The Hoya: September 10, 2021

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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 103, No. 1, © 2021

Unidentified Culprit Eggs Georgetown Students, Residents in Neighborhood

KRISTEN SKILLMAN/THE HOYA

An unidentified perpetrator has been egging Georgetown students and neighborhood residents near Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW, prompting confusion and curiosity.

Liam Scott

Hoya Staff Writer

Jack Buckley (MSB ’22) was standing outside the restaurant Clyde’s of Georgetown on M Street two weeks ago when he felt something suddenly hit the side of his body.

To his surprise, it was a raw egg, splattered all over his clothes.

The attack took place shortly after 11 p.m. on Aug. 26, according to Buckley, who said the unidentified perpetrator threw the egg out of the passenger side of a car window while driving past the restaurant. Buckley was not seriously injured, and he told The Hoya that amid the confusion, he was unable to identify the egger before they sped away in a red sedan.

“I was drenched in egg yolk,” Buckley said in an interview with The Hoya.

Clyde’s could not provide footage from their security cameras by the time of publication.

Buckley is not the only person who has recently gotten egged in the Georgetown neigh-

borhood. Since June, The Hoya has verified at least six separate egging incidents, five of which have occurred in the last two weeks. Students and community members alike have become victims of these eggings.

A more recent egging attack took place Sept. 2 outside Foxtrot Market on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. Just before 9:15 p.m., Bobby Smallman (COL ’24) was sitting at a table outside the market when something flew past him, grazing his neck. He was shocked to realize it was a raw egg when it landed on the sidewalk nearby.

The egg left a minor scrape, according to Smallman, who also witnessed a red sedan driving away after the attack.

Smallman said he was surprised by the ambush.

“I was just totally shocked.

It didn’t even occur to me that I could get egged,” Smallman said in an interview with The Hoya.

Smallman said he wishes he could have identified his attacker.

See EGGINGS, A6

Students Living in GU Hotel

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Students and faculty have expressed concerns about safety after the Georgetown University Health Education Services postponed AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention trainings, which usually take place before students arrive on campus.

1st-Year Safety Trainings Delayed Caitlin McLean Hoya Staff Writer

H

ealth Education Services has postponed required Sexual Assault Prevention trainings and AlcoholEdu, an alcohol safety course, for incoming students until mid-September.

HESs postponed the two online safety trainings for firstyears and incoming transfer students until the week of Sept.

13, a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

In past years, HES required incoming first-years to complete these online workshops prior to arriving on campus. Now, incoming first-years will not

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Story on A8

Julia Kelly

The Tombs is set to reopen in mid-October following its yearand-a-half closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages.

The Tombs, a popular restaurant and bar located one block from Georgetown University’s main campus, shut down in March 2020 at the same time the university sent students home as COVID-19 began to spread throughout the United States. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) allowed restaurants to reopen with capacity restrictions for indoor dining Jan. 22, but The Tombs remained closed.

Students make up the majority of customers and employees at The Tombs, and without students on campus, staying open for business was not feasible, according to David Moran, managing director of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, The Tombs’ parent company.

“In addition to the students being the main source of our customer base they also are the backbone of our employee workforce and we simply did not have enough people to operate the restaurant,” Moran wrote

in an email to The Hoya. “Our goal was to have The Tombs reopened when the students arrived a few weeks ago but again the lack of staffing prevented that from happening.”

Now that the university has returned to full operation and all students are back on campus again, many students are looking forward to reuniting with their friends at The Tombs, according to Matthew Coyne (MSB ’22), who plans to frequent The Tombs.

“I think there’s a lot of pentup demand for people wanting to get back in there and see all their friends,” Coyne said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“It’s a very Georgetown-centric spot, and the Georgetown community is not whole without The Tombs being back yet.”

When The Tombs reopens in mid-October, customers will need to follow Washington, D.C. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for COVID-19, meaning masks will be required indoors except while eating or drinking, according to Moran.

News of The Tombs reopening was met with excitement by former and current students, with many looking forward to partaking in popular student

also unfamiliar with U.S. legal procedures and resources, according to Chung, who is from South Korea.

“For international students who don’t really know a lot about American culture, ways that we can deal with sexual assault or just where to get help or deal with law, we’re just thrown into the deep end, and we don’t know what to do, and we have to kind of figure out on your own,” Chung said.

Upperclassmen are also uneasy about the delay. According to New Student Orientation Captain Elena Evans (NHS ’22), See TRAININGS, A6

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Student favorite restaurant and bar The Tombs plans to reopen in mid-October following a year-and-a-half long closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages. traditions, according to Coyne.

For Zach Magid (COL ’21), a former employee at The Tombs, traditions like “Tombs Nights,” when students go to the bar on their 21st birthday and receive a stamp on their head, are a hallmark of the Tombs experience.

“You get to gather your friends and then make the walk to The Tombs where you get your forehead stamped,” Magid

said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “For me personally, as a doorman at The Tombs for three years, I’ve given so many stamps and seen the pride and revelry it induced.”

Many seniors who already turned 21 are planning on holding alternate Tombs nights for their 22nd birthdays to emulate See TOMBS, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Homecoming Canceled

Queer Campus History

A Legacy Honored

For the second year in a row, university officials have canceled in-person homecoming celebrations because of COVID-19 concerns.

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LGBTQ students should look back to the history of Queer campus activists for future inspiration and to further their legacies.

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DC Housing Evacuations

FEATURED

to get help for sexual assault, where to report sexual assault or where to go,” Chung said in an interview with The Hoya.

Students are the most at risk for experiencing sexual assault during their first year on campus, and more than 50% of all sexual assault on college campuses takes place between August and November, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Further, students are particularly vulnerable to binge drinking and unsafe alcohol practices during their first six weeks on campus, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Many first-year students are

Tombs Sets Reopening Date for October Hoya Staff Writer

Facing an unexpected influx of students living on campus, GU has used the campus hotel for extra housing.

receive these online trainings until the fourth week of classes.

The trainings are a part of the HoyUS program, a tiered educational module about interpersonal violence designed for incoming undergraduates and student leaders. The trainings, which students complete asynchronously, seek to educate students about how to build safe, healthy interpersonal relationships, as well as safely navigate alcohol and other substances.

Currently, some first-year students do not know how to report sexual assault on campus, according to first-year student Steven Chung (COL ’25).

“I barely have any insight or any information on where

First time D.C. homeowners encounter structural issues in a Southeast condominium.

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Published Fridays

Taking up Testing

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BLOG

Georgetown must implement mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing to prioritize community health.

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Georgetown athletics is named inaugural recipient of the John Thompson Jr. Award.

Senior Reflections

Returning Hoyas yearn for the campus life of a pre-COVID-19 world.

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OPINION

EDITORIAL

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Reinstate Weekly COVID-19 Testing Over a year after the COVID-19 pandemic rendered in-person learning and communal living unsafe, Georgetown University welcomed undergraduate students back to campus just a few weeks ago. Although the university announced via email that over 95% of students, faculty and staff are now fully vaccinated, infection rates nationwide as well as within Washington, D.C., are rising even within highly vaccinated populations.

Georgetown must increase its testing requirements for all students regardless of vaccination status in order to identify and contain outbreaks on campus and within greater D.C. On Aug. 27, Dr. Ranit Mishori, Georgetown’s interim chief public health officer, announced in an email that the university would implement a new COVID-19 testing protocol, randomly selecting and testing a group of vaccinated individuals each week. This announcement came after the university originally planned to only require an arrival test and forgo a regular testing requirement for vaccinated students. While the new protocols require more testing than the original fall plan, they still relax the testing requirements set by the university during the summer semester, which required students living on campus to get tested once a week.

Testing random samples of students rather than the full student body will undoubtedly lead to more cases going undiagnosed, a misstep that has the potential to put students, faculty and staff at risk.

The Editorial Board urges Georgetown to reimplement mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing for vaccinated individuals to control the spread of the virus on campus.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posed regular testing as a crucial strategy to contain outbreaks of COVID-19 in academic environments. Taking preventative action against the spread of the virus should remain a top priority for the university. Given Georgetown’s densely populated environment, regular testing will help to identify infected individuals and prevent them from spreading the virus to others.

Georgetown athletic teams already require their players to get weekly COVID-19 tests. After the university suspended football practices for a week and cancelled the team’s season opener because of COVID-related concerns, Georgetown updated its testing guidelines to regularly monitor student-athletes weekly for COVID-19.

The regular testing provides assurance for athletes who have to constantly interact with teammates and others, according to baseball player Jack Weeks (COL ’22).

“Knowing you’re going to get tested every week reminds us that COVID is still an issue, and to be careful about following the correct protocol,” Weeks said. “It makes you feel safer at practice knowing that every individual there is healthy to participate.”

Weekly testing would benefit the community by minimizing the chances of infection, especially from more transmissible variants like the Delta strain, which can still be spread among vaccinated individuals.

Regular testing would alleviate a great level of concern for many immunocompromised community members as well as professors who teach in person, according to English professor and disability studies scholar Libbie Rifkin.

“I have common variable immune deficiency (CVID) and because of that, I did not make a robust antibody response to the vaccine. I’m thrilled to be back in the classroom, but I do feel vulnerable.

I have heard from other immunosuppressed and immunocompromised faculty that they are also nervous, which is reasonable in the age of Delta,” Rifkin said in an email to The Hoya.

Georgetown’s current testing system may fail to identify COVID-19 infections early enough to prevent an outbreak. The university, however, believes the random asymptomatic testing is sufficient given the high vaccination rates on campus.

“We have selected to initiate a randomized testing program at this time based on a number of factors, including our very high vaccination rate, the clinical features of infections with the Delta variant, the size of our on-campus population, and the duration of required isolation, among others,” Mishori wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Georgetown’s high vaccination rate will help ensure the safety of the community, but a more robust testing program will protect the well-being of the entire community. Close contact with dozens of people with varying underlying health conditions is inevitable in the dining hall, closely packed classrooms and communal living spaces.

Students also engage with individuals throughout D.C., and the university must recognize that the District’s vaccination rate is significantly lower than that of university members. It is imperative that Georgetown value D.C. residents’ safety in its testing protocol.

Additionally, while the random asymptomatic testing protocol requires fewer resources, the benefit of universal testing outweighs increased testing costs. Both American University and Howard University currently conduct regular weekly testing for all students regardless of vaccination status. It is financially and logistically feasible for Georgetown to do the same.

Mandating weekly testing would provide critical and potentially lifesaving measures against infection. Without it, the university will endanger the health and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff most at risk for serious illness.

“

The D.C. Council must work with underserved populations and public interest advocacy organizations to increase the installation of public restrooms, allowing all District residents convenient and clean access to basic amenities.”

Angela Yu (SFS ’25)

“Install Safe, Usable Public Restrooms in DC” thehoya.com

DEEP DIVE

Bridging the Digital Divide This week, we’re diving into Angela Yu’s latest edition of “District Discourse,” which discusses the digital divide between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of access to technology, with many schools, including Georgetown University, implementing online-only classes. As cases of the delta variant surges across the globe, reliable access to technology for students remains as important as ever.

“District Discourse” puts into perspective the widespread impact of unequal access to technology. In 2020, 60% of families with students in the D.C. public school system reported needing a device for the virtual school year. Nationwide, 15% of students aged 6 to 17 do not have access to highspeed internet. The digital divide has impacted students across grade levels; a recent ACT report

found barriers to accessing technology create greater learning difficulties for first-year college students, especially those who are first-generation or come from low-income backgrounds.

This disparity in basic technology access and its disproportionate impact on low-income students demonstrates an urgent need for more technological resources in schools. By establishing technology distribution programs and partnering with outside organizations, D.C. schools can begin narrowing the digital divide.

Angela’s column reminds us it is a privilege to access the technology-dependent world we live in.

As we kick off another semester amid the ongoing pandemic, it’s more important than ever to remain cognizant of the digital challenges the academic community continues to face.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Dominic Pham

The Hoya’s Editorial Board is composed of six students and is chaired by the Opinion editors. Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.

HOYA HISTORY

GU Faces Time of Crisis as Community September 14, 2001 Averting their eyes from her anguish and trying, wishing, not to hear her cries, students treaded past her and through the Leavey Center foyer. At 10:30 a.m., some went in and others went out, caught in a swell of chaos so absolute that it did not seem like chaos at all.

She just stood there, her blonde hair flapping with every painful shudder, her right hand stabbing the air with a metallic cell phone.

Her anger, for now, she directed at the phone. “I can’t get them. I can’t talk to them,” she cried.

A bookstore employee tried to calm her, but for the next 24 hours there was little real calm on a campus where few people were more than a friend or relative away from someone working in the World Trade Center or the Pentagon.

In other words, if you don’t know someone working at one of those buildings, chances are that you know someone who does.

Indeed, the calamity struck close to home. The thick, gray smoke pouring from the Pentagon was visible from most buildings on campus, the only cloud on an otherwise immaculate late-late summer day.

By 10:15 a.m., the flag on Copley Lawn was at half-staff. The north

tower of the World Trade Center had collapsed. The Pentagon was hit. The campus knew that America was under attack, but did not know if the attack was over. Students huddled in front of every television on campus — from dorm rooms and lounges to the credit union and the career center.

Networks were reporting that at least one plane remained lost.

Networks were reporting that another hijacked plane was minutes away from its intended target: Washington, D.C. Networks were reporting that there were bombs at the White House, the Capitol and the State Department.

Clearer facts would only partly ease tensions. Cell phone signals were dead and phone lines were overloaded in Washington, D.C., and New York. It would be hours before many could connect with their friends and family.

The university responded quickly to the events of the morning.

Most 10:15 a.m. classes were either cancelled or spent watching news reports. University officials cancelled all classes after noon.

In his first letter to the university community after the attacks, University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) called Tuesday a “tragic day

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around the nation.”

“Although we have no reason to be alarmed about threats to Georgetown or our campus community, I write to let you know that we’re taking some immediate steps to address your needs and ensure flexibility,” he wrote.

The Department of Public Safety immediately tightened security.

Officers stationed at every campus entrance checked bags and demanded photo identification from anyone trying to enter campus.

Increased security was visible off campus as well. Military police and their camouflaged, armored vehicles were positioned at most intersections along M Street. Armored cars drove up and down M Street while fighter jets patrolled the skies over the city. Helicopters with gun and missile turrets buzzed past campus along the Potomac River.

On campus, efforts to cope with the attacks’ effects and begin the healing process were underway by 11 a.m. Campus ministries held prayer services throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, with both interfaith services and faith-specific services.

Tim Haggerty

Hoya Staff Writer

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THE HOYA | A3

OPINION FLIPPING TABLES

Change Christian Discourse on Divorce Eric Bazail-Eimil Columnist

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here’s a scene in the series finale of “How I Met Your Mother” I’ve found myself considering a lot lately, in which, spoiler alert, Barney Stinson reflects on the end of his marriage to Robin Scherbatsky. After revealing to his friend group that he and Robin got a divorce, one motivated by mutual dissatisfaction and pressure from constant distance, Barney comforts his friends, telling them, “This wasn’t a failed marriage. This was a successful marriage that just happened to last three years.”

Barney’s instinct to immediately assuage his friends’ worries belies a harmful habit in our society, one in which we envision the love between two people as something to be ultimately evaluated in terms of length and failure. Too often, we ascribe weakness and failure to the ends of relationships, a tendency especially evident when couples begin to pursue divorces. Catholicism even goes as far as to bar divorcees who remarry from receiving Holy Communion, seeing it as not only a failure of both partners but also a mortal sin to have allowed a marriage to end in the absence of abuse or infidelity.

The church, and much of society, gets this entirely wrong. The endings of relationships are far from moments of failure or weakness. In many cases, these endings are testaments to the strength of two people who have recognized the inability of their current relationship to adequately nurture them. These breakups and divorces are not failures of will but powerful moments of growth in which individuals assert their own dignity and affirm their independent self-worth. The church must also come to recognize the benefits of marital and romantic dissolution in certain cases, especially when abuse and infidelity are involved.

Marriage’s sacramental character in so many Christian denominations, including Catholicism, admittedly complicates this conversation.

After all, sacramental marriage is seen as an unbreakable bond between two people, a promise santificied before God. Endorsing the severing of these bonds is a natural point of hesitancy for the church.

Nevertheless, church leaders, and we as a society, have a pastoral and communitarian obligation to care for individuals through romantic dissolutions. Without question, this obligation is one that overrules the degrees of morality or immorality of

a divorce. Although Scripture makes it clear that marriage is a sacrosanct institution, nothing in Scripture commands people to stigmatize and cast judgement upon the brokenhearted. Scripture rather teaches us, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18.

Moreover, when relationships serve as roadblocks to the salvation and redemption of individuals, the church should recognize the positive effects of divorce and dissolution. The same is true when children are caught in the crosshairs of toxic relationships. In these cases, divorces must not be treated as moments of failure but as moments of progress, albeit difficult ones, that deserve pastoral guidance and community support.

This success-versus-failure paradigm has real implications for the ways we look at love and the ways we approach love. The paradigm’s existence disincentivizes the formation of healthy relationships and partnerships. Psychologists and therapists have identified the fear of failure in relationships, rooted in the way we talk about relationships and their ends, as a main reason why individuals remain in toxic and unfulfilling relationships.

But the biggest danger of approaching relationships solely through the lens of success and failure is that such narrow-minded dissection misses the good that can come from all relationships, even those destined to end.

At the close of his poem, “A Pity, We Were Such a Good Invention,” the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, reflecting on the collapse of a marriage, remarks that, “We were such a good / And loving invention. / An aeroplane made from a man and wife. / Wings and everything. / We hovered a little above the earth. / We even flew a little.”

Amichai’s poem, and Barney’s reflections on his marriage, ought to remind us that even when relationships end, one cannot entirely erase the joys that existed in them. By the same token, one can never entirely forget the love that served as the cornerstone of these bonds. Even in the face of a relationship ending, those moments of happiness are nothing short of lasting successes, ones which potentially transformed partners for the better in providing new opportunities for self-discovery and fulfillment. Our church, and our society, must change our discourse to better encompass this more positive reality and in turn uplift those going through some of the most difficult and painful decisions of their lives.

Eric Bazail-Eimil is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

Flipping Tables is published every other week.

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QUEERA PERSONALIS

Take Inspiration From Georgetown’s Queer History Matthew Failor Columnist

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ourteen years ago this October, the president of Georgetown University, John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95), addressed a packed Intercultural Center auditorium and publicly gave in: Georgetown would become the first Catholic college in the country to have a LGBTQ Resource Center, a space devoted to supporting Queer students and preventing anti-LGBTQ violence.

DeGioia’s announcement was the result of a monthslong campaign by Queer students and allies under the leadership of groups like GU Pride after a homophobic hate crime took place on campus. The campaign included rallies, petitions, protests and even a parody of Britney Spears’ “...Baby One More Time” that shamed Georgetown’s administration for its inaction. The ultimately successful campaign is only one example of Georgetown’s decadeslong history of Queer activism. As Queer students and activists, we should look back on this tradition to inspire and inform an intersectional and engaged approach to activism, recognizing the diverse

VIEWPOINT • KHAN, RASSIEUR, WAKILZADA

Support Afghan Community CW: This article references violence in Afghanistan. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

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n Aug. 21, four Georgetown University Student Association senators released the Statement of Solidarity and Call to Action to Support the People of Afghanistan. Georgetown community members must support Afghans — especially women, ethnic minorities, children and those that identify as LGBTQ — who are most impacted by the Taliban’s onslaught of violence and danger. Since August, much has changed, but the basic facts remain true: The Taliban’s promises to afford women some rights prove empty, and its cruel system of punishment for sodomy and fornication led LGBTQ Afghans to brutalization or public execution.

We cannot ignore the impact of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after a 20-year military occupation. Aug. 30 marked a full U.S. withdrawal of troops — an exit that was conducted hastily and with little regard for the U.S. workers and Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas who were left behind. Many Afghans who requested evacuation and immigration assistance are receiving little to no support from the United States, while the Taliban continues to terrorize innocent civilians through suicide attacks after claiming victory and establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Georgetown’s curriculum must give students a well-rounded perspective on the conflict by emphasizing the role the United States has played historically and in the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The university should also consider offering Afghan students,

and especially Afghan women, visas to attend its main campus and Georgetown University in Qatar. Sponsoring Afghan scholars is a core example of Georgetown’s value of cura personalis.

Georgetown has many other ways to support the Afghan community, including hiring Afghan faculty and centering Afghan identities in public discourse by featuring their voices in events, publications and media.

By doing so, Georgetown can create a safer environment for Afghan students and community members and reaffirm that they are deserving of respect and safety. Further, professors and deans must be more flexible with their Afghan students. Many are trying to save their loved ones or mourning the loss of their beloved country and family members.

Some members of the Georgetown community have taken substantial steps to show solidarity with the Afghan people. Students like Tara Nouri (SFS ’22), a member of the refugee awareness campaign No Lost Generation Georgetown, have been soliciting donations of clothing and school and household supplies on campus. Zahra Wakilzada (SFS ’23), an Afghan refugee, has partnered with different charities helping Afghanistan’s displaced population and fundraised to cover the costs of evacuating her activist family members in Afghanistan.

We implore members of the Georgetown community to show their support for Afghanistan in any way they can, whether by donating to the supply drive on campus — taking donations through bins in ICC 301 and the lobbies of Ida Ryan & Isaac Hawkins Hall and Village C West — helping Afghan student initiatives or contributing to refugee organizations

outside of Georgetown. For those who are able to contribute monetary donations, many organizations currently provide frontline aid to Afghans in need, including a campaign on Spot Fund, which helps Afghan activists evacuate the country; the International Rescue Committee, providing lifesaving aid to areas of conflict; Afghanaid, providing support for families who have lost their homes and livelihoods; Afghan Women and Children Health and Education Foundation, protecting women and children in Afghanistan; and GoFundMe projects such as Children Without Borders and Watan Project’s Urgent Crisis Relief fundraiser. There are also many opportunities to help Afghan refugees in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, including through organizations like Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, which plans to assist in the resettlement of 800 individuals in two months, or by participating in protests and urging your representatives to welcome more refugees from Afghanistan.

We encourage members of the Georgetown community to take action in any way possible in these times of crisis.

Resources: On-campus resources include Health Education Services (202-6878949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Service (202-687-7080); additional offcampus resources include the District of Columbia Office of Refugee Resettlement (202-698-4316).

Nirvana Khan is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

Leo Rassieur is a senior in the School of Foreign Service.

Zahra Wakilzada is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

challenges facing our community on campus today.

The challenges facing our campus go beyond our issues, and the progress we’ve made over the last forty years has privileged some groups over others, those groups being overwhelmingly white and cisgender. The challenge for Georgetown students, and especially white and cisgender students, is to keep up this activist spirit and show up for other communities.

The effort to establish the LGBTQ Center, known as the Out For Change campaign, was itself a continuation of a fight that started decades before. In 1980, two newly founded student organizations – Gay People of Georgetown University and Gay Rights Coalition of Georgetown University Law Center – sought to represent the Queer community on campus but faced adversity from the university after then-president Fr. Timothy S. Healy, S.J., personally denied the groups recognition and access to university benefits, setting off a protracted legal battle.

Throughout this process, Georgetown played dirty, publicly shaming student activists while privately threatening them. Nevertheless, the students wouldn’t give in. It affirmed the clubs’ existence and owned their space despite massive public pressure. Eventually, after an almost-decadelong legal struggle that nearly went to the Supreme Court, the courts

sided with students, Georgetown conceded, and Queer-affiliated student groups were allowed to exist at Georgetown, whether the administration liked it or not.

The legacy of activists from this era inspired the Out For Change campaign. Students knew the university was not doing enough for its students and they weren’t afraid to make their voices heard.

Their activism and eventual success directly led to the LGBTQ Resource Center, where many Queer students have gone to be heard and accepted.

These students include me. Like many Queer students, my first year of college was the first time I was able to own and fully accept my Queer identity, and it was spaces like the center and GU Pride that made stepping into my identity possible. For other students, the center was a place to work and congregate, a source of support in times of need or a necessary ally in battles against Georgetown’s often-dismissive administration.

These benefits come directly from the action of the generations of Queer students before us.

Our community couldn’t be silenced in the 1980s during the fight to establish Queer student groups, in the 2000s during the fight to create the LGBTQ Resource Center or anywhere in between. We have always been here, always been Queer and always been willing to fight for our space. It’s easy to ignore the work

of the giants who came before us, as many in our community feel safe and accepted. Yet our fight has just begun.

Just because we have a LGBTQ Center doesn’t mean the center will be fully funded and staffed. Just because student organizations exist doesn’t mean they’re effective and dedicated advocates for the whole community. Just because some people feel accepted at Georgetown doesn’t mean we can assume that’s a universal experience.

Queer students of color as well as trans and nonbinary students face unique and intersectional challenges at Georgetown that won’t go away without dedicated activism driven by current students. Additionally, campus activism doesn’t begin and end with Queer issues, even for Queer students. This means Queer students need to show up for other marginalized groups.

Don’t rest on our laurels. Queer students have pulled this university forward on our issues over the last 40 years, and, indeed, we have made incredible progress.

Yet, our work remains unfinished. Learn from our elders — stand up and don’t shut up until every member of our campus community feels safe, affirmed and loved.

Matthew Failor is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

Queera Personalis is published every other week.

DISTRICT DISCOURSE

Expand Student Technology Access Angela Yu

Columnist

A

s the COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter our online experience, accessing the digital world has become increasingly vital. Though many in the Georgetown University community take their online presence for granted, for students in Washington, D.C. public schools, the reliance on home technology has heightened the severity of an existing problem: lack of basic technology access among lowincome households. Students who are unable to enroll in school online or attend virtual lessons will inevitably fall behind on their education.

Although D.C. public schools are scheduled to return to in-person learning in fall 2021, online learning will remain an important resource due to its flexibility and convenience.

Closing the digital divide will give all students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, the ability to enrich their education with online resources. In order to ensure its students have equitable access to technology, the D.C. Public Schools must provide an adequate supply of technological devices and accessible instructions to students and parents.

Under Mayor Muriel Bowser, the city has taken steps to provide free internet access. The Internet for All Initiative, a $3.3 million project aimed at providing internet to 25,000 lowincome students, was launched in September 2020 as a response to the virtual school year.

Despite the program’s efforts, however, schools have been unable to keep up with the overwhelming demand for additional devices. In a 2020 DCPS survey, 60% of families reported needing a device for the upcoming school year. Those who were unable to obtain one from their school turned to local organizations for donations with varying success.

By depriving a group of students of technological tools, schools create an impossible learning environment for students without digital access.

In addition to impacting students, online learning can create a barrier in communication between schools and families. Many schools struggled to distribute critical information about enrollment forms and learning platforms due to families’ frequently changing addresses and phone numbers. As a result, enrollment numbers substantially decreased and school officials resorted to knocking on doors to help parents enroll. Communication difficulties were even more prominent with immigrant families, many of whom were completely unfamiliar with navigating school websites. This lack of parental engagement with digital learning translated into an even lower attendance rate among those most impacted by the pandemic: a Washington Teachers’ Union survey reported that 58% of teachers said their students were “regularly logging in” less than half of the time.

The need for widespread internet access and digital proficiency can be applied to future digital learning environments, which will only become more common. While schools have hosted webinars to help parents and students navigate the necessary sites for online learning, they are ill-equipped to provide

continuous support to their large student bodies. Thus, outside organizations such as local nonprofits remain vital players in the effort to universalize digital access.

One example of a successful community partnership is a program initiated by the Philadelphia’s Digital Literacy Alliance, which granted $90,000 to three organizations in order to hire “digital navigators,” a position designed to assist Philadelphia residents with technological issues through phone or email.

A multitude of existing D.C. organizations are also dedicated to equipping families with technological tools. Three prominent local groups, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Education Forward D.C. and the D.C. Public Education Fund, formed the D.C. Education Equity Fund to support D.C. public schools in distributing hotspots and devices. These organizations have already built a relationship with the community; the next step is to equip them with the funds to provide digital literacy training and support to D.C. residents.

Ultimately, a sustainable solution requires the creation of resources that continue beyond the pandemic. The Internet for All Initiative, for example, has helped thousands of families, but with only one year of guaranteed internet, its beneficiaries are left wondering when their access will be cut.

Closing the digital divide requires the continuous effort of schools, families and advocacy organizations to support every student in pursuing a highquality education.

Angela Yu is a first-year in the School of Foreign Service.

District Discourse is published every other week.

A4 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

FEATURES

COVID-19, Dining, Facilities Issues Hamper Return to Campus With long wait times for food and facilities work orders, as well as unclear COVID-19 policies, the return to campus has fallen short of student expectations.

ILLUSTRATION BY: DOMINIC PHAM/THE HOYA

Students face long lines while waiting for food at Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall.

Complications regarding COVID-19 protocols, dining services and facilities have arisen since the return to campus.

Kendel Barber Hoya Staff Writer

H

eading into Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall shortly after move-in, Isabel Janovsky (COL ’23) stepped into the building only to immediately walk back out.

The long line of people, some of whom were maskless, seemed like a health risk.

“It’s too many people. I’m from New York City; I’m used to seeing a lot of people, but to have to wait in line for that long and then to be around people who are not wearing masks is overwhelming,” Janovsky said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

Because of these logistical and safety concerns, Janovsky has returned to Leo’s only a couple times in the past weeks.

She is still on a meal plan but has instead opted to buy her own groceries and cook in her dorm’s common room kitchen.

Janovsky’s experience represents one of the many challenges students are facing during the transition back to campus for the fall 2021 semester. As the Georgetown University community shifts back to a residential college experience, the university has grappled with logistical challenges ranging from COVID-19 protocol concerns to unresolved facilities issues.

After months of primarily connecting to the commu-

nity through a screen, some students say the return to the Hilltop has not measured up to their expectations.

COVID-19 Protocol Challenges

In July 2021, the university announced a list of COVID-19 policies meant to facilitate a safe return to in-person instruction that preserved a sense of normalcy. Despite these policies, sporadic positive COVID-19 cases continue to disrupt the Georgetown community.

Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4, 24 students in the Georgetown community tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently had to quarantine for at least 10 days.

Janovsky told The Hoya she is dissatisfied with the current implementation of university safety protocols, especially in Leo’s.

“I think one of the least safe places on campus is Leo’s, and part of that I think comes from requiring everyone to be on the meal plan, because then everyone has to be there,” Janovsky said.

The university has implemented various safety measures at the dining hall to mitigate this risk, according to a university spokesperson, including adding hand sanitizer stations and single-use plateware and silverware, eliminating selfservice and increasing cleaning and sanitation protocols.

“The safety of the Georgetown community is our top priority,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “As was in place throughout the pandemic, dining services are set up with public health in mind, with enhanced health and sanitation standards.”

The lack of flexible modes of instruction is another source of COVID-19 protocol confusion.

Currently, administration guidelines only require that classes are in person unless otherwise approved by the university. University policy on absences due to COVID-19-related isolation or quarantine are handled the same way as students missing class for any illness. Faculty members are prepared, but not required, to provide alternate course materials to absent students, according to a university spokesperson.

“Faculty are not required to provide synchronous remote learning options for students missing class because of illness,” the spokesperson wrote. “Students must contact both their academic advisor, program director or course director, and each individual faculty member when placed in isolation or quarantine to determine next steps for each particular course.”

Ewan Wilson (SFS ’25), who was quarantining during the first three days of classes, fell behind in some of his five courses be-

cause he could not attend all of his courses remotely.

“I was able to go to the two online ones, and then a professor also did some virtual office hours with me to catch me up on what I missed,” Wilson said in an interview with The Hoya. “But with the others, I couldn’t because there were no virtual options. I fell quite behind in those classes.”

Since different classes have different needs, a one-size-fits-all policy for hybrid options is not practical, according to Ellen Carlin, an assistant research professor at Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security. However, Carlin said the university can place more responsibility on faculty to reach out and provide academic resources to quarantining students.

“I do think that there’s an expectation that the faculty figure out a plan, a way to make sure that any COVID-positive students don’t get behind,” Carlin said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

Despite these issues, Carlin said the university has made an admirable effort and generally succeeded in implementing COVID-19 protocols this fall semester.

“It’s virtually unprecedented.

Universities have never had to deal with something like this, and I think over the last year they’ve really put a lot of thought into what needs to happen to keep staff and students safe,” Carlin said.

Dining Dilemmas

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

There have been reports of mold, among other issues, in the LXR dormitory and other residential buildings. Students report responses to address these issues have not been timely.

Students have also highlighted displeasure with dining services — not just in terms of COVID-19 concerns but also regarding the inconvenience associated with long wait times.

According to Georgetown University Student Association Chief of Staff Thomas Leonard (COL ’23), one of the main differences between this year and the 201920 academic year is juniors and seniors living in on-campus housing are now mandated to be on a meal plan, even when living with a kitchen. In previous years, only first-years and sophomores were required to be on a meal plan, meaning Georgetown’s dining services this year are serving a significantly larger number of students.

Wait times to get food sometimes exceed 30 minutes during busy hours, according to Bella Fassett (SFS ’24).

“The lines are ridiculous but to be expected with everyone being mandated to be on a meal plan now,” Fassett said in an interview with The Hoya. “And it’s too busy. It’s very hard to find a table at peak hours.”

To address these dining service issues, the university says it has installed new GOCard readers in high-traffic locations, such as the

buffet at downstairs Leo’s, and added additional support staff, according to a spokesperson for Hoya Hospitality, the dining service on campus.

“We have been taking action daily since the beginning of this semester to address the lines,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

But with few options for oncampus dining, students must either brave the long lines or buy food elsewhere on top of the meal plan’s price, which can cost from $1,614 to $3,560 per semester. Merritt Ann Glass (COL ’23) has opted to cook her own meals in response to these dining service issues.

“I actually haven’t been to Leo’s too much, just because every time I go, the lines are so long that I’ve resorted to just paying even more money to get groceries and cook in my apartment,” Glass said in an interview with The Hoya.

In an Aug. 27 meeting with university administrators regarding dining service issues, GUSA learned that the overcrowding of students is compounded by other pandemic-related factors, according to Leonard.

“Administration said that two of the causes are that there is a supply chain shortage, but also a shortage of workers,” Leonard said.

But the university should not be shocked by this outcome, according to Leonard, who said the university’s disheartening absence of preparation when it comes to dining services relates to other issues on campus as well.

“There is an obvious lack of preparation and implementation of systems that could streamline the dining hall services,” Leonard said.

Worries With Work Orders

Since returning to campus this fall, students have reported unsatisfactory experiences with facilities and residential living, including those published on @ georgetown.hotmess, an Instagram account featuring Georgetown facilities in disarray.

Evan Navori (SFS ’23) said there has been a noticeable delay for facilities to fulfill work orders since students returned to campus. As a resident assistant in LXR, Navori is responsible for filing work orders related to facility concerns and student emergencies on his floor.

Of the nine work orders he has filed since the beginning of school, ranging from mattresses littering the hallway to floor residents with broken air conditioning and black mold, only four have been responded to and fully resolved, according to Navori.

Due to the delays, important work orders that concern safety

hazards have been left unaddressed for weeks. After discovering black mold in the common room, it took nearly three weeks after filing a work order before the issue was dealt with, according to Navori.

“I thought it was like a Jackson Pollock painting. But it was black mold,” Navori said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “I was about four days away from calling D.C. public health and reporting the black mold situation if action would not have been taken by Georgetown.”

Erin DuCharme (COL ’23) shared Navori’s frustration at the university not responding to safety issues in a timely manner after the Office of Residential Living misplaced her loaner key. She went without a key for two days and without hearing from the office, meaning she could not lock her door.

“That obviously leads to a lot of safety issues from people being able to come into my, out of my room, without my knowledge,” DuCharme said in an interview with The Hoya. “I’m disappointed in their lack of organization or lack of communication.”

According to a university spokesperson, the university renovated some residential buildings while most students were away from campus last year. However, the university acknowledges an uptick of additional maintenance issues as students return to campus, the university spokesperson said.

“In part due to the significant rainfall the D.C. area has received over the past six weeks, mildew and mold have persisted in some campus locations,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“Georgetown has initiated steps to respond to all current reported cases and prevent mildew and mold moving forward.”

Despite many of the new building renovations, GUSA continues to receive multiple reports of students having to evacuate their rooms because of flooding, leaking roofs and mold, according to Leonard. Upon his return to campus, Leonard himself encountered sewage flooding in his Village B apartment and had to stay in a hotel.

“It’s extremely concerning because you are getting these renovations done and yet these issues are still occurring,” Leonard said.

While students are appreciative of the university’s efforts to reopen campus amid unprecedented challenges, some remain disappointed that the university was not more prepared to welcome them.

“Transitioning to in-person has been tough for many students. I feel like we have all been thrown into the deep end, and I think they could have done a better job,” DuCharme said.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

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Inside Look at the MLK Library

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya

VERBATIM

INSIDE THE ISSUE

I think with anything, cultural change is difficult to achieve.” @DCPL/TWITTER

After a three-and-a-half-year, $211 million renovation, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library will celebrate the one year anniversary of its reopening and the launch of the final exhibit included in the renovation Sept. 25.

Lisa Kurtz, ABLE Director on GULC’s police bystander training. Story on A7.

Roya Rahmani, former Afghanistan ambassador to the U.S., spoke to students and faculty at GU. Story on A7.

In-Person Homecoming Celebrations GU To Launch Grad Student Canceled for 2nd Straight Year Housing Initiative in Downtown DC Jemima Denham and Caitlin McLean Hoya Staff Writers

Despite anticipation of an inperson homecoming weekend following virtual events last year, Georgetown University announced it would cancel celebrations because of concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

University administrators made the decision to cancel the annual celebration after Georgetown Vice President and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ranit Mishori (MED ’02) recommended all on-campus events limit size to mitigate any possible exposure to COVID-19. Typical celebrations often featured throngs of students congregating on the Village A rooftops, in addition to other graduate-related events, like distinguished graduate panels.

Administrators were principally concerned with COVID-19 safety protocols when making decisions around the event, according to an email to students announcing the cancellation of the event.

“In support of these guidelines and out of an abundance of caution, we have made the difficult decision to forego Homecoming Weekend this fall. Please know we remain committed to engaging and celebrating you and our alumni,” the email reads.

While Elle Santry (COL ’21) understands the decision to cancel the event, she will still miss the opportunity to reunite with friends from her time at Georgetown.

“I understand that they don’t want COVID being spread

to the campus but I feel like Georgetown keeps deciding to cancel instead of making any effort to make something work for us,” Santry wrote in a text message to The Hoya. “I was really looking forward to seeing all my friends who had graduated and finally being able to celebrate my time on campus in person after being online for a whole year.”

While the move is disappointing for current students, the cancellation is especially frustrating for seniors who graduated last year, according to David Guttierez (SFS ’22).

“Even outside of my class, the people that have graduated, they’re extremely frustrated with this too,” Gutierrez said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “They just graduated, they spent a year and a half in limbo, and they’re being told their first year out, ‘You don’t even get a graduation, you can’t even come back to campus to enjoy the one event that’s designed to bring you back to campus.”

The move to cancel the 2021 celebrations marks the second year in a row that the annual festivities have been impacted by COVID-19. The 2020 homecoming celebrations were held from Oct. 22 to Oct. 25 and featured an all-virtual lineup of events.

The typical scale of homecoming and the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic would have made it difficult to safely hold in-person events for seniors, according to Daniella Sanchez (COL ’22), a board member of the Senior Class Committee, which plans social events for the senior class, including programming during

homecoming.

“We really try our best to make sure that all events we put on and anything we advertise is accessible, the most way possible, and that includes following COVID-related protocols,” Sanchez said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “So honestly, it would have been very difficult for us to execute any safe senior events anyway for homecoming given the scale and the amount of people traveling.”

In place of the in-person celebrations, the university will offer online graduate engagement events throughout the year, according to the email announcement.

Despite the precautions, however, many students will probably still return to the D.C. area to celebrate homecoming, according to Gutierrez.

“I think it’s a poor decision because when you think about it, people are going to be coming back to campus no matter what, regardless of whether or not the university is hosting any event,” Gutierrez said. “But by them not hosting any event on campus, you’re just pushing people to go out into the district, and it’s literally a public safety and public health concern.”

Although seniors won’t get the homecoming experience they were expecting, the alternatives offered by the university and the SCC will still provide a memorable experience, according to Sanchez.

“Hopefully even though homecoming won’t necessarily happen in the normal way, hopefully, the extended orientation events would help ease that gap in the senior experience,” Sanchez said.

Jemima Denham and Claire Stowe Hoya Staff Writers

Georgetown University will pilot a graduate student housing initiative fall 2022 following years of high housing costs through Washington, D.C., and calls from student leaders for university-sponsored housing.

Currently, the School of Continuing Studies offers an online platform through the Office of Neighborhood Life to direct graduate students to off-campus housing, as well as a housing fair that allows students to tour local apartment communities. The School of Medicine requires students to find offcampus housing on their own, while the Georgetown University Law Center offers on-campus housing for incoming law students.

The Georgetown University Graduate Student Government believes affordable student housing in D.C. is a necessity and has called on the university to offer additional housing to graduate students, according to GradGov Chief of Staff Henry Watson (GRD ’24).

“Not only is housing in D.C. expensive, it can also be a real challenge to find appropriate housing and connect with roommates, especially for international students,” Watson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“University-sponsored housing would greatly reduce these difficulties.”

In 2019, the university approved funding for a residential building at 55 H St., near both the Georgetown University Law Center and the School

of Continuing Studies. The building will accommodate 476 undergraduate and graduate students and offer students a closer location to many D.C. neighborhoods, including Capitol Hill. The building’s construction is expected to finish February 2022, in time for use during the 2022-23 academic year.

While the new residence will provide students access to more neighborhoods in D.C., the building is almost five miles from Georgetown’s main campus, so without university-provided metro passes for Georgetown students, it could cause accessibility difficulties for students, according to Watson.

“Of course, a new downtown housing option does raise some transportation questions, and increases the impetus for a Georgetown U-Pass, another GradGov priority,” Watson wrote.

University housing is often very expensive and can create tensions between the university and students, so the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees does not support the university-sponsored graduate housing initiative, according to Jewel Tomasula (GRD ’22), chair of the GAGE Bargaining/ Research Committee and Jeffrey Tsoi (LAW ’23, GRD ’26), GAGE’s secretary.

“We can see from other urban universities that universityowned grad student housing is very expensive and creates the exploitative relationship where our employer is also our landlord,” Tomasula and Tsoi wrote. “Providing housing is a way for universities to get back

the money they pay student workers.”

The housing initiative could also contribute to gentrification in D.C., according to Tomasula and Tsoi.

“For Georgetown-provided grad student housing to be an equitable and positive addition to the D.C. community, the project would need to center grad students with financial need and offer rent well below the current D.C. average,” Tomasula and Tsoi wrote.

Administrators plan to release specific information regarding university housing to current and prospective students in the coming months, according to a university spokesperson.

“Georgetown plans to offer some apartment-style graduate housing in downtown DC next Fall,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This space is expected to shift over time and may serve different audiences in the coming years.”

Instead of funding housing, Tomasula and Tsoi hope the university will direct funding towards increasing Ph.D. stipends and hourly wages for master’s students.

“During our 2020 contract campaign, we brought attention to how the majority of Georgetown grad student workers are rent burdened, and the majority spent over 50% of their pay on housing costs,” Tomasula and Tsoi wrote. “Our union membership has prioritized fighting for higher PhD stipends and hourly wages for Masters student workers, instead of Georgetown-owned grad student housing.”

Structural Issues Cause Ward 8 Housing Evacuations Paige Kupas Hoya Staff Writer

First-time homeowners in a Southeast Washington, D.C. condominium are being told to evacuate their residences after developers and city officials ignored structural problems with the building.

Homeowners at the River East at Grandview Condominiums on Talbert Street were first advised to evacuate the building Aug. 16 after residents hired an outside engineer to assess structural issues that residents claim to have persisted since the building’s erection in 2017.

Despite the evacuation notice, several residents have remained in the building. However, before the evacuations, nine residents filed a lawsuit against the building developers.

Stanton View Development LLC, the condominium developer, constructed the building as part of the Home Purchase Assistance Program, a city initiative that assists with loans, down payments and closing costs so people with low and moderate incomes can become homeowners. Stanton View Development LLC filed for bankruptcy in March of this year.

Soon after buying her condominium in 2017, Robin McKinney, a resident of the building who sits on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8A, began to notice that walls were cracking, the air conditioning unit was not functioning and her door was shifting in its frame. Other

residents noticed similar problems with the housing units.

The issues were unsettling given that the building was only a few years old, according to McKinney.

“I would respect it more if I was there 20 or 25 years and the issues started happening,” McKinney said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “It’s not even five years in, and I’m out of my dream home that I purchased.”

The developers were able to take advantage of the situation and let the dangerous structural issues go unchecked because both Ward 8 and the residents of the Talbert Street building are predominantly Black and low income, according to May. “Had the population living in the building looked differently — had they not been Black folk — we wouldn’t have gotten this far,” May said.

Many residents contacted the developers for assistance with the structural issues soon after they moved in; however, none of the concerns were taken seriously, according to LaRuby May, one of the lawyers representing the group of residents in the Talbert Street lawsuit.

“The developers were kind of brushing them off and saying, ‘Hey, this is normal settlement. You’ve never been a homeowner, so you don’t understand that in every new home and new construction there’s settlement,’” May said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“They discounted the repeated re-

quest of the residents to address the core issues.”

City officials did not adequately ensure that the condominium was of a livable quality and did nothing to address the residents’ concerns, according to Je Yon Jung, the lead attorney on the Talbert Street case.

“They should have done a better job at making sure what they were building in Ward 8 was sufficient

“I would respect it more if I was there 20 or 25 years and the issues started happening. It’s not even five years in, and I’m out of my dream home.”

Robin McKinney ANC Commissioner and resident

for habitability and for the health and safety of the people they were putting in there,” Jung said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“They didn’t do that.”

In response to the evacuations, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) launched the Talbert Street Task Force through the D.C. Department

of Housing and Community Development to help affected residents.

The task force helps residents address issues they may be facing because of the evacuation of the building, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

“The multi agency task force is helping the homeowners navigate their insurance claims, to alleviate loan obligations to the District while preserving their ability to access first time homebuyer programs, and to address relocation needs,” the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The Talbert Street Task Force does not do enough to help the residents of the building, who still have payments to make even though their homes are not safe to live in, according to Jung.

“These women still have to pay mortgages, they still have to pay their insurance and they have no place to live,” Jung said. “The task force has not come to resolve that.”

While McKinney waits for the lawsuit to proceed, she remains appalled by the lack of support and extreme impacts that she has felt because of the issues with the building.

“No matter where I go, what ends up happening is that I have to pay my mortgage, because I don’t want my credit to get messed up,” McKinney said. “I’ve worked too hard for it.”

QUALITY 1 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

First-time homebuyers were advised to evacuate their residences Aug. 16 after structural issues were ignored for several years.

A6 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

NEWS

Multiple Georgetown Students, Neighborhood Passersby Egged

Lack of Sexual Assault Prevention, Alcohol Safety Trainings Worries Community TRAININGS, from A1 who organized orientation programming for incoming students, alcohol safety training is also imperative to first-years’ safety.

“Especially this year knowing the dangers of alcohol is critical because many students have been cooped up and unable to go out and test their limits.

Many students experience alcohol for the first time in college so they may not know that it needs to be used with care,” Evans wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Resident Assistant Lily Rubinstein (COL ’22) said the university should provide students with the proper sexual assault reporting training prior to beginning classes.

“They’re morally and ethically obligated to teach students so that they know, whether it’s for themselves or a friend,”

Rubinstein said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “Those are really important things to know when you get on campus, and it’s something that I’m really glad that I know so well and have been able to learn from other people.”

Due to the virtual 2020-21 academic year, all first-years, sophomores and transfer students — who had not yet experienced an in-person semester — will also be required to complete in-person bystander training. In the past, only first-years and transfers were required to attend. The university will host bystander trainings this semester, though the university has not set an exact date, according to a university spokesperson.

Sara Collina, professor of women’s and gender studies and Title IX expert, said these trainings should take place at the beginning of each semester.

“I think that the very first week of school would be the ideal time or in the context of orientation,” Collina said in an interview with The Hoya.

The fall 2021 New Student Orientation occured in-person from Aug. 19 to 24. The schedule listed panels about racial justice, Jesuit values and health and wellness, but no events were explicitly devoted to sexual assault prevention or alcohol safety training.

The sexual assault and alcohol safety trainings are important tools to help keep students safe and to help students support their peers, according to Rubinstein.

“It’s super important that students are receiving that training to not only keep themselves safe, but part of bystander training was learning how to be a pro social bystander and support your peers — your friends,” Rubinstein said.

GEORGETOWN DC/FACEBOOK

Since June, The Hoya has verified at least six separate egging incidents in the Georgetown neighborhood. Both students and community members have been victims.

EGGINGS, from A1 “If I was picking a way to get egged, I think I’d rather see the person who egged me, to look him in the eyes,” Smallman said.

A few minutes after Smallman was egged, Ben Finkelstein, a senior at Georgetown Day School, was also egged about four blocks up Wisconsin Avenue from Foxtrot.

“It was just a wow-I-reallyjust-got-egged type of moment,” Finkelstein said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

On top of the Georgetown University students, Adam Veldman (SFS ’22), a host at the restaurant Clyde’s, reported to The Hoya that at least two people have also gotten egged on two separate occasions near the restaurant since the beginning of the fall semester.

Some Georgetown students have taken it upon themselves to identify the perpetrator.

Jane MacRae (MSB ’23), a friend of Smallman’s, helped organize a stakeout at Foxtrot Market the night of Sept. 9 in hopes of identifying the perpetrator. Six Georgetown stu-

dents, including Smallman and Macrae, attended.

Although some students have found the situation comical, egging can have severe consequences. In some cases, egging has seriously injured people, including leaving some egging

“Whatever their intent is, the effect is clear. It makes people feel unsafe. It makes people feel on edge.”

KISHAN PUTTA ANC 2E Commissioner

victims blinded. Bacteria in raw eggs, like salmonella, also presents the risk of illness. At minimum, perpetrators who egg other people can be charged with simple assault, according to Brianna Burch, a public affairs specialist at the Metropolitan Police Department.

Cities only thrive when there

is basic respect for each other, according to Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E Commissioner Kishan Putta.

“Whatever their intent is, the effect is clear,” Putta said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“It makes people feel unsafe.

It makes people feel on edge, which is exactly what we do not need during a pandemic.”

Students in the neighborhood should take safety precautions, including avoiding walking alone at night and requesting a SafeRides safety shuttle; the university is also in contact with the Metropolitan Police Department, a university spokesperson told The Hoya.

“We take these reports very seriously and urge any member of the Georgetown community who has been the victim of this, or any other criminal act, to report them to GUPD or reach out to the Metropolitan Police Department,” the university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Smallman hopes to find the perpetrator quickly.

“This isn’t an isolated event.

We need to do something,” Smallman said.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Incoming students are typically required to complete AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention trainings online prior to arriving on Georgetown’s campus for their first semester.

Popular Restaurant, Bar The Tombs Set To Reopen After Over Yearlong Shutter TOMBS, from A1 the tradition, according to Coyne.

Traditions like Tombs Nights help instill a sense of community among Georgetown students, according to Alejandro Kineen (SFS ’20), a former waiter and waitstaff trainer at The

Tombs. Kineen plans to return as a customer once the restaurant reopens.

“Everyone you know is always going to be there. It’s just a nice end spot, either for dinner on a Tuesday night or a last hurrah on a Saturday,” Kineen said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“That made it a nice vibe be-

cause you had friends waiting on you as well.”

As part of the reopening, The Tombs has worked to update the customer experience, including changing the menu to add new offerings. The Tombs hopes to keep many other student traditions, including the 100 Day Challenge, where stu-

dents can sign their name on the wall of the bar after going to the restaurant for 100 days straight, once the restaurant reopens, according to Moran.

Knowing many of these traditions are going to return, some graduates plan to go back to The Tombs to reminisce about memories from their time

at Georgetown, according to Kineen.

“I think we all plan to go back,” Kineen said. “The first few weekends, there will probably be a lot of washed-up oneand two-year seniors revisiting like old times.”

As excitement builds for The Tombs’ reopening, the top pri-

ority for the restaurant remains to open in a safe yet efficient manner, according to Moran.

“We simply want to get the doors open as soon as possible so the students, faculty and neighbors of Georgetown can once again have The Tombs be part of their college experience,” Moran wrote.

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Many Georgetown students and graduates have expressed excitement over the ability to participate in typical community traditions at The Tombs, like getting stamped on the forehead to celebrate a 21st birthday or being able to complete the 100 Days Tombs challenge, after which students get to write their name on the restaurant’s wall.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

GERMS Slashes Operating Hours, Will Not Take New Members for Fall Giulia Testa

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service will only operate on weekend nights and will not accept new members for the fall 2021 semester because of various complications related to COVID-19.

The on-campus volunteer, studentrun emergency medical service announced Aug. 21 that it will only operate from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, instead of its usual 24-hour service. Additionally, GERMS announced in a separate post that it is not hiring new members during the fall 2021 semester.

Both changes result from a lack of training for current members during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Ashley Rensted (COL ’22), GERMS’ vice president of staff.

“GERMS’s structure is dependent on having members who are qualified to serve as drivers and crew leaders, and both of these positions require comprehensive internal training processes,” Rensted wrote in an email to The Hoya.

GERMS responds to student illnesses, injuries and intoxication as well as medical issues for any com-

munity members in the surrounding West Georgetown, Burleith and Foxhall neighborhoods.

Training for members includes a combination of review sessions and realistic simulations to ensure members know how to respond to a variety of situations, according to Rensted.

Current GERMS members continued their required education to maintain standing as certified EMTs throughout the pandemic, even while GERMS was out of service.

“Attending these training sessions is mandatory for our members to maintain good standing in the organization, and continuing education as a whole is an integral part of GERMS as an institution,” Rensted wrote.

Although GERMS did not operate between March 2020 and June 2021 because of the pandemic, it hired 11 new members during the pandemic who will begin full-time service after completing training this fall. The addition of these members adds to GERMS’ inability to accept new members this fall, according to Rensted.

Because of the decrease in service hours, students who call GERMS outside of its operating hours will auto-

matically be forwarded to the Georgetown University Police Department.

GUPD will then dispatch D.C. Fire and EMS services, according to Faith Kean (COL ’22), a current member of GERMS. While GERMS has fewer operating hours, students will still have access to FEMS and GUPD in case of emergencies, according to a university spokesperson.

“We expect GERMS to be able to recover to pre-pandemic staffing levels and regular service as soon as training and certification requirements allow,” the university spokesperson wrote.

FEMS services will uphold GERMS’ medical amnesty policy for students, according to FEMS Director of Communications Jennifer Donelan. The policy ensures that students receiving GERMS treatment face no disciplinary consequences from the university for underage drinking or drug use that results in medical treatment.

“We abide by all existing medical privacy laws for all patients we serve,” Donelan wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We do not report alcohol consumption other than to hospital staff when medically necessary for treat-

ARIANA TAFTI FOR THE HOYA

GERMS, Georgetown’s student-run EMS service, will reduce its operating hours and halt hiring during the fall semester because of staff shortages. ment by a physician.”

However, while GERMS typically receives two to three calls per weekday and four to five calls on weekend nights, FEMS typically receives over 400 calls a day.

Further, GERMS ambulance transportation is free for students, but FEMS charges between $428 and $735 for its services. Transportation and care costs will apply to Georgetown students who use the service, according to Donelan.

“As far as billing for medical transport, our procedures are the same for any citizen or visitor to the District of Columbia who utilizes our service,”

Donelan wrote.

For students like Allegra Lubar (COL ’23), the fact that FEMS may not be able to respond to student emergencies as quickly as GERMS is concerning.

“I don’t think we should take them for granted, but I do think that their limited hours makes Georgetown less safe,” Lubar wrote in an email to The Hoya.

GERMS leaders are working hard to return the organization to its normal operating schedule by focusing on training current members for crew leader and driver positions, according to Rensted.

“We recognize the importance of GERMS being a resource available for our campus community 24/7, so we are putting lots of energy and time into promoting current members into these positions so that we can expand our hours,” Rensted wrote.

Despite this semester’s changes, GERMS is still confident it can assist the Georgetown community, according to Kean.

“We are maintaining a high quality of care with limited operating hours and are still effective and efficient given the limited resources we have,” Kean wrote in a statement to The Hoya.

Future of Afghanistan Not GULC Administers Police Bystandership Training Hopeless, Former Afghan Ambassador to US Says Claire Stowe

Hoya Staff Writer

Samuel Yoo

Hoya Staff Writer

CW: This article references violence in Afghanistan. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and offcampus resources.

“A new Afghanistan is still to come,” a hopeful Roya Rahmani said during a talk with Georgetown University students and faculty Thursday morning.

Despite a tide of bleak news flowing out of the country in recent months following a hasty U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s takeover, Rahmani, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States until July 2021, urged the U.S. government and public to fight to preserve the progress the country has made over the past two decades.

“I feel that now, we need to continue to work, to do groundwork for that change to come with all the people we have invested over time in, whether they are inside or outside of Afghanistan,” Rahmani said.

“In these gloomy dark days, I am still optimistic. I know that this is not going to be forever.”

Roya Rahmani Former Afghanistan Ambassador to U.S.

Rahmani was Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United States. Appointed to the role in December 2018, Rahmani represented a generation of educated and globally minded Afghan leaders ushered into positions of power following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Before being sent to Washington, D.C., Rahmani served as the ambassador to Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Sept. 9 event, hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, took place two days after the Taliban officially established a new government, replacing the U.S.-backed regime it had toppled less than a month earlier. The event also fell two days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that provoked the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan was hotly debated. Proponents of the withdrawal insisted the United States’ longest war — one that had cost the lives of 2,352 U.S. service members and trillions of dollars — had to draw to a close.

Critics of the withdrawal argued the United States’ presence in the country in recent years was limited, yet sustainable — enough to prop up Afghanistan’s fragile regime and military. Pulling out suddenly, they warned,

would enable a Taliban resurgence, leaving the country’s government on the brink of collapse and endangering women and non-Pashtun minorities.

Rahmani had critiqued the swiftness of the U.S. withdrawal in past interviews. During the event, Rahmani insisted the United States must not abandon the Afghan civil society and those vulnerable Afghans it had promised to empower.

“The first practical thing that needs to happen is to ensure that connectivity is not lost.

The minute that the cameras are turned away, the minute that women cannot get on the internet, the minute that there is no electricity and mobility, then you are making this black hole,” Rahmani said.

Without a foreign presence in the country, maintaining communication with and interest in Afghanistan is still important for the world, specifically the media and international leaders, according to Rahmani.

“Civil society will remain vibrant so long as they have a way to communicate and be supported,” Rahmani said. “The biggest plea I would have to everyone is to not abandon Afghanistan. You all can do what you can with your devices in your fingertips or by the contributions that you are making to refugees or advocating for those who are remaining behind.”

Over recent weeks, U.S. government agencies and nonprofits have organized frantic rescue efforts in Afghanistan to evacuate American nationals and Afghans who provided assistance to the United States during the country’s occupation. Charitable organizations across the country have also mobilized to resettle and provide aid to refugees. Georgetown pledged to support vulnerable Afghan academics and civil society members through its Scholars at Risk network, and students are working to collect necessary supplies and raise funds for refugees.

The international community, however, cannot ignore the Afghans who remain in the country, Rahmani said.

“It is basically looked at as if everything we did is rolled up — the attention or the achievements moving forward would be how many people we evacuate and that’s it, while not so much attention is given to the millions of people that will remain,” Rahmani said. “With that, you should also not forget about the progress that we have all made together in 20 years, which was absolutely massive.”

Despite a tumultuous few months, Rahmani is optimistic Afghanistan can still undergo positive change, she said.

“When you have the desire to change, there is always hope.

In these gloomy dark days, I am still optimistic. I know that this is not going to be forever. I know there will be a change, and we must prepare for it.”

The Georgetown University Law Center has trained over 150 police agencies nationwide in active bystandership over the past year in an effort to prevent harm and encourage intervention in instances of injustice or violence.

The Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement program is a partnership between Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program and the global law firm Sheppard Mullin. The “Train-the-Trainer” event, hosted by the program, invites police officers and departments from across the country to participate in a four-day program with classroom instruction, practical training and real-life situations to bring back to their own departments.

The Law Center developed ABLE after seeing the failure of bystanders in instances of police violence, particularly the murder of George Floyd

by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, according to Christy Lopez, one of the program’s founders.

“When George Floyd was murdered on May 25 of last year, one of the things that jumped out at many of us was not just Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck for so, so very many minutes,” Lopez said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “It was all the officers standing around who didn’t really do anything at all. We’re never going to prevent harm that could be

prevented unless we focus on the bystanders who are in a position to intervene and make sure they actually intervene.”

ABLE currently uses a train-thetrainer model, which aims to instruct individuals who can then pass what they have learned to other officers in their own departments to increase the volume of participating officers and departments. Typically, roughly 30

“I hope to see a much better relationship between police and their communities.”

Ervin Staub Founding Director, Psychology of Peace and Violence Program

individuals participate in the class at Georgetown before returning to their respective cities and implementing the training throughout their departments, according to Lopez.

“There’s actually a fairly strong argument for the train-the-trainer model, because this type of training is actually much better received if delivered to people by people from their own agency,” Lopez said. “This is a kind of training where you really have to get that officer to trust that

they can do this, and it will work.”

Over one year after the program was founded in May 2020, 111,800 officers throughout the United States work in departments that have completed the training.

While many departments have been receptive to the training, however, it can still be difficult to enact change in institutions such as police departments, according to Lisa Kurtz, ABLE’s project director.

“I think with anything, cultural change is difficult to achieve,” Kurtz said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “Any kind of organization that has an existing culture is going to take time, and it’s going to take effort to change that.”

The program is a 20-hour course delivered over one week, starting with an orientation day to introduce the officers to the curriculum. Following days include lessons on the program’s content, homework and training for practicing skills and techniques, and teach backs, during which the officers in the program teach other officers the course materials, according to Lopez.

Georgetown’s ABLE project builds upon the New Orleans Police Department Ethical Policing Is Courageous Peer Intervention Program and the work of Ervin Staub, founding director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Psychology of Peace and Violence Program.

According to Staub, the program is designed to eliminate inaction

among bystanders, thereby decreasing the rate of violence during officer and citizen interactions.

“I have studied what leads people to help others, what leads to active bystandership, and what stops them from active bystandership,” Staub wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I also studied violence by groups against other groups, and how the passivity of bystanders allows the development of hostility, and lesser violence to lead to more intense violence.”

ABLE differs from other training for police departments because it focuses significantly more on tangible skills for prevention than others, such as implicit bias training, according to Kurtz.

“The reason that we focus so much on facing those very realistic situations that officers might find themselves in is so that we give them an opportunity to practice these skills in a low-stress environment, to build the muscle memory for intervention,” Kurtz said.

In the end, the main goal is to reduce violence and fix interactions between police and the communities they serve, according to Staub.

“The result I hope to see is much less unnecessary harmful behavior by police officers — really a transformation of policing in America, and at some point beyond the U.S.,” Staub wrote. “I hope to see a much better relationship between police and their communities.”

Law Center Helps DC Residents Facing Eviction Through Pair of Initiatives Andrew Hong Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Law Center launched a pair of commitments Aug. 30 to help individuals facing housing insecurity throughout Washington, D.C., after the national eviction moratorium expired.

The initiatives come after the Supreme Court blocked a renewal of the national eviction moratorium, originally established because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under one of the initiatives, students from the Law Center are working directly with the office of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine to provide legal advice for D.C. tenants facing eviction. In addition, the Georgetown Law Health Justice Alliance Clinic, a partnership between the Law Center and the Georgetown University Medical Center, repurposed a program to provide legal advice and free health screenings to D.C. residents simultaneously.

Many D.C. tenants are not aware of the government assistance that is available to them throughout the eviction process, according to William Treanor, dean of Georgetown Law. “At Georgetown Law, we’re focused on two things mainly: what we can do to help people get money from the government program and if the moratorium is lifted in D.C., if there is anything that law students can do to help,” Treanor said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

After the original national eviction moratorium expired July 31,

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to re-establish the eviction pause with an Aug. 3 order. The renewal was subsequently blocked by the Supreme Court Aug. 26.

D.C.’s eviction moratorium is still in place but will end Oct. 12. Congress has allocated over $46 billion to rental relief programs around the country, of which $200 million has been allocated for residents of the District. Many residents are unaware of the program’s existence, according to Treanor.

Under the Law Center initiative with the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia, law students work directly with tenants in the District. The students fill out the necessary aid applications from the rental relief programs and provide technical assistance to help residents.

Even with the help of the law students, the process of filing for rental assistance is still difficult for residents who may be on the verge of eviction, according to Erica Hashimoto, associate dean for clinics and experiential learning at Georgetown Law. “For instance, you need a computer, and if a resident doesn’t have a computer, it’s hard for them to fill this form out,” Hashimoto said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “Even in D.C., where the process is a little easier, it’s still very difficult for people, especially with getting the word out, particularly because we’re back in the middle of the pandemic.”

As a result of the eviction crisis, D.C. took steps to simplify the application process, offering an accessible

GU LAW

The Supreme Court blocked the national eviction moratorium Aug. 26, putting some D.C. tenants in danger of eviction. application along with a guide for eligibility and a hotline. The Office of the Attorney General also asked for volunteers outside of the Law Center partnership to help with legal clinics around the city.

In addition to collaborating with the Office of the Attorney General, Law Center students are also providing general legal assistance to D.C. residents through legal “checkups” provided by the HJA Law Clinic. The HJA also provides residents with free medical checkups, according to Hashimoto.

The medical-legal partnership not only provides free medical services for D.C. residents but also helps Law Center students to proactively help tenants prepare for possible evictions, according to Marta Beresin, a visiting professor of law in the clinic.

“We’re able to get families in contact with lawyers before they get their eviction notice from their landlord and intervene upstream to assist families in getting eviction prevention funds,” Beresin said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “Normally, a low-income family in D.C. would not connect with a lawyer until they re-

ceive a notice to quit from their landlord or an eviction notice calling them to court because that’s when they first realize they need a lawyer.”

The HJA Law Clinic provides assistance to patients of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Division of Community Pediatrics’ KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic, which parks in public housing complexes to provide care for children. The clinic also visits health centers at Anacostia High School and Roosevelt High School to provide assistance to local families.

The Law Center will continue striving to help D.C. residents and will launch further initiatives as the eviction crisis continues to unfold, according to Treanor.

“Our focus right now has been much more on what we can do with getting the word out on this emergency rental assistance program and helping people fill out the forms,” Treanor said. “I think we’re starting to think through what law students can do once landlords start filing evictions, but we’re only really starting to think through that.”

A8 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

NEWS

Sophomores Struggle To Find Place Underclassmen Grapple With Dorm On Campus Without In-Person NSO Experience in University Hotel Caitlin McLean Hoya Staff Writer

Sophomore students report feeling isolated and excluded after arriving at Georgetown University with few in-person orientation events for the Class of 2024.

Because of the virtual 202021 academic year, incoming sophomores and transfer students did not experience a traditional New Student Orientation. The university hosted the Summer Hilltop Immersion Program, a five-week on-campus residential and academic experience designed for rising sophomores and incoming transfer students, in July. However, the program was optional, and 800 of the roughly 3,000 students in the Class of 2024 attended, leaving over 2,000 students arriving on campus for the first time this fall.

The Class of 2024 experienced a virtual NSO in fall 2020 after the university moved to remote operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students reported technical glitches and communication barriers in the virtual environment that hindered programming.

Jenna Thomas (COL ’24) reported feeling excluded from campus life after arriving without a formal orientation.

“I don’t know the solution, but it’s definitely weird because I definitely felt very isolated coming here even though I was technically a sophomore,” Thomas said in an interview with The Hoya.

NSO did not have the time or

capacity to plan a second orientation for rising sophomores, according to NSO Student Coordinator Brendan Omaña (SFS ’23).

“Planning NSO for just one class of new students is a very large undertaking, and our team just did not have the bandwidth to coordinate both this fall’s NSO and develop programming for last year’s new students,” Omaña wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Thomas, who did not attend SHIP, reported feeling left out of the social aspect on campus.

“It was very easy for me to figure out where everything is, but in terms of just socially I feel like everybody has these set friend groups, and it’s very hard to make a good group of friends that isn’t already preestablished,” Thomas said.

While sophomores and transfer students did not experience exclusive in-person NSO programming, the university did host a New Student Convocation for the Class of 2024 on Cooper Field.

According to Bridgitte Isom (NHS ’24), the convocation was not enough to orient incoming sophomores who did not attend SHIP. “I think it would have been beneficial to have had maybe an afternoon of orientation to help us know where buildings are located and how to take advantage of the resources that are present on campus, like, what’s available at the library, the career center, how can we get medical care if we needed,” Isom said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “Both things like that, that you wouldn’t know

how to do right off the bat when you’re living on campus.”

The university has also marketed Georgetown Weeks of Welcome, six weeks of largescale programming designed to welcome new students, to the Class of 2024 in particular, according to a university spokesperson.

“These events are designed to help students connect to Georgetown traditions, the campus community, the broader community, and each other,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Isom, who also did not attend SHIP, said she has struggled adjusting to the demands of an in-person college experience after completing her first year virtually.

“I feel as though if I had done SHIP I would have been able to get used to those daily interruptions that come with communal life on campus, while balancing studying and socializing,” Isom said. “And then that would have primed me for more ease of the transition right now, because right now I’m kind of going through a little bit of a rough learning curve.”

Despite not having an inperson orientation, Isom said she has felt generally supported in her transition to campus life so far.

“People have just been so kind, so supportive overall,” Isom said. “If I had a question about something, I didn’t know how to figure something out, I always know who to turn to, which has been really lovely.”

Samuel Yoo

Hoya Staff Writer

As first-years and sophomores adjust to residential and academic life on campus, some are now facing a new challenge: navigating full-time residence in a hotel room.

Due to an unprecedented number of underclassmen in need of oncampus housing, some Georgetown University students received housing assignments in the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, according to an email from the Office of Residential Living to students obtained by The Hoya. The university assigned students who filled out the 2021-2022 housing application late to the hotel, according to the email.

Residential Living notified 80 students via email that they would be living in the hotel Aug. 4, less than three weeks before move-in for on-campus students. Meanwhile, all other students residing on campus both applied for housing and received confirmation of their residence in June.

The Aug. 4 email did not clarify why there are more students enrolled than the university can house in traditional residences.

According to Evan Peters (MSB ’24), who lives in the hotel, the university did not adequately communicate to students the logistics of moving into the hotel.

“Just knowing if I would be in the hotel was chaotic,” Peters said in an interview with The Hoya. “They didn’t know until August 4 when they emailed me. They did not give me any information, even once I knew I was in the hotel, I did not

know what furniture would be in the hotel, if we had to bring our own sheets and towels, and the square footage of the hotel.”

The hotel provides students with linens, pillows and housekeeping services three times a week, according to the Fall 2021 Residential Living Hotel Resource Guide. Students in the hotel do not have on-site laundry and must go to Arrupe Hall or Henle Village to access washers and dryers, according to the email, though the university has added more money in their laundry and print accounts than other on-campus students.

Even with these resources, Peters said students in the hotel feel unfairly neglected.

“It feels like the hotel students were kind of forgotten about,” Peters said. “I feel like that and a lot of the other hotel people feel the same way. I understand we made a mistake and we’re a small group on campus, but it still feels like no one cares.”

When asked for comment, a university spokesperson redirected The Hoya to the Aug. 4 email from Residential Living.

For Akil Cole (COL ’24), however, the hotel experience has not been entirely negative.

“I think every aspect of my college experience has been nontraditional, so I was like, why not another thing?” Cole said in an interview with The Hoya. “It would have been nice to have a communal kitchen, but I am glad with the selection, and in hindsight I would have done the same thing.”

This is not the first time students have lived in the hotel, whether permanently or for extenuating cir-

cumstances. In 2019, the university relocated 85 students from Alumni Square, an apartment-style dorm, to the hotel after administrators identified structural roofing concerns. The last time the university assigned students to permanent residence in the hotel was 2015 while the university completed the construction of Arrupe Hall.

The hotel lacks the sense of natural community typically fostered in a traditional dormitory, according to Nia Vasquez (COL ’23), the only Residential Advisor living in the hotel.

“Two hotel floors hold way more students, so I feel like it is going to be way more difficult to create a tight-knit community,” Vasquez said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

Cole said the presence of an RA has been helpful in shaping a more standard residential experience.

“I think it’s still forming,” Cole said in an interview with The Hoya.

“The RA has been really active in trying to get us together. She’s planning different events for all of us. It’s still getting there. We’re only two weeks into the residential experience, so it’s not as cohesive as one might hope, but I think it will take time for that.”

Despite the unconventional residential experience, Vasquez said she is hopeful students can find community among their hallmates.

“I tried to foster community by making a group chat for all the students in the hotel and organizing various social events.” Vasquez said. “I hope that despite the untraditional living conditions, students will be able to bond and make new relationships.”

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

Students Voice Concerns Over Package Retrieval Difficulties , Mailroom Delays Julia Staley

Special to The Hoya

Students have expressed frustration over significant delays in receiving packages from the Georgetown University mailroom.

The Georgetown University Mail Services Department has experienced delays after receiving an unprecedented amount of packages, sorting through more than 3,000 packages a day since classes began last month, according to a Sept. 8 email sent to the Georgetown community from Marc Fournier, vice president for Auxiliary Business Services.

“We have experienced unprecedented package volume at the start of this semester.

Our staff members are working overtime, including weekends and holidays, to process and sort each package that comes in, but there will be delays between the shipment and your receipt of packages,” Fournier wrote in the email.

When asked for comment, a university spokesperson redirected The Hoya to Fournier’s email.

On March 5, 2020 — just days before the transition to

online classes March 11 — the university announced it would be eliminating Residential Hall Offices and converting to smart lockers for package distribution.

These offices were staffed by students and carried out a variety of responsibilities, including distributing packages and leasing dorm appliances. Community members raised concerns about the subsequent loss of student jobs; the issue was never fully resolved as the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shutdown of on-campus operations.

Now, package distribution is streamlined through the Mail Services Department and three smart locker locations on campus. To help alleviate mailroom service delays, the university has set up a temporary Amazon parcel pickup center in the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center.

Students will receive an email directing them to retrieve their packages from the conference center location once their mail has been processed.

Delays have been particularly frustrating for Bernard Medeiros (COL ’24), who waited days to receive his medication after it arrived in the mailroom.

“I think it sat in the mailroom for six days after having arrived,” Medeiros said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “And that was after it got lost in the mail for a bit. So I was without my medication for maybe two or three weeks.”

Although he received confirmation from the U.S. Postal Service that his package had been delivered, Medeiros said Mail Services would not allow him to pick up his package or expedite the process.

“I tried going to the mail people after it arrived to see if there was any way to expedite the process even though it was backed up. They said no, and I just had to wait,” Medeiros said.

Other students have experienced similar issues receiving their packages, including Elizabeth Smith (COL ’24), who has not received her textbooks after the Postal Service confirmed her package was delivered in August.

“My mom sent me my textbooks on the day I left. So it was August 19th, and I still have not received them or gotten an email that they’ve been received by Georgetown, even though my mom says they got

GRACE KIEFT/THE HOYA

The Georgetown University mailroom has received an unprecedented number of packages, prompting students to express frustration with delays in getting their mail. here August 23rd. So it’s been a while,” Smith said in an interview with The Hoya.

Smith said she is anxious about using mailroom services in the future to have items shipped to her, including her medication, which must be refrigerated.

“I am nervous about using the mailroom for any future shipments, especially ones like my medicine because it has to be refrigerated and it’s very expensive,” Smith said. “If it were to get

lost or sit somewhere for a while I couldn’t use it anymore so I don’t really trust the mailroom with that, but I don’t know what the other option would be.”

The university has asked students to retrieve packages as soon as possible after they receive an email notification that their mail is available for pickup and has recommended students purchase items in the same shipment to help ease the strain on the mailroom, according to

the Sept. 8 email.

While Medeiros understands the mailroom is experiencing backup issues, they would appreciate more communication from the university on the status of package retrievals, he said.

“Obviously things are backed up, but it’s more than a little opaque how backed up things are, how long we have to wait for things, and I think people have been trying to figure those things out for themselves,” Medeiros said.

Biden Nominates McCourt Professor for World Bank $42 Million Grant Enables CSET To Self -Fund Through 2025, Expand Operations Samantha Sinutko Hoya Staff Writer

President Joe Biden has nominated Georgetown University professor Adriana Kugler as the U.S. executive director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Kugler is a professor of Public Policy and Economics in the McCourt School of Public Policy. If confirmed, she will represent the United States and its interests on the Board of Directors of the World Bank Group.

Kugler’s research has informed policymakers and shared analysis of critical issues with the public, according to McCourt Dean Maria Cancian.

“Dr. Kugler’s nomination serves to highlight her tremendous expertise and distinguished history of contributions to the policy debate,” Cancian wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The faculty of the McCourt School of Public Policy are deeply engaged in developing rigorous evidence to inform public policy in the U.S. and across the globe.”

Kugler has previously worked in the federal government, serving as the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration, according to an Aug. 31 McCourt news release. She was also a policy volunteer for Biden’s presidential campaign.

Kugler was unable to respond to The Hoya’s request for comment because she is preparing for upcoming Senate confirmation hearings that will take place in the next few weeks.

While Kugler is awaiting a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee, she

is set to undergo a series of background checks from various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. After final votes are held in the committee, Kugler’s nomination will be brought before the entire Senate for debate and a final vote.

The executive director position is one of the U.S. presidential appointed positions at the World Bank, alongside the governor and both positions’ alternatives, that require Senate confirmation.

Kugler holds a B.A. in economics from McGill University and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Much of her research focuses on public policy, unemployment and immigration. Her published works include a co-authorship on a paper about peer educational effects on children in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a co-authorship on a paper about the impact of immigrants in U.S. labor markets.

Kugler was deeply interested in understanding how labor markets operate, according to David Levine, chair of the Economic Analysis and Policy Group at UC Berkeley, who helped advise Kugler’s doctoral dissertation. Her knowledge of theory and strength in empirical methods will make her an asset at the World Bank, according to Levine.

“Since leaving Berkeley I have followed her career successes with pleasure, but not surprise,” Levine wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Adriana combines a deep understanding of complex topics with the ability to explain them clearly. She is an excellent

Julia Staley

Hoya Staff Writer

NATALIE REGAN/THE HOYA

President Biden nominated McCourt School professor Andrea Kuger to serve as U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank. choice.”

The Biden administration announced its intent to nominate Kugler on Aug. 4 alongside eight other nominations to leading roles in foreign policy and national security. Kugler is one of many Georgetown community members nominated by Biden for notable positions in government.

In November 2020, then President-elect Biden named 11 Georgetown graduates and faculty to serve in prominent positions in his administration, including Ron Klain (CAS ’83), who now serves as the White House chief of staff. In January 2021, the Biden administration selected 12 Georgetown University Law Center graduates and four faculty

members to serve in various upper-level government positions, including Avril Haines (LAW ’01) as the first woman to serve as the Director of National Intelligence.

Kugler’s experience in research, education and public service makes her qualified to take on this demanding role, according to Cancian.

“Her decades-long career, working to improve labor market outcomes and policies for citizens across the globe, has undoubtedly prepared her for this important role,” Cancian said in the Aug. 30 McCourt news release. “On behalf of the entire McCourt School community, I wish to congratulate Professor Kugler and thank her for her service.”

GULC Tops Nationwide Application Numbers Ethan Johanson Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Law Center saw a record-breaking number of applications and a significant increase in overall diversity of the incoming class during the historic 2021 admissions cycle.

Despite the virtual academic environment that many students endured amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Law Center received 14,052 applications for the incoming class of 2024, a 41% increase from the 2020 admissions cycle. This increase marked the most applicants out of any accredited U.S. law school in history; notably, there was a 12.6% increase in law school applications nationwide during this cycle.

Of the incoming class, 40% identify as people of color, an 8% increase from the last admissions cycle; furthermore, 54% identify as women. First-generation college students make up 11% of the class.

According to Jade Baker, president of the GULC Bar Association, the school will benefit greatly from this increase in diversity.

“Diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and the more perspec-

tives we have in the law school, the better lawyers of tomorrow we’ll all be,” Baker wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The class includes 110 Opportunity Scholars, a designation for students with high academic achievement and significant financial need. The Opportunity Scholarship Program, which was established in 2009, has nearly doubled the amount of participating students in the last decade, according to Andrew Cornblatt, dean of admissions at the Law Center.

“We’ve very much focused on fundraising for that, and we’ve had great success, and the number of Opportunity Scholars has dramatically grown over time,” Cornblatt said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

The past year’s political climate and prevalence of law in current events contributed to the increase, according to Cornblatt.

“There was this incredible focus on law-related things from July or August of 2020 through March and April of 2021,” Cornblatt said. “There was this constant, constant impact of people of the law and courts and judges and justices impacting everything. They were the guardrails of what people could

get away with. Everything was law related: immigration, criminal justice, elections.”

Young people are realizing the importance of preserving constitutional democracy and working within the legal system, and see Washington, D.C., as a prime place to pursue law, according to William Treanor, the dean of the Law Center.

“There’s also a recognition that Georgetown is a place that’s focused on service and it’s Washington, D.C., and so as applications surged nationally, we increased at a dramatically higher level than other schools,” Treanor said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the typical application cycle, the Law Center still saw a three-point increase in the median Law School Admission Test score of incoming students and a median GPA of 3.85, both of which set the highest record in the school’s history.

COVID-19 also changed the way the Law Center interacted with applicants, yielding positive results that might change how the Law Center conducts admissions, according to Cornblatt.

“This year, with Zoom, I went to six continents, I went to 50 states,

I went to 37 countries, and I never left my dining room, and so I was able to expand the geography of all this,” Cornblatt said. “That was very exciting and I met almost 3,000 applicants, so that allowed more personal input into the admissions decision.”

The Law Center’s efforts to admit a geographically diverse group of students reflect an overarching commitment to diversity in the admissions process and a focus on building a global class of students from varied backgrounds, according to Treanor.

“Our focus is on making sure that the most qualified people are at Georgetown Law and that every voice is in the room,” Treanor said. “We think that that’s a very important part of education as students: Hear perspectives and people with different backgrounds and engage in dialogue.”

Cornblatt said that even though students enter the Law Center with a variety of backgrounds, they are all united by a desire to drive change amid anxious times.

“They were looking for the future, because where they were right now felt a little dark, and they were ready just to sort of spread their wings,” Cornblatt said.

A technology security policy think tank at Georgetown University received a $42 million grant, paving the way for the expansion of its operations and increased opportunities for students to conduct policy research.

The Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a nonpartisan technology and policy research organization at the School of Foreign Service, received the donation from Open Philanthropy, a foundation that distributes grants to organizations focused on science and technology research.

CSET relies on organizations outside the university for its funding, and with this donation, the center will be able to sustain itself through 2025. The donation marks CSET’s third

“Since we are the oldest school of international affairs in the United States, we were kind of designed to be thinking about what was driving the changes in the global security landscape.”

Joel Hellman Dean of the SFS

round of funding since it was established in 2019 and brings the center’s total funding to over $100 million.

This grant validates CSET’s hard work over the past three years, according to Dewey Murdick, director of CSET. “The first funding was basically a risk: Let’s try this. But it’s been working. We’ve actually been impacting how things are going. This second funding is now a validation funding. It’s a huge tangible validation that this hard work and positive policy outcomes and impacts that were starting to accrue is actually a good model,” Murdick said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “This is why this grant is such a big deal right now.”

CSET plans to use much of the donation to fund its main operations, including increasing staffing and research capabilities. By increasing its operational capabilities, CSET will be able to better inform policymakers about emerging technologies, according to Murdick.

“We’ve been given more freedom to explore and find the most important problems that are most relevant to people in

Washington, different agencies and Congress,” Murdick said.

“We’re able to spend enough time to get insights that are not easily available.”

The most recent donation to CSET is not the first from Open Philanthropy, as the donor organization contributed a $55 million grant to launch the think tank in January 2019. Two separate organizations, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Public Interest Technology University Network, also have contributed to CSET since its founding.

The grant shows donors trust CSET to effectively steer the funds toward meaningful research and make returns on the initial investments made to create the think tank, according to Tessa Baker (COL ’07, GRD ’08), director of operations at CSET. “I think the fact that Open Philanthropy can trust that when they give their money to Georgetown that CSET will work to achieve the mission that’s stated in the letters of the grant agreement is pretty fundamental to our ability to expand the grant,” Baker said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

Since its founding, CSET has produced over 120 reports on various topics including military artificial intelligence, robotics patents and small data. Over 70 Georgetown student research assistants from the SFS have worked to support these reports, according to Murdick.

The opportunity for students to study the role new technologies are playing in global politics aligns perfectly with the mission of the SFS, according to Joel Hellman, dean of the SFS. “Since we are the oldest school of international affairs in the United States, we were kind of designed to be thinking about what was driving the changes in the global security landscape,” Hellman said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “We were excited to welcome CSET because it is doing exactly what we think is critical to be thinking about in the future.”

Some of the new reports funded by the recent donation will focus on artificial intelligence, biotechnology and the interplay of intelligence and emerging technologies. The new reports will enable Georgetown students to further engage with CSET, according to Murdick.

The increase in long-term grants provides Georgetown with the potential to inspire students to become involved with technology and security policy research, according to Hellman.

“As the premier school of international affairs in the U.S., it’s really critical for us to have the kind of capacity that CSET brings in order to understand where international affairs is going in the next century,” Hellman said.

A10 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

SPORTS FIELD HOCKEY

MEN’S SOCCER

GU Secures Win Over Rival Syracuse, Hoyas Clinch Overtime Victory Earning 3rd Consecutive Victory At Sacred Heart Off Penalty Corner Cate Camenzind Hoya Staff Writer

GUHOYAS

Sophomore defender Dominic De Almeida, 20, focuses on the ball in Georgetown’s 1-0 victory.

De Almeida has appeared in all four of Georgetown’s games, bolstering the team’s defense.

Aiden Penry Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s soccer team managed to eke out a 1-0 victory over the rival Syracuse Orange in a Friday night showdown in which defense reigned supreme.

The Hoyas’ three straight wins to start the season mark the team’s longest winning streak since 2019, when the team won six games in a row before going on to claim its first national championship later that season. Unlike No. 1 Georgetown’s (3-0-0) blowout win against previously-ranked Fordham, the Hoyas’ matchup against the Orange (1-2-0) proved to be a nail-biter.

Both defensive units played tremendously. Any attempts to score were quickly denied; at the end of the first half, neither Georgetown nor Syracuse had even registered a shot on goal. The Hoyas’ defense remained perfect in the second half, giving senior goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis nothing to save for the entire game. Georgetown recorded two shots on goal to Syracuse’s zero, despite the Orange taking twice as many shots as the Hoyas.

The Hoyas started the first half strong. Georgetown controlled the ball on Syracuse’s side of the field for much of the first five minutes.

The Orange then settled in, and the game became a back-andforth battle of attacks and counterattacks.

An early second-half goal by

sophomore midfielder John Franks gave Georgetown the necessary brace to win. Franks has now scored two goals this season.

Scoring against the Hoyas, however, has been a rarity during this short season: only one goal has been scored against Georgetown throughout four games, with Nikopolidis registering all three of the Hoyas’ shutouts.

Towards the end of the first half, the Hoyas found some success using their speed on the outside, regularly beating Syracuse defenders down the sideline. Yet Georgetown was unable to convert any of its crosses into goals. Throughout the first half, the Orange managed to get off three shot attempts compared to Georgetown’s one, but no shot by either team came close to threatening the goal.

The second half started off much like the first. The ball continuously switched possession in the midfield with the Hoyas unable to create any quality shot attempts. Finally, in the 58th minute of the match, the Syracuse defense cracked.

Junior midfielder Dante Polvara placed a precise through ball to Franks. With only the goal keeper to beat, Franks shot the ball just outside of Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy’s lunging leg and into the back of the net.

Despite having the lead, the Hoyas continued to attack.

Georgetown threatened with two quick corners, but neither ended in a shot opportunity. In the 76th

minute, first-year forward Ronan Dillow found an opening in the defense, but he drove his shot straight into Shealy’s hands, giving him the only save of the day.

Dillow’s shot would be the last shot attempted by the Hoyas for the remainder of the game.

While Georgetown struggled to create quality shot attempts, the ones taken were precise and on target. Of the three shots taken by the Hoyas, two were on goal.

While the Orange mustered six shots, not a single one was on goal, proving that efficiency trumps quantity.

Corners proved to be a major difference in the match. Georgetown attempted eight corners to Syracuse’s two. While none of the corners led to goals, the consistent pressure on the Orange’s defense helped the Hoyas control the pace of the game.

As the game wore on, the Hoyas maintained possession of the ball for significant stretches of time, milking the clock ever closer to the final whistle. With time running out, the Orange began to push the ball up harder, searching for the equalizing goal.

The second half included a lot of physical play. Five yellow cards were given out: three to Georgetown and two to Syracuse. A red card on Orange defender Buster Sjoberg in the 88th minute did not help Syracuse’s chances. Now up an extra player, Georgetown easily ran off the last three minutes of the clock.

Following a seemingly endless regulation period, the Georgetown women’s field hockey team clinched a high-stress overtime victory in New Haven, Conn., against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Sept. 3. The Hoyas entered their first away game of the season looking to keep their winning streak alive on the road.

Georgetown (2-0, 0-0 Big East) returned to action to defeat the Pioneers (0-3, 0-0 Northeast) coming off a win against Appalachian State and a postponed contest against Towson. Commencing their season with the confidence of a win under their belts gave the Hoyas the grit to hold on until their final penalty corner of the match. Georgetown eventually found the back of the cage with a much-needed finish near the back post from fifth-year forward Ali Cronin, who ended the evening on a high note.

Prior to heading into overtime play, the Hoyas and the Pioneers remained neck and neck. Despite relentless offensive efforts from Georgetown, who outshot Sacred Heart 9-5 throughout regulation, the match remained scoreless, keeping anxiety high and the Hoyas on their toes.

Georgetown entered the contest eager to find the cage early but struggled to finish on numerous opportunities. The Hoyas

fired shot after shot, offensively outplaying their opponent with five shots to Sacred Heart’s one as early as the first quarter. The Pioneers’ defensive grit, however, kept Georgetown in check despite minimal chances to seek offensive control on their end.

With one minute to spare in the first period, fifth-year attacker Emma Street had one of the Hoyas’ closer encounters with the back of the cage near the baseline off of a strategic pass across the circle from senior back Georgina Eberle. Deflected by Pioneer goalkeeper Erin Burgess, Georgetown senior forward Halle Gill looked to rebound Street’s missed opportunity with a reverse hit, which Burgess blocked to keep the score tied at zero.

For both teams, the second and third periods were a scrappy battle primarily located in the middle of the field, with players tirelessly looking for creative ways to take control of the game’s momentum. Early into the third quarter, the Hoyas instigated three offensive penalty corners in their favor, hoping to shift the pace of the game after their halftime break. After the first two attempts deflected off the shin guard of a Sacred Heart defender, Georgetown was granted a third shot, only to have a Hoya reverse shot be sent just wide of the left goal post.

Georgetown remained dialed in, continuing to knock on the

door of its opponent with numerous one-on-one encounters against the Pioneers’ goalkeeper.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Georgetown first-year midfielder Sophie Towne fired a powerful pass into the circle, finally putting the Hoyas on the board.

An offsides violation called back the goal, keeping the remainder of the quarter scoreless and forcing the match into overtime play.

With overtime in full swing, both squads hit the turf once again with high energy. The match was still a back-and-forth battle until Towne strategically hit the foot of her opponent in Georgetown’s offensive circle, granting the Hoyas a critical penalty corner opportunity.

Cronin commenced the offensive penalty by firing a powerful insert to Towne. In a ball movement sequence between Towne and senior defender Sydney Stephenson, the ball eventually made its way back to Cronin at the back left post. With no time to waste, Cronin fired a quick shot to the back of the cage, propelling Georgetown to victory.

Amid a nail-biter under the lights, the Hoyas maintained composure and successfully emerged from Friday’s matchup with another victory added to their record. Georgetown will continue its 2021 season away from its home field, hitting the turf once again Sept. 10 against Rider University at 4 p.m. EDT.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

No. 24 Georgetown Mounts Comeback, Settles for 1-1 OT Draw With Princeton

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY

Watch Out for the Los Angeles Chargers, the Next AFC Contender Tim Brennan Columnist

Each of the past three years, an AFC team with a young, athletic quarterback has made the leap from intriguing sleeper pick to Super Bowl contender behind a talented signal caller. Three seasons ago, it was Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City. In 2019, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Last season, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills emerged as a powerhouse. This season, this trend will continue with Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Herbert entered the league as a rookie last season with analysts questioning his accuracy and ability to read defenses. He silenced his doubters, however, and shone the whole season, throwing for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. While the Chargers finished the season 7-9 with Herbert as a starter, Anthony Lynn is no longer the head coach, the offensive line is vastly improved and the team is much healthier to start the 2021 season. Besides, it is always hard to win with a rookie under center. This season, expectations are higher, and they should be.

The biggest issue the Chargers offense had last season was protecting Herbert. He was sacked 32 times, but the Chargers now have a completely overhauled offensive line. The Chargers signed All-Pro center Corey

Linsley to a five-year, $62.5 million deal, used the 13th pick in the draft on Northwestern standout tackle Rashawn Slater, and also picked up starting-caliber veterans Oday Aboushi and Matt Feiler to complete a new-look offensive line with the returning Bryan Bulaga.

Not only can the Chargers hope to show improvements in their lines, Los Angeles will improve just from being healthy. Star running back Austin Ekeler, Pro Bowl edge rusher Joey Bosa and Bulaga all missed six games in 2020 due to injury, while All-Pro safety Derwin James missed the entire season. They are all healthy to start this year. While the offense will be the engine of this team, it is the defense that will push them from good to great.

On the defensive side of the ball, it all starts with new head coach Brandon Staley. Staley led the Los Angeles Rams to the No. 1 defense in both points and yards allowed last season as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. Some question his coaching ability because of his short time as a coordinator and the strong talent on the Rams defense, but he is an adept defensive schemer. His early down looks confounded offenses, giving his secondary more time while making it harder on the opposing offense. What many Staley detractors forget is he will not be running this scheme with scrubs — the Chargers have talent on defense too.

Bosa and James are the headliners. Bosa, an elite pass rusher who averages 0.8 sacks per game in his career, is effective against the run as well, racking up 15 tackles for loss in

10 starts last season. James has only played five games since his rookie year in 2018, but he could be called the most talented safety in football.

He can play in the box, defend the run and rush the passer, but also drop back in coverage.

Yet the talent does not end there.

Safety Nasir Adderley is a solid complement to James. More importantly, the Chargers have a stacked cornerback room. Chris Harris Jr. is a powerful starting corner, especially when paired with emerging talent Michael Davis and second-round pick Asante Samuel Jr. Having a toptier secondary is integral to being a good team in the NFL today, and the Chargers have that.

While acquisitions, health and better coaching have improved the team a lot this offseason, it is always difficult for a second-year quarterback and rookie head coach to succeed separately, much less on the same team. Pair that with a brutal stretch to start the season, and some might not see the Chargers having much success this season. But I see an MVP-caliber season out of Herbert. I see a top-five offense. I see a very good, if not elite, defense. With the talent they have, the Chargers finishing the season worse than 10-7 with a wild card spot would be nearly impossible.

I would love the Chargers to have a Josh Allen and a Bills-esque season this year. Maybe this time, they will even knock off Kansas City.

Tim Brennan is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business.

Any Given Sunday appears online and in print every other week.

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

First-year forward Maja Lardner, 33, dribbles past Princeton defender Madison Curry.

Lardner came on in relief off the bench in Georgetown’s second consecutive draw.

Julia Cannamela Hoya Staff Writer

On Sunday, the No. 24 Georgetown women’s soccer team (2-03, 0-0-0 Big East), played an intense, low-scoring game against the Princeton Tigers (3-0-1, 0-0-0 Ivy), ultimately drawing 1-1 after a hard-fought 110 minutes of play.

This was the third matchup between the two programs, with the prior meetings in both 2018 and 2019 ending with a Georgetown win in overtime. With the addition of this year’s clash, the Hoyas and Tigers have needed overtime in all three matchups.

The first half featured a battle for possession between the Hoyas and the Tigers, with both teams only having two shots on goal, unable to maintain control in the offensive end. In the 37th minute, Princeton forward Jen Estes headed the ball over junior goalkeeper Allie Augur off a cross from defender Tatum Gee to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The Hoyas came out determined to stay in the game and get into a rhythm in the second half. With 32 minutes left in regulation time, Georgetown got its chance to tie the game. From the left wing, senior forward Boo Jackson sent a beautiful cross into the box for first-year defender Cyanne Doyle, who deftly shot the ball into the lower left corner of the net.

The Princeton Tigers continued to be tough competitors throughout the second half. The Tigers’ speed on the top line gave

them several offensive chances to extend their lead. Georgetown’s Augur had a spectacular performance, boldly coming off her line several times to shut down dangerous runs from Princeton and render them scoreless.

Regulation time ended with the two teams still keeping each other at bay in a 1-1 draw, and the game progressed into overtime. During the two ten-minute overtime periods, both teams had promising chances on goal. Notably, Georgetown first-year midfielder Eliza Turner made a phenomenal tackle on a one-to-one defensive matchup in the box between Augur and the Princeton offense, keeping Georgetown in the game. The Tigers had one final chance to score on a corner kick with less than a minute left, but Augur heroically punched out the ball to shut down the scoring opportunity.

Ultimately, neither team could claim a game-winning brace, leaving the final score at a draw of 1-1 after overtime.

The Hoyas were prepared for a tough challenge against a competitive Princeton side based on past experience, according to Georgetown women’s soccer Head Coach Dave Nolan.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Nolan said in an interview with The Hoya.

“Princeton is traditionally a team that competes for the Ivy League Championship. This year’s group is very talented and well-coached, and we have gone into overtime every time we’ve played them.”

This Princeton matchup was

also special for a certain familial reason, as Morgan Wiese, the daughter of Georgetown men’s soccer coach Brian Wiese, was a starting defender for the Tigers.

The two shared a heartwarming hug after the game.

Georgetown was looking for a big moment to earn a gameclinching goal but was unable to do so, according to Nolan.

“I was disappointed in the manner in which we gave up the first goal, but I was happy with how our team dug in and found a way to get the goal back,” Nolan said. “When we were tied 1-1, I felt we should have had more momentum but we just couldn’t quite get over the hump. It was kind of like a heavyweight boxing match where both teams were trying to throw a good punch but couldn’t throw one really good one.”

Next up for the Hoyas is a matchup against No. 18 West Virginia on the road Sept. 9, followed by a home game against No. 9 Rutgers Sept. 12.

For upcoming matchups against top-tier programs, the Hoyas will need to keep refining their game, according to Allie Augur.

“There are definitely a lot of things to improve on, especially with a program like ours that is super competitive and high energy,” Augur said in an interview with The Hoya. “We strive for perfection, which is a great mentality, but we are never satisfied.

It’s going to be a great game on Thursday, and we are ready to come out hard and try to get a good result on the road.”

THE HOYA | A11

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

BEWARE THE HYPE

SPORTS MEN’S SOCCER

Sargeant’s Goal Powers GU to 4-0 Start SANTA CLARA, from A12

@CRISTIANO/TWITTER

Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines by returning to Manchester United, where he rose to superstardom in the mid-2000s.

Despite Star Signing, Manchester United Is Not a Contender BALDARI, from A12

his forwards, than as a defensive midfielder, extinguishing opposition attacks. Fred, McTominay and Matić are serviceable in the position, but they lack offensive spunk and, with the exception of McTominay, are below-average defenders.

United should finish the season in the top four, but only when the team effectively plugs its positional holes will it be able to best the other realistic title challengers like Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

At the highest level, every team has tremendous talent; even the smallest advantages among teams make all the difference. In many categories, United trails behind.

In terms of best manager, Solskjær is outmatched by City’s Pep Guardiola, Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp and Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel. In terms of squad depth, United still lags behind City and Chelsea.

The red half of Manchester is now the home of the best player in the PL — and, arguably, the world — but its efforts will not be enough to prevent the inevitable “It’s our year!” chants by United fans from ringing hollow once again.

club Borussia Dortmund in July, gives Solskjær an extra jolt of creativity and pace in the attacking third, and the 21-yearold should link up well with midfielders Fernandes and Pogba. French center back Raphaël Varane, acquired from Spanish giant Real Madrid in August, is a stalwart stopper and strengthens a United defense that conceded the 5th-fewest goals in the PL last season.

But even with all its new transfers, United failed to address a major deficiency in its lineup: the defensive midfield role. Over the past few seasons, tenacious, disruptive defensive midfielders like Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Manchester City’s Rodrigo Cascante and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté have been indispensable to their teams’ respective Premier League championship runs. United still lacks such a player.

In United’s first three PL matches, the Norwegian manager rotated between Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matić and Pogba in the defensive midfield role. Few players are better than Pogba on his best day, but the Frenchman is much more comfortable as an attacking midfielder, threading passes to

Christian Baldari is a sophomore in the College. Beware the Hype appears online and in print every other week.

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scoreless, Georgetown’s offense attacked with six minutes to play, with three corner kicks and three shots on goal. However, a leaping save by Santa Clara’s goalkeeper Andreu Cases Mundet on a shot by Hoya sophomore defender Dominic De Almeida kept the score tied at halftime.

Georgetown kicked off the second half by sticking to its game plan of possession and passing around the Santa Clara defense until it could find a gap.

Just three minutes into the second half, the Hoyas appeared to advance to a 1-0 lead when senior midfielder Joe Daluz buried a shot into the back of the net. Just as Georgetown began to celebrate, the assistant referee blew his whistle and waved the goal off, claiming Daluz had stepped offside. A brief conference between the referees, captains and coaches confirmed the offside call, keeping the game tied 0-0.

In the 58th minute, Georgetown finally scored to open up a 1-0 lead. Following a corner kick and a chaotic scramble by the net, firstyear defender Kieran Sargeant buried his second goal of the season into the left corner. Sargeant, who was recently named Big East Defensive Player of the Week, had an outstanding game as the Hoyas’ left back and is quickly becoming one of Georgetown’s most promising talents.

Despite the second half lead, Georgetown’s defense endured several Bronco attacking spurts down the stretch. With 15 min-

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Junior midfielder Dante Polvara, 8, dribbles the ball around two Santa Clara defenders.

Polvara logged three shots on goal in the victory, yet failed to find the back of the net. utes remaining, Santa Clara’s Oladayo Thomas ripped a shot that was saved by Koehler for a corner kick. Six minutes later, Oladayo shielded off three Georgetown defenders and struck a left footed shot on goal.

Koehler came up big again, this time with an acrobatic kick save to keep Georgetown’s lead.

With under 10 minutes remaining in the game, George-

town’s dominant possession had clearly worn down the Santa Clara defense. In what looked like a shooting drill, the Hoya offense unleashed shot after shot on goal following beautiful build-up passing. The Hoyas’ best opportunity came in the 84th minute when Polvara found senior midfielder Zach Riviere off a low cross. Riviere’s shot was denied by Cases Mun-

det’s miraculous save, keeping the final score 1-0.

With the win, Georgetown has jumped out to an early four-game winning streak. The squad will look to maintain their momentum and undefeated season as they take on the University of Maryland next Saturday, Sept. 11. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 PM at home on Shaw Field.

ATHLETICS

Georgetown Athletics Honored by Big East KALES, from A12

across all Big East member schools.

The athletics programs at Providence College, St. John’s University and Xavier University also received finalist consideration.

The award honors the Georgetown athletic department’s leadership and social justice programs in the 2020-21 academic year. Ten submissions were received for this year’s edition of the award.

Last year, the Georgetown athletics department conducted programs like forums for athletes to discuss racial injustice led by Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Lee Reed in collaboration with the department’s internal Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Working Group, as well as Rosemary Kilkenny, who serves as Georgetown’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. Georgetown also made strides in diversifying its coaching staff, hiring its first ever Black baseball coach and track and field head coaches this past year.

Last year, Georgetown men’s and women’s basketball players also donned equality-themed messages on their jerseys in accordance with issues that were important to each athlete. The women’s basketball team, meanwhile, participated in a “Pause for a Cause,” in which the team designated two weeks to focus on participating in conversations about racial justice and education about Black culture.

Outside of departmental programs, Hoya student athletes also took the initiative to create their own advocacy group in the Black Student Athlete Coalition, which spoke to Georgetown teams about issues of privilege and race. The Coalition also recommended action items for coaches to support Black student athletes at Georgetown.

Ackerman spoke about the ac-

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also stars as Lasso, stands out as a coach underestimated by his players, the press and Welton.

He wins his players over with morning biscuits and relentless positivity, telling his players to perform without fear by “being a goldfish,” supposedly the happiest animal on earth because of its 10-second memory. Lasso is earnest and sweet but also selfaware and intelligent.

The acerbic Roy Kent, a football legend who joins the coach-

BIG EAST

On what would have been the late John Thompson Jr.’s 80th birthday, Georgetown Athletics found itself honoring his legacy with official recognition of its social justice and advocacy efforts. complishments of Georgetown athletics in making strides toward social justice in a release announcing Georgetown as the winner.

“The initiatives undertaken by Hoya student-athletes, in particular, represent a powerful leadership example and make it clear that the principles of equity that Coach Thompson espoused remain deeply held on the Hilltop,” Ackerman said.

For women’s basketball Head Coach James Howard, this past year involved listening to the voices of his student athletes and putting basketball aside to focus on supporting his players.

“Our kids were really shaken,” Howard said in an interview with

The Hoya. “I thought from a coaches’ perspective, and seeing the look on their face as young adults, you could see the concern. It wasn’t about basketball anymore. It wasn’t about going to the gym and getting that two hours of work. It was about listening and hearing and seeing what your kids were dealing with.”

Howard also noted the tireless efforts of Reed and others to continue to model Georgetown athletics in Thompson’s vision.

“We’re just so proud to be a part of this year and being picked as the winner of the John Thompson Jr. Award,” Howard said. “Georgetown is a mighty, mighty strong place, and for a leader like Lee Reed, it takes a lot

to be able to take everything of Coach Thompson’s vision into play today.”

The Thompson award recognizes a hugely significant figure not only in Georgetown’s history, but in all of college athletics history, and as such is a great honor, according to Reed.

“Throughout his life, Coach Thompson challenged the status quo and brought to light so many injustices happening to those without a voice,” Reed said. “Georgetown University is honored to have an award bear his name, and we are proud to be the inaugural recipients. There is still more work to be done within this space, and we will strive to live his values within our community each and every day.”

COMMENTARY

In ‘Ted Lasso,’ Believing Is Everything ing staff in the second season, is a fan favorite, mostly because of the relatability of his character for viewers, specifically former athletes. With strength, speed and an anger that fueled his aggressive playing style, Kent is a recently retired AFC Richmond player and a master at the art of swearing.

Even so, Kent has a vulnerability to him. He` is tender with his niece Phoebe and does yoga weekly with a group of 60-year-old women. He loves football so much — whether competing in the Pre-

mier League or coaching the West London Under-Nine Girls team — that it consumes him.

My affection for Kent stems from the fact that I know Kent.

I have been coached by Kents all throughout my soccer career — former players who can’t stay away from soccer, even if they tried. Coaches who are hard on you, scream like crazy and push you to be your best, but only because they care so deeply. Coaches who are endearing and intimidating all at once. Coaches who believe wholeheartedly in you.

At the end of the day, that’s what “Ted Lasso” is all about: believing. In a tender locker room moment, Lasso tapes up a lopsided poster, which succinctly reads, “Believe.”

I believe in the lessons of “Ted Lasso.” I believe in the power of team, of optimism and of having the 10-second memory of a goldfish. Why? A phrase common in English football is, “It’s the hope that kills you.” The perpetually positive Lasso disagrees with the phrase, and so do I. It is the lack of hope that kills you.

Sports

MEN’S SOCCER No. 1 Georgetown (4-0) vs. No. 7 Maryland (4-0) Saturday, 1 p.m.

Shaw Field

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 TALKING POINTS

WOMEN’S SOCCER

NUMBERS GAME

Georgetown women’s soccer tied with

We strive for perfection, which

the Princeton Tigers 1-1 on Sunday in a

is a great mentality, but we are

110-minute overtime match.

never satisfied.”

See A10

Junior Goalkeeper Allie Augur

1

Georgetown men’s soccer was ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll released Tuesday.

MEN’S SOCCER

No. 1 Hoyas Defeat Santa Clara Broncos, 1-0 Brendan Quill Hoya Staff Writer

In front of a packed crowd at Shaw Field, the Georgetown men’s soccer team continued a fierce start to its season by defeating the Santa Clara Broncos 1-0 on Monday, Sept. 6. The Hoyas are currently ranked No. 1 in the country after the release of this week’s United Soccer Coaches poll.

Georgetown (4-0) dominated possession from the opening kickoff of the Labor Day game and kept the Broncos (3-1) on their heels defensively. In spite of maintaining control of the ball, Georgetown did not have many scoring opportunities in the first half. The Hoyas’ first opportunity came in the 5th minute, when senior midfielder Sean Zawadzki’s left-footed shot sailed wide of the post.

Despite outshooting the Broncos 20-6, the Hoyas failed to make the most of their opportunities and recorded just five shots (only 25% ) on goal.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara made the most of its few chances, registering three shots — or 50% — on goal. The Broncos, known for their dangerously quick counterattacks, were poised to jump to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute. After a beautiful transition from the defensive half, Santa Clara’s Oladayo Thomas ripped a clean shot on goal.

However, graduate goalkeeper Ethan Koehler made a diving save left to preserve the 0-0 draw. The save was Koehler’s first of three in an outstanding performance at the net.

Just when it looked like the Hoyas were headed into halftime See SANTA CLARA, A11

DESIGN BY: JASON OMORI/THE HOYA

Series co-creator and writer Jason Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, the eponymous protagonist in Apple TV’s fish-out-of-water sports comedy.

COMMENTARY

‘Be a Goldfish,’ Other Lessons From ‘Ted Lasso’ Demi Pappas Hoya Staff Writer

Apple TV’s comedy “Ted Lasso” has quickly become one of the most popular comedies on television. With its quirky characters and upbeat plot, the show is exactly what everybody needs in 2021. Still, the fan favorite has an even greater value in a sports-related context, as the show teaches powerful lessons about the value of leadership, social justice and athletes’ mental health, transforming “Ted Lasso” into even more of a gem.

The series follows Ted Lasso, an American college football

coach who is hired as the head coach of fictional Premier League club AFC Richmond as part of a revenge scheme by club owner Rebecca Welton.

Lasso knows nothing about soccer and is unabashed about it.

Yet beyond its obvious entertainment value, “Ted Lasso” subtly tackles important issues, like athlete protests and mental health in sports, without blatant performativity. In the second season’s third episode, Nigerian defender Sam Obisanya protests Dubai Air, AFC Richmond’s main sponsor, after learning of the social injustices committed by its

parent company, including oil spills destroying Nigeria’s environment and the company’s subsequent bribery of government officials. Obisanya’s protest of the Dubai Air jersey logo reflects the change occurring in the real sports world as players like Megan Rapinoe lead the U.S. women’s national team’s charge for equal pay and Norwegian players protest human rights abuses in Qatar.

The second season saw the addition of Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, a sports psychologist and the catalyst for the show’s exploration of mental health in athletes. Mental health in

ATHLETICS

sports is a subject that has been historically ignored in the media, and this lack of representation is alarming considering the ubiquity of anxiety disorders in sports.

I have my own history of sports-related stress. In fact, I don’t know many athletes who haven’t had struggles at some point. The pressure associated with sports can create intense emotional responses, which is why the dissolution of the stigma between mental health and sports is critical. Seeing these things discussed on-screen is refreshing.

“Ted Lasso” also centers

around the idea of being an underdog, with Lasso and his AFC Richmond club counted out and dismissed, ultimately finding success because of Lasso’s leadership. In doing so, the show highlights the power of positivity in sports and how believing in yourself can lead to prosperity, even when others profess their doubts.

The series excels not only in its ability to relate to real-world issues facing athletes today, but also in its thoughtful and nuanced performances. Series co-creator and writer Jason Sudeikis, who See PAPPAS, A11

BEWARE THE HYPE

GU Receives John Thompson Jr Award Even Ronaldo Can’t Save Man U’s Season

Eli Kales

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University athletic department was named the inaugural winner of the John Thompson Jr. Award Sept. 2, honoring its commitment to social justice in Big East Conference athletics. The announcement comes on what would have been the late Coach Thompson’s 80th birthday.

The award was established following Thompson’s passing in late 2020, and it annually recognizes efforts by a Big East athletic department, team or individual to “fight prejudice and discrimination and advance positive societal change” in accordance with Thompson’s advocacy for social justice throughout his lifetime.

Thompson’s character and invaluable role in pioneering societal change on and off the basketball court drove the conference to establish the award in October 2020, according to Big East Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman.

“Coach Thompson’s convictions and determination to reverse societal injustices helped define his life,” Ackerman said. “We hope this award will inspire the next generation of advocates to press ahead and pave the way for a more equitable world.”

The honor was awarded by one representative of the Thompson family and members of the Big East Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Working Group, which comprises athletic departments and university personnel See KALES, A11

Christian Baldari Columnist

COURTESY DIANA PULUPA

Georgetown was named the 2021 recipient of the John Thompson Jr. Award, acknowledging the athletic department’s social justice and advocacy efforts from the 2020-21 academic year.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

Manchester United’s Premier League title chances certainly improved when it signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Italian club Juventus Aug. 31, but the Portuguese megastar may not be enough to separate the Red Devils from the pack.

Ronaldo continues to be, without a doubt, a world-class marksman.

In three full seasons with Juventus, he scored 101 goals in 134 appearances and earned the Italian Serie A’s Capocannoniere, or top scorer, award for the 2020-21 season. At 36, he shows no signs of regression; he recently became the all-time top goalscorer for men’s international soccer after scoring against Ireland in UEFA World Cup Qualifying.

Goalscoring notwithstanding, Ronaldo fits awkwardly into United’s system. In recent seasons, he has scaled back his defensive work rate to maintain his offensive output, so he often plays as one of two strikers; the second striker picks up Ronaldo’s slack on defense. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær, on the other hand, lives by the 4-2-3-1 formation with only one striker.

Solskjær will either have to accept

Ronaldo’s defensive downfalls as a lone striker, or he’ll have to tinker with his favored formation, adding a second striker to accommodate his best player. In both scenarios, Solskjær risks creating a one-dimensional offense centered around Ronaldo, which would diminish the roles of midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, the focal points of United’s 2020-21 offense.

Even if Solskjær does change the formation, presumably to a 4-4-2, he must decide whether to have Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood start as the second striker alongside Ronaldo or whether to deploy Bruno Fernandes, who is usually an attacking midfielder, as a deep-lying center forward.

Solskjær used two defensive midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 throughout all of last season. In a 4-4-2, Solskjær must decide whether to keep two defensive midfielders, which would sacrifice playmaking in the midfield, or employ only one defensive midfielder alongside a more creative midfielder like Pogba or Fernandes.

Clearly, Ronaldo’s place in the squad leads to more questions than answers. Similarly, United’s other new signings inject quality into the squad but fail to fill the team’s positional needs.

English winger Jadon Sancho, who transferred from German See BALDARI, A11