GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 101, No. 11, © 2019
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019
Dining on a Dime
Discover the affordable local restaurants and programs that offer delicious meals without breaking the bank.
EDITORIAL Georgetown should partner with scooter companies to lower prices.
ELEVATOR PITFALLS Repairs are underway after a visiting researcher was trapped in a Lau elevator.
OPINION, A2
NEWS, A5
Women’s, LGBTQ GU Halts Hong Kong Study Abroad Centers Now Share Executive Director AMY LI AND KATRINA SCHMIDT Hoya Staff Writers
CADY STANTON Hoya Staff Writer
Shiva Subbaraman, director of the LGBTQ Resource Center, will concurrently serve as executive director of the Georgetown University Women’s Center effective immediately, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson. Subbaraman’s appointment as director of the Women’s Center comes over a year after former Director Laura Kovach resigned in October 2018. The center, which provides support, programming and resources for women on campus,
has not had a director since Kovach’s departure. Three undergraduate students working at the center have maintained its operations, two of whom were hired this semester, as The Hoya reported in October. Subbaraman’s term as dual executive director became effective as of Nov. 12, and she will continue to report directly to Olson, as she did as the LGBTQ Center’s director, according to an email Olson sent to The Hoya. Subbaraman has served as director of the LGBTQ Center, See WOMEN’S CENTER, A6
FILE PHOTO: JULIA ALVEY/THE HOYA
After a year without a permanent executive director, the Women’s Center will be concurrently led by the LGBTQ Resource Center director.
Fifteen Georgetown students studying abroad in Hong Kong this semester have been told to leave the city after announcements Nov. 13 that the programs would end early because of ongoing political unrest in the city. Georgetown students are enrolled in two programs in Hong Kong: 11 students are studying at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and four students are studying at City University of Hong Kong through a Syracuse University program, according to Georgetown University spokesperson Meghan Dubyak. Protests have rocked Hong Kong for months, but within the last week, the previously isolated demonstrations have reached universities. The Chinese University announced the shortening of its term and cancellation of all classes, effective immediately, and Syracuse University emailed students to share that it is ending its fall program early. Students in Syracuse’s program were given until Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. to check out of their student housing. The protests escalated rapidly in recent days, according to Livvy Gordon (SFS ’21), who was studying at the Chinese University. “Once the protests spread to university campuses, the
situation changed dramatically,” Gordon wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Within 3 days, the semester abruptly ended and we received notice to leave Hong Kong.” In February, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam introduced legislation that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited from Hong Kong, which ignited massive protests across the city as residents grew concerned that the mainland Chinese government would abuse the bill. Lam has since withdrawn the bill, but demonstrations have continued as protesters call for institutional reforms in Hong Kong, such as addressing police brutality and increasing democratic freedom. Frustrated by the lack of governmental response, more protesters have begun resorting to more violent forms of protest, including firing arrows at police officers. Officers have been using harsher measures to counter that violence, which has resulted in multiple civilian deaths in the past week, according to BBC News. The dramatic escalation of the protests, along with a fire on City University’s campus, drove Syracuse’s decision to cancel its program, according to Darcy Palder (COL ’21). (Full disclosure: Palder formerly served as an Opinion assistant for The Hoya). “After the death of one of the protesters, the protests have escalated. Our classes
were canceled for three days in a row,” Palder wrote in a message to The Hoya. “And then one night, the whole program was sitting together and we found out that one of the buildings in our university was set on fire and we knew we were going home.”
“I can leave when things get hard, but the protesters and the citizens of Hong Kong cannot.” DARCY PALDER (COL ’21) Hong Kong Study Abroad Student
As violence has moved closer to the campuses, students have been instructed to stay indoors as much as possible, a nearby Mass Transit Railway station is burning and food shortages have developed at local cafeterias, known as canteens, according to Gordon. “Police are launching round after round of teargas on campus, the University MTR station is on fire, all entrances to the school are inaccessible by car, and the streets are covered in chairs, traffic cones, umbrellas, and anything else that can serve as a projectile,” Gordon wrote. “Food supply is a serious issue, as canteens now have very limited hours
due to low staff and delivery of produce to the university is incredibly challenging.” City University, where Syracuse’s program is located, has not canceled its classes for the rest of the term, as of Nov. 15. Classes were cancelled from Nov. 14 until the 17 and City University’s term ends on Nov. 30, according to its website. City University is working with Syracuse to ensure all directly enrolled international students will be able to complete their coursework remotely, according to an email to students from Mary Fedorko, Syracuse Abroad’s admissions counselor for Hong Kong, obtained by The Hoya. Georgetown will also work with its students to support them in completing their semester’s coursework, according to Dubyak. “Once students have been safely relocated, the University will work with them to ensure that they are able to complete the remainder of their academic coursework remotely,” Dubyak wrote in an email to The Hoya. Though academic flexibility will allow students to complete the semester, Syracuse has not provided adequate support for students in other areas. The program has failed to assist students needing to rapidly make flight plans, according to Palder. University insurance will See HONG KONG, A6
GUSA Senator Steps Down Amid Ethics, Oversight Reform HARRISON MCBRIDE AND RILEY ROGERSON Hoya Staff Writers
Zev Burton (SFS ’22), a Georgetown University Student Association senator and the senate ethics and oversight committee chair, resigned Nov. 11. Burton, who was elected senator in April 2019, announced his resignation in an email to the GUSA senate Monday afternoon, citing senaterelated disputes and personal circumstances. As the ethics and oversight committee chair, Burton monitored senators’ attendance records at meetings and tracked potential conflicts of interest within GUSA. The former Ethics and Oversight Vice Chair Chris Ziac (SFS ’22) will assume Burton’s responsibilities as chair of the committee. Though Burton counts GUSA as a highlight of his Georgetown experience, the organization also took an emotional toll on him, he wrote in the Nov. 11 email to the GUSA senate obtained by The Hoya. “When I expected help I found pushback, when I asked to learn I was berated, and when I tried to do my job I was disrespected,” Burton wrote. “To be blunt, I did
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not feel treated well and I was frequently frustrated. I didn’t come to Georgetown or run for GUSA to be locked up in petty disagreements.” Some senators pushed back on the policies of the ethics and oversight committee, making the role of chair difficult, according to Burton. “It was very hard for me to be kind of the cop in the oversight measure because people don’t like when others hold them accountable,” Burton said in an interview with The Hoya.
“When I expected help I found pushback, when I asked to learn I was berated, and when I tried to do my job I was disrespected.” ZEV BURTON (SFS ’22) Former GUSA Senator
Burton’s perception of the senate atmosphere is not universal. The environment within this year’s senate fostered support and success, according to GUSA Senate Speaker Juan
Martinez (SFS ’20). “While the Senate has had some passionate debates this year, it is my perception that they have remained respectful and the work of the Senate has actually benefited from them,” Martinez wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I believe it is this atmosphere that has allowed the Senate to thrive, passing various bills on important matters and collaborating internally to achieve our policy objectives.” As chair, Burton helped usher in a series of reforms on the ethics and oversight committee, including changing the structure to include GUSA executive and student body representative voting members. On Nov. 10, the day before his resignation, Burton introduced a second bill aiming to codify new ethics and oversight committee absence policies and resulting consequences. Burton planned to rework the ethics and oversight committee to become a resource for senators instead of a disciplinary body but found those aspirations to be unattainable, he said. “I wanted to make ethics and oversight more like a human resources department, See GUSA SENATE, A6
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Student activist group Hoyas for Immigrant Rights organized a walkout Nov. 8 from Healy Lawn to Dupont Circle before many participants departed for the Supreme Court ahead of a major DACA case hearing.
Student Activist Groups Hold Walkout Over DACA Case JAIME MOORE-CARRILLO Hoya Staff Writer
Over 100 Georgetown University students advocated for immigrants without documentation in a walkout Nov. 8 before a Supreme Court hearing on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program Tuesday. The #HomeIsHere Walkout was hosted by Hoyas For Immigrant Rights and co-sponsored by over 40 other student clubs and university organizations.
The HFIR-led walkout was part of the national #HomeIsHere movement, which advocates for the preservation of DACA. The Friday walkout had 157 attendees, according to HFIR President Arisaid Gonzalez Porras (COL ’21). DACA, a policy introduced by former President Barack Obama in 2012, provides protections to immigrants who arrived in the country without documentation before the age of 16. The rights included in the legislation encompass eli-
gibility for work permits and renewable protection from deportation. An estimated 700,000 individuals in the United States are DACA recipients, according to U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. President Donald Trump announced plans to dismantle DACA in 2017. After numerous lawsuits, including those by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Regents of the See DACA, A6
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
Tuition Roundtable The university will likely not implement a tuition freeze in the near future, as tuition rates are set to rise for the ninth consecutive year. A8
Accept Refugees Haley Talati (COL ’20) urges conservative Christians to look to the Bible as a guide for welcoming refugees. A3
Shootout Shining Men’s soccer defeated Butler 3-2 in a shootout to advance to the Big East final against Providence. A12
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
Veterans Day at GU Members of the Georgetown community gathered on Copley Lawn on Nov. 11 to celebrate Veterans Day. A9
Okay Bloomberg Derek Tassone (COL ’22) urges former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) not to join the presidential race. A3
Over Before It Started Starting with a 25-7 deficit plagued men’s basketball’s chance of victory in a 81-66 home loss to Penn State. A12
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