The Hoya: October 12, 2018

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 100, No. 7, © 2018

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018

Selling Sweets

Get a taste of the marketing strategies behind your favorite Georgetown dessert shops.

EDITORIAL Georgetown needs to fulfill its promise to keep tobacco products off campus.

AUTO ACCIDENT Two GUMC students were hit by an unidentified driver Sept. 5.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A7

In Limbo: The International Experience on the Hilltop MEENA MORAR Hoya Staff Writer

Jetlagged from a 12-hour flight and lugging two 50-pound suitcases behind her, Rachelle Bonja (SFS ’20) had finally made it to the United States. Growing up in Aleppo, Syria, Bonja, arrived alone in Washington, D.C. with no phone, no credit card and no idea how to get to Georgetown University to begin her freshman year in the summer of 2016.

“My parents can’t come to the U.S.,” Bonja said. “They are not allowed in, because I’m Syrian. I had literally no one when I got here, and I had to take a cab to Georgetown. I remember the feeling of seeing people with their parents and feeling so desperate because I wanted to know how to do things.” For many international students, this sense of discomfort and anxiety is not foreign. Georgetown markets itself as attracting students “from around

the world,” with 3,048 international students from 125 countries enrolled in both university programs, 458 of whom are undergraduates, according to the Office of Global Services. OGS strictly defines international students as those with an F-1 or J-1 visa, which permits international students to legally study at U.S. colleges and universities. Yet, for students like Bonja, who hold U.S. citizenship with no familial or cultural ties to the United States, this narrow definition can be excluding.

THE CULTURAL GAP

AMANDA VAN ORDEN/THE HOYA

While many international students come to Georgetown without any prior experience in the United States, some students attend programs that introduce them to life in a U.S. college setting, including summer courses at U.S. universities like Georgetown. Those students often feel more prepared to assimilate into Georgetown’s environment. Having a good command of English can also break down certain cultural barriers, according to Austrian native Roxana Helena Demeter (COL ’21). “I’ve obviously had an easier time because I was fully fluent in English and relatively ‘assimilated’ to American culture by the time I came here,” Demeter said. Still, Demeter cautioned against the pressure to assimi-

Gabriel Donato Gonçalves (COL ’19) initially struggled to assimilate into U.S. culture when he began attending Georgetown University.

See INTERNATIONAL, A6

ANNE STONECIPHER/THE HOYA

The Georgetown University Student Association senate voted Monday to create a new Ethics and Oversight Committee to improve accountability of GUSA’s senate and executive.

GUSA Launches Committee For Exec, Senate Accountability WALKER MILLER Special to The Hoya

An Ethics and Oversight Committee for the Georgetown University Student Association senate is set to be approved this week, after the senate unanimously voted Monday to pass legislation to improve the internal accountability of the senate and GUSA’s executive branch. The formation of the new committee comes a month after the

OUTober Encourages Renewed Activism

resignation of former president Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) amid sexual misconduct allegations, but the committee was created independent of the recent resignations, according to Dylan Hughes (COL ’19), GUSA senator and chair of the eight-person committee. The legislation instructs the committee to track senators’ attendance records at meetings, monitor potential conflicts of interest and ensure that members communicate regularly, said Hughes, who

was elected chair of the committee at the senate meeting Monday. “This committee is just designed to ensure that GUSA is behaving ethically and responsibly,” Hughes said. “I’ve been at Georgetown for four years now, and in my time, I’ve seen examples of GUSA acting unethically.” The committee will also be tasked with investigating the See COMMITTEE, A6

NEW GUSA VICE PRESIDENT

Month of programming marks LGBTQ Resource Center’s 10th year SANA RAHMAN

Special to The Hoya

The LGBTQ Resource Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary with OUTober, an annual monthlong programming series honoring the LGBTQ community, this month. This year’s theme, “Looking Forward,” aims to build off the current on-campus LGBTQ infrastructure to identify emerging issues for the community through a series of keynote speakers, discussions and events, according to LGBTQ Resource Center Director and Special Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs Shiva Subbaraman. “The center has been here for 10 years, so we are also celebrating our 10th anniversary of the Resource Center,” Subbaraman said in an interview with THE HOYA. “The center came as a result of student activism in 2007, and it is the first center in a Catholic institution and still is the only center in a Catholic institution.” OUTober’s focus needs to move past foundational issues pertaining to infrastructure and visibility, according to Subbaraman. “This year what I’m trying to do is to look forward to see where are the gaps of the composition that we need to go and build on and hopefully in the next few years we will

FEATURED

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

emerging identities, there are lots of new emerging touch points, and I think continuing to educate ourselves and educate the campus about those gaps is where I want to go.” GU Pride Co-President Andrew Molinari (COL ’21) hopes people who take part in OUTober acknowledge the progress made in the LGBTQ community, but also recognize the areas that need improvement. “I hope they see celebrations of what makes our community so great and also what needs to be worked on,” Molinari said. OUTober, a tradition that began in 2012, is organized by the LGBTQ Resource Center, Georgetown University Pride, Georgetown University Queer People of Color and the McDonough Alliance. Smaller events and discussions are held in collaboration with various student clubs, academic departments and organizations, along with Campus Ministry. This year, GU Pride is focused on putting forth fewer, larger events in hopes of creating a sense of community among the student body, specifically for new students, according to Molinari. “I love October because it’s

This year’s OUTober theme, “Looking Forward,” aims to promote activism around campus and national LGBTQ issues.

See OUTOBER, A6

identify where those emerging issues are, where those gaps are, and that is where the conversations will go,” Subbaraman said. Despite the significant progress made in the 10 years since the LGBTQ Resource Center’s

opening, Subbaraman wants to combat apathy toward LGBTQ issues. “People tend to think we have gay marriage, we have acceptance, everything is fine, but it is not,” Subbaraman said. “There are a lot of new

GUSA

Kenna Chick (SFS ’20), right, was sworn in to serve as the GUSA vice president to President Juan Martinez (SFS ’20).

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Will Haskell Will Haskell (COL ’18) was endorsed by former President Barack Obama in his Connecticut State Senate race. A5

Turning to Hope Fr. Gregory Schenden,S.J., has turned to NBC’s comedy “The Good Place” as the world nears dystopia. A3

Streak Broken The Georgetown football team recorded its first Patriot League win since 2015 against Fordham last weekend. A12

NEWS CAB Fair Round Two

OPINION Of Mice and Mold

SPORTS Conference Dominance

The Council of Advisory Boards is hosting a second CAB Fair on Sunday featuring clubs without applications. A5 Published Fridays

These Georgetown students walked on wet floors for five months. Georgetown failed to take them seriously. A3

The Georgetown women’s soccer team defeated Villanova last Sunday to earn its 11th straight victory. A12 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com


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