The Hoya: December 6, 2024 by The Hoya

Title IX Policy To Change At GU Law After Pregnancy AccommodationControversy

Nora

Toscano Senior News Editor

After backlash against their decision to deny a pregnant student accommodations for her final exam, officials at the Georgetown University Law Center will reconsider its accommodations and Title IX policies in consultation with students, faculty and staff. The announcement, in a Nov. 29 email to law students, follows student backlash against the university’s initial decision to deny Brittany Lovely (LAW ’26), a pregnant student due to give birth during her final exam period, accommodations to take her exams early or online. The school reversed the decision after Georgetown Law students started a petition Nov. 21 opposing it and reached an agreement with Lovely on accommodations Nov. 22.

In the email, Law Center Dean William M. Treanor and Vice Dean Lilian V. Faulhaber said they would invite community members to participate in discussions around the school’s policies on accommodations for pregnant and parenting and disabled students.

“We have heard your concerns about barriers encountered by pregnant and parenting students and students with disabilities,” Treanor and Faulhaber wrote in the email.

“In the new year, we will be gathering input from students, faculty and staﬀ to better understand the challenges experienced and develop proposals for changes to relevant policies and procedures in accordance with Title IX, the Americans with Disability Act, See TITLE IX, A7

GEORGETOWN LAW/YOUTUBE

Georgetown University Law Center announced it will meet with students to update its Title IX accomodations and policies.

Students Rally for Gender-Affirming Care

Shira Oz City News Desk Editor

Georgetown University students joined hundreds of protesters outside the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 4 for a rally in support of gender-affirming medical treatments as the court heard oral arguments in a high-profile case that challenges a state-level ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

The case concerns a 2023 Tennessee law that restricts medical treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies and transition surgeries for transgender people under the age of 18, with three families and a doctor challenging

GU Records Tuberculosis Case, Patient in Treatment, Recovery

A Georgetown University community member at the school’s Capitol Campus was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), a treatable but serious illness, the university announced in a Nov. 25 email.

The university is working with infectious disease experts from its faculty and the District of Columbia Department of Health (D.C. Health), which is leading the public health response to the case, to provide information and resources to the community, according to the email. The university did not identify the individual diagnosed with tuberculosis, but they are currently receiving treatment and in good

condition, the email said.

Tuberculosis — a bacterial infection of the lungs that can also aﬀect other parts of the body and is spread through the air — can be deadly if left untreated, though antibiotic treatment for the disease is available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people experiencing tuberculosis symptoms, including cough, fever, chest pain, pain when breathing, shortness of breath and fatigue should isolate, take proper safety precautions and go to a doctor for testing.

Dr. Seble Kassaye, the university’s acting medical advisor and an infectious disease specialist, urged

anyone potentially exposed to test for the disease.

“It is important that persons who are notiﬁed about possible exposure complete the recommended screening and testing to determine infection status,” Kassaye wrote to The Hoya. “As TB takes time to establish infection, testing is performed at baseline, and again in approximately 8 weeks.”

“D.C. Health takes the lead to identify and coordinate or provide testing to close contacts,” Kassaye added.

The university has made testing available for anyone exposed, while D.C. Health has been working to notify

See TUBERCULOSIS, A7

the law’s constitutionality in federal court. As the court prepared to hear arguments, protesters both in support of the ban and against the ban attended simultaneous rallies outside the court, with several Georgetown students — including members of Georgetown’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a nonproﬁt organization that advocates for civil rights issues, and the Georgetown University College Democrats (GUCD) — attending the rally against the ban.

The attorneys in the Court argued the ban should be considered with a more stringent standard because it concerns sex-based distinctions and

discriminates against transgender children. Those in support of the ban say the consideration is focused on medical distinctions, not sex.

Reilly Souther (CAS ’27), the advocacy director of GUCD, who attended the rally, said she attended to ﬁght for gender-aﬀirming care.

“We should listen to the science and we should listen to trans people,” Souther told The Hoya “Trans health care and genderaﬀirming care is important and necessary, and I don’t think we should be making people’s lives a buzz issue just for political agenda.”

At the rally against the ban, speakers included Senator

Ed Markey (D-Mass.); Mariah Moore, the co-deputy director of programs and policy at Transgender Law Center, a transgender-led organization that focuses on civil rights issues; and actress and comedian Ilana Glazer. Markey said those who oppose the ban should take meaningful action to ﬁght against it.

“Freedom is not inevitable; it is fought for by people who say ‘no’ in the face of discrimination, ‘no’ in the face of invasive laws that seek to limit what health care you can get and ‘no’ to the anti-justice

See SCOTUS, A7

Groves Named Interim President, Colbert Appointed Interim Provost

Nora Toscano Senior News

Editor

Following the retirement of Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95), Georgetown University named former Provost and Executive Vice President Robert M. Groves interim president Nov. 21 and Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) interim provost Nov. 26.

Groves, a statistician, served as Georgetown’s provost and executive vice president from 2012 until his promotion to interim president, while Colbert, a professor in the departments of performing arts and Black studies, previously served as interim dean of the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences and has most recently served as vice president for interdisciplinary initiatives since 2023. DeGioia, who began his tenure as president in 2001, will become the university’s president emeritus, with Georgetown conducting a nationwide search for his permanent replacement to conclude by July 2026.

Groves spent much of his career teaching at the University of Michigan and served as the director of the U.S. Census Bureau from 2009 to 2012. He said his goal as interim president is to uphold DeGioia’s legacy.

“Our job, as the Board has di

rected, is to be energetic stewards of the institution at this moment of transition, to actively

SHIRA OZ/THE HOYA

Georgetown University students joined hundreds of protestors outside the Supreme Court as the Court heard a case on a state-level ban for gender-affirming healthcare for minors in the case of United States v. Skrmetti Dec. 4.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown University named Robert Groves interim president Nov. 21 and Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) interim provost Nov. 26.

OPINION

Build on DeGioia’s Achievements

On Nov. 21, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) formally announced that he would step down as president.

During DeGioia’s 23-year presidency, the university strengthened its commitment to academic excellence and took notable steps toward cultivating an inclusive community, including founding the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), which supports ﬁrstgeneration and low-income (FGLI) students, in 2004 and addressing Georgetown’s legacy of involvement in slavery. Provost Robert M. Groves has taken the reins as interim president and the university will search for its next president, who will take oﬀice in 2026.

The Editorial Board urges the next president to honor DeGioia’s legacy by continuing his work for progressive causes, including aﬀordability and access in admissions, combating racism and supporting residential assistants’ (RAs’) ﬁght for a fair contract. DeGioia made commitments to diversity and inclusion throughout his presidency. During his term, Georgetown became the first Catholic university to open an LGBTQ Resource Center in 2008; launched a working group on slavery, memory and reconciliation, a program to research and identify Georgetown’s role in slavery, in 2015 and founded the Disability Cultural Center, an organization that supports the disability community and culture on campus, in 2022.

While these were and are important steps, FGLI and students of color have reported feeling a lack of inclusion at Georgetown.

The university’s 2020 Cultural Climate Survey, Georgetown’s first-ever survey to examine student experiences, found 76% of white students at Georgetown said they felt part of the campus community, compared to only 43.3% of Black students. Further, 37.5% of Black students reported experiencing prejudice.

In the 2021 Cultural Climate Survey, 76% of students with an annual household income greater than $150,000 said they felt a sense of belonging. Alarmingly, only 47% of students with an annual household income below $25,000 shared this same sentiment.

In response, DeGioia said he would work to ensure all students feel a sense of belonging on campus.

“I know that we have the capacity to respond to this challenge –– to do the work required of us to uphold the values and the expectations we have of this community,” DeGioia wrote.

To meaningfully advance DeGioia’s progress, the new administration must expand access to admissions and continue supporting students of color and FGLI students. In admissions, removing the university’s $75 fee for

HOYA HISTORY

December 6, 1985

With six diverse university departments under his direction, Dean of Student Aﬀairs Jack DeGioia says he has just begun getting settled into a job he took over four months ago today.

“I’ve spent the last four months trying to ﬁgure out what the questions are,” he said. “I think what I’ve been doing up until now is trying to get a clear picture on what the goals, the responsibilities, the expectations are both of and by the members of Student Aﬀairs.”

DeGioia oversees the Athletic Department, the Counseling Center, Protective Services, Student Health, Career Planning and Placement, and the Oﬀice of Residence Life, which includes Student Activities, New Student Orientation, Adjudication, the Performing Arts, and the Community Involvement Program. In addition, he spends two to three days on the road every other week in fundraising eﬀorts for the new University Center and for some of the smaller sports programs.

He said that matters concerning the University Center have taken much of his time so far, but that all of consequence still to be determined is “the management of the building: what hours will be kept, how it will be secured, what sort of fast food will be served from there, how the Pub will be conﬁgured.”

DeGioia also said the possibility of a change in the drinking age might aﬀect the status of the Pub. He said he has not scrapped the operating assumption of his predecessor that the age will someday be raised.

undergraduate applications, switching to the Common App system and eliminating legacy admissions would promote the goals of affordability and access for prospective students.

The university must continue endowing programs such as GSP, the Community Scholars Program (CSP) and First Fellows program, a fellowship to support first-generation students, to ensure FGLI students can continue to succeed at Georgetown.

Yunji Yun (CAS ’26), a member of GSP, said she hopes the new administration will continue these programs.

“Theseprogramsspecificallyhaveprovidedopportunities for FGLI students to thrive academically and create a tightknit community,” Yun wrote to The Hoya.

The university can speciﬁcally support students of color by listening to students’ demands. During DeGioia’s tenure, GU Protects Racists demanded justice following a racist hate crime, yet the university never completely addressed these demands. The Editorial Board urges the new administration to address these ongoing concerns to protect students of color.

The university will conduct the next Cultural Climate Survey in Spring 2025. The new administration must reflect on these results and respond with actionable steps.

The university must also work to ensure student workers receive fair pay for their labor, especially in providing better financial support to resident assistants.

After RAs unionized in April, the university entered contract negotiations with the Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC), the RAs’ union coalition. Five months of negotiations later, unresolved issues such as placement and hiring remain.

Sam Lovell (CAS ’25), the interim chairperson of GRAC, said he views the change in administration as an opportunity to build the relationship between RAs and the university.

“Organizing has presented a powerful opportunity to not only redeﬁne what it means to be an RA on this campus but to also heal a relationship that was in many ways damaged,” Lovell wrote to The Hoya.

The next president must remain receptive to GRAC, ensuring they negotiate effectively and efficiently.

Although DeGioia’s tenure was not perfect, the Editorial Board commends him for meaningful progress in advancing inclusion. Yet to truly build on his achievements, the next president must approach student inclusion with the seriousness it deserves. Amid the myriad of responsibilities Georgetown’s next president will face, the Editorial Board urges Georgetown’s next president to continue and reaffirm DeGioia’s commitment to fostering a welcoming environment for all students.

“It’s definitely an assumption of Student Affairs that we have to be prepared for a change in the drinking laws,” he said. “They [a subcommittee of the center’s planning committee] are charged with the responsibility of developing two separate options [depending on the law’s status).”

“Also, theater plans are still being developed,” he said. “I’m meeting with theater people from around the country right now to discuss with them what sort of program we would like to develop. I am meeting with the guy who runs the American Repertory Theater at Harvard to discuss the kind of program they run. They have a professional theater company in which the members of the company teach theater to undergraduates. That’s a very exciting possibility, and what we’re doing right now is just exploring different options for programming.”

Such practices, setting up committees, planning for different contingencies, exploring various future options, make up a large portion of DeGioia’s job.

“Right now I’m putting in an awful lot of time —much more than I think is required by the job because I’m still trying to ﬁgure out what my priorities are,” he said. “Right now everything is of equal priority, because I’m not sure how to weigh them.”

DeGioia outlined two major responsibilities for his department. First, he said it should try to create an atmosphere where relations between faculty and students can be “most dynamic, most alive.” Second, he wants to “create another set of opportunities outside the class-

room... What I’ve been stressing since I took the job is that the undergraduate years are a time of questioning, a time of probing. It’s a time in which you try to develop a personal identity. The first way which we do that at universities is we try to get the very brightest people in their fields to rub minds with very young, passionate, idealistic minds.”

“I really believe in this place,” he continued. “I believe that we here are committed to students who are not just going to be lawyers and doctors, but who will be husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and who’ll go to church and be citizens of the United States or wherever they are from.”

Finally, DeGioia praised his predecessor, William R. Stott, for managing the growing number of on-campus residents at Georgetown from 1975, when only 1,800 students lived on campus, until now, when almost 4,000 do.

Noting that it has been precisely those same ten years that he has been at Georgetown as either a student or administrator, DeGioia said he has been more impressed by that development since he has seen it ﬁrsthand.

Also, however, this growth provides more challenges. “With an applicant pool of 12,000, the sense of expectation and actual need is much greater than it has ever been before,” he said. “If you’ve got 4,000 people on campus you’ve got to provide a much better degree of service than you had to when you only had 1,800.”

Quin Hillyer

Founded January 14, 1920

Opinion is not simply what I or the columnists make it — it is what the Georgetown community makes it, and that includes you.”

Peter Sloniewsky (CAS ’27) “Let Opinion Be For The Georgetown Community” thehoya.com

On November 21, 2024, President John J. DeGioia formally announced that he would be stepping down as Georgetown’s president. As Georgetown’s board of directors prepares its search for the university’s next president, the Editorial Board reﬂected on student concerns and issues that the next president should address.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Heather Wang

Patrick Clapsaddle, Maren Fagan and Aamir Jamil, Executive Editors Rohini Kudva, Managing Editor

Nora Toscano, News Editor

Jack Willis, News Editor

Catherine Alaimo, Features Editor

Paulina Inglima, Features Editor

Annikah Mishra, Opinion Editor

Maya Ristvedt, Opinion Editor

Elizabethe Bogrette, Guide Editor

Caroline Woodward, Guide Editor

Caleigh Keating, Sports Editor

Sophia Lu, Sports Editor

Isabel Liu, Science Editor

Shivali Vora, Science Editor

Heather Wang, Design Editor

Aria Zhu, Design Editor

Grace Bauer, Copy Chief

Madeleine Ott, Copy Chief

Toni Marz, Social Media Editor

Aspen Nguyen, Social Media Editor

Fallon Wolfley, Blog Editor

Kate Hwang, Multimedia Editor

Michael Scime, Multimedia Editor

Meghan Hall, Photo Editor

Board of Directors

Clayton Kincade, Chair

Oliver Ni, Emily Han, Georgia Russello

Hoya conducted

Evie Steele, Editor in Chief

Peter Sloniewsky, General Manager

VIEWPOINT • SLONIEWSKY

Let Opinion Fully Serve GU

To all of the readership of The Hoya,

I have had the distinct honor of serving as The Hoya’s senior opinion editor throughout this now-fading fall semester.

Two weeks ago, directing my ﬁnal pages of Opinion, I edited, laid and printed a piece entitled “Strive for Better from Opinion” by columnist Saahil Rao (SFS ’27). In his ﬁnal contribution of the semester, Rao departed with an argument that the Opinion section should publish pieces that are policy-oriented and tangibly actionable, decrying its recent content as entries in a “public, collaborative student diary” that centers around the authors’ emotions. He praised the past success of Opinion in its alleged glory days and urged its future leaders to “publish thoughtful solutions to the crises in our community as they arise.”

I do not disagree with the idea that it is the shared duty of contributors and leadership within the section to make Opinion’s content worth reading. I also do not disagree with the idea that more provocative, pertinent articles tend to impact student life and campus policy more directly. It feels unnecessary, however, to speculate whether we have published more or less of such content as of late. That being said, the idea that we should not be a “public, collaborative student diary” is where I take issue.

Allow me to make a brief historical comparison: In March 1969, a handful of students founded the Village Voice — what would go on to be known as the Georgetown Voice — aiming to engage with both readership and subjects beyond the Hilltop. Alternatively, as graduate Peter Morris (CAS ’74) wrote to The Hoya in 2020, “The Hoya chose to engage the university. We didn’t belong to the city. The Hoya belonged to the students.”

Morris draws a comparison: The Voice spent its efforts delivering its publication throughout the city, while The Hoya spent theirs building a better student newspaper, as “good writers and editors asked to write what they loved to write,” and “we said yes.”

Further illustrating this dichotomy, the now-Georgetown Voice’s mission statement claims in its second sentence that “we shall not limit our editorial content to campus topics. We promise to present and analyze national and local issues of concern to the student, whose concern should spread beyond the campus.”

On the other hand, then-Editor-inChief Joseph R. Mickler, Jr. (CAS ’20) preceded the first edition of The Hoya with a message: “We lay this first

edition of The Hoya at the feet of the student body, and retreat to a safe distance to observe the effects.”

I do not draw such a comparison to critique any perceived competition to The Hoya, but rather to emphasize: We cannot take for granted that The Hoya is for Georgetown and Georgetown alone. The title of “newspaper of record” was not earned because The Hoya was there first or because the administration shines favorably upon its work — it is a title that we continually earn and defend, and have done so for more than a century through a foremost commitment to the university and its students.

Published Opinion pieces require writers to include a “Georgetown connection” and a “call to action” concerning the greater university community, not as a ploy to reduce submissions or to increase their relevance, but because The Hoya is meant to present Georgetown through and through. It is still laid at the feet of the student body.

The Hoya’s Opinion section does not belong to me. It does not belong to the editors who will succeed me or the editors who will succeed them. It does not belong to the board of editors or the board of directors. It belongs to the administration, the Jesuits, the graduates and most of all the students — the human lifeblood of Georgetown.

And as such, why shouldn’t The Hoya’s Opinion section be that “public, collaborative student diary”? Should it not contain our thoughts, our ambitions, our fears and our hopes to be edited, printed, dated and recalled at any given time? Opinion is not meant to represent a cabal barricaded by pedigree or a hegemony of student voices who are especially educated on the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) financial appropriations process. If anything, Opinion should present itself unashamed — it should chronicle the rumblings and the subtle chaos of Georgetown student life, the “personal, reflecting and abstract” and the myriad of viewpoints that make our campus whole. Opinion is not simply what I or the columnists make it — it is what the Georgetown community makes it, and that includes you.

The slogan of The Hoya is “Read the Paper.” But beyond just reading the paper, it falls upon us all to contribute, to join its ranks or otherwise work toward its mission (as Rao put it) of advancing and informing our community’s discourse. Opinion is, and will be, what you make of it.

Peter Sloniewsky is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences

VIEWPOINT • HIBBERT

Celebrate Red Square Tree’s Enduring Legacy

Idon’t think I’ve ever thought about a tree as much as I have this past week. They occupy such a massive physical space in our daily lives, especially in the bustling environment of a college campus like ours. Yet, the gifts they give us are often overlooked. That’s why I was originally so surprised to see the Georgetown University community’s genuine disappointment about the removal of the Red Square oak tree — I didn’t know a tree could be so meaningful.

With the seemingly endless construction on campus, I thought the sadness over the famed tree’s removal was nothing more than an extension of the general dissatisfaction over the university claiming more of our campus’s nature. While that’s certainly inﬂuencing the student body’s passionate response, another aspect of this tree’s signiﬁcance lies in what takes place under it.

Student groups that represented opposing political parties or diﬀerent stances on abortion can all be found tabling beneath the tree. Democrat or Republican, proabortion or anti-abortion, the tree seemed to symbolize a place where any opinion could

Recognize Effects of Short Winter Break

At just 17 days, this year’s winter break is about a week shorter than past years’. In both last year and the year prior, students had 24 days between the last oﬀicial ﬁnal exam date and the start of the spring semester. Georgetown University’s winter break this year is also significantly shorter than those of other universities in the Washington, D.C. area. For the 2024-25 academic year, students at American University will receive 29 days for their winter break, and students at the George Washington University will receive 25 days. Last semester, students expressed their thoughts on this change through a petition. Nearly 900 community members signed, conveying their disapproval of the shortened break. The university, however, left the academic calendar unchanged. While there is nothing we can do about our shortened winter break now, it is important to observe its likely consequences on Georgetown students and how important it is for Georgetown to recognize these consequences. According to research, time spent with family contributes positively to a family’s bonding, communication and solidarity in a unique manner. Winter break allows students to spend time with their families, giving them the opportunity to improve and strengthen relationships with their parents and siblings.

At a time where students are relieved from the stress

of pending assignments, winter break finally provides students with the ability to focus on reconnecting with their family instead of on homework and papers.

International students are especially impacted by this shortened break, as they need to account for the cost of international ﬂights and the long time commitment of international travel. Thus, they are often unable to return home throughout the semester until winter break.

With the shortened break, both domestic and international students must travel within days of December holidays, increasing not only ﬁnancial demands but also anxiety levels.

Alessia Viscusi (SFS ’27), a French international student, said this year’s shortened winter break has changed her perception of travelling home.

“As a student whose parents live overseas, winter break is one of my only occasions to go home and see my family and friends,” Viscusi told me. “Beyond shortening this rare time to reconnect with people who are important to me, having a break that is not even two and a half weeks dramatically increased the price of traveling back home, to the point of making me reconsider whether to go back.”

Viscusi also described the mental and ﬁnancial stress from travelling closer to the holidays as “an unnecessary addition to the already high ﬁnancial burden of attending college.”

Beyond the stresses of traveling and ﬁnances, mental health in general often takes a dip around the end of the semester.

Joe Massaua (SFS ’25) said winter break allows students to truly have time off from the semester and stresses about school.

“Winter break is called a ‘break’ for a reason; it allows students to decompress from the stresses of a semester and spend time with family and friends,” Massaua told me.

Indeed, winter break isn’t just a pause from tests and homework; it’s an essential reset from the demands of college life, internships and the challenges of being away from home. It’s a time to reconnect with family and friends, engage in hobbies and reflect on personal goals without the pressure of deadlines. For many, this much-needed intermission is a key factor in returning to campus feeling more balanced, motivated and ready to tackle the next semester.

As an academically rigorous institution with a body of stressed students, Georgetown must protect the mental health of its student body. Without a standardized policy on excused mental health days, the shortening of this break is a severe shortcoming on the university’s part. It was wrong for the university to shorten the winter break in the first place. In the future, it is imperative for Georgetown to recognize the importance of these breaks on students’ mental health when creating the academic calendar.

Charlotte Hibbert is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

be safely voiced. Most recently, student organizers held a vigil recognizing of Transgender Day of Remembrance around the tree, reminding us that even those facing societal prejudice can ﬁnd a home under the tree.

Beneath the tree, we were all the same. As we set up tables to promote views that may seem radically diﬀerent, we were all alike in our genuine desire to promote what we believe is right. We are all students using a shared space to express the same passion.

The unanimous sorrow among the student body following the tree’s removal shows us just how alike we truly are. At Georgetown, we all come from different places with different backgrounds and have very different — and seemingly irreconcilably opposing — views about the world. Sometimes, we don’t have a lot of common ground to stand on, but our sympathy toward the tree gives us some.

There have been many events that have formed a rift between us — November’s U.S. presidential election comes to mind — leaving communities more divided than ever. The fairy tales told to us by politicians, news anchors or Instagram inﬂuencers are that

we can’t ever see eye-to-eye with someone across the aisle. Under the Red Square oak tree, that’s not true. No matter what our diﬀerent ideologies are, we will all miss the tree — and that shared sentiment is enough for me to believe we are all a lot more alike than we think.

As my column comes to a close, I realize that’s been the point of my articles all along. In a diverse environment like Georgetown, where it may feel like we struggle on our own, I wanted to create a space for us to connect over the little things in life. My goal has been to bring people together and help them see a bit of themselves in my relatable experiences, rather than dedicating my energy to swaying people’s opinions on a certain issue.

In the end, the fairy tale we tell ourselves is that we’re all so different and nobody experiences the same issues we do. Our differences — the things that make us special — are indeed things to be celebrated, but they are often used to drive us apart. Because we have different stories and hold different beliefs, we tell ourselves that nobody gets us — but this is one tale that isn’t true.

Although the Red Square oak tree didn’t get a fairy tale ending

— stripped of its branches and uprooted in a matter of days — we live with the promise of a new one. The tree might not be the same, but we can still treat the space with the same compassion. We don’t need a specific place or circumstance to come together to make the world feel smaller and more agreeable — we should do that with or without our beloved tree. So, it’s up to us to plant our own Red Square oak trees — the places where we can come together no matter how different we may seem — wherever we go. We can bring the same passion and mutual respect we once brought to the space to every interaction and conversation. Like the tree that provided us a space to safely express contested or politicized ideas for so many years, we can follow its example — and honor its legacy — by creating our own environments where different ideas are equally welcomed. And like every good fairy tale character, the Red Square oak tree will live on in spirit.

Dylan Goral is a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences. This is the sixth installment of his column, “The Fairy Tales We Tell.”

NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST

Support Academic Exploration in Core

Navigating the course selection process during my ﬁrst year, I constantly felt lost in the barrage of restrictions and requirements placed upon me. The excitement I originally had for exploring new academic disciplines quickly gave way to frustration as I realized how little freedom I actually had to design my educational curriculum. The Georgetown University Core Curriculum, intended to ensure a well-rounded academic exploration, seemed to dominate my schedule, leaving no room for the electives I hoped would ignite my curiosity. The Core not only limits my ability to explore new ﬁelds but also undermines the very purpose of a liberal arts education — to foster intellectual curiosity and self-discovery.

As a Vietnamese student, “Hollywood’s Vietnam,” a theater and performance studies course that explores portrayals of the Vietnam War through popular culture, oﬀered a unique opportunity to critically analyze how my history is depicted in global narratives. However, entrenched with introductory courses and time-intensive language and science courses, I didn’t have room within my 17.5 credit cap to take a course that genuinely aligns with my personal interest and cultural identity. My schedule is crowded with required courses that, while valuable in their own right, feel disconnected from the topics that excite me most.

Furthermore, the structure of the Core emphasizes breadth over depth, assuming that a superﬁcial exposure to multiple subjects will spark interest. In reality, it often leaves students with a

fragmented understanding of these fields. The strict prerequisite structure for many core disciplines limits students from progressing within a subject, even when they are interested in and capable of taking advanced courses. A student who excels in writing, for example, is required to take an introductory-level writing course before they can explore specialized options like creative nonfiction or advanced rhetoric. The Core stifles students’ ability to dive into more challenging and meaningful content early on, discouraging them from being adventurous with their course selection.

This is especially limiting in disciplines that inherently prioritize creativity, like the arts, humanities and some areas of the social sciences. A student passionate about creative problem-solving or alternative approaches to learning might prefer to take a design-thinking course or courses on storytelling through visual media. These more innovative courses cover similar foundational skills but are often overlooked as viable alternatives to the Core courses. Instead, students are forced to follow a standardized path, making it more diﬀicult for them to shape their personalized academic journey.

For students planning to study abroad or transfer internally within Georgetown, the timeline for completing Core requirements becomes especially restrictive. Many study abroad programs lack equivalent courses for Core credit, compelling students to front-load these requirements and creating the impression that they have little room to explore through electives. Similarly, prospective students who want to transfer to other

schools within Georgetown often feel the pressure to enroll in the additional prerequisites of their intended transfer school alongside Core courses, further limiting opportunities for academic experimentation. This compressed timeline forces students to prioritize logistical necessities over intellectual curiosity. Georgetown’s Core, while wellintentioned, sends a message that playing it safe is more important than pursuing intellectual risks or personal passions. By prioritizing broad introductory courses and emphasizing the completion of the Core within the ﬁrst two years, the current structure stiﬂes the creativity, curiosity, and experimentation that are essential to the college experience.

To truly foster a culture of academic exploration, Georgetown’s administration must consider offering alternative first-year pathways that encourage students to take bold and interdisciplinary courses that ignite their interests. Granting Core credit for interdisciplinary study or creative alternatives to traditional introductory courses would provide students with greater flexibility and the freedom to pursue their individual intellectual interests. By embracing these changes, Georgetown can better align the Core with its mission to inspire intellectual discovery and empower students to make the most of their foundational years.

Nhan Phan is a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences. This is the sixth installment of his column, “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost.”

THE FAIRY TALES WE TELL

DC Migrant Workers Delivering Food Face Complex Web of Risks, Regulations

D.C. food delivery workers, many of whom are Venezuelan immigrants, often face safety and payment issues, pushing the District to regulate the growing gig economy.

Willy Baker Features Writer

Wedged between Georgetown’s Blue Alley and M Street’s bustling commercial sprawl, Italian eatery 90 Second Pizza is not just a popular spot for Georgetown University students, but a symbol of the changing demands of Washington, D.C.’s food industry.

According to founder Joe Farruggio, about half of 90 Second Pizza’s business is rooted in delivery outsourced to apps like Grubhub and Uber Eats — a welcome departure from previous pizza ventures where he employed drivers at more than 30% of his total cost.

“I hope it lasts us a long time,” Farruggio told The Hoya. “For me, I’d rather be making 500 pizzas instead of 300 pizzas.”

Both Grubhub and Uber Eats are “gig” platforms, where workers deliver food on an on-demand basis and are paid per delivery, not per hour. These apps rely on workers whose independent contractor status absolves corporations of responsibilities concerning wages and worker protections. In states like Minnesota and California, gig work companies often face state and local regulations related to wage disputes, independent contractor laws and other labor regulations.

In D.C., in contrast, these companies can avoid multiple levels of regulations, according to Katie Wells, an adjunct capstone advisor in the urban and regional planning program at Georgetown who studies gig economy dynamics. Because D.C. is not a state and is governed by a 13-member city council, not a state legislature, gig-economy companies only need to navigate city law, rather than lobbying state legislators to overrule local regulations, a process called preemption, Wells told The Hoya.

“A lot of companies feel like as soon as they can get D.C. to pass something, they know they’re done; they don’t have to worry about state preemption,” Wells said. Indeed, in recent years, the gig economy in the District has ﬂourished as gig work companies have focused lobbying eﬀorts on preventing regulatory measures from the D.C. government, cementing their footing across the city.

However, amid the struggle between government regulation and corporate interests, food delivery workers — many of them migrant workers — often cannot make ends meet.

Alejandro Gonzalez, a migrant food delivery worker in D.C. from Venezuela, said many migrant workers have no other options but to work gig economy jobs.

“There is no organization that helps us. We have never received anything. If you don’t work, you have nothing,” Gonzalez told The Hoya in Spanish.

Migrant Workers Enter D.C. and Delivery

Since 2022, when border-state governors began bussing Venezuelan migrants to D.C., over 13,000 migrants have arrived in the District from Texas and Arizona — many of whom now work in food delivery. Abel Núñez, the executive director of Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), an organization that helps immigrants integrate into the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, said the food delivery industry oﬀers these migrants a

“Others treat us badly here. When one goes to deliver food, we are discriminated against becuse we are migrants.”

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ FOOD DELIVERY DRIVER

temporary solution to a long-term plan in the United States.

“A lot of the time, they’re just in survival mode, so they are happy that they can do a job that can sustain themselves, their families, and send money to their families in their country of origin,” Núñez told The Hoya.

Núñez said food delivery has provided these scores of immigrants an important foothold in the economy.

“It is a viable market for them to get in, and it was a way for them to make money without having to depend on government subsidies or charity,” Núñez said.

According to Núñez, the Venezuelans who comprise a large proportion of D.C.’s migrant population often hail from urban areas, unlike other immigrant groups.

Núñez said that in finding a niche in food delivery, the migrants replicate life in their country of origin.

“People thought that they were gonna integrate into the existing places where immigrants work, right, in the service industry, construction industry,” Núñez said.

“But I think that what they misread is that these were not immigrants from the same places of the existing immigrant community here, so they were not from Central America, they were primarily from Venezuela and they were urban dwellers, they were not rural dwellers.”

“Because of that, the Venezuelans were already coming in, being used to and having the ability to drive these vehicles, the mopeds, the motorcycles, because it’s a really well-used mode of transportation in those countries, not only for commuting, but also for work,” Núñez added.

“They replicated what they knew.”

A low barrier to entry furthers the industry’s appeal to migrants: Delivery workers in D.C. often ride mopeds or walk to deliver food and do not need documentation or cars to work.

According to Isabella Stratta (SFS ’25), who has researched D.C.’s gig economy with Wells, many migrants purchase driver accounts to compensate for a lack of documentation.

“This is a low-barrier job in that you don’t need to speak English,” Stratta told The Hoya. “You don’t even need to have a car because you scooter or even walk and do deliveries.”

Risks of Food Delivery

However, in working in the delivery industry, drivers also face unpaid work — workers are not paid for waiting on the job, meaning they often make less than minimum wage every hour — and risks of being involved in traﬀic collisions and assaults or harassment on the job, according to a 2023 report which Wells and Stratta cowrote.

In their report, Wells and Stratta interviewed 41 D.C. delivery drivers — of whom 51% reported feeling unsafe while working, 23% were involved in traﬀic collisions and 49% received underpayment or no payment for their labor.

Gonzalez said he fears for his safety while working.

“The problems that I face are if I fall from the moped, I could kill myself, or a car could crash into me, since those are risks that one takes,” Gonzalez said.

According to Gonzalez, with few other options to turn to, food delivery oﬀers a safety net for migrants whose options are limited.

“Here one does not adapt, we only work, because it is almost the only thing there is. But I really believe that thousands of people would want to leave the country or make some money there and return,” Gonzalez said.

Because gig economy companies pay workers per delivery, these ﬁrms are able to force their workforce to be eﬀicient, even as they lack safety regulations, Wells said.

“It’s the most ideal workforce. Can they complain? Do they have anything else to do? Can they be oﬀered the two- and three-dollar deliveries? Absolutely. They certainly don’t seem to be taking measures to protect this workplace, either in the dangers or to ensure a stable income,” Wells said.

Grubhub says it adheres to city laws and provides safety features like in-app emergency provisions for drivers, driver safety programs and reduced-price dashboard cameras for drivers through its partnership with a

dashboard camera company.

“We’re committed to maintaining a safe and seamless environment for everyone who uses our platform, including our delivery partners in D.C. and beyond,” a Grubhub spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “As part of this commitment, we abide by all rules and regulations impacting delivery and will continue partnering with the District to make sure delivery works for everyone.”

Wells said these companies need to be held accountable for benefiting from food delivery workers without paying them fair wages or offering them safety protections.

“I think these companies aren’t paying their fair share, and they are certainly benefiting from this migrant labor,” Wells said. “These workers are barely getting by, let alone not being in debt because of the cost of gas or new batteries for motor scooters.”

Wells said both gig economy services and city residents beneﬁt from the negligent treatment of delivery drivers.

“It’s no diﬀerent in many ways than the agriculture industry that has used migrant labor in a really exploitative and predatory way for decades,” Wells said. “But there is something very accessible of the question of migration and workers’ rights by having it happen in a city and to wealthy people.”

Beyond exploitation from food delivery companies, workers also face risks from the customers they serve: Of the workers Wells and Stratta interviewed, 41% said they experienced assaults or harassment.

In October, individuals set ﬁre to four Venezuelan delivery workers’ motor scooters in Southeast D.C., in what police believe is a deliberate act of arson.

One of the workers, Junior Valera, said he relies on his moped to make a living.

“We use these to work, to eat,” he told NBC4 Washington in October. “To pay rent, help our families. Without them, how? We can’t.”

Gonzalez said that discrimination is commonplace for immigrant food delivery workers.

“It is super diﬀicult, and others treat us badly here,” Gonzalez said. “When one goes to deliver food, we are discriminated against because we are migrants.”

A Slow Road to Safety Regulations

The D.C. government has increasingly pushed for regulation on the food industry — particularly targeting the mopeds that many drivers ride. Since 2022, registrations of motor-driven cycles, including mopeds, have more than doubled: In fiscal year 2022, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles registered 54 mopeds; in 2023, the department registered 143. Many more mopeds are unregistered.

and discrimination as outside organizations and district agencies attempt to regulate the

In response, the D.C. Council has introduced several bills increasing regulation, while the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has stepped up traffic enforcement around mopeds.

In June, MPD implemented Operation Ride Right, which targeted traffic enforcement of unregistered motorized scooters in high traffic areas, an initiative largely in response to the throngs of delivery workers chaotically driving mopeds through crowded commercial districts.

“We launched the operation to try to increase compliance with registering those bicycles, ensuring they are properly registered,” a spokesperson for MPD told The Hoya.

The initiative has proven effective. According to the MPD spokesperson, the MPD has impounded 670 motorized cycles and made 145 arrests for operating without a permit, issuing nearly 700 tickets, since June.

Besides MPD’s escalating enforcement, the city also aims to mandate more stringent registration measures on moped dealerships in the Moped Registration Accountability Amendment Act of 2024, introduced in May, which would require that companies renting mopeds to workers register and insure their mopeds.

In addition, the Council passed the Carrier-for-Hire Oversight and Enforcement Act on Dec. 3, which will require apps to disclose more data to District agencies and require more visible identification for food delivery vehicles — which may destabilize the industry and result in losses for food delivery workers lacking job security.

Councilmember Charles Allen, who represents Ward 6’s commercial corridors, has spearheaded several efforts to regulate food delivery. Allen’s advocacy for safer driving standards and accountability for drivers, such as with the Moped Registration Accountability Amendment Act, is largely based on his constituents’ concerns.

“We hear from a lot of constituents that want to see delivery drivers operate much more safely than they are,” a spokesperson for Allen told The Hoya. “If you’re using our streets, there needs to be some uniformity that can help create a sense of order to ensure safety for both the driver of the vehicle, as well as pedestrians and other road users.”

However, delivery industry giants have significant interests in reducing city regulations governing the gig economy, Stratta said.

“Unsurprisingly, whenever a bill was introduced that might aﬀect them negatively, you saw a surge in lobbying, spending and visits,” Stratta said. “If you don’t have a proactive approach in terms of regulation, it does create an opportunity for private interests.”

Wells said that city officials struggle to balance competing interests in regulating the food industry.

“D.C. constantly has this attitude of, ‘we don’t want to be the suit, the ugly law ﬁrm lawyer, trying to be cool about innovation,’” Wells said. “At a city level, there’s enough sentiment in parts of government and business that they want it here.”

“Certainly there are beneﬁts of workers being able to earn money,” Wells added. “However, this is far from a stable job.”

As D.C.’s rules change, Núñez said he hopes CARECEN can centralize information for migrant drivers, allowing them to work towards a cooperative and constructive relationship with the city.

“We want to serve as the organizing entity, to be the institution they can trust,” Núñez said. “We want to ensure that they can continue doing this and this continues to be a viable way of making money.”

Núñez said he hopes his organization can help drivers get the education needed to acclimate to these changing laws.

“Without a period of education, without a period of really allowing them to integrate into how we do things, all you’re gonna do is gonna have a negative effect because all of these people that get pushed out of this industry will probably not go to other industries,” Núñez said.

“If dealt only from the punitive side and not ﬁguring out how to integrate them, the only thing these laws will do is to make drivers leave the industry and limit their ability to make money,” Núñez added. Núñez said the government should work with all stakeholders to adjust laws affecting delivery drivers.

“How do we adjust the existing policies to make sure that it’s a win-win for everyone, meaning that the drivers are allowed to continue to do their work, but they do it in a way that’s acceptable within our laws?” Núñez said.

“Bring all the stakeholders, government residents, drivers, restaurants that are making money out of this; they should have a say-so and figure out what programs can be done.” Stratta said drivers are also becoming increasingly receptive to the idea of formally organizing to advocate for their protection, yet coalition building itself remains a challenge.

“Gig work is very independent work, so there are very few places that you can meet other workers and talk about what you are experiencing,” Stratta said. “If workers can organize, that’s a great catalyst for change.” However, Núñez said food delivery drivers are often reticent to build coalitions strong enough to affect D.C. law. “They’re hesitant because they think everything is against them,” Núñez said. “We need to figure out how the government can play a role of regulating them, but in a way that helps promote public safety and their ability to earn a living.”

ILLUSTRATION BY LINSEY BROOKFIELD/THE HOYA Migrant delivery workers in D.C. face safety issues, job instability

industry.

Bacteria May Mitigate Climate Change

Sarina Hattiangadi Science Writer

Harvard University researchers unveiled the discovery of “Chonkus,” a cyanobacteria that can remove carbon from the atmosphere and oceans, in a study published Oct. 29. Chonkus’ unique carbon-capturing capabilities has opened a broader discussion of how bacteria can be used to mitigate climate change. This newly-discovered strain of cyanobacteria, a type of photosynthetic microbe, may help address climate change by removing carbon from the oceans and atmosphere in a process known as carbon sequestration. The bacteria was found off the coast of Italy’s Vulcano Island in shallow, gas-rich waters that are rife with photosynthesizing, carbon-consuming organisms. Scientists tested the samples of water and cultured the strain of bacteria in the laboratory, finding rare and useful properties that differentiate Chonkus from other cyanobacteria.

Tiﬀany Zarrella, a professor of bacteriology at Georgetown University who studies the interactions between bacterial and microbial behavior, said organisms like cyanobacteria can provide unique solutions to environmental issues.

“It’s really important to uncover the bacterial strains that live in unique habitats because they could showcase new tricks and tools that are useful for a variety of applications,” Zarrella wrote to The Hoya Chonkus (UTEX 3222) is a mutant strain of bacteria S. elongatus, a species that has been known to grow quickly and resist environmental stressors.

Microbiologist Max Schubert from the Wyss Institute at Harvard found that the cultured lab samples of Chonkus had larger cells and were built in larger colonies than the typical cyanobacteria. As a result, they contained more carbon than usual, were very heavy and sank rapidly in bodies of water. Scientists believe that large granules, white spots in cells that store carbon, might explain why this particular strain of cyanobacteria grows so large in a carbon-rich environment and sinks so quickly.

Manus Patten, a teaching professor in the biology department, said that organisms like Chonkus that remove carbon from the atmosphere could be an integral part of ﬁghting climate change. These organisms will complement eﬀorts to reduce burning of fossil fuels.

“This is the sort of solution that is needed, for sure. Climate change won’t stop when we stop

burning fossil fuels. We need to remove carbon from the atmosphere,” Patten wrote to The Hoya Gracie Dogramaci (CAS ’28), an environmental biology major who is passionate about emerging climate change research, said the discovery of Chonkus has enormous implications for net carbon reduction in the atmosphere.

“It is crucial to protect and conserve organisms who have the ability to sequester carbon as they exist as carbon sinks and can help decrease the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere,”

Dogramaci wrote to The Hoya

Chonkus’ qualities could be uniquely eﬀicient at carbon sequestration in the ocean because of its large size and weight, allowing it to absorb more carbon than average and sink with it. There is also potential for more organisms with the same capacities to be found in similar waters.

Patten said that scientists have already done their part in discovering Chonkus and providing solutions in the ﬁght against climate change, highlighting that other stakeholders have an even larger role to play that has yet to be fulﬁlled.

“The science is in. We have a pretty good beat on how this stuﬀ works and what would provide a technical solution. What’s left is engineering. And then politics, too,” Patten said.

Trump’s Policies May Impact GU Professors’ Research

Rachel Kang

Special to The Hoya

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November’s presidential election may prove to be a pivotal moment for the scientific community as his transition team begins to share its plans for scientific research funding and policy, and Georgetown University scientists and policymakers are closely watching how a second Trump administration will impact scientific research and innovation.

Federal policies can shape research priorities and innovation through government funding, protection of intellectual property and influences in the market demand for cutting-edge technology. The U.S. government funds roughly 40% of basic scientific research through congressional funding, grants, loans and matching funds. Although funding for the sciences may sometimes enjoy bipartisan support, it can also vary widely depending on the views of the administration.

Tomoko Steen, director of Georgetown’s graduate program in biomedical science policy and advocacy, said federal policy can significantly impact the direction of scientific research. For instance, according to

Steen, the administration of former President George W. Bush banned embryonic stem cell research, significantly impacting scientists’ ability to conduct research in the field.

“Scientists in the United States working on embryonic stem cells went to England because they couldn’t do the research,” Steen told The Hoya. “So science can really be shaped by the administration.”

The incoming administration change may also impact scientists’ ability to speak freely about contentious topics. Regulations on major governmental research institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may prevent scientists from researching, promoting or discussing specific topics.

Dr. Michael Hodgson, former chief medical officer at Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and adjunct professor in the Georgetown School of Health, said that former President Barack Obama’s administration sought to differentiate between scientists speaking on behalf of an agency and scientists voicing their personal views, a distinction the Trump administration did not emphasize.

“Under the Obama administration, most federal agencies had developed a science integrity policy where scien-

tists could clarify they are not speaking as a federal employee,” Hodgson told The Hoya. “Under the first Trump administration, there were multiple examples of scientists not being able to publish what they wanted.” Hodgson said some of his research was not published because it did not align with the views of the first Trump administration.

“Several of my papers were held up at OSHA on indefinite hold not because people said they were wrong, but because they did not support the agency position on enforcement,” Hodgson said. “We changed some language to refocus from enforcement on compliance assistance so that we wouldn’t look like we were being nasty towards industry. That’s language stuff.”

However, Mark Richardson, a professor of government at Georgetown, said not all scientific administrations will be similarly affected.

Richardson said he expects funding for organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has historically not been politicized, to remain unaffected by political forces.

“Given the history of NSF in general and during President-elect Trump’s previous administration, I would not expect the NSF to be po-

liticized resulting in funding being awarded for political reasons,” Richardson wrote to The Hoya. “I expect the NSF merit review process to continue as it has historically.”

However, Richardson also cautioned that a change in NSF leadership may cause changes in scientific research priorities, saying the transition may affect specific areas of science where Republicans and Democrats disagree, such as climate change policy.

“A key sign of change would be a change in the NSF Director, specifically the nomination and confirmation of someone unqualified for the position,” Richardson wrote. “For example, references to climate change and climate change programs were removed or buried on agencies’ websites during the first Trump administration.”

Hodgson emphasized that regardless of the presidential administration in power, scientists have a responsibility to maintain academic and intellectual integrity.

“Scientists are all held to a standard of honesty,” Hodgson said. “You’re supposed to document what you do, you’re supposed to be careful in your analyses. You’re supposed to write things in ways that are straightforward.”

GONE VIRAL

Generative AI Enters Music, Entertainment Industries, Creates Remixed Reality

Claire Chou Science Columnist

John Summit, a producer and DJ, performed at Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Orlando, one of the world’s largest electronic dance music (EDM) festivals, from Nov. 8 to 10. For the introduction of his set, Summit boldly remixed Kanye West’s iconic “I Love Kanye” track using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate a voice resembling West’s, but with lyrics referencing Summit’s life instead. While some fans described this intro as “epic,” critics noted that Summit did not consult or compensate Kanye for using his likeness. As this case highlights, generative AI in the entertainment industry is a new frontier with few legal regulations, making gray areas like this more likely.

Generative AI, which is technology that can create new content including text, images, videos and music, often sources information from databases without obtaining permission or giving credit and has become a polarizing development in recent years. AI can access online materials protected by copyright, like the “I Love Kanye” track, because of the fair use doctrine. This is a legal precedent that allows copyrighted works to be used as source material if the specific use meets certain criteria, including transforming the source into a different material and only using a reasonable portion of the original work relative to the new material.

Critics argue that generative AI is unfairly capitalizing on source material and violating proportionality of use because it isn’t creating anything intrinsically different or using a minimal amount of the copyrighted material. Instead, AI technologies are just reshaping a vast quantity of inputs. The intersection of copyright and AI is a “legal minefield,” according to The Economist’s “Schumpeter” column, and further legislation is needed to answer the question of whether creators will be able to prevent or profit from their work being sourced by AI. The dilemma over copyright and AI came to a head last year with the Hollywood writers’ strike, during which the Writers Guild of Ameri-

ca protested the use of AI in script writing, arguing that it has begun to replace or reduce the value of these writing jobs. After months of the strike, the group successfully reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. For example, one of the agreement’s statutes prohibits studios from treating content generated by AI as source material to then be adapted by writers, a loophole that could limit writers’ compensation. In addition to the legal and ethical concerns surrounding AI in the entertainment industry, award-winning television writer Anthony Sparks brings up a crucial point — while AI may offer a high volume of production by conjuring up scripts instantaneously, it bases its output on past work, potentially stifling creative growth and raising concerns about quality. The creative trajectory plateaus because the ideas are not truly new. Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus at the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California, echoes this concern, arguing that “the biggest problem in the movies is too many formulas.” Given that generative AI relies exclusively on formulaic content, the predictability of these creations could create a vicious cycle of uninspired content and unimpressed audiences. These hits to studios’ revenues increase pressure to cut costs, further incentivizing the use of generative AI. Even though AI in the entertainment industry poses risks related to fairness and quality, it also provides significant benefits for both producers and consumers. For example, streaming services like Netflix or Spotify can use AI to provide more tailored recommendations for their users. Companies can look at your past consumption and target their advertisements based on what they think you will enjoy. Additionally, AI can assist with every stage of the filmmaking process, including generating visual effects like complex computer-generated imagery (CGI) or accelerating the post-production editing process, thereby saving costs. As debates continue, one thing is clear: AI is transforming the entertainment industry. But can the legal and creative worlds keep up?

ILLUSTRATION BY ARIA ZHU/THE HOYA

Chonkus, a cyanobacteria recently discovered by Harvard researchers, may be a promising tool in the fight against climate change, as it removes excess carbon from the atmosphere.

IN FOCUS GU Delegation Visits UN Climate Conference

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security sent a delegation to the 2024 United Nations Climate Conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan

WHAT’S NEW ONLINE?

GU Graduate Sued for Nonprofit Fraud GU Dance Company

Anna Lim Staff Writer

The Washington, D.C. attorney general ﬁled a lawsuit against a Georgetown University graduate and founder of local anti-police brutality nonproﬁt Raheem AI for allegedly misusing more than $75,000 of charitable funds and violating labor laws Nov. 25.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing both the organization and its founder, Brandon Anderson (CAS ’15), for reportedly diverting over $75,000 of the nonproﬁt’s funds to ﬁnance personal expenses, which included luxury vacation rental services, a Cancun resort stay, designer clothing and emergency veterinary care. The charges also involve Raheem AI’s failure to pay tens of thousands of dollars in back pay to its Deputy Director Jasmine Banks, who was then forced to sign an illegal non-compete clause.

The lawsuit aims to dissolve Raheem AI as a nonprofit, compensate Banks with damages and back pay, prohibit Anderson from leading any other D.C. nonprofit, recover the fraudulently used funds and redirect those funds to other charities and nonprofit organizations.

In a written statement to The New York Times, Anderson said he takes most of the blame for the failure of Raheem AI, but believes there is a lack of context to the charges.

“It’s easy to assign failure to one cause or another in hindsight, and individual expenditures are easy to mischaracterize without the burden of context,” Anderson said in the statement. “The bottom line is simply that it didn’t work, and as the leader of that eﬀort I share most of the blame.”

In a press release, Schwalb said that he condemns the corruption within Raheem AI and its failure to comply with nonproﬁt and workers’ rights laws.

“Brandon Anderson misused charitable donations to fund lavish vacations and shopping sprees, and the Raheem AI Board of Directors let him get away with it,” Schwalb said. “Not only did their ﬁnancial abuses violate fundamental principles of nonproﬁt governance, but Anderson and Raheem AI failed to pay their employee the wages they had earned.”

Raheem AI collects crowdsourced data on local police performance and interactions, aiming to make it easier for residents to report police misconduct and uses it to publish reports on the eﬀicacy of police services in particular areas. However, the software was unsuccessful due to logistical reasons, as not all police departments accept complaints online.

Anderson, a tech entrepreneur and Georgetown graduate, founded Raheem AI in honor of his life partner, Raheem X, who was killed by an Oklahoma police officer in 2007 during a routine traffic stop. In his view, the absence of official complaints against police officers is a contributing factor to the persistence of police brutality. However, reports about Raheem X claim that he may not have existed, discovering no records of his specific identity.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which brought international attention to police brutality against people of color, Raheem AI received $4.3 million in donations from those passionate about criminal justice reform.

Sam Chang (SFS ’26) said he is concerned about corruption within the progressive movement and its impact on the credibility of progressive organizations, including past perceptions of Black Lives Matter (BLM).

“It reminds me of how a lot of people saw BLM, like how the BLM president used the organization’s donations to buy a mansion,” Chang told The Hoya. “It’s really unfortunate. I think it reinforces a lot of people’s, like independents or Republicans or whatever you call them, thoughts against leftist causes.”

Yunji Yun (CAS ’26) said she was disappointed by the disparity between Raheem AI’s mission and its impact.

“It’s just disappointing because in D.C., there’s so many nonproﬁts and progressive organizations that try to fundraise for a good cause, so when you hear something like this, it’s kind of defeating,” Yun told The Hoya. “It feels defeating to think that even though there are eﬀorts, there are still setbacks within the progressive organizations that aim to help the general public.”

Chang said the co-opting of leftist causes by corrupt individuals makes it diﬀicult for the progressive movement to achieve collective progress.

“People who are actually invested or who authentically care about these issues like police brutality, their overall mission is thwarted because of this corruption. I think it just sucks overall,” Chang said. “I think for the next ﬁve or 10 years, if nothing really gets done about this, then we will just see most likely a progressive movement that is weakened and being weakened almost every day.”

Foreign Reporter Talks Global Conflict

Elyse Ellingsworth Events

A foreign correspondent and former Portuguese cabinet minister urged attendees to consider the moral principles at the core of conﬂicts in Gaza and Ukraine in a talk at Georgetown University Dec. 2.

During the lecture, Bruno Maçães

— a correspondent at The New Statesman, a British news magazine that covers culture and politics, and former Portuguese secretary of state for European affairs — discussed parallels between the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. The Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), which seeks to foster interreligious understanding, organized the event in cooperation with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, a department that focuses on research in Arab studies, the African studies program and Georgetown University Qatar (GU-Q).

Maçães said there are similarities between the wars in both Ukraine and Gaza and the regions’ respective historical independence struggles.

“We have here peoples that have no doubt about their existence as an independent people, and a long history of struggle for national recognition and national freedom,” Maçães said at the event. “So why are we not applying the same principles in both cases?”

Conﬂict in Gaza has been ongoing since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, which resulted in the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians. The current war escalated Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed Israel, killing over 1,200 Israeli citizens, after which Israel invaded Gaza.

The conﬂict between Russia and Ukraine began when Russia an-

nexed Crimea in 2014 and escalated Feb. 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — the largest and deadliest conﬂict in Europe since World War II, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties.

Maçães said similarities exist between arguments justifying Israel’s invasion of Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s a negation of nationality and rightful independence of a people, with perhaps the diﬀerence that, in the case of Russia, the goal is to assimilate Ukrainians into a triune nationality of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians,” Maçães said. “And in Israel, there is no such attempt to force Palestinians to assimilate an Israeli identity — it’s more a plan of expelling them from what one would regard as Greater Israel, including Gaza and the West Bank.”

Maçães said that in contrast to its support for Ukraine, the U.S. government has defended the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza, which international human rights groups have decried as crimes against humanity.

“The State Department here in Washington, D.C., has moved from saying that Israel is not targeting civilians to saying that it is targeting civilians, but it is necessary because those civilians are mixed up with Hamas fighters,” Maçães said. “We have reached the point where war crimes are not only being excused or ignored, but where they are being defended as a matter of doctrine.”

Maçães’ talk was the 12th in the ACMCU’s Gaza lecture series, which began in January 2024 and examines topics including antisemitism, Islamophobia and genocide. Nader Hashemi, director of the ACMCU, said Maçães oﬀered

an important perspective on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

“Most people who are outspoken and principled on Ukraine are silent or unprincipled on Gaza, and vice versa,” Hashemi wrote to The Hoya. “Discussing the similarities and parallels between these two conflict zones and their implications for global order is a unique contribution to the study of international affairs that only someone like Bruno Maçães can make.”

Candy Zhou (SFS ’28), an attendee at the event, said Maçães’ perspective helped her understand the polarizing discussions surrounding the two conﬂicts.

“As college students, most of our info comes from traditional and social media, which is why his explanation was super informative as to why the response that we see in the media and in discussions is so different when thinking about Gaza versus Ukraine,” Zhou told The Hoya. “I felt I was better able to understand the complex discourse surrounding both topics and the intersection between the two.”

Maçães said that in the future, the global order will shift to an emphasis on force, an idea led by the United States and Europe.

“There’s this transformation of power, where those exercising power essentially argue that because the world has become so much more threatening to us, we have to let go of the principles and pieties and nice things,” Maçães said at the event. “We have to let go of the liberal principles that we have, and we have to embrace the nature of power as just brute force. If I see something that is present everywhere, in Europe and the United States, in forms that are more polite and forms that are less, is this idea that we have to be tough.”

Ruth Abramovitz GUSA Desk Editor

The Georgetown University Dance Company (GUDC) began presenting “Works in Progress,” the preview to their annual spring show, Dec. 4 for it to run until Dec. 6 while honoring the program’s 50th anniversary.

The showcase features excerpts from their 2024-25 season pieces, with choreography by students, guest artists and the faculty artistic director, Raina Lucas. Held in the Devine Theatre in the Davis Performing Arts Center, “Works in Progress” offers a pared-down showing of the dances, meaning it forgoes lighting and costume elements.

Lucas said presenting the works in this setting allows the performers to connect with the audience.

“This one’s really informal, and I really love that because it allows for a more intimate audience experience since it’s in the Devine Theater, which is a smaller, black box-style theater,” Lucas told The Hoya. “A lot of the people that attend are students on campus, but also close family members and friends, so it feels like a really special night of sharing.”

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of GUDC, “Works in Progress” will pay homage to the company’s classical ballet origins, featuring a variation from the ballet Paquita set by guest choreographer Quinn Fieldstone, a former teacher of one of the dancers. In addition, the pre-show and post-show music played in the Devine Theatre will be songs used by GUDC in previous seasons.

Lucas said the dancers have worked collaboratively and organically to devise their works, with

eight of the 12 pieces featured being student-choreographed.

“Historically, choreographers teach the dancers what exactly they want, and they don’t really seek input because they have a very clear vision,” Lucas said. “But these students have been encouraged, partially by me, to have that collaborative spirit.”

Olivia Noreke (CAS ’25), who choreographed the piece “Ending” this season, said her piece acts as both the synthesis of her past two choreographic projects with GUDC and an expression of her feelings ahead of graduation.

Full disclosure: Olivia Noreke formerly served as a deputy copy editor for The Hoya.

“My sophomore year, I choreographed a very pretty lyrical dance that was slow, very emotional, and then last year, I did a more hard-hitting contemporary jazz dance,” Noreke said. “And I feel like this dance brings all the intensity of my dance last year with all the emotion from the year before.”

Noreke added that this showcase provides a unique opportunity to assess her piece before the company’s spring performance.

“For ‘Works in Progress,’ I just want to take the opportunity to look at how the piece looks on stage as a choreographer,” Noreke told The Hoya. “If you’re not in your dance, you actually get to join the audience for your piece.”

Cece Peacock (CAS ’26), who choreographed the piece “Connection,” said her work will reﬂect her personal experience dancing with GUDC by showing the dancers moving from isolation to unity.

“I came up with this theme because I feel like dancing as a group has really brought us all together as a company,” Peacock told The Hoya. “I wanted to explore the idea of how moving together

can create community.” Peacock said this close-knit community also helped each of the choreographers develop their pieces.

“Since we dance together, everyone knows each other’s strengths so well,” Peacock said. “So I think that each choreographer is very good at picking which people are going to do what in their pieces.” Lucas said her choreographed dance, “Nocturne,” was inspired by her hometown in coastal Maryland and the feeling of safety and peace she feels when near the ocean.

“For the past several years, there’s just been a lot of tension and division nationally and then also internationally,” Lucas said. “I really wanted to create something that felt calm and would be a piece that was really more personal to trying to help me explore and find a time of rest.”

Lucas said that “Works in Progress” will simultaneously showcase how the company has diversiﬁed over the decades by featuring works in jazz funk, contemporary and musical theater styles.

“We try to bring as much diversity to our show as possible in terms of the styles that we do to showcase the versatility of the company,” Lucas said.

Lucas added that training in all styles and working with guest choreographers will allow the dancers to grow as individuals and ﬁnd their own artistic point of view.

“We take in a lot of stimuli, and dance is a way to understand it, to know how to synthesize and process what it is that we’re experiencing,” Lucas said. “I think continuing to be exposed to as many styles as possible gives you that clarity of who you are as a person and what moves you.”

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown’s Office of Mission & Ministry organized a month-long series of events honoring its Jesuit tradition in celebration of Jesuit Heritage Month.

COURTESY OF RAINA LUCAS

Georgetown University Dance Company began presenting “Works in Progress,” a preview to its spring show which honors the group’s 50th anniversary, Dec. 4.

GULC Will Modify Title IX Policy After Accommodations Backlash

TITLE IX, from A1 and Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act and will invite you to oﬀer further comments before the policies and procedures are ﬁnalized.”

Max Siegel II (LAW ’25), the president of the Student Bar Association (SBA), the Law Center’s student government, said the announcement is a step forward in destigmatizing academic accommodations in law schools.

“I think it’s important to destigmatize accommodations, especially in the law school space,” Siegel told The Hoya “There’s so many issues that are involved with granting accommodations, the stigma around them and the diﬀiculty students have in attaining them.”

“I think having a more transparent process and a more community-driven process will start to further the discussion and destigmatization around accommodations moving forward,” Siegel added.

Lovely contacted Georgetown’s Title IX coordinator Sept. 11, and the two decided that she would request to take either her exams early in-person or at home during the allotted ﬁnal exam period.

Though her professor approved this request, the university initially denied it, claiming

GU

the accommodation would be inequitable to other students.

Natasha Panduwawala (LAW ’26), a vice president of the SBA, said she rejected the university’s claims that granting accommodations would be unfair and that she hopes the new policies prioritize equity over equality.

“I think what the process has looked like before, and the narrative that they’ve been set as, has been equality,” Panduwawala told The Hoya.

“And this is not a problem of equality that we’re looking at.

Specific to accommodations and giving them out, we need equitable accommodations, right? It’s an equitable thing to give students accommodations for things that they need so they can take exams in a classroom with their peers.”

Panduwawala added that student activism was necessary to compel the university to grant Lovely the accommodations.

“Student activism becomes so important in propelling petitions and explaining the story of Brittany and other students who have faced similar things, I mean getting the word out,” Panduwawala said.

“Because ultimately, I think that is what changed all of this. The things that student government was doing beforehand was not enough

for them to take seriously, and it was the voices of the entire student body, alums, et cetera, et cetera, is what really turned the tide here.”

Though a university spokesperson did not comment on Lovely’s speciﬁc accommodations, she conﬁrmed to The Washington Post that the university is allowing her to defer her exams to January.

“Georgetown is committed to providing a caring, supportive environment for pregnant and parenting students,” a university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya.

“We have reached a mutually agreeable solution with the student who raised concerns.”

Siegel said the university’s decision to collaborate with students has potential to create long-term change on accommodations.

“Especially with the backlash and controversy that happened two weeks ago now, there’s really a chance to do this right and to set a precedent that changes being made and implemented that directly affect a group of people on campus will be made and created for and with them,” Siegel said. “I think that this is a good opportunity to set the precedent that generally policy changes, but specifically accommodations policy changes, don’t need to be made separate from the individuals being affected,” Siegel added.

Capitol Campus Reports Its First Case of Tuberculosis Since 2007

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The university and D.C. Health have been collaborating to disseminate information about safety precautions and testing recommendations in the wake of a reported tuberculosis case.

TUBERCULOSIS, from A1 community members who were potentially exposed.

As part of the public health response to the case, the university and D.C. Health also held a virtual seminar Nov. 26 to address the reported case and provide general information about TB. The seminar focused on the nature of TB, how it spreads, testing and treatment information and public health strategies in place to contain TB.

Rahul Saxena, an assistant professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine who studies TB, said tuberculosis symptoms are often long-lasting.

“Common symptoms of TB include a cough lasting more than three weeks, coughing up blood or phlegm, chest pain, weight loss from appetite loss and fever,” Saxena wrote to The Hoya. “Diagnostic imaging methods such as chest X-rays, ultrasounds and CT scans can help conﬁrm the infection in patients with these symptoms.”

“Patients exhibiting these symptoms should be isolated to prevent the potential spread of TB,” Saxena added.

This case of tuberculosis is the ﬁrst at Georgetown since 2007, when a graduate student

contracted the disease.

Medical experts divide tuberculosis into two types: active tuberculosis, in which people experience symptoms and can spread the disease, and latent tuberculosis, in which people are infected by TB but do not exhibit symptoms and cannot spread the disease. Both can be treated with antibiotics, with active TB taking longer to treat and requiring several months of antibiotics to combat symptoms.

In her letter to The Hoya, Kassaye said she recommends that individuals who have latent TB take precautions including taking tuberculosis medication.

“Since there is about a 10% risk of progression from latent infection to active disease over the course of a lifetime (~5% risk within the first 2 years, and another ~5% over the remainder of one’s life, and with greater risk of progression among persons with immunocompromise or certain chronic health conditions such as diabetes) it is generally recommended that persons with latent TB receive medication to prevent progression to symptomatic active TB disease,” Kassaye wrote.

Tuberculosis is among the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, causing about 1.25 million deaths globally in 2023, according to the World Health Organization. The emergence of

GU Students Rally for Gender-Affirming Care as Supreme Court Hears Case

A rally at the Supreme Court of the United States as the court heard the case U.S.

saw hundreds of protestors rally both in favor of and against gender-affirming care for minors Dec. 4.

SCOTUS, from A1

and anti-freedom agenda driving attacks on gender-aﬀirming care,” Markey said at the rally.

Chase Strangio, an attorney at the ACLU who argued the case against the ban, becoming the ﬁrst openly transgender attorney to argue before the high court, said the transgender community must ﬁght together.

“Our ﬁght for justice did not begin today; it will not end in June,” Strangio said at the rally. “Whatever the court decides, we are in this together; our power only grows.”

Nico Cefalu (CAS ’27), a Georgetown ACLU member who attended the rally, said many of the speakers also spoke to the transgender community’s historical fight for recognition.

“A lot of the speakers spoke to the idea that this isn’t anything new for them,” Cefalu told The Hoya. “They’ve been at the front of persecution since the beginning of time, so they’re just willing to wait a little while longer if that’s what it takes to become recognized.”

At the simultaneous rally in support of the ban, speakers including Matt Walsh, a podcast host for conservative

media company The Daily Wire; Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.); and Chloe Cole, an activist against gender-affirming surgery who de-transitioned. The speakers mentioned children’s safety and the biology used to defend the movement against gender-affirming care.

Sarah Saffian, a family therapist and protestor in support of the ban, said she supports it because she has questions about the effects of gender-affirming care on children’s development.

“I’m here to speak out about needing more evidence,” Saffian told The Hoya. “We need to continue questioning the science and see what’s going on in the development of children.”

According to research from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, genderaﬀirming care generally improves the mental health and overall wellbeing of transgender adolescents.

Vikram Valame (MSB ’27), a Georgetown ACLU member who attended the court proceedings, said the government’s main argument is that the classiﬁcation is sex-based.

“The government and plaintiﬀs really don’t want the court to

consider the medical evidence right now,” Valame told The Hoya.

“They want the court to say this is sex-based classiﬁcation.” Legal commentators believe the Supreme Court’s conservative majority will likely uphold the ban. Azariah Kurlantzick, a Maryland native who attended the rally against the ban with his parents, said he believes the court will side with supporters of the ban.

“I’m not feeling optimistic, to be honest,” Kurlantzick told The Hoya. “But I’m glad that whatever happens, people can look back and see that people were here today.” Markey said in his speech that a nation founded on equality must uphold the civil rights and equality of transgender people in the United States.

“A nation that stands for the principle that all people are created equal, that we are all endowed with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, will aﬀirm and uphold civil rights and equality for transgender Americans,” Markey said in his speech.

Groves Becomes Interim President, Colbert Named GU’s

INTERIM, from A1

multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) variants have made it harder to treat with simple antibiotics.

Saxena said TB is still a major public health risk even though treatments are available for it.

“Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (TB), remains a signiﬁcant global health threat,” Saxena wrote. “The emergence of drug-resistant strains has exacerbated the situation, leading to a global health crisis.”

Nursing student Shrishti Chhajlani (SON ’26) said she felt reassured by the eﬀorts of the university and D.C. Health.

“While I was concerned to learn that there was a case of TB in Georgetown, the email Georgetown sent out to the community felt reassuring,” Chhajlani wrote to The Hoya. “They seem to be taking the right steps and safety measures to prevent a TB outbreak on campus.”

In her letter, Kassaye said she believes Georgetown’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the university to better its response to other infectious diseases, including this tuberculosis case.

“It seems like the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened our infectious disease response and measures,” Kassaye wrote.

continue university initiatives, to facilitate the presidential search led by the Board, and to prepare the university for new leadership,” Groves wrote in an email to students Nov. 22. “We pledge to do so guided by the same values that President DeGioia has fostered over the years.”

Groves said he aims to work with the entire Georgetown community in his new role.

“There is work to be done, as President DeGioia would have wanted us to do,” Groves wrote.

“We are conﬁdent that, with a focus on community and supporting each other, we can see the university through these times and emerge as an even stronger, more impactful institution.”

Colbert is an acclaimed scholar of Black theater, literature and performance who has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a U.S. government agency that supports humanities research; the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, a nonproﬁt that promotes civic engagement; and the Mellon Foundation, an educational philanthropic organization. In 2023, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded her a Guggenheim Fellowship, a grant for exceptional scholarship

in the humanities.

Groves and Colbert worked together in their previous roles, continuing collaboration across ﬁelds of study that began with programs such as the Tech & Society Initiative, which examines technology, ethics and government, and the Emergent Ethics Network, a group of four centers addressing practical ethics.

Colbert said she plans to emphasize Georgetown’s shared values as interim provost.

“As Interim Provost, I am buoyed by the shared values that have and will guide our work,” Colbert wrote in an email sent to students Dec. 4. “I will support the ongoing work of our faculty, staﬀ and students, and shepherd forth new initiatives with the aim of Georgetown being the best version of itself.”

Jazmin Pruitt (COL ’19), a program manager at Georgetown’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action, said Colbert, who served as a mentor for her, will be an effective interim provost because of her passion for uplifting students.

“Dr. Colbert saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself, and her unwavering belief sparked a transformation I didn’t know I needed,” Pruitt wrote to The Hoya. “She didn’t just teach — she empowered,

leaving an imprint on my life that will guide me forever. Her appointment as provost is a testament to her vision and the lives she’s destined to change.”

LaMonda Horton-Stallings, the chair of the department of Black studies, said Colbert’s interdisciplinary experience speaks to her aptitude for being interim provost.

“Dr. Colbert is a caring and empathetic teacher revered by students in Black studies and theater and performance studies throughout her tenure at Georgetown,” Horton-Stallings wrote to The Hoya. “She is also a prominent scholar whose research has transformed multiple ﬁelds of study and she is respected by peers from across the nation. As a Hoya alumni, she has been an exemplary model of leadership and dynamic commitment to the university’s mission.”

Groves said he is excited to see Colbert’s further contributions to the Georgetown community as interim provost. “Dr. Colbert is a terriﬁc leader, faculty member and administrator and we look forward to the contributions she will make as Interim Provost,” Groves wrote in an email sent to students Nov. 26. “She has our gratitude for taking on this position at this time of signiﬁcance for our University community.”

SHIRA OZ/THE HOYA

v. Skrmetti

Experts, Students Convene for Nuclear Security Summit on Space Radiation

Ajani Stella Academics Desk Editor

The Georgetown University Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (BHTA) program hosted its 12th annual Nuclear Security Summit Dec. 4 and 5, calling for interdisciplinary research eﬀorts in the space industry to combat biological damage from radiation.

The Nuclear Security Summit, which the BHTA program has hosted annually since 2013, centered around space radiation and science, highlighting risks of radiation, biological threats and research in space and the future of space travel. The summit featured experts across multiple disciplines, as well as short presentations from graduate students, with the goal of demystifying nuclear security and the space industry.

Tomoko Steen, director of the BHTA program and the summit’s main organizer, said the conference connected space exploration to nuclear science and highlighted necessary safety conversations regarding space.

“Commercial space is very good and exciting, but we need to think about the health of the people going up there,” Steen told The Hoya. “We do know of huge radiation effects, so for this summit, I brought people together who are working on space health.”

The summit included ﬁve main sessions across two days about biological responses to space radiation, space travel and the potential of life in space. In addition to experts, graduate students presented in six “lightning rounds,” shorter sessions about their own research in each of these areas.

Emily Spacone (GRD ’25), a stu-

dent in the BHTA program and one of the summit managers, said she hopes the event showed attendees that nuclear security encompasses more than bombs and energy.

“We’re trying to bring all of these issues to attention on space radiation and the mitigation of radiation exposure, and give people a taste of all the new nuclear news, which gets lost in the news,” Spacone told The Hoya. “I want people to realize there’s more than missiles with regard to nuclear security. With space, the possibilities are endless, and I want people to understand how real this is.”

The summit also honored the late William Daddio, a professor of nuclear weapons and security in the BHTA program who was especially interested in space research until his passing earlier this year, according to Spacone.

Heath J. Mills — the chief scientific officer of Rhodium Scientific, a biotechnology company for the space industry — said the International Space Station (ISS) has unlocked new biological research opportunities by following the same principles of Earth biology without gravity and with space radiation during his talk, titled “Highlights of ISS Biological Research Projects.”

“In space you get microgravity — there is no gravity — and you also have a unique radiation environment that’s low-dose and always present,” Mills said during the event. “You combine those two different factors, those two different environmental stressors, and biology responds.”

Mills said researchers studying biology on the space station can use radiation to examine genetic shifts and genome changes.

“You get acclimated to this envi-

Professor Receives €10 Million to Study Plague

Ajani Stella Academics Desk Editor

A Georgetown University history professor received €10 million to study the spread of the plague in medieval Europe as part of a research team, the university announced Nov. 26.

Professor Timothy Newfield, a historical epidemiologist and environmental historian, is a principal investigator of EUROpest, an international and interdisciplinary research team. The European Research Council, a public funding body for scientific research in the European Union, awarded the team a Synergy Grant, which supports collaborative projects across different countries, over six years to study why the plague had a disparate toll on different areas and within cities.

Newﬁeld said the team will use the funds to study plague in medieval Europe through an interdisciplinary approach combining history and science.

“We want to be able to understand historical outbreaks in sharper resolution than anyone has before,” Newﬁeld told The Hoya. “We’ve identiﬁed roughly 50 outbreaks that we’re going to study in great detail, and we’re going to study those from a climate perspective, a genetic perspective and from a traditional historian’s archival perspective.”

Plague is a bacterial disease with high mortality rates that has caused pandemics throughout history, most famously the Black Death, the ﬁrst outbreak of the second plague pandemic in 14th century Europe. The disease still kills numerous people each year, including a 2017 epidemic in Madagascar.

Newﬁeld said historians and scientists have a limited understanding of how and why plague spreads, pointing out that common explanations, such as proliferation through rats, have little to no evidentiary support.

“We have no explanation for why plague didn’t spread universally or why its eﬀects were so uneven, both temporally and geographically,” Newﬁeld said.

“When we think about it in the past as a universal killer, we’re misleading ourselves.” Newﬁeld said the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted health care inequalities, inspired the team’s research.

“We became aware of the fact that diseases don’t spread indiscriminately,” Newﬁeld said. “We started reﬂecting back on un-

ronment in the form of genetic shift, a genetic drift — the genome changes,” Mills said. “Identifying how it changes, why it changes, what’s that evolutionary pressure to those different changes, is what you want to study.”

Steen said the Nuclear Security Summit series was inspired by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, a major nuclear power plant leak in Fukushima, Japan.

“I started organizing special panel discussions for different conferences right after 2011 for different countries to have a multidisciplinary approach to the nuclear issue,” Steen said. “That is key for me: bringing different experts to learn from each other and understand the case of the nuclear.”

Steen said her own interest in nuclear security came from her mother, who was a survivor of the United States’ 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.

“I’ve been working on the biological eﬀects of radiation since I was a child,” Steen said. “I was trained as a clinical pharmacologist, and every summer I went back to Nagasaki and dealt with patients who were survivors dealing with cancer.”

Spacone said she hopes attendees across disciplines were inspired by the summit to get more involved through their own interests.

“My life’s focus is deﬁnitely not space nuclear, but I just like to learn,” Spacone said. “We tried to get a lot of speakers who are an expert in one ﬁeld and connect it to the space aspect, to the nuclear aspect. Hopefully these speakers will incite something in everyone, and people will do extra research on their own.”

research efforts to better understand biological damage

Exoneree Calls for Criminal Justice Reform at GU Event

Elyse Ellingsworth Events Desk Editor

knowns in historical disease outbreaks. Historians are now alert to this idea that human beings — because of their biases, because of their privileges, because of unequal social economic standings and health care access — contribute to how outbreaks manifest.”

Newfield said the team will use the grant to fund genetic and historical research into why the plague affected various areas and groups differently.

“The ideal will be that we will be able to demonstrate how plague was transmitted in the past, and be able to tease out different mechanisms by which plague spreads,” Newfield said. “After six years, we’re hoping to understand the drivers, the influences that caused plague to take the demographic toll that it did, to account for its unevenness.”

Samantha Huebner (CAS ’26), who took Newfield’s “Global History of the Plague” course in Spring 2024, said Newfield bridged science and history in a way that was accessible to the biology and history majors in the class.

“He did a really great job of getting everyone to understand the other discipline,” Huebner told The Hoya. “He’s an amazing teacher, super funny, super knowledgeable and knows a ton about the experts in the ﬁeld.”

Rachel Singer (CAS ’21, GRD ’27) took multiple of Newﬁeld’s courses as an undergraduate student and is now one of his PhD advisees; she said Newﬁeld cares deeply about his students and is passionate about his research.

“I learned immediately that Tim is a really incredible mentor, especially to undergrads,” Singer told The Hoya. “He took time out of his schedule in the middle of a freaking pandemic to help me publish my term paper for that class in a real journal. I got a sense that my ideas actually mattered, and all of that is thanks to Tim — he takes even undergrads’ ideas really seriously.”

Newfield said the research requires a lot of support, both in funding and logistics, but added that he looks forward to working with his team.

“No one’s done this before because it requires so many feet on the ground, it requires new data, it requires the commitment of a large amount of funding, and that’s why we’re so grateful to the European Research Council,” Newﬁeld said. “There’s no way this would have happened were I going alone — the work with the team has been pivotal.”

An exoneree and advocate for prison reform called for increased activism to combat wrongful convictions during a talk at Georgetown University Dec. 4.

Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, who was exonerated in September 2024 after serving nearly 24 years for a crime he did not commit, shared his experience in prison, the injustices he faced and his eﬀorts both inside prison and after his exoneration to advocate for policy change. The event was sponsored by Georgetown University Prison Outreach (GUPO), a student-run organization that runs educational programming in Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area jails and sponsors prison reform events.

Velazquez said his path to exoneration inspired him to become a justice reform advocate and found Voices From Within, an organization that ampliﬁes the stories of incarcerated individuals.

“While I was incarcerated, I was ﬁghting for myself but also seeing other individuals ﬁghting for themselves who didn’t have the capacity or the platform that I had, and I realized, I think this individual is even in a better position to be released,” Velazquez said at the event. “When you come

in close proximity with an individual who is suﬀering based on wrongful conviction, it’s diﬀicult for you to turn your back on that.”

Marc Howard (LAW ’12), the director of the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI), an organization that focuses on addressing mass incarceration through research and education opportunities for incarcerated individuals, and a cosponsor of the event, said Velazquez was a leader while working toward exoneration.

“What JJ endured with 24 years of wrongful incarceration in a maximum security prison, where he got a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, shows a level of resilience that’s so inspiring,” Howard said at the event. “He became a leader inside, working to represent and support other men, ﬁve of whom were exonerated before he was actually released from prison.”

Approximately 1.9 million people are incarcerated in the United States. Many experts believe that around 2.5 to 5%, or an upwards of 110,000 of those individuals, are wrongfully convicted. As of February 2024, there have been 3,478 exonerations and 31,678 years lost in prison, which averages 9.1 years per exoneree.

Velazquez said nothing makes up for the time lost while incarcerated.

“I left my children at the ages of three-and-a-half years old and ﬁve weeks, and I came home to them at 27 and 24,” Velazquez said at the event. “There’s nothing that they can do to give me back my time that I’ve lost, and nothing that they can do to repair the harm that my family endured.”

“And so when we look at what’s at stake, it’s not just the individuals who are wrongfully convicted, it’s the communities that they came from, it’s the families that they belong to, it’s everyone,” Velazquez added. “There’s collateral damage here.” Velazquez also said that legal and prison systems in the United States are inherently ﬂawed, highlighting discrimination and the lack of support when incarcerated individuals leave jail.

“Justice cannot exist in this world when we have individuals who are wrongfully convicted, when we have individuals who are being discriminated against based on the fact that they may not have enough money to protect themselves, or they may be of the wrong complexion or come from the wrong neighborhood,”

Velazquez said.

“And then after they get out, the average person that comes home from prison can get their hands on drugs or a gun before they can

get themselves employed or get stable housing, and that’s why the recidivism rate is so high,” Velazquez added. Katherine Fisher (CAS ’28), who attended the event, said listening to Velazquez’s story broadened her horizons to the injustices of the system.

“I think the unfairness of the prison system is just something that’s not talked about as much as it should be, and especially hearing the perspective of somebody who was very heavily involved in the system for 24 years is not a perspective that we get to hear all the time,” Fisher told The Hoya. “I think it’s a lot more meaningful coming from someone who was able to experience the injustices in the prison system ﬁrsthand.” Velazquez said it is important to share his experience and inspire others to speak out about prison reform and injustice.

“By sharing my experience with you, I might change one of your trajectories or change the way you view life, and you might change somebody else’s life in your position,” Velazquez said. “And that’s what this is about — I lost half my life in prison, so I’m going to use the rest of my life to turn lanterns on, and I want you to help me. Share your experience.”

Baratta Center Discusses Corporate, Social Progress

Pooja Narayan Graduate Desk Editor

A former United Parcel Service (UPS) oﬀicial urged equal consideration for both corporate social responsibility and proﬁt in a keynote address at Georgetown University’s Baratta Center for Global Business impact roundtable Dec. 3.

Laura Lane (GRD ’90), former UPS executive vice president and chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, served as a U.S. foreign service officer and a U.S. Trade Representative trade negotiator before moving to the private sector and working at Citigroup and Time Warner. The roundtable, titled “Driving Global Business for the Common Good,” focused on how fostering shared values between executives and employees can achieve both economic and social progress.

Lane, who led evacuation eﬀorts during the Rwandan Civil War during her time as a diplomat, said her experience in the foreign service motivated her to seek alternative avenues for change.

“When you experience something as traumatic as being a ﬁrsthand witness to genocide, it kind of changes your whole thought processes,”

Lane said at the event. “It helped me realize what really matters in life: It’s the people that you work with, the passion you bring to the role and the principles that you bring to everything that you do. Going to the U.S. Trade Representative Oﬀice was an incredible opportunity to ﬁnd a way from genocide to fostering economic ties and cooperation.”

Lane said she initially resisted joining the corporate workforce, but the interpersonal skills she learned in Rwanda helped her improve workplace culture in the private sector.

“I had approached every relationship from that human relationship, not trying to bring in American policy or influence but establishing that connection as human beings,” Lane said. “Then one of my first responsibilities in taking over the job of chief corporate affairs officer was to figure out how to tap into what motivates our drivers day in and day out to keep delivering those packages.”

Ricardo Ernst, Baratta chair in global business and professor at the McDonough School of Business, moderated the address and delivered the opening remarks to the roundtable. Ernst said Lane’s career exemplifies how businesses can use what they learn about the needs of their employees and customers to function ethically.

“At the end of the day, most people will act on what’s good for them,” Ernst said at the event. “But if you can act on what’s good for them and then include that in your business proposition, then that is sustainable. That’s why this roundtable is so important, because we will be able to validate what we’re talking about.”

Lane added that strong relationships within corporations and between corporations and customers can ensure that the needs of shareholders and the public are met.

“UPS negotiated last year one of the most historic agreements with our union, the Teamsters, and everybody wanted it to be a confrontation,” Lane said. “But when you adopt the ‘we’ approach, we are nothing without our drivers. But on the other side, it had to be an agreement that allowed us to have the strong workforce that we need to be able to deliver exceptional service to our customers. We had to find that accountability to each other and negotiate a win-win-win agreement.”

Lane said this shared responsibility, along with data-driven policy, can also support sustainability efforts without sacriﬁcing proﬁt.

“We had metrics behind all the carbon we emitted,” Lane said. “We said, ‘Let’s ﬁgure out a way that we

can drive those carbon emissions down while still serving our customers well, not pricing ourselves out of the market and working with governments to ﬁnd a way to incentivize doing good while also, in the case of UPS, delivering goods.’” Lane said she felt guilty about being unable to save everyone during the evacuation in Rwanda, but said UPS provided a path to help through corporate responsibility.

“I felt incredible regret that I hadn’t done more to save more people,” Lane said. “Fast forward to 2016 and UPS was advancing an incredible innovation — drone deliveries for delivery of life-saving blood — and we were going to launch it in Rwanda. In remote areas, we changed maternal mortality by 85%.” Lane said the ultimate compromise between proﬁt and social responsibility is one that considers all perspectives.

“I wish the world were what I thought it was when I ﬁrst joined the foreign service,” Lane said. “But you know, 36 years later, I realized that there’s a lot of competing interests and what you have to do is try to motivate and create the allies behind shared values who believe in achieving a greater good.”

GU Theater Professor Produces, Writes, Directs Play About Caregivers, Health Care

Georgetown University theater professor Derek Goldman wrote and directed “The Art of Care,” a play that portrays the depth of care for individuals through art, which performed until Nov. 24.

Ajani Stella Academics Desk Editor

A Georgetown University theater professor wrote and directed a play that portrays the depth of care for individuals through art, which performed until Nov. 24.

Derek Goldman, a professor in the department of performing arts, wrote and directed “The Art of Care,” which followed seven stories of care and caregiving in the actors’ own lives, based on interviews with them and with real medical professionals. The play, produced in partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, an initiative that uses performance to center human stories in global politics, and the Mosaic Theater Company, a local Washington, D.C. theater group that focuses on storytelling and social justice, ran from Oct. 31 to Nov. 24, receiving critical acclaim. Goldman said he wanted the play to humanize stories of care and encourage the audience to consider the importance of care in their lives.

“Care itself is a lens,” Goldman told The Hoya. “The play started by moving people at the heart level, and people were clearly reached and touched there, but I think a lot of them also left galvanized. It’s not a play that gave people a speciﬁc thing to do, but I think it did lay the foundations for people to think of care diﬀerently in their own lives and their own work.”

“The Art of Care” did not follow a conventional plot, instead acting as a collection of the actors’ own stories, which

were told and acted by themselves and combined with historical and political context and the voices of professionals and experts. The script ranged from indepth narratives of an actor’s experience as a Syrian refugee to historical footnotes about the plague in ancient Athens.

Goldman said he was inspired to focus on care by the importance the actors placed on their own stories.

“People had such intense, moving, intimate, vulnerable stories about their own relationship to care,” Goldman said. “I realized that there was an ‘art of care’ happening in the way people told each other’s stories, and that society often stigmatizes those stories.”

Reginald Douglas (COL ’09), the artistic director of Mosaic Theater and a former student of Goldman’s, said “The Art of Care” ﬁt with Mosaic Theater’s goal to tell stories with a lens of justice.

“Realizing that we’re more alike than different is the goal of the theater we’re making at Mosaic,” Douglas told The Hoya. “One of the things the play did so beautifully was think about care as an act of justice and justice as an act of care. Including stories of refugees and people who have experienced racism and sexism grounded the play in the idea that treating one another with respect and dignity and human rights and civil rights is also a way we can care for one another and care for our community.”

Wonnie Kim (SOH ’25), the assistant director, said the production encouraged the actors to have ﬂexibility with their own stories.

“The script was changing every day — it was very collaborative work,” Kim

told The Hoya. “The actors, who were sharing their own stories, had a lot of flexibility on what they were comfortable sharing. If the wording wasn’t true to their experience, then they could definitely change that, which is why the script changed so much.”

Goldman said the sense of community the play built was essential to its success.

“Part of the conviction of this piece is that we have these seven amazing artists who are sharing their own and each other’s most vulnerable stories of care, and of course that’s all done with a huge process of building trust and building consent,” Goldman said. “The work is trying to give them agency and ownership.”

Goldman said “The Art of Care” has grown into a greater initiative through partnerships with the Global Health Institute, which supports health education at Georgetown, the School of Health and the Medical Humanities Initiative, which supports work at the intersection of health and the humanities, to expand the mission of the play to other communities.

“We’re continuing the work to bring it into communities and bring people together to share their own stories,” Goldman said. “It’s very empowering when you’ve been feeling isolated and stigmatized.”

“I think that can really allow for change,” Goldman added. “If we sit silently and fearfully, and with a sense of shame and worry about our relationship to care, then we’re going to fail it. But if we can take this energy, there’s really positive things that can come from that.”

GU History Professor Receives EU Funding To Research Medieval Plagues’ Spread

Ajani Stella Academics Desk Editor

A Georgetown University history professor received €10 million to study the spread of the plague in medieval Europe as part of a research team, the university announced Nov. 26. Professor Timothy Newfield, a historical epidemiologist and environmental historian, is a principal investigator of EUROpest, an international and interdisciplinary research team. The European Research Council, a public funding body for scientific research in the European Union, awarded the team a Synergy Grant, which supports collaborative projects across different countries, over six years to study why the plague had a disparate toll on different areas and within cities.

Newﬁeld said the team will use the funds to study plague in medieval Europe through an interdisciplinary approach combining history and science.

“We want to be able to understand historical outbreaks in sharper resolution than anyone has before,” Newfield told The Hoya . “We’ve identified roughly 50 outbreaks that we’re going to study in great detail, and we’re going to study those from a climate perspective, a genetic perspective and from a traditional historian’s archival perspective.” Plague is a bacterial disease with high mortality rates that has caused pandemics throughout history, most famously the Black Death, the ﬁrst outbreak of the second plague pandemic in 14th century Europe. The disease still kills numerous people

each year, including a 2017 epidemic in Madagascar.

“We have no explanation for why plague didn’t spread universally or why its eﬀects were so uneven, both temporally and geographically,” Newﬁeld said.

“When we think about it in the past as a universal killer, we’re misleading ourselves.”

Newﬁeld said the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted health care inequalities, inspired the team’s research.

“We became aware of the fact that diseases don’t spread indiscriminately,” Newﬁeld said.

“We started reﬂecting back on unknowns in historical disease outbreaks. Historians are now alert to this idea that human beings — because of their biases, because of their privileges, because of unequal social economic standings and health care access — contribute to how outbreaks manifest.”

Newfield said the team will use the grant to fund genetic and historical research into why the plague affected various areas and groups differently.

“The ideal will be that we will be able to demonstrate how plague was transmitted in the past, and be able to tease out diﬀerent mechanisms by which plague spread,” Newﬁeld said.

“After six years, we’re hoping to understand the drivers, the inﬂuences that caused plague to take the demographic toll that it did, to account for its unevenness.”

DC Council Approves City’s Purchase, Renovation of Hoya Basketball Home Court

Lena Maillet Special to The Hoya

The D.C. Council voted Nov. 26 to proceed with the city’s purchase and renovation of Capital One Arena, the home arena of the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards and Georgetown University men’s basketball team.

In October, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser proposed the District buy Capital One Arena for $87.5 million, lease it back to current owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment and pledge $515 million towards renovating the stadium over the next three years, with Monumental, which also owns the Wizards and Capitals, contributing $285 million towards the project. The vote allows the project to move forward, which would cement the two professional teams’ presence in D.C. until at least 2045; the D.C. Council is expected to finalize the legislation in December, with construction starting this summer.

The vote came more than six months after Bowser and Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis (CAS ’77) agreed to keep Capitals and Wizards games in D.C. through 2050. Bowser said in an Oct. 21 press release about the original proposal that the purchase would allow the two teams to stay in the capital while boosting businesses downtown and around the city.

“We’re keeping Washington’s teams where they belong — here in the Sports Capital, and we’re doubling down on having a world-class destination and entertainment district in the center of D.C.,” Bowser wrote. “We know that when our downtown does well, our city does

well. This catalytic investment is an investment in our residents and businesses in all eight wards.”

Capital One Arena has served as the home venue for the Georgetown men’s basketball team since its construction in 1997. The renovation includes adding 200,000 square feet, more seats and restrooms, concessions, a new lounge for players’ families, a ﬁlm room for the Capitals and upgrades to the facade.

Thomas Le Gall (Sciences Po Strasbourg), an exchange student and Georgetown basketball season ticket holder, said he is glad the Wizards will stay in D.C.

“It’s a good thing that this helps keep the Wizards downtown, because if they were moved elsewhere, I would attend their games less often,” Le Gall told The Hoya D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said that once the renovation is complete, it will attract more patrons to downtown businesses.

“There’s no question that the amount of foot traﬀic will increase and there’s no question with all the folks that come to that area and with the arena modernizing that we’ll see even more activity, and that’s good for downtown,” Mendelson said in a Facebook video. “I think in the short term we may be struggling — with the federal workforce not having returned to work full time, it has put a strain on restaurants and some retailers. But over the next couple of years, I expect that will change and there will be increasing numbers of people coming to the redeveloped arena so business will pick up.”

Samantha Huebner (CAS ’26), who took Newﬁeld’s “Global History of the Plague” course in Spring 2024, said Newﬁeld bridged science and history in a way that was accessible to the biology and history majors in the class.

Newﬁeld said the research requires a lot of support, both in funding and logistics, but added that he looks forward to working with his team.

“There’s no way this would have happened were I going alone — the work with the team has been pivotal.”

“One thing I do love about D.C. is going to basketball and hockey games — the atmosphere is incredible, and the excitement from the crowd brings a sense of life that feels rare here,” Faus Figuerido told The Hoya. “Renovating the arena could be a game-changer, attracting lively audiences and creating a stronger sense of community.” Maea Applegarth (University of Sydney), another exchange student and Georgetown basketball fan, said he believes the renovation is necessary.

“The facilities aren’t too bad, a little old, and it makes sense they’re renovating,” Applegarth told The Hoya Sandra Anne Kenny (CAS ’25), a Georgetown women’s club basketball team member, said the renovation will not aﬀect her attendance at the basketball games.

“I don’t think this renovation will change my habit of attending the games, as I go primarily to

Juncal Faus Figuerido (Universidad Pontificia Comillas), an exchange student and Georgetown basketball fan, said renovating the arena will be an attraction that may foster a stronger sense of community.

Portuguese Ambassador Examines Small States’ Position in the World

Ajani Stella Academics Desk Editor

The Georgetown University government department hosted the Portuguese ambassador to the United States Dec. 3 for a panel on how small states’ focus on rule of law can give them power in the changing world order.

Ambassador Francisco Lopes analyzed how small states behave and exert inﬂuence, focusing on Portugal, in the panel, titled “Small States in a Changing World Economy.” He spoke with R. Daniel Kelemen, McCourt Chair at the McCourt School of Public Policy, during the event, which was moderated by Tiago Moreira Ramalho, a visiting professor from the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Lopes said countries should orient themselves toward the rule of law, which he said is key to improving domestic and international standing.

“The more a country balances its interests with the rule of law, the more beneﬁcial it is for itself,” Lopes said during the event. “It brings added value in predictability, stability and goodwill. Portugal has been balancing its interests with the international rule of law as best as we can for the last 50 years.”

Portugal has been a modern republic since 1974, when pro-democracy activists overthrew a dictatorship, and it joined the European Union, a political and economic partnership of 27 European countries, in 1986. It has established strong relations within Europe and with countries on other continents as part of its eﬀort to claim some global inﬂuence, according to Lopes.

Lopes said policy stability is most important for small nations, since larger countries are better suited to weather political changes in foreign policy.

“We have a base of stable, strategic bets: qualiﬁcations, sustainability, energy transition, digitalization and innovation,” Lopes said. “We had stability in the most strategic policy events in foreign policy, and this happened regardless of the political color of the government.”

Kelemen said Portugal is unique in its stability and uniformity of policies and support structures across the country.

“When I think about the Portuguese economic model, it’s striking how much that rule of law and stability has made the Portuguese economic model deeply impressive,” Kelemen said during the event.

“Every town you go to has a beautiful library and a beautiful sports facility, the kind of social support and general quality of life you saw, the absence of homelessness — it’s a very successful country.”

Lopes said Portugal asserts itself despite its smaller size by acting as a bridge in the Atlantic world, adding that the nation’s growth depends on its use of its unique position among European countries in proximity to North America, South America and Africa.

“In terms of connectivity, for example, Portugal is very central to Europe and we have more direct ﬂights from the U.S.,” Lopes said.

“We have more and more cables connecting Europe with other continents via Portugal from the U.S., from South America, from Africa.

This centrality is paired with an increase of knowledge of Portugal in the U.S., so there’s a really good

connection there.”

“Portugal has probably been underperforming, yes, but this transformation has already been happening,” Lopes added. “It has to do with how long it takes for these stable, strategic bets to bring this change.”

Bella Villarin (CAS ’28), who attended the event, said she appreciated how Lopes framed Portugal’s growth and development and was glad to learn about contrasting views of Portugal as a small state or a key global power.

“It was interesting to hear how Ambassador Lopes highlighted the two different lenses you could view Portugal: through a European lens and a global lens,” Villarin wrote to The Hoya. “This dichotomy between periphery and centrality was an idea I had never explored before.” Lopes said Portugal’s consistent commitment to international rule of law has given it significant influence in European Union multilateral institutions.

“Our main principles and the main orientations were very stable, and this helped a lot our position in the European Union, and is also why we have been seeing some Portuguese get jobs of special responsibility inside the European Union institutions,” Lopes said. “When we negotiate inside the European Union, we are of course defending our interests, but we are always trying to present our positions in a way that is suitable to others.”

“We have been roughly in the group of countries that is always supporting the main priorities of the European Commission when it tries to be the interpreter of the common good,” Lopes added.

AJANI STELLA/THE HOYA

Portuguese Ambassador to the United States Francisco Lopes participated in a Dec. 3 panel on how small states’ focus on rule of law gives them power in a changing world.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

MEN’S SOCCER

Star-Studded Roster, Rising Stars Deliver Fans a Season to Remember

After a remarkable season which culminated in a Big East championship, a number of individual accolades and a 4-seed bid to the NCAA Division I tournament, the Georgetown University men’s soccer team (115-5, 5-2-1 Big East) has plenty to be proud of. The only sour note of 2024 was Georgetown’s upset loss to North Carolina State University (10-4-5, 3-3-2 ACC) in the second round of the NCAA tournament, marking two straight years without a postseason win as a 4-seed. Conference tournament play was a vastly different story, as the Hoyas pushed past Creighton (96-3, 4-3-1 Big East), Akron (12-5-4, 7-0-1 Big East) and Providence (13-6-3, 5-1-2 Big East) by one goal apiece — including a golden goal overtime thriller against Akron — to secure the title of Big East champions. The championship win was Georgetown’s sixth in program history and first since 2021. While dominant as a unit, the elite individual talent present on Georgetown’s roster should not go without praise. In the annual conference regular season awards, three Hoyas were selected to the honorable all-Big East first team: senior defender Maximus Jennings, sophomore midfielder Matthew Van Horn and junior midfielder Zach Zengue. On the all-Big East third team, senior midfielder Joe Buck, firstyear defender Tate Lampman, junior goalkeeper Tenzing Manske and graduate forward Marlon Tabora were recognized for their excellence. Additionally, Lampman won Big East freshman of the year for his prowess on the defensive end. He played a major role in Georgetown’s 11 shutouts over the course of 21 total games, which ties Georgetown with University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Bryant University for the most in Division I — a true testament to the hornet’s nest that is the Georgetown backline. Van Horn may have only started 62% of games this season, but he sure knows how to close them. Out of his teamhigh six goals this season, four were game-winners. The star midfielder also dished out three assists for a point total of 15. Zengue led the team in assists with 7, which included one explosive matchup against DePaul University, where he masterfully set up 3 different Hoyas for goals in a 4-0 victory.

The star forward has worked his way toward becoming a staple of the Big East, previously making the third team in 2023. No team is worthy of the Big East championship without the security of a ferocious goalkeeper, which is exactly what Manske brought to the table this season. Manske was a brick wall for almost half of his games, shutting out 8 of the 17 he started in and achieving a stiﬂing 77.4% save percentage on the 166 shots ﬁred by opponents. Manske ranks second best in the conference for both his goals against average and shutouts per game and comes in at third for save percentage. Nationally, Manske is tied for ninth in shutouts.

With the best record in the Big East, Akron was Georgetown’s stiffest competition this season and the first team to win the regular season title besides the Hoyas since 2019. Akron toppled additional Georgetown streaks by winning defensive player of the year and coaching staff of the year, titles that had been held by the Hoyas for five consecutive years.

The six seniors who have stepped oﬀ of Shaw Field for the ﬁnal time witnessed a special sort of distinction within the men’s soccer program in their

time on the Hilltop, leaving with three regular season conference titles, three NCAA tournament appearances and two Big East championships. With the loss of these seniors, rising stars such as first-year forward Mitchell Baker, who finished the season with 4 goals and 4 assists, and sophomore midfielder Jack Heaps, with 3 goals and 2 assists, will be expected to fall into more prominent roles alongside the returning Van Horn. Zengue will not return, having been drafted by the Columbus Crew with the 58th overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft — an incredible achievement that speaks to the quality of the Georgetown program.

2024 was another success story for the Hoyas, and fans can only expect more dominance from one of the most consistently-strong programs in the nation. Next season, Georgetown will find growth opportunities by capitalizing on more scoring opportunities while maintaining their nearly impenetrable backline. If 2025’s recruiting class proves to be up to standard, Hoya fans should be prepared for another Big East takeover and a deeper NCAA tournament run.

Music Is the Universal Language Bringing Band, Audiences Together

Olivia Booth Special to The Hoya

There’s a reason music is called the universal language. From folk songs to symphonies, melodies have always connected people across all barriers: linguistic, temporal and physical. At Georgetown University sports games, the sounds of the game — from the Pep Band’s tunes to the student section’s raucous cheers and the bated breath of the crowd during a free-throw — create an atmosphere like no other. It’s these moments of anticipation and shared joy that make the venue feel much smaller than it was when we entered. Whether we’re playing the “Fight Song” or “Sweet Caroline,” the music Pep Band makes together is a much-needed reminder that even in times of uncertainty and division, we’re all on the same team, at least for the night. But the memories made with the Georgetown Pep Band don’t end at Cooper Field or Capital One Arena. The Georgetown Pep Band (in its various forms) has existed for over 100 years, and while the group changes as students graduate and new students join, there’s an undeniable link across generations, upheld through our traditions and the music we play. For example, at the homecoming football game this year, I had the chance to

talk with a graduate who hadn’t touched his saxophone since he’d graduated but took the opportunity to join us anyway. One of my favorite parts of that moment was getting to hear him reminisce about which songs he remembered playing and about whose flipbooks belonged to which people a decade ago. For my part, music is and always has been an emotional outlet and passion. Band, specifically, has been a second home since I joined in sixth grade. My closest friends (back home and here in Washington, D.C.) have frequently been bandmates. Before you chalk that all up to the sheer amount of time we spent together — though that is quite a big factor — consider what we’re doing. Despite our diverse backgrounds — different grades, interests and majors; different walks of life and musical experiences; varying reasons for joining the Pep Band — we’ve all ended up in the same space. We’ve grown up playing in separate school systems with different music teachers. Some of us had a marching or pep band while others had only played in orchestras. In the Georgetown Pep Band, it’s not about where we’re from; it’s about what we create together. Every week, we sit together in New North’s Studio A for an hour and a half to work on the music we play for (at most) 15

Hoyas Enter Offseason With Heads Held High Despite Tournament Loss

The Georgetown University women’s soccer team ended an impressive season on the West Coast with a 1-0 loss to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA tournament Round of 32. The Hoyas were unable to match their iconic NCAA tournament run in 2018, where they reached the Final Four but fell to eventual runners-up UNC. Despite the loss, the Hoyas had an impressive season with a 134-4 (8-1-1 Big East) record. Their stellar defense and intricate attacking play make the Hoyas the team to fear in the Big East next season.

The Hoyas finished on top of the Big East Conference with 25 points, but a loss to the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the first round of the playoffs meant the squad could not bring the Big East trophy back home to Washington, D.C., for the fifth year in a row. Nevertheless, Shaw Field was a fortress this season, as the Hoyas had the best home record in the league (9-1-2) with a respectable away record (4-1-2).

The squad felt confident heading into the NCAA tournament following a successful season, and a 3-0 win against Fairfield University in the first round justified their optimism. Their loss to Iowa was disappointing, but the

Hoyas put up a strong fight; they put Iowa under pressure, created plenty of chances and contained the Hawkeyes’ attack for most of the match.

The Hoyas’ oﬀensive plays represented a lasting strength; senior forward Maja Lardner was the team’s top scorer, recording 11 goals this season. Lardner had 7 assists for the season, tied for the most assists for the team along with junior forward Natalie Means.

This season marked Head Coach Dave Nolan’s 21st year with the program. Since joining the staﬀ in 1999, Nolan has watched the program grow from a fairly unknown squad with the potential to one of the best teams in the Big East Conference. With this season’s promising group and the addition of six incoming ﬁrstyears into the mix, Nolan’s 22nd season has the potential to make inroads in the NCAA tournament.

Prior to the NCAA tournament, the Hoyas scored a total of 43 goals and conceded 10 in all competitions, making them the best defensive team in the conference. The Hoyas’ biggest wins came against Quinnipiac University (5-0), Seton Hall University (5-0), Lafayette College (6-0) and Fairﬁeld (3-0) in the ﬁrst round of the NCAA. Despite an early exit in the NCAA tournament, the Hoyas’ season represents an impressive defensive feat.

The Hoyas will have to ﬁll the boots of Lardner and senior midﬁelder Eliza Turner, who has

a great reputation for scoring crucial goals from the midfield. First-year forward Jocelyn Lohmeyer has the potential to replace Lardner next season; Lohmeyer scored 4 goals as a supporting striker to Lardner this year. In the defense, junior goalie Cara Martin was solid in the net, helping the team with big saves and 14 shutouts. Martin and the rest of the back line were solid this season, among the best defenses in the conference. Heading into next season, the Hoyas hope to return the Big East championship to D.C. However, all eyes will be on the NCAA tournament. The team performed well in the regular season but struggled in the playoffs. The Hoyas lost the Big East Conference to UConn, a team they beat in the regular season 3-1. It seemed that the pressure of playoffs proved to make all the difference. The NCAA tournament highlighted the same issue, as the Hoyas lost in the Round of 32 to Iowa. A loss in the Round of 32 was respectable considering Iowa is a highly rated Big Ten program, but the squad and coach Nolan have the potential to compete with the best teams in the country and will believe that NCAA success will soon come to Georgetown. On their day, the Hoyas can beat anyone, and if they can learn to stay composed in playoff matches, trophies will be in their future.

Washington Commanders Bounce Back With Big Win Against Tennessee Titans

minutes per event. Each of our instruments has a unique part that is one piece of the larger song. Each of those songs will never be performed live exactly the same way ever again. We live in the moment in a way that’s often impossible in today’s digital world. There’s something special and grounding about that dedication to the same goal of celebrating music and Georgetown at the same time.

The best part of it all? Anyone with an interest is welcomed with open arms, no matter if you’re an all-state player or have never touched an instrument before. If you want to get involved in the amazing world of music, we want to be part of your musical journey. It’s clear that Pep Band is the place to make cross-generational and cross-cultural connections, no matter what experiences you had before Georgetown.

The Pep Band’s impact truly lasts long after the ﬁnal notes fade. To us, it’s more than just performing pop tunes; it’s about being part of something larger than the sum of our individual parts. Whether it’s the whirlwind trips we lovingly refer to as “Pep Benders” or simply the time we spend together rehearsing, music is what binds us together and what leads us to form lasting friendships and unforgettable memories. Music is the language that uniﬁes us, transforming a group of students into a family.

The Washington Commanders improved to 8-5 in Week 13 during a homewin,42-19,againsttheTennessee Titans, their final AFC opponent of the season, Dec. 1. The Titans (3-9) entered Northwest Stadium as 5.5 point underdogs, according to ESPN, but the Commanders (8-5) were coming off of a three-game losing streak with their latest loss to the rival Dallas Cowboys. Entering Week 13 represented a must-win game to boost momentum heading into their bye week and the remainder of the season as they continue fighting for their first playoff appearance since 2020. Veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, without the coach’s prompting, spoke to the team, which Head Coach Dan Quinn said “was the catalyst at the very beginning of the week.”

Rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels secured a statement win, throwing for 206 yards with an 83.3% completion percentage and 3 touchdowns, 2 of which went to star receiver Terry McLaurin. The defense and special teams equally contributed to the victory as the offense, forcing 2 fumbles and ultimately holding the Titans to 19 points.

The game started oﬀ in favor of the Commanders, who forced a quick three-and-out for Tennessee quarterback Will Levis and the Titans. Washington answered with a three-play drive capped oﬀ by running back Brian Robinson Jr.’s 40-yard touchdown run to take an early 7-0 lead. The Commanders continued their momentum with

another drive down the ﬁeld for 80 yards in 11 plays, punctuated with an athletic Daniels scramble for a touchdown, increasing their lead to 14-0. After rookie secondround pick cornerback Mike Sainristil forced and recovered a fumble at the Tennessee 24-yard line, the Commanders put another touchdown on the board with a pass from Daniels to McLaurin, commanding a 21-0 lead. The chaos continued with another fumble forced by Washington’s special teams to close out the ﬁrst quarter, giving the Commanders the reins.

Entering the second quarter, the Commanders’ offense started their drive from the Tennessee 34-yard line and capped it off with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to McLaurin, his second of the day, earning a dominant 28-0 lead over the Titans. After another three-and-out from the Titans, the Commanders marched down the field, but were held to a 46-yard field goal attempt from kicker Zane Gonzalez, which sailed wide right and represented his first miss of the season. The Tennessee offense then received the ball with two minutes left in the first half, hoping to turn the tide of the game. Levis and the Titans marched down the field and closed the drive off with a 27-yard touchdown to wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine –– their first touchdown of the day and his 7th touchdown in 8 games –– closing out the half on a more positive note.

Starting the second half, the Commanders suffered two early penalties, pushing them back and

forcing a three-and-out. The Titans’ offense returned from the locker room looking more secure and composed, and produced two back-to-back drives with field goals from kicker Nick Folk, scoring 13 unanswered points. The Commanders quickly answered with a touchdown of their own, however; a short pass to veteran tight end Zach Ertz would be his 50th career touchdown and his 4th of the season for the Commanders, bringing the total score to 35-13 at the start of the fourth quarter. With the game coming to a close, the Titans looked to make an unprecedented comeback on the Commanders’ home turf, and with another missed field goal from Gonzalez, it seemed possible. Levis threw a pass to WestbrookIkhine, who scored his second touchdown and his 8th in 8 games, in a two-minute drive. Following the touchdown, they attempted a twopoint conversion which fell short with an incomplete pass to wide receiver Tyler Boyd. During the final quarter, the Commanders looked to close out the game through their offense, and did so by scoring their 6th touchdown with running back Chris Rodriguez’s 7-yard run. The Commanders will look to finish off the season strong, as they will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 15 after a bye week, and will later close out the season against NFC East rivals Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. They suffered losses against both earlier in the season. If the Commanders finish the season in this form, they will be in the hunt for a playoff berth.

GUHOYAS

Sophomore midfielder Mateo Ponce Ocampo dribbles during the Hoyas’ NCAA Tournament second round game.

GUHOYAS

First-year midfielder Caroline Spengler gets ahead of her defender in Georgetown’s NCAA first round matchup against Fairfield—a game which the Hoyas dominated and won 3-0.

Fenton Perez Sports Staff Writer

Golnar Jalinous Sports Staff Writer

WOMEN’S SOCCER FOOTBALL

Ben Bliss Sports Staff Writer

@YANKEES/INSTAGRAM

The big-spending Dodgers’ signing of two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell demonstrates MLB’s parity problem.

The Los Angeles Baseball Grinch Strikes Once Again

HERMAN, from A12

says you are not supposed to want a lot for Christmas.

But the Dodgers, once again, have demonstrated nothing but utter disrespect for the fact that baseball is supposed to have some parity. On Nov. 30, they signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a ﬁve-year, $182 million contract.

For those of you keeping track, that means the Dodgers’ starting rotation next year will consist of 3.00 ERA Yoshinobu Yamamoto; veteran starter Tyler Glasnow; future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw; and a trio of solid depth pieces in Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller. Oh, and I forgot to mention their designated hitter also pitches.

Three-time Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani put up a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings in 2023 and will return to the mound again in 2025. This is all, by the way, under the assumption that the Dodgers don’t casually go and sign Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, who will hit the Major League Baseball (MLB) market in January — and they probably will. Leave some talent for the rest of us, won’t you?

In my ﬁrst-ever column, I argued in favor of instituting a salary ﬂoor to solve this exact problem — the Dodgers hoarding talent in an un-Christmas-like fashion. Given that no one in the MLB has lis-

tened, I’ll bargain a little bit.

Can we please, at least, have some limits on how much money a team can hold in deferred contracts?

The Dodgers owe $989 million in deferred money right now. In essence, they have set aside almost one billion dollars in escrow, and it will be given to their shiny new superstars at the time agreed upon in their contracts. The problem? MLB has a seasonal luxury tax threshold — a weak, but mostly eﬀective means of preventing teams from wildly overspending by instituting harsh ﬁnancial penalties on the teams that do — and deferred compensation provides the Dodgers a handy-dandy little loophole to avoid reaching their limit.

Maybe my preferred solution to this issue would be for the Yankees to take advantage of this loophole, too. Juan Soto, might you be interested in making a fortune in ten to twenty years?

But that wouldn’t be very altruistic of me, and it wouldn’t solve the problem, either. Currently, the problem is that the Dodgers are a pain — but The Problem is that teams are allowed to defer this much money at all.

Loopholes are fun and cute for about ﬁve minutes. The fun’s over — it’s time for the MLB to step in. Dear MLB, Tell the Dodgers to stop being the Grinch and stealing everybody’s presents. Xoxo, your favorite fed-up Yankees fan.

After Balanced Win, Hoyas Hit the Road Confident

ALBANY, from A12

got a bit showy in the next few minutes, after which Cooley subbed out most of the starts for bench players with minutes to go in the game.

A lackluster ending ensued offensively, with 10 points apiece for both teams in the final five minutes of the game. However, a game ending without excitement is a fantastic sign for Georgetown, as it meant they had done something they haven’t quite been able to do so far this season — decisively beat a nonconference opponent.

By all measures, the Hoyas delivered a convincing and wellrounded performance against Albany. Five diﬀerent players (Peavy, Mack, Sorber, Fielder and Burks) ﬁnished the game with double-digit points. Sorber and Peavy in particular stood out; Sorber had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, as well as 4 assists. Peavy notched a team-high 24 points, as well as 4 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Hoyas’ schedule gets much tougher from here on out as nonconference play wraps up. After facing oﬀ against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (5-5) at home on Monday, Georgetown will travel to Morgantown, W. Va. to play West Virginia University (5-2) Friday, Dec. 6 in the Big 12-Big East Battle. Head Coach Ed Cooley will certainly be hoping to carry the oﬀensive momentum from Saturday’s game throughout the rest of the week.

after completing a successful play.

have been essential pieces to

Georgetown Drops Season Finale to Holy Cross Crusaders

HOLY CROSS, from A12

the year with a three-game losing streak.

The team ended on a 5-6 overall record and again missed the playoffs. Since initially joining the Patriot League in 2001, the Hoyas have not been able to qualify.

However, while the box scores and records may tell a story of a team that struggled to find consistency, the reality on the field showed flashing moments of potential and resilience.

After their loss against Holy Cross to end the season, Sgarlata projected hope about the program’s future.

“We will take the lessons from this season and continue to build on the foundation that has been created by this year’s seniors and graduate students. We look forward to the future of Georgetown football,” Sgarlata told Georgetown Athletics.

Defensively, Georgetown had

standout moments, especially in their early-season victories, while their offense had more sporadic moments of brilliance.

Just last week nine Hoyas were selected to All-Patriot League teams, both offensively and defensively. Senior long snapper Sebastian Alonso earned a first-team special teams selection after playing in all 11 games for Georgetown and recording four tackles for the season. Defensive linemen sophomore Cooper Blomstrom, sophomore GianCarlo Rufo, graduate David Ealey III, sophomore Zeraun Daniel and graduate Preston Murray were all named to the defensive second team.

Blomstrom was named Patriot League defensive player of the week twice this season, leading the defensive line with 12.5 tackles for a loss of 65 yards, 6.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. Rufo earned four Patriot League honorable

mentions throughout the season, while team captains Ealey and Murray each earned one Patriot League weekly honorable mention. Junior wide receiver Jimmy Kibble was selected to the offensive second team, leading the league with 720 reception yards on 46 receptions. Senior kicker Patrick Ryan and senior special teams non-specialist Kenneth Borders were selected to the special teams second team; Ryan played in all 11 games for the Hoyas and earned four Patriot League weekly honorable mentions, while Borders saw action in 9 games and recorded 11 tackles.

The Georgetown football team also clinched three Patriot League academic all-league selections thanks to Rufo, Ryan and senior wide receiver Cam Pygatt. To be eligible for selection, a player must have a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average, must have at least sophomore standing at

his institution and must have played in at least 50 percent of the team’s games. As the Hoyas enter the off-season, the program faces critical questions about how to build a more competitive team for next year. While the 2024 season ended without playoff contention, individual accolades on both sides of the ball hint at untapped potential within the program. With key returners like Kibble and emerging leaders across the roster, the foundation is there for future growth. For now, Georgetown football fans will have to wait and see if these moments of promise will translate into a stronger season in 2025. The road ahead looks long and challenging, but as Sgarlata said himself, the team’s effort and dedication remain steadfast as they continue building toward a hopeful horizon.

HOWARD, from A12 arm and a cut to the eye. Howell made both free throws, pulling the Bison within a possession of the Hoyas. But Howard’s hopes were

Shooting-wise, the game was primarily a duel between Ransom and Howell, with Ransom scoring 28 points and Howell 21. No other player from either team reached the double digits. In a physical matchup, Jenkins won the rebound battle with 12 boards. Ransom said Howard played with passion, particularly when rebounding,

You know, it’s physical, but it’s mental, it’s emotional, so it comes down to who wants it more,” Ransom told NCAA reporter Autumn Johnson in a postgame interview. “They got good O-Boards, we needed to box out, so it’s mentally as taxing as it is physically.” Head Coach Darnell Haney said he was proud of the Hoyas for the team’s grit and cooperation in pushing past the game’s challenges.

“I’m just so proud of our team and their grit, they kept ﬁghting. Going down, understanding that you’re going to face some adversity, these things are difﬁcult and I’m so proud of our young kids,” Haney told Georgetown Athletics. “It

GUHOYAS

First-year center Thomas Sorber and sophomore forward Drew Fielder celebrate

The two big men

Georgetown’s hot start.

GUHOYAS

Georgetown football’s seniors celebrated the ends of their college careers after playing the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday, Nov. 23. Their group saw the program’s emergence out of the pandemic and have spurred the Hoyas’ upward trajectory this season.

Sports

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2024

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Hoyas finished a stellar season with a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a Big East championship.

The Dodgers Are Ruining Christmas

For Us All

Eilat Herman Hoya Sports Columnist

The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Let’s cut acceptance out of the picture, since nothing can make me come to terms with the New York Yankees’ pitiful 2024 World Series performance. Out of the four actual stages, I’m approximately in stage three. I hit the denial stage after the Yankees went down 3-0 in the World Series and I stupidly retained some hope that Hanukkah and its miracles would come early. Anger came when the Yankees officially lost — I grabbed a red Sharpie and drew a jagged “X” over the postseason bracket I had stuck on my wall at the beginning of October. Then, for good measure, I slapped a Post-It note over Aaron Judge’s baseball card. Depression will come later, probably in early January when the New York Jets’ season ends and the longest playoff drought in major American sports doesn’t end with it. Then, I will have nothing but the rapidly deteriorating New York Rangers to watch until baseball season starts again. See? Depressing.

But currently, I’m bargaining.

More specifically, I’m begging the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to be just a little bit less good. I’m also politely requesting that Dodgers fans be a little bit less annoying, but that’s like asking Santa for a dragon. Or asking Aaron Judge to show up in Oc — Whatever. If an Elf on the Shelf were to be watching the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason, he would not be happy. Rumor has it that Mariah Carey is a little miffed, too — she

See HERMAN, A11

Georgetown vs. Colgate

Saturday, 4 p.m.

Entertainment & Sports Arena

TALKING POINTS

NUMBERS GAME See A10

We will take the lessons from this season and continue to build on the foundation that has been created by this year’s seniors and graduate students.

Football Head Coach Rob Sgarlata

Graduate guard Kelsey

scored 28 points to lead Georgetown in their win against Howard. 28

Georgetown men’s basketball turned in a stellar 100-point performance against Albany behind five double-digit scorers. Graduate guard Micah Peavy continued his strong run of form with 24 points, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, while first-year center Thomas Sorber notched his third double-double of the year.

Hoyas Score 100, Secure Decisive Win Over Albany

Faith Specter Deputy Sports Editor

The Georgetown University men’s basketball team (6-1) ﬁnally delivered the emphatic win they have been searching for all season, defeating the University at Albany Great Danes (5-3) this past Saturday, Nov. 30, 100-68 at Capital One Arena.

Finally bringing home a true blowout win, the Hoyas’ dominance of the Great Danes serves as an encouraging sign for the rest of the season. With the end of the nonconference schedule approaching, the oﬀensive clinic put on by Head Coach Ed Cooley will play a critical role in building momentum ahead of the Big East play.

First-year forward Thomas Sorber won the tipoff for Georgetown, but Albany sank a 3-pointer to put themselves up on the scoreboard first. Back-toback shots from graduate guard Micah Peavy and junior guard Jayden Epps gave the Hoyas their first points of the game and set them off on a 12-0 scoring run. The defense got off to a strong start as well, recording multiple steals and blocks in just the first few minutes to stifle the Great Danes’ offense early on.

Although Albany started showing signs of life, closing the gap 12-9, an alley-oop by sophomore forward Jordan Burks kept the momentum swinging in Georgetown’s favor. However, three fouls on the Hoyas sent the Great

Danes to the line for seven shots, putting Albany up 16-14 despite not showing much promise from the ﬁeld.

A 2-pointer followed by an and-1 from Sorber tied the game at 19-19. A deep 3-pointer from sophomore guard Malik Mack and an eﬀortless basket by ﬁrst-year forward Caleb Williams made it 24-19 leading into a timeout called by Albany. These points added to another huge scoring run by Georgetown, this time 13-0, which ended with a big 3-pointer from Sorber to put the Hoyas up 29-19. A couple unfortunate turnovers by Georgetown then followed, but the Great Danes were unable to fully capitalize; a three from sophomore center Drew Fielder made it 37-26 and rescued the

Ransom Leads Hoyas to Chaotic Victory

Caleigh Keating

Senior Sports Editor

In a crosstown matchup, the Georgetown University women’s basketball team came out on top against the Howard Bison, pulling away in the final minutes of a backand-forth game with a wild finish. Georgetown (5-3) beat Howard (5-3), 69-63, in a fast-paced, gritty battle. After being down by 6 points with just minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Hoyas went on a 16-4 run to edge out the Bison for the win. An action-packed ﬁrst quarter saw the dueling squads trade buckets and turnovers, with neither team leading by more than a possession until the ﬁnal minute of the quarter. Howard took the lead with 2:51 left, but the Hoyas stormed back with 6 unanswered points, including 4 from graduate guard Kelsey Ransom, to end the quarter up 17-13. The second quarter saw Howard shift to a more defensive focus as the Bisons tried to contain Ransom and the rest of the Georgetown crew with a full-court press. They succeeded for the better part of the quarter, sprinting out to a 26-22 lead at the 2:51 mark before Georgetown answered with 4 points from Ransom and a 3-pointer from first-year guard Jayden McBride to send the teams into the locker room with the Hoyas up 29-27. The Hoyas and Bison took turns trading the lead during the third quarter, as Howard fought for offensive rebounds and took advantage of 5 turnovers from Georgetown to keep the game within

Graduate guard Kelsey Ransom and

seasons, Ransom has been a

Hoyas’ 10-point advantage. A 10-0 Georgetown run spearheaded by Peavy and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. followed, and the Hoyas went into the half up 49-35. The 14-point lead served as a testament to the Hoyas’ full-team effort: Four different players each tallied 3 assists in the first 20 minutes alone. Sorber gave Georgetown the first bucket of the second half, and two free throws apiece from Fielder and Peavy made it 55-37.

A dunk from Fielder a minute later gave the Hoyas a 19-point lead, and the game started to slip further out of reach for the Great Danes. An and-1 from Mack put Georgetown up by 25, while Albany couldn’t make much action on the basket during the ﬁrst ﬁve minutes of the second half. The momentum kept growing for the Hoyas: A 3-pointer from Mack and a dunk from Burks put them up by 32 and resulted in an Albany timeout to attempt damage control. A basket for the Great Danes right after ended Georgetown’s 15-0 run, but another 3-pointer from Mack picked them up right where they had left off. Peavy’s 3-pointer midway through the second half gave the Hoyas the 40-point lead at 86-46, sinking the Great Danes into an even deeper hole. Taking advantage of Albany’s clear mental and physical exhaustion, Georgetown

Ava Hult and John Ehrmann

Sports Staff Writers

Georgetown University’s football team (5-6, 2-4 Patriot League) ended their 2024 season with a crushing 34-0 defeat by the Holy Cross Crusades (6-6, 5-1 Patriot League) Nov. 23. Despite a disappointing conclusion, better days may still be yet to come for the Hoyas: the program displayed a promising consistency with many players as season standouts.

Entering their tenth season under program alumnus Rob Sgarlata (COL ’94, GRD ’12), the Hoyas sought to build upon their success in 2023, during which they recorded their best record since 2019. The Hoyas started their season strong with two wins against the Davidson Wildcats and Marist Red Foxes, both by more than 20 points. Against the Wildcats, the Hoya ground game showed its strength early on, gaining a total of 263 yards. Senior running back Naieem Kearney rushed ﬁve times for 87 yards, gaining an average of 17.4 yards per carry, and sophomore running back Bryce Cox contributed another 84 yards on the ground, rushing three times and averaging a staggering 28 yards per attempt. Each running

back also scored two touchdowns en route to a 46-24 win. The next week, the Hoyas showed out similarly against the Red Foxes. Junior quarterback Danny Lauter threw for a touchdown and nearly 200 yards, the running game kept up its stellar performance and the defense stepped up to hold Marist to only one touchdown and one ﬁeld goal. Sophomore defensive lineman Cooper Blomstrom led the charge on that side of the ball by recording six tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hurry and a broken pass on his way to winning Patriot League defensive player of the week honors. However, the Hoyas failed to live up to expectations for their next two games, losing both against Sacred Heart and Brown, respectively. Hoyas bounced back for two more wins against Columbia and Lafayette. The Homecoming win against Columbia, in particular, brought excitement to the fanbase. Facing the Lions, the Hoyas executed a 20-17 come-from-behind victory to capture the Lou Little Trophy, awarded to the school

GUHOYAS

Ransom

HOWARD ATHLETICS

first-year forward Alexia Dagba fight for a rebound. Like previous

star

far in 2024-25, twice landing on the Big East weekly honor roll.