The Hoya: October 16, 2015

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 12, © 2015

friday, october 16, 2015

SPOKEN WORD MAKES PLAY The small but vibrant spoken word poetry community at Georgetown is growing.

EDITORIAL An art gallery will infuse muchneeded creativity into campus.

TRUMP TREE TRUNKS Citizens rally against the removal of 465 trees along the Potomac.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A7

GUIDE, B1

Endowed Gallery Expands Art Space Syed Humza Moinuddin Special to The Hoya

Georgetown will open a 2,500-square-foot art gallery in the Edmund A. Walsh Building in fall 2017 after receiving an unspecified donation from alumni Maria (CAS ’87) and Alberto de la Cruz (CAS ’89).

The de la Cruz Gallery of Art will serve as a space for travelling exhibitions and historical artwork from museums across Washington, D.C., as well as pieces from Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students. It will serve as a complement to the Lucile M. and See GALLERY, A6

artforum

Alberto de la Cruz (CAS ’89) and his wife Maria (CAS ’87) made an unspecified donation to found a second Walsh art gallery.

MedStar Seeks $560M Plan Construction would replace parking lot with medical pavilion

Gaia Mattiace Hoya Staff Writer

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital has applied to build a $560 million medical and surgical pavilion, which will include 32 new operating rooms, 156 new private beds, a rooftop helipad and more advanced equipment. If the proposal is approved by the city, construction will begin in late 2016 and end by 2020. The new pavilion would replace the hospital’s current parking lot by Darnall Hall and connect to the hospital. MedStar President Richard Goldberg said that the 477,000-squarefoot pavilion is a potential solution to the hospital’s limited space and the challenge of accommodating a high volume of emergency patients. The existing hospital building will also be renovated with the intent to improve efficiency and accommodate new services. “The overall goal of the project is improved patient experience and continuing to provide world-class care,” Goldberg wrote in an email to The Hoya. “To that end, we want to construct a building connected to the main hospital with a new right-sized emergency department. Our current emergency department is often cramped and can become seriously overcrowded.” The hospital initiated plans for See HOSPITAL, A6

FILE PHOTO: DAN GANNON/THE HOYA

The anticipated hospital construction would increase green space, creating a “northern gate” on the Reservoir Road side of campus.

DC Council Considers Paid Family Leave Bill Aly Pachter

partial paid leave. Seven councilmembers, including its co-authors Councilmember Elissa The Council of the District of Colum- Silverman (I-At Large) and Councilbia is considering the Universal Paid member David Grosso (I-At Large), inLeave Act of 2015, a bill that would troduced the bill at the D.C. Chamber guarantee 16 weeks of Commerce Governof paid leave to all em- “Every time you put ment Affairs Commitployees in the District another restriction ... tee on Sept. 10. who are parents of “Only 12 percent newborn babies — the on employers, you’re of Americans have most generous bill raising the cost of paid family leave,” with regards to paid Silverman wrote in family and medical hiring in the city.” an email to The Hoya. leave in the country. “Only 4 percent of HARRY HOLZER The act’s proposed low-income people McCourt School of Public Policy paid leave also covhave paid family ers adoptions, recovery from military leave. People shouldn’t have to choose deployment and serious illness of the between medical care and a paycheck. employee or a family member. The bill allows people to spend time Currently, three states — California, with their loved ones when it counts New Jersey and Rhode Island — have most — when a new child enters their paid leave programs, though the maximum benefit is six weeks of See LEAVE, A6

Special to The Hoya

file photo: david wang/the hoya

Chuck Hagel, pictured at his February 2013 confirmation hearings, left his professorial post at Georgetown to serve as secretary of defense from 2013 to 2015.

Post-Pentagon, Hagel Returns Margaret Heftler Hoya Staff Writer

Former Secretary of Defense and Georgetown professor Chuck Hagel returned to Georgetown this semester to assume the position of distinguished executive-in-residence. In his role, Hagel will engage with students in guest lectures and provide support and expertise to administrators and faculty in all four schools. Prior to his appointment as secretary of defense, Hagel was a professor in the School of Foreign Service from 2009 to 2013, specializing in geopolitical issues. The Hoya sat down with Hagel earlier this week to discuss his new role, his experiences in the United States Department of Defense and the future of American politics leading up to the 2016 elections.

What about Georgetown brought you back? When President of Georgetown Jack DeGioia called me and asked me to consider coming back to Georgetown, I was very pleased because I found my experience here for three years before I went to be secretary of defense to be as enhancing and rewarding as any experience I’ve had in my life.

“You’ve got to take care of your people, and the quality of your people is always the essence of an institution.” CHUCK HAGEL Distinguished Executive-in-Residence

I respect the institution and the students. The opportunity

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

to connect and make some contributions and … to be part of that in different ways was very attractive to me. Are there any improvements you would suggest to the deans of the schools at Georgetown? One of the reasons I’ve always thought Georgetown is an exceptional institution of higher learning is that they make the education here relevant to real life, and they’ve taken advantage of the fact that they are here at the center of the nation’s business, the nation’s capital, and they have access to current leaders and former leaders, both internationally and domestically. They’ve used that very effectively. I think to continue to build on that, to give students

FEATURED NEWS Gender Gap

Enushe Khan (MSB ’17) was elected as the second-ever female GUSA senate speaker Sunday. A8

SPORTS Freshman Phenom

Sports Shutout Streak

OPINION Global Citizen

NEWS Community Classes

Sailor Haddon Hughes has dominated in her first year at Georgetown. B10

As the world globalizes, it is increasingly difficult to define people by where they are “from.” A3

The Georgetown men’s soccer team earned its fourth consecutive shutout against Marquette. B10

The School of Foreign Service in Qatar is offering night courses to members of the Doha community. A5

See HAGEL, A6 Published Tuesdays and Fridays

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com


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OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, october 16, 2015

THE VERDICT

EDITORIALS

Hold the Door Open Last Friday, hundreds of students donned their orange “I am” T-shirts for Coming Out Day in a celebration of gender and sexual identity. With Coming Out Day and a number of other events sponsored by GUPride and the LGBTQ Resource Center, OUTober serves to recognize both the triumphs and continued struggles of Georgetown’s LGBTQ community. Largely because of Georgetown’s Catholic identity, the university has historically been at odds with the LGBTQ community. Although Georgetown has made incredible strides to make our campus a safe and accepting space for all students, there are still a number of reasons that LGBTQ students might not take part in the very visible celebration of Coming Out Day. The ability to be “out and proud” is often tied to intersecting identities of race and class; for some, presentation is not a question of self-acceptance but of survival. GUPride, the LGBTQ Resource Center and the administration should take further steps to ensure that no one will feel that they cannot afford to publicly disclose their identity on campus. Of the 15 events hosted in October and November, based on the descriptions found on the LGBTQ Resource Center’s calendar, none of them explicitly address ways to combat Georgetown’s lingering culture of heteronormativity. Such an event, aimed at the broader community of students and administrators, must target what individuals can do to promote a culture of inclusivity.

On the administrative side, the new diversity requirement presents an opportunity to incorporate issues of gender and sexual identity.. Healthy dialogues must include all of Georgetown, not only those already involved with the LGBTQ inclusivity movement. Take Love Saxa, a student group housed in Campus Ministry, that aims to promote sexual integrity at Georgetown through educational programming focused on traditional marriage and family. Socially conservative groups like Love Saxa certainly have the right to free speech at Georgetown along with any other organization on campus. However, when Love Saxa calls attention to “the harmful effects of a distorted view of human sexuality and the human person,” as described on the group’s Facebook page, it takes a step neither toward compromise nor healthy dialogue, and instead alienates the LGBTQ population on campus. Healthy dialogues on identity, diversity and sexuality that incorporate faith traditions can and should be encouraged. However, it is undeniable that views targeting students of certain identities can make Hoyas feel isolated in a place where they are supposed to feel at home. As we continue to celebrate OUTober and the importance of accepting all identities, the Georgetown community would do well to recognize how far we still have to go. LGBTQ students should not feel as though they have to hide their identities at Georgetown, a campus that boasts inclusivity in theory but not always in practice.

C C C C

C C

Founded January 14, 1920

DC Got Us Fallin’ in Love Again — Usher was spotted visiting D.C. and touring the monuments. Make Late-Night Comedy Great Again? — It has been announced that Donald Trump will be hosting “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 7. Bye Bye Bunnies — Starting next year, Playboy will no longer publish nude photos of its models. Oh, how times have changed. Battle Royale — After a spectacular night packed with talented seminude gentlemen, Mr. Black Student Alliance Walter Kelly (COL ’16) won the Mr. Georgetown Pageant through a combination of infatuating charisma and poetic prowess. It’s Not Even Halloween — The lottery for tickets to the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony opens at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. Mean Metro — An employee at the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station refused to let a disabled man and his service dog use the emergency exit so that the animal would not get hit by the automatic gates.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Michelle Xu

Go Fund Us For many Georgetown student organizations, the Council of Advisory Boards is synonymous with funding. In reality, CAB, which mediates dialogue between the six undergraduate advisory boards, is not directly involved in the allocation of funds. That being said, much of the recent dialogue mediated by CAB between the different undergraduate advisory boards has concerned the weakness of the 2016 Finance and Appropriations budget, which allocates funding to the advisory boards, and how it has negatively affected them. These effects have been felt by members of Georgetown’s student organizations, who rarely find student-group funding sufficient. The Fin/App Committee is composed of elected members of the Georgetown University Student Association senate who serve as liaisons between Fin/App and a single advisory board. Often, Fin/App funding decisions are made with lack of understanding. The current process is inadequate; student club funding must be reorganized. For one, student groups could launch their own initiatives by appealing to their own alumni for funds. Organization-specific fundraising campaigns would allow Georgetown alumni to personalize their contributions to the university while eschewing the oft-cited headache of bureau-

cratic courtship for group leaders. Drawing investment from former members would strengthen a group’s alumni network, instilling current members with a deeper sense of tradition and continuity. While this is currently possible, the advisory boards should more actively encourage student groups to embark on these campaigns in lieu of traditional funding. In addition to creating a new source of funding, the existing system should be reformed. A tenable option, and one that may supplement the recommendation above, is to fulfill the campaign goal of many GUSA candidates and expand the allocation of tuition expenses to the student activities fee. This fee is currently the main source of funding for student groups. Set against Georgetown’s undergraduate tuition, such a reallocation would be negligible — perhaps $50 per student would be sufficient. Yet, given the invaluable role that extracurricular activities play in the lives of so many Georgetown students, a small adjustment would produce tremendous results. Student-group funding allocation needs reorganization. Whether this involves organizationspecific fundraising campaigns to complement Fin/App’s governance or a fee increase, the student activities fee is up to students. But for the sake of Georgetown’s student groups, a more effective budgetary system must be a priority.

Visual Arts, Showcased Georgetown’s presence in the local visual arts community has been muted at best. Art displayed on campus is largely confined to the 400-squarefoot Spagnuolo Art Gallery, which does not showcase student artworks to a wide audience. Student art can sometimes be found in murals around campus, Students of Georgetown, Inc. locations and Kickback, but Georgetown still lacks a unified space to showcase the product of students’ creativity and hard work. The creation of the de la Cruz Gallery of Art is poised to change that, as the de la Cruz family looks to reshape Georgetown’s image into a cultural center for D.C.’s art community. The de la Cruz gallery will publicly showcase the works of Georgetown students and professionals alike in a space more than five times larger than any dedicated arts studio on campus. At 2,500 square feet, the gallery is a definite boost to the university’s Department of Art and Art History. By displaying historical work and contemporary student and professional art together, students’ pieces will hopefully attract a wider audience of visitors, admirers and potential patrons. By drawing professional visual artists from the District, students will also have an opportunity to work alongside professionals who would serve

Katherine Richardson, Executive Editor Daniel Smith, Managing Editor Molly Simio, Online Editor Toby Hung, Campus News Editor Kristen Fedor, City News Editor Tyler Park, Sports Editor Jinwoo Chong, Guide Editor Daniel Almeida, Opinion Editor Isabel Binamira, Photography Editor Shannon Hou, Layout Editor Becca Saltzman, Copy Chief Courtney Klein, Blog Editor Laixin Li, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Daniel Almeida, Chair Gabi Hasson, Irene Koo, Charlie Lowe, Sam Pence, Parth Shah

as mentors or give talks on campus. This could have the potential of building a network of artists to support undergraduate students in their pursuits. Therefore, this gallery is a key step towards strengthening the arts community on campus and in the D.C. community at large. The family’s gift made it clear that the Georgetown community recognizes the importance of promoting visual arts. Displaying student artwork alongside travelling exhibits will open up the Georgetown student artist community to a larger, districtwide audience. The gallery, set to host monographic and thematic art shows that will draw on the collections from D.C. area museums and beyond, will engage a wider audience and, consequently, promote a higher level of interest in arts at Georgetown. If the purpose of the gallery is to finally give students a space to showcase their art, then a further commitment to exposure to patrons, enthusiasts and professionals is necessary. When it is inaugurated, the gallery should also provide clarifications on programming and how students can benefit from showcasing their work. If the gallery fulfills its purpose, the arts culture on campus will see a renaissance in its near future.

This week

[ CHATTER ]

Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces. Melina Hsiao (COL ’18) reiterating the positions of some presidential candidates on the recent shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon:

Ben Carson also decided to join the chorus. In an interview for Fox News, Carson made comments essentially insinuating that had the victims of the mass shooting in Oregon behaved differently, more would have survived. The idea that a presidential candidate can blame the victims of a mass shooting for their own deaths and escape almost politically unscathed is, quite frankly, terrifying.”

Find this and more at

thehoya.com/chatter CORRECTIONS In a previous article (“Carnes, Kabore Participate in Economic Task Force,” The Hoya, October 9, 2015), the task force meeting was said to have taken place two weeks ago. The meeting took place from Oct. 1 to 3. In a previous article (“Athletics Receives Unprecedented $50M Donation,” The Hoya, October 9, 2015), the Coopers’ donation was said to be the fourth largest donation in the university’s history. It is the second largest.

Mallika Sen, Editor-in-Chief

Brian Carden, General Manager

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OPINION

Friday, october 16, 2015

but i digress

THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • Eldaief

Losing My Ethnic Ambiguity

“W Lam Nguyen

Support Women’s Decisions I

am a man, one who is weighing in on the issue of a woman’s right to her own body. Preposterous? Yes. Invalid? I don’t think so. My lack of understanding as a man is all the more reason why I understand. Here’s the thing: I will not undergo nine months of pregnancy. I will not experience the extreme pain of childbirth or face the realistic possibilities of injury and death that come from it. I will never fathom the consuming fear manifested by accidental or unwarranted pregnancy. My voice has weight and my opinions hold value, but who am I to decide for a woman about whether she should birth a child or not? I am merely an observer with an opinion, one who defines pro-life as meaning more than just respecting life, but also respecting its essence and enrichment. Current pro-life perspectives focus on life only in terms of birth and death, neglecting everything in between. Unexpectedly having a child can derail a woman’s life, and in many situations it can frame a life without health or happiness for the child. Sure, there are many women who avoided abortion and were blessed with prosperous and blissful children. However, one woman’s luck can just as easily be another woman’s burden. The reality of having an unplanned child under unfavorable circumstances is not optimistic and could rip apart the “everything in between” of life for both the woman and the potential child. I am a moral person, one who personally does not support the practice of abortion but understands its necessity and respects those who choose that option. When pro-life advocates label those who are pro-choice as murderers or immoral, they fail to recognize that the pro-choice camp does not promote abortion. The pro-choice argument simply holds that certain circumstances require the option of abortion to be open and because these circumstances exist, a woman’s right to a safe abortion must be protected to the deepest extent of the law. The immorality in this debate doesn’t lie in the definition of life. The immorality lies in forcing an existing life to take on the crushing responsibility of bearing and nurturing another when the former is not wholly prepared to do so. How moral is it to force women to carry out their pregnancies unwillingly and then to punish them further by eliminating the options and resources that may stabilize their situations? If pro-life advocates preach morality, then they can fulfill their morality by not having abortions. However, they breach their own morality and the lawful rights of others when they try to change the law to reflect their views. If you decide against abortion, that is perfectly acceptable, but you must allow others to come to their own decision without a legal or social restriction on their options. I am a brother and a friend, one whose sister and best friend are women who may not be able to defend themselves against certain evils in this world. My sister is working a full-time job while attending graduate school. My best friend just started her first year at college. With the possibility of assault, rape and accidental pregnancy being all too real, I cannot accept them facing such risks in the midst of some of the best and most influential years of their lives without a safety net. They have plans for their futures, and an unplanned pregnancy will not only drastically hinder those plans, but could also trigger haunting psychological effects. Some people argue that children from an unwanted pregnancy can grow up to be one of the greatest joys in the lives of their loved ones. However, if the situation were ever to arise, I would not hesitate to trade that potential joy for my sister or best friend not to experience the gripping anxiety trying to plan for an accidental pregnancy. On a larger scale, it may seem selfish of me to only care about the future, wellbeing and happiness of them. However, isn’t that the point? Shouldn’t we be taking care of our sisters, friends and all the women in our lives? If so, why deprive them of a safety net and strip away their options, while preventing them from making the decision that is best for each of them? Why condemn women for doing what is best for themselves and their futures? I support life, as well as all the choices along the way that make life as great as it can be. For everything that I am, I am certainly not in the position to stop others from making choices that let them live the life they wish to live.

Lam Nguyen in a sophomore in the College. But I Digress appears every other Friday.

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here are you from?” I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked this question. At Georgetown, this question brings me the same level of dread as “what’s a fun fact you want to share about yourself?” This question is the window into everything that I am. It is also the start of a lot of confusion. I am Egyptian, by blood, by history, by family. I am American, by birth, by citizenship. I am international, by upbringing, by experience. I was born in the United States when my parents lived in India, and I lived there for a couple of years. We then we moved to Dubai, to the United Kingdom, to Singapore and then back to the U.K. I spent the majority of my life living in England, so when someone asks me where my home is, I think of where my family is currently residing. But England is not where I’m from. I am Egyptian, and my attachment to my history and my roots is essential to my identity. Whenever I am asked where I am from, I always specify that I’m originally Egyptian and from London. From there, we explore the reasons why I have an American accent and not an English one. After that, for clarification purposes, I am asked where I was born. Cue confusion and bemusement when I say, “Albany, New York” (in my best English accent). “Okay, you’re Egyptian, you lived in England, you were born in the U.S. … So, what citizenships do you have?” Egyptian, American and Swiss. “What? Why Swiss and not British? Why do you have a Swiss passport?” At this point I share a long story about how my grandmother has a Swiss passport and how I was eligible to apply for Swiss citizenship (disclaimer: I have

Identity, I’ve learned, is entirely self-crafted. It is so much more than the places we have lived or the passports we hold. It is made up of our life experiences. never been to Switzerland). I’m asked afterward where my favorite place to live was, which languages I speak, where I consider “home” and, therefore, where I really consider myself “from.” But the reality is, I love having these conversations. Talking about where I’m from, where my family is

from, where I’ve lived and what I define as “home” reminds me exactly why I came to Georgetown. If home is where the heart is, my home is in Egypt — and answering the onset of questions about my identity is easy. I chose Georgetown because I knew that understanding the tools for Egyptian development would only be pos-

VIEWPOINT • Carabbio

sible through the global perspectives and diversity that exist on the Hilltop. I have never classified diversity by the color of one’s skin or the passport one holds, but rather through one’s perspective. Speaking to a fellow Hoya, who has had a completely different upbringing than my own, brings something unique to my experience and my understanding of the world around me — it reminds me that no single idea is better or more valuable than another. The best part about this conversation is being reminded of my identity. Identity, I’ve learned, is entirely selfcrafted. Our identity is so much more than the places we have lived or the passports we hold. It is made up of our life experiences. The experience of going back to Egypt every summer and the familial reminder of how great it is to be Egyptian has become a quintessential part of my identity. Going back home to the U.K. for Christmas and knowing the London Tube map inside and out has made England a huge part of my identity, too. Whenever I give a tour on campus and I’m introducing myself, I make sure to always say, “I’m originally Egyptian, from London, England,” because I can’t simplify where I’m from any more than that. But experiencing so many cultures, travelling to so many places and meeting so many people from all over the world has made me realize that I can’t just pick one or two places to identify with. So, yes, I am Egyptian, American, Swiss and British, but I am also a global citizen — and that’s a part of my identity that no passport can ever define.

Nada Eldaief is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

For “Think About It,” End Segregation Cycles, Revision Needed One iShack at a Time

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he “Think About It” mandatory tutorial that aims to educate students about alcohol and its effects, as well as other important issues such as building healthy relationships and sexual assault prevention, combines videos, quizzes and storylines to weave together a tale of the “college experience.” Through the eyes of characters like Alex, Nora, Jenn and Kelly, we take a backseat view of their experiences with sex, drugs and rock-and-roll university life. Beyond the petty complaints of sugary background images (anyone else remember the image of cuddling parakeets?) and unrealistic, or at least questionable, scenarios (freshmen doing lines of coke), the general format of the tutorial is a little problematic. First, the tutorial requires paying attention for 2.5 to three hours: manageable, but only during early September — the first few weeks of school. “Think About It” should have been sent earlier, perhaps before classes started, to alert freshmen about the behavior the university wants them to avoid. Don’t get me wrong, “Think About It” is very informative. Its section on alcohol and drugs is useful in presenting different types of drinks and how many and how quickly it takes to reach that warm, fuzzy feeling without going overboard. Alcohol poisoning is also covered. The tutorial’s section on sexual assault, which will be discussed in greater depth in a later paragraph, talks about consent, reporting and a survivor’s options. However, the “Sex in College” section is problematic in a number of ways. Perhaps the most obvious mistake is that it does not talk about sex. We cannot have a discussion about hookups without talking about sex. Many students received abstinence-only, noncomprehensive or sex-negative education in high school. Students with questions may not always find the best sources online or be too intimidated to reach out to Georgetown’s health resources. By not including the kind of AP Sex Education discussion many students need, this tutorial stigmatizes sex. Sexual pleasure itself is never mentioned. In Georgetown’s extremely highstress environment, many students may be more sexually active because it has been proven to ease stress and improve sleep. Meanwhile, the tutorial introduces hookups as an overall negative interaction. All of the experiences about hookups (whether those of “Nora” or “Kelly” or real students) are shown in the student survey of opinions about certain sexual behaviors to be negatively viewed by the students. Consensual hookups are a positive experience for many students and these experiences deserve to be heard as well. The tutorial presents a narrative that is heavily, if not completely, sex negative. Moreover, some of the information about hookups is incorrect.

The tutorial informs us that “Hookup Culture Perpetuates Double Standards.” Double standards existed long before hookup culture. Double standards still oppress women whether they engage in casual hookups, date other people or choose not to date. Double standards stem from the atmosphere of sexism that is so terribly prevalent in our country. Not only is the “Sex in College” section disappointing because it includes misinformation — and blamed people caught in the oppressive double standard of hookups — but also because it is full of missed opportunities. College is a time of self-discovery, of learning more about your identity in ways unheard of or not possible at home. The spectrums of gender, gender expression, sexual attraction and romantic attraction were egregiously absent. This section asks us whether the media “create[s] social and cultural norms that make violence acceptable,” but it fails to answer its own questions. We completely miss a crucial discussion. The last section of “Think About It,” titled “Bleak Friday,” deserves both the most praise and the most criticism. The opening page epitomizes this paradox well. Before the tutorial begins, it gives the reader a trigger warning because of the content matter. However, it does not provide a mechanism for readers who may be triggered to opt out of this system. Rather than forcing students to take a tutorial that may re-invoke their trauma, students should have the option of bypassing this section or talking to a counselor or other trained professional. While I applaud the tutorial for presenting sexual assault in respectful, informative ways, it missed critical realities of sexual violence. The summary claims that “the majority of students will never be sexually assaulted or assault someone.” Yet the current rate at which people are victimized is troubling. According to V-Day, an international organization dedicated to ending violence against women, around one in three women will “be beaten or raped in her lifetime.” Rape Abuse Incest National Network statistics found that for white American women, that proportion is one in six. Women of color typically face higher rates (around 34 percent of Native Americans are sexually assaulted). Moreover, there are different statistics for members of the LGBT community — the National Center for Lesbian Rights predicts that around 64 percent of transgender people experience sexual assault in their lifetime. In conclusion, the university has no right to explain “sex culture” to students without giving students the information needed to make autonomous decisions about their bodies.

Holly Carabbio is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

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wo weeks ago, I stayed with a host family for a weekend in the township of Enkanini, just outside Cape Town. Although the experience was eye-opening, it was also one of the most awkward times in my life. My host family was comprised of a man in his mid-30s who was the head of the household, his wife, her sisters and children and his 29-year-old brother, who was a talented up-andcoming painter in Stellenbosch. Their “iShack,” a solar-power upgraded housing unit, serve as a community center for the settlement. Enkanini is an illegal and informal settlement, or squatter camp, resting on a hill overlooking Stellenbosch that boasts one of the best views of the surrounding mountains. The township is made up of hundreds upon hundreds of roughly built shacks made of plywood, scrap metal, cardboard and doors — anything and everything to make a structure strong enough to withstand the elements. The iShack project provides off-the-grid electricity to shacks through solar PV panels, which enables people to charge their phones, illuminate their rooms and use appliances such as small televisions. Although the South African constitution guarantees free housing, the government is only able to build a few hundred houses per year in Stellenbosch, even though Enkanini’s population far outpaces new housing. Instead of waiting for the government’s help, the iShack project Alexander empowers people in informal settlements to take matters into their own hands by making the spaces more livable and providing a higher quality of life. The predominate language in Enkanini is isiXhosa, and while nearly everyone speaks some degree of English, language presented a difficult and sometimes comical barrier during my weekend. When watching music videos with other members of my host family from a neighboring township, I made a joke that some people think Nicki Minaj is “flawless.” Unfortunately, all of the guys adopted the word and began to call her flawless, though I think they were referring mostly to her curves. Thankfully the younger brother in the host family always accompanied me; he introduced me to his friends and showed me hangout spots such as “taverns,” which are makeshift pool halls. When I first arrived Friday afternoon, a few drunk middle-aged men were eager to teach me how to play pool, and we laughed hysterically together at my many scratches. On a more serious note, I had never been so sexualized as I was during that weekend. My host brothers translated what women said to me as they passed. Quite a few of them were drunk and jokingly asked me to come into their shack, told me that they wanted my body and said far more explicit things. With little to do in the township, men and women frequently begin to drink Friday afternoon and continue until

Sunday evening. When I was walking outside Saturday morning I saw more than a handful of men stumbling and holding bottles of liquor. My host brothers refer to them as “zombies.” Unfortunately, some wine vineyard workers are still illegally paid in alcohol. This perpetuates problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome, which plagues the children of Enkanini and has presented me with challenges when teaching fourthgraders “stepping,” a form of dance, at a local school each week. The iShack project provides an alternative to drinking in the township. The goal of opening iShacks is to provide multipurpose spaces or community rooms that allow adults to chat and children to play safely inside instead of running through broken glass, polluted alleys and gutters while dodging cars on the narrow “streets.” Watching the rugby match, in which the South Africa Springboks crushed Samoa, was my favorite experience. It didn’t matter that the team is still largely made up of Afrikaaners; the residents of Enkanini were proud and enthusiastic supporters of their country. It is almost unheard of for a white person to be in a township, particularly if he is not teaching or volunteering with an organization. Children often ran up to me yelling, “Teacher! Teacher,” eager to be picked up or to play, just as my fourth-graders do at their school. I was told that white people are almost unanimously referred to as “teacher,” because these Bobroske black children never see a white person outside the context of school or the volunteer workforce. One study in Stellenbosch showed that on a given day, more than half of the people in the town do not interact once with anyone outside their social class or race. The remnants of apartheid urban planning fuel this statistic, but South Africa is not unique in such segregation and classification into groups of “others.” How many white Hoyas have entered Black House this year, let alone know where it is? How many Hoyas of faith have ever attended a different religious service on campus? How many Hoyas have even set foot into Washington, D.C.”s Wards 7 and 8? It is easy to simplify life down to a routine of familiarity circling around people who are just like ourselves. But how can we possibly learn from one another, engage with new ideas and create innovative solutions to societal problems we constantly rant against like inequality or poverty if we don’t repeatedly force ourselves to be uncomfortable and break that cycle? How will you engage with a community on the Hilltop or in Washington, D.C., that you have never interacted with before? How will you break your own cycle?

The iShack empowers people to take matters into their own hands.

Alexander Bobroske is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. Oh The Places You’ll Go appears every other Friday.


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NEWS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Five panelists discussed solutions to challenges faced by children in Afghanistan on Wednesday. Story on A8.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

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PRINCES CHARMING

We are all strengthened when decision-making bodies become more representative of the communities they serve.” GUSA Secretary for Campus Planning Ari Goldstein (COL ’18) on diversity in the senate. Story on A8.

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Walter Kelly (COL ’16), center, won the annual Mr. Georgetown Pageant on Friday, Oct. 9 in Gaston Hall. Nineteen senior contestants competed in three rounds of competition, including swimwear, talent and interview portions.

PSA: NO ONE WANTS TO NETFLIX & CHILL 4E understands that Netflix & Chill is so over. Try out some of our new terms, such as Amazon Prime & Fine Wine and RedBox & Relationship. blog.thehoya.com

OUTober Programming Focuses on Trans Rights LISA BURGOA

Special to The Hoya

OUTober, a six-week long celebration of the LGBTQ community organized by the LGBTQ Resource Center and GU Pride, returned to campus this month in its 11th annual iteration with increased programming for transgender history and rights. In conjunction with student organizations and academic departments, the LGBTQ Resource Center has organized 15 panel discussions, guest speaker events and social gatherings spanning the months of October, which is national LGBT History Month, and November. GU Pride kicked off the month’s festivities with an event commemorating Coming Out Day in Red Square last Friday. Students expressed their solidarity with the LGBTQ community by unfurling rainbow flags, chalking murals with encouraging messages and participating in a photo campaign expressing their support for equality. Students were also invited to stride through a symbolic closet door at the event. Other programs for OUTober include a conversation next Tuesday with Ali Liebegott, one of the writers of the Emmy-winning show “Transparent,” a Walk to End HIV next Saturday and a memorial service for victims of transphobic violence Nov. 19. LGBTQ Resource Center Director Shiva Subbaraman said that Coming Out Day has expanded and evolved to encompass more fluid gender identities since the LGBTQ Resource Center was established in 2008. “[OUTober] now goes through November to include transgender history and Transgender Day of Remembrance,” Subbaraman said. “I think transgender is the piece we have focused a lot more on this year, and we also focused a lot more on interconnectedness of identities.” Subbaraman said that the events aim to promote diversity among LGBTQ students on campus. “When most people think about gay people, they think of a gay white man, at best a gay white woman. They’re not thinking of people like me, who look like this and dress like this and walk like this, so I think for us, the biggest continued challenge is to make it clear to people that we are many communities, not one,” Subbaraman said. “We represent probably one of the most diverse cross-sections of this campus community and almost any other community you can think of.” GU Pride President Campbell James (SFS ’17) said that OUTober engages the community in a conversation about identity on campus. GU Pride coordinated roughly half the

events in OUTober and began gauging student interest in programming in July. “For us, Coming Out Day is just the kickoff of OUTober,” James said. “But to me, it’s a way of showing that queer students are your friends, your roommates, that they’re in your classes, they’re your [residential assistants], they’re your [orientation advisors], they’re everywhere around school. It’s not the focus of any GU Pride events or its mission, but it’s really a celebration of our identities.” GU Pride Communications Officer Grace Smith (COL ’18) said that Coming Out Day is one of her favorite events of OUTober. Smith said she particularly loves the t-shirts that participants wore that read “I am.” “Of all the events that [GU] Pride does, this is the most important one to me,” Smith said. “‘I am’ is a very bold statement because I don’t think a lot of people in the LGBT commu-

nity have the privilege to say ‘I am’ and add something after. I think it represents those people whose very existence is an act of rebellion and who are continually fighting.” Coming Out Day also cemented a collaboration between GU Pride and the Georgetown chapter of Active Minds, a national organization that promotes mental health awareness among college students. The Georgetown chapter hosts dialogues and provides resources for mental health issues. GU Pride and Active Minds jointly produced the “Dignity and Pride” theme for the Coming Out Day photo campaign. According to Active Minds Marketing Chair Sylvia Levy (SFS ’18), LGBTQ and mental health are topics that deserve more attention from the community. “The social stigmas attached to both mental illness and the social stigmas attached to gender and

sexuality are really impactful on us as college students and in people in general, and the messages we get in society about who you’re supposed to be and who you’re supposed to like and how you’re supposed to think are very problematic,” Levy said. Besides those regarding mental health, Subbaraman said that events in OUTober will tackle other stigmas confronting LGBTQ students, faculty and alumni. “There is still a lot of job discrimination, and it’s not easy for gay people, especially trans, to get access to health care,” Subbaraman said. “It is not easy to find career paths that are open to them especially since they want to be out, so I think there are a lot of real struggles in the world for students who are LGBT, and I think empowering our students to think more broadly about their identity and what they can or cannot do is part of the work we do here.”

Marguerite Guter (SFS ’19), who participated in the “Dignity and Pride” photo campaign, said that Coming Out Day helped to foster an atmosphere of tolerance within the community. “It showed everyone that it’s okay to be who you are and that you can publically identify yourself as whoever you are and other people will be there to identify as your supporters,” Guter said. “It was just a very positive experience for everyone involved.” Smith said that at its core, the purpose of Coming Out Day extends beyond sexual orientation and gender. “It’s important for everybody to come out and say something that they love about themselves, and it doesn’t have to be related to LGBT issues or those sort of identities,” Smith said. “Everybody has something worth celebrating, but we don’t do it enough. That’s why I think it’s important to set aside one day to do just that.”

ISABEL BINAMIRA/THE HOYA

GU Pride organized a celebration of Coming Out Day in Red Square last Friday to kick off the 11th annual OUTober, which includes 15 other events organized by the LGBTQ Resource Center throughout October and the first three weeks of November.


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THE HOYA

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SFS-Q Community Classes Renewed Matthew Larson Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar began the second semester of its community classes Oct. 11 as part of its efforts to include and reach out to the larger Doha community. The 16 community classes, which had their first run this past spring, are designed to introduce students over the age of 18 to a general educational topic over a six-week period. Classes run once a week, are non-credit and cost 1,825 Qatari riyals each, which converts to around $486 per course. Current enrollment numbers have not been released. Students can enroll online, and those who successfully participate in at least four out of six classes receive a letter of completion. No grades or exams are assigned. Courses, which are held in English, French and Arabic, include a wide variety of subjects from “Anthropological Film” to “Masterpieces of French Literature” and “Understanding Digital Marketing.” SFS-Q Associate Director of Outreach and External Engagement Renee Gallant explained that community classes are meant to help community members who have interest in a subject but were previously unable to pursue it. “[Community classes] were designed for a very broad audience,” Gallant said. “They’re really just ‘introduction to’ or ‘subject matter 101.’ People are coming to learn something new.” Gallant said that faculty volunteer to teach these classes and are able to design their own curriculum, but preferably not one that already exists at SFS-Q. “I worked closely with one of our associate deans in academic affairs and she put a callout to our faculty here at GU-Q,” Gallant said. “[We wanted to] offer classes that were outside the normal realm of what GU-Q was offering in our curriculum.” Community Classes Faculty Chair Amira Sonbol explained to the news site Albawaba that target students of the community classes are workingclass citizens with full schedules. As such, classes are held on weekends and in the evenings from 6:30 to

8:30 p.m. “There are many people in Qatar who are interested in personal enrichment and critical skill development, or want to explore new career ideas,” Sonbol said. “This is why we decided to extend Georgetown’s world-class educational resources … in the evenings so people can fit the courses into their busy lives.” Gallant explained that after 10 years in Qatar, Georgetown decided to expand its community programs for non-students by offering these courses. “[Our academic program] only reaches that niche population of young people,” Gallant said. “We really wanted to make sure that we were reaching beyond that audience and share the expertise that we have with the broader community.” One hurdle is SFS-Q’s location in University City, which is just outside the center of Doha and not easily accessible for citizens. “I think there’s often a mixed perception that we’re very exclusive and that these schools are not accessible to the public,” Gallant said. “That’s actually not the case at all. It’s an open campus and we have a number of public programming activities.” SFS-Q’s “Community and Partnerships” page highlights the school’s outreach programs such as philanthropic support, sponsorship and graduate recruitment. The page emphasizes the university’s continued efforts to reach out to community members. “Functioning as an integral part of Qatar’s commitment to the development of a knowledge-based economy, SFS-Q values relationships between external constituencies and academe,” the website reads. Gallant is also already preparing for a spring semester of community classes, which she said will be based more on the interests of community members than those of professors. She said she is pleased thus far with the first week of community classes and hopes their success continues in the foreseeable future. “[Course selection] wasn’t necessarily based on any market research of what the community wanted, so we have to do more of that,” Gallant said. “[But] the response we’ve had to this session indicates that we’ve achieved what we hoped we would.”

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA

The Federal Transit Administration has supervision of the D.C. Metro as of an Oct. 9 announcement from the Department of Transportation, making the subway system the first in the country to be under federal oversight.

Metro Under Federal Oversight Charlotte Allen Hoya Staff Writer

The D.C. Metro is the first United States subway system to be placed under direct government supervision of the Federal Transit Administration due to lapses in safety regulations, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced Oct. 9. Although everyday operations will continue under the Metro’s oversight, the FTA can perform unannounced facility inspections at any time. This action was outlined in a letter from Foxx to National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart. The letter was issued in response to two “Urgent Safety Recommendations” from the NTSB made Sept. 30. The recommendations were proposed as part of an ongoing investigation into an accident that occurred Jan. 12 in Metrorail’s L’Enfant Plaza, when the tunnel filled with smoke, resulting in the death of one passenger and sickness of many others. The NTSB also recommended that the Department of Transportation seek legislative action and transfer the oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to the Federal Railroad Administration from the Tri-State Oversight Committee, which has been deemed ineffective by both the NTSB and the DOT. Instead, the DOT is handing the responsibility. According to The Washington Post,

Foxx said transferring supervision to the FRA would increase confusion and slow down improvements, as it would require congressional action. “We take every recommendation of the NTSB seriously, including how quickly we can implement an urgent recommendation,” Foxx wrote in the letter. “In this case, we agree on the problem identified by NTSB, but believe there is a faster, more effective way to address it.” Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) told The Washington Post, in an article published Oct. 9, that D.C. Metro safety should remain a top priority and questioned whether Metro oversight should be directed to the FTA and not the FRA. “I look forward to learning more about Secretary Foxx’s proposal to ramp up FTA’s oversight of the Metrorail system but remain concerned that immediate, effective oversight not be victim to bureaucracy,” Connolly said. “Metro needs robust safety oversight today. And to perform that oversight we need an agency with the team and the regulatory tools to do the job today. According to the NTSB, that agency is the FRA, not the FTA.” The measures also require that WMATA use federal funds to address certain safety deficiencies. The FTA will hold this position until D.C., Maryland and Virginia can establish a functioning State Safety Oversight Agency to replace the TOC. Additionally, the FTA has already conducted a “Safety Management Inspection” and issued a safety directive consisting of a series of required corrective

measures. WMATA is also required to hire a general manager immediately, as it has been without permanent leadership since the retirement of Richard Sarles in January. “[The manager must be] able to correct the course at the transit agency and aggressively manage the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan, which has been approved by the FTA,” Foxx wrote. “The urgency of having accountable leadership at the helm of WMATA cannot be overstated.” According to The Washington Post, Metro’s interim general manager Jack Requa welcomes Foxx’s action. “We will continue to work closely with the FTA to improve safety of the WMTA system and are fully engaged in implementing corrective actions recently approved by the agency,” Requa said. “We appreciate Secretary Foxx’s continued support and his leadership on safety oversight.” Bridget McElroy (COL ’18) uses the Metro at least twice per week to commute to her internship, and spoke to its unreliability and need for increased safety regulation. “I don’t think that the Metro is safe at all,” McElroy said. “A lot of the time it just stops at a station or in the middle of a tunnel and doesn’t tell you what’s going on, which is confusing and dangerous. It is also scary because they never tell you how long the train will be stopped for. The speakers never work and a lot of the time you can’t hear the conductors.”


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THE HOYA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015

Hospital Plans $560 Hagel Discusses New Role Million Construction How do you think your past experiences as secretary of defense and senator of Nebraska will inform your presence on campus? Because of the last 20 years, I’ve participated in a lot of defining events that have occurred in the world. I think students are interested in my thinking and my observations, now that I’ve been away from that for a while. … I think they are always interested in hearing about that, and in particular, giving them an opportunity to ask questions. “Why did you think that?” or “Why did you do that?” or “Was doing that a mistake?” … It’s just that I’ve had the great privilege of being on this stage for the past 20 years, and having seen what’s happened, I think any institution of higher learning always puts some value on that.

families and suicide rates. So putting the focus on review of our health care system, review of every human dimension of those internal relationships, which are in fact the glue in the foundation of any institution. You’ve got to take care of your people, and the quality of your people is always the essence of an institution. It’s not the institution, it’s the people and the recruitment and retention of the best people, making sure their families are taken care of. I put a lot of time into that. The last thing I would say is working with the military. The civilian leadership has to work very closely with our uniformed military. It doesn’t mean you agree with everything all the time, but you have to create an environment that’s conducive to listening. Turn your transmitters off and turn on your receivers. I think if America did that more often, we’d do better more often in the world. It’s just basic with dealing with people and getting their point of view. You’re always going to learn something that helps you make decisions.

What are you most proud of accomplishing during your tenure as secretary of defense? Is there anything you wish you had done differently? What have you taken away from the experience? I don’t know of a situation I’ve been in throughout my life, in the private sector the last 50 years, that if I didn’t have the opportunity to go back and do it again, I wouldn’t find ways to do it better. I think the things for me during the two years I spent as secretary of defense was putting a focus on the human dimensions of the men and women and families in the Defense Department that really hadn’t been given a lot of attention over the last 15 years. This country has been at war for unprecedented years: 14 years of war. We’ve never been at war that long in the history of our country … and that takes a huge toll on

What do you think it means to be a moderate Republican, especially in terms of the 2016 race? I’ve always believed that the purpose of politics is to engage the people, give the people an opportunity to participate and as they do, they form some decisions and conclusions and elect leaders to govern. The ultimate objective is not to continue to win elections. The ultimate objective of politics is to govern a nation effectively … and unfortunately, we have found ourselves the last few years so politically unable because we’ve brought such raw partisan politics to governance that we’ve essentially paralyzed our government. You can’t govern a nation of free people without listening to each other and coming to some conclusion. … This absolutism, that “I’m all right and you’re all wrong all the time” will paralyze a nation

HAGEL, from A1

HOSPITAL, from A1 the project in 2010 and submitted a Certificate of Need application with the District of Columbia State Health Planning and Development Agency on Oct. 6. The CON proposal must be approved for the project to come to fruition. “The CON is the first of several regulatory steps in the construction process,” Goldberg wrote. “While working on the necessary regulatory approvals, we have also been looking at design concepts with the university and the Georgetown community.” According to Goldberg, the building will include additional facilities in its updated Emergency Department. “The project also allows for improved traffic patterns, landscaping and the creation of more green space on the hospital campus,” MedStar wrote in a press release. Goldberg added that the new building will enhance the patient experience in terms of both service and convenience. “This new building will be a huge plus for our patients,” Goldberg wrote. “We will take our old, cramped footprint and gain a facility that accommodates patients with private rooms and the latest technologies and improve patient flow so patients can move easier and quicker through our hospital.” Goldberg predicted the new construction will result in $1 billion gain for the greater D.C. area once the project is completed. “This project will mean a big economic impact for the District when you think of employment of individuals and the taxes the District will receive,” Goldberg wrote. Additionally, Goldberg said that the project will beautify the campus by increasing green spaces around the front hospital entrance and improving parking with the construction of new underground garage. “Green space ... will give the property more of a ‘campus look’ for the area right up to Reservoir Road,” Goldberg wrote. “We think it will provide an attractive ‘Northern Gate,’ if you will, to the university.” MedStar plans to hire several firms for

construction, development management and design, including Clark Construction Group, Trammell Crow Company, HKS Architects and Shalom Baranes Associates. “We looked for companies with a lot of experience in designing and constructing projects similar to ours, that is, large-scale health care facilities,” Goldberg wrote. “We have assembled an expert team in the merger of several companies to construct a building that meets our functional goals as well as our objectives for the aesthetic milieu of the university and the neighborhood.” University President John J. DeGioia spoke about the collaborative process of the new construction in an interview with The Hoya last month. (“Q&A: DeGioia on Faith, A Campus Reconstructed,” A1, Sept. 25, 2016) “That one is ambitious— a big, big project that we all need to get everybody in alignment regarding that. I’m pretty confident we’re going to be able to get alignment between all of the parties, because I think our expectations are reasonable and modest, and I think we just need to make sure that everybody is a part of it,” DeGioia said. While Goldberg acknowledged the potential difficulties of such a large project, he remained optimistic. “There could be regulatory hurdles or design modifications that need to be completed,” Goldberg wrote. “But we would comply with changes that we need to make to keep the project moving forward in compliance with regulations.” Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh also highlighted the potential opportunities the new construction could bring to the university. “The hospital’s plans to expand are consistent with the principles that are guiding the work the university has been engaged in to plan for the future here on our campus — to introduce new, high-quality green spaces and expand existing ones, to create a pedestrian-friendly campus, moving transportation away from the center of campus and to continue to develop a more residential living and learning community,” Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya.

they’re in — a good foundation on what the issues are, thinking rather than just a rote participation in education, [are] what I like very much about this school.

at a time when the world is dangerous, complicated and combustible. People are losing confidence in American leadership around the world. … When you produce a society that doesn’t trust its leaders and its institutions, you’ve produced an environment in society that’s very dangerous. So, you have people like [Donald] Trump, [Ben] Carson and [Carly] Fiorina out there advocating that one of the primary reasons they should be elected president is that they have no experience. I’m not sure that’s a particular virtue, but in an environment where politicians and government are so lowly regarded that you all have screwed everything up, and the politicians have brought a lot of it on themselves sure, but we’ll get back to a new center of gravity. … Responsibility is the key function and objective of governance. What security and defense issues are most pressing right now? I think cyber is the most deadly threat of all. I say that because cyberattacks represent a very odious, silent attack. You don’t know when it’s coming, you’re not always sure where it comes from, who perpetrated it. … This is a real deadly threat to our security because it’s an economic threat, it’s a social threat and a security threat. Nuclear exchange is still real and it’s going to be real. Weapons of mass destruction like chemical weapons and biological weapons are still threats. … The challenges are more complicated, more diverse, more varied, but we’ve always had challenges, and we have to be smart and wise with how we use our great capabilities to deal with it. We have tremendous capabilities if we’re smart enough to use them in a smart way with our friends and our allies. We can’t do it alone. No nation can do it alone, and we have to do it with others.

This interview has been edited for clarity and condensed for print.

Walsh to Hold New Art Gallery Council Reviews GALLERY, from A1 Richard F.X. Spagnuolo Art Gallery, which opened in 1958, also located in Walsh. The gallery will replace the Walsh Black Box Theater, which previously served as the university’s main auditorium. The donation was announced two weeks ago. Art History Department Chair Alfred Acres said that the new gallery space will increase opportunities for students to showcase their work. “We anticipate now being able to curate a fair number of our shows here at Georgetown,” Acres said. “This is a chance to dramatically expand the kinds of things that can be shown, and with a bigger space, it just multiplies the opportunities.” The de la Cruz gallery will feature painting, sculpture and installation pieces, while the existing Spagnuolo Gallery will be used to display other types of art. “One idea that we have approached but not settled on with the Spagnuolos is to specialize the gallery in photography and works on paper,” Acres said. “The actual gallery and lighting

work especially well for such exhibitions.” The university has yet to release an official statement on the donation. University Spokesperson and Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh did not respond to requests for comment. The de la Cruz family of Miami, Fla., currently owns a private art collection. Alberto de la Cruz’s parents, Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz, operate the private de la Cruz Gallery in Miami. In an interview with the Washington City Paper, Alberto de la Cruz emphasized Georgetown’s need for more spaces dedicated to exhibiting student artwork. “Most universities have space to show art,” Alberto de la Cruz said. “There’s nothing like that for Georgetown.” Alberto and Maria de la Cruz could not be reached for comment. According to Vice President of Advancement R. Bartley Moore (SFS ’78), the addition of the de la Cruz Gallery is an important step in providing students with a liberal arts education. “For the community of faculty and student artists at Georgetown, I think

LAUREN SEIBEL FOR THE HOYA

A donation from the de la Cruz family will fund the construction of a new art gallery in the Walsh Building. The gallery will open fall 2017.

the commitment to the gallery shows that their work is important, more important than ever, in a university firmly rooted in the liberal arts tradition … especially when we’re all feeling some pressure to make a college education more preprofessional and more about employable skills,” Moore wrote in an email to The Hoya. Moore cited this donation as a significant example of fundraising partnerships between the university and alumni. “Fundraising is most rewarding, and frankly easiest, when something the university wants or needs to do aligns neatly with something our donors care passionately about,” Moore wrote. The Walsh Black Box Theater, which is used by student theater and dance groups, will be closed by the end of the academic year to prepare for the construction of the new gallery. Director of Theater and Performance Studies Maya Roth said that the university needs to reserve more space for performing arts after the theater closes. “We needed to be promised alternate venues,” Roth said. “Performing arts clubs are being taken care of, with us assured no sum loss of venues for rehearsal and for performance.” In an email sent to performing arts faculty and student groups over the summer, Department of Performing Arts Administrative Director Ron Lignelli said that the replacement of the Black Box with the gallery will be beneficial to the arts community on campus. “[The art department] for over 15 years urgently needed to increase its gallery footprint,” Lignelli wrote. “All told, we’re glad that art is going to get a space … and that our highly active ensembles will continue to enjoy space access for the flourishing array of rehearsal and performance experiences.” According to Acres, the de la Cruz Gallery is an exceptional addition to the university’s art scene. “I see this as transformational for Georgetown,” Acres said. “It’s not an addendum to our existing program, but it will provide for our community an entirely new kind of space for dealing with art right now and the place art has in our education and the world. We are genuinely excited about this new gift.” Art history student Sarah Jane Kim (COL ’18) applauded the university’s effort to bring greater attention to the art world. “I believe that this gallery opening will be a major step into growing Georgetown in the creative arts field,” Kim said. “I love attending the galleries and museums in the downtown D.C. area, but to have that at Georgetown would feel much more intimate and have its own charm of a Hilltop touch.

Hoya Staff Writer Ashwin Puri contributed reporting.

Paid Family Leave

LEAVE, from A1 family, in the last days of a parent’s life — and to care for themselves should they fall seriously ill.” For the bill to pass and become law, it must have a hearing, be assigned to a committee and be approved by the Committee of the Whole, which includes all 13 members of the council. If approved, it will be put up for a vote at two full council legislative meetings and subsequently signed by the mayor. Although the bill has the support of Councilmembers Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), LaRuby May (D-Ward 8), Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) in addition to Silverman and Grosso, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce has declined to support it. In a letter to Grosso, Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Harry Wingo outlined the Chamber’s concerns with the bill. “There is a prevalent problem that needs legislative remedy and attempts to give an employee a benefit in a vacuum without looking at the total benefit scheme,” Wingo wrote. “None of those programs are funded solely by the employer. The Chamber believes this bill would be unprecedented and make the District of Columbia dangerously uncompetitive at a time when the District is trying to compete for every job it can get.” Grosso maintained that the consequences of the bill for employers would be short-term. “In the long term, this will improve workers’ productivity, families’ bonding and cohesion, improve public health measures and help our youngest residents do better in school,” Grosso wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In the short term, it will be an additional tax on businesses and some residents, but the long-term effects will outweigh that downside. The main opposition has been to the small tax on businesses, but as I’ve said, I think that complaint is short-sighted.” In the private sector, the program would be funded entirely by employers. On the other hand, workers in the federal government, those who reside outside the District and those who are self-employed would pay into the program themselves through payroll taxes. Harry Holzer, an associate professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy and former U.S. Department of Labor chief economist, said he is concerned about the consequences of increased burdens on employers. “I think paid leave is a good thing for families and for chil-

dren, particularly for low-income children,” Holzer said. “But I’m worried because I think that D.C. City Council is imposing a lot of mandates on employers. There’s a bunch of things that are already implemented or under consideration. Every time you put another restriction or rule on employers, you’re raising the cost of hiring in the city.” Holzer predicted dramatic repercussions for both employees and their employers if the bill passes. “In economic theory, there are a couple of things that employers can do,” Holzer said. “Number one, they can take the money out of workers’ paychecks, which I think in a lot of cases, they will do. Secondly, they just won’t hire as much. Or thirdly, they’ll move across the river to Arlington, Va., which is not imposing all these standards.” He also expressed uncertainty about the balance between costs and benefits for both employers and their employees. “I am torn because I do think that paid leave is generally a good thing,” Holzer said. “But it has to be balanced against other goals, like making sure that D.C. residents have jobs and not driving employers away.” Paid Family Leave Campaign Manager Joanna Blotner said that she thinks the program will attract workers to the District. “The reality is that businesses chose to locate in D.C. because we’re a very unique jurisdiction,” Blotner said. “If you’re doing government services or advocacy, you want to be in D.C. Our hope for this program is that you’re actually going to see a lot more people wanting to move to the District and wanting to stay in the District long-term.” Blotner also addressed the impact this legislation could have on employees’ salaries. “Ultimately, will this cost be passed on to the employee in some way?” Blotner said. “My guess is yes. The benefits package that you’re going to receive from a D.C. employer is going to be a lot higher because of this kind of a program. So your base salary might reflect that.” She added that even if D.C.’s program is approved, it is just one contribution to a national concern. “I think D.C. has the opportunity to really set a new national standard on this issue,” Blotner said. “But I think it’s important to remember what was done and what was created with this program really represents the bare minimum of what we need.”


News

FRIDAY, October 16, 2015

THE HOYA

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KIE Receives HIV Research Grant Gaia Mattiace Hoya Staff Writer

DAN KREYTAK FOR THE HOYA

Potomac Conservancy launched a petition in July calling for Trump National Golf Club to replace the 465 trees removed from the riverbank during its 2010 construction and has garnered more than 6,000 signatures.

Petition Targets Trump Golf Club Eunsun Cho

Special to The Hoya

Environmentalist group Potomac Conservancy launched an online petition this summer in protest of Trump National Golf Club’s 2010 decision to remove 465 trees along the Potomac River, claiming this construction has severely damaged the surrounding environment. Donald Trump, a leading Republican presidential candidate and businessman, purchased 800 acres from Loudoun County in 2009 to create Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C., adding to his international portfolio of golf clubs that already has branches in the United States, Scotland, Dubai, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. In the process, the club cleared trees along the river to provide unobstructed water views. The Silver Springs, Md.-based Potomac Conservancy initially visited the club in 2010 and recommended several measures to restore the shoreline, but did not receive a response from the club, according to Senior Director of Communications Melissa Diemand. “The action [of clearing the trees] has degraded water quality for outdoor enthusiasts such as fishers, paddlers, runners and bikers along the river,” Diemand said. “[Clearing shoreline trees] often negatively affects the five million residents’ drinking water that comes from the Potomac.” The organization decided to bring attention to the issue again this summer after Trump visited the club in June and spoke about how he owns the longest stretch of unobstructed views along the Potomac. The petition, which opened on change.org in July, calls for Trump to donate 500 mature trees to be replanted on the riverbank in Loudoun County. More than 6,000 supporters have signed the on-

line petition, which will close Oct. 31. After the petition closes, Potomac Conservancy will call for Trump to donate trees to Northern Virginia Regional Park, which will then be replanted along the shoreline. “Whether or not Trump does the right thing, we are going to push forward and fight for clean water at the local level so that this tragedy doesn’t happen again in our backyard,” Diemand said. After removing the trees in 2010, the Trump Organization later planted 100 trees elsewhere in the club and placed a grass layer along the shoreline to prevent soil erosion. In July 2011, the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District initiated an investigation into the impact of the tree removal. Conservation District Chairman James Christian noted that the Trump Organization has made a conscious effort to minimize potential damages to the Potomac River and local neighborhoods. According to Christian, the Trump Organization was already working with environmental consultants before the District’s investigation began. “Mr. Trump has not broken any laws. He perfectly has the right to remove the trees in his land,” Christian said. “Our relationship with Trump’s organization was amicable, and they were very cooperative.” Glen Barbour, communications officer of the Office of the County Administrator of Loudoun, also confirmed that the county’s zoning regulations did not prohibit the removal of trees along the Potomac. Prior to the investigation, then-Vice Chairman of the Conservation District Chris Simmons criticized the tree-planting, expressing concern that it did not protect the waterway and that county

residents would face increased pollutants and sediments. However, Simmons ended the investigation in November 2011 and told the Loudoun Times-Mirror that the study evolved into a cooperative partnership with Trump. “The Trump organization feels very strongly that there is a lot of common ground and that conservation is a sound business practice and is open and eager to work with us, and we are happy to partner with them on conservation riparian practices here in the county,” Simmons said. The Loudoun County government also recommended the club replant the removed trees, but did not have the regulatory authority to require such action. Potomac Environment Research and Education Center Associate Director Dann Sklarew said he doubted that 500 trees alone would make a substantial impact on the ecology of the 400 milelong river. However, Sklarew also raised concerns that converting land into a golf club can pose an even greater threat to the environment, since large-scale clubs often use artificial fertilizer to keep landscapes green. “If that fertilizer is applied close to the river … then it may adversely affect the nutrient balance there or downstream,” Sklarew wrote in an email to The Hoya. Brett Walls, a member of environmental nonprofit Potomac Riverkeeper Network, also said that a use of fertilizers may become a larger problem than soil erosion. “Compared to what comes downstream from up the river, [the erosion of the riverbank] is going to be pretty minute,” Walls said. The Trump National Golf Club did not respond to requests for comment.

The Kennedy Institute of Ethics received part of a $3.6 million grant from the National Institute of Health to fund a joint study on the ethical concerns with conducting research on pregnant women with HIV in late September. The grant was awarded to Georgetown and three other universities including the University of North Carolina, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington. Georgetown will share the funding with the other institutions. The study, titled “Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS: Seeking Equitable Study,” is a four-year collaborative project led by Kennedy Institute of Ethics Director Margaret Little, the grant’s co-principal investigator, along with doctors and professors from the other universities. The four universities first applied for the NIH grant in 2013 and received approval for a one-year project. After further development in 2015, the project was resubmitted and approved for a four-year grant. Little said that the project aims to identify the perceived challenges of studying HIV in pregnant women, find ethical and legally sound solutions to these hurdles and provide advice to medical researchers. To accomplish this, the project will conduct research, organize informative workshops and develop concrete guidelines for researchers looking to design trials with pregnant women. The project will reach out to researchers and patients in the United States, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa. “Our aim is to give concrete guidance on how research can be conducted to ethically high standards and in ways acceptable to the regulations,” Little said. According to Little, researchers are hesitant to conduct research on treating illnesses that involve pregnant women, despite the fact that pregnant women are at a higher risk of contracting HIV. “Knowing how to dose medication during pregnancy, given the radically changed metabolism of the pregnant body, and knowing which medications have a proper risk/benefit ratio … is critical,” Little wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Health researchers usually avoid doing clinical research with pregnant women out of concern and confusion about the ethics of it. In fact, regulations allow such research.”

Liza Dawson, the research ethics team leader in the Division of AIDS at the NIH, said that the grant will provide valuable data on pregnant women suffering from AIDS. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of infection and often develop more severe symptoms. “We should be concerned about safety of the mother and the fetus and the ultimate safety of the infant … [but] because of those concerns about safety, there has been a big hesitancy to include pregnant women in studies,” Dawson said. “That’s understandable, but it has created a big problem in that we don’t have the evidence base for treatment of pregnant women.” According to KIE Director of Communications and Project Development Kelly Heuer, the project grew out of the Second Wave Workshop hosted by Georgetown in April 2009, which focused on the inclusion of pregnant women in medical research. “When the first group formally convened at Georgetown to examine the tangle of complex issues surrounding research on pregnant women, our sights were set very high,” Heuer said. The grant was awarded to Georgetown and the other universities by an external panel of academic peer reviewers called a study section, which evaluated the project on its significance, investigators, innovation, approach and environment. NIH bioethics grants are only given twice per year. Dawson said that the project may extend beyond HIV into providing health care for pregnant women with other diseases. “I’m optimistic that this project can help us work on these ethical challenges in other areas,” Dawson said. “It’s good to remember that these are everyday issues that we all struggle with, about how to balance different risks and benefits or different actions that may have diverse consequences …. in a complex world.” Heuer said she is proud of Little and the other project participants for taking on a complex problem that is often ignored. “Maggie and the other leaders on this project are moving aggressively … to help the women and children who are harmed by our collective societal failure,” Heuer said. “I couldn’t be more proud of … the whole team’s commitment to making strides commensurate with the scope of the problem.”


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THE HOYA

Friday, October 16, 2015

GUSA Sees Increased Female Participation Tom Garzillo Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Student Association senate elected the second female speaker, Enushe Khan (MSB ’17), in the institution’s history Sunday, a move that reflects the growing diversity of the legislative body. Twelve of this year’s 28 senators are women, which is the highest ratio in Georgetown’s history. The past two years saw 10 female senators in GUSA. Khan, who previously served as the chairwoman of the Student Life Committee, is the first female speaker since Christina Goodlander (SFS ’07), who held the position in 2006, the senate’s inaugural year. According to Khan, the number of women in GUSA has steadily grown in recent years, which signals a change in GUSA’s traditionally male-dominated culture. “We are an inclusive body,” Khan said. “We want a GUSA that is representative of the student body. … They’re really trying to be a representative body and eliminate the ‘boy’s club’ vibe.” GUSA President Joe Luther (COL ’16) said that Khan’s election is a positive step towards greater inclusivity in student government. “The election of a female senate speaker is an important milestone,” Luther wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I hope this election works to change GUSA’s image. … GUSA, whether it’s the senate or the [executive branch], can only work when it’s representing everyone.” Khan and Elizabeth Oh (SFS ’15), the longest-serving members in the senate, have each served for three years. Oh, who serves as the townhouse district representative and is the former chairwoman of the Intellectual Life Committee, said that Khan brings a significant amount of experience to the position. “The past two years, she has dedicated herself to the Student Life Committee, including everything from dining to safety to sustainability,” Oh wrote in an email to The Hoya. Khan said that she is committed to engaging with cultural groups that have been largely absent from GUSA proceedings, including the South Asian Society, the Latin American Student Association and the International Student Association. “There are a lot of big, major groups here that are just not part of the conversation,” Khan said. “My goal as speaker is to sit down with [their] leaders, bring them in and figure out what core issues [their] group or community members are facing.” The recent surge in GUSA’s diversity can be attributed to a variety of programs. Khan herself led the Elect Her forum at George-

town, a pre-election initiative in September that encouraged female students to run for student government and political office. Khan said that Elect Her encouraged her to run for senate two years ago, when she was apprehensive about running as a freshman woman of color. “I won and that was a big shock, but I stuck with it,” Khan said. “Very few girls were in the senate, but there was still more than the year before.” According to GUSA Secretary for Campus Planning Ari Goldstein (COL ’18), GUSA’s executive cabinet and staff, who are selected through an application process, typically have more equal gender ratios than the competitively elected senate, president and vice president positions. “I hope Enushe’s election shows women on campus that they can and should get involved with GUSA,” Goldstein wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It’s especially important to have women at the table. … We are all strengthened when decision-making bodies become more representative of the communities they serve.” Khan said that she plans on expanding the Intellectual Life Committee and reforming the Finance and Appropriations Committee. She attributed negative perceptions of GUSA to shortcomings in the two committees. “Fin/App is the only body with the power to do something other than just advocacy,” Khan said. “My goal is to make it a more transparent body. … I’m trying to find a way to bring different students into the room from different advisory boards.” Tyler Bridge (SFS ’17), the former GUSA speaker whose resignation led to Khan’s appointment, said that the Fin/ App is in need of huge reforms, and that Khan’s biggest challenge will be changing the way the committee operates. “Today, the system is corrupt,” Bridge wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Fin/App has become a monster run amuck and out of control within the current structure.” As speaker, Khan will be responsible for publicizing the senate’s operations and maintaining order in GUSA. Other members of GUSA have said that she is well-prepared to lead in this regard. “She’s a highly competent and exceptionally personable woman and I have no doubt that she will be a great success in her new position,” GUSA Vice President Connor Rohan (COL ’16) wrote in an email to The Hoya. Goldstein, who worked closely with Khan in the senate last year, said that she was a valuable resource to him and other senators working on specific projects. “I’m confident she’ll bring wisdom, policy expertise and phenomenal integrity to the role of speaker,” Goldstein wrote.

KATHLEETN GUAN/THE HOYA

Director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Anne Brodsky participated in a panel with other researchers on children in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Panel Discusses Afghan Youth Sarah Fisher Hoya Staff Writer

Five contributors to “Children of Afghanistan: The Path to Peace,” a book on the lives of the country’s youth, participated in a panel at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs on Wednesday to discuss developmental issues in a country where one in four children dies before his fifth birthday. The panel, titled “The Future of Afghan Children,” featured Avideh Shashaani, the founder of local nonprofit Fund for the Future of Children, Anne Brodsky, the director of the gender and women’s studies program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Lael Mohib, the founder of the Enabled Charity Initiative for disabled children in Afghanistan, Louise Pascale, an arts professor at Lesley University, and Ashraf Zahedi, an editor of the volume. The book consists of research and fieldwork from 21 experts on the lives of children in Afghanistan. The five panelists discussed the benefits of access to social services and education, the role of public policy and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Shashaani said that the struggles facing children in what the United Nations has called “the worst country in the world to be born” are often overlooked. According to Shashaani, around 50,000 children work on the streets of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. “We’re becoming numb,” Shashaani said. “We’re bombarded by statistics.” Brodsky, who conducted 225 inter-

views with Afghan citizens between the ages of 13 and 85 with diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds, discussed the issues of childhood marriage and the lack of opportunities to education. “We in the West owe it to them and so many others in the world to recognize the resilience of their strength,” Brodsky said. “Remember that for children, time is of the essence.” Mohib said that the Afghan and international communities should prioritize initiatives for children with disabilities. “I just became involved in this issue when I was volunteering with these children,” Mohib said. “I think it’s Afghanistan’s vision and mine … that those living with disabilities in Afghanistan will reach their full potential as human beings and be enabled to do so by their societies, their families and their government.” According to Mohib, one in five families in Afghanistan has a severely disabled family member, and most disabled people in Afghanistan are under the 14 years old. Lack of prenatal treatment, complications at birth and war-related injuries are the most common causes of these disabilities. “Recently, [disabilities] have not really been a donor priority,” Mohib said. Pascale spoke about the importance of promoting music and literacy in Afghanistan. Pascale worked in the country between 1966 and 1968 with the Peace Corps and helped create a songbook for the children she taught. “My heart stayed with Afghanistan,” Pascal said. “I started hearing about the music, and the censorship of the music, and I was distraught.”

In 2003, Pascal began to put together 5,000 songbooks in collaboration with the Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C. Pascal said that this initiative was also an effort to increase the country’s literacy. “Most of those schools where these songbooks were going had absolutely no books,” Pascal said. Pascal said that education is essential to improving the lives of children in Afghanistan. “If this is the generation that’s going to save Afghanistan, we need creative thinkers,” Pascal said. “We need problem solvers. We need critical thinkers. We need to teach those skills.” Zahedi said trickle-down economics has not worked to tackle poverty in the country. Zahedi suggested that the Conditional Cash Transfers Program would be a short-term alternative, as it provides funds for mothers and female guardians to feed and take care of their children. “This is just a Band-Aid … but Afghanistan needs a heart implant,” Zahedi said. “This will not change the power relations in Afghanistan. … We need to factor in the neglects that take place.” Despite the problems plaguing Afghanistan’s children, the panel expressed hope for the future. Mohib highlighted some of the positive advancements in the country, such as the recent creation of a computer coding school for girls. “I think … the media is often dominated by the challenges of what’s happening today in Afghanistan,” Mohib said. “The future deserves as much attention, and those who will lead us into the future: the children.”


NEWS

FRIDAY, October 16, 2015

THE HOYA

A9

BY THE NUMBERS

Balancing Equality, Economic Growth HOCHBERG, from A10

about raising the minimum wage and helping regular people achieve disadvantaged while increasing long- “the American Dream” is just not term term economic production. enough to push O’Malley and Chafee However, as political aggregation web- forward as economic frontrunners in site FiveThirtyEight points out, labor such a heated, contentious election. demand for college graduates seems But Jim Webb emerges as the to be plateauing. So, while educat- champion of the Democrats in terms ing everyone is an admirable goal, it of both equality and aggregate ecomay create a skilled labor surplus that nomic growth. He has always been leads to greater unemployment in on record as supporting President another decade. The United States re- Obama’s 2009 American Recovery quires a more complex solution that and Reinvestment Act, a stimulus focuses on more than just education. plan the vast majority of economists In Bernie Sanders’ policy assertions, also back. In 2012, the University he fails to solve the same problem on of Chicago’s business school found an even greater scale due to his argu- 80 percent of economists surveyed able prioritization of equality over agreed or strongly agreed that the act purely numerical prosperity. During reduced unemployment rates. Lower his campaign, he has stressed poli- unemployment benefits both overall cies that directly redistribute income economic productive capacity and from the wealthy general equality and to those in lower instandard of living. come brackets. For Even Webb’s views Do not pass over instance, he has proon war should beneposed taxing Wall the U.S. economy. the lesser-known fit Street speculators He is pro-veteran 0.03 percent to discandidates in the by all accounts and courage large-scale many policies to 2016 presidential has stock risks that could help those who have hurt the country as a served America in race before whole. the past. In fact, his analyzing the facts. own veteran status Unfortunately, not only will Sandmakes up a large ers’ suggestions hurt part of his identity prosperity, they will and influences his also likely hinder equality, too. As political views. That said, he has Forbes contributor Tim Worstall sug- consistently opposed the Iraq War gests, the tax would slow economic as an unnecessary and even harmactivity, thereby reducing overall ful intervention. Webb’s past beliefs tax revenue. Less tax revenue means indicate he is a candidate Ameriless economic redistribution, which cans can trust to fight Congress on would render Sanders’ policy counter- another costly and unpopular war. productive. Webb’s policies tend to benefit the That is not to say, however, that economy as a whole with minimal Sanders’ policies are all bad. For in- risk. For instance, Webb advocates raisstance, he appears dedicated to elimi- ing the capital gains tax or the sale of nating bureaucratic financial waste, property and investment. Resulting which, though not particularly origi- revenue could be used to reduce the nal, could be an effective and uncon- national debt in a way that primarily troversial method of generating tax impacts large business and the very revenue. Furthermore, he wants to wealthy, which is a goal most Demomitigate the damage caused when crats tend to support. American companies move abroad to Overall, Webb’s economic views avoid domestic taxes, which, if success- seem to align well with conventional ful, should raise tax revenue and redis- economic and party beliefs and objectribute income at least somewhat. tives. But money is just one part of a Martin O’Malley and Lincoln much larger presidential platform. Chafee have somewhat similar and An examination of social benefits or non-radical fiscally liberal views. For foreign policy could produce a differinstance, both support raising the ent “winner” among the Democratic minimum wage. While this policy candidates. can generate controversy, plenty of A more multifaceted approach data, including that recently collected should ultimately determine the naby Goldman Sachs and the Bureau of tion’s voting preferences. But before Labor Statistics, has proven a positive that is even feasible, Americans need relationship between an increased to tune out the rhetoric and consider minimum wage and job growth. lesser-known candidates such as While correlation does not always sig- Webb. nify causation, a price floor on wages does not seem to be causing large-scale Gracie Hochberg is a unemployment anywhere it has been sophomore in the College. By implemented. The Numbers appears every That said, general propositions Friday.

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Justin Schuble/Instagram

Justin Schuble takes a photo outside of P.F. Chang’s as part of a promotion for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Schuble’s Instagram page @DCFoodPorn amassed more than 55,000 followers in just two years.

Student’s “Insta-Fame” Grows FOODIES, from A10

like Sweetgreen and &pizza, often invite him to events or ask him to review their new menu items, usually in exchange for money, food credit, free food or VIP access. Once Schuble chooses a restaurant and finds an “Insta-worthy” food, he takes a series of pictures and then edits a few photos in Photoshop before deciding on the perfect image. Although Schuble has no formal photography training, he said his photography skills improved with trial and error. “My goal is to make food look how it actually looks in person,” Schuble said. The time commitment is not limited to the meal itself or the photography, Schuble said. He also dedicates a significant amount of time to interacting with his followers either by replying to comments or reposting.

“I’m always commenting,” Schuble said. “I’m always liking. I’m tagging, I’m hashtagging. If I’m walking to class or I’m in an elevator, I’m just trying to engage with people.” Schuble’s recent Instagram posts average more than 1,500 likes and dozens of comments each. “I unfollowed this account … I’ll probably lose 15 lbs by not seeing the pics anymore,” an Instragram user jokingly commented on one of Schuble’s re-posts this week. “This account makes the freshman 15 look VERY real,” another Instagram user commented two months ago. Schuble has also tried to use his “Instafame” to do good. Last week, he posted about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Schuble’s efforts in the fight against cancer are personal, as his mother battled breast cancer and became cancerfree a few months ago.

“It’s nice to be able to help,” Schuble said. “This was definitely very personal, and I really, really wanted to be able to do that.” Despite the press coverage and constant event invites, Schuble is not planning on turning DCFoodPorn into a job after graduation — at least for now. Though Schuble is interested in food marketing, he is also interested in real estate and other sectors. “I feel like my ultimate goal is to do something in business that’s creative,” Schuble says. “It’d be great if it was in food, but if not, it’s not like I have my heart set on it.” Regardless of DCFoodPorn’s future, Schuble urges those interested in pursuing food photography to get started. “If you have a vision and if you have a passion, if you aren’t all over the place with what you’re trying to do, people will get on board,” Schuble said.

Star Wars Apparel Caters to Hoyas BOOKSTORE, from A10

source items that fit the needs of the community and the campus so we can offer diverse merchandise assortments,” Uzzell said. “It gives something else. It’s sort of fun to wear. I think Star Wars fits a little bit more with our campus. We’ve got college students who might be interested in going to the movie that’s going to be coming out in December. Not many of our students are interested in Disney princesses.” Since the products launched a month ago, the T-shirts completely sold out and were restocked this week. The Star Wars water bottles are also a very popular item, according to Uzzell. Self-proclaimed Stars Wars fan Devon Schmidt (SFS ’19) said that he approves of the new line-up of Georgetown Star Wars merchandise. “I think it’ll be great for all the stu-

dents that love Star Wars just like me,” Schmidt said. “Personally, I’m not planning on buying anything, but it’s only because my closet is already chock-full of Star Wars things.”

“It gives something else. It’s sort of fun to wear. I think Star Wars fits ... more with our campus.” Janet Uzzell Director, Georgetown Bookstore

According to Uzzell, the new items

have also drawn younger shoppers, such as the children of faculty and staff members. “We get children, specifically on Sundays, especially with families visiting, or alumni, or people that work on campus,” Uzzell said. Celia Brätt, the mother of an 8-month-old baby, often visits the bookstore before picking up her husband, a graduate student. “I really like the Star Wars [merchandise] you can get little kids because kids really tend to like Star Wars,” Brätt said. “But where are the plush dolls?” The bookstore also has plans to complement its new Star Wars merchandise line with special programming in the weeks leading up to the movie’s release. This month, the bookstore will hold a Star Wars reading and raffle drawing for a Starbucks gift card at a date yet to be announced.

Startup Provides Private Tours SHERPAS, from A10

people we have in our Sherpa database, the closer the match with the high school student and the better the tour experience,” Mitchell said. Students who want to work as tour guides for Campus Sherpa must submit a general application. In the application, each student is prompted to describe their academic and extracurricular interests that may help them match with tour-goers. “Not all college students are qualified to stand in front of a group of thirty people and talk about the history of the school, but a lot more people are qualified to talk about what they are passionate about,” Patou said. If the application is accepted, candidates schedule a one-on-one interview with a member of the Campus Sherpa team, which ensures that the applicant is passionate, enthusiastic and personable. Patou identified this stage of the application as the most important. “In truth, our whole company is based on quality,” Patou said. “It’s really important that we maintain the highest level of quality because we don’t have a business without it.” Once Sherpas give their first tours, they are entered into the company’s rating system and any tour guide who

gets below four out of five stars is automatically removed as a guide. Mitchell and Patou said that Sherpa tours are designed to supplement, not replace, official university tours. For that reason, Sherpas do not receive any official training, instead going through a rigorous vetting process during applications, according to Mitchell. “We’re not looking to step on anyone’s toes,” Mitchell said. “If someone goes on a Sherpa tour expecting to get the kind of information that they would get in a Blue & Gray tour, they will be very disappointed and very confused.” Blue & Gray Tour Guide Society, which is run through the Admissions Office, is Georgetown’s official tour guide organization. Student volunteers lead tours of around 20 people and are extensively trained by the Admissions Office, veteran mentors, Training Coordinator Gregory Jarvis (NHS ’17) and New Guides Coordinator Séamus Guerin (COL ’16). Blue & Gray President Jack Moore (SFS ’16) said the organization seeks to engage the entire spectrum of diversity represented by prospective students. “Our role on campus is two-fold: to provide quality volunteer tours to prospective students of all backgrounds, and to engage the Georgetown community in order to best represent all aspects of Georgetown,” Moore wrote

in an email to The Hoya. Campus Sherpa is not affiliated with Georgetown’s Admissions Office, and Moore said Blue & Gray volunteers are prohibited from working at any forprofit tour companies. “In accordance with Blue & Gray’s volunteer status, we respectfully ask that our guides refrain from using their training and expertise for profit,” Moore wrote. However, Patou said that, in the end, both organizations share a common desire to educate students about Georgetown. “Blue & Gray will tell you what Georgetown is like,” Patou said. “Campus Sherpa will show you what it’s like.” The latest project in the works for Campus Sherpa is the Sherpa Scholarship Program, which will give subsidized or free tours to students from low-income families. “We know that the cost of tours can be prohibitive for some people” Patou said. Mitchell also said that the company remains focused on expanding its presence and improving its offerings. “We want to continue to grow Campus Sherpa,” Mitchell said. “Because the best information about the college process comes from those who already went through it.”


Business & Tech FRIDAY, october 16, 2015

business Startup Personalizes the College Tour bits Léa Nicolas

Special to The Hoya

Sale of NFL Shirts to Benefit Lombardi Cancer Center Georgetown’s Lombardi Cancer Center will receive the proceeds from the National Football League Players Association’s sale of One Team for the Cure shirts. The T-shirts are currently for sale at oneteamshop.com, a website featuring officially licensed player merchandise for more than 1,800 NFL players. The NFLPA has designated the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center as the recipient for the proceeds because of Georgetown’s connection to legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who was treated for cancer at the Georgetown University Hospital. The shirts feature the Georgetown Lombardi logo on the front below the One Team for the Cure logo and an NFL player’s name and number on the back.

MBA GRads see increase in salaries, signing bonuses Georgetown’s 2015 MBA graduates saw a 7 percent increase in their starting salaries over the previous year’s graduates. The program’s students also saw a 15 percent increase in average signing bonuses. The MBA Career Center attributed the improvements to the employment of a new career strategy that includes more networking opportunities with employers and alumni as well as certified career counselors on staff. All incoming MBA students are also required to take a career search course over the summer before they enroll at Georgetown, which helps simplify internship placement for students.

GU Research Narrows Information Gap for Hispanics Recent research conducted by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce revealed that while more Hispanic people are enrolling in college, they are also enrolling in some of the lowest-paying majors. The report, titled “Hispanics: College Majors and Earnings,” aims to inform Hispanics about the impact of their academic decisions, thereby helping with career opportunities. The publication appears in both Spanish and English on the center’s website.

Georgetown Participates in 12-Hour Local Hack Day Georgetown University joined campuses around the country in holding a 12-hour mini-hackathon as part of Local Hack Day. In total, there were 87 local hackathon locations, which amounted to a participation number of 4,000 students, a statistic that the Local Hack Day organizers call the single largest day of student hacking ever. Georgetown students operating out of White-Gravenor Hall had an opportunity to engage in livestreams, chatrooms and other activities with student hackers from around the world.

Prospective college students can now personalize one-onone campus tours with Campus Sherpa, a for-profit tour guide company founded and run by Alex Mitchell (COL ’18) and David Patou (COL ’18). The company, which has tour guides at 60 colleges around the country, aims to attract students by allowing them to pick a tour guide based on mutual interests. Mitchell and Patou founded the company as freshmen in fall 2014. The pair, who had recently toured multiple schools in their college searches, found that individual, personalized tours from friends were often more helpful than large, group-based tours. They first opened shop at Georgetown, hiring student tour guides to meet with prospective students for one to five hours. Today, the still-expanding company has approximately 400 Sherpas at more than 60 universities across the country, including Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University and Northwestern University. Mitchell and Patou describe it as “an ever-growing database” because tour guides are paid on a per-tour basis, which means that the company can hire as many students as it desires. Tours cost $60 for a 45-minute tour, $115 for a two-hour tour and $275 for a five-hour tour. “The idea is that the more See SHERPAS, A9

cOURTESY aLEX mITCHELL

David Patou (COL ’18) and Alex Mitchell (COL ’18) founded Campus Sherpa fall 2014. The company has spread to more than 60 college campuses and employs 400 part-time student tour guides.

Student Caters to DC Foodies Melina Delkic

Special to The Hoya

Justin Schuble (MSB ’17) never planned to become “Insta-famous.” His Instagram account — @DCFoodPorn — has over 56,000 followers and has been featured in Thrillist, USA Today College, Huffington Post, Elite Daily and Yahoo News. The account’s more than 1,000 posts feature colorful macaroons, cheesy burgers and decadent s’mores pancakes from restaurants in the District. “Everyone was saying I was posting too many food pictures on my personal account,” Schuble said. So Schuble decided to take his food photography to a new Instagram account during his freshman year, and DCFoodPorn was born. “I had no intention of it being anything,” Schuble said. “It was more just for fun and for me.” Schuble hasn’t always had a refined palate. As a child, he was a self-professed picky eater, rarely straying far from chicken tenders. But now Schuble avoids fried foods and tries to eat healthily. Though he is lactose intolerant and glutenfree, he often posts pictures of ice cream and bread-based foods such as cinnamon rolls and pizzas, rely-

ing on food from friends or vegan and gluten-free recipes. Schuble’s epicurean adventure began freshman year after his Georgetown friends began asking him for restaurant suggestions, because Schuble is from Potomac, Md., and knows his way around the District’s food scene.

“If you have a vision and if you have a passion, if you aren’t all over the place with what you’re trying to do, people will get on board.” Justin Schuble (COL ’17) Founder, @DCFoodPorn

“I wanted to take advantage of that, to be able to share my favorite places with people,” Schuble said. The account started out as @

FreshmanFoodie, and it matured as Schuble’s college career moved ahead. When Schuble finished freshman year, he changed the name of the account to DCFoodPorn and became more serious about his Instagram presence. “I was eating out a lot, and I had a new camera, so I really upped my game in terms of what I was posting,” Schuble said. After the name change, DCFoodPorn’s follower count began to grow. Over the course of two years, the page went from 50 to 56,000 followers. Schuble said that reposts and mentions from popular Instagram accounts helped him gain followers. He also posts his photos at strategic times and tags the restaurants where he finds each meal. “I try to post like two or three times a day,” Schuble said. “I like to post around meal times. I’ll post dessert at night or oatmeal in the morning.” The account has become something of a full-time job for Schuble. When he is not working on homework, he is probably working on DCFoodPorn. Restaurants, See FOODIES, A9

Bookstore Debuts Star Wars Apparel Jessie Yu

Special to The Hoya

BY THE NUMBERS

Gracie Hochberg

Candidate Policies, Analyzed S orting through and evaluating the 2016 presidential candidates’ overlapping array of qualities can feel almost comically daunting. However, American voters can simplify the process by focusing on the candidates’ self-professed goals rather than rhetoric. For simplicity’s sake, take a look at the economic policies and experience of the five Democratic candidates. After careful analysis, lowpolling candidate Jim Webb emerges the clear winner. Though Webb does not attract the same media attention frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders capture, his policies and experience set him apart.

Look past the rhetoric and theatrics to see what the 2016 presidential candidates really represent.

Karl aLeyja For The Hoya

As soon as visitors walk into the Georgetown University Bookstore, Yoda welcomes them on a Georgetown-branded Star Wars T-shirt that reads “You must unlearn what you have learned.” The T-shirt is part of a larger collection of Georgetown Star Wars merchandise the bookstore began selling Sept. 16 in anticipation of the new Star Wars blockbuster opening in December. Follett, the bookstore’s parent company that provides merchandise for more than 1,200 college and university bookstores nationwide, partnered with The Walt Disney Company to create customizable items to sell at each campus bookshop. The bookstore’s full lineup of Star Wars-branded merchandise includes books, shirts, mugs, toys and cups inspired by the new movie installment “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.” Georgetown Follett employees approved the sale of the new apparel because they had seen previous success selling Star Wars books. Georgetown University Bookstore Director Janet Uzzell said that the Star Wars merchandise filled a niche in the bookstore’s offerings. “Star Wars is big, and we tried to

The Georgetown University Bookstore launched a new line of Star Wars-branded merchandise Sept. 16. The new product line coincides with the upcoming release of “Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.”

According to the first lecture of every introductory economics class ever, the two ultimately conflicting financial policy goals are prosperity and equality. In other words, politicians and economists try to increase the size of the country’s “economic pie” (prosperity) while maintaining relatively equal “slices” (equality). These goals provide an essential, albeit simplified, viewpoint from which to assess the Democratic candidates. From an economic standpoint, frontrunner Hillary Clinton makes satisfactory policy promises. Like most liberals, she hardly lacks focus on increased equality, which she says she can achieve by bolstering the income of the middle class via raising taxes just for the wealthy and increasing access to education. Education is a decent example of a policy that helps both prosperity and equality because it improves opportunity for the currently disadvantaged while increasing long-term economic

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See HOCHBERG, A9


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