The Hoya: January 29, 2016

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 27, © 2016

FRIDAY, January 29, 2016

CONFERENCE CHALLENGE

The Georgetown men’s basketball team prepares for a home game against Providence.

EDITORIAL A lack of interested candidates in the GUSA executive race is concerning.

JOHN Q. PIERCE RETIRES Following 46 years at Georgetown, the university registrar looks back .

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A4

SPORTS, B10

Homeless Youth Surveyed

Fr. Curry Remembered for Altruism Philanthropist and disability pioneer Fr. Richard Curry, S.J., dies at 72

chaRlotte allen Hoya Staff Writer

A recent D.C. Department of Human Services survey found that 43 percent of the District’s 330 homeless youths identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to D.C.’s first Homeless Youth Census released Jan. 13.

The youths surveyed were living on the streets, in a housing program or without a permanent home. Ninety percent of those surveyed were black, 5.5 percent were Hispanic, 3.4 percent were multiracial or identified as other and 1 percent was white.

“For many it may be safer to try to survive on their own than to stay at home. Some do not even have the option of staying ...”

JULIAN HAAS Assistant Director of Georgetown LGBTQ Resource Center

The District announced that Verizon Wireless will donate $45,000 in grants to two nonprofit organizations, the Wanda Alston House and Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, which assist LGBTQ youths, and that the city will award five grants of around $5,000 to organizations with similar goals.

D.C.’s annual budget for homeless youth programming has been increased by $1.3 million, bringing the funding to over $5 million.

According to Assistant Director of the Georgetown LGBTQ Resource Center Julian Haas, the census is reflective of what similar studies have shown in past years. Haas affirmed that a significant factor behind youth homelessness is family rejection.

“For many it may be safer to try to survive on their own than to stay at

At the memorial service held Wednesday in Dahlgren Chapel, students, family and friends remembered and celebrated the life of Fr. Richard Curry, S.J.,including his extensive work for his students, veterans and members of the disabled community in the United States.

See HOMELESS, A6

See CURRY, A6

MICHELLE LUBERTO/THE HOYA

Humza Moinuddin and ashwin puri Hoya Staff Writers

When he was not inspiring meaningful conversation in his students, pursuing his passion for baking or empowering the disabled, Fr. Richard Curry, S.J., would give loud and friendly greetings to any passerby, stranger and friend

alike.

“How are you, my friend?” he would exclaim, forcing all who passed him to crack a smile. His energy and compassion were contagious. Even after his passing, his compassion lives on in his deeds, relationships and achievements.

The Georgetown community celebrated Curry’s life Wednesday with a memorial Mass in Dahl-

gren Chapel. Curry, who passed away Dec. 19 from heart failure at the age of 72, was buried in Wernersville, Pa., at the Jesuit center where he was first ordained as a priest in 2009.

Raised in Philadelphia, Pa., Curry suffered from a birth defect and was born without a right forearm.

In an attempt to boost his son’s confidence for a potential career

FEATURED

Clinton, Rubio Win in Mock Iowa Caucus lisa burgoa Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service hosted a simulation of the upcoming Feb. 1 Iowa caucus that culminated with victories for

Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Copley Formal Lounge on Wednesday.

The event, titled the “Iowa Mockus,” featured former Associated Press White House Correspondent Nedra Pickler moderating the discourse be-

tween IPPS fellow Patrick Dillon and Sara Fagen, who are former deputy White House political directors for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, respectively.

The event began with opening remarks from IPPS Executive Director

lauren seibel/the hoya

Associated Press White House Correspondent Nedra Pickler, center, moderated a discussion on the Iowa caucus with former Deputy White House Political Directors Sara Fagen, left, and Patrick Dillon.

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

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

in law, Curry’s father sent him to acting classes, inspiring Curry to pursue stagecraft.

Following his graduation from St. Joseph’s Preparatory, Curry joined the Jesuit Order as a brother in 1962 at age 19, though he would not become ordained until many decades later.

Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94) and Will Simons (COL ’16), a member of Dillon’s student strategy team. Fagen then opened by defending Iowa — a small agrarian state whose population is over 90 percent white — as the locale for one of the most pivotal events of the general election.

“As an Iowan, I am quite proud of the Iowa caucus and I think there is a robust defense of why Iowa goes first and why it should continue to go first,” Fagen said. “In Iowa, it is not unusual for candidates to do events that are with 10 to 15 people, which is unheard of in presidential politics, and sometimes gaffes occur and you really get the sense of how someone’s mettle is tested.”

The speakers then outlined the different structures of the primary elections for each party. Dillon described the chaos that occurs on the Democratic side due to the party’s minimum viability threshold of 15 percent. The threshold is the minimum number of caucus attendees required for a candidate to be registered as viable and to advance to the next convention. Depending on which candidates are able to meet the threshold, attendees realign themselves in support.

“This is the principle of the caucus: If we’re going to reward you with delegates and advance you to the next stage on the Democratic side, you can’t just show up. You need at least some of level of organizing to make sure you have a real presence in the room,” Dillon

OPINION Solidarity for Change

LGBTQ conference teaches the importance of collective support for progress.

A3

NEWS IPPS Hosts Mayors

Four mayors came together to discuss ways to combat economic inequality.

A7

NEWS DC Ready for Election

Amidst concerns over faulty voting machines, D.C. insists on its electoral preparedness.

A5

sports Weekend on the Road

The women’s basketball team is set to play against Providence, Creighton.

B10

See CAUCUS, A6 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

OPINION

THE HOYA



Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIALS

Cold Treatment Students and professors alike recently experienced the record-setting blizzard and ensuing four-day weekend that immobilized the District of Columbia. In order to clear the heavy drifts of snow and ice, as well as serve food to snowed-in students, many of Georgetown University’s dining and facilities employees stayed on campus for the duration of the weekend.

They were given the option of staying overnight if commuting back home or not earning weekend pay would be impossible. For many workers earning hourly wages, losing such a significant portion of the workweek was simply not a viable option.

As people enjoyed the respite from classes and took advantage of the lifted ban on sledding at the Capitol, many also took the time to recognize the hard work of Georgetown’s employees. Multiple posts on Georgetown Confessions, a Facebook page where students can publish anonymous statuses, for example, gave a special shoutout to the workers braving the cold to clear pathways and entrances across campus. Provost Robert Groves also wrote a blog post expressing his gratitude for workers’ dedication to the university. While such widespread campus support of workers is wonderful, these gestures of appreciation must extend beyond words.

The very workers praised by students and the administration faced an appalling dearth of accommodations during the long weekend.

An interview with Alex Taliadoros, a staff member at The Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown, revealed that workers did not receive overtime pay or extra compensation for their work. Numerous workers were not given a place to sleep at all and additionally had no place to shower. The shortage of cots provided for workers is certainly a prob-

lem that should have been anticipated long before the winter storm, but this alone does not fully address the egregious lack of care exhibited by the university. While many facilities workers were given only a blanket and pillow and told to sleep on benches or floors in various campus buildings, all senior-level management employees, including supervisors, managers and contractors, were offered rooms in the Leavey Hotel or Rosslyn Marriott. This unequal treatment represents a serious breach of the Jesuit values that supposedly guide Georgetown’s employment practices.

It is important to note that the dining hall employees were given meals and hotel rooms over the weekend as per their union contract.

Though in the past Aramark employees have also been forced to stay overnight in their cars or in campus buildings, they were able to secure an agreement providing these basic accommodations. When facilities workers renegotiate their contract this summer, students should pressure the Office of Planning and Facilities Management to ensure that similar language is written into their contract to make sure the events of the snow storm are not repeated.

The university has an obligation to care for those who care for our students and faculty. If we recognize that our campus could not run without the commitment of Georgetown employees and that workers are an integral part of the Georgetown community, we must also make sure to support their rights, both during snow days and throughout the calendar year. If the university has a shortage of cots, they must commit to place workers in hotel rooms. As Provost Groves stated, “We owe them [the workers] thanks.” It is our responsibility to make sure these words are followed by concrete commitments.

As the rowdy presidential field shrinks, Georgetown students are turning their attention to a new — and decidedly quieter — contest: the 2016-2017 Georgetown University Student Association executive race.

At this point last year, five tickets for GUSA president and vicepresident had formed, heralding one of the tightest and most chaotic election cycles in GUSA history. This year, by contrast, just one ticket has expressed interest in an executive run by attending a GUSA Election Commission information session, the second and last of which will be held this Tuesday, in advance of the race’s official Feb. 4 kickoff. A less crowded executive roster will surely be a change of pace for both candidates and voters; however, the prospect of an uncontested or undercontested race ought to concern those desiring a more unified and productive student body.

Most notably, a one- or two-ticket executive race would stifle the democratic process. By not having to prove their platform strength and political finesse in a series of competitive debates,

winning tickets are likely to assume office untested and underprepared. While a slimmer field might in theory yield a less-fractured student body, the greater likelihood is that a one- or twocandidate race would only accelerate a trend of political disengagement amongs the student body.

Moreover, a sparsely populated ballot would affirm the notion that Georgetown students are absent, apathetic and politically acquiescent. As a consequence, student government leaders would be left with minimal leverage to defend the needs and wants of the student body it represents.

Perhaps, due to the success of the satirical Luther-Rohan ticket in 2015, many of this year’s potential “serious” candidates have opted out of the enormous time and energy commitment required of an executive bid. This is fair, but in light of a dangerously shallow candidate field, those still on the fence should recognize the vital contribution they would be making to student engagement and influence should they choose to take up the challenge.

   

A2



FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

THE VERDICT Bare-Knuckle Metro Brawl — Six teens were arrested Thursday after starting a brawl on the D.C. Metro’s Red Line.

Giving Back — Georgetown ranks fourth out of 10 for top charitable donations collected last year among universities in the Washington, D.C., area.

Lone Direction — Zayn Malik, formerly of One Direction, released his newest single as a solo artist, “Pillowtalk,” last night. Cue equal amounts fanfare and outrage.

Shaping Up — The iconic Barbie Doll is getting a new lease on life. Mattel recently announced that Barbie would soon be sold in different body types and skin complexions to more accurately reflect the diversity of those who buy the doll.

Trump Gonna Trump — Presidential candidate Donald Trump skipped Thursday’s Republican debate just days before the Iowa caucus.

Twitter Wars — This week, rapper Kanye West waged a massive Twitter feud against Wiz Khalifa. The disses targeted Khalifa’s musical ability, fashion sense and even his child with his estranged wife, Amber Rose.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Derek Nelson

GUSA Runs Dry

Money to Thrive The Georgetown Scholarship Program held its annual Thrive summit on Wednesday, Jan. 27. It is an event to congratulate first-year students on completing their first semester of college, which can certainly be a rough transition period for GSP students. The Thrive summit also pushes students to develop their Hilltop experience, as this year’s theme was “Finding Your Voice.” The unwavering support GSP offers its students is unquestionably beneficial; and this is why the alumni and faculty who make programs such as GSP possible through donations should be recognized.

After the College Access Index, published in September, revealed a decline in Georgetown’s rankings, THE HOYA published many op-ed articles that supported Georgetown’s commitment to low-income students. Students pointed to the Georgetown Scholarship Program as a testament to the administration’s support of economic diversity among students. The administrators here at Georgetown work hard to ensure that lowincome students remain enrolled in college, and Georgetown Scholarship Program would not be

Ashwin Puri, Campus News Editor Emily Tu, City News Editor Elizabeth Cavacos, Sports Editor Toby Hung, Guide Editor Lauren Gros, Opinion Editor Naaz Modan, Photography Editor Matthew Trunko, Layout Editor Jeanine Santucci, Copy Chief Catherine McNally, Blog Editor Reza Baghaee, Multimedia Editor

Syed Humza Moinuddin Ian Scoville Aly Pachter Andrew Wallender Deirdre Collins Madeline Auerbach Darius Iraj Russell Guertin Sean Davey Tom Garzillo Kate Kim John Miller Anthony Palacio Julia Weil Robert Cortes Daniel Kreytak Stanley Dai Charlotte Kelly Jesus Rodriguez Alyssa Volivar Yuri Kim Emma Wenzinger Sarah Wright Jarrett Ross Kelly Park

Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Features Editor Deputy Features Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Paranoia Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Edtior Deputy Opinion Editor Chatter Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Multimedia Editor Deputy Online Editor

[ CHATTER ]

Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces.

JANELLE SPIRA (COL ’18) discusses the harmful implications of the prevalence and societal complacency regarding physician-assisted suicide:

as successful as it is without the unyielding support of certain administrators who continually dedicate time and money to the program.

Yet, an important truth needs to be understood regarding how GSP is funded. The administration does give money toward the program, but the majority of its funds are the result of generous donor philanthropy. We should all acknowledge the time and effort spent by the GSP staff to ensure that every GSP student on campus has the funds they need to remain here, whether for food, medical bills or a winter coat.

Furthermore, the generous alumni and faculty that donate deserve their due credit.

By acknowledging the donations from outside philanthropy, we can further encourage more donations and thus increase the ability of Georgetown to bring so many low-income and first-generation college students to campus. Furthermore, this acknowledgement demonstrates the wide-ranging support that these students have, not just from the administration, but from various alumni and faculty who recognize their contribution to campus.

Jess Kelham-Hohler, Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Monyak, Executive Editor Jinwoo Chong, Managing Editor Shannon Hou, Online Editor

THIS WEEK

“

Although legalizing PAS may seem compassionate on an individual basis, when viewed on a societal level, it does far more harm than good. PAS distorts the doctorpatient relationship and violates the very nature of what it means to be a physician.

The Hippocratic Oath says primum non nocere, “first, do no harm.” Isn’t death the ultimate harm? The principle of nonmaleficence, foundational to medical ethics, recognizes the fact that human life commands veneration.

The doctor-patient relationship depends on the patient trusting his doctor to value and prolong their life.

We want doctors to preserve life, not terminate it.”

Find this and more at

thehoya.com/chatter Evan Zimmet, General Manager Selena Parra, Director of Accounting Addie Fleron, Director of Corporate Development Nicky Robertson, Director of Human Resources Lucy Cho, Director of Sales Ashley Yiu, Director of Technology Brittnay Logan Senior Accounts and Operations Manager Matt Zezula National Accounts Manager Connor Mayes Local Accounts Manager Alexander Scheidemann Treasury Manager Daniel Almeida Online Sales and Accounts Manager Galilea Zorola Subscriptions Manager Emily Ko Alumni Engagement Manager Shreya Barthwal Special Programs Manager Elizabeth Sherlock Personnel Manager Walter Lohmann Organizational Development Manager Natalia Vasquez Market Research Manager Steven Lee Public Relations Manager Julie LeBlanc National Advertisements Manager Local Advertisements Manager

Editorial Board

Lauren Gros, Chair Emily Kaye, Irene Koo, Jonathan Marrow, Sam Pence

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Madison Ashley, Sara Bastian, Michael Begel, Isabel Binamira, Alexander Brown, Robert DePaolo, Megan Duffy, Sophie Faaborg-Anderson, Cleo Fan, Kristen Fedor, Jesse Jacobs, Caroline Kenneally, Courtney Klein, Charlie Lowe, Carolyn Maguire, Andrew May, Tyler Park, Monika Patel, Jesus Rodriguez, Becca Saltzman, Zack Saravay, Joseph Scudiero, Mallika Sen, Kshithij Shrinath, Molly Simio, Natasha Thomson, Ian Tice, Andrew Wallender, Michelle Xu

Board of Directors

Christina Wing, Chair Lena Duffield, Chandini Jha, Jess Kelham-Hohler, Katherine Richardson, Daniel Smith, Evan Zimmet LETTER TO THE EDITOR & VIEWPOINT POLICIES THE HOYA welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or HOYA story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-800 words.

THE HOYA retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya.com.

Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue. THE HOYA reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. THE HOYA further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints.

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Suzanne Monyak at (404) 641-4923 or email executive@thehoya. com.

NEWS TIPS Campus News Editor Ashwin Puri: Call (815) 222-9391 or email campus@thehoya. com.

City News Editor Emily Tu: Call (703) 4732966 or email city@thehoya.com.

Sports Editor Elizabeth Cavacos: Call (585) 880-5807 or email sports@thehoya. com.

GENERAL INFORMATION THE HOYA is published twice each week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: THE HOYA Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of THE HOYA and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University.

Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of THE HOYA. Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board.

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

THE HOYA does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2015. THE HOYA, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of THE HOYA Board of Editors. All rights reserved. THE HOYA is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each.

Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com

OPINION

Friday, january 29, 2016

gREY mATTER

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • Smith

A Love Letter to Us: The Queer Community

T

Ayan Mandal

Inside a Zombie’s Mind I

t is only a matter of time before humanity crumbles in the face of a zombie apocalypse. The Center for Disease Control is already preparing us for it. The Pentagon has a plan. Why, even the University of Chicago has a task force dedicated to defending its students against such an attack. Clearly, those in power know something we don’t. But don’t just take my word for it — a writer for conspiracy-watch.org outlines a genius theory, describing how the CIA — obviously a mere tool of the Illuminati, — might be manufacturing a virus to decimate the population, heeding way for a New World Order. Yikes is right.

We would probably do well to get to know our future undead overlords, so as to identify their weaknesses and perhaps research a cure. I will take a look at the neurology of the zombie — that is, what kinds of brain abnormalities might lead to the symptoms zombies present.

Neuroscientists Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek are the pioneers of this field, and they consider this question comprehensively in their book “Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?” I will reference their work throughout this piece, but I disagree with their assessment in some areas.

There are many zombie movies, each popularizing a different strain of the virus. However, among these different strains, zombies seem to present with a similar set of symptoms, including aggression, inability to recognize loved ones, language deficits and irregular movement. Each of these behaviors suggests damage in specific areas of the brain. I will analyze two of the symptoms: aggression and irregular movement.

1. Aggression.

Zombies are violent. Some want to eat your brains; others just want to kill you. What kind of brain damage might lead to this behavior? Verstynen posits that damage to the orbitofrontal cortex and growth in the amygdala produce these symptoms. The frontal lobe, which includes the orbitofrontal cortex, typically plays a role in inhibiting other areas of the brain for the purpose of producing goal-directed behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex is known to inhibit the amygdala, which is involved with the fight-or-flight response. Therefore, a damaged orbitofrontal cortex, paired with a strengthened amygdala, might replicate the aggressive behaviors of a zombie.

However, here is where I disagree with Verstynen. While I do agree that a zombie would present with significant frontal lobe damage, I disagree that the zombie would have a larger amygdala. I say this because the amygdala is involved not just with aggression, but also fear, and zombies are quite clearly unafraid of anything. A larger amygdala would suggest that a zombie should be more susceptible to fear, but this is clearly not the case. Perhaps the zombie would have an irregular hypothalamus, an area associated with aggression as well as hunger and thirst, but a damaged frontal cortex might be enough to explain the zombie’s lack of inhibitory control.

2. Irregular movement.

Most recognizably, zombies walk with a stiff gait. Straight back, straight arms, straight legs: Nothing about their movement is fluid. What kind of brain damage could account for that?

Cerebellar damage is the most likely culprit. Located in the rear end of the brain, the cerebellum is responsible for coordinating smooth movements. Damage to the cerebellum usually results in balance issues: One of the reasons you may lose your balance while drunk is because alcohol affects the cerebellum.

Zombies compensate for these balance difficulties by sticking their arms straight in the air and walking slowly.

Also notice that they have trouble with fine movements, such as coordinating their hands to open doors. These are all symptoms of cerebellar damage.

If one were to look at images comparing the zombie and human brain, he would see that the cerebellum, that football-shaped structure at the bottom rear end of the human brain, is noticeably absent in the zombie brain. Until the zombie apocalypse, we will lack sufficient specimens to image a zombie’s brain and know exactly where the damage is.

So until then, this article is pure speculation. In fact, I’ve completely ignored a growingly popular type of zombie: the fast zombie. Surely the fast zombie would have an intact cerebellum; otherwise it would trip while running. So if you happen to know a zombie, please take it for a CAT scan — it could be the key we humans need to win the impending war with zombies.

Ayan Mandal is a sophomore in the College. Grey Matter appears every other Friday.

his is my love letter.

But it isn’t to one person. It is to a community — a community that has taught me how to love and be loved, that embraces me even when I don’t embrace myself, that is profoundly compassionate and inclusive in nature. This is my love letter to us, the queer community, the LGBTQ+ community, the ally community. I met so many of you in these past five days, and in meeting you, I met myself. And I am forever grateful for that.

This past weekend, a group of seven Georgetown students and I traveled to Chicago, Ill., for the 2016 Creating Change conference, the nation’s pre-eminent LGBTQ+ conference hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force. It is a coming together of the great minds and great leaders of a movement that asks for more, pushes for better and makes no excuses. The diversity of identities attending this conference knows no boundaries, but instead of acting as liabilities, as challenges to an established norm, identities float to the surface with the buoyancy of genuine acceptance and support. For many, this conference is the only time when they can find the intersection of authenticity and expression, when their internal being finally breathes life and finds liberation. Through various workshops, panels and brilliant keynote speakers, assumptions are rejected as limiting, and open minds and open hearts become the mold in which the conference is shaped.

Workshop subjects ranged drastically, from discussions on realities of LGBTQ+ sexual violence to leadership skills development to analysis of emotional intelligence. The thousands of people in attendance were brought together by a multiplicity of experiences and ideas, but ultimately left it with one unified voice.

The conference was a reminder of the force we are and of the ability of love to overcome. I hope to recreate this power within the queer and ally community.

It is the voice of solidarity, the voice of understanding, the voice of knowing and not knowing but believing.

Walking into the conference is letting go of inhibitions, repression, fear; walking away from the conference is holding on to benevolence, ambition and support.

In the most basic sense, the conference says: This is us. This is you.

Where do we go from here? I take with me a renewed desire to foster a movement that is both “radically transformative and profoundly loving;” in the beautiful words of a presenter at the conference. Seeing

VIEWPOINT • Goldstein

Creating a New ‘Mental Health’

A

university is meant to fordable care at Georgetown foster innovative ideas facilities and said, “Enough is and social progress, but enough” deserve credit for this. at the end of the day, it is also Moving forward, it will be ina business. Even a campus full strumental to continue to press of Albert Einsteins and Marie the administration to take steps Curies will shut its gates if it toward reform. The less sexy finds itself unable to pay the the issue, the more devoted its bills. Like any institution, a advocates must be to maintain university has competing pri- attention upon that issue. This orities that it must weigh. semester, I worked alongside Anyone who has taken a fellow mental health advocates marketing class knows the to compile a list of comparable aphorism “sex sells.” A gleam- university statistics by intering new football stadium is viewing relative staff at Georgesexy. A public policy graduate town and 19 peer institutions to program is sexy. A new student demonstrate the dismal state of center is sexy.

Georgetown’s mental health ofMental health is not sexy. The ferings. When we met with the NCAA does not give a gleam- administration, we came bearing award ing bad news: to the uniG e o r g e tow n versity with ranks dead last the fewest in the number The NCAA does not give students sufof free sessions a gleaming award to the offered and affering from mental illof university with the fewest fordability ness. The iscare, and in sue does not students suffering from the worst quinlend itself to tile for special“ b r o c h u r e - mental illness. The issue ist-to-student ification” does not lend itself to ratio. the same Further stu“brochure-ification” way Georgedent work will town’s nabe needed to the same way tionwide inachieve meanternational Georgetown’s nationwide ingful reform. relations means international relations This ranking or a compiling anthriving a caecdotes of peoranking can. pella scene ple who did can. All too not receive the often, mencare they detal health is measured in the served. This means finding ex“negative.” amples of what works at other How many students reported schools and trying to bring “best feeling depressed? How many practices” to Georgetown. This students took their own lives? means a constant struggle for This means that mental advocates — to be respectful health often cannot generate of the administration, to unattention in the absence of a derstand their variegated pricrisis. So often we hear about orities, but to also remain firm college mental health in the in the conviction that this is context of a school shooting an issue that must not wait. or the loss of a life to suicide. More than anything, we must Having narrowly avoided our show the urgency of reform. own crisis after a sophomore This past year CAPS saw 1,772 made ricin in his McCarthy Georgetown students, confirmHall dorm room just two years ing that mental health issues ago, how can we preclude fu- deserve the same amount of atture tragedy with meaningful tention and resources as stereoreform? typically “sexy” programs.

Luckily, we are not starting It is time to put mental from scratch. Georgetown ad- health at the top of the Office ministrators have confirmed of Advancement’s priorities that the campus discussion sur- list. rounding mental health has By channeling campus-wide reached their desks. George- discourse in such a way that town University Student Asso- demonstrates CAPS’ shortcomciation candidates who made ings and makes its improveCounseling and Psychiatric Ser- ment an essential priority. vices reform a central pillar of We need to move beyond aptheir platform deserve credit for pearing “sexy” — as a campus, this. Students who have written we’ve got that down. Now let’s op-eds about their experiences care for the whole person. deserve credit for this. Allies who saw their friends suffer Scott Goldstein is a senior in the from long wait times or unaf- School of Foreign Service.

the community at the conference reminds me that accomplishing that kind of love among a wide variety of people is not impossible, and Georgetown’s LGBTQ+ community has every chance of succeeding in the same way. The issues here on campus are just magnified, specific versions of larger systemic issues that pervade society as a whole.

What is also important to recognize is that the LGBTQ+ and ally community at Georgetown is just as radical, just as demanding,and just as significant as the larger movement itself, and we are well-equipped to deal

with the challenges that face us.

And there will be so many challenges. But the conference was an important reminder of the force we are and of the ability of love to overcome. In the moments that brought all 4,000 of us together, there was an intangible kind of connection that transcends all linguistic capabilities and is only known by the realm of emotion. It is this inexpressible but encompassing power that I hope to recreate within the queer and ally community at Georgetown, in a room of strangers or a group of best friends, led by self-knowledge that is propelling and effervescent. I want everyone to feel there is a space for them — the real them, the self that only emerges as a dare, the self that is tired of hide-and-seek and deserves to be found.

What we must carry with us is the knowledge of ourselves. The conference is an introduction to other leaders who also pursue diversity and identity work with fervency and who actively promote the LGBTQ+ community, but it is also an introduction to you — to who you are, at the very core of your being.

Workshops dissect your identity, and conversations with the wonderful community there build your identity back up.

I call this a love letter because I am writing to the community that did for me what any good partner does: It dismantled me, picked me apart and made me challenge and question every fiber of my being, and then slowly put me back together with the love and support unique to true solidarity. And I loved it for every moment of confusion, for every moment of clarity, for every moment that brought me to a greater understanding of who I am and who I want to be.

Grace Smith is a sophomore in the College.

Hoya Historian

Foreign Service Values Transcend Diplomacy

I

s the School of Foreign Service losing its soul? Some seem to think so.

While career statistics reveal that shockingly few of the school’s graduates move immediately into the United States Foreign Service — they usually consult, instead — and the school rolls out many global business majors they ask: Does the SFS embrace the true meaning of foreign service? Wasn’t the school founded to avoid the errors that drew the empires of the day into World War I? The short answer to both of these queries may simply be yes. To our school’s founders, foreign service took on a primarily commercial bend. But those founders, Fr. James Walsh, S.I., in particular, also sought to avert future conflicts by educating a global commercial class.

The school’s emphasis on trade shows in early bulletins. One bulletin — which advertised the new SFS coursework only a few weeks before classes were set to begin in February 1919 — explained that classes met Matthew at night to accommodate those with business careers. The courses it offered included a smattering of language classes and a glut of courses on topics such as wharf management, international trade and other gritty tools of global commerce.

Students who completed the school’s coursework were eligible to receive a Bachelor’s of Commercial Science.

Walsh was training young men to go to France, England and Africa as well as to conduct commerce.

However, Walsh undoubtedly thought of war as well. As Seth Tillman explains in his history of the SFS, Walsh had served on committees during WWI to design military education.

In 1918, he observed how Yale trained students to fight in the war. Through his interest in WWI, Walsh united the aspects of drill sergeant and pedagogue.

How did the imperatives of a postwar world relate to what Walsh would do only a year later in Washington? Isolationism. The great failure of American policy in the years prior to WWI resulted not only from a lack of sterling diplomatic core, but also from the United States’ disengagement from the world. In a world where the U.S. Foreign Service did not yet exist — a fact we often trumpet, but rarely consider for what it says about the career options practically available to and envisioned by the first SFS graduates — commerce must have seemed an equally viable strategy for engagement in the world. The public sector had no post-war monopoly on “Foreign Service.”

In a 1919 speech in Gaston Hall, Walsh introduced Georgetown’s SFS. Of course he spoke of the war and of the values America could bring to the world, but he devoted a great deal of attention to American commerce. What

purpose did the school serve in the context of international affairs at the time?

Walsh explained: “Foreign commerce is to dominate the new American era and serve as the medium of reconstruction between nations …. Only in such measure as we equip our businessmen… with a practical acquaintance with foreign languages and a wider and deeper sympathy with … the people of other lands, may we expect them to represent us in official life or successfully in the expansion of our commerce.

Walsh was training economic ambassadors at least as much, if not more, than diplomatic ones.

Make no mistake, Georgetown has long had an outsized presence in the U.S. Foreign Service, but we have almost always trained far more graduates than Foggy Bottom employs diplomats.

Walsh himself served in traditional diplomatic roles, including his assistance in the Nuremberg trials.

But fortune has not always favored the bold, in particular those who Quallen would seek public employment in times of economic downturn. Today’s students lament that recent graduates swell the ranks of firms rather than country desks. I share their concern, but the Foreign Service is not hiring.

It is difficult for graduates to find employment in the Foreign Service because the few people it hires are usually professionals or hold highlevel degrees. In 1954, no member of the SFS’s graduating class even managed to pass the Foreign Service’s entrance exam.

And yet, difficulties aside, graduates of the SFS manage to find their way to the U.S. Department of State, the Peace Corps, the U.S. Agency for International Development and elsewhere, even when they work in other places first.

Perhaps the meaningful question for graduates of the SFS to ask themselves is not where they work — public or private sector, state or justice — but what impact they make.

Diplomacy is a powerful and noble tool for advancing human goods.

Business can be too, when conducted by those with faith in their humanitarian values. However, both public and private service can likewise cause significant harm when people with warped values take the helm.

To the SFS graduate who would go into banking because he believes he can unite finance and social justice, I would say good luck, and steel yourself to the challenge. Our school has always recognized that those with global and human sympathy can make significant contributions in commerce.

Matthew Quallen is a senior in the School of Foreign Service. HOYA HISTORIAN appears every other Friday.

A4

THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Mayor Muriel Bowser joined three other mayors for an IPPS-hosted discussion on policy solutions Jan. 20. Story on A7.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

REIMAGINING PAKISTAN

verbatim

“

Every student deserves a world of possibilities ... DCPS Study Abroad helps ensure that our global citizens have global experiences.” .

Michelle Lerner, DCPS Press Secretary.

Story on A7.

from

AMAZON.COM

NATE MOULTON/THE HOYA

Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani spoke about the future of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship and moving past sectarian violence at the Mortara Center for International Studies on Wednesday.

LOVE ON THE HILLTOP With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, Hoyas across campus are scrambling to find ways to jump start their love lives. 4E presents such Hoyas with several possible dating apps blog.thehoya.com/love-on-the-hilltop

Payroll Pierce Reflects on Tenure, Future of Georgetown Provides Coverage SARAH GRIFFIN Hoya Staff Writer

IAN SCOVILLE Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University offered students affected by the mailing of their W-2 forms to the incorrect addresses a free year of identity theft protection, according to an email sent to effected students by Associate Vice President for Benefits, Payroll & Wellness and Chief Benefits Officer Charles DeSantis yesterday.

The university has arranged for Experian to supply a year of their identity protection service to the affected students. Students who have already purchased identity protection can request to be reimbursed by the university.

The university accidentally sent student workers’ W-2 forms, which include sensitive personal information including Social Security Numbers, to incorrect addresses last week. According to DeSantis, the university has now sent W-2 forms to their correct address and they should arrive by today.

“It is still kind of concerning, but ... it’s a step in the right direction. ” GINA KIM (SFS ‘18) University student employee

Gina Kim (SFS ’18) said while the move helps to address her most pressing concerns, she still wishes administrators handled the situation more diligently.

“It does kind of give me a peace of mind,” Kim said. “But I still think it was kind of confusing for my parents particularly when they received the wrong W-2 form — you never know who the form goes to, or where it went, if it went to another Hoya or not. So it is still kind of concerning, but I would say it’s a step in the right direction.”

She added that she wishes Payroll Services had contacted affected students individually. “I think that they could have either reached out personally to any of the people who were affected so that those people could either make a time to talk about what happened or just get an understanding of it,” Kim said.

When former University Registrar John Q. Pierce (CAS ’72) first came to Georgetown in 1968 as a “day hop,” or a commuting student, Healy Hall — now an administrative and academic building — was the center of student life. Campus served as refuge for Vietnam War protestors and course registration was a grueling process that involved computer punch cards in a sweltering McDonough Arena.

After 46 years at the university, during which time he has both witnessed and helped shape a changing Georgetown, Pierce announced in a campus-wide email Jan. 8 that he would retire from his position as registrar effective immediately and would retire from his position as assistant provost in June, transitioning into a part-time role.

Dr. Walter Rankin has been appointed as interim registrar. ***** Pierce became acting registrar in November 1983, and was appointed Registrar in May 1984. In the early 2000s he was made assistant provost in addition to university registrar.

President John J. DeGioia’s Chief of Staff Joseph Ferrara emphasized Pierce’s significant contributions to the university in his variety of roles.

“For nearly five decades, John Pierce has enriched life at Georgetown — as a student and parent, a colleague and a university leader,” Ferrara wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “The President’s Office is grateful for his dedication and the many ways he has contributed to our community.”

Pierce was also recently recognized with the Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program Board of Advisor’s Award for his long-standing contributions to the university.

Though he is retiring, Pierce said he hopes to stay on at Georgetown in a parttime capacity.

“The Provost just invited me to stay for another two years in a part-time job, no more than half time, but to continue to be involved in the planning and execution of academic ceremonies,” Pierce said.

His post-retirement plans also include taking care of his twin granddaughters, who will be entering kindergarten in the fall.

“They can come home and Grandma will try to make things be the way they’re supposed to be and Grandpa will spoil them,” Pierce said.

He would also like to audit a Latin class at Georgetown. ***** Pierce said when he was a student at Georgetown, student life was markedly different than it is today. Unsatisfied with the space in Riggs Library, students spilled over into other parts of Healy as

the university grew. After the construction of Lauinger Library, students not only had a new study area, but a repurposed space to call their own in the Healy basement.

“After Lauinger opened, the students had a student center in the basement of Healy, and that was very successful,” Pierce said. “And then they opened Leavey and somehow Leavey didn’t provide the same kind of experience as Healy basement did.

And so now I think we’ve come full circle with the opening of the Healey Family Center.”

Pierce attended Georgetown at a tumultuous time in both the university and nation’s history, as demonstrations in D.C. against the Vietnam War grew violent.

“We had National Guard Troops with their bayonets fixed on the Key Bridge and demonstrators starting fires on the streets of Georgetown,” Pierce said.

Pierce recounted how protestors sought refuge in Georgetown’s dorms as they fled law enforcement one Sunday night. At about 5 a.m. the next morning, law enforcement helicopters dropped tear gas on the dorms, affecting protestors, students and Jesuits alike. This was followed by news the National Guard would come on campus to remove demonstrators. “[Then-Academic Vice President Fr. Kevin Fitzgerald, S.J.] got his Jesuit confreres to put on their Roman collars and they all went down to the main gate, and Father Fitzgerald said, ‘You may not come on my campus.’ And he stopped what would have been a horrible situation. So he’s always been my hero since then,” Pierce said.

After graduation, Pierce began work in the registrar’s office in November 1973, and was promoted to assistant registrar in June 1976. The raise that came with this promotion allowed him to propose to his then-girlfriend; now his wife of 40 years.

“I went from here to the apartment of my girlfriend of the time, Mary Fran Chalmers, with my letter of appointment from Father Kelly. And she said, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ And I said, ‘So now that I have the money, will you marry me?’

And she said yes, forgetting to tell me I should get down on my knee,” Pierce said. ***** Much has changed in the Registrar’s office over the course of Pierce’s tenure.

Before the automation of course registration, students registered in person in McDonough Arena. Registration consisted of a system involving computer punch cards corresponding to seats in a given class, which were then input into a computer along with a student’s ID number.

“Two-thirds of the way through the semester we would send out notes to the students saying, ‘this is what we think you’re registered for,’ and every-

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

University Registrar John Q. Pierce (CAS ’72) announced his plans to retire in a campus-wide email Jan. 8 after a 32-yearlong tenure as registrar. one would come back and say ‘no, this is what I’m supposed to be in,’” Pierce said.

The introduction of an online Degree Audit marked a major change in the process of student advising and registration.

“Before that you would just have a paper in the deans’ office to check off what you took but it was much easier to come to the end and you’d missed this requirement or that requirement,” Pierce said.

Pierce credits these advances for Georgetown’s steady four-year graduation rate. While Pierce initiated several changes in the registrar’s office, he still has a vision for the future of course registration. “[I would like] to make the registration more of a decision support mechanism that is helping the student decide what to take, rather than a mechanism for recording what you’ve already decided on,” Pierce said.

He envisions a search engine that would allow students to discover classes in their topics of interest that also fulfill requirements. Looking forward, he also hopes there will be sufficient resources to continually upgrade the classrooms with technology to support faculty and students.

Although much has changed throughout the years, Pierce said Georgetown’s Jesuit heritage and ideals have been a constant throughout the decades.

“I would say that the essence of the place hasn’t changed. The size of the Jesuit community is much smaller, but their impact is, I think, the same or greater in many ways,” Pierce said. “I think that we’ve managed to maintain the traditions of the institution and the

commitment to Jesuit education, and to education of the whole person, and to our engagement with the United States government, which was John Carroll’s vision.”

Bill Licamele (CAS ’68, MED ’72), one of Pierce’s friends and a member of the Georgetown University Board of Governors, said Pierce is a passionate member of the Georgetown community and a committed administrator.

“He’s one of the most enthusiastic Hoyas, not just on the academic side, but also on the emotional side and truly breathing blue and gray,” Licamele said. “He’s well respected by all the faculty and administrators for how efficiently he’s run the registrar’s office, and done that trying to modernize, trying to be fair to students.”

Catherine Summa (COL ’18) said Pierce had unique traits as an administrator.

“Georgetown will miss him,” Summa said. “From what I’ve seen, he has allowed Georgetown to grow by being truly receptive to the needs and voices of the students, which is a very special and rare thing to find in an administrator.”

Sarah Ciresi (COL ’18) said Pierce will be remembered for the manner in which he ran the registrar’s office and his community involvement.

“He has been such an integral part of the community, working with deans, faculty, and us students to ensure that things were always running smoothly. The whole Georgetown community will truly miss him,” Ciresi said.

news

Friday, january 29, 2016

THE HOYA

A5

Primary Spurs Student Activism Cheryl Liu

Hoya Staff Writer

ZIMBIO

The D.C. Board of Elections is facing questions about the District’s preparation for the upcoming presidential primaries in June.

District Unprepared For Presidential Election Matthew Larson Hoya Staff Writer

Facing concerns over Washington’s past unpreparedness for its presidential primary, the D.C. Board of Elections has assured that the District is ready for this June’s primary.

The worries are due in part to past elections impaired by faulty voting machines, insufficient polling staff, inaccessible polling stations and delays in counting votes, according to The Washington Post.

The primary will mark D.C.’s first major electoral event since the 2014 mayoral elections when issues regarding the voting system in the District were brought to light, particularly the process of acquiring new voting machines.

In an effort to improve the voting process, the board will lease voting machines to replace old ones and use a new Scytl ePollBook system to allow for an expedited voting process. The ePollBook software uses electronic registration for voters and aims to increase the efficiency of voter check-in and verification.

Board of Elections spokeswoman Margarita Mikhaylova highlighted the board’s reluctance to implement a complete overhaul of the voting machine system, citing the lack of approved testing for newer systems.

“Although new machines have become available on the market, it is unknown … [which] ones will be certified under the new anticipated standards,” Mikhaylova wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Thus, the Board has felt it unwise at this time to purchase outright an entirely new system that has not yet been tested and approved under the new standards.”

In addition, Mikhaylova explained that the board plans to employ specifically trained “technical rovers,” software experts who will seek to resolve any difficulties that may occur on the day of the primary.

“DCBOE has deployed specifically trained personnel to assist with any technical questions or issues,” Mikhaylova wrote. “If a problem were to arise, the precinct captain can immediately contact a technical rover. … Response time should be extremely efficient.”

Doubts surrounding the board’s financial accountability in regards to purchasing new voting machines were pursued during a D.C. Council Judiciary hearing last month, during which Council Member Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) questioned acting Board Chairwoman Deborah Nichols, The Washington Post reported.

Board members have complained for years that they are unable purchase new voting machines because of inadequate funding when, in reality, the board was in possession of $4.9 million in federal funds – enough to purchase new voting machines.

Nichols defended her actions by explaining that she was unaware of how much money the board actually possessed.

“I thought we needed funding,” Nichols said during the Judiciary Committee hearing. “It wasn’t until six to eight months ago that I really found out the magnitude of what we had.”

According to The Washington Post, McDuffie asserted that the board is responsible for knowing what funding is available.

“You are the folks charged with administering the elections, and the issue you presented [in the past] was the equipment was outdated. Today you have the funding,” McDuffie said at the hearing. “Who was supposed to know the funding exists, if it’s not you all?”

Mikhaylova explained that the board had only recently undergone an audit of its finances at the time of the hearing.

“The District of Columbia, along with other jurisdictions, recently underwent an Election Assistance Commission Audit of its … funding,” Mikhaylova wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It wasn’t until a final report of the accounting was issued that Mrs. Nichols had an up-to-date amount of the funds.”

Member of activist group D.C. Watch Dorothy Brizill, who has monitored elections and attended board meetings for years, expressed concern with the board’s lack of transparency over its finances.

“If you look at the budgets that were submitted by the Board of Elections to the council, you will never ever see an indication that there was federal grant money available,” Brizill said to The Washington Post. “Now it turns out they were given money for new voting machines. . . . Why weren’t they ever acquired?”

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent body tasked with monitoring adherence to voting system guidelines, found that in September 2014 the board had $3 million in unspent federal funds. Another report on the EAC’s website explained that the board had $11 million in unspent funds. It is unclear why there is a disparity between these numbers.

In addition to the budget accounting issues, technical problems with voting machines occurred during the 2014 election. According to the D.C. Auditor’s Office, more than 64 percent of precinct machines it inspected during this time experienced various malfunctions.

According to The Washington Post, during the 2014 elections, over 40 percent of voting precincts were at least partially inaccessible for disabled voters. Mikhaylova said that the board is currently working with D.C. Public Schools and the Office of Disability Rights to provide accessible equipment and to deploy Americans with Disability Act compliance experts on election day.

“We cannot emphasize enough our goal to provide all voters … access to our voting program,” Mikhaylova wrote. “Our entire agency is committed to removing barriers to access at our polling sites.”

Despite these promised steps, the D.C. Council remains skeptical that these issues will be resolved. McDuffie is attempting to work with the D.C. Board of Elections to improve the District’s voting infrastructure, but it is unknown if the council will take any legislative action at this time to further the process.

“The folks charged with administering the elections [must work hard],” McDuffie said to The Washington Post. “I think the public’s confidence in the board’s ability to administer an election will depend on how the board administers the 2016 primary in general.”

Hoya Staff Writer Aly Pachter contributed reporting.

In the months leading up to the United States’ presidential primary elections, politically affiliated student groups on campus have increased activities to galvanize support for their respective candidates.

These groups, which support candidates like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-V.T.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-F.L.), have approached political activism by get-out-the-vote volunteering, fundraising and media interaction.

Hoyas for Hillary, a proClinton group, has focused its efforts on a ground campaign both within and outside of the Georgetown community.

Founded and led by Amanda Shepherd (SFS ’18), the group is officially affiliated with Clinton’s national campaign.

Led by former Hillary for Iowa intern Kevin Lo (COL ’16), several members of the group traveled to Iowa during winter break and volunteered for the “Get Out the Caucus” effort in support of Clinton’s campaign.

Most of the group’s ground efforts during this period consisted of phone banking, knocking on doors and participating in campaign events.

Jack Dobkin (SFS ’19) traveled to Iowa and will also participate in Hoyas for Hillary’s upcoming trip to New Hampshire for Clinton’s get-out-the-vote effort.

“Something I think I’ve gained from these experiences is learning how to talk to people about the things I believe in,” Dobkin wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Most importantly, it’s just been a great experience getting to meet and talk to people that I probably never would have been able to otherwise.”

GU Students for Rubio, another student campaign activism group, chaired by Allie Williams (SFS ’19), is one of four student groups affiliated with the senator’s campaign in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. GUSFR has focused much of their efforts on local activism, which includes canvassing in the D.C. area, tabling on campus and recruiting additional members.

While the Georgetown chapter planned to rally for Rubio in New Hampshire, they were forced to cancel their trip be-

cause of insufficient funds from the national campaign.

However, the cancellation has not affected the consistent efforts from the group.

“He’s the new face of the GOP,” Williams said. “He wants to do something for America that supports minorities and lower economic groups. He’s also just an amazing orator.”

Georgetown Students for Bernie focuses efforts both nationally and locally. The group actively works with outside media groups, making itself available for interviews and campaign events. During the fall, Al Jazeera America shot footage of the group tabling on campus as part of a story on Sanders.

The students have primarily engaged in phone banking on behalf of Sanders, targeting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, reminding those individuals of voting dates and locations while advocating for Sanders. The students have also called voters in the DMV area, ensuring residents know how to register to vote.

Caleb Weaver (SFS ’16) — along with the two other cofounders of Georgetown for Bernie — is also working with GU College Democrats and Hoyas for Hillary to hold a mock Democratic debate.

Weaver said that he supports Sanders because of his boldness and unorthodoxy.

“He’s putting out Democratic policy that we want to see ... and not saying to aim low, like a $15 minimum wage, universal access to higher education [and] getting big money out of politics,” Weaver said.

Unlike other campaign-affiliated student groups, Georgetown Students for Carly, which advocates for former HewlettPackard Company CEO Carly Fiorina, does not work with Fiorina’s official campaign, but with her super PAC, Carly for America.

Students from the D.C. area will travel to Iowa and New Hampshire in the coming weeks to volunteer for Fiorina’s campaign, mostly attending rallies and following Fiorina on campaign stops.

While no Georgetown students from the group will be participating in such upcoming trips, Georgetown Students for Carly has been active in different ways. The group recently provided a screening of “Carly

Fiorina the Movie,” which was created by her super PAC in order to solicit support.

Alexander Bobroske (SFS ’17), a chairman for Students for Carly in the D.C. area, said that he admires Fiorina for her ability to pull people together and for her knowledge in global affairs.

“I think she is the best candidate to pull all factions of the Republican Party together. ... She also is the most experienced in foreign policy,” Bobroske said.

Despite these groups’ efforts to impact students, many students have said that they are uninfluenced by their activities. Jack Pelose (COL ’19) said that he has learned more about prospective presidential nominees from his own independent research and faculty members than from student groups.

“I have learned a lot about politics from professors and other adults at Georgetown, such as the [Institute of Politics and Public Service] of fellows,” Pelose said. “While I admit I enjoy talking politics with friends at Georgetown, most of my political knowledge has come from listening to adults via speeches, internet articles and lectures.”

Emma Pettinga (COL ’17) is not involved with any of the groups advocating for candidates and has not experienced any candidate-specific political discussions during her classes. Instead, she said that she prefers to receive information about candidates from print and digital news media.

“I am a government major, [but] mostly I just read The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Politico,” Pettinga said. “Not in the courses I am taking has [current events] been something [professors have] discussed.”

Paola Peraza (SFS ’17) also said that the political activism groups on campus have not influenced her. In addition to reading digital news outlets, she has formed many of her political opinions during informal conversations with friends.

“I think, in general, Georgetown culture tends to be on the more liberal side, which has influenced my thoughts, but that’s more just part of an informal setting during talks with friends,” Peraza said.

Hillyer Promotes Free Speech Patricja Okuniewska Hoya Staff Writer

Quin Hillyer (CAS ’86), contributing editor for the National Review and senior editor for The American Spectator, criticized attacks on free speech at Georgetown and other college campuses and spoke about the true purpose of a university at a discussion in Maguire Hall Tuesday.

The event, titled “Free Speech at Georgetown,” was hosted by the College. Hillyer, who majored in government and theology while at Georgetown and served as an editor for The Hoya and a member of the College Republicans, has published articles in the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and has appeared on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. Hillyer said the ideas that underlie a university, such as free speech and enquiry, are under attack today. He noted that the danger of stifling free speech is present at universities nationwide and is one that must be resisted and defeated.

“Campuses across the nation are suffering attacks from groups of students, faculty, administrators, and outside agitators against the very idea of a university,” Hillyer said. “The assault is against free minds, free speech, free inquiry within the world of ideas, and thus, against the enterprise of higher learning itself.”

Hillyer emphasized that attacks on free speech occur at Georgetown as well. According to Hillyer, events like the protests against Christina Hoff Sommers — a scholar and lecturer who visited Georgetown last spring to speak about feminism — are particularly concerning. “A reaction in which student activists and the main campus paper argued that a respected, mainstream speaker should not even be allowed a forum because her views were hurtful, and in which, even worse, an official university office threatened to force the selective editing of a video of the event,” Hillyer said.

Hillyer said The Hoya’s editorial board’s coverage — which labeled the Hoff Sommer’s talk as harmful — is evidence of the dangers of the current campus climate.“ If you don’t even understand the absurdity and Orwellian double speakery of The Hoya’s editorial, complaining of ‘obstructive dialogue’ and ‘harmful conversation,’ it’s tempting to already say you’re too far gone and there’s no hope for you,” Hillyer said.

“On the other hand, if you have a mind good enough to be accepted into Georgetown, surely you have the capability of reassessing absurdity.”

“Only by testing our own beliefs, risking exposure of our own biases ... do we exercise our minds and develop our characters.”

Quin Hillyer (CAS ’86) Contributing Senior Editor for the National Review

Hillyer said trigger warnings should not be used, as students should be exposed to uncomfortable ideas while in college.

“And the very notion of a socalled, trigger warning, against supposedly hurtful speech is almost laughable, because it should be obvious that the university, more than any other place, is where students should come to be challenged, to be confronted with unfamiliar ideas, and even to be made somewhat uncomfortable by notions that may wrinkle, that may bring unwelcome emotions, and may, at first hearing, seem to offend,” Hillyer said.

Hillyer said the point of a college environment is to test ones intellectual beliefs in order to develop students’ characters and minds.

“Somebody daring to voice an unpopular opinion is the

one who needs safety, not the one who finds the opinion disturbing,” Hillyer said. “Only by testing our own beliefs, risking exposure of our own biases, and leaving ourselves not just intellectually, but emotionally vulnerable, do we exercise our minds and develop our characters.”

Hillyer also discussed the recent occurrences at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where a politically neutral debate club was unable to find a conservative professor on campus for an event. Instead, they had to seek out a professor from Smith College, to lead the conservative side of the event.

“A university is a special and abiding place because this is where ideas are free to wrestle with each other in honorable combat so that knowledge and reason can grow,” Hillyer said. President of the College Republicans Meghan Pohl (COL ’17) said the event was particularly relevant in light of the recent issues pertaining to free speech in universities lately.

“I found Mr. Hillyer’s argument to be well-founded as it pertained to the shutting down of expression from both the liberal and conservative sides,” Pohl said. “He summed it up best in his final response to a question when he addressed the growing polarization in Congress: the elimination of free speech and dialogue on college campuses today will only further impede bipartisan dialogue and productivity in the future.”

Erica Lizza (SFS ’19) said the event appealed to her interest in free speech, particularly in relation to the dynamic of college campuses.

“Coming to a college campus where everyone has an opinion about everything, which can be wonderful but also a little complicated, I thought it would be interesting to see what someone in the political arena would have to say about how we, as college students, tend to view free speech,” Lizza said.

A6

news

THE HOYA

FRIday, January 29, 2016

High LGBTQ Youth Curry Praised for Passion Homelessness Found CURRY, from A1

HOMELESS, from A1 home,” Haas wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Some do not even have the option of staying at home and are forced to leave by their family. While the numbers vary state to state, we can also see that foster care systems disproportionately fail LGBTQ youth as compared to their heterosexual peers, often forcing youth to experience homelessness.”

Assistant professor of sociology Leslie R. Hinkson expressed her astonishment that this census marked the first survey for homeless youths in D.C. “Nonprofit organizations have been created specifically to deal with this issue of homeless youth,” Hinkson said.

“This is a problem that we have had in American society for a very long time and a problem that we definitely started admitting to by the 1970s, so it’s unbelievable to me that this is the first time there would be a census of homeless youth in the District.”

Hinkson mentioned that the 330 homeless youths surveyed by the census was a fraction of the actual number of homeless youths in the District.

“Looking at this definition of ‘homeless youth’ specifically, it’s important to note that there is a larger population of homeless youth in D.C.; it’s just that they are with their families in being homeless,” Hinkson said.

Carlo Izzo (COL ’17), a leader in the D.C. Hunger and Homelessness Alternative Spring Breaks Program, also emphasized the unique problems that homeless LGBTQ youths face.

“One of the main reasons why queer youth leave is one, that they don’t feel safe in their house or that two, people are uncomfortable being themselves,” Izzo said. “It’s a lot of different intersecting issues and you can’t just isolate queer youth. Specifically, queer people do get kicked out more often and that’s why services should reflect the fact.”

Haas explained that the LGBTQ youth population experiences many different forms of oppression and stressed that when examining this issue, it is also important to take into account other marginalized identities that the youths represent.

“Many of the youth in the census were also people of color,” Haas wrote.

“LGBTQ youth of color face discrimination for their sexuality, gender expression and race. These intersecting forms of oppression magnify the negativity expressed towards LGBTQ youth represented in the census and are significant

factors in why these youth end up experiencing homelessness.”

Hinkson said that the grants are a positive move, emphasizing that they must be used to gain a better understanding of demographics of the homeless youth population so that its needs can be met in the most efficient way possible.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction if the vast majority of those resources are going to be used as ways to figure out who these youth are and why we have them,” Hinkson said.

“What’s the underlying cause of their homelessness? Is it poverty? Is it lack of education? Is it religion? I think there are a host of factors that you need to invest money into understanding.”

Hinkson pointed to the fact that grants and budget increases need to be put towards safety measures as well as funneled into assistance programs.

“These are individuals who don’t have places to live or sleep, who, because of their youth, are very, very vulnerable. There should also be money set aside for them to have assured places to live,” Hinkson said. “I don’t think that we should make assumptions that housing LGBT youths with other homeless youths would put them in danger, but I think that we do have to be very careful about ensuring their safety.”

Haas stressed the importance of the larger D.C. community recognizing homelessness as a major issue and sharing the responsibility of aiding those in need.

“I think it is easy for us to make the population of people experiencing homelessness seem invisible, or to pass judgment,” Haas wrote. “I would encourage your readers and all D.C. residents to make themselves familiar with the resources near them for people who are experiencing homelessness and do what they can to support those resources as we work together to make D.C. a safe place for all.”

Izzo said that he believes the funding will be used efficiently but that it will not solve the problems that cause homelessness in the LGBTQ community.

“They are definitely putting money in the right places. I think that the funding though, that’s just the beginning. We also have to start working in other ways,” Izzo said. “While money is great at getting attention, I think it’s also sustained effort to talk about queer youth, that being queer is okay as a child.”

IPPS Hosts Mock Iowa Caucus, Debate CAUCUS, from A1 said. “So hypothetically, if candidates A and B have enough people, and you’ve got a candidate C who doesn’t, there is a phase called realignment, which is essentially taking all the people who are not viable and throwing them to the wolves.”

According to Fagen, the process for selecting a Republican winner is less dramatic.

“We’re a little neater and tidier on the Republican side,” Fagen said. “You can just show up and you have to sit through the process of the election of the chair, and listen to the candidate representatives speak on behalf of their favorites, but then you can vote and leave. Only the true die-hard activists tend to stay for the party business, the election of the delegates and the discussion for any recommendations for the county platform. We, effectively, have more of a preference poll.”

Pickler highlighted the Iowa caucus’ failure to select the Republican candidate who eventually snagged the party nomination in the last two election cycles, which saw Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum clinch victories in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

“New Hampshire goes second, although they like to call themselves first because they are the first primary, but they like to say that ‘Iowa picks corn and New Hampshire picks presidents,’” Pickler said.

Fagen and Dillon also shared their predictions for the upcoming caucus and the implications of each candidate’s win. Dillon said that contrary to prevailing pundit opinion, he believes Clinton will edge over Sanders despite his recent surge in polls.

“Hillary has not taken anything for granted in Iowa and has taken a sort of serious precinct caucus operation since day one, and that sort of does matter at the end of the day,” Dillon said. “The Sanders campaign is trying to bottle some of the same magic that the Obama campaign did in 2008, but I think the difference was that the Obama campaign had some of the best organizers in a generation and I’m not sure that is the case with the Sanders campaign.”

Fagen predicted Ted Cruz (R-T.X.) would defeat Donald Trump, citing her belief that Trump’s supporters will be less inclined to take on the commitment of attending the caucus.

“While Trump has enormous support and enormous energy around his campaign, many of his people are new,” Fagen said. “Keep in mind, in a caucus, you have to come out on a cold night in January, go

to a place you may or may not be familiar with, sit around in a room with a bunch of people you may or may not know and be willing to listen to people talk about their respective candidates.”

In the latter half of the event, Democratic- and Republican-affiliated students participated in their own caucus, arguing on behalf of their candidates to sway undecided voters. Clinton’s campaign boasted a sweeping 89 vote percent victory over Sanders’ 11 percent. Among Republican voters, the vote was more brokered: Marco Rubio earned 30 percent, John Kasich 20 percent and Jeb Bush 15 percent. Dillon and Fagen led each side and conducted the voting.

President and founder of Hoyas for Hillary Amanda Shepherd (SFS ’18) spoke on behalf of Clinton while Georgetown for Rubio Campaign Manage Hunter Estes (SFS ’19) spoke on behalf of Rubio.

Shepherd emphasized her excitement at having the chance to convince undecided students to vote for Clinton.

“I wanted to show how passionate I am about her, while also making it clear that she is the most knowledgeable and most qualified,” Shepherd said. “When the time came to sway some of the undecideds, I listened to their particular concerns.

Georgetown students are very knowledgeable on the issues, so the questions were very substantive and I welcomed the opportunity to address their concerns.”

D.C. Students for Rubio board member Zach Hughbanks (COL ’18) said that although he is confident about Rubio’s prospects as the GOP nominee, he is skeptical that the results at the actual Iowa caucus will resemble those of the Georgetown Mockus.

“Obviously, the rhetoric here is different, the vocabulary is different, and so they touched on things like college affordability which I don’t think would be the same in a town hall in Iowa,” Hughbanks said. “But a lot of the effectiveness you can tell was just better orators, people who were very prepared in their speech.”

Elleithee, who previously attended the Iowa caucus as Clinton’s spokesperson during her 2008 campaign, said that the degree of energy present at the Mockus was comparable to the actual event.

“I just loved the passion in this room tonight,” Elleithee said. “The Georgetown students came to play, they came to win, they were fired up and I think they learned something in the process. I think a lot of students were very hazy on the whole viability thing on the Democratic side or the differences in the caucus between the two parties, so everyone got something out of it.”

“The Jesuits really appreciated the intellect, they taught you how to think.

This was something I didn’t have any barriers to,” Curry said in an interview with 60 Minutes in 2002.

Dramatic Arts and New Beginnings While pursuing a Ph.D. in theater arts at New York University in 1977, Curry attempted to make money on the side by acting in commercials.

However, when he went to audition for a mouthwash commercial, Curry could not pass the receptionist because of his disability.

“She burst out laughing hysterically,” Curry said in the 60 Minutes interview.

“She turned, just like that, and said ‘Oh, I can’t send you upstairs. No, forget it.’”

Though his disability resulted in an unsuccessful audition, Curry was inspired by the ordeal to found the National Theater Workshop of the Handicapped in 1977, an institute dedicated to training those with disabilities in the art of theater and performance.

With campuses in both New York and Maine, the institute has allowed numerous individuals to participate in theater and practice their acting professionally. Curry himself continued to perform, even portraying a psychiatrist in one episode of the television detective series “Monk” in 2006.

Serving Veterans and Serving Bread Twenty-seven years after founding the NTWH, Curry began the Writers’ Program for Wounded Soldiers in 2003, an initiative dedicated to helping disabled soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with emotional rehabilitation.

Six years after the program’s inauguration, Curry came to Georgetown as a chaplain-in-residence. He organized community support to develop the Academy for Veterans, an organization designed to help disabled veterans rebuild their lives and respond to their emotional needs.

“Eloquentia perfecta, the perfection of eloquence, is the end result of Jesuit education,” Curry said in an interview with PBS in 2010. “The student can stand on his or her own two feet and defend what he or she believes. This is what I wanted to do for the disabled, who have been ignored for so long.

While involved with the Academy of Veterans, Curry was still a Jesuit brother, but this changed when a triple amputee requested him, seeking counsel and absolution.

“I explained that I was a brother and had never been called to be a priest,” Father Curry said in SJU Magazine of Saint Joseph’s University. “He asked, ‘What do you mean? Who has to call you?’ I said, ‘God, or the Christian community.’ He replied, ‘Well, then, I’m calling you. I want you to be a priest.’”

Curry required special dispensation from the Vatican in order to become a priest, due to preexisting rules mandating priests to have two hands to perform Mass, and during the fall of 2009, Curry was finally ordained as a Jesuit Father and priest at the age of 66.

As Curry continued his work within the Georgetown community, he began to search for a way to further help veterans and their spouses with employment and business experience.

Curry had already translated his pas-

“Fr. Curry was a good friend and an exemplary Jesuit.”

FR. KEVIN O’BRIEN Vice President for Mission and Ministry

sion for cooking and baking into two cookbooks, “The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking: A Year of our Soups” (2002) and “The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking” (1995).

Using his passion for cooking, along with a partnership with local entrepreneur Connie Milstein, he helped found Dog Tag Bakery in 2014 to teach veterans tangible business skills while also providing employment.

The bakery has a partnership with the Georgetown School of Continuing Studies to offer employees night courses in small-business administration and entrepreneurship.

Curry said in a 2014 article in The Hoya [“Bakery Prepares for Launch,” The Hoya, Nov. 14, 2014] that the bakery offers veterans the chance to pursue their dreams.

“Everyone should make the most of this opportunity. All of you veterans have great business ideas and you may find someone here with a similar idea and the means with which to make your dream come true,” Curry said.

Director of the Veterans Office at Georgetown LeNaya Hezel praised Curry for his efforts toward the veteran community.

“Through his work as a Jesuit, professor, actor and military ally, he made monumental positive impacts on so many lives, and I am confident that his spirit will go on through the lives he impacted,” she wrote in an email to The Hoya. “He will be thoroughly missed by the Veterans Office and the many military students he supported on campus, but never forgotten.”

Inspiring Friendship and Reflection In addition to giving back to the veterans’ community at Georgetown, Curry taught the unique and immensely popular “Theater and the Catholic Imagination” class, notable for its final project, a ‘flash mob’ performance by students in the class around campus.

In previous years, students performed a tap dance in O’Donovan Hall and the Intercultural Center, in addition to an individual final monologue titled “What I believe in,” in which students performed a theatrical piece detailing their deepest passions and motivations.

“The important thing is that you can find God in all things. That’s a Jesuit principle. What you try to do is show how thing scan reflect the goodness of God,” Curry said in an article on The Hoya’s blog, 4E following the Leo’s ‘flash-mob.’ “Performance and tapdancing can do that, too. It brought an amazing amount of joy to the students and to the audience.”

While students outside of the class recognized Fr. Curry’s teaching for his unique final projects, Curry’s students most fondly remember the class for the bonds they formed with classmates.

Derek Embry (MSB ’15), a friend and former student of Curry’s, recounts his uncanny ability to bring people togeth-

“Through his work as a Jesuit, professor, actor and military ally, he made monumental positive impacts on so many lives.”

LENAYA HEZEL Director of the Veterans Office

er as one of Curry’s greatest attributes.

“He was able to deliver his material successfully and in a way that got everyone in the class to become really close friends,” Embry said. “I’m glad I learned everything that I did in the class but more important than that was that I was able to make a very good group of friends and share with them personal information about myself and my experiences in life and still maintain a relationship with the professor, who ended up being an important part of my life.”

“I think the most impactful moment with Father Curry was him telling us to memorize everyone in my class. I have never known all of the students in my class since I have been at Georgetown and I think that was the moment I knew he was an exceptional guy,” former student William Dean (MSB ’16) said.

While Curry experienced many health problems during his final years, he never let his physical ailments come in the way of inspiring passion in his students.

“When he became seriously ill a few years ago, I was asked to take over his class. … When I walked into the classroom and saw 87 devastated students, I realized I would never be able to replace this formidable man,” professor of Spanish and Portuguese and faculty advisor for the Georgetown Student Veterans Association Barbara Mujica said at Curry’s memorial service.

Fr. Curry’s former student Daniel Wright (MSB ’16) echoed Mujica’s praise.

“He would show up to class with every ounce of energy he had even though he was sick, and he gave it to

us, and then … even when he wasn’t there for us we gave every ounce of energy that we had in that hour and 15 minutes to each other,” he said. “And now I think all of us have a family of bonds that we will never forget.”

Chris Yedibalian (COL ’13), who currently works as business manager of Dog Tag Bakery, recalled Curry sacrificing his own health to do what he loved.

“He loved his class so much that he refused to miss it. Barely able to walk this past semester, he showed up to class week after week in a wheelchair, oxygen cans at his body’s side, knowing full well this level of exertion would put him back in the hospital the next day,” Yedibalian said. “Yet he would repeat this routine week after week, class to hospital, class to hospital. It simply was not an option that he was ever not going to be there for his students.

Curry’s Legacy of Compassion Through Curry’s passion, drive and genuine caring, he has inspired students and faculty alike to live out Jesuit ideals.

Wednesday’s memorial service featured remarks and prayers from Jesuits, including Vice President for Mission and Ministry Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J and Fr. Joseph Lingan, S.J., as well as Mujica and former students Yedibilian and Will Wrotniak (SFS ’18).

In attendance were Curry’s family members, including his sister Sr. Denise Curry from Notre Dame de Namur University who gave a reading at the service, his cousin Jim Curry and many students from his fall semester class.

“Fr. Curry was a good friend and an exemplary Jesuit,” O’Brien said at the memorial. “He was able to reach all different kinds of people, and, above all, helped each person find their distinctive, God-given voice. His sense of humor was contagious, and his love for God and his vocation as a Jesuit was clear to anyone who knew him.”

In his remarks, Lingan reminded attendees to acknowledge the purpose behind the gathering and look to Curry’s life as one to be celebrated.

“We gather to remember and celebrate a remarkable man of compassion and ideals, a man of courage and intelligence, a man of depth and generosity, a man of faith and a man of humor,” Lingnan said. “We gather to remind ourselves of this truth: That love endures, even after death.”

Curry inspired many through living by example in genuine caring for all people. Embry said that the greatest lesson he learned from Curry was to value the experiences and stories of all people, regardless of ability, age or creed.

“He taught me that every single person on earth, whether you realize it or not, has some sort of very magnificent and complicated story that if you give them a chance to tell, will blow you away,” Embry said.

Fr. Patrick Rogers, S.J., said that Curry’s unyielding passion for life continues to inspire him.

“His enthusiasm for life was something that always stuck with me no matter when I saw him; even from his hospital bed I would walk in and he’d say ‘Hey Patrick, how are you doing?’ or ‘Hey handsome how are ya it’s good to see you,’” Rogers said. “He connects to people in ways that they haven’t and that teaches you to — no matter how you feel and what your perspective is — to find the good in others.”

Yedibilian emphasized that Curry personified the Jesuit ideal of caring for others.

“If there is one single recurring sentiment I’ve heard from friends and families from different stages of his life, it’s gratitude for how singularly impactful this man was to each of them,” Yedibilian said. “He had a heart of gold and truly gave himself to everyone around him. He was a man for others.”

JESUIT.ORG

Fr. Richard Curry, S.J., beloved Georgetown professor and philanthropist, died Dec. 19 of heart failure at the age of 72 .

News

friday, january 29, 2016

DCPS Launches Global Program Tara Subramaniam Hoya Staff Writer

The District of Columbia Public School Global Education Program recently launched its first-ever study abroad initiative, set to begin in the summer of 2016.

Four hundred students and teachers will have the opportunity to spend eight to 19 days in one of 12 countries this June and July, free of charge to the participants. The trips, which focus on service, leadership and language immersion, are open to students in 8th or 11th grade enrolled in a world language course. D.C. public schools offer at least one of these seven language courses: American Sign Language, Arabic, French, Italian, Latin, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

The study abroad program is funded by the D.C. Public Education Fund, a local nonprofit that covers transportation, housing and meals, as well as passport and visa fees for all participants. The comprehensive funding aims to make the program accessible to students from all backgrounds and varying financial means.

The Public Education Fund is contributing $2.78 million in total to fund DCPS Global Education Programs.

Portfolio Director for the Public Education Fund Katie Aiello-Howard said that the program is part of DCPS’s aim to provide the best possible learning experience for its students.

“Every DCPS student should be excited to come to school every day, and DCPS knows that a student who is motivated to learn is one who is also exposed to enriching educational experiences,” Aiello-Howard wrote in a press release published in January 2016.

“By creating more rigorous world language programs through an increase in current content offerings, DCPS can better prepare students to be globally experienced graduates.”

DCPS hopes that the program will not only expose the students to foreign cultures but also improve their linguistic skills and prepare them for their future after graduation, be it in college or for a career.

DCPS Press Secretary Michelle Lerner highlighted the importance of educating students about the global community.

“DC Public Schools is committed to providing a world-class education to its students. The opportunity to better understand a more global world is an imperative part of that strategy,” Lerner wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We want every DCPS graduate to be an inquisitive, informed and active world citizen, prepared for an increasingly diverse international community.”

To be considered for the program, students must submit an application that includes short essay questions and a reference from a non-family member by Feb. 15.

In addition to the language course

prerequisite, students must demonstrate their commitment to the program’s various requirements.

Applicants in the 8th grade can apply to attend one of five trips offered to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, China, France or Italy. The trips to China and Ecuador emphasize connecting culture to service, while the other three are primarily intended for the purpose of language immersion.

The 11th graders, on the other hand, can choose from 11 locations: Belgium, Chile, China, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru and Spain. Out of the 11 programs, five focus on language immersion, five are service learning-oriented and one is designed to foster global leadership.

Lerner stressed the importance of making the program available to students of all economic backgrounds in order to expose them to opportunities to travel internationally.

“Every student deserves a world of possibilities; that’s why DCPS developed a study abroad program,” Lerner wrote. “DCPS Study Abroad helps ensure that our global citizens have access to global experiences, so that travel becomes the expectation rather than the exception for students.”

Additionally, DCPS partnered with other organizations to offer cultural communication and general safety training to better prepare students for the experience of being abroad. These training sessions are led by “teacher ambassadors” appointed by the DCPS who will attend monthly meetings with the DCPS Global Education Program.

Lerner emphasized the preparation process as part of DCPS’s effort to cater to the whole student, highlighting how these trips may be the first international ones for some students.

“When we think about providing a rich education to every student, we think about the experiences, curriculum and tools our students need to be successful graduates of DC Public Schools, prepared for college or career,” Lerner wrote. “The chance to study abroad and see a part of the world fits into that frame.”

D.C. native Meghan Zorc (NHS ’19), who attended a private school, said that she wholly approves of this initiative as a means to expose students to new experiences.

“At my school, I did have an exchange program. When I was a sophomore in high school I got to experience learning in a different city before going to college and I think that’s a worthwhile experience,” Zorc said. “Hearing about the D.C. Public Schools’ initiative is remarkable, I think, because it gives kids the opportunity to travel that wouldn’t have the means to do it otherwise, and to experience these service opportunities before they’re exposed to it in high school.”

THE HOYA

A7

Mayors Outline Policy Solutions Ashwin Puri Hoya Staff Writer

Mayors Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City, Okla., Sly James of Kansas City, Mo. and Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio discussed strategies to combat economic inequality, increase the quality of education and reduce violence in their cities at a panel discussion hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service in Copley Formal Lounge Jan. 20.

Over 100 students and faculty attended the discussion, titled “Building Cities of Opportunity for All: Policy Solutions for Equitable Economic Development”, the first event featuring 2016 IPPS fellow Alvin Brown, the former mayor of Jacksonville, Fla. The panel coincided with the 2016 U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. and was moderated by Brown and Erin Mullally (GRD ‘16), editor in chief at the Georgetown Public Policy Review.

Executive Director of IPPS Mo Elleithee opened the event by emphasizing that the panel was formed as a result of McCourt School of Public Policy students’ desire to hear from U.S. mayors during the 2016 U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.

Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Tom Cochran, who coordinated the mayors for the event, and President of the Georgetown Public Policy Student Association Jessica Clarke (GRD ’16) introduced Bowser, Cornett, James and Whaley.

Cochran emphasized the important role that mayors play in local government in their ability to affect meaningful and lasting change in their communities.

“What’s so beautiful about the mayors is that you can work for a congressman, you can work for a governor, but when you’re working for a mayor you’re making changes in people’s lives and also creating beautiful cities [like we have in the United States],” Cochran said.

The four mayors responded to questions on how to address high crime rates, spur economic development and increase educational quality in their cities. Cornett, a Republican, said Oklahoma City has relied on philanthropic endeavors to solve his cities’ social issues.

“Our efforts to try and keep taxes low, but get the philanthropy and the strong economy to support the social organizations that can help us with a lot of these issue, is a model that’s worked for us,” Cornett said.

Bowser, a Democrat, said D.C. is in a unique position as a city outside of state-level jurisdiction, but faces challenges dealing with Congress.

“We can actually push innovation through our system and really call on and call out our federal government for not the things that are so important,” Bowser said.

Bowser outlined three priorities the city will implement to facilitate D.C.’s economic transformation, including a $100 million commitment to low income housing, expansion of summer youth employment programs to allow employment for individuals up to age 24 and a five-year plan to end homelessness.

Bowser also emphasized the District’s growing problem of income in-

ASHWIN PURI/THE HOYA

Mayor Sly James, left, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Mayor Mick Cornett and Mayor Nan Whaley discussed policy solutions for various issues affecting their cities. equality as a barrier to future success.

“We’re in a place in our city where [fighting] income inequality is one of the major reasons why I ran for mayor and I believe I was elected. People love the prosperity that is happening in Washington, the renaissance is tremendous,” Bowser said.

“We want to make sure that the people who stuck around for the hard times are able to stick around for the good times.”

James, an Independent, said the problems of income inequality and crime are symptoms of three larger issues in the United States laid out

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: racism, poverty and militarism.

“Education, housing, poverty, all of those things are born of something, and we need to address those core illnesses before we can get rid of the symptoms,” James said.

Whaley, a Democrat, said the issues of income inequality and improving education can be solved by encouraging job growth in her city.

“Ninety-two percent of the economic impact comes from cities … we have a challenge in making sure that the jobs that are creating wealth are staying in our community,” Whaley said.

The mayors were then asked to explain the merits of working in local government compared to a job at the federal or state levels.

Whaley said the level of intimacy in public service is unmatched when compared to big government.

“If you’re interested in public service, you will not get that direct back and forth like you do on the ground in local government,” Whaley said. “We need smart, committed people in local government.”

Bowser said working in local government compared to state or federal government comes down to personal preferences.

“I think that each of you will have to decide what it is you like about serving,” Bowser said.

“I like being on the executive side of local government as that is where you can make change … you get to make the decisions and you’re accountable for all of the decisions being made.”

The panel discussion was followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Mariam Ghavalya (GRD ’17), a first year Master’s in Public Policy student at McCourt School of Public Policy, praised the four mayors for showing the devotion it takes to be a successful mayor.

“You hear a lot of different politicians, especially in Congress, they’re pessimistic and they’re cynical, but I think mayors are actually devoted to making real difference happen, and they sound very passionate about the things they talk about,” Ghavalya said.

Chris Gray (GRD ’17), who also attended the event, said he was surprised by the similarity of solutions to problems such as income inequality across cities.

“It was interesting how similar a lot of the views are, since at the core of it, the individual politics don’t matter as much as taking care of the issues in the cities,” Gray said. “I think the argument that you can have a bigger effect in the local government is definitely valid.”

Ghavalya said the mayors’ pitches for working in local government confirmed her desire to make a tangible impact on people’s lives.

“I think her pitch was really effective, and especially for someone like me, who is already interested in working in local government, it confirmed my desire to go back to Los Angeles where I am from and get involved in local politics,” Ghavalya said. “I think that’s where real change happens.”

GUSA, StartupHoyas Initiate Weekly Leavey Marketplace Tala Al Rajjal Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Student Association and StartupHoyas will implement a new weekly marketplace for the student body in the Leavey Center this spring. The market, which will serve as an indoor version of the Wednesday Farmer’s Market in the fall and spring months — named the Startup Market — will feature goods for sale from student entrepreneurs every Friday during the spring semester. While the initiative is still in its development phase, the effort to bring the Startup Market to the Leavey Center is designed to give Georgetown students the opportunity to sell original products through their independent small businesses. GUSA Secretary of Entrepreneurship Jake Maxmin (COL ’17) spearheaded the project on behalf of GUSA and is optimistic that the market will open in the spring semester.

Maxmin, who holds experience with independent small businesses as founder and CEO of Wearable Justice, said he sees the project as an opportunity for students like himself to run businesses on campus through different outlets other than The Corp and the Farmer’s Market. Such avenues were the only options available to Maxmin during his first years as a student business owner.

“Through my position I wanted to work more with the [Center for Student Engagement] to create a way where we can really validate student businesses, to give them something to say that ‘We at Georgetown University endorse you,’ and then create a space for them to be able to sell their product,” Maxmin said. “The idea came from brainstorming sessions with myself and StartupHoyas.”

Maxmin said the Startup Market

strives to engage the student body in entrepreneurship and provide greater exposure to existing student businesses. “We’re trying to gear the Startup Market to be a space where people who are also interested in entrepreneurship can come and speak to different businesses,” Maxmin said. “We’re creating more of a space and a gathering for not only buying and selling but also for learning more about what entrepreneurship looks like on campus and to talk to people who are involved in it.” Founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurial Initiative and McDonough School of Business professor Jeff Reid praised the efforts made so far to establish the market while highlighting its importance to students interested in entrepreneurial endeavors.

“StartupHoyas is happy to support efforts like this one that help student entrepreneurs,” Reid wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Division of Student Affairs, GUSA and Auxiliary Services are working hard to create the Startup Market. This is a good example of how many different campus organizations can come together to support students’ entrepreneurial interests.”

Student businesses that operate within reasonable cost and are not affiliated with Georgetown are eligible to apply for a spot within the Startup Market. “We’re looking at whether all of your [businesses’] workers are Georgetown students,” Maxmin said.

“We then ask questions like where are your sourcing your products from, what’s your average cost per product, what’s your mission statement, what do you hope to gain from this market in terms of educational experience. We make sure these businesses aren’t in any way promoting

DANIEL KREYTAK/THE HOYA

The Georgetown University Student Association and StartupHoyas will introduce a new indoor weekly marketplace for the unviersity community in Leavey Center this spring with goods from student entrepreneurs. hate or exclusion.” Associate Director of StartupHoyas Alyssa Lovegrove said the project’s value for the Georgetown community is aligned with StartupHoyas’ central mission to provide prospective student entrepreneurs with the resources and programs to inspire entrepreneurial initiatives.

“We want students to think ‘entrepreneurially’ about their own personal brand and their careers, to be proactive and to create opportunities for themselves, based on their life

goals,” Lovegrove wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We believe that entrepreneurial problem-solving should be something that every Georgetown student understands and practices.”

In addition to establishing the Startup Market, StartupHoyas will also host startup career fairs, pitch competitions and chalk talks with their Entrepreneurs-in-Residence this semester. These interactive programs are designed to expand the culture of entrepreneurship and idea-sharing throughout the student

body.

Sara Clark (COL ’19) said she supports the implementation of the Startup Market and sees it as a valuable outlet for entrepreneurial activity.

“I think there’s a lot of demand for student businesses to be able to sell their products and grow as a business while engaging with Georgetown students as customers.

A marketplace exclusively featuring student ideas sounds like an interesting outlet for that,” Clark said.

news

Friday, January 29, 2016

Tech Keeps Up With Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Melina Delkic Hoya Staff Writer

Five Guys, a fastfood joint nationally renowned for its handcrafted burgers and fries, closed its Wisconsin Ave. storefront in Georgetown on Sunday, Jan. 24.

Five Guys announced it would discontinue its Georgetown location by posting a sign on its door just days before officially closing.

The sign read “On Sunday January 24, 2016 at 10pm we will be closing this location. We would like to thank the Georgetown community for allowing us to serve you over all these years.”

Nestled between a Bank of America and a family-owned shoe store, Five Guys sat on the corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Dumbarton St. Feeding families and late-night student cravings alike, Five Guys has been a comforting fixture in Georgetown for over a decade. With its bright red awnings, wooden fixtures and exposed brick interiors, this particular location has forgone cold modernity in favor of a comforting, homey feel.

According to an article in The Georgetown Metropolitan, Five Guys employees were only given a week’s notice that they would lose their jobs.

Many have not yet been offered jobs at other District locations.

Five Guys Vice President of Marketing and Communications Molly Catalano could not be reached for comment regarding the Georgetown location’s closure.

Parth Shah (COL ’16) said he was very upset that the Georgetown fastfood storefront closed. He frequented the location for its grilled cheese, which was made with peppers, let-

SOLTIS, from A10

Trees are one of the largest slices of carbon dioxide’s customer base. Plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, keeping it out of the air and releasing oxygen as waste.

Among other reasons, we worry about deforestation in American cities and the Amazon because trees necessarily remove carbon dioxide from the air. However, if trees were to carpet the entire globe, our leafy friends would not be able to stave off further global warming.

Humans have a tendency to upgrade when we run into big problems. When we were fed up with spending months to cross an ocean by sailboat, we created steamships. When we finally realized that horses were too smelly, we replaced them with automobiles. So, when trees can’t keep up with our carbon emissions, we will make better trees.

First, we observe the X-Men approach. Trees, like corn, cows and humans, can be genetically modified to enhance particular characteristics. Methods of genetic modification to increase the carbon stored in the leaves and roots of plants are well within the reach of modern bioengineering capabilities. For example, annual plants could be enhanced with larger root systems from a perennial plant’s genetic library. Annual plants, which must regenerate every year, spend a lot of energy producing leaves and seeds for reproduction. On the other hand, perennials spend energy on maintaining a much larger root system, which allows them to “hibernate” through the winter until they can regrow above ground in the springtime. More roots will mean more carbon flowing into the ground, and carbon in the soil will stay out of the air for longer than carbon stored in leaves and seeds.

Of course, tampering with genes has its risks. Until researchers study the effects of such genetic modification more clearly, genetically modified carbon-eating trees are riskier than solar power.

Second, we observe the iRobot approach. Instead of leaving it to trees, we can create machines that join them in the bountiful carbon dioxide feast. Arizona State University’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions has developed a synthetic membrane that catches 10 percent to 40 percent of the carbon dioxide in the air that passes through it. However, researchers have not come as far on figuring out where to store all the carbon dioxide they catch. Furthermore, the prototype only works in warm and dry conditions.

More recently, researchers at University of California at Berkeley developed a nano-sized ecosystem that works just like a photosynthetic leaf by populating a miniature field of titanium and silicon nanowires with two species of bacteria. The wires, acting like solar cells, catch energy from the sun, providing the bacteria with the electrons they need to turn carbon dioxide and water into acetic acid, which can be used to create drugs and fuels.

In reality, alternative energy is much further along than alternative photosynthesis. Targeting carbon dioxide from the demand end is no more of a global warming cure-all than is hydroelectricity. Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere simply cannot fall as much as we would like them to in the immediate future, but, with continued investment in carboneating technology, I am confident we will be able to catch up when we are finally able to create cost-efficient, effective systems.

FASHION, from A10

individuals and communities as a whole.

“We met this woman who couldn’t feed or house her child.

Now, switch forward a year and she has her own wages from ADC, can provide for her child and is even thinking about sending her to college in the United States. That’s the big deal with empowerment. I believe it does ripple through communities and it’s important that all people have a sense of it. Looking at where that woman has been, I think it is so important to have a sense of control. I think that’s why empowerment is such a precious thing to have, independent of the transformative effect it can have on the community,” Soule said.

In addition to empowering workers through wages, Tinsley noted how the unique factory environment also fosters a sense of community among the female employees.

In the factory, women participate in

SUDOKU

3

1 4

7 7

2

6

9 6

9

8 4 4

6 9

8 3

1

9

7 8

5

2

3

Last issue’s solutions

2 4 8 1

6 1 7 5 3 9 2 8

DANIEL KREYTAK/The HoyA

After over a decade at its Georgetown location on Wisconsin Avenue, Five Guys closed Sunday, Jan. 24. The fast food joint announced its offical closure with a sign on its doors only days before. tuce and tomatoes, and of course, accompanied by fries. Shah said that he even stopped weighing himself to encourage more meals there.

“I love Five Guys because it gives you a lot of bang for your buck. More importantly, it’s an amazing place to go late at night,” Shah said. “I can’t recall most of my interesting or funny stories [there] for reasons you can probably guess.”

Shah said that he might try to fill the hole in his heart with food from Z-Burger, but that he hopes Five Guys will reopen its old location and an additional storefront on the same block.

“Let’s get rid of that CVS,” Shah

said.

Lauren Tucci (SFS ’17) said she was not surprised that the burger chain’s Georgetown location called it quits.

“The quality was like Burger King’s, but two or three times the price,” Tucci said.

For Five Guys’ prices, which average about seven or eight dollars per burger, Tucci said she finds eating at nearby Good Stuff Eatery to be a better deal since it sells burgers of much higher quality for similar prices.

Georgetown Five Guys had a 3.5star rating on Yelp, falling behind most other D.C. Five Guys locations, which mostly have four-star ratings.

Yelp reviewers complained about

long wait times, overcooked burgers and scarce seating, particularly on weekends.

The Five Guys closure follows Georgetown’s trend of forgoing its few casual, late-night, budget-friendly eateries like Eat and Joy, Philly Pizza, Chadwicks and Tuscany, and instead welcoming more fine dining restaurants and posh boutiques, like Alice + Olivia and Free People.

Although 1335 Wisconsin Ave. will soon host some other business venture, with eight other locations in D.C. alone, and dozens more in Virginia and Maryland, those Five Guys Cajun fries and free peanuts will never be too far out of reach.

Fashion Invests in Rwanda Forbes

Patrick Soltis is a sophomore in the College. innovation smack talk appears every Friday.

8

A9

Five Guys Burgers Bids Farewell

innovation smack talk

4

THE HOYA

8 9 5 3 4 7 2 3 1 9 6 8 7 6 4 1 5 2 9 5 3 4 7 6 1 7 8 2 3 5 6 4 2 8 1 9

9 4 7 5

6 3

3 9 6 1 5 8

4 5 2 6 7 8 1 7 4 8 9 5 2 3 2 3 1 7 6 9 4

two group exercise breaks per day, including routine back-rub trains, and even have choice over the music selection.

“I was amazed at how much I felt welcomed and embraced by these people. It reminded me of when I was a Peace Corps volunteer — the warmth of the women in the community, and sinking into their collective embrace, even though I don’t speak the language. The comradery is quite high,” Tinsley said.

In addition to empowering the Masoro community, Kate Spade & Company CEO Craig Leavitt said in a press release that the company’s collaboration with ADC Ltd. is a forprofit enterprise.

“We introduced this business model to give these talented artisans the ability to incorporate into our supply chain as a manufacturing partner. It’s not charity; it is creating jobs for talented women making beautiful products and offering them a way to participate in the global marketplace,” Leavitt said

in a May 2014 press release.

Soule said that she is excited to be studying this social approach to a fashion company since it can make a big difference in struggling communities like Masoro and in the world.

“What we can offer at value is an objective pair of eyes that can say to everybody else, ‘Here’s the deal, here’s what works, here’s what didn’t.’ In today’s world, academics enjoy enormous levels of public trust. I like to be careful about how I use that and whom I associate with.

In this case, we have a serious effort to make a difference in the world.

I would describe it as perfectly harmonized with Georgetown’s values,” Soule said.

Tinsley and Soule are optimistic about the positive nature of their findings. While the professors are not taking students to Rwanda in February, they believe that this research will be an ongoing analysis project that will welcome students in the future.

Students Go Digital classroom,” Ghazarian said. “It’s been an amazing opportunity and I really think seamless in terms of being able to partici- this is what the future of education will pate in discussion and learn the material,” look like in terms of making high-quality Barry said. “The class size is small enough education easily available to students and the technology good enough that from all over the world.” your ability to participate in the class is Despite near-perfect feedback from stunot hindered at all by being a remote stu- dents and faculty who have used the new dent. So I would say there’s virtually no technology, Anderson said that there are difference.” some drawbacks for students attending With the blended classroom, students classes digitally. have more flexibility and can receive an “There are some nights where the stuMSF from Georgetown without leaving dents in the classroom are so active that their state or country. Barry said that this the people online kind of fade into the aspect of the program adds to the diver- background and almost become like an sity in the classroom. audience because it is easier to interact “The flexibility that it with people in the same gives really adds to the room as you. I think the learning experience that I students who are actually would otherwise not have physically there pipe in a at a program that was all lot more. They don’t have in person,” Barry said. “I to worry about unmuting find that it is a very valutheir microphone and getable experience, bringing ting my attention, etc.,” different experiences to Anderson said. “If there’s the table, as opposed to enough people physically if we were all sitting in a in the classroom, you deficlassroom in D.C. It’s really nitely see some people on good to hear insights from the Internet keeping quiet people who are living in difAnna durante-silva and not talking as much, Barry (MSB ’17) ferent countries, working whereas when there are in different industries.” fewer people in the classTechnical assistants are present during room, everyone on the Internet seems to class times and help keep the interactions participate.” between the professor, the in-class stuEberhart explained that he compendents and the digital students technically sates for these issues in the classroom by smooth. focusing on the virtual students if they Kirsten Anderson, a professor in the aren’t participating enough.

MSF, has taught classes in the blended “It’s easier for someone in person to classroom and has never faced any techni- blurt out an answer than virtually,” Ebercal issues that hindered student participa- hart said. “Maybe at the margin, but we tion or the flow of the class. just quickly adjust for it by just tilting “I’ve had a seamless experience,” An- more to the virtual students. For examderson said. “We have really good support ple, if they want to give a quick answer, people in there. We have someone from chime in real quick, you’re going to call the company that supports our classroom on them.” platform. They’re there every night with Nevertheless, for most students and us and I’ve had zero problems.” professors, the benefits of the blended Armineh Ghazarian (MSF ’17) said she classroom outweigh the inconveniences it was very excited to attend class in such a produces for digitally attending students. digitalized classroom that has the potenThe MSF will continue to use its techtial to shape education in the future. nological foundation in an online open “Everything, every little detail is re- house Feb. 22 detailing the MSF program corded so I can always go back and review and their multi-faceted admissions proeverything, which I can’t do in a regular gram.

BLENDED, from A10

“Your ability to participate in the class is not hindered at all ...”

Selects Alum FORBES, from A10

means to be an entrepreneur, and how to be an entrepreneur,” Stefanis wrote. “It was a safe space to learn, fail, get advice, practice, and grow.

Jeff Reid and Alyssa Lovegrove have done an exceptional job building a top tier program and were easily the two most influential people in my entrepreneurial journey during college.”

In addition to being involved with StartupHoyas, Stefanis was also a member of the inaugural class of The Compass Fellowship and the MSB’s Entrepreneurship Fellows Program. Upon graduation, he received a substantial grant from the program to help him pursue his business ideas.

Before starting Riide, Stefanis’ first venture was Power Inverted, a company that aimed to bring solar power to low-income families. Although Power Inverted did not take off the way Riide has, Stefanis considers it to have been a powerful learning experience.

“I like to call it a ‘successful failure’ because I learned so much from the experience,” Stefanis wrote.

Since starting Riide, Stefanis has continued to stay involved with Georgetown and its growing entrepreneurial community.

“His story has been great for me in the classroom; I’ve had him come in a number of times to talk about the stage of the business he’s now at,” Lovegrove said. “Other students are really learning from his experience. From an educational standpoint, that’s the best we can do for students, to give them lots of insights into these real life entrepreneurial journeys. They can come away being able to use it in some other context in the future.”

Stefanis and Wason have also recently become a part of 500 Startups, a four-month accelerator program on the West Coast.

“To be candid, I’m not that surprised he was selected by Forbes. He was an absolute star in entrepreneurship while at Georgetown and is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” Lovegrove said.

Cindy Gao (SFS ’17), a former Compass Fellow and Mentor, who met Stefanis in one of her classes, agreed.

“When he came to speak to my fellows class, he was a really exciting, energetic presence and told us all about the interesting work he was doing with Riide,” Gao said.

Business & Tech FRIDAY, January 29, 2016

business Blended Classroom Advances Education bits Jessie Yu

Hoya Staff Writer

MSB Grad, NOW CEO, Looks to Podcasts to Expand Conglomerate Timothy J. O’Shaughnessy (MSB ’04), who became chief executive officer of Graham Holdings Company last year, will consider tapping into the podcast market to expand the business. “Every other form of media you can go and pull up right now. Netflix. Audible for books. Spotify for music. But you really haven’t had that happen with nonmusic audio, which is a huge space,” O’Shaughnessy said in an interview for The Washington Post. Since 2014, O’Shaughnessy has also been president of Graham Holdings, which has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion, holds businesses in a variety of sectors and owns both the online magazine Slate and Foreign Policy Magazine.

MSB’s MBA Program ranked Top 20 in U.S., Top 45 in World The Financial Times listed the Georgetown full-time MBA program at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business as 19th in the United States in its 2016 Global MBA Rankings. Nationally, the MBA program was listed just behind the MBA program at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan Flagler Business School, ranked 18th, and just ahead of the program at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, ranked 20th. Internationally, the MSB’s full-time MBA program was tied in the 44th ranking slot with the MBA program at The University of Hong Kong, just behind the MBA program at the Renmin University of China School of Business, ranked 43rd.

MSB Researchers observe PostHoliday Spending Hangover This year, national post-holiday spending will experience a slight downturn, similar to but less extreme than last year, the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research predicts. The institute’s predictions are based on its Problem-Driven Consumption Index, which is derived from the Consumer Problem Survey.

The index is based on the idea that consumers enter the marketplace to solve their problems in areas such as home and housing or transportation. In an interview for the McDonough School of Business website, Kurt Carlson, director of the institute and professor of marketing at the MSB, said the index predicts “a relatively weak first quarter for transportation solutions.”

Entrepreneurship Back on the Rise for College Graduates The rate of new entrepreneurs was above 0.30 percent in 2014, climbing to its highest rate since 2011, according to a recent study of the Kauffman Foundation. The study also concluded that 33 percent of new entrepreneurs were college graduates in 2014, up from 23.7 percent in 1996. In other words, more entrepreneurs are entering business, and a large portion of them are college graduates. U.S. News and World Report recently highlighted the entrepreneurs-in-residence at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, who offer advice about fundraising, pitching and other topics to innovative students. “It’s really been incredible, the amount of resources that we’ve been able to take advantage of,” Connor Bernstein (MSB ’16), an entrepreneurial fellow, said in an interview for U.S. News and World Report.

The McDonough School of Business’ Master of Science in Finance, which originated as an entirely online program, implemented a new “blended classroom” technology on Oct. 1, 2015 that allows students to attend class both physically and digitally.

The MSB’s MSF program, which was founded in January 2014 and now includes an on-campus component for some classes, was ranked the No. 1 Best Online Master’s Degree in Finance for the 2014-15 academic year by BestColleges.com. The website cited its high-quality faculty and online platform.

“With our program, we’re flipping the classroom. I think we’re doing it differently than any other program.” aLLAN EBERHART MSF professor of finance

The blended classroom has three rows of in-class students and a fourth row, which contains a large “Brady Bunch” screen displaying the students attending digitally.

Along with many other MSB faculty, Allan Eberhart, a professor of finance in the MSF, helped jumpstart, design and develop the online learning platform.

“With our program, we’re flipping the classroom. I think we’re doing it differently than any other program,” Eberhart said.

Courtesy Allan Eberhart

Masters of Science in Finance students at the McDonough School of Business attend class both physically and digitally since the implementation of the MSF program’s new blended classroom technology in October 2015.

While other universities like the University of Maryland or the University of Central Florida use blended classrooms mixing face-to-face instruction with online learning, the MSF program actually allows students to attend class digitally.

The program gives students more flexibility in scheduling and attending classes.

Ana Duarte-Silva Barry (MSF ’17) has attended class both physically

and digitally while she was in Asia.

Barry said this new technology gives students more time for other commitments, such as having a job.

“One of the biggest advantages is choice,” Barry said. “A lot of us have demanding full-time jobs and other responsibilities, so having this option lets people fully commit to the program no matter what their job schedule is like.”

In the classroom, students on the

Partnership Empowers Women

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University alum Jeff Stefanis (MSB ’13) was selected for Forbes’ 2016 “30 Under 30” list in manufacturing and industry for his entrepreneurial achievements, published Jan. 4. Stefanis was recognized for his work as the cofounder and CEO of Riide, a company that facilitates the use of lightweight electric bicycles designed for the urban commuter.

Stefanis and his co-founder Amber Wason launched Riide in 2014 via Kickstarter. The campaign raised $50,000 within the first 24 hours, and a year later it sent the first bicycle shipments to customers in 36 different states.

Riide is particularly noteworthy for its unique subscription program, RiidePass, which allows customers to keep their own Riide electric bike, gives them theft insurance and gives them unlimited maintenance in Washington, D.C.,

See BLENDED, A9

Innovation Smack Talk

Lucy Prout

Hoya Staff Writer

McDonough School of Business professor Catherine Tinsley and associate professor Edward Soule are preparing to return to Masoro, Rawanda to continue their research on a joint venture between Kate Spade & Company and the Rwanda-based Abahizi Dushyigikirane Ltd. Kate Spade & Company, one of fashion’s biggest brands, began developing supplier ADC Ltd., an independent fashion accessory factory, in 2013 with the aim of empowering FILE PHOTO: Kristen SKILLMAN/THE HOYa women and promoting economic Kate Spade & Company collaborates with female artisans in Masoro, stability in the village of Masoro. ADC Ltd. was named after a Kinyarwandan Rwanda to promote communal growth and economic stability. expression that means “together, we accomplish more.” The project aims “Kate Spade & Company reached and replicability in order to help other to positively impact the 20,000 people developing nations build up their out to Georgetown because they were living in Masoro, which lies just 20 km economies and empower their popu- pretty sure they were doing somenorth of Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. lations. Tinsley and Soule will share thing novel in trying to empower Working in a socially responsible their research with Kate Spade & Com- an existing artisan community that program and under a strategic eco- pany in June and will issue a report in could be stood up to be a global, fully nomic model, ADC Ltd.’s 170 employ- the months following. integrated supplier in fashion merees produce handbags and jewelry for Soule’s research focuses on the chandising,” Tinsley said. “It is not Kate Spade & Company’s accessory moral aspects of commercial life and often that a fashion brand like Kate line “On Purpose.” These products, this collaboration mirrors his previ- Spade & Company will look to develop manufactured in Rwanda, are sold ous research on a living wage garment a supplier, in particular in a more ruaround the world for Kate Spade & operation in the Dominican Republic. ral and remote community where the Company’s Kate Spade, Jack Spade and Tinsley’s research has also prepared standard of living is quite poor, and Kate Spade Saturdays brands. her for this opportunity as she has fo- work to boost the standard of living.

Tinsley, the executive director of cused her studies on gender dynamics They wanted someone to study what Georgetown University Women’s in the workplace and the promotion they were doing.”

Leadership Institute and a professor of of women’s leadership in the past.

Soule mentioned the empowmanagement, and Soule, an associate According to Tinsley, no other erment he saw in the Rwandan professor of ethics, visited the ADC Ltd. brand has used the social approach women during his visit in Septemfactory in September after Kate Spade that Kate Spade & Company has in ber and emphasized how impor& Company asked them to study its Rwanda. Currently, Soule and Tinsley tant empowerment from the fashwork with ADC Ltd. Tinsley and Soule are the only researchers conducting ion product industry is for both are returning to Rwanda next month analyses on the partnership between to conduct analyses of sustainability Kate Spade & Company and ADC Ltd. See FASHION, A9

and San Francisco. The pass costs $79 Alyssa Lovegrove, Bob Bies, Dr. Andretta per month and has a $299 down pay- and [Associate Director of the Center for ment for a 12-month commitment. Social Justice] Ray Shiu were influential After two years, customers can own in helping me figure out that each perthe bike forever or upgrade to the lat- son has a unique way they can promote est model for free positive change in and continue the world. For me paying the personally, I believe monthly rate. the best way I can do “Our goal with that is through busiRiidePass is to ness. Riide is about make Riide accesmore than bikes and sible to as many urban transportapeople as postion. It is also about sible. $79/month making transportais less than a tion more accessible, jeff STEFNAIS monthly metro reducing carbon Co-founder and CEO of Riide pass, a couple emissions, and helpprivate car rides, ing others lead a or owning a car,” Stefanis wrote in an healthier lifestyle,” Stefanis wrote. email to The Hoya.

Raised in small New England towns For Stefanis, RiidePass is just one ex- and educated at George Washington ample of how Riide is about more than University and Georgetown, respectively, co-founders Wason and Stefanis rejust the product.

“Georgetown professors like Jeff Reid, fused to accept that travelling 1 mile in

“[Georgetown] was a safe space to learn, fail, get advice, practice and grow.”

Patrick Soltis

Catching Carbon Dioxide E

the District took just as long as a 10-mile journey in their hometowns. Wason’s interest in transportation was driven by her job at the D.C. Department of Transportation, and, according to his former Georgetown professors, sustainable transportation was always an area of interest for Stefanis as well.

“Ever since freshman year he had a variety of entrepreneurship ideas he was exploring, really all of them related to environmental responsibility. He was looking at the bigger issues around commuting and its impact on communities,” Associate Director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative Alyssa Lovegrove said.

Stefanis’ time at Georgetown played a fundamental role in his personal development as an entrepreneur.

“Georgetown, and particularly StartupHoyas, is where I learned what entrepreneurship really is, what it

xcess carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, heat absorbed more readily than it is released and a world that is starting to sweat from under this ever-thickening blanket --- whether it’s humanity’s fault or the sun’s fault, the climate is certainly changing.

From carbon dioxide factory emissions to methane cow farts, greenhouse gases are in too high supply to match the demand. A good deal of the anti-global warming hype has focused on decreasing the supply of greenhouse gases with cleaner factories, electric cars and, most notably, alternative power sources. Solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power aim to generate electricity without emitting harmful gases into the atmosphere.

However, even all these technologies together are not yet ready to take on the task of powering human civilization. We simply can’t harvest enough clean energy to accommodate our needs.

For example, although Georgetown University has begun negotiating a massive off-site solar purchase that is the first of its kind, renewable energy is projected to account for less than half of the university’s energy needs for the next decade. Even relying on solar power for half of our electricity is too risky. The sun often stops shining in the District, and there doesn’t exist enough battery power to get us by for even a full day without sunshine.

With other alternative energy sources even less stable and developed than solar energy, we need to find other ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and concentrations in the atmosphere. Glaciers are melting, polar bears are losing their homes and Disney World will soon be “under the sea” in a real-life “Little Mermaid” exhibit. Since it is difficult to reduce the supply of greenhouse gases, there is always another way to reduce excess: increase the demand for them.

See FORBES, A9

See SOLTIS, A9

GU Alum Recognized for Entrepreneurship Tara Subramaniam

“Brady Bunch” screen are still able to participate by either physically raising their hands or by pressing a button that causes a small hand icon to show up in their onscreen video boxes.

Barry added that attending class digitally does not usually put students at a disadvantage.

“Doing class remotely is pretty