also issued a stop work order on Jan. 5 in response to concerns that debris removal operations were interfering with the investigation into the structural causes of the incident.

“There [have] been multiple communications with the owner to make sure that the properties are stable and secure and to make sure that the owner understand his requirements going forward on additional work to be done on the property,” Gil said. “Everything that’s done needs to come through our books to review and make sure that its being done correctly.”

Hoya Staff Writer Esteban Garcia contributed to this report.

balanced by contributions totaling $59.5 million. Overall, the university received $207 million in contributions and $132.7 million in future commitments last year.

The university’s 10-year-long campaign to raise $1.5 billion launched pub-

“It’s really grassroots democracy. It’s a connection between people and the city government,” Lewis said.

According to the commission’s website, D.C. government agencies are required to give ANC testimony “great weight” in making rulings. City agencies must issue their decisions in writing, explicitly address ANC arguments and send a copy of their responses to the ANC. While some government agencies that affect ANC 2E residents, such as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the National Park Service and water and sewer departments, are not considered D.C. agencies and are thus not required to give the ANC “great weight,” the ANC still holds lobbying clout.

“ANCs are not able to pass laws, per se. …

[But they] can offer their opinions, in the form of resolutions, to any governmental agency in D.C.,” Sticka said.

Conflict and Cooperation in Committee The ANC’s ability to offer its opinion to D.C. agencies allows it to wield tremendous clout in local decision making.

Historically, this has proved to Georgetown’s disadvantage. During the approval process for the 2000 Campus Plan, the ANC’s proposal to the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment heavily influenced the board’s final vote.

The ANC’s submission to the BZA raised concerns that will sound strikingly familiar to students and neighbors involved in the current Campus Plan debate. The Hoya reported in 2001 that the ANC called for increased on-campus student housing, stricter punishments for student littering and noise and restricted use of some campus facilities, including Harbin Field and McDonough Gymnasium.

As a result, the BZA denied a request by the university to extend its enrollment cap by 389 students, forcing Georgetown to file a complaint with the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The plan was not officially approved until 2005, delaying the start of several key construction projects.

The ANC’s influence extends beyond the Campus Plan debate.

In 2009, the ANC facilitated the removal of the popular Philly Pizza from its Potomac Street address when it was found to be in violation of zoning laws. Heavy student foot traffic late at night was creating disturbances for neighbors.

Lewis added that since the entirety of Georgetown is designated a national historic district, the ANC plays an active role in reviewing design modifications to homes and businesses before they reach a historical review board. The need to maintain the neighborhood’s historic nature is what delayed the opening of the Georgetown Apple Store

ment,” Barry said of the campaign.

Although the investment office does not offer specific predictions regarding the endowment, Barry is optimistic about the future of the all-important number.

“We’re planning … continuing growth,” he said. “We’re off to an OK start.”

SGU Will Select Executive Committee SGU, from A1 expressed concerns regarding the classification of student organizations as well as the representation system that SGU plans to use.

The executive committee will be comprised of one representative from each of 11 categories of student organizations: media, performing arts, volunteer, advocacy, cultural, political, religious, common interest, club sports, student government and non-advisory board groups.

Sixty-five student organizations had signed the constitution as of press time,

according to Paul.

Each member organization will be granted one vote for the executive committee member in its group category. To be eligible for election, students must have previously been or currently be an officer in a Georgetown student organization. Voting will be instant runoff, meaning that voters will rank candidates on their ballots.

Once the executive committee is elected next week, SGU will be fully operational.

“There could be a potential misconception that this could be just another form of bureaucracy, but it is important

for people to know that this is a paradigm shift in how student resources are used,” SGU steering committee member Emma Green (COL ’12) said.

Following elections, student group leaders will meet once per semester to discuss their ideas and needs, while the executive committee will meet every 15 days to address any concerns raised by SGU members and to foster better connections among clubs.

“The vast majority of groups rarely connect to one another, so often it’s difficult for student groups to navigate through the complicated bureaucracy within the university,” Paul said.

MPD Calls Decline as SNAPS Steps Up Laura Zhang

Special to The Hoya

The Metropolitan Police Department reported a decline in the number of calls to 911 for noise violations in Georgetown and Burleith in recent months, according to university spokeswoman Stacy Kerr.

Kerr said the decrease came as the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program has stepped up its patrols of the area.

“Part of this could be attributed to the effectiveness of SNAP teams deterring noise, as they are patrolling, not just to respond to calls, but also to proactively prevent noise levels from rising in residential areas,” Kerr said.

A team of 12 SNAP security officers patrol the West Georgetown and Burleith areas between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on weekends,

A History of Collaboration And Clashes in ANC 2E ANC, from A1

licly after the end of the 2011 fiscal year and therefore did not have a substantive impact on the most recent endowment rankings. However, because the campaign is soliciting both one-time and rolling gifts, it is intended to have a significant long-term effect.

“There’s not going to be an immediate effect that will ramp up the endow-

in 2010 and has been part of the argument against student group homes.

Lewis stressed that he considers all constituents of ANC 2E — both permanent residents and Georgetown students — one community, though the commission and university often stand opposed.

Lewis cited public safety as an example of cooperation between the university and the ANC. “Safety is an example of where the student community and the permanent residential community look at things in pretty much exactly the same way. We want safe streets, we want to be able to be outside at night and know that there’s enough police presence here. … We all feel that way,” Lewis said.

Commissioner Bill Starrels has long used his post to foster better landlord accountability for student homes to ensure the health and safety of Georgetown students. Years before the university developed its landlord pledge, which places landlords on an online list of approved landlords in exchange for their compliance with D.C. licensing requirements, Starrels was working with the DCRA to ensure landlords obtained mandatory basic business licenses.

“Some of these landlords are not userfriendly. They never have been, never will be. … People end up spending too much money and accept houses that are in a condition that nobody but a student would live in them, and that’s unfortunate,” Starrels said.

Bridging the Divide Sticka said that while he joined the ANC to remedy what he considered the unfair way in which student interests are addressed in local politics, he remains disillusioned by the commission’s antagonism toward the university, most recently in its opposition to the 2010 Campus Plan and a redistricting proposal that would give Georgetown students a chance at three seats on ANC 2E. “I became a member of the ANC because … throughout my freshman year I was frustrated by the way that students were discussed in the community and about how our interests never seemed to be taken into account,” Sticka said.

Lewis argued that the ANC’s insistence that the university provide more on-campus facilities and services takes into account the interests of students.

“The on-campus environment ought to be more inviting and more welcoming and offer more activities. There are so many steps the university administration could take to make the campus an inviting, fun environment,” Lewis said.

“Now that the Campus Plan is almost behind us, I want to work closely with the Georgetown student community because there are a lot of things I think we can do together.”

and is often the first to respond to noise complaints from neighboring residents.

In its recent filings in support of the 2010 Campus Plan, the university argued that SNAP’s heightened presence has contributed to a reduction in the number of 911 calls from residents.

“The number of 911 complaints regarding students has been low and [is] trending downward evidencing the efficacy of [this] program,” the report said.

According to the university, SNAP is designed to help students avoid interactions with MPD, especially in light of the D.C. noise ordinance passed last spring. The law sanctions those who make loud noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. with a $500 fine or up to 90 days in prison.

Though no Georgetown students have been arrested for noise violations so far,

two were given a warning on Jan. 5, according to DPS reports.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of the calls made to SNAP last semester either did not involve Georgetown students or were regarding neighboring residences not occupied by Georgetown students, according to Kerr.

But Chris Clements, president of the Burleith Citizens Association, said that residents of Georgetown and Burleith have found SNAP to be ineffective in mitigating concerns related to student noise and rowdiness.

“The general sense that I have gotten from Georgetown and Burleith residents, as well as the majority of the people who have called SNAP in the past, is that they haven’t been very effective in addressing people’s concerns,” Clements said.

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012

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For Seniors, Capstone Is Saakashvili Discusses Legacy A Final Chance to Reflect SAM RODMAN Hoya Staff Writer

HIROMI OKA

Hoya Staff Writer

Senior Capstone, a non-credit course reintroduced this year, challenges university seniors to question their plans and goals as they prepare for life after graduation.

Capstone, which is modeled after a similar program at Boston College, first began at Georgetown in 2005 under the leadership of Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J., The program took a break, and then was started up again by Fr. Pat Rogers, S.J. and a group of students two years later.

One of the seniors in Roger’s original group was Craig Kessler (SFS ’07). Kessler became interested in the program after several older friends discussed the challenges of transitioning from college to real life with him.

“My senior Capstone provided a time to reflect on my Georgetown experience, face tough questions about the future and, most importantly, it was a forcing mechanism for spending time with close friends and Fr. Pat every Thursday night,” he wrote in an email.

After his experience with the program, Kessler contacted three campus leaders, The Corp’s Chairman of the Board Margaux McGrath (COL ’12), Georgetown University Student Association President Mike Meaney (SFS ’12), and then-Editor-in-Chief of The Hoya Eamon O’Connor (COL ’12), whom he believed could jumpstart the initiative once again. He also fundraised from alumni to support this year’s Capstone as well as those in the future.

McGrath said she was honored to be involved in restarting the initiative.

“So many seniors at Georgetown want the opportunity to reflect on the past four years, meet new people and spend time with a professor,” she said.

McGrath hopes to expand the program in future years to encompass all graduating seniors, but noted that any student is capable of contacting a professor and organizing a similar group.

This semester’s student-run Capstone consists of three groups of 10 to 12 students who are led by a diverse collection of faculty. The groups meet every week over dinner to discuss a short prompt or reading, but McGrath said that the structure of the

Capstone allows the conversation to flow organically.

“It separates it from the classroom experience,” she said. “There’s something about sharing a meal with a professor and with students that immediately removes you from the pressures of an academic setting.”

The relaxed atmosphere fosters a sense of reflection and communication that the faculty members involved believe is lacking in today’s fast-paced world.

“We build in a heavy schedule for our students, academic and otherwise, and we attract students who enjoy being busy,” Tad Howard, associate dean of the College, wrote in an email. Howard advises one of the Capstone groups. “So we face a contradiction when we try to push students to halt those patterns that might have gotten them here in the first place. On the other hand, reflection is invited here. I think this Capstone is one way that we can issue such an invitation more visibly and more broadly,” he said.

Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., mentors 10 students with Jane Genster, interim director of the Center for Social Justice. He noted that the Capstone can also play a spiritual role in a student’s education.

“Such guided conversations on campus are in keeping with the Jesuit emphasis on reflecting on our experiences so that we can discern their meaning and thus make better decisions about our life,” he wrote in an email.

Adjunct professor William Daddio, who leads the program’s third group, emphasized that the Capstone course provides students with a final evaluation of life on the Hilltop.

“It’s a Capstone course; it should capstone our education at Georgetown,” Daddio said. “Part of it is reflective, part of it is what are you from that experience, part of it is what are you going to be from that experience.”

For those involved, the seminal component of the program is the reflective discussion that places this pivotal moment of their lives in perspective.

“Capstone is designed for students who are willing to open themselves up to different points of view — part of the magic comes from students making themselves vulnerable and sharing personal ambitions and fears,” Kessler said.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke in Gaston Hall Thursday about the dramatic transformations his country has undergone since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Saakashvili began his lecture by remembering how he used to bike past Georgetown’s campus as a law student at The George Washington University.

“It is my belated but longstanding dream to find myself within these venerable halls,” he said.

After discussing Georgia’s role in world history, Saakashvili described the corruption that plagued his country before the Rose Revolution, which boosted him to the presidency in 2004.

The majority of his talk covered the strides that have been made since the revolution. He mentioned the improved education system and infrastruc-

ture, the reduced crime rate and the complete computerization of the government system, all instituted under his leadership, as the most significant reforms. “[The lecture] was a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to meet a man that’s changing the landscape of the post-Soviet world,” Mike Mezzino (MSB ’15) said.

Asked about his most prominent missteps as a political leader, Saakashvili said he regretted any time he compromised on or postponed a bill in which he strongly believed.

Saakashvili also emphasized Georgia’s evolving relations with Russia. Despite the fact that Russia’s military currently occupies regions to which the Georgian government has laid claim, Saakashvili believes that the withdrawal of Russian troops is inevitable.

“Almost every leader in Moscow right now says they want reforms in Russia,” he said.

SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA

The Georgian President commented on the reforms his country has undergone.

From Office to Classroom, GU Employees Experience It All EMPLOYEES, from A1 the master of business administration program.

Pursuing an MBA has proven a strategic choice for Gardner, who intends to continue working at Georgetown after graduating from the program.

“I was working here for two and a half years when I was approached by a professor in the MBA program [whom] I had worked with,” she said. “I’ve been able to learn from my classes how to improve my performance at work. At the same time, my work has strengthened my skills as a student.”

However, other university employees have chosen to use their coursework to pursue personal interests

unaligned with the jobs they hold at Georgetown.

Jennifer Chaves, a graduate student and native of Colombia, is an information officer in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions by day. But by night, she is a candidate for a master’s degree in Latin American studies.

“Working in a place where there’s such a consistent academic discourse was inspiring,” she said. “Before this, I was taking classes for fun at another institution. I decided to apply to the Latin American studies program because of personal interest and passion for the region.”

For Chaves, submitting her application to the program was nerve-wracking. While Georgetown employees receive tuition benefits, they must still

go through the traditional application process for their chosen program.

Once enrolled, employees face another test — balancing a full-time job with coursework.

While going to class and working a full week is difficult, the university understands and supports its employees’ busy lifestyles, according to Bailey.

“They do know that I’m a student.

If I have a final, I can take hours off to study or sleep a bit more. Work is really flexible,” he said.

Gardner agreed. “Sometimes you just want to say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m so tired.’ It’s not a normal student life,” she said. “But everyone else in the evening program is in the same situation. Everyone is super serious about their career.”

District Politicians Take Statehood Fight on the Road BEBE ALBORNOZ Hoya Staff Writer

As part of a reinvigorated campaign to make D.C. the 51st state, Mayor Vincent Gray and several other district officials travelled to New Hampshire last week to rally support for the cause.

The trip was the first step of what officials hope will be a nationwide tour pushing for D.C. statehood. Gray and five city council members testified before the New Hampshire House of Representatives Friday after Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (D-N.H.) put the resolution on the legislature’s agenda.

“For me, the issue is not so much about statehood. I see statehood as a tactic to get what I see is really important, and that is full representation that is a right of American citizens,” Rosenwald said.

Though the bill was ultimately voted down, District officials plan to continue the push, according to Doxie McCoy, a spokeswoman for the Mayor’s office.

“It is seeking D.C. democracy, voting rights, statehood. … It is something we are constantly pushing. … It is something we are constantly fighting for,” McCoy said.

“We have to keep it in the public light and

continue to use different tactics to try to reach our goals.”

Last year, the campaign for District statehood was re-energized after this spring’s Congressional budget crisis jeopardized the District’s ability to spend its own funds. Less than a week later, Gray was arrested in a protest for D.C. voting rights.

“It was worth being arrested,” Gray said in a press conference after his release from jail. “Enough is enough. We’re tired of being dictated to by people who don’t have a clue about the District of Columbia.”

According to McCoy, Congressional oversight of the D.C. budget is one of the major issues District officials have with the status quo.

“The biggest benefit [of statehood] is for the District to have autonomy — legislative autonomy, budget autonomy — and for the rights [of] the residents of the District of Columbia and those who are elected to represent them to have control [of] our finances and control [of] our laws,” she said.

Gray’s office remains hopeful that their efforts will eventually be successful.

“We are not letting [the New Hampshire] vote discourage us, and we are continuing to fight,” McCoy said.

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friday, february 3, 2012

The bleacher seats

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Pro Bowl Needs Fresh Ideas To Recapture Public Interest O ne of my biggest disappointments as a sports fan came during the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl played in Miami. At first, I was ecstatic to see the best NFL players compete from free seats a mere nine rows up from the field. Two years later, the only memorable events are my younger brother’s falling asleep during the third quarter and our leaving the stadium in the fourth quarter tired and utterly unimpressed.

When I entered the stadium, I was excited to watch the NFL elite take the field, but this expectation quickly turned into boredom and eventually disappointment. The latest two editions have been no different, and it’s about time the NFL took action to combat the trend of pathetic Pro Bowls.

While every major professional sporting league in the United States has its own version of an “all-star game,” the NFL’s version seems to be in the worst shape. In 2002, the MLB’s version was universally mocked when it ended in a 7-7 tie after both teams ran out of pitchers in extra innings.

But even that game was more exciting than the Pro Bowl today.

In short, the Pro Bowl no longer matters and is no longer fun to watch. Of the players who choose to show up to play, the general priority seems to be avoiding breaking a sweat in the Hawaiian sun rather than playing football. After this year’s game, the normally softspoken Aaron Rodgers called out his NFC teammates for their lack of effort. When a quiet leader claims that some of his teammates “embarrassed themselves,” it’s time for a change.

An easy solution would be to scrap the game altogether, as this year’s 59-41 affair hardly resembled football and was largely ignored with the Super Bowl looming on the horizon. This year’s edition in-

cluded Drew Brees’ attempting a drop kick, exemplifying the notion that the game isn’t so much football as it is relaxing in front of over 40,000 paying customers.

However, this wouldn’t be fair to the players who have performed well over the course of the 16-game season and deserve some kind of monetary award and a trip to Hawaii with teammates and friends.

The NFL should draw on the more successful features of other league’s all-star games in order to make the Pro Bowl something other than a glorified snooze-fest.

The NFL should cut the game in

Corey Blaine

This year’s 59-41 affair hardly resembled football and was largely ignored. half. By the second half of most Pro Bowls, the game has lost any sort of atmosphere created by fans excited at seeing all the best players on the same field, as the spectators are instead treated to the painful spectacle of Vince Young’s throwing the ball into the ground and missing 6-foot-1 Chad Ochocinco, as was the case in 2010. Three hours is too long for a fan to watch excruciatingly mediocre football, so the removal of the second half would be a welcome respite.

This change prompts questions about value. How will fans feel like they’re getting enough football for

their hard-earned dollars if they only get to watch one half of a game?

As every other league has shown, all-star skills competitions can often be more exciting than the all-star game itself.

Whether it’s the MLB’s home run derby, the NBA’s dunk contest or the NHL’s skills competition, the fans enjoy seeing players display their natural athleticism, even if those displays come in circumstances that would never crop up in an actual game. Under the new system for the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s best players would compete in drills in lieu of the second half in a manner similar to every other league’s contests.

For a third and final step, the NFL needs to make the Pro Bowl meaningful if fans are going to watch and players are going to try. Therefore, the NFL should take a page from MLB’s playbook and reward the conference that wins the Pro Bowl by allowing that conference’s representative in the next Super Bowl — assuming that the Pro Bowl will be moved back to the week following the Super Bowl — to choose whether to kick or receive to start the game.

The last proposal would remove some of the fanfare from the coin toss at the Super Bowl, but given that a seat in the nosebleed section at the Super Bowl costs over $2,000, the coin toss issue seems trivial.

The NFL could very easily turn the Pro Bowl into something meaningful and exciting using these guidelines. For a league that televises every round of their draft, it shouldn’t be that hard to captivate fans for one game.

Corey Blaine is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. THE BLEACHER SEATS appears every Friday.

men’s basketball

Hoyas Take on Surprising Bulls Michael palmer Hoya Staff Writer

Saturday’s 11 a.m. game was not expected to be a big-time Big East matchup. South Florida and Georgetown were picked to finish 14th and 10th, respectively, in October’s Big East preseason polls.

Instead, both teams find themselves in the top five of the Big East.

The No. 14 Hoyas are third with a 7-3 conference record, and the unranked Bulls are half a game back in fifth place at 6-3.

Georgetown’s ranking is reflective of its superior non-conference schedule and victories over the likes of Louisville and Marquette in Big East play. Conversely, South Florida has feasted on lesser competition.

With a 13-9 overall record, the Bulls are 0-3 against teams ranked in the top 25 of the RPI, and their only Big East wins have come against teams in the lower half of the conference

standings.

However, the Bulls are not to be overlooked, as the Hoyas know all too well. Two years ago, star center Greg Monroe and company — ranked seventh in the country at the time — were dealt an embarrassing home loss by Dominique Jones and the Bulls. The loss was even more inexplicable given the context, as it occurred in between easy Hoya victories over then-No. 8 Duke and then-No. 2 Villanova.

This year, South Florida is again sandwiched in the schedule between two major Georgetown rivals: UConn and No. 2 Syracuse.

Yet despite the Bulls’ average record, they haven’t gone away quietly against the tougher teams they’ve faced. South Florida lost to UConn by just three and to Southern Mississippi, ranked ninth in the RPI, by just a basket. On the other

hand, the Bulls’ most important victory was a one-point squeaker against a mediocre Seton Hall team.

That the Bulls are fifth in the conference is largely due to the stellar defense they’ve been playing. Halfway through their Big East schedule, South Florida has held opponents to just 31 percent from behind the arc and has outrebounded most of its opponents.

The game’s featured matchup will occur in the trenches, as 6-foot10 senior centers Henry Sims and Augustus Gilchrist will go head-tohead in the paint. Gilchrist leads his team with 10.7 points and 1.4 blocks per game, also grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game, the third-highest average on the Bulls. Sims leads Georgetown with 3.5 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while also contributing 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m Saturday at Verizon Center

SWIMMING & DIVING

GU Hopes to Qualify Eight More Michael Liu

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown swimming and diving teams hope to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to rival George Washington and end the season on a high note at Maryland this Saturday.

Maryland is one of Georgetown’s most formidable rivals this season, as the men’s team has reeled off four wins in their last five dual meets and the women ranked 22nd in the CSCAA top-25 poll.

But the Blue and Gray will not just be trying to score some wins against the Terrapins, one of the top swimming programs in the country. The Hoyas’ larger goal will be to record more times that will qualify for the Big East championship.

“For most of us, the whole point is to get the last couple guys to make the Big East cuts.

That’s really what this meet has been about since the beginning, since I’ve started swimming

here, because Maryland’s a fast team. … They’re way better than us,” junior Paul Quincy said.

“It’s the last chance to get a good swim in before the final meet.”

With four men and at least three women looking to qualify, Head Coach Jamie Holder knows that this meet is critical for his team.

“Basically, it’s sort of a last opportunity for anybody to get their races in before [the] Big East [championship],” Holder said. “I’m not that concerned with beating Maryland, because their team is very strong. It’s more of a tune-up for [the] Big East [championship], and we’re trying to focus on what we’re doing at that meet in two and a half weeks.”

Holder’s strategy will be to rest most of his swimmers and allow those who haven’t made Big East cuts to make their final attempts. The regular season has had both highs and lows, but the Blue and Gray are focused on the postseason.

“The regular season was a

good lead-up, but it all comes down to what happens in the Big East. Last year we almost wiped the record board clean on both the men’s and women’s sides, so I’m really looking forward to seeing — we’ve got a great freshmen class — what they can pull off,” Quincy said. “For the old kids, it’s always fun to go back and give it another shot.”

Georgetown also feels good about where their training puts them in the leadup to the Big East championship.

“As far as preparation, I’m pretty happy with how [we’ve] done this whole year. Our dual meet record I don’t think really reflects the team that we are, and I think we’re going to show how good we can be at [the] Big East [championship],” Holder said. “I think from top to bottom we’ve done a really good job this year. I think [we’ll] be ready.”

The meet will take place at 1 p.m. this Saturday at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium at College Park, Md.

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Senior guard Jason Clark scored 11 points in Wednesday’s win over the Huskies.

Tough Defense Stymies Struggling Connecticut RECAP, from A10 out to a 13-7 lead in the first four.

“It was good to have this type of performance. I thought we played well at both ends of the floor,” Head Coach John Thompson III said.

Georgetown didn’t have any answer for Drummond in the opening minutes. The Connecticut native scored four straight baskets, including several dunks, to give the Huskies an early lead.

“Now, going through it, they were off, particularly in the first half,” Thompson III said. “They got a lot of [open] shots that didn’t go in, but I think our defensive communication, I think our intensity throughout the whole game, was very good.”

Indeed, UConn kept working the ball around for open looks but began to miss them after the opening flurry. Star sophomore forward Jeremy Lamb struggled, finishing 2-of-11 from three-point range.

The Huskies were a horrendous 2-of-20 from beyond the arc as a team.

“Our offense started out great and ended up very poor,” Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun said.

Fittingly, it was a Lamb miss that provided the game’s biggest thrill.

With the Huskies trailing by 10, Sims blocked a shot and the ball ended up in Lamb’s hands. He elevated for a threepointer, but the ball sailed past the hoop, prompting “air-ball” chants from the student sections. Sims followed with a thunderous dunk, causing the crowd of 15,000 to erupt as Sims let out a triumphant roar.

“It felt good. It was definitely a momentum shift. It made the crowd come out,” Sims said.

Junior forward Hollis Thompson led the Georgetown charge, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine boards in his most complete game of the season. The lanky forward was an effective defensive presence, causing turnovers while guarding

UConn’s talented young guards, freshman Ryan Boatright and sophomore Shabazz Napier. “[Hollis Thompson] was key in that zone defense. Not just the steals, but being there, supporting and helping on Drummond when the ball was on the weak side,” Thompson III said. “This was the antithesis of what I felt in the Pittsburgh game, when he was just floating. …

He was extremely effective in every aspect of the game.”

Despite their poor shooting, the Huskies did have a chance to get back into the game. With UConn down by 10 points and less than nine minutes left to play, Lamb hit a layup and freshman forward DeAndre Daniels followed with another basket to cut the lead to six and force a Georgetown timeout.

But the Hoyas responded immediately.

Clark scored on a pretty inbounds play and again on a jumper a minute later, stretching the lead back to double digits and setting the stage for Sims’ monstrous slam.

“Somebody went for a steal, and somebody took a bad shot, and now we’re down 10,” Calhoun said. “You can only run up the hill [for] so long.”

Drummond still had an excellent night, finishing 9-of-12 for 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Sims did his best to match the freshman, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Clark added 11 points and five rebounds.

“If we stayed in playing defense, that was going to be, probably, a [tie] game,” Calhoun said. “Instead, we took the chances. Give them all the credit, they stayed with their offense, they didn’t score at all early, and we gave them a little bit in taking chances, and it eventually cost us the basketball game.”

Georgetown will continue their home stretch with a game against South Florida Saturday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at Verizon Center.

women’s basketball

Press Key to Georgetown’s Scheme for Cincinnati Trip CINCY, from A10 game, Wright said the team’s performance proved critics wrong.

“This win just shows how good we are as a team,” Wright said. “Yes, we’re a little up-and-down, but overall we are just as good as anybody out there.”

The win certainly brought the Blue and Gray back into the discussion of Big East contenders, and a win over Cincinnati would solidify a spot in that conversation.

The biggest concern is that the evening could turn into a trap game if the Hoyas look past the Bearcats to their upcoming matchup with perennial championship contender Connecticut.

In order to stay focused, the Hoyas must stick to the defensive-oriented game plan that helped them overcome a higherranked Rutgers team. Georgetown forced 22 turnovers for 22 points against Rutgers and completely shut down the Scarlet Knights’ impressive frontcourt. The full-court press, a hallmark of WilliamsFlournoy’s coaching strategy, was particularly effective against Rutgers.

“We really want to, when we press, to have the team get to at least 15 on the shot clock or under,” Williams-Flournoy said. “It gives us an opportunity to not to have to play defense as long in the halfcourt. We don’t want to get pounded inside, so the less time we have to play defense in the half-court, it gives us a better opportunity to defend.”

Indeed, the press will be crucial against the Bearcats’ dangerous backcourt, which includes junior guard Dayeesha Hollins and senior guard Bjonee Reaves. Hollins and Reaves lead the team in scoring (at 14.7 and 12.7 points per game, respectively), assists and minutes per game, so the Hoyas should expect to see a lot of these two players on Saturday. No other Bearcat averages over 8.5 points per game, so shutting down Hollins and Reaves will be the key to the game.

The Hoyas’ offense will also have to be on its toes, as Hollins and Reaves lead a Cincinnati team that averages 9 steals per game. Wright’s record-setting play against Rutgers set the tempo for the game because she consistently found the open shooter and created good ball movement on the offensive end. The veteran point guard will have to be more cautious against a Cincinnati team that likes to apply the pressure on all parts of the court.

Lastly, look for guard Sugar Rodgers to have a bounce-back performance. Although the star junior scored 19 points against Rutgers, she shot an abysmal 5-of22 from the field. Expect Rodgers to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder and come out firing on all cylinders.

If they can avoid looking at the Bearcats’ two Big East wins and take this game seriously, the Hoyas may be in store for a solid victory this Saturday.

Tipoff is at 2 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena.

Sports

friday, February 3, 2012

TOP OF THE KEY

THE HOYA

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men’s basketbalL

UCLA, Memphis Fail to Offense Gels Against UConn Live Up to Expectations ANALYSIS, from A10

HOLLANDER, from A10 The suspensions handed down after that melee cost the Musketeers, but recent back-toback losses to Dayton and St. Louis have shattered the illusion that Xavier is a top-25 team.

6. Pittsburgh (14-9, 3-7 Big East) I was hesitant to put the Panthers on this list, but when a team tabbed for the top 10 loses eight in a row, that’s certainly a disappointment. Jamie Dixon’s squad struggled with junior guard Tray Woodall out with an injury, but his return should mean Pitt makes the most of the rest of its season.

5. Vanderbilt (16-6, 5-2 SEC) The Commodores may have turned the corner in conference, but part of that has been beating up on conference laggards — and not particularly convincingly. But it isn’t easy to get past home losses to the mediocre Cleveland State and the even worse Indiana State. With the better part of their remaining schedule on the road, Kevin Stallings’ squad has its work cut out for it.

4. Texas A&M (12-9, 3-6 Big 12) The Aggies have played a very tough schedule with road losses to Baylor, Kansas and Missouri, so it was hard to decide where to place them on the list. Injuries have wrecked College Station, though, with Kourtney Roberson and Khris Middleton both missing games. The result has been an erratic season that hasn’t nearly met expectations.

3. Louisville (17-5, 5-4 Big East) Diaper dandy Wayne Blackshear was injured before the season started, and revolving casts of Cardinals have ridden the bench with everything from torn ACLs to ankle sprains. But even when the team was firing on all cylinders, Louisville looked lackluster in losses to Georgetown and Kentucky. And a 90-59 defeat at Providence dropped this preseason top-10 squad out of the top 25.

2. Memphis (15-7, 6-2 Conference USA) The Tigers were thought to be a lock for the C-USA title and a potential national threat.

And while they still are in contention in their diminished league, they haven’t beaten anyone of note. Losing freshman swingman Adonis Thomas to an ankle injury hasn’t helped matters, either. Maybe having a coach who looks like a 16-year-old wasn’t such a good idea after all.

1. UCLA (12-10, 5-5 Pac-12) Given that the Pac-12 has remained the nation’s worst basketball power conference, UCLA’s struggles are somewhat of a puzzle. Abysmal road performances have led to losses at Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford and Cal. Instead of talking a title, most of the buzz in Westwood is over Ben Howland’s job security.

Verizon Center crowd to its feet.

“It was definitely a momentum shifter,” Sims said of his dunk. “It made the crowd come alive.”

The fans weren’t the only people impressed by the play.

Thompson lit up when asked to describe the team’s feelings after Sims’ slam.

“Everybody was just like ‘Woah! On his head!’” Thompson said. “It was a great dunk.”

While the junior may not have had a moment as emphatic as Sims did, his contributions did not go unappreciated by his coach or his teammates.

“I thought this was one of the better games that Hollis has played,” Thompson III said. “He did so many things. Look at the stat sheet — he had 18 and nine [and] he was key in [our] zone defense.”

Clark’s commentary was somewhat simpler.

“The shots were falling for [Thompson],” he said. “So we kept giving him the ball.”

The performance was a far cry from Thompson’s lethargic

Evan Hollander is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service and deputuy sports editor of The Hoya. TOP OF THE KEY appears every Friday.

women’s basketbalL

Hoyas Get Back on Track Beno Picciano Hoya Staff Writer

Approximately three-quarters into the much-anticipated 2011-2012 season for a veteran Georgetown team featuring seven seniors, the No. 17 Hoyas appear poised for a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and are deadlocked for third place in perhaps the most treacherous conference in the nation. The Blue and Gray have confirmed that their recent burst onto the national stage was no fluke, but the latest chapter in the story of Georgetown womens’ hoops has been anything but smooth.

Returning 12 players — including All-Big East preseason first team selection Sugar Rodgers — from 2011’s Sweet 16 squad, the Hoyas found themselves in the preseason top 10 for the first time in program history. The final days of autumn were marked by excitement and a belief that the Blue and Gray belonged in the upper echelon of the college game.

“I’m just hungry to win. … This year we want to go past the Sweet 16. We’ve been there twice, and I’m sick of that,” Rodgers, a junior guard and the current Big East leading scorer, said.

However, just one week into the season, Georgetown’s legitimacy as a national power faced serious questioning. In what would prove to be an Achilles’ heel for the Hoyas, poor shooting and uninspired offensive displays resulted in two road losses to No. 9 Maryland and then-No. 20 LSU after a seasonopening win over Longwood. Managing to put up just 53 and 40 points, respectively, in the two contests, the Blue and Gray shockingly sported a losing record and sank 11 places to No. 21 in the polls.

But with their backs against the wall, the Hoyas responded to their earlier-than-anticipated wake-up call. The loss in Baton Rouge would be their last of 2011, as Georgetown rattled off 11 consecutive victories to close out the year, including a 64-56 neutral-court upset of then-No. 10 Georgia and a 71-46 drubbing of No. 7 Miami (Fl) at McDonough Arena.

“They were averaging 81.0 ppg, we were only giving up 51.0 ppg and we continued to preach over the past 10 days that if we could play defense, we would win,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said after defeating the Hurricanes.

Despite the momentum heading into the heart of its conference schedule, the Blue and Gray’s opening month of Big East action featured ups and downs. Three of the Hoyas’ first four home matchups ended in defeat, and a 36.2 field-goal percentage placed the team 15th in a conference of 16 schools. However, after a tough 64-54 road triumph over West Virginia and a 54-36 lockdown of then-No. 11 Rutgers, Georgetown now sports a 6-3 conference record with the toughest portion of its

schedule behind it and a focus set on making a statement in the final seven regular-season matchups.

“What I told the team was that we beat some ranked opponents in December, but now it’s the end of January, and at this point you need a signature win going later into the season, into the Big East tournament, into the NCAA tournament,” Williams-Flournoy said following the Rutgers rout. “We really needed a signature win over a ranked opponent.”

Looking forward, the Hoyas are projected

by ESPN’s Charlie Creme to be awarded a No. 4 seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament this March. The Blue and Gray were a No. 5 seed last spring, when they handily beat Princeton and routed Maryland on its home court before dropping a hotly contested matchup with top-ranked Connecticut in the regional semifinals.

The Hoyas have established a trademark brand of basketball featuring an up-tempo press defense that converts turnovers into quick points and hampers opponents by preventing them from establishing their set offenses.

The Blue and Gray’s 51.1 points allowed per game is fourth in the Big East, and their relentless defensive pressure has held opponents to an average field-goal percentage of just 33.4 percent, the third-best mark in the league. Williams-Flournoy’s squad averages 12.0 steals and maintains a +7.45 turnover margin — good enough for the third and second-best ranks in Big East, respectively.

Having already faced eight ranked opponents, Georgetown’s final seven games pit the Hoyas against five foes with losing conference records and only one matchup with a top-25 team, albeit an extremely difficult one, at No. 3 Connecticut. While the Huskies and No. 2 Notre Dame appear to have sewn up the top two spots in the Big East, the Blue and Gray will be well on their way to a top-four finish should they simply dispatch the opponents that they are favored to beat.

Rodgers’ goal of improving on last year’s postseason finish is certainly not out of reach, but the star shooter’s 19.8 points per game will not alone guarantee success.

Georgetown will need senior forward Tia Magee, the team’s top rebounder and second leading scorer with 11.9 points per game, to continue her recent run of excellence. A versatile threat from the post and the wing, Magee has been vital to the Blue and Gray’s recent successes, recording 17 second-half points against West Virginia and 21 points versus Rutgers.

Georgetown looks to continue its winning ways as it travels to face lowly Cincinnati (11-11, 2-7 Big East) Saturday before next Wednesday’s home date with conference bottom-dweller Seton Hall (7-16, 0-9 Big East).

our offense.”

If Sims, Thompson and Clark play the way they did today down the stretch, UConn won’t be the only team to struggle with the Georgetown offense.

Sprinters Prepare for New Balance Hoya Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Freshman forward Otto Porter lines up a three in the Hoyas’ win over UConn Wednesday night.

Track & Field

Ashwin Wadekar

Junior guard Sugar Rodgers, shown against Louisville, leads the Hoyas in scoring.

play against Pittsburgh, a game in which the Los Angeles native was invisible before scoring eight points in the final minute with the game out of reach.

“This was the exact opposite of the Pittsburgh game [where] he was just floating,” Thompson III said. “He wasn’t floating today, he was an active part of every aspect of the game and he was very effective in every aspect of the game.”

Clark also had a role to play in the second half, once Thompson and Sims’ scoring pace slacked off a little bit. After a series of Georgetown miscues allowed the visitors to get back within six — the closest they’d been since halftime —Thompson III burned a timeout. Clark responded by scoring the first two baskets in the 6-0 run that was capped off by Sims’ thunderous dunk and put the game out of reach.

“It just came within our offense,” Clark said of his two baskets. “We were running on something that we’ve been working on for awhile that a lot of teams haven’t seen, and they were having trouble guarding

Coming off a strong showing at the Penn State Nationals, the Georgetown track and field team will peel off into different event groups going into this weekend.

The sprinters look ahead to a competitive meet at the New Balance Invitational hosted by the Armory in New York City, while the middle-distance and distance runners will take the weekend off to train for the BU Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass.

A mere two weeks away from the highlight of the indoor season, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Patrick Henner is trying to get his team ready for the Big East Championship.

“I just want to get really tuned up and ready for this Big East meet,” he said.

Still, Henner thinks the team has a lot to gain from this weekend’s meet. Henner is looking to the hurdlers, senior Biyerem Okengwu and junior Justin Crawford, to bring their times down to 8 seconds flat, and to the 400-meter runners, sophomore Hansel Akers and senior Austin Perron, to bring their times down to 48s.

“The hurdlers are ready for a big breakthrough. They’ve been coming along strong,” Henner said. “And Hansel and Austin are both ready to run a lot better.”

On the women’s side, Henner is looking for juniors Amanda Kimbers and Tenille Stoudenmire to bring their times down

INDEX

and is optimistic about senior London Finley’s performance this weekend. “[I think] Amanda can get an NCAA [qualifying] time,” Henner said. “London is running the 400m for the first time this year, and I think she’s ready to run a good race.”

But more important than the individual meets is the training schedule that Henner hopes will allow his athletes to peak for the Big East championship in two weeks without burning out beforehand.

“We’re trying to keep two things in balance,” Henner said.

“We want to be ready for the Big East [championship], but we have to be ready late into the season for outdoors.”

While the sprinters make the trek up to New York, the middledistance and distance runners will continue a tough training regimen leading up to the following weekend’s meet in Boston.

“They’ll do a really hard workout tomorrow, then back off between now and the Big East [championship],” Henner said.

“And the sprinters will come back [from the Armory] and have two full weeks of training. …

They’ll start hard and then back off.”

Moving forward, Henner is uncertain about Georgetown’s competition in the Big East.

“Until you really see who’s entered in what event, it’s such a tough thing to do, to look ahead,” Henner said.

The men’s team has tradition-

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ally fared well in the hurdling events, but continuing this trend may prove difficult this year, as the Big East boasts some of the best hurdlers in the country. “[Hurdling] has just blown up in the Big East this year,” Henner said. “[Graduate student] Jarret Eaton from Syracuse is one of the best collegiate hurdlers.”

And with freshman Tyler Smith likely out for the rest of the indoor season, the men are facing an uphill battle.

“On the men’s side we’re getting there, and we’re getting more and more healthy,” Henner said. “But I don’t think we have Tyler Smith, and we thought he would possibly win a meet at Big Easts as a freshman -- he’s that good. With Tyler Smith being hurt and out and [graduate student] Toby Ulm working his way back, it’s going be a tough task for the men at this point.”

But coming off of a record-setting performance in the distance medley relay, Henner is more optimistic about the women’s team’s chances.

“Our women’s team, if healthy, can definitely be right up there competing with the top teams [in the Big East],” he said.

And in fact, the DMR performance has inspired the rest of the team to focus and train hard going into the final stretch of the indoor season.

“We’re just trying to get excited,” Henner said. “They saw what the DMR is able to do and … they’re getting confident and excited about putting up some fast times.”

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Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL No. 14 Hoyas (17-4) vs. South Florida (13-9) Tomorrow, 11 a.m.

Verizon Center

friDAY, febr uary 3, 2012

WHAT’S INSIDE: Ashwin Wadekar previews today’s New Balance Invitational track meet in New York City.

Recent Scores: big east WOMEN’s basketball Notre Dame 71 Rutgers 41

West Virginia 55 USF 52

Cincinnati Marquette

52 64

Upcoming Games: big east WOMEN’s basketball Georgetown at Cincinnati Providence at Villanova Pittsburgh at Marquette Tomorrow, 2 p.m.

Tomorrow, 2 p.m.

Tomorrow, 8 p.m.

“Everybody was just like, ‘Whoa! On his head!’... It was a great dunk.”

Junior forward Hollis Thompson on senior center Henry Sims’ dunk

Men’s Basketball • Georgetown 58, Connecticut 44

Veterans Lead Hoyas In Big East Blowout Lawson Ferguson

ter struck. Clark picked up his second foul of the game with just over eight minutes to go before halftime With 10 minutes left in the first and was benched for the rest of the half, Connecticut Head Coach Jim half 25 seconds later.

Calhoun’s newly-unranked HusWhen Clark committed his seckies were more than hanging with ond foul, the Hoyas were up, 18their Georgetown brethren.

15, thanks to a three from junior Star freshman center Andre forward Hollis Thompson, his first Drummond had eight points on basket of the game. Senior center three dunks and a layup, George- Henry Sims, while crucial in dealtown’s offense was struggling and ing with Drummond, had been Connecticut looked much more invisible offensively, contributing like the team many thought it just one point to Georgetown’s would be at the beginning of the cause. UConn sophomore forward year than the one that had lost five Tyler Olander scored the next basof its past seven games. But the No. ket, but after that it was all Sims 14 Hoyas persevered, led by a trio and Thompson. The frontcourt duo of veterans that exploded offensimply refused to sively, accounting let their team lose “We were running for Georgetown’s consecutive con- something ... that a last 17 points of ference games for the first half as the second time lot of teams haven’t well as the first six this year. after halftime.

Senior guard seen, and they were “I remember Jason Clark was having trouble guard- Sims as a high the primary reaschool player in son the Hoyas ing our offense.”

Baltimore,” Calwere even in the houn said after JASON CLARK game after Drumthe game. “He reSenior guard mond’s early exally has improved plosion, as his as a player, he’s a seven early points prevented the nice guy to throw it into because Huskies from running away with he can do a lot with the ball.” the game.

“We were just running our of“I don’t know that we struggled fense, and we had an inside and on offense [early on],” Head Coach outside presence,” Thompson said John Thompson III said. “We strug- of his and Sims’ half-ending scorgled on defense. ... [But] Jason early ing spree. on had us going fairly well.”

Sims ended the game with 13 Clark was also a key cog in a points, with no basket more emGeorgetown defense that recovered phatic than a second-half dunk from its early struggles to hold over sophomore forward Jeremy Connecticut to just eight points in Lamb that stretched the Blue and nearly 20 minutes beginning at the Gray’s lead to 12, caused Calhoun 16:36 mark of the first half. But just to burn a timeout and brought the as the Blue and Gray offense started to gather some momentum, disasSee ANALYSIS, A9

Hoya Staff Writer

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Junior forward Hollis Thompson scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Hoyas’ 58-44 victory Wednesday.

Thompson, GU Crush Huskies Michael Palmer Hoya Staff Writer

Andre Drummond brought the scouts, but Georgetown brought the show.

Nearly a dozen NBA scouts were in attendance to watch the talented freshmen center, who chose UConn

over Georgetown late last summer when he was the nation’s top high school prospect. Yet while Drummond may have been the most entertaining player of the night, the true star of the game was the Hoyas’ defense. Just a few days after giving up 72 points in a terrible defensive display against Pittsburgh, the Hoyas

‘Top’ Underachievers Of College Basketball

T

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS GRIVAS FOR THE HOYA

Senior forward Tia Magee has stepped up for the Hoyas of late, scoring 21 and 17 points in the Hoyas’ last two games.

Georgetown Defense Preps for Cincy Special to The Hoya

Coming off a momentous home win against then-No. 11 Rutgers, the Georgetown women’s basketball team will pack its bags and head to Cincinnati to battle the Bearcats (1111, 2-7 Big East) this Saturday.

The No. 17 Hoyas (17-5, 6-3 Big East) routed the Scarlet Knights, 54-36, last weekend in what Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy called Georgetown’s second-best defensive performance of the season, topped only by a win over Miami in December in which the Hoyas held the then-No.7 Hurricanes to 46 points.

See RECAP, A8

top of the key

woMen’s Basketball

Matt Carlucci

(17-4, 7-3 Big East) held the Huskies (14-7, 4-5) to 30 percent shooting in a 58-44 blowout.

Even more stunning is the fact that the Huskies — who have now lost four in a row — scored only 31 points in 36 minutes after jumping

The contest included standout showings from senior forward Tia Magee, who scored 21 points on 9-of11 shooting and senior guard Rubylee Wright, whose five assists gave her sole possession of Georgetown’s all-time assist record at 472. After the See CINCY, A8

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

9. Alabama (14-7, 3-4 SEC) Anthony he 10th conference game seems like a good time to take Grant’s Crimson Tide don’t have a look at which NCAA teams any “bad” losses, but they also have been the biggest disappoint- dropped four straight games inments of the season so far. conference and have no signature This list isn’t a prediction of fu- wins. Other than Hollis Thompture success. At this point last sea- son’s miracle trey when Georgeson, Connecticut probably would town went to Tuscaloosa, the Tide have appeared in this space. Of has a lackluster offense to thank for course, they rattled off an 11-game their predicament. winning streak 8. Connecticut that culminat(14-7, 4-5 Big East) ed in their cutThe defending nating down the tional champs did nets in Houston. well early with But looking an easy schedule at the season’s but have flailed flops, there is in conference an evident mix play. Home losses of teams that to Cincinnati haven’t played and Notre Dame up to expectawere unpleasEvan Hollander tions, have been ant, road losses plagued by inat Seton Hall and juries or were Rutgers were bad The defending national just simply overand a defeat at rated. With that champs did well early with Tennessee was being said, here downright ugly. an easy schedule but have Without Kemba goes: 10. North Caroto take flailed in conference play. Walker lina (19-3, 6-1 over games late, ACC) Yes, I know these Huskies the Tar Heels are still a top-10 team. seem a few eggs short of a full But they are nowhere near as domi- dozen, as many of us saw in person nant as they were thought to be Wednesday night. at the beginning of the year. They 7. Xavier (15-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10) Howonly have three losses, and one of ever its season ends, Xavier’s year those was to No. 1 Kentucky. But will be known for the indelible imlosing as the consensus No. 1 team ages of a brawl against Cincinnati. by 33 points to Florida State has to knock you down a peg.

See HOLLANDER, A9