The Hoya: March 22, 2019

Page 1

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 100, No. 22, © 2019

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

The Women’s Issue

Explore The Guide’s special issue, chronicling the legacy of women in arts and culture on the Hilltop and beyond.

EDITORIAL Georgetown must reduce summer housing costs for students with financial need.

CAREERS AFTER COLLEGE Nearly half of Georgetown students pursue finance or consulting work after graduation.

OPINION, A2

FEATURE, A4

Petition Calls for Punishment Law Center Expands Of Falsely Admitted Students Campus Near Capitol Hill SANA RAHMAN AND RILEY ROGERSON Hoya Staff Writers

An online petition calling for Georgetown University to revoke the degrees and admission of all current and former students involved in the college admissions bribery scheme has gained 16,678 signatures as of press time. Georgetown alumnus and admissions interviewer Mickey Lee (COL ’05) tweeted the petition March 13. The petition refers to a U.S. Department of Justice indictment of 50 parents and athletic coaches involved in an admissions bribery scheme, where parents bribed athletic coaches at eight selective universities to secure their children’s admission. The March 12 indictment charged former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst with accepting $2.7 million in bribes for fraudulently recruiting 12 applicants for competitive tennis teams. The indictment also named five Georgetown parents. The scandal reveals the inequality in the admissions process, according to Lee. “People can definitely buy their way legally into the school or make it very favorable to the admissions process by donating enough money to buy a building and having it in their name,” Lee said in a phone in-

terview with The Hoya. “I think it sucks, but that’s just the nature of it, but this is so obviously and blatantly illegal.” The petition comes after the University of Southern California rescinded the admission of six students implicated in the scandal March 14, according to The Washington Post. Georgetown has the opportunity to lead other institutions involved in the scheme by quickly revoking admission and the degrees, according to Lee.

“Kids who were involved in this scandal are kind of taking away the spots of people who have worked really, really hard.” YALDA ZARRABI Prospective Georgetown student

“If we take action, I think we can set the standard instead of just waiting for Stanford to do something or USC to do something. I think that we should be the first to do it to show that, you know, we are serious about this and we want to clear our name and we want to show the world that our university means business and we’re clean, you know, to the extent that we can be,” Lee said. “The

world is really watching.” The university will not comment on any disciplinary action against the students who were allegedly admitted to Georgetown with fraudulent applications because of protections offered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill. FERPA is a federal law that protects the confidentiality of student education records. The university is committed to equitable admissions and will take action if necessary, University President John J. DeGioia wrote in a March 15 campuswide email. “Now that the government’s investigation has detailed the extent of the alleged fraud, we are reviewing the indictment and will take appropriate action,” DeGioia wrote. “We have no indication that any other Georgetown employees were involved.” The university also disclosed that it had enacted measures in December 2018 to mitigate fraud for student-athlete applicants, including restrictions on gifts and fundraising as well as audits to determine whether recruited studentathletes appear on rosters, according to a FAQ page posted on the university website. The university has also hired a third party to conduct an audit of athletic recruiting and See ADMISSIONS, A6

RILEY ROGERSON Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University purchased a full block of property half a mile from the U.S. Capitol Building on March 18, less than two months after Johns Hopkins University acquired the Newseum Building. With this new property at 500 First St. NW, Georgetown plans to expand the Georgetown University Law Center campus, house administrative offices and accommodate graduate programs. The $70 million purchase follows a push by U.S. universities including the University of California, New York University and Arizona State University to expand student programs to Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post. The physical proximity of the property grants students greater exposure to the nation’s political center, according to Law Center Dean William Treanor. “The building location is ideal, located just steps from the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court,” Treanor wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It also allows the Law Center to expand its footprint, completing a city block for the University.” The building will house space for new academic programs, including the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, the largest center focused on artificial intelligence and security policy in the country.

The Capitol Applied Learning Lab, which offers undergraduate students internship opportunities and provides academic opportunities related to policy and public service, will also begin operating in the new building in spring 2019. The location is set to facilitate CALL student’s integration in downtown D.C., according to Randall Bass, vice provost for education and a CALL administrator. “The whole purpose of the CALL is to create a place downtown that

can be a nexus for student immersion experiences in internships and related opportunities,” Bass wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Having the building is critical for that. It will serve as the home base for the cohort of students at the CALL.” The redesign of the building plans to involve student input, according to Bass. “We want to make it as comfortable and multi-functional as See NEW BUILDING, A6

SHEEL PATEL/THE HOYA

Georgetown University’s Monday purchase of a property in the Capitol Hill area closely follows a similar acquisition by Johns Hopkins University.

New GUSA Execs Stress Approachability Circulator Buses To Remain Free, Bowser Announces CADY STANTON Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University Student Association President Norman Francis Jr. (COL ’20) and Vice President Aleida Olvera (COL ’20) are emphasizing approachability and student engagement as they begin their term in the GUSA executive. The pair were sworn in March 16 following the GUSA

senate’s confirmation of the election results Feb. 10. Francis and Olvera were elected Feb. 8 by a margin of 40 votes, narrowly defeating solo candidate Nicki Gray (NHS ’20) in an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in seven years. Francis and Olvera’s priorities for the semester follow their campaign pillars of diversity, transparency and academic accessibility.

The executives said they will increase opportunities for students to engage with GUSA during their term. “That’s one thing that we really want to do is make sure we are as approachable as possible,” Francis said. “So another thing that we want to start implementing is town halls that we’ve seen from other executives, most recently the last elected executives, that was one thing that they

FILE PHOTO: AMBER GILLETTE/THE HOYA

Aleida Olvera (COL ’20), left, and Norman Francis Jr. (COL ’20) plan to prioritize student outreach and diversity after being inaugurated into the Georgetown University Student Association executive March 16.

FEATURED

wanted to implement and that’s something that we’re looking to as well.” Francis and Olvera are replacing former GUSA President Juan Martinez (SFS ’20) and former GUSA Vice President Kenna Chick (SFS ’20). The biggest challenge facing the new executives is translating their plan for incorporating student voices into action, Martinez said in his March 14 exit interview with The Hoya. Francis and Olvera, who ran on a platform of transparency, reform, accessibility and progress, abbreviated as T.R.A.P., hoped to prioritize outreach to student groups and focused on diversity while assembling their senior staff over the past couple of weeks. “One thing that we really tried to make a thing was trying to reach out to as many student groups as possible,” Francis said. “Also, we tried to message out to different student groups, especially cultural groups, so that they knew that this was an option that they could look into and that they were able to apply.” The pair hopes to promote diverse candidates to run for the April 11 elections to the GUSA senate during their term, according to Olvera. “Especially when time for See FRANCIS/OLVERA, A6

YOLANDA SPURA Hoya Staff Writer

The D.C. Circulator Bus, which provides transportation across six different routes in the District and Rosslyn, Va., will continue to provide service to riders free of charge indefinitely, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced during the State of the District address Monday. The Circulator began operating for free Feb. 1 as part of the “#FairShotFebruary” initiative, launched by the mayor’s office to improve access to city services for D.C. residents. The extension comes amid Bowser’s push to improve affordability and accessibility in housing and public transport during her second term in office. Eliminating the Circulator’s cost, which used to be $1 per ride, has helped make public transportation more affordable for residents, who have expressed their desire for the continuation of the program, Bowser said in her address. “We may not think about it, because it’s just a dollar each way, two dollars a day, but for a working person, it adds up,” Bowser said in her address.

Bowser’s commitment to improving the accessibility of public transport also includes calling on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to reinstate late-night services on the Metro. A strong system of public transport is vital to D.C. residents, according to Bowser. “We know a resilient and sustainable public transportation system is the key to building a resilient and sustainable city,” Bowser said. Late-night Metro hours need to be reinstated to help public transportation cater to workers with varying schedules, Bowser said. In a Feb. 28 vote, the Metro board elected to continue on a reduced-hours schedule, despite a petition circulated by Bowser for the restoration of late hours. “We have always prioritized safety, reliability and building the capacity for Metro,” Bowser said in her address. “So now we need a commitment from Metro that they will return to latenight hours and that they will not become a system that only caters to white-collar workers commuting from the suburbs.” See CIRCULATOR, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Modelling Africa’s Economy International economists argued that developing countries are unlikely to adopt U.S. economic models March 19. A8

End Scandal Mockery Students should show compassion to those implicated in the college admissions scandal. A3

Dragon Slayers Behind senior attack Dan Bucaro’s five goals, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team defeated the Drexel Dragons 13-10 Sunday. A12

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Black Female Empowerment The fourth annual BRAVE summitt provided women of color with tools for effective activism March 16. A7

Reject Islamophobia Rebuff white nationalism in solidarity with Muslim communities in light of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. A3

Hoyas Fall in Postseason A promising men’s basketball season came to a close in a three-point loss to the Harvard Crimson on Wednesday. A12

Published Fridays

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Hoya: March 22, 2019 by The Hoya - Issuu