The Hoya: January 7, 2014

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 95, No. 32, © 2014

friday, february 7, 2014

FOOD ISSUE

Discover new D.C. restaurants with a quick ride on the Metro.

SPECIAL PULLOUT GUIDE

EDITORIAL Aramark should act to make the Grab ‘n’ Give program more visible.

ONLINE COURSES A new initiative will allow students to get a jumpstart from afar.

BIG EAST BATTLE The Hoyas look to win their third straight game against Butler Saturday.

NEWS, A4

OPINION, A2

SPORTS, A12

GUSA Season Begins Quietly BSA Members Matt Gregory Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Student Association Election Commission held the first of two information sessions Monday night, which are designed to inform prospective candidates for the 2014 GUSA executive election about the rules and procedures before the campaign period officially begins Feb. 13.

While all students who wish to

run for either president or vice president must attend, only Zach Singer (SFS ’15) and Ben Weiss (COL ’15) were present at the first session.

The second information session is scheduled for this evening.

Both Singer and Weiss have previous experience in GUSA. Singer, who was elected to the senate his freshman fall, served as both speaker and vice speaker of the GUSA senate before assuming the

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

ERICA WONG/THE HOYA

Zach Singer (SFS ’15), left, and Ben Weiss (COL ’15), right, were the only potential GUSA candidates to attend Tuesday’s info session.

GU Protects Bangladesh Workers

role of chief of staff in GUSA President Nate Tisa’s (SFS ’14) administration. Weiss, elected to the senate at-large in his freshman year, is currently the GUSA senator for Village A and was chairman of the senate Committee on Student Life during the past semester.

Neither potential candidate offered a comment to The Hoya, as election protocol stipulates that, as candidates, interaction with the media cannot occur until the official campaign period begins.

Candidates seeking to run for a GUSA executive office must submit official candidacy forms by Feb. 10 and will have two weeks between Feb. 13 and Feb. 27 to campaign, which includes canvassing, distributing flyers and tabling. Campaigning will officially begin at midnight Feb. 13.

On Feb. 12, candidates’ budgets for the ensuing fiscal year are due to the GUSA Election Commission. Budgets must be submitted on time in order for candidates to participate in the presidential and vice presidential debates, which are respectively scheduled for Feb. See GUSA, A6

WOMEN IN POLITICS

Madison Ashley Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown will now require all trademark licensees that source, produce or purchase products in Bangladesh to abide by an international, legally binding agreement to help protect workers, the university announced Thursday.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety was founded in May 2013 following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in April 2013 in Savar and a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory in November 2012 in Dhaka that led to the deaths of 1,129 and 112 workers, respectively.

With more than 5,000 factories, the garment industry employs more than four million individuals — primarily women.

With more than 100 signatories from at least 20 countries to date, the accord has garnered the attention of the international human rights community, according to Georgetown Director of Business Policy and Planning Cal Watson.

“The accord is focused on Bangladesh because the safety crisis within the apparel industry there has been so severe.

Two of the deadliest disasters in the history of the global apparel industry happened in Bangladesh in the last two years,” Watson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The accord requires apparel companies to submit to full, public inspections of the working conditions in their factories, ensure that factories undergo the renovations necessary to improve conditions and end business relationships with licensees that refuse to comply, according to a press release issued by the university Thursday. It does not provide for a living wage for factory workers.

The recommendation for the university to sign the Accord, signed by University President John J. DeGioia on Thursday, came from Georgetown’s Licensing Oversight Committee, a group of administrators, faculty and students that makes recommendations to the university regarding its relationship with collegiate products and apparel industry stakeholders.

To date, five other universities have signed on to the accord: New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Duke University and Pennsylvania State University.

Licensing Oversight Committee member Julia Hubbell (COL ’15) said the proposal was supported overwhelmingly by the LOC. “As licensing work goes, the process was actually pretty easy. [The committee] spent some time discussing it — the committee really decided that there See WORKERS, A6

BENJAMIN APPLEY EPSTEIN FOR THE HOYA

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) spoke on Native American rights and the place of women in politics Tuesday.

Boycott Corp Stores Ashley Miller Hoya Staff Writer

The Corp Philanthropy Committee denied a grant request from the Black Student Alliance last week, upsetting many members of the group and prompting a boycott of Students of Georgetown Inc. locations among some.

“I know me and my 10 people are not going to The Corp,” BSA Vice President Shauntell Pinckney (COL ’15), who is on the planning committee, said. “That’s not going to make a big change, but at least I know I’m not supporting something that doesn’t believe in me, and I don’t believe in it.”

However, other members of the BSA Planning Committee are not participating in the boycott.

“I have friends that work for The Corp, so I don’t necessarily know if it’s The Corp itself or if it’s just that branch of The Corp that deals with the allocation of funds, so I don’t want to react toward the entire organization,” BSA Planning Committee member Khadijah Davis (NHS ’15) said. “I think that if she is offended by the way that she was treated, there’s nothing wrong with boycotting.”

Because of cuts to the BSA’s budget, the organization sought $3,000 from Corp Philanthropy for the group’s April Visions of Excellence Ball, which honors graduating seniors who have contributed to Georgetown through service, academics, arts, leadership or athletics. The Corp denied the grant request on the grounds that the nature of the event was not actively in line with the Corp motto of “students serving students.”

“While the event does celebrate the work of students on campus, the nature of the event itself is not something that the committee felt aligned best with The Corp’s mission of students serving students. Funding for the event was also denied last year for the same reason,” Corp Philanthropy Committee Chair Jessica Lawson (SFS ’14) wrote in an email to Pinckney.

Although the BSA Visions of Excellence Ball celebrates the work of students on the part of the community, according to Lawson, the lack of active service does not qualify it for a grant.

“It’s a celebration of students serving students, which is awesome and amazing, but the event wasn’t the actual students being on the ground, serving students,” Lawson told The Hoya.

She added that the committee usually funds between $250 and $300, a tenth of BSA’s request.

The Corp stated that there were other reasons for the denial of the re-

SARAH LIPKIN/THE HOYA

Gavin Laughlin (COL ’14) works at MUG, boycotted by some in BSA. quest, such as the high ticket price for the event and that the funds were going to a formal.

“We also, a lot of times, don’t like to fund events that have ticket prices, especially ones that are high because for us that kind of promotes an ‘in’ and an ‘out.’ Not inclusiveness, exclusiveness,” Lawson said.

This is the third consecutive year the Corp Philanthropy Committee has denied a request for funds for the BSA Visions of Excellence Ball, which is the BSA’s largest community event.

The BSA amasses most of the funding through donations.

“It’s the BSA’s biggest annual effort to give back to our membership and other students who are a part of the campus community, regardless of race, religious background, sexual orientation, school. There’s nothing there that suggests that anyone is excluded — it’s people who have given back to the minority student community, and there’s nothing about Georgetown that suggests that minority students aren’t students,” BSA President Erika Nedwell (COL ’14) said. “When they suggest that it doesn’t align with the ‘students serving students,’ it’s not only offensive, but false.”

Although not all BSA members are boycotting The Corp, some BSA members feel The Corp could interact with other organizations more frequently.

“We just wish they would kind of reciprocate that, and we don’t necessarily feel that they’ve done that in the past years, whether it be the people that they hire, the things that they choose to fund, what they show to be their interests; it doesn’t seem to align with the greater campus community.

It seems to be very exclusive, which is See BOYCOTT, A6

Citizen Concerns Delay DC Redistricting Johnny Verhovek Hoya Staff Writer

The D.C. Board of Elections has cancelled proposed changes to realign voting precincts amid worries among local residents that the changes could cause confusion about where to vote in the upcoming April 1 Democratic mayoral primary.

The 59-page “2013 Precinct Boundary Efficiency Plan,” released to the public in October 2013, aimed to fix various issues with the way that Advisory Neighborhood Commission Single Member Districts are defined. The board sought to realign voting precincts with SMDs as well as revise the precinct numbering system to reflect the precincts designated as wards.

Tamara Robinson, public information officer for the D.C. Board of Elections, said that while the board had hoped to implement the changes before April 1, concerns voiced by residents over the confusion the new plan could cause delayed the process.

“We had an original deadline for public input in October. We got some feedback, but we had some more folks that said, ‘You know what? We still have some concerns,’” Robinson said. “That

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

feedback and just not wanting to implement such a huge change in the middle of such an important race were a combination of factors that led us to determine that we would put things on hold for the moment.”

There are currently 296 SMDs in the District and 143 voting precincts. Because many precincts encompass multiple SMDs, voters are often unaware of where they are eligible to vote. Adding to the confusion, voters are sometimes forced to vote at different polling locations for the same election.

Longtime local activist Dorothy Brizill of the government watchdog group D.C. Watch, said the process in developing the plan was mishandled by the board, and that the board should not move forward with any changes until the public has more information.

“The Board of Elections and the staff came up with a redrawing of the boundaries and never consulted with anybody. I go faithfully to every monthly meeting of the Board of Elections — the plan was never discussed, never raised. They never solicited input from anybody,” Brizill said.

Chairman of the D.C. Council See REDISTRICTING, A6 Published Tuesdays and Fridays

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Redistricting could affect assignment of polling places, like Duke Ellington School, seen here on Election Day in November 2012.

Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

friday, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

THE VERDICT

C EDITORIALS C A Confined Commitment C C Founded January 14, 1920

The world awoke to the startling conditions of Bangladeshi workers on April 24, 2013, when the Rama Plaza factory outside of Dhaka collapsed, trapping 1,127 laborers within its concrete rubble. In response, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was enacted in May 2013, establishing labor standards for all signatory factories and their corresponding brand-name companies in Bangladesh for five years.

Georgetown’s signature on this accord is only reinforced by University President John J. DeGioia’s commitment to the labor standards — an admirable step toward ensuring that Georgetown’s priorities result in partnering with businesses that embody this integrity and respect for human rights.

It is worth mentioning, however, the accord’s unfortunate specificity to Bangladesh, which is only one of Georgetown’s labor sources. It brings to light

an inequity in university policy that merits reconsideration: Limiting this expanded commitment to worker safety in one country implies that the same official commitment isn’t necessary elsewhere. A similar commitment to humane conditions in every nation where Georgetown apparel is manufactured should be implemented quickly.

At the very least, the university’s labor standards should be equal across the board. The Licensing Oversight Committee has done a commendable job establishing a baseline of labor standards to use when contracting with manufacturers for licensed apparel, and the committee should continue to uphold these standards with equal weight in all countries.

With a student body, alumni network and faculty that all value service to others, supporting the safe livable conditions of workers who make our clothes is a pledge worthy of commitment without borders.

The Executive Payroll President Barack Obama showed a bold commitment to fair employment when he promised to raise the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10. This promise, made last week in his State of the Union address, demonstrates Obama’s recognition that a living wage is a right for all citizens. It is therefore a frustrating contradiction that Obama continues to allow unpaid interns to work at the White House.

In the wake of the president’s call for a living wage, Michael Holper (COL ’14) created an official White House petition last week asking that White House interns be paid. Although the petition has received little attention thus far, this Editorial Board supports any initiative to reverse this current state of affairs.

Unpaid internships by nature favor those who can afford to work for free, perpetuating a cycle of exclusivity and shutting out talented students nationwide. This creates an unfair balance in

any industry, but the White House has a symbolic responsibility beyond that of other employers to reform the status quo. As it stands, the executive branch is setting an example contrary to its own mission.

The merits of paying White House interns also go beyond symbolic value.

The nation has an obvious interest in attracting the best and brightest to careers in public service, and the White House’s unwillingness to pay its interns sends qualified students into the arms of more lucrative industries.

Last week, Obama called on Congress to “give America a raise.” White House interns deserve that raise, too, but more importantly, all students deserve a fair chance to work at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Internships are changing, and more and more businesses are paying their interns. It’s time for the White House to listen to Holper and the thousands of other voices who are calling for this change.

C

A Fitting Tribute — This Sunday, Rhino will commemorate actor Philip Seymour Hoffman by showing a marathon of his most famous films — including “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Capote” — starting at 11 a.m.

Underwood Wins Re-election — Netflix announced Tuesday that it would be renewing “House of Cards” for a third season, despite past statements from the executive producer that its second season would likely be its last.

All the Single Ladies — D.C. was ranked the second best city in America for singles based on factors such as the number of young single people, low unemployment rates, the cost of an average date and the number of bars per capita.

What Does the Fox Say? — A car struck and killed the famous Capitol Hill Fox Tuesday.

Pins on the Potomac — Pinstripes, a combination bowling ally, bistro, wine cellar and bocce court, opens this Saturday on M Street.

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD US ... @marcahertz

Feb. 5 New bicycle sharing models get spotlight in @thehoya #innovation #transportation #sustainability @RogersCharley

Feb. 4 Thank you to @thehoya for covering our #greeninfrastructure plan and what it might mean for G’town @TheAnswer310

Feb. 4 @thehoya thanks for sharing our story and the vision for FreeBike Project -Johan B. @RogersCharley

@thehoyasports And that’s a...Winning Streak! #Hoyas

Feb. 3

@TheAnswer310

@thehoyasports for a good call, try @HoyasWin

Feb. 3

@RogersCharley

Feb. 3 @thehoyasports why do these games start closer to quarter after?

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Megan Schmidt

Swiping for Service When students complain about Leo’s, Leo’s tries to win them back.

Clam Chowder Day, Meatless Mondays, nutrition counseling and a Super Bowl viewing party are among the special events heavily promoted to those with meal plans. Advertisements are effective, but their ubiquity highlights a comparative lack of publicity for Aramark’s floundering Grab ‘n’ Give program.

For students who remember to participate, Grab ‘n’ Give allows them to donate one meal every Friday after swiping into O’Donovan Hall. At the end of each month, Aramark writes a check for the total value — $2.74 per meal donated — to the Center for Social Justice, which in turn forwards the money to local soup kitchen Martha’s Table.

But students are often surprised to know that this program exists. While the advertising budget for Leo’s pays for the excessive promotions for themed

days, special menu items and new food stations, the commendable service that Grab ‘n’ Give provides is unpublicized. And even when a handful of students get in the habit of donating their meals, yearly student turnover and a lack of public information has kept the already limited Grab ‘n’ Give program from gaining widespread appeal, rendering Aramark’s gesture of community service empty.

Aramark and the university should take steps to ensure more students participate in this program. A simple solution would be to allow students to select an automatic weekly donation of a leftover meal when they purchase a meal plan at the beginning of the semester. With only a one-time click of the “yes” button required to donate meals for the entire semester, participation would surely skyrocket.

Grab ‘n’ Give is a commendable program. All that’s left is to let students know about it.

Emma Hinchliffe, Editor-in-Chief TM Gibbons-Neff, Executive Editor Sheena Karkal, Managing Editor Lindsay Lee, Online Editor Mallika Sen, Campus News Editor Madison Ashley, City News Editor Carolyn Maguire, Sports Editor Kim Bussing, Guide Editor David Chardack, Opinion Editor Alexander Brown, Photography Editor Ian Tice, Layout Editor Robert DePaolo, Copy Chief Karl Pielmeier, Blog Editor

Contributing Editors

Katy Berk, Zoe Bertrand, Chris Bien, Pat Curran, Victoria Edel, Danny Funt, Chris Grivas, Penny Hung, Sarah Kaplan, Hanaa Khadraoui, Hunter Main, Eitan Sayag, Sean Sullivan, Emory Wellman

Deputy Campus News Editor Sam Abrams Deputy Campus News Editor Kit Clemente Deputy City News Editor Suzanne Monyak Deputy Business Editor Natasha Khan Deputy Sports Editor Andrew May Deputy Sports Editor Tom Schnoor Sports Blog Editor Max Wheeler Deputy Guide Editor Allison Hillsbery Deputy Guide Editor Jess Kelham-Hohler Deputy Guide Editor Lindsay Leasor Deputy Opinion Editor Matthew Grisier Deputy Photography Editor Julia Hennrikus Deputy Photography Editor Daniel Smith Deputy Photography Editor Michelle Xu Deputy Layout Editor Michelle Cardona Deputy Layout Editor Kennedy Shields Deputy Copy Editor Jackie McCadden Deputy Copy Editor Zack Saravay Deputy Copy Editor Sharanya Sriram Deputy Blog Editor Emma Holland

Editorial Board David Chardack, Chair Katy Berk, Taylor Coles, Patrick Drown, Ben Germano, Kelly Nosé

CORRECTIONS The article "Applications Down 2.6% for Class of 2018" (The Hoya, A1, Feb. 4, 2014) incorrectly stated that the 2013 regular decision application pool was 20,025. It was 19,882, a decline of 1.9%.

The caption for the photo “Civil Rights in ‘March’” (The Hoya, A1, Feb. 4, 2014) incorrectly stated that Georgia Rep. John Lewis is a Republican. He is a Democrat.

Michal Grabias, General Manager Jason Yoffe, Director of Accounting Christina Wing, Director of Corporate Development Nicole Foggan, Director of Marketing Addie Fleron, Director of Personnel Brian Carden, Director of Sales Nick DeLessio, Director of Technology Clara Cheng Kevin Wilson Tessa Bell Sean Choksi Laura Tonnessen Chris Amaya Dimitri Roumeliotis Natasha Patel Charles Lee Nicole Yuksel Ellen Zamsky Emily Manbeck Christine Cha Chris Hedley Katherine Seder Matthew De Silva Casandra Schwartz Janet Zhu

Operations Manager Revenue Outreach Manager Senior Accounts Manager Local Accounts Manager National Accounts Manager Treasury Manager Statements Manager Alumni Relations Manager Special Events Manager Public Relations Manager Human Resources Manager Professional Development Manager Institutional Diversity Manager Online Advertisements Manager Local Advertisements Manager Systems Manager Technical Support Manager Web Manager

Consultants Kent Carlson, Kevin Tian, Mary Nancy Walter, Mullin Weerakoon, Simon Wu

Board of Directors

Evan Hollander, Chair

Michal Grabias, Emma Hinchliffe, Hanaa Khadraoui, Vidur Khatri, Hunter Main, Braden McDonald Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story.

Letters should not exceed 300 words.

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

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya.com.

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

Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor TM Gibbons-Neff at (203) 858-1127 or email executive@thehoya.com.

News Tips Campus News Editor Mallika Sen: Call (310) 918-6116 or email campus@thehoya.com.

City News Editor Madison Ashley: Call (504) 3446845 or email city@thehoya.com.

Sports Editor Carolyn Maguire: Call (908) 4471445 or email sports@thehoya.com.

General Information The Hoya is published twice each week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to:

The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University.

Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya.

Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board.

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

The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2014. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus.

Additional copies are $1 each.

Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 6,500

OPINION

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • Lowe

CALLING MY SHOT

Bring Bureaucracy out of the Dark

L

Danny Funt

Overcoming A Bumper Sticker Ethos M

any of us have had bouts of price-tag sickness while studying at Georgetown. No matter how exhilarating the experience or how promising the postgraduation prospects, some guilt and uneasiness accompany any indulgence valued at nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

The antidote for guilt is conviction, and students perform a civic service of sorts if education informs action. But when we fail to live up to that promise, a troubling disconnect emerges between how we behave in the real world and what we espouse from the comfort of our academic armchairs.

Higher education is more than cerebral gymnastics. Rather than take courses on sudoku puzzles and Rubik’s cubes, the content of our studies matters — not only for vocational training, but also for moral maturation. Our heavy coursework often involves weighty matters, and ideologies on these subjects should not be formed purely in the abstract.

To some extent, this disconnect is a basic human tendency. I drive a car knowing the severity of climate change, walk past the homeless knowing the injustice of their situation and eat Ben & Jerry’s knowing its detriment to my health. Although some people define humans as rational beings, failure to act on one’s better judgment is an almost equally defining human characterization.

My concern, however, is not for those aware of such shortcomings, but for people who attempt to rationalize them, often molding beliefs to justify actions. We ought to ask ourselves whether failure to act according to certain principles results from mental weakness or from the fact that we don’t truly hold those principles to begin with. If so, many of our supposed beliefs are a farce.

That moral malleability is evident among the practitioners of the bumper sticker philosophy found at Georgetown. Concepts

A Georgetown education should ideally inspire us to go out and stand for something. such as “women and men for others” and “care for the whole person” have great depth and virtue, but they’re also easily perverted.

In the case of Frank McCourt Jr. (C ’75), writing a check to Georgetown for $100 million is sufficient to qualify as a man for others and become the toast of the town, even if such wealth was acquired with alarmingly suspect ethics. When money in particular is on the line, intellectual and moral integrity can be reduced to bargaining chips. Georgetown, at least nowadays, can’t claim much high ground on that subject.

A side effect of ideological apathy is that we tolerate others for holding views that we otherwise find abhorrent. Homophobes get a pass when they’re not all in your face about it; we turn a blind eye to sexist or racist remarks from colleagues who are effective on the job. But, as Malcolm X said, “You can’t hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree.”

Some might defend those examples as pluralism in action. But should civility be extended to viewpoints that are inherently uncivil? Partisan pettiness aside, Congress is known as an exemplar of respect for diverse opinions — “the gentleman from South Carolina,” “my friend from Massachusetts.” But while watching the State of the Union last week, I couldn’t help but wonder if such politeness and decorum obscured the gravity of issues being discussed. Should you smile and shake hands with someone you hold responsible for the financial peril of millions of Americans or the deaths of thousands of soldiers? Sure, there is plenty of hostility in politics, but that appears more reflective of a power struggle than a spirited commitment to the lives and livelihoods at stake.

I wrote an op-ed in THE HOYA last year (“A Noisy and Thriving Democracy,” A3, Jan. 25, 2013) about my experience at President Obama’s second inauguration, when an anti-abortion protester screamed from a treetop for six hours to the torment of hundreds in attendance. I utterly reject his views, but I also hesitate to call him crazy.

In a strange way, that protester is worthy of respect for acting exactly as his beliefs compelled. After all, if you really believe that millions of babies are lawfully being massacred every year, would it be fitting to do anything less?

Passion can be ignorant and impulsive, but it can also be drawn from knowledge.

Georgetown offers an outstanding education — ideally one that inspires us to go out and stand for something.

Danny Funt is a senior in the College. He is the former editor-in-chief of The Hoya.

CALLING MY SHOT appears every other Friday.

ast week’s announcement of the housing policy change for students studying abroad prompted a strong outcry from students throughout the Georgetown community. These outcries have seemed like the common response toward recent decisions made by the administration, and it has become clear that these announcements have little, if any, student input. These abrupt policy implementations are symptoms of a bureaucracy devoid of empathy for students, whom the bureaucracy is supposed to serve.

It is the manifestation of an atmosphere of disillusionment that has developed between the Georgetown bureaucracy and the Georgetown student.

Whether it is the decision to raise the minimum GPA for Latin honors, explore the option of a satellite campus or change the housing situation for juniors planning on studying abroad, students are increasingly finding these notifications of unexpected change in their inboxes.

While many of the sudden decisions made by the administration are simply baffling, just as many are well intended and meant for the general good of Georgetown. But this does not change the fact that these decisions often seem to come out of nowhere. Because of the unexpected nature of these decisions, Georgetown students react drastically in the face of oftentimes necessary university oversight.

These reactions, which include the “One Georgetown, One Campus” and “Students Against Restrictive Housing Policy” Facebook groups, ought to serve as a sign to the administration that student voices need to be heard when discussing policies that intimately affect student life.

Sometimes these groups succeed in changing the administration’s decisions, but nothing seems to have changed in their basic decision-making process. Those doors

Instead of avoiding dissent, the university needs to give us a chance to decide our college experiences. are still closed to students’ input, and whatever little transparency the administration offers is meager compared to the effects these decisions have on our collegiate careers.

The basic problem with the ad-

ministration’s decision-making process is that individuals whom the vast majority of students have neither met nor seen on campus are calling the shots. There is absolutely no way for students to provide serious input into this

process, and there is no warning when the next policy shift will occur.

The administration has done its best to subvert student discussion on divisive issues by implementing them quietly over the summer, as discussed in the editorial, “No Break for Transparency” (THE HOYA, A2, Aug. 27, 2013).

The frustrating trend of little to no student input continues to showcase Georgetown bureaucracy as an uncaring, unemotional anonymous group, seeking to win over neighbors and alumni with little regard for the students it impacts. If the administration wants to change this reputation, the best way to curb future student unrest and concern about unpopular change is to incorporate students into the substantive discussions about policy changes.

The administration needs to strongly consider the procedures they employ in order to make them really fall in line with Georgetown’s Jesuit tradition of “women and men for others.”

If the “others” are the students, then policies need to actually be made for the students rather than for those individuals who made them. To ensure this Jesuit doctrine is at the heart of every major decision impacting the student body, students have to hold an important role in the decision-making process. Instead of avoiding student dissent, the university needs to give us a voice and a chance to determine our college experiences. Right now, it seems as though our college lives lie exclusively in the hands of others.

What are administrators afraid of when operating in such secrecy? I implore Georgetown to open the doors to its decision-making processes; show the students that there actually is empathy, not disdain, within the bureaucracy.

CHARLIE LOWE is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

AS THIS JESUIT SEES IT ...

VIEWPOINT • Ringwald

Reserves of Strength Constructing a Man Found in a Stranger Out of His Memories

L

ast Monday evening was an especially eventful night for me. My friend’s father passed away, and I forgot my GOCard as I left Lau to call him and became frustrated when the security guard wouldn’t let me back into the building. As the night wore on, I experienced what I’ve often felt as someone who tends to wear her emotions on her sleeve: the discomfort of my peers and the kindness of strangers.

As I stood outside Lau in the nighttime cold, expressing my condolences over the phone, I was brought back to my own father’s suicide just before my 18th birthday. On top of sympathy and empathy for my friend, I felt a bizarre jealousy: My father’s death had been far from peaceful, and I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye.

Suddenly overcome by emotion, I sat down on a bench facing Healy. I simmered in anger at the depression that consumed the father I loved, anger at the universe, anger at everyone who had what I didn’t. More than just anger, I felt something else. Was it loneliness? Defenselessness?

Fear? Then it hit me. Shriveled.

I felt so shriveled up. I sat there and sobbed.

Six people walked past. Four were Georgetown students. None of them stopped, but they rather peered at me like one might look at a panhandler: curious enough to glance but quick to turn their heads painfully far in the opposite direction so as to avoid eye contact and the responsibility of acknowledging me. While in another moment I may have made a perfunctory attempt to look dignified, how much can a sloppily tearful girl really pull herself together in the time it takes an onlooker to pass?

Two people did acknowledge me, though. The first was a homeless man, carrying two armfuls of plastic bags, who, as he walked past, nodded at me and said, “Tomorrow will be better, sweetheart.”

The second was the security guard with whom I had just been so aggravated. She approached slowly with her cane, leaving her shift as the clock tower gonged

midnight.

As she got closer, she asked me, “Are you alright?”

I nodded.

“No you aren’t. What’s the matter?”

“My father died,” I said.

“Was he sick?” she asked.

“In a way,” I said. “He took his own life.”

“Oh my, oh my, oh my,” she said grasping my arm and proceeding to ask about my mother and my family.

“Can you say a little prayer?

Are you religious?” she asked me.

I responded, honestly, “I am, but I don’t really believe in God any more.”

I asked if she was religious, and she said yes, very. She put her hand on my shoulder, closed her eyes and prayed for me, aloud, for about five whole minutes. She prayed, “Lord, do not forget this girl.” She prayed, “Lord, you are her shepherd, whom shall she fear?” She prayed, “Jesus, take this girl upon your wing.”

She said to me, “You can cry and cry, but it won’t bring him back. Nothing will, no one will.

Let God help you; trust that he will help you.”

I introduced myself, and she responded “Madeleine, my name is Pat. I am always here to help you if you want to talk to me.

Thirty-six years I’ve worked here, and it’s because I love you kids so much.”

Pat hugged me and told me, “Remember to study.”

As she and I went our separate ways, all I could think was that you don’t have to be a Jesuit-educated student to be a woman or man for others. On a campus that is home to over 6,000 people, it is all too easy to overlook the opportunities to grow close to and learn from unexpected teachers. In letting ourselves be open, we allow for the off chance that someone unexpected — something unexpected — might pick up the slack.

In that moment, and now, I can’t see any harm having come from my vulnerability, only the stunning beauty of how kind a stranger can be.

You don’t have to be a Jesuit-educated student to be a woman or man for others.

MADELEINE RINGWALD is a sophomore in the College.

I

n the last appearance of this ronment where the traditions of column, Fr. Matthew Carnes, ideas, affections and insights of S.J., discussed the role of si- talented women and men of the lence in our lives (“In Silence, We past become present through Find Room for Reflection,” A3, Jan. reading and discussion. George24, 2014). Carnes’ insightful es- town is also a place where the say provoked my own reflections flow of present issues and current on how holy silence — the type concerns also becomes part of he was analyzing — differs from what we want to make our own, “neurotic silence” and “unloving to make part of our memory. The silence.” human realities — from beauty I define neurotic silence as that to shrewd insight to outrage at inability to talk or react because injustices and meanness of spirit I am afraid of sounding trivial, — can find lodging in our storeunsophisticated or even a little house of memory. This is what stupid. It is the siit means to be lence of intimidaeducated, that we tion. The second honor the silence unhealthy silence, to make the wiswhich I call undom of the past loving silence, is part of our memthe unwillingness ory too. Education to speak because means that we exI judge the folks plore the events of around me to be our present lives unworthy or to be — of family, of the Fr. Howard Gray, S.J. people who would residence hall, of not appreciate the the immersion depth of my reexperiences — and sponse. Or it could Memory forged out of bring them into be the silence of silence helps us learn our memories. downright hostilAll this enlarging from our traditions. of our memories ity; that is, the folks I am engaged makes each of us with represent a view or a culture who we are.

I do not honor or respect. This Perhaps a character in Brian second kind of silence is the si- Falkner’s “Brain Jack” overstates lence of hostility. It represents an- it. Nonetheless, there is enough other kind of silence that Carnes truth in his reflection to give us was not talking about — a silence pause: “We are our memories. … that emerges out of pride.

That’s what makes us the person I ruminated about the kind of we are. The sum of all our memosilence that Carnes was talking ries from the day we were born. about, the silence that cherishes If you took a person and replaced what was said or reverences what his set of memories with another has happened and wants to make set, he’d be a different person. that word or deed my personal He’d think, act, and feel things possession. This is the silence that differently.”

Carnes was talking about, the siFrom the traditions we read lence of appropriation. It is the and study to the lives we shape silence of love. every day, what we remember There is nothing that this kind constitutes the sacred space that of silence enriches more than my identifies where our hearts have memory. The silence that finds soared and where our hearts have room in my heart for something been broken. Perhaps that is why so good, so authentic, so powerful we hold dear in the Christian and so true, that I want to save it household the request of Jesus as something that will endure, that we “Do this in memory of that will be there tomorrow and me.” Memory forged out of sithe day after tomorrow as a privi- lent regard for what life has been leged grace. I also want to integrate helps us learn from all our rich what I treasure from my remote traditions who we are and what past with what engages me here we earnestly desire to become, and now. I want to orchestrate my and we hold such learning in past and my present into harmony awe. where the present clarifies, challenges and deepens the meaning Fr. Howard Gray, S.J., is the speof past events. I want to remember cial assistant to the president at what gave me life with what now Georgetown University. He is gives me life, what teaches me one of the alternating writers for anew, what it is to love.

AS THIS JESUIT SEES IT ... which Georgetown creates an envi- appears every other Friday.

A4

THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE Former interns evaluate a petition asking the White House to pay all members of its staff. See story at thehoya.com.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

verbatim

LIFE, INTERRUPTED

they just “ Maybe really liked Joe Luther’s Photoshop skills.

”

Neil Christy (COL ’14) on Improv’s poster sale to recoup $700 of accidental marketing.

See story on A5.

from

WASHINGTON POST

CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

Suleika Jaouad, a 25-year-old journalist who chronicles her fight against cancer in a column on the New York Times Well blog, galvanized Relay for Life at the group’s kickoff event in Copley Formal Lounge Wednesday evening.

BOWLING ALLEY TO OPEN ON M STREET Pinstripes, an Italian-American eatery and bowling alley, is slated to open this Saturday on M Street. blog.thehoya.com

New Online Courses GUSA Sounds Off on Noise Promote Practicality JENNIFER DING Hoya Staff Writer

CHRIS BALTHAZARD

something you’re more inclined to do it,” Johnston said.

Special to The Hoya Additionally, education adminisGeorgetown is taking steps to enrich trators are exploring the possibility of its students’ academic experiences awarding credit for summer internthrough the introduction of new pro- ships. Students would participate in a grams, including small courses for supplemental video course to discuss practical skills, a transcript reflecting their experiences with other students technical skills and online three-credit on similar internships. summer classes.

Along with adding small courses The plans embody what the uni- and new aspects to the academic calversity’s “Designing the Future(s)” endar, Georgetown administrators Initiative attempts to improve — how are thinking about innovation on a students benefit from Georgetown broader scale. academics through innovation or “It’s not just creating additional technology. services for students, but I think we “We were doing a really good job recognize that we’re in a place where teaching people how to do complex we’re really trying to reimagine what things and think critically,” Vice Pro- the curriculum is,” Bass said. “One of vost for Education Randy Bass said. the things that we’re very interested “But we weren’t necessarily doing ev- in is also trying to find ways to design erything we could to provide students and work with creating something the skills to be successful in an intern- like an alternative transcript that ship or in their first job.” would be something like a skillsCourses that develop skills such based transcript.” as coding, reading financial balance Though the alternative transcript sheets and usremains in the ing web analytics planning stage will, according to and would likely current estimates, follow the incepbe available to stution of the small, dents by summer practical courses, 2014. it would place .

“A lot of jobs, I Georgetown as an think, in science innovator among RANDY BASS especially these colleges in the Vice Provost for Education days require codgoal of enabling ing, but none of our classes really re- students to pursue practical skills quire it,” Priya Misir (COL ’15) said. “I necessary for the workplace. think having more practical classes “What is it that students know how would actually be really helpful, and to do, not just what did they take,” make Georgetown students better Bass said. candidates for certain jobs.”

The university has also created onAccessible at any time through an line courses, separate from technical online portal, the classes will be for skills that would be implemented this either zero or one credit, and will summer through the School of Concombine content from both George- tinuing Studies, like other summer town faculty and outside sources. The offerings. The classes will be taught university will provide students with by faculty during the cross session peaccess to such sites as lynda.com and riod. All undergraduate courses carry codeacademy.com. a $1,175 rate.

“Initially, most of the skills-based The five classes are “U.S. Political things will be for no credit,” Bass Systems,”“Introduction to Early Hissaid. “If we were to create a one-credit tory: World I”, “Biochemistry and Hucourse it would have to have a kind of man Functioning” and “Introduction academic structure and would have to Ethics and Writing and Culture”, to have some kind of facilitator and which will serve as the new form of certification.” core requirement Humanities and Eamon Johnston (SFS ’17) indicated Writing 101. that the proposed structured guidMore may become available in fuance would be beneficial. ture summers, but for now the courses “Right now, I’m trying to teach my- aim to help incoming students, both self some basic web design stuff and freshmen and transfers, knock out PhotoShop on these sites Codecad- core requirements without requiring emy and Lynda, but it’s really hard to that they spend the summer in D.C. stay involved and motivated because “Alumni, employers, some faculty, you can think of so many reasons not some students all seemed to feel as if to do it, whereas if you have a more there was this lack in education that consistent meeting with a teacher or we were providing,” Bass said.

“We’re in a place where we’re trying to reimagine what the curriculum is ”

The Georgetown University Student Association unanimously passed a resolution Feb. 2 concerning the disruption caused by the ongoing construction of the Healey Family Student Center to New South residents.

The bill, which was introduced and passed in the GUSA Senate, details how the construction is disrupting the lives of the freshman dormitory’s inhabitants and calls for various proposals, including updates on the construction efforts. The proposal also calls for a published schedule of times during which construction will occur, a request to delay the start of construction to after 8 a.m. and potential future compensation for New South residents, including a boost in future housing standing or a pizza party.

“Basically this year, I sent out a poll to New South residents and overwhelmingly, it showed up that this is something that could be tackled, this is something that I could do,” GUSA Senator Tyler Bridge (COL ’17) said. “Really, it was the voice of New South and the voice of my constituents that pushed me to do it.”

For some New South students, the construction has created early morning inconveniences.

“Since I do wake up for my classes pretty late compared to last semester, I do usually end up being woken up by the construction noises at some point,” Nicholas Werner (MSB ’17) said.

To accrue student support for this issue, Bridge gathered 312 paper signatures. After Monday’s bill signing, Bridge created a post on Georgetown Roundtables, the IdeaScale platform. Within two days, the post was ranked 48th and had 158 up votes.

“We just want to show administration that before we go to them, there are enough people who support the proposal. I didn’t want to walk in a room and not have any backing, not have any place to bargain from,” Bridge said.

Bridge expressed that he will be setting up meetings with the administration next week, and that he will work mostly with the Offices of Planning and Facilities Management and Residential Living.

The bill’s focus excludes Village A, which is also located near the construction zone. Chairman Ben Weiss (COL ’15), who represents Village A, described a discrepancy between the effects on the two housing clusters.

MARY MURTAGH FOR THE HOYA

GUSA is addressing complaints from students in New South over noise created by construction on the Healey Family Student Center.

“While the construction is in some ways an issue for Village A residents, it s not like what it is for New South students, some of whom have construction going on in the wall adjacent to their rooms,” Weiss said. “Unlike freshmen, who are randomly assigned their housing, for the most part Village A students are upperclassmen who knew that there would be construction here this year, and chose to live there this year. One of the main points in Tyler Bridge’s bill is that New South students had no choice but to live in a construction zone.”

While the bill seeks to address some current issues, it also attempts to set a precedent for the future.

“There will be more construction happening here in the future, with the Northeast Triangle dorm and the [Old Jesuit Residence Project].

We just want to make sure that in the future of the construction process, that there’s a council in place, that there are methods in place that would prevent what happened in New South from happening again,” Bridge said.

As for potential compensation for New South residents, Bridge mentioned that an additional housing boost is an option.

“What my constituents want more than anything else, is a boost in the housing selection process.

Some have said that that’s unfair.

Personally, I have to fight for what the constituents of New South want. We struck that section out of the bill, but I would like to fight for it again with the administration,” Bridge said.

Other ideas include monetary compensation or a pizza party,

though those are less viable options.

“There is some idea out there by some that would like to offer a pizza party for the people of New South, for what we’ve lived through and I don’t feel like I need to go back to fifth grade for 25 minutes.

While I respect that they’re trying to do something, that’s something that I don’t think we could accept,” Bridge said.

Fellow senators and New South residents alike have praised Bridge’s efforts.

“This is one of those big things where you see a problem and you want to fix it and ... Bridge is really going about this the right way,” GUSA Senator Ken Nunnenkamp (MSB ’16) said.

“I think it’s really good that the bill is advocating for students’ voices in a way that I don’t think we’ve achieved with the construction workers. I think it’s going to be more effective than just the emails that they’ve been getting because I don’t think they’ve changed all that much,” New South Resident Assistant Kendyl Clausen (SFS ’16) said. I think that it should hopefully open up the line of communication between students and those who are causing the disturbance.”

Members of the administration continue to work on this issue.

“The Office of Residential Living and other campus partners will continue working with students to address concerns regarding the Healey Family Student Center construction. We recognize the residents of New South are most directly impacted and we remain grateful for their patience,” Assistant Dean for Residential Living Stephanie Lynch wrote in an email.

NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

THE HOYA

A5

Troupe Improvises After Another Decade of Coke Accidental Poster Order JAMIE SLATER Hoya Staff Writer

JAMIE SLATER Hoya Staff Writer

Two weeks ago, the campus was papered in nondescript white flyers, belonging to the Georgetown Improv Association, reading: “WE ACCIDENTALLY SPENT $700 ON MARKETING FOR THIS SHOW. oops. PLEASE COME SEE IT.” The advertisements were not just a marketing ploy; they were actually an admittance of a miscommunication between Improv Publicity Director Joe Luther (COL ’16) and FedEx. For each monthly show, Improv orders publicity posters from FedEx that Luther is responsible for creating.

When Luther took the Photoshopped image on a flash drive to the M Street FedEx store, as well as a form that listed the performing arts department’s cost center number, which would charge the posters to the department fund, the FedEx employee asked him what size he wanted the posters. He asked for the typical size of 11 inches by 17 inches, but, because Luther used a larger image than normal, the employee informed him that it would default to a larger size.

“I was just sort of like ‘sure,’ figuring that maybe it would be marginally more expensive, but if the posters were meant to be that size that’s fine,” Luther said. “The way he said it very nonchalantly made me think that there was going to be no big change.”

When Luther went to pick up the new posters, he did not inquire as to the new price.

“He never told me what the price would be for this one because I’d picked it up before, and I just figured the price would be around the same and they would tell me if they were going to change it by about 30 times or whatnot,” he said.

Generally, the posters are small and inexpensive and are displayed from Wednesday through Saturday.

“Normally we pay about $40-ish for our set of posters, and we pick up posters which are made of really cheap paper,” Luther said. “They’re meant to hang up for a few days … so we’re really not looking for anything that high quality.”

But, because of the larger sized image, the resulting posters were of much higher quality than Luther expected and required a special printer, thus bumping the cost to $7 or $8 dollars per sheet.

COURTESY JOE LUTHER

Improv accidentally placed a $700 order in January of advertising posters, pictured.

As a result, when he picked up the posters Thursday, he found out FedEx had charged $700.35 for the 75 posters, sized 14 by 22 inches.

He did not realize the mistake until he got home because the posters were in a covered box.

“By the time I realized what had happened, I was all the way back to my apartment, and I looked at the receipt and it said $700. At first I was just like, ‘What?’ and then I sort of started laughing because it was so ridiculous,” Luther said.

Luther returned to figure out what had happened Friday morning. At that time, FedEx informed them that, because they had already charged the department of prforming arts’ cost center number, they could not fix the mistake.

“They basically said, ‘Sorry, once you give us the number that’s basically consent for whatever we want to charge you for it,’” Luther said.”

The FedEx store and the department of performing arts both declined comment for this story.

The Improv staff does not ascribe blame to FedEx for the mix-up.

“Usually when we work with them they’re very competent, they’re very friendly, they know exactly what we want, so it was just kind of a fluke thing,” Improv Executive Producer Emlyn Crenshaw (COL ’15) said. “It was our fault for not remembering to ask for a specific quote, but it’s definitely an anomaly in our experience with them. Usually they’re very nice and very helpful. … They’re not the bad guys.”

Since the department of performing arts paid for the posters, they were charged for the printing error.

Improv members never hung any of the posters, instead selling autographed copies at the show.

Ultimately, Crenshaw believes that the poster mix-up, as well as additional posters printed by Luther, might have helped ticket sales for the January show. The show was sold-out, numbering over 160 tickets at $4 for students and $5 for general admission.

Improv made additional profit by selling some of the autographed posters after the show for a $5 donation, which resulted in an extra $96.

“I guess that means we sold 19 or 20 posters? It was more than I was expecting, I’m glad our audience was willing to help us out. Or maybe they just really liked Joe Luther’s Photoshop skills,” Business Manager Neil Christy (COL ’14) wrote in an email.

Improv intends to donate some of this money back to the performing arts department.

“Our ticket sales go into our big department pot … but we can’t donate to it directly, so we’re going to give it to our faculty advisor and see if he can get that done for us, because we felt really bad,” Crenshaw said.

Ultimately, Improv managed to work the poster debacle into their routine.

“It led to some pretty funny jokes during the actual show,” Jake Robinson (SFS ’16), who attended the show, said. “There was one where I think they were pretending to be in FedEx and they kept pointing to the signs.”

For Pepsi lovers on campus, a brief window of opportunity closed earlier this year when Georgetown renewed its exclusive contract with The Coca-Cola Company, continuing a relationship that goes back to the early 1970s.

Georgetown formalized its relationship with Coca-Cola in the early 1990s, but the company has had a presence on campus since at least 1972, when Vital Vittles opened as a Students of Georgetown Inc. storefront selling just yogurt and Coke, according to The Corp’s website.

Georgetown’s 10-year agreement with Coca-Cola was set to end in June 2013, requiring the formation of a new relationship with a sponsor company. To do this, Georgetown publicized its commercial needs through a Request For Proposal in fall 2012. Various companies bid for the partnership.

“We pulled a group of folks together that represented all different areas of campus to include faculty, staff, students and The Corp to go through a process that could be very collaborative to make sure that we chose the right partner,” Chief Business Officer Deborah Morey said.

After a year of negotiations, Georgetown announced CocaCola as the winner of the RFP process in fall 2013, although Communications Officer Maggie Moore stated that there was no lapse in vendor arrangements. This entitles the company to vending and pouring rights for anything on campus that contains a liquid component.

“So if you go to Leo’s, you have the Coke machines, the Freestyle machine downstairs and the fountain machines upstairs and downstairs, so the pouring rights really relates to and ties back to what it is you’re, as you can imagine, pouring,” Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services Joelle Wiese said.

Pouring rights also apply to bottled beverages, including bottled Coke, bottled Dasani water and Vitamin Water, which are all subsidiaries of Coca-Cola.

PepsiCo’s market success made it a close competitor, according to Morey, but Georgetown ultimately chose Coca-Cola because of its alignment with the university’s mission, she said. By contrast, in August, the City University of New York granted PepsiCo exclusive rights to its 24 campuses, after student protests against Coca-Cola based on allegations of discrimination and human rights abuses.

Sustainability is a key component of the shared mission Morey referenced. CocaCola is a proponent of water conservation and recycling, which includes producing bottles from plants, and has established its 2020 Environment Goals.

“The students spoke loud and clear about sustainability on our campus, and want a way to partner with a large organization — a global enterprise like Coke — on sustainability and environmental initiatives,” Morey said. “We have access to folks at a global level to help design our environment and sustainability plan, and to help provide resources as we try to manage sustain-

DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA

The Coca-Cola Company has exclusive pouring rights on campus, which encompasses vending machines. ability on our campus.”

The new agreement will last for another 10 years. Morey could not provide specific financial data on the partnership because other schools also compete for Coca-Cola’s marketing dollars, but she still emphasized its importance.

“Coca-Cola is probably one of our largest partnerships because of the variety of things they help us resolve,” Morey said. “We have, for our volume and our size of school, a very, very strong relationship, and we’re very, very thrilled to have such a strong partnership. As you can imagine, your leverage many times in these cases is volume, so for us to compete against an Ohio State or a much larger school, where we are able to compete is with our brand — aligning with a name like Georgetown.”

Wiese added that Coca-Cola brings more to Georgetown than strictly financial support.

“It’s not necessarily a dollar value — it’s what they can bring to us to help us,” she said. “They have relationships and they have experiences all over the world that really we are tapping into.”

These relationships include global human development internships and scholarships as well as a seminar series where Coca-Cola company leaders visit campus. In September, Coca-Cola President and Chief Operating Officer Glen Walter discussed sustainability and entrepreneurship with a small group of student leaders.

Additionally, Georgetown held six events in the fall with the support of Coca-Cola and the company’s equipment, including the Happiness Truck and Happiness Machine, which dispensed products such as Georgetown sweatshirts or Verizon Center tickets in Sellinger Lounge, and the Drop Into Dasani College Tour.

“Some of them were just fun, interactive ways for the students to get involved, either if you were going to the games or if you were out walking, and some of them were more geared toward sustainability,” Wiese said.

Wiese works with members of other departments on campus to carry out these projects, including Director of the Office of Sustainability Audrey Stewart, Director of

Student Engagement Erika Cohen Derr and representatives from the McDonough School of Business. Cohen Derr allocates funding to the six advisory boards under her supervision, which each receive $7,647 directly from the Coca-Cola funding annually.

Coca-Cola also donates products for Georgetown Day or other campus activities outside of this cash funding.

“The Coke funding really helps us with our events.

There are several events that we would not be able to do without their support. Besides the funding, sometimes we receive, in kind, donations separately,” Georgetown Program Board Executive Chair Tyler Deloach (COL ’16) said.

“Those enhance our programming and make them a little bit more enjoyable.”

The Corp has its own unique relationship with Coca-Cola. Though the company does not receive any of the funding Coca-Cola allocates to student activities, it remains part of the university’s partnership, through efforts like the Corp Coke scholarship, which grants $3,000, usually split between three students.

Half of that is funded by CocaCola.

“Within the context of the big contract the university has with Coca-Cola, we have a subsection of that,” Corp Chief Operating Officer Rashaad Eshack (SFS ’14) said.

During the 2012 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, The Corp posted $5,077,956.24 in total revenue. Of this revenue, 5.6 percent, or $284,222.24, came from sales of Coke products, making the company The Corp’s largest vendor partner.

In addition to a yearly strategy meeting with Coca-Cola representatives, Corp leaders also meet with representatives, including those charged with orders, three times a week.

“When I’m talking to a specific person in Coca-Cola that I know well, we’ll talk about how you connect to your customer base, and what are examples that Coca-Cola does so we can learn from the big corporate environment,” Eshack said. “Because in a lot of ways we’re still learning as an organization, as officers even or as cashiers, so it’s cool to be able to get to know people that are working in one of the largest — if not the largest — organizations in the world.”

A6

news

THE HOYA

FRIday, February 7, 2014

Free Speech Still Undefined SFS-Q Students Laura Owsiany Special to The Hoya

Georgetown’s Free Speech and Expression Committee met Thursday morning in a closed-door session to discuss clarification of the university’s free speech policy.

The meeting followed the Georgetown University Student Association’s free speech forum Jan. 16 and the subsequent removal of H*yas for Choice from tabling in Healy Circle on the morning of Jan. 20.

H*yas for Choice President Laura Narefsky (COL ’14) and Vice President Abigail Grace (SFS ’16) entered the meeting with two goals: a formal apology for misappropriation of the free speech and expression policy and discrimination against H*yas for Choice and concrete steps to ensure the implementation of Georgetown’s mission of open dialogue.

Miscommunication across departments was in large part the impetus for H*yas for Choice’s expulsion from Healy Circle.

“Laura and I legitimately believe that the DPS officers were acting in good faith. … They legitimately believed that this was their job, and I think that if they don’t understand what the policy says, that’s not necessarily their fault. That’s a fault on their superiors not providing consistency across departments,” Grace said.

After waiting two weeks following their expulsion from Healy Circle to have their grievance addressed, the leadership of H*yas for Choice was impatient for action to be taken before the end of the semester.

“Clarity needs to come now. I understand that administrators want to make sure that they’re putting out the most thoughtful document possible, but the longer they wait, the longer students are operating in this limbo,” Narefsky said. “I think that the sooner we can all agree to some kind of modification and clarification of the speech and expression document, the better.”

GUSA presented a working memorandum of understanding at the meeting. GUSA President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) says the FSE committee agreed that the policy needs clarification but will take time to negotiate the details of the memo.

“Things are moving along,” Tisa said. “It’s going to take longer than we thought to get to a firm [memorandum of understanding], but once it’s ready, it will be comprehensive, so we’re calling on the administration to sign an MOU by the beginning of April.”

Tisa says students have an urgent need for clarification on the free speech policy, and that a firm MOU is the final order of business for his administration.

“We’ve totally accomplished almost everything else we want to do and this is the last kind of major item we want to address, and I think the most important thing that needs to be tackled,” Tisa said.

Tisa hopes the MOU will include clear, written protections of student free speech, define the purpose of the FSE committee, define the parameters of tabling and protesting and train all departments and administrators so that policy is properly and consistently implemented.

Committee members generally expressed confidence that, with time, the policy will be comprehensive and applicable for semesters to come.

“My belief is that if it’s done right, we can make change that will make things better for the future. We won’t have to keep revisiting these issues every year. This will be a lasting document,” Matt Hamblin (COL ’15), student representative to the committee, said.

Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson apologized for the lack of clarity on the policy and the effect on H*yas for Choice and promised action on the free speech policy by the end of the academic year but could not be reached for comment following the meeting.

The FSE committee is set to meet every other Thursday until the end of this semester.

Grant Denial Spurs Corp Boycott BOYCOTT, from A1 not only disappointing, but disheartening, because we are students too,” Nedwell said.

Some BSA members also thought The Corp should improve its process of denying grant requests.

“I think the other thing that they need to do is provide feedback because suggesting that whatever the proposal was that something submitted didn’t align with The Corp’s mission statement-- I don’t think that’s enough explanation. In what way does that not align with it?” Nedwell said.

Incoming Corp CEO Sam Rodman (MSB ’15) recognized mistakes made in handling the BSA request.

“To be honest, we were a little more curt than we probably could have been in the email. So that final communication and then the way we evaluated it would be the two things that I’d point to that we can improve on in the future,” Rodman said.

The Corp also has plans to change its grant process in order to make it more interactive.

“We would like to find a way to ei-

ther come up with a more expanded form, work with the people to design their pitches so that they know exactly what we are looking for, bring them in to talk to us or to have some sort of interview process,” Rodman said.

Although this event helped form a clearer plan of how The Corp will reform the grant approval process, the group already had plans to restructure Corp Philanthropy.

“The BSA issue happened to come up at a time when we were still deciding on the best way to make these improvements, so it was crucial in helping us clarify which direction to take philanthropy over the span of this year,” Rodman said.

This fiscal year, The Corp provided funding for Young Leaders in Education About Diversity, Preparing for Excellence, Business Undergraduates Invested in Leadership Development and Relay for Life. In the past, The Corp has not funded formal gatherings.

Pinckney, however, thought misconceptions about the ball could have been a factor in the grant denial.

“The Visions of Excellence Ball, because so many people have an idea

that it’s exclusive and only black people are allowed to go, they would only think that we are limiting our people who can come to the event. So they won’t necessarily fund it because they have this mindset that we are closed off from the rest of the community at Georgetown, which isn’t the case at all,” Pinckney said.

The majority of students honored at the ball are black, though two students who were not black were included among award recipients last year.

“Sometimes people need to step out of their comfort zone to actually do something else that is big and different,” Pinckney said.

The denial of the grant request additionally caused BSA members to contemplate the inclusivity of The Corp.

“I don’t think that they feel that they discriminate against the BSA. I just think that whatever their inclusion criteria are, they aren’t necessarily as inclusive as they could be.

I think there are a lot of different students who could be represented in The Corp that aren’t necessarily working in Vittles or UG or any of the other Corp business,” Nedwell said.

Sparse Attendance at Info Session GUSA, from A1 23 and a date to be determined between Feb. 18 and 20, respectively. The election is Feb. 27.

During each election cycle, current GUSA executives can offer an endorsement to a particular campaign. Last year, the previous executive members President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13) endorsed Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14) and Maggie Cleary (COL ’14), who ultimately lost to Tisa and his vice president, Adam Ramadan (SFS ’14).

While Tisa has given no indication that he will endorse any of the teams, his Chief of Staff Singer has been a close ally during Tisa’s term. Last year, Tisa acknowledged the role that Jake Sticka (COL ’13), who managed Appelbaum’s campaign while concurrently serving as Gustafson’s chief of staff, played in the issuance of her endorsement.

Tuesday’s meeting included a presentation by members of the Election Commission, as well as remarks by members of the GUSA Constitutional Council and the Director of Student Programs and Assistant Dean for Student Engagement Erika Cohen Derr, who is the administrative adviser to GUSA. Cohen Derr encouraged potential candidates to retain integrity throughout the campaign season.

“The university administration supports GUSA and works with GUSA in many ways, and also pays attention to what happens during the elections,” Cohen Derr said. “I want to encourage you to approach this process in the spirit to which this high elected office calls you to be.”

Subsequently, the three members of the GUSA Election Commission, Ethan Chess (COL ’14), Audrey Atencio (SFS ’14) and Pavan Rajgopal (SFS ’15) ,gave a short presentation on rules and aspects of electoral procedure, emphasizing the importance of maintaining responsibility for the actions of campaign staff.

“If you lose accountability of your staff, bad things will happen,” Chess said.

Placing flyers on or under doors to students’ dorm rooms was cited as an example of behavior out of line with Election Commission rules.

“You can’t put anything on anyone’s door that they do not consent to; that’s a very serious violation of university policy, as it considers that door as somebody’s own expression space,” Chess said. “We’ve actually come very close in the past to sanctioning people on that.”

The presentation also outlined regulations for campaign budgets, which are limited to $300 per team.

“The reason that spending limit is there is to make the election some-

thing that you cannot buy; you have to win it,” Chess said.

Campaign spending encapsulates all expenses, including the printing of paper used for flyers, the development of websites, the utilization of social media advertisements and the purchases that staffers make without the candidates’ knowledge.

Members of the GUSA Constitutional Council Josh Shinbrot (COL ’16), Jason Gerson (COL ’14) and Sarah Rabon (COL ’16) emphasized that the Constitutional Council’s role as a board of appeals during the campaign is to investigate potential breaches of constitutional procedure — not to hear complaints about Election Commission decisions. Before last month’s senate speaker case, the council had lain dormant since 2010.

“Not liking the decision of the election commission is not really grounds for appeal,” Shinbrot said. “We accept petitions only when there’s a legitimate constitutional question.”

Ultimately, Atencio expressed confidence that the current campaign and electoral procedures should make for a drama-free process over the next few weeks.

“The rules are clearly defined, and any big problems that have occurred in the past have been largely from people being not clear on the rules,” Atencio said. “As long as they follow the rules, they’re fine.”

GU Signs Worker Protection Pact WORKERS, from A1 were very few reasons that Georgetown wouldn’t. They decided in an overwhelmingly positive way that Georgetown wanted to be part of this great movement for fire safety and general safety in Bangladesh,” Hubbell said.

Thus far, four Georgetown licensees have signed the accord including Knights Apparel, Russell Athletics, Top of the World and Zephyr. According to Hubbell, the university is working with the Collegiate Licensing Company which oversees the university’s licensing contracts to work with licensees that have yet to sign on.

“If there’s a licensee that is found to be in violation or not abiding by the terms of the agreement in the way that it deals

with its factories, then that’s grounds for Georgetown to reconsider its relationship,” Hubbell said.

The university first became aware of the accord through its partnership with the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labor rights monitoring organization founded by administrators and student activists at universities across the United States to protect the rights of workers who produce products sold here.

The accord represents Georgetown’s commitment to caring for the dignity not only of its students, but of those producing any good that carries the Hoya logo, Watson wrote.

“Georgetown accepted the LOC’s recommendation to adopt this new policy because it is committed to protecting

the safety and human rights of workers who are engaged in the production of university-licensed apparel. This commitment derives from Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit tradition, which respects the dignity of all workers,” Watson wrote.

Licensing Oversight Committee member Nicky Dubois (COL ’16) echoed Watson and Hubbell’s support for the signing of the accord.

“I believe that it is important for Georgetown as an institution to use our influence where we can to work toward a better world. I’m therefore proud of Georgetown for taking this step toward promoting workers’ rights,” DuBois said.

Hoya Staff Writer Suzanne Monyak contributed reporting.

Redefine Doha Caroline Welch Hoya Staff Writer

As the burgeoning metropolis of Doha rises into the world’s spotlight, four students and two professors at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service-Qatar are seeking to understand the ways in which race and other social factors play into their city’s urban planning.

The project, Doha by Design: Urban Planning and Social Space in Doha, Qatar, is being underwritten by The Qatar Foundation Undergraduate Research Experience Program, which generated social analysis based on the Qatari public’s responses to surveys created by student researchers Khadija Mahsud (SFS ’14), Nadia al-Khater (SFS ’16), Catherine Lechicki (SFS ’16) and Sana Jamal (SFS ’16).

While the students’ research focuses on a survey of open, public interaction in Doha’s parks, malls and hangouts, much of the impetus for the study stemmed from the restriction of certain social groups from these public areas.

Jamal, a Doha native, developed an initial curiosity in urban planning through a personal experience with these restrictions.

“My brother one time tried to go into a mall and he wasn’t dressed in the best manner and the guards just assessed him to be a worker and they didn’t let him in the mall. And this is a student, who went to an American school, but there was a misjudgment in terms of economic background,” Jamal said.

With the small Persian Gulf state gearing up to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country has found itself with a growing migrant worker population from South Asia seeking more lucrative work. According to Jamal, other public hubs, such as malls and parks, engage in their own restrictions as well, such as Friday “Family Days” in which single males are turned away from selective malls and parks.

“Qatar was growing, and it was coming up with things like museums and parks, creating public spaces but at the same time keeping certain people out of those public spaces,” Jamal said of the seemingly contradictory construction. “We wanted to know, is it the urban planners that are keeping people out of the urban space or who else is?”

According to Mahsud, a Pakistani native, these restrictions were unique even by Eastern cultural standards.

“Initially we started [our project] with an uproar about Family Days or how they restrict migrant laborers from entering museums,” Mahsud said.

Due to an intensely warm climate, many of Qatar’s indoor spaces, particularly malls, serve as places of mass congregation for Doha locals.

Additionally, waterfront alternatives, such as The Corniche promenade, experience high traffic and prompted much of the planning for Doha’s urban development.

While the initial research proposal stemmed from restriction to essential public spaces, Mahsud and Jamal both credit project mentor and visiting professor of English at SFS-Q Patricia O’Connor for steering them toward a broader examination of Doha planning.

“They’re realizing that their study is situated in the middle of a complex

study of the use of space and our use of space [is] not always determined by our own use and desires,” O’Connor said of the students’ initial findings.

“That’s what I want them to find out once they get interested in a specific thing, ask themselves, is this unique?

And is this unique to Doha’s population?”

Jamal recognized this fresher perspective as necessary to their research, since it is impossible to understand Doha’s construction decisions without understanding the political context surrounding them. An absolute monarchy, Qatar has the world’s third largest natural gas reserves and the highest per capita income of any nation. “[Qatar is] a country that has so much money that it can plan. It’s not a need-based thing. They can map out an entire city and have it built if they wanted to,” Jamal said.

Mahsud, Jamal, Lechicki and AlKhater received a grant from The Qatar Foundation this past September and hope to finish their study by the fall of 2014.

Thus far, the majority of their research analysis has been derived from public surveys.

“The most basic questions we ask them are where do they go most often…and I think the overwhelming majority are either at the malls or The Corniche. And then we ask them, ‘How do you get to this space?’

And that’s imporSana Jamal (SFS ‘16) tant because there is not a walking culture here,” Mahsud said.

The students have also expanded the surveys to include the gender, nationality and level of awareness of the restrictions.

“You can find a whole lot of discrimination especially towards the South Asian population,” Mahsud said.

Jamal echoed this point, noting the linguistic difficulties to performing research in a multiethnic population.

“We have a lot of surveys in English, but that would limit our demographic automatically. So we had to create surveys in other languages, but then what about the migrant workers, [some of whom] don’t write.

How we convey a survey to them?”

Jamal said.

Since the start of their research, the students have connected with a network of real estate companies in Doha and presented their findings at Oxford University and hope to present at Georgetown’s Undergraduate Research fair later this spring.

According to Jamal, although their studies are informative, they are still developing in terms of patterns and trends.

“I think it’s a little soon to tell, but definitely there might be a race element or an ethnic element to restriction,” Jamal said.

While the students hope to fill an informational void in qualitative urban planning, Mahsud saw their findings as prescriptive as well.

“Our results in specific may not be used by anyone, but our method is something that we want to be used in these big, multi-national firms that come in and design these places,” Mahsud said. “What we want them to do is to have to have more engagement with the public in Doha and that doesn’t just mean the Qataris. It means everyone.”

“Is it the urban planners that are keeping people out or someone else?”

Redistricting on Hold During Primary Race REDISTRICTING, from A1 Phil Mendelson, up for reelection this year, was quiet on the merits of the proposal, although he emphasized the need for public input in its development.

“Chairman Mendelson has not been involved in this issue. However, he believes that the Board of Elections should be guided by the views of the community,” Mendelson’s Communications Director Karen Sibert wrote in an e-mail to The Hoya.

Brizill also said that, while she understands the argument for the proposed changes, they must be done not only with more public input, but with the understanding of the voters who will be affected.

“The timing was odd. There was no planning, and you’re left to scratch your head and say, ‘Wait a minute, why are we doing it this way?’” Brizill said. “I think there is a case to be made in terms of the confusion at the ballot, but it’s a case to be made to the people that have to vote; you have to have their input.”

Robinson, who acknowledged many of the challenges presented by the proposal, said that the board

hopes to revisit the plan in the months between the April primary and the November general election.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to go back and revisit it sometime in May or June. But right now our focus is on getting past April 1,” Robinson said.

Brizill said it makes more sense to redraw precincts during nonelection years, when a major race would not overshadow any significant changes to voting practices.

“We have these off years that don’t have an election in them at all, like next year. Why not make the boundary changes effective 2015? We don’t have any elections in 2015. That way any kinks that need to be worked out can be worked out,” Brizill said.

Ultimately, any proposal put forward by the Board of Elections must be approved through subsequent legislation by the D.C. Council, though for Brizill, the dearth of transparency in the process may be a harbinger for future troubles.

“Until the Board of Elections is forthcoming — and by forthcoming I mean have maps that show existing boundaries and what you want to change it to — the process has to stop,” Brizill said.

FRIDAY, february 7, 2014

paid ADVERTISEMENT

THE HOYA

A7

A8

news

THE HOYA

Friday, February 7, 2014

Blackboard to Sell Books Ryan Thomas

Special to the Hoya

On Jan. 29th, Blackboard Inc. announced plans to enter the online bookstore market, garnering support from students and textbook providers alike, with an aim to integrate course materials into the digital content the platform already provides.

The online bookstore, which will sell new and used textbooks, as well as rental books, e-books and digital content, aims to make the process easier for instructors, who will be able to read peer reviews of selections and view prices before determining which textbooks they will use for their courses. The service will debut at around a dozen schools across the country this spring, before becoming available on a wider scale in the fall.

“We simply thought there was room for something different: A convenient, student-focused option designed specifically to support the educational experience,” Chief Blackboard executive Jay Bhatt said to the Washington Post. “The traditional process for students to buy course materials is not an easy one. We are excited to provide a new content distribution concept that offers a simple, easy and highly personalized experience to the student.”

Entering an already congested market, Blackboard aims to make buying textbooks more convenient by integrating textbook lists with each student’s registered courses. In an attempt to distinguish itself from other online book services, such as Amazon and Chegg, the Blackboard service will automatically create shopping lists for student users based on their current textbook needs.

Although Georgetown currently uses the Blackboard Learn service for the management of courses, the Georgetown University bookstore currently has no relationship with Blackboard, but rather with Follett.

“While we have a relationship with Blackboard for oth-

er purposes, like the GOCard, we don’t use Blackboard for the bookstore operations piece. The bookstores here at GU are managed by Follett.

Follett provides the current system we use, that Blackboard is competing against.”

Vice President of Auxiliary Services Joelle Wiese said.

Janet Uzzell, director of the Georgetown University Bookstore,acknowledged that the store has faced increased competition as students turn to online markets such as Amazon.com.

“Competition is heavier - that’s across all campus stores. Today students are shopping from more than one single source- and that’s a key factor in our efforts to drive affordability and access locally. Programs like Rent-A-Text and the continued growth of digital are key growth areas directly tied to this increased competition,” Uzzell wrote in an email to the Hoya.

MBS Direct, a leading provider of online bookstores, will be partnering with Blackboard to facilitate the

“We simply thought there was room for something different” jay bhatt Chief Blackboard Executive

service. MBS currently works with over 950 schools across the country to provide online book sales.

Textbook companies touted the move as a good one.

“At Wiley, we are focused on helping students perform better by integrating our content, media and assessments directly into the teaching and learning process,” Senior Vice President of Global Education at John Wiley & Sons Joe Heider said in a press release. “This exciting new development by Blackboard will certainly support our efforts. It is helping create a stronger connection between content accessibility and personalized education, which, in turn, will help improve student outcomes.”

According to the National Association of College Stores, total sales in college stores reached approximately $10.45 billion for the 20112012 school year.

In a report titled “Defining the College Store of 2015,” the NACS discussed how, “If frequency is not aggressively addressed, store traffic will taper off by 2015 as student campus visits and ‘book-buying’ trips fall off while online and offline competition ramps up.”

Already, many Georgetown students prefer to purchase their textbooks online rather than at the campus bookstore.

“I would consider using the service for its convenience, but only if it was cheaper than purchasing elsewhere,” John Whitmore (NHS ’16) said. “I often don’t even purchase online, because I usually don’t even need the book. If I do need a book, other students will always sell cheaper than stores.”

One student admitted to going so far as to illegally download his textbooks to avoid the bookstore’s prices.

“I get a lot of my books by downloading them illegally.

I use torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay to get most textbooks and a large number of novels and paperbacks. Overall, I probably get at least half of my textbooks from those sites,” the student, who requested anonymity due to the illegal nature of his activities, said.

To retain its student market moving forward, the Georgetown bookstore plans to both expand its digital content while maintaining its commitment to making textbooks accessible to all Georgetown students.

“Through expansion of digital and Rent-a-Text, the campus store continues to add value that other providers don’t provide. Our ability to deliver a curated experience.. affordable loyal service that accepts financial aid and scholarship money that has returns and exchange deadlines that are driven by our campus calendar all right on campus is a huge value,” Uzzell wrote.

NATASHA THOMSON/THE HOYA

Emma Schaff (COL ’16), left, and 1634 Society advisor Rachel A. Nyitray, table in the Leavey Center Wednesday to encourage the freshman class to donate to their campaign.

1634 Society Draws Freshman Donations Hannah Post

Special to The Hoya

Citing lackluster donation efforts, the 1634 Society is encouraging freshmen to donate to the fund with hopes of gradually increasing the university’s endowment, which is smaller than those of its peer institutions.

“Georgetown has fallen behind other schools of its caliber in terms of endowment and fundraising,” 1634 Society President Tyler Newhall (COL ’15) said.

To meet the goal of the campaign this year, the group must receive donations from 50 percent of the freshman class in order to receive an anonymous donation for $10,000 that will be put toward the Healey Family Student Center.

Although last year’s campaign was similar in design and successful in meeting the same goal, the 1634 Society has higher hopes for this year.

Programs such as Phonathon seek to solicit donations from alumni, which can often be difficult to accrue.

“Tuition is great, and it helps the day-to-day basic things of being a student, but alumni donations are what really drive the great extracurricular activities and programs,” Newhall said.

The society also aims to focus beyond the end monetary goal, fostering a community of philanthropy at Georgetown.

“We came toward the end last year and it was more about reaching our goal and less about getting the freshman class more involved with philanthropy here at Georgetown,” Newhall said.

“Over the next few weeks the campaign seeks to really welcome the freshmen and get them acquainted with the spirit of giving back to the Georgetown that we’ve created here.”

The 1634 Society is attempting to maintain its traditional events so students are familiar with their goals.

“We are trying to be very, very consistent and constant with our events. We are keeping some of our more successful events, like the pizzaparty kickoff, but we are trying to be a lot more

consistent with our presence on campus in order to get our message out there and to meet and exceed our goals,” Traditions Chair Anna Mastryukova (COL ’16) said.

With the first event held on Monday, Feb. 3, the society already has noticed an overwhelming majority of freshmen involvement. In just one day, more than 20 percent of the freshman class donated the suggested $1 while some students donated even more.

Some freshman students are already invested in the campaign.

“Even though I donated just a dollar to the campaign, I think it’s good to get in the habit of donating now because I want to be an involved alumna, so I might as well get in the habit now,” Monica Fritz (MSB ’17) said.

However, there are various freshmen who are skeptical about the campaign.

“I have not donated to the campaign yet, and I don’t know that I will,” Michael Pesce (MSB ’17) said. “Tuition is very expensive. I understand that alumni give a lot and I will in the future, but it seems a bit early to start.”

Despite some students’ hesitation, Mastryukova still feels that this campaign will bring success.

“There is a very positive feedback from the students,” Mastryukova said.

The 1634 Society will expand fundraising efforts beyond the freshman class, beginning a sophomore campaign later this spring.

With multiple campaigns and various upcoming events, the 1634 Society looks forward to not only raising money for Georgetown, but also creating a long-term community rooted in philanthropy and student unity.

“Through One for Georgetown, we are not only encouraging philanthropy but we are trying to get a message of unity across the campus and for all classes to come,” Mastryukova said. “We are trying to get the classes to unite through giving way before their senior class gift campaign, and I think we have a really great idea in building a community through social philanthropy.”

NEWS

fRIDAY, february 7, 2014

THE HOYA

A9

Heitkamp Advocates for Native American Rights Madeleine Thornburn Special to The Hoya

Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) discussed Native American rights and her thoughts on the female presence in politics Tuesday evening in the Intercultural Center.

The event was sponsored by GU College Democrats, GU Women in Politics, GU Native American Student Council and the Office of Federal Relations.

“People ask me all the time why it’s so important for women to get involved in politics. What I tell them is that for 200-plus years in this country, 60, 70, 80-year-old white guys have been sitting around the table,” Heitkamp said.

After an unsuccessful run for governor in 2000, Heitkamp won her first campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in a surprise victory in 2012. She is the first female senator from North Dakota.

Heitkamp encouraged Georgetown female students to “lean in” and take an active role in whatever professional path they choose to pursue.

“When you look at the statistics, the number one reason women won’t run for office is because they think they’re not qualified,” Heitkamp said. “They need to get over the ‘I’m not qualified.’ … Women are no more and no less [qualified than men].”

The hour-long conversation revolved around Heitkamp’s concern for issues that affect North Dakota’s residents.

When asked during the question and answer session about her stand on gun control, she explained that she voted against a stricter gun control policy that would require background checks, since hunting is such a prominent aspect of life in her state.

Additionally, Heitkamp pushed for the Georgetown students to support her efforts in bringing attention and reform to the Native American community and the challenges of disadvantaged children on the North Dakota Indian reservations.

Addressing minority issues, the senator lauded diversity.

“Diversity and ideas and experience [are] what’s going to build this coun-

try, what’s going to expand our horizons, what makes a difference. And we need to have that diversity, not only of gender, of race, of ethnicity or of religion — we need to have it in occupation,” Heitkamp said.

Throughout the conversation, Heitkamp used personal anecdotes and experiences to convey the importance of characteristics and attitudes that are advantageous in both professional environments and relationships.

“Never do ‘politics for politics’ reasons. You’ve got to have a mission or purpose for what you do,” Heitkamp said.

Heitkamp’s advice for Georgetown students was geared for all students, not just aspiring politicians.

“The Senate is a place of relationships, and if people don’t like you, it’s a long six years. … But one thing that I learned is that … honestly it’s more important that I respect myself,” Heitkamp said. “At the end of the day, the only thing you have when they put you in the ground is your reputation.

The rest you can’t take with you. It’s

BENJAMIN APPLEY-EPSTEIN FOR THE HOYA

Sen. Heitkamp, center, is flanked by GUCD Chair Chandini Jha (COL ’16), left, and Connor Joseph (COL ’16), who worked on her campaign. who you were as a person and what impact you made on other people.”

After the event, Casey Gavy (COL ’14) spoke about how much she enjoyed hearing the senator speak.

“I think it’s really great for the Col-

lege Dems to be able to bring a fresh new face to Georgetown. It was great that she talked about not only the headlines that we read about in the Washington Post, but also sincere, personal stories,” Gavy said.

Students Confer on Interfaith Kelly McKenna Special to the Hoya

The Interfaith Leadership Institute, held Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in Atlanta, Ga., facilitated dialogue about creating student-run interfaith campaigns on college campuses, with many of the participating campuses lauding Georgetown as a model for interfaith dialogue.

The program, run by the nonprofit organization Interfaith Youth Core, supports voicing values by engaging people from different backgrounds and participating in social action.

Throughout the weekend, over 150 students and 50 faculty members gathered in order to develop plans as to how they could implement more of an interfaith presence at their universities. The students were split up into separate groups to facilitate dialogue.

According to attendee Devika Ranjan (SFS ’17), the conference allowed for easy interreligious dialogue.

“Whether religious or nonreligious, we all believe that there is a need for improvement in our community. That can be through helping the homeless or educating about AIDS or refugee rights,” Ranjan said. “No matter where we may be coming from and no matter where our faith lies, there is the need to do good for the community.”

Part of the conference additionally focused on the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.

This initiative, launched in fall 2011, encourages colleges to promote interfaith communication on campus. It involves a religiously diverse group of students working together to carry out a yearlong service project that addresses a particular need in the community in order to foster an environment of understanding and awareness.

Due to its large interfaith presence, Georgetown University is often used as a model for the program.

“Georgetown is very far ahead of the curve. John Carroll faced religious discrimination in Europe and wanted to create a university where people would feel accepted. We were the first Catholic school to hire a full-time Jewish chaplain, and we were also the first school in the country to hire a full-time imam,” conference attendee and co-president of the Georgetown Interfaith Student Council Aamir Hussain (COL ’14) said.

The Georgetown interfaith presence is highly valued by students on campus.

Trishla Jain (SFS ’15), who attended the conference, discussed how since she arrived on campus, she has seen the university make a concerted effort to better include nonAbrahamic faiths. She cited a time last year when the Hindu Students Association combined with the Catholic Daughters to engage in dialogue.

“You don’t have to be of a faith to participate in interfaith. It can be about values and belief systems,” Jain said.

Those who attended plan to organize and design more interfaith programs on campus, including a workshop on interfaith relationships, with the goal to have even those who do not identify with a particular faith participate.

A10

Sports

THE HOYA

Men’s Basketball

Track & Field

GU Withdraws From Meet Molly Malone Hoya Staff Writer

After a strong showing in the National Invitational Meet, the Georgetown track and field team will now turn its attention to the Big East Championship. The Hoyas were scheduled to participate in the Valentine Invitational this weekend in Boston but decided not to send runners in order to ensure the runners’ health. Georgetown wants to make sure that all of its top runners are in peak performance condition for the Big East Championship, making withdrawing from the Valentine Invitational in favor of a recovery weekend an easy decision for the coaching staff.

With just two weeks until the big meet, precautions are at an all-time high for the Hoyas.

Last weekend at the Penn State National Invitational, Georgetown grabbed three first- place finishes, as well as multiple top-three finishes.

One standout in particular, freshman Amos Bartelsmeyer, ran an exceptional race, setting a meet record in the men’s 1000-meter invitational race.

Bartelsmeyer hopes to keep his times low and his tempo high in the coming weeks.

“We’ve been working on [Bartelsmeyer’s] running form and his technique, trying to get him to be a more rotary runner and not take too long of strides,” Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country Patrick Henner said. “He’s doing a great job, we feel like he’s one of the best freshmen in the country, along with Ryan Manahan. [Bartelsmeyer] now needs to work on being more aggressive right off the starting line.”

Eyes will also be on All-American junior Katrina Coogan, who specializes in the 3000m race, and is looking to run a solid race against a competitive field. She finished just shy of first place last weekend, but, with yet another meet under her belt, she is hoping to not only win the race, but also improve her time from 9:10.27.

Coogan also is the anchor to the women’s distance medley relay, which ran the country’s sixth-best time of the season at the National Invitational.

Coogan ran her fastest 3000-meter race last season with a time of 9:04.85. Although it is an amazing effort, the coaching staff acknowledges the race conditions and running with a pack helped her achieve the remarkable time.

While a seemingly manageable race surely does not take away from Coogan’s personal record, her efforts in leading the pack at Penn State show how much she has grown since last year.

“I actually think her 9:10 that she ran this weekend at Penn State was a much better effort because she actually had to lead a lot of the race and do a lot of the work, so I think she’s in a very good spot right now…

I think Katrina’s one of the very best distance runners in the country,” Henner said.

Fifth-year senior Amanda Kimbers will also be in the spotlight for the Hoyas in the upcoming days. Kimbers’ semifinal appearance in the National Invitational exemplified her strong comeback from last year when she was sidelined by atorn hip flexor. As Kimbers works to again reach her full potential, she continues to improve. “[Amanda’s] doing really well

now,” Henner said. “She’s not quite at her best right now, but Amanda’s a great athlete, and I think she can be right back within her best in two to four weeks. She’s getting very close.

She ran the [4 x400] and ran a very solid 55 split, so she just needs a couple more workouts and a couple more races and she’ll be ready to go.”

Though track and field relies heavily on skill and strategy, confidence is a key factor in every race. The numerous meets and events that the Hoyas have competed in this season have added to the team’s confidence.

Part of the Blue and Gray’s confidence stems from their dominance in the events.

Junior Billy Ledder has seen his confidence rise this season and is peaking at the perfect time. This past weekend, he ran a 1:48.92 in the 800m invitational. But these first-place finishes are nothing new to Ledder.

“He’s gradually gotten better and better, and his biggest thing is running with more confidence, and I think him making a big move against high level competition at Penn State with 150 meters to go indicated he’s got a lot more confidence this season.” Henner said.

The women’s team is currently ranked 25th in the nation and hopes to keep moving up in the poll. The men’s team is also looking to get a spot on the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association rankings in the coming weeks, which is possible as it is lead by experienced and confident runners. With many athletes running at their best right now, the Big East Championship could not come at a better time.

Swimming & Diving

Conference Foe Looms Large Tony Baxter

Special to The Hoya

Georgetown’s swimming and diving team will head up to Piscataway, N.J., in a meet against Rutgers and Providence. The men’s team will face Providence, while the women’s team will face Rutgers and Providence. This will be the Hoyas’ last meet before the Big East Championships.

The women know that this will be a tough meet, especially against a difficult Rutgers team. Rutgers has already defeated Georgetown this season in a quad meet that also included Villanova and Seton Hall.

“Rutgers is a really strong team. I’m not concerned with trying to win that meet,” Head Coach Jaime Holder said.

“Providence is a great Big East competitor for us, and they are probably coming in with the same type of attitude as we are with their eyes on the Big East [Championship].”

The men and women are entering this meet trying to finish off what has been an up and down regular season.

Both squads are looking for one final duel-meet win before the championship season, but they also recognize this meet is a chance to prepare for a bigger goal: the Big East Championships.

“We’re using this meet as our last opportunity to fine tune things before the Big East,” Holder said. “We want to put our best lineup forward, but we’re also not going to have some key people in their best events just to [try to] mix it up so that they have some

opportunities to swim something a little different before they have to lay it on the line for the Big East.”

Despite some moments of brilliance, the Hoyas have been unable to find consistent success. This season, though, has been filled with strong performances from Georgetown’s freshmen.

Because of their individual successes, much of the focus this season has been on those freshmen for the Hoyas.

Holder has been impressed with the season that they have put together, especially those swimming the 100-yard butterfly, Molly Gaynor and Martin Vanin.

“I have been really impressed overall with their seasons. Martin walked on the team,” Holder said of Vanin. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he breaks some school records this year. Certainly by the time he graduates he will.”

Both squads fell to Drexel on a Senior Day, which saw seven seniors competing in their last home meet. The men fell 161-125, while the women lost 156-141. Despite the losses, the Hoyas had some strong showings. Vanin continued his strong freshman campaign, winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.07. Sophomore Austin Evenson had strong races as well, winning the 1000 freestyle as well as the 500 freestyle.

On the women’s side, sophomore Nicole Tronolone found success in long distance events, winning the 1000 freestyle and 500 freestyle. In the 200 butterfly, juniors Jillian Carter, Casey Bandman and Jessica Gaudiosi

and sophomore Lauren Ward placed first through fourth in that order.

The Providence men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are both coming off of losses to Boston College. The Friars enter this final regular season with a subpar record, but the team, like the Hoyas, is still trying to finish off the season strong before the Big East Championships.

This Providence team is a very young team on both the men’s and women’s side. The men’s team currently carries 12 freshmen, while the women’s team carries nine.

This youth is perhaps why the Friars have had such an inconsistent season. Because of this inexperience, the Hoyas enter this meet with a good chance for victory.

The women for Rutgers have had a solid season thus far, but they have struggled against ranked opponents, dropping lopsided affairs to No. 24 Michigan (219-81) and No. 25 Notre Dame (206-94). These losses by no means discredit their team. This will be one of the most challenging opponents that the Hoyas will face all season. They will certainly pose a huge challenge for the Hoyas considering the recent track record between the two teams.

A strong performance for the women would be a positive indicator of the team’s potential before the Big East Championships.

Although Holder is satisfied with the team’s season thus far, he is hoping for the team to continue to compete at a high level in the final meets of the year.

women’s basketball

White Impressive in Defeat CREIGHTON, from A12 Georgetown couldn’t keep up the momentum though, and Creighton ended the game with a 9-0 run for a final score of 75-61.

As it had in the first half, Creighton dominated the threepoint line, making 41.7 percent of its shots to Georgetown’s 14.3 percent. Meanwhile, the Hoyas held the slight advantage in rebounds, outrebounding the Bluejays 37-35.

White led the Hoyas with 17 points and seven rebounds, followed by freshman center Natalie Butler with 13 points and 14 rebounds, her 18th

double-double of the season.

Georgetown will next take on Xavier on Saturday in McDonough Arena. The Musketeers currently sit in eighth place in the Big East while the Hoyas rank ninth in the conference. On Jan. 8, Georgetown lost to Xavier in Cincinnati 85-68. With the worst-scoring offense in the Big East, Xavier has been struggling to make points in conference play this year. The Hoyas, who are second in the Big East in field goal percentage defense, first in blocked shots, and second in defensive rebounds need to capitalize on the Musketeers’ weakness and cut down

on turnovers in order to grab their second Big East win.

“As is the case with all the other teams we’ve played, we’re going to focus primarily on Georgetown and trying to identify this two-three matchup that we feel could really be good for us,” Lewis said. “I think we have the talent to play this particular defense, the two-three matchup, really well because it keeps our strength — our front line people, our Faith Woodard — ur Andrea White, our Natalie Butler, as close to the basket as we could construct a defense to play.”

Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.

Friday, February 7, 2014

LEFT: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA; RIGHT: THE HOYA ARCHIVES

Junior guard Jabril Trawick had 15 points in Georgetown’s win over DePaul. Trawick has not started a game since suffering a broken jaw in the Providence game Jan. 8.

Hoyas Need Consistent 3rd Scoring Option BUTLER, from A12 scoring 21 points in the contest. Only two other Bulldogs — forwards Khyle Marshall and Andrew Chrabascz — finished with double-digit points, but big man Kameron Woods racked up 10 rebounds that almost keyed a Butler victory.

In order to stretch its winning streak to three, Georgetown will need a consistent third scoring option to emerge, something it has been lacking since the team lost Smith.

Trawick was that option on Monday night, but it remains to be seen whether he can fill the role on a nightly basis going forward.

The Hoyas will also need to control the glass.

To do so however, their big men will have to do a better job of remaining in the game — in the first matchup against Butler, senior forward Nate Lubick, junior forward Mikael Hopkins and senior center Moses Ayegba all

fouled out, forcing senior guard John Caprio into the game for long periods of time. The trio repeated the feat on Monday night in Chicago.

But in their last two games, the Hoyas have started to find a formula for success. Long half-court sets, tenacious defense and smart play have allowed Georgetown to grind out wins at the end of its last two contests.

As the calendar turns to February and the field of the NCAA tournament begins to take shape, Georgetown will need to continue its recent strong play if it hopes to qualify for the tournament for a fifth straight year.

Several projections currently have the Hoyas among the first few teams out of the field.

Butler, meanwhile, is still looking to find its footing in a new conference under a new coach.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Verizon Center.

sports

Friday, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

tennis

THE HOYA

A11

down to the wire

Tropiano Repeats USA Hockey: It’s Just Better Late-Match Heroics T Madeline Auerbach Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis teams are amid one of their busiest weeks of the season: The men will play in three matches within the span of five days while the women prep for their first Big East match of the season Friday.

The men’s team (4-1) took on the Richmond Spiders (2-4) in Boyds, Md., on Wednesday afternoon, and walked away with an extremely close 4-3 victory.

The Hoyas began the trek to victory by taking the doubles point from the Spiders by winning two out of the three matches in equivalent scores, 6-5(6). Junior Alex Tropiano and sophomore Daniel Khanin paired up for the first time this year to win in the second doubles slot, while freshman duo Jack Murphy and Yannik Mahlangu also won in third doubles. The first doubles team, comprised of senior co-captain Casey Distaso and freshman Max Novak, fell 6-3.

Winning the doubles point was crucial for the Blue and Gray as the singles matches were played very evenly. Khanin fell at first singles in a three-set battle to Richmond’s redshirt junior Ethan Dunbar 3-6, 6-5(4), 6-3. Richmond freshman Jacob Dunbar bested junior Shane Korber at second singles with a 6-3, 6-1 result.

Head Coach Gordie Ernst had high praise for the Spider freshman after the match.

“Their new freshman [Jacob] Dunbar, the number two player who beat Korber, is very, very good,” he said.

In his fifth singles match, Mahlangu lost in straight sets but Murphy and Distaso picked up the slack, grabbing victories at fourth and third singles, respectively. Murphy’s improved to 5-0 in single matches this spring with a resounding victory, finishing off Richmond’s junior Dylan Trent 6-2, 6-1. Distaso won in straight sets as well, taking down freshman Alex Hahn 6-4, 6-1.

With the match tied at 3-3, the Hoyas’ fate was in the hands of Tropiano. The junior lost the first set 1-6, setting the stage for the potential of a disappointing result. Nonetheless, he picked up his game in the second set, taking it away in a tiebreak 6-5 (1).

“Sometimes after [losing the first set] players get a little down, even into the second set they continue to fight but also doubt themselves, and he didn’t. [Tropiano] stayed pos-

itive and believed he could win because of his great serves and great volleys,” Ernst said.

His play improved in the third set, and Tropiano clinched the match for the Hoyas when he won the third set 6-4. Astonishingly, Tropiano did the same exact thing in the Hoyas’ match against Richmond last season.

“Let me tell you, he does not have arachnophobia,” Ernst said of Tropiano’s clinch of the match against the Spiders. “In fact, Richmond might have a little ‘Trop-aphobia’ by now.

The guy’s done it two years in a row.”

The Hoyas will return to the court Saturday when they travel to New Haven, Conn. to face off against Yale (12). Yale defeated Georgetown in the teams’ last spring season meeting in February 2009.

“We’re excited to play the Ivies,” Ernst said of the team’s anticipation for the match. “We don’t get to see them that much being here in the D.C. area, so we’re really looking forward to going up and playing Yale.”

The Hoyas have a quick turnaround and will play another match against Bryant University on Sunday. Bryant finished the fall season with a respectable 5-3 record but has struggled to a 1-3 record this spring. The Bulldogs were swept by both Dartmouth and Xavier and lost 6-1 to Binghamton. However, they did pick up a convincing 6-1 win against Villanova.

Meanwhile, the women’s team (1-5) will be staying on the Hilltop to take on St. John’s on Friday at Yates Field House. Having suffered four straight losses since Jan. 17, it’s hoping it can end its slide against the Red Storm.

“It’s a match against a good team and we’re just looking forward to it,” Ernst said of the match.

The team is particularly excited that the match will take place on the Georgetown campus.

“The girls are excited to play at home at Yates against one of our rivals,” Ernst stated. “The home matches at Yates are great. It really helps their play.”

The last matchup between Georgetown and St. John’s was an incredibly close 4-3 win for the Red Storm. Singles play preceded doubles play, and concluded with the score tied 3-3. In the end, St. John’s took two of the three doubles matches with the match point being in a tiebreaker.

“That was a great match, and I think Friday’s going to be the same,” Ernst said.

The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday morning.

SUDOKU

8

9 4 5 2 7

7

9

3 5

6

4

6

8

9 2 3

1 5 9

5

1

4 9 1 7

2

9

Answers to last issue’s puzzle:

6

5

9

2

4

7

3

1 8

4

1

7

8

9

3

6 5

8

3

2

5

1

6

4

7 9

9

7

8

3

5

1

2

6

1

2

6

9

7

4

5

8 3

5

4

3

6

8

2

1

9 7

7

6

5

4

2

8

9

3 1

3

8

4

1

6

9

7

2 5

2

9

1

7

3

5

8

4 6

2 4

he men’s Olympic hockey tournament has been called the greatest tournament in the world — and with good reason. The tournament’s games are real, and they’re spectacular.

However, it has come to my attention that some unpatriotic haters don’t care that much about watching the United States prove that we’re better than other countries at the Olympics the same way we’re better than other countries at everything — except maybe healthcare and education. Today, no matter what group of unenthusiasts you belong to, I’m going to convince you to be hyped for the Olympic hockey tournament — because I certainly am.

Group I: You think hockey is a stupid sport.

Fine, I guess I can’t convince everyone. But I’m actually glad that these people will annoyingly get in my face about how dumb the sport is because it makes it easier for me to know who not tobe friends with.

Group II: You’re Canadian and therefore rooting for their national team.

Justin Bieber is from Canada. See? I’m swinging allegiances already.

Group III: You only watch hockey for the good-looking guys the way I’ll only watch figure skating for the attractive girls.

Look, I only care about the U.S. women’s soccer team for Alex Morgan.

I know that there’s a group of people out there who couldn’t explain what offside is if their lives depended on it; but will still turn on a New York Rangers game to watch Henrik Lundqvist because he’s “dreamy.” That’s fine, and you’re in luck! I looked up which players are thought of as the hottest, according to female hockey fans. (Important note: I promise that I actually had to research this for the column. It’s not like a list of the hottest hockey players is bookmarked on my Firefox browser or anything.) It’s become clear that those who keep tabs on these things really like Americans Zach Parise, Ryan Kesler and Patrick Kane. Coincidentally, those

three are expected to be in the top line for the Americans!

And, even if I still have no idea whether girls like a nice guy or a bad boy — seriously, no idea — it’s clear that the USA hockey coaches didn’t know when they were selecting the team, either, because they covered all bases. Zach Parise is known as a hardworking, likable leader who has few enemies in the National Hockey League, while Patrick Kane once drunkenly beat up a cab driver over 20

Tom Hoff

Olympic hockey is about pure skill, national pride and heart. cents. Take your pick, ladies.

Group IV: You hate homophobia, and don’t want to watch an Olympics taking place in Russia This is commendable, but here’s the thing: Vladimir Putin and Co. aren’t bothered by you hating Russia and its homophobic laws. You know what would actually bother them? The Americans beating them in the Olympics.

Personally, I’m hoping for the U.S. team to beat the Russians in the gold medal game, somehow escape the country without getting detained by the KGB (Soviet Union Committee for State Security) and then deliver a message to Russian leaders once they reach American soil. If it were up to me, this message would be written on a rainbow flag and employ a play on words to call out Russia’s ridiculous homophobia … maybe something like “Suck it, Putin!” That’s the kind of thing that would really anger the Russian leaders, and if you’re

not rooting for that, well, I don’t know what to tell you.

Group V: This column made you decide to watch the movie “Miracle” right before the first game, which will make you repeatedly scream “BORN IN THE USA!” at your television during the game as the Bruce Springsteen song plays in the background.

Hey man, whatever works. No judgment here; and I’m glad that I could help.

Group VI: You have pride for your country and appreciate how exciting hockey is, especially in the playoffs, but just can’t seem to be passionate enough to care about the tournament.

All jokes aside, this column is mainly written for people in this group. Anyone who has watched playoff hockey knows how thrilling it is, whether you have a rooting interest or not. And here’s the amazing thing: Olympic hockey might be better. Players sell out on every play, whether it’s blocking a shot that’s traveling 100 mph or playing more minutes in a game than they ever have before.

Other factors also add to why a casual viewer of hockey would love the Olympics. Although I still think a minor amount of fighting has a place in hockey, it’s unquestionable that the Olympics are better off without it. This year’s games will also be played on a wider sheet of ice, as European rinks have different sizes than North American ones. The extra space will reward the teams that can play with the most skill, not the ones that can throw the best punches. While I value the fighting and increased physical play of an 82-game NHL regular season, it’s clear that the setup we’ll have in a week is better for a seven-game tournament.

The Olympic hockey tournament will be all about pure skill, with a little bit of heart and national pride mixed in. Isn’t that the way we want it?

Tom Hoff is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. Down to the Wire appears Fridays.

the sporting life

QB Let Down by Team’s Failures MAJD, from A12 and then the 25 he had in 2010 that prove this disastrous season was not just a fluke). Perhaps the greatest indictment in judging Manning by his losses comes from comparisons to Brady.

In defiance of popular belief, Peyton Manning actually has a higher quarterback rating in the playoffs than Tom Brady. The aggregate numbers show Manning to be slightly more accurate and far more efficient in terms of yardage, despite throwing more interceptions. Before pointing to the turnovers as the crucial difference between Brady’s success and Manning’s failure, keep in mind that if you took their playoff averages over a 16-game season, Manning would have 16 interceptions to Brady’s 13.6, while throwing for 640 more yards on almost a yard more per attempt. In light of this news, some might think Manning’s numbers in the postseason are inflated by his one successful Super Bowl run, but his performances during that run were collectively his worst in any postseason. All of this provides more evidence that wins and losses are not wholly dependent on the quarterback’s performances.

The unfairness of Manning’s postsea-

son reputation is not just present on paper. His postseason numbers are indeed less impressive, but so are Brady’s, pointing to the level of competition as the reason behind the drop. He has had a handful of really poor performances, but many of the disappointing defeats Manning’s teams have suffered over the years have truly not been his fault.

Twice Manning has lost in the Divisional Round to the eventual Super Bowl champions, and both times the rare mistakes by defense and special teams proved costly. A missed 40-yard field goal doomed the Colts against the Steelers when Manning had a strong game, and Manning’s costly overtime interception last season arguably would not have happened if the Ravens had not extended the game on an inexcusable blown coverage in the closing seconds.

Peyton Manning’s last game as a Colt was similarly frustrating. A great performance and clutch last-minute touchdown drive by Manning was ruined when poor special teams coverage and horrendous clock management by Head Coach Jim Caldwell handed the Jets the game-winning field goal opportunity. Even Manning’s infamous losses to the Chargers seem less damning when you look at the actual perfor-

mances. In the 2007 matchup, when Manning threw two interceptions, he threw for over 400 yards and had three touchdowns. But the next week, the undefeated Patriots beat those Chargers in spite of a horrid three-interception, 66.4 rated performance by Brady.

Reciting all of these statistics and analyses may seem like beating the point to a pulp or even extrapolating too much, but there is far more truth in statistics and analyses than simply looking at wins and losses and putting them on one player. The NFL is a complex league; no one player, no matter how important or talented, can win or lose a game singlehandedly. This is not to say Manning has not had talent around him, but his teams have not always been elite. Preparation and coaching are extremely important, and it would be tough to argue that any team has had a better culture or coaching staff than the New England Patriots over the past fifteen years. Like all quarterbacks, Manning and Brady can only impact a game so much. They are great quarterbacks, but great quarterbacks don’t always win Super Bowls, great teams do.

Darius Majd is a junior in the College. The Sporting Life appears Fridays.

softball

Hoyas Open Season in Florida SOFTBALL, from A12 Big East, making the Hoyas one of the elite teams in the conference.

“It puts us in a more competitive situation [that] gives us an opportunity to compete for not only a tournament championship; but a regular season championship,” Conlan said.

Familiar foe DePaul and newcomer Creighton were voted first and second in a coaches’ preseason conference poll in which Georgetown placed third.

“Any type of polls or awards or preseason honors are really just what people think, and I think at the end of the day, you have to back it up,” Conlan said. “I think we’re excited, we’re honored, but now it’s time to get back down to business.”

Georgetown sees a return of a significant part of their previous starting lineup including sophomores Samantha Giovaniello and Taylor Henry, and seniors Hannah Slovacek and Madeleine Giaquinto as infielders, along with senior Alexandria Anttila and junior Sophia Gargicevich-Almeida as outfielders. The Hoyas are excited for the opportunity to compete in the new Big East, and they’re looking forward to seeing what the four incoming freshmen will bring to the team.

“We have a really great freshman class. If they can be the impact players that I think they are capable of being, we’re going to do good things this year,” Conlan said.

The Hoyas are ready to embark on a 56-game season filled with tournaments and nonconference games. It’s a tough schedule that includes a lot of traveling, but Conlan wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That helps us once we get to conference because the toughest games we should play to me should be in this preseason, which will prepare us for conference games,” she said. “The preseason doesn’t really matter unless you bring the knowledge and experience into your conference games. And I think that’s what we work hard to do.”

Graziano is looking forward to the new season and building on her experience during her last three years at Georgetown.

“I think that we’re using last season as an expectation to be back at the Big East tournament in May, so that’s going to be our goal from that first game in Florida, using it to get better,” Graziano said. “I’m looking forward to being a team leader and seeing how far it’s come since my freshman year, and how the expectations for us as individuals and as a team have changed.

Overall, I’m just really excited to play.”

Even though it’s her last season, Graziano is treating it just like every other season — a chance to be competitive and to win. But this year, she’s expanding her role as a leader as she serves as one of the team captains.

“It’s just really important, especially going to a school like Georgetown, with academic pressures that go along

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Senior outfielder Alexandria Anttila started 52 games last season. with travelling and being away from class so often, just keeping everyone’s head straight,” she said. “It’s really easy to be like, ‘oh it’s just another game,’ but [it’s] recognizing that each one’s important and each one’s leading us to the Big East tournament in May.” It all starts with their first set of games against Liberty, followed by Florida Gulf Coast, Ole Miss and Western Kentucky, teams from different conferences that the Hoyas do not normally face.

“I think it’s going to be a tough opening weekend for us, but we’re ready,” Conlan said. “We’re absolutely ready.”

SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL Georgetown (13-9) vs. Butler (12-10) Saturday, 1 p.m.

Verizon Center

FRIDAY, FEBR UARY 7, 2014

SWIMMING & DIVING The Hoyas will travel to New Jersey to compete in their last dual meet of the season.

See A10

TALKING POINTS

“

Let me tell you, he doesn’t have arachnophobia.

After keeping up with Creighton (14-9, 8-3 Big East) for the first half, the Georgetown women’s basketball team fell to the Bluejays 75-61 Wednesday night. The Hoyas (7-16, 1-10 Big East) have struggled since Big East play began; and the loss marked their second to Creighton this season.

For Head Coach Jim Lewis, lack of consistency was the primary issue Wednesday.

“At a couple of stages, we had really good stops and run-outs, with back-toback fast break layups by [freshman forward] Faith Woodard in the first half,” Lewis said. “But we didn’t have anywhere close to the kind of consistency that we needed.”

Georgetown trailed Creighton for most of the first half, but not by much.

With 9:20 left in the half, a layup by Woodard brought the Hoyas within two points, and 18 seconds later a second Woodard layup tied the game at

JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA

Senior forward Andrea White led the Hoyas with 17 points and five assists.

17. However, Creighton responded with a 15-5 run, drawing the score to 32-22 with 2:13 left in the half. Georgetown then came back with a 6-0 run to enter halftime only down by four.

In the first half, the Hoyas shot 46.2 percent from the field while the Bluejays shot 41.9 percent. Creighton relied on three-point shooting to open up its lead, making 6-of-17 attempts from behind the arc, while Georgetown only took six three-point shots the entire half, making just one of them.

In the second half, Georgetown began to fall victim to a familiar ailment — turnovers. Throughout the half Creighton was able to take advantage, scoring 11 points off of Georgetown turnovers. Within the first five minutes of the start of the second, the Bluejays’ lead had doubled from four to eight.

Creighton was led by sophomore guard Marissa Janning, who leads the Big East in scoring.

“It was our inability to find and stop Janning, who just had a terrific game,” Lewis said. “She’s a very good basketball player — slick lefty, good outside shooting, get-to-the-foul-line kind of player. She hurt us. She really carried their team. We just didn’t have the kind of defensive stops.”

Janning ended the game with 38 points on 13-of-23 shooting. The sophomore hit five of her nine three-point attempts and grabbed nine rebounds.

Janning’s output — which is tied for the highest in the Big East this season — accounted for more than half of Creighton’s 75 points.

With 14:53 left, Georgetown’s senior co-captain and forward Andrea White finished a three-point play to drop the Creighton lead to five. The Bluejays regrouped and came back strong, outscoring the Hoyas 10 to five to regain a 10-point lead with a score of 50-40.

Once again however, Georgetown started chipping away at that lead, going on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to three with 6:38 left in the game.

The Bluejays were able to answer again, though, pulling ahead to another 10-point lead with four minutes left. With 1:24 remaining in the half, a jumper from Woodard cut the lead to five, bringing the score to 66-61.

See CREIGHTON, A10

The current national ranking of the Georgetown women’s track and field team.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Three-Pointers Fuel Creighton’s Victory Special to The Hoya

” 25

Tennis Head Coach Gordie Ernst on Tropiano’s performance against Richmond

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MORGAN BIRCK

NUMBERS GAME

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

Sophomore guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera is averaging 16.8 points a game and 4.8 rebounds a game this season. Smith-Rivera had 17 points in Georgetown’s win over DePaul.

Butler Dogfight Awaits GU ASHWIN WADEKAR Hoya Staff Writer

The last time Georgetown (13-9, 4-6 Big East) and Butler met — a 7067 overtime win for the Hoyas at Hinkle Fieldhouse — Georgetown found itself in a must-win situation. The Hoyas were coming off of an embarrassing 70-52 game at Providence and needed a victory to right the ship.

Despite riding a two-game winstreak for the first time in almost a month, the Hoyas will find themselves in a similar situation when the Bulldogs (12-10, 2-8 Big East) come to Verizon Center looking for revenge Saturday.

In that previous meeting, Georgetown gave up a first-half lead over Butler — something the Hoyas have become increasingly used to as of late — before senior guard Markel Starks hit a big three late in the game to force overtime.

In the extra period, Georgetown was able to grind out a win.

Georgetown’s victory in Indiana proved to be its last in a while. The

team struggled without suspended junior center Joshua Smith and injured junior guard Jabril Trawick, dropping five consecutive games. That number, tied for the longest losing streak in Head Coach John Thompson III’s time at Georgetown, looked certain to increase when the Hoyas traveled to New York to take on No. 7 Michigan State at Madison Square Garden last Saturday.

But the Hoyas persisted and, despite trailing for almost the entire first half, were able to escape with a 64-60 victory over the Spartans.

Starks again carried the scoring load for Georgetown, finishing with 16 points, while sophomore guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera continued his poor shooting. Despite going only 2-of-13 from the floor, Smith-Rivera converted on eight of his nine free-throw attempts to add 12 points. His clutch free-throw shooting in the last minute stomped out a potential Spartans’ comeback.

A road match against DePaul on Monday night proved to be a

similar story, as Starks scored the most points for the Hoyas and Smith-Rivera did most of his damage from the charity stripe. With Georgetown desperate to find a consistent third scoring option, Trawick — in his third game back from a broken jaw — stepped up to add 15 key points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting.

Butler, meanwhile, has had its share of ups and downs since it last met Georgetown. After getting crushed by No. 20 Creighton, the Bulldogs battled back to edge Marquette in overtime before dropping consecutive games to Providence and St. John’s. Its subsequent victory over Seton Hall may be its best road win all year, but the Bulldogs could not maintain the same level of performance, losing their next game at Marquette.

Sophomore guard Kellen Dunham — who leads the Bulldogs in scoring — did the most damage in the first game against the Hoyas, See BUTLER, A10

THE SPORTING LIFE

SOFTBALL

Returning Starters Crucial to Success Peyton Manning’s

Playoff Deception

JULIANA ZOVAK Hoya Staff Writer

While Washington, D.C., will be experiencing some chilly weather this weekend, Florida will be seeing a lot of sunshine and softball.

The Georgetown softball team will open its 2014 season at a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, and the squad is eager to finally get out on the diamond.

“I think everyone’s ready,” senior outfielder Elyse Graziano said. “We’ve been practicing a lot indoors, so it’ll be really nice to see it come alive outdoors and in a real game.”

Graziano is one of five seniors and eight returning starters for the Hoyas this season. Although the team lost catcher Shikara Lowe to graduation, Head Coach Pat Conlan that is excited most of her players are returning with another year of experience under their belts.

“It gives us a better foundation to work from. Coming into practice, we don’t have to relearn a lot of stuff,” she said. “Kids understand it; they’ve been through the trenches, and now we have to build on that and challenge them a little bit more.”

The Hoyas, who are coming off of a 21-33 season including a 10-12 Big East record, return two starting pitchers, juniors Lauren O’Leary and Megan Hyson, who combined to start all 54 games last season.

Last season, Georgetown finished fifth in the Big East behind Notre Dame, South Florida and Louisville.

These teams have since departed the See SOFTBALL, A11

E

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Sophomore third baseman Taylor Henry is one of eight returning starters for Georgetown. Henry started 46 games and batted .262 last season.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

ven if you were rooting the numbers tell the real story for the Seattle Seahawks — not the Super Bowl wins, and in the Super Bowl on Sun- the playoff record; those are day, you had to let out a sympa- team statistics no matter how thetic sigh as Peyton Manning much sensationalist pundits trudged through yet another want them to be quarterback disappointing playoff loss. statistics. Terry Bradshaw has Despite having a career year, four championships while Manning still ended his season Dan Marino has zero, yet no by adding to one in their the percepright mind tion that he thinks Mais anti-clutch. rino couldn’t The Seattle have won with defense and a those Steeler porous Denver defenders (this offensive line is not meant were the main to disrespect culprits in the B ra d s h aw, Darius Majd latest strugbut rather to gle, but in an give credit to otherwise ilAn Peyton Manning is Marino). lustrious caeven better reer, Peyton not the only one to contemporary Manning has example is blame for his playoff present within a losing postseason record the Manning struggles. and “only” clan. Peyton’s one Super brother Eli, Bowl. These shortcomings are who is unquestionably the inexacerbated by comparisons to ferior quarterback, has more the success of his greatest con- rings thanks to the strength temporary, New England’s Tom of the Giants organization and Brady. Brady’s strong playoff re- some dominant defensive lines cord, three championships and (anybody who wants to make clutch reputation have put just the Super Bowl rings argument as much doubt in the magni- can go back and look at all 27 tude of Manning’s greatness as of Eli’s interceptions this year, in his own defeats.

But in spite of perception, See MAJD, A11