GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 2, © 2015
FridAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
DC STATEHOOD
A renewed, publicized push for representation could see advantages for the university.
BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND The men’s soccer team will face Akron and UCLA this weekend.
EDITORIAL MedStar Georgetown Hospital has failed to show compassionate care.
THE GUIDE, B1
SPORTS, B10
OPINION, A2
Expression, Untrammeled Walsh, 77, remembered for dedication to students, scholarship, speech and song
Mallika Sen Hoya Staff Writer
vice. “What bound our relationship together is the understanding that God is our friend. God accepts us, knows us, loves us, and one can say the same about Jim.”
As the mourners settled back into the pews of Holy Trinity Church after receiving communion, 94 unseen voices rose in song. Heads turned to- Unfaltering Imagination ward the balcony, with slow smiles Walsh, a native of Wilkes-Barre, crossing the faces of the congrega- Penn., was drawn to the priesthood tion upon recognition — the Chimes, from an early age, entering the Sociactive and alumni, singing “I’ll Fly ety of Jesus upon graduation from his Away,” had assembled to honor their Scranton high school. Celestial Chime. “He wasn’t in any way a pious man Rev. James P.M. Walsh, S.J., died July — he was a deeply religious man, a 1 at age 77, following a battle with man of great faith, but I think piety myelofibrosis. His legacy is that of lyr- for him was not something that he icism, through would emulate, his music, his “For Jim, Georgetown was first and I mean that writings, his a community of learning at the as a compliment,” passions and his David Murphy heart of which was a deeper teachings. (CAS ’73), who beA professor community of service and love.” friended Walsh as in the theology a Chimes alumdepartment, he nus, said. DAVID FITZGERALD (COL ’91) received his docEndowed with Former student and Chimes alumnus toral training in his Harvard deHebrew biblical studies at Harvard gree, Walsh was part of a transformaUniversity, arriving at Georgetown in tive generation of scholars. 1973. His academic work focused on “He exemplifies a generation of Jesocial justice in the Old Testament, suits who were some of the first to get which formed the theme of his semi- absolutely top academic degrees,” Fr. nal work, “The Mighty From Their Matthew Carnes, S.J., said. “That genThrones.” eration helped us move from being At a university where many promi- regional colleges to being research nent figures have left indelible lega- universities.” cies, Walsh’s own was multifaceted, Although his own canon of pubreverberating across his four gen- lished work was smaller than that of erations and many yet to come, yet many of today’s academics, his intelcouched in his trademark humility ligence and dedication to scholarship and selflessness. has yielded dozens of books in theol“At some of my most challeng- ogy and philosophy edited, uncreding moments, Jim was a gift to me, ited, by his hand. of friendship and love. … He was “As a young scholar you’re kind of attuned to what was going on, he nervous how your work’s going to be sought ways, he found ways to be a received and how you’re going to be gift,” University President John J. DeGioia said at the July 8 memorial serSee WALSH, A6
Lombardi Begins Cancer Trial Five-year, nationwide study will compare melanoma drugs Emily Tu
Hoya Staff Writer
FILE PHOTO: MICHELLE LUBERTO/THE HOYA
The reorganization of the School of Foreign Service’s Dean’s Office has seen the creation of three new positions, under the leadership of Hellman.
With Hellman at Helm, SFS Restructures Office Toby Hung
Hoya Staff Writer
With new School of Foreign Service Dean Joel Hellman’s assumption of office this summer comes a restructuring of the dean’s office, seeing the creation of three new administrative positions and a Centennial Vision Committee to guide discussions concerning the future of the school. Hellman spliced the senior associate dean position into two, creating separate offices for undergraduate and graduate affairs. James ReardonAnderson, who previously held the position under the leadership of the late Carol Lancaster (SFS ’64), will retain his teaching duties and serve as senior advisor on Qatar, in his capacity as former SFS-Q dean. Daniel Byman, a former director of the Security Studies Program, assumes
the senior associate deanship for undergraduate affairs. Mitch Kaneda retains his position as director of the bachelor’s of science in foreign service program. Anthony Arend, the director of the master’s of science in foreign service program, will add the senior associate deanship for graduate and faculty affairs to his slate. Byman, who also serves as the director of research at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, said that he is excited to begin his duties and hopes to maintain the academic excellence of the SFS as well as provide students with the skills to excel in their careers. “Dean Hellman has put together a great team, and I am eager to work
Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital embarked on a nationwide clinical trial Sept. 1 that will compare two melanoma drugs. ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, an organization that designs and conducts cancer research on adults who have or are at risk of developing cancer, is conducting the study and currently recruiting patients. Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in American men and the seventh most common cancer in American women. Lombardi Center Deputy Director Michael Atkins will lead the trial to its completion in five years. The study will determine the See LOMBARDI, A7
DAN GANNON/THE HOYA
The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is home to a nationwide clinical trial dedicated to melanoma drugs.
FEATURED FEATURED BUSINESS Good Fit
NEWS Checking In
A member of MISFIT Juicery has been accepted into the Halcyon Incubator. A10
The hotel has temporarily opened (some of) its doors as student housing. A4
Opinion Remembering Our Past
The Civil War still plays an important role in discourse today. A3
Sports Senior Leader
Quarterback Kyle Nolan will look to take on a leadership role in his final season. B10
BUSINESS Sunniva Caffe
A student startup delivering protein-packed coffee drinks will sell in Corp locations. A10
See RESTRUCTURE, A6 Published Tuesdays and Fridays
Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com
A2
OPINION
THE HOYA
Friday, September 4, 2015
THE VERDICT
C C EDITORIALS Respect Trans Patients C Founded January 14, 1920
This fall, the O’Neil Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center will host a colloquium on the role of law and policy in affirming the rights of transgender individuals, marking a great step forward in the university’s effort to promote diversity and inclusivity. However, the lofty conceit of the O’Neil colloquium means nothing without practical, university-wide implementation. The spirit of this colloquium stands in sharp contrast to recent actions taken by the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, which denied treatment to multiple transgender patients on account of their gender identities this summer. In need of immediate treatment due to life-threatening infection and fever, Catherine Campo was referred to the hospital’s Breast Health Center, where she was denied reconstructive surgery on account of her transgender identity. According to Ruby Jade Corado, the founder of Casa Ruby, a Northwest D.C. community-services center for LGBTQ individuals, Campo is not alone. More than 20 transgender patients have been denied transitionrelated and life-saving procedures at MedStar Georgetown. This blatant display of discrimination encourages transgender individuals to seek out unregistered doctors for their treatment, violates the hospital’s promise of “compassionate care” and underscores the O’Neil colloquium with a sad irony. While distinguished speakers and professors preach equality at Georgetown Law, transgender patients are turned away at MedStar
Georgetown. Former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray made it illegal for insurance companies to deny costs related to genderidentity procedures, and the Affordable Care Act states that hospitals that receive federal funding cannot discriminate on the basis of sexuality or gender identity. The District of Columbia also has laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. MedStar administrators’ actions, therefore, have clear legal and moral implications. In light of this divide, the MedStar Georgetown administrators must take concrete steps toward an approach to transgender rights that is in line with that of Georgetown Law and Georgetown University, in order to ensure that transgender individuals are respected and integrated members of the Georgetown community. “Compassionate Patient Care” is an empty promise when some patients are mistreated and made to feel like outsiders. While Georgetown’s policies still need much work — university’s administration must still take more concrete steps to protect the right of transgender students to access locker rooms and restrooms according to their gender identities, without fear of punishment or reproach, for instance — their policy is a better launching board for progress than what is currently being used as MedStar Georgetown. The hospital cannot continue to deny health services to transgender patients. A better approach is needed. For the well-being of transgender students and patients, this must come sooner rather than later.
C
Practice Español con el Papa — The Pope has announced that the mass he will hold in D.C. on Sept. 27 will be in Spanish. The choice is meant to be a recognition of the large Catholic Hispanic population in the United States. Trump Lies — A recent Washington Post investigation conducted a series of interviews with former playing partners to conclude that Donald Trump cheats on the golf course. Maybe this news will drive a wedge between him and the electorate. Their Day in Court — The National Museum of Crime and Punishment, which opened in 2008, announced that due to property rates, it will close at the end of September. There are unconfirmed reports that the museum will move to Lauinger Library’s 1st floor. Here Comes the King — King Salman of Saudi Arabia visits Washington and the White House on Friday; unfortunately he will not be helping anyone in intensive beginner’s Arabic.
EDITORIAL CARTOON by Michelle Xu
The Plan’s in Our Hands
The 2010 Campus Plan, drafted without student input, is widely regarded as a concession to the neighborhood. From implementing the infamous three year housing requirement to creating new dorms with the promise to further clutter an already crowded campus, the 2010 plan precipitated a number of unpopular policies that radically changed campus life. Nonetheless, it also resulted in the creation of the Georgetown Community Partnership Steering Committee, a discussion platform designed to connect students, administrators and neighbors in future negotiations for the 2018 Campus Plan. Even so, only one student — the student body president — was represented on this steering committee, doing little more than paying lip service to student concerns and retaining a significant power imbalance. Due to popular demand, over the summer, in a significant symbolic shift to the existing steering committee structure, the number of student voices grew by two with the addition of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Kendyl Clausen (SFS ’16) and Reed Howard (SFS ’17) to the GCP. These individuals field the unique opportunity to be larger representatives and advocates for student interests in the debates that surround the drafting of the newest campus plan. Their experience in the ANC will undoubtedly serve them well as they negotiate with neighbors, the city and the administration alike. Students play an active and vital role in the Georgetown community, and their role needs to be better recognized. They are highly engaged with the issues surrounding the up-
coming campus plan, including housing, student affairs and campus life. The 2,600 signatures on the Georgetown University Student Association’s “Let’s Not Get Screwed Again” petition this spring, which helped secure increased student representation, unequivocally demonstrates this determination for involvement. The three student representatives will benefit from the GCP’s consensus-based decision making process. The addition of two more voices reduces pressure on the student body president to approve measures pushed by the members like the representatives from the Citizens Association of Georgetown or the Burleith Citizens Association (BCA) who have a history of rallying against Georgetown expansion plans and might not have the students’ best interest in mind. It will be more difficult for administrators to deflect the voices of three students than one. The addition of Clausen and Howard, contributing their perspectives, knowledge and experience also add to the strength of the student voice in the committee. Lastly, the additional representation should ensure that a broad range of student voices are brought to the steering committee’s table. The two new students will be able to collaborate with working groups that inform the steering committee to address pressing student needs. Given the importance of the 2018 campus plan — as it will remain in effect for the next 20 years — a greater student voice is imperative for shaping a better one. The addition of Clausen and Howard to the GCP bodes well for the student body’s future.
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 Michael Fiedorowicz, 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, Charlie Lowe, Parth Shah
This week on
[ CHATTER ]
Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces. Joseph Murdy (COL ’16) shares his experience with depression: It really is true when people say once you hit rock bottom, you can go nowhere but up. I discovered this sometime during my junior year. Time and time again I lived in a world where I felt so horrible as a result of my first two years. However, I considered this to be an external problem, a result of the environment at Georgetown. Never did I consider these problems internal, due to my own lethargy and resistance to change. When I finally acknowledged I was depressed and creating problems for myself, I saw everything in a completely different light. I began to learn to look for the good in everything I did and everyone I was surrounded by. This is a challenge, especially because when you are depressed, you have a tendency to only see the bad. However, making the effort can change your perspective on life.”
“
Find this and more at
thehoya.com/chatter
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OPINION
Friday, september 4, 2015
but i digress
Mind the Trump Bump E
ver since the fateful day when Donald Trump took the lead in the Republican presidential polls, it has seemed as though every major news network cannot go a day without feigning bewilderment at that fact. I say “feigning” because the media are largely responsible for Trump’s polling success, more so than his blunt talk and reality-star appeal, and the media know it. The media scrutinize every action Trump makes, splattering each offensive comment across the Internet and broadcasting his every decision to thousands, if not millions, of TVs in households nationwide. By antagonizing Mexicans and women with shameless insults, Trump gains what every other candidate yearns for: constant, prime-time media exposure. With such a large field of candidates, the average voter, who is not deeply engrossed in politics, has enough difficulty identifying exactly who is in the presidential race, let alone discerning who the best candidates are. As a result, voters favor the candidates they hear the most about, which in this case is Trump. Look at the bottom of any legitimate poll and you will see George Pataki and Jim Gilmore. That’s right, who? Since Trump monopolizes the national spotlight, candidates like Pataki and Gilmore cannot even get media attention, let alone polling points. For example, a quick Google search for CNN coverage of Pataki only comes up with a few stories. Very few focus on his policy and campaign ideas. To CNN, his most notable campaign achievements so far are his denouncements of Trump’s actions. In terms of media exposure, that is one step forward for Pataki and two steps forward for Trump. If Pataki can’t vie for media attention, he has no hope of rising in the polls. The lower-tier candidates fall victim to the tragic reality of politics: fame outweighs ideas, intentions and policies. If people do not know who you are, they will never vote for you. The sad truth is that society would rather elect a bad — I mean, the absolute worst — candidate over someone of whom it has never heard. Trump, the media and average Americans create a cycle, where the natural tendencies of one will influence those of the others, thus perpetuating the cycle. Here’s how it works: Trump does Trump things. The media broadcast the absurdity. Average Americans tune in for the entertainment. News networks recognize the growing audience, so they feed Americans an all-you-caneat platter of Trump. When polls and surveys are conducted, many Americans select Trump because they are unaware of other candidates and their policies, justifying their ludicrous choice by relating to Trump’s blunt talk and his audacity to say what others won’t. The media, properly doing their job, report the astonishing and startling news of Trump’s underdog story, leaving us with a whopping bowl of even more Trump for dessert. The cycle continues, and it worsens with every word Trump utters. Can we fault the media for their role in Trump’s campaign? After all, the genius of Trump’s success is his control of the media. He leaves the media with two conflicting choices that both benefit him. On the one hand, his antics draw viewers as people keep tuning in to see what he does next, thus encouraging the media outlets to keep audiences satisfied with Trump coverage. On the other hand, the media understand that Trump as president is a worst-case scenario for our country. Networks focus their reports on the atrocities that come out of his mouth, hoping his comments can become his downfall. However, unlike anything we have ever seen before, Trump turns comments and insults into an image that works. Big-time media, don’t act so surprised by the polls. You understand this game of social psychology and you know that you have substantial influence over public opinion through what you report and how you report it. Am I saying to stop covering Trump entirely? Certainly not. After all, he is newsworthy. However, shift the focus of your coverage onto other candidates — the polls will reflect the change.
Lam Nguyen in a sophomore in the College. but i digress appears every other Friday.
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VIEWPOINT • Pedersen
W
Lam Nguyen
THE HOYA
Remembering the Civil War
hile the 150th anniversary of General Robert Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse passed this April with little fanfare, the United States has been repeatedly and brutally reminded that our past still haunts us. The shooting of nine South Carolinian churchgoers by a Confederate - flag-waving fanatic in June and the debates over racially biased policing seem reminiscent of a different era. Despite our increasing distance from the four terrible years of our “great contest,” the Civil War remains the root of our political discourse and central to our national identity. Though the Union began fighting in the Civil War to reunite its fragmented states, by the end of the war, it was fighting to create a new nation. The Civil War would become a war for the identity of that nation: its ideals, its character, its soul. This new national identity would come from many sources, but the most notable one was President Abraham Lincoln himself. Through his public discourse, Lincoln was able to redefine what it meant to be an American. In his first inaugural address before the war began, Lincoln used “the Union” as a synonym for America twenty times, reflecting his desire to avoid war and keep the states united. By July of 1863, however, Lincoln would completely redefine American nationhood in his Gettysburg Address. After three years at the helm of a vastly expanded federal government, Lincoln saw a national identity dedicated to popular sovereignty and backed by a strong central government as the only hope for extending liberty to all men. By the time of his delivery of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln had replaced the word “Union” in his vocabulary with a more inclusive term: “nation.” He defines this nation as one “conceived in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Referring to “this na-
In the immediate aftermath of the war, they sought to preserve through terror what they could not preserve through battle. tion” five times in 272 words, Lincoln hammered home the idea of a new American unity and liberty, one more expansive and inclusive than just freedom from tyranny. America had transformed from “these United States,” as it was known before the war, to “the United States,” as it was known after. By stimulating and redefining American nationalism as one couched in the ideals of liberty for all men, Lincoln would set the stage for the most positive and enduring outcomes of the Civil War: the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments
to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery, redefined citizenship and guaranteed the right to vote, respectively. While President Lincoln and his supporters were able to unite America and steer it toward a more inclusive future, revisionists after the war almost immediately began to alter the causes and effects of the war to reverse his work. While the North was quick to, in the words of Lincoln, “bind up the nation’s wounds,” bands of partisans fighting for their “Lost Cause” terrorized the post-bellum South. In the immedi-
VIEWPOINT • Clements
ate aftermath of the war, they sought to preserve through terror what they could not preserve through battle, and so the often-bloody ideological war between equality and racial supremacy continued. Unfortunately for all of the United States the political winds shifted and terror was allowed to run rampant throughout the South. As the memories of war faded, the causes of the war were also revised to omit slavery and racism, so much so that until recently, a Confederate flag flew outside of the South Carolinian statehouse. While the Union may have won the war and brought forth a new nation truly conceived in the idea that all men are created equal, for at least the next hundred years, that nation would only exist for white Americans. The Civil War brought with it many things: the death of 750,000 soldiers, the economic decimation of the South and post-war violence that continued for the next 100 years. It also brought with it three new Amendments to the Constitution, changing views on race, liberty and national unity and bringing about the liberation of four million black Americans. The direct results of the war place it squarely at the center of the United States historical identity. The war, however, did not bring an end to many of the issues over which we once fought so violently. Debates about racial equality, regional rivalry and the relative power of the federal government, all of which were brought to the forefront during the war, remain hotly contested and unresolved. What becomes clear, especially during the year leading up to the 2016 presidential election, is that, though 150 years removed, arguments about race, inequality, poverty and citizenship continue to form the basis for our political divisions to this day.
Richard Pedersen is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.
oh the places you’ll go • Bobroske
Forging a Safer Future What I Learned About Through Gun Control Home in South Africa
O
n Tuesday, Andy Ward and Alison Parker were buried. We failed them. In the past few days, we have been left to make sense of their execution, which was broadcast on live television to an unsuspecting local Roanoke, Va. television news audience during an early-morning report. In the five days after Alison and Andy were murdered, more than 400 other Americans have died from gun violence. We failed them, too. The Gun Violence Archive reports that at least 34,000 Americans have been killed by a gun so far this year, and The Washington Post confirms that the United States is averaging more than one mass shooting a day. We pride ourselves on “American exceptionalism,” but our exceptionalism in the area of gun violence is hardly anything to be proud of; the consequences are thousands of lost lives and broken families every year. As a gun violence prevention advocate and organizer — and the daughter of a Sandy Hook Elementary School teacher and survivor — one of the most common sentiments I hear from would-be activists is adamant discouragement. “I lost all hope after the background checks bill failed in the Senate after Newtown,” or, “Nothing has changed since Sandy Hook. If nothing can change after 20 first-graders and six teachers are murdered in their classrooms, we will never fix this.” I understand. Perhaps our individual and collective fatigue of shootings is not necessarily indicative of apathy. Perhaps it is the result of repeated yet removed trauma. Our communities are caught in a cycle of violence, and when we turn to our leaders for answers, we are told that this is how it has to be. No matter how removed we are from an act of gun violence, we also understand it could have been us or someone we love this time. That is traumatizing. Perhaps our “fatigue” is a mechanism of self-protection. Politically, gun violence is a national epidemic, a wound that, because of our collective complicity, has been allowed to fester untreated at every level for almost 30 years. Culturally, it is ingrained in our larger history, and more recently, it has been exacerbated by right-wing extremism, which has especially flared during Obama’s term. It is also a uniquely American phenomenon, far more complicated than just the politics of gun reform laws. The sweeping systemic changes and political power shifts demanded after shootings will take decades to instill. That is the case with any reform movement. It requires organizing; it requires changing history; and in this case, our work will culminate in safer communities. The failure of the background check law in Congress after Newtown ignited a newfound and unprecedented gun violence prevention move-
ment. In truth, the gun lobby wants our reporters, talking heads and average citizens to think that nothing has changed. This myth trumpeted by the gun lobby as a major talking point projects a fatalistic view of gun reform, and it naively overlooks the courageous work of thousands of activists — old and new — who will do whatever it takes to rid our country of the scourge of gun violence. We have, in fact, made change. Since Newtown, we have grown a grassroots movement of thousands in every state. Resolution 594, which expands background checks to all gun sales, was passed by popular vote last year in Washington state. In addition, multiple states have passed comprehensive gun reform packages, including California, Connecticut and Delaware. Louisiana and Wisconsin, and others now, have legislation that closes a loophole allowing domestic abusers and stalkers to purchase and possess firearms. At the same time, public and private entities have divested from the gun industry. Politicians have been elected to public office even while blatantly opposing the gun lobby during their campaigns. Many young people are uniting and growing a more expansive network of next--generation leaders. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has helped to bring the issue of gun reform to the table as a serious platform issue in 2016. Even on our own campus, the newly formed student organization Georgetown Against Gun Violence (of which I’m proud to be a part) is poised to help lead advocacy and educational efforts on the Hilltop and beyond. The fact that our victories have been incremental does not mean they have been insignificant. These harbingers of the future cannot be misinterpreted. Slowly but surely, we are going to win the fight for gun safety. The generations before us put the gun lobby on a pedestal that, in turn, molded our policies to fit the gun industry’s agenda to sell more guns. They failed us. They failed Alison Parker and Adam Ward. They failed the 32 Americans who die from gun violence every day. Now, it’s up to us to put the interests of our own futures and families back on that pedestal. Andy Parker, Alison’s father, reminisced that while partaking in their favorite hobby, kayaking, Alison would always say, “Never stop paddling. You just have to paddle through the rapids. You just have to paddle through.” At this point, it’s not enough to feel bad for Alison and her family. We must pay our respects by heeding her command. We have to paddle through.
The generations before us put the gun lobby on a pedestal. They failed us.
Sarah Clements is a sophomore in the College. She is the vice president of Georgetown Against Gun Violence.
E
verywhere I go — no matter if I’m talking to a fellow student, a restaurant owner in the affluent historic district or a worker living in an informal settlement — I am asked the same question: “Why South Africa?” At first, I always had the same gut reaction for a response. Why not South Africa? Why not Stellenbosch? Its beautiful Dutch Cape architecture is tucked cozily around its vineyards and purple mountains. Its racially diverse, yet often segregated, population offers an opportunity to witness lingering effects of apartheid but also showcases inspirational reform and integration efforts. Most importantly to my International Politics major, Sub-Saharan Africa contains enormous potential for economic and political development. Africa is dealing with Chinese neocolonization and is now a central battleground militant jihadists. Perhaps my South African peers do not all view their town in the same way that I do. To me, it was worth traveling across the world to Stellenbosch rather than London, Buenos Aires or another bustling city Alexander for study abroad. But then I remember I, too, had the same reaction when students studied abroad in my hometown of Arvada, Col. My high school was nicknamed “Vanilla Valley,” home of the Mormons and a picture-perfect boring suburban life. Why would anyone come to Arvada? I learned I had to pop my bubble and leave my town to appreciate its uniqueness. After freshman year at Georgetown, I finally appreciated my view of the towering Colorado Rockies. After living in Quito, Ecuador this summer, I was excited to return to a place where tap water is drinkable. After living in Stellenbosch for less than two months, I will be ecstatic to return to a place where my language is the primary language spoken, since my Afrikaans currently leaves much to be desired. I am regularly interrogated about why I didn’t choose Europe. People say that it’s “much safer there.” Yes, crime and murder rates are high in various cities in South Africa. But if safety were the only priority for studying abroad, then a lot more of us would be huddling for warmth in Finland rather than dispersing throughout the globe. Statistics also don’t tell the full story for safety. Commonsense precautions and local friends happen to be great resources for choosing safe travel times and modes of transport. I do have to be careful here, though, considering the remnants of apartheid that still remain. When a white Afrikaner tells me, “Oh, that bar is dodgy, don’t go there,” it can be difficult to tell if he means that the
bar is actually dangerous or if it’s just a place where black people congregate. Perhaps these subtle comments let us see into fundamental roots of problems in South Africa. Elements of apartheid remain. Neighborhoods are often still segregated. Whites, blacks and minority groups distrusting each other certainly won’t help the country move forward toward integration. This is not to say there is a fullblown race war in South Africa either. But South Africans should recognize the backgrounds they grew up in and the context of what their parents taught them and separate truth from prejudiced stereotypes. From my time abroad, I’ve learned that we certainly need to do that in the United States as well. It’s easy to tweet #AllLivesMatter and feel you care for people of all skin colors when coming from a white homogenous Arvada, Col background. It takes a far deeper level of self-reflection to realize if you truly believe all lives matter, then you must engage Black Lives Matter. If one part of our community is hurting, experiencing injusBobroske tice and crying out for fair educational and economic opportunities, then we all must respond. It is everyone’s responsibility to help empower our brothers and sisters left behind by a lingering system of oppression in the United States, just as the ghost of apartheid still haunts South Africa. The United States will rise or fall together as one nation. When all our schools produce stellar students, no matter their race or income bracket, our prisons lie empty because our streets are safe and our communities are empowered, we will succeed. Our economic, intellectual and cultural renaissance boom will be the envy of the world. The lives of many South Africans I’ve met are living testimony to breaking down barriers, fostering integration and exchanging ideas to unlock the potential of every citizen, no matter the color of his skin. Now I return to the original question: why South Africa? Through watching all its failures, struggles, successes and dreams, I am here to experience, learn and reflect. Returning to Georgetown, I can apply these lessons to build up my own community, to strive for equal opportunity for everyone and to empower communities across the country. Doing so should unlock their full economic, intellectual and cultural potentials so we leave to the future a more prosperous nation.
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, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Chris Murphy (LAW ’98) was named vice president for government relations and community engagement. See story on A7.
Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.
IN FOCUS
THIS IS OUR FIGHT SONG
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If we as a university do not have a good relationship with our neighbors, that hurts everybody.” Chris Murphy (LAW ’98) on his new position in the Office of Community Engagement. Story on A7.
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Over 200 student staff members of New Student Orientation welcomed the Class of 2019 and transfer students from the Classes of 2017 and 2018 in McDonough Gymnasium Aug. 29 to kick off the week’s festivities.
GEORGETOWN’S FICTIONAL ALUMNI What do Olivia Pope, Spencer Hastings and Sterling Archer have in common? Their Georgetown degrees, of course. blog.thehoya.com
Hotel Rooms Converted Into Student Housing PATRICJA OKUNIEWKA Hoya Staff Writer
One hundred and forty students moved into the second and third floors of the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, which has been converted into temporary student housing for the 2015-2016 academic year, last week. Seventy-nine percent of the hotel’s residents are sophomores, while 15 percent are juniors and six percent are seniors. The conversion of the hotel space into dormitories comes as a result of the 2010 Campus Plan, which aims to house 385 extra students on campus by the fall of 2015. The hotel will provide housing for these extra students while construction for the Northeast Triangle Residence Hall continues. Georgetown University Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey said the hotel will be used to house students until the Northeast Triangle Residence Hall opens in the summer of 2016. The hotel dorm rooms are larger than doubles in traditional upperclassman dorms and also contain personal bathrooms. Since there aren’t laundry machines in the hotel, students must use the laundry room in Henle Village. The hotel also offers housekeeping
services for the rooms, which are offered once, twice or five times a week, for $35, $50 or $75, respectively. Students will be able to use credit cards and GOCard debit or flex dollars to order from the full room service menu. Each floor has its own community and study room to ensure that students do not disturb hotel guests staying on the fourth and fifth floors, which cannot be accessed by students. Additionally, students enter the dorm from the Leavey Esplanade, while guests continue to use the north side entrance. Students use their GOCards to access the elevators and their rooms. In addition, the hotel front desk provides students with free temporary GOCards, which are valid for 24 hours, in case they are locked out of their rooms. Min Joo Lee (SFS ’18), a resident assistant at the hotel, said that she often needs to remind students that there are hotel guests staying on other floors. “Something that has been important so far is that I always have to be mindful and remind residents of the fact that we share our space with hotel guests, and therefore need to be extra considerate with our noise level, movein route and so on,” Lee said. “Other than that, I think it’s similar to other RA positions in upperclassmen residence halls.” Each floor of the hotel also contains
its own trash room, the contents of which the hotel staff disposes daily. The hotel also offers a variety of its services to students living on its residential floors, including dry cleaning service with a 20 percent off student discount. Despite the amenities provided by the hotel, residents noted that there are some drawbacks to living in these rooms, such as the distance to laundry machines and lack of kitchen access. “I love living in the hotel. The staff is really accommodating. You can order room service and the rooms are really large,” resident Gina Kim (SFS ’18) said. “But I am still dreading trekking to Henle to do my laundry.” Resident Lydia Bubniak (SFS ’18) agreed that the hotel needs to make improvements to its amenities. “They did a good job overall. It’s quiet and private but still has more of a community feel than I expected,” Bubniak said. “There are a few things that could be improved logistically though, like access to a small kitchen and laundry room, both of which we have to go to Henle for, and much more lighting in the room for studying.” Lee said that living in the hotel is a unique experience for residents. “I think it’s pretty awesome that we’ll be the first and last Hoyas to call the GU Hotel our home,” Lee said.
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The second and third floors of the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center have been converted into student dormitories for 140 sophomores, juniors and seniors for the 2015-16 academic year as part of the 2010 Campus Plan agreement to house 385 more students on campus by the fall of 2015.
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Former Chaplain Sokas Leads Migrant Health NGO White, 83, Dies Lucy Pash
Hoya Staff Writer
Tom Garzillo Hoya Staff Writer
Former Senior Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Harold S. White, a member of the Georgetown community since 1968, died of complications from a stroke on Aug. 31. He was 83 years old. As the first full-time rabbi appointed to a campus ministry position at a Catholic university in the United States, White worked to unite different faith groups and communities during his nearly 50 years at Georgetown. In a university-wide email, University President John J. DeGioia described White’s goal of promoting interfaith dialogue as central to the university’s mission. “Rabbi White’s devotion to our shared values and our mission as a community was unparalleled,” DeGioia wrote. “His leadership and vision in creating opportunities for dialogue … helped build the ethos of engagement that characterizes our campus ministry today.” During his time as a chaplain, White constantly sought to establish connections with other religious groups, and he co-taught a course
with Fr. Dennis McManus and Imam Yahya Hendi on the dialogue between Abrahamic faiths. Over the past decades, White also officiated numerous weddings, including those of gay and lesbian couples. In 2003, the School of Foreign Service launched the Program for Jewish Civilization under White’s leadership, linking the fields of ethics, government and history as they pertain to Judaism. When he retired from the chaplaincy in 2010, White continued to serve as a senior advisor for the program. Prior to his career at Georgetown, White served Jewish communities in Dublin, Ireland and Ann Arbor, Mich. He also served as a chaplain for the United States Navy. On a memorial webpage for White, former students and colleagues shared their memories of a kind mentor, leader and friend. “His gentle, caring spirit and devotion to the Jewish community, and indeed the larger spiritual community at Georgetown, were deeply appreciated,” Sarah Goldstein (COL ’03) wrote.
A full obituary will be published next week.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Former Chaplain Rabbi Harold S. White, 83, died Aug. 31. He was the first full-time Jewish chaplain at a Catholic university.
Chair of the Department of Human Science in the School of Nursing and Health Studies Rosemary Sokas was appointed to a leadership position on the board of the Migrant Clinicians Network over the summer. MCN is a global organization that aims to improve health care for migrants around the world by providing support, technical assistance and professional development to clinicians in Federally Qualified Health Centers and other health care delivery sites. The group consists of over 10,000 constituents who perform research, advocate for migrants and engage external partners for support. Sokas said that she became passionate about immigrant workers through the experiences of her own family. “My one grandfather, who died before I was born, never learned English and worked as a dishwasher, which is a mostly immigrant job to this day,” Sokas wrote in an email to The Hoya. “My other grandfather, whose own father was an immigrant laborer, was my buddy growing up. He worked a drop-forge press and lost his hearing from the noise, which got me interested in occupational health.” After developing an interest in occupational health, Sokas worked in a seasonal and migrant agricultural health center, where she interacted with agricultural and construction workers, many of whom were immigrants. Sokas said that she hopes to help practicing clinicians through her work in MCN. “As an academic, what I do is so much easier than primary care clinical medicine,” Sokas wrote. “I wanted to help make practice easier for the clinicians who are caring for patients directly, which is what MCN does.” Sokas said that she was drawn to MCN by a number of its outreach programs, including one that monitors patients with active tuberculosis to ensure that they are treated, even if they face deportation. “They provide technical support, and they try to help with really thorny issues … which the treating clinician simply doesn’t have the time to do,” Sokas wrote. Sokas has previously integrated MCN into her courses, giving students the chance to learn about environmental issues in a real-life con-
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Chair of the Department of Human Science Rosemary Sokas has been selected to lead the board of directors of the Migrant Clinicians Network. text. In an environmental justice course she co-taught with Professor Laura Anderko, Sokas brought her students to the MCN office in Salisbury, Md. and a camp where the workers stayed. In another course, Sokas gave students an opportunity to work on MCN’s projects. In her toxicology class, Sokas asked students to help review the Environmental Protection Agency’s updated Worker Protection Standard to evaluate how well it protects farmworkers from pesticide exposure. “In the current WPS, there is no age limit for pesticide handling, so you could have a 14-year-old doing that. We’re trying to see a minimum age of 18 implemented,” Sokas wrote. In her new position, Sokas will continue working on a number of different projects to solve the challenges that health centers face in trying to meet the occupational health needs of their patients. In addition to her work outside of Georgetown, Sokas was praised by students and colleagues in the NHS as an inspirational and helpful pro-
fessor. NHS Dean Patricia Cloonan praised Sokas for her work, which she said aligned with the vision of the school. “I congratulate Rosie on being selected for this new voluntary leadership role, a professional honor that highlights her steadfast commitment to the health and well-being of the migrant community,” Cloonan wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Her work embodies this school’s mission, vision and values, which frame our collective organizational efforts to promote health equity and eliminate health disparities.” Katherine Foley (SFS ’14) said that Sokas was a very helpful professor who accommodated her needs. “She’s very knowledgable, but also very practical, and is very good at sizing up a situation and deciding what is ‘good science,’” Foley said. “She was totally encouraging when I had a million questions, and she never made me feel stupid even though I was the only nonnursing student in the class. She’s a tough cookie, but also genuinely caring, respectful and just really encouraging.”
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Friday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
Father of Speech and Expression Policy Dies at 77
COURTESY JEFF GORDON, COURTESY JIM HELMINK
Rev. James P.M. Walsh, S.J. died July 1 at age 77. The associate professor of theology left a rich legacy of expression— through music and The Georgetown Chimes, as well as free speech advocacy. Walsh is pictured right at the dedication of the Davis Center for Performing Arts in 2005, performing with the Chimes. WALSH, from A1 received at your first job. This was my first academic job. He just couldn’t have been more of a generous senior colleague,” Tod Linafelt, a theology professor who shared the same field, said of Walsh, who served as an informal mentor when Linafelt arrived in 1996. “Both personally, he was very encouraging in terms of teaching and scholarship, but also, he would read my work and even though it was very different from the sort of stuff he would do, he was very generous and welcoming and would have substantive responses to the work, which was not always the case with colleagues, and especially with that generational difference.” DeGioia revealed that Walsh had just finished a draft of a book on the subject of imagination, a commitment to which he consistently stressed and epitomized. “He devoted his life to being a sort of personal trainer of our imaginations,” Mark Ouweleen (CAS ’86), a Chimes alumnus, eulogized at the service. “His first lesson was humility — you may not be the center of the universe, an important lesson for Chimes.” This emphasis on imagination was reflected in his teachings. “For Jim, Georgetown was first a community of learning, at the heart of which was a deeper community of service and love. Like all communities, Jim insisted that its members owed something to each other,” David Fitzgerald (COL ’91), a Chimes alumnus who took classes with Walsh, wrote in an email. “Teachers had a responsibility to constantly invite students into a conversation about learning. It was OK for students to bring their biases and preconceived notions to the conversation. That’s what made the learning interesting. But, in the end, students had a responsibility to
be humble, to listen, to seek for understanding and not validation and certainly not accreditation.” His instruction continued outside the classroom, in subtle ways. “Our road trips with Jim were a rolling symposia. Our car was a bubble where it was OK for adolescents to be excited about theology [and the other humanities],” Ouweleen, who described Walsh as “a sort of Willie Nelson muppet of a priest” said. A Campus, Made Home A tracing of any aspect of campus life would reveal the influence or participation of a man many knew simply as “Jim.” In addition to Chimes paraphernalia, photographs and several flower arrangements sent from university offices and families, a Patrick Healy Award, an award for service to varsity athletics and a certificate of recognition from the Office of Admissions lay on display at Walsh’s Wolfington Hall wake. For years, Walsh served as the announcer for women’s basketball games. Each year, he would grow out his beard, ready to play Santa Claus at the faculty Christmas party. “He wasn’t your typical Claus. I remember him, in response to one child pulling on his beard, asking, ‘Are you real?’” DeGioia recounted. “Jim, channelling some existentialism, said, ‘What is real?’” His effect on all students who have passed through the front gates since 1989 is cemented in his preamble to the university’s first free speech and expression policy, espousing a commitment to conversation. “A university is many things but central to its being is discourse, discussion, debate: the untrammeled expression of ideas and information,” Walsh wrote. In a Tropaia Ceremony speech three years before, upon winning the 1986 Bunn Award for Faculty
Excellence, Walsh emphasized the confluence of education and conversation. “It forms habits of mind that make you capable of being part of that conversation: reverence, a historical sense, a certain critical — and self-critical — awareness, an ability to enter generously, sympathetically and imaginatively into the lives and feelings of people of other times and cultures,” he said. “It forms in you the ability to listen; to go out of yourself; to be friends. And what do you need to take part in this conversation? Why, those same qualities: the ability to listen, to go out of yourself, to be friends.” Walsh continued to champion these ideals in the 25 years following the policy’s publication. “He became the symbolic sort of fountain of wisdom around us, so people would consult him to talk about what speech meant; it wasn’t like a regular review board,” Carnes, who currently serves on the speech and expression committee, said. “When he was consulted, it was mainly around: ‘You inspired us with this, how do you look at this situation?’ and he would give some ideas, and then the administrators had to implement them.” Family First Through both the Jesuit order and his own kin, Walsh was drawn to families. “As a child, having an uncle who was a priest and could celebrate Mass at the house in 20 minutes or less meant we could play more,” Joseph Walsh, his nephew, said at the memorial service, detailing Walsh’s importance at different stages of his life. “He was often there to talk with or just listen to during hard times.” Perhaps Walsh’s most high-profile familial affiliation was that with the Georgetown Chimes, the famed all-male a cappella group of nearly seven decades.
Walsh joined the Chimes in 1980 as a neophyte, setting up Cherry Tree Massacre stages and fetching beers alongside 18-year-olds — a process he insisted on going through. “My first introduction to Jim Walsh and to the Jesuit tradition of Georgetown is that there was this professor, with a Ph.D., clearly an adult, one of the smartest human beings on the planet, and he was going through the same neophyte process that I was going through,” Mark Grannis (CAS ’85) said. “The humility that showed was really striking.” Upon his full induction to the group, Walsh refused to wield power over younger members. “Right when he got in the group, he was the adult in the room. He was the professor at Georgetown, and yet, he wanted to be treated as a student. When issues come up with the Chimes, and the active group is trying to decide something, everybody’s got a voice,” Tim Naughton (CAS ’77), who took Walsh’s freshman theology class in 1973, said. “Sometimes what the group did, he thought was nuts. But it was what the group, you know, voted to do. So Jim didn’t want to get in the way of that. It was only in the worst examples of that that Jim would offer this question: ‘Do you think that X might be upset by that?’” “He was sort of the conscience, but he sort of understood that he should let the group take charge,” current Chimes Ephus Connor Joseph (COL ’16) said. Walsh was a fixture at Chimes’ retreats and reunions, and presided over countless marriages and baptisms of alumni and their children. “He saw Chimes and Chimes’ kids go through the group,” current Chime Duncan Peacock (COL ’16), whose father George (CAS ’84) was also a Chime, said. “He was the one constant for a group that was ever-changing.” He cultivated multi-generational
relationships with fellow faculty, students, friends’ spouses and children. “Jim wanted to be wherever we were all the time. He wanted to immerse himself in all of his human relationships. And he was just incredibly selfless in the way he did that,” Grannis said. Walsh effortlessly straddled the lines between teacher, friend and priest. “I would say that religiously speaking he was so human and such a good friend and so much a contemporary of ours, but at the same time, still very much the Jesuit, very much trying to exemplify how our lives should be led, and it was important to him, and he was a real connection for me in my faith,” Kris Murphy, David’s wife, said. Coming from a family of many Hoyas, Bridget Morton (MSB ’16) grew up hearing stories of “the incredible Father Walsh.” “My mom and aunt had talked about him being the teacher of a lifetime. I didn’t really buy it until I took the class,” she said. “It was one of those things where he was a unique combination of an educator who cared incredibly deeply about his students on a really personal, authentic level, all at the same time expecting academic and intellectual excellence.” Walsh was omnipresent and invaluable to all those he encountered, whether through personal relationships or implicitly through his scholarship and impact on the university. “In the stories of all our lives, Jim shows up in an impossible number of important scenes. … And now, just like that, he’s out of the picture. In fact, I think this funeral is the first big event he’s missed,” Ouweleen said. “I wonder if our sadness itself may be a failure of our imagination. … What if there was a playful God who loved us so, he sent us Jim Walsh?”
Hellman Expands Dean’s Office, Creates Committee RESTRUCTURE, from A1 with Associate Dean Mitch Kaneda and others in the SFS program to ensure that it remains the best undergraduate institution for the study of international affairs,” Byman wrote in an email to The Hoya. In addition to his deanship, Byman will continue to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the SFS. “Although I am excited about my administrative duties, I love teaching, and I would never give it up,” Byman wrote. “I’ll still teach both the graduate and undergraduate level in the semesters to come.” SFS Associate Dean Emily Zenick will now serve as chief of staff to Hellman, a new position in the dean’s office. Zenick will both coordinate various initiatives of the dean’s office and serve as a liaison across the school’s departments. She retains her duties as advisor to the current cohorts of the regional and comparative studies major. Zenick’s duties will also include the management of the strategic goals of the SFS and the communication of these initiatives to other offices and schools. In an email to The Hoya, Zenick said that she looks forward to working on affairs related to the direction of the school at a greater capacity. “In my 16 years as an advising dean to first [McDonough School of Business] and then SFS students, I have developed a strong understanding of deep affection for Georgetown students,” Zenick wrote. “I feel grateful for all my experiences in working closely with students and look forward to this new opportunity to continue working on issues of importance to our community.” As the SFS reaches its centennial in 2019, Hellman also created a Centennial Vision Committee to shape the school’s direction for the future. “We need to begin a dialogue about where the school is going in the next hundred years,” Hellman said. “The school was created in 1919, largely to create a specialized cluster of people to be the kind of representatives of the United States abroad, whether it’s in diplomacy
or commerce or in any other field. A hundred years later, the school is very different. The kinds of people that we have are very different.” The committee will consist of associate professors in a variety of academic fields within the SFS, including Joanna Lewis, Rochelle Davis and Lahra Smith. “What I decided to do is to bring in some of our associate professors [who are] in their middle of their careers. They’ve been here long enough that they’re tenured and they know the place, but they’re still early enough in their careers … so they really have a stake in our future,” Hellman said. According to Associate Professor David Edelstein, who will serve as a co-chair of the committee, the members will communicate with different stakeholders about crafting an updated vision for the school. “We’ll be consulting with a variety of constituencies inside and outside of the school in an effort to do so,” Edelstein wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It’s exciting work as it provides an opportunity to think in grand terms about where the school might be going and how we might get there.” One of Hellman’s own plans for the school is to increase the collaboration between departments to foster an interdisciplinary education for students. “One of the things I want to do is think about how we build on all [our] existing strengths and create more of a one SFS that draws on all those strengths, both [in] the undergraduate program and the graduate program so as to lessen the gaps between the graduate program doing one thing and maybe the undergraduate doing another,” Hellman said. Hellman said that he hopes the new structure of the dean’s office will help create more connection between different programs in the school. “I think we want to start building in more flexibility into the program for [students] … and more connectivity in the program,” Hellman said. “I hope this structure will help us.”
BROOKINGS INSTITUTE, ANTHONY CLARK AREND, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, PEACECORPS
Clockwise from top left: Daniel Byman, Anthony Arend, Emily Zenick and David Edelstein assumed their new positions in the dean’s office of the School of Foreign Service this year.
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Atkins Murphy Heads Community, Federal Office Leads Cancer Research LOMBARDI, from A1 optimal sequence of two distinct treatment regimens. One directly targets the melanoma cells, while the other restores the activity of immune cells that can attack the cancer. “One regimen involves a combination of pills that block a pathway within tumor cells, which causes the tumor cells to self-destruct in the majority of patients,” Atkins said. “The second approach is a combination of specific antibodies that reactivates the patient’s immune system against the melanoma.” Both regimens have been shown in previous clinical trials to be effective in treating patients with advanced melanoma. Lombardi Center Director Louis Weiner said Atkins’ expertise in this area of clinical study and his intuition about the future of the cancer treatment field make him an excellent leader for the job. “Dr. Atkins joined Georgetown Lombardi just a few years ago and brought with him innumerable talents,” Weiner wrote in an email to The Hoya. “He is a well-respected leader in the field of immunotherapy and has particular interest in treating melanoma. His expertise is evident in the vision he had to design this national clinical trial — predicting how and when the field would progress.” Atkins emphasized that this trial can provide more insight into which sequence of treatments should be used first on different types of patients. “The question in this trial is, do you start with the highly effective pills, and use the highly effective immunotherapy only after the pills stop working?” Atkins said. “Or do you start with the immunotherapy and only use the pills for the patients whose disease is not eradicated by the immunotherapy?” Approximately 300 people with advanced melanoma will be recruited from cancer centers nationwide— including the Lombardi Center —to take part in the clinical trial. Half the patients will be randomly assigned to receive treatment using the pills first. The other half will begin treatment with the immunotherapy drugs. If the regimen stops working for patients in either group, indicating that their cancer has become resistant to the initial treatment, they will receive the other drug combination. After patients finish their treatment regimens — which can take up to two years — their physicians will continue to monitor side effects for up to five years. Participating patients will be asked to report their experiences on the two regimens using standardized questionnaires. This will allow researchers to better understand the symptoms, side effects and toxicities of the treatments, according to an ECOG-ACRIN Group press release emailed to The Hoya. “The trial gives patients the potential to cross over and receive the other treatment approach because researchers already know that for many patients, melanoma can be highly aggressive and existing treatments often stop working,” a spokesman from ECOG-ACRIN Group wrote. “As a result, advanced melanoma patients and their physicians find themselves with many treatment options but few answers to questions surrounding how and when to use these new approaches.” Atkins also highlighted the potential contributions this trial could make to further melanoma treatment studies. “We hope to identify the regimen that optimally produces long-term survival in patients with advanced melanoma,” Atkins said. “We also hope to uncover unique features of our patients who might respond better to one treatment sequence versus the other sequence, and also try to understand the properties related to resistance to a particular therapy that might help us develop better treatments in the future.” The National Cancer Institute will sponsor the clinical trial. The ECOG-ACRIN Group will also receive funding support from Novartis, the company that commercializes the two oral drugs in the first regimen, and from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the manufacturer of the antibodies used in the immunotherapy regimen.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Chris Murphy (LAW ’98) has been selected to be Georgetown’s first vice president for government relations and community engagement.
Tom Garzillo Hoya Staff Writer
Chris Murphy (LAW ’98) will serve as Georgetown’s first vice president for government relations and community engagement, a new position created to coordinate the university’s engagement with community groups and the local, city and federal government. Previously, the Office of Community Engagement was a part of the Office of Public Affairs, while the Office of Neighborhood Life was comanaged by the Office of Student Affairs. Now, the OCE and the Office of Federal Relations have been combined, with Murphy at the helm. The
ONL will continue to work with the OCE and OSA. The appointment was announced by University President John J. DeGioia in a university-wide email over the summer. “Murphy will help to strengthen our relationships with governmental and community leaders, enhance our civic engagement throughout the Washington area and more actively support policy and partnerships that advance our university’s mission and vision,” DeGioia wrote. Murphy, who graduated from Harvard University in 1990 and from Georgetown University Law Center in 1998, brings more than 25 years of experience in nonprofits and local
and federal government sectors to the position. Having served as chief of staff to former Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray from 2011 to 2015, Murphy began his position at Georgetown Aug. 10. The position of associate vice president for community engagement and strategic initiatives was formerly held by Lauralyn Lee, who left the post in June after 13 years at the university. Lee continues to serve as a senior adviser to the OCE. In an interview with The Hoya, Murphy said that this reorganization will allow for greater efficiency and focus. “Given all the competing priorities, it was a real challenge to give [community engagement and government relations] the attention [they] deserve,” Murphy said. “Although the functions existed, this was an opportunity to restructure how they were being managed, and to elevate them to a higher level.” Murphy said that he hopes to increase Georgetown’s role in community and government affairs. “For years, Georgetown has done extraordinary work at all of those levels, especially our work in the community,” Murphy said. “By giving some lift to this office, it will give us an opportunity to better tell the story of what Georgetown is already doing and add value so we can do it on an even bigger scale and with better quality.” Office of Neighborhood Life Director Cory Peterson said that the organizational changes will improve his response time to concerns raised by community members and students. “Having an elevated vice president allows me to better serve … in a quicker fashion,” Peterson said. “Having that access to Chris and to [Vice President of Student Affairs] Todd Olson means I can raise an issue very quickly to both of them and be able to get access and answers quickly.” The new position will engage with a number of different groups, including the Advisory Neighborhood Commission and other community organizations. Murphy said that through his interactions with the community, he hopes to create opportunities for students in academic settings, community service and public service. “There are no limits to what kinds of partnerships we can have that benefit our partners and students,” Mur-
phy said. Murphy said that productive neighborhood relations can bring about positive results. For instance, he cited the possibility of creating a coalition to question whether the Federal Aviation Administration is justified in flying planes directly over campus. According to Murphy, the revamped structure of the OCE will lead to a more widespread understanding of the office and its role. “I think there is a sense that not enough people know about all the good work that’s going on,” Murphy said. “I’ve started to have conversations about how we can better articulate and better tell the story about how Georgetown is already engaging in the community.” Peterson echoed this sentiment and said that students and neighbors both hold misperceptions of one another. In July, Georgetown University Student Association President Joe Luther (COL ’16) and Vice-President Connor Rohan (COL ’16) co-wrote an op-ed in The Hoya (“Engaing the Wrong Community,” thehoya.com, July 20, 2015) that questioned the creation of this new position. The piece criticized the administration’s decision to put more money and resources toward community engagement while issues that many students have with resources, such as Counseling and Psychiatric Services and the Academic Resource Center, remain largely unaddressed. “It is not that we feel the Office of Community Engagement lacks intrinsic value, but rather that we are committed to directing the university’s energy and resources toward issues that benefit the student body and the student experience,” Rohan wrote in an email to The Hoya. Murphy said, conversely, that close relationships with the surrounding community are beneficial to the university. Murphy has already met with GUSA leadership and said that they have “a terrific working relationship.” “First and foremost, it’s important to think about the strategic role that these functions play,” Murphy said. “If we, as a university, do not have a good relationship with our neighbors, that hurts everybody. By recognizing the importance of these functions, I think everybody wins.”
NEWS
FRIDAY, September 4, 2015
THE HOYA
A9
Vizo Reimagines News App for the Modern World VIZO, from A10
New York Times and The Wall Street Journal three times daily. On Vizo, stories are called Glances. Glances replace misleading headlines and lengthy anecdotes by showing you the heart of the story. The app allows you to personalize your feed to see the news sections that most interest you. You can also click through to fuller versions of any story from multiple sources when you have the want to know more than just what’s at a Glance. Take us through a timeline of the app’s development and funding stages. Vizo was dreamt up last July, then we wrote a business plan and enlisted my roommate to make a Photoshop mockup, and Vizo was born. We closed our first round of funding last August and began development in the middle of fall
semester. We just closed our largest round to date, bringing our total funding since inception to over $1 million. What were the main challenges you encountered? We encountered the usual development challenges and startup challenges but also faced additional issues because we launched on both iOS and Android in both English and Hebrew. It was a big challenge to develop an app from scratch in tandem. I couldn’t be more proud of Evan and the [development] team. What makes Vizo different from other news apps? In most forms — print, radio, television and now even mobile — your experience starts with a headline. A series of words that are meant to ex-
plain the circumstances of the news, to inform. Now, more often than not, these headlines are engineered to jar you enough to want to hear more. They’re misleading and really only created for the benefit of getting the reader to click through to the content for advertising dollars. We want to change that. Vizo is built to pull you in emotionally with a picture instead of feeding you misleading headlines. By showing you who or what the news is about, we want to spark genuine interest into the content. Giving the reader what they need to know and only what they need to know, which is why you’ll never see a Vizo story bigger than the text that can fit on your screen. Did you learn anything from your time at Georgetown that helped you with running your own startup? We definitely did. Our George-
town educations have been instrumental in getting Vizo to this point. There are two Georgetown professors on our advisory board, and we have had a great response from everyone we have spoken to at Georgetown about Vizo. Do you think that the culture at Georgetown fosters entrepreneurship? I think that this is a hard question to answer. At Georgetown, everyone is incredibly driven and competitive, which makes it a great environment to start a company. However, that same environment also makes straying from the beaten path — whether it be investment banking, consulting or being a developer at Google — something that is viewed with skepticism. We hope to see more student entrepreneurs coming from Georgetown in the future.
What do you have to say to other students who are interested in starting their own business ventures? Follow your dream, but be realistic. Startup life is heavy on the stress and light on the sleep. The decision to leave Georgetown to pursue your dream full time is one that Evan and I are incredibly lucky to have been able to make and is not for everyone. If you have an idea for a startup, tell as many people as possible about it. See what they say, write a business plan, sketch out a concept. Then, if you still believe in the idea, convince other people to believe in it and raise money from investors. We made sure that our first investor was someone who didn’t know us and was investing on the basis of the idea, not just due to a personal relationship. Definitely reach out to friends and family for your first round, though.
Sunniva Caffe Pours Passion Into Startup SUNNIVA, from A10
chairman, Jaime Vasquez (GRD ’89), was a former COO of Pepsico and now holds weekly calls with the Sunniva team to offer guidance. Early on in the business development process, Jordan received help from a number of professors at Philadelphia University who worked at Campbell’s Soup as well as Honest Tea Co-Founder Seth Goldman. And before finalizing a product, Sunniva utilized food scientists at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton, N.J. “We had a lot of help, a lot of advice given to us earlier on,” Jordan said. “We were very fortunate to have schools behind us, great family members behind us who have been successful in the business world.” Jake said that another important step in growing the business to its current level was the time the company spent within the Startup Hoyas Summer Incubator. The program hosted 13 different startups founded by Georgetown students, who received dedicated work space and mentorship from
the business school. McDonough School of Business Entrepreneurship Initiative Associate Director Alyssa Lovegrove said that the program is a transformational one because of the environment it provides for entrepreneurs. “You could do this anywhere. You could do this in a coffee shop, but you’re not necessarily part of a community so that’s really the dynamic we’re trying to create, kind of an ecosystem where people are helping each other and sharing the information that they’re collecting and the advice,” Lovegrove said. “So that’s quite satisfying.” For now, Jake said that his sights are set on keeping the business growing while playing on the footJake Decicco (MSB ’16) ball team, managing Co-founder of Sunniva Caffe school work and trying to maintain the same sense of fun and purpose in his startup. “It’s a battle that comes up always when running your own business,” Jake said. “With grades or football or whatever, it’s easy to say, ‘I can slack off. I’ll catch up tomorrow.’ But it’s about keeping your foot on the accelerator.”
“With grades or football or whatever, it’s easy to say, ‘I can slack off. I’ll catch up tomorrow.’ But it’s about keeping your foot on the accelerator.”
MISFIT JUICERY
MISFIT Juicery creates juice from produce destined for the landfill due to aesthetic defects. More than $165 billion in food goes to waste every year in the United States.
MISFIT Gives Produce Life
PRODUCE, from A10
everything when you’re two months in, but it’s impossible (or at least impractical) to do that when the company is three times bigger,” Wong wrote. “We’re definitely a growing team and always looking for people to join the ride, so that if we’re still super sleep-deprived, it’ll be because we’re getting twice as much done.” The biggest challenge in MISFIT’s current operations is how to expand and change,
Yang said. “We are a whole press juice company right now, but we understand that there are lots of ways that we could expand in terms of products and distribution models,” Yang said. “So thinking about the fact that MISFIT is not just a food company, but it’s really the philosophy of reimagining waste and the philosophy of a new area of sustainability that is scrappy and creative.” Wong said that the company is looking for new ways to deliver on its mission of social good, since it has the poten-
tial to take on many forms. Another big challenge for Wong and Yang has been managing time. One night, the pair was so excited about a new juicer that they stayed up all night using it. “We were up until 7:30 a.m. making juice,” Wong wrote. “We had a meeting an hour later, and then I had to drive up to New Jersey for another MISFIT thing. We can’t remember where school figured in there, which is maybe indicative of how we spent our time last year.”
Business & Tech FRIDAY, september 4, 2015
Sunniva Caffe Debuts in Whole Foods
business bits
Andrew Wallender
“That’s the plan,” Jake said. “I mean, we plan to expand nationally at Whole Foods, nationally at univerWide receiver Jake DeCicco (MSB sities.” ’16) wasted no time as he left football The company was born in Septempractice on the morning of Aug. 28. ber 2014 inside Jordan’s Philadelphia As most players headed for the show- University dorm room. Jordan, now a ers and then lunch, DeCicco darted 20-year-old sophomore athlete at the with a teammate to his car. A football university, found himself in a tight team meeting was beginning in three spot after falling asleep in class after 5 hours, but DeCicco could not afford a.m. varsity basketball practice. to stick around. Thirty-five miles away “Every day after his workouts, [Jorin Elkridge, Md. 700 bottles of his dan] was falling asleep in class,” Jake new product, Sunniva Caffe, awaited said. “And so he was drinking coffee, pickup. he was drinking energy drinks, and Sunniva Caffe, a new kind of cof- they really weren’t doing the trick.” fee drink developed by Jake and his After countless hours spent rebrother Jordan DeCicco, will officially searching online and speaking with launch Monday in 11 Whole Foods different teachers, Jordan found his stores around the Mid-Atlantic region. solution in medium-chain triglycerDeveloped with athletes in mind, Sun- ide fatty acids, a compound that can niva combines natural and organic be extracted from coconut oil and reingredients to give its users 10 grams main soluble and flavorless. of protein and eight hours of energy, “It gave you this extended boost of according to Jake, who serves as chief energy and also extended the body operating officer of the company. metabolism and acted as a dietary Jake and his supplement,” teammate ultiJordan said. mately missed After adding the team meetprotein and oring and were ganic flavor such punished when as agave nectar, the commute stevia extract took longer than and organic expected. But vanilla, Jordan Jake DECICCO (MSB ’16) Jake said that it had concocted a Co-founder of Sunniva Caffe comes as part of tasty drink that the cost of being all of his teama student, an athlete and the chief op- mates were asking for. In March, Sunerating officer of a new business. niva Caffe sold more than $7,000 in “That’s when you wish there were product at Philadelphia University 25 hours in a day,” Jake said. alone. Both brothers have put around-theBut Jordan was not satisfied. He clock work into this startup, whether recruited his brother Jake for his busiby holding board meetings at 1 a.m. ness expertise, and before long Sunon Saturdays or by spending this niva received its big break when a past summer at the Startup Hoyas Whole Foods in Glover Park agreed to Summer Incubator, hosted by the carry its product. Within weeks other McDonough School of Business. The local Whole Foods began to carry Sunteam plans on continuing full-time niva’s drinks. after graduation. On Thursday the company received
Hoya Staff Writer
Business School Jumps to Number Two spot in New Ranking
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business jumped 10 spots to claim the number two position in Business Insider’s “The Top 25 U.S. Colleges to Study Business” list published Thursday. The number one school in the nation for business, according to the list, was the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. The list was based on its “Best Colleges” list, which was created using data from a reader survey, average SAT scores and median starting salary after graduation. For the business list, the publication then looked at where the greatest number of students study business and/or marketing. Twenty-two percent of students major in either business or marketing at Georgetown.
35 Students Graduate GeorgetownEsade Program
Thirty-five Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA students graduated in late July after spending the last 14 months studying the intricacies of global business and geopolitics on four continents. ESADE Director General Eugenia Bieto addressed the graduates, asking them to be global citizens who will address significant issues like growing economic and social inequality, geopolitical conflicts and environmental issues. The students, who represent 17 different nationalities, have already founded the GEMBA Legacy project, a philanthropic initiative that will support underprivileged students in Colombia.
Nasdaq veteran joins McDonough School of Business
Nasdaq veteran John Jacobs will join the Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business as a distinguished fellow. He will serve as a guest lecturer, meet with faculty and students and serve as a panelist at center events. Jacobs worked at Nasdaq for more than 30 years, where he worked with investors, initial public offerings and top global public companies. Currently, Jacobs serves as an executive advisor and principal consultant to Nasdaq’s CEO, president and executive vice president of global information services.
“We plan to expand nationally at Whole Foods.”
COURTESY jAKE dEcicco
Jake DeCicco inspects a bottle of Sunniva Caffe at the company’s production facility in Elkridge, Md. On Monday the product will officially launch in 11 regional Whole Foods stores. a 10,000-bottle shipment, which Jordan said he hopes to sell by the end of September. Another 25,000-bottle order will arrive in early October. In addition to the 11 initial Whole Foods locations, Sunniva Caffe will market at Students of Georgetown, Inc. storefronts such as Hoya Snaxa, Hilltoss and Vital Vittles beginning this month. Sunniva Caffe is currently available in three flavors: Natural Mocha, Natural Vanilla and Pure Cin-
See SUNNIVA, A9
Q&A: Alumni Talk New App Startup Toby Hung
Hoya Staff Writer
Like all other student entrepreneurs at Georgetown, Gillis Baxter and Evan Bloomberg (COL ’13) have high hopes for their startup, Vizo News. A news aggregator app that delivers three brief headlines every day, Vizo launched July 21 on both iOS and Android platforms. The two founders first met at Georgetown, where Bloomberg is currently pursuing a graduate degree in computer science and where Baxter studied business prior to dropping out last December in order to focus on Vizo. The Hoya connected with Baxter and Bloomberg over email about the process of developing the app, the challenges they encountered and the startup culture at Georgetown.
MBA Students Culminate studies with Italy trip
Forty Georgetown McDonough MBA students traveled to Bologna, Italy in July for their Global Business Experience as part of the culmination of the three-month course. During the trip, the students shared eight presentations with clients including Electrolux, Ferretti and Carpigiani. While visiting Lamborghini headquarters, executives from the global business development team gave students a tour of the production facility and the Automobili Lamborghini museum. The Global Business Experience has been active in Bologna since 2014, when the first group of MBA students travelled to consult for companies such as Ducati, Piquadro and Coccinelle.
What was the impetus behind Vizo News?
Professor to Head nonprofit dedicated to PEACE ADVANCEMENT
Professor Catherine Langlois, who teaches strategy at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, was elected in June as president of the Peace Science Society (International) for 201617. PSS(I) is an independent nonprofit organization that encourages the development of peace analysis and conflict management. The society holds annual elections to determine a council of officers elected from and by the members. The PSS(I) encourages and supports the publication of research, avoiding social, religious and national bias. In addition to the guidance Langlois will provide to the society, she will deliver a presidential address at the 2016 business meeting in South Bend, Ind.
namon. The company raised more than $100,000 in funding throughout April and May and hopes to raise anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million in funding later this fall after the company undergoes another valuation. Jake and Jordan both said that outside support has been essential to the company’s success. Sunniva’s vice
COURTESY Gillis Baxter
Gillis Baxter and Evan Bloomberg (COL ’13) launched their app, Vizo News, in July. The duo hopes to transform the way consumers experience journalism on their smartphones with their new app.
At Georgetown we were surrounded by extremely smart people; however, I was shocked at how few of my friends read the news. When I dug more into the problem, I found two issues. First, the presentation of the news has not changed and is not optimized for our generation. Second, people do not have time to read the news, especially not millennials. Vizo makes sure no one’s too busy to see the news. Visually stunning and quick to read, Vizo is a news app that gives you just the facts from top sources like The See VIZO, A9
Startup Puts a Socially Conscious Spin on Produce Andrew Wallender Hoya Staff Writer
Food waste is not a pretty topic by any count. More than $165 billion in food is thrown out every year in the United States alone, accounting for more than 20 percent of the country’s methane emissions. It is a statistic most people do not call to mind when they glance at the rows and rows of near-perfect produce lining grocery store shelves. Social responsibility in the food industry has been gaining ground in recent years, however. In mid-July John Oliver devoted a 17-minute segment to ridiculing the state of food waste in the United States, saying that “resolving to eat uglier fruit” is one way to bring down the massive amount of annual waste. Kroger Co.
unveiled a new machine in 2013 located in Compton, Calif. that turns food waste into energy that could power more than 2,000 California homes a year. This growing mission reached Georgetown when Phil Wong (SFS ’15) and Ann Yang (SFS ’16), met in a spring 2014 entrepreneurship class. There, the pair developed the idea to divert perfectly good produce from heading to the landfill by turning it into juice. From there, the startup MISFIT Juicery was born. MISFIT currently operates out of a commercial kitchen space in northeast D.C. called Mess Hall and wholesales to 21 stores in the region, selling four varieties of juices with names such as Kale + Stuff, Offbeet and Greenhaus. This summer, Wong was accepted
to become a part of the Halcyon Incubator, an organization located just outside of Georgetown University on Prospect Street. The incubator, which is affiliated with the noprofit S&R Foundation, helps entrepreneurs with socially minded goals expand their businesses. Throughout
“[I’m] really grateful to the community of people that we have.” Ann Yang (SFS ’16) MISFIT Juicery co-founder
his 18-month fellowship that began Tuesday, Wong will be given mentorship and guidance in growing MISFIT. All of Halcyon’s fellows receive five months of free housing at Halcyon House, a $10,000 stipend and pro bono consulting, legal and communications services among other benefits, according to Halcyon Incubator Program Coordinator Lisa Oberstoetter. “The Halcyon Incubator program is structured to give talented social entrepreneurs the time, space and resources they need to grow their businesses,” Oberstoetter said. Though Wong declined to comment on exact production numbers, he said that MISFIT is currently operating at above the $30,000 profit mark. The company currently em-
ploys one full-time worker but is looking to hire two or three more people from the D.C. area. MISFIT is dedicated to pay each of its employees a living wage. “It’s very humbling,” Yang said. “I feel in many ways really grateful to the community of people that we have that has allowed this to happen. I certainly don’t feel necessarily responsible or deserving to say that I am providing this income. I really think that MISFIT has been a community operative.” Growing operations have made time management more difficult for the pair, necessitating more employees. “It’s one thing to be super sleepdeprived and have your hand in See PRODUCE, A9