The Hoya: Feb. 14, 2012

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 93, No. 32, © 2012

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

SCS TO EXPAND

SPORTS BLOG

The university will find a new home for the School of Continuing Studies.

New look. New content. New address.

Find it at paranoia.thehoya.com.

NEWS, A4

Tuition Set to Rise 3.5 Percent MARIAH BYRNE Hoya Staff Writer

based on athletic merit in football. Football is the only one of Georgetown’s 29 athletic programs that competes in the Patriot League rather than the Big East. The university has competed in the league as an associate member since 2001.

“The introduction of this financial aid model for football will strengthen the Patriot League’s

Undergraduate tuition will rise 3.5 percent to $42,360 this coming year, according to the university’s latest financial plan.

The increase from the current rate of $40,920 per year is the largest percentage change in tuition since 2009, when tuition increased 5.5 percent.

The Financial Plan 2013-2016 projects a 3.5 percent tuition increase each year through 2016.

According to university spokeswoman Stacy Kerr, the increased costs are largely due to the new expenses associated with the operation of Regents Hall, which is set to open this summer.

Including tuition, room, board and fees, an undergraduate education will cost $55,640 in fiscal year 2013, a 3.2 percent increase from this year’s $53,910.

All room rates will increase about 2 percent, although the cost of living in a townhouse is set to increase by over 11 percent in fiscal year 2013 due to a new policy that will charge townhouse residents for utilities as part of their room rates instead of as a separate charge.

Graduate tuition will increase by 3.5 percent in fiscal year 2103, while tuition for the Masters in Business Administration program will increase by 4 percent.

School of Continuing Studies rate increases range from 3 to 4.5 percent.

See FOOTBALL, A9

See TUITION, A6

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

The Patriot League, in which Georgetown and Lafayette compete, has elected to allow athletic scholarships in football.

Patriot League OKs Football Scholarships PAT CURRAN

Hoya Staff Writer

The Patriot League conference announced Monday that it will permit member schools to offer athletic scholarships to football players beginning in the fall of 2013.

The league said that its council of university presidents had voted to change a longstanding policy that barred financial aid

THE COST OF A GU EDUCATION Undergraduate Tuition, Room, Board and Fees $55,640 $54,653 $53,340

$51,918 $50,470

$47,908

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

DATA: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY FINANCIAL PLAN 2013-2016 ERICA RABINOVICH/THE HOYA

The total cost of undergraduate tution, room, board and fees will increase by 3.2 percent between fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the steepest rise since 2009.

Frustration Persists in Wake of Zoning Delay Postponed Campus Plan decision will have mixed consequences for GU BRADEN MCDONALD Hoya Staff Writer

After the D.C. Zoning Commission announced a third deferral of its ruling on the university’s 2010 Campus Plan Thursday, representatives of both the neighborhood and university voiced exasperation at the continuing delays.

Thursday’s hearing, the sixth before the Zoning Commission, was intended to be the last in what has been a long and contentious process.

Chris Clements, president of the SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA

The GUSA presidential candidates debated the particulars of their platforms in the Leavey Program Room Sunday.

GUSA Exec Candidates Square Off SAM RODMAN Hoya Staff Writer

The seven candidates vying for the GUSA presidency strived to set their platforms apart in a crowded field at a debate Sunday night.

The candidates’ opening statements in the Leavey Program Room largely emphasized the components that make their respective plans unique, although all of the tickets propose several overlapping initiatives.

Colton Malkerson (COL ’13), Georgetown University Student Association senator and Finance and Appropriations Committee chair, began the debate by praising GUSA’s recent progress while touting his platform’s comprehensiveness and relevance to students.

GUSA Senator Daniel LaMagna (COL ’13) claimed to be the candidate with the most experience with

facilities and government transparency. LaMagna, who represents half of Henle Village, has provided video updates for his constituents on his progress in the senate.

The debate was one of LaMagna’s first opportunities to advocate for himself as a candidate because

“No individual, not even a small group of people, can have a monopoly on good ideas.”

TYLER SAX (COL ’13) GUSA Presidential Candidate

he delayed launching his campaign until Monday. Other candidates began campaigning last Thursday at midnight.

LaMagna suffered a few setbacks during the debate. His cell phone

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

rang, and he rebutted GUSA Director of Special Projects Tyler Sax’s (COL ’13) point about engaging the student body with a nearly verbatim response.

Candidates made expanded student outreach a focus of the debate, but the most effective way of engaging with students was a point of contention. GUSA Fund Chair Murphy Kate Delaney (COL ’13) advocated for increasing the student services that GUSA offers, such as a bike share program. Sax proposed creating a website that would allow students to suggest initiatives for GUSA to pursue.

“No individual, not even a small group of people, can have a monopoly on good ideas,” he said.

Senate Vice Speaker Nate Tisa (COL ’14) worked to dispel possible criticism about his age and lack of experience.

See DEBATE, A5 Published Tuesdays and Fridays

Burleith Citizens Association, said that his constituents were displeased that no conclusion was reached last week, and are eager for solutions to the issues that have divided local residents and the university in recent months.

“We are disappointed that a decision wasn’t made, honestly,” Clements said. “It’s been going on for quite some time, and I think everyone was looking for some finality.”

Clements added that, regardless of the commission’s final decision, the delay has simply prolonged the longstanding conflict between the university and its neighbors.

“The main effect is that it keeps the issue going. … It’s one of those things where everyone is looking forward to a decision one way or See ZONING, A7

BIRTH CONTROL DEBATE HITS RED SQUARE

ELIZABETH GARBITELLI/THE HOYA

H*yas for Choice piled $600 worth of ramen noodles in Red Square Monday to demonstrate the annual amount women spend on contraceptives.

Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

TUESDAY, February 14, 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Get Them to Verizon Center

Founded January 14, 1920

To the Editor:

EDITORIALS

Postponing Positive Town-Gown Relations Last Thursday’s hearing was supposed to be the final one for Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan, which has been before the D.C. Zoning Commission for more than a year. But for the third time, the commission postponed its final decision on the plan, claiming that it was still uncertain about the effectiveness of the measures the university implemented last year to address neighborhood concerns.

While we appreciate the fact that the commission would like to have the most evidence possible before ruling, waiting does more harm than good.

The board’s inactivity effectively paralyzes the university so that it can neither properly implement elements of the plan in a timely fashion nor file an appeal. The Zoning Commission and the various neighborhood organizations are failing to address the real issue, which is that many neighbors are opposed to students living off campus because they perceive us as disruptive and unpleasant.

The commission’s demand for further evidence of the university’s success in its efforts to appease neighbors is essentially a stalling tactic. The university and various neighborhood organizations, including the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the Burleith Citizens Association and the Citizens Association of Georgetown, appear to be talking over each other, leading to stalemate rather than actual negotiation.

What it all comes down to is that neighbors simply don’t want students living in their midst. No matter how many hearings we have or how much testimoney the university submits,

there will always be opposition to the idea of student life spilling beyond the front gates. If the debate over the 2010 Campus Plan is stripped down to its core, it hinges largely on this single issue. Rather than pretending that the lack of concrete proof to back up the university’s measures is the point of contention, the Zoning Commission should focus its attention on the matter of students living in Georgetown neighborhood.

There is little information left to gain over the next two-plus months, and frankly, we would prefer to receive a negative decision and move on to the appeals process rather than continue to wait. The neighborhood associations consider the mere presence of students in the community unacceptable. This logic, which would have the university house all students on campus, leaves no room for concessions and is unlikely to shift before the commission’s next hearing. The ongoing and unnecessary filibuster of the proposal needs to end.

We challenge the various neighborhood organizations to stand by their positions instead of hiding behind requests for more evidence. If our neighbors believe that the presence of students among them is detrimental to the area, and that student attitudes and behaviors are fundamentally harmful to the greater Georgetown community, let them present their arguments and abide by the legal process.

In the meantime, it is our opportunity and responsibility as students to prove that we cannot be so easily stereotyped.

You know the feeling when you grab your favorite box of cereal and it’s almost empty? How disappointed you are to be holding mostly broken pieces? Well, that’s exactly what the student section at basketball games has been like this season: almost empty and incredibly disappointing. But it’s also embarrassing to our university, both in person and on national TV. The article “What Advantage? Attendance Down 14%” (The Hoya, A10, Feb. 9, 2012) cites a bunch of lame excuses about why students aren’t coming to basketball games this season. No, Verizon Center isn’t located on campus. But it does sell beer — take that, Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Have you ever wondered what “cura personalis” on those banners around campus means? It means, “You are so incredibly lucky to be going to Georgetown University and to have a consistent top-25 basketball program. So go to all of the home games!”

I know spending all week in Lauinger Library

can be tempting, but you’re not going to remember anything you studied or wrote in there after you graduate. I don’t remember how to calculate the optimal provision of a public good; I don’t remember the order of the Byzantine dynasties; I certainly don’t remember anything from “Comparative Political Systems.”

What are you going to remember about Georgetown? You’re going to remember going to basketball games with your friends, traveling to basketball games with your friends and Chicken Finger Thursday. Oh, and talking about basketball games with your friends.

If you don’t show up to the basketball games, why did you even pick Georgetown? I’m sure there are plenty of students over at GW who would love to take your place. So let’s get this attendance problem fixed, and quickly — before Notre Dame upsets us, too. We’re better than that.

Eric Rodawig (COL ’07) Former Viewpoint Editor for The Hoya

FROM THEHOYA.COM READER’S RESPONSE

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This is yet another quote saying that this law attacks people’s right to religious freedom, but it doesn’t. What it does is attack people’s perceived right of pushing their religious beliefs onto others. Catholics, and any other religious organization. for that matter, that object to this mandate still have the choice to simply not use the coverage.

Anonymous on “Students Stand Behind Birth Control Mandate” Posted Feb. 9, 2012

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A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD US ... @ChipotleMedia This young man @thehoya has a bright future indeed

Feb. 10

@celticma

Feb. 10 JTIII and Hoyas don’t do nasty. Garrett one nasty player. Nate & Otto exceptional. #Hoya Saxa @georgetownhoyas @thehoyasports @mencanstoprape Feb. 10 Georgetown Men of Strength member Mike Balsan offers great perspective in this article in @thehoya

THE RAW DEAL by Anthony Mastroianni

Leo’s Light at the End Of a Long Tunnel Finally, Leo’s workers can truly enjoy a seat at the table.

Dining Services employees, with the support of students and faculty, worked tirelessly for over 10 months to gain respect and better working conditions through unionization and contract negotiations with their employer, Aramark Higher Education. Last week, the union reached a preliminary agreement with Aramark that offers tangible benefits for the people who work so hard to serve us.

If approved, the tentative agreement reached by the union’s negotiating committee — which represents workers in Leo’s, the Jesuit Residence, Cosi, Starbucks and the Pre-Clinical Building’s Dr. Mug — would provide union members with a 50-cent-per-year wage increase and 80 to 85 percent health coverage over the next three years.

Employees at the dining hall have al-

ways been kind, helpful and interested in the student body, and they have a right to the health and wage benefits included in their new contract.

The contract is also important for the university as a whole, because it reaffirms the school’s commitment to fair employment. By joining in support of lunchtime demonstrations and assisting in the contract negotiation process, students and faculty took service and social justice beyond the classroom and into their community.

Students can and should be proud of what Dining Services employees have accomplished.

While we may be encouraged here to cause change on a global level, the development of the union through worker initiative and student activism is a reminder that we can affect positive social change right here at Georgetown.

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, Lawson Ferguson, Meagan Kelly, Shakti Nochur, Eamon O’Connor, Michael Palmer, Mairead Reilly, Glenn Russo, Lauren Weber

Matthew Strauss Rita Pearson Braden McDonald Jonathan Gillis Evan Hollander Ashwin Wadekar Victoria Edel Bethany Imondi Alex Sanchez Hanaa Khadraoui Leonel De Velez 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 Features 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 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

CORRECTION The article “Campus Plan Ruling Postponed to April 30” (The Hoya, A1, Feb. 10, 2012) mistakenly stated that the Zoning Commission will make its ruling on April 30. The date for the final ruling has not been set.

The commission will meet to set the date on April 30.

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 Eleonore Durand Kent Carlson Keeley Williams Mary Nancy Walter Michael Lindsay-Bayley Ryan Smith

Alumni Relations Manager Special Programs Manager Accounts Manager Operations Manager Publishing Division Consultant Public Relations Manager Human Resources Manager Institutional Diversity 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

Policies & Information Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues.

Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-800 words.

Send all submissions to: opinion@ thehoya.com.

Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue.

The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints.

Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Upasana Kaku at (202) 687-3415 or email executive@ thehoya.com.

News Tips Campus News Editor Maraih Byrne: Call (202) 687-3415 or email campus@ thehoya.com.

City News Editor Sarah Kaplan: Call (202) 687-3415 or email city@thehoya. com.

Sports Editor Pat Curran: Call (202) 6873415 or email sports@thehoya.com.

General Information The Hoya is published twice each week during the academic year with the excep-

tion of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University.

Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya.

Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board.

Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors.

The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2012. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each.

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OPINION

tuesday, february 14, 2012

THE HOYA

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OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS • contraceptive coverage Kieran Raval

Kate Riestenberg

Threat to Religious Liberty Modern Women Demand Is a Call to Rally Together Accessible Contraception

T

he first right secured by the U.S. Constitution is that of religious freedom. The free exercise clause of the First Amendment states that an individual may not be compelled by the government to violate principles of his conscience, especially those that are religiously founded. It is no coincidence that freedoms surrounding one’s religion and conscience precede all of the other freedoms enumerated in the Constitution.

With that in mind, it is almost unthinkable that religious liberty would be threatened as it has been in recent days and weeks. On Jan. 20, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a ruling concerning the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It would seek to force religious organizations and nonprofits to violate their respective principles by providing their employees with medical insurance that covers procedures and drugs that they hold to be immoral, such as birth control and contraceptives. This is nothing short of tyrannical.

The nationwide outrage over the policy brought down congressional email servers and phone boards. In a response that seemed more symbolic than substantive, the administration announced some minor modifications to the policy to quell the response. These alterations, the details of which are still vague, do not seem to guarantee robust protection of religious liberties and rights of principles.

While this ruling is dangerous for people of all faiths and indeed for all Americans, it is a particularly egregious attack on the Catholic Church, known for its strong moral teachings that preclude abortion and contraception.

The church’s teachings arise from of a deeply held belief in the dignity and worth of the human person, who is created in the image and likeness of God. The church precludes contraception because it frustrates the divine plan for sexuality, which has as its end the possibility of the procreation of children and the unity of spouses.

As Pope Paul IV more articulately put it, pregnancy is a gift from God. Regardless of whether one embraces the church’s teachings or not, if the new policy stands, the repercussions for American society could be disastrous. Catholic charities — which serve people of every faith and no faith — would be forced to choose between continuing the good work they do and compromising their Catholic identity. If the Catholic Church were forced out of the health care industry, a health care crisis could ensue in America.

These issues bear particular importance for Georgetown as a Catholic university. In 2009, Barack Obama said, “Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.” Skeptical Catholics were told not to worry, but Obama broke his promise to protect their religious freedom and principles.

Yet Georgetown is not left without responsibility either. In response to the policy, the university released an anemic statement about monitoring the situation and eventually complying with the law if it stands.

Contrast that with Belmont Abbey College’s President Bill Thierfelder’s statement that he’d sooner close down his school than comply with the HHS mandate.

America’s Catholic universities have a history that is intertwined with that of the republic, and have the opportunity now to become bold leaders in the fight against this assault on religious liberty. It remains to be seen whether many of them will have the backbone to stand against this tyranny and defend the church’s teachings and our First Amendment rights.

Kieran Raval is a junior in the College and is the grand knight of the Knights of Columbus.

C

atholic institutions such as Georgetown University should be satisfied with the Obama administration’s compromise on the issue of providing no-cost birth control for employees, and they should work with health insurance companies to implement the new plan as soon as possible.

The recent revisions render any claim that the law violates religious freedom moot. Religious institutions will be relieved of the obligation to subsidize plans that cover contraception, giving cries of infringement on First Amendment rights little ground left to stand on. Continued opposition can only be seen as a desire to inculcate non-Catholics with Catholic doctrine — an action that directly conflicts with the Jesuit value of pluralism.

The White House’s decision shifts the responsibility for providing contraception from Catholic institutions to insurance companies, but it is still Georgetown’s duty to ensure that women who want birth control coverage are able to acquire it through clearly outlined means without having to slash through endless red tape.

Students and employees who share the Church’s moral opposition to contraception will be in no way forced to act contrary to those beliefs. But those affiliated with these institutions who believe in the use of contraception will be able to acquire coverage for it directly through health insurance companies. Students and employees seeking coverage make no assertions about what others should do or believe.

Those who seek contraceptives want this service for ourselves and cannot afford to spend $1,000 a year on contraception in addition to the $2,000 a year we already pay for Georgetown’s health insurance plan.

The new policy therefore gives non-Catholic employees at these institutions reason to celebrate, but it’s a win-win situation.

The truth is that nearly 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women use artificial birth control at some point, according to a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute. A recent Institute of Medicine report noted that providing birth control could actually lower abortion rates. Without access to birth control, women may opt for abortion if they become pregnant.

Furthermore, contraceptives like the pill don’t have to be used as such; they often have additional medical uses, like reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis and ovarian cancer. However, in some cases, women prescribed birth control to treat medical conditions have also been denied access through Georgetown’s health insurance plan. A recent article in The New York Times featured a Georgetown Law student who was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome. She was prescribed birth control to treat the condition, but Georgetown’s health insurance denied her coverage. She later had to have an ovary removed.

It is therefore essential that Georgetown work with health insurance companies to ensure that the women who work here actually do have access to contraception as required by law. Providing this service is an important aspect of what Georgetown’s spiritual handbook calls cura personalis, that is, “individualized attention to the needs of the other” and “a distinct respect for his or her unique circumstances and concerns.” Georgetown should set the example for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities by creating clear, wellpublicized guidelines for how women can acquire coverage for birth control under this new policy.

Kate Riestenberg is a graduate student in the linguistics department.

SCRIBBLES OF A MADMAN by Ben Mazzara

THE STATE OF NATURE

GU Dating Culture: All We Need Is Love B

ill Doyle, chairman of Georgetown settling this reality was for the group University’s capital campaign, of seniors. All of them admitted to the once said that it is Georgetown’s honest vulnerability of wishing that our soul that sets her apart. But what is the campus culture were more conducive state of this soul? Are Georgetown’s stu- to dating. Not dating with the end goal dents living up to their Jesuit identity, of a hookup. Not dating with the end which expects students to challenge so- goal of a serious relationship. But datcietal norms, question the status quo ing with the end goal of dating in itself and, most importantly, engage tensions? — spending time with someone in order In his inaugural address titled, “En- to actually get to know him or her, to degaging the Tensions, Living the Ques- termine whether the possibility for real tions,” President DeGioia cemented romance existed.

The core of a Jesuit education is learnGeorgetown’s character as an epicenter ing to be comfortable with and to enof tensions.

Recently, this necessary complexity gage tensions. These tensions are made has come into sharp relief. First, it was manifest in courses like “The Problem apparent in the very public resignation of God,” “International Business Ethics” of professor Patrick Deneen because of and “Culture and Politics.” These are (among other things) a feeling of isola- tensions that require us to step outside tion due to his intellectual and Catholic of our comfort zones and explore the possibilities of learnvalues. The recent decision ing, understanding of the Obama administraand trying to grasp tion to require insurance questions that we plans at Catholic instituknow have no right tions covering birth conanswers. trol without co-payments, But this practice which has since been restops when we exit vised, only added fuel to the classroom. In the fire surrounding the our personal lives, question of Georgetown’s the important tenJesuit identity. sions — the awkThese controversies are Mike Meany & Matt Hoyt ward conversation of secondary importance, on a first date, the however. To paint an acfirst kiss or curate picture of the state In our personal lives, risky even the very huof Georgetown’s soul, one must look at its students. the important tensions man emotion of vulnerability — are cast This state of affairs on are cast aside. aside, purposefully the Hilltop is a sad one shunted in order indeed, in particular with to avoid embarrassregard to the nature of ment or failure. love and relationships on campus.

Campus controversies revolve around The prevailing relationship culture on campus is one that runs away from — practical considerations — a great profesone that denies — tensions. We students sor leaving or whether university health are ardently averse to intimacy. We fear insurance should cover contraceptives. the possibility of failure at best and the But the real tensions that need to be realization of time wasted at worst. We questioned and engaged are those that fear real romantic interaction. We are, in extend beyond the purview of what Georgetown as an institution can ina phrase, terrified of dating.

Generally speaking, there is no dat- fluence. The real tensions tread in the ing culture on campus. The notion of realm of the average student’s capacity asking an acquaintance out for coffee and desire to feel real love and to engage or a drink, or even dinner, is close to un- in sincere romance.

It is incumbent on us as students to thinkable. We perceive this sort of activity as reserved for people with whom we break the immature mold that predismight actually prepare to take the rela- poses us to insignificant flings. To grow as people, we must collectively acknowltionship plunge.

Between five classes, internships and edge the soul of our alma mater — a extracurricular activities, who has time place where tensions are engaged, no to date? In our weekly senior Capstone matter how uncomfortable they make course , the topic was discussed in detail. us feel.

Few of the men, and none of the women, had ever asked someone out on a date. Mike Meaney is a senior in the School of Instead, the typical romantic interac- Foreign Service, and Matthew Hoyt is a tion involved random encounters on senior in the College. They are the presithe dance floors of local bars, with the dent and director of communications of potential, albeit unlikely, for a repeat the the Georgetown University Student Association, respectively. THE STATE OF NATURE following weekend.

What was alarming was just how un- appears every other Tuesday.

CARDAMOM, SPICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Value Dignity Over Development

E

thiopia appears to be a haven of peace and prosperity in Africa right now. At least compared to the recent front-page news of alShabaab’s official alignment with alQaeda, the terrorization of the Arabian Sea by Somali pirates and the cruel drought throughout East Africa.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has spent the last 16 years fighting and successfully mitigating the poverty that ravaged the Ethiopia of my father’s childhood. In the West, we celebrate Zenawi’s efforts with his political party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, to reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases and provide basic health services to isolated rural communities.

The political stability of Ethiopia, especially compared with that of its eastern neighbor, Somalia, has made the country a promising beneficiary of foreign aid. Aid organizations and the international community, notably the United States, applaud the efficient dispersal of their aid in Ethiopia that is almost impossible in the rest of East Africa. Zenawni’s policies during his four-term reign must be credited with the improvements to Ethiopia’s standard of living and economy.

However, human rights violations in Ethiopia are largely ignored as a result. The violations rarely make the front pages of newspapers, but they cover pages of the Human Rights Watch website.

Since 1995, suppression of political dissidence has characterized the Zenawi administration. The National Election Board, whose members are all appointed by Zenawi, halted vote counting when the opposition took the lead in the numbers, then declared the EPRD the winner. In the 2010 elections, a major contender was

stabbed to death, and dozens of other coalition party leaders have been beaten and arrested during Zenawi’s rule.

Another important human rights violation manifested itself in Ogaden, a region on the Somali border that Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, dubbed a “human rights wasteland.” Three columnists

Sophia Berhie

The improved standard of living does not absolve Zenawni of the harm he inflicts upon his people. for The New York Times were arrested by the Zenawi administration in 2007 when they reported on the systematic patterns of sadistic violence and rape they discovered in Ogaden.

Older generations of Ethiopians see everything in comparison to the Ethiopia before Zenawi. My father is quick to remind me that Zenawi’s monopoly on legitimate power and force is the only reason Ethiopian poverty levels have fallen drastically in my lifetime. People in Ogaden, he says, faced harsh discrimination before Zenawi. Now, though abuse still exists, it is no longer at the same level. Do the

benefits of Zenawi’s rule outweigh his atrocious acts against his opponents and the region of Ogaden?

Two weeks ago, Kristof wrote a scathing commentary on Zenawi’s suppression of political dissidence through the arrests of hundreds of Ethiopian journalists and a number of American and Swedish journalists.

He ended his column with a statement directed at Zenawi: “Your brutality toward Swedish, American and Ethiopian journalists will not silence the world’s media. You’re just inviting more scrutiny.”

Ambassador Tesfaye Yilma, the deputy chief of mission at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to the editor in response. He disappointingly evaded the pertinent issue of human rights violations, and focused on the mundane, stating that the Swedish journalists arrested and currently still in holding in Ethiopia had violated the sovereignty of Ethiopia by entering the country illegally.

I would like to end my comments in the same strain as Kristof, with a marked difference: Prime Minister Zenawi, the progress you have made for Ethiopia is remarkable, and I commend you for it. However, the inhumane acts of oppression you commit against your people are inexcusable. The improved standard of living in Ethiopia does not absolve you of the harm you inflict upon your people. And further, the injury you have caused to the basic human rights of so many taints your great successes.

Sophia Berhie is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. CARDAMOM, SPICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS appears every other Tuesday.

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THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

STAY IN THE KNOW The Hoya will be live-tweeting Wednesday’s vice presidential debate. Follow @thehoya for election updates.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

verbatim

BELT IT OUT

“ Poetry shows

us all as simply human.

”

Carlos Contreras, facilitator of Georgetown’s JustWrite poetry exchange program, which connects students with inmates at a New Mexico detention center.

See story on A6.

from

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CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

Student musicians covered popular songs before a crowd of fellow undergraduates at the Georgetown Cabaret held at Fur Nightclub Friday evening. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Relay For Life. Check out the gallery at thehoya.com.

SWEETS FOR YOUR SWEET We’re rounding up the best cupcakes in town just in time for Valentine’s Day. blog.thehoya.com

Red Square a Stage for Contraception Debate ELIZABETH GARBITELLI & MATTHEW STRAUSS Hoya Staff Writers

As the national debate on policies governing insurance coverage of contraceptives continues, H*yas for Choice took to Red Square Monday to express support for more accessible birth control.

H*yas for Choice and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington piled $600 worth of ramen noodles in the square to represent the amount that the average American woman currently spends on contraceptives every year.

“We wanted to do something that, you know, hits home to college students,” Planned Parenthood Public Affairs Associate Gabrielle Martinez said.

The demonstration came after President Obama altered his administration’s position on mandated contraceptive coverage Friday in a compromise that has been met with mixed reviews on campus.

According to the announcement, religiously affiliated univerisities and institutions will no longer be required to pay for contraceptive coverage, though any independent insurance provider these groups contract with will still be required to provide coverage.

The decision followed a firestorm of political and media backlash to an earlier announcement from Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, which stated that almost all providers of insurance — religiously affiliated or otherwise — would be required to provide coverage for birth control in their plans.

The revised policy means that Georgetown is unlikely to see any major change to its health care policies because the university already provides employees with two healthcare options. The first plan, which is underwritten by the university, does not provide contraceptive coverage, while the second option allows employees to subscribe to a national plan administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Contraceptives will not be covered

for the minority of students who subscribe to the university’s health insurance under the new mandate.

For students who subscribe to private insurance plans, carriers will be required to cover contraceptives if they did not already do so.

Besides piling a pyramid of ramen noodle boxes in Red Square, members of H*yas for Choice collected petition signatures and Valentine’s-themed messages to support the mandate Monday. Last week, group members tabled in Red Square to ask students to sign thank you cards to the president.

According to H*yas for Choice President Ashley Bradylyons (SFS ’12), they collected about 300 cards, although Planned Parenthood workers were asked to leave campus by the Department of Public Safety last week because they were not students.

Despite the incident, Martinez felt that backlash against their recent events on campus had been minimal.

“You can’t really get mad at that, we’re talking about women’s health,” she said.

“When we were here before, I was dressed as a human pill pack … a priest walked by and laughed at me and was like ‘nice costume,’” she added. “And that’s all that we can ask for, that people be open.”

Critics, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, criticized Obama’s annoucement as political manuevering. They argue that in forcing private insurance companies to cover contraceptives, the federal government is still placing the burden on religious institutions who pay or contribute to their employee’s private insurance.

“Forcing plans to cover abortifacients violates existing federal conscience laws. Therefore, we [call] for the rescission of the mandate altogether,” the group said in a statement. “Coverage is still provided as a part of the objecting employer’s plan, financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage offered by the objecting employer.

This raises serious moral concerns.”

University administrators will not comment on the policy until the official regulations are released because details of the plan are still unclear.

TIFFANY LACHHONNA FOR THE HOYA

The School of Continuing Studies currently houses several of its programs at a satellite campus in Clarendon, Va.

SCS Sets Details for Expansion OMIKA JIKARIA

Special to The Hoya

The university is seeking a site in downtown D.C. to become a new home for its School of Continuing Studies, according to the university’s latest financial plan.

“The new location is needed to consolidate its programs in Virginia and Georgetown in a single footprint, thus enabling SCS to grow its programs and meet its strategic goals,” the document states.

In the past three years, the SCS has increased its enrollment by about 360 percent. The school’s center in Clarendon, Va., houses the university’s Center for Continuing and Professional Education and the master’s degree programs in Technology Management, Journalism and Public Relations and Corporate Communications.

In a letter introducing Georgetown University’s Financial Plan

2013-2016, COO Chris Augostini wrote that the new downtown location will be more accessible to prospective students who work downtown.

He added that the new site would allow for the expansion of the SCS in fields such as emergency management and urban and regional planning as well as programs that would prepare students for biomedical industries and related government agencies.

The creation of the additional campus, which was dubbed “Georgetown Downtown” by University President John J. DeGioia earlier this year, is expected to cost $11,507,000 between fiscal years 2011 and 2013 according to the financial plan. The projected expenses include planning, designing, constructing and installing the necessary furniture and fixtures. About $7,500 is anticipated to come from operating surpluses,

while the rest would be financed by debt.

According to Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs Rachel Pugh, the administration is considering several locations throughout D.C. The university hopes to lease an approximately 85,000 square foot space for 15 years.

“We are still determining our exact space needs but hope to be near a Metro station and are exploring options across the [metropolitan] area,” she wrote in an email.

The relocation of 1,000 graduate and professional students off of Georgetown’s main campus by Dec. 31, 2013, was originally a concession made by the administration during the ongoing debate over the 2010 Campus Plan. The measure was intended to address complaints about noise levels and lower home maintenance levels due to increased graduate student residence in Burleith and West Georgetown.

News

Tuesday, february 14, 2012

THE HOYA

A5

GUSA Presidential Candidates Debated Platforms Sunday DEBATE, from A1 rience. Tisa is the lone sophomore presidential candidate.

“The word ‘experience’ will be thrown around a lot tonight, and we want to remind you that it’s about quality, not quantity,” he said.

While fielding questions from moderators, Malkerson was asked to explain two controversial components of his proposed budget, which was publicly released Friday.

His estimated budget is $165,000, six times larger than the allocated budget of the previous winning campaign. Malkerson defended his budget by noting the increase in money available for allocation to student activities, as well as parts of his budget that would assist other student organizations. Malkerson’s GUSA-specific budget totals $21,000, while additional items, such as funding for the spring concert and the Collegiate Readership Program, are projected at $144,000.

Senator Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13), whose projected $23,400 budget represents a decrease from the previous administration’s, disagreed with Malkerson’s reasoning. She believes that other clubs should be allocated

more money so that they can independently control how it is spent.

Malkerson was also asked to respond to a question submitted by GUSA Director of Funding and Administration Reform Shuo Yan Tan (SFS ’12), who expressed concern that elements of Malkerson’s budget could be considered executive overreach. Malkerson emphasized that he does not wish to increase GUSA’s power and instead aims to protect student groups through his initiatives.

Malkerson also criticized the reach of Tisa’s platform. Tisa has proposed removing what he terms a hierarchical structure in favor of an executive branch that would work collaboratively with the student advisory boards. Tisa said in response to Malkerson that he is inviting the boards to engage in a “cooperative dialogue,” not attempting to absorb them into GUSA. The candidates initially struggled when asked who they believe is the second-best candidate in the field. LaMagna and Gustafson eventually settled on Malkerson, while Malkerson named Gustafson’s as the second-best ticket. GUSA Deputy Chief of Staff John Morris (COL ’13) and Tisa selected Delaney, who

in turn chose Morris. Sax avoided naming a candidate by jokingly asking voters to write him in as their second choice.

As the debate drew to a close, candidates were asked to name their top two priorities if elected. Morris cited strengthening the Student Advocacy Office and implementing a GUSA student fellows program that would allow students to lecture on topics in which they are well versed. Tisa, who has made increasing GUSA’s diversity a focal point of his campaign, proposed a unity fair that allows students of different races, religions and sexualities to come together to celebrate diversity.

In his closing statement, Sax praised the ideas that other candidates have proposed and said that he hoped candidates would implement them if elected. He distinguished his platform by emphasizing his ticket’s method of obtaining and implementing initiatives.

“I stand before you today not because I disagree with my opponents and the ideas being brought to the table, but because I believe in a different way of getting there,” he said.

Vice presidential candidates will debate at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday in White-Gravenor Hall 201A.

Tyler Sax & Michael Crouch

John Morris & Lauren Weber

GUSA Director of Special Projects; Secretary of Information Technology

GUSA Deputy Chief of Staff; member of The Hoya’s Board of Directors

Top two initiatives:

- IdeaScale crowdsourcing platform - Reworking GUSA’s outreach efforts

Why they think they stand out:

Their ticket is all about engagement – they’re concerned with what the community wants and don’t think any one person has a monopoly on good ideas.

- Student lecture fellowship program - Strengthening the Student Advocacy Office

chair of the gusa fund; african society board member

Why they think they stand out:

- Diversity programming - Bettering the student experience: through advocacy and improving concert quality

Why they think they stand out:

They’re the only all-sophomore ticket, but feel so strongly about their ideas that they didn’t want to wait another year before running.

Colton Malkerson & Maggie Cleary Chair of GUSA’s Finance and Appropriations Committee; Director of Executive Outreach

Top two initiatives:

- eReadership initiative to complement the College Readership program - Student space, especially the New South Student Center

Why they think they stand out:

Experience, two different perspectives on GUSA and a detailed platform

Experience, contacts, reach

GUSA senator; Point guard (Not pictured)

They are focusing on practical goals that will affect students’ day-to-day lives.

Top two initiatives:

Why they think they stand out:

Murphy Kate Delaney & Mike Appau

- Implementing a Georgetown iPhone app - Continuing to work on improving facilities

Vice Speaker of the GUSA senate; Vice chair of Gusa’s finance and Appropriations committee

Top two initiatives:

Dan LaMagna & Markel Starks Top two initiatives:

Nate Tisa & Sheila Walsh

Clara Gustafson & Vail Kohnert-Yount Both GUSA senatorS

Top two initiatives:

- Undergraduate research symposium - Marketing plan to make students aware of the Student Advocacy Office and the bias-related incident reporting system

Top two initiatives:

- Textbook co-op - Creating a new spot for a GUSA director of community service

Why they think they stand out:

Why they think they stand out:

Combined leadership experience, personal connections with the student body

Experience, commitment, leadership, energy

ALL PHOTOS SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA

JUMBLE

PUZZLES

Substitute letters in order to reveal a well-known quotation. Each letter consistently represents another.

“RWJ UJA XF PXEWRXJK RWOA RWJ FBTKC. OAC MTAFXCJKOZGD JOFXJK RT BKXRJ BXRW.” -POKRD VJGCPOA hint: C = D “UXKAHVNQK HGQ AFUKQ ZGBLFAZDN AFBELK CUD KQQ SFQE CUD AHIQ CUDG QCQK UZZ CUDG LUHN.” -FQEGC ZUGJ hint: S = W

SUDOKU Fill in the grid so that each row, column and square contains all digits 1-9.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS JUMBLE:

BRAIN TEASERS:

POLISH QUOTA CAMPUS PECAN What the musician listened to while he worked: “SOLE” MUSIC

1) An hourglass 2) The balloon will move forwards. The helium balloon is lighter than the air in the car, so when the car accelerates, the heavier air is pushed backward, sending the lighter-thanair balloon forward (to where the air is not). If the car were to suddenly break, the heavier air would pile up against the windshield, pushing the balloon backwards.

Kate Sciamanna/THE HOYA

A6

news

THE HOYA

tuesday, february 14, 2012

Running Builds Fast Friendships Alex Styer

Special to The Hoya

For some students, running is not just a way to burn stress or calories, but also a means to foster lasting relationships with those that they may often run past — the homeless.

Since last spring, the Georgetown Running Club has been partnering with Back on My Feet, a national running program focused on helping the homeless find a path back to healthy living.

The D.C. chapter of Back on My Feet, which uses running as a means to build confidence, strength and selfesteem, organizes teams of volunteers and homeless men that run three mornings a week.

The Running Club participates in the exercise once a month, gathering at 5:30 a.m. to meet the regular runners at Clean & Sober Streets, a residential drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation center. The group huddles in prayer, warms up, stretches out and engages in group reflection before the morning run.

During the run almost everyone is silent, which quickly changes once the group crosses the finish line, according to GRC Vice President Tim Dougherty (COL ’13).

“It’s all smiles and high-fives,” he said. “Everyone’s on the same playing field, and you’re just going for a run.”

Three students, Pat Fogerty (SFS ’14) and sisters Katie (COL ’14) and Maggie Ferrato (COL ’14), run with the program nearly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. “[T]he runners at BoMF have been unbelievably motivating and have inspired me to sign up for my first marathon, the National Marathon in March,” Katie Ferrato said. “I will be running in support of Back on My Feet D.C.” All three are training for the National Marathon in D.C. and are motivated for the early morning runs by the friendships that they have formed with the program participants.

“You would think that waking up at 4:45 [a.m.] would get easier as time went on, but every morning I still wake up and feel miserable and exhausted,” Fogerty said. “However, knowing that there are people standing out in the cold expecting us to be there is usually enough to get us out of bed.”

Building a sense of community for people experiencing homelessness is one of the main missions of Back on My Feet.

“Our team has become really close; we always have each others’ backs,” Margaret Ferrato said.

LEONEL DE VELEZ/THE HOYA

President DeGioia and about 1,800 attendees at Mayor Vincent Gray’s One City Summit collaborated to come up with policy priorities for the D.C. government. Education and job creation were primary topics of discussion at this “grassroots democracy” event.

Summit Aims to Engage, Unify District Alexander Galan Special to The Hoya

University President John J. DeGioia joined about 1,800 D.C. residents to propose new ways to improve the city at Mayor Vincent Gray’s first One City Summit on Saturday.

The event was designed to seek input directly from citizens rather than government officials or policymakers. “[This is] grassroots democracy, D.C. style,” Gray said in his opening remarks. “This project will be a roadmap of D.C. to truly reflect one city.”

The summit was orchestrated

by AmericaSpeaks, a nonprofit whose mission is to organize large-scale town halls that engage citizens in making public policy decisions.

Drawing on the idea that local residents know their neighborhoods’ problems best, the summit divided participants into groups of seven or eight people and asked them to come up with a list of concerns they wanted the D.C. government to address. The groups then voted on their preferred priorities and policies.

Participants ranked improv-

ing education and creating jobs as top concerns.

Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks’ president and a facilitator of the summit, said D.C. universities have an important role to play in improving the District’s economy through providing educational opportunities and creating jobs. She lauded DeGioia for the commitment he showed to this goal by attending the summit.

The university has participated in previous initiatives designed to help the D.C. economy, such as Gray’s “One City, One Hire” program, through which

local institutions make a commitment to hire D.C. residents who have been in long-term unemployment. Georgetown, the largest private employer in the District, has hired at least one new employee through this program since signing on in the fall.

“The One City Summit gave us the opportunity to continue our dialogue with Mayor Gray and leaders throughout the city about Georgetown’s commitment to strengthening our role as a contributor and partner within the District of Columbia,” DeGioia wrote in a statement.

GU to Raise Tuition, Aid For Inmates and Undergrads, Poetry Fosters Understanding TUITION, from A1

Georgetown was the most expensive university among its peer institutions in 2009 but has retreated to the middle of the pack since then. The university’s total costs of living have grown an average of 2.7 percent between fiscal years 2009 and 2012 while its peer institutions have raised costs by a collective average of 4.3 percent.

Still, some students believe that the university’s tuition increases are unfair.

Joseph Vithayathil (COL ’12) recommends that Georgetown adopt The George Washington University’s fixed tuition policy, which prevents tuition hikes from affecting already enrolled students. GWU students pay tuition at the rate that was

INDEX

charged when they enrolled throughout their time at the university.

“They should go with GWU and lock in the same rate for the next four years. You don’t have to worry about a 5 percent increase next year,” he said.

Georgetown will also increase available need-based financial aid by $1.9 million in fiscal year 2013, $4.7 million in 2014, $6.5 million in 2015 and $5.6 million in 2016.

More than 40 percent of undergraduates, about 2,800 students, receive financial aid each year, according to the university.

“While tuition everywhere is rising, Georgetown is still making an unprecedented commitment to meet full demonstrated financial need,” Kerr said.

CLASSIFIEDS

Interested in Jazz, Modern, or Hip Hop? Missed renowned Cuban exchange teacher, Kenia Garcia?

Fear not! The Centre de Danse Ballet School is offering special intensives next week! Guest professor Lynn McMurrey will be at in Georgetown for TWO DAYS ONLY!! Professor McMurrey has studied everything from ballet, modern, and jazz in France to movement therapy in California. He earned a BA at the American University of Beirut, an MA at CalState Long Beach in Dance Education, and a Lifetime Credential in Dance from the state of California.

The esteemed Professor has both danced in AND choreographed for theater, television series, and major motion pictures; He has won awards and recognition from the US, France, China and Belgium.

Classes will take place Wednesday & Thursday, February 22-23, 2012, from 5:30-7:30pm at the Centre de Danse, #1-3254 Prospect Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. Each class is $25. Some dance background preferred. Please call 202.337.0268 for more information.

MISCELLANEOUS

800

Seeking for a caring Nanny/Child Jetty .A very kindly and someone that love kids. I will pay $710 per week and get you 1 car. The Boy is friendly and playful with anyone.

Contact: ros23101@gmail.com Neat and Energetic caring cleaner is need urgently with any experience who is ready to work as a per time or full time as a cleaner salary $910 should contact: fredsmith694@gmail.com

The Hoya Classifieds Line Ad Rates Regular line classified ads are $0.50 per word.

Optional Extras Bold words: $1.00 per issue. Make individual words or an entire ad stand out.

Large headline: $1.50 per issue. One line of 16-point bold, centered and capitalized.

Two-line large headline: $2.50 per issue.

Boxed ad: $2.00 per issue. Add a one-point box around your ad.

Deadlines & Payment Copy and payment must be received by 12 noon, one business day before publication.

All classified ads must be paid in full at the time of placement. Visa, Mastercard, cash or personal checks are accepted. Cancelled ads may be removed from the paper if notification is made before deadline. No refunds will be given, but the unused portion of the payment will be held as a credit.

For more information, please email classifiedads@thehoya.com

Heather Flynn Hoya Staff Writer

Most school projects begin and end in the classroom, but for a group of 18 Georgetown students, their work is designed to connect with people half a continent away.

This weekend, professors Jiva Manske and Wendy Jason, who teach “Social Justice/Conflict Studies,” launched a semester-long writing exchange program between students and members of the JustWrite program at New Mexico’s Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center. Each week, students in D.C. and Albuquerque will be given the same writing prompt, and the class members will be able to share their written responses through an online forum or by having their work read aloud in class.

Manske said that the program will have an important impact on a class whose main focus is understanding and

analyzing social conflict.

“One of the key elements of conflict transformation is being able to humanize people, and this is a great way to humanize a group of individuals who are often demonized by society or, at best, ignored,” he said.

Manske and Jason worked for a year as facilitators of creative writing programs at the detention center prior to coming to Georgetown.

They hope the collaboration will allow participants to explore the similarities and differences in people’s backgrounds, and they expect students to be surprised by the commonality of human experience.

Carlos Contreras, the facilitator of the JustWrite program at the detention center, stressed the program’s positive impact on both students and inmates.

“JustWrite is an honest, real and unique dialogue attempting to create itself for the bet-

terment of numerous lives, given that poetry shows us all as simply human,” he wrote in an email. “The JustWrite program will consist of honesthearted human beings, being themselves on the page and sharing it with anyone that will read or listen.”

Annie Dale (COL ’14), a participant who has worked with a prison outreach program in the past, is excited to see the responses from both classes.

“Prisoners are people with a social stigma, and you don’t know who they are — you don’t know their story. The program really humanizes them and lets you see them as individuals,” she said.

Contreras expects both students and prisoners to draw important lessons from the experience.

“Inmates current and past that I’ve worked with on poetry have always had a positive experience,” he said. “Growth comes from the honesty allowed via this art form.”

news

tuesday, february 14, 2012

THE HOYA

A7

Making Waves: Student Week’s Events Focus on Peace Sea Scout to Visit Capitol Margaret Viator Hoya Staff Writer

The Program on Justice and Peace and the university’s chapter of PeaceJam kicked off a week of events focused on fostering peace education and awareness Monday.

Peace Education Week will feature speakers with experience in the field, such as directors of nonprofits, researchers who focus on conflict resolution and formerly incarcerated criminals.

“We’d like to use this kickoff week as an emphasis for students to start asking themselves whether we are doing things for the right reasons, whether we are really passionate about the things we are doing

Sarah Patrick Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown student Eva Hogan (COL ’14) has found her sea legs in the Sea Scout program as its national boatswain, a position akin to the organization’s president.

Hogan will represent the program at the Boy Scouts of America’s annual Report to the Nation this week.

The Sea Scouts, an offshoot of Boy Scouts of America, attracts both males and females interested in sailing and nautical activities.

This week, Hogan will serve as one of eight Boy Scout representatives to address House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

According to Hogan, the representatives will outline the accomplishments and advances of the Boy Scouts programs throughout the past year as well as their future initiatives.

“It’s kind of like the State of the Union address for the Boy Scouts,” Hogan said.

In addition to presenting the report, Hogan and her fellow representatives will meet President Barack Obama and visit the Pentagon, the CIA and the Supreme Court.

Hogan holds the highest Sea Scout rank, quartermaster, an echelon equivalent to BSA’s Eagle Scout. She became the National Sea Scout Boatswain last April.

“Within that job, I represent Sea Scouts at all national events,” Hogan said.

Hogan admitted to being nervous yet excited for the upcoming events.

“If I weren’t, I’d be really worried,” she said, although she also noted her excitement about the week’s opportunities.

“This is just one of those things that I am going to tell my grandkids about, and it’s one of those things where I can tell people that they should really get involved with the program, because it’s fantastic and then some day they might be able to do this.”

Besides participating in the Boy

rather than simply going through the motions,” Joe Donovan (SFS ’13), president of Georgetown’s PeaceJam chapter, said. PeaceJam is an international program that connects Nobel Peace Prize Laureates with students.

The event planners aim to address these questions through student-led events, such as “Peace Jamming,” where various performance groups on campus present relevant issues through art, and “Peace Talks,” a conversation about how peace education can be furthered on campus.

The idea for a week of events focused on peace education originally grew out of discussions about the importance of education efficiency, according to Donovan.

“What tends to be left out of the discussion is not only how to make schools more effective, but what schools should be doing. Peace education is a way to do that. It is a way of framing the discussion,” he said.

Donovan believes that a week of this nature is perfect for focusing group energy on these ideas, especially on a campus with such an active student body.

“What makes something like Peace Education Week so important for a school like Georgetown is that there is so much energy here for positive change,” he said. “Through letting everyone know about the value of peace education, we are hopefully directing that energy in the right direction.”

Deferral Has Mixed Impact on GU ZONING, from A1

COURTESY EVA HOGAN

Eva Hogan (COL ’14) has been a Sea Scout since high school.

Scouts’ Report to the Nation, Hogan updates the Sea Scouting blog with information about the program’s centennial activities and celebrations.

Hogan first became involved in Sea Scouts during her freshman year of high school. She credits her experiences in the program for the time management, communication, leadership and teaching skills she has acquired.

Throughout her tenure as a Sea Scout, Hogan has especially enjoyed the exposure to interesting people and novel opportunities, citing as her favorite experience the week she lived and trained on the Coast Guard Academy’s Tall Ship.

“It’s kind of like living on a pirate ship for a week, so that was a lot of fun,” she said.

Even though Sea Scouting has an age cap at 21, Hogan hopes to continue her involvement as long as she can.

“I’m not sure how, but I plan on staying involved,” she said.

the other,” Clements said.

Georgetown University Student Association Vice President Greg Laverriere (COL ’12) expressed similar frustration, but stressed that the commission should take the necessary time to make a balanced decision.

“While I was disappointed that the Zoning Commission decided to delay their decision, I can understand it if the commissioners felt they did not have information to make a reasonable and informed decision,” Laverriere said.

The decision to put off a final ruling on the plan leaves several key issues up in the air, most significantly the question of how many students will be allowed to live off campus in the coming years.

A report released by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E in November cited off-campus student housing as the key problem associated with the university’s plan.

“The overwhelming objectionable impact … is that it would keep in place a very large number of off-campus transient student group houses and all the problems they bring,” the report said.

The ANC, the D.C. Office of Planning and several neighborhood

organizations have all called on the Zoning Commission to require Georgetown to house 100 percent of students on campus.

In January, the university officially announced that it would convert the Leavey Hotel into a dorm by 2014, adding an extra 250 on-campus beds.

But 1,199 students were living off campus as of 2010, according to a supplementary filing Georgetown submitted to the Zoning Commission in January. It is not clear where these students would be housed if the commission did choose to ban students from living off campus.

Despite the uncertainty about housing, many of Georgetown’s long-term goals will not be jeopardized by the delay, according to university spokeswoman Stacy Kerr.

Several of the construction projects included in the plan are extensions or continuations of schemes that had already been approved as part of the 2000 Campus Plan. Such projects include the construction of the Intercollegiate Athletic Center and the renovation of Reiss Science building. Plans for the athletic facility are still under review by the Old Georgetown Board, but construction of the center does not depend on the Zoning Commission’s ruling.

Projects that were newly introduced in the 2010 plan, including im-

provements to the hospital and a potential bridge between Reiss and the soon-to-be-completed Regents Hall, will still be contingent on approval from the Zoning Commission.

The delay also postpones the point at which the university will have to honor its agreements to cap student enrollment through 2020.

As part of its initial filing, Georgetown agreed to cap undergraduate admissions rates at current levels and cap the increase in graduate enrollment at 967 students if the Campus Plan is accepted.

“Our voluntary commitment to these maximum enrollment levels is contingent on the approval of the Campus Plan package as we’ve proposed [it],” Kerr said.

She added that despite the continuing delays to the Campus Plan, the university will continue the good faith measures it began during the process, such as a twice-daily trash collection program instituted last fall.

Laverriere said he supports the university’s proactive approach.

“The university is committed to showing the District of Columbia that Georgetown can coexist with the surrounding community,” he said. “If that means implementing some programs ahead of the campus plan approval, so be it.”

A8

sports

THE HOYA

men’s basketball

tuesday, february 14, 2012

WOMEn’s Basketball

Hoyas Hope to Bounce Back Against ’Nova Matt Carlucci Hoya Staff Writer

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Freshman forward Greg Whittington scored 12 points to lead the Hoyas in Sunday’s win.

Four Hoyas Hit Double Figures ST. JOHN’S, from A10 ends of the court. He did what he was supposed to do, and when he does that, we’re pretty good.”

After being trounced by the Hoyas a month ago at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s overcame an sluggish start to stay within striking distance the entire second half. Harkless was fouled midway through the second half and hit both free throws to cut Georgetown’s lead to a single basket, 44-42.

“He’s tough to guard; he can score a lot of different places on the court,” Thompson III said.

Then, Lubick helped the Hoyas answer again. The 6-foot-8 forward found sophomore guard Markel Starks in the corner for an open three-pointer, and the Hoyas were back up five.

“We tried to take Clark out of the game, and Thompson, but we can’t take everyone out of the game,” St. John’s assistant coach Mike Dunlap said. “[Lubick] is just

one of those guys who gets the job done for Georgetown, and they’re one of the top 20 teams in the country. … They made some tough threes, some deep threes, and we said that’s the poison we’re going to pick.”

The Red Storm provided another intense game for the Hoyas, following the latter’s tough-to-swallow 64-61 overtime loss at rival Syracuse on Wednesday night. Clark and St. John’ freshman forward Amir Garrett had some words early in the second half, resulting in a technical for bother players.

Garrett would later get tangled up with freshman forward Otto Porter in the final minutes of the game as the two struggled for a rebound.

The Hoyas had one of their better offensive performances of the season, shooting 49 percent from the field, dishing out 17 assists on 24 baskets and seeing five players – Clark, Thompson, Porter, Starks and freshman forward Greg Whittington – score in double figures.

Whittington led the Hoyas with 12

points, while Harkless and freshman guard D’Angelo Harrison scored 24 and 20 points, respectively, for the Red Storm. Harrison was particularly troublesome for the Hoyas, shooting 5-of-12 from long range.

“I thought we did a poor job there – [Harrison] kept getting open shots,” Thompson III said.

The Hoyas struggled from threepoint range for much of the afternoon — the 30 percent clip was well below their season average — but hit three of their final five shots from beyond the arc to ice the game.

“We stayed focused, we had open shots and we knocked them down,” Clark said.

The Hoyas move into sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings with the victory, and will face league cellar-dweller Providence on Saturday. Georgetown defeated the Friars, 49-40, in an ugly win at Verizon Center on New Year’s Eve. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Providence’s Dunkin Donuts Center.

CANDID CANADIAN

Winning Trumps Language Barrier This week, Italian native Fabio Capello resigned as coach of England’s national soccer team. Already, there has been a push for an English speaker to replace him. While the world of English soccer is an ocean away, it may surprise some that the issue of language in sports is a source of constant controversy much closer to home, about 500 miles north of Georgetown.

It is difficult to express the importance of language in Canada to those who have never lived in a country with two official languages and who haven’t witnessed the near secession of a significant portion of their homeland. The province of Quebec, with a culture more reminiscent of Europe than of anywhere in North America, seems out of place in the friendly, subdued, beaver-loving wilderness that is the rest of Canada.

In order to understand the issue, the best place to start is with sports, a powerful cultural link that all countries share. Throughout the early history of the National Hockey League, Francophones were discriminated against by the English-speaking owners and executives who ran the league.

In 1955, the controversial suspension of French-Canadian hockey star Maurice “The Rocket” Richard by the Anglophone president of the NHL ignited a costly riot that snowballed into Canada’s first large-scale nationalist movement, the Quiet Revolution. The crisis eventually led to terrorist attacks, kidnappings and the death of a British official. The Redskins may hate their owner, and Cubs fans may have a shameful past, but this goes beyond anything that has ever been seen in America.

On Dec. 17, 2011, the Montreal Canadiens fired Head Coach Jacques Martin and replaced him on an interim basis with unilingual Anglophone assistant Randy Cunneyworth. The backlash to this decision was immediate and intense.

Prominent Francophone sportswriter Philippe Cantin wrote, “In Quebec, the Canadiens aren’t just a hockey team … they are also an institution.

And like all institutions, they have a responsibility to the community.”

Some politicians went even further.

Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois suggested the team force all its players to learn French. Before a game on Jan. 7, hundreds of protesters lined up in front of the Bell Centre in opposition to owner Geoff Molson’s decision.

Some even threatened to boycott his prized beer, an unthinkable threat

Arik Parnass

The view that the coach needs to speak French can only be characterized as misplaced frustration. under normal circumstances.

There is a common misconception — in Montreal and beyond — that the history of the Canadiens is inextricably tied to the French culture of Montreal. While it’s true that the majority of the Canadiens’ fan base is FrenchCanadian, the club was founded by an Anglophone, and of the team’s record 24 Stanley Cups, only two have been won under Francophone head coaches. The Canadiens don’t have a history of being French; they have a history of winning.

It is this culture of winning that has made the organization a success and a staple of Quebec culture. Many point to the resentment

aimed at decade-long captain Saku Koivu over his inability to speak French as an example of where fans’ loyalties lie, but they don’t consider the fact that Koivu never won a Stanley Cup. Ken Dryden, Anglophone goaltender for the team in the 1970s and winner of six Stanley Cups, is given a hero’s worship in the province.

There is a cliche that winning is everything, but that is a simplistic look at what determines fans’ happiness.

Fans do prefer to root for local heroes over foreign ones, so nationality — and in this case language — does matter.

However, for a market that loves winning but has not earned a Cup since 1993, the view that the coach needs to speak French can only be characterized as misplaced frustration.

The only times the coach actually speaks publicly are for the six to eight minutes following a game and occasionally at practice. Considering that half of that interaction is generally in English, it makes little sense that Montreal is in such an uproar over this issue.

Montreal may be unlike any other city in North America in many ways.

But in sports, just like everywhere else, winning is the only language.

Everybody loves a winner, and it is understandable that Québécois would hope for local heroes. But despite the constant flow of Francophone coaches, Montreal has not been happy since the Canadiens won that championship 18 years ago. So it’s clear that the language of the coach is not what draws people to the team.

The old cliche may be simplistic, but it’s not entirely off base: winning isn’t everything, but it is the most important thing. It’s time the province of Quebec and the English soccer fans realized it.

Arik Parnass is a freshman in the College. CANDID CANADIAN appears every Tuesday.

With Saturday’s thrashing at Connecticut behind them, the Georgetown women’s basketball team looks to return to its winning ways tonight when they take on the Villanova Wildcats (15-10, 5-7 Big East) on the road.

The Hoyas (19-6, 8-4 Big East) were completely shut down by the thenNo. 3 UConn Huskies, losing 80-38 in a game when no Hoya scored over 10 points on 25 percent shooting from the floor. Junior guard Sugar Rodgers, who led the team in scoring against UConn, thinks the offense simply needs to relax and control the tempo against Villanova.

“We are going to get better shot selections,” Rodgers said. “We’ve been shooting bad shots, and I feel like we’ve been rushing. We are not supposed to rush.”

In a continuation of her recent offensive struggles, senior forward Tia Magee was seemingly absent against the Huskies, scoring only 3 points on 0-of-8 shooting from the field. If the Hoyas are to consistently put high point totals on the board, Magee must do a better job to alleviate the pressure placed on Rodgers.

“When Tia scores, it gives us another scorer alongside Sugar so that so much attention isn’t given to Sugar,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

“Tia will be fine. She’s got to relax and take good shots and feel comfortable taking those shots.”

While the Blue and Gray certainly need to improve their offensive output tonight, the defense has even more work to do. Georgetown allowed UConn to shoot 50 percent from to floor, including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

“Definitely pressure because that’s

what we do,” the star guard said when asked about what the team needs to improve on. “Our defense is what gets us going. If our defense is not on, then as a team we are not going to be on. If we play defense, eventually we’ll hit shots, the basket will open up and we’ll get a win.”

The defense will have its hands full with Villanova junior forward Laura Sweeney, who averages just less than 15 points per game. Williams-Flournoy is focused on stopping the Wildcats’ dangerous spread offense.

“It’s very hard, because the way that they play, [Head Coach Harry Perretta] is going to call a lot of offense to be run through [Sweeney],” WilliamsFlournoy said. “So we just have to communicate really well against Villanova because they run a spread-type offense. We just got to sit down and defend.”

Additionally, the Hoyas once again lost the battle of the boards — UConn pulled down 41 rebounds compared to Georgetown’s 34. The Hoyas will focus on boxing out and keep a physical Villanova team away from the basket.

“Connecticut was just a bad game all the way around,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We are not as bad of a rebounding team as we have been in the past, so that’s just another area we just have to put a little more focus on.”

Overall, the team’s mood is optimistic. The girls’ spirits are up and Williams-Flournoy is confident in the Hoyas’ ability to bounce back.

“We are OK right now,” Rodgers said.

“We got a lot to fix and a lot to work on, but you know next opponent you just got to go out there and take it out on [Villanova].”

Look for the Hoyas to avenge their disappointing loss last Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. tonight at The Pavilion in Villanova, Pa.

men’s tennis

Quakers Pose Daunting Test for Surging GU PENN, from A10 The juniors and seniors are needed “to step up in matches like these,” he said.

Freshman John Brosens, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win in the No. 6 singles spot against Mary Washington, made a big impression on Ernst ahead of the team’s trip to UPenn.

“He played like he was on a mission, with incredible intensity and focus,” said Ernst. “It was the best

tennis I’ve seen him play since he stepped foot on campus at Georgetown. No first-match jitters or anything.”

Relying on their upperclassmen and the surging Brosens may not be enough against the Quakers, but the Hoyas are hoping to leave it all out on the courts. “[It will be] a battle,” Ernst said.

“I think it’s [going to] be a hell of a match.”

The drama is set to unfold starting at 2 p.m.

swimming & diving

Quincy Looks to Lead Georgetown Swimmers CHAMPIONSHIPS, from A10 In this week’s swimming championships, several Hoyas have a chance to perform strongly, as they have put up several of the top 100 Big East times this season.

Junior Paul Quincy has some of the best opportunities. For the men’s 200-yard freestyle race, Quincy is the top-ranked Hoya, having recorded a time of 1:41.86. He is also the highest-ranked Georgetown swimmer for the 500 freestyle, coming in ninth in the league with a time of 4:32.39.

Impressively, Quincy ranks seventh for the 5000 freestyle and 13th for the 1650 race as well.

Other swimmers with potential for strong showings in Pittsburgh include sophomore Matt Mandel, who is ranked 20th for the 50 race and 33rd in the 100 race, and sophomore Christian Kilgore, who is ranked 22nd in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Members of the Blue and Gray’s impressive freshman class also show up in the top 100, led by Michael Ng, who ranks 17th in the conference in the 100 backstroke. He is also the top-ranked Hoya in the 200 backstroke and in the 100 butterfly, coming in 20th and 33rd in the Big East in those events, respectively.

Senior Greg Germain hopes to end his Georgetown career in style in the 200 butterfly, where he currently sits at 32nd in the conference

with a time of 1:55.48.

Sophomore Lauren Opatrny leads Georgetown’s women as the top-ranked Hoya in five different events. In the 100 freestyle, Opatrny is ranked 24th with a time of 52.33.

She also recorded a 58-second finish in the 100 backstroke to gain a 26thplace ranking in that event. But her best showings are three top-15 rankings: in the 200 backstroke, where she is 15th, in the 100 butterfly, where she is 14th and in the 200 individual medley, where she is 10th.

Junior Sarah Chiles also has multiple rankings entering the championship meet in the 200, 500 and 1000 freestyle races. Chiles is ranked 42nd, 37th and 35th, respectively, in the three races.

The Hoyas also boast some solid freshmen swimmers on the women’s side. Bailey Dowe ranks 30th in the 100 breaststroke and 28th in the 200 breaststroke, while Casey Bandman and Kim DiNapoli rank 23rd in the 200 butterfly and 35th in the 400 individual medley, respectively.

With so many Georgetown swimmers on the cusp of placing at the Big East championship, expectations are high that the Hoyas can improve on their bottom-of-the-barrel performances last season.

“I’m very optimistic about how they are going to do,” Head Coach Jamie Holder told The Hoya in an interview Feb. 8.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

THE HOYA

A9

MEN’S BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

GU Football’s Future Uncertain Whittington, Lubick Shine Against St. John’s

FOOTBALL, from A1

ability to compete for outstanding student-athletes while continuing to uphold the high academic standards of the League and its member institutions,” Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich wrote in a press release.

Georgetown, whose 8-3 record last season was its best league finish in a decade, plans to remain in the Patriot League, though it remain unclear whether the new policy will alter the football team’s strictly need-based aid policy.

“Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based program,” University President John J. DeGioia wrote in a statement.

All Patriot League schools — including football-only members Georgetown and Fordham, as well as non-football members Army and Navy — participated in the decision. The League agreed to keep voting process details confidential. In the past, DeGioia, who played football at Georgetown in

the late 1970s, has indicated that he is opposed to adding athletic scholarships.

“I am not supportive of moving to a scholarship program,” DeGioia told The Georgetown Voice last fall. “I don’t believe that fits the ethos and the culture of Georgetown.”

The issue of athletic scholarships for football came to the fore after Fordham was made ineligible for conference title consideration in football in 2010 when it began allowing athletic scholarships in its football program.

“I think this is a great decision for the Patriot League,” Fordham Executive Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin wrote in a press release. “Merit-based aid has allowed Fordham to renew rivalries with Army and Villanova and to enhance our schedule with the addition of schools such as Navy and Connecticut, and I’m sure that the other Patriot League schools will find the same benefits.”

In light of the change, the League will reconsider Fordham’s eligibility for this year’s championship in the spring, according to their press release.

The change could also affect

other sports, as the Patriot League release noted that any school that adds to its current football budget would be required to allocate a proportional amount of funds to its women’s sports teams.

League officials also indicated that the change in merit aid may be a precursor to expansion, which is unsurprising in the current turbulent climate of college football conference realignment.

In the last year, several major athletic conferences have added new members and reorganized in attempts to create powerhouse football leagues, sending basketball-centric conferences scrambling for members.

“The expansion piece is probably the next thing on our agenda, at least for discussion,” Femovich said. “I think there would be some attraction to adding one or two members on the football side as well as one or two members on the full-member side.”

Despite the difficult decisions ahead, DeGioia remains optimistic.

“We remain committed to our goal of providing our student athletes with an unparalleled academic experience and an athletically competitive football team,” he wrote.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Huskies Demolish Hoyas in Rout UCONN, from A10 Meanwhile, the Hoyas, who have relied on defense and turnovercreating abilities to compensate for their conference-worst 35.9 fieldgoal percentage so far this year, were stone cold again from the field. The Blue and Gray finished shooting just 25 percent from the field, and star junior guard Sugar Rodgers, the conference’s leading scorer with 19.5 points per game, was held to just 10 points.

“If they have one of their best players and we don’t stop them, we’re going to hear about it nonstop,” junior Connecticut guard Kelly Faris, who matched up with Rodgers defensively, told reporters.

“Those are the types of things we focus on.”

Rodgers was not alone in her struggles, however. The Huskies, who boast the league’s best scoring and field-goal defense, were able to smother the Hoyas’ support-

ing threats. Forward Tia Magee, whose increased scoring was vital to the Blue and Gray’s four-game win streak heading into Saturday, was held to just three points, well under her 11.4 points-per-game average.

Georgetown forced a respectable 14 turnovers but committed 21 of its own.

Despite the margin of defeat, the Blue and Gray remain a halfgame behind fourth-place West Virginia in the division standings, thanks to the Mountaineers’ upset victory over league-leader Notre Dame.

“There’s nothing we can do about this game now,” WilliamsFlournoy said. “We can’t go back and grab it. We have four games left, and those are our priority. Our next focus is Villanova.”

The Hoyas will travel this Tuesday to take on the Wildcats (15-10, 5-7 Big East) in Villanova, Pa. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers, shown against Seton Hall, was held to 10 points against UConn.

Cespedes’ Deal Raises Draft Issues

S

Other than the considerable talent gap between foreign leagues and Major League Baseball, many players with Major League skill sets struggle to adapt to the culture of America.

Céspedes’ free agency was nearly affected by an issue that surfaced in the new collective bargaining agreement regarding international free agents. In the

Preston Barclay

Many players with Major League skill sets struggle to adapt to the culture of America. past, teams were able to spend as much money as they wanted on international amateurs. After the collective bargaining agreement, teams are limited in the amount they can spend on players aged 16 or older from outside the United States.

Céspedes and fellow Cuban defectors will not be subject to these new rules, but future international free agents — including many from Cuba and the Dominican Republic — will not receive contracts as large as Cespedes’.

Is MLB right to limit spending on amateurs, including draft

Hoya Staff Writer

Strange circumstances bred unlikely heroes for the No. 10 Hoyas (19-5, 9-4 Big East) Sunday afternoon, as Georgetown’s best scorers struggled to make an impact against St. John’s (10-15, 4-9 Big East). The Blue and Gray struggled to get any separation from the Johnnies — who are down to just six scholarship players and are missing Head Coach Steve Lavin as he recovers from prostate cancer surgery — and didn’t get much of a boost from a small, mostly lifeless Verizon Center crowd. Into the breach stepped freshman forward Greg Whittington and sophomore forward Nate Lubick, frustrating the Red Storm with their typically stout defense and complementing it with surprisingly potent scoring.

Lubick, who played just seven minutes against Syracuse, came out of the gates so strong that Head Coach John Thompson III didn’t remove him from the game until nearly eight minutes had passed. Freshman forward Otto Porter checked in about halfway through that stretch, but Thompson III had clearly noticed Lubick’s impact on the game and elected to sub out senior center Henry Sims instead of Lubick, as he usually does. The sophomore rewarded his coach’s belief by assisting on two of Georgetown’s next three made shots and even threw in a block for good measure.

“Things obviously didn’t go our way offensively in the first half,” Lubick said. “We were a little sluggish coming out on both ends, so I wanted to come out and bring a bunch of energy.”

Lubick ended up bringing a whole lot more than energy — by the time he sat down he had compiled five rebounds, three assists and two blocks to go along with two points, and the crowd gave him a warm ovation in recognition of his strong play.

“He made the hustle plays. His effort was very good and we needed it,” Thompson III said of Lubick. “At the offensive end [he was] strong with the ball, [and] he got us second and third [shots].”

St. John’s assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who is coaching in place of Lavin

during his recovery, was similarly impressed by the Massachusetts native.

“He’s just one of those guys,” Dunlap said. “He’s a role player who gets the job done.”

Lubick didn’t let up after halftime, scoring four quick points at the beginning of the second half. He didn’t score again, but once again found other ways to contribute — most notably with a huge block on star freshman forward Moe Harkless with 3:43 left. If Harkless, who was in the midst of a 14-point second half, had made that shot, the Georgetown lead would have been cut to four. Instead the Hoyas got the ball back, and after a tough offensive rebound by Lubick, basically sealed the game on a three-point play from senior guard Jason Clark.

All of Lubick’s effort might have gone for naught, though, if one of his freshman teammates hadn’t stepped up the way he did. Greg Whittington’s defensive prowess was earning him, on average, just over 18 minutes per game before Sunday. His offense lagged behind, though, as he came into the game shooting just 31 percent from the field and 26 percent from long range.

All of those struggles were forgotten against the Red Storm, as Whittington was one of five Hoyas in double figures.

The team-high 12-point performance was also a career-best for Whittington, who finished the game without turning the ball over once.

“They had a good game — both of them,” Thompson III said of Lubick and Whittington. “Coming down the stretch they [normally] wouldn’t be in there, but the group we had in there worked well on both ends of the floor, so we stayed with it and these two were instrumental.”

“I joke with Greg every single day about missing shots,” Clark said with a smile after the game. “But today ... he went out there and made his shots.”

Because of those shots, and because of Lubick’s hustle, the Hoyas were able to avoid their second two-game losing streak of the season and will instead head to Providence on a positive note.

“We needed to bounce back fast,” Lubick said. “That’s how you do well in this league. To come back and grit out a big win was important.”

SOFTBALL

TURNING TWO IN THE 202

ince late last summer, hype has followed Cuban sensation Yoenis Céspedes and his imminent arrival in the United States.

Céspedes, who just signed a four-year $36 million salary with the Oakland Athletics, formally established residency in the Dominican Republic in January and has been weighing offers from Major League Baseball teams ever since. The A’s fought off stiff competition from the Miami Marlins, the initial frontrunners to sign the outfielder.

Céspedes rose to prominence several years ago. In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he hit .458 with a double, three triples, and two home runs in a six-game span for Cuba. Céspedes has routinely slugged over 20 home runs per season in Cuba’s professional league, including an impressive 33 bombs in just 90 games in 2011.

Perhaps Céspedes’ best move from a public relations standpoint was releasing a 20-minute video that demonstrated his physical ability in the weight room and on the field (the video can easily be found on YouTube by searching “Yoenis Céspedes showcase”). Kevin Goldstein, a minor league baseball analyst for baseballprospectus.com, has referred to Céspedes as the complete package and “arguably the best all-around player to come out of Cuba in a generation.”

But before we christen Céspedes as an All-Star, we should remember that it’s difficult to predict how he — along with Japanese pitching phenomenon Yu Darvish, who will begin his MLB career in 2012 with the Texas Rangers — will adjust to baseball in the States.

LAWSON FERGUSON

picks from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as 16-year-old free agents from Latin America? It’s certainly a topic worth discussing, but it doesn’t seem fair that teams will be restricted in their pursuits for some players and not for others who, like Céspedes, are still very much unknown in quantity.

The driving force behind the decision to limit spending on certain kinds of players is a desire to level the playing field. But until a universal salary cap is instituted, the rich will continue to be able to spend lavishly on free agents, while smaller-market clubs still won’t be able to easily afford to match the contract offers their richer brethren can make. On the other hand, MLB’s decision to cap spending on some players is unfairly hindering the earning potential of many who likely won’t receive Big League paychecks in the future.

Ultimately, however, these issues remain irrelevant for the likes of Yoenis Céspedes. The young star is set for the next four years thanks to the A’s generous contract offer, which made him the ballclub’s highest-paid player despite his never playing a Major League game before. The rest of his professional baseball future is very much unclear.

If anything is certain, though, it’s that it will be interesting to watch the unfolding of MLB’s new policies concerning international players play out. Cespedes’ may be one of the last international young stars to get a rookie contract this size.

Preston Barclay is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. TURNING TWO IN THE 202 appears every Tuesday.

Georgetown Softball Wins Pair at Elon Tournament RACHAEL AUGOSTINI Hoya Staff Writer

After a disappointing 2011 season, Georgetown’s softball team (2-2) started anew by opening their 2012 season with a win over Liberty Saturday in the Elon Tournament.

But despite topping the Flames, 9-2, in the first game of the tourney, they could do no better than .500 on the weekend, picking up a win over North Carolina Central and then losing to Elon, 8-0, and dropping a rematch to Liberty, 7-2.

The Blue and Gray offense showed up big on Saturday morning with seven Hoyas recording hits and five of those seven having multi-hit games.

A combination of fresh faces and veterans contributed to the Hoyas’ win against Liberty. Georgetown was strong from the get-go, scoring three runs in the first inning highlighted by sophomore first baseman Madeleine Giaquinto’s two-run single. Giaquinto, who saw little playing time for the Hoyas in her freshman season, drove in four runs.

Sophomore right fielder Samantha Findling, a Michigan State transfer, made an impact with three hits in her first game as a Hoya. Senior Mackensey Carter started in the circle for the Hoyas, pitching four innings and securing the win by allowing no earned runs. Carter attributed the victory to good vibes in the dugout.

“The team was positive, loose and having fun,” Carter said.

And it wasn’t just Carter’s strong pitching that made Head Coach Pat Conlan happy.

“I was very excited with our offensive performance,” Conlan said.

However, the Hoyas were unable to maintain that offense as the day went on. It took only four innings for Elon to defeat Georgetown, and sophomore pitcher Hannah Slovacek had a disappointing season-opening performance: She allowed seven runs in just two innings.

“We need to work on staying ahead in the count and hitting our spots,” Conlan said.

The Hoyas aimed to start off the day

just as they had done on Saturday and again came out well. Sunday’s win against the Eagles was an all-around effort.

Sophomore outfielder Elyse Graziano contributed three hits and Carter, freshman pitcher Megan Hyson and freshman pitcher Lauren O’Leary collectively gave a solid pitching performance, holding the Eagles to four earned runs. The Blue and Gray had 13.

“Our pitching staff is deep, and it allows us to have many different options to go to,” Conlan said. “I am excited to see how they continue to develop.”

While the pitching was stellar in the morning, the Hoyas faltered again in the afternoon. Senior designated hitter Cara Savarese had a powerful offensive performance, but the Hoyas could not finish a weekend sweep of the flames.

The Hoyas were on the board first and maintained their 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, but then things began to fall apart.

O’Leary, who had only allowed three hits in the first four innings, allowed five in the fifth before being replaced

by Carter, who allowed two more. The Flames’ dominant fifth was the key in their rout, as the Hoyas were unable to respond to the Flames’ six-run inning.

They mustered just one run the rest of the way.

“We did not handle Liberty’s short game very well, which put additional pressure on the defense,” Conlan said.

“We left a number of players on base in scoring position.”

Liberty tacked on one more in the seventh, sealing their victory and evening out the Hoyas’ record at 2-2.

As a result, the verdict for the Hoyas was decidedly mixed, with players finding room for improvement on both offense and defense.

“We need to fine-tune some defensive plays and just get comfortable being on the field with each other again,” Carter said.

The Hoyas will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. this weekend for the USCUpstate Tournament. Their first game is Friday against UNC-Wilmington at 6 p.m.

Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL No. 10 Hoyas (19-5) at Providence (13-13) Saturday, 7 p.m.

MASN

tuesDAY, febr uary 14, 2012

Recent Scores: big east MEN’s BASKETBALL

ONLINE AT THE HOYA.COM Read Celee Belmonte’s recap of the men’s and women’s tennis matches last weekend at Pitt and Mary Washington.

USF

Providence

55 48

Syracuse Louisville

52 51

Pittsburgh Seton Hall

Upcoming Games: big east MEN’s basketball 66 73

St. John’s at Seton Hall Tonight, 7 p.m.

Depaul at Connecticut Tomorrow, 7 p.m.

“He played like he was on a mission, with incredible intensity and focus.”

Tennis Head Coach Gordie Ernst on freshman John Brosens

Men’s Basketball

woMen’s Basketball

No. 3 Connecticut Rocks Georgetown Beno Picciano Hoya Staff Writer

WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA

Sophomore forward Nate Lubick had seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks Sunday afternoon.

Hoyas Rebound Against Storm Michael Palmer Hoya Staff Writer

St. John’s was so focused on shutting down Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson that the Red Storm allowed Nate Lubick to remind everyone why he’s in Georgetown’s starting five.

The sophomore forward contributed in every facet of the game, notching eight rebounds, seven points, five assists and four blocks, as the then-No. 12 Hoyas (19-5, 9-4) defeated the Red Storm (10-15, 4-9) at Verizon Center, 71-61.

“I think that Nate’s hustle to-

Rutgers at Notre Dame Tomorrow, 4 p.m.

day gave us a lot of energy,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “His effort was very good and we needed it. You st. John’s 61 could see him going Georgetown 71 after the rebounds and the blocked shots.”

Lubick has the lowest average in both points and minutes per game of the Blue and Gray starters, but made his presence felt Sunday, particularly in the final minutes.

With the Hoyas clinging to a 5953 lead and less than four minutes remaining, Lubick swatted away a shot by freshman forward and Big

The trip to Storrs, Conn., is never easy for any team, but few could have foreseen the shellacking No. 15 Georgetown (19-6, 8-4 Big East) received in an 80-38 defeat at No. 2 Connecticut (23-2, 11-1 Big East) on Saturday night.

Bounced from last season’s NCAA tournament in a close loss to the Huskies, the Hoyas sought revenge but failed to wreak the same havoc with their defensive pressure, which had given one of the conference’s top dogs fits CONNECTICUT 80 in previous matchups.

Georgetown 38 The Blue and Gray dropped three of the final seven games of their 2011 campaign to Connecticut, and although the margins of defeat were much slimmer, none of the three were true road games.

“It’s tough to come and play here,” Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy told reporters. “Last year, we played at our place, we played at the Big East [tournament] and then we played at Temple. So you’re on neutral sites every time. It’s tough to come

East rookie of the year contender Moe Harkless. Lubick then grabbed a crucial offensive rebound of a Clark miss to keep the play alive, resulting in a three-point play for Clark that increased the lead to 6253. The Johnnies couldn’t get closer than six points after that play.

“Things obviously didn’t go our way in the first half, so I just wanted to come out and bring a bunch of energy, offensively and defensively,” Lubick said.

“I’m always confident in Nate,” Clark said. “He was terrific on both

in here and play. Even as experienced as we are, it’s still a tough place to come in here and play.”

The Hoyas took a 12-11 lead on a three-pointer from senior point guard Rubylee Wright with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Huskies responded with 13 straight points and never looked back.

Eleven first-half points from freshman guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis fueled the hosts, who took a 31-18 lead into the break.

Georgetown was in need of an offensive flurry to make the game competitive, but the floodgates opened in the opposite direction as Connecticut struck with back-to-back three pointers to spark a 34-8 run to begin the second half.

The lead ballooned to as many as 44 points with 3:44 remaining in the contest, as Mosqueda-Lewis broke a recent shooting slump to lead the Huskies with 23 points. Sophomore guard Bria Hartley and senior guard Tiffany Hayes added 18 and 12 points, respectively, as the Huskies shot 50 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent in the second half.

See UCONN, A9

Swimming & DIVING

See ST. JOHN’S, A8

TENNIS

GU Aims to Continue Hot Streak Ryan Bacic

Special to The Hoya

After a dominant 7-0 win at Division III Mary Washington, Georgetown’s men’s tennis team will have little time to rest before hitting the road on Wednesday to take on UPenn in Philadelphia.

Georgetown (4-1) has had an encouraging start to its 2012 campaign, with triumphs over Longwood and Norfolk State in the VCU 4+1 before the Hoyas’ 4-1 rout of Richmond on Jan. 28 and this weekend’s victory over Mary Washington.

FILE PHOTO: SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA

Senior Andrew Bruhn, shown in the Georgetown Classic this fall, is one of three Hoyas in contention for the No. 1 singles spot this weekend.

Head Coach Gordie Ernst made clear that the Hoyas’ opponents so far have prepared them well for the upcoming challenge against Penn.

Mary Washington is consistently a “top-20 D-III team,” Ernst noted.

“They’re scrappy, they’re hungry.

The matches were pretty tight.”

Richmond, meanwhile, has been making Georgetown look good since the two faced off; the Spiders have reeled off four straight wins since their meeting with the Hoyas.

Still, Georgetown will certainly be putting its mettle to the test when it faces off against a tough UPenn squad.

“Penn is a team that has some talent,” Ernst said. “They’ve got guys that are higher ranked than who we’ve got in the junior tennis [rankings].”

Because of that, UPenn represents a chance for the determined Hoyas to prove themselves.

“If we want to be a good team, we’ve got to beat good teams,” said Ernst.

Ernst still hasn’t set the singles seed for the Blue and Gray. The team’s top three players — senior Andrew Bruhn, junior Charlie Caris and freshman Shane Korber — are fairly “interchangeable,” Ernst said.

Whatever the order may be, Ernst is looking for the first two, both upperclassmen, to help set the tone.

See PENN, A8

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

The Georgetown diving team struggled in the Big East championship last weekend in Pittsburgh, Pa. The swimming team will compete there this weekend.

Hoyas Travel to Pitt for Big East Championship Rae Underberg & Laura Wagner Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown diving team has ended its season with a disappointing showing at the Big East diving championships in Pittsburgh, Pa., while the swimming team is making its final preparations to head there tomorrow for this week’s swimming championship. The Hoyas look forward to three full days of swimming, which will conclude on Feb. 18.

In the diving championships, the Hoyas faced stiff competition in every category and struggled to put up points.

On Friday, freshman diver Bryan Dorames took the 20th spot in the men’s 1-meter preliminaries with a score of 185.5. On the women’s side, sophomore Shannon Donohue placed

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23rd overall in the 1m with 200.25 points.

Freshman Lauren Kahan and sophomore Jennifer Purks placed 30th and 31st, respectively, with freshman Zoey Krulick rounding out the field in 33rd place with a score of 165.55.

In the 3m competition last Saturday, Donohue scored 188.80 to finish 21st overall. Purks and Kahan once again placed next to each other, with the sophomore finishing in 25th place and the freshman in 26th.

Dorames’ showing in the 3m championship was a bright spot in the Hoyas’ otherwise lackluster performance. He finished 16th overall with a score of 220.65, helping the men’s team take 6th overall in the team standings for the diving championship.

See CHAMPIONSHIPS, A8