The Hoya: February 24, 2017 by The Hoya

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

FRIday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

HISTORY ON DISPLAY

The Booth Family Center in Lauinger Library is a hidden gem of historic archives.

EDITORIAL Georgetown’s condemnation of the immigration ban needs more action.

IN MEMORY OF THE 272 A student initiative is raising funds to restore tombstones of slaves sold by GU.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

GUIDE, B2

Mack, Andino Win GUSA Election in Narrow Victory Ian Scoville and Tara Subramaniam Hoya Staff Writers

Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and Jessica Andino (COL ’18) won the Georgetown University Student Association election early this morning, narrowly defeating Garet Williams (COL ’18) and Habon Ali (COL ’18) by 34 votes, the closest margin in recent electoral history. Mack and Andino received 50.74 percent — 1,160 votes — in the final round, with Williams and Ali receiving 49.26 percent — 1,126 votes. The Mack-Andino ticket, which ran with the vision of “A Fresh GUSA,” focused on making a Georgetown education more affordable, improving mental health resources and spurring entrepreneurship on campus. Both Mack and Andino joined GUSA two semesters ago in the spring of 2016. Mack was the only sophomore candidate in a race of three other junior presidential candidates. Mack currently serves as secretary of Local Education

Affairs within the Federal Relations Committee while Andino is the chair of the Undocumented Student Policy Team. Upon hearing the result, Mack and his campaign headed to the White House after a short celebration in Ryan Hall and Freedom Hall. At Monday evening’s GUSA presidential debate, John Matthews (COL ’18) and Nick Matz (COL ’18) announced their ticket and Mack-Andino had cross-endorsed one another. Matthews and Matz were eliminated in the third round of voting last night, after earning 686 votes. The election was competitive through all four rounds of voting, with Williams and Ali leading through the first three rounds of voting. The Williams-Ali ticket led with 958 votes, followed by Mack and Andino with 829 votes at the end of the third round. Jenny Franke (COL ’18) and Jack McGuire (COL ’18), who did not participate in either of the GUSA debates and did not have an official platform, were the first official ticket to See ELECTION, A6

ELLA WAN FOR THE HOYA

Kamar Mack (COL ’19), center, and Jessica Andino (COL ’18), not pictured, won yesterday’s Georgetown University Student Association executive election by a narrow margin of 34 votes over Garet Williams (COL ’18) and Habon Ali (COL ’18).

Ginsburg Shares Lessons From the Court Justice, biographers discuss highlights from biography Molly Cooke Hoya Staff Writer

STEPHANIE YUAN/THE HOYA

The club funding referendum in December received enough votes to pass, but was invalidated in January.

Invalidated Senate Referendum Secured Enough Votes to Pass Jeff Cirillo and Caroline Hyer Hoya Staff Writer and Special to The Hoya

Last December’s Georgetown University Student Association club funding referendum, which was later invalidated, would have been approved by more than a two-third margin, according to the results released by the Election Commission early Friday morning. The results were voided by the GUSA Constitutional Council Jan. 20 on the grounds that the GUSA senate violated GUSA bylaws by failing to present the details of the referendum to the student body within 14 days of the vote. The referendum, which would have replaced the senate with a proposed assembly, passed with 69 percent in support of club funding reform

featured

and 31 percent against, with a 37 percent turnout. The referendum received support from 25.5 percent of the total undergraduate student body, just over the 25 percent necessary to pass. However, the results remain null and void, and were released only for informational purposes. The petitioners in the original case argued that supporters of the referendum within GUSA mounted an electioneering campaign to influence votes and failed to inform students according to the constitutionally mandated timeline. “While to some people it might seem like a technicality, to me and some other people I’ve talked to, it’s just emblematic of this greater problem of unintentionally misinforming students and not giving them the opportunity to be See COUNCIL, A6

The United States should strive to be a welcoming place for both diversity and the freedom to express one’s views, argued U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a promotional event Thursday evening for her biography, which was co-written by two Georgetown University Law Center professors. At the event, Ginsburg shared the stories behind her court decisions and her career experiences alongside contributing authors and biographers of her book “My Own Words,” professors Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams. Jeffrey Minear, counsel to Chief Justice John Roberts

and executive director of the Fellows Program introduced Ginsburg, Hartnett and Williams along with moderator Nina Totenberg, a National Public Radio reporter who covers the Supreme Court.

“Now when people visit the Supreme Court, they can say, ‘Women are justices, and that’s something I can aspire to.” RUTH BADER GINSBURG Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Totenberg began the discussion by asking about the jus-

tice’s health and famed workout routine, which she does at the Supreme Court gymnasium for one hour twice a week. “Do you still do the medicine ball?” Totenberg asked. “Oh, I do various-sized balls,” Ginsburg replied after inquiring about the definition of a medicine ball. Totenberg asked the biographers for their favorite stories about the justice and excerpts from the book. Williams cited Ginsburg’s writing on the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, which ruled the prohibition of interracial marriage unconstitutional. “It’s one of the shortest ones in there and it’s a little piece on the Loving marriage and Loving case, which she said is one of the most important

cases decided by the Supreme Court,” Williams said. “Ruth wrote this quite a bit before there was ever a movie coming out about it.” Ginsburg argued that the Loving case, along with the Kirchberg v. Feenstra decision overturning Head and Master law — which permitted a husband to have final say about all household decisions — were integral in setting the precedent for the later decision to effectively legalize same-sex marriage in the 2013 United States v. Windsor case, which deemed the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. “Marriage had to become a relationship between equals See GINSBURG, A6

Study Ranks GU Low for Free Speech Matthew Trunko Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University was included in a list of the 10 worst colleges for free speech compiled by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education based on free speech cases the foundation has worked on during the previous year. In a report released Wednesday, FIRE — a nonprofit focused on defending individual liberties at educational institutions — citied an incident last year at Georgetown University Law Center in which students were blocked from campaigning for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on campus. During the September 2015 primary season, GULC’s Office of Student Life rejected

students’ request to table for Sanders outside GULC’s McDonough Hall. The group instead used tables inside the McDonough cafeteria to campaign, but Oct. 13, 2015 — the day of the first Democratic debate — the group was asked to leave by university officials. The university cited that because of its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization under the 501(c)(3) category of the Internal Revenue Code, it could not engage in partisan political campaign activity. FIRE Director of Litigation Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon cited the status of the student group H*yas for Choice, which is not formally recognized by the university, as an additional See SPEECH, A7

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER

The Georgetown University Law Center’s policy against campaigning was criticized as anti-free speech.

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

The Pentagon, Declassified Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg discussed the Pentagon Papers leak at a symposium last Thursday and Friday. A4

Politics in Vogue Women’s magazines have the ability to simultaneously embody an eye for fashion and fiery fearlessness. A3

Hoyas Disappoint Students The men’s basketball team’s recent struggles have left several students upset with current coaching. B10

NEWS Unsung Heroes Expands

opinion Think Responsibly

SPORTS Early Season Woes

Different chapters of the Georgetown student group are starting in universities nationwide. A5

True intellectual valor contains a certain degree of humility and balanced understanding. A3

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

The men’s lacrosse team looks for its first victory of the season, hosting rival Towson on Saturday. B10 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

THE VERDICT

C EDITORIAL Heeding Moral Imperatives C Founded January 14, 1920

Cold Feelings — Iceland President Guðni Jóhannesson told high schoolers that, if the law allowed him, he would ban pineapple toppings on pizza. He later clarified in a statement that he does, in fact, like pineapple — just not on pizza. Winging It — A 5-year-old boy discovered a live chicken in a toilet stall in the bathroom of a McDonald’s in Cobourg, Canada. After verifying the situation, staff called the Municipal Animal Services to remove the chicken. Officials are now conducting an investigation to determine how the chicken ended up here.

C C

Miraculous Awakening — A 17-year-old boy in India woke up on Feb. 20 on the way to his own funeral. He had been written off as dead after being taken off a ventilator due to a viral infection following a bite from a stray dog.

Quaker school, and Wake Forest University, a secular university, both in North Carolina. However, Georgetown’s neighbor, Holy Trinity Parish, successfully welcomed a refugee family of eight from Syria just last week, demonstrating that this community partnership is not just conceivable, but achievable in our community. The university has taken assumed a moral stance by rebuking the travel ban. University President John J. DeGioia has further reinforced the university’s moral imperative by signing letters opposing the order, including ones from the American Council on Education and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. The resolution encourages Georgetown students to contact their representatives to voice their displeasure and urge the administration to formally withdraw the order. However, just as the university asks its students to take action, so too does this editorial board call on the university to take an active role in this issue. A powerful way for the university to show solidarity with affected members of the Georgetown community is to sponsor a refugee family. Moreover, as a Catholic and Jesuit university, we are uniquely called to welcome and love our less fortunate neighbors. There are currently 21 million refugees registered by the United Nations, the highest level of displacement on record, making this one of the worst times in the history of the United States for the Trump administration to try to close its doors. By encouraging students to sign the petition, the university would support the advocacy efforts of students and help honor the human dignity of a family in need. The community should be doubly compelled to support this cause, both as an inclusive, pluralistic university dedicated to standing with all of its students, and as a distinctively Jesuit and Catholic university called to respond with compassion to those in need.

The Georgetown University Faculty Senate, a governing body of 75 full-time faculty members who advise President John DeGioia, approved a resolution last week condemning President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, promising to support and protect all university faculty, staff and students who stand to be harmed by the travel ban. The original order, which was quickly blocked by federal courts, temporarily banned citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen from entering the United States, regardless of visa status, and prevented the admission of all refugees for 120 days. Refugees from Syria were barred from entering the country indefinitely. The language of the resolution is appropriately searing, calling the ban, “unjustified and contrary to American values,” as well as, “an affront to human decency.” More specifically, the resolution says the order contravenes the Jesuit values espoused by the university, including interfaith understanding, community in diversity and respect for the dignity of all human beings. While the resolution established a hard-line political stance on the executive order, the university can translate its moral convictions into action by supporting a student-led initiative to accommodate refugee families. Although the original executive order has been overturned since Feb. 3, the Trump administration is expected to issue a modified ban sometime this week in the hope that it will pass muster with federal courts. Georgetown should serve as an example for Catholic and non-Catholic universities alike by sponsoring a refugee family in need. Citing Pope Francis’ call that all religious communities accommodate one refugee family, a petition launched by Max Rosner (COL ’18) asking for the university to heed Pope Francis’ call has already accrued hundreds of signatures from the Georgetown community. So far, only two U.S. universities have sponsored refugee families: Guilford College, a

Ruff Times Gone Right — After a puppy got trapped in a well Feb. 15, student engineers built a robot arm to rescue him. The puppy, named Kuyu, is now being trained as a rescue dog with the local fire station.

Secret Stash — A Buddhist monk in Myanmar has been arrested and charged with stashing four million methamphetamine pills in his monastery and car. Along with the $4 million worth of drugs, officials also found a grenade and ammunition.

Crazy for Cats — Researchers at University College London have determined that cat ownership is not linked to mental health problems, despite some past studies suggesting that the development of psychotic symptoms may be related to owning cats.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Elinor Walker

Support Distinct Demographics Among the tumult of the Georgetown University Student Association executive race over the past two weeks, a recurring theme dominated the discussions of both candidates and students: affordability. The issue of rising tuition was a fixture of the platforms, presidential debates and opinion pieces published in The Hoya by each of the three main tickets, who all cited affordability as the most pressing issue confronting the university community. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by The Hoya found a 32.3 percent plurality of 535 respondents chose affordability as the most relevant issue of the election, over 10 percent more than the next greatest concern: diversity. These calls come amid the university becoming a founding member of the American Talent Initiative, a new program launched Wednesday dedicated to expanding the number of low- and middleincome students at top-performing undergraduate institutions. While these efforts are laudable, both the incoming GUSA administration and university should develop programs commendable for middleincome students who bear the brunt of tuition hikes without the added resources available to lower-income families. In a Jan. 18 study published in The New York Times, Georgetown ranked 12th in a list of 38 schools with more students in the top 1 percent of the income scale than in the bottom 60 percent. The university’s poor ranking in socio-economic inclusivity demonstrates the university’s skew toward upper classes. Amid mounting costs of attendance, middle-income students may find themselves buckling under the financial strain more than their counterparts in other brackets. For this reason, Georgetown and the incoming GUSA administration have a responsibility to advocate for these students in particular and to provide an outlet for them to talk about the expenses they incur.

This suggestion is not to discredit the strides that Georgetown and GUSA have already made with regard to affordability. The creation of the Georgetown Scholarship Program in 2004, which has already served 1,000 low-income students, is one of Georgetown’s crowning achievements in socio-economic inclusivity. GUSA has also spearheaded efforts to make tuition more transparent by successfully campaigning for the university to host a Hoya Roundtable breaking down past and projected university expenses, revenue and net operating costs. However, in light of the ATI, GUSA is uniquely positioned to collaborate with the university to explore stronger financial aid and assistance programs that can accommodate Georgetown families of all income levels. GUSA must use this opportunity to expand its reach as a liaison to tap into the university’s extensive resources and match low- and middle-income students with the financial and developmental support they need. Not only would this involve integrating middle-income students into long-term tuition negotiations, but also creating databases and information networks which detail affordable housing options during the academic year and summer semesters. The price of living, working and interning in the city necessitates that the university guides students on making costs of living more sustainable. This editorial board proposes that middle-income and low-income students be treated as different groups when it comes to talks on affordability. The two cannot be lumped together as they have diverging Georgetown experiences as students. It is essential that Georgetown and GUSA together impress upon the middle-income bracket of students that their needs and perspectives are equally important within discussions on affordability.

Toby Hung, Editor-in-Chief Cirillo Paolo Santamaria, Executive Editor Jeffrey Tara Subramaniam Jesus Rodriguez, Managing Editor Yasmine Salam

Ian Scoville, Campus News Editor Aly Pachter, City News Editor Sean Hoffman, Sports Editor Marina Tian, Guide Editor Lisa Burgoa, Opinion Editor Lauren Seibel, Photography Editor Alyssa Volivar, Design Editor Sarah Wright, Copy Chief Kelly Park, Social Media Editor Alessandra Puccio, Blog Editor Jack Martin, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Lisa Burgoa, Chair CC Borzilleri, Laila Brothers, Daria Etezadi, Ellie Goonetillake, Jack Lynch, Jack Segelstein, Bennett Stehr, Annabelle Timsit

Christian Paz William Zhu Alfredo Carrillo Dan Baldwin Emily Dalton Dean Hampers Cynthia Karnezis Kathryn Baker Viviana De Santis Dani Guerrero Meena Raman Maya Gandhi Grace Laria Jacob Witt Elinor Walker Stephanie Yuan Michelle Kelly Esther Kim Peter Shamamian Eleanor Stork Anna Dezenzo Janine Karo Sterling Lykes Catherine Schluth Charlie Fritz

Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Business Editor Deputy Business & News Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Cartoonist Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Blog Editor

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Dangers of Unmitigated Hate On Feb. 7, The Hoya editorial board stated that “if invited by a student organization, [Milo] Yiannopoulos ought to be permitted to speak on campus ... because denying his worldview is not the same as defeating it.” In the last few days, Yiannopoulos has been disinvited from speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference and had his book deal rescinded by Simon & Schuster. This is the result of the publication of a video in which Yiannopoulos, in the words of The New York Times, “condones sexual relations with boys as young as 13

and laughs off the seriousness of pedophilia by Roman Catholic priests.” While I was deeply opposed to the editorial board’s position on Yiannopoulos at the time of the editorial’s publication, that position is even more untenable now. As the leading print publication at Georgetown University, it is unacceptable and outrageous for The Hoya to continue to believe in the appropriateness of inviting Yiannopoulos to speak. His actions have led to real violence against the transgender students he has harassed and the undocu-

Daniel Almeida, General Manager Brittany Logan, Director of Financial Operations Emily Ko, Director of Alumni Relations Gabriella Cerio, Director of Human Resources George Lankas, Director of Sales Karen Shi Galilea Zorola Matt Zezula Tara Halter Brian Yoffe Emily Marshall Akshat Kumar

Personnel Manager Senior Accounts and Operations Manager Treasury Manager Accounts Manager Accounts Manager Alumni Engagement Manager Local Ads Manager

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Madeline Auerbach, Kara Avanceña, Chris Balthazard, Isabel Binamira, Elizabeth Cavacos, Tom Garzillo, Lauren Gros, Shannon Hou, Darius Iraj, Yuri Kim, Dan Kreytak, Andrew May, John Miller, Syed Humza Moinuddin, Tyler Park, Becca Saltzman, Sarah Santos, Jeanine Santucci, Kshithij Shrinath, Emily Tu, Andrew Wallender Emma Wenzinger

mented students he has planned to out and “purge” from college campuses. These latest revelations only serve to further demonstrate his lack of fitness to speak at a Jesuit institution that aims to care for the whole person and serve a community in diversity. The Hoya should and must immediately retract its Feb. 7 editorial and stand up not only for survivors of child sexual abuse, but all communities who have been affected by Yiannopoulos’ rampant hate speech.

Scott Lowder (COL ’17)

Board of Directors

Kristen Fedor, Chair Daniel Almeida, Jinwoo Chong, Toby Hung, Arnosh Keswani, Selena Parra, Matthew Trunko Letter to the Editor & 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. Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue. The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints. Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Paolo Santamaria at (703) 409-7276 or email executive@thehoya.com. News Tips Campus News Editor Ian Scoville: Call (202) 602-7650 or email campus@thehoya. com. City News Editor Aly Pachter: Call (916) 995-0412 or email city@thehoya.com. Sports Editor Sean Hoffman: Call (703) 300-0267 or email sports@thehoya.com. General Information The Hoya is published twice each week

during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University. Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya. Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors. The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2016. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 4,000

OPINION

Friday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

UNMASKED

THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • DALE & TAO

Caitlin Karna

Identity Beyond Locality

ow do you answer the question, “Where are you from?” It is a question that pervades our daily lives and one we are expected to readily answer. We plaster that answer on our New Student Orientation nametags, deploy it as the next piece of information we share after our name, school and year and marvel at how, despite our diverse answers, we all ended up in the same place. I envy the ease one friend has in answering this question. She is Bostonian — born, raised and lived in the same place and home that she has for the past 21 years. Another friend, born in Albany, N.Y., has also lived in India, Dubai, Singapore and London but identifies as Egyptian. So where is she from? In 2014, writer Taiye Selasi spoke at TEDGlobal about the importance of locality. She advocated a shift from associating identity and culture with where we are “from” to where we are “local.” Selasi cites examples of a friend born in Argentina but whose family is German. He studied in Buenos Aires but eventually moved to Berlin. He has the blonde hair and blue eyes of a German but holds an Argentine passport and needs a visa to live in Berlin. Based on this experience, Selasi realized that, “All experience is local, but all identity is experience.” In the field of cultural psychology, studies show that people with multicultural backgrounds handle their identities in different patterns. One of these ways, frame-switching, suggests that people move back and forth between identities depending on the context. Participants in the studies claim that they personify the part of their identity that the context yields to fit with the “in-group.” For example, some people criticized how President Barack Obama talks in a different way to black audiences than he does to white ones. The complexity of the relationship between where we are from and who we are is a personal debate, rooted issue. Answering that classic getting-

to-know-you question comes with the risk of the implicit assumptions that follow. My Indian father would say he is from Buffalo, N.Y., which often prompts the follow-up: “But where are you really from?” College campuses are a unique microcosm of the multiculturalism represented by the United States. Colleges strive for diversity — showcasing pride in their representation from all 50 states and even the staggering number of international students. But all too often, these become the standard of identification. We all have our ideas of what being from a certain place could suggest about a person. I have lived in Chicago, Dallas, Ridgefield, Conn., Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires and soon London. I have spent the longest time living in Dallas, so that is the short and easy answer to which I default. More often than not, I am bombarded with questions about my gun ownership, my opinions on sweet tea, my possession of cowgirl boots, or the quality of Southern barbecue. Selasi proposes that when approached with these questions, we ask: What are we really seeking when we ask this question, and what answer are we looking for? We relate location to power, social status, race or culturally conditioned beliefs. We have created “ingroups,” compelling individuals to fragment their identities to fit our expectations. This phenomenon has reached an extent to where we draw conclusions about human character based on where we “come from.” As much as diversity of origin matters in broadening perspectives, we cannot fully appreciate these aspects if we revert to stereotypes and single stories. Humans are complex with homes all around the world. Let us take the time to get to know them and shed the guise of what we thought we knew.

Caitlin Karna is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. Unmasked appears every other Friday.

In order to care about current world affairs, we need to not trivialize the platforms that many use to share their opinions and frustrations.

Fashioning New Outlets of Expression

igh-fashion magazines have long been criticized for promoting unrealistic ideas about beauty, whitewashing and body shaming. This past November, however, they came under fire for a totally different reason: serious journalism. Teen Vogue’s most-read items of 2016 included both “Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America” and “How to Apply Glitter Nail Polish the Right Way,” sparking a conversation about the role of these women’s magazines in our society. Should you be able to learn how to create a smoky eye in three easy steps and then flip to a piece that follows the protests at Standing Rock Indian Reservation? Should tips for lessening period cramps be in the same magazine that discusses funding for Planned Parenthood? Is there a proper way to mix the personal with the political? We at Bossier magazine think there is. We founded the magazine this year to promote the work of female authors and artists on campus. Magazines that exclusively target women are nothing new. The first women’s magazine to gain popularity was The Ladies’ Mercury in Britain in the 17th century. While the circulation of magazines in the 17th century was not nearly as

widespread as that of Vogue, much of what we see in women’s magazines today — dating advice, beauty tips and fashion trends — stems from these early magazines that carved out their own space as a publication to discuss what was important to women at the time. Women were not originally included in serious political conversations, so it makes sense that we do not see scathing editorials about prominent leaders in these early magazines. A lot has changed since then. Women are no longer forced to discuss only makeup, heartbreak and runway trends. But some of us still want to. Publications like Vogue and Bossier are necessary because they show us what women really are: complex human beings with highly varied interests. Women can be feminine and care deeply about their appearances in a way many men may not. We can date and fall in love and wish for a place to share our feelings. We can also be political, care about the world around us and want to speak out against injustice when we see it. We can have opinions about what affects us directly, such as the economy, national security and, yes, reproductive health care. We feel passionately about defending women’s

magazines as sites of entertainment, vital information and resistance because, for women, the personal has always been deeply political. Even if Cosmopolitan only published information about glitter nail polish, it still merits attention from a variety of angles: the beauty choices that women make, the women-dominated labor industry that serves salons across the country and the implications of different nail colors on the perception of women professionally. The parts of women’s lives that seem frivolous are actually riddled with politics, so in order to care about current world affairs, we need to not trivialize the platforms that many use to share their opinions and frustrations. The other day in Chinese class, we compared “forms of media that you learn from” to “trash media.” Quickly, the class categorized Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Cosmopolitan as the latter, and dismissed them as insignificant. At Bossier, we can personally attest that this is untrue, since we have learned an immeasurable amount from creating a women’s magazine at Georgetown. Our first issue discussed avocado toast, a vacation to Paris and double standards

when it comes to finding a boyfriend. In between more lighthearted conversation, our contributors talked about assault, consent, representation and education. As you flip through the pages, it is evident that the personal is political. Our pages are filled with examples of resistance. They push back against every male-dominated sector and every sector that has had a personal impact on our lived experience. Bossier is no POLITICO, but it is effective for this reason. It is necessary to hear about the world around us from an intimate angle, explore the unglamorous aspects of womanhood and share the art we have created as we react to the changing institutions around us. So, here’s to discussing voting and velvet trends. Here’s to promoting headlines about both glitter and President Donald Trump. If you believe in feminism, it is time to start paying attention to the female-driven publications that are raising important questions, sharing hidden perspectives and tying it all together with Fashion Week coverage. Michele dale and tiffany tao are sophomores in the

School of Foreign Service. They are co-founders of Bossier magazine.

VIEWPOINT • MCCARTNEY

VIEWPOINT • TSIEN

Protect EPA From Pruitt

Value Intellectual Humility

klahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s confirmation last Friday as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency spells an ominous sign for the future of the agency. Pruitt’s official attorney general website boasts of his status as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” as is evident in his largely unsuccessful fights against EPA regulations concerning mercury, lead and arsenic pollution. Pruitt is also known for his particularly friendly relationship with fossil fuel lobbyists: They not only funded his re-election campaign, but even drafted letters to government officials, which Pruitt signed on official attorney general stationary. But most alarmingly, Pruitt has not yet decided his position on the impact of human activity on climate change. This utterly disregards the opinion of the majority of Americans, 64 percent of whom are worried about global warming according to a 2016 Gallup poll. More than 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree human activity has contributed to climate-warming trends over the past half-century, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Unless we radically change our polluting behaviors, our world faces an impending environmental catastrophe. Yet we are now witnessing President Donald Trump’s administration and the Republican-led Congress

launch an all-out assault on any effort to protect our environment. While the fights in the Senate over Trump’s Cabinet officials have dominated news headlines for the past few weeks, the House of Representatives has been busy butchering years of common-sense environmental regulations. In just the past few weeks, the Republican-dominated House has slashed regulations stopping coal companies from dumping waste into public waterways, as well as measures related to safe methane waste prevention from burning natural gas.

We are witnessing an assault on any effort to protect our environment. Congress has invoked a little-known loophole for this slash-and-burn strategy: claiming these regulations fall under the purview of the EPA and not the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. In this way, Congress has been able to overturn recent executive actions and restrict filibustering attempts and court challenges. Only a presidential veto can stop these actions, and with Trump at the helm, I am not holding my breath. With these devastating Congressional rollbacks and indifference from the White

House, the onus falls even more heavily on the EPA to stand up for the popular opinion concerning humanity’s destructive impact on the environment. With Pruitt in charge, this unprecedented disregard for scientific fact and public health will be even more common. Pruitt’s experience as attorney general, especially as one who obsessed over combatting the EPA’s protectionist agenda, will give him special insight on how to effectively dismantle critical EPA programs and regulations. Already, we are seeing an appalling attack on the agency, including hiring freezes, executive actions to shut down EPA public communications and attempts to erase climate change research programs. There is even a bill going around the House to abolish the EPA entirely. If the EPA is to remain a key player in the fight against environmental destruction and a leader in the global transition toward a more sustainable future, we must fight for what our entire global community needs: common sense and nonpartisan protection of our environment. This means calling your Senator and showing your representatives some love, too. There is still so much more damage the Pruitt and the Republican-dominated Congress can do, which means more opportunities for us to stand up and put a stop to it. MCCARTNEY is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. JUSTIN

n his 1861 treatise “Walking,” a remarkable reflection on life’s ample complexities, Henry David Thoreau poses a question vital even today: “Which is the best man to deal with — he who knows nothing about a subject, and, what is extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, or he who really knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all?” Thoreau is principally concerned with how the illusion of knowledge motivates hubris and how information is mistaken for wisdom — problems that have worsened in an age when information is so readily available. To this vexing problem, Thoreau offers a counterpoint in humility: “A man’s ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but beautiful — for what is most of our so-called knowledge but a conceit that we know something, which robs us of the advantage of our actual ignorance?”

Humility provides an antidote to the excesses of our self-righteousness. Thoreau’s words are of singular importance today, in an age where everyone is allegedly an expert and we are all convinced of the superiority of our beliefs and opinions. Intellectual humility

provides a timely antidote to the excesses of our selfrighteousness: Beyond mere modesty or low selfestimation, it is an active and constructive virtue that can facilitate effective learning and generate mutual understanding. Intellectual humility begins with the recognition of the partial nature of our own knowledge and understanding. It is driven by a commitment to seek measured and cogent answers, and a willingness to accept new evidence and ideas — even those which contradict our own views. Indeed, such humility can help overcome the defensiveness and myopia that arises when our most deeply held convictions are challenged. In a recent study, psychologists Carol Dweck and Tenelle Porter found that people who scored higher on their survey of intellectual humility were more likely to listen to an opposing point of view and try to learn from it. As Porter states, “When we are more engaged and listening to the other side, disagreements tend to be more constructive.” The intellectually humble person has a healthy sense of their own fallibility, and acknowledges the existence of others’ intelligence. This is far from easy. By being actively attentive to others — especially those we disagree with — we become vulnerable to the devastating realization that we do not know everything. Yet

in our pluralistic and everchanging world, focusing solely on ourselves means losing out on a vast trove of wisdom.

Focusing solely on ourselves means losing out on a vast trove of wisdom. Intellectual humility demands that in addressing important questions, we seek out a variety of ideas. To do full justice to the complexity of reality, we must consider it from a multitude of perspectives. No one viewpoint, however ingenious, can offer all the answers. This cerebral humility allows us to move past the egotism of believing we have greater and better insights than do those around us, and toward a positive sense of self-awareness and scrutiny. In closing out “Walking,” Thoreau declares, “My desire for knowledge is intermittent, but my desire to bathe my head in atmospheres unknown to my feet is perennial and constant.” In a period in which no knowledge seems out of reach, intellectual humility allows us to immerse ourselves in the deep expanse of the unknown and, hopefully, emerge with wisdom. Philip Tsien is a sophomore

in the College.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Georgetown’s Institute for Reproductive Health is conducting a study on fertility-tracking app Dot.

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IN FOCUS STUDENTS VOTE

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Georgetown is committed to expanding scholarship to address the persistent,enduring legacy of racism and segregation in the American experience.” Provost Robert Groves on Georgetown receiving a grant for racial justice initiatives. Story on A8.

from our blog

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The Georgetown University Student Association Election Commission operated nonpartisan voting stations for the GUSA executive election Feb. 23 following the approval of the stations by the senate.

4E’S GUIDE TO DATING APPS Distraught that you paid $125 to watch a losing team play a few games at home? Here are 125 things that you could have purchased instead. blog.thehoya.com

Pentagon Whistleblower Advocates Merits of Leaks GIOVANNA AZEVEDO Hoya Staff Writer

The leaking of classified information is in the national interest, according to Daniel Ellsberg, the former Pentagon employee responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, at a symposium discussing the leaks and their legacy Feb. 16 and 17. “More people ought to be revealing this secret information,” Ellsberg said. “The public needs to know. Congress needs to know. Lives depend on it. The Constitution is being violated.” The symposium, “Free Speech Legacies: The Pentagon Papers Revisited,” featured a series of panel discussions on the leak and its legacy. Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, and Bob Woodward, the Washington Post journalist who broke the Watergate Scandal with journalist Carl Bernstein, spoke at the symposium. Sanford Ungar, a professor at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, organized the symposium; it was sponsored

by the President’s Office, the Journalism Program and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. Ungar wrote about the legal and political battles pertaining to the Pentagon Papers in his book, “The Papers and the Papers.” While working as a strategic analyst at the RAND Corporation in 1967, Ellsberg worked on a top-secret study commissioned by then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara regarding U.S. policy and decision-making in Vietnam from 1945 to 1968. The report revealed extensive dishonesty from four different administrations, including President Richard Nixon’s secret expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1971, Ellsberg leaked the classified 7,000-page report to The New York Times. Ellsberg was tried on 12 felony counts under the Espionage Act and theft of government property for revealing the documents, charges carrying a possible sentence of 115 years. The case was later dismissed as a mistrial on the grounds of illegal and unethical conduct by the

prosecution. Thomas Banchoff, who is Georgetown’s vice president for global engagement, and introduced the keynote speaker, said the issue of government leaks today is just as important as it was in 1971 when Ellsberg first leaked the Pentagon Papers.

“More people ought to be revealing this secret information. The public needs to know.” DANIEL ELLSBERG Pentagon Papers Whistleblower

President Donald Trump has accused the intelligence community of making a series of leaks to the media, including information leading to the resignation of former

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn Feb. 13. “Now, given where we are today, with the great tension between the White House and the mainstream media, this is indeed the ideal moment to look back at the multiple legacies of a case from 1971, which had the country and the whole world on edge,” Banchoff said. Ellsberg said the leaks conducted by Chelsea Manning, who leaked almost 1 million classified documents to WikiLeaks in 2010, and Edward Snowden, who leaked a series of documents from the National Security Agency to The Guardian and The Washington Post in 2013, are in the national interest. President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence Jan. 13. “Manning and Snowden and I all were in the same situation. No one else was going to do it, someone had to do it, so I did it. That is what I would like people to hear,” Ellsberg added. “There is no guarantee at all that it would have any effect. However, as Snowden said, there are

things worth dying for.”

“Manning and Snowden and I all were in the same situation. No one else was going to do it, someone had to do it, so I did.” DANIEL ELLSBERG Pentagon Papers Whistleblower

Ellsberg said he was motivated to leak the documents after he learned the Nixon administration had no intention of pulling U.S. military out of Vietnam as it had claimed. Ellsberg said he hoped releasing the report would assist in putting a stop to U.S. involvement in the war. “The real decision was primarily in 1969 when I became

aware that President Nixon didn’t have in mind ending the war as he had campaigned on,” Ellsberg said. “I felt a responsibility to go beyond what I otherwise would have done to try and end it, and liberate us from that war. I felt that I should do what I could and that included putting out those 7,000 pages of history.” Ellsberg first delivered the papers to members of Congress, hoping they would spark Congressional hearings. However, after his efforts to release the information through official channels failed, Ellsberg decided to take the material to The New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan in 1971. Ellsberg said he believed at the time he might go to prison. However, he felt that the opportunity to potentially end U.S. involvement in Vietnam was worth the risk. “I wanted to generate an effect – for the war to end. And it didn’t do that,” Ellsberg said. “It was a miraculous set of circumstances that happened together which kept me from going to prison.”

GRETCHEN MCCARTHY FOR THE HOYA

Vice President for Global Engagement Thomas Banchoff, left, interviewed Daniel Ellsberg, the former Pentagon employee who leaked a series of classiﬁed documents proﬁling the Nixon administration’s deception over the war in Vietnam in 1971, at a symposium on the leaking of the Pentagon Papers and their legacy.

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THE HOYA

Unsung Heroes Plans New Chapters, National Expansion Matthew larson Hoya Staff Writer

Unsung Heroes is expanding nationwide from its Georgetown roots to include more than 10 different chapters at universities across the country starting at the end of March. Schools including Syracuse University, Emory University, the University of California, Los Angeles and American University, will all start Unsung Heroes chapters. Unsung Heroes was launched at Georgetown in April 2016 as an initiative to spotlight university staff to spread awareness of their backgrounds and help them achieve their goals. The group’s founder, Febin Bellamy (MSB ’17), started working with schools in the fall to ensure the successful rollout of new Unsung Heroes chapters. According to Bellamy, the process of expanding the organization is akin to franchising, as each chapter is required to be fol-

low the same structure and guidelines, but is allowed to help workers in different ways. “Even though they’re a chapter, they’re another arm, they represent our brand. We give them our handbook,” Bellamy said. “It’s like Starbucks or Subway — the same concept, same model. Maybe a different sandwich if you get approval, but relatively the same concept.” Director of Expansion for Unsung Heroes Elizabeth Nalunga (SFS ’19) said while each of the other chapters will have a certain degree of autonomy, current leadership of Unsung Heores at Georgetown is planning on staying connected with each of the chapters to provide advice and materials to create a community of those involved. “That’s one of the beautiful things about working on the expansion part of Unsung Heroes,” Nalunga said. “We’re really part of a community where people are able to stay in touch, students

are able to communicate with other students.” Each chapter must receive club recognition from their school administration before they are invited join Unsung Heroes. Bellamy said the requirement will help ensure each chapter remains open more than one or two years. “We’re making sure the official chapters will be here to stay,” Bellamy said. “The way we confirm an official chapter is through club recognition. Once they receive the recognition from the school saying Unsung Heroes is now an official club, then they get the stamp of approval.” While Unsung Heroes received interest from at least 40 schools, only 10 were able to clear the application process, which requires applicants to complete an online questionnaire. Nalunga said the organization is still working to create future partnerships with students from the schools that did not meet the initial application requirements.

“We have 10 schools we are working with closely and intensely right now to start their chapters by middle to late March,” Nalunga said. “Then we have another 20 or so schools we are working with, but they are in the beginning stages of getting their chapters on board.” Unsung Heroes CFO Precious King (SFS ’20) said that she and Bellamy were working on creating a national board of directors to help the organization grow further. The board will help coordinate a national fundraising campaign for workers, in which Unsung Heroes will require each affiliate chapter to do two fundraising campaigns for workers at their universities. “Every national chapter needs a board of directors,” King said. “If you looked at past companies that were started and moving up, they need to have an advisory group that can guide you, that’s there for advice and support — someone to go back to.”

UNSUNG HEROES

Javon Lee is a Georgetown worker featured on Unsung Heroes, which is expanding nationwide. King said she hopes Unsung Heroes is able to develop greater appreciation for workers at universities across the nation. “Our goal is to make it a lifestyle for people to recognize the world around you and interact with workers

you see on a daily basis, not disregard them,” King said. “To be able to expand that vision around the nation, we’re looking forward to that.”

Hoya Staff Writer Ben Goodman contributed reporting.

Students Aim to Restore DC Council ConsidersYouth Tombstones of 272 Slaves Rehabilitation Act Reforms Funds to target slaves without descendants Recidivism rates among chief concerns matt larson

Isabelle Groenewegen

Hoya Staff Writer

Special to The Hoya

Students have launched the Tombstone Restoration Initiative to raise $1,200 in the next two months to restore the identifiable tombstones of members of the 272 slaves whom Georgetown sold in 1838. Ayodele Aruleba (COL ’17) and Milan Chang (COL ’17) launched the project in conjunction with the Georgetown Memory Project, which helps to identify living descendants of the 272 slaves. The funds are devoted to restoring the grave of Lucy Merrick, one of the 272 slaves sold in 1838, which has been damaged and neglected. Merrick was sold at age 10 and lived until 1903, but has no direct descendants to help with the upkeep. Any money raised beyond the stated goal of $1,200 will be used to help restore gravestones of other slaves besides Lucy Merrick. The gravestones set to be restored are located at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Graveyard in Maringouin, L.a . Students are selling wristbands provided by the Georgetown Memory Project for $2.72 each starting yesterday. Aruleba, a member of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, said buying a wristband to pay for the tombstone restorations is a way for students to contribute to the reconciliation of the university’s history with slavery. “One of the things I recognized was how students came to me, a member of the working group, and said, ‘How can I get involved? I` read the report and it was moving, but as a student, what can we do now?’” Aruleba said. “This is part of the answer.” Aruleba said he anticipates the approximately 500 wristbands required to reach the fundraising goal will be sold

The Washington, D.C. Council is considering proposals to reform the Youth Rehabilitation Act after a series of investigations conducted by The Washington Post found that the policy failed to prevent young criminals from committing crimes in the future. The Youth Rehabilitation Act gives convicted criminals younger than 22 the opportunity to have their criminal record erased if they serve their sentence or complete their probation. In some cases, the act is used to grant eligible defendants a shorter sentence, given the crime is not a homicide or a second act of violence committed while armed. Criminal justice reform advocates argue the intended effect is to give inexperienced offenders the opportunity to turn their life around and have a second chance. The Washington Post found that at least 750 offenders have been sentenced more than once under the Youth Act in the past decade, and that since 2010, judges have given approximately 2,300 Youth Act sentences to accused individuals with weapon offenses or violent crimes. Reform efforts have received support from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and the D.C. council. Bowser has asked the council to finish its review of the act by July 2017 and recommend changes to make it more efficient in reforming young offenders and keeping the D.C. community safe. Implemented in 1985 under former Mayor Marion Barry, the act aims to protect black youths from the stigma attached to lengthy prison sentences. At that time, the District controlled its own prison. According to D.C. Council Senior Legislative Analyst Darby Hickey, the results of the act during this time were positive. However, in 1997, the Federal Bureau of Prisons took over responsibility for all longterm offenders in the District in the 1997 Revitalization Act. The District is still home to the D.C. Jail, a correctional facility that houses pre-trial offenders, sentenced and convicted felons awaiting transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Only male offenders are housed at the D.C. Jail. Female offenders and juveniles being adjudicated as adults are housed at the Correctional Treatment Facility in southeast D.C. In an interview with The Hoya, Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) said the Youth Act is not as successful as it should be and should be reformed because it can push District residents out of the city. “Youths are put into prison in a way that is inhumane,” Grosso said. “We then expect them to miraculously be productive, engaged, law-abiding members of society when we

COURTESY INITIATIVE ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT AND PUBLIC LIFE

Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation fellow James Benton, left, professor Matthew Carnes, S.J., and professor Emerita Hayes talked on a panel on slavery last October. quickly with help from faculty and students. “We expect it to take about a month and a half, but with the help of faculty and staff and campus outreach, we think it could take a lot shorter,” Aruleba said. “We’re already getting a lot of people excited about it and putting it into club newsletters.” Richard Cellini (COL ’84, LAW ’87), founder of the Georgetown Memory Project, said the idea for the Tombstone Initiative came from his discussions with descendants of the 272 slaves, many of whom live in Maringouin. “Of the 1100 people who live in Maringouin today, about 900 are descendants of the Georgetown slaves,” Cellini said. “It’s a whole town, the whole town is basically direct descendants of Georgetown slaves.” Cellini said student engagement is key to the effort’s success. “Any member of the Georgetown alumni could write a check for $1,200, but that’s not the goal here,” Cellini said. “The goal is to raise it in small amounts and with

a large number of participants.” Chang, who originally reached out to the Georgetown Memory Project to see if students could help raise money, said that coordination with the Georgetown Memory Project was a student run effort. “The university is not involved; part of the significance of this initiative is its student-led nature,” Chang wrote in an e-mail to The Hoya. “By working from the ground up, this project is meant to demonstrate the student body’s support of and dedication to an issue that is deeply personal to this community.” According to Chang, buying a wristband helps shows understanding of the role slavery played in Georgetown’s success. “Student engagement and community support show that Georgetown students recognize the university’s role in history, and strive to build upon this history in a constructive and meaningful manner,” Chang wrote. “This effort goes beyond a university statement.”

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put them through that tremendous challenge.” While The Washington Post focused on the Youth Act as the main stumbling block in keeping District neighborhoods safe from young criminals, Grosso said many councilmembers find fault with the lack of preventative measures that would keep said offenders out of prison in the first place. “We should be investing in our residents upfront — early in their mental health, early in their physical health — in order for them to be successful, not turning a blind eye to their needs and then wondering why they commit a crime, go up and become worse in jail and then come back and commit more crimes,” Grosso said. Currently, the Youth Act does not require prisoners to undergo rehabilitation programs before re-entering society. In an interview with The Hoya, Georgetown’s Prison and Justice Initiative Director Marc Howard, who is also a government and law department professor, echoed Grosso’s issue with the split in local and federal authority and its consequences for young offenders.

“We should be investing in our residents upfront — early in their mental health, early in their physical health.” DAVID GROSSO (I-At Large) Councilmember, D.C. Council

“That’s a huge handicap for them, which makes their reentry really difficult. They’re really far away, they’re completely disconnected, they don’t have lasting ties, plus there’s very little programming and opportunity for rehabilitation inside,” Howard said. “They come back and unfortunately they’re not prepared, they’re not ready to reenter society successfully and safely and the consequences are really clear.” Previous Youth Act offenders have accounted for 1 in 5 homicide suspects since 2010, and there have been multiple examples of previous Youth Act offenders going on to commit rape, armed robbery and shootings — according to the Post’s findings. One case highlighted in The Washington Post’s investigation was that of Youth Act offender Antwon Pitt. While spending two years in Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida for armed robbery, he committed 20 documented sexual offenses, which could have added 10 years to his prison sentence. However, due to a lack

of communication between the prison authority and the D.C. government, he was sent on a bus back to the District the same day he was found guilty of the said sexual assault charges. Two months after returning to D.C., he raped a woman at her home on Oct. 15, 2016, having had cut off his GPS bracelet days before. Pitt was considered to have completed his Youth Act sentence successfully, despite the infractions in prison. According to Hickey, Pitt’s history of crime is the fault of the District and not the Youth Act. “He was a ward of D.C. since he was age 12, so the city failed him massively, and because of that failed the victims that he hurt,” Hickey said. “It’s interesting that people aren’t going after the Child Welfare Agency saying, ‘What are you doing for people that are identified at a young age as having violent tendencies, sexual abuse?’” Hickey said she does not think reform is necessary given the success rate it has, with judges following its guidelines 95 percent of the time. “They also found that the vast majority of people that were sentenced under the Youth Act — it was their first violent, serious violent crime,” Hickey said. “Bear in mind a violent crime can also be when someone snatches your iPhone out of your hand on the Metro. The Youth Act is more or less working as it is intended to, in terms of who it’s being applied to.” One solution proposed by the D.C. Council includes building a new jail that would keep inmates closer to their support systems, therefore improving their chances of re-entry success after completing a Youth Act sentence. “I firmly believe that we should bring home all D.C. residents that are in the Bureau Prison System,” Grosso said. Grosso pointed to initiatives like the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results Act, passed March 2016, which addresses violent crime within the D.C. community by assisting those most likely to commit violent acts with finding a job, suitable housing and treatment for mental and physical health problems. However, Grosso said this plan has not been funded, which suggests any reforms could face a struggle in receiving city budget funding. “There is an appetite here in the council to work on these issues and a small appetite in the mayor’s office to work on these issues. It’s just hard to get people to focus on those amongst us who are having the toughest time in life and it frustrates me,” Grosso said. “We’ll see; the Mayor sends down her budget on April 4, and on April 4, we’ll know.”

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FRIday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Results of Club Funding Ginsburg Recalls Landmark Referendum Released Cases, Talks New Biography COUNCIL, from A1 most informed that they could be before voting,” Jasmin Ouseph ’19, who filed the appeal, said. The constitutional council rejected the petitioners’ electioneering complaints but ruled in their favor that the referendum was not presented to students in a timely way as required by GUSA bylaws. The council declared the results null and void, and prohibited the election commission from revealing the results to any other members of GUSA or the public. However, GUSA senators Scott Lowder (COL’17) and Owen Hayes (SFS ’18), chair and vice chair of the Finance and Appropriations Committee of GUSA, filed an appeal to overturn the original opinion _ . In its second opinion released Feb. 18, the council upheld the decision to invalidate the results, but also overturned their earlier order prohibiting the release of the results. “This council withheld the release of the December 1st Constitutional Referendum Vote based on a balancing of competing interests: those of the public’s right of transparency, against the potential that the results could bias a second referendum vote,” the second opinion reads. “The potential for bias, which is small and practically eliminated given the Council’s final order, is outweighed by the demonstrative call for transparency.” In a tweet shortly after the second council opinion was released, the election commission announced it would release the results of the nullified referendum Friday morning, along with the results of Thursday’s executive election. Lowder maintained that the results should not have been invalidated, but said he approved of the decision allowing the results to be released. “If the results are released

on Thursday, and it shows that it would’ve been approved had it not been invalidated, that puts a mandate on either this session of the senate or the next GUSA executive to present this again to the student body because it shows a desire for club funding reform and restructuring going forward,” Lowder said. Ouseph, who opposed the referendum, expressed concern that the release of results would do exactly that. “I’m worried that GUSA might use that to push a second referendum onto the student body or get this restructuring club funding reform package passages again,” Ouseph said. GUSA senate speaker Richie Mullaney (COL ‘18) said the lengthy course of the referen-

dum points to larger problems in GUSA’s structure. “The fact that this saga took 85 days to complete proves there are structural problems in GUSA that need to be addressed. Long processes that aren’t transparent like these are exactly what alienates students from GUSA,” Mullaney wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I’m glad that we finally get to see the results because students deserve that transparency. The electioneering case was filed by GUSA senators Jasmin Ouseph (SFS ’19), Isaac Liu (COL ’20) and Charles Hajjar (MSB ’20), GUSA Free Speech Policy Team chair D.J. Angelini (MSB ’17), GUSA Dining and Auxiliary Services Policy Team chair Mark Camilli (COL ’19) and Dylan Hughes (COL ’19), who is unaffiliated with GUSA.

LAUREN SEIBEL/THE HOYA

The GUSA Election Commission released the results of December’s club funding referendum early Friday morning.

GINSBURG, from A1 before there could be any thought of same-sex marriage,” Ginsburg said. Hartnett followed that up with a lighthearted story about Ginsburg going parasailing in Nice, France, in 2002 with former GULC Dean Judith Areen. Ginsburg said her favorite excerpts from the book were those written by her late husband and fellow lawyer, Marty Ginsburg, who was a professor at GULC until his death in 2010. Totenberg asked Ginsburg to share a piece of marital advice. “When my late husband died and I remarried, she performed the ceremony, so I wonder if I could get her to tell the story of her wedding and the advice that her mother-in-law gave her,” Totenberg said. “She told me, ‘Sometimes, it helps to be a little deaf,’” Ginsburg recalled. “And I have followed that advice assiduously, not only in my marriage but in every place I work.” Totenberg quickly segued into a discussion of more current concerns, specifically focusing on Ginsburg’s opinions of the process of filling a seat on the bench formerly occupied by the late Justice Antonin Scalia (CAS ’57). Ginsburg pointed out that the U.S. Senate confirmed Scalia unanimously and that she was confirmed by a 96vote majority. When Totenberg later pressed her for an opinion on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, she recalled befriending him on a justice exchange program in the United Kingdom. “I think he’s very easy to get along with. … He writes very well,” Ginsburg said. The remainder of the discussion centered on Ginsburg’s legacy of feminism within the

Kshithij shrinAth/the hoya

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke about her most memorable moments at an event Thursday. judicial system. Among other topics, she spoke about the importance of defending principles and the mentorship she received from the first female justice on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. When asked about the stupidest question she had ever received, Ginsburg spoke about former Chief Justice William Rehnquist and how he asked about her willingness to settle for Susan B. Anthony’s face on the new dollar coin. “That was still okay to say in 1978. Then, flash-forward many years; it was the same man who wrote an opinion that so well understands what working women encounter that when I brought the decision home to show it to Marty, he asked me if I wrote it,” Ginsburg said. “So that’s one of my best examples that as long as we live, we can learn.” The event was sponsored by the Newseum and the Supreme Court Fellows Program in their eighth consecutive year of partnership.

Ginsburg said the United States should be a society open to dialogue and cooperation, and that the United States is “not experiencing the best of times.” “Our history has been so long I think that we will preserve both of those: the right to think, speak and write as we believe and not as big brother government tells us is the right way to think and welcome our neighbors,” Ginsburg said. Following that, she ended on a note of optimism and progress when Totenberg asked about the differences made by having three women on the court. “Because of my seniority, I sit toward the middle of the bench. Justice Sonia Sotomayor is on my left and Justice Kagan is on my right. We look like we are there to stay,” Ginsburg said. “Now when people visit the Supreme Court, they can say, ‘Women are justices, and that’s something I can aspire to. I can aspire to be a lawyer or a judge.’”

Mack, Andino Win Closest Election in Recent History ELECTION, from A1 be eliminated with 94 votes. Williams and Ali led with 929 votes, followed by Mack and Andino with 808 votes and Matthews and Matz with 658 votes. Thirty-eight percent of the student body voted in the election, with a voter turnout of 2,557 votes cast, surpassing the 2,388 votes in 2016. The all-time election record is 3,733 voters from the 2013 election. Mack said he is ready to start working as GUSA president after a challenging campaign.

“We want to bring resources for all. We want to deliver on what we’ve been talking about and rally the people around our vision.” Kamar MACK GUSA President-elect

“I’m feeling really good. We’ve gone through a lot as a team. We’ve faced a lot of challenges but we came out on top and it feels good,” Mack said. “There’s a lot we have to do. The work starts now.” Current GUSA President Enushe Khan (MSB ’17) said Mack and Andino’s policy has the potential to create real change at Georgetown. “The three major campaigns ran bearing in mind a lot of policy, and changes they wanted, and regardless whatever happens next is going to be exciting,” Khan said. “Kamar and Jessica have some really cool ideas on student health in particular, and I hope to come back as an alum and see some of the things they’re proposing be implemented.” Ali said despite her ticket’s loss, the inclusive message of their ticket will have a lasting impact. “I tell to every single person who voted for us, ‘Don’t forget what you wanted, you believed in that message, going to every community that you come from and really making that difference,’” Ali said. “It’s about grassroots work and it’s

really putting that effort in from the start.” The polls opened at 11 p.m. Wednesday, following two weeks of campaigning starting Feb. 9. The campaign season was marked by GUSA outsider candidates in Matthews and Matz and a focus on affordability issues at Georgetown. The Hoya conducted a doorto-door poll of 535 students Tuesday evening, with Williams and Ali holding a 13.8 percent lead over Mack and Andino. 42.2 percent of likely voters said they planned to vote for Williams and Ali, followed by 28.4 percent saying they planned to vote for Mack and Andino. Matthews said he is happy for Mack and Andino, especially in light of the tickets’ cross-endorsement. “Our cross-endorsement worked,” Matthews said. “Great to see they came out on top.” The GUSA election commission hand-counted all votes after the license for the software they used expired. However, according to GUSA Election Commissioner Grady Willard (COL ’18), the election proceeded normally. “Write-ins always affect the procedure, it’s so much easier to count without them. It always takes more time, but there wasn’t anything unusual about write-ins,” Willard said. According to current GUSA Vice President Chris Fisk (COL ’17), he and Khan are committed to a smooth transition between executive leadership. “Regardless of who would have won tonight, Enushe and I are going to spend the next month doing our very best to prepare them to take on the role for the next year,” Fisk said. Looking forward to the next year, Mack said he hopes his and Andino’s vision for GUSA can bring the university together. “We want to make everyone feel like they’re welcome,” Mack said. “We want to bring resources for all. We want to deliver on what we’ve been talking about and rally the people around our vision.”

Hoya Staff Writers Jeff Cirillo, Joe Egler, Ben Goodman, Yasmine Salam and Marina Tian contributed to reporting.

justin hong for the hoya, lauren seibel/the hoya

Top: John Matthews (COL ’18), left, and Nick Matz (COL ’18) lost to Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and Jessica Andino (COL ’18) early Friday morning after launching a campaign focused on affordability and their status as GUSA outsiders.

friday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

news

THE HOYA

Georgetown in Top 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech SPEECH, from A1 reason behind Georgetown’s position on the list. “Georgetown has made some efforts to improve its policies on speech and expression in recent years, but its execution has not always been great, as I’m sure H*yas for Choice can attest, considering they are still not a recognized student organization,” Beck-Coon wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Law Center’s confusing and overly restrictive handling of student partisan political speech this election year is another example of that.” FIRE wrote an open letter to Georgetown University Law Center Dean William Treanor on Feb. 1, 2016, on behalf of Alexander Atkins (LAW ’17) and other students who were tabling in support of Sanders. Additionally, the group spoke on behalf of Atkins at a subcommittee hearing of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, entitled “Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses,” on March 2, 2016. Georgetown’s Office of Federal Relations wrote in a letter

to the subcommittee hearing on “Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses” that it was changing its policies to better protect Georgetown Law students’ right to political expression. The Office of Federation Relations wrote in a letter to the Chairman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and Ranking Member of the subcommittee John Lewis (DGa.) on Feb. 29, 2016, to further explain changes in its policies. “We are adjusting the policies to make very clear that individuals as well as groups are able to reserve tables for organized activity and that all members of our community are able to make reasonable use of University resources to express their political opinions,” the letter reads. Treanor stressed the importance of free speech at GULC in an email to The Hoya. “We share Georgetown’s commitment to the fundamental right of members of our community to free expression, dialogue and academic inquiry and are aware of the concerns expressed by our students,” Treanor wrote. “We are currently exploring the best ways to respond to these

issues.” Despite these changes in university policy, some groups still say they encounter restrictions. 2017 marks the second year Georgetown has appeared on FIRE’s list. Georgetown was first listed in 2014 because of a free speech incident regarding H*yas for Choice in which the group was removed from tabling in Healy Circle and was relocated outside of Georgetown’s front gates. Additionally, two condom envelopes were removed Sept. 23, 2016, from the doors of students who volunteered with H*yas for Choice on the fifth floor of Village C West. According to a September email interview with Georgetown University Police Department Chief Jay Gruber, the envelopes were removed because GUPD had received a report of vandalism on the fifth floor of VCW and interpreted the envelopes as part of the vandalism. Georgetown University Student Association and H*yas for Choice cited the incident as a violation of the free expression policy at Georgetown. H*yas for Choice Co-President Brinna Ludwig (NHS ’17)

said she believes there has been little policy change in recent years, and free speech restrictions are still a major problem for the organization. “H*yas for Choice has encountered a number of issues related to free speech,” Ludwig wrote. “We are also restricted by the tabling zone policy, which limits where we are allowed to set up our table.” Georgetown College Republicans President Allie Williams (SFS ’19) also highlighted the importance of expanding free speech areas on campus. Williams wrote in an email to The Hoya that because the student body tends to be more liberal, free speech issues occur particularly in regard to GUCR and the speakers the group invites to campus. “As a college campus with a student body that inevitably leans left, Georgetown has had its fair share of free speech issues and, as a conservative organization that often invites controversial speakers, we have absolutely suffered from closed dialogue at GUCR,” Williams wrote. “The limited areas for free speech on campus is concerning and something that the University should defi-

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown made the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s 2017 list of 10 worst colleges for free speech. nitely work on going forward.” GUSA free speech policy team chair D.J. Angelini (MSB ’17) wrote in an email to The Hoya that students should see the ranking as motivation to continue to fight for free speech improvements across campus. “I look at that rating not as an indication of what Georgetown’s doing wrong, but rather to show

that we need to constantly regard speech and expression as one of the most important pieces of campus life today,” Angelini wrote. “I believe Georgetown’s administrators and students are committed to these ideals and I hope the rating energizes more students to get involved in promoting a culture of free speech on campus.”

Petition Launched for Georgetown to Sponsor Refugees Madeline Charbonneau Special to The Hoya

About 300 students have signed a petition to make Georgetown the first U.S. Catholic university to sponsor a family of refugees as part of new refugee advocacy group Heed the Call. The petition, launched Feb. 21, has been endorsed by the Georgetown University College Democrats, Georgetown University College Republicans, Georgetown Bipartisan

Coalition, and former Georgetown University Student Association candidates Garet Williams (COL ’18) and Habon Ali (SFS ’18). Max Rosner (COL ’18) founded Heed the Call in September 2016 as a grassroots, student-led effort to organize a university sponsorship of a refugee family. The organization’s name references Pope Francis’ 2015 call to followers to take in a refugee family. In September 2015, the Vatican sponsored a

refugee family and has since taken in more families. Heed the Call at Georgetown is also part of the nationwide “Every Campus a Refuge” movement, which aims to echo Pope Francis’ message. Rosner first began working with the Georgetown administration last year, but gained traction this year after the signing of President Donald Trump’s January executive order banning all refugee admissions into the United

ELLA WAN FOR THE HOYA

About 300 students have signed a petition launched Feb. 21 by refugee advocacy group Heed the Calll asking for Georgetown to sponsor a family of refugees.

States temporarily and Syrian refugees indefinitely. “Going through that process takes a long time, and, sadly but luckily, with the executive order, much more attention on this issue emerged,” Rosner said. According to Rosner, the administration had raised questions about whether it would be possible for an institution like Georgetown to take on a refugee family. Rosner said nine institutions sponsoring refugees, including Guilford College and Wake Forest University, have proven it is. Holy Trinity Catholic Church, located blocks from the university on 36th Street NW, recently took in a refugee family. The family arrived last week after a monthslong effort by the church community to bring them to the United States. The church worked with an organization called Lutheran Social Services to match with a refugee family. Holy Trinity pastor Fr. Kevin Gillespie, who was involved in bringing the refugee family to the United States, said bringing the family took a concerted effort. “There were around six committees organizing around transportation, food, law, diapers — all sorts of things. Our students got involved, the children at the school. Girl Scouts were in charge of diapers for the 1-year-old. It takes a village to adopt a family,” Gillespie said. Although the sponsorship has worked well so far for both the Holy Trinity community and the refugee

family, Gillespie said such an undertaking may be more difficult for an educational institution like Georgetown. “Certainly, we welcome students to get involved and advocate and sponsor programs. It’s pretty complicated in terms of financial resources. We have immigration lawyers, we have state department people rallying, we have people donating. I think we’ve raised over $70,000. For students, I think the student call may be in a different direction,” Gillespie said. Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., director of the Center for Latin American Studies, has worked with many of the Jesuits involved in Holy Trinity’s refugee efforts, and expressed his concern for the level of commitment it would require from the university. “Holy Trinity has an advantage. It’s a parish that is stable that can be there over the long haul, and even though pastors come and go, there’s a way where the community stays for a long time,” Carnes said. “I would want to make sure that every last detail was worked out before you take it on because it would be unfair to the family to not be absolutely sure that you can accompany them for the long haul.” Like Gillespie, Carnes also stressed the importance of students getting involved. “We have a huge moral responsibility to be doing this and I think it’s great that students are doing it,” Carnes said. Ali called on students to come together in solidarity

for refugees. “From the Women’s March we saw that when we stand in solidarity, regardless of your religion or sexuality, any background that you come from, it really makes a stand,” Ali said. “Standing up for refugees, living in a community in the Jesuit values, it’s our job to do so and it’s our job to be there. We are men and women for others; let us not just say that, but really be there for people.” She called on more student organizations to advocate for the petition. “It’s time for an organization such as GUSA to really take a stance on this,” Ali said. “Collectively, Georgetown students really understand the need to do something, and I am so happy that these groups came up with this initiative and are pushing for it.” GUCD President Meredith Forsyth (SFS ’19) said the initiative is an opportunity for Georgetown to make a difference on an international issue. “It’s a really, really important issue and it’s a great opportunity for Georgetown to take a stand and really live up to our Jesuit values here and heed the call of Pope Francis back from last September,” Forsyth said. Ali said it falls upon the entire community to support refugees. “As a refugee myself, at the end of the day we are all privileged,” Ali said. “I am privileged to be here, and it’s realizing that when you’re privileged with something it’s time to give back.”

Medical Center to Conduct Study on Fertility App Emma Kotfica

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown University Medical Center’s Institute for Reproductive Health partnered with Cycle Technologies to conduct a yearlong study in real time, the first of its kind, on a fertility tracking smartphone app to determine its effectiveness and accuracy in determining a woman’s chance for pregnancy, announced Feb. 7. The app, called Dynamic Optimal Timing, or Dot, aggregates information without external equipmemt from thousands of women to provide users their likelihood of becoming pregnant on any given day. Preliminary trials conducted over 13 menstrual cycles showed that app to be approximately 96 percent effective in identifying a woman’s fertile window. The study is funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. A previous study published June 2016, in which Georgetown’s department of obstetrics and gynecology participated, found that Dot is theoretically 96 to 98 percent effective at avoiding unintended pregnancy when used correctly. According to the study protocol written by IRH Director Dr. Victoria Jennings, IRH Senior Research Officer Domi-

nick Shattuck and IRH senior research professor Rebecca Simmons on Jan. 18, about 222 million women worldwide want to avoid pregnancy but are not using a contraceptive method. These contraceptive needs could potentially be met by providing information about the days in a woman’s menstrual cycle that she is most likely to become pregnant. “Making these methods available to women through their mobile phones can facilitate access,” the study reads. The effort plans on recruiting as many as 1,200 women to participate in the study, and will follow them over the course of 13 menstrual periods. Recruitment began in January of this year, and preliminary results are expected in September 2018. Dot was developed by Cycle Technologies to help women who seek to either prevent or plan a pregnancy. Cycle Technologies released the app in the Apple App Store in August 2015. Jennings, who is leading the research, said the study will be the first efficacy study of a fertility app that aims to meet the standard criteria for typical contraceptive efficacy studies. “We decided to work on something that was very evidence-based and to apply the

same standards for an efficacy trial that would be applied to any other method of birth control,” Jennings said. Cycle Technologies President Leslie Heyer said she believes this type of study is crucial to the development of effective fertility planning apps. “Doing an efficacy study like this is critical,” Heyer said. “You really want to be able to compare the efficacy and understand how women are using it.” Simmons said she believes the app increases reproductive education accessibility for those who are low-income or do not have access to reproductive health education. “By creating an app that’s easily accessible by women all over the world inside and outside of the health system, we’ve essentially increased the availability — and hopefully the uptake — for women who don’t want to use hormonal methods but also don’t have the time or funds or education levels to really learn from an instructor who might teach them about natural methods of family planning,” Simmons said. According to Jennings, her research team will also collect information on any social factors that may be related to an individual woman’s use

of Dot, such as how the app might affect a couple’s relationship and if a woman tires of using the app. Jennings said participants will be interviewed four times in the yearlong study, and will be prompted to answer survey questions on the app. Cycle Technologies is a social impact company focused on women’s health. They have already developed two other fertility planning tools, Cyclebeads and 2Day Method. According to Heyer, simplicity is the focus of all the company’s apps. “We are very focused on providing couples with simple, effective tools that will help them manage their fertility,” Heyer said. Heyer said Cycle Technologies hopes to use technological advances to both personalize fertility tracking and make it more accessible to women across the globe. With Dot, Heyer said she hopes Cycle Technologies will be able to tailor information to each woman based on her menstrual cycle. Heyer also mentioned that the development of smartphone technology makes fertility planning more accessible to women living in areas of the developing world. “Being offered via smartphone means that we are able to access a lot more

DOT

The GUMC Institute for Reproductive Health is planning to conduct a study on the fertility application Dot. women,” Heyer said. Simmons added that studying the app will provide information to women trying to decide on a method of birth control. “It’s important that you

evaluate it and test the efficacy of it because when a woman is deciding if she wants to use a method of family planning, she wants to know how effective it is in preventing pregnancy,” Simmons said.

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FRIday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Olympians Highlight Resilience in Face of Adversity MADELINE CHARBONNEaU Special to The Hoya

Overcoming obstacles to achieve success is the most valuable aspect of competition, according to Olympians Charlie Buckingham (COL ’11) and Michelle Konkoly (COL ’15) in a talk in Copley Formal Lounge on Feb. 16. Konkoly won four medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, including two golds in the 50 meters and 100m freestyle, while Buckingham placed 11th in the Laser sailing division at the Rio 2016 Olympics. The pair constitutes two of 47 Georgetown alumni who have competed in the Olympics. Buckingham said that while success is temporary, the lessons learned in the experience leading up to Olympics are permanent. “You experience that result for one second,” Buckingham said. “And when that’s gone, you feel pretty empty, so if the journey leading up to that has been all about the result, I think

you’ve missed something.” Konkoly was originally recruited to be part of Georgetown’s swimming team. But at the beginning of her freshman spring semester, she fell out of her dorm window on the fifth floor of Village C West, abruptly halting her collegiate swimming career. Rather than giving up on swimming, Konkoly decided to try out for the Paralympics, which she said allowed her to work through her disability alongside others facing similar challenges. “Georgetown offers so many things, but when I got to the Paralympics, I found this community of other athletes who did have physical disabilities,” Konkoly said. “So, it kind of filled that one little niche that was harder to find here.” Instead of competing in another Paralympics, Konkoly plans on attending medical school and hopes to be able to work with children with disabilities after she graduates. “I’d really like to do something with kids with

disabilities,” Konkoly said. “Meeting my Paralympic teammates has really shown me that they are some of the most incredible people in the world, and I’d love to continue working with that patient population.” Konkoly said although she will not be continuing to train and compete fulltime, her time at Rio — like her time at Georgetown — is an experience that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. “You’re an Olympian for life, just like you’re a Hoya for life, and being able to translate those lessons to your next step allows this to be such a more lasting experience,” Konkoly said. Buckingham said his time on Georgetown’s sailing team provided him with the skills and inspiration to qualify for the Olympics. “I always looked up to Olympic sailors, but it became a reality at Georgetown for sure,” Buckingham said. “When I came here and I learned what it took to become a better athlete, that’s

CAITLYN BRANDON FOR THE HOYA

Athletic Director Lee Reed, left, moderated a discussion between Olympians Michelle Konkoly (COL ’15) and Charlie Buckingham (COL ’11). when I feel I moved to the next level.” Buckingham said that he is getting ready for the 2020

games in Tokyo. “I’m already training for Tokyo,” Buckingham said. “When you are in the envi-

ronment and you see what’s possible, I am driven to get that gold medal. I’m going to go for it until I get it.”

Medical Student Club Promotes Awareness Club focuses on students without documentation Alex Mooney

Special to The Hoya

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown received a $1.5 million grant to help establish racial justice initiatives on campus, including the establishment of two faculty positions.

GU Receives Grant to Study Racial Justice $1.5 million grant to fund new initiatives Lily steinberg Hoya Staff Writer

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a private organization offering grants in part to colleges and universities, granted Georgetown University $1.5 million to help establish new racial justice initiatives on campus. The grant, announced by Georgetown on Feb. 13, was received Dec. 8. Starting in 2017, the grant will help fund two faculty positions, two postdoctoral fellows for two-year appointments, two five-year Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowships to graduate students in the humanities and a lecture series on racial justice. Provost Robert Groves, professor Gwen Mikell and associate professor Robert Patterson, who are all co-chairs for the Working Group on Racial Justice, submitted the proposal. Groves said the grant will help Georgetown achieve its goal of researching racial justice. “Georgetown is committed to expanding scholarship to address the persistent, enduring legacy of racism and segregation in the American experience,” Groves wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The Mellon Foundation, by this grant, helps us advance this work to support new faculty positions, funding for graduate students and further scholarship and engagement.” According to Senior Director for Strategic Communications Rachel Pugh, the money will also support the university’s efforts to address its history

with slavery. The university benefitted from the sale of 272 slaves to a Louisiana plantation in 1838. “A center for racial justice could also include an academic home for researching slavery and its legacies, as recommended by the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation and is something the racial justice working group is exploring,” Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We’re very pleased to have received this grant, mainly because it will support very important work on racial justice.” BART MOORE Vice President of Advancement

These advances come at a time of increased discussion of racial justice in the political sphere and renewed attention regarding the university’s historical relationship with slavery. Last year, University President John J. DeGioia announced the university would remove the names of two campus buildings, named after University President Fr. Thomas Mulledy, S.J., who authorized the sale of 272 slaves to a Louisiana plantation in 1838, and former University President Fr. William McSherry, S.J., who served as Mulledy’s lawyer during the sale.

The structures are now named for Isaac Hawkins, one of the slaves sold in 1838, and Anne Marie Becraft, the founder of a school in Georgetown for black girls in the 19th century. The Mellon Foundation has a long history with Georgetown University. Its mission is to promote the humanities for diverse and democratic societies. The foundation gave its first grant to the university in 1970, and has given over 30 grants since then. This most recent grant was the largest ever — at three times larger than the second-largest grant. The foundation’s cochairs will coordinate the use of its funds. The Mellon Foundation categorized the grant to Georgetown as part of its Diversity Program, which aims to support initiatives that diversify the faculty of higher education institutes and to help universities that strive to expand the attainability of education for historically underrepresented groups. Vice President of Advancement Bart Moore (SFS ’87) said the grant symbolizes a potential for future methods of funding new academic programs. “We’re very pleased to have received this grant, mainly because it will support very important work on racial justice,” Moore wrote in an email to The Hoya. “But also because it embodies the increasing role we anticipate institutional philanthropy will play in funding specific strategic ambitions that advance the academic mission of the university.”

Georgetown University Medical Center students launched a group last fall to raise awareness among medical students and administrators about the experiences of students without documentation. The group, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Undocumented Student Awareness Club, plans to educate medical students about the DACA program and their fellow students without documentation. The organization has accumulated 31 members since its creation. DACA, a program launched by an Obama Administration executive order in 2012, permits some individuals without documentation who entered the country before their 16th birthday to be protected from deportation through a deferral in the deportation process. Elaine Li (MED ’19), a student without documentation, was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States as a child. Li said undocumented students were often denied entrance into medical schools as well as financial aid before the implementation of DACA. “When I got the acceptance for Georgetown I was very happy, but at the same time it was quickly replaced by ‘Oh, how am I supposed to afford this?’ I don’t have money, I don’t have federal aid,” Li said. However, Li said GUMC tried to help with this issue by providing her with institutional loans for which all GUMC students are eligible. Undocumented Student Adviser Arelis Palacios, whom the university announced Nov. 2016 would replace part-time liai-

son Cinthya Salazar, said Georgetown is dedicated to providing resources to all students, regardless of legal status. “This university has been committed to undocumented students for a little bit over a decade, and has been really supportive of students who are wanting to get this education,” Palacios said. However, Palacios added that despite the university’s resources for students without documentation, their citizenship statuses still add day-to-day pressures. “The challenges for this population are truly greater than your average student,” Palacios said. “The reality is that most students aren’t worried about being deported, most students aren’t worried about their families being deported, perhaps their families being detained indefinitely.” Still, Aya De La Rosa (GRD ’20), an executive board member of the student group, said Georgetown can do more to support students without documentation, especially by informing prospective students what resources the university provides. “They didn’t know you could actually go to graduate school, that you could go to medical school [or that] you could even get financial aid because, for example, at Georgetown it’s not publicized,” De La Rosa said. “They don’t make it public that that’s a thing that happens, but other schools do.” According to Danny Flautero (GRD ’20), another executive board member of the organization, students themselves currently have to reach out to administrators to receive information about receiving financial aid or other information from the GUMC. “Right now, students

have to email the offices directly and say ‘Can I apply? What kinds of resources are there for me?’” Flautero said. Flautero said the club also aims to share personal stories of struggles faced by students without documentation, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s promises to expand deportations of immigrants without documentation. Li said the status of DACA and of older family members are a significant concern to club members. “We have DACA, but our families don’t have [it.] A lot of us right now worry about our parents or adults who couldn’t qualify for DACA,” Li said. De La Rosa said if Trump were to revoke the DACA program, many medical school graduates would be deported, despite their degrees or residency positions. “One of the fears that I think I would have, especially now with the current government, is that you’re doing the whole medical school for nothing,” De La Rosa said. “You have DACA status right now — let’s say you finish medical school — but if you don’t have DACA status it might be like you just did medical school for nothing. What do you do after that?” Flautero said the group has struggled to gain traction during its first few meetings, but is increasing outreach efforts. “We’ve been a little bit frustrated with some of the turnout at our events. We try to publicize them pretty openly and early on,” Flautero said. “We put a lot of effort in. We’ve had events where like one person has shown up before, and for other events it’s the same people that keep coming, but we feel like we’re not reaching out.”

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Georgetown University Medical Center students created a club to promote awareness about and advocate for students without documentation.

news

Friday, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

THE HOYA

StartupHoyas Microcoaching Helps Video Games Holds Student Business Event “A video game MICROCOACHING, from A10

COMPETITION, from A10

“This diversity of attendees is one of the things we love, because entrepreneurs come from all shapes, all walks of life, all disciplines,” Reid said. “Our entrepreneurship program at Georgetown here serves students across the entire university.” Presenters had two minutes to pitch their startups, with no question-and-answer session following. The jury was entirely composed of Georgetown faculty members. First up was Trade-ing Up, founded by Brian Vodicka (GRD ’18). Vodicka said he planned to work with local organizations and establish a trade school in Ghana in order to boost the region’s economic independence and address the skills gap in the developing world. “One advantage we have is not only to educate and allow them to be employed but also to drive inter-connected driving economies in this region and in Ghana,” Vodicka said.

“I realized I am not selling clothes anymore. I’m selling confidence.” chris gavin (MSB ’19) Founder, Rocket Bargain

Afterwards, Franklin Lee (GRD ’17) presented Celestial Nap Pod, followed by Pak Aranyawat (GRD ’17) who presented his startup, Trust-Alternative Credit Scoring, which aims to help low-income individuals obtain good credit scores. Following the first few presentations, Chris Gavin’s (MSB ’19) Rocket Bargain, an online platform for purchasing affordable name-brand clothing, was featured in the competition. Rocket Bargain has already sold $60,000 worth of merchandise at discounted prices to low-income Americans during the past four months. Additionally, Rocket Bargain partnered with Fashion Delivers, a charity which brings children and families new clothes, toys, furniture and books, in order to bolster its outreach. Gavin said he grew aware of the significance of his company’s mission in selling more

than just clothes. “I realized that I’m not selling clothes anymore, I’m selling confidence,” Gavin said. After presentations from VamosA, In A Box and VeriFact, entrepreneur-in-residence, Founder of Savenia Labs and President of Jamesmin Advisory, John Jabara delivered the keynote. Speaking on the meaning of social entrepreneurship and its relation to Georgetown’s Jesuit values, Jabara advised students about starting their own projects. According to Jabara, it is important to have a welldefined objective and target market, as well as to persist throughout the process. “Aim high and be specific about the social change you want. Keep poking until you hear ‘ouch,’” Jabara said. “What you find is you need to do a ton of customer discovery. In social entrepreneurial companies in particular, the main point isn’t always where you expect it’s going to be.” Following Jabara’s lecture, Febin Bellamy (MSB ’17) spoke on Unsung Heroes’ latest accomplishments in uniting facility workers and the broader Georgetown community. The competition was catered by Oneil Batchelor, a service worker at the university about whose business Unsung Heroes helped raise awareness. Sebastian Garcia (GRD ’17) introduced Ubiqua, an enterprise aimed at helping immigrants allocate remittances directly to goods and services without the need for intermediaries. Leopold, Foodasis, Hope Soaps, EdgeBiome and Crepe&Shake followed, with ThriveHealth’s Rainier Go (MSB ’17) closing the pitching portion of the competition. The third-place and corresponding $1000 went to Rocket Bargain. Ubiqua won both the people’s choice award and second-place, taking $2500 in total. Calvin Dass (MSB ’20), who presented the startup In A Box, gave a positive review of the event and said the experience was rewarding regardless if one won or not. “Even if you don’t win first prize, it’s still good, because you’re making all these connections, and you’re also getting to interact with people that you usually don’t see,” Dass said. “We’re all entrepreneurs, and we’re all trying to make it. The support that you get from other people who are trying to do something, make a positive change, is really great.”

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startup in D.C. is a rare kind of venture.”

emre ruhi (GRD ’17) Co-Founder, Microcoaching

“A video game startup in D.C. is a rare kind of venture, so, every time we spoke or we would go to a pitch competition or meet with advisors or mentors, we would have to start from the very beginning and let them know how big the video game industry actually is, that it’s a gigantic market,” Ruhi said. Tasch said in the future,

he and Ruhi hope to expand the scope of their business beyond the current platforms they serve and make Microcoaching even more convenient to use. “Right now, we’re focused on PC games, but we would love to move into mobile, PlayStation, Xbox and all those other consoles and make Microcoaching available not only through our website but while you’re playing the game,” Tasch said. Tasch and Ruhi are currently looking into the possibility of hiring Georgetown students as employees and encourage anyone with interests in entrepreneurship, technology or gaming to reach out to them. “We know that there is skill and ability right here where we are,” Ruhi said. “We want to stay close to home when it comes to building the company.”

Nicholson Discusses Importance of IT NICHOLSON, from A10

thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity. One, an opportunity to serve an institution like Georgetown, but also an opportunity to serve a totally different mission. I had never been in higher ed and Georgetown has a broad and varied and very interesting mission in the world, and I thought it sounded a like a great challenge. I was intrigued, and I agreed to come. What is your role at UIS, and how does it factor into its greater responsibilities? We are charged with providing really core IT technology. That means everything from the network operations, the Wi-Fi and supporting major applications that serve our teaching and learning mission. What are some day-to-day challenges UIS faces? Some of the challenges that we face are really change management and timing challenges. We are always looking to modernize our systems and address the remaining aging systems, and then in some cases our vendors haven’t caught up with modern technology. We have been very successful over the course of my time at Georgetown. We have replaced seven major systems or modernized seven major systems, and in just over five years, and we have taken our community through a substantial amount of change and improvements. I think it has been welcome to our community that we have engaged them in the discussions. We have consulted, we have modernized systems and really moved us closer to being a modern organization to support Georgetown. Where is IT infrastructure headed in the future? We are on a tip of an internet of things explosion. You talk about smart devices; you talk about sensors that may be coming into our campus. That brings a challenge to WiFi and security, and so we want to be able to be sure we can address those things. We need systems that are agile and can adapt to the experimental and

DATA, from A10

Last issue’s solutions

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Ruhi said a challenge they faced was legitimizing the video game industry in an East Coast market where gaming is less prominent.

COURTESY JUDD NICHOLSON

Chief Information Officer Judd Nicholson previously worked for the U.S. Marshals Service as deputy CIO before coming to work at Georgetown. the changing way we deliver course content to students or the way that faculty and students engage each other, the way students engage their peers. All those challenges need an adaptive, agile and modular infrastructure that we just didn’t have before. I think just now we are getting to the point where we — I think we can offer some really innovative solutions to our community. In order to offer modular and applications and solutions to our community, we needed a foundation. The second part would be the reason we are making the infrastructure improvements is that our Wi-Fi in some of the buildings is so old that we really were reaching capacity. When students were asking for gaming systems for streaming of video content or even our faculty were having difficulty streaming course content in the classroom, it was difficult for us to innovate or to provide different solutions unless we fix that core foundation. Do you have any advice for students on campus with technology-related issues? If they are experiencing

any challenges with technology or really just have some advice or recommendations about technology, we have a — what I think is a very successful student technology advisory board. We coordinate with GUSA to make sure we have GUSA leadership and student leadership on that advisory board. I would just encourage them to participate. The second thing I would say is just make sure it is known. You can communicate with me directly; you can communicate with our service center or any person on the staff and make them aware so we can resolve your problems. Our students are our future leaders and many of you will use technology in profound and innovative ways to solve problems for your generation. I really think technology is becoming an integrated component in our dayto-day lives, and it provides an opportunity to use technology to solve problems. What advice do you have for students to stay safe from cyber threats? We have a very comprehensive multi-layered cyber security strategy, and by that I mean our goal is to protect

our community from cyber attack. We have put in place a number of technical controls to prevent unauthorized access to our core data or what I would call our confidential data. That is information about students’ information, about our academics, information about our people and our financial information. But, with that said, it really only takes one person responding to a potential phishing attempt for a nefarious actor to get access to their credentials. What I would say students can do is, and it might sound simple, but basic human security actions such as being on alert. If they get an email that doesn’t look quite right or asking them to do things like put in their password and credentials, they should raise those issues and send them to our security folks to have a look at. They should use good password management, use complex passwords and very simple things like using antivirus programs, be running those in the background. Almost all security breaches are the result of human error, and hackers know that, and they often use social engineering to do that.

Event Protects Climate Change Data

“What we’re trying to do is keep them fun and make them more fun by removing kind of a pain point for players who are either getting into a game or want to get to the next level of competition,” Ruhi said. Both founders credited Georgetown and its resources, from the “Startup Factory” course to the Summer Launch Program run by StartupHoyas to the support from professors and mentors as crucial to their success. To this day, they continue to visit the “Chalk Talks” held by Georgetown’s entrepreneurs-inresidence. “The professors and the entrepreneurs-in-residence — all of them have been so welcoming, and any, time we needed any advance, we could email one of them,” Tasch said. Tasch further noted the

process of starting a business is very complex and highlighted the importance of having resources that can provide extensive guidance. “There are so many areas you have to fill, no matter what, when you are starting a business, and there’s no way you’re going to know it all,” Tasch said. “So, when you have these resources here at Georgetown that really have the experience and expertise to guide you, it’s just invaluable.” According to Ruhi, their connections with fellow MBA peers have helped them understand certain aspects of business in which they had no previous expertise. “It’s really nice to have such a diverse background of your peers where I can go to someone who used to be a CPA and say, ‘Hey, does our accounting stuff look right?’” Ruhi said.

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remained a high priority despite the numerous scandals and conflicts in which the country was involved. “Remember that this was not a calm period in American history politically. It was the Vietnam War, Watergate, oil embargo, but environmental issues remained at the top of the legislative agenda because of sustained pressure from the public.” Calel was disappointed at the United States’ diminishing role as a global leader in environmental policy as a result of regressive legislation and inaction. Calel said that, although victories have been made on a variety of issues, little progress has been achieved on other pressing matters, including rising atmospheric carbon emissions and carbon dioxide. Calel said, that although in the recent past the public has prioritized economic growth over environmental protection, that trend has reversed.

“Since the recession, the polls have showed that the public favors economic growth over environmental protection. But in the last three years, that has flipped back again,” Calel said.

“I am a true believer in the power of data, and it breaks my heart seeing what’s happening right now at the federal level.” Denice Ross Public Interest Technology Fellow, New America

Calel said citizens have more power to influence change than what anyone would have imagined in the past. “I just want to reiterate that we are not powerless. If anything, the problem is we are more powerful than our parents and grandparents ever

imagined we would be,” Calel said. Public Interest Technology Fellow at New America Denice Ross advocated for the project’s potential for democratizing data. Ross said she is dismayed at the federal government’s attitude toward the larger issue. “I am a true believer in the power of data, and it breaks my heart seeing what’s happening right now at the federal level,” Ross said. Ross further pointed to the conflicts that arise when citizens are left to collect data for themselves. Rose cited the example of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, where residents had to move from house -to-house to collect information about property conditions for aid purposes. “It’s quite a burden on residents who are trying to rebuild their houses and their communities and their schools — to also have to collect data to help inform the recovery,” Ross said. Ross said such situations

can further reinforce socioeconomic disparities. “Those with greater resources and time and privileges to do this type of data collection have better data than neighborhoods where people are struggling more and don’t have the gift of extra time and resources,” Ross said. Founding Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities Bethany Wiggin said there are still weaknesses in current methods of data storage and presentation. “Data has a social life, and the people who are appointed to make access to that data can also turn off the access to that data and make it go dark,” Wiggin said. “We thought, ‘it’s not just in the internet, and the internet’s got it.’ It could go away.” During the weekend, partner events were also held in Boston, Boulder, Colo., Haverford, Pa. and at the University of New Hampshire.

Business & Tech FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Tech Tips UPS BEGINS Initial testing of Delivery drones United Parcel Service Inc. is testing a new type of delivery drone according to a Tech Crunch article published Feb. 20. UPS plans to drop off packages using an octocopter drone launched from a modified UPS delivery truck. The company’s delivery drone is known as the HorseFly, tailored to work with UPS vehicles. The proposed drone delivery system allows drivers to deliver packages to distant addresses that large UPS trucks cannot easily reach — a situation common in rural areas. The HorseFly has a carbon fiber construction, can carry a package up to 10 pounds and flies 7 minutes longer than do most consumer drones. Its flight time is about 30 minutes and its top speed is 45 miles per hour. The HorseFly uses both a 4G LTE connection and a radio frequency link with the delivery truck in the event one or the other fails.

Verizon Negotiates lower price for Yahoo acquisition Verizon Communications Inc. lowered its original offer to buy Yahoo by $350 million, paying $4.48 billion instead of the original $4.83 billion price, according to a Verizon press release Feb. 21. This new price is a result of Yahoo admitting in December of 2016 to more than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts being compromised in 2013, making it the largest email breach in history. In addition, another 500 million accounts were affected in another cyberattack in 2014. The Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo is also under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for potentially failing to properly disclose the leaks. According to Reuters, the two companies signed the deal Sunday evening after weeks of talks between Verizon and Yahoo executives to negotiate the price reduction. The companies expect to close the deal in the second quarter of 2017.

Students Pitch Startups at Competition

Haley Snyder Hoya Staff Writer

On Feb. 14, StartupHoyas hosted a competition titled Entrepreneurship: A Force for Good, at which 16 student-led startups pitched their ideas and products. Grants were awarded based on a four-tier system. A people’s choice winner was chosen using the popular vote and received $500. The third-, second- and first-place teams were determined by the jury, and received $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.

“Aim high and be specific about the social change you want. Keep poking until you hear ‘ouch.’” John Jabara Founder, Savenia Labs

First place and the grand prize of $3,000 went to Shivum Bharill’s (COL ’17) Thrive Health, which provides students the opportunity to connect with registered therapists through video chat. Bharill said his startup allows student more flexibility in choosing therapists. “Students have the ability to connect with therapists beyond those on their own campus,” Bharill said. “Accessibility leads to convenience. Easier video chatting

Hoya Staff Writer Sarah Fisher compiled this week’s TECH TIPS.

means that students can meet with therapists in the privacy of their own dorm or apartment.” The event featured entrepreneurs aiming to instigate social change through their original initiatives. Participants represented all undergraduate schools, numerous post-graduate programs,

the School of Continuing Studies, the Law Center and the Global Competitive Leadership Program. The event was co-sponsored by the Compass Fellows Program, Innovo Solutions, the Georgetown University Social Impact and Public Service Fund, the Georgetown University Global Social Enterprise

Initiative and the Georgetown University Center for Social Justice. At the competition, Director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative Jeff Reid praised the diversity of people and ideas that participated in the program’s forums. See COMPETITION, A9

Q&A:Judd Nicholson Promotes Technology’s Role on Campus William Zhu Hoya Staff Writer

Astronomers discover seven Earth-like PLANETS In a research paper published in Nature, a peer-reviewed science journal, researchers announced they had discovered seven planets that could potentially sustain life in a star system 39 light-years away on Feb. 22. These are the most terrestrial exoplanets astronomers have ever discovered. Michaël Gillon of the University of Liège in Belgium was the lead author of the report. The seven planets orbited the red dwarf star, TRAPPIST-1, which is about a quarter as warm as the Earth’s sun. The planets were located in the habitable zone of the star, meaning that the temperature of the planets allow for the presence of liquid water, a key requirement for life. All seven exoplanets have similar masses to Earth as well, and astronomers are expected further examine the newly discovered solar system. According to the research paper, the NASA helped with the research by contributing the observations of the Spitzer Space Telescope operated by California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

COURTESY STARTUPHOYAS

Nitin Iyengar, left, Sebastien Garcia (GRD ’17), Rainier Go (MSB ’17), Shivum Bharill (COL ’17) and Chris Gabon attended Entrepreneurship: A Force for Good, where 16 student startups competed.

COURTESY MICROCOACHING

Dan Tasch (GRD ’17), along with his partner Emre Ruhi (GRD ‘17), founded Microcoaching as a videogame tutoring company.

Georgetown Students Start Video Game Tutoring Company Megan Carey Hoya Staff Writer

Microcoaching, an on-demand video game coaching platform founded by Emre Ruhi (GRD ’17) and Dan Tasch (GRD ’17), connects gamers seeking to improve their skills with more experienced players to minimize frustration and maximize enjoyment. Both Ruhi and Tasch have possessed a passion for gaming since high school. After meeting in the “Startup Factory” course at the McDonough School of Business in March 2016, the two decided to turn it into a business venture. Ruhi said that Microcoaching

was based on the value of interplayer cooperation, with the startup attempting to create a network for gamers. “I found that being able to ask someone who’s played the game a lot was super effective and extremely useful,” Ruhi said. “Microcoaching is trying to spread that beyond people who already have that network.” Ruhi noted the importance of both providing experts with a platform to share their knowledge and helping less experienced players cope with the frustration of being stuck. See MICROCOACHING, A9

Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Georgetown Judd Nicholson talked with The Hoya about his background, current University Information Services projects and technology issues relevant to students on campus. Can you introduce yourself and give us some information on your background and experiences that you bring to UIS? I am the vice president for information technology and chief information officer. I have been at Georgetown — this summer will be five years. I originally came to Georgetown as the deputy chief information officer from my previous assignment as the deputy CIO at the U.S. Marshals Service. I spent all of my career either in the federal government or the military and largely centered around IT or technology operations and how to implement technology to better serve the mission of the organization that I belong with. Tell us about your work in the U.S. Marshals Service and the military. At the U.S. Marshals Service,

I was the deputy CIO. I was in charge of all of the day-to-day operations across the United States. There are 93 districts within the U.S. Marshals Service, and my job was to provide network operations and support the mission application for the mission of the U.S. Marshals across the U.S., the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We had close collaborations with Interpol and other departments within the Department of Justice. It was my job to make sure that all of the technology worked. It was a 24by-7, 365-day operation. A lot of the time the technology needed to work so that people’s lives were not in danger. What brought you to Georgetown? The previous CIO, when she was appointed the CIO here at Georgetown, I was still at the Marshals Service, and she asked me to come and help her with the work here at Georgetown, and I thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity. One, an opportunity to serve an institution like Georgetown, but also an opportunity to serve a totally different mission. I had never been in higher ed and Georgetown has a broad and varied and very interesting mission in the world, and I See NICHOLSON, A9

University Hosts Federal Climate Data Rescue Event Megan Carey Hoya Staff Writer

ELLA WAN FOR THE HOYA

DataRefuge launched an effort to save government climate research data on the fifth floor of Lauinger Library on Feb. 18.

Students, faculty, librarians and scientists gathered at Lauinger Library and the Reiss Science Building Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 to partake in datarescueDC, an attempt to preserve federal environmental data in the event that President Donald Trump’s administration deletes it. The two-day event was organized by DataRefuge, a project aiming to seed, sort, harvest and store environmental statistics and information that scientists believe to be at risk of elimination under Trump’s new environmental policies. Experts spoke on the subject and received further training prior to participating in Sunday’s amassing of data. Assistant professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy Raphael Calel spoke on the shifting attitudes toward environmental issues found throughout American history.

Calel said the arts and literature, such as the influential novel, “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson play a large role in molding public opinion and influencing the implementation of new federal environmental regulation.

“She painted an unforgettable pciture of a world where birds had all died out.” Raphael Calel Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy

“She painted an unforgettable picture of a world where birds had all died out and spring would come without birdsong,” Calel said. “Her

book caused a national outcry and then, over the next decade, one book after another followed, building public awareness and a public movement for environmental issues.” Calel also said citizen-driven movements have the potential to influence environmental legislation, drawing on the policies of the Nixon administration as an example. “Nixon, who was no environmentalist, still felt like he couldn’t stand in the way of this movement. When he became president, he passed some of the most important environmental laws in the country’s history,” Calel said. “The Clean Air Act Amendment, the Clean Water Act Amendment, created the first enforceable water quality and air quality standards, and the list just goes on.” Calel said that because of public opinion, environmental issues during the Nixon administration See DATA, A9