The Hoya: November 1, 2013

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 95, No. 18, © 2013

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

FALL FOOD ISSUE

We’ve rounded up the best options for every dining desire in the District.

EDITORIAL The SFS should augment its core with a science requirement.

SPECIAL PULLOUT GUIDE

CAB DRIVERS UNITE Amid a fight over credit card readers, taxi drivers unionize.

MEN’S SOCCER The Hoyas still have a return to the championship in their crosshairs.

NEWS, A6

OPINION, A2

SPORTS, A10

Lights Go Out for What’s After Dark

A HILLTOP HALLOWEEN

Sober-nightlife support group axed in budget squeeze MALLIKA SEN Hoya Staff Writer

KAYLA NOGUCHI/THE HOYA

Lucas Osbourne, a part-time cowboy and son of photography professor Michael Osbourne, joined local children for trick-or-treating Thursday evening at the GUSA Safe Night event on Copley Lawn. See story A5.

The Center for Student Engagement will discontinue the What’s After Dark program in response to university-wide budget cuts, resulting in a partial loss of funding for Relay for Life, the Georgetown Program Board and other groups.

What’s After Dark operates on a grant from the university and distributes funds to student organizations for late-night programming that do not involve alcohol. While the program will proceed with established commitments, it will no longer accept new applications for funding beginning today.

“There are some annual programs that we know we want to try to support, and we’re honoring the commitments that have been made so far but not actively soliciting new apps for funding. And there won’t be … What’s After Dark-generated programs in the spring,” Director of Student Engagement Erika Cohen Derr said.

What’s After Dark was axed in lieu of pay cuts for staff members, Cohen Derr said. Current program staff will stay on in student affairs.

“The university is going through

a cost-cutting exercise across the board, so when we looked at the programs that we could potentially cut, obviously we didn’t want to cut staff positions,” Cohen Derr said.

The funding from What’s After Dark will go toward future initiatives, like the Healey Family Student Center, set to open in fall 2014. What’s After Dark’s exact budget was not available at press time.

“I think one of the reasons What’s After Dark was where we took the cut was we’re preparing to open the HFSC. We want to make sure that that space has funding and support to provide an active social life for students,” Cohen Derr said. “HFSC will need programming, staffing and maintenance money. Right now we’re in the process of making those plans for next year. If we have to both cut costs and also plan to open a new space in the future, all of that’s being taken into consideration.”

What’s After Dark is a large contributor to the Georgetown Program Board, in addition to Relay for Life and — for the first time last year — Georgetown Day, for which the group funded the 2AM Club concert.

“We’ll have to start earlier with seeking our donations [but] there’s more than enough time to salvage,” said Georgetown Day Chair Andi DeBellis (MSB ’14), who also works in marketing and programming for the Center for Student Engagement.

Midnight Breakfast, offered during finals week, will likely be limited to See DARK, A6

FACULTY FACE UPHILL BATTLE

Adjunct Unionization A National Struggle

Non-Tenure Faculty Feel Neglect at GU

HIROMI OKA

CHRISTOPHER ZAWORA

@thehoya

Professor Oded Meyer

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ly in the context of building some of our new buildings,” DeGioia said. “We weren’t even sure we had To the students in Oded Meyer’s office space for everybody.” statistics classes, Meyer is just like A group of administrators and any other professor. But as a full- faculty working to address grievtime faculty member not on the ances will be formed in the coming tenure track, Meyer’s experience weeks, with changes expected to is markedly different from that of be implemented by the end of the many other faculty members. year.

“It really gave me the feeling of “We don’t want this process to being a second-class citizen,” Meyer be unilateral coming from us and said. “Who wants to be treated like the provost’s office saying, ‘This is that?” what we’re going to do.’ We need to After adjunct faculty unionized engage in a conversation. We need in May, non-tenure-line full-time to sit together and work out solufaculty at Georgetown are voicing tions,” Vice Proconcerns over vost for Faculty inconsistency in Affairs Adriana their treatment.

I’ve been spoiled at Kugler told THE Their posi.

Carnegie Mellon by HOYA tions are imThe profesbued with sors’ concerns being treated as an are based on a ambiguity, as the category enperceived lack of equal. compasses 259 respect from the professors, ranguniversity and ODED MEYER Georgetown Professor of Mathmatics ing from visitadministrative ing professors disorganization to heads of programs whose main that affects their treatment. focus is teaching rather than re“We have typically much higher search. While these professors course loads and much less respect, work full-time, they are not posi- so the idea is that you are ‘just’ dotioned to apply for tenure. As full- ing teaching, so that puts teaching time professors, however, they are in a second-class position,” said Sylalso excluded from the adjunct via Onder, visiting associate profesmovement. sor of Turkish, who has been in her At a faculty town hall in mid-Oc- current role since 1989. tober, professors questioned UniNon-tenure-line full-time faculty versity President John J. DeGioia members lack the ability to vote on on the topic. DeGioia said that departmental issues and also have Georgetown was attentive to the in- a wide range of salaries. creasing concerns formed by nonAcross departments, these factenure-line full-time faculty when ulty members do not have conrenovating office space on campus. sistent titles and are referred to “We became aware of the dy- as visiting professors, clinical namic over the course of roughly the past six, seven years, particularSee TENURE, A6

Hoya Staff Writer

SEIU headquarters

Professor Sylvia Onder

JULIA HENNRIKUS AND CHARLIE LOWE/THE HOYA

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

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protest unionization, PLU and Duquesne University, a Catholic university in Pittsburgh, claimed Last year, Michael Ng worked that their religious affiliations exthree jobs and made $34,000, and empted them from the jurisdiction his salary is nowhere close to what of the National Labor Relations he needs to pay off the thousands Board, which governs elections for of dollars he has in student loans. labor unions.

His situation is not a unique one.

The PLU adjunct movement took Ng, an adjunct professor at Seat- off in February, but the university tle University, is one of the many delayed the adjuncts’ chance to faces of the adjunct unionization unionize until this fall by argumovement that is sweeping the ing religious exemption in front country. of the regional NLRB. Though the But Ng, who taught at Pacific board ruled in favor of the profesLutheran University in Tacoma, sors, the hearing delayed the adWash., last year, ran into an unex- junct vote until the next academic pected problem year, giving the when he and university the other adjuncts summer to moI hope they will there attempted Adminstand aside and let bilize. to unionize to istrators sent negotiate for emails through us decide how to better pay and the provost’s ofother benefits: fice encouraging improve our lives. religious exempadjuncts to vote tion. against collecMICHAEL NG Professor at Seattle University tive bargaining.

-----------------------------PLU Communications Officer Chris Albert did not When Georgetown’s adjunct respond to requests for comment. professors unionized this summer, The summer campaign did not they served as an exception to the stop the vote on unionization from rule for both religious and secular happening in September, but the institutions of higher education. university appealed the election to According to Anne McLeer, direc- NLRB at the national level, and the tor of higher education and strate- votes were impounded before they gic planning for Service Employees could be counted. Now, adjuncts International Union Local 500, at PLU are awaiting the NLRB’s demany schools put up a fight when cision on whether the university adjuncts attempt to unionize. falls under the board’s jurisdiction.

“Georgetown was the first uni“We’re stuck at this point, and versity that did nothing, absolutely we don’t know what the timeline nothing, to fight the union and is,” said Jane Harty, an adjunct projust let things happen without the fessor in the music department employer weighing in,” McLeer at PLU. “This may not be in my said.

While Georgetown did not See ADJUNCTS, A5

Hoya Staff Writer

Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, november 1, 2013

THE VERDICT

C EDITORIALS C A Crude Confessional C Founded January 14, 1920

Georgetown Confessions jolted the Hilltop upon its inception last spring, dragging volatile issues like race, sex and class to the forefront of student awareness.

Many participated, and the initial outrage soon simmered as Confessions became a mainstay in campus culture.

More recently, the anonymous Facebook page returned to the spotlight when the Department of Public Safety investigated a death threat aimed at a Georgetown student through Confessions. The administrator of the page soon posted an apology, citing an oversight in filtering, and posting halted for several weeks.

Recently, however, posts have resumed as if nothing ever happened — a remarkable act of irresponsibility by the administrator. Going forward, the host must filter all content that specifically targets individuals. If not, students should reconsider their patronage of the page.

There is certainly a case to be made for the value of anonymous speech platforms, but abuse of such a platform, with the recent death threat as an extreme example, should be moderated. By serving as a fo-

rum for violent and hateful sentiments behind a screen of anonymity, confessions pages around the country provide an avenue to intimidate, humiliate or alienate innocent members of the community.

For this reason, Georgetown Confessions ought to self-regulate, refusing to post not only death threats but also any attack on an individual.

While neither the subjects of posts nor the university hold the power to restrict threatening speech in this case, our community as a whole should recognize that such confession pages survive solely by virtue of their popularity. Georgetown students, as the consumers of the Confessions product, hold serious sway over its content. By refusing to visit the page when its administrator posts vitriolic personal sentiments, the community can assert its distaste for such activity.

License to free speech does not absolve personal responsibility for its consequences. Those who visit Georgetown Confessions bear a responsibility to withhold their participation when content goes against their conscience.

Safe From Science?

The acronym SFS has earned itself a meaning besides School of Foreign Service: safe from science. While some students enjoy the respite from chemistry and biology, it is time for the school to move forward on proposals to integrate science into its core curriculum.

Few would doubt that science and technology are beneficial to studying international affairs. Although politics are central to global issues like climate change, nuclear proliferation and international trade, some background in science is also critical to a comprehensive understanding of global issues.

Indeed, this is exactly why the Science, Technology and International Affairs major exists.

However, the school’s heavy 17-course core curriculum — which introduces students to its history, economics and politics majors — notably excludes science.

Instead, it relies on a notoriously tough gateway course required for STIA majors to introduce them to the science component of the curriculum. This means that some SFS students who might otherwise choose STIA are deterred from this academic path and those who don’t actively seek out elective science courses lack any exposure to the countless connec-

grammers reach out to student constituents, perhaps with more personalized emails or by employing social media invitations on Facebook, event planners could increase the likelihood of a high turnout, filled with attendees who are likely to ask informed, intelligent questions. More students would savor the chance to meet their federal representatives if notices of existing opportunities were better disseminated.

Visits from local representatives challenge students to keep up with the politics of their hometown — often difficult in the fast-paced college bubble.

But at a school with such frequent bigname visitors, it becomes easy to tune out lecture announcements and invitations. A better way of publicizing events — and thereby matching undergraduates with their visiting representatives — would substantially increase attendance and more importantly, political participation.

Danny Funt, Editor-in-Chief Emma Hinchliffe, Executive Editor Hunter Main, Managing Editor Victoria Edel, Online Editor Eitan Sayag, Campus News Editor Penny Hung, City News Editor Laura Wagner, Sports Editor Sheena Karkal, Guide Editor Katherine Berk, Opinion Editor Alexander Brown, Photography Editor Ian Tice, Layout Editor David Chardack, Copy Chief Lindsay Lee, Blog Editor

New Wheels — The District Department of Transportation recently completed a study analyzing potential new transit from Union Station to Georgetown and has decided that a streetcar is the most feasible option.

Oh, Christmas Tree — The National Christmas Tree Lottery, which offers tickets to the national tree lighting ceremony in early December, is open through Nov. 4.

Monument Blackout — After this weekend, the Washington Monument will no longer be lit at night for the rest of its restoration.

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD US ... @stigmaactionnet Oct. 30 Proud to see my Alma Mater has amazing students who improve their peers’ access to #condoms/#safesex! @thehoya #HIV @GUAlumni

Oct. 28 Congrats, @GUHoyasMSoccer! RT @thehoya: Georgetown’s OT win at Marquette moves them to 1st place tie atop Big East. @Glidehoyas Oct. 28 Great article on @jstreetu Georgetown in @thehoya. Awesome work by @JakeSorrells and others in organizing the event @GtownNHS

Oct. 28 Read @thehoya story about three NHS undergrads @Georgetown working with @takefightwin @LombardiCancer. @allison_link

Oct. 28 A refreshing and needed example of the administration listening to the students, via @thehoya

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Janet Zhu

tions between science and international relations.

Of course, incorporating this requirement would present a host of difficulties. The SFS core is already stringent and leaves students with little wiggle room for electives or certificates. To address that, a science class should replace one of the existing requirements. Perhaps reducing the number of required economics or history classes would solve the problem, though this cut would likely stir conflict within these departments, which would be reluctant to see lower enrollment in their disciplines.

It’s important to note that instead of modeling a traditional science class, taught by the biology, physics, chemistry or computer science departments, for instance, the new science course should innovatively combine scientific disciplines and directly apply them to world affairs from the past and present.

SFS students who take pride in being safe from science are in danger of missing a valuable chance to broaden their education. We cannot strive to be global citizens seeking solutions to world problems without knowledge of science — a fact that the SFS should intuitively be the first to appreciate.

How to Fill Gaston Hall Although it seems that incessantly talking politics is a way of life on the Hilltop, students seldom take advantage of myriad chances to talk one on one with the subjects of said political banter.

The fact that members of Congress and other policymakers frequent our campus is a privilege of our location in the capital; our luck is only increased by frequent, direct access to them. On Tuesday, for instance, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (SFS ’66, LAW ‘69) returned to Gaston Hall to deliver a lecture on immigration reform. All students hailing from Illinois were invited to the event, as well as to a post-lecture meet and greet with the senator. But the intriguing event suffered from relatively weak attendance overall. This type of chance for students to interact with their representatives is valuable and more should be done to promote and publicize such programs.

By changing the manner in which pro-

Hats for Hipsters — Wisconsin Avenue will soon be home to the Goorin Bros. Hat Shop, a small hat boutique.

Madison Ashley Mallika Sen Natasha Khan TM Gibbons-Neff Tom Hoff Dillon Mullan Will Edman Kim Bussing Lindsay Leasor Robert DePaolo Jackie McCadden Matthew Grisier Nick Phalen Chris Grivas Charlie Lowe Michelle Xu Kennedy Shields Karl Pielmeier

Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Deputy Business Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Sports Blog Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Layout Editor Deputy Blog Editor

Contributing Editors

Editorial Board

Chris Bien, Patrick Curran, Evan Hollander, Sarah Kaplan, Braden McDonald, Hiromi Oka, Remy Samuels

Taylor Coles, Alyssa Huberts, Hanaa Khadraoui, Sam Rodman, Christopher Stromeyer

Katherine Berk, Chair

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: To say that Patrick Boyden’s column, “Pornography Sells Our Sexuality Short,” (A3, Oct. 28, 2013) is wrong would be an understatement. It is Boyden who “sells our sexuality short.” Most egregiously, the fact that women might enjoy pornography, or that queer people might exist, is completely omitted, notable in light of the recent homophobic adventures of Love Saxa.

He also contends that pornography is “unbelievably” addictive. And he’s right — I don’t believe him. Cursory investigation into the subject reveals his error. For example, Psychology Today reported that “people who are problem users of porn are actually people with high libidos, NOT people whose brains have been warped [by] sex and porn.” Unfortunately for Boyden, believing in something very much does not make it so: Pornography also doesn’t produce “warped” brains. It may produce some unrealistic expectations. Yet, it turns out, the vast majority of adults are capable of distinguishing between

pornography and reality. The fact that pornography satisfies desires we do not — or cannot — satisfy through sexual intercourse does not mean that the sex we have or the love we share with others means less.

While Boyden’s struggle with pornography addiction is tragic, his attempt to impose his own problematic view of women and relationships with pornography upon us all must be resisted. Whether pornography is “truly” satisfying is a choice that each person must make for herself. To those who struggle with the existence of pornography, I have this to say: The sexual revolution has already happened. The queers have left the closet and the women have left the kitchen; the next time you get the urge to deny the existence of queers, or ignore the ability of women to make their own choices, I’d challenge you not to give in to your need for instant gratification. You are better than that — let’s talk.

Mary Nancy Walter, General Manager Jason Yoffe, Director of Accounting Mariah Byrne, Director of Corporate Development Mullin Weerakoon, Director of Marketing Michal Grabias, Director of Personnel Michael Lindsay-Bayley, Director of Sales Kevin Tian, Director of Technology Natasha Patel Christina Wing Tessa Bell Nitya Rajendran James Church Dimitrios Roumeliotis Michael Taylor Nicole Yuksel Addie Fleron Preston Marquis Taylor Doaty Brian Carden Eric Isdaner Simon Wu Taylor Wan

Alumni Relations Manager Special Events Manager Accounts Manager Operations Manager Publishing Division Consultant Statements Manager Treasury Manager Public Relations Manager Human Resources Manager Professional Development Manager Institutional Diversity Manager Local Advertisements Manager Online Advertisements Manager Systems Manager Web Manager

Board of Directors

Evan Hollander, Chair

Kent Carlson, Danny Funt, Vidur Khatri, Braden McDonald, Samantha Randazzo, Mary Nancy Walter

Noah Baron (LAW ’15)

Policies & Information 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 600-800 words.

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.

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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.

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OPINION

friday, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • Rassias

The Perils of Unlimited Consumption

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James Gadea

All People Deserve The Dream A recent article in The Hoya (“Dreamers Share Stories,” Oct. 25, 2013, A7) about Georgetown students affected by the Dream Act revealed to me how closely immigration reform hits home on the Hilltop. Reformers in Washington have called for an environment that is more welcoming of immigrants, particularly in regards to citizenship, with moral and political appeals. I support these efforts for reform, and I’d like to address the tangible benefits of immigration. Immigrants bring both cultural and economic wealth to this country. Therefore, we should not treat them as a second class.

I am particularly influenced by immigration reform advocate and professor Thomas E. Lehman. He presents a stellar economic justification for reform by stating: “Immigration policy should not be viewed differently than trade policy… The free movement of peoples is no less important than the freedoms of speech, expression and association. Liberty is indivisible; the laws of economics apply equally to all peoples.”

I argue that the United States’ economic engine is not only shaped but also bolstered by its immigrants. A report from the Partnership for a New American Economy found that the revenue generated by Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or by children of immigrants exceeds the GDP of every country in the world besides the United States, excepting China and Japan. In 2010, these Fortune 500 companies generated $4.2 trillion. Steve Jobs, Walt

The U.S. economic engine is powered by its immigrants.

Disney, the founders of Oracle, IBM, Clorox, Boeing, 3M and Home Depot were all children of immigrants.

Yet many policymakers and citizens still won’t relinquish their qualms about the costs of immigration. But, these fears are statistically unfounded. The Cato Institute, a prominent libertarian think tank, has called for Congress to change the immigration system, stating, “Based on recent experience, a policy that allows more low-skilled workers to enter the United States legally would not necessarily expand the number of people living in poverty or the number of lowskilled households demanding government services. It would not impose significant costs on American society in the form of welfare spending or crime abatement.”

I unequivocally support immigration reform in the United States.

Congress should make it easier for immigrants to earn citizenship once they are here because reform will reap more than just economic benefits. This country is great because it invites people from all over the world to come to America and to become Americans. Those who yearn for freedom, those who seek a better life, those who believe in their dreams — these are all the people who deserve a home in this country.

These are the immigrants, undocumented and documented, who come here. We need to open our doors to the world and to welcome those who seek to be American if we hope to uphold our country’s creed.

Let them live the American dream that we all cherish, for it will make us better as a country. We will have a homeland where the American dream is preserved. And, in the end, we will all be thankful that we decided to open our doors to worthy strangers, regardless of whether they were poor or rich. After all, our forefathers were once strangers, too.

James Gadea is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. Elephant in the Room appears every other Friday.

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he drive to live the good life is something all Americans can identify with, and I believe that our generation is characterized by a fixation on conspicuous consumption. A pervasive mindset encourages us to buy, buy and buy — to keep up with, and surpass, people such as the Kardashians.

What could be wrong with that?

Commoditization is a very American ideal that is ingrained in all of us. But in recent years, our buying culture has become more obvious — and more dangerous — than at any other point. Arbiters of popular culture such as celebrities and television executives have created and driven an insatiable desire for luxury items and interest in material extravagance has gone through the roof. But unfortunately, this American increase in desire for gold watches and new cars is inextricably linked to an underlying need to exploit fossil fuels and other finite resources.

If we look at the earth as a commodity, then fossil fuels are impossible to ignore. They make our world function. But their exploitation, as well as deforestation, overfishing and over-hunting is an epidemic that threatens our planet’s future. As a pace-setting leader in the world, America should be the pioneer for protecting and preserving the planet, not for sucking its resources dry. The preservation of humanity depends on the health of the planet, and as long as this materialistic culture reigns supreme, there can be no major progress in the field of preservation. This should be intolerable to all of us. A new car or house may

Earth is our most valuable commodity, but we’d do well to remember that it is also finite. be attractive, but ultimately, the Earth and its resources are simply too irreplaceable to let these desires outweigh conservation.

The conflicts here are self-evident. The earth has finite resources available to which all people lay legitimate claim. Nearly every-

thing the Earth possesses — trees, diamonds, gold, silver or any commodity, really — can be lucrative trade. Hampshire College professor Michael Klare’s “Scarce Resource” hypothesis predicts that countries will take up arms for basic human resources like water.

Viewpoint • Husain

This future is not as far off as it may seem; many current wars reflect resource conflicts. For instance, in Nigeria and Darfur, control and management of resources is a central point of ongoing civil wars. This fierce struggle will only be exacerbated by the continuous and unrelenting abuse of Earth’s finite resources.

American popular culture is undoubtedly obsessed with accumulating physical possessions, and in that respect many of us have been successful. Within the affluent portion of our nation, there is no shortage of cars, yachts and mansions. We’ve been lucky thus far that the Earth has had enough resources — oil, natural gas, water, rubber and wood for example — to offer our generation tremendous opportunities for monetary gain.

There is only so much the planet can offer, however, and with exponentially increasing populations, resources are already scarce.

Individually and as a university, we are all armed and ready to make a difference in reversing this trend toward the material. Recycling is a start, and recent initiatives from our own Office of Sustainability are certainly admirable, but the real problem lies within the deeper culture of America itself.

There’s an old adage in real estate: “Buy land; they don’t make it anymore.” In this case, the phrase is used to encourage a culture of consumption. But we’d all do well to remember that our most valuable commodity — the planet — is also our most finite.

Jerry D. Rassias is a sophomore in the College.

STATE OF PLAY

Rethinking the Politics Moderation Proves Key Behind a US Embargo To Victory in Virginia

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n Tuesday, 188 of 193 nation members of the United Nations General Assembly voted for the 22nd year in a row for a resolution that condemns U.S. sanctions against Cuba. Only Israel joined the United States in voting against the resolution. The impact of this year’s vote on Washington must have been particularly offending, however. The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau, which voted with Israel and the United States against a similar resolution last year, decided this year to abstain alongside Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

U.S. envoy Ronald Godard dismissed the resolution the international community overwhelmingly endorsed, saying, “Our sanctions policy toward Cuba is just one of the tools in our overall effort to encourage respect for the civil and human rights consistent with the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights].”

However, U.S. sanctions against Cuba in themselves violate international and human rights laws that provide limits to the imposition of sanctions so they do not negatively impact the enjoyment of social, cultural and economic rights in the targeted country. According to a report published by Amnesty International in 2009, the U.S. embargo against Cuba does just that and has been depriving the Cuban people of their basic needs for food, water, medicine and electricity.

More puzzling is the logic that prompts the United States to punish Cuba with sanctions because of the Cuban government’s supposed human rights violations, while, on the other hand, the United States turns a blind eye to repression and hooliganism perpetuated by its closes allies. The Saudi regime, one of America’s major allies in the Middle East, has been involved in the business of shooting protesters, torturing prisoners, suppressing dissent and detaining activists for quite some time. While members of the Saudi monarchy engage in public-relations exercises and promote religious tolerance abroad, including at Georgetown, the puritanical regime has pursued a different path at home. It continues to treat the Shiite minority in the country as second-class citizens and destroy mausoleums that had housed Islam’s greatest figures from the seventh and eighth centuries. To this day, the Saudi regime, often

dubbed as one of Washington’s moderate Arab allies, continues to bulldoze Islam’s earliest material legacy and violently mistreat Shiite pilgrims who are frequently harassed, cursed, arrested and beaten by the Saudi religious police.

Unlike its approach to communist Cuba, the United States has rewarded the Saudi regime’s human rights violations, cultural vandalism and savagery toward Islam’s earliest historical sites and great figures with massive weapons sales and political support. As part of a deal signed between the two countries in late 2011, the United States is shipping $60 billion worth of fighter jets, helicopters and other sophisticated weaponry in what is believed to be the single largest arms deal in U.S. history.

The paradox between the way Cuba and Saudi Arabia have been dealt with is revealing. No matter how much pious humanitarian rhetoric Godard used to justify U.S. sanctions against Cuba, U.S. sanctions policy seems to be motivated by interest rather than principle.

This comes as no surprise for many of us who have witnessed countless cases of U.S. collaboration with the worst elements in different countries to supposedly advance U.S. interests. In August 2010, reports revealed that Muhammed Zia Salehi, a top Afghan official linked to a corruption scandal, was on the payroll of the CIA for many years for “unspecified work.” Defending the CIA’s ties with Salehi, a U.S. official told The New York Times, “If you want intelligence in a war zone, you’re not going to get it from Mother Teresa or Mary Poppins.”

We should not have high expectations from politicians, but Georgetown can play a big role in solving this problem. In particular, I urge the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, through the programs they hold, to raise awareness and pay attention to the gravity of persistent tragedy in the Hejaz region, the Saudi regime’s cleansing of Islam’s earliest surviving material culture and the sacrilegious destruction of mausoleums housing Islam’s great figures, including the grandsons of the Prophet of Islam.

Georgetown can play a role in ending unfair embargos.

Faisal Husain is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of history.

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ith less than a week extremist. before elections, it apNowhere do Cuccinelli’s views pears that Virginia will seem to clash more with an inchoose Terry McAuliffe as its next creasingly purple Virginia than executive, putting a Democrat over the issue of abortion. In back in the state house. recent years, Democrats have As the “first friend” of President achieved pro-choice support.

Clinton, the former chairman of In the 2004 presidential race, the Democratic National Com- when John Kerry was soundly mittee and now a start-up execu- beaten 54 to 45 percent in Virtive, McAuliffe is the epitome of ginia, abortion was an issue that a wheeler-dealer. His friendship fired up the conservative base but with Bill and Hillary Clinton is so left the Democrats confounded. deep that he secured the family’s George W. Bush advocated antimortgage for the Chappaqua, N.Y. choice policies, including bans on home they purchased after vacat- so-called “partial birth” abortions ing the White House. and increased parental notificaWhile it isn’t unusual for a well- tion rules. connected Democrat to be invited Today, however, the issue seems to sleepover in the Lincoln Bed- to have reached a tipping point. room or to work in a coveted Eu- Cuccinelli has advocated policies ropean embassy, winning a term that aim to actually take away a in a Southern govwoman’s right to ernor’s mansion choose. He has esis remarkable. poused onerous Yet McAuliffe is regulations on leagues ahead in clinics and a vague this Virginian race. “personhood” law.

Local headlines To the suburban have surely conwomen — and men tributed to what — who decide elecwill likely be a tions in Virginia, Evan Hollander landslide victory; this doesn’t fly. term-limited ReCuccinelli has Virginia’s upcoming failed to don a publican Governor Bob McDonnell is veneer of conelection holds being investigated ciliation and has lessons for the GOP. masked his true for accepting unreported gifts from right-wing views. businessman Jonnie Williams.

Only days after the government Still, the race to succeed Mc- shutdown left thousands of VirDonnell might have turned out ginians on furlough, Cuccinelli differently if the Virginia GOP misguidedly brought architects hadn’t abandoned its traditional of the shutdown, Sens. Rand Paul primary in favor of a convention (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), that handed disproportionate through the state on a campaign power to its most conservative swing. members. Instead of backing the McAuliffe, on the other hand, conciliatory and well-respected Lt. has used his reputation as a beGov. Bill Bolling, the Republicans hind-the-scenes dealmaker to his nominated Attorney General Ken advantage. Although he is a DemCuccinelli, who made his name ocratic partisan by definition, fighting the Affordable Care Act he has emphasized his ability to and espousing conservative views forge relationships and get things on contentious social issues. done. Even his support of a potenThe convention backfired when tially unpopular transportation conservative activists nominated plan was better than Cuccinelli’s E.W. Jackson for lieutenant gov- less-than-constructive opposition. ernor. Virtually everyone who For many, this year’s race has has encountered the eccentric, proved uninspiring. Newspapers financially insolvent preacher has and pundits alike have bemoaned found him unfit to serve. Even the the quality of the candidates. I beconservative Richmond Times-Dis- lieve it illustrates two important patch described him as “frightening.” lessons. After two decades, the For Democrats, however, his se- culture war is no longer a winlection was a blessing in disguise. ning recipe for Republicans. And In Jackson, they found a candidate after five years of fighting Obama, with views almost identical to Cuc- gridlock isn’t working either. cinelli’s but without the means to conceal them. Digging beneath Evan Hollander is a senior in the Cuccinelli’s carefully polished im- School of Foreign Service. State age, Virginia voters realized that of Play appears every other he was — for better or worse — an Friday.

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THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE SWQ fire alarms are back in order after weeks of early-morning disruptions.

See story at thehoya.com.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

verbatim

DURBIN’S DREAM

“ I’m usually not

carrying a hundred bucks in my wallet.

”

Matthew Eckel (GRD ’16) on Lauinger Library accepting credit cards.

See story on A5.

from

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

FACIAL HAIR FOR A CAUSE Some may think No Shave November is just an excuse for people to be lazy, but read up on the history of this tradition.

ARTURO ALTAMIRANO/THE HOYA

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (SFS ’66, LAW ’69) called for immigration reform in Gaston Hall on Tuesday, at an event briefly interrupted by an outburst from immigration activists who opposed Durbin’s stance on a recent deportation. See story at thehoya.com.

blog.thehoya.com

Veterans Begin Push Forums Fill Roundtable Void For Resource Center MATT GREGORY

Special to The Hoya

KAYLA CROSS

ly lacking, GUSVA faculty adviser Barbara Mujica said.

Special to The Hoya GUSVA members envision the In the first steps of fundraising center, which would cost $1 for a new veterans resource cen- million to launch and require ter, the Georgetown University continual funding, providing caStudent Veterans Association is reer, financial and academic replanning a gala that could bring sources to veterans, along with actor Bradley Cooper (CAS ’97), a meeting space to cultivate a who has engaged in veterans ad- sense of community. vocacy in the past, to campus.

“It’s important for vets to talk The gala will be part of a larger to other vets because the most fundraising plan for a new re- important source of information source center, which GUSVA said for veterans is other veterans — is sorely needed for the univer- veterans who’ve already been sity’s 500 veterans. through it,” Mujica said. “That’s GUSVA is reaching out to alum- something that the GUSVA seeks ni ahead of the gala, including to remedy.”

Cooper, who participated in MiThe funding GUSVA receives chelle Obama’s “Got Your Six” from the Office of the Provost campaign is minithat helps mal, coverveterans reing mainly adjust to cipanels and vilian life. guest speakSpread ers. The gala across the will hopeundergradufully begin ate and gradan extensive uate schools fundraising as well as campaign the School to reach the AARON SCHEUERMAN (MSB ’14) GUSVA Treasurer of Continu$1 million ing Studies, goal. veterans sometimes lack the re“We need to raise money, sources to create a sense of com- and this is a first step in that munity. Thirty of the university’s direction,” Mujica said. “We’re 500 veterans are undergraduates, hoping that we’ll raise maybe and three live on campus. $40,000 to begin with, and we “That fact kind of exemplifies hope to do this every single year the untraditional nature of be- until we have enough money to ing a veteran student or a veter- get started.” an-type family. They have obliGUSVA treasurer Aaron gations your day-to-day student Scheuerman (MSB ’14) pointed wouldn’t have,” GUSVA Presi- to the resource center as the dent Zach Zimmerman (MSB logical progression of GUSVA’s ’14) said. “A veterans resource recent expansion. center would have a positive im“I am most proud of how far pact for a veteran in the School GUSVA has come in a short of Continuing Studies as well as amount of time,” he said. “Just a someone in the undergraduate few years ago there were few reSchool of Foreign Service and sources for veterans on campus, the MBA program and Law Cen- but the student veterans now ter as well.” have a strong community and Georgetown opened a Veter- are hosting a whole weeks of ans Office with a full-time coor- events in honor of Veterans Day, dinator in December 2011 after have established the Veterans extensive lobbying from GUSVA. Living Learning Community and Before GUSVA formed in 2010, continually participate in many resources for veterans were sore- service projects in the D.C. area.”

“Just a few years ago, there were few resources for veterans on campus.”

The university’s commitment to broad Hoya Roundtable discussions has waned in favor of more frequent, focused engagement sessions on topics as specific as outdoor space near Northeast Triangle.

Introduced by Chief Operating Officer Christopher Augostini in 2012, Hoya Roundtables sought to facilitate a large gathering of students and high-level administrators, usually in question-and-answer sessions as well as general discussions on broad-ranging subjects relating to student life.

“Roundtables are an opportunity to discuss a broad range of services at a high level and to give feedback on what may need more attention from students and the administration,” Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh wrote in an email. “The roundtable format provides a forum for students to share their experiences and an important opportunity for administrators to better understand what is important to students.”

The Hoya Roundtables contrast

with the dozens of small engagement sessions in dorm lobbies and O’Donovan Hall this semester that have drawn relatively low attendance with lower-level administrators. The university has also held a few larger forums this semester on general master planning efforts and the Northeast Triangle residence hall, most of which have also seen low turnout. Many students counted as engaged in the new forums are just passing through as they walk through their dorm or Leo’s.

“These sessions are an opportunity to share info and have conversations about ongoing projects or issues and to help identify student’s desired goals or solutions,” Pugh wrote.

“The continued conversations allow us to work together specifically on issues around student housing and design and function of the NET residence hall. The frequency of these engagement opportunities allows any student many opportunities to participate.”

The Georgetown University Student Association partnered with the Department of Public Safety to hold

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA

Chief Information Officer Lisa Davis addresses the audience at a roundtable in February 2012. The university has shifted to smaller engagement sessions.

a roundtable with Police Chief Jay Gruber on Oct. 16.

The first broader roundtable of the year is scheduled for November.

GUSA President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) said that while roundtables are beneficial, GUSA and the university have shifted their approach to engagement.

“We think through some of the recent feedback we’ve gotten from students and try to pick an issue that’s kind of a hot topic and something that hasn’t been done recently,” Tisa said. “We might do it on housing in general or innovation, which would incorporate some technology. We could also look at the academic side, how are we innovating in the classroom.”

Assistant Dean for Residential Living Stephanie Lynch, present at the New South forum, found the smaller forums to be an effective means of engaging the student body.

“We’ve had good student turnout for all of them, and I think we would all say that their feedback has been essential to creating a space that will work for students now and for the future,” she said.

The first engagement session of the series on Northeast Triangle was an open meeting with administrators in the Office of Planning and Facilities Management. No students were in attendance.

GUSA Director of Student Space Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14), who worked with the administration to create the engagement sessions, stressed the benefits of different means of facilitating student-administrator interaction.

“It gives people the opportunity to ask questions and share specific information,” Appelbaum said. “People share things that they might not in front of a large group, they ask questions they might not ask, there’s more dialogue, there’s more back and forth, and you can eventually come collectively to a good idea.”

Tisa agreed and said that while more prevalent this past semester, the focused forum format has not replaced that of its Hoya Roundtable predecessor.

“I think that they’ve been different.

The university’s had focus forums more and more over the past few years,” Tisa said. “I think it’s moving in a good direction, but I don’t think it replaces the roundtables.”

News

friDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

ADJUNCTS, from A1

Nick Simon

mary care workforce that is already in short supply,” NHS Dean Martin Iguchi said. “We anticipate greater As implementation of the Af- responsibility and independence fordable Care Act begins, the uni- in practice for nursing professionversity will adjust employee health als in years to come, and NHS will insurance policies and ramp up play a significant part in the develeducational innovations at the opment of this workforce.”

School of Nursing and Health StudThe NHS has explored technolies. ogy as a way to meet this goal, rollThe ACA’s individual mandate ing out an online master’s nursing goes into effect in January 2014, program in spring 2011. and employers must provide coverIn addition, the school has age by January 2015. adapted quickly to the changing “Right now Georgetown is look- curriculum landscape, adding a ing at the populations who we will public health minor that incorpobe required to cover and putting rates the skills necessary to participolicies into place that will allow pate in bureaucratized healthcare. us to be compliant with the act,” The Affordable Care Act will Assistant Vice President for Com- also influence research positively munications Stacy Kerr said. at Georgetown, according to Igu“Georgetown as a large em- chi. ployer must comply with the act.

“The ACA’s emphasis on dataFortunately, we are ahead of sched- driven decision-making will create ule in terms of compliance with demand for research conducted by some of the provisions because our students and faculty in areas a lot of these such as the bap r o v i s i o n s “Fortunately, we are sic and medical were already in sciences; health place at George- ahead of schedule in insurance covtown,” she add- compliance to some erage and qualed, citing that ity of care; and university plans provisions.” population did not exclude health and STACY KERR coverage based health literacy,” University Spokeswoman on pre-existing he said. conditions or have maximums on In addition, increased coverhow much insurance companies age will result in a larger pool of can pay to customers. subjects which can lead to more However, universities, including accurate results, especially since Georgetown, face some difficul- doctors and hospitals, rather than ties in deciding how to implement insurance companies, will now changes to fulfill employee insur- provide patient data. ance requirements.

“Some of our current research “The law is written under the methods relied on non-traditional corporate model, so a lot of things sources of data for disease surveilare unclear for higher education lance such as insurance claims about how to cover non-traditional data,” assistant professor of bioloemployees such as graduate stu- gy Shweta Bansal said. “These data dents and Ph.D students, and dis- sources clearly did not provide a cussions are going on at George- complete picture before with 49 town about putting policies into million uninsured Americans. place to be compliant with the More complete coverage under the law,” Kerr said.

ACA will allow us to rely on these The significant expansion in data streams more confidently.” healthcare coverage resulting Iguchi suggested that NHS stufrom the implementation of the dents are already prepared for ACA, coupled with increased gov- emerging focus areas, such as ernmental involvement, has led health policy and healthcare adthe NHS to pursue new approach- ministration, because of their cures to healthcare education in order riculum. to meet the increased demand for “We anticipate that these stuhealthcare professionals. dents will actively participate in “Students enrolled in our un- the transformation of the healthdergraduate and graduate nursing care system from a focus on illnessprograms will likely witness pro- es and hospital-centric care to a found changes in the landscape of focus on wellness and communitypractice, as the ACA requires a pri- oriented care,” Iguchi said.

Special to The Hoya

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my working lifetime that this is finally decided, but it is a very important issue for generations of faculty that come behind me, and for my younger colleagues. I hope they have a better working life than I’ve had.”

Ng said he hopes his former employers at PLU recognize that the university’s faith would support the union.

“Martin Luther didn’t nail those 95 Theses just for the fun of it,” Ng said. “I was disappointed when they put up a huge fight because even in some sense they ignored the clergy who have written in our support and signed petitions, and that seems strange for a religious university to ignore clergy telling you to do the right thing.”

At Duquesne, the university reneged on its original May 2012 promise to litigate through the NLRB, protesting religious grounds a few weeks later. Duquesne’s appeal was rejected at the regional NLRB level, leading the university to appeal unsuccessfully at the national level. After ballots came in overwhelmingly in favor of unionization in September 2012, the university appealed again, and Duquesne’s adjuncts are still awaiting a decision.

Robin Sowards, an adjunct professor in Duquesne’s English department, said he felt irked that the university changed its stance.

“I thought we’d reached some sort of agreement,” Sowards said. “They decided to be completely unreasonable and obstruct our rights under the law and our rights under Catholic social doctrine, so both ends seem to me a morally wrong act and kind of annoying.”

But one thing Duquesne had not counted on was the galvanizing effect of an op-ed in The Pittsburg Post-Gazette memorializing adjunct professor of French Margaret Mary Vojtko, who died of cancer in September. The author, Daniel Kovalik, senior associate general counsel for the United Steelworkers union, which represents the adjuncts at Duquesne, described Vojtko’s experience living on less than $10,000 a year when her course load was cut

while she was ill. “[Her nephew] said that while there was nothing that could be done for Margaret Mary, we had to help the other adjuncts at Duquesne and other universities who were being treated just as she was, and who could end up just like she did,” Kovalik wrote. “I believe that writing this story is the first step in doing just that.”

Sowards said that the administration was deeply concerned after the op-ed was released.

“Clearly it was something on their minds, and it should be,” Sowards said. “It was a tragedy, and one that could have been easily avoided by paying people a just wage as Catholic doctrine requires.”

Duquesne has said that they offered support to Vojtko, and the university’s vice president for advancement, John Plante, wrote in a letter to the Duquesne community that the union was exploiting Vojtko’s death to garner support, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duquesne’s office of media relations did not respond to requests for comment.

-----------------------------But the main issue that both PLU and Duquesne — in addition to Catholic institutions St. Xavier University in Chicago and Manhattan College in New York — are facing is whether they meet the criteria of a test to measure if a religiously affiliated institution of higher education falls under the jurisdiction of the NLRB. According to The George Washington University Law School professor Robert Tuttle, an expert in churchstate law, past cases have determined that to qualify for religious exemption, institutions must provide a religious environment to students and faculty, be nonprofit and have an affiliation with a recognized religious body. Tuttle said most questions of exemption depend on how the NLRB interprets what it means to provide a religious environment.

“The NLRB reads these things in a way that’s quite skeptical or at least is trying to draw the circle of religious exemption as narrowly as possible,” he said, adding that man-

datory chapel services and Christianity classes are often seen as ways to determine the religious environment. “You don’t try to draw it as narrowly as possible. You draw it in a way that is not overly intrusive and takes these institutions at face value. If [the universities] claim to be religiously affiliated and if they are religiously affiliated and they claim it’s a religious environment in their public documents, then you basically take them at face value.”

-----------------------------While lawyers battle in the courtroom over jurisdiction, adjuncts continue to fight for better pay, job security and benefits.

In Washington, D.C., Kip Lornell, an adjunct professor in the music department at GWU and vice president for higher education for SEIU Local 500, said that while SEIU is assisting with unionization efforts at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, they are saving the Catholic University of America for last.

“We are quite confident that Catholic University will pull out the Catholic card,” Lornell said. “I will be pleasantly surprised and hopeful that they don’t, but we’ll be surprised if they don’t say, ‘Can’t unionize here. We’re a Catholic institution; the rules don’t apply.’”

No adjunct unionization efforts have officially begun at CUA, and CUA did not respond to requests for comment.

Ng is also trying to organize adjuncts at Seattle University, a Jesuit school where he has taught for four years.

“I hope that they will do the right thing,” Ng said. “I hope that they will just stand aside and let us decide for ourselves as faculty how we can best improve our lives.”

“The fighting doesn’t help anyone.

All it does is spend money for lawyers on both sides and make people angry,” Ng added. “The idea I’m hoping for is that the Georgetown message comes out, that we can do this peacefully with neutrality on both sides — that we don’t have to make anyone a villain.”

Trick-or-Treat Comes to Copley Lawn Kit Clemente

Special to The Hoya

While some students put the finishing touches on their costumes and prepared to partake in Halloween festivities, others extended the Halloween spirit to children of the greater Georgetown community at the first Georgetown University Student Association Safe Night on Thursday.

Student groups sponsored and organized Halloweenthemed activities for children and families, who trick-ortreated from table to table.

Andi DeBellis (MSB ’14) approached GUSA with the idea and helped organize the event.

“Besides a GUSA position, and a little bit that the Office of Community Engagement does, there’s no student movement to show that Georgetown is a resource to our neighbors,” DeBellis said.

GUSA helped coordinate the event by acting as a cost center and umbrella under which the participant student groups organized activities.

“I thought it was a great idea.

This is the type of thing that we’re really trying to push more of, getting students in front of neighbors in a more positive light and also showing the community members what Georgetown has to offer that’s more positive than just noise and trash,” GUSA Secretary of Neighbor-

event in April,” Relay for Life Chair Dan Silkman (COL ’15) said. “This year we’re really looking to work with the Office of Neighborhood Life and really seek out the neighbors to come because we do think that our event could be this unifying force on campus for our relationship with the community.”

A number of faculty members attended the event as well.

“Family atmosphere brings the community together, I think it’s wonderful. I like the mix of the college students with the families, I think that’s a nice touch,” Jeannine LaRocque, an assistant professor in the department of human science, said. “We live in the community, so we JEANNINE LaRocque hear both sides of it, and so Human Science Professor I see this as definitely one I think this is just a great opportu- event of many that Georgetown nity for neighbors to get to see that participates in to try and pull the side of it,” Mosely said. community life into campus as The night’s festivities included well.” a pumpkin patch, apple picking, The organizers hope that the Halfree hot cocoa, free candy and live loween event will set a precedent for music. A number of student groups further on-campus inclusion of the contributed resources, including neighborhood.

Students of Georgetown Inc., the “I’m hoping that maybe it’ll get Georgetown University Farmers students thinking a little bit more Market, GIVES, Relay for Life, FOCI, about how to involve the communiCatholic Daughters, the George- ty in all of our activities, so that the town University Grilling Society and neighbors aren’t as scared of us and Right to Life. we’re not as scared of the neighbors, “It will also be a great opportu- and just providing an avenue for nity for us to talk with community more working together and more members and invite them to our collaboration,” DeBellis said. hood Relations Pieter Fossel (SFS ’14) said.

Office of Community Engagement Special Projects Coordinator Candace Mosely also saw the event as a step toward improving the university’s relationship with the neighborhood.

“A lot of what Georgetown has is, first of all, there’s passion from the students, but there’s also just knowledge they have to share, and

“Family atmosphere brings the community together.”

Lauinger to Accept Credit Cards Jennifer Ding Special to The Hoya

Students who lose their books or hold on to them a bit too long will be able to pay late fees and other library charges with credit cards by the end of the semester.

Library staff have begun the final stages of adding credit card capabilities, working on paperwork for banking, setting up equipment and circulation-desk staff in the new technology. Currently, the library accepts cash, check or GOCard for late fees.

The implementation process required sign-offs from several offices on campus: the Campus Fiscal Office, the Office of the Counsel, the Information Access Office, the Security Office and the Tax Department.

Faculty and graduate students will

be able to rent carrels and lockers using credit cards, whereas they would previously have needed to pay via cash, check or GOCard.

“I think that it’s a small service change, but I think that for some people, it will be significantly more convenient for them to be able to use their credit cards and not have to make a special trip to the ATM or put money on their GOCards specifically to pay their fines,” Library Coordinator of Communications, Outreach and Programming Jennifer Smith said.

The idea was first suggested by Matthew Eckel (GRD ’16) on Georgetown Ideas in March.

“A lot of graduate students end up taking out a lot of books, and there are times when you end up raking up more than just a $2 or $3 fine. There

have been several occasions when I was trying to get a locker, and they only take check or cash payments for what are often fairly large sums, and I’m usually not carrying a hundred bucks in my wallet or my checkbook,” Eckel said. “I get a sense that most of my colleagues are in a pretty similar position. It seems kind of archaic at this point that they don’t have a credit-card reader.”

Students who work at the circulation desk agreed that the new system would benefit library users.

“I guess it’ll make it easier, really just for patrons because most patrons don’t really carry cash,” circulation desk employee Max Menard (SFS ’16) said. “It wouldn’t really change my job; it would just be easier for others to pay.”

A6

news

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Non-Tenure Faculty Ignored TENURE, from A1 professors, teaching professors or associate professors.

“It’s a mess. I have no idea; it’s so vague. The names are very confusing,” Meyer said.

Non-tenure full-time faculty members also face challenges within their departments. Some departments offer greater participation for non-tenure-line faculty in the decision-making process than in other departments, but according to Onder, the incorporation of non-tenuretrack faculty is minimal.

“When it comes down to an important vote, non-tenure-line faculty don’t have a vote,” Onder said.

Another issue is the lack of a clear professional-development track to distinguish the performance of new professors from those who have been teaching for 20 years.

As such, non-tenure full-time faculty have been left in a sea of uncertainty when it comes to contracts and salaries with The Chronicle for Higher Education’s Adjunct Project reporting salaries as low as

$2,100 per course.

Other universities, like Carnegie Mellon, have a structured non-tenure track that allows for performancebased promotions under the title of teaching professor.

“I’ve been spoiled at Carnegie Mellon by being treated as an equal,” said Meyer, who taught at the university before coming to Georgetown.

Yet non-tenure full-time faculty members remain an important part of the teaching force in academia. A study conducted at Northwestern University found that students in an introductory-level course taught by non-tenure full-time faculty, rather than tenure-track faculty, were more likely to take another course in that field and were more likely to excel in that course.

“I think Georgetown realizes it’s a problem,” Meyer said.

“This university has a mission ,and without the dedicated and talented teaching faculty, they cannot do it.”

Though this problem has existed for years, the university has been slow to respond,

professors said.

“One of the things that concerned me about moving here was Georgetown not having a clear career path for non-tenure track,” Meyer said. “I’ve been hearing about this teaching track since I got here in 2010, and this is the first time something is being done about it.”

Some faculty thought their needs were pushed aside due to the administration’s focus on adjunct unionization last spring. DeGioia assured faculty that progress toward addres-sing the issue was under way and is a priority.

“We are very clear about the challenge of the issue and Provost Groves and our new vice provost [Kugler] are taking this on, and this is regarded as a very important issue for the campus,” DeGioia said at the town hall. “I do not believe the issue regarding adjunct faculty in any way delayed our engagement with moving into the role last year and organizing the office to be able to take on the challenges. … We knew this was one of them.”

SAM ABRAMS/THE HOYA

Cab drivers gathered at the first meeting of the D.C. Taxi Operators Association, formed with the assistance of Teamsters Union after recent tension with the DCTC.

After Credit Card Debate, Taxi Drivers Unionize Sam Abrams

Special to The Hoya

What’s After Dark Gets Cut DARK, from A1 offering free food, as What’s After Dark funded the night’s additional programming, such as prizes and giveaways.

Relay for Life, whose annual event has a budget of $25,000, traditionally received $5,000 to $8,000 from What’s After Dark since the event’s establishment in 2007. Last year, the organization saw reduced funding and anticipates even less this year.

2013 Relay for Life Chair Dan Silkman (COL ’15) said that his group did not yet know if it would receive leftover funds from What’s After Dark.

“This year, apparently, they’re still staking out the funding, so we got an email that there was still an opportunity for student programs … to secure funds for second semester,” he said.

Relay for Life typically runs from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and What’s After Dark’s money goes to nighttime entertainment, which has previously included bouncy castles, food and caricaturists. Silkman is primarily concerned with attracting funds for next year’s event.

“This year, if we get less funding, and next year if we don’t get funding at all, we’ll

have to rethink our activities,” he said, adding that Relay would consider apply for money from the GUSA Fund.

The Black Student Association received $10,000 in grants from What’s After Dark last year, including $6,000 for its Visions of Excellence ball.

“It’s going to be very difficult moving forward,” BSA President Erika Nedwell (COL ’14) said. “A lot of the board members are really upset, and we are not sure if we will have to cancel some of the events that we usually do.”

These events include the popular Hoya Late Skate night, which brought an ice skating rink to Red Square.

Board members are currently brainstorming ideas but have thus far failed to conceive a way to completely recoup lost funding.

GPB receives funding from multiple groups, and one of its main priorities is the Spring Kickoff Concert, which was not included in this year’s What’s After Dark budget.

“Any remaining funds from What’s After Dark — we’ll look at programs that have been historically funded in the spring and allocate them as needed,” Cohen Derr said.

GPB also has the potential to fulfill the alcohol-free latenight programming that has traditionally been the purview of What’s After Dark.

Beside cosponsoring events like Club Lau and Midnight Madness, What’s After Dark held its own events, like finals study breaks, the foam pit and Ladies’ Night In. “I feel like GPB Late Night will start to step up their late-night efforts, and there’s always room for individual student organizations to pick it up,” DeBellis said. “It’s sad, but I feel like the student body will be able to make up and start programming more at night. We’ll find new, creative ways to seek funding for those events, as well.”

While student leaders are ultimately disappointed with the demise of a source of funding, the necessity of budget cuts draws understanding.

“I am very, very close with the staff members of CSE, and I know that they’re always short on money, so I totally understand that this was a necessary decision,” Silkman said. “I think that its unfortunate that student groups won’t benefit, and I wish there was a way to keep it.”

LivingSocial Nears Bankruptcy Aaron Lewis

Special to The Hoya

In little over a year, LivingSocial, founded by Tim O’Shaughnessy (MSB ’04) in 2007, has gone from one of Washington, D.C.’s most promising companies to a platform that has alienated D.C. small businesses, including Georgetown restaurants, in attempts to stave off bankruptcy.

“LivingSocial had terrible execution of its product,” Wingo’s Assistant Manager Bold Obi said. “The company had no customer service, and they had a poor website layout. Everything was done incorrectly. Ordering online didn’t make sense. It was a bad experience for restaurants and for their customers.”

LivingSocial profited initially by offering discounts and deals through daily emails, but has recently recorded net losses. In its most recent quarter, LivingSocial posted a $26 million loss, bringing its yearly loss through the first three quarters to $107 million, a sizeable number for a company with slightly more than $500 million in yearly revenue, according to Washingtonian magazine.

Restaurants, including Kitchen No. 1 and Wingo’s, were hopeful that LivingSocial would help to improve their bottom line.

Though these restaurants were disappointed by LivingSocial’s offerings, it was LivingSocial who chose to suspend its service, not the local restaurants.

“They dropped us, discontinuing the product to many

Ongoing frustrations between the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission and taxi drivers have culminated in the formation of a union and the establishment of the Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association, which held its first meeting Oct. 29.

A crowd of more than 1,000 D.C. cab drivers and Teamsters Union members gathered at the meeting to demand better representation and fewer hidden costs for individual drivers, with organizational help from Teamsters Local 922.

“The meeting was great, as there was a wonderful outpouring of support, and there appears to be tremendous interest in the association. By gaining the power of the union, these taxi drivers can truly begin to fight for change,” Teamsters Spokesperson Galen Munroe said.

More than 1,000 of the city’s 6,000 cab drivers had already signed union membership papers before the meeting, according to Teamsters Local 639 President Thomas Ratliff, who held the inaugural DCTOA meeting.

Union organizers are hopeful that the DCTOA will follow in the footsteps of the 500 Seattle taxi drivers who formed the Western Washington Taxicab Operators Association last year, which has been largely successful in winning better wages for drivers and representing them in taxicab legislation.

Taxi drivers and Teamster organizers alike emphasized the strength of unity in combating alleged DCTC injustices.

“We must stay strong and fight back for our equal rights. We will not be disrespected by the DCTC. We must have a voice in the decision-making process,” taxi driver Mohamud Samantar said.

The creation of the association is the result of protests against D.C. requirements for all taxi drivers to carry the Modern Taximeter System, which includes GPS capabilities and a credit card reader. Drivers, however, have struggled due to the costs of the mandatory update, which requires returning 25 cents to DCTC per trip. Taxi drivers have also complained of a shortage

of MTS providers and penalties they will face if they do not meet the requirements, which also include installing dome lights, by the Nov. 1 deadline.

“We have talked to drivers and have come to understand their concerns with these new regulations. The taxi drivers feel that the regulations are causing them a lot of financial issues and that the process hasn’t been smooth in its implementation largely because drivers were not properly consulted,” Munroe said. “Taxi drivers in this city want a bigger voice in how the city treats them.”

Munroe expressed concern at DCTC’s refusal to extend the Nov. 1 deadline despite the fact that many drivers haven’t yet received dome lights due to the large demand, which has also driven up prices.

“This deadline means that many drivers who wished to comply to the regulation will still have their cars towed and impounded, just because their light hasn’t arrived yet. We think that this is unjust,” Munroe said.

According to the Teamsters, the average D.C. cab driver makes $25,000 to $30,000 a year and spends as much as $40 a day on fuel and $100 a month on auto insurance.

“I’m preparing to sign up for the union because I’ve had to pay $400 for the dome light, instead of the $180 that was promised by the DCTC. Also, the taxi tracker chip is really expensive and it’s an invasion of our privacy. We need more of a say in how we have to operate, and we’ll say it as one, both cab company owners and drivers together,” DCTC commissioner and 50-year taxi driver Stanley Tapscott said.

DCTC spokesperson Neville Waters declined to comment on the recent unionization of DCTOA but said that DCTC has been in communication with drivers.

“We have two active drivers on our commission board, which consisted of only eight members, all appointed by the mayor. We are in constant contact with drivers, and we take their feedback. We meet with drivers every month, and we have had discussions with the two existing taxi driver associations in the city,” he said. “The DCTC is a regulatory body, so if drivers don’t install the new upgrades, of course we have to enforce the legislation.”

Corp Sees Uptick in Reusable Mugs With ‘Kill the Cup’ Ashley Miller

Vice Chair of The Corp Green Team Whitney Pratt (COL ’14) said that The Corp’s discount is unusual for coffee shops.

In the two weeks since The Corp launched “It’s a norm among coffee shops to give its “Kill the Cup” campaign, the number of some sort of discount for bringing your own students bringing reusable mugs to Corp store- mug but our discount is significantly higher; fronts has increased by 61 percent.

25 cents is a lot higher than almost all other The campaign, launched Oct. 15, uses a so- discounts,” Pratt said. cial media campaign and in-store promotions For many students, the campaign has been to incentivize the usage of reusable tumblers, effective. including a limited edition Kill the Cup tum“I’m definitely planning to make the switch bler sold by Students of Georgetown Inc. as soon as possible. I just need to take the time If a customer uses a and initiative to buy the special Kill the Cup tumtumbler,” Eunyoung Kim bler, there is a 30-cent (COL ’17) said. discount, a five-cent inThe Corp has offered crease in the discount discounts for reusing pacurrently given to cusper cups for several years tomers who bring in a but Kill the Cup has been reusable tumbler. designed to move away Although the sale of from paper cup usage. the Kill the Cup tumblers “We changed that bewill end Nov. 11, the price cause first of all, that’s Caroline Williams (SFS ’15) Corp Business Development Chair discounts will remain in not very sustainable,” effect indefinitely.

Pratt said. “It was a de“It’s a campaign trying to build long-term cision to do a Corp-wide change because it is habits for people and we’re still going to have more sustainable to have people bring reusable certain incentives in place,” Business Develop- mugs than to be using a cup in the first place.” ment Chair Caroline Williams (MSB ’15) said.

Although many students have noticed the The Corp’s social media campaign encour- campaign, others were unsure that it would ages students to photograph themselves using change their coffee-consuming habits. reusable mugs at Corp locations. Customers “I think that most people who already who post photos to The Corp’s website or on have [tumblers] would use them regardless Instagram are entered into raffles for a variety and people who don’t use them wouldn’t of prizes. necessarily stop and buy one and then beWhile it is common for coffee shops to offer come in the habit of using it,” Nicole Yeo discounts for bringing in a reusable tumbler, (SFS ’14) said.

Special to The Hoya

FILE PHOTO: LEONEL DE VELEZ/THE HOYA

LivingSocial has dissolved its relationships with Georgetown restaurants as it heads toward bankruptcy. restaurants,” Obi said.

Michael Clements, founder of ArtJamz, a public art studio and lounge in D.C., opposed the company on the basis of competition.

“I am not going to do business with a company that says it supports small business and then morphs into a company that is in direct competition with small businesses,” he said.

LivingSocial declined to comment.

The D.C. mayor’s office expressed faith in LivingSocial last year by offering the company a large tax bailout to keep the business afloat while allowing managers to hire more employees from the District.

However, Mayor Vincent Gray’s Senior Communications Manager Doxie McCoy noted that while the Gray administration continues to support LivingSocial in its attempt to transform

its business model, the company must meet certain conditions to receive the tax break.

“The District isn’t obligated to provide this tax break until LivingSocial meets certain requirements, such as building a 250,000-square-foot headquarters in the city and maintaining 1,000 employees in the District,” she said.

Washingtonian magazine reported earlier this month that LivingSocial has not met these obligations. Only 600 people are currently employed by the company and fewer than 250 are from the D.C. area.

Business owners agreed that LivingSocial would require rejuvenation.

“Part of me wants LivingSocial to succeed, but they are our main competitor. They need to change,” Clements said.

“It’s a campaign trying to build long-term habits for people.”

NEWS

friDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

THE HOYA

A7

A Learning Curve for TAs GUSA Explores Student

Activities Funding Reform

Ashley Miller

Special to The Hoya

For many upperclassmen, serving as a teaching assistant provides a fresh perspective on the classroom.

Unlike graduate students, who are often required to be a TA as part of their research or fellowship, undergraduate students choose the position themselves.

“I love it actually; it’s like one of my favorite things. I like it more than the classes I am taking, and it’s actually really fun,” Probability and Statistics TA Patrick Owens (COL ’14) said.

For Crystal Huang (MSB ’16), a teaching assistant from China, being a TA for a Chinese class gives her a unique perspective on how outsiders see her culture.

“I come from China, and I think it’s really fascinating to see my fellow American students learning Chinese,” Huang said. “I think we have a great Eastern language department, and it’s been a great opportunity to get to know faculty members.”

Matthew Howard (COL ’14), found his time as a TA for both an introductory biology course and an ecology course a useful review of his own knowledge.

“It’s kind of a combination of looking at it from a teaching perspective and then also going through the material again; for me, I found it pretty helpful for studying for the MCAT,” Howard said.

The desire to review the basics spans disciplines.

Conor McNulty (COL ’14), an economics major, wanted to be a TA to review the foundations of his major.

“I think it is a great opportunity to teach, but I think it shows really well how you understand something if you can teach it to someone else,” McNulty said.

Oded Meyer, professor of mathematics and statistics, uses exclusively undergraduate students as teaching assistants. When he was first hired, the department gave him graduate TAs, but Meyer chose to switch to undergraduate TAs for his courses.

“I find the undergraduate students to be very loyal, very enthusiastic, and I’ve always had good experiences with undergraduate TAs,” Meyer said.

Meyer also believes that

Katie Shaffer & TM Gibbons-Neff Special to The Hoya & Hoya Staff Writer

CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

“Probability and Statistics” TA Patrick Owens (COL ’14) grades homework in his cubicle in St. Mary’s Hall. it adds to the undergraduate experience by opening an opportunity to see class from a different perspective.

“It really enriches the undergraduate student’s experience in college to be on the other side and to be part of a teaching team of a course, even if it is only a TA and grading, you are on the other side,” Meyer said.

Owens chose to be a TA because he aspires to be a teacher.

“I want to teach high school math, so I figured this would be a good experience and sort of give the inside scoop for what it is like to be a teacher,” he said.

As undergraduates, many believe that they have a better understanding of the students and what they may be struggling with compared to the graduate students who are TAs in departments such as government, philosophy and the physical sciences.

“A lot of the time, since we have taken the classes that we are TAing for, we know the ropes and the tricks,” Howard said.

Many undergraduate teaching assistants see this as a strength of undergraduate versus graduate TAs. “I think being a student and not so far removed from having taken the class yourself actually makes undergraduates better TAs for some of these basic courses because sometimes graduate students haven’t taken the course in a while and sometimes it may be a little more challenging for them to understand why someone doesn’t get such a basic concept,” McNulty said.

However, the connection

between upperclassmen teaching assistants and their students can make it difficult when grading.

“Needing to grade things is difficult because if you have a personal connection to your students, which I did, and it’s really difficult to dock major amounts of points if you know that they did something wrong, but you still really want to support them through the class,” Lena Bichell (COL ’15), a biology teaching assistant, said.

Requirements for becoming a TA differ widely across departments. While several departments, including Chinese, economics and math, have application processes, TAs in the biology department are chosen directly by professors.

The responsibility of teaching assistants also differs with department. In biology, the TAs assist labs under professor supervision, while economics TAs run recitation sessions independent of professors.

With responsibilities varying greatly, teaching assistants are also compensated in different ways for their services. TAs in departments such as Chinese and economics receive payment, while biology TAs may be eligible to receive credit for an introductory biology course or payment, depending on the class for which they are a TA. For some, like “Introductory Biology” TA Elizabeth Tubridy (COL ’14), the position comes with less tangible benefits.

“I kind of wanted to do it just as a chance to get to know my professors better and also to give back to the program,” Tubridy said.

The GUSA senate established a subcommittee on funding reform Sunday, coming toward the end of a year in which student activities funding plateaued and approximately 63 percent of funding requests were met.

Finance and Appropriations Committee member Robert Shepherd (MSB ’15) proposed the creation of a subcommittee on spending reform that was approved with a unanimous vote.

“We’re creating this subcommittee to focus on addressing some current funding issues we’re seeing across student groups,” Shepherd said at the senate meeting.

The committee will evaluate the current structures for funding student groups before emitting any suggestions.

“There is a general consensus within the senate that a re-evaluation of the funding systems on campus needs to take place,” Shepherd wrote in an email. “If we determine that changes do, in fact, need to be made, we will work with the groups to bring about these changes.”

The re-evaluation comes less than two years after the student body approved the Student Activities Fee and Endowment reform in a January 2012 referendum. The reform increased the student activities fee from $125 in the 2011-2012 school year to $150 in the 2012-2013 school year, with the understanding that after those two increases the fee would only increase to compensate for national inflation levels. This year, Fin/App allocated $979,200 to student groups.

“If groups were hurting across the board, severely underfunded and unable to complete their functions, that would be an issue that would make it worth considering adjusting the Student Activities Fee,” Fin/App Chair Seamus Guerin (COL ’16) said, though he maintained that increasing the fee is not currently necessary.

Former Fin/App Chair Sheila Walsh (COL ’14), however, called for another student activities

fee reform in March after the previous funding cycle.

“In addition to all the independent student initiatives, the need far, far outweighs the money that we have available to fund those student groups and initiatives,” Walsh said.

Student Activities Commission Chair Jennifer Chiang (SFS ’15) agreed that student activities funding could use re-evaluation.

“There needs to be a discussion about the Student Activities Fee that involves students and their informed perspectives,” she said. “Our organizations have ambitious and innovative programming ideas, which is amazing; however there is not enough funding to go around to make all of those events come to life.”

According to former SAC Chair Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14), tying the student activities fee to inflation is realistically a 1 percent increase.

Appelbaum called for overhauling the student activities funding system during his campaign for GUSA executive in February.

“It would be nice to see the fee grow,” Appelbaum said, adding that a fee increase would raise tuition, which has already increased by 4 percent in the past year. “It’s tough.”

While Appelbaum did not acknowledge any concrete plans for reform in the future, he said he heard rumblings of student activities fee reform, rather than increases, within GUSA. However, GUSA President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) said raising the Student Activities Fee is not currently a priority.

“I think the fact that we can’t fund all requests doesn’t mean that we’re failing, it doesn’t mean that the system doesn’t work,” Tisa said.

Lauren Watanabe (MSB ’15), president of the Hawaii Club, said that while her club would always like more funding, the problem is not the activity fee but rather SAC itself.

“They need to break down where the money is going so I can understand that my student activity fee is justified,” Watanabe said. “SAC is not really supportive even though they’re supposed to be here to support us.”

SFS-Q Expands Research Sam Abrams

Special to The Hoya

The School of Foreign Service in Qatar has launched an enhanced research initiative that will incorporate new faculty and programs to attract an increased number of students.

In 2010, the Qatar Foundation prioritized the establishment of the country’s capital city, Doha, as a global research hub. This followed a decree by then-Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to devote 2.8 percent of the nation’s GDP to research and development each year, a budget of nearly $5.1 billion.

In 2012, the Qatar Foundation agreed to fund the expansion of SFS-Q to serve over 300 students and employ 55 faculty members, a significant increase from its 220 students and 30 faculty members in 2011. The expansion will be completed by fall 2015 “The student body and faculty expansion is a natural part of a growing university in a rapidly developing country,” SFS-Q Director of Communications Moamer Qazafi said. “The campus started out small because the needs were very focused on key curricular delivery. As Georgetown’s academic expertise and research capability becomes better understood by the community in Qatar, more

members of the public, corporate and government community realized that they, too, could benefit from our knowledge, experience and expertise.”

According to SFS-Q Director of Research John Crist, the recruitment initiative has allowed SFS-Q to expand faculty strength in areas including development economics, energy resources and Middle East history and politics while preserving low student-to-faculty ratios.

tify SFS-Qatar’s growing reputation as the place to go for training in preparation for a multitude of career opportunities in foreign affairs.”

Research at SFS-Q, which has in the past focused on engineering and other scientific disciplines, is further aided by $6 million in grants from the Qatar National Research Fund.

“The social sciences and humanities have highly significant contributions to make, but the history of these disciplines in the Gulf is all very recent,” Crist said. “SFS-Qatar must work assiduously to demonstrate the value of the skills embodied in the core curriculum — liberal education and evidence-based policy. AfMOAMER QAZAFI ter all, Qatar, despite its SFS-Q Director of Communications great wealth, is still a The expansion has also developing society.”

Additionally, 17 SFS-Q stuallowed SFS-Q to better support existing faculty re- dents are currently particisearch projects and release pating in the Undergraduate faculty members to take up Research Experience Program in topics ranging from research fellowships.

“There is much more urban planning in Doha to than the quantity of new international bitcoin usage.

Current regionally fofaculty at stake here, for the addition of new scholars al- cused research includes the lows for the considerable study of the Arab Spring diversification of faculty in through examination of the terms of disciplinary exper- role of religious discourse in tise,” SFS-Q Chair of Faculty identity politics. The project, Robert Wirsing said. “The which is being conducted by faculty expansion now un- visiting professors Mark Farderway, in other words, will ha and Rebecca Barlow from supply students with greatly the University of Melbourne, increased opportunities to aims to shed light on the take courses in a variety role Islam plays in the forof sub-fields not currently eign policy agendas of postavailable, and it will also for- revolutionary Arab states.

“The expansion is a natural part of a growing university.”

CLAIRE SOISSON FOR THE HOYA

Imane Soubiane (COL ’16), from the African Society of Georgetown, participates in a discussion at the SOCA Unity Dinner, an event that saw little participation from administrators, many of whom left early.

Students of Color Alliance Talks Diversity Over Dinner Katherine Richardson Special to The Hoya

Upper-level administrators joined students at the 10th annual Students of Color Alliance Unity Dinner on Wednesday, with many leaving before the evening’s discussion of how to improve diversity and collaboration among students.

Attendees talked about pluralism and diversity while sampling food from various cultural traditions at the dinner in Copley Formal Lounge.

SOCA Co-Presidents Patrick Zhang (SFS ’15) and Minjung Kang (SFS ’15) delivered the State of SOCA address outlining the history of the organization and the steps the group, which includes representatives from cultural clubs, hopes to take in the future.

Leadership in Education about Diversity representatives facilitated discussions at tables with students and faculty about the evolving climate of diversity at Georgetown.

While this year’s dinner saw a record number of administrators and faculty in attendance, including Director for the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access Dennis Williams, Vice President for Mission and Ministry Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., and Provost Robert Groves, most did not stay for the discussions.

“I think that something that upset me was

that the adults that were invited to come left before the discussion even began. They just came for the food and left,” SOCA Chinese Student Association representative Christina Ling (MSB ’15) said.

Though Kang shared Ling’s disappointment, she understood that administrators may have felt out of place in student-centered discussions.

“I wish they could have stayed but I think that maybe they felt that they didn’t fit into the discussions, because this was a little student-organization oriented,” Kang said.

For many attendees, the dinner represented not only an opportunity for dialogue with fellow SOCA organizations but also an analysis of the state of minority affairs at Georgetown.

“I liked that so many different cultural organizations were able to come together in one spot,” Ling said. “My biggest takeaway from this dinner tonight is that diversity is an issue that needs to be a bigger focus in Georgetown, as part of the administration and on campus.”

Zhang said that the event was successful in facilitating dialogue.

“We’re hoping that this Unity Dinner will set the tone for the coming academic year in terms of collaborative programming among student organizations and also break the ice in terms of discussions between student leaders and staff and administrators,” Zhang said.

A8

Sports

THE HOYA

friday, november 1, 2013

women’s soccer

field hockey

Seniors to Play Final Game Molly Malone Hoya Staff Writer

In its last game of the season, the Georgetown field hockey team (2-15, 0-6 Big East) will play host to Villanova (3-12, 0-6 Big East) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in College Park, Md. Senior midfielder Caitlin Samela and senior forward Katie Dempsey will be honored as the only nonreturning Hoyas in a senior day ceremony prior to the game.

With the Hoyas as young as they are, Samela and Dempsey have added much needed experience to the squad this season. Samela has seen action in seven games this year, while

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA

Senior midfielder Caitlin Samela will be honored on Saturday.

Dempsey has played in all 17 games and recorded a goal against Holy Cross. The two seniors were an integral part of the Hoyas’ rebuilding season and added depth and leadership both on and off the field.

“Being that there are only two of them, the underclassmen really look up to them,” Head Coach Tiffany Hubbard said. “They have the most experience on the team and have really been around the block.

They have big personalities in the team, and we’re really going to miss them a lot.”

As the Hoyas look to snap a seven-game losing streak, they are optimistic that the experience of playing two nationally ranked teams will carry over to their game against the Wildcats. While neither team has won a conference game yet, the final Big East faceoff will result in a check in one of the teams’ win columns.

Villanova is also looking to put an end to its winless drought. The Wildcats are currently riding a six-game losing streak. Junior defender Maddy Harding leads the team with six goals, followed closely by junior forward Jessica Swoboda with five. The duo has accounted for the majority of points earned on the team.

Wildcat senior goalkeeper Alex Diekmann has just under a .600 save percentage, while Hoya freshman goalkeeper Rosalie Nolen has over a .650 save percentage.

“When we hit the middle of the second half, we seem to fall off a little. I’m hoping the emotion of the last game of the season and Villanova always being a big rival for us will help us overcome that. I already feel like there’s something differ-

ent about this week that we can bring into Saturday,” Hubbard said.

The key in this game will be shots on goal. If the Hoyas can break through the Wildcats’ defensive line and get opportunities near the net, a win may be in the cards for the Hoyas. The focus will be on sophomore forward Sarah Butterfield. Though Georgetown’s offensive has been quiet as of late, Butterfield’s quickness and skills are bound to be a game-changing in the Blue and Gray’s last game. Butterfield currently leads the team with six goals and one assist for a total of 13 points. She is followed by sophomore forward Emily Weinberg, who currently has two goals.

Though Georgetown has struggled this season, Saturday’s game is highly anticipated due to the emotion surrounding all aspects of the game: Georgetown and Villanova are usually close competitors, especially this year, and that it is the last game for the Hoya seniors will only further motivate the team.

“There’s always a lot of emotion around [senior day],” Hubbard said. “I think it hits home to not only the seniors but to the underclassmen knowing that this is the last game they get to play.”

While the Hoyas have not had much to be excited about this season, the last could bring out the best in the team.

“I think we’ve been fortunate to put a Big East win on the board the past couple of seasons, and it gives us confidence. It helps the league know that we’re coming — slowly but surely, we’re coming,” Hubbard said.

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Senior defender and captain Emily Menges will anchor the back line against Seton Hall on Saturday and also in the looming Big East tournament.

In Last Regular Season Game, GU Expects Win PIRATES, from A10 played crucial roles for the Hoyas this year.

Defenders Colleen Dinn, Mary Kroening, Emily Menges and Alexa St. Martin as well as midfielder Kailey Blain and forward Kaitlin Brenn have a combined record of 60-18-7 over their four years on the Hilltop. They are the last holdovers from the 2010 team that advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history, and the group also won a Big East regular season title for the first time in program history last year.

Nolan knows that Saturday will be a special match.

VOLLEYBALL

“We’re going to have a lot of emotion; that’s something you always battle on senior day,” Nolan said. “The question is: is the emotion going to be a fuel for you or a distraction for you? I think for these kids it’s going to be a fuel.”

If all goes well for Georgetown, Saturday’s match may very well not be the last time the seniors suit up on Shaw Field. First round games of the NCAA Tournament are, after all, held at the higher seed’s home field.

But that is far from the minds of the Hoyas at the moment. For now, the focus is solely on Seton Hall.

Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 1 p.m. at Shaw Field.

more than a game

Hoyas Hunt for Home Win All Eyes on Russia as It Juliana Zovak

Preps for Winter Olympics

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown volleyball team returns home this weekend to play host to familiar Big East foe Villanova, to whom the Hoyas lost in the teams’ only meeting this season.

The Hoyas (9-13, 3-6 Big East) lost to the Wildcats (12-10, 4-5 Big East) 3-1 in September after failing to respond to a strong Villanova start.

“We have to come out from the beginning,” said Head Coach Arlisa Williams.

“I think that we were a little bit slow coming out against Villanova the first time around, and we know that we can play with them, but we’ve got to come out from the beginning. We can’t let them jump on us.”

The Blue and Gray is coming off a strong weekend in which they defeated DePaul 3-1 but lost to a nationally ranked Marquette team 3-0 in a tough match. They’ll use the momentum from the weekend as they seek their fourth conference win of the season.

“I think that we feel pretty good about the way that we played against DePaul and the way that we finished against Marquette on Sunday,” Williams said.

Georgetown has seen strong production from its offensive trio of sophomore Lauren Saar, and juniors Alex Johnson and Dani White, the top three on the team in kills who consistently record double figures.

Johnson, an outside hitter, is also an asset defensively, while middle blocker White leads the team in blocks.

But it’s Saar, an outside hitter, who has really provided the offensive fuel this year.

Against DePaul on Friday, she recorded a match-high 20 kills and 10 digs, while hitting .394.

It was her 14th double-double of the season so far.

“She’s playing extremely well,” Williams said. “And Lauren has always been that solid player for us. Last year she was injured, so I think sometimes she gets overlooked, but she’s just a solid player all around, and she’s finding her stride right now.”

Villanova, meanwhile, has strength in sophomore outside hitter Lauren Carpenter,

W

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Junior middle blocker Dani White is part of a potent offensive trio that includes sophomore Lauren Saar and junior Alex Johnson. who has recently earned backto-back Big East Honor Roll nods and has gone 16 straight matches with double-digit kills.

Additionally, the Wildcats are now playing with middle blocker Gabby Pethokoukis, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who adds considerable height and speed to the position.

“Villanova has some changes to their lineup, so we have to be aware of new personnel,” Williams said. “Number 15, [Pethokoukis], is in the lineup in the middle now, and she’s a little bit faster than the middle they’ve had before, so I think we’ll have to make an adjustment to that.”

Wildcat sophomore Emma Pettit is also a threat in the role of setter, where she averages 10.89 assists per set.

“While she’s young, she is very savvy and game knowledgeable, so we have to be aware of her,” Williams said.

“She’ll make good decisions.”

But Georgetown has a young setter of its own, freshman Caitlin Brauneis, who averages 9.86 assists per set and more digs per set than Pettit.

Villanova is coming off a season sweep of DePaul after a 3-0 win last weekend, and it is aiming to sweep Georgetown as well.

The Wildcats were too fast for the Hoyas in their last meeting, and Williams noted then that they played lowerror, clean volleyball. That’s something the Hoyas will need to execute this time around as they look to avoid a second loss to the Wildcats.

After a long weekend of travel, Georgetown is happy to be back on the Hilltop. The game is 7 p.m. Saturday in McDonough Arena, and Williams is expecting a good show.

“This is a grind, but [the team] is just coming in every day trying to find the energy, and they’re doing a great job,” she said.

ith barely 100 days left until — a prominent bomb maker and Rusthe start of the 2014 Winter sia’s most wanted man — promises to use Olympics, Russia is scrambling “maximum force” to disrupt the Games, to make all the pieces fit together. It will which he calls a “Satanic dancing on the play host to approximately 2,800 athletes bones of our ancestors.” Sounds bleak, from over 80 countries — a tremendous doesn’t it? logistical challenge — while demanding Although I have full confidence that a budget of $50 billion, the largest in the Russia can keep its security tight, the history of the games. The epicenter is political milieu surrounding the Games Sochi, a small resort town on the coast does help put things in perspective. It of the Black Sea located near the Cau- makes you think: To what extent are the casus Mountains. There, though, Russia Olympics actually about sports? Over the literally had to build infrastructure from years, the medal count and highlight scratch — including highways, a new rail- reels have taken a back seat to some rivroad station, tourist centers, hotel build- eting political storylines. Was the 1980 ings, the Olympic village and the massive “Miracle on Ice” really about a hockey domes and arenas of the Olympic Park. game, or was it about two superpowers While the budget and construction battling for world dominance? Were certainly capture our attention, the Tommie Smith and John Carlos just two most charged aspect of the hullabaloo medal winners in 1968, or were their has traditionally been raised fists representative the politics, not the loof a bold civil rights movegistics. Past Olympics ment? Is Russia’s hosting have revealed the scars of next year’s event just of international crises, about putting on an enwith some troubled by tertaining show, or are boycotts, shootings and there political and ecocivil unrest. Munich bore nomic motives coursing witness to the Black Septhrough Sochi’s veins?

Nick Fedyk tember hostage crisis in The Olympics are not sim1972. Atlanta shook with ply about sports. There is the Olympic Park bombSports are not the a lot more at stake than ing in 1996. China was what meets the eye. only factor in play heavily criticized for its With this in mind, inpoor human rights reternational athletic comat the Olympics. petitions like the Olymcord when it hosted in 2008,and Brazil is bound pics achieve a remarkable to face increased scrutiny about its pov- feat. In an era of political infighting, borerty and favela sweeps in preparation for der disputes and diplomatic stalemates, the 2016 games. a hockey game or bobsled race can usher For the next few months, all eyes are on us under the same roof. In a fashion that Russia, a country plagued by its own do- is much more subtle than a United Namestic problems and controversies. One tions summit or a nuclear energy conferof the main issues on the table is Russia’s ence, sports can bring together Ameriderogatory policies toward the LGBTQ cans with their political enemies to community, who suffer political and so- watch an event that is not so polarizing cial discrimination. In fact, Putin signed or offensive. And of course, the Olympics a law this past June that imposes fines on force the host to clean up its act a bit. Sopeople who publicly promote same-sex chi gives Russia a good reason to clean up relationships. When several countries its streets, make a blockbuster economic threatened to retaliate by boycotting the investment and adjust its foreign policy Games, Putin deftly sidestepped the is- perspective. It also gives us an opportusue, assuring the international commu- nity to uncover some of Russia’s bruises nity that all are welcomed to Sochi and while giving Russia an incentive to seek that the safety of gay athletes, fans and reconciliation. journalists will be protected.

It is not all peaches and cream. At the Another salient issue concerns the very least, however it gives countries a North Caucasus, where Russia has chance to cooperate, without demandfought a prolonged war against the ing that they pretend to like each other.

Chechnya insurgency. Sochi’s location Of all things, that might be the most near the zone of conflict makes it a pos- impressive achievement of the Olympic sible terrorist target. Indeed, a series of Games. recent bus bombings in southern Russia serves as a potent reminder of the Nick Fedyk is senior in the College. conflict’s dark past, and Doku Umarov More Than a Game appears every Friday.

SPORTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

THE HOYA

A9

MEN’S SOCCER

After Falling Short Last Year, GU Sets Sights on Title SOCCER, from A10 captain Steve Neumann said.

Eighteen players from last year remain on the roster, including nine current starters. Four of the five seniors on the 2012 squad — defender Tommy Muller, midfielder Ian Christianson, forward Andy Riemer and midfielder Jimmy Nealis — were drafted into the MLS. These four, along with then-senior midfielder John Snyder, created a core of seasoned and talented veterans that stabilized the team even in the most nervewracking games.

Alongside Muller, Christianson, Reimer and Nealis was then-junior Neumann, who earned second-team All-American and College Cup Offensive Player of the Tournament honors last season. Still a captain, Neumann is now a senior and one of the best players in the country. He will be one of the frontrunners for the Hermann Trophy Award, which is given to the best college player in the nation. Although he tries to keep talk among teammates about his

potential postseason recognitions to a minimum, he will certainly be drafted into Major League Soccer. According to Neumann, the older players of 2012 still influence his decisions as a leader.

“Having past success definitely helps you with future endeavors,” Neumann said. “It is something that me and Joey [Dillon] and Keon [Parsa] especially took from last year. We learned a lot from last year, and heading into the postseason we can really take some lessons.”

This year’s roster has six seniors, but only Steve Neumann and midfielder Joey Dillon have made the starting 11 regularly. Nevertheless, every senior has played a major role in the accomplishments of the season. Wiese emphasized the character of players such as defender Nick Van Hollen and goalkeeper Keon Parsa, who maintained their work ethic despite limited playing time. The presence of seniors both on the field — in the case of Neumann, Dillon and defender Ted Helfrich — and off the field has helped to keep a young team disciplined and focused.

Despite senior leadership, an unseasoned Georgetown began 2013 with a shaky start. In their opening game, the starting 11 featured two seniors and seven underclassmen. To begin the season Georgetown posted a mediocre 2-2 record before going on a 10-1-1 run. In 2012, the 11 players who took the field against Virginia included four seniors, three juniors and just a single freshman in the starting lineup. This 2012 team started the season 10-0-1.

“From day one, that team was flying.

Whereas, this year, from day one we [were] looking like it was day one,” Wiese said.

This contrast in play, physical and mental, runs deeper than just the beginning of the seasons. The three-game foray through the 2012 Big East tournament included two overtime games.

Then, the Hoyas won two penalty shootouts in the NCAA tournament; in the eight combined games from both tournaments, the team only won by more than one goal once. The current team, in contrast, has won by a single goal just

five times all season, which is the same as the number of wins by at least three goals. Both Wiese and Neumann emphasized the ability of last year’s squad to win close games.

“They went down a goal, they scored two. They don’t go down a goal, then they win 1-0. A very stressful team,” Wiese said of the 2012 team.

Currently, the youth on the field has become a trademark of the budding elite program. In college sports, where recruiting can be just as important as performance on the field, success begets success. Soccer news website topdrawersoccer.com lists seven recruits who have verbally committed to Georgetown, including prominent names like Christopher Lema and James Marcinkowski.

Here, in yet another facet of the game, the 2012 team has impacted the future of Georgetown soccer. “[Last year] established a style of play that was really appealing to a lot of people,” Wiese said. “The kinds of players who can play how we play tend to be very good technical players, and they want to be a part of that.”

This year’s team reflects the influx of talent that was partly incurred by the achievements of 2012. When comparing the 2012 team and the current team, both Neumann and Wiese recognize the presence of talented freshman like midfielder Bakie Goodman and forward Alex Muyl to be an improvement in 2013. The current team has a greater offensive capacity and more flair with the

ball, while key players have another year of experience under their belt. The 2012 squad had a knack for close wins, and, of course, having four MLS-caliber players gave them a significant advantage.

Strength of schedule would seem to favor the 2013 team. This season, two of the Hoyas’ three losses have been out-of-conference games against teams ranked in the top 10, including a loss to No. 1 California in the first game of the season. This year, the team has also shattered a number of statistical milestones. Its 11 shutouts set the new school record (the 2012, 2008 and 1998 teams are now tied for second with 10), Neumann became the fourth player in school history to reach 100 career points and junior goalkeeper Tomas Gomez now holds both the season and career records for goalkeeper clean sheets. But when asked which Hoya squad would win in a head-to-head matchup on the field, Neumann and Wiese agreed on the result: a tie.

During Tuesday’s practice, seniors could be heard directing teammates and motivating the team to work harder. 2012 may have been the breakout year for Georgetown soccer, but now the Hoyas want to prove that they are here to stay.

“This team is very capable of making a deep run,” Wiese said. “There is no reason they can’t do everything last year’s team did and one-up it. There is no reason why we can’t get back to the College Cup and find a way to win it.”

ST. JOHN’S UP NEXT FOR GEORGETOWN

FILE PHOTOS: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA AND CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA

Record setters: Senior forward Steve Neumann (left) became the fourth player in program history to earn 100 career points. Junior goalkeeper Tomas Gomez (right) now also holds the record for season shutouts with 11.

CROSS COUNTRY

On Saturday, Georgetown will travel to New York to face St. John’s (8-6-2, 1-4-2 Big East) in its last road game of the regular season.

St. John’s is 7-2 in non-conference play but hasn’t fared as well in the Big East. A loss to Georgetown will eliminate the Red Storm from contention for a spot in the Big East tournament, and likely from NCAA Col-

lege Cup consideration as well.

The game is a must-win for the St. John’s, so Georgetown knows that it cannot take the matchup lightly.

The Hoyas will likely need to win its two remaining games in order to clinch at least a share of the Big East title.

Georgetown and St. John’s last met in the first round of the Big East tournament last year, where Georgetown won 2-1.

DOWN TO THE WIRE

NBA Teams Rely On Stars Hoyas Change Strategy In Smaller Big East Meet T MADELINE AUERBACH Special to The Hoya

After a weekend of rest for the Georgetown men’s and women’s cross country teams, the runners will return to the course this weekend for their Big East Championship meets.

After a first place finish at the Pre-National meet on Oct. 18th, the No. 3 women’s team will line up against familiar Big East foes. They’ll also compete with the newest members of the conference: Butler, Creighton and Xavier. Their mindset at the PreNCAA meet was to run in a true team effort, and they’ll employ the same approach in the meet this Saturday. However, their running strategy will be altered, as the field will be smaller with lower scoring.

“All our girls have to be in racing position because it’s a low-scoring meet. They’ll be really involved in the front of the race, whereas the Pre-National meet is a huge meet,” Women’s Head Coach Michael Smith said. “There are a few things we will do strategy-wise, one of which is have a lot more of an aggressive approach.”

The five finishers at the Pre-NCAA meet will be on the line again for the Hoyas. Sophomore Samantha Nadel, junior Katrina Coogan, senior Madeline Chambers, sophomore Haley Pierce and graduate student Rachel Schneider finished in that order in the last meet and will be joined by the other four runners for the Blue and Gray: sophomore Rachel Paul and juniors Kelsey Smith, Andrea Keklak and Annamarie Maag.

Though the women have clearly established themselves as one of the top teams in both the Big East and the country, their conference opponents are highly competitive, despite the conference realignment.

“For us, it really hasn’t changed, because the same teams that we saw historically at meets in the last 20 years in the Big East are still there. For us, it’s Providence and Villanova,” Smith said.

The men will make adjustments to their lineup and work on their strategy after a disappointing finish at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. The team was missing a crucial piece of its lineup in Wisconsin because it decided to sit senior Brian King.

Now Smith will be back on the starting line, along with other top runners including graduate student Andrew Springer, who was named Big East Cross Country Athlete of the Week in October. Other runners for the Hoyas will be sophomore Ahmed Bile; juniors Ryan Gil, Austin Gregor, Collin Leibold and John Murray; senior Bobby Peavey; and graduate student Dylan Sorensen.

With a smaller pool of competitors than in Wisconsin, the men have a better chance of executing their strategies.

“Instead of 300 people in the field, there will probably be 100, and that will definitely help our guys out by finding each other easier,” Assistant Coach Brandon Bonsey said.

No. 19 Providence and No. 26 Villanova are two talented Big East teams, but every school in the conference will be in the mix. The Hoyas are hoping this meet can give them momentum going into the MidAtlantic Regional meet in late November.

“The guys are healthy and feeling good. We’ve had some great workouts, and the attitude and vibe at practice has been really, really good these past two weeks. The results at Wisconsin aren’t at all indicative of what kind of team we have,” Bonsey said.

The first meet will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in Somers, Wis.

FOOTBALL

Searching for Big East Win FOOTBALL, from A10 inability to convert on scoring opportunities has not eased any pressure away from the team’s defense, and such lapses are responsible for putting potentially competitive games out of reach.

“We try to move the chains, try to get first downs and the next goal is to score and … control the football,” Kelly said. “We haven’t scored enough points, to be frank … and we haven’t defended well, so we’ve got to do both phases well in the ball game.”

Issues have mounted on both sides of the ball, and as the team sits in a six-game losing streak with three games to go, this season’s story is all but set in stone. But Kelly feels the

squad is still motivated to play and win.

“I think it’s the same every week. Every week the goal is to win a game,” Kelly said.

The game holds special value for the team as the last home game for a large group of seniors.

“This week’s even a little more special because this is the last home game for our seniors,” Kelly said. “We’ve got 24 of them that will be ending their careers here at MultiSport and they all deserve a lot of respect. They put a lot of time and effort into this program. I have a lot respect for them, and I hope they go off with a win.”

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at MultiSport Facility.

his year, the NBA season figures to be a great example of the old cliche of the “haves and have-nots.” Surprisingly, the teams in these two extreme tiers of the league are far more similar to each other than what is obvious at first glance.

The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers all possess ridiculous talent at the top of their rosters. The Indiana Pacers are the only ones to buck this trend, with no superstars on their squad — although Paul George is quickly getting there. At the bottom of the league, the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Bobcats, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and possibly Toronto Raptors are all doing whatever they can to develop or search for this kind of top-tier talent, and nothing else even comes close as a top priority.

Teams like the Jazz, Magic and Bobcats could be hoping that their young talent develops into superstars, but they may resign themselves to the mindsets of the other basement teams by season’s end. The 76ers, Suns and Celtics — and possibly the Raptors, depending what they do as far as in-season trades go — are all trying to bottom out and get a high draft pick in a loaded draft class next year. The 76ers, for example, took tanking to a comical low even before the season started by waiting until Aug. 14 to hire a head coach.

They traded their best player for a 2014 first round pick and Nerlens Noel, a rookie who might not play his entire first season. The Celtics dealt their two best players, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, to the Brooklyn Nets, and they dealt head coach Doc Rivers to the L.A. Clippers. Both trades returned little value for this upcoming season. Many expect them to trade their remaining valuable assets, Brandon Bass, Jeff Green and especially point guard Rajon Rondo during the season — again for little value this

season. The Suns decided that they had to copy the 76ers by trading one of their best players for a first round draft pick and a player currently on the sidelines.

There’s a reason that the haves and have-nots are tied together, and there’s a reason that the have-nots are trying to bottom out almost as quickly as Amanda Bynes. Next to nobody wins in the NBA without superstar talent on the roster. Looking at past champions proves this. The 2012 and 2013 Heat had LeBron and Wade, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks had Nowitzki, the 2009 and 2010 Lakers had Kobe and Gasol, the 2008 Celtics had the Big 3, and the 2007, 2005, and 2003

Tom Hoff

More teams may tank this NBA season.

Spurs had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The only exception in recent years, which the Indiana Pacers will try to emulate, are the 2004 Pistons, who didn’t have anybody that will one day be counted as an all-time Top 50 NBA player. But by and large, nobody wins in the NBA without top-level talent.

We can also look at teams that came up just short. The Magic lost in the 2009 Finals with Dwight Howard, while the 2012 Thunder lost in the Finals with an amazing core of three young superstars.

And, speaking of that same Thunder squad, it’s important to consider what will go down as one of the biggest, and possibly worst, trades in recent memory. Thunder GM Sam Presti dealt superstar James Harden for Kevin Martin (who only had one year left on his contract), Jeremy Lamb and

three draft picks. Presti had been seen as the best GM in the league, constantly avoiding overpaying role players and doing whatever he could to get the most out of his superstars. It’s always nice when you are lucky enough to draft Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in consecutive drafts, considering that draft picks can blow up in a team’s face (Greg Oden was drafted right before Durant in 2007), but Presti received his due acclimation for being a great GM. And then he threw away that title. He believed that he could make up for the high level of play from Harden with a year of Kevin Martin and the future contributions of Lamb and the upcoming picks. Well, Martin’s scoring declined by 3.1 points per game, Lamb averaged 3.1 ppg and, to top it all off, Westbrook got injured before the team could go deep in the playoffs, wasting Martin’s one year with the team. OKC was blessed with three superstars when most teams don’t have one. After all, all three players were on the Goldmedal winning Olympic team only a few months before, and that was at 23, 23 and 22 years old. Presti made the mistake of believing that role players generally can fill in for superstars.

Such a thought is downright false, and I’m still surprised that such an accomplished GM made the mistake. As NBA writer Bill Simmons is fond of saying, you should always trade coins for paper, not the other way around.

The top teams can win this year because they have top talent. Whether this talent was acquired through luck or savvy personnel moves, it’s the recipe with a correlation pretty close to one. And seeing that formula, can you really blame any of the terrible teams for tanking and doing whatever they can to be in that position?

Tom Hoff is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. DOWN TO THE WIRE appears every Friday.

SPORTS

FOOTBALL Georgetown vs. Lafayette Saturday, 1 p.m.

MultiSport Facility

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013

VOLLEYBALL

TALKING POINTS

Georgetown looks for revenge against Villanova at home Saturday.

See A8

“

We’ll have a bit more of an aggressive approach.

NUMBERS GAME

” 14

Women’s cross country Coach Michael Smith on the Big East Championship meet.

The number of wins for the women’s soccer team this year, a program best.

MEN’S SOCCER

Better Than Ever: GU’s Quest to Top Last Season ANDREW MAY Hoya Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA

Senior forward and captain Steve Neumann is congratulated by teammates after scoring three goals en route to an 8-0 win over Seton Hall on Oct. 5. Despite the team losing five seniors from last year, Neumann believes this year’s team is capable of making another deep playoff run.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Hoya Staff Writer

The inaugural season of the new Big East conference has been kind to the No. 15 Georgetown women’s soccer team. Aside from a 4-0 loss to No. 14 Marquette two weeks ago, the Hoyas (14-1-2, 6-1-1 Big East) have failed to record a loss and, with one game remaining, have already tied the program record for wins in a regular season.

Georgetown will have a chance to break that record when Seton Hall (5-10-2, 3-5-0 Big East) pays a visit to the Hilltop on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates will be looking for revenge after they suffered an 8-0 defeat at the hands of the Hoyas last year.

Every player who scored a goal for Georgetown in that match will be on Shaw Field Saturday. Junior midfielder Daphne Corboz led the way with a hat trick while senior defender Colleen Dinn and junior forward Ashley Shaffer both pitched in two goals; junior midfielder Audra Ayotte tallied one.

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

Junior midfielder Daphne Corboz recorded a hat trick against Seton Hall last season.

Despite last year’s blowout, Head Coach Dave Nolan is confident his squad won’t overlook the Pirates.

“Each year is different. Last year we got on them quickly, and they kind of fell away a little bit,” Nolan said. “I’m hoping the kids won’t look past them, and if they do, I can easily point out the previous year when we went up there and lost 3-2. I don’t think our kids have forgotten that one either.”

In addition to the defeat two years ago, there is another reason the Hoyas are unlikely to take a victory on Saturday for granted: Seton Hall is playing for a shot at the postseason.

The top six finishers in the Big East qualify for the postseason tournament, with the top two receiving first round byes. Seton Hall currently sits in seventh place, two points behind fifth-place St. John’s and one point behind sixth-place Villanova. That means that one of those schools will have to lose or draw, and Seton Hall will have to win on Saturday if it hopes to reach the postseason.

“It’s a dangerous game for us because [Seton Hall] needs to win. No other outcome works for them, so they really have to go for it,” Nolan said. “They’re coming in with nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Despite having locked up an appearance in the Big East Tournament, the Hoyas have yet to clinch a first round bye. A win over Seton Hall would do just that. DePaul currently sits only three points behind Georgetown in the table, so a Blue Demon win coupled with a Hoya loss would mean that a tie-breaker would determine which team would get the bye.

Nolan is quick to point out the importance of a free pass to the semifinals for the Hoyas.

“It’s huge,” he said. “At some point the winner of the tournament is going to have to go through Marquette, and you want to give yourself every chance you can to be as healthy for that match as possible.”

Securing the bye will not be the only thing on the minds of the Georgetown players this Saturday. It will be Senior Day for the six seniors on the roster, all of who have See PIRATES, A8

See SOCCER, A9

FOOTBALL

Perfect Home Record on The Line Against Pirates TOM SCHNOOR

Living up to last year’s accomplishments is no easy feat for the Georgetown men’s soccer team. But so far, the Hoyas are doing just fine.

Georgetown (12-3-1, 5-1-1 Big East) is ranked second in the nation by both the National Coaches Poll and by the Rating Percentage Index, a mathematical formula used to determine seeds for the NCAA tournament. Sitting at No. 2 and locked in a tie for first place in the Big East, the team is faring even better than the team was at this point last season.

“Every team has its own footprint and legacy. Last year’s team was born from the team before, which was born from the team before,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said. “There is always that constant string that connects every team.”

Georgetown had a breakout season in 2012, finishing as runner-up in the NCAA College Cup after a 1-0 loss to Indiana in the championship game. The team finished the 2012 regular season with a 15-2-1 record and a 4-2 conference record that earned it a second seed in the Big East tournament in which it finished second.

“It was probably the best soccer experience I have had in my life.

It was something where the team really came together to do something special,” senior forward and

FILE PHOTO: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA

Sophomore quarterback Kyle Nolan will make his third start under center against Lafayette on Saturday. Head Coach Kevin Kelly is optimistic about Nolan’s progress week to week.

GU Preps for Home Finale MATT RAAB

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown football team (1-7, 0-2 Patriot League) will have one last chance to make the most of its home field advantage on Saturday when it plays host to Lafayette (2-5, 2-0 Patriot League) in this season’s final game at MultiSport Facility.

Though the Hoyas offense showed promise in last week’s frustrating 34-14 loss to Colgate, the defensive struggles that have plagued the team during its sixgame losing streak persisted.

Georgetown now faces a Leopards squad looking to maintain its perfect record in Patriot League play.

Lafayette is coming to Georgetown on the heels of a 41-23 win over Holy Cross that included a five-touchdown, 283-yard performance by freshman quarterback Drew Reed.

“Their freshman quarterback was 21 out of 22. [He] had a real good ball game,” Head Coach Kevin Kelly said. “We expect them

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to expand on what they’re doing with him with their offensive package. He’s a good player; he throws the ball well, runs well — they’ll give us a handful.”

Georgetown’s defense will be again put to the test, this time against an offense more disposed to the pass. The unit has continually adjusted in an attempt to alleviate the scoring barrage that the Hoyas have endured for most of the season, and more of these adjustments will be employed against Lafayette.

“We keep tinkering around with our personnel trying to get a couple guys back health-wise, and we expect a big week out of them,” Kelly said.

On offense, Georgetown will look to a rushing attack that the team could not get started in last week’s game. After sophomore quarterback Kyle Nolan and senior running back Nick Campanella combined for only 67 yards rushing against Colgate, forcing a heavy dependence on the pass, Georgetown will attempt to estab-

lish the run early against Lafayette.

“Every week we try to run the football,” Kelly said. “If we can’t run the football, it makes it tougher to throw the ball.”

Georgetown’s performance will also hinge on the performance of Nolan, who is coming off of a strong 257-yard performance that kept the Hoyas competitive for much of last Saturday’s game. After continued progress in his second start of the season, Kelly is confident that Nolan’s abilities will steadily improve.

“Kyle’s got another week under his belt,” Kelly said. “People forget that he’s only played a handful of games at most and he’s just a sophomore … he’s going to get better every week.”

Although the Hoyas have been able to string together significant drives this season, they have run into difficulties trying to get the ball into the end zone. This See FOOTBALL, A9