The Hoya: February 22, 2019

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 100, No. 20, © 2019

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Season of Change

Catch The Guide’s analysis of the future of awards shows in the film and music industries.

EDITORIAL The university should explain its recycling practices to confused students.

WEAPONS POLICY UPDATED The board of directors approved a weapons ban on Georgetown community members.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

GUSA Opts Against GU Strips McCarrick of Honorary Degree Special Election To Fill Senate Seat MASON MANDELL Hoya Staff Writer

CADY STANTON

Doh said.

“Because the election procedure itself takes 3-4 weeks to A special election will not be complete, and with the spring held for the vacant seat of Sam break, even if we start the proAppel (COL ’20) in the George- cess next week, the earliest the town University Student Asso- elected-senator would be in the ciation senate, in a departure office would be third week of from the GUSA constitution.

March,” Doh wrote in an email The GUSA president must to The Hoya. “Because of the new call and hold an election for a election rules, it makes sense vacant senate that we do not seat within hold a special 30 days of a election at this senator’s exit, time.” according GUSA reto the GUSA formed the constitution. senate elecThe elected tions in a Febsuccessor ruary 2018 refwould ocerendum after cupy the seat two failed reffor the rest erendums on of that legisthe same issue WILLIAM MORRIS (COL ’19) lative term. took place two Chair, GUSA Constitutional Council For GUSA’s years prior. constitution Under the to be upheld, an election to fill new regulations, senators are Appel’s seat must take place by elected based on class year rathFeb. 28 following his Jan. 28 res- er than geographic location ignation. and elections for non-freshman No special election is planned senators will be held in April for Appel’s seat because of tight rather than in the fall. timing, according to GUSA elecThe decision not to hold a spetion commission chair Minji cial election was made by the Doh (SFS ’19). The elected sena- GUSA election commission, actor would only serve a one- to cording to outgoing GUSA Presitwo-week term before the dent Juan Martinez (SFS ’20), general GUSA senate election, which is slated for mid-April, See GUSA, A6 Hoya Staff Writer

“Calling an election has the potential to raise just as many questions as not calling one. Their decision holds, unless some party appeals.”

Georgetown University revoked former Washington, D.C. Archbishop and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s honorary degree Feb. 19 after the Vatican expelled him from the priesthood for sexual abuse Feb. 16.

The decision comes after a working group was tasked in October 2018 with evaluating the role of honorary degrees, including whether the university should revoke the degree awarded to McCarrick.

Georgetown has never previously revoked an honorary degree, University President John J. DeGioia announced in an email Tuesday.

The revocation is part of Georgetown’s efforts to protect the vulnerable, DeGioia wrote in a Feb. 19 email sent to members of the Georgetown community.

“As our University community continues to reflect on the aspects of our own response, now and into the future, there is an important step for us to take at this moment,” DeGioia wrote.

Georgetown granted McCarrick an honorary degree in December 2004 for his humanitarian work while he was archbishop of Washington. He maintained close ties with the university, holding Mass and attending speaking events until 2013. McCarrick also served on an advisory group to the Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Former Washington, D.C. Archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who received an honorary degree from Georgetown University in 2004, was expelled from the priesthood Feb. 16 for sexually abusing minors. and Public Life when it was founded in 2013.

At least nine other universities have taken similar action since the allegations against McCarrick of sexual abuse of teenagers and seminarians became public in June 2018.

While the Catholic University of America, Fordham University and six other institutions revoked the degrees they had previously awarded to McCarrick in light of the accusations last summer, the University of Notre Dame, which rescinded its degree Feb. 16, and Georgetown waited until the conclusion of the Vatican’s investigation.

McCarrick appears to be the

highest clerical official to be removed from the priesthood by the pope because of sexual abuse, according to The New York Times. McCarrick had been under investigation by the church since October 2018 for the abuse allegations; Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the College of Cardinals in July 2018.

Georgetown should take a lead role among other institutions in addressing the clerical abuse crisis, according to Ryan Anderson (NHS ’20), speaking on behalf of the university’s chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a service-based fraternal Catholic organization.

“The University made the

right decision in rescinding McCarrick’s honorary degree,” Anderson wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “I would like to see Georgetown continue to address this issue that has plagued the Catholic Church.”

While revoking the honorary degree is an important decision, DeGioia recognized the university’s responsibility to take further action to develop a safe environment for survivors of sexual abuse.

“There is more that is required of us in this moment,” DeGioia wrote in the email.

“We are called to forge a new culture, to create a context in See McCARRICK, A6

Facilities Negligence Endangers Students Board Allocates Lack of emergency housing, delayed responses trouble residents $75M for Repairs, Maintenance HARRISON HURT

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

staff writer for The Hoya).

“I wasn’t told directly, but my roommate was [told] by a contractor that if we had been in the room when the ceiling collapsed that we would have died,” Fulmer said.

A Feb. 11 notice gave 84 residents of top-floor apartments in Alumni Square four days to find off-campus housing or relocate to the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center for the rest of the semester after structural engineers expressed concerns about moisture and pressure on Alumni Square roofs, according to a university webpage.

A university official may have known about water damage on roofs of Alumni Square apartments weeks before the first apartment in Alumni Square was ever inspected, Fulmer learned in conversations with Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson and Chief Operating Officer Geoff Chatas. University officials did not comment on Fulmer’s claim.

Humeyra Selcukbiricik (COL ’20), who recounted the multiple health risks she encountered as a resident of campus housing in a Feb. 20 op-ed in The Hoya, is among the relocated students from Alumni

Residents of top-floor Alumni Square apartments were relocated last week over concerns about significant water damage to roofs. One resident suggests university officials discovered the potential hazard last summer.

See FACILITIES, A6

Hoya Staff Writer

When students from topfloor apartments in Alumni Square were relocated to the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center last week, administrators assured them that they were acting with an abundance of caution.

However, university officials

FEATURED

failed to act on water damage in Alumni Square they observed as early as last summer, according to an Alumni Square resident who had several conversations with senior university officials.

The Alumni Square relocation has intensified scrutiny of Georgetown’s maintenance and renovation process, ex-

acerbating concerns about delayed responses to urgent safety issues, poor communication and negligence from university administrators.

These challenges are not only frustrating, but lifethreatening for students like former Alumni Square resident Sean Fulmer (SFS ’20).

(Full disclosure: Fulmer is a

ANYA HOWKO-JOHNSON Hoya Staff Writer

A five-year, $75 million maintenance plan to alleviate building maintenance issues — including those in student residences — was approved by the Georgetown board of directors Feb. 14.

A portion of the funds will be used to renovate all Alumni Square west tower buildings after multiple instances of mold were reported by Alumni Square residents. The board also approved repairs of all Alumni Square apartment roofs after safety concerns over their structural integrity caused 85 students residing on the top floor to be relocated Feb. 11.

The new funds aim to improve student housing and ensure the university is addressing other general maintenance issues through the Department of Planning and Facilities Management, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill.

“The plan includes student residences but will strengthen Planning and Facilities Management’s overall ability to improve our campus infrastructure and enhance the experience of students, faculty, staff, and visi-

NEWS

OPINION

Campaigning on Campus Andrew Yang, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, spoke at Georgetown Tuesday.

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Remedy Campus Residencies Georgetown’s Office of Planning and Facilities Management must provide students with acceptable on-campus living spaces.

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NEWS

OPINION

Cashless No More The D.C. Council is considering a bill to prohibit the District’s retailers from adopting cashless policies.

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Improve Social Benefits The current Medicaid system fails to adequately support Americans with disabilities.

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Published Fridays

tors,” Hill wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The board of directors, which is composed of 39 members selected by the university, approves of major policy changes and advises University President John J. DeGioia on university decisions. The board has previously passed a tuition increase that removes a mandatory Yates membership fee for undergraduate students.

The funds are set to be allocated to the university’s deferred maintenance budget, which includes projects that repair existing buildings instead of constructing new ones. These initiatives consist of roofing repair, resolution of structural defects, repair of utility and distribution systems and other costly projects that are not funded by Facilities’ operating budget.

Facilities problems originate in funding decisions made at higher levels of the administration, according to Jeremy Cohen (SFS ’20), a student who was relocated to the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center from his Alumni Square apartment.

“I would say that with regards See REPAIRS, A6

SPORTS Return of the Mac

Led by freshman guard Mac McClung, Georgetown’s men’s basketball team upset conference rival No. 17 Villanova on Feb. 20.

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SPORTS Hilltop Heroes

Women’s lacrosse pulled away late in the game with back-to-back goals to seal a 10-7 win over Towson.

A10 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

THE VERDICT

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Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIALS

Dispel Harmful Recyling Rumors C in the process by actively improving communication.

The Office of Sustainability’s website is frustratingly outdated. Most recycling data on the website are from 2010 and do not reflect the new single-stream system, failing to inform any students seeking the correct information. This lack of information lends credibility to doubts that the university does not recycle.

By updating its website, the office could make the recycling process clear and avoid confusion or apathy.

Moreover, Georgetown must immediately hire a new recycling manager. The position, which has been vacant since 2012, is integral to seamlessly coordinating the recycling program and ensuring that the community is properly informed on the process.

Though increasing transparency by hiring a new manager and streamlining communication will increase expenses for the university, the Office of Sustainability is currently overworked. With only two full-time employees and three student interns dedicated to recycling, the office needs assistance to improve its recycling system and communication.

Students in GREEN called on the university to hire a recycling manager last November in a viewpoint in The Hoya, but Georgetown has not addressed these demands or indicated it plans to do so.

Additionally, Georgetown should clear up student confusion by replacing its old bins. Bins are currently separated to sort between cans, paper and plastic, even though these materials will eventually be mixed.

Replacing the bins would confirm the university’s switch to a single-stream process and signal a fresh start to students disillusioned with the recycling system.

In an attempt to educate students, a pilot program by the Office of Sustainability and GREEN has relabelled bins in the Southwest Quad and Village A, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill. Recyclables besides corrugated cardboard are now called “mixed recycling” and all other materials “waste.”

An important first step, the university should extend this program as a short-term solution until it purchases new bins to demonstrate its commitment to recycling across campus.

In recent years, Georgetown University — once a leader in recycling — has failed to convince its students that it recycles at all.

Georgetown must correct the poor communication that has complicated an otherwise straightforward waste management system. Recycling should not feel like rocket science.

Setting the Moo’d — A Tinder-inspired app called “Tudder” launched earlier this month to match cattle with potential partners. Farmers can swipe right or left to decide who willbe their livestock’s new mate.

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Feeling Blue — Roughly 3,000 people gathered in Lauchringen, Germany, dressed as various characters from the Smurfs, including Smurfette and Papa Smurf.

However, those dressed like the evil wizard Gargamel were prohibited.

C C

Recycling at Georgetown University is needlessly confusing. The university’s failure to explain recycling procedures has muddled student understanding of what should be a simple process, leaving a vacuum for detrimental rumors to fester.

Georgetown vastly improved its waste management system with its hiring of a recycling manager in 1989. By 2011, the university ranked among the best universities in overall recycling rate, according to national environmental competition RecycleMania. Eight years later, however, students doubt that Georgetown even recycles. An uncommunicative Office of Sustainability has only bolstered these rumors, failing to adequately correct misinformation.

If the Office of Sustainability wants to make sure students are actually recycling, it must dispel rumors and restore faith in the university’s recycling system.

Georgetown could do so by actively communicating with students through emails, hiring a new recycling manager and updating its website and bins.

Georgetown’s recycling system began to deteriorate in 2012, when the recycling manager left the position as the university transitioned to a new single-stream system. The single-stream process mixes recyclables — plastics, metals and paper — in the same collection truck. Without a manager during this transition, critical waste management tasks, such as proper signage and training of custodians, were ignored and the university did not recycle these commingled materials.

Georgetown’s past failure to recycle commingled materials is just one example of a concerning trend in university actions: neglect of recycling.

While Georgetown properly recycles these materials now, the university has not formally informed students of the new single-stream system. After students witnessed custodians mixing the recyclables last year, rumors cropped up that the university was not recycling, according to Nareg Kuyumjian (SFS ’21), a member of the Georgetown Renewable Energy and Environmental Network recycling team.

“Though the source of these false rumors is impossible to singularize, what is important is that students use this reasoning as an excuse for their complacent recycling practices,” said Kuyumjian. Apathy has the dangerous potential to exacerbate improper waste disposal, contaminating a load of recyclables beyond acceptable levels for local recycling facilities.

If it seeks to ensure that students properly recycle, Georgetown must correct rumors and rebuild trust

Pass the Ranch — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was campaigning at a sports bar in Iowa on Monday when a customer barged to the front of the crowd in search of condiments. As the customer pushed past voters and reporters, she threw up her hands and explained, “sorry —I’m just gonna get some ranch.”

Wedding Beef — A vegan bride in Australia disinvited all meat-eating guests from her wedding, including her mother and cousins. The bride explained that she was afraid that her meat-eating family members would “attack” her vegan friends.

Sweet Ride — On Wednesday, Steven Hart, an Oklahoma man, stole a truck carrying soda while the driver was unloading the cargo. After being arrested, Hart told police that he was trying to get to the airport after an argument with his girlfriend.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Alexandra Bowman

Reduce GUPD Security Costs Student organizations at Georgetown University are not able to fully utilize their budgets. A prohibitive Georgetown University Police Department security requirement extorts clubs of money that should be spent on students.

Currently, student organizations are required to hire at least one GUPD security officer for events that are “controversial,” have amplified sound or draw more than 75 participants, per university policy. Security costs — paid for by club budgets — quickly tally up, with a $52.25 hourly rate per GUPD officer and fourhour minimum mandated by the university.

These burdensome security costs are a misappropriation of student funds and prohibit clubs from hosting events that stimulate campus discourse. To ensure clubs can devote their money to elevating students’ experience, Georgetown should reduce arbitrary security requirements for clubs on campus by removing the four-hour security minimum.

GUPD implemented the stringent guidelines in 2015, requiring clubs to hire an officer for events with high expected attendance or any event deemed necessary as a response to “world, regional and local events,” according to its website. While security is necessary for student safety, GUPD’s current policy presents a conflict of interest and perpetuates an obstructive cost.

These burdensome requirements mean that the minimum cost for an event with 75 participants is $209 — a number that increases with every additional 75 attendees. An event in Gaston Hall, which seats 743 people, would cost at least $2,090 in security fees.

Though GUPD’s hourly security rate is about eight dollars cheaper than the Metropolitan Police Department’s rate of $65.45 per officer, the university’s fourhour minimum for students’ events unnecessarily hikes costs for student organizations. Most Georgetown events rarely run longer than one hour, and almost none come close to the four-hour minimum.

While the four-hour minimum may be meant to compensate officers for the extra time spent coming in to work, even factoring transportation into total working time would not total four hours, especially with an average event time of one hour.

Requiring students to pay for a service not per-

formed is extortion. To ensure that club funds are spent on students, the university must remove the security minimum.

Under current policy, GUPD can unilaterally decide that events need more security than student groups requested, Student Activities Commission chair Kylie Navarro (COL ’20) said in a November 2018 article in The Hoya. Unpredictable security costs have left student groups underfunded in the past, Navarro said.

To ensure clubs can engage students, the university must make costs more affordable and publish its standard for requiring security beyond one officer.

The current system is a conflict of interest: GUPD can decide how many officers are necessary for an event, while profiting from a monopoly on campus security.

By removing the four-hour minimum, GUPD could credibly demonstrate a commitment to student safety rather than profit.

Realistically, the policy only affects a few organizations; in 2017, only seven SAC-administered student organizations paid for GUPD security. Still, there may have been a number of student organizations that were discouraged from hosting large or contentious events.

The reduction of obstructive security costs could help stimulate campus dialogue.

GUPD currently has full discretion to heighten security for “controversial” speakers and topics, creating a deterrence for students to host events that may spark discord on campus.

GUPD’s lack of public standards on what constitutes a “controversial” event carries the danger of stifling events that are spark marginal ire and address difficult topics.

Though the Georgetown University Student Association senate passed a resolution in April 2017 expressing concerns about security costs, little concrete action has been taken. GUPD should immediately address student concerns by removing its four-hour minimum.

To demonstrate a genuine prioritization of student safety, Georgetown must reduce arbitrary security requirements. Student funds should benefit students, not pay exorbitant GUPD costs.

Maya Gandhi, Editor-in-Chief Yasmine Salam, Executive Editor Will Simon, Executive Editor Catriona Kendall, Managing Editor Will Cassou, News Editor Deepika Jonnalagadda, News Editor Danny McCooey, Sports Editor Faris Bseiso, Guide Editor Kiera Geraghty, Guide Editor Yumna Naqvi, Opinion Editor Harrison Hurt, Features Editor Amber Gillette, Photography Editor Samuel Nelson, Design Editor Emily Shambaugh, Design Editor Susanna Blount, Copy Chief Kate Rose, Social Media Editor Caroline Porterfield, Blog Editor Tarina Touret, Multimedia Editor

Karena Landler Amy Li Mason Mandell Yolanda Spura Cady Stanton Allie Babyak Brendan Dolan Sarah Cammarota Suna Cha Maddie Finn Dennese Mae Javier Timothy McNulty Sela Dragich Jonathan Wiersema Doris Zhang Will Cromarty Meena Morar Natalie Isé Sheel Patel Kiki Schmalfuss Amanda Van Orden Mina Lee Janis Park Eloise Owen Katherine DeMatteo Sarah Donofrio Chau Le Victoria Lei Madison Carter Barbara McDuffee Isabel Roemer Irene Chun

Graduate Desk Editor Campus Life Desk Editor Academics Desk Editor City Desk Editor Campus Life Desk Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Features Editor Deputy Features Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Social Media Editor Deputy Blog Editor Deputy Blog Editor Deputy Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Yumna Naqvi, Chair

Juliette Leader, Maya Moretta, Rowan Saydlowski, Jenny Xu

Contributing Editors

Yasmeen El-Hasan, Caroline Pappas

HOYA HISTORY: Feb. 22, 1985

Students Protest Aid Cuts, Drinking Age Hike Threatened by a hike in the District’s drinking age and proposed cuts in federal financial aid, Georgetown students are being mobilized by several campus student groups who are mounting “massive” campaigns aimed at heading off passage of both measures.

The Legislative Action Coalition, or LAC, of the Georgetown University Student Association is coordinating efforts on both fronts, aided primarily by Georgetown’s chapter of College Democrats on the financial aid issue.

About 30 students turned out at a recent LAC forum to voice concern about the issues. The LAC, said Chairman Terry McCormick (SFS ’85), is “setting up a network with

representatives from all over the campus.” This network will be the main vehicle for launching a broad-based campaign, which will disseminate information on the issues and utilize form letters, personal letters and petitions to further its cause, asserted McCormick. Another meeting of the LAC, slated for 7:30 p.m., Feb. 25, will be held in the Healy Program Room.

According to LAC member Dan Horrigan (CAS ’87), D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s office is currently drafting a bill that would raise the drinking age in the District from 18 to 21.

Pauline Schneider, a legislative aide to Barry, denied that the mayor’s office is writing such a bill but admitted that

it is “under consideration.”

Schneider warned, however, that “federal law requires us [the District of Columbia] to raise the drinking age or lose highway funds, and we’re not prepared to do that.” She believes that the mayor’s office will probably decide to introduce a bill within the next 30 days.

Horrigan maintains that a bill is sure to be offered to the City Council; the only question is when. He also believes that it is “unlikely” that public hearings on such a bill could be avoided or that the mayor could rush a bill quickly through the council.

Jim Horan and Carey Brazeman Hoya Editors

For letters to the editor and more online content, visit thehoya.com/category/opinion.

Tara Halter, General Manager Luke Sanders, Director of Alumni Relations Brian Yoffe, Director of Financial Operations Aditi Joshi, Director of Human Resources Kate Wittpenn, Director of Sales

Board of Directors

Anna Kovacevich, Chair Dan Crosson, Maya Gandhi, Tara Halter, Subul Malik, Margo Snipe, Hannah Urtz LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND VIEWPOINT POLICIES The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-700 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya. com.

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OPINION

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

DISCUSSING DISABILITY

THE HOYA

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VIEWPOINT • SELCUKBIRICIK

Anne Landre

Protect Medicaid Care

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oward the end of last summer, I stopped drinking coffee in the morning. It wasn’t, as one of my coworkers inquired, because I wanted a caffeine detox or a switch to tea. Instead, my insurance company was threatening to cut my aide services. I was trying to reduce my drinking to a minimum, preparing myself for the fact that soon I might not have someone to help me to the bathroom when I needed it.

When I explained this possibility to my colleagues, the startled looks on their faces surprised me. “I don’t understand,” one remarked. “How can they even do that? You obviously need that help.” But for disabled Americans like me, devastating cuts in care are almost routine.

The United States’ disability social safety net is broken. Although Medicaid was created in 1965 partly to provide disabled Americans with health care, today’s beneficiaries face constant cuts in services and discriminatory regulations that harm their quality of life.

Now, with most U.S. states putting Medicaid largely in the hands of private insurance companies, new problems have appeared and old ones have been exacerbated.

The problem is simple: the less care these companies provide, the larger their profit margin. Not only has Medicaid’s foray into privatization failed in its original goal to cut costs for state governments who fund Medicaid, it also continually jeopardizes the lives of disabled people across the country.

In my home state of New Jersey, which has privatized Medicaid’s disability services, cuts in services arrive from my insurance company almost every year. I’m one of the lucky ones — so far, I’ve usually won the long, drawn-out appeal processes and ended up keeping my care. But each battle upends my life and that of my family.

Just last month, I had to appear in court to defend my need for aide services against the testimony of a team of corporate lawyers sent by my insurance company. In one of the most humiliating situations of my life, I was interrogated about my disability in front of a courtroom, hoping that the judge — who has no medical expertise — would believe me when I explained my needs. The worst part is knowing fights like this will never end; for the rest of my life, I’ll be dreading a letter in the mail telling me that my care is gone for good.

For many other disabled Americans, each cut results in a devastating loss of care. For 53-year-old

Todd Mouw, who was paralyzed from the waist down, the privatization of Iowa’s Medicaid programs resulted in a cut of the in-home care he had received for 20 years.

He died three months later. Hundreds of appeals have been filed in Iowa by disabled residents whose care is being cut. Unfortunately, though, even filing such an appeal requires resources that many beneficiaries don’t have. Many are poor and don’t understand their rights.

Some are children or quite literally can’t speak for themselves.

Similar fiascos have occurred in Kansas, Tennessee, Florida and other states that have turned to privatization. Handing health care management over to for-profit companies is a recipe for disaster.

But even before the initiation of privatization efforts, poorly formulated Medicaid regulations created a system that holds disabled Americans back. Most notably, limits on income eligibility ensure that beneficiaries have to remain poor — often at the poverty line — in order to keep their care.

To put this issue into perspective, these income thresholds are so low that I was within a few dollars of losing access to my aide services when I accepted an internship this summer that paid $14 per hour. Income limits like these prevent people with disabilities from accepting paid jobs and pursuing a career because most working- or middle-class salaries are above the eligibility limit while simultaneously being too low to independently afford care.

These limits also create social constraints on disabled Americans. Because spousal incomes are factored into eligibility, some disabled people must avoid marriage or even to divorce their partner in order to get care. Other regulations limit savings, preventing disabled people from ever having enough money to buy a house or a car, or sometimes even pay their rent.

Medicaid has acutely failed to give disabled Americans the health care and quality of life it was designed to provide. No system is perfect, but over time, new policies should foment improvements in services and coverage.

Instead, newfound privatization and harmful existing regulations are creating an institution that is increasingly hostile to the population it is supposed to help.

Anna Landre is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.

DISCUSSING DISABILITY appears online every other Tuesday.

If you mandate that students live on campus for three full years, then you are responsible for providing on-campus residences that are hospitable places to live in with acceptable conditions.

An Open Letter to GU Facilities

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ear Georgetown University, You are accountable for all the suffering caused by your facilities and management system.

As an international student, when I first visited Georgetown, I was mesmerized by the campus and could not wait to live here. Given the university’s reputation as an elite institution, I expected to live in good conditions with acceptable maintenance services.

I had no idea how wrong I was. Three years in, my experience with Georgetown housing has been nothing but disastrous.

During my freshman year, I became accustomed to seeing rats and insects in my Village C West dorm. As if rats were not enough, at the end of my freshman year, I was diagnosed with a fungal skin infection disseminating through mold, which was definitely prevalent in our dorm room. For two months, I used prescribed medicine, feeling disgusted by every inch of my own body. When my body finally healed, I was around 15 pounds lighter than I had been just two months prior.

Dear Georgetown, you are accountable for my infectious disease and all the hazardous situations caused by the mold in your dorm rooms.

Regardless of these disturbances with facilities, a classmate once told me, it is still manageable to live in Georgetown, as no rat or broken door handle can actually “kill me.”

He was correct, a leaking sink would not kill me.

What did have potential to kill me, however, was a gas leak.

During Thanksgiving break of my sophomore year, my roommate and I stayed in Washington, D.C., along with some other residents in our Alumni Square tower. After a few people started to smell gas, the issue was immediately reported.

Facilities briefly examined the room, concluding nothing was wrong. My roommate had been sleeping in the room with a gas leak for three days before the D.C. fire department intervened and told us to immediately evacuate the building the night before classes began. Georgetown facilities failed to ensure our safety, so the D.C. fire department had to.

Once we evacuated the building, I immediately called Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Services after my roommate said that she was feeling dizzy, probably due to prolonged exposure to the leak. GERMS told us that two other students had already been hospitalized

for the same gas leak, one of whom had severe asthma issues. As they gave my roommate oxygen, I prayed to God she would be okay.

Dear Georgetown, you are accountable for the toxic gas they breathed in for three full days.

At the beginning of this year, I expected a better experience, as I would be living in a renovated Alumni Square apartment. However, this school year again proved to be an unpleasant one. This past week, 85 students were relocated to the Georgetown University Hotel as a result of roof damage, and I was one of them. The issue had been known for a while, yet students were abruptly notified last Monday and given only four days to pack in the middle of midterm season.

The lack of transparency about this relocation must be addressed. Students are moved because of an “abundance of caution,” according to an email from the university; however, the fact that students were not even given the weekend to relocate suggests a more serious issue.

As students whose lives were potentially threatened under these collapsing roofs, we are entitled to know the full extent of the danger we were faced with.

Dear Georgetown, you are accountable for all the stress and anxiety caused by this situation. And no, a refund and free ice cream does not make up for the stress and anxiety caused by the abrupt move.

Address this lack of transparency and release the engineering report, immediately.

The suffering of the students can no longer be ignored. Address the ongoing neglect of university infrastructure, now. You eagerly advertised your Jesuit values on brochures and campus tours, but they are nowhere to be seen in the way you manage your housing and facilities. If you claim to abide by the principle of cura personalis, substantiate it with appropriate action.

No student should ever sleep in hazardous conditions at an institution in which they pay more than $70,000 per year to attend. If you mandate that students live on campus for three full years, then you are responsible for providing on-campus residences that are hospitable places to live in with acceptable conditions.

Humeyra Selcukbiricik is a junior in the College. OF MICE AND MOLD is a series of student and alumni letters highlighting issues within Georgetown University’s housing and maintenance.

VIEWPOINT • MUNEZ

PAINTING POLITICS

Respect Orthodox Experience

Rejecting Artistic Hypocrisy

It is April 26, 2019, and our beloved Georgetown Day has finally arrived. I walk out of my Village A apartment to hear “Mr. Brightside” blaring from the rooftops and make my way down the stairs, careful not to trip over the array of red solo cups. Dressed in my Sunday best, I get an Uber to attend a funeral for the crucified Christ.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha — Easter — based on the Julian Calendar, meaning that Orthodox Easter can fall up to five weeks after the celebration of Easter in the West. This year, Pascha will be at odds with the most sacred day of the year for Georgetown students: Georgetown Day. Orthodox students will need to decide between participating in an important school holiday or celebrating the most holy occasion on the Orthodox calendar. But this trend is just part of a larger issue: Orthodox Christians at Georgetown struggle to navigate an academic and social environment that is largely unaware of the Orthodox tradition.

Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha are no joke in the Orthodox tradition. Orthodox Christians fast for nearly 50 days, abstaining from all meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and oil. Furthermore, this period is marked by a substantial increase in prayer, with churches offering daily services focused on repentance.

Taking part in these rituals as a student, however, is particularly difficult with classes, assignments and campus activities.

On Holy Friday — the climax of the Lenten experience — believers gather to remember Christ’s sacrificial death by holding a symbolic funeral procession. Additionally, Orthodox Christians will refrain from work, school

and celebrations while also intensifying their fasting. Growing up, I remember eating nothing more than a few bites of unseasoned potatoes on Holy Friday.

We tend to spend most of the day at church, and many stay throughout the night to “guard” the tomb of Christ just as the Roman soldiers did 2000 years ago.

The next day is the great feast of Pascha, which is followed by 40 days of celebration and, of course, lamb roasts during which Orthodox Christians with greet each other with the traditional phrase, “Christ is Risen!”

This year, however, Pascha celebrations for Georgetown’s Orthodox Christian students will be low-key as they overlap with study days and finals.

This struggle represents a wider dilemma among young Orthodox Christians in the United States today. Practicing a 2000-year-old faith, rich in tradition and history, is increasingly difficult in a modern, Westernoriented society. Fortunately, Orthodox students at Georgetown have access to a part-time chaplain, Copley Crypt — an aesthetically familiar Byzantine-style chapel — and a diverse array of Orthodox churches in the Washington, D.C. area.

That being said, Orthodoxy, the world’s second-largest Christian denomination, remains for the most part a mystery both at Georgetown and in U.S. mainstream culture. The Eastern Church is often treated as the ugly stepsister in Protestant and Catholic circles, not meriting any more than a brief mention in Georgetown’s wide array of theology classes or any more than a small, unexciting showcase in the corner of D.C.’s new and vast Museum of the Bible.

Practicing our faith in this environment is already difficult.

The next two months will be an especially trying time for Georgetown’s Orthodox community as we attempt to celebrate holidays that do not align with the Western calendar. Students will undoubtedly struggle to accommodate their already hectic lives to fit the rigorous prayer and fasting practices customary during Lent. Meanwhile, our peers will continue to lack an understanding of our faith or even ridicule our practices. Ultimately, some Orthodox students may opt for the easier solution and dismiss our faith and tradition as archaic or irrelevant for college life.

At Georgetown, where Jesuit values underscore interreligious understanding and tolerance, we should make strides to break a long history of the West sweeping Eastern Christian traditions under the rug. Creating a positive environment for Orthodox students to practice their faith could help ease an already difficult time and truly facilitate interreligious understanding.

This spring, if you have an Orthodox peer who is fasting and has to eat Leo’s oddly colored tofu or decides to attend church instead of going to a Village A rooftop in late April, don’t ridicule, judge or laugh. Maybe take a minute to learn about their faith and, of course, support them however you can, because sticking true to ourselves and our faith can be incredibly challenging.

Munir Pavez is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

INTERFAITH INSIGHTS is a series of Viewpoints written by community members of diverse faiths.

Katie O’Hara

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his past week at Flashpoint Gallery, viewers were able to throw crumbs at an Ivanka Trump look-alike as she vacuumed. The interactive performance space was created by artist Jennifer Rubell to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CulturalDC, a Washington, D.C.-based arts organization.

This display is not the first time that the art world has taken a stab at Ivanka Trump. In response to President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, a group of New York artists gathered and created an Instagram account: “Dear Ivanka.” The account reposted photographs of Ivanka Trump with messages such as “Dear Ivanka I’m afraid of the swastikas spray painted on my park” to disparage her for supporting the politics of her father. In one post, they included Ivanka Trump’s selfie in front of an abstract work by well-known artist Alex Da Corte. Da Corte saw the post and commented: “Dear @ ivankatrump please get my art off your walls I am embarrassed to be seen with you.”

While it is within artists’ rights to disavow Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for collecting their artwork and using it as a luxury prop for Instagram posts, targeting the president’s daughter ignores the fact that she is not the only highnet worth individual with dubious political affiliations. Instead, many artists hypocritically choose which

of their collectors they disparage for their political beliefs.

Richard Prince, another artist who sought to distance his work from Ivanka Trump after the election, recreates prints of people’s Instagram posts, adding fake comments by himself at the bottom of the real post. In the series, he chose a portrait by Ivanka Trump and added the comment “Nurse Ivanka,” complimenting her by referencing his well-known artwork “Nurse Elsa”. The artwork was bought by Ivanka Trump in 2014. Yet only days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Prince returned the $36,000 she paid for it and cited the Visual Artists Rights Act in order to disclaim his work, preventing Ivanka Trump from ever selling it under his name.

Prince tweeted shortly beforehand to another dealer who was ashamed to have sold his work to Ivanka: “Hey Bill. Don’t sweat it. We all sold to Ivanka in 2013.”

Ironically, Prince addresses the root of the problem. The trendsetting millionaires artists and their galleries sell to today are the notorious dilettantes of tomorrow.

The work at CulturalDC is possibly inspired by the out-of-touch millionaire comments that come from people like Ivanka Trump’s mother, Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump stated in an interview prior to the 2016 election, “We need immigrants. Who’s going to vacuum our living rooms and clean up after us?”

Artists like Rubell have the right to draw attention to the wealth gap in this country through the lens of Ivanka Trump and the rest of the Trump family. However, Donald Trump’s oppressive actions did not begin when he ran for office. Trump and his father made their fortune by creating housing in New York that denied

black tenants. This legacy is what Ivanka Trump was buying her artwork with, but she is not the first person to pay for artwork with dirty money.

For every Ivanka Trump in the art world, there are more who aren’t as socially active and easy to target. For example, Walmart heiress Alice Walton founded the Crystal Bridges Museum, which offers free admission. While the museum was hailed for attempting to democratize art and make it more accessible to low-income individuals, many Walmart employees live below the poverty line. Walmart’s democratization of art is funded by exploitation. Yet Prince has not denounced his featured work — “Nurse Elsa” — in the Walmartfunded museum. Artists like Richard Prince seem to be arbitrarily deciding which millionaires they disavow.

To make vital change in the art world, artists must draw attention to collectors beyond Ivanka Trump and other figures who it is vogue to target. Instagram projects such as “Dear Ivanka,” should be expanded to collectors who propagate the wealth gap without making themselves an easy target by flaunting their wealth on social media.

The reliance on people who made their wealth by keeping racial minorities out of housing or preventing their employees from receiving a living wage needs to be addressed in the art world. Artists cannot just focus on Ivanka Trump and feel relieved of guilt. Instead, artists must draw attention to other high-net worth collectors who perpetuate the wealth gap.

Katie O’Hara is a first-year graduate student in art and museum studies. PAINTING POLITICS appears online every other Wednesday.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE The university’s board of directors approved an update to Georgetown’s policy on weapons to reflect its code of student conduct. Story on A5.

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IN FOCUS CAR BARN’S HISTORY

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Our general plan is to make sure that the facts are known, students are present and that our voices are heard.”

Georgetown Solidarity Committee Member Gabriel Berger (COL ’21) on labor contract negotiations. Story on A7.

from our blog

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Stewart Schrader, a professor in the Center for Latin American Studies, spoke at an event on the history of the International Police Academy, which was housed in the Car Barn from 1963 to 1975. The History Department Americas Initiative and the CLAS sponsored the event.

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ADF Senior Counsel: Offensive Speech Must Be Preserved CONNOR THOMAS Hoya Staff Writer

Free speech and religious expression are under attack in today’s society and merit protection, Jeremy Tedesco, a senior counsel from Alliance Defending Freedom, said Thursday.

The government should never encroach upon citizens’ free speech, even if what they are saying is controversial or divisive, according to Tedesco.

“Dissenting and unpopular voices must be heard,” Tedesco said. “The best response to offensive or challenging speech, even speech that we might despise or hate, is more speech and engagement, never censorship.”

Free speech is a foundational American right, which must always be protected, according to Tedesco.

“America’s freedom is rooted in the principle that all people have inherent dignity and natural liberty, and free speech is essential to this proposition,” Tedesco said.

“It secures the freedom of the mind and guarantees each citizen the right to fearlessly think, speak and grow.”

ADF has been labelled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy organization that specializes in civil rights litigation, because of its advocacy in support of limiting LGBTQ rights.

Calling religious organizations hate groups is merely a tool to censor political opponents, Tedesco said.

“I guess I’m outing myself here, but it’s, if anything, a badge of honor, the Southern Poverty Law Center says we’re a hate group,” Tedesco said.

“If you want to talk about the kind of things that happen in culture that really undermine discourse and sow dissent and discord into our culture, it’s using those kinds of labels to weaponize your political disagreements.”

The event titled, “Masterpiece, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates & the Future of Free Speech,” was co-hosted by the Georgetown Lecture Fund, Georgetown University College Republicans, Georgetown Right to Life, anti-abortion student group, and The Free Speech Project, a project which aims to document cases of free speech violations.

As an ADF litigator, Tedesco represented Masterpiece Cakeshop against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in the Colorado Court of Appeals.

The owner of Masterpiece

Cakeshop, a bakery in Colorado, refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple who visited the shop, saying that his religious convictions prevented him from supporting same-sex marriages. The case was eventually brought to the Supreme Court, which ruled in July 2018 in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop, citing religious freedom protections.

This ruling was met by substantial backlash from the American public, which reflects a concerning trend of growing intolerance and animosity toward people of faith, according to Tedesco.

“Intolerance of those we disagree with is on a precipitous rise in our culture,” Tedesco said. “People of faith are being harassed or punished by the government, simply because they have a dissenting point

of view about the prevailing orthodoxy in our culture.”

Jack Phillips, the owner of the bakery, filed suit against the state of Colorado over a second allegation of LGBTQ bias in December. The suit claims that Phillips was bombarded with vulgar and hateful comments over phone and by email following the Supreme Court decision, according to NBC News.

Phillips also received numerous death threats directed at him and his family.

The ADF has a history with Georgetown. In 2018, the ADF provided legal counsel to Love Saxa, a student group that advocates for defining marriage as between a man and a woman, over alleged misappropriations of donations to other Georgetown clubs, including the LGBTQ resource center.

Tedesco has also dealt with cases concerning freedom

of speech and expression, including a Supreme Court case involving NIFLA, which provides pro bono legal counsel to anti-abortion pregnancy centers. The court decision overturned a previous California law that required anti-abortion pregnancy centers to display information pertaining to state-sponsored abortion services. The law was struck down as a violation of First Amendment free speech protections.

Tedesco hopes that Americans exercise more tolerance and respect toward people who hold different views, beliefs and backgrounds.

“America’s diversity is among one of its greatest assets,” Tedesco said. “If we want that freedom, we need to also extend it to those who we disagree with, perhaps vehemently.”

LEFT: ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM/FACEBOOK, RIGHT: ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM

The diversity of opinion in the United States is one of its greatest strengths, Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom Jeremy Tedesco said at an event titled “Masterpiece, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates & the Future of Free Speech.” Tedesco previously worked on a case involving religious freedom that later went to the Supreme Court.

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After Resignation, GUSA Degree Removal Follows Departs From Constitution Expulsion From Priesthood GUSA, from A1

McCARRICK, from A1

who says the responsibility for special elections has shifted from the GUSA executive to the election commission over recent years.

“Although the Constitution gives the GUSA President the power to determine Election Commissioners and special elections, over time those responsibilities have more directly fallen under the purview of the Election Commission,” Martinez wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This has occurred under previous Executive administrations and Senate sessions.”

In recent years the speaker of the senate has notified the executive and the election commission about any resignations, and the election commission has made subsequent arrangements pertaining to special elections, according to Martinez.

GUSA senate Speaker Eliza Lafferty (COL ’21), informed both the GUSA executive and election commission of Appel’s resignation at the time and deferred to the commission’s judgement on the matter.

A decision will not be designated as a violation to the constitution until an appeal is submitted and considered by the constitutional council, according to constitutional council chair William Morris (COL ’19).

“Generally, some combination of the election commission/president decides what is pragmatically the best option,” Morris wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In theory, calling an election has the potential to raise just as many questions as not calling one. Their decision holds unless some party appeals to the Constitutional Council.”

GUSA senators differed on expectations around the vacant seat but confirmed they were not informed about the decision not to hold a special election.

GUSA Senator Harrison Nugent (SFS ’20) said he assumed the special election would not occur because of the close timeline with upcoming sen-

which the most vulnerable among us will be safe and protected, to create a context in which the abuse of power can be identified and eliminated.”

Students have been pressuring the university to withdraw McCarrick’s honorary degree since June 2018, after accusations surfaced that he sexually abused multiple seminarians and a teenage altar boy over several decades in his role as a priest.

A group of students delivered a petition to the university in September 2018 urging the university to rescind the honorary degrees given to both McCarrick and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was accused of covering up abuse in an August 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report. The petition had 1,376 signatures at the time of delivery.

Francis accepted Wuerl’s resignation from the position of D.C. archbishop in October 2018. Wuerl received an honorary degree from Georgetown in 2014.

Julie Bevilacqua (COL ’19) and Grace Laria (SFS ’19) met with the honorary degree working group in December 2018 to urge the university to revoke the honorary degrees.

(Full disclosure: Laria is a former member of The Hoya’s editorial board.)

Georgetown’s long decision-making process to revoke the honorary degree reveals the university’s lack of support for survivors of sexual abuse, according to Bevilacqua.

“Inaction and months of protracted deliberation do no justice to the survivors of sexual assault and interpersonal violence—Georgetown has an obligation to do better,” Bevilacqua wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “There’s still a long way to go before Georgetown and its practices regarding honorary degrees are actually survivor-centric.”

The working group has a responsibility to broadly

FILE PHOTO: ANNE STONECIPHER/THE HOYA

A special election to fill the seat of former GUSA Senator Sam Appel (COL ’20) will not be held, according to the GUSA election commission. ate elections.

“I think most of us assumed the seat would be filled during the usual Spring Senate election due to it being so close,” Nugent wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Conversely, because GUSA constitution specifies a special election in the case of a vacancy, GUSA Senator Winston Ardoin (SFS ’21) assumed that one would be called for Appel’s seat.

Appel resigned from both the senate and the executive race Jan. 28 for reasons that have remained private at the request of a third party.

Typically, a special election for a vacant senate seat would be put on the same ballot as the executive election, according to Doh. However, the timeline of the resignation, which happened in the middle of the executive election season, meant the special election could not be held during the executive campaigns, according to Martinez.

“As you know, former Senator Sam Appel’s resignation came about during the Executive campaign period,” Martinez wrote. “This caused complications given that a new election season would have begun during the Executive campaign period or immedi-

ately following the Executive election.”

In addition to Appel’s departure from the senate, GUSA has experienced several resignations in recent months. Former GUSA Vice President Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) and 10 other executive cabinet members resigned Sept. 11 as part of a push to force then-GUSA President Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) out of office. Nair resigned later that morning.

After Rahman and staff members tried to rescind their resignations, GUSA senators demanded the resignations go into effect following an emergency session of the senate that night. Rahman and the remaining cabinet members officially resigned Sept. 13. Former Senator Chad Gasman (COL ’20) also resigned after the executive resignations because of subsequent mental health duress, according to a Sept. 12 statement by Gasman.

Special elections are not atypical and have regularly taken place for senate seats, according to GUSA historian Henry Westerman (SFS ’21).

“There have been special elections almost every year for the past 10 years or so, implying that these events are quite common,” Westerman wrote in an email to The Hoya.

examine honorary degrees because Georgetown should revoke the degrees granted to others accused of abuse, such as those awarded to Wuerl and Charlie Rose, a former talk show host who was accused of sexual harassment in the workplace, according to Laria.

“I’m sure we’ll be bringing our concerns about Wuerl, Charlie Rose, and others who have received (but do not deserve!) honorary degrees from GU to the board very soon,” Laria wrote in a Feb. 19 Facebook post.

DeGioia said the university’s decision to revoke the degree was made with the input of the working group and agreement of the university’s board of directors. The university said in November 2018 that it planned for the working group to recommend a decision to the board of directors’ executive committee, which would decide whether to revoke the degree.

Though the working group has finished its evalu-

ations, the university has not completed its review of the group’s recommendations, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill.

“The Working Group has completed its evaluation of all aspects of the honorary degree process and has gathered input from the Georgetown community and from universities throughout the country,” Hill wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Review of the results of their deliberations is ongoing and members will make final recommendations to the Board of Directors shortly.”

The university’s decision to revoke McCarrick’s degree is overdue, according to Laria.

“Georgetown has been an incredibly important place in my spiritual formation, and to watch it fall behind other Catholic institutions in the revocation of McCarrick’s degree has been painful and disappointing in a way that I probably won’t ever fully forgive,” Laria wrote in a statement.

CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ONDO/FACEBOOK

Pope Francis expelled former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the priesthood by Pope Francis on Feb. 16.

New Weapons Ban GUSA Initiative Set to Reduce Plastics Applies Campuswide, Board Confirms TAYLOR KAHN-PERRY AND CADY STANTON Special to The Hoya and Hoya Staff Writer

MEREDITH MILLER Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown’s board of directors approved a campus weapons policy banning firearms on campus in a Feb. 14 meeting, with signage on the prohibition of weapons set to be posted on campus later this year.

The policy update — known as the Policy Prohibiting Firearms, Weapons and Explosives — clarifies that it is against university policy for students, faculty, employees or visitors to carry weapons of any kind on Georgetown’s campus, at university sponsored events or in vehicles owned by the university.

Though the Code of Student Conduct currently forbids the carrying of weapons, the university has never previously had a policy on firearms applicable to all individuals on campus. The federal court ruling prompted the university to reconsider the clarity of its own policies, according to Hill.

The Senate unanimously passed the weapons policy proposal Nov. 28 and reviewed it Jan. 17. The signage on these policies was approved by a Nov. 1 meeting of the Old Georgetown Board, a council of architects appointed by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts that oversees design review of proposed projects within Washington, D.C. However, the signs regarding the weapons ban will not be posted until later this year, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill.

“We are posting signage in the coming weeks and months that reminds those entering campus about the provision of the law that prohibits firearms and weapons on private university property, including licensed concealed handguns,” Hill wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We’re finalizing the signage and will be posting them throughout campus later this year.”

The update comes in response to a July 2017 federal court decision that deemed unconstitutional a law limiting concealed carry permits. However, the D.C. Circuit Court upheld a provision of

the law that prohibited firearms and weapons of any kind at colleges and universities.

“After the Federal Court ruling, Georgetown decided to clarify and consolidate its existing policies prohibiting firearms and weapons and codify it into one, university-wide policy,” Hill wrote.

The policy update is part of Georgetown’s commitment to community safety, according to the policy.

“Georgetown University is committed to maintaining a safe learning and working environment for all members of the Georgetown Community,” the policy reads.

The policy will be overseen by the Georgetown University Police Department. Violators will be subject to penalties including the confiscation of weapons, suspension, barring from campus and university activities, dismissal and termination. They may also be referred to local law enforcement.

While the policy applies to everyone on campus, there are exemptions for law enforcement and other approved cases, according to a Feb. 14 university news release.

“The policy exempts authorized law enforcement and military personnel and allows Georgetown’s Chief of Police to provide exemptions for firearms and weapons that will be used for academic, artistic or cultural purposes, after being rendered inert and inoperable,” the news release reads.

Response to the university’s policy from anti-gun violence groups on campus has been positive. Chris Stauffer (SFS ’22), cochair of Georgetown’s chapter of March For Our Lives, expressed support for the administration’s concern for student safety.

“March for Our Lives supports the administration’s efforts to ban weapons on campus,” Stauffer wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This is a place of learning and we are glad to see the university take the necessary steps to make the campus safer for all.”

A new Go Plastic-Free initiative will promote sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic products through a pledge for individual students, semesterly training sessions for the leaders of student organizations and a pledge for those organizations.

Launched by the Georgetown University Student Association sustainability policy team, the campaign aims to address global trends regarding reliance on single-use plastic, according to a Feb. 21 campus-wide GUSA email.

The project is in collaboration with the Georgetown Office of Sustainability.

The campaign was motivated by low rates of global recycling — less than 20 percent of all plastic — and the fact that eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, according to the email. The resolution on a plastic-free pledge for student organizations passed the GUSA senate Nov. 11 with a vote of 25-0.

The team designed the GPF campaign to focus on singleuse plastics within their organizations, an aspect of sustainability that students can control, according to Samantha Panchèvre (SFS ’19), chair of the GUSA sustainability policy team. Panchèvre hopes that GUSA’s new campaign will bring environmental advocacy to the forefront of campus dialogue.

“What I’m most excited about this policy is that it’s opening a huge door for a campus-wide discussion about how we can each do better to be environmentally conscious, while also holding the administration to be accountable,” Panchèvre wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The goal of the campaign is to not only reduce plastic use but also bring the issue of environmental consciousness to the university’s attention, according to Panchèvre.

“It’s not just about plastic; it’s about thinking more broadly about sustainability and showing the University

GEORGETOWN ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS/FACEBOOK

In collaboration with the Office of Sustainability, GUSA has launched an initiative that encourages students to reduce plastic usage. The first 15 club leaders to attend a training session will receive reusable utensils. that students care a lot about doing the right thing and that we want our school to make doing the right thing as easy as possible,” Panchèvre wrote.

GUSA and the Office of Sustainability are set to host three training sessions starting Feb. 24 for leaders from student organizations adopting the pledge to learn about green event planning and campus sustainability policies.

To adopt the Go Plastic-Free Pledge as a student organization, at least one member is required to attend a training.

The first 15 student organizations that register to attend a training will receive 15 free sets of reusable bamboo utensils for their members.

The plastic-free push from the GUSA sustainability policy team comes on the heels of ongoing student activism surrounding environmental issues on campus.

GU Fossil Free, a campus student group advocating for Georgetown University to adopt socially responsible investment policies, submitted

a proposal Jan. 16 for Georgetown to divest from fossil fuel companies.

Juliette Leader (SFS ’19), a member of GUFF, said that she is impressed by the initiative’s commitment to plasticfree goals (Full disclosure: Leader is a member of The Hoya’s editorial board).

“Go Plastic Free Initiative is a great idea -- it was actually in part spearheaded by a GUFFer -- and provides a structured way for students and student organizations to reduce their plastic usage,” Leader wrote in an email to The Hoya. “As a member of other student organizations in the past, I’ve seen how much waste there can be at student events, and I applaud the Go Plastic Free Initiative for helping students take that step.”

Tangible change around sustainability issues requires participation from the entire Georgetown community, according to Leader.

“I love that students are stepping up and taking action, but I do think actually

fixing the sustainability issues requires commitment from students, faculty, staff, and the university,” Leader wrote. “For example, the university and Aramark need to work on reducing plastic usage in dining locations.”

The Georgetown Renewable Energy Environmental Network has been working with the university to promote composting and recycling initiatives in O’Donovan Hall and campus residence halls.

Lucy Chatfield (COL ’22), GREEN co-chair of recycling, said that GPF is an unprecedented and tangible initiative.

“Personally, I don’t think anything like GPF has been done before,” Chatfield wrote.

“GPF is different; it’s a campaign that asks ALL Hoyas to commit to make this campus more sustainable by not only signing a pledge to reduce their waste but to also convince their organizations to make their events more sustainable, while drawing more attention to campus sustainability as a whole.”

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GU Board of Directors Changes Tenure Application Process MAXWELL SHEREMETA Hoya Staff Writer

Professors at Georgetown University are set to face an expedited application process for tenure following a Georgetown board of directors meeting Feb. 14.

The board approved a series of measures reforming the tenure process for professors and reorganizing academic programs within the university, granting a final seal of approval on these changes, some of which had been under development for years.

Under the new rules, a professor would receive tenure based on the approval of their executive vice president and 75 percent of the university’s Committee on Rank and Tenure. Previously, applications that received at least 75 percent of the vote would still require the university president’s approval.

The board’s decision expedites the previous appeal system under which tenure candidates vetoed by the university president would have to appeal for a formal overruling of the veto with 75 percent approval from the committee.

The tenure changes come from recommendations made by the Presidential Task Force to Examine Tenure and Promotion Policies and Processes, according to Lisa Krim, the senior advisor for faculty relations to University President John J. DeGioia.

“These changes are part of a broader effort to improve the rank and tenure processes at Georgetown,” Krim wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Task Force’s hope is that the implementation of these recommendations will enhance confidence in the system at all levels.”

The task force was assigned in May 2016 with finding ways to reform the university’s promotion practices to better support and attract professors.

The final report, which was completed in September 2018, included recommendations that the tenure process should be more transparent and conform to the practices of other universities.

The other recommendations made by the presidential task force are being handled through other channels, according to Krim.

The reforms to the application process follow actions the university has taken to address inequalities between tenure and non-tenure-line professors, including granting full parental leave to non-tenure-line professors in November after student petitions.

In addition to restructuring the tenure application process, the board approved measures to reorganize multiple academic departments throughout the university.

The theology department is set to change its name to the department of theology and religious studies. The proposal was the result of a self-study by the department. Self-studies are conducted by every academic department at Georgetown about every 10 years.

The change was part of an effort to recognize the role of non-Christian religions in the department’s scholarship, according to current department chair William Werpehowski and Francisca Cho, who led the department at the time of the self-study.

“We recognized that a unique feature of our department–compared to many other Catholic universities–is that our faculty represents the field of religious studies as strongly as that of theology,” Cho wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Religious studies better reflects the department’s academic approach to religion, Cho wrote.

“Theology is primarily a

Christian discipline that employs reason, constructive thinking, as well as criticism to hone Christian faith and community,” Cho wrote.

“Religious studies is a much younger discipline that arose in the 19th century as a part of the general rise in modern scientific disciplines, as well as the European discovery of different religions around the world.”

The motion to change the name was first voted on by the department in 2017 before being approved by the Board of Directors this year. The department’s vote was 14 in favor, four against and two abstaining.

Georgetown now joins 12 out of 27 other Jesuit colleges and universities in recognizing both theology and religious studies as academic disciplines, according to the department’s proposal.

Werpehowski and Cho said the name change does not signal a drastic shift in the department’s academic philosophy, but is merely a reaffirmation of its longstanding practices.

“The name change doesn’t signal any major initiatives or changes in programming.

Rather, it simply catches up with the reality that has long been in place,” Cho wrote.

“Aside from being an accurate title, the inclusiveness of the new department name–which mirrors the inclusiveness of the department itself–embodies the particular capaciousness of the Jesuit heritage.”

JULIA ALVEY /THE HOYA

The Theology Department changed its name to better reflect its scholarship and include non-Christian perspectives.

WILL SIMON/THE HOYA

Georgetown University’s board of directors approved a $75 million maintenance plan, which will be allocated to facilities repairs, including the roofs of Alumni Square apartments and renovations of Alumni Square west.

After Alumni Square Relocation, Funds Support Housing Repairs REPAIRS, from A1 to my experience with the Alumni Square move the problems with Georgetown facilities occur on the higher level in terms of funding allocation, rather than on Res Living or facilities,” Cohen wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “The problems with Georgetown facilities come from higher level decisions about what the priorities are and where money is spent.”

The university should urge donors to direct funds to immediate needs such as dorm repairs and facilities management rather than donating money for lofty new projects, according to Cohen.

“Ultimately I think some of the burden falls on alumni as well,” Cohen wrote. “Of course any large donor wants to earmark funds for a shiny new project, but ultimately what we need from them more than fancy programs or athletic facilities are funds specifically for bringing dorms up to a higher standard.”

Georgetown students have experienced other facilities and housing issues in the months leading up to the new maintenance plan approval.

Facilities responded to 361 mold-related work requests between August and October last year, more than double the number reported dur-

ing that time frame in 2017, and black mold in dorms has caused students to face upperrespiratory illnesses.

Oona Nash (COL ’22) told The Hoya that she contracted bronchitis as a result of black mold in her dorm room.

“I had a deep chest cough, and my bronchial tubes were congested, and my sinuses were clogged. I was constantly exhausted, and I got hives occasionally,” Nash said in a November interview with The Hoya. “I went to the emergency room twice. The doctors told me that my illness was being caused by black mold spores.”

Three student residences — Darnall Hall, Arrupe Hall, and Henle Village — experienced water outages Feb. 8, rendering students unable to flush toilets, shower or use water fountains overnight.

The first floor of Darnall Hall, a freshman residence, flooded last month, leading resident Phil Scholer (COL ’22) to sleep on his friends’ floor for two nights before being granted alternative housing.

While facilities workers were committed to cleaning the damage caused by the flood, Georgetown’s Office of Residential Living, which is tasked with housing assignments, remains disconnected from ongoing maintenance issues, according to Scholer.

“Facilities did an outstanding job, staying here until 11 p.m. on Saturday to clean up.

My disappointment is with housing,” Scholer wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The ground was soggy, the fans were loud, all our stuff was on the bed, and the air was heavy, but housing said the rooms were ready. Thankfully we got emergency housing after two nights. I wish housing was more in touch with the living conditions.”

The board’s approval of the plan demonstrates the university’s commitment to addressing students’ housing issues, according to Hill.

“While Georgetown’s historic campus poses infrastructure challenges, the new deferred maintenance plan demonstrates the university’s commitment to improving our campus,” Hill wrote.

The board also approved new campus improvement projects to be completed by fiscal year 2020, including the completion of renovations to Cooper Field’s facilities. The plan will also restore Kehoe Field by completing the installation of artificial turf on the roof of Yates Field House. Intramural and club sports teams that use Kehoe Field have been pushing the university to address structural issues that affect the field since 2014.

Delays on Roof Damage, Mold Spark Student Concern FACILITIES, from A1 Square, who feel neglected despite recent efforts to invest in deferred maintenance.

“We were just notified last minute as if we are objects that need to be moved to clear out the way,” Selcukbiricik said in an interview with The Hoya.

DELAYED REACTION

Georgetown’s delay in addressing Alumni Square roof damage reflects student criticisms about the responsiveness of Georgetown’s work order system.

Inspections on the Alumni Square rooftops began after a maintenance inquiry in October 2018, according to a university webpage.

Fulmer and his roommates initiated that first inquiry for their topfloor apartment with a series of six phone calls and two work requests to the Office of Planning and Facilities Management, spanning from Sept. 10 to Oct. 2.

Within that three-week span last fall, facilities crews inspected his apartment’s collapsing roof three times, but the first two teams took no action to address the issue, according to Fulmer.

“The first time, they told us the carpentry department would be called and they’d come to work on it, and they never showed up,” Fulmer said. “The second time, they told us it was very serious and then never came back again.”

Understaffing and low wages for facilities workers are key factors behind delayed work requests, according to Chad Gasman (COL ’20), a residential assistant for McCarthy Hall.

“It’s not the facilities workers who are at fault, because they honestly try their best and they do the best they can with the amount of energy they’re given and the wages they’re given,” Gasman said in an interview with The Hoya. “It’s the fact that they’re not paid enough and the management isn’t doing enough to support them.”

Vice President of Planning and Facilities Management Benjamin Kuo did not answer questions re-

garding causes of delayed responses or whether facilities tracked response times to work orders.

Instead, he referred students to the facilities website and encouraged feedback.

“We appreciate all feedback and from faculty, staff, students, parents, and others and take their input very seriously when considering how to improve our service to the community,” Kuo wrote in an email to The Hoya.

UNPREPARED FOR EMERGENCY

When dorms pose an immediate health or safety threat to residents, emergency housing may not be guaranteed. When a third facilities crew arrived at Fulmer’s apartment Oct. 2, they told Fulmer and his roommates their ceiling was about to collapse and they needed to evacuate that night, according to Fulmer.

“They didn’t provide us housing that night, they told us we had to find somebody’s couch to live on,” Fulmer said.

RAs do not have information about procedures for emergency housing in cases of immediate evacuation like Fulmer’s, according to Gasman.

“RAs are definitely kept in the dark about emergency housing,” Gasman said. “I don’t know if that’s on Res. Living or facilities or who is in charge of it. But I definitely think RAs have no idea what’s going on with emergency housing.”

Olson did not answer questions on whether Residential Living maintained spaces for emergency housing or if the Alumni Square relocation would reduce the availability of emergency housing.

Instead, Olson referenced the medical housing process of the Academic Resource Center, which relocates students for general safety and health concerns.

“In any case where students would have to be relocated due to safety or health concerns, we would take action to make housing accommodations while minimizing disruption as much as possible,” Olson wrote.

After their evacuation, Fulmer and his roommates stayed for two

nights at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Rosslyn, Va., before the university placed them in a Village A apartment.

Soon after Fulmer and his roommates moved in, however, the former residents of their new apartment warned them about the living space’s pre-existing hazards.

“The people previously living there knocked on our door and told us they had to be moved out because of horrific mold problems,” Fulmer said.

Fulmer and his roommates called facilities to measure the humidity in the apartment and ensure the mold had been dealt with, but Fulmer heard that the humidity standard used by facilities might not comply with an advisory from the Centers for Disease Control.

“With the girls who lived in that Vil. A before us, they came in and tested the humidity and said that that level was fine, but it was above what the CDC says is safe,” Fulmer said. “Why are they saying it’s okay if the CDC says it’s not?”

The CDC website states that indoor humidity levels should not exceed 50 percent. In an Oct. 18 op-ed in The Hoya, Luke Duffner (SFS ’20) wrote that facilities workers had approved of the relative humidity level in his apartment when it registered at 57 percent. After mold reports more than doubled last fall, at least one student contracted bronchitis from exposure to black mold in her dorm, leading to two emergency room trips.

Kuo did not directly respond when asked what standards facilities workers or hired contractors use to gauge the threat posed by mold, but instead described the process completed by Eastern Research Group, a contractor hired last fall to assist with Georgetown’s mold problem.

“They conducted visual inspections and measured air conditions in buildings with high reports of moisture and mold,” Kuo wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In areas where apparent mold growth or other issues were identified, Facilities Management was notified and the required cleaning was completed promptly.”

Nancy Cave, a parent of a

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

The relocation of residents from top-floor Alumni Square apartments to the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center has contributed to student outrage surrounding Georgetown’s maintenance process.

Georgetown freshman, sent an email about air quality concerns in her son’s dorm to Gregory Simmons, associate vice president of facilities operations, on Jan. 2.

Nine days later, she received a reply from Simmons promising to review the situation. Cave followed up in three more emails over the next four weeks, but received no reply until a phone call from Simmons on Feb. 12.

During that phone call, Simmons apologized for the late response and said cleaning efforts and air quality tests had been completed in her son’s dorm. When Cave asked for test reports from her son’s dorm, Simmons said those reports were not public, according to Cave.

“He tried to assure me that my son’s room is safe,” Cave wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“I asked for the air report and he said it was not his call to release it to me or make it public and that there was a committee above him that made the call not to release the reports.”

Simmons did not comment on which committee bans the publication of air quality reports or the

reason why reports are not public.

“After any tests are performed, the university thoroughly reviews the findings and takes appropriate actions to maintain the safety and well-being of community members,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

UNRELIABLE COMMUNICATION

After Fulmer and his roommates were relocated to their Village A apartment, they had multiple conversations with Olson and Chatas, including a dinner with Chatas at The Tombs, according to Fulmer.

Through those conversations, Fulmer and his roommates learned that an official from facilities had noticed water damage on Alumni Square rooftops several weeks before their apartment was inspected in September, but had failed to take any action.

“My roommates and I were informed that an official from Georgetown Facilities had seen the water damage weeks before on the roof and did not act on that observation,” Fulmer wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It was heavily implied in a later conversation with university officials that whoever was

responsible for that was actually no longer with Georgetown. However, it is unclear whether Georgetown actually followed through on that, as the official is still listed on their website.”

The university did not comment on Fulmer’s statement and declined to name the university official mentioned by Fulmer. Student conversations with senior administrators to discuss concerns are not uncommon, according to a university spokesperson.

“Senior leaders from across the university meet with students to gather feedback and discuss how to enhance their experiences at Georgetown,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

While the university claims to communicate with students, Selcukbiricik, an international student, felt unprepared to grapple with the challenges of campus housing.

“I had no idea about what I was expecting, I just toured the campus once during the pre-orientation,” Selcukbiricik said. “I wish I had known I was going to sleep with rats for the next two years.”

NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

THE HOYA

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Alumni Donate $20 Million 2020 Presidential Candidate To Fund Experiential Learning Calls for Guaranteed Income MEREDITH MILLER Hoya Staff Writer

A $20 million donation to Georgetown University will create a new fund to support opportunities for hands-on learning experiences both on and off campus.

The gift, from Patricia Baker (COL ’64) and John Baker (COL ’64), chairman and CEO of International Planning Group, will form the Baker Trust for Transformational Learning, according to an email sent to students from University President John J. DeGioia on Feb. 13.

“Their leadership will enable us to provide learning opportunities that extend beyond the classroom, preparing our young people to successfully engage with the complex challenges of our world,” DeGioia wrote.

The Baker Trust aims to expand opportunities for new approaches to education, including increasing financial support for off-campus credit-bearing internships. Increased diversity among the student body and the need to create affordable opportunities for access to those approaches are essential in the 21st century, according to Randall Bass, vice provost for education and future director of the Baker Trust.

“The Bakers believe that the world is changing faster than universities can respond. Gradu-

ates now need a broader range of abilities to be effective in the world than ever before,” Bass wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Bakers are passionate about wanting Georgetown to be in the forefront of preparing students for a changing and complex world.”

One proposal involves greater access to experiential learning that seeks to connects theory and practice. These types of experiences can range traditional workplace engagements to participation in community programs.

“Georgetown students have all kinds of opportunities like these now but they are unevenly (and inequitably) distributed, and typically marginal to the academic experience,” Bass wrote. “They are also increasingly expensive to provide, disconnected as they typically are from each other and from the core academic enterprise.”

A previous $10 million donation in 2014 from the couple established the Baker Center for Leadership and Governance affiliated with the McCourt School of Public Policy. The Baker Center, founded to train political leaders, utilizes immersive programs similar to those of the new fund, such as the Policy Innovation Lab and experiential study abroad programs.

The Center also includes the Baker Scholars Program, an undergraduate development program for business leadership that selects

BAKER CENTER

Patricia Baker (COL ’64) and John Baker (COL ’64) seek to increase access to nontraditional educational opportunities on and off campus.

sophomore students with a strong academic record, interest in business and dedication to service. The program includes mentorship opportunities, retreats, business trips and group projects.

The Trust is to be divided into three separate initiatives: the Collaborative for Experiential Learning, which will involve the connection of university experts from different schools and fields; the Baker Catalyst Fund, which focuses on high-impact educational programs in areas such as the core curriculum; and the Baker Programs, which add to preexisting university opportunities in areas such as experiential learning, according to Bass.

“These three elements are just a way to conceptualize the mechanisms, so to speak, by which to evolve opportunities over time,” Bass wrote. “What the Baker Trust achieves will be shaped through collaboration with scores of faculty, academic leaders, students and academic staff.”

The Capital Applied Learning Lab, an immersive internship program that will be housed within the Baker Programs, will begin in the fall of 2019. This program allows students to spend a semester living and interning downtown, while also meeting for classes and receiving academic credit, according to Matthew Pavesich, co-developer of curriculum for CALL. The CALL will also provide prefilled Metro cards as well as wage replacements for students who have to leave jobs in order to participate in the program.

“These two examples might at first sound like fairly small-scale value-adds, but they’re precisely the kind of financial intervention that will prevent a lack of funds from keeping students from studying at the CALL,” Pavesich wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Georgetown’s location and identity are essential to the goals of the Baker Trust, John Baker said in a statement to the university.

“This all needs to happen at Georgetown: The Jesuit mission and D.C. location make it a perfect fit,” John Baker said. “If done right, it will be transformative globally.”

ASHLEY ZHAO Hoya Staff Writer

Andrew Yang, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, advocated for the introduction of guaranteed social security payments for all U.S. citizens over the age of 18 Tuesday.

Yang’s main pillar in his campaign platform is his basic income plan, which would give every adult citizen $12,000 per year through a series of monthly payments.

The government-sponsored payment program would help ease an economic burden on citizens, enabling them to tackle other pressing political issues, according to Yang.

“It would replace that mindset of scarcity with a mindset of relative abundance, and allow us to take on challenges like climate change in a more real way,” Yang said. “That is the great challenge of this era, to take the giant capital and market we are all subject to and rewrite the rules.”

Basic income plans have been experimentally implemented in multiple countries including India, where the state of Sikkim plans to establish a basic income for all citizens by 2022. In the United States, the guaranteed income proposal has previously received support from activists like Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who called it a tangible program for combating poverty in the past, according to The Atlantic.

Yang believes that an income floor, along with his plan to forgive a significant portion of student loan debt if elected, would enable more students to pursue careers and interests that they are passionate about.

“We need to make it so that you all can actually live out the ambitions you came to Georgetown with,” Yang said. “If we fail in that, then we have failed you, and we have failed everyone. Because what you do will actually be very very important in the future of this country over the years to come.”

Yang is the first Asian-American man to run for the Democratic nomination for president. He is the founder of Venture for America, a nonprofit that trains recent college graduates and young professionals

MARGARET FOUBERG FOR THE HOYA

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang advocated for a basic income in the United States at an event in Lohrfink Auditorium. in entrepreneurship by placing them in various startups across the country. Yang served as CEO of Manhattan Prep, a test preparation company, until 2011.

The event, titled “Entrepreneurship and Elections,” was hosted in Lohrfink Auditorium by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund.

The need for an income floor has become more pressing in light of the rate of technological advancement and the automatization of jobs in manufacturing, retail, fast food and other industries, according to Yang.

“Unfortunately, what half of Americans do is called repetitive cognitive work or repetitive manual work, and those jobs are going to get automated away in very large numbers,” Yang said.

Automation would negatively affect 83 percent of jobs with a wage under $20, or 81 million jobs, according to a December 2016 White House report. Yang said the relationship between the increasing automatization of jobs and widespread job insecurity among U.S. citizens is the main reason President Donald Trump was elected into office in 2016.

While Trump’s popularity can be attributed to his emphasis on relevant problems in the U.S. economy, his proposed solutions

are the opposite of what the country needs, according to Yang. Yang said Trump’s lack of tangible solutions to the problems facing the United States motivated him to run for president. “[Trump] said we’re going to build a wall, we’re going to freeze time, we’re going to turn the clock backwards,” Yang said. “And I want to do the opposite of all those things. I want to accelerate our society and our government. I want us to see ourselves as having value independent of what the market says.”

Tuesday’s event was co-sponsored by the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, Georgetown University College Democrats, the School of Foreign Service’s global business program and the Baker Center for Leadership and Governance.

Through his presidential campaign Yang hopes to introduce new policies and ideas to revitalize the many outdated aspects of the American government and economy.

“We actually have to start trying to update the operating system of our government for this era,” Yang said. “We have to try and galvanize the American people, reclaim our democracy in a meaningful way and then make moves that we can agree on.”

Students Advocate for Workers Amid Contract Renegotiations NISHANT BHAUMIK Special to The Hoya

Workers rights student activists expressed grievances of low wages on behalf of Georgetown food service workers at a Feb 14. open forum about ongoing labor contract negotiations.

Georgetown food service workers at O’Donovan Hall, Leavey Court and Einstein’s Bagels in Car Barn are represented by the Washington, D.C. branch of UNITE HERE!, a labor union that assists over 100,000 food service employees worldwide.

UNITE HERE! and Aramark reached a three-year employment contract deal in 2012, which was renegotiated and renewed in 2015 for another three years. The union had its first meeting with the Aramark to renegotiate a new labor contract after its expiration this past December.

The Georgetown Solidarity Committee, a student group committed to promoting workers’ rights, and La Casa Latina, which provides resources for Latinx students on campus, co-hosted an event titled, “Where’s the Love, Aramark?” Students spoke about the menial conditions faced by Georgetown food service employees. No Aramark workers were present at the event.

La Casa Latina hosted the event to stand in solidarity with dining workers as many of Aramark’s food service workers are people of color, according to La Casa Latina Director Joseph Rodriguez.

“La Casa Latina supports the members of UNITE HERE! Local 23 as they bargain with Aramark,” Rodriguez wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We hope that the workers, many of whom are people of color that work long hours for low wages, can win a contract that accurately reflects the value and dignity of themselves and of their labor.”

Washington, D.C.’s living wage is approximately $37,000 a year, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator. On average, Aramark food service workers at Georgetown make around $23,000 a year, according to Glassdoor.

With labor negotiations still ongoing, students must continue to show solidarity with Georgetown food service employees GSC member Gabriel Berger (COL ’21) said.

“Our general plan is to make sure that the facts are known, students are present, and that our

voices our heard,” Berger said. “We know that in the past that has led to change, and we’re confident that it will lead to change this time too.”

Georgetown food service employees are also seeking out better employee benefits, according to GSC member Mariel Mendez (COL ’21).

“Another central thing is that they want their benefits to be continued and to be expanded,” Mendez said. “For their pension to be increased, their Medicare to be improved, their healthcare to be improved. Even simple things like getting parking” Communication between student-run organizations and union employees often occurs within limited time slots and with limited opportunity for in-depth conversation, Berger said. There are likely plenty more issues that workers have yet to voice.

“It’s really hard to find a manager-free space to talk. And that’s important, because even as we grow more informed, we don’t know everything workers know,” Berger said. “It’s important to keep in mind that we don’t know the whole story here, we are just getting some of the basic facts.”

This is not the first time students have advocated for better working conditions for food workers at Georgetown. In January 2012, students and employees staged a demonstration in O’Donovan Hall for the nego-

tiation of a more fair labor contract between Aramark and the UNITE HERE! union. After a year of prolonged talks, workers were able to secure benefits like pay increases, signing bonuses, and year-round health insurance for all hires.

In 2015, 30 GSC members marched with 20 Aramark workers to Aramark leadership with a petition. Aramark management eventually agreed to workers’ demands, such as a 40-hour paid workweek, an agreements process to report managerial abuse or discrimination, and a cheaper healthcare insurance plan.

The current negotiations follow a tumultuous few years for Aramark, which recently came under fire with accusations of employee negligence and health violations throughout its service locations in North America, Asia, Europe and South America.

In 2010, Aramark paid $3.9 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that thousands of employees in California were not paid for all hours worked.

Three years later, Aramark paid $2.75 million to settle a similar lawsuit involving unpaid wages.

Students need to remember their advocacy is limited by their experiences, Berger said.

“Even as we grow informed, we don’t know everything workers know,” Berger said. “It’s important to keep in mind we don’t know the whole story here. We’re just getting basic facts.”

FILE PHOTO: ALLISON HERR FOR THE HOYA

Students said their advocacy is limited by the few opportunities to speak with university dining workers without their managers present.

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NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Metro to Propose Ride-Share Black Lives Matter Activist Sues Subsidies for Late-Night Workers For MPD Surveillance Records CASEY FERRANTE Special to The Hoya

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is set to propose a $1 million program to subsidize Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services for latenight workers in the Washington, D.C., area by March.

The subsidized trips, which would pay for a maximum of $3 per ride, would compensate for a lack of late-night Metro services, which ran between midnight and 3 a.m. Late-night services have been suspended since 2016 because of construction, according to The Washington Post. The program, which would fund rides within Metro’s area of operation between midnight and 4 a.m., would allow up to 10 weekly rides home per worker.

The proposal comes amid a push to re-institute the Metro’s late-night hours. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) issued a petition calling for a return of late-night services, which were set to be restored July 1. Bowser’s push for the restoration of late-night hours also comes during her Fair Shot February Initiative, which aims to make public transportation in the District more accessible.

However, the Metro board’s safety committee decided to

keep the current operating hours, which close at midnight on weeknights, in a preliminary 3-1 committee vote Feb. 14.

WMATA is still deciding whether to extend operational hours, Sherri Ly, media relations manager for WMATA, wrote in an email to The Hoya. Metro’s board of directors is expected to vote on the operating hours Feb. 28, according to Ly. Late-night Metro hours have not been instituted since 2016 because of the agency’s SafeTrack construction effort. SafeTrack is an accelerated rebuilding program that has allowed Metro to renovate its railways quickly and safely by increasing track time and extending maintenance hours into the transit agency’s late-night service hours. By combining maintenance time from weeknights, weekends and midday hours, the program finished three years’ worth of construction in one year.

SafeTrack was implemented after numerous safety lapses, including an accident at L’Enfant Plaza in 2015 which left commuters exposed to smoke for 45 minutes and resulted in the death of one rider and 91 other injuries, according to a June 2017 report by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Safety

FILE PHOTO: CAROLINE PAPPAS/THE HOYA

The Metro is set to propose a program to subsidize ride-sharing services for late-night workers in place of reinstituting late-night service.

Center.

After SafeTrack ended in mid2017, Metro officials have used the extra hours to implement preventative maintenance work.

The new program started in July 2017 and included trackbed cleaning, stray current testing, cable testing to avoid smoke and fire accidents and verifying the correct rail alignment among other measures. By restoring latenight hours, the Metro will lose track time, hindering track maintenance and risking the safety of riders, according to Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld.

“We need to do what it takes to keep the system, keep the people, keep our employees safe in operating our system,” Wiedefeld said at Bowser’s Jan. 29 breakfast with the D.C. Council.

If Metro restores late-night service hours before ongoing construction is finished, the agency would face financial consequences. The Federal Transit Administration, which gives financial and technical support to local public transportation systems, warned the Metro board that they would withhold $1.6 billion in transit funding from the D.C. area if the late hours are reinstituted.

The federal funding from the FTA relies on approval from the Metrorail Safety Commission, the oversight group for the process, which must be federally certified by April 15, according to The Washington Post. Returning to the late-night hours would complicate that process because the FTA would need to take additional time to review its budget allocations to ensure that they align with the agency’s safety needs under the new hours.

Despite an improvement in track outages and on-time train performance, track fires still persist following the Metro’s maintenance program, according to Laura Mason, a manager of SafeTrack and other maintenance programs at Metro.

“In the last 18 months, we’ve completed a significant amount of work in our system,” Mason said at Bowser’s breakfast.“However, our track fires, one of our most critical types of incidents we track, has only decreased by 20 percent, indicating there is still more work to be done.”

Continuing the Metro closures harms the D.C. community, according to Bowser.

“All of us have made a substantial commitment to making sure that Metro has what it needs,” Bowser said. “Metro needs to do a little bit more to make sure that this region has what it needs to stay open.”

DC Council Considers Bill Prohibiting Cashless Retailers JAMIE MOORE-CARRILLO Special to The Hoya

A bill that would require retailers throughout Washington, D.C. to abandon their nocash policies is being considered by the D.C. Council as part of a renewed effort to ban D.C. businesses from denying cash payments.

The Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act of 2019 was introduced Feb. 5 and classifies a retailer as any person holding a business license who “sells products or services in a retail setting in small quantities directly to the ultimate consumer.”

Cashless policies discriminate against unbanked or underbanked consumers who are not served by banks or other financial institutions, according to the bill’s lead sponsor David Grosso (I-At Large). Forms of discrimination against cash payments include refusing payments in cash, posting signs that indicate cash is not an accepted form of payment or charging different prices to consumers using distinct payment methods, according to the bill.

In D.C., 10.8 percent of all households were unbanked and 25. 4 percent were underbanked, according to a 2015 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation study. Black households were nearly 20 times more likely than white households to be unbanked, and three times more likely to be underbanked.

The practice disproportionately affects younger and lowincome consumers, who are less likely to have credit cards or other means of payment besides cash, as well as customers who choose to use cash for ac-

counting and safety purposes, according to Grosso.

“In addition to the disparate impact on low-income and young patrons, this practice affects other customers who may prefer to pay with cash to better manage their budget, or to avoid the very real risk of identity theft that comes along with credit card use,” Grosso said in a statement before the Council on Feb. 5.

The bill’s goal is to foster greater financial inclusion in the District and protect vulnerable consumers, according to Grosso.

“Through this bill we can ensure that all D.C. residents and visitors can continue to patronize the businesses they choose, while avoiding the potential embarrassment of being denied service simply because they lack a credit card,” Grosso said.

Practices like discrimination against cash payments serve to divide the city, which should instead work towards fostering greater inclusion, Grosso said in a Feb. 5 news release.

No-cash policies have become increasingly popular in the District, according to The Washington Post. Several prominent retailers throughout D.C., including Sweetgreen, Menchie’s and Bruery have adopted cashless models.

Students of Georgetown, Inc., is also cashless.

The change has increased profits for some retailers. In 2016, Sweetgreen reported that its locations reported anywhere between 5 and 15 percent more transactions per hour when they turned cashless.

The Corp adopted a no-cash model in February 2018 to decrease costs and streamline

operations, according to the organization’s Facebook page.

The chairman of the external board to The Corp, Josh Sirois (Col ’20), was not available for comment at the time of press, but wrote in an email to The Hoya that he and the other board members were aware of the bill.

Councilmember Grosso introduced a similar bill in June 2018 which also attempted to prohibit food retailers from discriminating against cash payments. The latest iteration of the bill expands the prohibition to cover all cashless retailers, not just food establishments.

The 2018 bill did not pass certain legislative hurdles needed to be brought to a vote, according to Matthew Nocella, Councilmember Grosso’s communications director.

Before the council can vote on any bill, it must be referred to a committee of jurisdiction.

A vote never occurred because the Committee of the Whole, a committee which consists of all councilmembers and is chaired by Chairman Phil Mendelson, never held a hearing on the 2018 bill, Nocella wrote.

The bill’s late introduction to the Council delayed the legislative process, according to The Washington Post.

Cash should be accepted as a form of currency in all campus stores to promote accessibility, incoming GUSA Vice President Aleida Olvera (COL ’20) wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“It is important that we acknowledge cash in all stores on campus. It discriminates against students from a lowersocioeconomic status who often do not have the luxury of a bank account,” Olvera wrote.

AFUA NYANTAKYI Special to The Hoya

A Black Lives Matter activist is awaiting a final judgment for her lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department to obtain documents to prove unlawful police surveillance after a Feb. 8 hearing.

April Goggans, a core organizer of Black Lives Matter D.C., first reported experiencing police surveillance in 2015, according to DCist.

Goggans said she was followed over the course of several weeks, watched from outside of her home and stopped by MPD. Goggans is seeking the release of documents relating to her surveillance through the Freedom of Information Act, a federal law allowing an individual to request access to government agency records. Goggans began submitting FOIA requests to MPD after these incidents, eventually filing a lawsuit in November 2017 when the requests were not met.

MPD has declined to turn over documents that have to do with monitoring Goggans, asserting that Goggans’ speculation does not constitute a valid reason for their release. However, the department has confirmed it possesses 9,000 pages of documents containing Goggans’ address, Twitter handle and documents referring to two different spellings of Goggans’ last name, according to DCist.

D.C. Superior Court Judge William Jackson presided over the Feb. 8 summary judgment hearing, which was held to determine if MPD must provide Goggans with access to the documents.

Jackson did not provide an immediate ruling on the lawsuit, with an additional hearing scheduled for April 5.

A representative from the MPD declined to comment on the issue, citing the MPD’s policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

New York Black Lives Matter activists also reported cases of unlawful police surveillance beginning in 2014 and claim the New York

Police Department has been using social media software and undercover officers to monitor members of the group, according to The New York Times.

During Black Lives Matter protests after the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, two unarmed black men who were both killed by police officers in 2014, protesters reported their phones were losing reception and switching off, leading them to believe that police were using technology to intercept their communications.

The NYPD refused to confirm or deny whether the records requested by BLM activists existed.

After a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the NYPD had to disclose whether or not they interfered with protesters’ cell phones, NYPD responded that it did not disrupt constitutionally protected activities and would review the decision before moving forward.

Washington, D.C. citizens should encourage their councilmembers and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to compel the MPD to be more transparent about police surveillance, Natacia Knapper, police accountability organizer of D.C.’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The ACLU has previously worked in conjunction with Black Lives Matter on an information request toward the MPD alongside the Stop Police Terror Project DC, an organization that seeks to combat racialized and militarized policing tactics according to their mission statement. To obtain information, the three organizations requested documents through the Freedom of Information Act. Activists need to continue to fight for protections for free speech in order to allow for marginalized voices to be heard, Knapper wrote.

“We’re gratified that robust activism, led by groups like Black Lives Matter, continues today, and we’ll continue to work with them and other groups through our own advocacy and litigation to en-

sure government actions against free speech remain checked,” Knapper wrote in an email to The Hoya. “For our democracy to thrive, we need to hear all voices, not just the voice of the powerful.”

Modern technology presents new problems for black activists to adapt to, Nile Blass (COL ’22), freshman representative for the Georgetown Black Student Alliance, said in an interview with The Hoya.

“It’s not necessarily a surprise so much as it is interesting to see distrust and suspicion of black and pro-black activism to be weaponized in modern ways,” Blass said.

“It’s always been a danger to be black and opinionated so I hesitate to think whether this is an escalation of the danger that already exists for black activists or just a facet of it that has to be adapted to.”

Government surveillance of civil rights activists dates back through the 1950s when the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s surveillance of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists was conducted under the FBI Counterintelligence Program, COINTELPRO. The Counterintelligence Program began in 1956 and was initially established to disrupt the activities of the Communist Party of the United States, according to the FBI’s website. By the 1960s, the program was expanded to include a number of other domestic groups including the Black Panther Party, the Socialist Workers Party and the Klu Klux Klan. The program was criticized by the U.S. Congress for abridging First Amendment rights and ended in 1971.

The suspicion of unlawful surveillance could act as a potential deterrent for activists, according to Knapper.

“When activists see local or federal law enforcement conducting this type of surveillance, it chills First Amendment-protected speech,” Knapper wrote. “It makes those who would speak out hesitate, and makes them wonder: ‘Will I be targeted next?’”

Residents Object to Proposed Bike Trail on Former Trolley Line HARRISON MCBRIDE Special to The Hoya

A proposed biking and walking path that would pave over a former trolley line has divided residents of communities near the path’s entrances, many of whom object over the development of the area.

News of the path has been met with different reactions in the various communities possibly affected by the trail. Residents in the Foxhall Crescent neighborhood have voiced opposition to the plan over concerns that the improvements to the trail are unnecessary to satisfy the community’s demands. Residents have posted flyers along the trail saying “The trail is great in its natural state,” according to local news outlet Greater Greater Washington.

The proposal plans to transform the former trolley line into a 3-mile walking and biking path beginning at the intersection of Prospect and 37th streets and extending through the Foxhall Crescent

neighborhood to end at Galena Place in the Palisades, according to Greater Greater Washington.

Washington, D.C.’s Department of Transportation plans to hold its first of two meetings on the planned trail March 7.

The Transportation Department has been working on the proposal for the last several months to determine the feasibility of the trail, the extent of work required to create and maintain the trail, and what to do with the trestle bridges that scatter the former trolley line. The proposal is set to be completed in August. However, a date has not yet been set to make an ultimate decision on the proposed trail.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal as well as the Capital Crescent Trail, which both run parallel to the proposed path, may affect its popularity, according to Elliot Colla, Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown and resident of the Pali-

@CHESAPEAKEANDOHIOCANAL/INSTAGRAM

Washington, D.C.’s Department of Transportation plans to hold the first of two meetings on the proposed Palisades Trolley Trail on March 7.

sades neighborhood.

“I’m skeptical because I don’t know who would use the bike path to get anywhere, because it’s duplicating one that already exists in the capital crescent and this one joins up with the capital crescent in about a mile and a half,” Colla said.

Residents of communities surrounding the entrance of the proposed trail that sits near Georgetown have not expressed significant opposition to Transportation Department’s proposal, according to Greater Greater Washington.

The trail’s proponents have said that it will provide better accessibility between the the Palisades and Foxhall Crescent neighborhoods The current trail contains gaps between various sections and overgrown brush along its edges. The trail itself, however, is mowed down to a short grass and maintains a relatively decent amount of traffic in its current state even without consistent maintenance from any government agency.

The Palisades Trolley Trail preliminary design project, which has also funded a feasibility study to identify issues in developing the Palisades Trolley Trail, costs roughly $600,000. Additional funding will be required if the proposal for the trail is approved, according to The Wash Cycle, an organization that promotes cycling in the D.C. area. If approved, the trail would likely gain funding from the “Move DC” initiative, a 25-year plan to modernize transportation throughout the District.

Debates over the proposed trail are raising questions about the use of the former trolley line that previously surfaced in May 2018 when local historical preservation advocates objected to the removal the old Foundry Branch streetcar bridge in the Glover Archbold Park area of the Palisades. Ultimately, the D.C. Board voted against allowing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, who owns the bridge, to demolish it.

Alyssa Kasher (COL ’15), former captain of Club Triathlon, said the trail would present an exciting possibility for students.

“It would be pretty cool to have access to a trail that starts right on campus,” Kasher said.

NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

THE HOYA

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Film Influences Discourse Law Center Institute Files On Race, Director Says Brief on Census Question CADY STANTON

RACHEL FRIEDMAN

Paul Miller, commonly known as DJ Spooky, spoke about the influence multimedia has in reshaping identity and racial prejudice in public discourse Feb. 12.

Miller, a composer, multimedia artist and writer, is the director and producer of “Rebirth of a Nation,” a remake of the 1915 D.W. Griffith silent drama “Birth of a Nation.”

Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation,” adapted from the novel and play “The Clansman” by Thomas Dixon Jr., tells a postCivil War-era story that heroicizes the Klu Klux Klan. The film sparked protests from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the time of its release because of its racist depictions of black men as lazy, aggressive and lustful, according to The New Yorker.

Miller said Griffith’s film shaped social perceptions at the time of its release, allowing for traditional and xenophobic attitudes on immigration and race to be absorbed by media and culture.

“In 1915, the world changed because we saw the rise of this notion that cinema and politics converged to create this kind of perfect storm of racial politics and the way politics would then influence the paradox of history, time, and above all, truth,” Miller said. “Birth of a Nation set the tone for 20th century media because it was the first film to establish itself as truth.”

Miller underscored the historical significance of “Birth of a Nation” as literature that gives a glimpse into racial tensions on phenomena beyond cultural perception, like politics.

In “Rebirth of a Nation,” Miller uses the approach of a DJ remix by reconstructing and paralleling a song to the film.

The piece aims to expose the racist undertones of “Birth of a Nation” by applying the technology of turntable remix to a

An institute based at the Georgetown University Law Center filed an amicus brief Feb. 11 contesting a push by the U.S. Department of Commerce to add a question to the 2020 census regarding citizenship status.

The addition of a citizenship question would cause an estimated 630,000 households to not complete the 2020 census, according to a U.S. Census Bureau memo issued Jan. 19.

Households may interpret the citizenship question as an effort to use the census to find undocumented immigrants or target ethnic groups, according to a 2018 study commissioned by the Census Bureau.

The brief, filed by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, was submitted on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives. ICAP contends that the citizenship question would decrease the census’ accuracy, according to Joshua Geltzer, ICAP executive director and visiting professor at the Law Center.

“Adding it would thwart the constitutionally mandated goal of the decennial census, which is to determine an actual and accurate count of everyone present in the United States,” Geltzer wrote

Hoya Staff Writer

Special to The Hoya

AMY LI/THE HOYA

Director Paul Miller used the approach of a DJ remix in his remake of D.W. Griffith’s film “Birth of a Nation.” piece of historical literature. In screenings of the film, Miller manipulates video clips live on stage, often accompanied by an instrumental quartet, according to The Washington Post.

While using a new approach to addressing racial histories in the United States, Miller said that remaking historical pieces can be a tool for rescripting current history just as the original piecƒes did in their time.

“Amusingly enough, to me at least, half the battle right now is looking at these kinds of histories and articulating history through this kind of remix culture,” Miller said.

Held in McNeir Hall, the event was part of the Racial Justice: Art(s) and Activism lecture series, which highlights the intersection of art, activism and racial justice by giving a platform to art that produces new forms of racial freedom. The discussion was sponsored by the Georgetown University Departments of African American Studies and Performing Arts and the Racial Justice Institute.

One of the biggest recent changes in media consumption is the reduction of intermediaries between producers and con-

sumers, according to Miller.

“We’re looking at now disintermediation as we move further into the 21st century,” Miller said. “The phone actually becomes the portal of experience for most people.”

Miller’s previous projects as an artist and turntablist have been featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany. “Rebirth of a Nation” was commissioned in 2004 by the Lincoln Center Festival and has been screened in multiple cities, including at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. A D.C. native, Miller also spoke about how the District is complex in terms of racial tensions as both a governmental center and as a city that contains a large black population.

“The fun part about living in D.C. is there’s sort of a paradox between the global and the federal issues of government,” Miller said. “And above all the paradox of the fact that it was not only an African-American city but also related to the federal government’s occupying force.”

in an email to The Hoya.

Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan blocked the Commerce Department’s attempt to add a citizenship question last month, citing a faulty decision-making process led by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. that included cherry-picked facts, manipulated evidence and hidden deliberations, according to The New York Times.

The Supreme Court decided Feb. 15 to hear the case. Given that the 2020 census forms must be printed in June, the Supreme Court has fast-tracked the case, which is set to appear before the court in the second week of the April argument session.

Furman’s ruling is a key concern of the brief, according to Geltzer. In 1996, the Supreme Court held that Congress is responsible for cond±ucting an accurate count of people living in each state, including noncitizens, to determine House representation. The brief argues that this decision means the Census Bureau, while it has authority over the mechanics of census data collection, cannot add a citizenship question to the census.

“Congress, through federal law, has made clear the importance of certain forms of oversight and certain constraints in delegating authority to the

Census Bureau to carry out the decennial census; and a federal judge in New York correctly found the Census Bureau’s efforts to add this question to violate Congress’s clear direction,” Geltzer wrote.

Launched at the Law Center in August 2017, ICAP uses litigation to defend rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. By bringing forth original constitutional challenges, filing briefs and supporting the litigation efforts of its partners, ICAP aims to protect the rights and values laid out in the constitution, according to Geltzer.

“Our work at ICAP has included a number of efforts to defend voting rights by protecting the census process, including by articulating concerns about the Census Bureau’s leadership and calling attention to cybersecurity concerns regarding America’s first electronic census in 2020, so weighing in on this important case was a natural fit for our mission,” Geltzer wrote.

The ultimate goal of the brief is to aid in the reinforcement of the district court’s ruling, Geltzer wrote.

“We look forward to seeing the Court’s decision, which we hope will be an affirmance of the district court’s thorough and wellreasoned decision,” Geltzer wrote.

RYAN BAE/THE HOYA

A Georgetown University Law Center group filed an amicus brief Feb. 11 arguing that a proposed citizenship question on the U.S. Census would decrease the accuracy of the census.

Testimony Determines DC Conducted Fair Elections RACHEL FRIEDMAN Special to The Hoya

Observe D.C. founder Ben Mindes (GRD ’19) testified that the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections effectively conducted the 2018 D.C. mayoral election in front of the D.C. Council on Feb. 19.

“Overall, voters experienced an efficient and well-organized election day,” Mindes said in his testimony.

The testimony follows a 14-hour-long observation of the Nov. 6 election day by Observe D.C., a nonpartisan election observation initiative, in which 83 trained volunteers collected data from a random sampling of polling places to ensure the integrity of local elections. Volunteers observed that most polling stations contained the proper voting equipment, opened by 7:10 a.m., were designed to allow voters to cast their ballots in secret and had disability-accessible entrances, according to the testimony.

Despite these promising signs, the election observation still revealed some issues, Mindes said.

“There’s certainly room for improvement in D.C., and what we found is that there’s certain areas with administrative and procedural issues that can be changed in D.C.,” Mindes said in an interview with The Hoya.

According to Mindes’ testimony, zero tape, a machinecreated printout verifying that no one had voted before 7 a.m., was not posted by the time the polls opened in 28.9 percent of polling places, and 19.5 percent of polling places did not immediately make results public after the polls closed.

Mindes also testified that 52.4 percent of polling places had voters in line by the time of the polls’ official closing at 8 p.m. and 18 percent of polling places experienced technical difficulties with the voting machines.

Mindes notes, however, that all who wished to were still able to vote and that technical issues were usually quickly resolved by the D.C. Board of Elections.

These data were collected by the volunteers, who were stationed at the polling stations from before they opened at 7 a.m. until the last voters had

cast their ballots. Findings were reported to Observe D.C.’s call center throughout the day.

Observe D.C.’s assessment marks the first sample-based observation of an election in U.S. history. Sample-based observation has been used by civic groups worldwide to assess and monitor election day practices and to ensure elections are carried out according to proper rules of compliance.

“The data that comes from a sample-based observation is the only independent and statistically valid data about what happens on election day,” Mindes said.

The diversity of voting procedures within the thousands of voting jurisdictions means that sample-based election observations in the United States must remain hyper-localized. However, observations remain an important tool for identifying and solving problems unique to certain jurisdictions, such as the ones identified in the D.C. mayoral election, according to Mindes.

Sample-based observations could be a useful tool for improving the electoral processes in other jurisdictions, according to Mindes. Observe D.C. is compiling a comprehensive final report to share with the D.C. Board of Elections, D.C. voters and candidates.

“We think that there are places in theg United States that could certainly use an injection

of public confidence in their election administration, certainly after the 2018 election, and we’re hoping to bring samplebased observation methodology to those places,” Mindes said.

The results of a Nov. 15 poll by the Pew Research Center revealed that 53 percent of Americans believe elections in their communities were run very well. Confidence in national elections was lower, with 21 percent of Americans responding that elections were run very well.

Mindes worked for the past two years as program officer on the elections and political processes team at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, which he credits as having a huge influence on his decision to found the intivative.

Observe D.C. was funded by the Baker Center for Leadership and Governance, a Georgetown center that provides programming in leadership development, as a recipient of a $20,000 Baker Innovation Grant. The Baker Center team expressed a positive assessment of the Initiative’s work in an email to The Hoya.

“Observe DC gave so many people across the city the opportunity to engage meaningfully in our local elections, and we look forward to seeing Ben expand his initiative to reach new communities in the coming years,” they wrote.

BAKER CENTER

The 2018 Washington, D.C. mayoral election was conducted effectively, Ben Mindes (GRD ’19), founder of Observe D.C., testified Feb. 19.

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SPORTS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

BASEBALL

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Georgetown Begins Season With 3-Game Losing Skid TIM ROTERMUND Special to The Hoya

JULIA GIGANTE FOR THE HOYA

Junior attack Emily Ehle, left, cradles, bringing the ball up the field for the Hoyas. Ehle tallied one assist in the Hoyas' 10-7 win over Towson on Feb. 16. She contributed 32 points in just 12 games last season.

GU Defeats Towson, Stays Undefeated in Home Opener BEN GAVER

Hoya Staff Writer

In their home debut for the 2019 season, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team pulled off a nail-biting 10-7 victory over regional rival Towson.

The Hoyas (2-0) built on last week’s success in defeating the Tigers (0-2), who they had failed to beat over the past three seasons.

The game got off to a slow start, remaining scoreless until Towson struck first halfway through the first period. However, Georgetown drew on their experience playing from behind last week against St. Joe’s; the Blue and Gray responded just a minute later with a goal from sophomore midfielder Caroline Frock.

After Towson took a 2-1 lead with a goal on a free position shot, Georgetown went on a three-goal run capped off by two straight scores from senior attack Taylor Gebhardt with 9:46 left in the first half. After a long scoring drought, the two teams traded goals to

make the game 5-3 heading into the break.

The second half took on a fast tempo with the teams trading goals back and forth. Gebhardt followed up her scoring from earlier with a goal on a free position shot along with freshman midfielder Annabelle Albert, who scored 10 minutes into the half to put Georgetown up by two goals.

After the Tigers came back with two goals of their own, the Hoyas responded a minute later to regain the lead with a goal from junior attack Michaela Bruno. The Blue and Gray maintained their single goal lead until there were five minutes remaining. Georgetown then found the back of the net on two consecutive possessions and cruised to a three-goal victory.

After the game, Head Coach Ricky Fried was pleased with his team’s fight.

“In the end, we didn't back down, we didn't worry, we didn't point fingers, we just rallied together and depended on each

other and kept fighting,” Fried said in a postgame interview with GUHoyas. “The biggest thing I'm proud of with this group so far is the fight that they have and the effort they put out."

Despite coming up short on ground balls and turning the ball over three more times than Towson, Georgetown managed to outshoot its opponent 25-21 and dominated in draw controls 14-5.

The Hoyas also found scoring from a variety of players from multiple positions, which made it difficult for the Tigers to advance.

The team was led by its veteran leadership on offense with seniors Gebhardt, attack Morgan Ryan and midfield Francesca Whitehurst each contributing goals.

The Hoyas will return to the Hilltop in another Colonial Athletic Association matchup against the Drexel University Dragons on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. The team also looks ahead to another rivalry matchup against Johns Hopkins on Feb. 27.

SOFTBALL

The Georgetown baseball team travelled to Winston-Salem, N.C., last weekend to open its season at the Wake Forest Invitational, but lost all three of its contests.

On Friday, Georgetown (0-3) faced the University of Illinois (30). The Fighting Illini handed the Hoyas their first loss in an 11-3 affair. Junior pitcher Jeremiah Burke led the start for the Blue and Gray, going five innings and allowing four earned runs on nine hits.

The game was closer than the scoreline suggests. The Hoyas and Illini traded runs early, tied at 2-2 through four innings. Junior third baseman John Simourian delivered two RBIs in separate plate appearances: a one-out, bases loaded, ground out in the second inning followed by a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

However, Illinois broke the game open in the fifth inning with a home run from redshirt senior center fielder Zac Taylor who blasted a two-run shot to the leftfield bleachers. The Hoyas could not recover from Taylor’s dagger; their only scoring for the remainder of the game came from sophomore catcher Alex Gamache, who reached base on a pinch-hit single and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Illinois, on the other hand, proceeded to tack on seven more runs on the way to its 11-3 routing of Georgetown. A lone bright spot came in the fourth inning, when senior second baseman Ryan Weisenberg singled, marking the 100th hit of his career.

Georgetown hoped to rebound on Saturday against Sacred Heart (1-2), but once again fell short in a heartbreaking 6-5 walk-off loss.

Junior pitcher Nick Morreale took the mound for Georgetown, dialing up nine strikeouts in six innings pitched and allowing three earned runs. The Hoyas commanded the ballgame early, leading 5-1 thanks to strong hitting by sophomore outfielder Kai Nelson and sophomore third baseman

Yareb Martinez. Nelson went two for two with two walks and an RBI, while Martinez contributed a pair of RBI singles.

Disaster unfolded for the Hoyas in the bottom of the seventh.

Georgetown conceded four runs on three hits and two errors and needed to make three pitching changes to escape the inning.

The comfortable 5-1 lead quickly evaporated to a tight 5-5 tie. In the bottom of the ninth, Sacred Heart loaded the bases and walked off on a ground ball to first base; the throw from junior first baseman Freddy Achecar III to home plate was not in time.

In their final game of the Wake Forest Invitational, Georgetown faced host and No. 27 Wake Forest (2-1). Despite a third loss, the Hoyas hung right with their highly ranked opponents in a 5-3 battle.

Junior left-handed pitcher Brent Killam started for the Hoyas, tallying five strikeouts in four innings pitched. Killam conceded three runs, two of which were unearned.

Sophomore shortstop Eddie

McCabe shone in an otherwise quiet offensive performance for Georgetown, as he had three of the team’s four total hits in the contest. He notched an extra base hit down the left-field line in the top of the second; Gamache drove him home two batters later with a double of his own to center.

McCabe also delivered a two-RBI single in the top of the eighth.

Despite the shortstop’s heroics, Georgetown trailed most of the game and could not muster a legitimate comeback.

Last season, the Hoyas started out in a similar fashion, going 0-3 in the Wake Forest Invitational, en route to a 25-30 record on the season. The team also finished 8-9 in the Big East. The Hoyas return with some young offensive weapons, McCabe and Nelson, who led Georgetown in batting average with .385 and .375 averages respectively last year.

The Hoyas are seeking their first win this weekend in a three-game series at Campbell University. First pitch is set for Friday at 5 p.m.

GUHOYAS

Sophomore infielder Eddie McCabe went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the Hoyas' 5-3 loss to Wake Forest on Feb. 17.

Hoyas Crushed in Season’s FREE KICK Opening Tournament An Outdated Rule Is Hurting Europe’s Top Tournament

RACHEL GAUDREAU Hoya Staff Writer

This past weekend, the Georgetown softball team played five games in the Boyd Gambling Rebel Classic, with doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. The Hoyas (27) finished last in the tournament with an overall record of 1-4, losing two games by two runs or fewer and pulling out a narrow one-run win against the Utah Valley Wolverines (3-7).

Beginning Friday, Feb. 15, the Boyd Gambling Rebel Classic hosted 11 teams from across the country in Las Vegas for a threeday tournament. Georgetown first faced Seattle University (6-4) on Friday at Stephanie Lynn Park.

The Hoyas fell to the Redhawks by a score of 3-13 after conceding multiple runs early in the game. Junior pitcher Katie Vannicola started on the mound for the Blue and Gray, earning the loss. Vannicola pitched for 2 1⁄3 innings, allowing six hits, four home runs and eight runs, four of which were earned.

In the top of the first, the Redhawks recorded a single, a stolen base and a walk-off of Vannicola to begin the inning. Seattle then capitalized off of an error by sophomore shortstop Savannah Jones to score the first run of the game.

Another error by Jones allowed a Seattle player to reach base, and a home run by senior second baseman Kaylee Ree drove in three more runs.

In the third, Vannicola gave up three more home runs, driving the score up to 8-0. Junior pitcher Casey Kozak relieved Vannicola to finish the inning. In two of three innings pitched, Kozak gave up five hits, five runs and two home runs. Sophomore pitcher London Diller closed out the game in the remaining two innings, allowing no runs, one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.

In the fourth, a powerful offensive showing by the Hoyas fueled hopes of a comeback. The inning began with three consecutive home runs by junior first baseman Noelle Holiday, senior designated hitter Sarah Bennett and senior center fielder Kelly Amen to put the Hoyas on the board. However, this offensive success was shortlived, as the Hoyas failed to record any more runs in the remaining innings, losing by mercy rule in the fifth.

Georgetown played a far more

competitive second game against Brigham Young University (4-4), although still falling by a score of 3-1.

Junior pitcher Anna Brooks Pacha started the game for the Hoyas, allowing one hit, one run, four walks and two strikeouts.

The game remained scoreless for the first two innings before the Cougars tallied a run in the bottom of the third off of an error by sophomore second baseman Nene Campos. Vannicola took over for Pacha in the bottom of the fourth, and her pitching helped Georgetown even the score to 1-1 in the sixth, as she held the Cougars scoreless in the bottom of the inning. However, in the seventh inning, the Cougars shut out the Hoyas and went on to hit a walk-off home run to win the game.

Georgetown traveled to Eller Media Stadium on Saturday morning for their game against Utah Valley University. Despite their Friday losses, the Hoyas found their footing against the Wolverines, earning a close victory by a score of 7-6.

The Hoya offense gave freshman pitcher Cassie Henning the lead to start off the game. In the top of the first, a home run by Holiday drove in freshman catcher Mae Forshey to record two runs. Bennett followed with a homer of her own to propel the Hoyas to an initial 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, the Cougars tallied an unearned run off of a sacrifice fly. The Hoyas answered with a run of their own in the third as Amen singled to right to drive in Jones. However, Georgetown’s lead evaporated in the bottom of the third as three doubles and a single by the Utah Valley offense led to three more runs for the Cougars, leveling the game at four.

The Hoyas reclaimed the lead 7-4 in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cougars led an offensive comeback with a double and home run to trail by one. This offensive effort was ended by Diller, who relieved Vannicola and recorded the save, getting the final two outs on a groundout and pop out.

In the second game of their doubleheader, Georgetown fell to host University of Nevada, Las Vegas (9-1) by a score of 9-2. The Hoyas opened the game with a run scored by junior right fielder Alexa Dolby off of an RBI single by Holiday. UNLV challenged George-

town with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning off of Diller. Diller also conceded two more runs in the bottom of the second to leave the game at 1-5.

Vannicola relieved Diller to record the last out of the second inning.

Diller left the game after pitching 1 2⁄3 innings and tallying six hits, five runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

A single up the middle by Holiday drove in Jones in the top of the third to bring the score to 5-2 for the Hoyas. The Blue and Gray did not score in the following four innings, and Vannicola allowed four more runs off of a string of singles and doubles in the bottom of the fourth, as well as an insidethe-park three-run homer with two outs. Henning closed out the game, pitching two innings and holding the Rebels to zero hits and runs.

Georgetown closed out the tournament with an extra-innings 5-4 loss to UC Davis (6-2) on Sunday.

Pacha took the mound to begin the game for the Hoyas, lasting 4 2⁄3 innings with eight hits, four earned runs, three walks and two strikeouts.

The Aggies claimed the lead in the first with a walk and a triple, but the Hoyas evened the score at one in the third off of a Forshey double that scored Jones. In the fifth inning, UC Davis recorded a three-run homer off of Pacha to reclaim the lead. Henning relieved Pacha, closing out the fifth inning and conceding one hit and one walk in the sixth.

Dolby led an offensive comeback for Georgetown in the bottom of the sixth by tripling with the bases loaded and two outs to score three. With the game tied at four, Diller took over on the mound in the seventh inning and held the Aggies scoreless, forcing extra innings.

The Aggies opened the eighth by scoring a run off of a sacrifice fly, sending the Hoyas into the bottom of the inning trailing by one.

The Hoyas were unable to score in the bottom of the inning and lost despite Forshey’s team-high three hits on the day.

The Hoyas look to redeem their tournament play in the upcoming 12-team, three-day Madeira Beach Tournament in Madeira Beach, Florida this weekend. The team will first face off against Colgate University at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.

Dean Hampers Last week marked the beginning of the knockout stage of the Champions League, the most prestigious annual soccer tournament contested by Europe’s top clubs.

The competition will produce several high-quality games as the remaining 16 teams play each knockout round over two 90-minute legs — one at home and one at its opponent’s venue — building to the final match June 1. However, this action-packed event contains a notable imperfection.

When two teams’ aggregate scores are even after playing both legs, intuitively, the match would be considered tied because they each played an equal amount of time at home and away and scored the same number of goals.

However, since 1965 the Union of European Football Associations has operated under the rule that whichever team scores more goals on the road is the one that advances to the next round.

The use of the rule is by no means a rarity. At least one knockout round has been decided by away goals in each of the last 10 seasons.

The rule’s implementation made sense five decades ago, back when playing away from home was a more significant disadvantage. European travel was timeconsuming and physically taxing.

Soccer fields were lower quality, sometimes having muddy or uneven surfaces to which only the home team would be accustomed.

In this context, scoring an away goal was an accomplishment which deserved reward, and using it as a tiebreaker was a strongly preferred alternative to the completely chance-driven coin tosses used at the time.

Today’s teams travel in luxurious style and can afford to arrive early to minimize the effect of jet

lag. All fields are in pristine condition, carefully mowed and watered just before kickoff.

The effect of modernity on the visiting team can be observed statistically: While 45 percent of away teams failed to score in Champions League games in the 1980s, less than 35 percent of teams on the road have been shutout in the 2010s.

Teams, of course, still have a home-field advantage, but it now comes primarily from their fans. Over the course of the two matches, each club’s fans turn out in enormous numbers and bring plenty of passion because they know the added importance of a strong homestand. In a way, both fan bases are competing to give their side a greater home-field advantage than the other.

Yet the outdated away goals rule gives the advantage, or at least a major opportunity, to the away side.

The rationale for keeping the rule is that it generates an entertaining style of attack from the away team, which is incentivized to try to score while the goals have added value.

However, many fans have observed that the rule has the opposite effect. Home teams are more likely to prioritize defending for fear of conceding a potentially decisive away goal, making for less

exciting games.

It should be noted that if this rule were replaced by standard tiebreakers, more games will likely be decided by penalty shootouts, which are also imperfect because of the high reliance on luck. Goalkeepers can only guess which direction the penalty taker will choose, and they dive with slim hopes of making a save.

These shootouts could be improved if the position of the ball was moved back to the edge of the penalty box, where it would take far more skill for the shooter to beat a goalkeeper who has time to react. But this proposal is a separate area of debate.

Nevertheless, removing the away-goals rule will at least give two teams with equal aggregate scores the chance to win a game in 30 minutes of extra time.

The team that scores more goals than its opponent over 210 minutes of soccer clearly deserves to advance. A team that scored the same amount as its opponent in 180 minutes, but happened to score one or two away from home, does not.

UEFA announced last September that it would begin to “review” the rule amid some coaches arguing that it is outdated. Perhaps fans who make the same argument can add to the pressure, and hopefully cause a change.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The knockout stage of the Champions League has begun with a campaign to solve an outdated rule that heavily favors away goals.

SPORTS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

THE HOYA

A11

MEN’S LACROSSE

Behind Bucaro’s 4 Goals, GU Beats RMU ROBERT MORRIS, from A12

While the first quarter featured high-powered offenses, the second quarter showcased the team’s defensive prowess.

With less than 30 seconds left in the half, McElroy stopped a shot and immediately found Aslanian for an outlet.

Aslanian streaked down the field untouched, took the ball to the cage and buried a shot, bringing the Hoyas within one goal. This goal would be the only in the second quarter, and the scoreboard read 6-5 Robert Morris as the teams

jogged to the locker rooms.

The teams exchanged goals throughout the third quarter, which allowed Robert Morris to hang onto its thin lead.

It was Georgetown, however, that got the final word on a Bucaro goal with a little over five minutes left in the quarter. The game entered the fourth tied 9-9.

Robert Morris opened the final frame with a goal, but any hope of momentum was quashed by three straight Hoya scores, giving the home team its first lead of the game with 7:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Two simultaneous Hoya penalties followed, and the Colonials were able to score on the ensuing two-man-up situation, bringing the score to 12-11 Georgetown. However, Wittenberg found a soft spot at the top of the Robert Morris defense on the following possession, which gave him the time and room to bury a laser shot and put Georgetown up by two goals with under two minutes remaining.

Sophomore faceoff specialist Cade Heverly had a decisive win on the following faceoff, which allowed the Hoyas to

run the clock down to 0:37 before Bucaro netted a final goal to put the game firmly out of reach. The Hoyas finished with a 14-11 victory.

With this win against a tough team that finished in the top 25 in last year’s national rankings, Georgetown is off to a solid start and has demonstrated that they should be able to repeat the success of last season. The Hoyas will face another tough nonconference opponent next week when they face off against Towson on Saturday, Feb. 23, on Cooper Field.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgetown Dominates Villanova in Upset VILLANOVA, from A12

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Senior guard Dionna White locks in on the hoop and rises up for the shot. She finished with four points in the away loss to the Wildcats.

Hoya Women Suffer Season’s Worst Loss Against Wildcats WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, from A12

some silver linings for the Hoyas. Namely, freshman guard Tayanna Jones, who posted a career-best 10 points and was the team’s leading scorer. Junior guard Marvellous Osagie-Erese chipped in seven points of her own in eight minutes off the bench.

Per usual, graduate student guard Dorothy Adomako was a major contributor on offense with eight points as well.

The defeat leaves Georgetown in ninth place in the Big East. They have four regular season conference games remaining before the Big East tournament. Winning the conference tournament now looks to be their only hope at a postseason bid.

With sufficient time to regroup following the tough road stint, the Hoyas will return home to face the Pirates on Friday, Feb. 22 for their next matchup. Georgetown will then welcome St. John’s just two days later before heading back on the road to close out the regular season against Butler and Xavier.

going nine minutes without scoring. At the half, Georgetown was in a 38-16 hole.

The Hoyas faced an uphill battle as they left the locker room. Villanova opened the half on an 11-1 run to virtually put the game away. Given the shooting performance by the Wildcats, it would have been hard for the Hoyas to mount any sort of comeback.

The Wildcats made 17-of-18 from the floor in the third quarter. With just one quarter remaining, the scoreboard read 77-30.

With the game undoubtedly out of reach, Georgetown managed five field goals, while Villanova only hit four in the final frame. The margin from the the third quarter essentially did not change as the game winded down.

The Hoyas walked away with a 91-43 loss. For the game, the Blue and Gray shot just 27 percent from the floor, while the Wildcats shot nearly 65 percent.

Despite the loss, there were

The Hoyas built a bigger lead off the hot start from McClung. With 2:20 before halftime, Akinjo nailed a three-pointer, and sophomore guard Jamorko Pickett followed with another, putting the Hoyas up 14 points.

By halftime, Georgetown led 42-32.

Despite McClung’s stellar individual performance, he passed off the credit to the rest of his team.

“We were just running and moving the ball around and it happened to get to me a couple times, and I made a couple, but it’s all my teammates finding me,” McClung said.

Coming out of halftime, Villanova cut the Georgetown lead to single digits. With 15:34 left, Villanova junior guard Phil Booth hit a threepointer to cut the deficit to 50-43.

Georgetown responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, capped by a three-pointer by Govan to put the Hoyas up 58-43 and bring the fans to their feet.

In Georgetown’s matchup with the Wildcats earlier this season on Feb. 3, Govan fouled out of the game with zero points. This time though, he was out for revenge.

“Last time we played, I was scoreless. So I definitely came in with a chip on my shoulder in the game,” Govan said.

“I think I was just staying aggressive.”

Georgetown went on to take a 19-point lead with 5:05 left after a layup by senior forward Kaleb Johnson and free throws by McClung. Late in the game, trying to gain extra possessions, Villanova applied a full-court press.

While the Wildcats induced turnovers, the Hoyas won in transition and never let the

lead dip below 12 points for the rest of the game.

The Hoyas went on to defeat their Big East nemesis 8573, and they now sit behind Villanova at fifth in the Big East standings. Ewing understood the gravity of this win.

“This was a must-win for us against a very good team and great coach,” Ewing said.

“They share the ball extremely well, and I thought that my guys stepped up.”

For the game, Georgetown led Villanova in rebounds and points in the paint. The Hoyas gave a strong defensive effort, holding the Wildcats to under 39 percent shooting from the floor and 24 percent shooting from three-point range, well below their season averages.

McClung highlighted the importance of having the right game plan and mentality, especially against a highly ranked opponent.

“We were just more alert.

We know they can shoot the ball. We were coached well and strategized to defend the three-pointer and close them out,” McClung said. “We focused on not mentally going out, not mentally losing focus during the possession.”

The Hoyas have little time for celebration, as they return to action Saturday. Four of the team’s last five regular season games are on the road before the Big East tournament. Ewing spoke about the upcoming matchups and his team’s growth going forward.

“We have to build on this.

It can’t just be a one-game thing. We have five more games to go, and our dreams and our goals are to make the NCAA tournament,” Ewing said.

Georgetown will return to action Saturday when it faces Creighton in Omaha, Neb. The game will be covered on FOX starting at 2:30 p.m.

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AMY LI/THE HOYA

Freshman point guard Mac McClung, left, hauls in a rebound, while teammates junior guard Jagan Mosley and freshman guard James Akinjo look on. McClung led the way for the Hoyas with 21 points in Georgetown’s 12-point defeat of No. 17 Villanova on Feb. 20.

DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT?

Is Super Bowl LIII Brady’s Greatest Feat?

ZANGWILL, from A12

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because of a later Super Bowl defeat, I present to you Exhibit B for Brady’s greatest achievement.

In the 2015 Super Bowl, Brady faced the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, who had the best defense in the NFL and one of the best of all time. The previous year, the Seahawks had held superstar quarterback Peyton Manning to just one touchdown.

Entering the game’s fourth quarter, Brady seemed likely to suffer a similar fate. But down by 10 points, Brady led his offense down the field twice, throwing two touchdowns to bring his game total to four.

Perhaps even this performance is not thoroughly convincing of Brady’s illustrious and long-reaching Super Bowl past.

In 2016, Brady fought off the adversity and public humiliation of being suspended for the first four games. In Brady’s 12 starts, the Patriots went 11-1. Meanwhile, he threw 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions, the best single-season touchdown-to-interception ratio ever.

Narrowing your focus to the Super Bowl later that season, Brady’s name appears again and again in the record books. Without an injured tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots were down 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons deep into the third quarter. ESPN projected their chance of victory at 0.2 percent.

Brady made the most of these odds, leading his offense to score 25 points in the remainder of regulation on four different possessions.

He capped the comeback off

with a touchdown drive in overtime that won the game.

In doing so, he set the record for most passing yards in a Super Bowl. However, this record was broken the following year — by Tom Brady.

While [Brady] played a part in the Patriots’ most recent Super Bowl victory, it was a relatively minor accolade on a list too long to count.

This game, like many other Brady classics, was far more impressive than the last one

against the Rams, in which Brady failed to throw a touchdown.

Brady’s best Super Bowls were the four in which he won MVP, not the one earlier this month in which he had a 24.4 quarterback record. Over the course of the season, that would have ranked as the worst rating of all qualifying quarterbacks.

Brady has had a extensive and storied career. You can take your pick of any of the achievements that make him the greatest of all time. While he played a part in the Patriots’ most recent Super Bowl victory, it was a relatively minor accolade on a list too long to count. Mistakes by the Rams played larger roles, as did a dominant Patriots’ defense. To elevate this game diminishes Brady’s prior achievements. Bayless is not doing his favorite football player any favors.

Sports

Men’s Lacrosse Georgetown (2-0) vs. Towson (2-0) Saturday, Feb. 23, 12 p.m.

Cooper Field

FRIDAY, FEBR UARY 22, 2019

Senior attack Taylor Gebhart buried two goals to give the Hoyas their second straight win with a 10-7 victory over Towson.

See A10

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NUMBERS GAME

TALKING POINTS

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

“

It felt great to beat the defending national champions. I think it’s a sign of things to come.”

Senior center Jessie Govan

10

Georgetown’s win over Villanova snaps a 10-game losing streak against the Wildcats.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Hoyas Stun Defending National Champs MATT SACHS

Hoya Staff Writer

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Senior guard Dionna White steps back on the right wing. White is the Hoyas’ second leading scorer this season, averaging nearly 15 points.

Georgetown Drops Big East Road Game BRENDAN DOLAN Hoya Staff Writer

Following back-to-back road losses, the Georgetown women’s basketball team looked to end a two-week losing streak and return to the team’s winning ways.

However, this task would not come easily, as Georgetown faced another test on the road against conference rival Villanova.

The Hoyas (11-14, 5-9 Big East) were outmatched from the game’s tipoff, as they were pounded by the Wildcats (16-9, 7-7 Big East) 91-43, surrendering the most points in a game this season in the process.

In their first meeting of the season Jan. 19, the Hoyas managed to hold off the Wildcats at home for a five-point

win. Since this meeting, Villanova has rattled off four wins in its last six games, and has only lost to the conference’s top teams, Marquette and DePaul.

From early on in the first quarter, the Hoyas played from behind, as they found themselves down 21-10 after shooting just 23 percent in the opening frame. The Wildcats’ fast start on offense foreshadowed the type of performance they would have for the remaining three quarters.

The struggles continued in the second quarter as Villanova knocked down shots and backed up their 21 first quarter points with 17 in the second.

The Hoyas could not climb out of their offensive slump, See WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, A11

In front of a packed home crowd, the Georgetown men’s basketball team ended its two-game losing streak and pulled off a season-altering upset over No. 17 Villanova on Wednesday.

The victory marks Georgetown Head Coach Patrick Ewing’s (CAS ’85) first coaching win against a ranked opponent in his tenure on the Hilltop. It is also the first for the Hoyas (16-10, 6-7 Big East) against the Wildcats (20-7, 11-3 Big East) since the 2014-15 season, making it the first of senior center Jessie Govan’s career.

“They were the last team I hadn’t taken out in the Big East. It felt great to ... beat the defending national champions,” Govan said in a postgame interview with GUHoyas. “I think it’s a sign of things to come, and this program will keep getting better and better. We’re working on getting Georgetown back to national prevalence.”

Georgetown was led by its top two leading scorers, Govan and freshman guard Mac McClung, who scored 21 points each. McClung dominated the first half with 17 points after making his first five shots to start the game.

He also drained five consecutive three-pointers in the first frame. Govan scored 15 of his points in the second half, helping to close out the Wildcats down the stretch.

In a battle featuring the Big East’s top offense, in Georgetown and the conference’s top defense in Villanova, the Hoyas maintained Ewing’s fast-

AMY LI/THE HOYA

Freshman guard Mac McClung, left, drives to the hoop past Villanova defender Collin Gillespie. McClung had 21 points and four assists in the 85-73 victory over the Wildcats on Feb. 20 in Capital One Arena. paced offensive style to take the edge. Georgetown led in points off turnovers and fastbreak points.

“They want to play slow. We want to play fast,” Ewing said.

“When they scored, we didn’t

MEN’S LACROSSE

GU Rolls Past Robert Morris at Home HENRY MIHM

Hoya Staff Writer

The No. 16 Georgetown men’s lacrosse team continued its strong start to the season with a 14-11 win over Robert Morris University.

Georgetown’s (2-0) offense was led by its usual stalwarts, junior attack Jake Carraway and senior attack Daniel Bucaro, who both put up a team-high six points. Senior midfielder Lucas Wittenberg took advantage of Robert

Morris’ zone defense, which gave him space to utilize his strong outside shot and put up three goals along with an assist. Junior midfielder Massimo Bucci had a career-high three points, while senior defensive midfielder Patrick Aslanian, senior attack Robert Clark and freshman attack Dylan Watson all tallied a goal each.

Aslanian was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end as well, scooping up six ground balls and causing

five turnovers, marking the highest caused turnover total for any Hoya since 2017.

Sophomore goalie Owen McElroy posted 15 saves on the way to his second consecutive win and contributed an assist on Aslanian’s goal. The defensive unit was anchored by sophomore defenseman Gibson Smith, who collected a teamleading seven ground balls.

Both teams got off to a hot start in the first quarter. Robert Morris took a 3-1 lead in the game’s first five minutes,

but Georgetown fought back with two straight goals. Clark put away the equalizer on a feed from Carraway, who became the 25th Hoya in history to reach the 100-point milestone with the assist. The teams then traded goals, but Robert Morris scored twice before the end of the quarter, one of which found the back of the net with just 0:01 left on the clock to give the Colonials a 6-4 lead.

See ROBERT MORRIS, A11

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Freshman midfield Declan McDermott, left, dodges from the right side of the field against Robert Morris. He finished with three shots on goal in the game. Georgetown improves to 2-0 with the 14-11 home victory over Robert Morris on Feb. 16.

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just take the ball and walk it up. We tried to push it up, and I thought that that got us going.”

Georgetown started the game hot, shooting 52 percent from the floor in the first half.

Freshman guard James Akinjo and McClung made back-toback three-pointers in the seventh minute to put Georgetown up 15-8.

See VILLANOVA, A11

DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT?

Grant Zangwill

The Best Awards Of Brady’s Career Precede Last Ring The 2019 Super Bowl saw the New England Patriots capture their sixth title in a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. As is the case with nearly every major sporting event, debates about legacies ensued. Perhaps no opinion was more outlandish than the praise ESPN’s Skip Bayless heaped on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after the game.

“When you least expected it, he turned into Michael Jordan,” Bayless said. Bayless was alluding not only to Brady being potentially the most dominant player in the history of his sport, but also his ability to play his best in the game’s biggest moments.

The game was stalled in a three-point tie into the fourth quarter before Brady led his team down the field. Patriots running back Sony Michel ran into the endzone for a touchdown, and the Rams failed to match in the closing minutes.

Bayless focused on the difficult journey Brady survived on the way to the Super Bowl, primarily citing the AFC Conference Championship in Kansas City, which the Patriots won in overtime and in one of the

toughest stadiums for visitors in the NFL. All the while, Brady was without his primary deep threat, wideout Josh Gordon.

Bayless also took to twitter to extend his argument where he stated that “This [Super Bowl] is Tom Brady’s greatest achievement.”

Brady has been competing in Super Bowls for nearly two decades and, not to knock Brady, this year’s was far from his best. This Super Bowl — and the run that preceded it — was not a result of a particularly special performance by the Patriots’ signal caller. Other seasons and games are definitely more noteworthy.

In the 2007-08 season, for example, New England went 16-0 in the regular season, the only team to ever complete such a feat since the length of the season was extended to 16 games.

In the process, they won each game by an average of over 19 points. Brady was nearly perfect throughout the year, throwing 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

Should you choose to discount the entire 2007 season See ZANGWILL, A11