The Hoya: October 19, 2018

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 100, No. 8, © 2018

FRIday, october 19, 2018

Champions of Change

See how LGBTQ student activism has influenced the administration and changed the campus conversation.

EDITORIAL Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying sheds a harsh light on dangers faced by journalists globally.

WUERL RESIGNS Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

Faculty Petitions Mold Pervades Housing, Threatens Health Provost for Equal Parental Leave MYROSLAV DOBrOSHYSKYI Special to The Hoya

KATRINA SCHMIDT Hoya Staff Writer

A petition to increase the parental leave of non-tenureline faculty to equal that of tenure-line faculty is being “seriously considered” by the university, after 282 individuals signed the petition as of its Oct. 15 closing date. Full-time non-tenure-line faculty members, which includes about 300 assistant, associate and full professors, are entitled to eight weeks of paid maternity leave, while tenure-line faculty members are eligible for one semester of paid maternal and paternal leave.

On Oct. 12, the chair of the Joint Main Campus Committee on Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Issues and two signatories of the petition delivered it to the Office of the President and met with Vice President and Chief of Staff Joseph Ferrara. On Monday, the petition was delivered to the Office of the Provost. The petition asks for the allotted eight weeks to be increased to a semester for fulltime non-tenure-line faculty and include maternal and paternal leave. Created by the Joint Main Campus Committee See PARENTAL LEAVE, A7

ALEXANDRA BOWMAN FOR THE HOYA

Sylvia Önder, left, Clare Fieseler (SFS ’06) and Astrid Weigert delivered the petition to the Office of the President on Oct. 12.

Georgetown University students are reporting illness and repeated delays in response by the Office of Facilities and Planning Management to requests for mold removal. In the period from August through October of the fall 2018 semester, the Office of Planning and Facilities Management responded to 361 work requests relating to mold, according to Interim Vice President of Planning and Facilities Management Greg Simmons. For the same period last year, the office addressed 147 requests. Recent weather conditions have exacerbated the prevalence of mold in dormitories, as the District has recorded historic amounts of rainfall this fall, Simmons said. September saw a significant increase in precipitation, up to 9.73 inches this year from just 1.43 inches last September. Village C, Darnall Hall and Village A have had the most requests so far this semester. The Office of Residential Living and the Office of Planning and Facilities Management are collaborating to resolve student mold concerns and to try to expedite remediation efforts, according to Simmons. “Senior management from our facilities office reviews all requests relating to mold and directs safety managers to conduct mold assessments within two business days,” Simmons wrote in an email to The Hoya. Exposure to mold can pose various health risks, especially to those who are sensitive to the issue. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website,

KIKI SCHMALFUSS FOR THE HOYA

Georgetown University’s Office of Planning and Facilities Management has responded to 361 mold-related work requests since August 2018, with students reporting unsafe living conditions and health concerns. “molds can cause nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing or wheezing, eye irritation, or, in some cases, skin irritation.” Sarah Mendelsohn (COL ’21) and her roommate, Deepika Jonnalagadda (COL ’21) noticed mold in their closets and drawers and on their clothing in their LXR Hall dorm room Sept. 28. (Full disclosure: Mendelsohn and Jon-

CSP Celebrates 50th Anniversary

nalagadda are news desk editors at The Hoya). The two immediately called facilities so the issue could be addressed. Facilities sent someone Sept. 30, two days later, to look at the mold and informed the two that a health inspector would need to examine the room. After Mendelsohn called facilities six times in the following two days with no response, her

mother called to report the issue. An inspector came Oct. 3. If a facilities visual inspection uncovers mold, cleanup occurs the same day: Professionals disinfect the room and complete HighEfficiency Particulate Air vacuuming to get rid of the mold spores, Simmons said. See MOLD, A6

SHEPARD INTERRED

Community Scholars Program offers support for first-generation students MEENA MORAR Hoya Staff Writer

Since the Community Scholars Program was first proposed in 1964, it has grown from a small, faculty funded program supporting five local students to a large institutional presence serving at least 50 new students from across the United States each year. The program is celebrating 50 years since its official creation in 1968 this month, culminating in alumni reuniting Oct. 5. Housed in the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access, CSP is a five-week summer program for incoming first-generation and low-income students, aimed at aiding their transition to higher education, according to the CMEA website. The current cohort of scholars includes 75 first-generation and lowincome students from across the country. CSP students take two courses in the summer and attend orientation workshops to build connections with other students and professors, according to CSP Senior Academic Advisor Elizabeth Velez. “In terms of Georgetown’s vision, [CSP] is working with the whole student,” Velez

featured

said. “It’s not just academic — it’s social, cultural. In the summer, they get to know their deans, their financial aid officers. To know how to navigate the system is part of what we’re doing in the program.” The attention paid to students’ lives outside of academics may just be paying

“The backbone of the program is the ability to have these close mentor-mentee relationships.” Omaris Caceres (NHS ’20) Community Scholar

dividends in students’ success in the classroom: CSP has a 91 percent graduation rate, 32 percentage points higher than the national graduation rate, according to a university news release. Both a participant in CSP and a former residential assistant for the program, Omaris Caceres (NHS ’20) feels like

the program provides an intentionality often missed in higher education. “Georgetown is recognizing that most students come to campus with a toolbox full of tools that they can use,” Caceres said. “That includes how to do office hours, how to take a test, how to interact with professors — tools that people usually have coming into college. Georgetown is recognizing that scholars who are usually first generation, come from low income backgrounds, are coming in with an empty toolbox, and Community Scholars is the opportunity to fill it because we haven’t really had the chance to collect them.” The 50th anniversary celebration featured a day full of panel talks on the program’s legacy and a reception, giving previous alumni a chance to reconnect with each other, CSP Director Devita Bishundat said. “We brought together alums through the years, as well as current students, folks who have taught in the program, to really pay homage to the folks that laid the ground work for this program,” Bishundat said. “Being able to honor that when this program started, it was because of faculty and staff and

students who gave money out of their pocket.” The first year of the program granted $45,000 in scholarships to five black students from Washington, D.C., according to a 1968 university news release. The funds were donated by 90 lay and 40 Jesuit professors in a drive organized by English professor Raymond Reno. At the time, only 40 black students were enrolled at the university. The deep connections and history of CSP allow students the ability to maintain close relationships with other students and mentors throughout their time at Georgetown and beyond, Caceres said. “The backbone of the program is the ability to have these close mentor-mentee relationships with so many different people,” Caceres said. “I actually met graduates who are succeeding and making money, and proved to me that people haven’t been lying to me this whole time. They had the same tools and access to things that I do, so I’ll be able to reach that too.” The program itself has shifted and grown significantly from its inception, according to Velez. “In 1968, Georgetown See CSP, A6

MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION

Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in a hate crime in 1998, will be interred at the Washington National Cathedral on Oct. 26.

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Warner Warns of Cyber Attacks Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) spoke on the threat of cyberwarfare at an event Tuesday night. A5

Listening to Survivors A survivor of sexual assault in the Georgetown neighborhood shares their story. A3

Conference Success The Georgetown football team defeated Lafayette last weekend to earn its second straight Patriot League victory. A12

NEWS Drive for Thrive DC

opinion Ban Tobacco Sales

SPORTS Overtime Win

Magis Row hosted a drive to collect feminine hygiene products for Thrive D.C., a local nonprofit that serves Ward 1. A9 Published Fridays

By selling tobacco products on campus, The Corp is enabling risky behavior. A3

Senior forward Caitlin Farrell scored the game-winning goal in the women’s soccer team’s victory over Providence. A12 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com


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