The Hoya: October 15, 2021

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GSP To Return to Healy Following Student, Graduate Activism

HANNAH LAIBINIS/THE HOYA

After months of student and graduate activism opposing the Georgetown Scholars Program’s relocation, the program will return to Healy Hall.

Caitlin McLean Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University announced Oct. 11 that the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) could return to its office space in Healy Hall following nearly three months of student protest around the program’s relocation.

GSP students were first informed that the program, which provides support for first-generation and lowincome (FGLI) students at Georgetown, would be allowed to return to Healy in an Oct. 11 email to GSP students obtained by The Hoya.

Many GSP students and other organizations on campus are celebrating the relocation.

According to Hannah Ajibola (NHS ’24), who formerly served on the GSP student board, while GSP’s homecoming to Healy is welcome

news, the move should never have happened in the first place.

“It was really awesome to hear, relieving, but in a way at the end of the day we shouldn’t have had to leave in the first place,” Ajibola said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

GSP students were first notified in January 2021 that the university planned to move the program’s space from its original location in Healy Hall to an office in New South Hall. The move was meant to be part of an effort to relocate campus resources and programs under the Office of Student Equity & Inclusion (OSEI) into a single office space.

Georgetown administrators delayed the move, however, after an engineer discovered structural concerns See GSP, A6

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Members of Georgetown’s Native American Student Council, Carson Ramírez (COL ’23), Alanna Cronk (COL ’23) and Tristin Sam (SFS ’23), tabling at the group’s Oct. 11 event.

NASC Urges Land Acknowledgment

Ingrid Matteini Hoya Staff Writer

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he Native American Student Council (NASC) called on Georgetown University to issue a land acknowledgment and officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. On Oct. 11, NASC — a student group that advocates for Indigenous com-

munity members on campus — hosted an event in Red Square featuring three speakers from the organization. At the event, students demanded that university leadership officially acknowledge the Indigenous land Georgetown sits on, as well as officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a campus holiday, which Georgetown currently calls a

Intruders in Residence Halls, Classrooms Worry Students Elyza Bruce

Special to The Hoya

Since Sept. 16, four breakins to campus buildings have occurred, according to student testimony, university confirmation and police logs, prompting student security concerns.

Students initially voiced concerns this semester after an intruder with a pocketknife entered New South Hall in the early hours of Sept. 19. After the event, many students and organizations

called on the university to improve communication. After the Sept. 19 incident, the university said there was no active safety threat to students.

However, between Sept.

16 and Oct. 8, three separate intrusions occured on campus, according to both police logs and student accounts of the incidents. On Sept. 16, an intruder entered Reynolds Hall, sat down in a first-floor common room and interacted with students. Almost three weeks later, an unknown person entered a classroom in

Healy Hall and interrupted a lecture. Four days later, an intruder entered Kennedy and McCarthy Halls and walked around the dormitories.

The university only informed students living in affected dorms after the intrusions in New South and Kennedy, according to emails obtained by The Hoya.

Further, the university never alerted the student body at large, leaving many students confused about the details of the break-ins and concerned about campus safety.

The Intrusions

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A lack of university communication following a string of campus intrusions has sparked student concerns.

Around 8 p.m. on Sept. 16, an unknown person entered Reynolds Hall and made their way to a first-floor common room. Once in the common room, the individual began interacting with students who were studying, including Erin Powers (SFS ’24).

“We were just sitting there doing homework and this guy walked in and he asked where the bathroom was and we told him,” Powers said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “He came back, and then he sat down and took off his shirt and sprayed cologne on himself. And then he put his shirt back on, and then we left after that because it was creepy.”

The group of students did not contact the Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD), according to Powers.

However, GUPD has said it learned about the incident and identified a suspect.

After an investigation, GUPD added the incident to the September daily crime log, classifying the individual as an unlawful intruder. GUPD added the incident to the crime log Sept. 17, according to a university spokesperson.

However, the log lists the incident as happening on Sept. 17.

Around 12:30 p.m on Oct. 4. during an “Intro to Economic and Political Development” lecture, an unknown person entered a classroom in Healy Hall and began disrupting the lecture by talking over students in the class, according to multiple students in the course. The intruder sat down, and the professor requested that the intruder leave the classroom. However, the person stayed and continued to disrupt the lecture.

The university is not aware of the incident in Healy and there are no GUPD records related to the incident, according to a university spokesperson. There is additionally no record of the incident on the GUPD October crime log.

However, a student in the class said that they submitted a report of the incident on GUPD’s website.

Four days later, at around 10:00 p.m., an unknown person reportedly gained access to Kennedy Hall. The individual entered the elevator as students were exiting, according to Powers, who was also present for the incident

mid-semester holiday.

Georgetown’s main campus sits on land that belonged to the Piscataway and Nacotchtank tribes. NASC member Carson Ramírez (COL ’23) said during a speech that the colonial occupation of Indigenous land, both in the Washington, D.C. area and across North America, has led to a loss of Indigenous customs.

“Many customs with using nature and sharing with nature have been lost because of these breaches of land and overtaking of land,” Ramírez said.

The university is neglecting its responsibility to properly acknowledge the Indigenous land campus sits on and pushes a burden onto Native American students See NASC, A6

Women’s Soccer Undefeated

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Photo of the Week: Junior Gia Vicari helps the Hoyas continue their undefeated season against St. John’s.

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NEWS

OPINION

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D.C. councilmembers have introduced legislation to provide District residents with grants for public transportation.

Local government should work to eradicate the food deserts that make up 11% of the District’s area.

Long-distance runner Rachel Schneider discusses her time at Georgetown and the road to Olympic qualification.

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Reproductive Rights

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Georgetown campus art galleries reopen for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with new exhibits.

Recenter discourse on reproductive healthcare and identify misogynistic influences in politics.

Sophomores take in their first official month on the Hilltop and remind us that they aren’t “basically freshmen.” blog.thehoya.com

As the 2021-2022 NBA season begins, four former Hoyas will take the court across the country.

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OPINION EDITORIAL

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

Commend Student Activism After nearly three months of student-led advocacy against the move, Georgetown University announced in an Oct. 11 email that the office of the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) will return to the iconic Healy Hall after renovations on the building’s ground floor are complete.

The Georgetown community must commend student activists’ efforts to preserve GSP’s Healy office space and remember this success to inspire future student activism.

For over 10 years, the Georgetown Scholars Program office has been in Healy. In August, the university informed GSP students the office would be relocated to a temporary space on the fourth floor of the Leavey Center. The move came as part of the university’s initiative to consolidate the Office of Student Equity & Inclusion by moving its programs and centers into the New South basement office spaces.

This initiative showed a lack of consideration for GSP students, and the university cannot continue to make decisions that result in the exclusion of students from underserved communities.

GSP’s relocation from its central office in Healy Hall decreased visibility at the university for students in the program. By contrast, Leavey’s fourth floor, where The Hoya is located, features dim hallways with uneven flooring, water-stained ceilings, dysfunctional water systems and unreliable elevators.

The university’s decision to move the office particularly troubled first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students, considering GSP’s core mission is to provide programming and support that guides these students through their time at Georgetown.

From sharing petitions to planning teach-ins, students convinced the university to restore GSP to its home, honoring the importance of the Healy location to its students and graduates. In an Aug. 30 petition calling for the university to reconsider its decision, students shared the impact the office’s prominent location has on their experience at Georgetown.

“On a campus where we didn’t belong in our socioeconomic or educational background, the program’s location in Healy was one indication that we did belong. We were proud to show our families that we had space in the most well-known Georgetown building,” the petition reads. “Our initial move into Healy propelled our participation in GSP from hesitant and embarrassed to legitimately proud, marking a clear culture shift.”

The petition, which has gained almost 1,300 signatures to date, undoubtedly played a key role in spreading awareness and garnering support.

The university’s final decision also came after student leaders in GSP and the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) organized public protests. GUSA scheduled a teach-in for Oct. 13 and intended to host a sit-in demonstration with GSP shortly thereafter.

While these efforts effectively appealed the

university’s relocation decision, the amount of effort that was necessary to ensure GSP could remain in Healy is frustrating, according to GUSA Senator Manahal Fazal (SFS ’24).

“I believe most students are happy with the outcome,” Fazal wrote in an email to The Hoya. “But I honestly believe that we shouldn’t have had to go to certain extents for the admin to listen.”

While students should not have to organize around issues like these, GSP’s return to Healy serves as a reminder of the influence students have on campus. Student activism, especially when it includes a large coalition, is undeniably powerful and deserves our recognition, support and celebration.

There is no guarantee Georgetown will always make the right decision, but we should not be hopeless. Students should remember successes like these. While it is the responsibility of the university to support its students, particularly FGLI students, the student body is also collectively responsible for caring for our peers. The petition and planned protests are a great example of student solidarity.

The resilience of those in GSP was another key element of student activism efforts, according to Anita Vazquez (SFS ’23), a member of the program.

“For so many GSPers, this was not the first time we’ve had to fight for something we believe in nor will it be the last,” Vazquez wrote in an email to The Hoya. “GSP members have had to fight to survive in an institution that has shown many times it only cares about us as a talking point to demonstrate how ‘diverse’ they are, only for them to then turn around and push us into the dark.”

The university will meet with GSP members and leaders to determine how campus spaces can best serve students in the future, according to a university spokesperson.

“We have already begun to meet with GSP constituents, beginning with GSP staff,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We will continue this process in the days and weeks to come.”

Although engaging GSP students in university planning is a step toward improving inclusion on campus, the student body at large must continue to hold the administration accountable for its disregard of FGLI students.

Fighting for GSP’s visibility and accessibility at Georgetown should not have required extensive efforts, and the university must not only consider but also care for its students from underrepresented backgrounds. At the same time, Georgetown students should honor the work of their peers and let this victory inspire further student activism.

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As residents of a pristine and privileged community, the Georgetown administration and student body must advocate for urban gardening and combat the District’s food deserts to uphold our espousals of the global common good and contemplation in action.”

Mark Kuo (COL ’24)

“Promote Urban Gardening” thehoya.com

DEEP DIVE

Taking Protective Measures This week, we’re diving into Yana Gitelman’s second edition of “Beyond Glass Ceilings,” in which she discusses comprehensive sex education as a preventative measure against teen pregnancy and abortion. Considering the increasingly restrictive regulations on reproductive health and abortion, such as Texas’ Senate Bill 8, recognizing the importance of sex education is crucial.

According to Planned Parenthood, 82% of pregnancies among 15- to 19-year-olds are unintended.

On top of this statistic, in 36 states and Washington, D.C., parents can refuse sex education for their children. In five of these states, parents must proactively give consent for their child to be allowed to receive sex education.

Laws like these are concerning given the effectiveness of sex education in preventing unwanted pregnancies. States that require sex education have significantly lower rates of teenage pregnancies. Data-driven studies have also

found that comprehensive sex education that includes information on how to use contraceptives is the best preventative approach, particularly over approaches emphasizing abstinence, which are actually correlated with increased pregnancy rates among teenagers.

Adopting more contraceptive sex education nationwide is the first step toward alleviating the burdens that come with unwanted pregnancies. Georgetown students can get involved with H*yas for Choice, Planned Parenthood or other organizations working to promote sex education across the country. In addition, as Gitelman suggests, participating in protests and marches specifically aimed at abortion rights and reproductive health care can increase awareness.

Comprehensive sex education will undoutedly help to decrease unplanned pregnancy rates, and every bit of assistance and advocacy help to implement these curriculum changes.

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

Georgetown’s Party Life Matures Oct. 10, 1986 Some members of the Georgetown University community have looked at our growing financial aid expenditures and asked, “Should Georgetown be in the business of redistributing income?”

Whether we like it or not, the drinking age has been raised.

At midnight on Oct. 1, emergency legislation passed by the DC council went into effect, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 as of that date to buy alcohol. The legislation is in effect for 90 days, after which a permanent law will be voted upon. Although there is a chance that the permanent law will not pass, it is almost inevitable that it will.

The moral issues of the age hike have been debated a great deal in this newspaper and elsewhere, and it would be pointless to use any more space doing so.

Instead, granted that permanent legislation will take effect, attention should be focused on what that increase will do to the students of Georgetown.

Plenty of things will be affected, but not all of these changes will necessarily be bad.

First, the notion that nothing will change, but the size of the crowds on M street should be dispelled. Many people believe that the university administrators, true believers in justice, will kindly turn a blind

eye on all those keg parties and wine and cheese gatherings.

Not that the powers that be applaud the new law — actually, most are against it — but they have to protect themselves from those humans-turnedlawyers who ascribe to the “deep pockets” theory of litigation, suing anyone remotely connected to an accident as long as they have money.

Lawsuits concerning students who were drinking on campus have been bought elsewhere, and some schools have won, others have lost.

Those who won generally did so because they were adhering to a set of guidelines currently making the rounds in college circles. There are about 20 guidelines, but they can be narrowed down to this: a school will not be held liable for the actions of an inebriated student if the school took all reasonable measures to restrict the availability of alcohol to underage students.

Fair enough, but what does that mean to the students who will attend school here in the years to come? First, the banning of all alcohol from dorms can be expected. No longer will the freshmen be allowed to swill beer while walking down the hall. That ban would extend to an eradication of all dorm parties where alcohol is served.

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Given an end to dorm partying, the Pub still remains, right?

Wrong, and for two reasons.

First, the new Pub’s focus will be, when the new student center opens, primarily non-alcoholic. The designers expected a revised drinking age law to be in effect by the date of the center’s opening, so they deemphasized the role of alcohol in the pub’s planning. Second, the ID policy will be much stricter.

No longer will a simple glance at your driver’s license gain you access to the pub. Scrutiny will be close and fake IDs aren’t going to cut it.

These changes will have a profound effect on the students, but they are relatively minor compared to the effect on keg parties that are the staple of the social life at Georgetown. In the past, visiting friends would suffer culture shock when faced with the parties that inevitably sprang up every weekend night.

No matter what the season, no matter what the weather, someone, somewhere throws a keg party. A minimum of three kegs is the rule, and the party is open to anyone who can find it. In the future there is no way anyone can guarantee that minors will not be served, and GUPD will have no choice but to show down any and all large parties. The age of the keg is going to pass.

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OPINION VIEWPOINT • COEN

Extend Fall Term Midsemester Breaks

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his past Monday marked Indigenious Peoples Day in the United States and the midsemester holiday for Georgetown University students.

The day off provided students with a much-needed break from their classes to rest and recharge.

For many students, however, the break is short-lived and the rest is inadequate. In future fall semesters, Georgetown should reshape its academic calendar to better account for student mental health and burnout by adding more substantial breaks from classes throughout the semester.

Currently, the university offers undergraduate students only four days off during the fall semester: Labor Day, Indigenious Peoples Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving. These four days off are spaced out between 70 days of regularly scheduled classes.

The lack of substantial breaks from classes places an immense amount of pressure on Georgetown students and does not allow students to build meaningful personal time into their schedules.

The demand of constantly working without taking breaks takes a toll on students and diminishes their ability to be productive. Studies also show that taking more time off can help promote mindfulness, improve sleep quality, decrease stress, aid brain function and even boost heart health.

Georgetown has amended its academic calendar in the past to better accommodate the mental health of its students. After the fall 2020 semester, the university registrar announced an extended winter break to account for burnout and “Zoom fatigue.” The extended break was a step in the right direction, but the mental health of students should matter every year, not only during a global pandemic.

Therefore, Georgetown should take this opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to promoting mental health outside the extraordinary circumstances of an entirely online academic year.

Further, when compared to other Jesuit universities around the country, Georgetown offers its students less time off to relax.

Several schools that also operate on a semester system, including Creighton and Holy Cross, give their students an entire week off in October. Other Jesuit schools like Marquette and Xavier opt to give their students two days off in Oc-

tober to serve as a fall break. While this time off is not much, it is still more than Georgetown offers. If Georgetown is truly committed to the Jesuit values that it promotes, particularly cura personalis, then it should follow the example of other Jesuit schools and enact more time off to allow students to prioritize “care for the whole self.”

Another common difference between Georgetown’s academic calendar and other universities’ schedules concerns the week of Thanksgiving. Many schools do not hold classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, making Georgetown one of the few schools in the country that expects its students to attend classes on the day before the holiday. Georgetown prides itself on attracting students from all over the country and the world. However, the university’s current structure for Thanksgiving break does not accommodate students who live far away from Washington, D.C., hindering those students from getting meaningful time at home. Having time to relax away from campus is important for the mental health of students, and adding an extra day to Thanksgiving break would help alleviate a lot of stress for students, especially those who do not live nearby.

The distinct lack of breaks in Georgetown’s fall semester becomes even more puzzling when considering the university’s spring academic calendar. In a typical spring semester, Georgetown gives students a more substantial amount of time off compared to a fall semester. In the spring 2022 semester, Georgetown students will receive 10 days off throughout the semester, more than doubling the total number of holidays in fall 2021. If Georgetown sees it fit to give its students 10 days off in the spring, it makes sense for the university to add more than four days off in the fall.

Going forward, the university should allot one week in October to serve as a fall break or give its students the entire week of Thanksgiving off. Such a policy change would immensely improve the mental health of students, faculty and staff, as everyone would be more refreshed and refocused. The decision to enact this change should be an easy one and is long overdue.

Brian Coen is a junior in the College.

ILLUSTRATION BY: NATASHA LEONG/THE HOYA

DISTRICT DISCOURSE

Eradicate Washington, DC’s Food Deserts Angela Yu

Columnist

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he word “desert” brings to mind barren landscapes devoid of life — an image many consider the complete opposite of Washington, D.C.’s bustling streets and vibrant communities.

Nonetheless, food deserts, or regions without access to the food groups that make up a healthy diet, constitute about 11% of the city’s geography. Their existence is not only indicative of absent grocery stores, but also sheds light on a multitude of contributing factors. For example, food deserts are exacerbated by weak transportation infrastructure, primarily affect majority Black communities and result in a lack of access to healthy food options, which leads to diet-based diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Addressing food insecurity requires responding to its systemic causes as well as developing a new approach to food distribution. The D.C. government must work to eliminate food deserts through ex-

Promote Urban Gardening Columnist

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perplexing phenomenon afflicts residents of Washington, D.C. — despite its metropolitan area’s high median incomes, 10.6% of District residents regularly experience food insecurity, close to the 10.5% national average, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation.

One glaring reason is the prevalence of food deserts — areas far from groceries with limited transportation and high poverty rates — which constitute 11% of the city’s total area. Worse, these food deserts predominantly affect Black neighborhoods in a blatant example of environmental racism. Eighty percent of D.C.’s food deserts are in Wards 7 and 8, which have overwhelmingly Black populations, and none are in the upper-middle-class white neighborhoods of Ward 3. In one of the United States’ most green-space-rich cities, fostering urban farming efforts is a missed opportunity for guaranteeing food security.

The effects of inaccessibility driven by food deserts can be potentially life-threatening: Malnutrition impairs immunity, mental health, muscular development and cardiovascular functioning. Although national programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education teach people to live more nutritional lifestyles, reports reveal assistance programs fail to make healthier food options more accessible. These programs do not incentivize grocery and supermarket investments in low-income neighborhoods, so

unhealthy, highly processed food at corner stores dominates local food spending.

Pressuring governments to address supply and demand issues helps, but nutritious food provisions through urban gardening programs are an underutilized alternative. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization claims urban gardening can meet 20% to 60% of urban and pre-urban household food needs at close to no cost. Although D.C. has 35 community gardens recognized by the Department of Parks and Recreation, many experience overwhelming demand and are fractional to the city’s public green space. The city has space for many more private and communal urban gardens, and residents should utilize these spaces to the best of their ability.

Local ordinances are the primary restriction preventing most public spaces, such as parkways, from transforming into urban oases. The L’Enfant Plan, the original conception of our capital’s urban landscape, envisioned the District with spacious streets lined with trees.

Adapting its green space to the thriving city today, the plan has massive potential to increase urban agricultural productivity.

Though the District generally allows gardening along sidewalks for “beautification of tree space,” it prohibits growing vegetables and edible plants “to protect the health of the tree and the environment.”

These local provisions are antithetical to initiatives supporting low-income communities. While there are legitimate public health concerns, such as pestilence, they hardly originate from urban farming efforts. Researchers argue that urban farming has health and community benefits, a sense of community, improved property

In addition to worse dietary outcomes, residents experiencing food poverty are also more vulnerable to other health crises, including COVID-19. Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides monthly funds to purchase groceries, offer very limited online options. As a result, consumers have to regularly visit grocery stores where they have a higher risk of contracting the disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to higher unemployment numbers, which in turn increase rates of food insecurity.

This vicious cycle of inaccessibility has left households with few options to keep their families safe and healthy.

To fill the gap, policymakers must implement alternative solutions to expand healthy food options. One initiative that has recently gained traction is cooperative food programs, grocery stores owned and run entirely by community members. Since co-ops aren’t focused on generating profit, prices can be lower and workers are often employed from the surrounding region.

In the District, the Community Grocery Co-op works to open

stores across the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8. However, each store requires a certain number of fee-paying members in order to run, which means they are often slow to open in low-income communities. If the government provides funding to cooperative grocery stores, they would be able to lower their membership fees and significantly shorten the development period. The innovative organizational structure of co-ops allows them to serve areas that private grocery stores deem unprofitable.

Even with increased store options, traveling to these locations remains a long, often expensive process. Creating walkable streets and increasing public transportation options are key steps to closing the food distribution gap.

The myriad issues contributing to food deserts mean that reaching a solution is a complex and long-term process. By steadily working to expand grocery store options and transportation methods, communities will be better equipped to serve the needs of every resident.

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

District Discourse is published every other week.

BEYOND GLASS CEILINGS

SUSTAINING THE DISCUSSION

Mark Kuo

panding public transportation options and promoting cooperative food programs in place of grocery stores.

The D.C. Policy Center defines a region as a food desert if the walking distance from a household to a grocery store is more than 0.5 miles, more than 40% of households don’t have access to a vehicle, and the median household income is below 185% of the federal poverty line. By that definition, more than a tenth of the city lacks accessible food. Over twothirds of food deserts are found in Wards 7 and 8. These wards have majority Black populations, indicating that food poverty is a critical symptom of the growing racial wealth gap in the District.

Among the contributing factors to food deserts are limited transportation options and few grocery stores. Although D.C. is ranked as the seventh most walkable city with a median Walk Score of 76 out of 100, neighborhoods in Wards 7 and 8 fall short of the citywide median. As a result, residents have significantly worse access to healthy food options. Nearby services like convenience stores and fast food restaurants offer limited selections but do not provide an adequate range of healthy options.

value and decreased crime.

In response to restrictive regulations against urban gardening, some have taken the issue into their own hands. In food deserts, where gardening space is highly available but provisionally limited, guerrilla gardening, which aims to grow plants in public spaces even without explicit permission, profoundly impacts nutrition.

Famed “Gangsta Gardener” Ron Finley started his parkway guerrilla garden in 2010 in the massive South Central Los Angeles food desert, landing him in trouble for going against the city code. Later, his movement convinced the L.A. City Council to permit gardening produce on parkways, and his organization, L.A. Green Grounds, provides nutrition to its deprived neighborhoods. U.S. cities must also recognize the benefits of urban agriculture and change ordinances to minimize hurdles to community urban agricultural development.

As residents of a pristine and privileged community, the Georgetown administration and student body must advocate for urban gardening and combat the District’s food deserts to uphold our espousals of the global common good and contemplation in action. The administration, in particular, must address deplorable shortcomings in food insecurity, affordability and safety on our campus. Georgetown and its students are uniquely situated to hold the District and other cities accountable for implementing policies in line with greening and feeding their cities. As Finley says — it is time we turn our soil into our canvas.

Mark Kuo is a sophomore in the College. Sustaining the Discussion appears online every other Friday.

Refocus Abortion Dialogue Yana Gitelman Columnist

CW: This article references sexual assault. Please refer to our online article for on- and offcampus resources.

O

n Oct. 2, over 5,000 protesters gathered in downtown Washington, D.C., at the fifth Women’s March to advocate for abortion rights. At the same time, many of us Georgetown University students gathered on the Village A rooftops for homecoming. I spent much of that night reflecting on the choice I made to stay on campus that day and on Georgetown’s relationship with reproductive justice.

I have had countless discussions with boys and men who treat abortion as the butt of a dark joke or as a thought experiment for lunchtime debates, removed from their sphere of personal experience or worry.

The truth is there are real and ongoing threats to abortion rights. The Texas Legislature’s new set of restrictions have brought the issue to the fore of national discussion once again.

Texas Senate Bill 8, passed this May, effectively bans abortions after six weeks and includes a provision that empowers citizens to act as bounty hunters: Texans can now sue anyone complicit in illegal abortions for over $10,000.

Amid heated debates over the exact moment when life begins and whether religious texts value the life of the mother or unborn child more highly, we often lose the point of the discussion. Abortion is a vital is-

sue in itself, but it also indicates the state of women’s health care and reproductive justice.

Abortion is fundamentally an issue of access and of misogyny: the most polarizing, sensationalized aspect of a much broader set of human rights issues.

No one I’ve ever met is an advocate for abortion itself.

The decision to have an abortion and the procedure itself are generally traumatic enough without any government-sanctioned punishments. Whatever our reasons may be, most of us want to live in a world where fewer people have to make the difficult decision to have an abortion. We just have different priorities in approaching the issue; some of us look to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, while others look to the punishment of those who have already become pregnant.

The path toward decreasing the need for abortion is clear, but anti-abortion activists often choose to place blame onto women seeking abortion instead of the societal factors that drive them to seek this type of care. We know comprehensive sex education and access to contraception lower teen pregnancy rates and thus abortion rates significantly, so it is worth wondering why the abortion debate so often skips over prevention. Like in so many other issues, we choose to pass onto women — in their most difficult and desperate moments, no less — the burden of easing others’ discomfort. In our collective perception of sexual assault, women must be the gatekeepers of sex; women must avoid facing violence rather than hold men accountable for enacting it. In health care and in law alike, women must avoid needing support. Once a woman re-

quires support, it is her fault for having failed to avoid the situation to begin with.

Additionally, the rhetoric employed of anti-abortion advocates assumes that women are responsible for carrying a pregnancy to term at any cost.

If we cared purely about life, we would be enraged by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of women each year during pregnancy or childbirth, or by the 7 million women per year who are admitted to hospitals after having unsafe abortions. But these tragedies do not come up in “pro-life” arguments. Women bear the responsibility of carrying our children to term and raising them, but we do not deserve assistance in the form of social services. The quality of our children’s lives, let alone our own lives, does not factor into most “pro-life” arguments.

Those people — citizens and lawmakers — whose abortion policies hinge on controlling rather than providing for women reveal their priorities in those politics. Those who project irresponsibility or immorality onto women who seek abortions without considering context are guided by misogyny rather than compassion.

At Georgetown, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who does not claim to want to change the world. We attend a school full of future policy writers, politicians, journalists and medical professionals, all brimming with ambition. As global citizens, in whatever profession each of us decides to pursue, we must take women’s health care seriously.

Yana Gitelman is a first-year in the School of Foreign Service.

Beyond Glass Ceilings is published every other week.

A4 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

FEATURES

Georgetown Community Challenges School Colors’ Ties to Confederacy Georgetown community members question the university’s official school colors — blue and gray — because they represent the Union and the Confederate armies of the Civil War.

Sydney Raymond Special to The Hoya

A

s Georgetown University track and field runner Malachi Quarles (COL ’23) puts on his uniform before a competition, he feels conflicted.

His uniform is blue and gray, Georgetown’s school colors.

When Quarles learned in spring 2021 that the blue and gray refer to the Union and the Confederacy, respectively, it didn’t sit well with him, especially considering Georgetown’s participation in slavery.

“As a Black man, I have to be this person that is representing the school that I love, and also having to represent something that is just the antithesis of who I am,” Quarles said in an interview with The Hoya.

The university was able to stay afloat in 1838 only through the sale of more than 272 enslaved people, who are now known as the GU272.

Learning about the colors’ history has made Quarles question his place at Georgetown and on the track and field team. He now thinks Georgetown should change its colors.

“I have to represent Georgetown every time I step on the track,” Quarles said. “It’s definitely been hard.”

About 10 years after the Civil War concluded, the Georgetown University Boat Club appointed a Committee on Colors to pick the school colors.

“The Committee, looking for colors to express the feeling of unity that exists between the

Northern and Southern boys of the College, recommended the adoption of blue and gray,” according to the Georgetown library exhibition on the school’s history.

Eventually, those colors also became the namesake of Georgetown’s Blue & Gray Tour Guide Society. Last year, the organization considered changing the group’s name in light of its ties to the Confederacy, according to a statement from Blue & Gray.

On a national scale in recent years, Americans have — to varying degrees — also confronted the historical memory and lasting impact of the Civil War and slavery. Although Blue & Gray did not change its name, those discussions came as Georgetown continues to grapple and reconcile with its direct ties to slavery.

A Symbol of Unity?

Georgetown’s school colors only scratch the surface of the university’s connections to the Civil War. The campus itself became a Civil War site, temporarily housing a Union militia in 1861, while several campus buildings were turned into hospital accommodations after the Second Battle of Bull Run. Despite Georgetown’s location in the nation’s — and the former Union’s — capital, most Georgetown students supported the South’s secession, according to Georgetown history professor Adam Roth-

WILL HOUSTON/THE HOYA

This plaque on the porch of Old North memorializes Georgetown University community members who fought for the Confederacy and the Union.

man, the curator of the Georgetown Slavery Archive. Of the 1,141 Georgetown students and graduates who enlisted in the war, about 80% fought on the side of the Confederacy.

“Everybody who was connected to Georgetown during that era was somehow involved in the war. It touched their lives,” Rothman said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

“If you dig a little into the colors, then you quickly learn that the Georgetown community really sided with the Confederacy for the most part.”

Naturally, campus life was tense in the months following the war, as students returned to campus to attend classes with peers who had served as, or were the sons of, enemy combatants for the previous four years. The choice of blue and gray for the school colors represented an attempt at reconciliation among these students, according to Rothman.

The university’s official account of the school colors credits the Georgetown Boat Club as the first organization on campus to adopt the colors in 1876, according to the Georgetown library’s “Shades of Blue and Gray: Georgetown and the Civil War” exhibition.

The boating club’s decision is one example of an expanding rapprochement between the two sides after the war, but it came at the expense of Black voices, according to Rothman.

After the Civil War, Georgetown maintained its whitesonly policy. The university did not accept a Black undergraduate until 1950.

“For the most part this was a reconciliation among white northerners and white southerners over the war, and, increasingly, the Black Americans who fought in the war were displaced and sidelined by that process of reconciliation,” Rothman said.

Discussions of reconciliation across the country systematically excluded Black people, according to Dawn Chitty, the director of education at Washington, D.C.’s African American Civil War Memorial Museum. These exclusively white dialogues have contributed to a sanitized history of reconciliation that is taught in schools today, Chitty said.

Much of the museum’s work involves bringing to light the many Black perspectives from the Civil War that are historically overlooked, to ensure a more truthful retelling of the era’s history, according to Chitty.

“The narrative of Blacks in the Civil War, as soldiers, has

grown so much from where it was 20-something years ago when the museum started,” Chitty said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “But in a way, we still have so far to go because of the tide of misinformation and challenges that we’ve had with racism in the last several years.”

The Blue and Gray

Recently prompted by student activism, the university has begun to reckon with its history of slavery, including renaming several campus buildings. With this increased scrutiny on the university’s past, movements to change the school’s official colors have gained traction in the Georgetown community.

Members of the Blue & Gray Tour Guide Society, who are tasked with purveying Georgetown’s history to prospective students, are aware of the history behind the school colors, according to the statement from the Blue & Gray Executive Board.

In an official Blue & Gray tour, prospective students and families walk along a routine route through Dahlgren Quad and past the steps of Old North, according to Blue & Gray tour guide Camber Vincent (SFS ’24).

At the top of those steps is a plaque that introduces the context behind the school’s official colors — and, by extension, the tour guide society’s name.

“From 1861 to 1865, in America’s tragic epic of the Civil War, 1138 sons of Georgetown in blue or in gray offered themselves on the altar of patriotism in the defense of the constitutional rights to which they were bound in conscience,” the plaque reads. “This tablet is dedicated to their memory.”

Vincent said he was unaware of the colors’ meanings until he began giving tours for Blue & Gray during summer 2021. At the end of tours, visitors sometimes ask whether the tour organization is planning to change its name, according to Vincent. (Full disclosure: Vincent is a member of The Hoya’s Editorial Board.)

These questions about the legacy of the school’s colors led to conversations among Blue & Gray’s leaders to change the name of their organization, according to a Blue & Gray Board email to The Hoya.

Although these conversations did not ultimately lead to a name change for the organization, they prompted leaders to reexamine the ways guides speak about Georgetown’s history with visitors, resulting last

ILLUSTRATION BY: TIM GOH/THE HOYA

Georgetown’s official school colors were introduced to promote unity after the Civil War. Members of the community say this narrative excludes Black voices.

year in several changes to the tour manual.

“We, as the 2021-2022 Executive Board, continue to hold ourselves, the organization, and individual guides accountable and responsible for sharing this information regarding Georgetown’s role in enslavement and the Civil War to tour groups,” the board wrote.

The manual now includes an explanation of the university’s close ties to slavery, recent name changes to campus buildings, and the impacts of student activism pertaining to Georgetown’s history, according to a copy of the fall 2021 manual obtained by The Hoya. However, the current manual does not explain the history of the colors.

Additionally, Blue & Gray’s Executive Board removed the explicit mention of school colors from the manual by the 2019-20 academic year, according to an email from the board. Blue & Gray’s website also does not explain the ties between Georgetown’s colors and the Civil War. The 2021-22 board intends to continue discussions of a potential name change for the organization, according to an email from the board.

“We are committed to working alongside our guides, liaisons at the Office for Undergraduate Admissions, and the greater Georgetown community in furthering improvements within the organization, including the possibility of a future name change,” the board wrote.

Vincent, however, believes these discussions should take place at the university level rather than in Blue & Gray itself.

“Unless Georgetown is changing its campus colors, in reflection of the meaning behind them, I don’t believe that the tour guide society should change its name, as it’s a reflection of the campus colors, not of the history,” Vincent said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The university declined to comment to The Hoya.

However, by keeping its current colors, Blue & Gray is also responsible for perpetuating an inaccurate story of reconciliation, according to Melisande ShortColomb (COL ’21), who serves on the board of advisers for the Georgetown Memory Project and is a founding councilmember of the GU272 Descendants Association. She is also a descendant of the GU272.

“The Blue & Gray Society, for many years, has been telling the mythologized ‘let’s leave other people out of the history of Georgetown,’” Short-Colomb

said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “The blue and gray exist because of slavery.”

Correcting the Record

Students do not arrive at Georgetown with a knowledge of its history, and they often do not acquire it while at Georgetown either, according to Short-Colomb.

“Students come in first year, first semester, and don’t know anything about the physical place that they occupy,” ShortColomb said. “And I came here, because I did want to be a part of cementing the idea of honoring the involuntary founders of Georgetown University.”

Quarles, who also competes in the hurdles for Georgetown’s track and field team, learned about the colors after a year and a half of sporting them at track meets, in Rothman’s “Facing Georgetown’s History” class, which explores Georgetown’s history of slavery. Quarles said it was shocking to learn about the history of the colors during his later years at Georgetown.

“It’s right under the tip of your nose,” Quarles said. “You need to understand and know the things that you are a part of.”

The lack of awareness among the Georgetown community regarding the origin of the school’s colors and their direct ties to the Civil War signifies a cultural shift, according to Rothman.

“Naming stuff isn’t enough or removing names isn’t going to help either if we don’t know what the meaning behind those symbols is in the first place,” Rothman said.

Short-Colomb said students need to be at the center of maintaining the memory of Georgetown’s troubled history, including that of the school colors.

“It is incumbent upon every generation of students who come to Georgetown, who are committed to educating themselves to go out into the world and be change makers, to take the eight semesters that you’re at Georgetown, and make a lasting and effective change there,” Short-Colomb said.

Every member of the Georgetown community has an obligation to learn about both the good and the bad of the university’s history, according to Rothman.

“I don’t really think that anybody who wears the school colors is deliberately trying to celebrate the Confederacy or what it stood for,” Rothman said. “But I do think that if you wear the school colors, you ought to know their history.”

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Georgetown Bubble and The Corp have partnered to sell select beverage flavors every Friday at Hilltoss, increasing opportunities for Georgetown Bubble’s sales on campus.

Ban Cheah, research professor, on a report of yearly salaries. Story on A8.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo will not hold upcoming holiday events.

Story on A7.

Austin Tice Parents Call on Biden GUSA Faces Internal Battle Over Proposed Restructuring To Prioritize Tice’s Release Abby Tucker

Special to The Hoya

The parents of Austin Tice (SFS ’02) wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden on Oct. 3, calling on his administration to prioritize Tice’s safe return to the United States.

Tice, who has been missing since August 2012, was kidnapped while covering the Syrian civil war, the summer after completing his second year at Georgetown University Law Center. Over a month after his disappearance in Darayya, a video published anonymously showed Tice blindfolded and surrounded by armed and masked men. While the Biden administration believes Tice is alive, no presidential administration has been able to bring him home.

Debra and Marc Tice, Tice’s parents, published their open letter in The Washington Post on Oct. 3, specifically calling on Biden to engage diplomats and other U.S. State Department officials in an effort to help secure Tice’s release and return to the United States.

The Biden administration should prioritize Tice’s release because it has emphasized family protections and values, according to the Tices’ letter.

“In these early days of your administration, you have clearly messaged that family is at the core of your agenda,” the letter reads. “We believe that if Austin were a member of your family, all the Bidens would rally around and come together to bring him home.

On Austin’s behalf, because you are president of the country he honorably served as a Marine Corps officer, we are asking you for that kind of all-in effort.”

The Tice family hopes that continued activism will ultimately help secure Austin Tice’s safe return to the United States, according to Debra Tice.

“We continue to relentlessly advocate for Austin’s secure release and safe return.

We hope and pray he will soon walk free,” Tice wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Georgetown continues to support the Tice family’s calls for action from the Biden administration, according to Joel Hellman, dean of the School of Foreign Service.

“We at SFS stand with the Tice family in urging the U.S. Government to do everything within its power to bring Austin home,” Hellman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “His commitment to risk everything in order to expose the suffering of the Syrian people represents the true spirit of Georgetown.”

“We continue to relentlessly advocate for Austin’s secure release and safe return.

We hope and pray he will soon walk free.”

DEBRA TICE MOTHER OF AUSTIN TICE

The Georgetown community has remained active in calling for Tice’s release. Georgetown community members sent letters to congressional representatives in April 2021, urging their representatives to call on the Biden administration to prioritize Tice’s return.

Tice is also important to journalists around the world, according to Doyle McManus, director of Georgetown’s journalism department.

“Austin Tice is important to the journalistic community, Austin Tice is important to the Georgetown community, and Austin Tice, at the end of the day, is important to all of us,” McManus said in a phone

interview with The Hoya. “He was a journalist carrying out the search for truth, and it’s vitally important that the U.S. government do what it can to protect people who do that, or fewer and fewer people will ever be able to do that again.”

Despite activism for Tice’s return, Tice’s parents have expressed frustration over a lack of action taken to secure his release, according to a statement released Aug. 11, Tice’s 40th birthday.

The U.S. government continues to commit resources to helping secure Tice’s release from Syria, according to a U.S. official.

“We continue to emphasize that Austin’s release and return home are long overdue,” the official wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Biden administration continues to call on Syria to help release Austin Tice and every American unjustly detained in Syria.”

The Department of State will continue to pursue all options, including actively engaging with Syrian officials, and aims to communicate directly with any people or organizations that can help Tice’s return, according to the official.

“We are committed to following all avenues, including engagement with anyone who can help with Austin’s release and return home,” the official wrote. “We have been and remain open to direct communication with anyone who can help us bring Austin and other American hostages home.”

The Georgetown and journalistic communities should still maintain involvement in the campaign to free Tice, according to McManus.

“The rest of us who are journalists or anyone else engaged in the search for truth owes a great deal to Austin Tice,” McManus said.

“The very minimum that we owe to Austin Tice is to exert whatever effort we can to help get him released.”

Nicolas Bocock and Samantha Sinutko

Special to The Hoya and Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) plans to hold a student referendum this fall to restructure the organization completely.

The proposed referendum would remove the division between the GUSA Senate and executive bodies, instead dividing the organization into various policy committees, according to GUSA Vice President Nicole Sanchez (SFS ’22). The referendum stems from several GUSA senators’ efforts over the past year to restructure the organization to foster more inclusivity and less hierarchy.

Restructuring GUSA will help increase accessibility and inclusivity within the organization, according to Sanchez, who has helped lead the restructuring project in the senate.

“We want to erase all these barriers, all these titles, all this bureaucracy that really prevents so many people from entering these spaces,” Sanchez said in an interview with The Hoya. “We are not senators; we’re students.

We’re students fighting to be recognized, fighting to be seen, fighting to be heard.”

GUSA’s existing power structure lends the body no real advantages in actualizing resolutions, and restructuring would allow members to effect more meaningful change on campus, according to GUSA Senate Speaker Leo Rassieur (COL ’22), who supports the referendum.

“It’s time GUSA moved away from trying to emulate the government of a country,” Rassieur wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We would be much more efficient if we focused on developing and advocating for policy rather than

passing legislation that, at times, can be unimpactful or difficult for the student body to engage with.”

GUSA leaders first began exploring ideas to restructure the organization in fall 2020, when they formed the GUSA restructuring committee, a group of 15 GUSA senators and executive members that meets weekly to discuss the restructuring process.

Led by former Senate Vice Speaker Eric Perez (COL ’23) and Dakyung Ham (COL ’22), the committee is currently drafting the proposed resolution to restructure GUSA and will release the final text in the coming weeks, according to Ham. The restructuring referendum will follow a different path than past student referendums because if successful, it would directly change the GUSA constitution. Like a non-constitutional referendum, two-thirds of senators must first approve the text of an amendment in order to advance it to a referendum before the student body, according to the GUSA Constitution.

However, in order for the results of a constitutional referendum to take effect, at least 25% of the Georgetown student body must have voted in the election.

Though the senate has not yet voted on the proposed referendum, it has already been met with some pushback from senators. The current proposed referendum is incomplete and does not address many important aspects, such as the finance and appropriations (FinApp) committee, according to Zev Burton (SFS ’22), who opposes the referendum.

“They worked for a year on this, they had meetings after meetings and they did their research, and that’s what they came back with — something that isn’t completed, something that hasn’t dealt with the primary role of

the Senate, which is FinApp to fund the student organizations,” Burton said in an interview with The Hoya. “That’s half our job, and they don’t have an answer for that.

They don’t have an answer for the constitutional council. They don’t have all these basic answers that for me should have been the first questions asked.”

In response, Burton plans to propose a resolution at the upcoming GUSA Senate meeting Oct. 17 that would provide an alternate format for the restructure.

The lack of inclusivity and accessibility within GUSA does not stem from the organization’s structure, but rather the leaders, according to GUSA Senator Fabian Sojos (COL ’23), who opposes the referendum.

“In my opinion, the current structure of GUSA has been rendered ineffective by the current GUSA Executive and Senate leaders,” Sojos wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Rather than follow the bylaws, these leaders have chosen to disorganize GUSA in order to delegitimize its ability to function.”

If Burton’s bill to change the proposed restructuring procedure fails, members of the GUSA restructuring committee plan to formally release the text of the referendum in the coming weeks to ensure that it is included as part of the GUSA elections already scheduled to take place in November.

Regardless of opinions about GUSA, the student body should engage with the restructuring referendum, according to Rassieur.

“During my time at Georgetown, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in GUSA and students’ ideas about what representation and advocacy should look like,” Rassieur wrote. “The Restructure referendum is the culmination of those ideas, and I hope every student considers its merits and votes in favor of it in November.”

Bachelor’s Degree Applications Open for MD Incarcerated People Nick Cohen

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) opened applications for its first full bachelor’s degree program.

Applications for the PJI bachelor’s degree, a five-year program for incarcerated people, opened on Sept. 20 and will close on Oct. 29, according to Joshua Miller, director of education for PJI. Accepted students will take classes with Georgetown faculty starting in January 2022 at the Patuxent Institution, a treatment-oriented correctional facility, in Jessup, Md. Students are expected to remain in the program for five years and take a total of 120 credit hours, the same amount required for Georgetown undergraduates.

Joe Napolitano, the assistant director of education at the PJI, said the program aims to transform the lives of its students during and beyond their time in prison.

“We believe deeply in the value of a liberal arts education,” Napolitano said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “We believe that it’s for anyone and

everyone. In some sense, I want our incarcerated students to get out of their Georgetown degree exactly what we would want main campus undergraduates to get out of the degree.”

PJI will accept 25 people from across the Maryland prison system into the first cohort of students to complete the program. Those not currently in Patuxent will be transferred to the facility to complete the program. Participants will have the choice of majoring in either cultural humanities, interdisciplinary social science or global intellectual history.

One of the program’s primary goals is to ensure that incarcerated students feel like a part of the Georgetown community, according to Marc Howard, the founding director of the PJI. “It’s to contribute to changing the narrative about incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people by showing that they have value and abilities that can be rewarded and supported and that they can become role models through the idea of second chances,” Howard said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The new program is an extension of the PJI’s Prison Scholars program, which currently offers a number of both credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing classes and programs to incarcerated people in the D.C. Central Detention Facility. These include the Pivot Program, a certificate in business and entrepreneurship for formerly incarcerated people, and the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA) and Georgetown Paralegal Program, which trains experienced previously incarcerated individuals for legal careers.

The PJI has worked over the past years to expand the credit options for the classes being offered to passionate and excited students, which has culminated in this degree program, according to Miller.

“I can tell you pretty confidently, having been doing this for almost a decade, that these students are going to be phenomenal, they’re going to be excited and they’re going to be everything you expect from a Georgetown first-year student,” Miller said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

Students will begin the pro-

gram by taking core classes similar to those offered on the main campus, including introductory philosophy classes and “The Problem of God,” a required first-year theology course, according to Napolitano.

The PJI is also collaborating with the Academic Resource Center, the library and various other research and tutoring programs to provide a full range of academic support, according to Miller.

“The university community has been very supportive, from the College to the provost to the president’s office,” Napolitano said. “Everyone has recognized that the work that PJI does is important and is deeply connected to the mission of the university. We couldn’t be more grateful for the support of everyone at Georgetown.”

This program is deeply connected to the university’s Jesuit values and represents the core principles that Georgetown strives toward, according to Miller.

“Education is a human right,” Miller said. “It is evident that there is a tremendous amount of potential inside, that there are intelligent, curious, conscien-

tious human beings behind the walls, and we’re wasting all of the talent back there. We should work to end the systems that lead to so many of our fellow citizens being incarcerated.”

The PJI plans to expand the program to admit new cohorts of students in subsequent semesters to expand access to degrees for

more incarcerated people, according to Howard.

“My hope is that in a few years from now, it’ll be a bustling educational environment with students hustling from class to class and discussing and engaging and learning and just being excited about the whole education process,” Howard said.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

PJI opened applications for a five-year bachelor’s degree program for incarcerated individuals Sept. 20.

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THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

NEWS

GSP Will Return to Healy Following Students Report Building Intrusions, Months of Community Advocacy Prompting Safety Concerns INTRUDERS, from A1

RICHARD SCHOFIELD/THE HOYA

Following months of advocacy, university administrators announced that GSP will return to its office location in Healy Hall once renovations in the space are completed.

GSP, from A1 in the New South office spaces, leading to GSP’s temporary location to a space in the Leavey Center. GSP will no longer be required to move as part of the OSEI consolidation and will instead remain a part of the Division of Student Affairs, according to the Oct. 11 email.

The Georgetown community first learned about GSP’s relocation in late August, sparking outrage among students and graduates and leading to advocacy calling on the university to reverse its decision. Most recently, GSP student leaders and members of the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) planned to hold a teach-in Oct. 13, followed by a sit-in to raise awareness of GSP’s relocation. Both events were canceled following the announcement that GSP would return to Healy.

Student and graduate activism demonstrates how important GSP is to campus life, according to GSP graduate Rashawn Davis (COL ’14).

“It speaks, one, to just how much GSP means to some people — the fact that not just current students, but alum, have challenged this and really been a voice for GSP,” Davis said in a phone in-

terview with The Hoya. “I think it speaks to just what that program means to so many people past and present.”

While GSP’s move back into Healy is a step in the right direction, the university has damaged its relationship with FGLI students, according to Leo Rassieur (COL ’22), speaker of the GUSA Senate.

“Needless to say, the consideration of GSP’s relocation shows how weak the University’s commitment is to GSP and to FGLI students, and it is our hope that Georgetown can work to rebuild that trust moving forward. This announcement is an optimistic step in that direction,” Rassieur wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The university recognizes the role and symbolism that GSP has within the Georgetown community, according to the Oct. 11 email.

“Since 2004, the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) has been a pillar of support within the Georgetown community — providing financial support, advising, mentorship and a sense of community for students who identify as first-generation and low-income,” the email reads. “We hear your concerns about being moved out of Healy Hall. While engagement and planning for the

space is still underway, we can confirm that when renovations to the Healy ground floor are complete, GSP will be returned to new and improved space there.”

When contacted for comment, a university spokesperson referred The Hoya to the Oct. 11 email.

While the university has supported GSP in the past, the relocation saga has reinforced the importance of GSP to the Georgetown community, according to Davis.

“I think Georgetown has been committed to first-generation students for a long time, they’ve done really good work. I think the creation of GSP is an example of that, but I think with any large entity, whether it’s a university like Georgetown, or whether it’s a city like Washington, D.C., sometimes folks need to be reminded of how important some things are,” Davis said.

Akibola said that although the situation was distressing, she saw the impact of continued advocacy throughout the process.

“At the end of the day, advocating for ourselves is really important in the situation because if we hadn’t advocated, we wouldn’t have been given a chance to go back to Healy,” Ajibola said.

in Kennedy.

“We were going on the elevator from floor eight to the first floor, and then when it opened on the first floor, this guy — he just ran in before we could even get off. And then we ran out,” Powers said.

After Powers exited the elevator, she encountered a crowd of students who had seen the intruder in the building.

Eric Lipka (COL ’23), who was in the crowd of students and had previously seen the intruder enter Kennedy Hall, called GUPD to report the incident after speaking with Powers and other students in the lobby.

GUPD was first informed of a “suspicious person” on the fifth floor of Kennedy Hall at approximately 10:15 p.m., according to an Oct. 9 email from the Office of Residential Living sent to residents of the Southwest Quad complex obtained

by The Hoya. GUPD located the suspect in McCarthy Hall, which is connected to Kennedy, and “took appropriate action” to remove the individual from campus, the email said.

A university spokesperson said the university is aware of the Kennedy incident, and there is a report of the intrusion in the GUPD October crime log.

In total, since Sept. 16, there have been four reported intrusions on Georgetown’s campus, an increase in the typical number of known events in a similar timeframe. Between Sept. 16 and Oct. 13, 2019, the last fall semester students were on campus, there were no reports of unlawful entry in the GUPD monthly crime logs.

A Lack of Communication

The university only sent communications to students

living in affected dorms related to two intrusions on campus. The Office of Residential Living sent two emails to New South residents regarding the New South incident on Sept.

19 and Sept. 20. The university also emailed students in the Southwest Quad on both Oct. 9 and Oct. 13 regarding the Kennedy incident.

Residence halls are secured by a dual swipe entry system, where students are required to swipe their GOCards both to enter the building and to enter a specific floor. Students should be cautious of their surroundings to ensure non-university-affiliated individuals do not enter residence halls, according to a Sept. 20 email from the Office of Residential Living to students in New South obtained by The Hoya.

“We encourage all students to be aware of their surroundings when entering and exiting their residence hall, to avoid allowing individuals to enter without swiping their own GOCard and to check that doors fully close/lock upon entry and exit,” the email reads.

The university has not sent a HOYAlert, an emergency notification message sent to students, about an intrusion this academic year, according to several student sources.

After both the New South incident and the Kennedy incident, the university announced in the Oct. 13 email to residents of the Southwest Quad that it would increase GUPD patrols in and around the student residence halls on campus. In response to the Kennedy incident, the university also announced plans to increase student guard presence in the Southwest Quad and New South, according to the Oct. 13 email.

Recent studies show that an increased GUPD presence is unlikely to deter crime, according to NPR. Additionally, many students have voiced concerns around GUPD’s police presence on campus, as university police officers have hyperpoliced students of color.

GUPD also hung posters around campus residences as part of a public campaign encouraging students to be more aware of their surroundings, according to a university spokesperson.

In response to the student concerns and the national “defund the police” movement, a push spurred by the police murder of George Floyd to decrease police department budgets in cities across the United States, students in the Georgetown University Student Association launched the Georgetown University Police Department Abolition Working Group to abolish the police department’s presence on campus completely.

Students should continue reporting any incident to GUPD, according to a university spokesperson.

“We recognize incidents like these can be distressing to members of our community, and we urge students and all members of the Georgetown community to report issues of concern to GUPD,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Regardless of possible changes, the incidents have left many students, including Powers, with concerns about campus security.

“It just makes me feel less safe,” Powers said.

Hoya Staff Writers Harrison McBride and Caitlin McLean contributed reporting to this article.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Students have reported confusion and a lack of communication from the university after four intruders have entered campus buildings and residence halls since Sept. 16.

NASC Calls for Land Acknowledgement, Indigenous Peoples Day Recognition NASC, from A1 and faculty, according to professor of philosophy Shelbi Meissner, one of two Native American faculty members at Georgetown.

“The emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical labor that goes into crafting a meaningful land acknowledgment should not fall solely on the shoulders of Indigenous students or Indigenous faculty,” Meissner wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“Not only does Georgeotwn have an abysmally small number of American Indian students (~10) and faculty (2) that would make shouldering this burden impossible, it’s also the ethical responsibility of those with institutional power and representation to invest in a land acknowledgment.”

The university is exploring programming with local Indigenous tribes, according to a university spokesperson.

“We deeply respect and are open to engaging with the Piscataway tribe, whose ancestral lands include the District of Columbia.

The university is extremely supportive of exploring programming, and course options that share our diversity, equity and inclusion values, and reflect the broad interests of our students,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

In addition to the land acknowledgment, NASC demands the university change the name of the Oct. 11 holiday on Georgetown’s calendar

from mid-semester holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day to recognize the Indigenous students on campus, according to NASC President Tristin Sam (SFS ’23).

On Oct. 11, President Joe Biden proclaimed a federal observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, marking the first time a U.S. president has officially recognized the holiday.

Sam said the news evoked a flood of emotions.

“It’s a lot of mixed emotions.

It’s a lot of strong feelings,” Sam said in an interview with The Hoya. “It’s both a celebration.

It’s both mourning. It’s reverence. It’s a reflection. Overall it’s also an affirmation that we’re here, we survived, and I am a beneficiary of that survival, and all my friends and family have survived, and we are here, and we will be here.”

NASC has also called on the university to put more effort into recruiting Native American students. Native American students only make up approximately 0.1% of the student body, and the Indigenous community on campus lacks academic and cultural resources, according to NASC Vice President Alanna Cronk (COL ’23).

“Georgetown is very uniquely located in a very political place, and this is a school that people go to to become influential political figures, and so we want to make sure that that potential power is also being invested in the hands of Indigenous people,” Cronk said in an interview with The Hoya.

The Georgetown Office of Undergraduate Admissions says it is recruiting students from all backgrounds, according to a university spokesperson.

“Georgetown is committed to multicultural recruitment and

supports prospective students from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions, including Native American students, throughout the recruitment and application process,” the spokesperson wrote.

Regardless of the university’s response, the NASC’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day marks a celebration of Indigenous land, culture and activism, according to Cronk.

“I think symbolically it’s

important to do something just on Indigenous Peoples Day, even if not a single person came,” Cronk said. “To be on this land, and say the words that we did, I think is significant in itself.”

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Georgetown University Native American Student Council called for the university to release an official land acknowledgment and formal recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day at its Oct. 11 event in Red Square.

THE HOYA | A7

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

DC Council Proposes Bill To Offer Residents Public Transit Stipend Brooke DeLucia Special to The Hoya

A newly proposed bill in the D.C. Council may provide Washington, D.C. residents with $100 per month toward public transit costs.

Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) reintroduced his Metro For D.C. legislation this month, which outlines a program that would create a fund to improve bus service and provide District residents with a $100 balance on a SmarTrip card every month.

These funds could be used to ride the Metrorail, the D.C. Circulator and the Metrobus.

The plans outlined in the bill would make the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) more reliable, accessible and equitable in the District, which in turn will increase the number of people using public transportation in the long run, according to the Metro For D.C. information site.

“It focuses on transit equity by improving bus service first in communities who have the longest commutes, often

pay more per trip, and mostly live in low-income neighborhoods,” the site reads. “But the goal of Metro For D.C. isn’t just about growing ridership — it’s also about making our transit system more accessible for every D.C. resident.”

Recent policy changes, like the District Department of Transportation (DDOT)’s decision to reinstate fees for riding the Circulator, pose a financial barrier to accessing WMATA services, especially for low-income individuals.

Allen originally introduced the bill in March 2020; however, the council postponed it because of the necessity for urgent legislation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Following Allen’s initial announcement that he would reintroduce Metro For D.C., 10 of 13 councilmembers, including Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto (LAW ’17), announced their co-sponsorship.

According to Pinto, the Metro For D.C. bill would provide D.C. residents with access to Metro services, regardless of increasing costs or ability to pay.

“All residents will have reliable access to transportation to work and around the city to visit, shop, and take care of their needs,” Pinto wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Costs in our city are rising and supporting the transportation needs of our residents is an important priority for the city.”

According to the Metro For D.C. information site, the D.C. government will only pay WMATA when the services are actually used, so WMATA is still incentivized to improve and maintain services so potential riders want to use the $100 allocated to them for public transit use.

“If anything, it gives WMATA a great opportunity to earn new riders who suddenly have $100 to spend on public transit services,” the site reads.

“It’s a market-based approach that gets WMATA and other agencies the opportunity to earn those riders.”

Metro accessibility has also been a concern for Georgetown University students. The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) Election Commission

SAMI POWDERLY/THE HOYA

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen reintroduced the Metro for D.C. bill, which would give District residents $100 per month on their SmarTrip cards. announced May 1 that 84% of student voters who participated in a referendum were in favor of implementing the Metro U-Pass program, which would provide students with an unlimited number of discounted rides on Metrobus and Metrorail services. The university is considering adopting the program.

The Metro For D.C. bill would lead to both economic and en-

vironmental benefits for the District, according to Pinto.

“Increased ridership means that there will be fewer cars on the road and that D.C. will move closer to its sustainability goals — particularly as we move to electrify our bus fleet and use more energy-friendly train cars,” Pinto wrote. “Increased ridership can also lead to more jobs at WMATA and around the city as eco-

nomic activity picks up.”

Pinto said that while there is no definite timeline regarding the future of the Metro For D.C. bill, continuing to support public transit opportunities is important.

“Long-term community buyin is needed to keep our transit system operating efficiently and effectively, and the Metro for D.C. program will help us get there,” Pinto wrote.

GU Officials Address McCourt Launches New Advisory Board Student Concerns Focused on Inclusivity At Health Forum Daniella Arevalo Special to The Hoya

Georgetown University administrators addressed student concerns related to public health conditions on campus at an Oct. 13 forum.

The virtual event featured Provost Robert Groves, Vice President and Chief Public Health Officer Ranit Mishori (MED ’02) and Vice Provost for Education Rohan Williamson. Panelists addressed student criticisms and questions concerning main campus public health conditions and protocols.

Georgetown has been successful in controlling the spread of COVID-19 on campus so far, according to Mishori.

“The positivity rate has been low,” Mishori said at the event.

“Thank you to everybody, every single one of you, for doing what we recommend and adhering to the policies so that we can get such a low number of positive cases.”

The combination of high vaccination rates, masking protocols, and newly renovated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems is the reason for the low number of COVID-19 cases on campus, according to Mishori.

All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask while inside campus buildings, except while eating, drinking or when inside private residences or offices. Georgetown is committed to COVID-19 safety pro-

“What I ask for all of us is that we have patience with one another as we go through an uncertain world.”

ROBERT GROVES Provost

cedures that match or exceed standards set by the Washington, D.C. Department of Health, according to Mishori.

Students raised concerns about public health conditions on campus last month after more than 145 campus community members presented symptoms consistent with norovirus and 65 campus community members tested positive for influenza A. Norovirus is a highly transmissible virus that causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. While it can be transmitted from person to person, it can also spread through contact with contaminated surfaces, food or water.

While norovirus cases are typical on college campuses, last month’s spike in symptoms was cause for concern, according to Mishori.

“We had a group of people and a spike, that’s what we call an outbreak, and we realized that there was something going on beyond the usual set of symptoms that present themselves on any college campus and any primary care clinic,” Mishori said.

After reports of gastrointestinal illnesses on campus, students expressed concerns over the possible contamination of food at university dining services. The norovirus outbreak was not related to any contamination or salmonella and has not been linked to any food source on campus, including Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall, according to Mishori.

“Our cases had nothing to do with salmonella. The D.C. Department of Public Health worked very closely with us.

They did two inspections of Leo’s and other eating venues at the Leavey Center,” Mishori said. “I want you to know that there is zero evidence that Leo’s was the source of the infections.”

Panelists also addressed student concerns about illness absence protocols and accessibility issues after a Sept. 30 email sent by Williamson to campus community members stated that professors are not required to provide virtual attendance options for classes and that students should not expect to make up class work asynchronously.

While faculty must accommodate all COVID19-related absences, they are allowed to do so in whatever manner they choose, according to Williamson.

“Faculty have been asked to accommodate all COVIDrelated absences, which is consistent with the university public health guidelines.

How they do so, though, is up to the discretion of the faculty member,” Williamson said at the event. “Faculty are not required to allow students to attend remotely via Zoom, given that we’re in in-person instructional mode.”

Williamson said students should report faculty who do not follow these protocols, and that they should contact their advising dean if they are absent for more than one class meeting.

“If you think a faculty member is using a punitive model for students who miss class, just let us know with a description of the model being used so we can clear and address that behavior,” Williamson said.

Groves asked for patience during a difficult transition back to in-person operations.

“What I ask for all of us is that we have patience with one another as we go through an uncertain world and that we act with kindness, as befits our institution,” Groves said at the event.

Marco Uustal

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy announced the creation of a new advisory board to focus on diversity and inclusion efforts within the school.

The McCourt advisory board will focus on various projects, including decreasing tuition barriers for students, doubling the size of faculty and expanding research opportunities. With the Oct. 4 announcement of the creation of the board, the McCourt School also appointed 17 inaugural members, including graduates, former government officials and business leaders.

The board members’ varied skills will allow them to support McCourt’s efforts to increase inclusivity, according to Maria Cancian, dean of the McCourt School.

“This inspiring and accomplished group brings a variety of lived experience and professional expertise, reflecting and strengthening McCourt’s commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Cancian wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“The board will contribute their unique expertise and extend their networks to expand our issue-specific bench of experts and deepen the impact of their work, diversify experiential and career development opportunities for students, and further embed equity and inclusion within our school.”

McCourt’s goal to improve inclusivity will allow many more students access to public policy education, according to advisory

board member Maria Ghazal (GRD ’90), a graduate of the school and senior vice president and counsel for Business Roundtable, a non-profit lobbying firm.

“I am eager to support the McCourt School’s strategic priorities, particularly the goal of one day eliminating tuition barriers for students seeking a public policy degree,” Ghazal wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I think this is one of the best ways we can provide opportunity to all students — and encourage the greatest diversity in our student body, including diversity of thought and professional goals.”

In recent years, McCourt has taken steps to improve inclusivity. In March 2021, Frank McCourt Jr. (CAS ’75), founding donor of the school, donated $100 million to the school, $50 million of which he committed to scholarships and financial aid. The McCourt faculty also voted last spring to add “engaging with bias” as a McCourt “foundational skill,” a set of core competencies emphasized in all degree programs.

Increased diversity in public policy education will allow policymakers to understand the full impact of their decisions, according to board member Cecilia Muñoz, former White House director of intergovernmental affairs and former director of the White House domestic policy council under the Obama administration.

“I care a lot about how policy reaches people,” Muñoz wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Too often we think we have finished the work when we pass a new law,

SAMI POWDERLY/THE HOYA

The McCourt advisory board will focus on increasing inclusion at the school by supporting various initiatives. and we don’t pay enough attention to whether it has the intended effect on people’s lives.”

The push to expand the McCourt School’s focus on inclusivity comes as the school simultaneously seeks to increase its size and presence in the Washington, D.C. area. The school announced plans to move from Georgetown’s main campus to the Capitol Campus as part of an initiative to expand to include an undergraduate public policy major for juniors and seniors.

The advisory board will assist the school’s creation of the new undergraduate program as well as the school’s move downtown, according to Cancian.

“This group of leaders will support us in leveraging our new downtown location to build more dynamic programming experiences for our students; help strategize on new career pathways into policy making, public service and civil society for our students; and, more broadly, be ambassadors and champions for our school,” Cancian wrote.

The board’s wide range of expertise and experience will also allow

the school to create more career and educational opportunities for students and improve community programming, according to the press release announcing the creation of the advisory board.

According to Ghazal, her career experience will help inform her role on the board.

“I would like to bring the insights I have gained at Business Roundtable to my work on the Advisory Board, including by encouraging McCourt students to explore opportunities in the business sector and helping students achieve a better understanding of how business and public policy interact with one another,” Ghazal wrote.

Ultimately, the advisory board will help bring about positive change within the McCourt school, according to Muñoz.

“I’m hopeful that we will be thoughtful and systematic both about inspiring a broader array of students to imagine themselves in policy careers, and in addressing the obstacles that prevent the world of policymakers from being as diverse as it needs to be,” Muñoz wrote.

National Zoo Cancels Annual Holiday Festivities Sophie Haleblian Special to The Hoya

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo will not hold its usual Halloween and Christmas themed events this year.

The National Zoo will not hold its traditional Boo at the Zoo event for Halloween or holiday season ZooLights event because of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic safety concerns. Boo at The Zoo is a Halloween event during which kids dress up and visit candy stations around the National Zoo, while ZooLights is a holiday event in which the National Zoo is covered in lights while visitors shop and eat treats.

The popular events are catered toward children, most of whom are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which creates a public health risk, according Pamela Baker-Masson, associate director of communications for the National Zoo. “You can appreciate that the primary audience for Halloween events are children not able to be vaccinated at this time,” BakerMasson wrote in a statement

to the DCist. “Our priority is still to do everything we can to keep visitors, staff, and animals safe.”

Young children and their parents are not the only people who might be saddened by the cancellations, however. Georgetown students like Sam Litwin (COL ’22), who enjoys frequent trips to the National Zoo, are disappointed that the event will no longer take place.

Events like Boo at the Zoo and ZooLights provide students with an opportunity to take a break from homework and exams, according to Litwin.

“I think it would have been a good release from midterms and everything like that, so that’s a little bit unfortunate,” Litwin said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “I was crushed when they said ZooLights were canceled, because every year I’ve been trying to organize my friends to go.”

The cancellation of this year’s events marks the second year in a row in which they weren’t held in their traditional form. The National Zoo held a drive-through event for Boo at The Zoo in

2020, in which trick-or-treaters stayed in their cars as they travelled through decorated pathways and were met with a bag of candy at the end of the route. Last year’s ZooLights event consisted of a singular truck decorated with lights driving through local neighborhoods.

Currently, the National Zoo requires entry passes and face coverings for all visitors. The zoo also enforces social distancing requirements and one-way lanes in certain locations of the zoo to prevent crowding. Despite the safety requirements, the National Zoo still made the decision to cancel both Boo at the Zoo and ZooLights.

According to Litwin, the COVID-19 precautions made visiting the zoo seem safe.

“I went to the zoo last June, and it felt very safe,” Litwin said. “They were really good about keeping everyone in their time limit and you could only go if you had a ticket, so I think a similar thing could have been adopted for Boo at the Zoo or ZooLights, just because it’s outdoors.”

The decision to cancel the events also comes after the Na-

tional Zoo struggled with a COVID-19 outbreak among some of its animals. Nine lions and tigers tested positive in September after displaying symptoms of the virus. Eight of the nine animals have made a full recovery, but one lion has continued to test positive. There is no evidence that animals play a significant role in the spread of COVID-19 to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is understandable that National Zoo made the decision to cancel the two holiday events given the recent COVID-19 outbreaks among the animals, but a backup plan could have been put in place instead, according to Litwin.

“I understand the public health implications,” Litwin said. “I do wish there were modifications as opposed to it being cancelled.”

While the cancellation of this year’s festivities may be disappointing to visitors, the National Zoo remains hopeful its popular events will return to normal in the future, according to Baker-Masson.

“We all feel hopeful that 2022 will bring new opportunities,” Baker-Masson wrote.

A8 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

NEWS

Religious Leaders Emphasize Riders Must Lock Scooters, New Compassion Toward Immigrants DC Council Legislation States Sophia Epley

Special to The Hoya

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

Amid global crises, including the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the United States must support immigrants and refugees from across the world, panelists said at an Oct. 7 event.

The virtual event, titled “Who is my Neighbor?” was co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. It was the first installment of “Pope Francis, Young People, and Solidarity: Dialogues on ‘Fratelli Tutti,’” a series of events which reflects on Pope Francis’ ‘Fratelli Tutti,’ an encyclical calling for human fraternity and rejecting war.

Pope Francis signed “Fratelli Tutti” in October 2020, calling for greater solidarity among communities throughout the world. Francis asks people across the world to uphold basic human rights like access to food and water, and encourages communities to learn about one another. In the document, Francis also claims the global response to COVID-19 displays a lack of necessary international collaboration. It is Pope Francis’ third encyclical, a letter sent to all Catholic bishops by the pope.

To promote understanding between communities as Francis instructs in “Fratelli Tutti,” Americans must exem-

plify fraternity by providing support for refugees adjusting to life away from their home, according to Muzhgan Azizy, a refugee from Afghanistan who recently immigrated to the United States; Azizy worked for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture.

“Me being new with the lifestyle, with the culture, with the systems here in the United States, affect my neighbors and the people around me, what I expect from my neighbors and people of this great country is to be patient with us, to support, to go through this difficult time of resettlement and adjustment,” Azizy said at the event.

Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Afghan refugees make up one of the world’s largest refugee populations. In the last four decades, the United Nations reported that there are nearly six million Afghans who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

Afghans resettling in the United States have faced a variety of barriers, including delays in the visa approval process, which leaves refugees uncertain of their legal status and unable to access federal social programs like Medicaid.

Nationalism, racist ideologies and apathy promote division in society, according to Omayma El Ella, the project associate for the Just and Inclusive Society Project at Democracy Fund, which seeks to protect the civil rights of groups targeted by hate and discrimination.

“It has been heartbreaking to see members of our own

faith communities at times swayed by nationalist, racist thoughts that pin us against one another,” Ella said at the event. “I think one of the challenges we are seeing in relation to addressing societal ills is something Pope Francis names in the encyclical, which is radical individualism.”

Nationalism is on the rise in the United States: In the past year, domestic terrorist plots and attacks in the United States have risen to their highest rates in 25 years.

White supremacists are responsible for about two-thirds of these incidents.

Dialogue guided by compassion is the key to fostering friendship among strangers, according to Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington.

“The bedrock of friendship and reaching out to our neighbors is dialogue and relationship,” Gregory said at the event. “Dialogue is not a oneand-done conversation. It is a process. A process of discernment, accompaniment, listening and exchange.”

Young people have the power to spread peace and create a positive environment for refugees through compassion and bravery, according to Gregory.

“Pope Francis calls on all of us, especially our young people, to be creative and to be bold,” Gregory said. “The young people in our church are uniquely positioned to participate in civil dialogues and conversations in order to confront polarizing rhetoric, peacefully protest civil injustice and advocate for love of our neighbors.”

Online Grocers, Local Restaurants Join DC Food Waste Week

IMPERFECT FOODS/FACEBOOK

JESSICA LIN/THE HOYA

Electric scooters must be locked to bike racks, stop signs, parking signs or scooter corrals, according to new D.C. legislation that took effect Oct. 1.

Brooke DeLucia Special to The Hoya

New Washington, D.C. legislation requires all riders to lock up rentable scooters after using them, prompting rider concerns about convenience and a lack of bike rack space.

The Council of the District of Columbia began requiring riders to lock rentable scooters to bike racks, scooter corrals, stop signs and parking signs starting Oct. 1. Scooters cannot be locked to private fences, gates, trees, bus stops or any other objects not authorized in the District Department of Transportation’s guidelines.

The new law aims to keep D.C. streets clear and accessible by preventing electric scooters from littering the sidewalks, according to a Sept.

27 press release.

“By requiring these shared fleet vehicles be locked to certain infrastructure, and making more of that infrastructure available, we are keeping our sidewalks and public places open and free from obstruction for all to enjoy,” Interim Director of the District Department of Transportation Everett Lott said.

The new rule could become inconvenient if a bike rack is not in close proximity, according to Ryan Montgomery (MSB ’25), who uses electric scooters at least three times per week.

“I’ve only used it one time since I’ve had to use the lock, and there happened to be a bike rack right by where I stopped,” Montgomery said in an interview with The Hoya.

“However, I could definitely see that as an inconvenience.”

There are multiple electric

Special to The Hoya

During this year’s D.C. Food Waste Week, local restaurants and online grocers saved over a thousand pounds of food waste.

Imperfect Foods, an online grocer that seeks to limit food waste and promote clean energy, partnered with restaurants in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 4 to Oct. 10 to serve dishes using excess ingredients from Imperfect Foods.

Furthermore, the grocer helped organize events throughout D.C. to educate the community about sustainability and resourcefulness. For every dish sold, Imperfect Foods donated $5 to D.C. Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that fights hunger and poverty.

According to Imperfect Foods Public Relations Coordinator Maddie Caywood, Imperfect Foods aimed both to reduce and teach about food waste through D.C. Food Waste Week, which ultimately saved over 1,370 pounds of food waste.

“Americans waste up to 40% of our food supply, with 30% of it being wasted at the retail and consumer levels,” Caywood wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Imperfect Foods is on a mission to eliminate food waste and build a more equitable supply chain, and invites the local community to start with digestible, daily efforts to mitigate food waste in their everyday lives to inspire a larger movement.”

The United States generates 108 billion pounds of food waste every year, ranging in origin from farmers to manufacturers to the table. In 2018, D.C. reported 414 tons of food waste. Just one year prior, in 2017, D.C. officials launched Zero Waste DC, which

brought together various D.C. agencies responsible for managing food waste and sustainability in an effort to move toward a zerowaste District.

D.C. Food Waste Week served as a way to urge people to consider more carefully the food that they are eating versus throwing away, while also supporting an organization working to end hunger in the District, according to Melissa Gold, director of communications and marketing for D.C. Central Kitchen.

“DC Food Waste Week was a great way to spotlight the issue & encourage people to think of sustainable solutions to reduce what we throw away each year,” Gold wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We were thrilled to team up with Impossible Foods for their efforts during the week and be a beneficiary of their generous support.”

Chaia Tacos, a vegetarian taco restaurant with a location in the Georgetown neighborhood, also partnered with Imperfect Foods to raise money for local food banks and to raise awareness of food waste in the District, according to Bettina Stern cofounder of Chaia Tacos.

“The extra-added bonus was that: for every ‘imperfect’ menu item we sold, IF donated $5 to a local food bank, as well,” Stern said in an email to The Hoya.

According to Caywood, Imperfect Foods also focused on education during D.C. Food Waste Week by organizing interactive events and panels at local restaurants, which were centered around sustainability and improving culinary practices on a micro level in an effort to reduce food waste at home.

“In addition to specialty

menu items, Imperfect Foods in partnership with participating restaurants hosted consumer events throughout the week for Washingtonians to have the opportunity to join a larger conversation about food waste, starting with the local community,” Caywood wrote.

Collaboration between Imperfect Foods and local restaurants was possible as a result of their shared goals regarding cooking and food waste, according to Caywood.

“There is a lot of synergy between DC-based restaurants, chefs, entrepreneurs and the mission of Imperfect Foods,” Caywood wrote. “With a combined mission of making delicious dishes that not only taste good but make you feel good about the impact you’re making, Imperfect Foods was able to quickly garner support from some of DC’s most beloved kitchens.”

Outside of Food Waste Week, the District has organized opportunities for residents to lessen their food waste, such as placing drop-off locations for the disposal of compostable scraps at local farmers markets. By composting, residents can turn biodegradable trash into organic material that can serve other purposes.

D.C. Food Waste Week prevented more food waste than anticipated, demonstrating how much waste can be saved from landfills when an effort is made, according to Caywood.

“The intended impact of the week’s event was to save 1,000 pounds of food waste,” Caywood wrote. “However, Imperfect Foods and Washington, DC exceeded that goal and saved over 1,370+ pounds of waste!”

regulation will not inconvenience riders, some riders have reported user issues in the days following the new rule, including concerns that locking scooters to bike racks may take away space on the racks needed for those using bikes or mobility devices. The October 2020 bill, however, required the Department of Transportation install 200 new racks every year until 2025 to create more space for electronic mobility devices like scooters.

The new law most likely will not inhibit ridership so long as D.C. provides enough infrastructure for riders to park and lock the electric scooters correctly, according to a Lime spokesperson.

“We expect this to have minimal impact for riders but we do hope the District will take the opportunity in this moment to expand parking locations like bike racks and parking corrals,” the Lime spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Lock-to works when the infrastructure to support it is there, and we look forward to working with the District to continue building safe streets and micromobility parking infrastructure.”

Now that the law has taken effect, there will be negative consequences if riders do not abide by the new regulations, so it is in users’ best interest to follow the rules, according to an email Lime sent to its users Sept. 28.

“If you park responsibly, great!” the email read. “If not, we will have to remove you from the Lime platform — so, please park responsibly.”

Bachelor’s Degrees Do Not Lead To Higher Earnings, Report Finds

Imperfect Foods partnered with local restaurants to save over 1,370 pounds of food from being wasted during D.C. Food Waste Week, Oct. 4 through Oct. 10. Satya Heidrich-Amin Lea George

scooter companies that service the District, including Lime, Helbiz and Bird, all of which are working to ensure that customers can lock and unlock the scooter through each company’s app.

According to Montgomery, however, companies like Helbiz have not properly communicated how to lock rentable scooters in compliance with the city’s new rules.

“It’s not that having to lock the scooter up is frustrating, it is that Helbiz’s app doesn’t tell you to unless you have the most recent update,” Montgomery said. “I only figured this out after waiting on hold for 10 minutes with customer relations while my ride time was still going on.”

The D.C. Council passed a bill in October 2020 requiring electric scooters to be secured and locked beginning in October 2021 in an effort to keep sidewalks clear for everyone, including individuals who rely on wheelchairs or canes.

According to an Oct. 1 press statement from Helbiz, the locking system, which has been integrated into the existing app, will be user-friendly.

“The lock-to mechanism will be integrated into Helbiz e-scooters, designed to secure parked devices to bicycle racks, signposts or other infrastructure throughout the city,” the press statement reads. “Once each ride is completed, the Helbiz App will activate lock-to and ask users to take a photo of the device to confirm it was parked and locked properly.”

Despite assurance from electric scooter companies and the District that this

Special to The Hoya

Median earnings depend on factors beyond level of education, and in some fields higher education does not lead to higher earnings, a new Georgetown University report found.

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), a research institute affiliated with the McCourt School of Public Policy, released the report “The College Payoff: More Education Doesn’t Always Mean More Earnings,” on Oct. 7, which evaluated the correlation between education attainment level and median earnings.

The report found that 16% of workers with high school diplomas and 28% of workers with associate’s degrees amass more than half the lifetime earnings than those of workers with a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, 36% of holders of bachelor’s degrees earn more than half of workers with a master’s degree.

Higher education is not always the best option for students after high school, according to Ban Cheah, a research professor at CEW and one of the report’s authors.

“In a high-paying occupation or high-paying field, an associate’s degree can allow you to earn more than a median bachelor’s degree holder,” Cheah said in a phone call with The Hoya. “The college and postgrad path is not the path for everyone.”

The research was conducted through a large survey of people across the United States, pulling from 11 years of

data, according to Cheah.

“We just calculate the median earnings for each group of people,” Cheah said. “The drawback of this approach is that there isn’t really a real earning trajectory for people.”

While lifetime earnings are often greater for those with a higher level of education, there are clear exceptions to this trend, according to the report. “[O]ne quarter of workers with a bachelor’s degree earn more than half of workers with master’s or doctoral degrees,” the report reads.

In addition to differences among fields, median earnings depend significantly on field of study, location, race, ethnicity and gender, and gaps persist between different groups, the report found.

Women with a bachelor’s degree have median lifetime earnings of $2.4 million, compared to $3.3 million for men.

While white workers with bachelor’s degrees earn a median of $2.9 million, Black and Latinx workers each only earn $2.3 million.

The results of the study should be used to allow students to make better choices about their educational futures, according to Emma Wenzinger, one of the report’s authors and the Strategic Communications Specialist at CEW. “This kind of information is very useful to the general public, young people looking at colleges and people later on in their careers looking at going back to school,” Wenzinger said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The issue with lower earn-

ings despite higher education comes from a lack of awareness among students regarding their educational options early in life, according to Cheah.

“This is one of the reports that many high school counselors use,” Cheah said. “But they also use it in a pretty simplistic way in that going to college does pay off for a lot of students even though it might not for everyone.”

For instance, the research found that a professional degree in architecture and engineering occupations, such as a master’s of architecture, yields no higher earnings than a bachelor’s degree in those fields. However, a professional degree in health practice occupations yields more than twice as much in median lifetime earnings as a bachelor’s degree.

High school guidance counseling often does not educate students about all of their post-graduation options, making them feel pressured to enter college and pursue degrees even if it is not the best path for them, according to Cheah.

“Counseling in its current state is just too narrowly focused,” Cheah said. “They are too eager to get their kids down the pipeline.”

Students should be made aware of other options because college can be costly, according to Wenzinger.

“We think this data is important because earnings are certainly a big factor because college is a big investment,” Wenzinger said. “So it is just one piece of the puzzle but it is an important piece for college students to consider.”

THE HOYA | A9

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

GU Galleries Reopen, Featuring New Contemporary Art Exhibits Brendan Oliss

Special to The Hoya

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed their doors, the Georgetown University Art Galleries opened to the public Oct. 7 with new modern art exhibitions available for all students.

The Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery and the Lucille M. & Richard F.X. Spagnuolo Art Gallery, located on Prospect Street NW in the Walsh Building, have been closed since March 12, 2020.

As part of their reopening, the galleries are featuring new art exhibits from modern artists and hosting programming for students, such as the Oct. 14 “Cookies with the Curator” event, which introduced the new exhibits at the galleries.

Nationally renowned art is now fully accessible to students willing to venture only a few blocks off campus, according to GU Art Galleries Founding Director and Chief Curator Al Miner.

“Since all Georgetown students have been vaccinated, everyone with a GoCard is free

to come without preregistration,” Miner said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “Students don’t have to go to the Smithsonian to see Smithsonian-quality art.”

Non-Georgetown visitors without a GoCard are required to preregister before visiting the exhibits, as well as show proof of vaccination, according to the GU Art Galleries website.

Attending the galleries in person will make viewing artwork much more impactful for students, according to student artist Amelia Myre (SFS ’25).

“The physical artwork is so moving in itself, and for students to be able to see that in person — not through a screen — is going to be crucial for them to see how academics and art come together in so many ways,” Myre said during an interview with The Hoya.

The de la Cruz Gallery’s exhibits are hosting works from artist Teresita Fernández, a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient and Guggenheim Fellow. Fernández’s exhibition, titled “Dark Earth,” will be open to the public until Dec. 12 and will explore his-

torical and cultural perspectives through landscapes with natural phenomena.

Being able to feature Fernández’s works is an exciting aspect of the galleries’ reopening, according to GU Art Galleries intern Emma McMorran (GRD ’22).

“Fernández is a notable figure in contemporary art, and we are excited to share her work with the public after our closure,” McMorran wrote in an email to The Hoya.

In order to show students the significance of this art, the gallery will host a talk and panel discussion with Fernández starting Nov. 11, according to the GU Art Galleries website.

The Spagnuolo Gallery is displaying a new exhibition

by Joseph Grigely, a deaf visual artist and Guggenheim Fellow. Grigely’s exhibit, titled “Songs, With and Without Words,” explores the role of language in daily life and will be on display until Dec. 12.

Grigely’s works portray photos of famous vocalists as they perform, using the noise of the scene to contrast his

JESSICA LIN/THE HOYA

The Georgetown University Art Galleries on 36th Street reopened Oct. 7 for the first time since closing in March 2020, featuring new modern art exhibits. own silent experiences.

Before reopening in-person exhibits, GU Art Galleries held virtual events, including public discussions featuring artists and curators. Now that the galleries have reopened to the public, the art galleries plan to host more in-person events.

The new exhibits can provide a source of positivity for

students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to McMorran.

“We want to provide safe opportunities for students to engage with the arts,” McMorran wrote. “We hope that students from across campus, not just arts-related fields, will take advantage of these programs.”

Now that both galleries have

reopened, Miner hopes more students will enjoy and engage with the artwork on display.

“I want students to realize that this is not an exclusionary space. It is your campus, your house, built for you,” Miner said. “The galleries can just be a more beautiful walk between classes or on the way to Car Barn.”

Popular District Chicken and Gyro Evicted Biosafety In the Caribbean Requires Solidary, Experts Say Paige Kupas

Hoya Staff Writer

District Chicken and Gyro (DCG), a halal street food restaurant, has closed its Georgetown location following a leasing dispute between the restaurant’s owner and its landlord.

DCG was evicted Sept. 29 from its Dumbarton St. NW location after missing 18 months of rent payments, according to eviction notices posted on the restaurant’s window. While DCG will no longer operate from its former location, it is actively looking for a new storefront in the Georgetown area.

According to Tariq Saylab, owner of DCG, the eviction was motivated not by missed rent but by long-standing disagreements with the landlord.

“He saw the success that I had there, and he wants to open his own gyro spot, so he wouldn’t re-sign and I wouldn’t leave,” Saylab said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “He was trying to kick me out for two years, and we’ve been battling in court back and forth.”

Raul Silva, the landlord for the former DCG location, declined to comment when contacted by The Hoya.

DCG formally announced the closure of its Georgetown location through an Instagram story post last week, in which the company thanked its loyal customers and committed to finding a new Georgetown storefront within three months.

DCG will open a new Georgetown restaurant when a location becomes available, according to Saylab.

“I’m looking for a vacancy,” Saylab said. “Once a vacancy is open, I can get a spot immediately going back to Georgetown.”

In response to the news of the closure of the Georgetown location, some Georgetown students, like Kate Fundis (MSB ’22), who went to DCG every other week, have expressed disappointment that they will no longer be able to frequent DCG for a reliable food option with close proximity to campus.

“I loved how they always hit the mark; I knew I could count on a great, affordable meal just a short walk away,” Fundis wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“It was definitely my comfort meal in Georgetown.”

Saylab said the support from customers at the former Georgetown location was invaluable to DCG’s business, and he is hopeful that those relationships continue in the new location in Georgetown.

“I couldn’t ask for better customers, and everyone was very supportive throughout my tenure in Georgetown,” Saylab said. “It was awesome, and I made a lot of good relationships with people.”

The previous location was a staple for Georgetown students because it was cheap and close to campus, according to Matthew Joy (NHS ’22), who frequented DCG four times per week when it was open.

“I also love how accessible DCG is to all Georgetown students both in terms of location and financially; the platters are $11 and for the amount of food you get it’s always worth it,” Joy wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“The hours are also great because they were open extremely late on weekends.”

While Saylab is searching for a new location in Georgetown, he will open a storefront in Tysons Corner, Va., at the end of the month. The menu in Tysons

Annalise Myre Hoya Staff Writer

DCG EATS/FACEBOOK

District Chicken and Gyro was evicted from its Georgetown location Sept. 29 after a leasing dispute.

Corner will be expanded to include increased food options not previously offered, and the restaurant will be larger than the Georgetown location, according to Saylab.

WhiletheclosureoftheGeorgetown storefront is disappointing, Joy hopes the new Georgetown location will have more space to accommodate the restaurant’s typically high demand.

“I hope that the new location has more staff, kitchen space, and maybe even some dining space,”

Joy wrote. “Throughout this year, I have noticed that DCG has gotten a lot more business, and the lines have been extremely long every time I’ve gone now which creates a long wait time.”

In the meantime, customers are eager to support DCG wherever it is, according to Fundis.

“I was devastated to find out that DCG had closed and I didn’t even get to have a final meal there,” Fundis wrote. “I miss it and am excited to remain a loyal customer when they reopen.”

Undergraduates Pursue Research as Figge Fellows Sarah Conner Hoya Staff Writer

The John and Pat Figge Fellowship Program, which includes seven undergraduates conducting intersectional research, launched this year’s program Oct. 1.

The fellowship allows a select group of students to research topics at the intersection of religious, social, cultural and historical issues. The new cohort of fellows selected in August will work for the next seven months to develop in-depth individual research projects culminating in 30-page final papers, according to Fr. David Collins, S.J., coleader of the program. The fellowship began under the former Woodstock Theological Center in 2009 and currently operates under the Georgetown University Catholic Studies Program.

This year’s cohort was selected from a record number of applicants because of the passion reflected in their proposed project ideas, as well as their sophistication and interest in engaging in theological reflection, according to Collins.

“They seemed to already have a stronger than usual sense of why theological reflection would be important,”

Collins said in an interview with The Hoya.

The fellowship presents a unique opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research that is not typically available for firstand second-year students, according to fellowship participant Juan Pablo Espinosa (COL ’24).

“It’s really about pursuing original independent research.

That’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to do since I got to Georgetown,” Espinosa said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “Having a separate fellowship that doesn’t have to do with your major helps provide you with leeway to actually connect and bring your majors to that research, rather than something that’s deeply connected to your GPA or major requirements.”

The program operated via Zoom last year, resulting in fewer applicants and challenges for fellows in connecting with faculty mentors, according to Collins. Among other things, the return to an in-person format will allow the group to attend a retreat later this academic year, Collins said.

“We go on a workshop retreat off campus before spring break,” Collins said. “Part of reflection is time, the absence of distraction and concentrated

conversation. The workshop in the countryside helps that in the middle of the spring semester. Shortly thereafter, everything starts wrapping up.”

Many of the fellows chose topics that relate to personal experience and their course of study, according to fellow Jessica Quinones (COL ’23), who is exploring the impact of religion on cultural medicine.

“The next step is trying to implement the ideas that I learn and incorporate that into my career. My topic is very personal to me and is something I want to focus on in my own life,” Quinones said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “I want to open a Spanish clinic, primarily for immigrants and non-English speakers.”

Fellow Andrii Sendziuk (MSB ’24) said he will be exploring the impact of Christianity on drug use in Ukraine, where he is from. Although he does not necessarily see himself pursuing academic research as a career, Sendziuk said he is happy to have the opportunity to pursue academic research, an experience he has not found so far as a business student.

“In high school, I did some research on drug use in teenagers and its causes and consequences,” Sendziuk said in an

interview with The Hoya. “So when I applied, I knew that was what I wanted to research.”

Kenzie Knight (COL ’23) said she is grateful for the opportunity to work with faculty she has not had the chance to interact with, and she appreciates the chance to look at social issues through the lens of theology.

“I’m very excited to get into it and start it,” Knight said in an interview with The Hoya. “Right now I’m looking into previous research papers, which can be daunting to have so much information. It’s long. But I think that will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to coming through on the other side stronger and having a final product that I’m really proud of.”

Fellows will present their research in a final presentation in the spring to faculty mentors, members of the dean’s office, other students and members of the Figge family, according to Collins.

“Having talked to former ‘Figges,’ I get a sense that for them it’s a very powerful experience,” Collins said. “Again, it’s the classic thing that they look back at this project and realize that they are very grateful for having done it. They are eager to return the favor somehow.”

Regional coordination and transparent communication are necessary biosafety procedures to successfully combat the COVID-19 pandemic, biosafety expert Sacha Wallace-Sankarsingh said at an Oct. 14 event.

The event, titled “Biosafety and Biosecurity: A Foundation for Regional Health Security in the Caribbean,” featured a discussion with Wallace-Sankarsingh, a biorisk manager at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), around biosafety and biosecurity practices to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Lisa Indar, director of CARPHA’s Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division delivered opening remarks. The event was co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, the Global Health Initiative and the Elizabeth R. Griffin Program in honor of October being National Biosafety Month.

CARPHA is the sole integrated regional public health agency in the Caribbean, responsible for preventing disease and promoting health in the Caribbean through leadership, innovation and partnerships. Established in 2011 by Caribbean Community Member States, the organization currently serves 26 countries and is leading the region’s health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, CARPHA has hosted national training sessions on biosafety and virtual sessions for laboratory professionals, according to WallaceSankarsingh. The organization has also trained more than 1,500 law enforcement officers from 17 member states in the proper use of personal protective equipment.

“It was interesting for me to see the way we used to do our training sessions,” WallaceSankarsingh said at the event.

“With the proper use of respirators, for instance, using personal protective equipment — these are things that were more or less in the lab and now it is mainstream as part of COVID-19 response across sectors.”

CARPHA works with various nations and organizations on projects to increase and improve resources. CARPHA announced a donation from the Japan-CARICOM Friendship and Cooperation Fund in order to build up COVID-19 testing capacity earlier this month and launched a collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada to build infrastructure in response to the pandemic in April.

Organizations like CARPHA aid in bridging capacity gaps developing countries face because of global inequality, according

to Wallace-Sankarsingh.

“You cannot speak about biosecurity and biosafety without addressing issues of equality, preparedness for health emergencies and the use of networks,” WallaceSankarsingh said. “It is because of networks that we are able to leverage resources and have that resilience among countries operating in highly strained environments.”

Training programs such as CARPHA’s create a ripple effect of knowledge and cultural priority; in 2018, CARPHA trained 17 experts in Belize, who took the information and spread it to nearly 60 people in their laboratories, according to Wallace-Sankarsingh.

“You cannot speak about biosecurity and biosafety without addressing issues of equality, preparedness for health emergenceis and the use of networks.”

Sacha Wallace-Sankarsingh Biorisk Expert

“So that makes me excited that the knowledge sharing continues, that our participants don’t just keep it to themselves and of course that means that the culture of biosafety and biosecurity continues to grow,” WallaceSankarsingh said.

Policy makers need to prioritize biosafety and biosecurity in order to adequately address modern public health issues, according to WallaceSankarsingh.

“We need leadership. We need this to remain a priority with decision-makers,” Wallace-Sankarsingh said. “For me, the time is now because of the pandemic, and how all we were doing in the background with labs and biosecurity and biosafety has come to the forefront to show the importance of how quickly we have had to come up to speed with how to respond to these public health emergencies.”

Collaboration is the key to ensuring countries have the tools they need to tackle public health crises, according to Wallace-Sankarsingh.

“As a whole, there is a reliance on solidarity,” WallaceSankarsingh said. “Really in the Caribbean, we do embrace that term. No man is an island.

In terms of promoting and advocating for health security at the regional level, if we don’t have the ability to leverage our resources, we would be in a much worse position during the pandemic.”

A10 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

SPORTS

WOMEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S CLUB HOCKEY

Strong Defense Helps GU Defeat Georgetown’s 1st-Ever Women’s St John’s, Remain Undefeated Ice Hockey Team Hits the Rink Ella Busch

Special to The Hoya

SAMI POWDERLY/THE HOYA

Georgetown women’s soccer won its third consecutive game with a 1-0 defeat of St. John’s and extended its undefeated streak against the Red Storm to eight matches.

Brendan Quill Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown women’s soccer team continued its undefeated season by defeating the St. John’s University Red Storm on Sunday, Oct. 10. With the road victory, the Hoyas extended their unbeaten streak to 14 games this regular season.

Even before the opening kickoff, the rain and heavy wind made it clear the match would be a gritty, low-scoring game. However, neither team has been a stranger to close games recently. Four out the last five games for Georgetown (8-0-6, 4-0-2 Big East) and the last three games for St. John’s (6-4-2, 2-2-1 Big East) were decided by one goal or less.

Both teams spent the beginning of the first half getting a feel for one another, as this was their first meeting of the season. Neither side was able to dominate possession, with both teams trading shots to start the match. The first scoring opportunity came for the Red Storm in the ninth minute when forward Zsani Kajan, who leads the Big East in goals this season, ripped a shot on goal. However, Georgetown junior goalkeeper Allie Augur leapt to her right and tipped the ball out of harm’s way. The save was the first of Augur’s three saves during her spectacular afternoon shutout, resulting in her being awarded Big

East Goalkeeper of the Week.

Despite the initial scare, the Hoyas quickly responded with offensive pressure of their own.

Although Georgetown recorded three of its twelve corner kicks in a five minute span, the team could only unleash one shot on goal. First-year defender Cyanne Doyle’s shot was easily saved by the Red Storm goalkeeper in the 25th minute, keeping the score tied at 0-0.

The best scoring opportunity of the game for St. John’s came in the 32nd minute of the first half. Following a series of passes, Red Storm midfielder Grace Bernardi struck a long, powerful shot on net.

However, Augur made her second diving save of the half, leaping to her right and preventing a Red Storm goal.

With the score tied 0-0 at halftime, Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan made five substitutions in an attempt to jump-start the Hoya offense.

Nolan’s adjustments proved valuable as the Hoyas started the second half with three corner kicks and a shot in the first seven minutes.

Georgetown finally opened up a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute off junior forward Gia Vicari’s eighth goal of the season. Following a chaotic scramble and failed clearance attempt off the Hoya’s ninth corner kick of the game, Vicari slipped what proved to be the game-winning goal past the

THE ARMCHAIR ANALYST

Red Storm defense to give the Hoyas the lead.

In the 71st minute, Vicari almost scored her second goal to give Georgetown a commanding 2-0 lead. However, her shot on goal was saved over the net to keep the score at 1-0.

With the match waning down to its final minutes, it appeared that St. John’s had an opportunity to even the score at 1-1. Red Storm defender Frederique St.-Jean uncorked a quick shot on goal in the 79th minute, but Augur made her third and final save of the match, tipping the ball over the net and out of play, to ensure Georgetown received the victory.

Beyond Augur’s outstanding goalkeeping, Georgetown graduate defender Sydney Cummings was awarded the Big East Defensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer’s Player of the Week for her role in shutting down the St. John’s offense. Cummings also scored an 89th minute goal earlier in the week in the Oct. 7 match against Butler that helped secure a 1-0 shutout win for the Hoyas.

Georgetown will look to keep up its momentum as the regular season enters the home stretch. The Hoyas play Marquette (7-6, 3-3 Big East) Thursday, Oct. 21 in Milwaukee, Wis. Georgetown is undefeated in its last eight matchups against the Golden Eagles.

For many Georgetown University students — particularly underclassmen — the fall 2021 semester has been a season of firsts, as they arrive on campus for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. To a select few women at Georgetown, this season of firsts will be quite literal. October 2021 marks the inaugural season of the Georgetown women’s club ice hockey team, and for some of the team’s 20 official players, their inaugural season of hockey altogether.

When women’s ice hockey president Meaghan Steck (COL ’22), a devoted hockey player since the age of five, arrived at Georgetown, she was shocked to discover there were no opportunities for women to play ice hockey, unlike most universities in her native Massachusetts. Despite playing coed hockey for most of her life, Steck saw the existence of a men’s club team — and the lack of a female equivalent — as an opportunity to play with and against women in the Washington, D.C. area.

Although Meaghan began working towards the formation of a women’s team in her first year at Georgetown, she wasn’t able to complete the new club development process required by the Center for Student Engagement, reach out to sponsors, and recruit players until the pandemic struck, she said.

Now that the team has

been formed, it will present an opportunity for more camaraderie than a coed team, plus new interest in the game from veteran players and rookies alike, according to team captain and defender Meghan McQuillen (COL ’22), who has been playing for 15 years.

“Certainly, I hope it’s competitive, but I also hope we can provide a space for people to try hockey and skating for the first time,” McQuillen said in an interview with The Hoya.

Goalie Lily Brown (SFS ’23) also said that creating an all-female environment is important, especially in a sport as physical as ice hockey. Having tried out for the men’s team, Brown ultimately decided she would rather play with other female Hoyas moving forward, she said.

Some players, such as Sarah Fairbank (NHS ’24) and Sheila Foley (COL ’22), will be taking this opportunity to lace up their skates for the first time as practice players.

Fairbank said she was excited about the prospect of playing for Georgetown after growing up playing against family members, noting that the formation of a women’s team has been a long time coming.

“I think it is important to create a space where women won’t feel out of place or be thought of as less worthy,” Fairbank said.

Today, there are a combined 54 Georgetown women who have expressed interest in either playing for or supporting the team as practice/nonplay-

ers. The team, which will compete in the North Division of the Women’s Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League, will play its first game on Oct. 16 at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Md. The division, which includes schools like George Washington University, The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University, will host games around D.C. and Maryland from October to February.

Since club sports tend to be student organized, the women’s team will be coached by its captains, McQuillen and Hannah Walsh (COL ’22). Student volunteers from the men’s team will also assist in running the bench and teaching new players the basics of skating, stickhandling and gameplay.

McQuillen hopes the team’s variety of ages and skill levels will pose an exciting opportunity for female Hoyas to learn the game and grow the scale of the team in the future.

Foley, who also serves as the team’s social chair, said that although the team will have to fight to build their program from the ground up, she is excited for its debut and future prospects.

“As a team, we are going to have to work to create the dynamic that we want to set for women’s club hockey,” Foley said in an email interview with The Hoya. “This is a big task, but I know that this group of girls is going to do a great job at that; I am really excited to see what we accomplish by the end of the year.”

NEWS

Former Hoyas in the Pros: A 2021-22 NBA Season Preview Conor Geelan

Special to The Hoya

Georgetown University is historically a basketball school, an integral part of its identity that complements its Jesuit tradition and academic success. Georgetown is the alma mater of Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing and 44 other former Hoyas who have gone onto play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), basketball’s highest level. This upcoming season, four Hoyas will perform on the NBA stage and continue Georgetown’s prestigious basketball legacy: Jeff Green (COL ’12), Otto Porter Jr., Jamorko Pickett (COL ’21) and by a change of heart about the Omer Yurtseven (COL ’20). vaccine; rather, Wiggins felt that “the only options were to get vac- Jeff Green Ever the journeyman, Jeff cinated or not play in the NBA.” Teams ought to push all of Green joins the Denver Nuggets their players to get vaccinated this year, his 11th franchise in 14 like the Golden State Warriors NBA seasons. Though he was an did Wiggins. If Wiggins were a athletic ball handler and skilled member of nearly any other team, passer at Georgetown from 2005 his options would not have been to 2007, Green has reshaped his so limited, and perhaps he would game to fit the modern NBA by not have been vaccinated. There spotting up in the corner to drill is always the possibility that oth- three-pointers. Last year, Green er NBA cities will impose similar averaged 11 points per game on vaccine requirements to those of outstanding 41% shooting from New York, Los Angeles and San beyond the three-point arc for the Francisco, but the league should Brooklyn Nets. This skill set gives not wait for cities to act for them. Green’s teammates the space to For unvaccinated players on 25 directly drive to the basket, makteams outside of those cities, the ing Green a valuable role player.

In the 2021-22 season, Green league’s policies are doing almost will likely back up rising star nothing to sway them.

Any vaccine mandate would Michael Porter Jr. at the small require approval from the NBPA forward and power forward posi–– a non-starter unless the NBA tions, providing crucial shooting decides to play hardball. For- ability for a loaded Denver team. tunately, NBA teams can force Additionally, Green’s combinaplayers into action on their own. tion of size and lateral quickness Teams ought to avoid signing allows him to switch onto various or drafting any unvaccinated opponents on defense. Green has players, barring any extenuat- become a perennial playoff iming circumstances that lead to pactor, playing in five of the last exemptions. Furthermore, for seven playoffs and assisting stars players currently on the roster, like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, their coaches must seriously and James Harden along the way. consider benching them until With Green joining a perennial they get vaccinated; there is playoff contender in the Nuggets, no reason to risk an outbreak he will look to provide the foundaamong vaccinated personnel to tion that leads to playoff success. appease the qualms of the unexempt and unvaccinated. The Otto Porter Jr. Otto Porter Jr., who attended teams that accommodate their unvaccinated players will have Georgetown from 2011 to 2013, to live with the increased risk hopes to shake recent injury of an outbreak, as well as the le- woes with a fresh start with the gitimate possibility that restric- Golden State Warriors this year, tions will increase to a point after only playing in 98 games in the past three seasons combined. that they can no longer play.

His last relatively healthy season was in 2018-2019, when he averAustin Barish is a junior in the aged 13.9 points on an impressive College. The Armchair Ana- 41% from three-point range. Since lyst appears in print and on- then, his inconsistent health and line every other week. spotty shooting performances

NBA Coaches Should Refuse To Play Unvaccinated Players Austin Barish

Columnist

With the 75th NBA season on the horizon, teams have their hands full trying to figure out what to do about some players not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Currently, the NBA is requiring vaccines for most of its coaches and referees, but not for its players. The National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) refuses to agree to any COVID-19 protocols mandating that players get vaccines, tying the league office’s hands as they try to figure out how to navigate an unprecedented season.

Coincidentally, a member of the NBPA’s executive committee also happens to be the league’s most infamous unvaccinated player: Kyrie Irving. Irving, Vice President of the NBPA and star point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, has yet to state why he will not get the vaccine –– but he has made it clear that he is in no rush to get vaccinated anytime soon.

Other prominent unvaccinated players include the Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal, Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. and Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac.

Policies in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco will prevent unvaccinated members of the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and the Nets from playing in home games, but visiting unvaccinated players in these cities are permitted to play. For Irving, this means missing all 41 home games and each of his paychecks for those games, totaling over $15 million.

Nets head coach Steve Nash

has recognized that the team will essentially have to play as two different teams throughout the season: one for home games and one for away games.

“We’re going to have to for sure play without him this year.” Nash said in an interview Sunday. “So it just depends on when, where and how much.”

It is impossible to measure the impact that the intermittent play of Irving and other unvaccinated players will have on their teams. For the Nets, home-court advantage in the playoffs could paradoxically be a disadvantage, as it would mean missing one of their best players for the majority of playoff games. It leaves the Nets struggling to decide if it is worth it to go on the road for one extra playoff game if it means their star point guard can play.

The NBA is remarkably close to being fully vaccinated, with 95% of players having received the vaccine. This vaccination rate is remarkably similar to that of the NFL, which most recently reported 93.7% of players being vaccinated. With the NFL season well underway and vaccination rates plateauing, there is little reason to believe that the start of the NBA season will lead to more players getting vaccinated.

However, local restrictions have recently pushed some unvaccinated players to get the vaccine. Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins had entered training camp unvaccinated with no plans to get vaccinated in the near future. Like Irving, Wiggins would be barred from playing in home games by San Francisco’s vaccination requirements, forcing him to forgo millions of dollars. After his application for religious exemption was rejected, Wiggins confirmed his vaccination Sunday, Oct. 3. Wiggins’ decision was not prompted

ILLUSTRATION BY: NOA BRONICKI

As the 2021-22 NBA season begins, four former Georgetown men’s basketball players will look to lead their respective teams to success. led him to fall out of the rotation for the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic. This enabled the Warriors to steal him this offseason for a bargain of a mere $2.4 million. Alongside stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors hope that the eighthyear veteran can be a tall wing off the bench, play good defense and knock down open jumpers, which will make the Warriors’ notorious three-point barrages that much more lethal.

Jamorko Pickett Jamorko Pickett graduated from Georgetown this spring after averaging 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Hoyas and leading the team to its first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament berth since 2015.

Pickett’s success earned him a two-way contract between the Detroit Pistons and their NBA G-League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. Pickett went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft but earned a roster spot after an impressive Summer League stint, in which he showcased his ball handling, passing vision, and three-point shooting skills. He isn’t expected to see significant playing time in his rookie year, but Pickett is the prototype roleplayer that every team needs: a long, athletic wing who can guard quicker and larger perimeter players alike, all while shooting well from three-point range.

OmerYurtseven Omer Yurtseven spent his first professional season last year with the G-League’s Oklahoma City Blue, performing well enough to earn a contract this offseason with the Miami Heat. In his lone season with Georgetown, Yurtseven averaged 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game using his seven-foot frame and strong interior scoring ability. For the Heat, the 23-year-old will be the third-string center behind superstar Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon. He will likely only get minutes if injuries arise. Still, if Yurtseven buys into the famed Heat culture, he will have a chance to grow within its strong player development program and rigorous physical requirements for years to come. Recently, undrafted players like Duncan Robinson and Derrick Jones Jr. have found niches in the Heat’s playstyle and earned long-term contracts in Miami. Hopefully Yurtseven can follow suit.

These four Hoyas will provide a medley of shooting, defense and intensity for their respective squads this upcoming NBA season. The two veterans, Green and Porter, will contribute for their teams come playoff time while the two rookies, Pickett and Yurtseven, will expand their game to gain more playing time. But no matter what, they will be Hoyas.

And they will make us proud.

THE HOYA | A11

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

SPORTS FIELD HOCKEY

VOLLEYBALL

Hoyas Go 1-1 on Virginia Road Trip VIRGINIA, from A12

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Junior right side hitter Peyton Wilhite recorded a team-high 15 kills and 17 digs in the win over UConn.

Georgetown Snaps 9-Game Losing Streak, Beats UConn The Hoyas maintained their defensive solidity but were more vulnerable to the Huskies’ attacks; they failed to establish a significant lead.

Chen appeared to have the magic touch as the set came to its conclusion with a pair of service aces. She fought to keep the ball in play, frequently sprinting out of bounds to catch the ball and set up a Georgetown attack.

The set came down to the wire, with both teams desperate to collect the two points needed to win the set. A Williams serve forced a UConn error at 29-27, sealing the Hoyas’ first victory in the Big East this season.

Cusi put in another spectacular defensive display Saturday night, registering a landmark 23 digs throughout the match. Her performance made her only the 11th player in Georgetown volleyball history to reach a total of 1,000 digs in her career.

Wilhite had a strong performance as well, having been the most involved player in Georgetown’s attacking plays. She contributed a total of 57 attacks, more than any player on either team, and completed a total of 15 kills across all sets.

Georgetown looks for another win in the Big East next weekend against Xavier (9-7-0, 4-2-0 Big East). The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, and will be played away in Cincinnati.

The Hoyas will then travel to Indianapolis to face Butler (910-0, 3-3-0 Big East) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16.

UCONN, from A12

from junior right side hitter Peyton Wilhite and first-year outside hitter Giselle Williams signalled the Hoyas’ potential to continue challenging for the match. Williams completed seven digs, a team high for the match.

Georgetown opened the second set with a statement 7-3 lead via a series of aggressive attacking plays from Wilhite and a tenacious defensive performance from Williams. The Huskies, however, fought back to an even 8-8 draw and eventual 8-9 lead after a reception error from junior libero Jessica Cusi. The set continued to be a close battle, with the lead changing hands five more times. A series of lethal attacks from Wilhite and first-year outside hitter Mary Grace Goyena secured a Georgetown 25-20 win.

The Hoyas collected another point in the third set, putting them in front of UConn before the final set.

Georgetown established an early five-point lead at 13-8 after a streak of five consecutive kills. Junior libero Kelly Chen came in as a substitute, reinvigorating the Hoyas.

Compared to previous games, Georgetown’s defense was much more coordinated, effectively covering the spaces of the court and supporting their attack. The defensive effort helped secure a 25-18 win to close the set.

UConn fought back in the fourth set, desperate to keep themselves in the match.

right post and rolled out of play, much to Weets’ relief.

Georgetown’s resilient defense kept the Hoyas afloat throughout the first half, despite the pressure of 10 penalty corners –– seven of which came in the second quarter alone.

The Hoyas started off the second half strong, enjoying their first extended possession and nearly scoring on a cross flashing across the box.

VCU matched Georgetown’s play and quickly regained control, forcing Georgetown to play the majority of the game on its own half.

The Hoyas went to work in the third quarter, playing strong defense resulting in a scrappy goal that came against the run of play. The initial close-range effort came from first-year midfielder Sophie Towne, who forced the keeper into a save and secured the rebound to tuck it away.

Townes has scored three goals in the last four games, and her goal against the Rams marked her team-high fourth goal of the season.

After Georgetown’s goal, VCU increased its intensity.

In the fourth quarter, the Hoyas were forced into making four saves, bringing Weets’ total to 10 on the day. The

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Georgetown field hockey saw its three-game win streak broken by a 2-0 loss to Old Dominion, yet bounced back with a 1-0 victory over VCU. shutout was Weets’ fourth of the season. The Hoyas ended the Rams’ four-game winning streak with the 1-0 win.

Weets was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for

the second consecutive week after recording a total of 16 saves over the weekend.

Georgetown looks for another win as it returns home against Quinnipiac Univer-

MEN’S SOCCER

GU Blanks Butler, Wins 10th-Straight Game

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sity (1-10, 0-4 Big East) on Friday, Oct. 15, at Cooper Field.

The Hoyas will then face off against Saint Francis University (4-9, 1-2 Northeast) on Sunday, Oct. 17.

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Junior midfielder Dante Polvara’s goal in the 59th minute fueled the Hoyas’ 1-0 victory over Butler, which marked Georgetown’s sixth shutout this season.

BUTLER, from A12

said that the Hoyas have room for improvement in their offensive gameplay.

“The serves weren’t quite as good as they could be; we had some really good chances that didn’t miss by much,” Wiese said in a postgame interview with The Hoya.

“It was just that little bit of crispness we were missing.”

Although neither the Hoyas nor the Bulldogs had their best offensive performance, their defensive units put on a commendable show. For Georgetown, junior defender Daniel Wu and sophomore defender Kenny Nielsen anchored the back line, playing for the full 90 minutes of regulation. Junior forward Will Sands, acting in a defensive capacity, and ju-

nior midfielder Aidan Rocha also played the entire game.

For his efforts, Sands was crowned the Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

Despite the performances of the squad’s regular rotation, Wiese was quick to note that the team’s success often hinges on the capabilities of substitutes and having depth in the roster.

“You see our reserves are

doing a good job getting us the quality we need,” Wiese said. “These guys all come on and maintain the standard, if not lift it.”

The Hoyas’ defensive master class included another strong performance from graduate student goalkeeper Ethan Koehler, who recorded the win with a clean sheet and two saves. Across four games played this season, Koehler has conceded only one goal and completed 12 saves.

Wiese said that although his defense is consistently reliable, a busy game schedule can also take a toll on his athletes’ performance.

“What you saw today was a feeling of some tired legs from the Seton Hall game.

Seton Hall felt great, but with only two days in between games and getting back late, it was really predictable that we weren’t going to be as sharp,” Wiese said. “Three days between games from here to Providence is going to feel like a summer vacation.”

The Hoyas will travel to No. 25 Providence College (71-3, 3-0-2 Big East) for their next match Oct. 13. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT. The Providence matchup will be a challenging one for the Hoyas, according to Wiese.

“I think Providence is the team to beat in the league, based on what I’ve seen so far. They’re really talented,” Wiese said. “They’re really good on set pieces, too. They check all the boxes for what you have to worry about and we’re at their place, so we’re going to have to be really sharp to get the result.”

Following the trip to Rhode Island, the Hoyas will return to Shaw Field on Saturday, Oct.16 to square up against another Big East opponent, Villanova (8-3-0, 4-10 Big East).

THE EQUALIZER

GU Powered Schneider to Olympics MCDONALD, from A12

athlete and to grow from the big adversity that the pandemic was presenting. I just saw it as an opportunity to strengthen some areas that I thought I could improve on and just stay present and open-minded.”

Schneider’s tenacious and resilient outlook translated to success on the track. After failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 1500m, she shifted her focus to the 5K event. According to Schneider, she is most proud of her performance at the 2020 U.S.

Olympic Trials, where she qualified for the 5K with a third-place finish. Although missing out on qualification for the 10K, Schneider still finished in an impressive fifth place in only her second attempt at a 10K on the track.

“Qualifying for the Olympics was just this really special pinnacle moment of all this hard work, dedication, and growth coming together,” Schneider said. “It was a big dream coming true and was probably the highlight of my career.”

At the Tokyo Olympics, Schneider placed 17th overall

in the 5000m with a time of 15:00.07, failing to advance to the event finals by just over half a second.

“It’s just bittersweet when you can be really, really proud of the way you raced and miss making the final by fractions of a second,” Schneider said.

Looking toward the future, Schneider hopes to make strides both on and off the track, chasing faster times in the 5K and 10K events and returning to graduate school at Grand Canyon University, hoping to pursue a potential career in mental health counseling.

“I am excited to keep pursuing running at the highest level possible,” Schneider said. “I would love to run some personal best times and hopefully continue to represent Team USA at the international level. I’m also pursuing a second master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I have some dreams of helping people in that capacity and in that profession.”

Carrie McDonald is a sophomore in the College. The Equalizer appears in print and online every other week.

Sports

FIELD HOCKEY

Georgetown (7-6) vs.

Saint Francis (4-9) Sunday, 12 p.m.

Cooper Field

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 TALKING POINTS

WOMEN’S SOCCER

NUMBERS GAME

Junior forward Gia Vicari powered

You see our reserves are doing

Georgetown to a 1-0 shutout victory

a good job getting us the quality

over St. John’s on Oct. 10.

we need.”

See A10

Men’s Soccer Head Coach Brian Wiese

7

Georgetown women’s soccer has outscored opponents 7-0 during its three-game winning streak.

MEN’S SOCCER

Polvara, Koehler Lead Hoyas to 1-0 Shutout Win Maisy Liles

Hoya Staff Writer

On Saturday, Oct. 9, the No. 1 Georgetown men’s soccer team upheld their unblemished record with a victory over Big East competitor Butler University at Shaw Field. A second-half strike by junior midfielder Dante Polvara clinched the only goal of the game, lifting the Hoyas over the Bulldogs in a 1-0 victory.

In the first half, both Georgetown (10-0-0, 4-0-0 Big East) and Butler (3-6-1, 1-2-0 Big East) encountered difficulties capitalizing on goal-scoring opportunities.

Though the Hoyas went on to outshoot the Bulldogs 147, neither squad was able to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes of play.

In a dominant display of possession throughout the first half, Georgetown recorded 11 corner kicks to Butler’s one. However, the Hoyas did not convert a single one of these into a goal.

Georgetown finally found its shining opportunity in the 59th minute when Butler midfielder Quint Breitkreuz fouled Polvara on the edge of the box. Officials issued Breitkreuz the lone yellow card of the match and Polvara hammered the resulting free kick into the top corner to grab the goal for Georgetown. The Hoyas held on to the 1-0 lead, despite a challenge from Butler in the final minute of play.

Head Coach Brian Wiese See BUTLER, A11

@RACHSCHNEID18/TWITTER

Long-distance runner Rachel Schneider attributes her time at Georgetown as influential to her qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

THE EQUALIZER

Rachel Schneider’s Journey From GU to Tokyo high school, Schneider had as-

It was not these impressive set. I have no idea if I would my mental growth and mind-

Carrie sumed running would not play sets of results, however, that have known that professional set in the sport of running.”

This attitude proved invaluMcDonald such a prominent role in her life influenced her decision to running was a possibility if I Columnist

From the lifelong friends she met to her decision to run professionally, Tokyo Olympian and long-distance runner Rachel Schneider’s (NHS ’13, GRD ’15) time at Georgetown was instrumental in finding her calling, leading her to the world’s highest stage of athletics.

Although she won the New England Championship in both 800m and 1600m events in

at the Hilltop and beyond.

“I don’t ever think I saw myself becoming a professional runner,” Schneider said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

“I was kind of honored to be recruited by Georgetown because they’re one of the best teams in the country.”

While competing for Georgetown’s track and cross-country team from 2010 to 2014, Schneider excelled across the middledistance events, winning a Big East championship and earning nine All-American honors.

pursue professional running, but rather the support of her Georgetown teammates, according to Schneider.

“My teammates elevated not only the ability that I had on the track but also just the way I saw myself,” Schneider said.

“Being able to train with those women and being trained by those coaches, I all of a sudden started to really believe that I could continue to run at an elite level after college and eventually at the Olympics. It helped me grow in my mind-

VOLLEYBALL

had gone to another school.”

Schneider, who asked for new books in lieu of creating a registry when getting married, said continuing her love of learning after graduating Georgetown has played a pivotal role in coping with the mental challenges that come with running.

“I love learning,” Schneider said. “I found ways to learn on my own, mainly through reading and listening to podcasts.

That has really just helped center me in a lot of ways and that has helped so much with

able during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Schneider faced the myriad uncertainties involved with the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the inability to race at track meets.

“I knew that the only thing I could really do is focus on the things I could control,” Schneider said. “I pretty quickly shifted into using that time to work on some of my weaknesses and find ways to become a stronger See MCDONALD, A11

FIELD HOCKEY

Hoyas Earn 1st Big East Win Over UConn Georgetown Defeats VCU, Falls to ODU Ethan Williams Special to The Hoya

McDonough Arena came to life as the Georgetown women’s volleyball team celebrated their first win in the Big East Conference on Saturday, Oct. 9 against the University of Connecticut.

The Hoyas broke their ninegame losing streak with a dramatic 3-1 victory, a step in the right direction for their Big East aspirations.

The first set foreshadowed a highly contentious game, as neither Georgetown (5-12, 1-5 Big East) nor the Huskies (12-6, 4-2 Big East) were able to build a convincing lead early on. The teams equaled each other at 5-5 and 10-10 at 10 and 20 serves in, respectively.

In a controversial moment, the linesman deemed a Huskie attack out of bounds after the ball had struck his foot, and the referee committee stripped the Hoyas of a point.

An apparent loss of momentum from the Hoyas emboldened the Huskies and allowed them to break the stalemate, establish a lead and force the Hoyas to call a timeout at 1317. Georgetown was unable to GUHOYAS regroup and lost the set 21-25, but impressive performances Georgetown volleyball earned its first conference victory of the 2021 season See UCONN, A11 with a four-set win over UConn, snapping a nine-game losing streak.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

Jack Lonergan Special to The Hoya

Georgetown women’s field hockey returned home from a trip to Virginia with both a win and a loss added to its record, falling to Old Dominion University (ODU) 2-0 on Friday, Oct. 8, but defeating Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) 1-0 on Sunday, Oct. 10.

The Hoyas (7-6, 1-3 Big East) headed first to Norfolk, Va., to take on the No. 17 Old Dominion Monarchs (9-3, 3-1 Big East). Georgetown entered the game on a three-game win streak, hoping to use its momentum to challenge a ranked opponent. Georgetown’s defense did well to allow just two goals to the Monarchs, considering the Hoyas faced 22 shots and 11 corners, with senior goalkeeper Ciara Weets making six saves.

The Monarchs opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter, with Old Dominion breaking through the Georgetown defense in the 14th minute and Monarch forward Aubrey Mytych scoring her first goal of the season. The Hoyas held ODU’s attack to only three shots in the second quarter, but the Hoyas failed to produce a goal of their own. Thus, the score remained 1-0 at the end of the first half.

Ten minutes to the third quarter, Old Dominion doubled its lead to 2-0 when Monarch midfielder and forward Ilse Westera beat Weets to score her third goal of the season. The Monarchs reignited their offensive pressure with another eight shots in the fourth quarter, icing a dominant victory. The shutout ended an offensive outburst for the Hoyas, who had outscored opponents 6-2 in their past three games. With only one shot on goal all game, coming from sophomore midfielder Skyler Lesslie, the Hoyas stumbled to continue their recent goal-scoring success against the Monarchs.

In its second match of the weekend, Georgetown was in danger of once again falling behind, this time against VCU. The Rams (8-4, 4-1 Atlantic 10) dominated possession early, moving the ball very quickly and forcing a save from Weets in the opening minute from a penalty corner.

The Rams peppered the Hoyas’ cage with shots in the second quarter. VCU’s offensive pressure increased, outshooting Georgetown 11-1, with a shot from Rams midfielder Maite Sturm almost proving fatal.

The shot cannoned high off the See VIRGINIA, A11