The Hoya: October 1, 2021

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Students Push Climate Action Since 1920 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 103, No. 3, © 2021

Norovirus Testing Delays Frustrate Students Amid Outbreak

DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA

Two students have tested positive for norovirus after more than 140 campus community members have reported showing similar symptoms.

Caitlin McLean Hoya Staff Writer

When Lauren Young (COL ’24) began feeling weak and seeing double last week, she rushed to the Georgetown University Student Health Center, where officials suggested she go to the emergency room.

“They gave me an IV because I literally couldn’t even keep my own head up off the chair.

My whole body was tingling,” Young said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “I felt like I was on the verge of passing out for two hours.”

While Young was in the emergency room, university health officials texted Young asking where she had eaten in the previous 48 hours. On Sept.

22, she submitted a sample for testing. Young received a positive norovirus test Sept. 28, six days after submitting a sample.

Dr. Ranit Mishori (MED ’02), Georgetown’s chief public

health officer, first announced an outbreak of an unknown gastrointestinal illness in a Sept. 21 email. Mishori’s message also included information about a nationwide salmonella outbreak. Three days later, Mishori sent another universitywide email confirming two individuals tested positive for norovirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus.

As of Sept. 30, over 145 students, faculty and staff have reported symptoms to university health officials that are consistent with norovirus.

Furthermore, university health officials have confirmed the absence of salmonella poisoning on campus. Students like Young are now experiencing delays in receiving test results when presenting symptoms consistent with norovirus.

Norovirus, which typically spreads between November See NOROVIRUS, A6

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown University administrators have committed to helping Victor Liu (COL ’22) return to campus after the Chinese government barred him and his sister, Cynthia, from leaving China for three years.

Liu Returns After Exit Ban in China Annalise Myre Hoya Staff Writer

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eorgetown University student Victor Liu (COL ’22) and his sister arrived in the United States after being barred from leaving China for three years.

While visiting their dying grandfather in June 2018, Sandra Han, the siblings’ mother, was detained by Chinese authorities. Government officials subsequently banned Liu, a classics and economics student, and his sister, Cynthia, from leaving China in an effort to force their father, Liu Changming,

to surrender to criminal charges for his alleged financial crimes. Changming, a former executive at a stateowned bank, is one of China’s most-wanted fugitives for his involvement in a $1.4 billion fraud case. He fled China and has been in hiding since 2007.

After news of the Lius’ situation spread, Georgetown student advocacy groups like the Asian American Student Association Political Awareness Committee and faculty urged government officials and the university administration to advocate for the Liu siblings’ release. The case

Graduate Students Charter Flights for Afghan Evacuees Claire Stowe and Marco Uustal Hoya Staff Writer and Special to The Hoya

CW: This article references violence in Afghanistan. Please refer to thehoya.com for on- and off-campus resources.

Georgetown University graduate students have coordinated plane charters and facilitated communication between refugees and groups assisting with evacuation efforts in Afghanistan following

the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Graduate students worked to secure charter flights for the evacuation of Afghans at risk of being targeted by the Taliban, special immigrant visa holders and former U.S. government employees. The students organized fundraisers, coordinated with nonprofits to raise money for evacuation efforts and facilitated communication with people on the ground directly assisting Afghans with evacuation, according to Kristie Cole (GRD ’21), who serves

as the School of Foreign Service’s chief development officer and raised money and awareness for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) helping Afghans escape.

Students involved played different roles throughout the process, with some communicating directly with evacuees and others facilitating fundraising efforts, according to Cole.

“I just started calling my network. I just started to put feelers out,” Cole said in a Zoom interview with The

also gained national attention in January 2020 when Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) called on former President Donald Trump to urge the Chinese government to release Victor and Cynthia.

The Asian American Student Association Political Awareness Committee declined to comment when contacted by The Hoya.

According to former United States Ambassador to the United Nations David Pressman, who is helping the Liu siblings with legal efforts, Victor and Cynthia’s release is a long-awaited outcome.

“At long last, two young Americans are back home in America, once again able to enjoy the daily blessings of freedom we all too often take for granted in this country,” Pressman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “After years of painstaking and difficult work by many people, it was a privilege to be able to finally embrace Victor and Cynthia and welcome them home.”

Former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, who is serving pro bono as the siblings’ main legal representation, declined to comment on the case See VICTOR LIU, A6

Men’s Soccer Dominates

Hoya. “I was really touched by the response. These were donors that I had worked with in years past, and they came forward. What was really crazy is how many donors kept coming forward.”

Students collaborated with a wide variety of organizations to coordinate evacuations, according to Cole, including organizations like No One Left Behind, a nonprofit committed to helping interpreters and their families See AFGHANISTAN, A6

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Photo of the Week: Junior forward Stefan Stojanovic on the move for the No. 1 Hoyas men’s soccer team.

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GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

M.A. students collaborated to help evacuate people from Afghanistan following the Aug. 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul.

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WMATA weighs proposed fare drops, including eliminating peak surge pricing.

Fighting the Flu

Undergraduate nursing students run a free flu vaccine clinic for university community members.

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Published Fridays

Georgetown must discontinue the mandatory meal plan policy in light of the norovirus outbreak.

Sounding Alarms

The Office of Emergency Management must reevaluate the criteria for HOYAlerts.

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Junior forward Gia Vicari scored two goals as No. 25 Georgetown women’s soccer secured a win.

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Where to satisfy your appetite out and about in the neighborhood.

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THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

OPINION EDITORIAL

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

Rebuild Trust in Campus Dining On Tuesday, Sept. 21, Georgetown University’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ranit Mishori (MED ’02) notified community members of an unknown gastrointestinal illness affecting a number of students on campus. Just three days later, Mishori announced two samples tested positive for norovirus, a highly contagious virus causing vomiting and diarrhea. As of Monday, Sept. 27, a total of 130 community members have developed symptoms consistent with norovirus.

As the university continues to investigate the cause of the norovirus outbreak, some students feel compelled to turn to off-campus dining options for fear that Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall is the source of the gastrointestinal illness.

Student distrust in campus dining in light of the norovirus outbreak calls attention to the shortcomings of Georgetown’s dining services. The university has required all students living on campus to purchase meal plans, a departure from its previous, more flexible policy, which let sophomores purchase a reduced meal plan and juniors and seniors opt out entirely. Now, all residential undergraduate students are required to purchase a meal plan, with prices ranging from $1,614 to $3,560.

The Editorial Board urges the university to recognize how instances like the norovirus outbreak make required costly meal plans unreasonable.

They push many students to consume food they do not feel is safe to eat or waste the money they already spent on meal plans by purchasing food elsewhere. Georgetown should work toward providing refunds for the remainder of the semester and discontinuing meal plan requirements starting in the spring 2021 semester.

The decision intended to ensure students had consistent access to convenient meals and was a bold step for the university to take, considering it could only succeed with the full trust of the student body. But for many students, the norovirus outbreak has weakened their already wavering confidence in the administration’s meal plan mandate, pushing them to seek meals outside of their required plan.

The university meal plan requirement aims to incentivize students to eat on campus, the additional costs brought about by food safety concerns on campus have been difficult to deal with, according to Maria Clara Pereira (COL ’23).

“I’ve definitely had to make more of my own meals and spend more on groceries. It’s just a little bit frustrating because I have 14 meals a week through the meal plan that I haven’t used for the past week and a half, so it’s kind of a waste of money.

Hopefully they refund us,” Pereira said in an interview with The Hoya.

Even if students on meal plans with 14 or seven swipes per week, the minimum requirement for juniors and seniors respectively, were to use all their meal swipes over the semester, the cost of each meal

would total to almost $13. This cost is significantly higher than the cost of groceries for home cooking or meals at off-campus restaurants.

The cost of meal plans offered is an unreasonable financial burden for students, according to Georgetown University Student Association Senate Vice Speaker Rowlie Flores (COL ’22).

“Meal plans at Georgetown, in general, are very expensive, and if you are a freshman or a sophomore, this means spending $3,200 on a meal plan that you’re not likely going to use to its full extent,” Flores said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya for an article published on Sept. 2, 2021. “Essentially, it is just a line cost to the tuition. It’s like paying for a service you’re not going to use.”

Flores’ comment about students not using the meal plan to the full extent predicted the situation the community currently faces. If students do not trust dining services enough to eat at a Leo’s or another location on campus, they will end up wasting the money they already spent on their meal plan and searching for food elsewhere.

Dissatisfaction with dining services on campus extends back years, as student-run Instagram accounts @georgetownstrugglemeals and @georgetown.hotmess document. Together, the two accounts amass close to 10,000 followers and feature dozens of pictures including undercooked chicken, insects mixed into salads and foreign objects like screws and bolts in food from Leo’s.

In addition to distrust of food quality, many students with dietary restrictions like allergies and gluten intolerance express frustration over the lack of options covered by the meal plan.

In response to the norovirus outbreak and the increase in student concern over food safety, the university has attempted to quell students’ anxiety about eating campus food.

“Following a visit from DC Health, we have determined that campus dining locations, including Leo O’Donovan Hall, can safely remain open,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “While we know this situation is distressing, students should feel comfortable and safe accessing dining locations on campus.”

While encouraging that DC Health has determined it is now safe for students to eat at campus dining locations, the university needs to continue improving the student dining experience on campus.

Georgetown must restore students’ trust in its dining services by discontinuing the meal plan requirement to ensure students feel safe and financially secure dining on campus.

“

“At Georgetown University, students encounter individuals with backgrounds, values and ambitions different from their own. Interacting with diverse perspectives can be intimidating, but actively engaging with different worldviews offers an oppritunity for mutual growth.”

Anya Wahal (SFS ’23) Brady Marzen (SFS ’22)

“Restore Hope in American Politics” thehoya.com

DEEP DIVE

Making of the Met Gala This week, we’re delving into the Met Gala, an event known for its extravagant couture fashion — and this year, its controversy, as Yana Gitelman (SFS ’25) discusses in her column this week. On Sept. 13, the Met Gala, typically known as “the First Monday in May,” held its annual exhibition at a much more scaled-down level amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Decades earlier in 1948, the Gala hosted its first event, a midnight supper, under the supervision of American fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert. As a simple fundraiser for The Costume Institute at The Met, the event was not as lavish as it is today. Years later, when fashion editor and consultant Diana Vreeland became a special consultant to The Costume Institute, the Gala began to take form as an eccentric, pop-culture-laden event with many more prestigious guests and celebrities in attendance.

In 1995, when Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour took over as co-chair of the Gala, the event adopted an annual theme that amplified the spectacle

of the event. Celebrities, politicians, athletes and models began to dominate the exhibitions. Over the past decade, globally renowned artists and celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Billie Eilish have co-chaired and performed.

Over the years, the Gala has become increasingly exclusive and secretive. The event instituted a social media ban in 2015 that left the public unaware of all Gala events aside from the main red carpet event.

Ticket prices further reflect the exclusivity of the Met Gala; originally priced at $50 per ticket, attendees today pay upwards of $30,000. The party has been dubbed “an A.T.M. for The Met” as it rakes in tens of millions of dollars in ticket sales alone every year.

Despite the Met Gala’s glamour and celebrity, its secrecy contributes to its controversies — one being economic inequality, as Gitelman underscores. Gitelman reminds us of the latent biases in public events like the Met Gala and calls on us to examine our underlying prejudices.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Alan Chen

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

Fighting Against Unwanted Animals September 24, 1970 This column is not for the squeamish. It deals with a disgusting problem, a problem which may ultimately lead to the extinction of mankind — the problem of the cockroach.

This etymological crisis affects us all, especially those in the vicinity of Swift Potomac’s Lovely Daughter.

For SPLD is alive with hoary beasts, as are her more affluent neighbors. In fact, it is widely known that even such pillars of the Georgetown establishment as Victor Ouimet and John P. (“Big”) Murphy have these creatures in their home — although they and their confreres are wont to call them waterbugs.

Now you may think that water bugs and CR’s are not the same thing — they most certainly are. But it’s a matter of status — if you have water bugs, you have class, but you have a problem; if you have roaches you live in filth and your roommates have beer cans.

Not that there aren’t differences amongst these feisty animals. Al, the man next door to me, brought a few of his prized specimens on a field trip to the Department of Agriculture. The “wee ones,” as he called them, enjoyed their voyage so much

that they cooperated with the officials and identified themselves as German roaches.

Now German roaches are nothing if not proud and aggressive, and these particular Huns were no exception. The Agriculture people informed Al that only two chemicals supposedly hurt German roaches. The first, called Baygon, is really just something which Melvin Laird made up to sell Black Flag, which is produced, as everyone knows, by South Vietnamese peasants and sold by the Pentagon.

The second, known as GRK, definitely kills roaches; however, it also kills children and other living things, not to mention the fact that it eats paint. Al, who had just painted his house, was crushed, so he decided to negotiate. In the end, the cockroaches agreed to stay in the basement when Al had company, in return for which our neighbor destroyed all his Black Flag (actually he placed it on a boat and sunk it off the Florida coast, a token gesture) and set up an extramural track program for his stock.

The problem in my house was somewhat different — the CR’s wouldn’t negotiate; they were winning. After a few weeks of relatively peace-

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ful coexistence, they attacked in force. After eating half a loaf of bread, two steaks and the centerfold from the July Playboy, they liberated one of my roommate’s beds.

With that, we fought back and called the exterminator.

The exterminator’s name was Schwartz, his specialty was German roaches. He went on at great length about the beasts he had seen. He even pointed out that the small roaches run faster than the large ones. Finally, he attacked with vigor and after several furious minutes he proudly exclaimed, “They’ll be gone in 12 days.”

Founded January 14, 1920 Evidently, they didn’t hear him. They aren’t gone.

Now you may not have Board of Directors Riley Rogerson, Editor in Chief cockroaches where you live Katherine DeMatteo, Chair (if you commute from GreenKirsten Garino, Executive Editor land for your Quigley). But Julia Alvey, Madeline Broderick King, Clara Grudberg, Executive Editor roaches should be of concern Victoria Lei, Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Kiera Martin, Managing Editor to you. For the Agriculturists Dominic Pham, Colby Schmidt, Doris Zhang estimate there are one bilAmy Li, Transition Director Liana Hardy Student Life Desk Editor lion German CR’s in the USA, Allan Navarro, Transition Director Caitlin McLean Student Life Desk Editor which means they outnumber us already. And they’ll Katie Hawkinson, News Editor Paige Kupas City Desk Editor be here when we’re gone, if Alicia Novoa Events Desk Editor only because they never fight Harrison McBride, News Editor Sam Sinutko Academics Desk Editor amongst themselves.

Hansen Lian, Features Editor Claire Stowe Graduate Desk Editor In unity there is strength.

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OPINION VIEWPOINT • RICHMOND

Clarify Emergency Communications

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t 1:50 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 19, I was visiting friends in New South Hall’s fourthfloor common room when the fire alarm went off. Two of my friends had mentioned earlier that evening they had ridden in a New South elevator with a grown adult, which I originally did not connect with the fire alarm.

However, when the dorm was evacuated and hundreds of students flooded onto Library Walk, rumors immediately started to circulate.

I heard that someone had been in a women’s restroom and multiple New South common rooms, as my friends pointed out that they thought the person being questioned by the police was the same one they had seen in the elevator. I also watched an hour later as the suspect escaped from the police.

The following afternoon, I wrote an open letter to the administration, which has 328 signatures to date, to raise concerns about the university’s lack of response to the break-in. While it may be easy to picture the breakin as a one-off occurrence, it is representative of Georgetown University’s deeply flawed emergency response system that, if left unaddressed, will continue to put students’ safety at risk. The Office of Emergency Management must make immediate changes to the system, first and foremost by updating the criteria of what constitutes a HOYAlert, Georgetown’s emergency response notification system.

Since I wrote the letter over a week ago, students living in New South have learned through a Sept. 20 email from Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) Chief Jay Gruber that the intruder possessed a pocketknife. This finding paints a picture of the potential for harm that extends far beyond the intrusion in New South.

The Office of Emergency Management did not release a HOYAlert during the intrusion, evacuation of New South or the intruder’s subsequent escape from GUPD. Given the confusion and potential for danger during this series of events, a HOYAlert was absolutely essential to

ensure student safety while GUPD pursued the unidentified intruder.

Another alert should have been dispatched when the suspect escaped from the police. With an ongoing threat of harm from the intruder and a buildingwide evacuation after the fire alarm was pulled, immediate communication from the university was more than necessary. Even if GUPD did not believe the intruder was violent, the intruder carried a knife and entered a student residential building, clearly showing their ability to cause immediate harm. Why was a HOYAlert not sent? And when the suspect escaped from GUPD, why did the university continue to deny students information?

It took nearly 24 hours for the university to publicly acknowledge to the student body that the event occurred, via a short email addressed only to New South residents sent on the evening of Sept.

19. The email described an “unwanted person” who was “reported to be in a bathroom in the building” and later “left the scene.” Another email was sent the next day, providing more information, but once again it was only sent to residents of New South. The dangers posed by the intruder and their subsequent escape affected everyone living on campus, and university communications should have been sent to every residential Georgetown community member.

I hope the Office of Emergency Management will be more vigilant in sending emergency communications if and when similar events occur in the future.

Effective communication is essential to ensuring students are prepared for emergency situations, and without it, students and community members will only continue to experience the fear and chaos that New South residents had to witness. The only way to prevent future harm is to make good use of our emergency response protocol; otherwise, the system’s very purpose is rendered useless.

ILLUSTRATION BY: TIM GOH/THE HOYA

BEYOND GLASS CEILINGS

Condemn Misogynistic Political Discourse Yana Gitelman Columnist

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hen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) attended the Met Gala in a glamorous white gown reading “Tax the Rich” in bold red font across the back, the reactions were swift. Some were pretty brutal and included an onslaught of personal attacks accusing her of hypocritical attention seeking.

As a Type A person, I often find myself sorting things into categories. In terms of the backlash against Ocasio-Cortez’s dress, I saw a few groups: conservatives who oppose taxing the rich, leftists critical of the Met Gala itself, Twitter teens who love the word “hypocrisy” and men who hate women. But as we Georgetown University students love to proclaim in philosophy discussions, there is nuance here.

Misogyny prevails across every corner of our national political landscape; it is one of the only true forms of bipartisanship we have. AOC faces sexist “critique” from the left and right alike. This flaw in our discourse does not only hurt Caleb Richmond is a first- female politicians — it limits year in the School of Foreign the depth of our engagement Service. with important policy issues.

In her book, “The End of White Politics,” political analyst and former Hillary Clinton staffer Zerlina Maxwell argues the Democratic Party ought to start paying more attention to more marginalized demographics, in particular Black women, who have been at the fore of progressive activism but receive little to nothing from the party in return. Maxwell cites the phenomenon of bigoted “Bernie Bros.” The 2016 presidential primaries gave legitimacy to a new strain of misogyny: a movement of male Bernie Sanders supporters, often white, straight, cisgender and purporting to be woke, who simultaneously talk down to marginalized people who dare to disagree with them.

Maxwell recounts her experiences on Twitter throughout her time on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, receiving constant messages that ranged from condescending to violent, telling her she didn’t know what was good for her.

College-aged white men, with purely theoretical understandings of socioeconomic dynamics, gender, race and class, seem to have the capacity for just as much bigotry as their conservative counterparts who state their hatred more loudly. Leftist misogyny tends to come in a seemingly progressive package, professing to hate women on the grounds of moral purity. In

actuality, when much of the same hateful rhetoric is leveled at Hillary Clinton, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ocasio-Cortez, it is evident the critiques are not really rooted in policy or valid concern. Rather, it seems some leftist men are simply waiting around for any female political figure to make a mistake so they can channel their disdain for women in a manner that feels righteous.

The Bernie Bros were especially loud on Twitter, never missing an opportunity to fixate on a woman’s appearance under the guise of class consciousness. Anyone could have predicted Tucker Carlson would spend his show calling Ocasio-Cortez a “dumb,” “annoying” and “vapid rich girl” who wore the dress so people would “stare at her butt.” But male members of leftist online groups — even the “AOC for President 2024” Facebook group — seemed to share a script with Carlson in their reactions to her dress, calling her an “attention whore” who was “claiming victim status” as a member of the wealthy elite.

This year in particular, attendance at the Met Gala was political in more ways than one. While the internet spiraled over Ocasio-Cortez’s dress, Black Lives Matter protesters were brutalized and arrested just outside the Met, right on Fifth Avenue. She stated openly

that her dress was meant to spark a conversation, which it undoubtedly did. But she ended up falling into the trap of allowing her dress to distract from the content of her message, even while the violent consequences of the very inequality she seeks to end were demonstrated right outside the event’s gates. In a culture that has more interest in scrutinizing women’s decisions than actually caring about how they affect our fellow citizens, Ocasio-Cortez’s dress will always be the headline of the night.

There was a level of awkwardness in Ocasio-Cortez’s messaging at the Met Gala.

However, this critique holds little bearing on the legitimacy of her policies. We should be discussing the wealth tax, universal health care, and canceling student debt — substantive policy questions. We cannot afford to waste precious time on meaningless debates when real, impactful issues need to be fixed. Political discourse that ignores these valid discussions in favor of shaming a woman for her fashion choice at the event is not real political discourse at all, and it certainly isn’t discourse I want to participate in.

Yana Gitelman is a firstyear in the School of Foreign Service. Beyond Glass Ceilings is published every other week.

VIEWPOINT • CHOUDHARI

VIEWPOINT • MARZEN, WAHAL

Restore Compassion in Politics Guarantee Expatriates Vaccines

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merican politics has seen better days. While our public discourse has not yet reached the political chaos of the Civil War era or the civil rights movement, it is certainly more polarized and less civil than any time in recent decades.

Due to increasing ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans and the rapid spread of partisan news, more Americans than ever are taking increasingly extreme viewpoints on almost every issue from gun policy to immigration laws to climate change. This radicalism is a dead end, and if left unchecked, it will cripple meaningful discourse in the United States, a fundamental part of this country’s democratic institutions.

Every American can engage in healthy political discussions by embracing a spirit of public service, maintaining a common sense of decency and utilizing a constructive approach to tackle tough issues.

At Georgetown University, students encounter individuals with backgrounds, values and ambitions different from their own. Interacting with diverse perspectives can be intimidating, but actively engaging with different worldviews offers an opportunity for mutual growth.

In our time on campus, we have found the beating heart of political discourse to be the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. By providing a space for students of various political affiliations to learn and thrive, the institute has paved the way for a less polarized political environment.

GU Politics offers behindthe-curtain access to the real day-to-day operations of our federal government. In the past, the Institute has brought in prominent politicians such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as facilitate off-the-record discussion groups, as the staff has done with former GU Politics fellow Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). In addition, GU Politics teaches Georgetown students what working in politics looks like. The Institute offers practical career advice through office hours with fellows and career panels in advocacy and lobbying. These different sets of programming make the Institute a breeding ground for political discourse and a steppingstone into politics for so many students.

Coming from the swing state of Arizona, Anya joined the GU Politics fellows team to become a part of a politically active community.

Conversations with Republican students expanded her understanding of cybersecurity policies, while those with Democrats led Anya to reconceptualize police reform.

Bipartisan dialogue inspired Anya to change her opinion on a wide range of policies and tested her comfort zones, so much so that she even shifted political affiliations from Independent to Democrat.

Before engaging in GU Politics, Anya had no experience in politics or public service. She saw politics as one-dimensional, limited to campaigns and elected office, neither of which Anya was interested in. However, learning from peers and policy practitioners showed her that

J

ust a few months ago, India was ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic. Deadly strains and unprecedented case numbers rendered hardship and loss the norm for almost every family across the nation.

Even as the catastrophic surge of cases receded, American expatriates living in India are still facing a key problem: a critical lack of access to vaccines.

In the face of an unprecedented global health emergency, the distribution of surplus vaccine supplies to American expatriates is both necessary to protect their lives and livelihoods and possible through more effective logistics and policymaking.

Throughout the pandemic, American citizens residing in India were marooned on foreign soil during a health emergency.

While embassy and consular staff worldwide have been inoculated, the U.S. government still refuses to provide vaccines to expatriates, with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying: “We have not historically provided private health care for Americans living overseas, so that remains our policy.” Taxpaying American voters living abroad have therefore been given two options: hope for a vaccination in their country of residence, or fly back to the United States to be inoculated.

For 16-year-old American citizen Asray Gopa, a student in my hometown of Bangalore, India, this choice is an impossibly hard one. While he would be eligible for a Pfizer vaccination in the United States, there Brady Marzen is a senior in are no vaccines approved for the School of Foreign Service. those under the age of 18 in Anya Wahal is a junior in the India. Even if a vaccine were approved for young people School of Foreign Service. politics is so much more than that: It encompasses advocacy, lobbying, journalism and more.

In truth, politics is public service, and it was conversations across the aisle, which superseded any political contentiousness, that led to that realization.

Like Anya, Brady, a Republican from New York, has seen the best and worst of what politics has to offer. In one case, Brady talked with a fellow student whose father had been in and out of the criminal justice system, and from these interactions, he came to understand the severity of the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals who want to reenter and reintegrate into society.

In Brady’s time working for organizations that impact the policymaking process, Brady has seen firsthand the gridlock, egoism and cynicism that make politics today seem so bleak. At the same time, however, Brady has witnessed how those who are dedicated and kindhearted can bring positive change to our system. If we care about serving others, each of us has an obligation to get involved in politics.

Politics will never be a perfect remedy for all social ills or single handedly cure the polarization in our country. But it can provide hope. If we approach politics with an open mind and a compassionate spirit, we can come together to empower marginalized and underserved communities and create more opportunities for individuals to build meaningful lives.

like Asray, there are still considerable shortages in India, meaning any shot at all would be difficult to receive. Lack of vaccines leaves unvaccinated children in the direct path of the Delta variant resurgence.

“They say a third wave is coming soon, and they may be opening up schools,” Asray said in a Zoom interview. “Without vaccinations, that makes me worried.”

Flying to the United States for a vaccine is unreasonable for many expatriate families in India, according to Asray.

“There are six of us in our family, so we’d have to spend $10,000 just to go to the States,” Asray said. “My relatives all moved back to India, so we’d have to find friends to take us in. It really doesn’t make sense.”

The fact that many expatriate families, Asray’s included, have noncitizen grandparents or dependents who became severely ill from COVID-19 also makes traveling to the United States impossible. Abandoning loved ones to fly to the United States would be out of the question.

Further, college vaccination requirements have placed many expatriate students in a difficult situation. Students have been forced unvaccinated in the hopes of receiving a shot from their university on arrival.

This is compounded by selective recognition of non-U.S. vaccines. Georgetown University, for instance, recognizes one of the two vaccines on offer in India, COVISHIELD, but not indigenously produced COVAXIN, meaning that some students who have managed to get a shot aren’t even considered vaccinated by the university.

Recognizing these hardships

as not simply an expatriate problem, but an American problem, is necessary. Whether they live in Bangalore or Baltimore, Delhi or Dallas, these are American children at risk, American senior citizens fighting for their lives and American families faced with the choice between financial hardship and their own health.

It also must be recognized that American expatriates in other countries often face even less consistent access to vaccines than in India. Elderly citizens stranded in Thailand and South Africa, countries with endemic shortages of COVID-19 vaccines, have been petitioning the U.S. Department of State for vaccine access since May, but to no avail.

This is not to say the United States should deprioritize providing vaccine doses to at-risk citizens of these foreign countries.

As of Aug. 3, the Biden administration has delivered 110 million doses to 65 countries — an admirable success. However, the goals of delivering vaccines to foreign countries and to U.S. expatriate communities should not be mutually exclusive. In fact, America has wasted around 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on home soil — more than enough to vaccinate the entire American expatriate population of 9 million.

The U.S. government must fully acknowledge its obligation to its citizens in a time of crisis.

Taxpaying American expatriates face potentially life-threatening consequences without adequate vaccine accommodations. All they ask is for the U.S. government to recognize this burden.

Hari Choudhari is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

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Your news — from every corner of The Hoya

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INSIDE THE ISSUE

“I believe in supporting the health of my classmates.” @GTOWNNHS/TWITTER

The Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues established a new intiative to promote interdisciplinary research on the impact of COVID-19 on children and families.

Rosalyn Wang (NHS ’22) on GU’s flu vaccination clinic.

Story on A9.

Extinction Rebellion D.C. launched a floating house in the Tidal Basin Sept. 22.

Story on A8.

Metro Considers Discounting Fares, Eliminating Peak Charges

GU Prison Scholars Resume In-Person Classes at D.C. Jail

Brooke DeLucia

Maya Cacenco and Samantha Sinutko

Special to The Hoya

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) recently discussed key fare changes that may take effect in 2022, including eliminating peak traffic fare increases.

Potential fare policies for discussion include discounted fares for low-income riders, a $1 bus fare and eliminating the difference between peak and off-peak fares. The WMATA Finance and Capital Committee discussed the potential changes in a Sept. 23 meeting as part of a Fare Policy Principles and Strategy Work Session. Before a vote on the fare policy changes can occur, the Metro Board of Directors needs to decide which proposal to pursue. Fare changes would not be implemented until July 2022 and remain contingent on a passing vote.

The potential fare changes would increase ridership while making the Metro system more customer-oriented, equitable and convenient, according to the summary of the WMATA Finance and Capital Committee’s Sept. 23 meeting.

“Fare policy and initiatives have the potential to increase ridership, advance equity and improve the customer experience,” the summary reads.

“While future ridership and revenue remain uncertain as Metro and the region recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, Metro has the opportunity to update its fare policy principles and to consider additional concepts for fare changes.”

The Metro Board is working

to serve customers in the best possible way and improve accessibility with potential fee changes as COVID-19 restrictions ease and the Metro system returns to pre-pandemic operations, according to Paul C. Smedberg, Metro Board Chair.

“We continue to assess how fares meet riders’ changing needs as the region emerges from pandemic,” Smedberg wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The goal of the Board’s fare policy work is to formulate a range of options for our customers to consider in the upcoming budget process and in the context of making the most of our federal dollars that are covering the cost of service.”

The Sept. 23 meeting outlined potential discounts for low-income individuals. Riders would qualify for the discount if they are registered for entitlement programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid.

Providing a fare discount for low-income riders would help individuals commute for work and leisurely purposes, according to Ben Fried, Communications Director at TransitCenter, an organization that aims to make transit more accessible for people of color, low-income communities and people with disabilities.

“That reduces the barrier to access to transit for people who have trouble affording the standard fare, and that’s going to result in people being able to access more employment opportunities,” Fried said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“They’ll be able to just make trips and get around the city with greater freedom thanks for

those fare discounts.”

The discussion comes after WMATA introduced new incentives beginning Sept. 5 aimed at increasing ridership in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Changes in discounts and services included free bus transfers, decreased weekend fares and extended Metrorail hours.

The current fare system is not accessible for riders, as the varying trip rates create confusion for patrons, decreasing ridership, according to Fried.

“The distance-based fare that WMATA uses creates a zillion different price points for Metro trips, and that can be really confusing for riders, especially people who are new to the system, and that can be a barrier to entry for people,” Fried said. “So any step toward simplifying that is a step in the right direction.”

Currently, WMATA fares for the Metrorail differ based on traffic rates; peak fares range from $2.25 to $6, whereas offpeak fares range from $2.00 to $3.85. For Metrobuses, fares are more expensive for express and airport express routes. With these discussed changes, all Metrobus fares would instead become a flat $1 fee.

According to Fried, these discussions may be an important step toward crafting equitable transportation systems in the Washington, D.C.Maryland-Virginia area.

“If they really scale that up and extend it to everyone in the region who is living below the poverty line, that would have a tremendous effect for people’s mobility and the basic fairness of the transit system,” Fried said.

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown University Prison Scholars program gathered in the D.C. Central Detention Facility for their first in-person classes since 2020.

The program has been virtual since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, scholars, teachers and student volunteers alike have returned to the D.C. Jail library for in-person courses. Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) founded the Prison Scholars Program in January 2018, and the program offers a series of liberal arts classes for incarcerated individuals.

One of the first classes to convene in-person was the “Prisons and Punishment” course, according to Marc Howard, government professor and director of PJI, which meets weekly and was previously taught during the 2019-20 academic year. Other credit-bearing courses being taught this semester include Personal Finance and a writing seminar focused on literature of the apartheid in South Africa.

Scholars are required to be fully vaccinated and abide by masking requirements, and the students are completing a smooth transition back to in-person learning, according to Marc Howard, government professor and director of PJI. “The Scholars are so excited to be interacting and engaging again,” Howard wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Although for the previous 18 months we had been able to continue offering courses through prison-issued tablets, the interface was quite limited and

the tablets don’t have cameras, so being in person again makes a huge difference.”

Howard says that every week the “Prisons and Punishment” course meets at the D.C. Jail library, where a group of students in the Capitol Applied Learning Labs (CALL) program, Georgetown’s experiential learning center at the Capitol Campus, come inside the library to mix with a group of incarcerated students.

“Incarcerated people have suffered so much throughout the pandemic, and our Scholars are overjoyed to be returning to a more healthy and engaging living and learning environment within the DC Jail,” Howard wrote.

During the summer, the virtual courses consisted of uploaded lectures, course materials and assignments from Georgetown faculty.

However, student-instructor interactions were limited by the virtual format, according to Joshua Miller, PJI Director of Education.

“Our return was much anticipated and it was truly joyful to be reunited with my students! Some of them were admitted during the pandemic, so this was the first time I’d seen them at all, while they watched videos of me and other faculty,” Miller wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The PJI also offers a variety of other course programs, including the Pivot Program, a non-credit bearing certificate in business and entrepreneurship for formerly incarcerated individuals. The PJI also organizes the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA) and Georgetown Paralegal Program, which trains experienced previously incarcerated individuals for successful careers

in the legal field.

Though some PJI programs were revised and reduced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative still offered many programs that operated in a virtual format over the past year.

The PJI was also able to grow its team following a $1 million grant for the program from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.

Over the summer, students residing in the D.C. Jail engaged with an entirely asynchronous 12-week-long Justice and Peace Studies course monitored by prison authorities, according to Tarek Maassarani, adjunct lecturer at the Georgetown University Law Center and for the Justice and Peace Studies program.

“These were extremely challenging instructional conditions, compounded by a pandemic and lock-downs,” Maassarani wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Nevertheless, most students overcame the 6 or more hours a week reading articles and watching recordings on tablets they could access only at certain times.”

As they return to in-person operations, the Prison Scholars Program will also welcome the first cohort of students to a five-year Bachelor of Liberal Arts Program in Jan. 2022 at the Patuxent Institution, a correctional facility, in Jessup, Md. Returning to in-person instruction increases personal connections for students and instructors alike, according to Maassarani.

“They will be able to hear each other’s perspectives, work in teams, and engage their instructors in real time — things we often take for granted on main campus,” Maassarani wrote.

GWU Students Demand Increased Protections for Survivors Paige Kupas Hoya Staff Writer

CW: This article references sexual assault. Please refer to the end of the article for onand off-campus resources.

George Washington University (GWU) students have organized petitions and protests demanding the university improve policies to protect survivors of sexual assault on campus.

George Washington Students Against Sexual Assault (GWSASA), a student-run survivor support and advocacy organization, revived the 2017 #GWProtectsRapists campaign after students voiced concerns about the inaction of the university’s Title IX office and the George Washington Police Department (GWPD) in protecting survivors. Survivors, students and community supporters plan to stage a demonstration outside GWU’s commencement ceremony for the classes of 2020 and 2021 on the National Mall on Oct. 2. Afterward, the group will send a set of demands to the university regarding increased protections for survivors.

GWSASA demands that the university establish a clear process for survivors to enact campus bans — which can range from preventing perpetrators from living in university-owned housing to barring them from on-campus classes — against their perpetrators after several occasions when survivors felt inadequately protected by the university, according to the GWSASA statement and petition released Sept. 26.

“Survivors have experienced

stalling, innaction, and a blatant lack of communication, particularly when the perpetrator comes from a background of wealth and status,” the statement reads. “The process for initiating campus bans is unclear and the Title IX office has continually proven not only to be ineffective, but actually an obstructive force for accessing bans for many survivors.”

Students first launched the #GWProtectsRapists campaign in 2017 after the university allowed an individual to walk at his graduation ceremony after sexually assaulting another student and violating the GWU Student Code of Conduct. While the perpetrator was barred from residing in on-campus or universityowned housing, administrators permitted him to graduate as long as he did not commit additional offenses.

Stephanie Lee, a senior at GWU, started an Instagram account Sept. 25 to revive the #GWProtectsRapists campaign, attempted to request that the university bar her assailant from walking at graduation.

However, Lee said the university closed her case because her assailant no longer attends GWU, motivating her to take action and revive the #GWProtectsRapists campaign.

“I decided that we need to do something, and the thing that we need to do needs to be immediate because there’s people that are literally in classes right now with their rapists at GW,” Lee said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “That needs to

stop effective immediately.”

According to Lee, when survivors attempt to work with the Title IX office or GWPD seeking protections from their perpetrators, their requests are often left unresolved due to inconsistent policy application regarding barring students from participating in activities like graduation.

“I don’t know how the barring process actually takes place because they don’t have it in formal writing anywhere,” Lee said. “The process can change on the whim.”

In light of these issues, the Oct. 2 protest will take place outside the commencement ceremony. Student activists want to bring awareness to the university’s unjust policies without disrupting the ceremony itself, according to Shira Strongin, GWU student and copresident of GWSASA. “GW SASA e-board members will be in attendance as trained confidential resources to provide support for survivors who may feel triggered during this work,” Strongin wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We will hold our signs near the entrance of commencement in silence.”

The petition and protest advocate for change within the university’s Title IX office, which currently has no clear system for assisting survivors and often does not adequately penalize perpetrators of privileged backgrounds, according to Strongin.

“GW’s Title IX office has constructed artificial barriers in processes for protection and justice which have harmed survivors,” Strongin wrote.

According to a Sept. 27 letter sent to the GWU community

by Asha Reynolds, Title IX investigator, and Caroline LaguerreBrown, vice provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, the GWU Title IX office is working to increase resources for survivors on campus.

“The university is working to address concerns about the timely handling of Title IX complaints, including implementing new case management software and hiring more staff,” the letter reads.

According to Lee, the protest has the potential to benefit survivors by enacting change in university policies regarding sexual assault and other crimes.

“I’m hoping based off of that, that some of us get the justice and protection we deserve as survivors on campus,” Lee said.

Resources: On-campus resources include Health Education Services (202-687-8949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Service (202-687-7080); additional off-campus resources include the D.C. Rape Crisis Center (202333-7273) and the D.C. Forensic Nurse Examiner Washington Hospital Center (844-443-5732). If you or anyone you know would like to receive a sexual assault forensic examination or other medical care — including emergency contraception — call the Network for Victim Recovery of D.C. at 202-742-1727. To report sexual misconduct, you can contact Georgetown’s Title IX coordinator at 202687-9183 or file an online report here.

Emergency contraception is available at the CVS located at 1403 WisconGeorge Washington University/FACEBOOK sin Ave NW and through H*yas for Choice. For more information, visit GWU students and survivors of sexual assault will protest sexualassault.georgetown.edu. at the university’s commencement ceremony Saturday.

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NEWS

Graduate Students Contribute Students Report Delayed Norovirus To Afghanistan Evacuation Efforts Test Results Amid Campus Outbreak NOROVIRUS, from A1 and April, is a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. The virus, which is common on college campuses, can be transmitted between people or through contact with contaminated surfaces, food or water.

When contacted for comment, a university spokesperson directed The Hoya to a public health incident page.

Thomas Leonard (COL ’22) found himself in the George Washington University Hospital emergency room Sept. 21 after collapsing because of excessive vomiting and dehydration.

“I’ve never been that sick before, and I would say — a conservative estimate to say that I threw up at least 10 times,” Leonard said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “And it got to the point where there was nothing left in my body to throw up and I was throwing up just bile and just dry heaving, and I passed out just because there was literally nothing in my body and I collapsed.”

Although the hospital suspected he had food poisoning, Leonard said he thinks he may have caught noro-

virus instead. Leonard said he submitted a stool sample Sept. 24 at the request of the Georgetown Public Health team; as of Sept. 30, Leonard has not received an update on his sample from public health officials.

The university encourages students to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of norovirus, according to the incident page.

“We continue to encourage members of our community to stay hydrated and practice good hand hygiene, washing frequently with soap and water. If you are unwell, please stay home, avoid social gatherings and events, and do not attend class or arrive for work,” a Sept. 26 update to the public incident page reads.

After identifying at least two individuals with norovirus, university officials took steps to mitigate the spread of the virus on campus, including contacting officials from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health and increasing sanitization of high-contact areas in residence halls and dining halls on campus, according to the incident page. As of Sept. 30, the university confirmed

that an undisclosed number of samples tested at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital confirmed the presence of norovirus, according to the incident page.

While Leonard appreciates the university working to address the outbreak on campus, he said he is still anxious over the spread of the illness, as well as the delay in test results.

“It’s concerning that there’s no immediate answers available to the student body, but again, I do appreciate that the administration is working hard to get those answers as soon as possible,” Leonard said.

Students with noroviruslike symptoms are also being asked to quarantine. Students can request food and water delivery by attesting to their symptoms on GU360, an app used by the university to administer daily COVID-19 symptom screenings.

Leronard said he is anxious for the outbreak to die down soon.

“I would prefer never to go through anything like that again, but as far as sort of a timeline of when it’s safe to eat on campus, it’s very nerve-racking,” Leonard said.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown University graduate students aided in the Afghanistan evacuation efforts by organizing charter flights and facilitating on-the-ground communication with refugees.

AFGHANISTAN, from A1 evacuate Afghanistan and start new lives in the United States.

Undergraduate students at Georgetown have also assisted refugees in Afghanistan; the university’s chapter of No Lost Generation, an organization that fundraises for refugees, hosted an on-campus donation drive for those who escaped Afghanistan and arrived in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.

Further, Zahra Wakilzada (SFS ’23) launched a fundraising campaign to help evacuate her own family members still in Afghanistan.

“You had private citizens, volunteer groups, nonprofits, NGOs coming in and partnering with the government, trying to navigate government entities with trying to get charter planes landed,” Cole said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

To further organize the effort, students created and maintained an aggregated database of information about thousands of Afghan

evacuees, according to Kurt Sikkema (GRAD ’21).

“We worked directly with on-the-ground contacts in Kabul as the liaisons of the list to help create the flight manifests,” Sikkema wrote in an email to The Hoya.

With a diverse range of experience and expertise, the students collaborated with each other and other organizations to help mobilize the evacuation effort almost immediately, according to Lauren Burt (GRD ’21).

“The group’s determination and dedication during the evacuation effort was truly astonishing to witness as was their ability to make things happen in the most crucial times, with limited resources, and a ticking clock,” Burt wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Lives were at stake and every moment mattered.”

In addition to fundraising for NGOs and nonprofits, communication was a central focus as students attempted to garner public support, according to Burt.

“The cohort group was working within a very short timeframe in a crisis situation, and everything had to happen fast,” Burt wrote. “The correct messaging strategy was crucial, as was the ability to remain nimble and accessible for media relations as we wanted to inform the public about what was happening on the ground in Kabul so we could get more people involved to help.”

Grad students also worked with other nonprofits, such as Ark Salus, a group of U.S. veterans who have helped Afghan refugees evacuate.

From the United States, students and others helping the initiative spoke directly with those evacuating to help them board charter flights, according to Cole.

“I had to hear conversations where it was like, ‘You can’t bring your brother, you can’t bring your mom, you can’t bring your dad. You are the one that is high risk. You are GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY on our list. We can’t bring anyAs of Sept.

30, over 140 community members have reported symptoms consistent with body else,’” Cole said. “That norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness that can be spread through contact with others. was really heartbreaking.”

Georgetown Student Returns to US After 3-Year Exit Ban in China VICTOR LIU, from A1 when contacted by The Hoya.

Foreign policy experts and scholars of international law like Diana Fu, associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto, have raised questions about the timing of the Liu siblings’ release, however, alleging that the release was linked to a Sept. 24 Justice Department deal that allowed Meng Wanzhou, a Huawei executive who was involved in a fraud case related to the company’s sale of communications equipment to Iran, to return to China. The Department of Justice denied any link between the two cases, according to The New York Times.

The Chinese government barred the Liu siblings from leaving China under an “exit ban,” which prohibits citizens from leaving the country. The Chinese government has increased its use of the policy over the past three years. Though there is no consensus, some international law scholars consider exit bans to be a form of hostage holding.

The international community must learn from the Lius’ situation and develop specific strategies and rules around the use of exit bans, according to Thomas Kellogg, executive director of the Center for Asian Law, a teaching and research center at the Georgetown Univer-

sity Law Center.

“There needs to be a way to send a clear and unified signal from the international community that exit bans against foreign citizens — and against China’s own citizens! — are not an acceptable way to deal with diplomatic spats or economic disputes,” Kellogg wrote in an email to The Hoya. “China needs to change its approach, and the U.S. and other key allies need to continue to press China to abide by its obligations under international law.”

The siblings are currently residing in the New York area, according to The New York Times. Their mother remains in jail, however, Ginsberg told The New York Times.

Throughout the last three years, Georgetown has been in regular contact with Victor and has continually advocated for his release by meeting with both U.S. and Chinese government officials several times, according to a university spokesperson.

University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95), who visited with Victor in Beijing during a November trip to Asia, welcomed the news of the Liu siblings’ release.

“We have awaited this moment with great anticipation, for Victor and our entire Georgetown community,” DeGioia wrote in an FILE PHOTO: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY INVESTMENT OFFICE email to The Hoya. “We look Victor Liu (COL ’22) and his sister, Cynthia traveled to China to visit their dying grandfather in June 2018. Upon their forward to welcoming Victor arrival, Chinese authorities detained their mother, Sandra Han, and barred the siblings from leaving the country. back to campus.”

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

FEATURES

Student Athletes Confront Pandemic Mental Health Hurdles

The pandemic cut athletic seasons and hopes short, prompting mental health concerns that teams addressed together, despite the distance.

Margot Mather

Special to The Hoya

O

ne night in January 2021, Chelsea Smith (COL ’21) was scrolling through Instagram in her childhood bedroom when one particular post began to tie her stomach in knots. The former Georgetown University track and field sprinter clicked on it, leading her to the latest highlight videos of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) track athletes competing in her event — the 400-meter sprint — during a masked 2021 indoor season.

Athletes at other schools were practicing and competing, but Smith was stuck at home, and the thought of falling behind them stressed her out.

Smith felt the signs of an impending anxiety attack, so she quickly turned on the song “Overnight Celebrity”

by Twista, a strategy that Georgetown sports psychologist Erica Force had previously suggested to help manage Smith’s stress.

“I don’t know what that song does to me. I just like it so much,” Smith said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “You just need something that just has nothing to do with what’s going on, and just upbeat vibes — positive energy.”

During much of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, Smith was at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, training alone as she watched track and field teams at other

schools return to practice and competitions. Only in spring 2021 did Smith and other Georgetown athletes return to the Hilltop to resume training as a team.

“I thought about generally just stopping and just never returning to the sport because it was so stressful,” Smith said. “Once we had that first practice with everyone, I did a complete 180 — I was just like, ‘Okay, I’m actually going to stick to it, and I’m going to run this season.’”

But the road back to a competitive mindset was not easy for Smith — and it was not easy for a lot of Georgetown’s student athletes. COVID-19 cut athletic seasons short, forcing student athletes, as well as their coaches and teammates, to confront new mental health concerns and sports-related anxieties while away from campus.

to campus until January 2021.

Georgetown soccer player Pranav Jha (MSB ’24) said that as he spent his first year online, he felt envious of athletes who were able to return to their athletic programs, and seeing them on social media made it even harder.

“I would see pictures of that,” Jha said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “It was a tough pill to swallow at times.”

Mental health concerns among student athletes during the peak of the pandemic were 150% to 250% higher than historically reported by NCAA student athletes, according to an April 2020 COVID-19 well-being survey produced by the NCAA. For some athletes, such as football player Colby Moss (COL ’24), the pandemic was the first time they had ever taken such a long break from their sport in their life, forcing them to grapple with questions of identity and who they were beyond athletes.

“I definitely went through an identity crisis for sure, because all my life just revolved around football,” Moss said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “I’m just trying to find who I am.”

Over the past year, professional athletes like tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles both publicly prioritized their mental health over their athletic performance as they withdrew

from competitions. The onset of the pandemic disrupted sports worldwide, and athletes’ mental health has become a national conversation even beyond the college arena.

Getting in Mental Shape

Georgetown’s Counseling and Psychiatric Service (CAPS) worked with Georgetown Athletics to help student athletes adapt to the new reality of isolation and the virtual environment by encouraging student athletes to schedule teletherapy appointments with Force, the school’s only sports psychologist.

After working with Force, Smith learned techniques for managing sports-induced anxiety — as well as general stress in her life. She now regularly journals her thoughts, practices yoga and engages in deep-breathing exercises when stressed.

“She kind of brought me back down to reality in a sense,” Smith said.

Taking a Timeout However, as the only mental The onset of COVID-19 posthealth professional working poned regular athletic practicwith Georgetown Athletics, 29 es and games for Georgetown Division I and varsity teams teams, simultaneously sepashare her time. rating teammates and quash“I want all of our coaches ing student athletes’ hopes for and teams and student athletes their 2020 and 2021 seasons. to have the services that they In the process, student athwant,” Force said in a Zoom inletes were forced to develop terview with The Hoya. “We’ve new academic routines, lonely got over 700-something student training programs and new athletes, so we need more help.” lives overall.

Talking about mental health Unlike other schools, most with Force helped the football of Georgetown’s student athteam lay the groundwork for desletes did not begin to return tigmatizing conversations about the topic, according to Moss.

“Your heart is opening up to somebody you don’t know and in such a big setting — so at first it was kind of hard for people to adjust,” Moss said. “She didn’t force us to just jump in there. We built to that point, just talking about all the little stuff first.”

Football Head Coach Rob Sgarlata (COL ’94, GRD ’12) was also a proactive advocate of mental health and would constantly check in with his players, according to Moss. After Moss lost two family members and a close friend over the span of three months in early 2020, Sgarlata personally flew to check in with Moss, and he is now the first person Moss says he will call for guidance.

“It just showed me I meant more to him than just being a football player,” Moss said. “It showed me that he cared for me as a person, and he wanted to really help me and be there for me.

That meant the world to me.”

Georgetown’s investment GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY in mental health resources When COVID-19 abruptly shut down athletic competition, student athletes found has significantly improved the themselves grappling with questions of identity and mental health. culture of campus athletics

ILLUSTRATION BY: JASON OMORI/THE HOYA

COVID-19 shook the lives of Georgetown’s student athletes. Now back on campus, some are prioritizing mental health in ways they practiced during quarantine.

by normalizing conversations about mental health, according to Shawn Hendi, Georgetown’s associate athletic director for student-athlete health and wellness.

“It has been refreshing to see how these initiatives have resonated across the department and are now woven into the fabric of our culture,” Hendi wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We have witnessed an opening of people’s minds and hearts to accept that sometimes it is ok not to be ok and that we have resources available to help navigate through those times.”

Linnea Saltz (GRD ’21), a former Georgetown track and field middle-distance runner, agreed the university’s services are helpful, but after her experience away from Georgetown during the pandemic, she said the department should more proactively address mental health concerns.

“If there was more attention drawn to the fact that mental health is as important as physical health, then I think a lot more people would utilize these things that we have,” Saltz said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “It’s just one of those things that’s like, ‘The option is there, and use it if you want.’ But then that’s it.”

Without abundant university mental health resources for teams, some student athletes found their own ways to manage isolation. Smith organized monthly Zoom meetings to provide track and field athletes with a space to share their feelings. The first call lasted for hours, she said.

In subsequent meetings, teammates shared their candid struggles with their mental health along with different resources they had used, like selfaffirmation and mindfulness practices, according to Smith.

Returning to Competition, Recommitting to Mental Health

At the end of January 2021, Georgetown allowed athletes from select sports to return to campus to train. While adjusting to in-person life again, some athletes noticed the benefits of what they had learned about mental health while away from campus.

Upon returning to Georgetown, anxieties about falling behind also eased for some athletes. Past concerns, stemming from watching other athletes return to normalcy before Georgetown athletes, were not even a second thought for her, according to Smith.

“All of my stress — I kind of just threw it to the back of

my mind,” Smith said. “Even though you know that other students were still — or, at least, you felt like they were ahead of you — it was just like it didn’t matter at the time.”

Even as the return to normal practices allays athletes’ stress, the athletics department plans to commit to athletes’ mental health by hiring a second fulltime mental health professional to serve alongside Force, according to Heldi.

Along with student athletes, other members of Georgetown’s student body faced mental health challenges during the pandemic. While CAPS offered additional mental health resources for students throughout COVID-19, many students said they did not feel sufficiently supported.

Since returning to campus, the university continues to encourage students to seek out campus resources that best support their needs using the Every Hoya Cares resource center, according to a university spokesperson.

“We are committed to supporting Georgetown’s students as they live meaningful lives, confident in their mental health and wellbeing,” the university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “These resources ensure students have 24/7 access to counseling services at no cost to them.”

Force hopes athletes can share the lessons they have learned about mental health during the pandemic with the broader student body. The athletics department has programming planned for the next few months dedicated to mental health awareness, including during the national Mental Health Awareness Week beginning Oct. 3, according to Force.

“We’re going to hopefully have all of our teams do something like identifying ‘what’s one thing you want to do for mental health awareness,’ and it’ll be part of that week, so hopefully that’ll be part of that national effort as well,” Force said.

For Moss, learning about mental health during quarantine has already meaningfully impacted his team since returning to campus. Back in the locker room following a particularly difficult practice, a couple teammates noticed Moss’ subdued demeanor and asked how he was doing, according to Moss.

“It shows you they’re paying attention to all of these cues,” Moss said. “Like, ‘Okay, he’s not being himself today. He’s a little more quiet than usual.’ They pay attention to all of that stuff. It makes it a hundred times better.”

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National Cathedral To Replace Students Rally at Capitol To Demand Confederate Stained Glass Imagery ImmediateAction on Climate Change Lily Shytle

Special to The Hoya

The Washington National Cathedral has commissioned several art installations centered around racial justice.

The Washington National Cathedral will install new stained-glass windows by 2023, depicting the fight for racial equality in America.

The installation will be accompanied by a poem inscribed in stone, according to a Sept. 23 announcement.

The new art will occupy the space once held by windows honoring confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, which were removed in 2017.

The Washington National Cathedral formed a task force to decide the future of the Confederate stained glass following a 2015 shooting at a historically Black church in Charleston, S.C. After the 2017 “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., the task force ultimately decided that the windows should be replaced with art that did not exclusively center on white historical perspectives, according to Kevin Eckstrom, chief communications officer at the Washington National Cathedral.

“The task force felt very strongly that they wanted to use that as an opportunity to make a statement and not just put up windows for windows’ sake but to tell a story, and to tell a richer, more vibrant story, about America,” Eckstrom said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The confederate-themed windows told a version of American history that needed to be reevaluated, according to the Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the Washington National Cathedral, in the cathedral’s press statement.

“For nearly 70 years, these windows and their Confederate imagery told an incomplete story; they celebrated two generals, but they did nothing to address the reality and painful legacy of America’s original sin of slavery and racism,” Hollerith said in the press statement.

“They represented a false narrative of what America once was and left out the painful truth of our history.”

The task force asked Kerry James Marshall, a leading contemporary artist known for work that centers on Black Americans, to participate in the project, who agreed to design new stained glass windows that will tell a story that celebrates the history of Black America, according to Eckstrom.

“One of his animating themes is to finally represent Black Americans who have been left out of a lot of art over the centuries,” Eckstrom said.

“He celebrates the average, ordinary, everyday dignity of Black America, and he does it in a really unique way.”

Marshall said his goal is to make a meaningful addition to the Washington National Cathedral through his art.

“The themes that the Cathedral committee articulated set a great challenge for me as an artist and as a Black American man,” Marshall

said in the press statement.

“The goal is to make truly meaningful additions to an already rich and magnificent institution, to make the changes they have embraced truly worth the effort.”

Elizabeth Alexander, who recited her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, agreed to write a poem that will be engraved in stone in conjunction with the new stained glass window display, according to Eckstrom.

“She has been a voice of moral clarity on this issue, and we wanted her to be involved in this project any way we could,” Eckstrom said. “Then when it became clear she was interested in also doing some poetry, it all kind of came together.”

Alexander, in addition to being a renowned poet, is the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, an organization that provides grants to individuals and organizations promoting the humanities.

Replacing the confederate windows with art centered around Black American history is only the beginning of a larger project to create a more inclusive space within the Washington National Cathedral, Eckstrom said.

“This is really the start of a much larger project to reimagine what stories are told in this sacred place where America gathers at pivotal moments,” Eckstrom said. “Ultimately, we want everyone to see themselves in the building and to see their stories told in the building so that it feels like home for them.”

Faculty Contribute to a Study On Internally Displaced Persons

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Student activists participated in the Global Climate Strike at the Capitol demanding the Biden administration take action to combat climate change.

Daniella Arevalo Special to The Hoya

Georgetown student activists took to the streets of D.C. last weekend to demand that President Joe Biden’s administration take immediate action to combat the climate crisis.

Activists organized the strike outside the U.S. Capitol Building on Sept. 24 to demand Congress pass a $3.5 trillion climate change bill to establish a Civilian Climate Corps, a plan President Biden proposed that would employ 20,000 people annually to complete sustainability work in the green energy sector. Protesters also called on the Biden administration to use an executive order to stop the construction of the Line 3 pipeline, which would carry toxic tar sand from Canada to Wisconsin.

The strike was organized

by Fridays for Future (FFF), an international movement started by climate youth activist Greta Thunberg in 2018 and American University’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement. FFF aims to end climate change while simultaneously creating sustainable jobs. Last Friday’s event was part of a global strike in which over 700,000 people participated.

Attendee Elizabeth Packard (COL ’25) said that the seriousness of the climate crisis and the excitement of an in-person protest inspired her to join the demonstration.

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University professors collaborated with a committee of the United Nations to produce the first-ever long-term study on internally displaced persons in Iraq.

The study analyzed 3,500 households of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq, individuals forced to leave their homes but who still remain within the borders of their country, over the last six years. Analysts from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental group of the United Nations specializing in the field of migration studies, collaborated with the Georgetown University Law Center Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) and the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) to conduct the study.

The report is the first of its kind to study IDPs over a multi-year period, according to Rochelle Davis, director of CCAS. Davis said the consistency that came with studying the same families over a six-year period was key to allowing the team to understand the long term effects of displacement on families.

“The idea of ‘durable solutions’ for IDPs is something developed at the international level to think about when displacement ends,” Davis wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This study is the first ever to follow IDPs over time as they return to their destroyed homes, move elsewhere, or settle in

the places they took refuge in and rebuild their lives there.”

While the full results of the study will be presented in a report set to be published in late 2021, a September fact sheet that showed some initial data from the study focused on the effects of COVID-19 on IDPs. A member of one in five households studied either got sick or died from the virus, and the majority of families studied had difficulties managing the pandemic, according to the fact sheet.

“While the vast majority (72%) of these households report that getting tested for COVID-19 was somewhat or very easy, equally large shares (74%) report it was somewhat or very difficult to afford medications to alleviate symptoms,” the fact sheet reads.

As of 2019, there were 45.7 million people experiencing internal displacement across the world, whether because of violence, conflict or natural disasters. Meanwhile, during the same year, there were 26 million individuals identified as refugees, or those who flee their homes and exit the country.

Despite this disparity, most studies of migration focus on refugees and neglect IDPs, according to Elizabeth Ferris, an ISIM research professor at Georgetown University.

“Although IDPs are twice as numerous and often more at risk — because they’re closer to the violence that displaced them — they get much less attention than refugees,” Ferris wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“Both IDPs and refugees are

staying displaced for longer periods of time particularly because conflicts are dragging on, making it difficult or impossible for them to return home.”

ISIM was eager to participate in a study that elevated the stories of IDPs, according to Ferris.

“Georgetown worked with IOM to develop the survey instrument and trained the Iraqi staff to carry out the interviews,” Ferris wrote. “IOM field staff carried out the surveys — repeatedly — and then we at Georgetown took the lead in analyzing the results and writing them up. It was a wonderful collaborative effort, using our respective strengths.”

Ferris said working on this study was important because it presents tangible solutions for policy work on IDPs. “We also found that for Iraqi IDPs, destruction of housing was a key impediment to return, so we were able to emphasize reconstruction of housing as a key factor in supporting solutions,” Ferris wrote.

According to Davis, the next step for policy makers is to advocate for funding from the Iraqi government to support the displaced families in the study.

“The Iraqi government has offered compensation to those who lost homes, businesses, and farms,” Davis wrote. “And yet, as of May 2021, almost no one in our study had received compensation yet, despite many of them submitting the applications. The Iraqi government needs to make this happen as quickly as possible because people don’t have the money to rebuild without it.”

ing’s getting done,” Volkert said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “It’s especially upsetting, considering the school does have the money to enact these changes.”

According to Meghan Chapple, Georgetown University vice president of sustainability, the university is working towards creating a sustainable campus, including divesting fossil fuel companies and working to decrease energy usage rates.

“The university has already begun to address this with a recent agreement with ENGIE North America to manage utilities and reduce energy consumption on campus,” Chapple wrote in an email to The Hoya.

On Feb. 6, 2020, administrators announced their plan to divest the university’s endowment from fossil fuel investments within 10 years.

The announcement came after an eight-year campaign from Georgetown University Fossil Free, a student-led activist organization dedicated to fossil fuel divestment.

Climate change is a global crisis that requires immediate attention across the world, according to Volkert.

“They really spoke at the strike about how the rest of the politicians who weren’t addressing this were acting like children by refusing to talk about this,” Volkert said.

“People don’t really see this as big of an issue as it is, so we need to change the narrative and address not this problem, but this crisis.”

Climate Activists Launch Floating House in Tidal Basin

A group of Georgetown professors collaborated with the International Organization for Maeve Hunt Migration, a UN intergovernmental group, to study internally displaced persons in Iraq.

Special to The Hoya Laetitia Haddad

“I just think climate change is just such an urgent topic so I think the faster people get involved, the faster change will happen,” Packard said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

At the demonstration, Packard was particularly moved by a “die-in” during the protest, in which participants lay down on the ground to represent those who have died as a result of climate change.

“It’s just a fact and a number that so many people don’t recognize because it’s so hard to visualize, so I found that really powerful,” Packard said.

In the United States, people of color, including Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans are more likely than their white counterparts to be exposed to pollution from all sources including emissions from vehicles, construction, agriculture and restaurants.

The crisis also disproportionately affects low-income communities that tend to inhabit natural disaster-prone regions, particularly those exacerbated by climate change.

The protest reminded Willow Volkert (COL ’25) — who also attended the protest — said she believes the university is greenwashing their sustainability policies.

“Georgetown is not at all doing enough. They have no comprehensive sustainability plan even though they claim to have an environmental initiative. It’s complete greenwashing — noth-

Visitors to the Tidal Basin on Sept. 22 might have spotted an unexpected sight: a seemingly half-submerged house could be spotted floating in the water.

Extinction Rebellion D.C. (XRDC), an environmental activism organization, launched the floating house into the Tidal Basin as a demonstration of what would happen if immediate action is not taken to address climate change. The protest aimed to push politicians to approve legislation that would protect the environment, including the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill stalled in Congress.

The floating house was constructed to look similar to housing in Washington, D.C., because low-income people would be impacted most rapidly and most significantly by the effects of climate change, according to Andy Miller, a member of XRDC. “That house was made to look as close as possible to a D.C. row house, and especially to a low-income D.C. row house,” Miller said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “The government and institutions of power need to tell the truth about the urgency. It relates definitely to our ‘act now’ demand, which is to do everything within each of those institutions’ powers to reduce emissions, increase resilience and protect the most vulnerable communities.”

Sea levels in the District are rising twice as fast as the national average, according

to a 2018 Nature Briefing report, putting predominantly low-income neighborhoods in Wards 7 and 8 at increased risk of flooding caused by climate change because of their location along the Anacostia River. By the year 2100, rising sea levels due to climate change could raise rivers in the District by up to 11 feet, putting neighborhoods and infrastructure underwater, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report that assesses climate risks to the United States.

XRDC chose to place the floating house in the Tidal Basin because it is a manmade structure that is being impacted by rising water levels, just as the natural sea levels are also rising, according to Miller.

“The Tidal Basin is a manmade thing, and it symbolizes to me that nature is so powerful, and we have to respect it. This man-made creation is settling, so it’s sinking down, and the water’s rising, and it’s actually going to be unusable within a couple decades and within our lifetime,” Miller said.

“One really important message is that it’s never too late, because our actions will always be affecting the now and the future.”

Recent estimates have shown that areas around the Tidal Basin could be submerged in as much as three feet of water by 2040, according to NPR. In response to the issue, the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab, a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Trust

for the National Mall and National Park Services, solicited plans from five landscape architecture firms to address the sinking.

One member of XRDC swam in the Tidal Basin with the floating house and was charged after being arrested for operating a vessel in an area operated by the National Park Service without a permit.

This is not the first time XRDC has staged an unconventional climate protest.

The group placed wheelbarrows full of cow manure in front of the White House in April as a protest against President Biden’s climate plan, which they claimed did not achieve net-zero emissions fast enough.

Unconventional demonstrations will force more people to take notice and choose to do something about the future of the planet, Miller said.

“We do actions that disrupt business as usual in some way because that makes people have to decide are they for a just, livable future or are they against it,” Miller said. “Basically almost everyone will be for it, so the disruptive nature of our actions gets people to have to say one way or another.”

The floating house protest is a jarring demonstration of what will happen to the District and the world if climate change continues to go unchecked, according to Miller.

“We want this to hit home for D.C. residents and the nation at large,” Miller said. “This is going to be us, this already is us in some parts of the U.S.”

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Nursing Students Volunteer At On-Campus Flu Vaccine Clinic Nick Cohen

Special to The Hoya

Amid an early flu season, Georgetown University nursing students volunteered to help vaccinate over 1,000 students.

The free flu vaccination clinics, held in the Leavey Center on Sept. 19 and Sept. 23 for students living on campus, were hosted by the School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) and the Student Health Center (SHC). They launched the clinics amid the unusually early flu season on campus, which resulted in 46 confirmed cases of influenza A on the main and medical center campuses as of Sept. 10. The clinic vaccinated 1,184 students, according to a university spokesperson.

To aid in the flu vaccination effort, a group of 16 seniors in the NHS Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BNS) program volunteered to prepare the flu shots and administer the vaccines, an annual tradition for seniors in this program.

Rosalyn Wang (NHS ’22), who volunteered for eight hours and vaccinated approximately 100 people, said the experience provided an essential hands-on

learning experience that helped prepare her for a nursing career.

“I became involved in the flu vaccine clinic because I believe in supporting the health of my classmates and the Hoya community,” Wang said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “For me, nursing involves not only meeting an individual’s physical, emotional, social and mental needs, but also meeting the needs of the community.”

Prior to the vaccine clinics, the university had advised that students get vaccinated as early as possible to combat the spread of the flu with an unusually early high volume of flu cases occurring on campus, according to a Sept. 16 message to students from Dr. Ranit Mishori (MED ’02), university vice president and chief public health officer.

Students with appointments lined up well before the clinic officially opened at 9 a.m., and the clinic continued to operate well into the afternoon. The clinics lasted for over 12 hours across both dates.

Since Georgetown experienced a rise in flu cases earlier than expected, the SHC

needed to quickly mobilize the vaccination effort, and the efficiency and success of this last-minute clinic relied on the senior nursing students, according to Wang.

“This is just part of my job as a nurse to always be providing primary prevention to viruses and public health issues that arise in our society or community,” Wang said.

The university has provided nursing students opportunities to gain experience through vaccine clinics in the past.

In March 2021, third- and fourth-year students from the Georgetown School of Medicine and clinical graduate students from the NHS had volunteered at four D.C. MedStar Health facilities and other public health locations to aid in distributing COVID-19 vaccinations. The SHC also typically hosts clinics where students can receive free immunization against the flu by appointment or walk-in during mid-October.

Geraldine Sackey (NHS ’22), another nursing student who helped administer flu vaccines at the clinics, said she felt hap-

GU MEDICAL CENTER

To aid in the flu vaccination efforts, 16 seniors in the NHS Bachelor of Science in Nursing program helped prepare and administer flu shots on campus. py to be able to get direct practice as a nurse.

“We had a lot of our nursing experience taken away because of COVID,” Sackey said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“I feel like a lot of us were very excited to just be in the field again and get more experience.”

Many nursing students were eager to volunteer at the clinic after receiving a message from the NHS with a sign-up sheet to participate, according to Sackey.

“They sent out a sign-up sheet, and a lot of nursing students signed up,” Sackey said.

The university plans to partner with Labcorp to hold more flu vaccine clinics for students, faculty and staff throughout October and November, according to a university spokesperson.

The clinics will take place at various locations on- and offcampus, and the Oct. 14 clinic co-sponsored by NHS and

SHS will accommodate up to 800 people, according to a university spokesperson.

According to Wang, the student volunteers were a key factor in the success of the clinics.

“I am grateful for all the students who joined the community health effort, because without the people that showed up to the clinic and gave time out of their lives to go get the vaccines, the clinic would not have done so well,” Wang said.

Report: Public Funding Boosts Voter Engagement Panel: Sex Education Helps Prevent Sexual Assault on Campuses Marcos Caballero Special to The Hoya

Washington, D.C.’s first publicly funded elections in 2020 saw more candidates and increased campaign donations, according to a report recently published by the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.

The report, titled “Expanding Donor Participation in the District: An Analysis of the Fair Elections Program in Washington, DC,” found that the public funding model under the Fair Elections Program led to a wider field of candidates as well as more candidate funding directly from D.C. residents.

The program, which was passed by the D.C. Council in 2018, seeks to change municipal government campaign funding by creating a publicfunding program where the D.C. government can help finance municipal candidates.

Under the initiative, the Fair Elections Program provides candidates with a base payment of $40,000 as seed money for their campaigns. The D.C. government then matches donations from residents to participating candidates at a five-to-one ratio, meaning that for every dollar donated to a candidate the government will give five additional dollars, according to the report.

The Fair Elections Program offers many benefits to D.C. residents by encouraging increased political involvement, according to Brian McCabe (SFS ’02), an associate professor in the department of sociology and the faculty and research director in the Center for Social Justice who coauthored the report.

“Policymakers wanted to increase the participation of

small-dollar donors, make sure that people have more of a voice in local democracy and amplify the voices of local residents,” McCabe said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The Fair Elections initiative was also successful in increasing the number of first-time and small-dollar donors, according to Kenan Dogan (SFS ’23), a junior majoring in business and global affairs who coauthored the report.

The report found that the number of D.C. residents who contributed to a D.C. Council campaign more than doubled in 2020 compared to the 2018 elections.

In the 2020 elections, the report found that 13,373 D.C. residents contributed to a D.C. Council campaign, compared to only 6,455 during the 2018 election cycle.

However, despite these successes, the D.C. Council should still make further improvements to D.C. campaign financing, according to the report.

The report urges the D.C. Council to evaluate the candidate qualifying threshold, a base amount of contributions necessary in order to qualify as a candidate in the Fair Elections Program, as well as implement a voucher system that will give funding to candidates even if some voters are unable to contribute personally.

“The qualifying thresholds for the Fair Elections program are generally higher than those in other cities, including Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco,” the report reads. “Overly burdensome thresholds may restrict the entrance of a diverse, inclusive slate of candidates.”

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland use similar public

Akashdiya Chakraborty Special to The Hoya

CW: This article references sexual assault. Please refer to thehoya. com for on- and off-campus resources.

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The report examined the impacts of a recent public funding campaign in D.C. titled the Fair Elections Program. funding models, matching resident donations with a six-to-one ratio. Seattle, Wash., also using a public funding program, offers vouchers to residents to contribute to their choice candidate.

The report also calls for the D.C. government to implement an alternative voting system, such as rankedchoice voting, which would allow individual voters to better navigate a larger field of candidates by ranking multiple instead of only picking one, according to Dogan.

“Ranked-choice voting is going to become a pretty big topic in D.C. over the next four years,” Dogan said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

“Ranked-choice voting will help District residents better represent their preferences in a candidate field that is becoming increasingly saturated as a result of the public campaign finance program.”

In July, D.C. legislators introduced a bill to implement ranked-choice voting in D.C.

by 2024, which has support from a majority of councilmembers but still faces some pushback from others. While some councilmembers argue ranked-choice voting will allow more participation in the electoral process, others say it will further marginalize independent candidates.

To address the concerns of some of the D.C. councilmembers, McCabe and Dogan plan to host a Zoom event Oct. 14 with D.C. councilmember Christina Henderson to advocate for ranked-choice voting and election reform in the District.

Implementing election reform in addition to reforming and continuing the Fair Elections Program will ultimately help encourage voter participation in democratic processes, according to McCabe.

“The most important thing is to ensure that the voices of all D.C. residents are heard, especially those who have historically been marginalized from the political process,” McCabe said.

US-China Trade War Failed, Expert Says Lucas Lin

Special to The Hoya

The U.S.-China trade war was unsuccessful in its goal of pressuring American and allied multinational corporations to exit China and instead passed down increased business costs to consumers, a panelist said at a Sept. 24 virtual event.

The event, titled “Political Risk and Firm Exit: Evidence from the U.S.-China Trade War,” featured experts shedding light on the impacts of the U.S.-China trade war based on the results of their latest research study of the same title. The event was hosted by the department of government and the Georgetown Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues, as a part of its Chinese Politics and Economy Research Seminar series, which convenes scholars to share the latest research on China.

The U.S.-China trade war is an ongoing economic conflict between China and the United States that began in January 2018 after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on China with the goal of changing “unfair trade practices.” The Chinese government responded

by levying its own tariffs on American goods.

Beyond Trump’s stated goals, the intent of the trade war was to pressure American and allied multinational companies to cease operations in China, according to Samantha Vortherms, assistant professor of political science at the University of California Irvine and co-author of “Political Risk and Firm Exit: Evidence from the U.S.China Trade War.” “Policymakers hoped that the trade war would encourage decoupling with China, that these policy measures would encourage both U.S. firms and firms of U.S. allies to walk away from China,” Vortherms said at the event.

In January 2020, both the United States and China signed an initial agreement to de-escalate tensions. The agreement addressed intellectual property concerns, agricultural trade and financial services, among other topics, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Despite the agreement, tensions have persisted into the administration of President Joe Biden, as the Chinese government reportedly failed to meet purchasing benchmarks in Jan-

uary 2021, according to CNBC. The U.S.-China trade war elevated political risks for multinational corporations operating in China, increasing the number of companies who left the country, according to Vortherms.

“The largest effect of the trade war: All firms, regardless of tariff or country of origin, are more likely to exit during the trade war,” Vortherms said.

By July 2019, more than 50 major companies announced their intent to pull production from China as a result of the trade war.

But rather than move their operations to the United States as Trump urged, many rebuilt supply chains in Southeast Asia.

The U.S.-China trade war was not successful in its goal of pressuring United States and allied companies out of China as firms could adapt to the increased business costs that the tariffs created, according to Vortherms.

“Multinational corporations that did not experience tariffs saw the largest blunt effects of the trade war. And U.S. firms were less likely to exit than other firms overall,” Vortherms said.

Since the Biden administration took office in January, talks between trade representatives

for the two countries have reportedly stalled, leaving tariffs in place, including a 25% import tax. In response, groups representing various U.S. business interests sent a letter to the Biden administration in August, urging the two countries to resume negotiations, according to The New York Times.

Despite the continuing tensions, many businesses have reason to remain optimistic about the future of U.S.-China trade relations, according to Vortherms.

“For supporters of trade, there’s reason to be optimistic because the overarching trend is continuing business as usual.

It’s also important to remember that tariffs still affect outcomes: Instead of firms exiting the markets, firms are absorbing the cost of these tariffs,” said Vortherms.

Still, the impacts of the trade war will continue to be felt by consumers until the t rade dispute is resolved, according to Vortherms.

“It is still increasing the cost of business — just not to the degree that it’s pushing firms out. And instead, that means that the effect of the trade war is getting rolled down to customers,” Vortherms said.

Sexual assault can be the result of campus policies, and education must improve to combat the issue, panelists said at a Sept. 27 event.

At the event, titled “Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus,” panelists discussed sexual assault on college campuses and the ways education can improve to combat the issue. The event was co-hosted by the Georgetown University Gender+ Justice Initiative, Women’s Center, Georgetown College, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Title IX Office and Student Health Services.

University policies related to student safety that are unequally applied across identity groups can create environments that facilitate sexual assault, according to Jennifer Hirsch, a professor and deputy chair for doctoral studies in socio-medical sciences at Columbia University and co-author of the 2020 book “Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus.”

“There’s so many ways in which the environment that we’ve built on campus amplifies power inequalities instead of mitigating them,” Hirsch said at the event. “Policy decisions like the fact that fraternities but not sororities serve alcohol or that it’s very hard for first-year students to host parties because most of them are under the drinking age and so their social spaces tend to be more heavily policed.”

One of the root causes of sexual assault on college campuses is a lack of adequate sexual education, according to Hirsch.

“We erase young people’s sexual citizenship by forcing them to come of age in a climate of silence and fear, which doesn’t enable them to do what they want to do without hurting other people,” Hirsch said. “So really, we shouldn’t be so surprised that there’s so much sexual violence because we as a society are choosing not to do better there.”

Sexual assault is pervasive on college campuses. Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience either rape or sexual assault, according to a 2020 Association of American Universities report.

Sexual education at all education levels should be more comprehensive, and especially should cover important concepts such as

consent, according to Hirsch.

“Our goal really should be teaching people not to assault other people, not helping women fend off unwanted advances,” Hirsch said.

“And so sex education could really do that if it started in an age-appropriate way in kindergarten, which is basically telling little kids not to put their hands in other people’s bodies when when they’re not wanted.”

Currently, 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education. Decisions about sex education, however, are made at the state and local level, which may result in a great discrepancy in sex education among individual school districts.

Sexual education should also center around LGBTQ individuals and address power imbalances between different identity groups, according to Shamus Khan, professor of sociology and American studies at Princeton University and co-author of “Sexual Citizens.”

“Sex ed needs to center the experiences of queer people not abstractly, but particularistically — that is, to highlight what those experiences are,” Khan said at the event. “Just as it needs to highlight racial differences, class differences, age differences, as part of its overall education in power.”

LGBTQ students in the United States have reported negative experience with sexual education; in 2013, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network published a report stating that fewer than 5% of LGBTQ students had positive experiences with LGBTQ representation in their health classes. Furthermore, there are seven states that prohibit sex educators from discussing LGBTQ-related topics in health classes.

Community groups of all kinds have a responsibility to take a stand against sexual assault, according to Hirsch.

“Part of the reason that higher education has failed for decades to reduce rates of sexual assault is that it’s been regarded as a campus problem, and in ‘Sexual Citizens’ we redefine it and show how it’s an everyone problem,” Hirsch said. “Schools and families and religious organizations, every institution that touches young people on their way to adulthood needs to get on board and be part of the solution.”

Progress on sex education is occuring at the state level, and individuals should pressure their elected officials to improve sex education in schools, Hirsch said.

“All of you who care about this, turn your eyes away from Washington and call your state legislatures,” Hirsch said.

A10 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

MEN’S SOCCER

GU Hands Over Lou Little Trophy No. 1 Georgetown Defeats To Columbia in 35-24 Loss Dartmouth in Decisive Victory Sam Wirth

Special to The Hoya

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Junior wide reciever Dorrian Moultrie, 1, carries the ball into Columbia territory. Moultrie logged his first reception of the season with a six-yard grab in the second quarter.

Rushil Vashee Special to The Hoya

Fresh off a disappointing 44-9 loss to the Harvard Crimson on Sept. 18, Georgetown football fell to another Ivy League team Saturday afternoon. In a game characterized by heavy offensive firepower and little defensive resistance, the Hoyas proved unable to defend their 24-10 2019 Lou Little Cup title, as the trophy now travels northward to New York’s Columbia Lions (2-0).

The Georgetown Hoyas (1-2) kicked the game off with excitement, coming away with a fiery forced turnover on Columbia’s first drive. Senior defensive back Delano Salgado punched out the football, allowing firstyear defensive lineman VeRon Garrison to shift the early momentum with his fumble recovery at midfield.

From there, the Hoyas turned to junior quarterback Pierce Holley to bring them success. Following fifth-year quarterback Joseph Brunell’s injury in the team’s loss to Harvard, Holley got his first-ever start as a Hoya and completed his first career pass to senior wide receiver Joshua Tomas.

The Lions, however, were the first to sustain a drive, with quarterback Joe Green tossing a 46yard completion into the red zone.

Columbia took an early 7-0 lead with a touchdown by running back Ty’son Edwards.

Following Edwards’ touch-

down, the Lions never gave up the lead. The first quarter saw a gutting 63-yard run by Columbia running back Dante Miller, followed by a 6-yard score from the Lions’ mobile quarterback Ty Lenhart.

The Hoyas finally gave themselves a chance to answer at the tail end of the quarter when Holley threw a 35-yard deep ball to senior tight end Liam McHale.

Georgetown got on the board with a dominant rush by standout junior running back Joshua Stakely, cutting the deficit in half with a commanding 10-play, 76yard drive.

Columbia did not hesitate to answer. Lions defensive back Will Allen returned the succeeding kickoff 92 yards to the end zone, increasing Columbia’s lead to 14 points.

The second quarter quickly became a shootout, with Holley launching a 45-yard completion to senior wide receiver Cameron Crayton and rushing for his first career touchdown. Holley and the Hoyas cut the lead to single digits, adding a 42-yard field goal to cap off the first half down 21-17.

The second half opened with disaster for Georgetown. Just as the Hoyas drove into opposing territory, Lions defensive back Ben Mathiasmeier intercepted Holley’s pass, setting Columbia up for a Lenhart rushing touchdown.

Georgetown bounced back just one drive later, as Holley found Crayton downfield for a 52-yard completion into the red zone.

Crayton then hauled in a touchdown from Holley, bringing the score within four points.

In the fourth quarter, however, the Hoyas struggled to keep up with the Lions. Lenhart ran in for his third score of the afternoon, and another Mathiasmeier interception ended Georgetown’s last-second comeback effort. With time running out, Columbia lined up in victory formation.

Minus his costly interception, Holley played an impressive game, throwing 27-for-42 for 368 yards and a touchdown, plus one more interception. Crayton had a strong performance, too, hauling in eight receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown.

Statistically, the Hoyas played a better game than the Lions.

They outgained Columbia 476 yards to 354, won the time of possession by nearly 13 minutes and even gained three more first downs than Columbia throughout the game. Still, the most important numbers are on the scoreboard, and the Lions won that battle by 11.

Since the Lou Little Cup — named after former Georgetown and Columbia Head Coach Lou Little — was established in 2015, the Hoyas and the Lions have faced off six times and stand tied at three wins each.

Georgetown returns to Cooper Field to face the Colgate Raiders (1-3) in the team’s first Patriot League matchup Saturday, Oct. 2 at 12:30 p.m.

At Shaw Field on Saturday, Sept. 25, Dartmouth proved no match for the No. 1 Georgetown men’s soccer team, who earned a 3-0 victory.

From kickoff, Georgetown (70-0, 1-0-0 Big East) relentlessly attacked Dartmouth’s (0-5-0) defense. In the 10th minute, sophomore midfielder Chris Hegardt lofted a free kick into the back of the box, which junior defender Daniel Wu headed in front of the goal. Junior midfielder Dante Polvara seized the opportunity and volleyed the ball past Big Green senior goalkeeper Alex Budnik, finding the bottom right corner of the goal and giving the Hoyas an early 1-0 lead.

The Hoyas continued to apply pressure and exposed the Big Green’s defense again in the 12th minute. Georgetown senior forward Zach Riviere raced past Dartmouth senior defender Jordan Bailon to the top of the box and from well behind midfield, Wu booted the ball to him. Riviere took it in stride and struck it past the diving body of Budnik into the goal, putting Georgetown up 2-0.

Scoring two early goals was essential to ensuring the Hoyas’ victory, according to Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese.

“Getting that cushion was hugely important,” Wiese said in a postgame interview. “It takes a lot of the pressure off of a

game like this when you can get the lead early.”

The Big Green attempted to ease their defensive woes late in the first half. They packed the backline, preventing Georgetown from advancing toward the goal.

This rendered Dartmouth’s offense ineffective, and whenever they crossed midfield with the ball, they were met by a swarm of Hoya defenders.

In the final minutes of the first half, Dartmouth appeared to be gaining momentum. On multiple occasions, junior forward David Alino pushed the ball into the box and took shots on goal.

Georgetown graduate goalkeeper Ethan Koehler, determined to preserve the shutout, made multiple saves, including one in which he acrobatically soared through the air to deny Alino’s goal attempt.

These saves allowed Georgetown to keep Dartmouth scoreless in the first half, which was a key to their victory, according to Wiese.

“Koehler made a really important save right before the half to keep it at 2-0, because 2-1 going into halftime is a very different feeling,” Wiese said.

Following halftime, Georgetown refused to slow down its offensive attack. In the 62nd minute, Riviere passed the ball to junior forward Will Sands, who drove down the left wing, drawing defenders into the corner with him. He then beautifully crossed the

ball in front of the goal and senior midfielder Sean Zawadzki tapped it in for the score, making it 3-0 in the Hoyas’ favor.

The two teams traded jabs for the rest of the match, but neither could muster a goal and the score remained 3-0 to the final whistle.

Koehler helped Georgetown secure its fifth clean sheet victory of the season in just seven matches.

The Hoyas currently rank fourth in the country in goals against average with an average of just .286 goals allowed per game.

The Hoyas outshot the Big Green 16-9 and converted all but one of their shots on goal. Koehler had a masterful game, shutting out Dartmouth by blocking all five of its shots on goal.

Following the match, the team kept things in perspective for the rest of the season. With Big East play continuing Oct. 2, Coach Wiese knew his team had to maintain its intensity to succeed, especially with the added pressure of being the No. 1 team in the nation.

“Let’s see if we can get on a run in the league to put ourselves in the playoffs,” Wiese said. “Being number one is a challenge for the fact that you know the other team is going to be a bit more excited to try to notch that upset and so you are going to get the best effort from every team you play.”

Georgetown looks to maintain their national ranking and undefeated record against DePaul (5-2-0, 1-0-0 Big East) on Oct. 2 at Shaw Field. The match will begin at 1 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL

Hoyas Fall to DePaul, Marquette In Big East Opening Weekend

THE EQUALIZER

Support for Women’s Sports Must Extend Beyond the Pitch their female counterparts, failed in the entire league. Although

to inform them of relevant meet- this number has now improved Carrie McDonald ings and disrespected both their to three, the momentum must Columnist

The Washington Spirit have once again made soccer headlines, but for all of the wrong reasons. Instead of focusing on the players’ heroic efforts in their comeback against Kansas City this Sunday as they vie for the final spot in the playoffs, fans are forced to confront the latest instance in an ongoing scandal that has exposed the sexism and racism pervading the team’s management. In light of this news, demanding equality on the field is not enough; women belong in every facet of professional sports, including in positions off the pitch.

This August, The Washington Post revealed that at least three players — including 23-year-old rookie Kaiya McCullough, who has since quit the sport indefinitely — left the Washington Spirit because of emotional trauma inflicted by the now-disgraced former Head Coach Richie Burke. Burke had been hired by owner Steve Baldwin despite previous allegations of abuse in youth soccer circles. These revelations triggered a full NWSL investigation, which has now begun to expose a much more pervasive culture of misogyny than investigators initially feared, extending far beyond an abusive coach and a complicit owner.

The Post reported multiple anonymous allegations that the Spirit has an “old boys’ club,” in which underqualified male executives casually used profoundly offensive nicknames in reference to their female colleagues.

Executives also stole ideas from

work and their identities. This systematic exclusion of women has led to a devastating loss of 40 percent of the female staff listed on the Spirit’s website at the start of the season.

Even in the face of this backlash, Baldwin has not only failed to adequately address the problem, but has rather compounded it. Instead of scrambling to rebuild his management team, he continued to ostracize co-owner Y. Michele Kang, the first woman to own a stake of the Spirit. Baldwin is reported to have belittled her concerns about male behavior toward female employees and excluded her from the decision to hire new Spirit President Ben Olsen. Furthermore, in a blatant act of racism, many within the organization blamed Kang — an Asian American woman — for the recent COVID-19 outbreak within the squad. The disease flare-up led to the Spirit forfeiting important games against the Portland Thorns and OL Reign in September.

Although the Spirit is currently under the spotlight, this epidemic of exclusion extends throughout the NWSL. Out of all American professional sports leagues, the WNBA is the only league to receive an A+ grade in The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ 2020 Racial and Gender Report Card. In comparison, the MLB and NFL received a C on gender hiring, and the MLS received a pitiful C-. The NWSL lacks an in-depth study but would likely receive an equally poor grade, considering that at the start of the 2021 season, Freya Coombe of NJ/NY Gotham FC was the only female head coach

continue. It is also the epitome of hypocrisy that the league that brands itself as a space for female empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated sport is so blatantly disregarding gender equality behind the scenes.

These constant revelations of sexism are disheartening. It feels like a never-ending battle for basic respect and inclusivity for women in the professional sports world. Yet, there are certainly glimmers of hope.

NWSL 2022 expansion teams in Los Angeles and San Diego have centered their launches on gender diversity, hiring female head coaches and attracting high-profile investors, including USWNT legends Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm. They aspire to serve as a model for other teams to bring women into the front office.

At the Spirit’s latest game against Kansas City, Spirit fans unveiled a large banner that read “Can You Hear Us Now?” For the first time in history, it appears the answer might finally be yes. While it is alarming that the misogynistic culture at the Spirit went unchecked for so long, we must use this opportunity to reassess how we view gender equality in the sports world and to usher in a new era of inclusion. Now is the time to get energized. Never stop shouting for equal pay and opportunities for female athletes, but always remember to include in your cries those in the less glamorous positions off the field. get energized. Never stop shouting for equal pay and opportunities for female athletes, but always remember to include in your cries those in the less glamorous positions off the field.

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Junior middle blocker Makayla Serrett, 17, leaps to hit the ball over the net.

Serrett recorded a season-high eight points in the three-set loss to DePaul.

Ethan Williams Special to The Hoya

It was a disappointing weekend for Georgetown women’s volleyball as the Hoyas opened Big East play with consecutive losses to the DePaul Blue Demons and the Marquette Golden Eagles.

These matches were preceded by four consecutive nonconference losses, giving the Hoyas a disheartening start to the season with a six-game winless streak.

The Hoyas’ (4-8-0, 0-2-0 Big East) first match of the weekend on Friday, Sept. 24 against the Blue Demons (9-5-0, 2-0-0 Big East) kicked off with a contentious first set. Early on, DePaul established a four-point lead, 11-7. The Hoyas maintained pressure throughout the set and eventually closed the deficit to 21-20, but ultimately lost the set at 25-20 after a four-point run from the Blue Demons.

The Hoyas continued to pressure the Blue Demons in the second set, but fell again. In the final set, Georgetown came out strong with a 4-0 lead and eventually built a five-point cushion at 19-14, which prompted a DePaul timeout. However, a standout performance from DePaul outside hitter Jill Pressly earned the side a crushing comeback, with the Blue Demons winning the third and final set.

Although the Hoyas ultimately lost, Georgetown senior libero Jessica Cusi and junior middle blocker Makayla Serrett both demonstrated skill and maturity on the court. Cusi was vital to the

Hoyas’ defense, completing 13 digs across all sets, while Serrett engaged frequently in both defense and attack, completing five kills and five blocks.

Georgetown took the court again on Saturday, Sept. 25 to face off against Marquette (11-2-0, 2-00 Big East). The Golden Eagles developed an early 14-8 lead in the first set and the Hoyas took a crucial timeout, which seemed to rally the team. The squad displayed composure and coordination to close the point deficit, forcing a Marquette timeout at 15-13. However, the Hoyas were unable to maintain their momentum, and the lethal Golden Eagles finished the set with a strong 25-18 point win.

To start the second set, the Hoyas fell behind after committing a few errors early on. After substituting junior right side Peyton Wilhite, they rebounded to a 12-12 draw. Marquette responded with effective team chemistry, a strong middle presence, and organized movement to win the set 25-19.

Similar to the night before, the third set again came down to the wire. The Hoyas played with passion, and they fought to put points on the board. They developed a late 18-15 lead, but ultimately lost their momentum because of a string of errors. Marquette eventually came back to win 25-23.

The martialled defense and effective collaborative mentality of the Golden Eagles made the difference. While Georgetown looked uncoordinated facing balls within the 10-foot

line, Marquette was a well-oiled machine. The Golden Eagles maintained a strong presence in every area of the court and put together a mature performance overall, securing the win.

In both matches, Georgetown found itself outperformed in major statistical categories by their Big East opponents. The Hoyas were outnumbered 96-60 in kills across the two matches, while also recording just 54 assists opposed to DePaul and Marquette’s 88.

Despite these losses, firstyear outside hitters Mary Grace Goyena and Giselle Williams performed impressively and provided reason for hope for Georgetown moving forward. Williams was especially lethal against Marquette, recording 11 kills and six tenacious digs, demonstrating her ability to be a long-term asset to Georgetown. Elsewhere on the team, Cusi proved herself as the heart of the Hoyas’ defense, making vital defensive interventions and recording 10 digs.

Georgetown displayed clear energy and drive, most notably from its younger players, and as a team, the Hoyas showed they are capable of creating moments of unstoppable team play, albeit with room for improvement in terms of consistency.

The Hoyas will continue Big East play against rival Butler (78-0, 1-1-0 Big East) on Friday, Oct. 1. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be played at McDonough Arena. The Hoyas will then welcome the Xavier Musketeers (6-6-0, 1-1-0 Big East) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.

THE HOYA | A11

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

SPORTS FIELD HOCKEY

ARMCHAIR ANALYST

GU Triumphs Over Brown in 2-1 Win BROWN, from A12

DESHAUN WATSON/FACEBOOK

Twenty-two women have filed lawsuits accusing quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct.

Deshaun Watson Does Not Belong On an NFL Roster BARISH, from A12

inconsistent the league’s stance against sexual assault is.

The NFL cannot allow Watson to continue his career like Roethlisberger was able to.

The league office ought to right its previous heinous mishandlings of sexual assault. Clearly, NFL teams cannot be trusted to ostracize players like Roethlisberger on their own. If Watson was not such a star, the Texans would have cut him months ago.

There is zero reason to believe Watson will be released from any NFL roster in the manner of Rice. As a result, the league office needs to place Watson on the Commissioner’s Exempt List to NEWS pull him as far away from football as possible within its current boundaries. Ultimately, Watson ought to be banned from the NFL forever if the league wants to prove itself a true ally to sexual NCAA, from A12 assault survivors.

seeking to dismantle their accusations by asking questions about what they were wearing. One survivor said the NFL investigators “were really looking for the weaknesses that they thought they could exploit.”

It would appear the NFL is acting as Watson’s lawyer rather than the impartial observer it ought to be.

The NFL’s most notable revision to its policies regarding sexual assault came after the league horribly mishandled thenBaltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s punishment. In 2014, Rice was indicted on a charge of third-degree aggravated assault following the release of a video of the incident. Consequently, the NFL gave Rice a pathetically short two-game suspension.

Commissioner Roger Goodell later admitted he “didn’t get it right” in regards to Rice’s suspension. In that same letter, Goodell put forward the league’s new policy regarding sexual assault: a six-game suspension for firsttime offenders and a lifetime ban for a second incident. Despite the short suspension, Rice never played in the NFL again; the Ravens released him and he was never signed to another roster.

Yet running backs are much less invaluable than quarterbacks; Watson appears to be too precious an asset for the NFL to dole out the same treatment.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may be the closest parallel to Watson.

In 2010, after two sexual assault allegations, Roethlisberger was suspended for six games, which was later reduced to just four games. Roethlisberger is still on the Steelers today and is widely heralded as a future Hall of Famer; his history of assault is hardly ever mentioned. Roethlisberger’s continued presence in the NFL demonstrates just how flimsy and

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Resources: On-campus confidential resources include Health Education Services (202-687-8949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Services (202-687-6985); additional off-campus resources include the D.C. Rape Crisis Center (202-333-7273) and the D.C. Forensic Nurse Examiner Washington Hospital Center (1-844443-5732). If you or anyone you know would like to receive a sexual assault forensic examination or other medical care — including emergency contraception — call the Network for Victim Recovery of D.C. (202-7421727). To report sexual misconduct, you can contact Georgetown’s Title IX coordinator (202-687-9183) or file an online report here. Emergency contraception is available at the CVS located at 1403 Wisconsin Ave. NW and through H*yas for Choice.

For more information, visit sexualassault.georgetown.edu.

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both teams netting their first shots. The next two shooters missed for each side, pushing the period even further.

Brown back Julia Hitti was able to eke by Hoya senior goalie Ciara Weets, making it time for Van der Veen to come up big once again. Van der Veen successfully scored, tying the score. Three saves followed, leaving the match’s fate in the hands of first-year Hoya midfielder Elena Leahy.

Driving through the circle, she broke the goalie’s ankles,

leaving the cage exposed for the game-winning goal.

Altogether a complete team effort, Georgetown’s dominance of possession proved crucial for the victory.

The Hoyas’ first-year attacker Sophie Towne and fifth-year attacker Emma Street came up strong, with eight and seven shots, respectively.

The Hoyas found success by leading in penalty corners, 18-5. Georgetown also managed to outshoot Brown 24-13, including dominating

the shot count 11-2 in the second half. These keys to success must be repeated if the Hoyas hope to continue clinching wins this season.

The Hoyas look to keep up their discipline and aggression this Friday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. on Cooper Field, where they will face off against the Temple Owls (6-3, 2-0 American). Temple leads the all-time series, 7-2, although Georgetown won two of the previous three matchups between the two programs.

A probe commissioned Austin Barish is a junior in the College. The Armchair Ana- by the NCAA led to the relyst appears in print and on- lease of a report in August determining the NCAA has line every other week.

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ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

First-year midfielder Elena Leahy concentrates in the Hoyas’ offensive zone.

Leahy logged just her second career start in the win over Brown.

NCAA Attempts To Remedy Inequalities

SUDOKU 7

on an onslaught of attacks.

Winning the shot battle 7-1 in the third quarter, the Hoyas clawed their way back into the game with a goal from first-year attacker Emma van der Veen in the 34th minute.

Georgetown dominated in the second half, creating four penalty corners to Brown’s one and keeping the ball out of Hoya territory.

Despite the Hoyas’ strong performance, the Bears did not go down without a fight.

Though Brown was outshot again 4-1 in the fourth quarter, the game was back and forth, eventually going into overtime.

Both teams readjusted their strategies at the beginning of overtime. With four fewer players per team, each side erred on the side of caution, playing conservatively rather than constantly pushing on offense. Unlike much of the game before, the shot totals were virtually even for the two overtime periods. Despite a late attack

by Brown forward Danielle Van Rootselaar and a few shots and penalty corners by the Bears, the Hoyas stood strong and pushed the game into a shootout.

Penalty strokes proved to be a hard-fought affair, with

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historically undervalued women’s basketball compared to men’s. The report detailed the ways in which systemic inequalities constrain the growth of women’s sports and individual female athletes, and cited specific instances in which the NCAA refused to use “March Madness” branding for the women’s tournament and broadcasting. Furthermore, the report criticized calculations from the NCAA that attempted to justify the disparities between the two tournaments, citing revenue allocation statistics.

Georgia Tech women’s basketball Head Coach Nell Fortner said in March that women’s basketball coaches and athletes can no longer accept substandard treatment by the NCAA in a message shared on Twitter.

“Thank you for using the three biggest weeks of your organization’s year to expose exactly how you feel about women’s basketball — an afterthought,” Fortner wrote. “These disparities are just a snapshot of larger, more pervasive issues when it comes to women’s sports and the NCAA.” The change to include the “March Madness” brand in the women’s basketball tournament will go into place for the 2022 tournament set for mid-March.

Marketing the women’s tournament under the des-

COURTESY GUHOYAS

Georgetown sophomore guard Kelsey Ransom dribbles upcourt in a game last season.

Ransom and the Hoyas will attempt to earn a spot in the rebranded women’s tournament. ignation of “March Madness” coincides with the NCAA’s renewed commitment to enhancing and growing women’s basketball as a sport, according to NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman.

“Women’s basketball has grown tremendously over the past few years,” Holzman said in a Sept. 29 interview. “The brand recognition that March Madness carries will broaden marketing opportunities as we continue that work to elevate the women’s basketball championship.”

The NCAA promised additional financial changes to rectify its inequalities between the basketball tournaments.

The NCAA also decided to use a zero-based budgeting method to determine the finances allocated to the two tournaments, a move that hopes to achieve financial equity and increase opportunities for cross-promotion and collaboration. Instead of determining budgets by adjusting figures from the previous year, the NCAA will instead begin at zero every year and start anew with budgeting.

While the announcement serves as a promising sign for increased gender equality in college athletics, the NCAA has yet to announce how the adoption of “March Madness” branding will be implemented, leading to questions about the ways in

which the organization plans to improve the women’s tournament in practice.

The move was essential in correcting the NCAA’s previous errors, yet more work is still necessary, according to Chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee Lisa Campos.

“This is just the start when it comes to improving gender equity in the way the two Division I basketball championships are conducted,” Campos said in a Sept. 29 statement.

“Adding the March Madness trademark to the Division I women’s basketball championship will enhance the development and public perception of the sport.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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Hoyas Notch 1st Big East Win XAVIER, from A12

pass to Vicari streaking down the left side of the pitch. The junior forward evaded an Xavier defender with a brilliant move and fired a shot past the outstretched arms of Jenkins to secure Georgetown its first conference victory of the season. The Hoyas erupted into celebration, spilling towards Vicari in a jubilant mob.

It was the first meeting between the two programs since Xavier’s defeat of Georgetown in the 2019 Big

East Tournament Final.

Head Coach Dave Nolan said that Big East history weighed upon the Hoyas’ minds going into the match.

“We have kids that want to go all three, four years with a Big East Championship every year. There’s one missing,” Nolan said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “So the few kids that are still here, it was important for them to get that win.”

Nolan also said that Vicari’s effort on the final play helped to clinch the win for

The Hoyas.

“It was a tremendous goal,” he said. “Winning games like that are always decided by mistakes or by moments of brilliance, and that was a moment of brilliance by Gia.” The shot was Vicari’s second goal of the match, fourth in the last three contests and team-leading seventh of the season. Until Sunday, no team had produced multiple goals against the Musketeers defense during their 2021 campaign.

With the victory, the Hoyas have now won or tied 22 consecutive regular season matches dating back to October 2019. The win was also the second triumph over a ranked opponent for the Hoyas this year, with the first coming against then No. 16 Rutgers on Sept. 12.

After three consecutive away matches, the Hoyas will return to Shaw Field to defend their unbeaten record against conference rival DePaul University (3-6-0, 0-1-0 Big East) on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m.

Sports

WOMEN’S SOCCER No. 23 Georgetown (6-0-5) vs. Providence (6-3-1) Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

Shaw Field

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 TALKING POINTS

MEN’S SOCCER

NUMBERS GAME

No. 1 Georgetown men’s soccer

Let’s see if we can get on a run in

defeated Dartmouth 3-0 to extend the

the league to put ourselves in the

team’s winning streak to 7 matches.

playoffs.”

See A10

Men’s Soccer Head Coach Brian Wiese

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Georgetown men’s soccer has allowed just two goals this season, the thirdfewest in the nation.

FIELD HOCKEY

GU Narrowly Escapes With 2-1 Win After Penalty Strokes John Nelson

Special to The Hoya

Having lost a close game to Providence on Friday, Sept. 24, the Georgetown women’s field hockey team did not let another one out of its grasp. The Hoyas eked out a 2-1 win over Brown on penalty strokes.

With both teams coming off tough 2-1 losses, the Georgetown Hoyas (4-5, 0-2 Big East) and Brown Bears (35, 0-1 Ivy League) both came in looking for a pivotal win to turn their seasons around and escape from sub-0.500 mediocracy. Donning gold ribbons and scrunchies, the teams faced off in support of childhood cancer research as a part of Brown’s annual Gold in September matchup.

The match seemed poised to be a tight battle from the beginning. The Hoyas found themselves in a 1-0 hole near the end of the first half despite leading in possession time. Brown attacker Danielle Van Rootselaar scored the go-ahead strike off a penalty corner 12 minutes into the game. With under a minute left in the half, the Hoyas almost tied it up with a goal from sophomore midfielder Vivienne Trumpbour slamming into the back of the cage. The referee waved it off, citing an illegal hit, and Georgetown was down 1-0 going into halftime.

The Hoyas came out looking to find an equalizer in the second half, with play proving vastly different than in the first. Georgetown capitalized See BROWN, A11

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Junior midfielder Julia Leas, 25, dribbles toward the Xavier goal. Leas recorded an assist on junior forward Gia Vicari’s game-winning goal.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Vicari Leads Hoyas to 2-1 Overtime Victory Peter Dicioccio Special to The Hoya

The No. 25 Georgetown women’s soccer team beat No. 21 Xavier by a score of 2-1 on Sept. 26 after a spectacular goal from junior forward Gia Vicari clinched the victory in overtime.

The Georgetown Hoyas (5-0-5, 1-0-1 Big East) met the Xavier Musketeers (8-11, 1-1-0 Big East) on a bright Sunday at Corcoran Field in Cincinnati. The matchup boasted two of the seven remaining unbeaten squads in NCAA Division I, a number

that Head Coach Dave Nolan’s Georgetown side would reduce to six by the end of the action.

The Hoyas’ offense struck first in the 12th minute when Musketeer goalkeeper Olivia Jenkins blocked a sharp strike from first-year midfielder Eliza Turner. Darting towards the left post, Vicari collected the rebound and slipped it into the net to grant Georgetown an early 1-0 advantage.

However, the Musketeers were able to find an answer in the first half. In the 38th minute, Xavier midfielder

Ella Rogers pounded a volley strike from near the top of the box into the upper left-hand corner of the goal to even the score. The equalizer proved to be the lone blemish on an otherwise sound performance from the Georgetown defense, which allowed just two other shots on goal in the match.

The match turned physical in the second half. In the 56th minute, Xavier midfielder Carrie Lewis floated a crosser towards forward Mathilde Rasmussen, who barrelled over the Hoyas’ junior keeper Allie Augur

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while the ball rolled out of bounds mere feet from the goalpost. Just over two minutes later, Rasmussen would receive the only yellow card of the match for an illegal tackle on Georgetown junior midfielder Julia Leas.

Later, a head-on collision between Leas and Xavier defender Grace Brauer would result in Brauer briefly returning to the sideline to be assessed by the team trainer.

Referee Eric Weisbrod’s officiating crew seemed content to give each side some leeway, with repeated calls for fouls throughout the match

from both Coach Nolan and Xavier Head Coach Nate Lie going unrecognized.

The hard-nosed play from both defensive units allowed the offenses little space to work. By the time the final horn had sounded, Xavier had attempted just one shot on goal since the break. The Hoyas did not muster a shot against the Musketeer defense in the second half.

That would change in overtime. Just under six minutes into the bonus period, Leas sent an excellent See XAVIER, A11

ARMCHAIR ANALYST

Women Join ‘March Madness’ Brand NFL Must Ban Deshaun Watson Eli Kales

Hoya Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it would begin using its trademark slogan, “March Madness,” for the Division I women’s basketball tournament in an attempt to remedy historical inequalities between its men’s and women’s championships.

The move comes after notable outcry during the NCAA Division I basketball tournaments in March, when NCAA women’s basketball players began sharing images showing that while men’s training facilities featured weight equipment and a room filled with benches, racks and barbell weights, the women’s facility had just one folding table with a stack of yoga mats and a measly selection of weights.

While male athletes feasted on buffet-style dinners, female athletes were left with pre-packaged meals. The safety of female players was deprioritized by the NCAA as female athletes were given COVID-19 antigen tests instead of the more effective PCR tests given to the men. Even the compensatory swag bags differed for men’s and women’s basketball players.

Austin Barish

Columnist

CW: This article discusses sexual assault. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

@JUSTWSPORTS/TWITTER

The NCAA announced it would begin using its “March Madness” branding for the Division I See NCAA, A11 Women’s Basketball Tournament following public outrage due to gender inequalities.

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At just 25 years old, Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards and threw 33 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, arguably putting together the best season for a quarterback in 2020.

In January, news broke Watson wanted to be traded from the selfimploding Texans. The Texans went only 4-12, en route to tie the third-worst record in the NFL. At the time, Watson was poised to be the centerpiece in one of the largest trades in sports history.

Yet, since March, 22 women have filed lawsuits against Watson, accusing him of sexual misconduct.

It’s now Week Four of the 2021 season and the NFL has yet to take any meaningful actions against Watson. The league immediately opened an investigation against Watson in March but nothing has come out of it to date.

Typical suspensions where

players are sidelined for as much as half the season still fail to provide sufficient justice for survivors.

In 2020, wide receiver Antonio Brown was suspended for eight games after being accused of sexual misconduct, yet Brown was back in the league later in the season, even winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Watson has absolutely no business being anywhere near an NFL roster; however, it appears Watson’s athletic ability is of far greater importance to the league than the traumatic experiences and testimonies of nearly two dozen women.

The NFL has only itself to blame for this ever-growing nightmare in Houston. In such extreme situations, the NFL has a way to extricate players from the league.

The Commissioner’s Exempt List places a player on paid leave in the case of “unusual circumstances,” which normally pertain to unresolved legal matters. The NFL commissioner decides list placement himself.

The NFL has pointed to its ongoing investigation when asked about why Watson is not on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.

Reports state the NFL has yet to conclude that a major violation occurred, leaving Watson scot-free until such a violation is proved.

Survivors have said the NFL is See BARISH, A11