The Hoya: September 6, 2024

GUPD Continues Dahlgren Chapel, Observatory Statue Vandalism Investigation

Aamir Jamil and Maren Fagan Senior News Editors

The Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) is investigating two Aug. 29 incidents of vandalism as potential anti-Catholic hate crimes. During one incident, the large processional crucifix in Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart — used during Masses to symbolize the presence of Jesus — sustained damage after it was moved and placed against a door. The other incident involved a statue of the Virgin Mary in the gardens of the Heyden Observatory, which university staff found on the ground on the morning of Aug. 30. Surveillance footage shows an individual entering the chapel at 11:40 p.m. Aug. 29; as of Sept. 3, GUPD had not yet identified this individual nor determined their connection to the vandalism, according to a university spokesperson. GUPD is unaware if the two incidents are connected.

Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Georgetown’s

vice president for mission & ministry, and Jay Gruber, the university’s associate vice president of public safety, wrote the vandalism was concerning in all circumstances and especially for religious spaces.

“Anti-Catholic acts and desecration of religious symbols are deeply concerning, hurtful and offensive,” Bosco and Gruber wrote in an Aug. 30 letter to the Georgetown community. “Acts of vandalism, especially of sacred spaces, have no place in our campus community.”

Bosco said that as the investigation continues, there is some evidence that the suspect may not be associated with Georgetown.

“If that is true, it brings me some consolation that it is not the work of a fellow Hoya,” Bosco wrote to The Hoya. CC Mesa (SFS ’26), a member of Catholic Women at Georgetown, a campus ministry faith organization, said the See VANDALISM, A7

The

Students March Across GU at SJP Rally

Aamir Jamil, Ruth Abramovitz and Jasmine Criqui

Senior News Editor, GUSA Desk

Editor and Executive Editor

More than 150 pro-Palestinian protestors marched across Georgetown University’s campus Sept. 4 in a rally to protest perceived university censorship of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student organization that supports Palestinian liberation.

SJP announced the rally after the Center for Student Engagement (CSE), the university center

Core’s ‘Pathways to Social Justice’ Replaces ‘Engaging Diversity’

Nora Toscano Academics Desk Editor

Georgetown University’s new “Pathways to Social Justice” core requirement for undergraduates came into effect with the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester.

Beginning with the Class of 2028, all undergraduates will take three courses to fulfill the requirement: a mandatory onecredit seminar, “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown,” and two additional courses that draw upon themes such as marginalization, inequity and identity. The new requirement replaces current sophomores’, juniors’ and seniors’ “Engaging Diversity” core requirement of

two of a wide array of courses — one each for “Engaging Diversity: Domestic” and “Engaging Diversity: Global.” University faculty began working to revise the undergraduate diversity requirement in 2020; the main campus executive faculty approved the change from “Engaging Diversity” to “Pathways to Social Justice” in February 2023. The university also held a pilot class for the “Race, Power, and Justice” course last semester.

Heidi Elmendorf, an associate professor of biology and the co-chair of the main campus Core Curriculum Committee, which approves university core

curriculum classes, said the committee found after surveying Georgetown students and faculty that they wanted more from the diversity requirement.

“They wanted there to be some self-examination,” Elmendorf told The Hoya. “They wanted the course to allow them to move beyond initial conversations. They thought that there were a lot of initial conversations, but they weren’t really gaining the skills to move forward and do new things.”

Elmendorf said the community members the committee surveyed also thought the diversity requirement should better ensure See PATHWAYS, A7

that liaises with all universitysponsored organizations, reminded organizations of the enforcement of a policy that requires student organizations to pay for Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) security at events when the university deems it necessary.

According to a Sept. 1 post on SJP’s Instagram account, the group also received notice Aug. 27 from the Office of Student Conduct that it was in violation of the Code of Student Conduct, charged with disruption of official university functions — actions that disrupt or obstruct official functions such as teaching and proceedings — and violation of

university policies and regulations.

The Sept. 4 rally began in Red Square, before protesters marched past the Intercultural Center, Reiss Science Building, Regents Hall and Harbin Hall and held another rally in front of Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall, blocking the intersection of Library Walk and Tondorf Road. Protesters ended the march in front of Healy Hall.

An organizer serving as a media liaison for SJP said the group held the rally to protest the enforcement of the paid security policy and the student conduct charges.

“We’re having the rally today mostly just because Georgetown

has, as of very recently, as of the very first day of school, been trying to repress Palestinian voices on campus, specifically SJP, as it pertains to advocating for the end to the genocide in Gaza,” the organizer told The Hoya on behalf of SJP. In its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, Hamas killed over 1,100 Israelis and took over 250 hostages, 111 of whom

Collective Bargaining Negotiations Begin Between GU, RA Union

Maren Fagan and Aamir

Jamil Senior News Editors

The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC), the organization that represents Georgetown University resident assistants (RAs) in collective bargaining negotiations, began its first round of negotiations with university officials Aug. 29.

The negotiations came after Georgetown RAs formally voted to unionize April 16, accepting representation from Local 153 of the Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). During these negotiations, RAs and the university discussed contractual proposals regarding scope, length and confidentiality.

Sam Lovell (CAS ’25), an RA in Copley Hall, said the RA union

movement’s development from brainstorming ways to improve their working conditions to holding collective bargaining negotiations is an important advancement for RAs.

“We had this vision that was really just that, a vision, six months ago, and if you told us that we would be here in six months, I don’t think any RA would have believed you,” Lovell told The Hoya. “Today was the first day that we met, the very symbolic stage of ‘now we’re actually going to make some changes and improve on what we have to say.’”

A university spokesperson said the university is committed to working with RAs and OPEIU during contract negotiations.

“We deeply value the contributions of Resident Assistants (RAs) to our living and learning community,”

a university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “Georgetown continues to work in good faith with OPEIU to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.” According to RAs present at the meeting, approximately 30 RAs attended at different points to support members’ bargaining and voice their opinions. OPEIU Local 153 officials are aiding GRAC in negotiating the new contract. GRAC negotiators primarily proposed articles recognizing the RAs as parties of the contract, setting the length of the contract to two years and imposing a confidentiality agreement. Lovell said the two sides made headway regarding recognition and confidentiality, yet could not reach a tentative agreement on the length of the contract, with the university

AAMIR JAMIL/THE HOYA

Georgetown University Police Department is working to investigate two Aug. 29 incidents of vandalism on campus.

RUTH ABRAMOVITZ/THE HOYA

Pro-Palestinian protestors marched across Georgetown University’s campus and rallied in Red Square and outside

Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall Sept. 4 in opposition to university free speech and protest policy enforcement.

HAAN JUN (RYAN) LEE/THE HOYA

Georgetown University resident assistants under the Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition began collective bargaining negotiations with the university Aug. 29 after voting to unionize in April.

Praise the Lorde

Clayton Kincade (SFS ’25)

“Melodrama.”

Field Hockey Falls

See GRAC, A7

Pursue Justice Within, Outside of GU

This year, Georgetown University added a new element to the core curriculum called “Pathways to Social Justice” (PSJ). This curriculum introduces students to the idea of justice that runs through Georgetown’s values, from community in diversity to faith that does justice. Social justice is an essential component of contemporary Jesuit and Catholic thought, and this new curriculum offers students a chance to learn about what it means in theory and practice while connecting it to their own traditions, lives and time at Georgetown. The PSJ curriculum includes a new required course: UNXD 1200, or “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown” (RPJ@GU). Students must also take two additional courses from a broad menu of courses that satisfy the requirement. These “overlay” courses must meet certain intellectual and pedagogical criteria to be eligible for the PSJ tag. The first criterion is that PSJ courses should be models of inclusive scholarship by emphasizing the intellectual work of people who have historically been excluded from academia.

RPJ@GU is a one-credit, half-semester class that all transfer students and first-year students starting with the Class of 2028 will take some time in the first year at Georgetown. The course is offered four times per academic year, twice in the fall and twice in the spring. The course meets twice every week — once all together for a big event, such as a film screening or panel discussion and once in smaller discussion sections each led by a different instructor, 16 in all. There are several short assignments that invite students to ask questions and reflect on what they’ve heard, read, discussed and learned. Each week of the class is devoted to a different theme. We start with Georgetown’s reckoning with its history of slavery and then shift to the school’s contemporary relationship to its surrounding communities and continue on to problems of race, power and justice on a global scale. We read sources drawn from the university’s past and present and hear from the experts and practitioners across the university community who are immersed in deep study of these difficult issues.

As the coordinator of RPJ@GU, I’m excited to be a part of this new class along with many outstanding colleagues from across the university. It comes out of a long process of discernment that transformed the previous “Engaging Diversity” requirement, which had become diffuse, into what we hope is a more meaningful and intentional learning experience for students. Importantly,

HOYA HISTORY

this change emerged from Georgetown students’ own engagement with and activism around the curriculum. Like “The Problem of God” or “Maps of the Modern World,” RPJ@GU offers not just valuable information, but a foundation for further inquiry.

The issues this course explores are difficult indeed: reconciliation and reparations for slavery and other historical injustices; overcoming ingrained patterns of racial segregation; reducing disparities in income, wealth, health and education; confronting a brutal system of mass incarceration; and rebuilding faith communities deformed by racism. However, as our school’s own history of slavery demonstrates all too well, Georgetown cannot deny or escape its responsibility to address these pressing problems. Our university has resources at its disposal — most of all, the values of our community — that enable the next generation of Hoyas to take up the task of repair.

You can start right here. Many Georgetown students are involved in groups that work toward justice on campus and beyond. Some fight for the rights of workers at Georgetown. Some advocate and support low-income, first-generation and undocumented Hoyas. Some tutor poor African American, Latino and other immigrant children in Washington, D.C. Some are involved in the effort to seek reconciliation with the GU272 descendant community and to preserve the Georgetown neighborhood’s historic African American cemeteries. Some participate in Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, working to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted or to help incarcerated people advance their own education behind prison walls. These are just a few examples of how students advocate for justice outside the classroom. Now, Pathways to Social Justice will inform and strengthen students’ passion for justice by connecting that passion to our shared Georgetown values inside the classroom.

By learning and doing, we can each find our own answer to the challenging question: What does it really mean to be “a person for others”? RPJ@GU and Pathways to Social Justice will provide students with language, concepts and tools that they can carry throughout their academic and personal journeys toward a more just future.

Adam Rothman, Ph.D., is the interim chair of the department of history and director of Georgetown University’s Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies.

Since its first issue in 1920, The Hoya has served to inform Georgetown’s campus dialogue. The following article is a glimpse into The Hoya’s rich history, allowing readers to appreciate the evolution of college journalism.

Vandals Deface Campaign Posters

February 19, 1988

An unknown vandal has ripped down and replaced posters for the GUSA campaign of Michael Ouweleen (CAS ’89) and Nancy Huang (SBA ‘90). The new, nearly identical posters contain abusive language and attack the pair’s candidacy.

GUSA Election Commissioner Don Simonetti (CAS ’88) said 75 percent of the Ouweleen-Huang signs in place were removed or defaced. He estimated the total number of Ouweleen-Huang signs at 300. The impostors look almost exactly like the real Ouweleen-Huang posters, except that an obscenity is substituted for the“OH!” printed in a yellow circle on the real posters, and a popular cartoon character is pictured making an obscene hand gesture. Neither officials from the OuweleenHuang campaign nor the Election Commission have discovered who is responsible for the poster destruction. Huang said, “I don’t think it’s another candidate.” She said she thought C.V. Doherty (CAS ’87) and John Vega (CAS 87), who are running a

mock write-in campaign, might have done it. “It sounds like their style,” she said. Doherty and Vega are running in spite of the fact that Doherty graduated last year and Vega will graduate this year. Their campaign emphasizes humor and acknowledges that it has no chance of winning in its campaign literature. Vega denied responsibility for ripping down the posters. “I think it’s a little bit ironic that she [Huang] thinks it’s us, because I’ve noticed several Ouweleen-Huang posters plastered over our posters on bulletin boards,” he said. Marc Stahl (CAS ’88), manager of the Doherty/Vega campaign, said, “I wish we had thought of the idea first, although I would have toned down the language a bit.”

Jeff Marcella (CAS ’90), who is running with Ruth Austern (SFS 89), said the Austern-Marcella campaign had nothing to do with the incident. “We don’t know anything about it. Jack Welch [the Austern-Marcella campaign manager wanted to

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 Jasmine Criqui or Executive

Jack Willis at executive@thehoya.com. NEWS TIPS

Maren Fagan and Aamir Jamil: Email news@ thehoya.com.

Editors Amber Cherry and Elizabethe Bogrette: Email guide@thehoya.com. Sports Editors Evan Ecklund and Oliver Ni: Email sports@ thehoya.com.

try some high intensity kinds of stuff, but we toned him down,” Marcella said.

Marcella said the posters represent feelings about the Ouweleen-Huang campaign “that a lot of people would like to express, although I don’t think it was done appropriately. I’d love to meet the people who did it.”

“I was very angry and upset when I first saw the posters, but it comes with the territory,” said Huang. “I’m surprised that someone would go to the trouble of making those posters.” The other GUSA candidates could not be reached for comment.

“This kind of thing makes the Election Commission extremely disturbed,” said Simonetti. “If we find out who did it, and that they are candidates, we’ll bring them up for automatic disqualification. If it’s not a candidate, we’ll try to get them adjudicated.” Simonetti said “a number of candidates have expressed concern that this kind of thing might happen to them.”

Casey Anderson (HOYA Staff Writer)

INFORMATION The Hoya is published once a week during

with the exception of holiday and exam periods.

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 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.

Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com

Circulation: 3,000

By learning and doing, we can each find our own answer to the challenging question: What does it really mean to be a ‘person for others’?

Professor Adam Rothman “Pursue Justice at Georgetown” thehoya.com

In his piece this week, Max Derogatis (MSB ‘27) encourages students to truly embrace Georgetown’s Jesuit identity and values by engaging in acts of charity. Whether it be through Georgetown student-run organizations, university-sponsored programs, or external opportunities, Derogatis urges students to pursue some form of service.

The Hoya conducted a poll in order to gauge students’ intentions of engaging with community service while on campus this academic year (2024-2025). Out of the 52 respondents, 55.8% said they are planning to engage with community service initiatives, while 17.3% said they were not. 26.9% of students reported that they were unsure of their plans to engage with community service.

Founded January 14, 1920

Evie Steele, Editor in Chief

Jasmine Criqui, Executive Editor

Caroline Brown, Managing Editor

Maren Fagan, News Editor

Aamir Jamil, News Editor

Paulina Inglima, Features Editor

Erin Saunders, Features Editor

Peter Sloniewsky, Opinion Editor

Elizabethe Bogrette, Guide Editor

Amber Cherry, Guide Editor

Sophia Lu, Sports Editor

Allen Tovmasyan, Sports Editor

Sahana Arumani, Science Editor

Camille Vandeveer, Science Editor

Rohini Kudva, Design Editor

Heather Wang, Design Editor

Patrick Clapsaddle, Copy Chief

Madeline Grabow, Copy Chief

Emily Blackstone, Social Media Editor

Toni Marz, Social Media Editor

Alan Chen, Blog Editor

Nikhil Nelson, Blog Editor

Alexis Lien, Multimedia Editor

Hayley Young, Multimedia Editor

Haan Jun (Ryan) Lee, Photo Editor

Board of Directors

Mary Clare Marshall, Chair

Andre Albrecht, Emily Han, Cate Meyer, Oliver Ni,

Shiva Ranganathan, William Yu

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Aria Zhu

Seek GUSA Transparency

One million, two hundred seventy-four thousand, seven hundred and sixty-five dollars is quite a heap of money.

What costs that much? The minimum starting salary of an NBA player? No, but it’s close: That number is $1,160,000. Is it how much Ariana Grande paid her ex-husband in their divorce? No, but we’re getting closer yet — Grande lost $1,250,000 in that expensive courtroom affair.

$1,274,765.00 was the total value of the Georgetown Student Activities Fund (SAF) last year.

This is quite a heap of money. Most notably, it’s money controlled and appropriated entirely by elected Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) senators. Specifically, it is controlled by the GUSA senators sitting on the Senate Financial Appropriations Committee, called FinApp for short. Every spring, 11 club advisory boards, such as the Student Activity Council, Performing Arts Advisory Council (PAAC), Georgetown Program Board and Lecture Fund, submit budget requests to GUSA’s FinApp Committee. Students on these boards prepare and submit these requests, with each club projecting their spending needs for the next academic year. Last year, the combined sum of those budget requests was $1,495,957, approximately $221,000 more than the amount available in the SAF. From that number, GUSA’s FinApp committee has to trim the fat somewhere.

During the process, individual senators are designated as “liaisons” to individual club advisory boards. Each one is responsible for evaluating their assigned board’s request and use of last year’s budget. They then must prepare an initial individual report and make a recommendation to the whole FinApp about whether that board’s request should be approved or cut. The senators committed to that process should be commended for their hard work and dedication, but their decision-making can be frustratingly opaque. Unless one were to attend each GUSA FinApp meeting or measure senators’ attendance, there are few ways to measure their individual commitment to the appropriations process. I see one publicly available set of resources which can: the public budget reports that they write and publish. Two such reports included in the set, the “Student Activities Fee Initial Budget Report” and the “Student Activities Fee Final Budget Report,” are released during the process. These reports are GUSA’s chance to showcase themselves to the student body and to provide their rationale for the difficult financial decisions they are structurally forced

to make. It’s a critical opportunity for the institution to demonstrate the unique value-add it brings to student life, ideally that of an impartial appropriator fighting for and accountable to only the broader interest of the student body.

A quick glance at either of these reports reveals a stark imbalance.

In his initial assessment of the Media Board’s budget, which he recommended cutting by almost 18% when compared to the previous year, Senator George LeMieux (CAS ’25) prepared an impressive and commendable 1000-word, four-page report. LeMieux’s work was clearly the result of intense consideration, with a four-part narrative and photo evidence to justify his proposed budget cuts.

Georgetown’s student body would benefit if all senators expended such a level of effort in justifying every GUSA funding decision. This is sadly not the case. In explaining final and initial decisions to allocate $91,000 to PAAC, $9,000 to Transfer Council and $8,000 to Outdoor Education, for example, senators wrote only one or two paragraphs in each case, with each report less than 200 words. Multiple final reports were even under 100 words. The issue here is not with individual senators’ commitment to FinApp, but rather GUSA’s lack of accountability and explicit standards for its elected members.

GUSA has long advocated for increased transparency in the FinApp process, passing a “Budget Guide” at the end of last semester, setting explicit standards for how advisory boards formulate their budget plans. Some senators, such as Tina Solki (MSB, SFS ’26) have even called for additional oversight beyond the budget guides, which would allow GUSA “some way to actually enforce them.”

While this zest for accountability and fairness should be commended, GUSA would do well to turn a similar watchful eye on itself. It is far from unreasonable to expect more from senators in their written, published, public-facing justification of their budget decisions and far from unreasonable to expect more from the institution in compelling them to do so. FinApp is a critical, undeniable facet of our campus life.

Holding everyone involved to more account is the farthest possible thing from a bad idea.

One million, two hundred seventy-four thousand, seven hundred and sixty-five dollars is quite a heap of money. Senators could at least write one page when deciding where to spend it.

Saahil Rao is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

Build Jesuit Values Through Community Service

When St. Ignatius of Loyola and six of his companions founded the Society of Jesus in 1534 in Paris, France, they committed the rest of their lives to serving God through servitude for those marginalized by society. The members of the Society, more commonly known as the Jesuits, were sent around the world to spread the Christian faith, adopting the motto, “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem,” or, “for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humanity.”

Today, the Jesuits are arguably best known for the hundreds of educational institutions they established along the way, including Georgetown University. Across campus buildings and decorations, you can find that motto abbreviated as “AMDG.” You can also find it honored in the actions of Georgetown students. Following in the Jesuit tradition, these students have built their own traditions of service, using each person’s talents for the greater good.

In today’s hyperindividualistic society, there is a peculiar sentiment that our only responsibility is to our own gratification. That is a most despicable notion that says we have no obligation toward the welfare of our neighbors. Quite the opposite is true. We achieve a higher manner of living when we begin to fully recognize the dignity of the human person and strive to protect it out of a

Stop Grading Our Personal Lives

When I opened the first essay assignment for my ethics class last week, I felt as if I had been subjected to a vague personal attack. There were several prompts, all of which required the student to divulge personal information about a past failure, moral compromise or some hardship they had overcome and reflect on these situations using an ethical framework. A prompt that particularly amused me was the following:

“Why do you think humans suffer? How do you overcome suffering in your life?” My gut reaction to that question brought back some unsavory memories. Then, I thought about the question more deeply and started to consider more abstract concepts, thinking about ideas from religions like Buddhism and historical reasoning to answer the first part. However, I struggled to answer the second. It wasn’t like I was incapable of writing or thinking about the question, but more so that I didn’t feel like sharing my personal experiences and handing it in for a grade.

Students’ personal experiences should remain just that: personal. Not everyone necessarily has a dramatic or compelling backstory to tell to warrant a very exciting response for these types of questions professors ask. If a student has that dramatic or compelling backstory, the same problem arises. It is impossible for some students to learn in a healthy fashion while being forced to dig into what could be past traumas or unfavorable memories, and impossible for others to write about their personal experiences in a compelling way when “competing” with other personal stories that may

be of more interest to a professor. It can be argued that a degree of suffering and reflection is required to build the “whole person.” There is of course the idea that humans must work hard and suffer to be successful; artists must be starving to produce genius; everyone has to be broken down in order to come back bigger and better.

However, I think this idea of suffering and hardship to build character need not be found in the college classroom, much less the prompts of reliving and retelling difficult memories. The college classroom should be a foundational, healthy stepping stone for students to unlock their full intellectual freedom. There are other outlets — clubs, personal hobbies and more — that are better suited to these deep and emotional forms of expression and questioning, even more so because they are not done for a grade; they are not directly tied to academic credits and thousands of dollars in tuition. Professors should create a distinction between any student’s academic obligations and their personal history. Students should not have to reveal elements of their personal lives in order to succeed in abstract humanities courses.

I think this problem is best represented by how a great deal of Georgetown students got here in the first place. In college applications, if a student wants the best chance at admission to a prestigious institution, they must write fully and openly about their identity and past history. This can include digging up the deepest components of personal life and traumas. I see this component as a necessary evil –– a college must know who they accept.

However, I argue that a class does not need to have this same component. We’re already at this college and already have surrendered so much of our histories. There’s not a clear need for more of that.

The humanities ask us to question the nature of existence, of beauty, of relationships. I encourage professors to ask us those difficult questions in class to prompt our thought processes and open discussion, but not when assigning our essays, midterms and finals. Those papers should be material in nature and context-based, asking us to primarily derive content from readings or source materials, not our personal lives.

This type of introspection ––thinking about the why and how we are here, what we do, what we should do –– has to be coaxed out of students, not forced out for a paper or project. After taking these courses and being introduced to more complex, impersonal situations, engaged students will start to consider their own lives rather than being bluntly asked to spell out their experience on paper.

Let things happen when they happen. Prompting students to start thinking about these questions can be helpful, but don’t force them to scramble up all their past memories and experiences in the last 18 to 20 years or so and dilute it down to writing a simple essay, then grading it.

Getting back to those ethical questions, how do you overcome suffering in your life?

Maybe the better question is: “Why should I have to relive it just to get an A?”

Christina Pan is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

selfless love for that person.

A degree from Georgetown University carries a certain prestige, but the education that the degree certifies is incomplete if the holder has only learned how to perform well in corporate positions. The Jesuit approach to education, summed up in the phrase “cura personalis” or “care for the whole person,” means a student should be comprehensively educated as a person rather than an employee.

This holistic education must include the virtue of charity. It is charity that destroys hate. It is charity that unites every person with every other person. It is charity that bridges every social division and erodes every inequality. Perhaps what society suffers most from is a lack of charity.

But for all of the ways that charity is great, inevitability is not one of them. Charitable deeds require some inspiration and a choice from the individual. Having gone to a Jesuit high school, those aforementioned Jesuit mottos have rung in my ears for as long as I can remember. I drove past a “men for others” sign every day on my drive to school, and every one of my team jerseys had “AMDG” written across the back. For as selfish as I was as a young teenager, encountering the Jesuit tradition of service in classes and on immersion trips helped me to look outside of myself and try to fulfill my duty

to those in need. When I got to Georgetown, I no longer had the same requirements for service. I could have completely ignored all of the earlier lessons and focused entirely on myself. Thankfully, I found a community that encouraged me to continue thinking about the world’s inequalities in the Knights of Columbus. The joy with which some of my fellow knights approached early Friday morning soup kitchens, refugee aid and other service events has further inspired me to engage my fellow people outside of my little bubble.

There are groups for everyone on campus that can support their charitable ambitions. Because of the incredible work of generations of Georgetown students and faculty, there are a host of opportunities for students who wish to encounter and serve those in need in society. There are dozens of on-campus student-run organizations that have significant public service components, such as Alpha Phi Omega, Right to Life, Best Buddies and many more.

Georgetown University also provides its own set of service opportunities for students and faculty. These opportunities include multiple immersion trips and tutoring with D.C. Reads, a mentoring and advocacy program for elementary school students in Washington, D.C. There are even some classes which include

public service opportunities.

The Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ) is a Georgetown University organization which provides great opportunities for students to participate in social justice advocacy, volunteer in underprivileged communities and participate in group dialogues on race, especially in relation to Georgetown University’s role in slavery in the United States. The ways to serve are not limited to the Hilltop. There are hundreds of volunteer opportunities in the D.C. area alone. While there are undoubtedly a great number of inequalities in the world, we all can make a difference by directing our skills toward the common good. As Pope Francis, a Jesuit, said, “There is so much indifference in the face of suffering. May we overcome indifference with concrete acts of charity.” Social progress is never born out of complacency but out of action from brave people who are willing to engage the ugly in the world with loving charity. Georgetown has a lot to offer its students in the classroom, but the Jesuit education the university owes to every student is never completed until it inspires charity.

Max Derogatis is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business.

Foster Tolerance Through Dialogue

At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, Georgetown University informed its community that two acts of anti-Catholic violence had taken place on campus the night before. Both a crucifix — which the Catholic community uses for mass in Dahlgren Chapel — and a statue of Mary standing by the Heyden Observatory gardens were found desecrated. One week later, the university has not made public any further information regarding who is responsible.

Like many members of the Georgetown Catholic community, my initial reaction was one of disgust and distrust. According to CatholicVote, a Catholic non-profit advocacy group, there have been 449 attacks on Catholic churches in the United States since May 2020. Just this year alone, some 55 churches have been attacked. In just the Washington, D.C. area, 11 churches have been targets of anti-Catholic violence. Most of these local acts include the disfiguring of religious statuaries. Moreover, vandals have sprayed over Church property with hateful graffiti — ranging from Nazi and Satanic imagery to attacks on the Church’s antiabortion advocacy.

The Catholic community isn’t the only faith community in the United States to see an uptick in anti-religious violence, with much of it stemming from global conflicts such as the Israel-Hamas war. According to the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that tracks

antisemitism in the United States, 2023 saw the highest number of antisemitic violence since the League started recording data in the 1970s. Similarly, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations, discrimination against Muslim Americans saw an 182% jump in the 16 days after the war began Oct. 7. Physical attacks on members of faith communities and their religious spaces have become more common.

Talk to members of any religious community at Georgetown, and you will discover an increased culture of fear on this campus. Many feel like they can’t express their identity as people of faith due to social pressure. Furthermore, many feel simply misunderstood by those who do not practice the same faith tradition. Sometimes it’s awkward or difficult for a friend to explain why they might be attending a religious service or why they might hold traditional faith-based political views — I’ve certainly had that experience. The faithful quickly fear that they might be labeled as an “other” when they just want to be part of the group. At Georgetown, we are a community in diversity, a phrase coined by Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus. Friends can and should civilly disagree on the issues that ignite our generation. I see no reason why Hoyas can’t.

For Georgetown to move forward, we as a school must truly build a culture of interreligious

dialogue that transcends the classroom. Together, we can break down the cultural stigma around faith. I ask the community to examine the religious traditions of the world, whether it be attending a service, meditation or spiritual discussion — Campus Ministry, for example, offers dozens of events weekly for dialogue, prayer and forging community with others both within and outside your own faith. If you are a person of faith, educate yourself on your own faith tradition as well. I call on people of all traditions to listen. Listen to people’s experiences. Listen to people’s viewpoints. Listen to people’s stories. We will all be better for it. I trust we can all agree that anti-religious violence has no home on this campus. Vandalism has no home on this campus. Hate has no home on this campus. This is our home. Some of the best people I know live, study and work here. Our home is built on the foundations of love for one another and the pursuit of good. I ask readers to not despair in these acts of hate but to seek the good and true. As Pope Francis said, “Situations can change; people can change. Be the first to seek to bring good. Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it.” Learn, listen and live for others, because only then can we defeat evil with the pursuit of the good.

Teddy Tibbs is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

ARIANA TAFTI/THE HOYA

The ‘NSShow’ Must Go On

As a new group of first-years and transfer students begins to navigate campus, how well does Georgetown University’s annual New Student Orientation help them find their way?

Erin Saunders, Paulina Inglima and Joseph Barboriak Senior Features Editors and Special to The Hoya

The first Friday night that Georgetown University firstyears and transfer students experience on campus is spent in the August heat under the floodlights of Cooper Field as New Student Orientation (NSO) kicks off in an opening ceremony.

Over its five days of programming, NSO launches approximately 1,600 new first-years and 99 new transfers into events, icebreakers, campus tours and panel lunches, all designed to promote community and introduce students to the school. Four student coordinators and 21 orientation captains lead a team of 130 orientation advisors (OAs) who serve as guides for new students as they begin to navigate life at Georgetown.

Each OA leads a group of around 15 students, each residents of the same hall, which serves as an early community for new Hoyas.

For Simone Guité (CAS ’26), NSO was an opportunity to form a lasting friend group — both through NSO programming and through a walk to the National Mall with members of her orientation group.

“We got kind of lost, but it’s okay, because it gave us more time to talk and get to know each other. And then we, a lot of us, have been friends ever since,” Guité told The Hoya. “It’s a really fun story now to tell about how we all met.”

Nivriti Chaudhuri (MSB ’28) said she was able to cultivate budding friendships through events during this year’s NSO.

“That built a sort of community, especially because I didn’t know very many people within my dorm; it’s just the people you see in the elevator,” Chaudhuri told The Hoya. “I met some of my best friends from my dorm, and they’re so amazing.”

Sara Lin (CAS ’28) said while NSO provided an environment that eased her into making new friends, she found the expectation to stay within set groups stifled opportunities to get to know other new students before classes began Aug. 28.

“I enjoyed spending a lot of time with the group that I was assigned and meeting this smaller group of people,” Lin told The Hoya. “But I think that if NSO was designed in a way where you were able to have more close interactions with people outside of your group, it would have been more interesting.”

Designing NSO 2024

Each year’s NSO is the prod-

uct of eight months of work from four coordinators, who spend the summer months working 20 hours a week to ensure NSO programming can proceed smoothly — and incorporate lessons from their own NSO experiences into the agendas of the five days they spend at least 40 hours running.

James Dolan (CAS ’25), who served as one of the NSO coordinators for this year’s NSO, said this year’s coordinators aimed to promote open communication,

conflict resolution and mentorship for event participants.

“The four coordinators and our boss spent a lot of time discussing the intentionality behind a lot of the words that we used on our slides, and how exactly do we communicate ideas of mentorship, how to facilitate dialogue, how to de-escalate a situation if something happens and being able to communicate those those ideas and those skills to a large and diverse group,” Dolan told The Hoya Working under the coordinators are captains, who serve as the main point of contact for OAs, and

“The leaders, the captains and the coordinators are someofthemostenergized people on this campus.”

FELIX DOSMOND (CAS ’27) GEORGETOWN STUDENT

the advisors themselves, who work hands-on with new students, leading them through exhaustive programming — and, under this year’s theme, “NSShow,” symbolically giving new students the chance to grow their voices on campus.

Felix Dosmond (CAS ’27), an OA this semester, said the students who make up NSO leadership bring a positive spirit to campus.

“The leaders, the captains and the coordinators are some of the most energized people on campus; there’s a constant song and dance, literally and metaphorically,” Dosmond told The Hoya. “I think that then translates to the whole opening ceremony and first activities with people.”

Dylan Shapiro (CAS ’26), who served as an OA during the 2023 NSO and as a captain this year, said OAs’ goal is to ensure new students feel comfortable with Georgetown’s campus and empowered to seek new friendships.

“Your goal as an OA is to make your new students comfortable enough in a new environment that they go out and form new connections,” Shapiro wrote to The Hoya “There is no version of your first week at college that is a totally chill and relaxing experience, 100% of the time — it’s stressful, because it’s new and that’s okay!”

“The job of an OA is to guide you through that anxiety and make sure you know that whatever stresses and fears you may be experiencing right now, you will figure them out and you can find your people at Georgetown,” Shapiro added. For this year’s orientation leaders, a main focus was ensuring students were able to handle the logistics of life at Georgetown; to do so, the coordinators decided to convert the usual “Hoya Life 101” video presen-

tation about logistics of meal plans, laundry and printing into an OA-led panel event allowing students to better dialogue with OAs, according to OA Jon Plummer (SFS ’27).

“I had one person who asked about how to access Woodstock theological library. I did not know about that during student orientation, but I was able to talk to someone and get them in contact with one of the librarians, and they really enjoyed that. So connections and community for sure, I think are the most important things,” Plummer said.

Plummer said the coordinators were also more flexible this year with NSO attendance, allowing students more free time to interact or rest.

“There is definitely more of an emphasis on viewing attendance as more casual and requiring more participation,” Plummer said. “There were some events that were more mandatory than others, and they went in with the expectation, knowing that not everyone’s going to show up to these events and that’s okay.”

Dosmond said this new tactic was successful for his new students.

“I was able to get good engagement out of them because I was realistic and like that, they’re not going to be coming to activities that, you know, they’re like at the end of a long day,” Dosmond said. “I think it was just realistic that those are a ‘choose your own path’ sort of thing.”

NSO’s Impact on Upperclassmen Experiences

NSO serves both as an introduction to Georgetown’s social environment, but also to its academic environment through panel events like the Marino Family International Writers’ Academic Workshop, in which students discuss a novel from an international author, or academic meetings with deans or peer advisors.

But Guite said the most abiding memories she has of NSO involve friendships — including those formed not through planned events, but through coincidence.

“I met my roommate during NSO, my current roommate, because we just happened to be next to each other in line to go into Lohrfink Auditorium to listen to a presentation about safety,” Guite said. “We just happened to be standing next to each other in line and introduced ourselves to each other, and then we sat next to each other for the whole presentation and we exchanged numbers. And years later, we’re now roommates.”

Doga Bozkurt (SFS ’26) said NSO provided a baseline from which she could explore Washington, D.C. and make new friends independently.

“The groups that we were divided into, where we went and did activities, was a great starting point, but more so, it was through the process of just organic, just existing in the same space that really allowed me to make friends during my first week,” Bozkurt told The Hoya

Ciara Desai (CAS ’28) said the friends she made through her OA group gave her friendly faces to recognize on a new campus.

“It kind of gave it a little group of people to talk to, because now I can see people around, and I actually know their names and know who they are,” Desai told The Hoya Lin did not feel as reliant on NSO to make new friends because she is a student-athlete.

“I think it was a little bit different, just because when I arrived at school, knowing that I was going to partake in a sport made it easier for me to become comfortable,” Lin said. “I knew that I already knew people, and I already knew that I had a group of people to be with if I needed to.”

Still, according to Lin, NSO was important in that it encouraged her to meet other students who were not athletes.

“I also think it’s important for people who are student-athletes to reach out to people that play other sports or don’t play any sports at all, so you meet a broader group of people and make more friends outside of your sport,” Lin said. “I definitely appreciated that aspect.”

But beyond forming friendships, some students described NSO as exhausting — especially as they attempted to adjust on their own to the demands of college life.

Lin said the long days of NSO programming were a little daunting and she did not feel incentivized to attend all the events.

“I think that I would have preferred the days were shorter, but I didn’t really have a problem with the number of days,” Lin said. “But I think the whole thing, like breakfast to dinner and then optional, post-dinner events taking up the entire day was not the most attractive thing.”

An Suzuki (MSB ’27) said she found NSO did not have enough time for students to interact.

“A lot of my memories of NSO are just info sessions, and I think it could have leaned a little bit more towards making new friends,” Suzuki said.

Bozkurt said NSO’s rapid pace ensured she was able to better adapt

to living in the United States for the first time after growing up in Turkey.

“For me, it was very busy, but it was also good because it kept your mind out of the pains that you might be feeling as a part of moving to somewhere new,” Bozkurt said. “So it was just distracting in the best sense.”

Dosmond said he felt a lack of freedom during NSO in his first year — inspiring him to improve the experience for first-years as an OA.

“I wanted to come to college and not go through planned programming,” Dosmond said. “Originally, I wasn’t super keen on the program, and that’s kind of what motivated me to become an orientation adviser myself.”

For Hannah Block (SFS ’27), another OA this semester, it was skipping NSO events as a first-year that pushed her to become a leader for new students this year.

“I felt like my first semester at college was really lacking because I just was unaware about how the community worked,” Block told The Hoya. “I didn’t know how to print stuff until the end of the year, and that’s because I didn’t want to go to NSO. I thought, as an OA, if I can make NSO more engaging and fun, then hopefully I can make other people’s first semester better than mine was.”

The Transfer Student NSO

Experience

Amidst the hubbub of new students experiencing college for the first time, transfer students also participated in the same programming as new first-years — a second, or even third, orientation.

Owen Simon (CAS ’26) transferred to Georgetown in Fall 2023 and said he wished NSO had offered a more tailored program for transfer students.

“I don’t think there was a lot of effort in the first few NSO days to make the transfers do separate things than freshmen,” Simon told The Hoya

Simon said orientation at his former university was a better opportu-

nity to bond with other new students.

“I think my first orientation experience probably focused a little bit more on building community within my little group,” Simon said. “I felt like here we attended all these events together, but there wasn’t that much time to get to know the people within your own group.”

Another transfer student, Ella Levine (MSB ’26), said she felt some of the events were repetitive for her during her NSO in Fall 2023.

“We’re already students who have gone through college,” Levine told The Hoya. “We know how alcohol works and we know what it takes to be successful in college for the most part.” Levine said she hopes transfers’ NSO programming can become more distinct from firstyears’ in the future.

Alessia Turner (CAS ’27), a new student who transferred to Georgetown this semester, said she had a positive experience with NSO, though it was less personal than the orientation at her previous university.

“We did a lot more off-campus events and exploring the campus. We went to our garden and planted things,” Turner told The Hoya. “But we did, with Georgetown NSO, have one off-campus event where we went to the Air and Space Museum.”

NSO Coordinators have a tough job — helping a large and diverse group of students from all over the world discover and learn about the place they will call home for the next few years. While every student takes away something different from NSO, their OA groups and advisors help them to find their initial sense of belonging on the Hilltop. For orientation staffers, NSO provides a note of pride as new students find their feet on a once-confusing campus.

“Every year is filled with new students, terrified that they will be disasters, or that they won’t figure it out, or that they’re a mess — and every year they’re wrong,” Shapiro wrote.

COURTESY OF CLAYTON KINCADE

Orientation Advisors (OAs) and captains serve as early leaders for new students from the moment they first arrive on Georgetown University’s campus.

World Health Organization Declares Mpox a Global Health Emergency

Isabel Liu Deputy Science Editor

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern Aug. 14 following the rapid spread of a new virus strain known as clade 1 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries.

The WHO’s declaration has advanced the global response to mpox by authorizing technical support, funding and access to vaccines and therapies to the affected population.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is primarily spread through close contact with an affected person, such as direct physical contact with the infectious lesion or rash. Symptoms of mpox include fever, sore throat, headache and swollen lymph glands that appear three to 17 days after infection, as well as a skin lesion or rash several days into the illness. In April 2024, the first mpox vaccine was made commercially available for those at higher risk of infection, with recent travel to affected countries or recent contact with individuals diagnosed with mpox.

Dr. Jesse Goodman, professor

of medicine and attending physician at an Georgetown University Medical Center, said that although cases of mpox exist in the United States, they are from clade 2 mpox, a different strain than the one driving the current outbreak.

“In 2024 through August there were approximately 89 cases in DC, Maryland, and Virginia,” Goodman wrote to The Hoya. “These are clade 2, which is, as noted, possibly less severe than clade 1 predominantly circulating in Africa, although some of the difference could be attributable to access to good supportive medical care.”

To date, there have been no reported clade 1 mpox cases in the United States. In 2022, three Georgetown community members were diagnosed with clade 2 mpox, all of whom the university effectively isolated and aided through their recovery, according to a university spokesperson on behalf of the Office of Public Health.

“Each of the three Georgetown community members with confirmed cases of mpox in 2022 followed isolation recommendations and were supported through their isolation period,

and each individual recovered,” the university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya The Office of Public Health worked closely with the Student Health Center, the Division of Infectious Diseases at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and the D.C. Department of Health to support the community members involved. Thus, if a new strain of mpox is detected in the United States, the university would be able to conduct specific testing for a diagnosis, according to the Office of Public Health.

Dr. Seble Kassaye, acting medical advisor at Georgetown, said increased understanding of infectious diseases has led to advancements in monitoring, treating and mitigating the spread of mpox.

“Dynamic public health systems allow for effective surveillance to identify new and rising case counts, effective communication platforms allow for rapid dissemination to reach front line providers and medical and scientific advances allow for appropriate responses to contain and mitigate disease,” Kassaye wrote to The Hoya Kassaye believes the COVID-19

pandemic can inform an effective public health response to mpox.

Despite having distinct modes of transmission, with the virus being airborne and mpox being spread through direct contact, similar disease treatment and prevention techniques can be applied.

“Lessons that are transferable to the mpox outbreaks include recognition of the importance of maintaining robust public health infrastructure, including surveillance and data systems, laboratory and diagnostic capacity, medical manufacturing

Healy, Copley Lawns Sustainability Project Underway

Allie Stevens Deputy Science Editor

Georgetown University began a three-year construction project on Healy and Copley Lawns in June 2024 that will repair aging utilities and replace existing infrastructure with more environmentally-conscious alternatives.

The project will attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and costs and avoid flooding after heavy rain, while increasing longevity of underground equipment, according to a statement Planning and Facilities Management released on June 10.

The construction will continue until spring 2027, with the project being split between five phases, beginning with construction near Healy Lawn by the university’s front gates. In November, the second phase will begin around Copley Lawn, with sidewalks in front of White-Gravenor Hall, between Healy and Copley Halls and along Old North Way closing to vehicles. Georgetown has not yet made information on the final three phases of the project public.

According to a university spokesperson on behalf of the Facilities Management and Sustainability Team, a major component of the project is to modernize the heating and cooling systems of the university.

“Georgetown currently relies on a complex underground distribution network to supply the buildings on the Hilltop with heating, cooling, power, and water,” the university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “The Central Plant uses gas and electricity to produce high-pressure steam and

Cell

chilled water across campus. The new system will convert existing steam equipment to a hot water network.”

A hot water heating system is more energy efficient and sustainable than steam because hot water is able to stay warmer for longer, meaning the system requires less energy input to produce the same amount of heat.

Peter Marra, Dean of the Earth Commons Institute for the Environment and Sustainability and a professor in the biology department, said sustainability efforts like Georgetown’s are becoming more commonplace.

“It’s critical for all organizations to prioritize sustainability. We’re seeing more and more on our campus and elsewhere around D.C., the country and internationally,” Marra wrote to The Hoya. “There is still so much more to do.”

However, Natalie Price-Fudge (CAS ’26) said she believes Georgetown has not communicated enough about the utilities project — a situation she said she finds frustrating, particularly due to the length of the project.

“I think it is great that Georgetown is doing this in the name of sustainability, but I think it’s hard to keep that conversation going when we aren’t given much information as to what’s going on,”

Price-Fudge told The Hoya

In addition to feeling uninformed about the project, PriceFudge said the project is disrupting the accessibility of open space on Georgetown’s campus.

“The front lawn is a major hub of student life and activities,”

Price-Fudge said. “With the al-

ready minimal green space on campus, it’s frustrating when that is limited even further.”

The university’s project website provides students with a map of campus, highlighting alternative green spaces.

Additionally, the university is attempting to reduce student disruption throughout this construction process by splitting the project into five phases, which limits the quantity of construction happening at one time. Furthermore, the university is restricting construction hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in an effort to minimize the noise while students are in their residential halls.

Margot Gordon (SOH ’26) said she believes the university’s sustainability efforts are beneficial de-

spite the disruption to student life.

“I think it’s really important for the university to be doing what they can in the name of sustainability,” Gordon told The Hoya. “Projects like these may be annoying at times, but we have to keep in mind it is for our collective well-being.”

Marra said that this project should be considered another milestone in Georgetown’s journey to become a more sustainable campus.

“This is a continuation of Georgetown’s approach and prioritization to reduce our overall carbon footprint. There’s more to come,” Marra wrote. “We can all do more individually and as an institution.”

Biology Talk Spotlights Novel Phase Separation

Sahana Arumani Senior Science Editor

Thom Leiding, CEO and founder of Labbot, a biotechnology company, conducted a workshop on liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a phenomenon thought to be the driving force for a myriad of diseases, at an Aug. 29 Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) event titled “Continuous Tracking of Phase Separation and Aggregation.” LLPS refers to when a homogenous mixture spontaneously forms distinct layers, much like when oil separates from water. Scientists believe LLPS could be occurring at a microscopic level within cells, making the cell much more dynamic than previously thought.

Cells contain organelles, which are self-contained units that help the cell carry out its functions. However, some proteins in the cell form small droplets, or condensates, which may also help the cell perform certain functions outside of the organelle. These temporary structures are thought to be the result of LLPS in action.

“We have all kinds of intermittent structures coming and going and doing their thing, and it’s like a zillion of them, and they are only

there while they do their process,” Leiding said at the event.

The proteins that may drive condensate formation contain structural gray areas that researchers cannot easily identify using standard techniques, deemed intrinsically disordered regions. LLPS, a relatively new concept in cell biology, may hold the key to understanding the nuances of how proteins interact, according to event attendee Dr. Jeffrey Toretsky, chief of the division of pediatric hematology and oncology and director of the molecular oncology program at GUMC.

“As we try to understand how cells send signals within themselves, how they communicate with each other, we need to know how proteins interact with each other,” Toretsky told The Hoya. “And understanding liquid-liquid phase separation is now clearly identified as a critical method, a critical physiological phenomenon for how proteins interact.”

Toretsky has been studying LLPS in relation to its role in a type of childhood cancer called Ewing sarcoma for over two decades. Toretsky’s research team found that the main cancer-causing protein also has disordered regions, leading them to suspect that LLPS was playing a

role in cancer progression.

“Understanding how the disordered protein interacts led us to liquid-liquid phase separation,” Toretsky said. “And that term and that concept really evolved over a ten-year period of time, again, as people were trying to understand how proteins interact. And in our case, we wanted to basically create a drug which would block those kinds of interactions.”

Apart from cancer, Leiding noted that LLPS may also contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the role of LLPS is still being investigated, it is known that abnormal protein interactions cause many diseases.

“It turns out that a lot of diseases are caused by proteins either interacting too much or not interacting enough, and sometimes the proteins even go on to change from a very flexible state to a very rigid state,” Toretsky said.

The question of how LLPS is involved in aging-related diseases like Alzheimer’s is the focus of Priyanka Joshi’s new research lab at GUMC. Joshi, an assistant professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology at GUMC and the event’s coordinator, explained

that LLPS could be facilitating harmful protein interactions.

“LLPS may contribute to this process by creating sub-cellular environments where proteins are more likely to adopt aberrant conformations,” Joshi wrote to The Hoya

This makes understanding the role of LLPS in cell functions especially relevant to those trying to develop therapeutic drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, according to Joshi.

“The precise understanding of these mechanisms is not just beneficial, but absolutely crucial for developing targeted, effective therapeutics that can truly make a difference in patients’ lives, potentially halting or even reversing the progression of these devastating diseases,” Joshi wrote.

Despite the promise LLPS research holds, Toretsky said it is important to be aware that there is still much that is unknown about this phenomenon.

“I think that the whole field of liquid-liquid phase separation as a way of understanding biology is at its absolute infancy,” Toretsky said. “And it’s one of those areas that I think is going to be defining in terms of how we understand physiology, biology, and how we seek ways, namely, either drugs or other things, to alter it as a way to improve human health.”

capacity to rapidly pump up production of needed pharmaceutical agents, medical and laboratory supplies and early, transparent and effective communication both within the public health and medical community, as well as with the general public,” Kassaye wrote.

Despite the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodman emphasizes that challenges still remain for the global treatment and prevention of mpox due to civil unrest, health inequities and medical stigma within countries.

“For many nations or populations, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, other issues are more pressing, whether civil war or unrest, or outbreaks of other preventable diseases such as measles,” Goodman wrote. “In addition, stigma of the disease is likely very important in inhibiting, identifying and preventing cases. Further, lack of public health leadership and infrastructure, and of resources for delivering interventions like vaccines have been a major problem.”

New Sustainability Program Will Promote

Eco-Friendly Initiatives in Dormitories

Devansh Gandhi Deputy Science Editor

The Office of Sustainability’s EcoReps program, through which students help inform the Georgetown University community about sustainability practices, has begun collaborating with Residential Living to introduce an in-hall sustainability advocate to each residential hall council.

These representatives, who will be jointly chosen by the Residential Living and Office of Sustainability teams, hope to develop programming to improve sustainability in dormitories and introduce educational programs to make students aware of strategies for tackling sustainability problems.

Aidan Metz (MSB ’26), a current resident assistant at New South Hall, said he has noticed his dorm faces major sustainability issues, including excessive energy consumption.

“I think maybe lights in the hallways could be motion-activated,” Metz wrote to The Hoya. “Currently, they are on 24/7. Having them only be on when is needed would help with energy usage and make it easier to sleep if you’re sensitive to the light that seeps through the door.”

Georgetown was founded in 1789, making it the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the United States.

Metz said this might make it difficult to implement changes to residence halls’ infrastructure without funding intensive renovations.

“I think it’s likely very difficult to make large sustainability changes in residence halls. I look at the lawn and the scale of that work and see that it may require a real gutting of the halls to be more sustainable,” Metz wrote. “What I hope is that as they build new ones they are built with sustainability in mind.”

Nevertheless, EcoReps and Residential Living think the inhall sustainability representatives can still make a difference. The hope is that the new role can make sustainability issues on campus more known throughout the Georgetown community.

“This new role will elevate discussions about sustainable living and support the development of sustainability programming in the residence halls,” a university spokesperson said in a statement to The Hoya In addition, this new role will encourage other students to actively participate in the university’s efforts

to improve sustainability, according to the university spokesperson.

“Along with other duties, the representatives will support the hall staff in the development of at least one sustainability-related event per semester,” the university spokesperson wrote. “These events will focus on educating fellow students about sustainability, encouraging adherence to sustainability best practices, or other creative activities that promote sustainability in everyday living.”

Other student-run environmental organizations are hopeful about the potential that this initiative holds. For example, Katherine Wijenaike-Bogle (CAS ’25), the former co-president of GREEN, an on-campus club that holds weekly meetings to educate students about environmental protection, thinks the new in-hall sustainability representatives can help contribute to their mission.

“I’m really excited for the in-hall sustainability representatives to provide insight on how students actually interact with sustainability systems,” Wijenaike-Bogle wrote to The Hoya. “I hope that they’ll serve as the missing link between sustainability initiatives, residential living and the residential community on campus.” Although Wijenaike-Bogle is hopeful about the impact that these in-hall representatives could have, she recognizes that students must take it upon themselves to improve sustainability at Georgetown. She said that she hopes the in-hall representatives will encourage students to become more aware of the contributions they can make towards a sustainable future.

“My hope is that through practicing daily habits of sustainability, students will begin to connect the dots of how individual action encourages community and global change,” Wijenaike-Bogle wrote.

Wijenaike-Bogle said the best way to encourage more sustainability on campus is to make environmental initiatives accessible and easy to implement. She pointed to the success of the Move-In Drive, which encouraged students to reuse items to save time and money, and hopes the in-hall representatives can help produce similar results.

“The sustainable choice should ideally be the path of least resistance, and I’m sure the in-hall representatives will help make this happen,” Wijenaike-Bogle wrote.

SAHANA ARUMANI/THE HOYA

A three-year project to replace existing underground utilities on Healy and Copley Lawns with modern, sustainable options will continue until spring 2027.

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA Under Georgetown University’s new EcoReps program, student sustainability representatives from each dormitory will work to promote green initiatives.

McCourt School to Open New Building On Georgetown’s Capitol Campus

The McCourt School of Public Policy will open a new building at 125 E St. between 1st and 2nd Streets, adjacent to Georgetown University Law Center, Sept. 12 with the goal of fostering stronger connections, collaboration and dialogue between faculty, students and policymakers.

The new building features an expansive Main Commons, a grand staircase spanning nine floors and views of the U.S. Capitol.

Compared to the original 25,000 square feet of space in Old North, the McCourt School’s former primary location, the new building covers more than 150,000 square feet, including 20 classrooms, a 400-seat auditorium and numerous team and conference rooms.

Abril Hunter (MPP ’25), the McCourt Student Association president, said the new common rooms, grand spaces and auditorium have significantly contributed to fostering community among students.

“I really like the common spaces that we have,” Hunter told The Hoya “We have a couple common areas where grad students can just relax and another on our fourth floor. Those are places where we can see a plethora of faces and you know that in passing you will see other students who are in the program.”

Maria Cancian, dean of the McCourt School, said the vision behind the new building and the various opportunities it offers is to create an environment where students can connect with like-minded peers, pursue internships and build meaningful professional relationships.

“The new building was designed to facilitate engagement among the internal McCourt community and create opportunities to convene part-

ners and neighbors,” Cancian wrote to The Hoya. “Our proximity to several other Georgetown schools and programs on the Capitol Campus, including the Georgetown University Law Center, the School of Continuing Studies, the Capitol Applied Learning Labs, interdisciplinary programs and initiatives at 500 First St., and new student housing at 55 H St., will provide unique learning opportunities for McCourt students, and help them build connections with other Hoyas.”

Adam Thomas, a teaching professor and faculty director for the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the McCourt School, said the building’s geographical location would benefit students as well.

“We’re right in the nerve center of the policymaking universe given our new location,” Thomas told The Hoya. “Being close to all these policymaking organizations can just be a source of inspiration, walking past them on their way to school, seeing what they’re all about.”

Cancian said the new building has already led to successes and created new opportunities, including hosting events that bring the campus organizations and external groups together.

“In just the first few months in our new building, the McCourt School hosted several large convenings for internal and external partners, including the nation’s largest bipartisan convening of young state legislators and orientation programming for all new students,” Cancian said. “We are actively hosting Decision Desk HQ, a leading U.S. decision-desk operation that will bring election literacy programming, experiential learning and internship opportunities to Georgetown’s Capitol Campus for the 2024

elections.”

Old North had only one conference room, no classrooms and fewer office spaces. Students, faculty and staff were spread out across campus, limiting opportunities for engagement and collaboration, according to Thomas and Hunter.

Thomas said the improvements of the new location have supported his ability to create community with students and faculty.

“I’ve chatted with more students in the past few days than I would have in a couple of weeks in our old building,” Thomas said. “I’ve seen faculty and staff colleagues that I haven’t seen for months. There will be a lot of opportunities for people to talk to each other and get to know each other in a way that they didn’t previously.”

Hunter said that the spaces have furthered the ability to connect with other students and increased attendance at events.

“We now have an auditorium where we can host these bigger events so students who are in our building for classes can pop in and out of events more easily given the larger space,” Hunter told The Hoya “They don’t have to necessarily go from Healy to Old North to Car Barn and make this roundabout method of finding a community and going to these events.”

Along with its geographical location, Hunter said that the new building will solidify McCourt’s reputation as a leading policy school.

“Hosting these events in our own building helps to further establish our name as a policy school,” Hunter said. “There is no better place to have policymaking students than in the heart of D.C., close to more policy making opportunities.”

CHECK OUT THE HOYA’S NEW STUDENT GUIDE

Welcome to the Hilltop! We’ve compiled a cheat sheet on the transition to Georgetown, written by people who are experts on making that transition themselves.

Whether you’re already well-researched or brand-new to the secrets of Georgetown, you might just find a new restaurant to eat at, a new museum to visit or a new tidbit of trivia for one of the countless icebreakers you’ll participate in during the next few weeks.

Patrick Clapsaddle and Kate Hwang Chief Copy Editor and Student Life Desk Editor

August 2024 saw crime reports on or around Georgetown University property more than double as compared to August 2023.

According to the Georgetown University Police Department’s (GUPD) public crime log, the department recorded 28 total crime reports during August, all but two of which were thefts or burglaries and including one July crime reported in August.

The 28 crimes marks a sharp increase from the same period in 2023, with 11 crimes occurring in August 2023; a similar year-over-year increase occurred in July, with July 2023 seeing 16 incidents and July 2024 32 incidents.

Jay Gruber, Georgetown’s associate vice president of public safety, said the university aims to increase campus security in affected locations and continues to remind students and community members of the importance of taking precautionary measures.

“We take these issues very seriously and have been increasing patrols in the impacted areas, coordinating with the Metropolitan Police Department and ramping up our efforts to remind members of the Georgetown community to lock doors and secure their valuables at all times,” Gruber wrote in a statement to The Hoya

Among the August burglaries was one Aug. 26 incident in McCarthy Hall, an upperclass residence hall, in which an individual reported that $100 was missing when they left their door unlocked between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Brad Derfner (CAS ’27), a McCarthy resident, said that he felt sympathy for the victim, knowing that many student dorm rooms are likely left unlocked.

“I think 95% of the rooms, or the dorms, on campus are probably unlocked at all times,” Derfner told The Hoya. “I feel bad for the individual who got their stuff stolen.”

Rishi Bharadwaj (CAS ’27), another resident of McCarthy Hall, said that knowing there was a burglary in his building disturbed him.

“As a resident of McCarthy, the events of Aug. 26 have kind of perturbed me a bit — that kind of scares me a bit,” Bharadwaj told The Hoya “We have a couple valuables, we’ve invested a lot of money in making our room look good, so if we found out that one of our things was missing, if we found out that our TV was missing, that would definitely send us into a state of shock.”

Two of the August incidents were unlawful entry incidents, both occurring Aug. 25; during the incidents, GUPD barred individuals from entering or remaining in Poulton Hall, an academic and office

building, and Darnall Hall, a firstyear residence hall, respectively. Derfner said that on a campus like Georgetown’s, unauthorized entry often requires only a single unlocked door, making it easy for an outsider to enter residence buildings.

“We do have a pretty open campus and all that it takes for a person who’s not identifying with the school to get in is just a door that’s unlocked,” Derfner said. As of Sept. 4, GUPD continues to investigate 23 of the August crimes. Bharadwaj said that he has taken extra precautions to secure his room since finding out about the Aug. 26 McCarthy Hall burglary.

“Now that I know that, I’m going to take further steps in securing our room a little better,” Bharadwaj said. Gruber said that awareness is key to safety both on- and off-campus.

“All of us need to be very aware of the environment we live and work in,” Gruber said.

as 2024 Center of Excellence

Georgetown University School of Nursing (SON) was one of 13 U.S. nursing education programs that earned the designation as a 2024 National League for Nursing (NLN) Center of Excellence Aug. 14. The NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education (COE) designation recognizes institutions that demonstrate exceptional innovation, commitment and sustained excellence, which they review when schools apply to be a COE. The NLN specifically honored the SON for its dedication to enhancing student learning and professional development.

Patricia Sharpnack, chair of the NLN, said that there are several rigorous qualifications needed for recognition as a COE, including academic progression in nursing and faculty and student learning development, noting that Georgetown, along with the other schools, distinguished itself as an exceptional academic institution.

“NLN Centers of Excellence reflect the extraordinary team and teamwork required to engage in the transformative work of nursing education — not just during one semester or even a single academic year but in a sustained way that demands genuine dedication and authentic commitment to producing consis-

tent programmatic excellence,” Sharpnack said in a press release.

Intima Alrimawi, an associate professor in the SON, said the factors that she believed contributed to the SON’s receipt of this designation included the curriculum and school’s leadership.

“Our commitment in the School of Nursing to excellence in education would show up in the excellent curriculum that we have, the leaders in nursing education that we have as part of our faculty, the clinical partnership that we have with the community and the strong relationship that we have with our students,” Alrimawi told The Hoya

According to Alrimawi, the SON integrates many innovative teaching practices to prepare students for the evolving demands of the healthcare field, including simulation-based learning, interprofessional education, telehealth and now artificial intelligence (AI) and community engagement. These practices aim to equip students to think beyond themselves, serve others and confidently operate outside their comfort zones.

Christopher Lin (SON ’28), a first-year student in the SON, said he is excited about the opportunities available at the SON and confident in the quality of his education.

“This recognition as a Center

of Excellence gives me the confidence that my nursing education will be of the highest caliber and quality,” Lin told The Hoya

“I and prospective students can see that Georgetown Nursing really stands up to its commitments to excellence and professionalism in the field. There are so many opportunities through a well-respected program, and I’m excited to embrace them.” Georgetown will officially earn recognition at the 2024 NLN Education Summit, an event that gathers nurse educators from around the world to explore emerging topics in nursing education and share innovative strategies for addressing everyday challenges, Sept. 20. Alrimawi said she hopes that this recognition will encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities and exceptional education offered at the SON and that its initiative will impact communities on both a small and large scale.

“I think this does open doors for the student to learn about all the great things that the School of Nursing has, so they can benefit from it,” Alrimawi said. “We want to expand on our initiative for serving and engaging with the community, whether the local community in D.C., or the community in the U.S. or even the global community.”

Pirtle, a

ALI ENRIGHT/THE HOYA GUPD’s August crime logs saw 28 total incidents, including thefts and burglaries, which is double the number of August 2023.

GUPD Investigating Two Incidents

As Potential Anti-Catholic Hate Crimes

VANDALISM, from A1

vandalism was upsetting but that she was grateful for the support of fellow Catholic and non-Catholic students.

“I am obviously pretty upset by the whole situation, but it’s been comforting to have such a close community of friends in Catholic Ministry to talk to about it,” Mesa wrote to The Hoya. “I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the amount of non-Catholic friends who have reached out to me to express their care, thoughts, and prayers in their own faith traditions.”

During the incident in Dahlgren Chapel, the crucifix sustained damage to its pole and to its corpus, its sculpted form of Jesus, according to an Aug. 30 email Catholic Ministry sent to Catholic students which The Hoya obtained. According to the email, the university is working with the artist who first sculpted the crucifix to plan its restoration.

Teddy Tibbs (CAS ’27), the treasurer of Georgetown’s chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization, said the vandalism of the crucifix was distressing as it has personal, spiritual meaning for him.

“I was shocked to find that someone had vandalized the Crucifix commonly used during

Mass,” Tibbs wrote to The Hoya. “I myself center much of my prayer around the Crucifixion and have spent many hours contemplating the now-vandalized Crucifix.”

As the investigation continues, GUPD is increasing patrols of all eight religious spaces on campus and Campus Ministry is implementing new safety measures for the spaces, according to Tibbs. According to Tibbs, Catholic students met with the Catholic Campus Ministry after the incidents to discuss safety measures for holy spaces and places of worship on campus.

Leah Raymond (CAS ’26), another member of Catholic Women at Georgetown, said that the need for safety measures including locking the doors of Dahlgren Chapel upsets her because it limits students’ opportunities to engage in religious practice.

“That is the beauty of a faithful campus — we can spend time in religious spaces any time of the day for any reason without needing permission — the doors are always open,” Raymond wrote to The Hoya. “It saddens me to know that we feel it now necessary to lock the doors of the chapels at night.”

Similar acts of vandalism in 2013, when Dahlgren Chapel’s crucifix, organ mirror and

panel sustained damages from vandalism, were seemingly not targeted at religious symbols.

Tibbs said he believes the August vandalism has divided the Georgetown community but strengthened ties within its Catholic community.

“It’s going to take some time for our Catholic community to heal; this event has further created a culture of distrust between Catholics and nonCatholics on campus,” Tibbs wrote.

“I also believe this event has brought many together and highlighted Georgetown’s identity as a Catholic university.”

Still, Tibbs said that he thinks the community will come together.

“I have faith in the Georgetown community and know that we will be able to move on from this horrific event,” Tibbs wrote.

While Mesa said she was concerned by the vandal’s motivations, she added that she takes comfort in the vibrancy of religious communities on campus.

“My confusion right now lies in the motive of whoever did this and what kind of message they were trying to convey,” Mesa said. “For the most part, though, my worries and fears are calmed by the fact that the Catholic and inter-religious communities on campus are so strong; much, much stronger than any petty act of vandalism.”

New ‘Pathways To Social Justice’ Core Requirement Begins at GU

PATHWAYS, from A1

students engage with contemporary issues of racism and injustice.

“They thought that the focus was always other people’s struggle with these issues and they wanted it to be self-referential in part: look at Georgetown, D.C., local issues,” Elmendorf said. “They thought that it was often discussed historically, and they wanted more of the conversations to be about presentday and future-looking.”

Each week, the seminar will focus on a different theme: slavery, memory and reconciliation at Georgetown; Georgetown and its neighbors; Georgetown as a global institution; challenging inequalities; and faith that does justice. The course will discuss marginalized communities, approaches to understanding identity and how to imagine rectifying injustices.

The course will also spotlight Georgetown’s history of participation in slavery — including the history of the GU272, the 314 enslaved people whom the Maryland Jesuits sold in 1838 to continue financing the university — and its relationship to historic African-American cemeteries located underneath university buildings.

Adam Rothman, a history professor and the coordinator of the “Race, Power, and Justice” course, taught one of the pilot classes and is teaching a class this fall. Rothman said the seminar is a unique opportunity for students to get a broader understanding of their place at Georgetown.

“I think it’s really important to know where you are in a deep way and not a superficial way,” Rothman told The Hoya. “And I think it’s too easy for students to float around Georgetown’s campus without really understanding where they are, what the history of the place is and how that translates into the mission of the university. So I think this is an opportunity for students to get an introduction

to that in a serious kind of way.”

Rev. Gregory Schenden, S.J., the director of Campus Ministry, said the updated requirement and new first-year seminar reflects Georgetown’s Jesuit mission.

“The Georgetown Core Curriculum is a unique expression of our identity as a student-centered research university rooted in our Jesuit and Catholic tradition,” Schenden wrote to The Hoya. “This course furthers our values of a Community in Diversity and a Faith that Does Justice and deepens the university’s ongoing commitment to understand and respond to our involvement in the institutional sin of slavery. Our desire is that our community members engage with this history and work towards racial justice.”

With the changes to the core requirement, the “Race, Power, and Justice” seminar will become the only class at Georgetown which all students across the five undergraduate schools must take to graduate.

Wilson Sederman (MSB ’28) said he was looking forward to learning more about Georgetown’s complicated legacy with the practice of slavery.

“I’m excited,” Sederman told The Hoya. “I think that it’s an important part of Georgetown’s history, and it’s something that I haven’t really dealt with, in class or outside the classroom. And so I think that I’m looking forward to hearing more about Georgetown’s history and learning about this important part of the school’s foundation.”

Kristina Khrimian (MSB ’28) said that the course offers the opportunity for Georgetown to make progress in confronting its history.

“This course is an amazing way for Georgetown students to become more aware of the racial challenges minorities have faced and continue to face today,” Khrimian wrote to The Hoya. “Recognizing that these issues are still present in our community is already a step towards the right direction.”

Beyond the meetings for the one-credit seminar, students must take two overlay courses,

SJP Rallies, Marches Across Campus Amid Perceived Censorship Claims

of

PROTEST, from A1

ere shortage of food, water, shelter and access to hospitals.

Besides the policy and student conduct charges, SJP is calling for the university to divest from companies with ties to the Israeli military.

“The biggest thing that we want from the administration is to stop supporting corporations that fund the apartheid that is committing a multitude of human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,” the organizer said on behalf of SJP. “Our second one, also, is just to be able to grant us the ability to speak freely on campus and to advocate for the human rights of Palestinians.”

Since Aug. 26, the CSE has conducted Blueprint trainings, which explain university policies to leaders of university-recognized student organizations, including SJP, and provided a “Blueprint Manual” as a resource for student groups to better understand university policies. The 2024-25 Blueprint Manual references protests relating to Israel, Gaza and Palestine as an example question relating to GUPD event security.

According to the Sept. 1 Instagram post and the SJP media liaison, a CSE staff member also referenced an SJP protest in February in another example during a Blueprint presentation.

“Certain policies within the Blueprint training were, quite frankly, discriminatory against Palestinians and were ways of implicitly trying to suppress Palestinian advocacy on campus,” the SJP organizer said on behalf of the organization.

Policy for all student organizations, rather than overburden certain groups with expenses.

“All student groups (and academic units) have for many years been responsible for covering the costs of any events that they host,” the university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “While event organizers are responsible for the cost of security, our published guidelines are clear that no one will be prevented from hosting an event due to the cost of security.

There are no differences in how we implement our policy based on the viewpoint of the event.”

Members of Georgetown’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a student group of anti-Zionist Jewish students, and the DMV SJP Coalition, a group of college SJP chapters from the Washington, D.C.Maryland-Virginia area, joined the march and spoke at the rally.

An organizer representing JVP said the group’s members protested out of fear that the university would subjectively enforce CSE policies, such as paying for GUPD security.

“These sorts of policies are often enforced on a case-by-case basis, which introduces the possibility of discriminatory enforcement,” the organizer told The Hoya on behalf of JVP. “It introduces the possibility that even within pro-Palestine student organizing, a group like SJP, a group that is more outwardly Palestinianand Arab-led, that there might be more enforcement towards them than there might be for an organization like JVP.”

one hundred percent,” Buscarino told The Hoya. “I have frustrations about a lot of the messaging. I think it’s a turn-off for a lot of people. I know that there’s a lot of things that I don’t agree with, like calls for violence and ‘intifada revolution.’” Ryan Connelly (CAS ’27), who also watched the rally in front of Leo’s, said he believed humanitarian arguments would better persuade Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) to divest than calls for intifada.

“The issue is if they came here and they were talking about what’s happening in Rafah, talking about food shortages in northern Gaza, and saying, ‘We need to divest from this,’ I think that would be a lot more persuasive to the people like DeGioia than walking around and calling for the destruction of the State of Israel,” Connelly told The Hoya Buscarino said he thought the protest moving across campus and gaining students’ attention would help the protestors achieve their objectives.

“I think that for any good protest, you have to make people uncomfortable, and the fact that there are a lot of people frustrated by the noise, frustrated by the inconvenience, that’s a good thing, because the point of a protest is to be out there, to be a nuisance, so that people are forced to acknowledge your presence,” Buscarino said.

classes that focus on a specific discipline and aim to further the “Race, Power, and Justice” seminar’s learning objectives in a specific setting.

To be considered a “Pathways to Social Justice” overlay course, a class must incorporate at least three of five of the pathway’s instructional priorities — inclusive scholarship; intersectional approaches to power and identity; discussions of historical inequality and its contemporary legacies; national, regional and global comparisons; and imagining justice in relation to oppression — a more stringent set of requirements than those of the previous “Engaging Diversity” curriculum.

Rothman said that when the review for the “Engaging Diversity” requirement began, students and faculty alike reflected on the requirement to create “Pathways to Social Justice.”

“It was a process to create this new Pathways to Social Justice,” Rothman said. “A lot of people have gone into this.”

Elmendorf said the language difference between “Engaging Diversity” and “Pathways to Social Justice” reflects the university’s and the Jesuit tradition’s commitment to social justice.

“One thing is that we’re a Jesuit school and social justice, being a Jesuit institution, it’s part of our genetics, right?” Elmendorf said. “That’s just who we are. And so that felt very authentic for Georgetown to name it that.”

Sederman said the requirement for all students to fulfill the “Pathways to Social Justice” requirement, in particular the “Race, Power and Justice” course, is crucial for first-year students to learn about Georgetown and all of its history.

“I think this class is what every first-year needs to fully grasp the founding history and the formation of this school and all that came with that,” Sederman said.

The university’s free speech policy also requires student groups to cover the cost of GUPD security when the university administration deems it necessary to ensure security. According to the Blueprint Manual, GUPD is responsible for determining the number of officers needed at an event, with each officer’s shift costing student groups $65.65 per hour.

A university spokesperson said that this rule exists to safely uphold the Speech and Expression

During the protest, attendees chanted, “Who’s angry at the whole administration right now? Free, free Palestine. We will not be pushed aside. Stop funding genocide.”

Matt Buscarino (CAS ’27), who heard the protest from his dorm and observed the rally in front of Leo’s, said he was sympathetic with the protest but disagreed with certain phrases protestors chanted, such as “intifada,” an Arabic word for rebellion, often referring to Palestinian uprisings and resulting violence from 1987 to 1993 and 2000 to 2005.

“I am sympathetic to the cause,

The SJP organizer said the group is dedicated to bringing attention to the humanitarian crisis and high death toll that the conflict has caused.

“I think that it really does speak volumes that within the first week of school, SJP is back and stronger than ever,” the organizer said on behalf of SJP. “I think that we’ve re-energized this summer and we want to make sure that people don’t forget that the people of Palestine are experiencing a genocide.”

“We will be here and we will continue to be speaking despite the fact that there have been these obstacles that they’re trying to put in front of us,” the organizer added.

Resident Assistants, GU Begin

First Round of Bargaining Talks

GRAC, from A1

proposing a four-year contract term and GRAC proposing a two-year term.

“It’s important that RAs are able to engage in this process,” Lovell said. “If we were to do it in four years, the next time there would be nobody from today that’s able to contribute to that, that knowledge and that process.”

Ulises Olea Tapia (SFS ’25), an RA in Village A, said GRAC is ready for a long bargaining process but hopes to achieve as much as possible in the next meeting.

“We’re happy to run a marathon if we need to, and that’s what we’re hoping for, a marathon of a meeting,” Olea Tapia told The Hoya “I feel hopeful because I get to see my colleagues coming into the table and being excited to bargain.”

The RAs and Georgetown have not yet discussed RAs’ economic benefits or a potential termination process. While RAs who do not require financial aid receive free room and board worth approximately $20,000, RAs accepting financial aid get a reduced aid package — meaning their net benefits come out to as little as $1,000 per year, according to Olea Tapia.

Neil Thorley (SFS ’26), an RA in McCarthy Hall, said this compensation system is unfair to RAs who receive financial aid.

“When we talk about wanting to

reform the compensation system, it’s not just a question of ‘we want more money, we want this, we want that,’ it’s ‘we want greater equality in the systems that already exist,’” Thorley told The Hoya. “We want RAs to be fairly and equally compensated for doing fair and equal work.”

“Why would you take on significant new responsibilities going into the next year if you know you’re not in fact going to receive any compensation?” Thorley added.

“If you’re not going to get anything additional, why would you put yourself through what’s effectively 20 hours of work a week if you’re not going to be compensated for it?”

According to Lovell, RAs’ grievance processremainsoneofthemainpoints of negotiations, as RAs’ violations used for termination included being late to meetings by a few minutes or having reasonable explanations for failing to do something in their job description.

Izzy Wagener (SFS ’26), an RA in Kennedy Hall, said that the RAs also hope to find agreement on accountability violations during these negotiations. According to Lovell, some RAs have faced consequences for being three minutes late to meetings or filing forms ten minutes late.

“It just felt like a lot of the work that we do was disregarded for very trivial mistakes,” Wagener told The Hoya David Hamer-Hodges, the organizing director for OPEIU

Local 153, who was present for the negotiations, said that RAs deserve support for their work.

“More and more RAs and other student workers across the country are going to organize because every worker deserves a voice, and the work that these people do is incredibly difficult, incredibly important and not very easily replaced,” HamerHodges told The Hoya. “You cannot just go find somebody. You cannot put a Craigslist ad out there and get somebody to do this work.” Lovell said bargaining will continue until both Georgetown and the RAs are satisfied with their contract.

“All of our proposals are reasonable — ambitious, some of them, perhaps — but reasonable,” Lovell said. “But we haven’t notched any changes yet. Until we ratify a contract, whenever that date might be, everything that we’ve agreed to is just that — it’s an idea, it’s a proposal, but it’s not set in stone.” Olea Tapia said the RAs’ calls for better working conditions reflect their goal of ensuring all students feel supported at Georgetown.

“I think that our job is a very important job,” Olea Tapia said. “We love our job. That’s why we’re doing this, because we love our job and we love supporting our residents so much that we want to see ourselves being supported just as much.” GRAC and the university will resume negotiations Sept. 26.

AAMIR JAMIL/THE HOYA

Members

SJP rallied in front of Leo J. O’Donovan Hall, blocking an intersection, after marching from a Red Square protest amid perceived censorship by the university Sept. 4.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) is investigating two Aug. 29 incidents of vandalism at Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart and Heyden Observatory.

Neighborhood Deli Wisemiller’s Raises Sandwich Prices Amid Inflation

Caroline Rareshide Contributing Editor

Wisemiller’s Grocery and Deli, a neighborhood sandwich shop on 36th Street which many Georgetown University students frequent, raised its prices in August following a rise in inflation and the cost of the business’s overhead.

Wisey’s, as students fondly call the deli, did a cost analysis of ingredients to determine how much the price of each sandwich would increase, according to Gina Vogel, owner of Wisey’s. The cost of most sandwiches increased from $9.95 to $11.95, the first price increase in two years.

Vogel said she decided to raise prices due to an increase in the price of ingredients, rent and utilities.

“It’s our prime directive to maintain the quality and quantity of our product and to continue to serve our students and our Georgetown community as Wisemiller’s has done for the last 70 years,” Vogel told The Hoya Vogel said that Wisey’s does not determine the prices of groceries, such as beverages, which the store buys directly from a supplier.

“When, for example, Coca-Cola, whom Georgetown deals with exclusively in certain areas, does mass raising of their prices, we have no choice but to go along with it,” Vogel said.

“It’s not really up to us.”

Georgetown students including Lainey Lyle (SFS ’27) said they were disappointed but understood Wisey’s price increase.

“Wisey’s is such a staple of the neighborhood, and I feel the Georgetown student culture, that then I had to go like, ‘Well I guess I shouldn’t be upset about this,’” Lyle told The Hoya. “‘They’re trying to stay in business, and they’re trying to succeed and pay their workers fairly and well.’”

Brooke Cleveland (SFS ’25) said she sympathizes with Wisey’s amid ongoing inflation.

“I’m sure that small businesses like Wisey’s are feeling this change really significantly,” Cleveland told The Hoya. “I understand that the price of supplies has also gone up by quite a large margin and so they do not have any other choice.”

Christine Vogel, Gina Vogel’s sister who runs Wisey’s catering and cookie business, said that when doing price analyses of Wisey’s products, she and her sister were conscious that most of their customers are students.

“We always try to think from the student’s perspective and keep the prices as reasonable as we possibly can, even if we have to take increases just to make the business viable,” Christine Vogel told The Hoya Gina Vogel said she believed most students would understand the deli’s decision to raise prices.

“They’re part of the real world, that everything is just going up and up and up, and that things can’t stay the same and have a business survive,”

Gina Vogel said.

Both Lyle and Cleveland said the price increase would not af-

fect how often they go to Wisey’s, especially given the cost of other restaurants in Georgetown.

“It’s still, I would say, either the same price, or cheaper honestly, than most other places to get a full meal,” Lyle said. “So I have to keep that in mind.”

“It’s still a lot cheaper than a lot of other places you can get around here,” Cleveland said.

Wisey’s offers one of the cheapest deli sandwiches in the Georgetown neighborhood and all of Washington, D.C., averaging around $12 a sandwich. Stachowski’s, a butcher shop, deli, and grocery store in Georgetown, averages $14.22 a sandwich. Call Your Mother Deli, which serves lunch sandwiches in addition to its signature bagels, averages $13.75 a sandwich.

“We’re well below the market, especially for our area,” Christine Vogel said.

The minimum wage in D.C. increased from $17 to $17.50 on July 1, but Christine Vogel said the rise did not affect Wisey’s.

“We were already paying people well, and we still pay above the minimum wage because we have really great employees who’ve been with us a long time who get to know the students and the students know them,” Christine Vogel said. “And that’s what makes Wisemiller’s Wisemiller’s.”

Christine Vogel said she and her sister see the store as a Georgetown institution.

“It’s a mission to run it and to keep it going for the students in Georgetown, and for the community as well,” Christine said.

GU Grads Win Big East Scholar-Athlete Awards Psychology Professor Publishes

First Book

On Omniculturalism

Nora Toscano Academics Desk Editor

A professor in the Georgetown University psychology department published a book exploring how omniculturalism has the power to unite humanity, the university announced Aug. 14.

Dr. Fathali Moghaddam’s book, “The Psychology of Multiculturalism, Assimilation and Omniculturalism” examines how omniculturalism, a school of thought that celebrates similarities instead of differences, explores the psychology of intergroup relations. The book, published through Springer, offers an interdisciplinary approach to teaching children about diversity.

Moghaddam said omniculturalism, which had not been studied in academic work prior to his research, emphasizes at their cores, humans are fundamentally similar.

“I think I’m the only one to have researched omniculturalism,” Moghaddam told The Hoya. “I don’t know whether the term was coined before, but I’m the first one to actually empirically research it and to use and publish it in academic work.”

Moghaddam said he was first inspired to research the subject decades ago as a professor at McGill University in Toronto, Canada. The Canadian government was the first country to adopt multiculturalism as a government policy through 1988 legislation that emphasized the importance of Canadians’ multicultural and diverse heritage.

“While in Canada, together with two professors who have now passed away, I met with Pierre Trudeau, the father of the current prime minister, and we talked about our research on multiculturalism,” Moghaddam said.

“Trudeau was the person who introduced multiculturalism policy in Canada, and we talked about some of our misgivings and the research we were doing.”

According to Moghaddam, this policy is flawed because it overemphasizes differences as a means to accept different groups, which is not always effective.

“One of the assumptions of multiculturalism is that when you help groups to become confident and to have pride in their individual heritages, they will become open and accepting to other out groups and when we researched this idea, we found that there was a problem,” Moghaddam said. “There was no association between feeling

confidence and pride and being open to others.”

Moghaddam said his book proposes an alternative: emphasizing intergroup similarities instead of differences.

“It’s similarity that causes attraction at the interpersonal level and at the intergroup level,” Moghaddam said. “Now, given that people are attracted to similar others, my question is, what are we doing when we celebrate and exaggerate differences between groups? Are we not creating a problem for ourselves?”

Moghaddam said his book recommends an alternative method of teaching children about difference and diversity.

“My proposition is that we train children to, first of all, learn what is common to all humanity,” Moghaddam said. “What are human beings like? What are their characteristics? The focus should be on human beings and their rights and duties. At a second stage, around the age of 13 or 14, we train children to also understand that there are group differences, but that these differences are secondary, and that human beings are fundamentally similar around the world.”

Professor Rachel Barr, the chair of the psychology department, said Moghaddam’s book reflects the depth of his longterm research.

“His work often starts conversations about what groups have in common,” Barr wrote to The Hoya “He has been working on developing this theory over many years.”

Raimundo Salas Schweikart (GRD ’25), a doctoral student in psychology and one of Maghaddam’s advisees, said studying with Moghaddam allowed him to hone his research abilities and ability to make connections between interdisciplinary topics.

“I have learned so much, and I’m grateful of having him as my adviser,” Schweikart told The Hoya . “He has truly been like a mentor for me to develop my research skills.”

Schweikart said he performed statistical analysis for the new paper which confirmed Moghaddam’s theories regarding group similarity and acceptance of outside groups.

Moghaddam said celebrating unity sits at the core of his work.

“Omni means all,” Moghaddam said. “It is a celebration, first of all, a celebration of human similarities, and it starts by simply noting the fact that human beings are much more similar to one another than they are different.”

Nora Toscano Academics Desk Editor

The Big East, the athletic conference in which many of Georgetown University’s intercollegiate athletic teams play, named two alumni its scholar-athletes of the year Aug. 27.

Julia Leas (COL ’22, GRD ’23), a three-time All-American and Big East defensive player of the year for the women’s soccer team, and Parker Stokes (CAS ’23, GRD ’24), a two-time All-American for the men’s track and field team, won the 2023-24 Big East scholar-athletes of the year awards. This year marks the third consecutive year that both honorees are Georgetown students and the second consecutive year Leas has received the honor.

Stokes, a member of the professional running team Brooks Beasts Track Club, said that he was shocked to receive a text from his coach at Georgetown alerting him he had received the honor.

“Being honored at the Georgetown level and having the students and staff recognize that achievement is great,” Stokes told The Hoya. “It’s good to know you’re appreciated by your alma mater. I was super excited to find out.”

Leas, who currently plays professional soccer for the Swedish club Vittsjö GIK, said that finding out she had received the award provided a much-needed confidence boost.

“It was a really big honor when I saw it, and a really good reminder of what I’m capable of,” Leas told The Hoya. “I had actually just had a really bad day, and was kind of low on confidence. And then it was funny that that night I found out I got the scholar-athlete of the year. It was what I needed to just be sure in myself and be like, ‘Hey, I can do whatever I set my mind to.’”

The award grants each student a $2,000 scholarship for use in graduate or professional studies. Since the awards’ establishment in 1985, this year is the eighth time both recipients have been from the same school.

Georgetown also led the league in overall all-academic awards, the Big East’s award for scholar-athletes who excel in the classroom, with the conference selecting 425 Georgetown athletes for the 2023-24 Big East all-academic team.

Stokes received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Georgetown before earning a

master’s degree in management. He said that support from his coach, teammates, parents and professors helped him to manage life as a student-athlete.

Alton McKenzie, the director of track and field and cross-country, said that Stokes’ academic success, alongside finishing his final season as a NCAA champion, reflects his dedication.

“It speaks to what we’ve tried to establish, the tradition of student-athlete excellence we try to establish,” McKenzie told The Hoya. “And it speaks to how dedicated he is that in his last year, he was voted scholar-athlete of the year. He was around for a while and definitely made an impact on our program, and is an example of what we’ve tried to exhibit and ensure is at the forefront of what we do on and off the track.”

Leas played for the Hoyas for five seasons, finishing her collegiate career with an undergraduate degree in psychology and a graduate degree in biomedical science policy and advocacy.

She said that her advice for student-athletes would be to enjoy their time on a college team.

“Although I love life where I am now, there’s times I wish I

was back in my college house, back on the college pitch, playing with that group of girls,” Leas said. “Just make the most out of it.”

Georgetown women’s soccer Head Coach Dave Nolan, who coached Leas throughout her Hoya career, said that being a student-athlete comes with demanding challenges which Leas overcame.

“These kids are not professionals, they’re young people,” Nolan told The Hoya. “They have young people problems and young people issues and young people things that have to take their attention. But Julia always seemed to be able to get everything done. She ticked every box and that’s really not easy, so I think it takes a particularly driven young person to be as successful as she was.” Stokes said that the most important part of being a successful student-athlete is to pay attention to one’s essential needs and not let fear of the future dictate one’s life.

“You can’t stress out about it,” Stokes said. “You kind of just have to let it happen and let your aspirations and your dedication guide you in the right direction. No matter which way that goes.”

State Supreme Court Reinstates PJI Associate Syed’s Conviction

Aamir Jamil Senior News Editor

The Supreme Court of Maryland reinstated the conviction of Adnan Syed, who currently works as an associate at Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI), on procedural grounds in an opinion released Aug. 30.

Syed, whose case gained fame after it was featured in the podcast “Serial,” was initially convicted in 2000 for the 1999 murder of his high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, serving 23 years in prison before being released in 2022 after a judge vacated his conviction at a hearing and Baltimore, Md., prosecutors dropped the charges against him. However, in 2023, an appeals court ruled that Lee’s brother should have been notified and allowed to attend the wrongful conviction hearing in person; in the Aug. 30 decision, the Maryland Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reinstate the charges against Syed.

Syed has worked at PJI, a Georgetown organization that studies and aims to address the issue of mass incarceration, including by offering education to incarcerated prisoners, since December 2022. He will remain free while the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office determines whether to again move to overturn the conviction and drop the charges.

Marc Howard, a Georgetown

professor of government who serves as the director of PJI, said he supports Syed, who has consistently maintained his innocence.

“I remain fully supportive of my friend and colleague Adnan Syed, who was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit,” Howard wrote to The Hoya Erica Suter (LAW ’03), Syed’s attorney and a public defender, highlighted that Syed’s conviction was reinstated on procedural grounds only. The judge’s initial decision to overturn Syed’s conviction, known in legal terminology as a “vacatur,” hinged on new DNA evidence and a Brady violation, which occurs when a prosecutor fails to disclose evidence beneficial to the defendant to the defense.

“Adnan is innocent,” Suter wrote to The Hoya. “This appeal was about the process for the vacatur, it did not challenge the substance of the vacatur — that there was a Brady violation, that the other evidence supporting his conviction has been debunked and that subsequent DNA testing excluded Adnan.”

In his opinion, Maryland Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Biran wrote that the previous hearing to overturn Syed’s conviction did not give Lee’s family enough time to testify in person.

“In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr.

Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee by failing to treat him with dignity, respect and sensitivity and, in particular, by violating Mr. Lee’s rights as a crime victim’s representative to reasonable notice of the Vacatur Hearing, the right to attend the hearing in person and the right to be heard on the merits of the Vacatur Motion,” Biran wrote in the opinion. Martin Tankleff, an attorney and exoneree who was wrongfully convicted of murder as a teenager and now serves as the Peter P. Mullen Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, said the procedural details of Syed’s reinstated conviction are unusual.

“In all of my experiences with wrongful convictions, I have never heard of a case being reinstated because a victim (or their family) wasn’t permitted to speak in person (and note that the victim’s family in this case did speak by Zoom),” Tankleff wrote to The Hoya.

“What the victims’ family has to say should have absolutely zero impact on Adnan’s case because of the serious constitutional errors and exculpatory DNA evidence.”

“Furthermore, while victims’ rights are always important, what about the person who is wrongly convicted? They are a victim as well – Adnan and his family are victims in this persecution,” Tankleff added.

Syed’s future now rests with

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, whose office could either hold another hearing to vacate Syed’s conviction or withdraw the motion to vacate and maintain Syed’s conviction.

James E. Bentley II, chief of communications for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, said the office is reviewing the decision as it waits for the Maryland Supreme Court to formally send the mandate of the case back to a lower court judge, after which it will be able to hold another hearing or leave the conviction in place.

“Until the mandate is issued, jurisdiction remains with the Supreme Court,” Bentley wrote to The Hoya. “Once the mandate is issued, jurisdiction is re-invested with the Circuit Court. During this time, our office will continue to thoroughly review the matter.” Howard said Syed plays a key role in PJI, helping achieve its mission to overturn wrongful convictions and provide education and employment training to incarcerated individuals.

“Since joining the Prisons and Justice Initiative team in December 2022, Adnan has become an integral and valued member of our team,” Howard wrote. “His contributions have profoundly impacted our mission to advance justice and support individuals affected by the criminal legal system.”

STEPHANIE YUAN/THE HOYA

Wisemiller’s Grocery and Deli, a neighborhood sandwhich shop which students frequent, raised its prices in August due to increases in the prices of ingredients, rent and utilities.

Students Report Data for Massachusetts Primary Elections at McCourt School

Ruth Abramovitz GUSA Desk Editor

Georgetown University students

joined Decision Desk HQ, an election results provider and website, at the McCourt School of Public Policy’s downtown campus to report the results of the Massachusetts state primaries Sept. 3. Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) has established an election hub at the McCourt School of Public Policy for the 2024 election cycle, allowing students to gain insight into the data and models behind polling and election predictions. DDHQ has predicted elections since its founding in 2012, using a combination of forecasting models and rapid data input on election nights to quickly predict races down the ballot.

Last semester, DDHQ invited Georgetown students to join their remote election night monitoring team, where they began to work alongside ground reporters and automated website scrapers to transfer vote-count data into DDHQ’s models as county-level election officials release it.

Brandon Finnigan, the director of elections at DDHQ, said this comprehensive coverage allows the organization to streamline the vote-count data intake, especially in states like Massachusetts, where counties publish their election results in a variety of ways, often very slowly.

“States can do weird things, counties can do weird things, so we need as a fallback people who can report those counties for us,” Finnigan said at the event. In anticipation of the November election, DDHQ also trained more than 20 new student reporters during the Massachusetts primary.

Francin Isabel Vasquez (CAS ’24), one of the new reporters, said she joined the monitoring team because she wanted an easy way

to get involved with politics.

“I think with the election year coming up, I want to get a bit more involved with it. I feel like at Georgetown we all get involved somehow, but it’s a very cool opportunity,” Vasquez told The Hoya. “I’ll just learn how to collect the data and put it in the system and make it go live. That’s something that interests me.”

Finnigan said he is highly conscious of the conspiracy theories surrounding the upcoming presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“People will take everything as you’re part of the machine trying to take over the country or the world,”

Finnigan said. “It’s serious business.”

To avoid accusations of election fraud, Finnigan told the student election reporters to handle their work objectively and accurately by inputting the vote-count data as it is received from county clerks, regardless of their personal opinions.

“If the outcome of the presidential election goes against the way you want it to go, and it’s going to affect the way you do this, there’s no shame in saying you don’t want to do this,” Finnigan said. “The show has to go on. Data has to go in. Results have to keep coming out.”

Katie Taffe (CAS ’27), a returning student reporter with DDHQ, said she is already thinking about making this mental adjustment to work with DDHQ in November so she will be able to stay focused on the counties assigned to her, rather than fixate on the result of the presidential race.

“I’m a little nervous about it,” Taffe told The Hoya. “I think there’ll be a little bit of separation between my actual feelings that I have about the election results and what I’ll have to do for my job, because I don’t report every single election in every single precinct in this country, so I’ll only see a very small por-

tion of the results.”

Zoe Auld (CAS ’27), a data science intern with DDHQ, said the limited accessibility of election information in many counties can make it difficult for voters, analysts and student monitors alike to get the data they need to participate in elections.

“I learned about how random a lot of this is with these counties, tiny counties, that run everything at the county level on Facebook pages,” Auld told The Hoya. “Even just finding out who the candidates are who are running can be really, really difficult. We have to do a lot of running around, a lot of chasing down clerks.”

Regardless of the challenges of the job, Taffe said she values having an inside look into how groups like DDHQ predict results on election night.

“You can see how election results are shaped, kind of as they come in. You get to watch them live, which I think is super cool to see them evolve as the night goes on,” Taffe said. “I think it’s a really cool opportunity that not many other schools have.”

RUTH ABRAMOVITZ/THE HOYA Georgetown students reported election returns from the Massachusetts primary Sept. 3.

Professors Discuss Right to Campus Protest in Free Speech Project Panel

Kate Hwang Student Life Desk Editor

Georgetown University’s Free Speech Project, a research initiative dedicated to analyzing trends in free speech access across the globe, hosted a panel about what exercising free speech and protest rights on campus means in a university setting Sept 4. The event, titled “Peace and Protest on American Campuses,” featured professors David Cole from Georgetown University, Nadine Strossen from New York Law School and Justin Hansford from Howard University School of Law. Anemona Hartocollis, national reporter for The New York Times, joined the conversation, moderated by Sanford J. Ungar, director of the Free Speech Project. Ungar prefaced the discussion on free speech and peaceful protest by mentioning the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Outrage over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians has sparked widespread protests, including encampments that featured calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from companies that support the Israeli military. Cole started by saying students have a right to protest in universities, even if they are not governed by the First Amendment in private universities.

“I think the rules should be clear; that is, students are free to protest, should be free to protest,” Cole said at the event. “Because private universities, although not governed by the First Amendment, tend to adopt a kind of free speech policy.”

The free speech discussion follows the Office of the President’s university-wide email sent Aug. 26 on the institution’s speech and expression policy guidelines, which affirm the right to free expression on campus but condemn actions that violate the institution’s harassment policy.

Of the student protests since the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, 94% have been in support of Palestine, and 97% of student protests have been nonviolent, according to ACLED, a non-profit organization that collects data on global protests.

Speakers also mentioned how the Free Speech Project’s panel occurred while members of the Georgetown chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student organization that supports Palestinian liberation, protested the university’s requirement that campus security be present at controversial events.

“It is an interesting thing that

to get in to get here this evening, you had to walk through a demonstration,” Ungar said.

Strossen continued that under the First Amendment universities can restrict protests that obstruct a formal learning environment.

“Under the First Amendment, government, including universities, may impose reasonable content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions which are designed to promote and protect the educational mission of the institution,” Strossen said.

Hansford, who is also executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, Howard University Center for Law’s civil rights center, said current First Amendment standards date back to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

“With protest speech, there’s a really deeply educational component of protest,” Hansford said at the event. “The experiences that anti-war protesters had in the 1970s and civil rights protesters had in the 1960s become some of the formative educational experiences of their lives.”

Hansford also cited the activism of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a grassroots organization dedicated to the fight for social justice, and civil rights activists Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. as helping to advance free speech protections in the United States

“Thurgood Marshall was an avid supporter of free speech and the First Amendment,” Hansford said. “He was a supporter of Dr. King in the protest, and NAACP Legal Defence Fund throughout the ’60s actually helped to litigate many of those cases that helped us to determine the parameters of free speech law.”

Cole addressed how there are direct consequences for pursuing acts of civil disobedience, especially in a university setting.

“When you engage in a form of civil disobedience, you should expect to get punished,” Cole said.

Cole mentioned how Georgetown lacked the encampments, a form of political protest often used to protest the Israel-Hamas war, that students formed at George Washington University only a 20-minute walk from Georgetown.

“There may be reasons why Georgetown University all last year had no encampments, had no violence, no injuries, no police raids, arresting people on campus,” Cole said. “If people wanted to be arrested or wanted to be in an encampment, they had to go down to George Washington

MedStar to Receive Educational Donation Supporting Literacy of Hospitalized Children

Patrick Clapsaddle Chief Copy Editor

Educational technology startup Ello will donate resources to provide educational support to children at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to help curb the negative effects of extended school absence on child patients, as announced Aug. 27. Ello, the company that founded an artificial intelligence-based (AI) reading assistance program of the same name, is sponsoring iPads and early-age children’s books for the children at MedStar undergoing long-term care. The partnership also includes donations to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and will give the two hospitals free access to the Ello AI reading coach program to assist children with literacy skills development.

Dr. Elizabeth Adams, licensed clinical child psychologist and Ello co-founder, said her experience working with hospitalized children made her acutely aware of how quickly the losses in learning can add up.

“Early in my career working at hospitals, I noticed this loss of learning among young patients,” Adams wrote in a statement Ello released. “I’m thrilled that Ello can be part of a solution for these patients and their families, to help with the literacy support they need while they are hospitalized while also giving them fun, engaging books and activities.”

Multiple studies from the American Academy of Pediatrics have indicated an association between ex-

tended periods of hospitalization and academic underperformance in literacy and numeracy standards among children of all ages.

Casey Goss (SON ’25), a nursing student who completed her pediatric clinical rotations at Children’s National during the Spring 2024 semester, said she witnessed firsthand the struggles related to longterm hospitalization.

“I’ve seen parents work hard to combat this, often by reading to their children, having them play educational games or even making them spell words while waiting for discharge,” Goss wrote to The Hoya. “However, this is no easy task for a parent, especially when they are managing so much else throughout their child’s hospitalizations.”

Katie Wallace, child life coordinator at MedStar Georgetown, said it was necessary to support hospitalized children’s education in pursuit of the hospital’s mission.

“We have a mission at our hospital of Cura Personalis, which is care of the whole person,” Wallace wrote to The Hoya. “When a child is ill, all aspects of their life are impacted. Having this new tool will help us meet the needs of those children when they are in the hospital.”

Dr. Michael J. Donnelly, assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at MedStar Georgetown, said the donation will allow the hospital to support all of a young patient’s needs.

“It is vitally important for us to be

able to keep children with chronic illnesses on track both with school and social functions,” Donnelly wrote to The Hoya Wallace said the donation will prove useful for the hospital’s existing pediatric educational support program.

“We are very lucky to have a position in our Child Life Department that specifically helps pediatric patients and families with school,” Wallace wrote. “When our school teacher is assessing patients or working with them at bedside, this app will be a great tool for her to use.” The app uses adaptive learning, an educational method that utilizes AI to orchestrate customized learner-teacher interactions, to tailor to the needs of each child.

Goss said Ello’s AI program presents a unique opportunity for supporting children and contributing to a greater mission of advancements in education.

“I imagine this would be particularly helpful surrounding hospitalized children, who may be trying to make up for missed learning, or have difficulty learning in more traditional ways,” Goss wrote. “It is clear that Ello’s donation will have a positive impact on both children and families lucky enough to receive their products.”

“It is very important for us to have resources such as those donated by Ello to let these children just be children,” Donnelly wrote.

“They are dealing with a lot, and this allows us to care for the whole person, not just their illness.”

University downtown.”

Hartocollis said what continues to drive the force of the pro-Palestinian movement across the country is the factthatsomeinstitutionshavebegun discussing the path to divestment.

“A number of universities have agreed to at least talk about divestment and so once you get that far you’re going to push for more,” Hartocollis said.

“The pro-Palestinian demonstrators who are calling for divestment have had some success and a little bit of success will fuel more action.”

Cole added that schools have a right to bar encampments and put restrictions on the right to exercise free speech if it does not align with an institution’s educational purpose.

“Every school is permitted to, and the government is permitted to — and they must have reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on speech — and they can, if they so choose, bar encampments.”

Amid recent resignations by Harvard University President Claudia Gay and Columbia University President Nemat Shafik related to their handling of student protests, speakers discussed institutional responsibilities to protect students’ learning.

Gay resigned Jan. 2 amid controversy on her handling of antisemitism claims on campus during a congressional hearing and Shafik stepped down Aug. 14 due to controversial claims on her management of campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas war.

Hansford said the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and Columbia universities have roots in the current instability of community standards, especially in regard to an institution’s ability to bend the limits of free expression.

“I’m just fascinated about the fact that we have the presidents of Columbia University, Harvard University, who have lost their jobs not because they necessarily didn’t follow constitutional law, but because community standards seem to be so unstable right now,” Hansford said.

“Their stakeholders seem to disagree with the First Amendment standards and/or whether their leadership should go beyond the limits of free speech when it comes to these protests,” Hansford added.

Cole predicted that an ongoing war in the Middle East will continue to incite an environment of intense passion and pressure to speak up.

“People feel — understandably feel — very strongly in situations like that, and so will speak passionately,” Cole said.

Four Students Win Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service

Daniel Greilsheimer City Desk Editor

Four Georgetown University students received this year’s Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, better known as the Voyager Scholarship. Ranee Brady (SFS ’26), Matlock Grossman (SFS ’26), Lela Tolajian (SFS ’26) and Aria Nimmagadda (CAS ’26) are members of the 202426 cohort, joining a group of 100 juniors from 44 states and territories and 88 colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Full disclosure: Ranee Brady is a News Writer at The Hoya. She previously served as a GUSA Desk Editor in Fall 2023 and as the Development Director in Spring 2024.

The program, created by former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky, offers its recipients travel exposure and policy experiences for students with a passion for making global change.

In addition to joining a network of other students and global leaders, Voyagers, as the program calls recipients, obtain up to $50,000 in financial aid, as well as a $10,000 stipend for travel and free Airbnb housing for their summer work project and travel experience. Furthermore, Airbnb provides scholars with a 10-year travel stipend worth $2,000 annually. This is the third iteration of the scholarship, originally founded in 2022.

This group of four scholars is the largest in Georgetown’s history, joining last year’s recipient Isabella Stratta (SFS ’25) as fellow Voyagers. When Brady learned she would

be a Voyager via email, she said she immediately called her mom in celebration, albeit a quiet one.

“I had to read it at least 10 times to make sure it was real, but it was really just an amazing moment and fascinating moment,” Brady told The Hoya. “It was so funny because I was working in a cubicle and I couldn’t talk because I would bother my coworkers, so I literally sat under the desk at work and called my mom.”

Tolajian said this combination of financial aid, travel and scholarship was appealing.

“I was beyond elated to discover I had been chosen as a Voyager Scholar, as the financial aid provided — as well as the opportunity to pursue an experience abroad and join such an accomplished network — is life-changing,” Tolajian wrote to The Hoya

Tolajian intends to pursue a project at the intersection of journalism, labor rights and human rights advocacy.

For Grossman, the scholarship’s focus on public policy drew him to apply.

“I have been working in public service since I was 11, working on transportation policy in Los Angeles,” Grossman wrote to The Hoya “Being able to see the physical impacts of the work I was doing and the effect it had on my community was so meaningful, and finding a program like this, with a similar emphasis on public service, was really compelling to me.”

In addition, Grossman said he is looking forward to meeting other Voyagers at the program’s upcoming Fall Summit.

“I am most excited to engage with other Voyagers from an incredibly

diverse background,” Grossman wrote. “Being able to hear the wide range of experiences that other Voyagers have had will better inform all of our public service careers.”

Although Grossman is still deciding where to spend his summer voyage, he is thinking about conducting research in the Middle East or domestically on the spread of extremist ideologies.

Nimmagadda is the first Georgetown student in the College of Arts & Sciences to be named a Voyager and plans to focus on enhancing food security and public health by improving farm animal welfare.

For her summer voyage, Brady is still undetermined, but is leaning toward a trip to Brazil to focus on government transparency and freedom of the press as well as how press systems can be used to hold governments accountable.

Brady said she was guided toward the Voyager Scholarship because of her parents’ experiences as public servants — her mom, an attorney who defends prisoners in a federal court in Alabama, and her dad, a civil engineer for their local government.

“I’ve really seen and really been inspired by their sacrifices to work in public service, but I can see how their work is really rewarding, and how they constantly don’t have two days that look the same, and can constantly interact with new people,” Brady said.

“So that’s something that has always interested me, and I saw that really written in the language of applications for the Voyager Scholarship. I think public service and making real-world change is also something that resonates with the Obama Foundation and Brian Chesky,” Brady added.

KARLA LEYJA/THE HOYA

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital will receive a donation of educational materials, including books, iPads and AI educational tools, from technology startup Ello.

Understanding the 2024-25 EPL Tiers

The 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season saw Manchester City win its fourth consecutive league title, the continued struggle of once great clubs Chelsea and Manchester United and all three newlypromoted teams relegated in the same season. The 2024-25 campaign promises to be as enthralling as ever; so, here are my predictions for this year’s Premier League finishes.

Top Four: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur On paper, Manchester City is still the best team from top to bottom in the PL. With the reigning PFA Players’ Player of the Year Phil Foden and Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland, who is off to a historic start this campaign, City is the obvious favorite. The only other club I predict could compete with City is Arsenal, who has enjoyed two consecutive seasons of very high-level football. The Gunners have a fantastic, young core of players whom manager Mikel Arteta has brought together well before, and he will do so again this year. If there’s anyone who could have a chance at the title besides City, it’s Arsenal. Liverpool and Tottenham are the two next best teams in the PL. Liverpool has an amazing squad on paper, but I’m slightly skeptical that ArneSlotcanrallyhismentoatop-two finish in his first year as manager. One manager I do believe in is Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou. His squad may not be elite, but with new arrival Dominic Solanke in the striking ranks and with the management Postecoglou brings to the table, Tottenham are an elite team.

Above Average: Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United After Liverpool and Tottenham, a steep dropoff occurs. Newcastle, Aston Villa and Brighton are all relative newcomers to elite Premier League football, but I believe in all three of them. After a Saudi-led acquisition in 2021, Newcastle has

received an influx of money, talent and energy. The 2023-24 campaign saw them experience several substantial, season-altering injuries, but I expect them to channel all their positive trends into a Europa League finish in fifth place this season. Unai Emery’s Villa was consistently elite last season, earning a Champions League position. Though I do not expect them to finish in the top four this season, sixth will still be very respectable. Brighton & Hove Albion have emerged as an exceptional development team in the last several years. Taking players that have been underwritten or undervalued previously, they have an uncanny ability to create elite teams out of very little, and I expect them to continue that trend this year.

Manchester United are a conundrum; while they have a very good team on paper, they have struggled too significantly in the last five years to execute any kind of sustained success. I don’t see this season being any different.

Mid-Table: Chelsea, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City, Everton

Since Roman Abramovich sold the club in 2022, Chelsea has been a trainwreck. Buying whoever they see remotely fit, their outlandish spending and the departure of Conor Gallagher, their former captain, show that Chelsea’s ownership has no sense of how a football team should be formed.

Expect West Ham, with exciting players like Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus who complement a fairly deep roster, to break into the top half of the table.

I believe West Ham concludes this second grouping of teams, with teams that follow after steeply dropping off in talent level and management. Crystal Palace, with Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze, and Wolves, with Joao Gomes, have good players but lack depth. Leicester will compete in their return to the PL season. Everton, who

has had historic struggles in recent seasons, should do mildly better this year without the burden of a financial fair play violation.

Below Average: Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Brentford

After Everton, I believe there is another dropoff to a grouping of five teams that will all battle to stay out of relegation positions. Truthfully, I could see any of these five teams finishing anywhere between the 15th and 19th positionsinthetable.IbelieveFulham, Nottingham Forest and Brentford will stay up because of their squad depth compared with Bournemouth and Southampton. Fulham, with the quality signings of Emile Smith-Rowe and Joachim Andersen, will find some success, while Nottingham Forest’s deep roster with Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan GibbsWhite and new signing James WardProwse will compete. Though they may have little star power, manager Thomas Frank has proven he can organize Brentford into a club that survives relegation.

Relegation: Bournemouth, Southampton, Ipswich Town

I predict that Bournemouth and Southampton will compete this season, but will ultimately find themselves relegated. I believe the departure of former Bournemouth striker Solanke, who had a fantastic 2023-24PLseason,willinduceserious attacking issues. Southampton has brought in too many players, with ten players arriving this summer via loan or transfer, which will bring some chemistry issues for the newly promoted side.

Ipswich Town, who are in the PL for thefirsttimein22years,havebyfarthe most untalented, shallowest squad in the PL. The combined transfer value of their whole squad is one-third the value of the next highest squad, a staggering statistic that reveals how small their chances of survival are. It’s a wonderful story that Ipswich made it back to the PL, but very few expect them to be here for long.

FOOTBALL

Young Talent, Hoya Veterans Aim To Continue Georgetown’s Ascent

Equipped with a stout secondary unit, a record-breaking quarterback and a flurry of exciting young talent, the Georgetown University football team is hungry to establish itself as a competitive team.

Last year, the Hoyas came agonizingly close to achieving their first winning season in 12 years, going 5-6fortheirbestrecordsince2019.Now, with a healthy squad, Georgetown believes it has the pieces to continue its upward trajectory within a tough Patriot League contingent.

The team retained many key players from the young 2023 squad after featuring 12 firstyears playing significant roles among other underclassmen starters. Head Coach Rob Sgarlata said this added experience has been central to raising the team’s competitive ceiling throughout summer and fall training camp.

“You’re starting to see a lot of those guys, even though it’s only their second year, be some of the vets for us,” Sgarlata told Georgetown Athletics. “The competition level for all the spots, I think, is very high, and for me, that’s all we can ask for.”

This veteran leadership is particularly evident on offense in both the skill positions and the trenches. The all-Patriot League second-team duo of juniors Jimmy Kibble and Nicholas Dunneman will lead the wide receiving corps, which also returns seniors Brock Biestek and Cam Pygatt.

Sophomore tight end Isaiah Grimes adds another dynamic option following a promising firstyear season, and senior running back Naieem Kearney will anchor the backfield after averaging 4.6 yards per carry last season.

Despite struggling with injuries last year, the offensive line led the conference in possession time and was second in sacks allowed. Junior captain Losini Maka will lead the group alongside graduate Richie Pinomi, junior Trevor Swan and

sophomore Mosiah Talanoa as they hope to stay healthy and continue improving in the run game.

Junior Danny Lauter will take the mantle as the fourth starting quarterback in four years. The gunslinger broke a school record with 428 passing yards in his lone start last year against then-No. 19

Lafayette College and will be trusted to lead the team’s offense.

“Danny has a big-time arm, he’s extremely physically talented,” Sgarlata said. “He’s in that elite level. He can make all the throws, and he’s a competitor in practice.”

Lauter said he is confident in his transition into a starting role, particularly when surrounded by experienced starters throughout the offense.

“Having a lot of those guys come back and play a bigger role than they have on this team is going to be really great,” Lauter told The Hoya. “Even though we’re young, we have a lot of experience coming back, and it’s really going to help us all around.”

Although the Hoyas will not return any of its five all-Patriot League selections from the other side of the ball, senior defensive lineman and captain VeRon Garrison sees the makings of a dogged defensive unit.

“We are an attack defense that plays with relentless effort,” Garrison told The Hoya. “Our defensive coordinator, Coach Doherty, he instills that mentality in us every day when we go on the field.”

After tying for a Patriot Leaguehigh 10 interceptions last year, the defensive back room will return junior cornerback and former FCS All-American Freshman Wedner Cadet and sophomore standout safety Zeraun Daniel. The team will also look to sophomore cornerback Quincy Briggs, redshirt senior cornerback Kolubah Pewee Jr. and graduate safety Preston Murray for important contributions as it hopes to continue locking down opposing offenses.

The linebacker duo of graduate David Ealey III and sophomore GianCarlo Rufo will also prove crucial

to Georgetown’s defensive efforts. Ealey led the team with 68 tackles last year along with 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble, while Rufo was fifth in tackles with 38 and accrued 5.5 tackles for loss in a breakout first-year campaign. The defensive line proved to be a weak spot for Georgetown last year after finishing last in the conference with just 15 sacks while allowing the second-most yards per carry in the conference. Garrison will be tasked with leading the defensive line, and younger players such as junior defensive tackle John Caramanico and sophomore defensive lineman Cooper Blomstrom will vie for greater playing time. Garrison said the Hoyas are willing to give first-years and younger talents significant playing time should they prove themselves as capable players.

“They got a lot of good progression, and we’re expecting to play some of those guys,” Garrison said. “We don’t just come here and redshirt our freshmen. You can come in and take a starting spot just that quickly.”

“They’re pushing each other, they’re pushing us, they’re pushing the team, so it’s really good working with them,” Garrison added. The special teams will return senior kicker Patrick Ryan and graduate long snapper Sebastian Alonso, while Dunneman and junior running back Mason Gudger will be responsible for punt returns and kickoff duties, respectively.

Faced with a tough division, the Hoyas remain optimistic about the outlook of the season in their hopes of pursuing a conference title.

“A successful season is just us going outandpayingourhardest,playingour best and giving all we have throughout the season,” Garrison said. “We’re just really excited to get the season started.”

“We need everyone to come up, come out and show their support,” Lauter added. “I think we’ve done a really good job over the past couple of years of getting people out to the games and supporting all of our sports teams.”

The No. 14 Georgetown University men’s soccer team faced the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers in what proved to be an exciting 0-0 draw. The Hoyas (2-1) took 23 shots, 9 on goal, and created plenty of chances for victory. However, their positive momentum stalled as they struggled to execute in the final third of the field. Georgetown had an excellent chance at redemption in the game’s waning minutes when two FIU (0-3) players were sent off with red cards but unfortunately failed to capitalize on its opportunities.

Having already faced two ranked opponents this season, FIU entered the match winless, hoping to rebound against a strong Georgetown team. The Panthers made a point of trying to exploit the Hoya backline early on in the game. Nevertheless, team co-captain and junior defender Maximus Jennings anchored the Georgetown defense in the center, bolstering the backline and taking a lead in ball distribution. In the 9th minute, the Panthers appeared to break away. FIU midfielder Nicolas Villalobos evaded the Georgetown defenders and slipped the ball to forward Enrqieu Minsoli. Tracking the ball closely, Hoya junior keeper Tenzing Manske carefully collected the ball at the top of the box. After this save, Georgetown showed renewed enthusiasm, chasing the ball and playing a high press.

In the 16th minute, the Hoyas won a free kick at the Panthers’ expense.

Junior midfielder Zach Zengue found first-year forward Mitchell Baker for a shot just wide of the goal into the

outside netting. Not to be outdone, FIU midfielder João Domíngues shot the ball right at Manske on the other side of the field, which Manske expertly deflected away. Towards the end of the half, the Hoyas found more momentum, connecting passes and building up plays from the back. One of Georgetown’s next chances came in the 39th minute. Sophomore midfielder Mateo Ponce Ocampo played a beautiful cross to Baker, who made a diving header at the edge of the six-yard box. Baker’s shot drifted just left of the post. The first half proved eventful but disappointing as the Hoyas could not find the back of the net. Rejuvenated, Georgetown came back from the break determined to create more opportunities. The Hoyas won four corners in a row in the 48th minute, but the Panthers defended each one excellently, ultimately denying Georgetown their desired prize. A few minutes later, the Hoyas created another excellent opportunity. Senior midfielder Blaine Mabie played the ball from the Hoyas’ half up the field to junior midfielder Jack Zengue. Zengue then passed the ball to sophomore midfielder Jack Heaps, who dribbled into the box and shot at FIU keeper Nigel Van Haveren, who saved it. Zengue quickly rebounded the ball and fired another shot on goal, but was once again outmaneuvered by Van Haveren. A mulligan attempt by Zengue missed just right of the goal. For the rest of the half, Van Haveren remained a nightmare for the Hoyas. Georgetown crafted another chance in the 58th minute as Zengue took a free kick from outside the box. At first, the ball appeared to be sailing towards

the back of the net until Van Haveren punched it away. Similarly, in the 77th minute, sophomore midfielder Matthew Van Horn directed a shot to the bottom corner, but Van Haveren extended one hand to push it away.

The intensity of the game came to a head in the 80th minute when the referees sent FIU captain and defender Edgar Aguilar off the field with a red card. The Hoyas, now a man up, turned up the intensity.

For the next ten minutes, the Hoyas created chance after chance but still failed to put the ball into the back of the net. In the 84th minute, Georgetown took three consecutive shots by junior midfielder Max Viera, sophomore midfielder Matthew Helfrich and Van Horn, respectively, all of which were blocked by the FIU defense and keeper.

In the last 20 seconds of the game, referees handed a second Panther, midfielder Juan Pablo Correa, a red card. However, the Hoyas did not have enough time to convert the advantage and ended the match scoreless.

The Hoyas finished the match with 12 corners to the Panthers’ 8. Manske recorded a shutout, tallying two saves on the day. The star of the game, though, was rival keeper Van Haveren, who notched nine saves.

“The guys did a great job of generating chances and their keeper had to make some incredible saves,” Head Coach Brian Wiese told Georgetown Athletics. “It’s a difficult sport to get right, but at the end of the day, this is the third shutout in a row and we’re excited to keep getting better.”

The Hoyas will return to Shaw Field on Friday, September 6th at 4 p.m. to face the Cornell Big Red (1-0).

Women Begin Title Defense, Men Aim For Competitive Season in Leesburg

The Georgetown University men’s and women’s cross country teams look to be in incredible form after competing for the first time this season Aug. 30 at the Big East Preview in Leesburg, Va., alongside George Washington University. The men’s squad finished with seven runners in the top ten of the 6,000 meters and the women’s team finished with three in the top ten of the 5,000-meter race The Georgetown women’s cross country team is expecting to have a spectacular season after ranking as No. 16 in the preseason national poll from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and No. 1 in the MidAtlanticRegion.Themen’steamisalso expecting strong placement, projected

to be No. 3 in the Mid-Atlantic.

Both teams hope to build upon their successful 2023 seasons. The women’s team, led by two-time AllAmerican senior Melissa Riggins, captured their third consecutive Mid-Atlantic title before finishing 18th at the national championships, while the men’s team came third in the region and 30th nationally.

The women sent only five athletes to the Big East Preview, but they made their mark — junior Cate Joaquin, blazing past competition, posted a time of 17:38, securing second place. Junior Mary Grace Hegberg and sophomore Sally Binder also secured spots in the top 10 for the Hoyas with times of 19:13 and 19:24, respectively.

“We were thrilled to see the five competing tonight to kick off our season,” women’s cross country

Head Coach Mitchell Baker said in an interview with Georgetown Athletics. “Joaquin challenged for the win; she’s come a long way and is ready for a great year.” In the 6,000 meter, the Georgetown men’s team dominated with seven of their runners placing in the top ten. Senior Lucas Guerra, sophomore Birhanu Harriman, and junior Luke Ondracek cruised across the finish line together to complete a photo finish with a shared time of 18:37. They were followed by sophomore Alazar Teffra at 18:41 and graduate student Abel Teffra, sophomore Akshay Vadul and first-year James Dunne, who all crossed at 18:43. Men’s Head Coach Brandon Bonsey said the meet served as an encouraging benchmark in preparation for the rest of the season.

JAMES BOYES/FLICKR

GUHOYAS

An exciting secondary unit, a record-breaking quarterback and ample amounts of talent throughout the roster should make the 2024 season a fun one for Georgetown football.

Ben Bliss Deputy Sports Editor

Oliver Ni Compensation Director

Owen Reid

Hoya Sports Columnist

Ceci Lukas Sports Staff Writer

INSTAGRAM/@YANKEES

Juan Soto’s Bat Belongs With the Bronx Bombers

HERMAN, from A12

maintain a strong lineup around Soto and should instead use the large sum required to extend Soto to acquire minor league talent. Essentially, he thinks the Yankees should tank. Personally, I’m inclined to believe he just wants Soto back on the Nationals and his argument is fueled by wishful thinking. But more importantly, I also think he is wrong. So, Professor Schlickenmaier, let me tell you why you’re wrong. To those of you who have taken “International Relations,” consider this my crit. The Yankees’ championship window might seem indefinite. But when soon-to-be two-time American League Most Valuable Player (AL MVP) and Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge passes his prime, a Yankees World Series run will be unrealistic. Judge is 32 — he will not be able to sustain his current level of play for much longer. So the Yankees need to win, now. Certainly, the Yankees can attempt to execute a long-term rebuild — but Judge would be out of the picture. That would be an unimaginably wasteful — and depressing — strategy for the Yankees to adopt.

To simply say Judge is the best player in baseball is an understatement. For those of you who have not followed Judge’s last few seasons — so for my salty Red Sox fan friends and roommate out there — let me give you some highlights. Judge nearly unanimously won the 2022 AL MVP award after hitting a record-breaking 62 home runs, batting a crisp .311 and boasting a ridiculous 1.111 OPS. In 2023, Judge hit 37 home runs and maintained a 1.019 OPS despite missing about 50 games due to injury (I will never forgive the Dodger Stadium wall). In 2024, Judge has 51 home runs, a 1.170 OPS and a 222 OPS+. That is not a normal level of “good at baseball.” Excluding players whose extracurricular activities involved taking steroids, Judge is the best hitter since Babe Ruth. While the Yankees have always been blessed with superstar talent, wasting Judge’s prime by neglecting to

sign a World Series-caliber team around him would be unforgivable.

Further, Judge benefits from Soto in the lineup. A one-two punch of Judge and Soto forces pitchers to throw hittable pitches to at least one of them. In a world in which the Yankees lineup included Judge and eight solid but not incredible players, there would be no need to risk pitching to Judge since no other player in the lineup would pose a major threat.

With Soto in the lineup, avoiding Judge becomes far more complicated. On the 2024 team, Judge almost always hits directly after Soto. Soto gets on base approximately 42% of the time, which is the second-highest rate in MLB. (Judge, to no one’s surprise, is first.)

Since Soto so frequently gets on base right before Judge hits, pitchers are often forced to swallow the risk and pitch to Judge. And pitchers absolutely must pitch to Soto. If they walk Soto, they have to face Judge. Judge at the plate with runners on is a terrifying sight — so pitchers have no choice but to feed Soto something hittable. Soto is on pace to finish this season with the best stats of his career so far, and part of that can be attributed to batting in front of Judge. For the skeptics out there, Soto has been intentionally walked one time this year. Judge immediately hit a three-run home run. After the game, Judge said he only swung at the pitch — which was out of the strike zone — out of spite. “I was mad about the intentional walk,” he told reporters. And I am not denying that depth is important. But good depth players are interchangeable and fairly accessible; Judge and Soto are not. Replacing the two best players in baseball is an impossible task.

To balk at the cost of resigning Soto is to wave the white flag and give up on winning a World Series with a team led by Judge. No price tag justifies that. I refuse to tell my children I was lucky enough to watch Judge and Soto hit back-to-back but too unlucky to see them win a ring. So I will close with this eloquent demand: Get it done, Cashman.

Rushing Offense Powers Thumping Hoya Victory

DAVIDSON, from A12

20 seconds and put the Hoyas up 29-17.

Not to be outdone, sophomore cornerback Quincy Briggs recovered a fumble on Davidson’s next possession and ran the other way for another touchdown to extend the lead to 36-17. Shortly afterward, Cox showed that he wanted in on the contest, scoring a second touchdown to make the game 43-17.

From there on out, there was a scant chance of the Wildcats coming back, though they did score one more touchdown in the fourth quarter. That score aside, the Hoya defense stifled the Wildcats through and through to secure the win.

Georgetown Head Coach Rob Sgarlata said he was pleased with the team’s effort on both sides of the ball.

“It’s great to open the season 1-0 on the Hilltop. Davidson does a great job with their program. It was a very close game to start out,” Sgarlata told Georgetown Athletics. “We had some big defensive plays, especially from Quincy Briggs. Anytime that you can run for over 270 yards and control the ball game on the ground makes for a great day.”

Georgetown now extends its all-time series lead over Davidson to 10-4. Next week, the team will face another out-of-conference school, taking on the Marist Red Foxes (0-0) in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Late Momentum Not Enough Against Mountaineers

APP STATE, from A12

Henriette Stegen netted the game’s third goal.

Georgetown recorded only one shot in the entirety of the third quarter; a shot that was blocked coming off the stick of junior forward Ellie Johnson.

Of note, Fahey would break her career-high for saves by the end of the third quarter with 18, topping the 17 she previously saved Sept. 22, 2023, against the University of Connecticut. Early in the fourth, Georgetown generated several more chances in front of the Appalachian State net. Sophomore midfielder Izzy Lee took a penalty corner, allowing Leahy an opportunity. Grenis saved her shot, but Lee recovered the rebound quickly and took another shot. However, Grenis saved this one too, shutting down the Hoyas’ short surge of momentum. That would be all the offense that Georgetown could muster, as Appalachian State went on to record 4 more shots before the game’s end. Fahey finished with 21 saves.

The loss marks the third straight year that the Hoyas have failed to secure the season opener, and the third consecutive match lost to Appalachian State. Last year’s season began with a 7-game losing streak, one in which Georgetown’s goal differential was an ugly -20. Georgetown will look to get into the win column Sept. 6, when they travel to Lock Haven, Pa., to battle the Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Last season, the Hoyas defeated Lock Haven 4-2 for their first win.

Strong Individual Performances in Opening Weekend

DC CHALLENGE, from A12

apiece, the Hoyas pulled away behind a strong all-around team effort that included 3 aces to win the set 25-21. Senior outside hitter Giselle Williams and sophomore middle blocker Kamryn Lee-Caracci paced Georgetown in the second set, yet despite their best efforts, the team could not shake loose its opposition. The Highlander right side duo of Trinity Sheridan and Carissa Wiles kept the set close and powered a final push to negate a Hoya set point for the second set. Even as UCR sustained its newfound momentum into the third set for a 12-7 advantage,

Williams stepped up with 5 kills, 2 aces and 1 assist for the 25-21 set victory. Goyena helped Georgetown seal the game with 6 kills en route to a 25-19 fourth set, giving the team its first victory of the season. During the match, Goyena notched 11 kills on a .333 hitting percentage to become the 16th Hoya to surpass 1,000 career kills, while Lee-Caracci proved efficient with 7 kills, 4 blocks and 3 digs on a .429 hitting percentage. Defensively, senior libero Karis Park turned in a vintage performance with 22 digs and 8 assists, while junior middle blocker Vaughan Anoa’i accounted for 9 blocks. The MEAC championship-fa-

vorite Bison proved to be the toughest matchup of the weekend, led by two-time conference Player of the Year outside hitter Rya McKinnon’s 19 kills. Howard registered an unanswered eightpoint and six-point run to storm out to a 25-16 first set. Yet the Hoyas showed fight, even after falling behind 14-9 in the second set. Williams and Filippova helped lead a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead, but Georgetown could not muster a final comeback and fell 25-23 in set two. The Hoyas could not finish strong to avoid the sweep as the Bison once again romped out to a 10-3 run to close out the game. Mitchell and Williams have emerged as early leaders of

Georgetown’s offensive unit with 33.5 and 33 points, respectively, and Park remains the core of the defensive unit at 45 digs across the three matches. Filippova and Lee-Caracci are continuing to grow as core pieces for the team, while Goyena still has another offensive gear to kick into as the season progresses. How responsibilities are delegated between the setter tandem of sophomore Emily Wen and Urbina will be an interesting development for the rest of the season. Georgetown returns to action in the four-game Maryland Invitational starting Sept. 6 against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (2-2).

SOPHIA LU/THE HOYA

The running back trio of senior Naieem Kearney, junior Mason Gudger and sophomore Bryce Cox powered the Hoya offense, collecting a combined 215 rushing yards.

Despite their best efforts, the Hoyas only managed five shots in a 3-0 shutout against the Appalachian State Mountaineers, with goalie Ella Fahey recording 21 saves. Georgetown will look to rebound next week against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles.

Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are a generational duo whom Eilat Herman (CAS ’26) believes the New York Yankees must re-sign.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

TALKING POINTS

The Georgetown University men’s soccer missed out on multiple key chances in an exciting 0-0 draw against FIU.

A Letter to My Professor, Who Is Wrong About The Yankees

Eilat Herman Hoya Sports Columnist

It is about time I write about the Yankees’ prodigal right fielder who gets me into arguments with my professor. Juan Soto is a touchy subject in Washington, D.C. After he became a key player during their whirlwind 2019

Series run, fans saw Soto as a lifetime National, destined to carry them to greatness again and again. But in August 2022, just three years after their championship, the Nationals traded Soto to the San Diego Padres. After the 2023 season, with just one year left before he reached free agency, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman granted me all my hopes and dreams: he traded for Soto. Yankees fans are greedy, I admit it. So when we acquired Soto, we were not yet satisfied. We demanded that Cashman extend his contract.

Stepping into Yankee Stadium, it becomes immediately apparent just how true this is. The constant “re-sign Soto” chants from the bleachers every game are pretty clear indications. Strangely, however, I recently learned that not everyone agrees. Last week, a professor stopped by my desk at work. We talked about baseball, as one does. He is a Nationals fan and I am — guess what — a Yankees fan, so we were obligated to discuss Soto. He took the position that the Yankees should let him go at the end of the season and rebuild; he claimed the Yankees do not have enough depth to

See HERMAN, A11

Georgetown vs. Penn State

Sunday, 1:00 p.m.

Shaw Field

A successful season is just us going out and paying our hardest, playing our best and giving all we have. Senior Defensive Lineman VeRon Garrison

The Georgetown University football team trounced the Davidson Wildcats 46-24 to open up a hopeful season. A strong performance by the secondary, along with a potent offense both through the air and on the ground, fueled the Hoyas.

FOOTBALL

Hoyas Dominate Davidson in Season Opener

Sophia Lu Senior Sports Editor

The Georgetown University football team hammered the Davidson Wildcats for a statement 46-24 win in their season opener at Cooper Field. The Hoyas (1-0) and the Wildcats (0-1) both came into the game with high expectations. Fans of the two teams turned out in equal measure, with half of the bleachers donning the blue and gray and the other half donning Davidson red. The contest was an offensive firework show, but it was ultimately the Hoyas who commanded the game, racking up 263 yards of rushing offense and 106 yards of passing offense. Davidson’s penchant for untimely mistakes doomed

their chances of ever winning the game.

Right out of the gate, the Hoyas capitalized on the Wildcats’ unforced errors. After fumbling the opening kickoff, Davidson offensive lineman Danny Fish snapped the ball too high, leading to a hasty recovery at the 1-yard line by quarterback Coulter Cleland. The Hoyas converted this into a safety for 2 points, setting themselves up for an early lead.

Upon receiving the ball, the Hoyas started their first offensive drive. Their dynamic running back trio of sophomore Bryce Cox, junior Mason Gudger and senior Naieem Kearney brought the ball all the way downfield, but their momentum was stalled after senior wide receiver Brock Biestek caught

the ball out of bounds on a 3rdand-8. Though the drive did not end in a touchdown, senior kicker Patrick Ryan successfully converted a 35-yard field goal to put the Hoyas up 5-0.

Later on in the first quarter, the Hoyas again drove all the way downfield to set Kearney up for a touchdown with 1:14 left. However, the referees revoked the score after senior offensive lineman Kaysen MahukaKaawa drew a holding penalty on the play. All signs pointed to the drive stalling, but the Hoyas were fortunately saved by Davidson defensive lineman Ashton Miller’s personal foul. Given a second chance, Kearney darted straight into the end zone to make the score 12-3 after Ryan’s successful extra point. The Wildcats came back with

Appalachian State Holds Hoyas Scoreless

Teddy Gerkin

Sports Staff Writer

Thanks to some timely lightning strikes, the Georgetown University field hockey team avoided losing its season opener in Davidson, N.C., against the Davidson Wildcats. The Hoyas found themselves down 5-1 at halftime, with senior captain and midfielder Sophie Towne scoring the lone Hoya goal before the game was declared a no contest. This gave Georgetown (0-1) a second chance to start the new season on the right foot in Boone, N.C., facing off against the Appalachian State Mountaineers (2-0). Unfortunately, the team squandered the opportunity. The Mountaineers held the Hoyas scoreless on just five shots, four of which were on goal. When the final buzzer rang, the scoreboard had the Hoyas losing 3-0. While the two teams found themselves knotted in a tie after 15 minutes of play, the first quarter served as an accurate bellwether for the rest of the match. Early on, the Mountaineers’ defense stifled the Hoyas, who failed to record a single shot. While the Hoyas failed to advance the ball, App State took advantage on offense, firing off a total of 8 shots, 5 of which were on goal. A bright spot for the Hoyas came in the form of sophomore goalkeeper Ella Fahey, who made 5 saves in the first quarter. In the second quarter, George-

After having its original season opener against Davidson declared a no-contest due to lightning, Georgetown’s field hockey team could not muster enough offensively against App State.

town’s offense started to find a spark. Senior midfielder Elena Leahy and junior forward and midfielder Sydney Yodh put shots on goal within 7 seconds of each other. Although Mountaineer goalkeeper Claire Grenis saved both, their offensive momentum was encouraging. However, Georgetown’s advantage did not last as they withstood an offensive onslaught by Appalachian State. For the first 8:30 of

the second quarter, Georgetown would bend but not break, with Fahey recording 4 more saves. Eventually, the Hoya defense succumbed to the Mountaineers’ pressure, with App State forward Charlotte Bosma, assisted by midfielder Grace Ball, scoring off a penalty corner. Appalachian State continued to pepper the net with shots, ringing off 5 in the next 1:31 before doubling their lead off the

stick of midfielder Kassie Paul. Heading into halftime, the score stood in favor of Appalachian State at 2-0. Unfortunately, the third quarter remained much the same for Georgetown. Appalachian State dominated possession for the first 10 minutes. The Hoyas did not record a single shot, while the Mountaineers recorded 7 before forward.

See APP STATE, A11

12:37 left in the second quarter, after running back Mason Sheron put in a first and goal at the 3-yard line. But intent on expanding Georgetown’s lead, Cox sprinted with the ball from the Davidson 40yard line for a 59-yard touchdown on the next drive. This fruitful play, during which Cox evaded several well-positioned defenders of the Wildcats’ secondary, put Georgetown up 19-10. Davidson, however, appeared inspired after their offense took possession. The Hoyas busted their coverage of Wildcats wide receiver Kellyn West, who earned a 42-yard gain. If not for a late save in the backfield by senior cornerback Kolubah Pewee Jr., West would have scored a touchdown. Nevertheless, on the next play, Davidson running back Mari Adams bulldozed his way through the Hoya defense for the score. On the next Hoya possession, Ryan put the ball through the goalposts for a 22-17 lead, but there was just enough time for Davidson to launch another drive before the half expired. The Wildcats made it all the way down the field, but rushed their touchdown attempt, allowing Pewee Jr. to intercept the ball. While the two teams went back and forth during the first half, the second half was an entirely different story. On the Hoyas’ first drive, Gudger immediately turned on the jets, blasting Davidson defenders left and right for a 78-yard run and setting the Hoyas up for the second Kearney touchdown of the day. The drive took less than

A11

Oliver Ni Compensation Director

Following a successful rebuild last year, the Georgetown University volleyball team sought to continue its upward trajectory with a three-game homestand to open the 2024 season. The Hoyas (1-2) encountered stiff competition in the D.C. Challenge hosted at McDonough Arena. Although Georgetown dropped three-set games against local rivals American Eagles (50) and Howard Bison (2-1), the team managed to pick up a win against the traveling University of California at Riverside (UCR) Highlanders (0-4). While the young squad managed several strong individual performances, the Hoyas ultimately struggled to close out tight sets against tougher opposition. Georgetown began the series Aug. 30 against the formidable American University team looking to challenge for the Patriot League title. After letting the first set slip to an 8-3 deficit, the Hoyas powered back to a 10-10 tie behind 4 kills and 1 block by firstyear outside hitter Dionna Mitchell. The two teams proceeded to trade scoring runs to tie the score

at 19 before the Eagles seized the first set with a 6-2 streak. The second set was much of the same story. After both teams came out firing on all cylinders for 13 points apiece, American strung together a 5-0 run, including 4 consecutive kills by outside hitter Adelina Berisha. The Hoyas bounced back to a 23-22 lead behind Mitchell and sophomore outside hitter Maria Filippova but conceded three straight points to lose another set. Berisha and outside hitter Zedo Yilmaz dominated the third set as the Eagles swooped to an early 12-3 lead and never looked back en route to the sweep. Mitchell highlighted Georgetown’s offense in the match with 14 kills, 1 ace and 1 block on a .344 hitting percentage, while first-year setter Juleigh Urbina played admirably with 19 assists and 8 digs. The Hoyas rebounded convincingly against the Highlanders in four sets the next day. Senior outside hitter Mary Grace Goyena’s 2 kills and 2 blocks, along with multiple UCR errors, gave Georgetown an early 13-9 lead. After the Highlanders managed to bring the score to 15

See DAVIDSON,

FIELD HOCKEY