GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 96, No. 10, © 2014
tuesDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
MEN’S SOCCER
COMMENTARY Eric Holder could have taken a stronger stance on race.
Brandon Allen scores twice in 11 minutes in the 2-0 win over Butler. SPORTS, A10
Special to The Hoya
The Georgetown University Police Department caught six suspects this month using security cameras and LiveSafe, the new mobile application that allows students to send anonymous tips and emergency calls. According to the GUPD blotter records, there have been 34 incidents of theft or burglary on campus since Aug. 23. Burglars in the Intercultural Center, Alumni Square and at bike racks outside of Lauinger Library were caught on the closed circuit television security system, while GUPD caught a flash-
er through the use of LiveSafe, which was rolled out earlier this fall. “The CCTV system is very good,” Chief of Police Jay Gruber said. “It’s not often it actively captures somebody in the act, when they’re actually doing the crime, but forensically speaking, when we go back and review the video, we see images of the suspects.” Gruber said that GUPD often utilized the CCTVs and that they have proven to be very effective, especially in the recent bike theft. “It happens more often than you think,” Gruber said. “We reviewed the video and we saw the suspect who took the bike. … Our communications center person-
FILE PHOTO: NATALIA ORTIZ/THE HOYA
New technology has helped GUPD catch six suspects this year, out of 34 total incidents reported since Aug. 23.
nel were doing virtual patrols, or taking control of the cameras and looking around, and the very next day one of the dispatchers saw the suspect at the Lauinger bike rack. We sent officers up there and we placed him under arrest.” Since the start of the semester, there have been 34 cases of theft and burglary. Only one of those cases is closed. There have been no violent crimes reported by GUPD this semester. The apprehended suspects for the burglaries in Alumni Square and the Lauinger bike rack were members of the Georgetown community. Gruber said that the CCTVs are only in public spaces, preventing infringement on student privacy within dorm halls. “All the cameras are in public spaces,” Gruber said. “They’re in places where people shouldn’t have an expectation of privacy. We don’t have them in spaces that would be considered private.” About three weeks ago, GUPD officers arrested a subject reported with LiveSafe. According to Gruber, a female student was studying near the Einstein’s Bagels kiosk inside Regents Hall when a man approached her and asked to use the power socket by her table. “When she looked up, this individual had his pants down around his ankles, exposing himself to her,” Gruber said. “She felt uncomfortable making a phone call, so she used the LiveSafe app to text the police communications center with what happened and a description of the suspect.” Once officers learned of the See GUPD, A5
Akerlof, Nobel Winner, Joins McCourt Faculty Natalie LaRue & Charlotte Allen Specials to The Hoya
Nobel Prize winner and economics scholar George Akerlof will join the faculty of the McCourt School of Public Policy in November, the university announced Sept. 23. Akerlof, who currently serves as a senior resident scholar at the International Monetary Fund, is known for his Nobel Prize-winning article, “The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism,” and as the husband of Janet Yellen, chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Akerlof said teaching at the McCourt School, rather than in an economics department, will help him present stu-
UC BERKELEY
George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize winner and economics scholar, will head to the McCourt School in November.
dents with a more balanced perspective of economics. “In economics courses, there is a bias towards only teaching what economics can do. Teaching at public policy school means taking a more balanced approach including both what economics can do and what it can’t do,” Akerlof said. Akerlof is best known for his work in identifying severe problems that occur in markets due to asymmetric information. Mark Rom, an assistant dean of the McCourt School and a professor of government and public policy, said that Akerlof will have flexibility in which courses he develops and teaches. “He can teach whatever he wants, but I assume he will be teaching things that follow his current research interests,” Rom said. “He is a Nobel Prize winner, and there are not many of them. They have made big impact on the profession in the broader world.” According to Rom, the McCourt School staff is eager to meet with Akerlof and learn from him when he arrives. Although Akerlof is best known for his Nobel Prize-winning article, he is now writing a book, entitled “Phishing for Phools,” about how the economics of free markets is subject to qualifications. Akerlof said he believes the book will enhance his teaching abilities in his future classes. “From writing this book, I have a different perspective, and I am looking forward to imparting new perspective on Georgetown students,” Akerlof said. Rom said that he is excited to work with Akerlof and learn from his knowledge and experience in economics. “It sounds like he wants to get involved and be a good colleague, and that really reflects on him as a person. ... We are thrilled,” Rom said. “You can imagine places where egos might get in the way about who is on the pecking order, but we are uniformly delighted at having him here. He will be valued and loved.” Akerlof, who is transitioning from his previous position as emeritus faculty at
Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
See AKERLOF, A6
FARE HIKES Circulator prices for SmarTrip card users are rising from $1 to $1.50.
NEWS, A4
OPINION, A3
GUPD Catches 6 Suspects Jack Bennett
SYRIAN WOMEN Performers of “Syria: The Trojan Women” are making progress with visas.
NEWS, A5
Students Find Fault With Health Center Molly Simio
Hoya Staff Writer
The Student Health Center has lost the trust of many students with frustrating procedures for making appointments and a lack of accessible resources for health crises — a claim that has become a particular concern in the wake of a campus-wide health scare surrounding a case of bacterial meningitis confirmed two weeks ago. Bacterial meningitis is a disease that requires immediate treatment, as emphasized by the university after meningitis was confirmed on campus, but some students, exhibiting a variety of symptoms in non-related instances over their time at Georgetown, have found that immediate treatment is difficult to attain at the health center. The Student Health Center advertises walk-in appointments for students with pressing medical needs. “Students without an appointment and who have urgent problems will be offered an assessment by a nurse or clinician during office hours,” the health center’s website states. However, students have had difficulties scheduling last-minute appointments at the Student Health Center, even since the meningitis scare. After feeling sick for over two weeks, Jenna Galper (COL ’17), decided to seek treatment from the Student Health Center last week, only to be faced with a lengthy wait period. “I was pretty sick. I’d had a pretty bad cough for two weeks and was worried that I might have a fever, but I was on hold for about half an hour and they told me they couldn’t see me for two days,” Galper said. According to Galper, health center personnel made no attempt to evalu-
FILE PHOTO: DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
Students have found it difficult to attain timely treatment at the health center in cases of illness. ate the severity of her case before turning her away. “They didn’t actually ask me anything about what I was feeling,” Galper said. Instead of waiting for an appointment with the Student Health Center, Galper decided to go to a CVS Minute Clinic, where she said she was able to see a doctor and fill a prescription within an hour. Galper said that she would not consider going to the health center in the future. “I just thought that was kind of ridiculous and I didn’t want to be this sick for another two days,” Galper said. “I didn’t want to mess around with my health, especially given everything that’s happened.” Jackson Smith (COL ’16) went to the health center about two-and-a-half See HEALTH, A6
EDUCATION FOR GIRLS
DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance of Nigeria, discusses safe access to education for girls in her country and beyond at an event in ICC Auditorium on Friday.
Yoga Tax Hits DC, Yates Giovanna Azevedo Special to The Hoya
The District of Colombia’s “yoga tax” will go into effect Oct. 1, slightly raising some fees at Yates Field House, as well as at gyms and yoga studios around the city. Gyms and fitness studios,
including Yates, which were previously exempt from the District’s sales tax, will be subject to D.C.’s 5.75 percent service tax, which will apply to all transactions, including membership fees, guest fees, fitness passes, locker rentals, instructional classes and lessons. All full-time students cur-
ARIANA TAFTI FOR THE HOYA
A new D.C. tax will affect some prices at Yates Field House, including fitness classes and faculty memberships.
Published Tuesdays and Fridays
rently pay a mandatory $194 fee per semester for use of Yates, included in tuition. Part-time students can choose to pay this student fee for Yates membership. Faculty and staff pay $462 a year for a single membership and $672 a year for a family membership. According to Yates Director Jim Gilroy, under the new tax, faculty and staff will be required to pay the 5.75 percent sales tax on their membership, which amounts to about $27 a year. This averages out to about 50 cents a week. Approved in June, the new fee, branded the “yoga tax” by critics, has drawn criticism from the fitness community, which is pushing customers to sign up for gyms before the tax’s implementation. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson proposed the tax expansion. “The income tax rate will See TAX, A6
Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com
A2
OPINION
THE HOYA
tuesDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
THE VERDICT
C
Founded January 14, 1920
EDITORIALS
Urgent Need for Urgent Care C For students, shrugging off sickness is a time-honored tradition, however foolish. Be it busy schedules, confidence in our immune systems or just downright laziness, many of us have not sought medical attention on occasion even though it was most likely the best course of action for our overall health. That said, having an accessible Student Health Center able to best address a wide range of urgent medical needs is vitally important. A student health center should function much in the way a normal hospital does, but should not be blind to the unique nature of the population they mostly tend to — students. With the sporadic nature of many students’ schedules, in combination with expectations that an illness will only last a few days, we often figure it is not worth our time to try and walk in to the Student Health Center when it is likely we will not be able to get an appointment until the next day or day after. This is an attitude that needs to change. Students must understand the need to seek care even when we may view it as too big of an inconvenience. Regularly scheduled doctor’s appointments are most available when students are in class, and expensive last-minute emergency room trips when symptoms get
worse are a waste of both the hospital’s and the student’s resources. Problems with Student Health Services fall on both students and the health center to address. Currently, the Student Health Center does not offer short-notice services like instant-care or pop-up clinics that are common in cities across the country, exactly for those urgent situations that may not require an emergency room. Making a service like this available — while it obviously requires more resources and readily available medical professionals — would make getting treatment for the vast majority of illnesses that college students face much simpler and easier. If students would rather endure an illness than seek treatment because they do not view it as worth their time, it is clear that there is a more systemic issue at play. Feeling run down or sick is, of course, a common and endurable part of college life. But no one should feel that they do not have the option of a quick and easy checkup just because of the fact that they are a college student with a hectic schedule. As students, we should prioritize safety on all levels — that means feeling safe walking home at 1 a.m. on a weekend night, as well as when we chug EmergenC and think, “I really hope I’m not sick.”
C
C
Jumping Fences — According to a report published Monday in The Washington Post, the man who jumped over the White House fence made it farther than previously reported, rushing past a Secret Service agent and reaching the East Room. In light of the recent developments, extra barriers have been added in front of the existing White House fence. Freeriders — As rumor has it, the District Department of Transportation is considering making the D.C. Streetcar free for its first year of operation. Million-Dollar Ticket — Revenue from Washington’s network of traffic cameras has significantly declined in recent months, which might force the city to cut up to $70 million from its budget. A Less Perfect Union — D.C. United beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0, advancing Washington’s Major League Soccer team one step closer to the MLS Cup.
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD US ... @GULectureFund Sept. 26 Thanks to @thehoya for the great coverage of @NajibRazak--see you on Sunday for @NickKristof? @The_Tombs Sept. 26 A great read on @Georgetown tradtions in today’s @thehoya @MrBohr Sept. 27 Top Wearable Technology is out! paper.li/MrBohr/1398379… Stories via @thehoya @JimAlexson @Indix @bronxbornspring Sept. 29 DJeter wud have bin a Hoya if went 2 college @georgetownhoyas @Yankees @GUAlumni @thehoya @CasualHoya @Georgetown
A More Inviting Peace Corps Applying to the Peace Corps is a big commitment — one that, until recently, came with a lot of uncertainty. The two-year program has, since 1961, assigned its corps members to the countries where they will spend the next two years through a lottery system. Changes to the application process this year will now allow applicants to have a choice in their country selection. This reform came along with sweeping changes to the general application process, including a significantly shorter application form. Collectively, these modifications bring the opportunity to commit two years to altruism and diplomacy to many who might not have considered applying to a program over whose specifics they had limited control. The ability to apply to a specific country ensures that successful applicants will be passionate about the region in which they will work and will be able to tailor their two years of service to future re-
gional or developmental career interests. Especially among Georgetown students, whose many passions include foreign service, area studies and community service, these changes will hopefully make the program more suitable for students of today — when even Peace Corps applicants are likely thinking about career moves. Applicants can still choose to be randomly assigned to a country, in which case they will be sent to the areas where they are most needed. These distinctions will likely make the application process for certain countries more competitive and will hopefully ensure that the Peace Corps remains a popular and important destination for recent graduates seeking to serve nations in need. The Peace Corps is one of our country’s flagship volunteer programs for young people, and these changes ensure that its participants will be able to take full advantage of the time they are committing to serving others.
Sometimes it seems like every Georgetown graduate is going into consulting or investment banking. This trend exists for a reason — these jobs provide a clear pipeline and recruitment process, and a competitive starting salary that can help recent graduates start to pay off student debt. In a commendable effort that could help buck this trend, StartupHoyas and the Schramm family have established the Georgetown Startup Stipend Program, which aims to help recent graduates with student debt. The stipend is available to recent graduates entering fields related to entrepreneurship, and will pay graduates a stipend in order to cover one or two years of student loans, depending on the recipient. This stipend could help build George-
town’s reputation for entrepreneurship. Together with the up-and-coming StartupHoyas, this program serves to increase the creative potential of business-minded Georgetown graduates. As a liberal arts school, Georgetown should take pride in its students’ innovations and creativity. While our school’s contributions to finance and consulting should not be overlooked, encouraging students to pursue their individual passions reinforces our institutional mission. More importantly, however, the stipend increases the accessibility of a Georgetown education. It will help students pursue jobs at smaller companies that they are passionate about, which is an exciting prospect for Georgetown and its graduates.
Investing in Innovation
Emma Hinchliffe, Editor-in-Chief Mallika Sen, Executive Editor Robert DePaolo, Managing Editor Ian Tice, Online Editor Molly Simio, Campus News Editor Suzanne Monyak, City News Editor Sam Abrams, Sports Editor Jess Kelham-Hohler, Guide Editor David Chardack, Opinion Editor Michelle Xu, Photography Editor Zack Saravay, Copy Chief Emma Holland, Blog Editor
Contributing Editors
Zoe Bertrand, TM Gibbons-Neff, Penny Hung, Nicole Jarvis, Hanaa Khadraoui, Sheena Karkal, Jackie McCadden, Sean Sullivan, Laura Wagner, Emory Wellman
Katherine Richardson Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Kshithij Shrinath Deputy Business News Editor Kim Bussing Deputy Sports Editor Andrew May Sports Blog Editor Max Wheeler Deputy Guide Editor Allison Hillsbery Deputy Guide Edtior Hannah Kaufman Opinion Blog Editor Jinwoo Chong Deputy Opinion Editor Ben Germano Deputy Photography Editor Julia Hennrikus Deputy Photography Editor Daniel Smith Deputy Photography Editor Natasha Thomson Acting Layout Editor Zoe Bertrand Acting Layout Editor Emory Wellman Deputy Copy Editor Gabi Hasson Deputy Copy Editor Katie Haynes Deputy Copy Editor Sharanya Sriram Deputy Blog Editor Emily Min
This week on
Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces. Abby grace (sfs ’16) & Emily Coccia (COL ’15) s of the Georgetown University Philodemic Society take opposing views analyzing the changing face of feminism: In the 21st century, feminism is facing the unique challenge of transforming itself from a movement dominated by upper-middle class white women, into a movement centered around a larger struggle for equality regardless of race, gender, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Take, for example, the recent discussion about the pay gap between men and women. While it is often quoted that women only earn 78 cents for every dollar a male earns, what is frequently left out of the equation is the even larger disparity that occurs between white women, women of color, and men of color.”
“
Throughout the history of the women’s movement, Simone de Beauvoir explains, women “have gained only what men have been willing to grant; they have taken nothing; they have only received. Thus, to make the argument that feminism has an obligation to include men falls into the trap of “needing” men, of relying on men’s benevolence to extend privileges and dole out the rights that they have always possessed. Yet to count on this continued magnanimity is to deprive women of the power that comes in demanding that the very system of gender inequality itself must fall.”
“
kate riga (sfs ’17) s of the Georgetown University Philodemic Society take opposing views analyzing the changing face of feminism: Soon after the speech hit the Internet, a website sprang up counting down the minutes until retaliatory nude photos of Watson would be released to the public. The situation is murky and the details are unclear. But one thing from this whole messy, confusing, seedy situation is undeniably true: once again, women’s naked bodies are being used (or at least threatened) as weapons of mass humiliation.”
“
Find this and more at
thehoya.com/chatter
Michal Grabias, General Manager Jason Yoffe, Director of Accounting Brenna Muldrow, Director of Corporate Development Nicole Foggan, Director of Marketing Addie Fleron, Director of Human Resources Brian Carden, Director of Sales Janet Zhu, Director of Technology Tessa Bell Laura Tonnessen Joseph Scudiero Monika Patel Tessa Guiv Catherine Huber Christine Cha Sarah Hannigan Gregory Saydah Lena Duffield Matthew Da Silva
Senior Accounts Manager National Accounts Manager Operations Manager Local Accounts Manager Alumni Relations Manager Special Events Manager Institutional Diversity Manager Organizational Development Manager Local Advertisements Manager National Advertisements Manager Systems Manager
Editorial Board
Consultants
David Chardack, Chair
Nick DeLessio, Kevin Tian
Celeste Chisholm, Kit Clemente, Ben Germano, Johnny Verhovek, Christopher Wadibia
[ CHATTER ]
Board of Directors
Sheena Karkal, Chair
Michal Grabias, Emma Hinchliffe, Hanaa Khadraoui, Hunter Main, Zach Singer, Laura Wagner 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. The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints. Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Mallika Sen at (310) 918-6116 or email executive@ thehoya.com. News Tips Campus News Editor Molly Simio: Call (201) 661-1440 or email campus@thehoya.com. City News Editor Suzanne Monyak: Call (404) 641-4923 or email city@thehoya.com. Sports Editor Sam Abrams: Call (816) 582-4949 or email sports@thehoya.com. General Information The Hoya is published twice each week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to:
The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University. Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya. Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors. The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2014. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each. Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 5,000
OPINION
TUESDAY, september 30, 2014
LEFT BEHIND
THE HOYA
VIEWPOINT • Tyagarajan & Tirodkar
For Indian PM, an All-Star American Tour
I
Hunter Main
With Race, Holder’s Weak Action T
a-Nehisi Coates’ award-winning 2012 essay in The Atlantic, “Fear of a Black President,” sought to explain why Barack Obama has stayed nearly silent on the topic of race, even with his access to the nation’s loudest bully pulpit and his status as the first black president. Coates castigated him for failing to take advantage of the opportunity to break the relative silence on the country’s ugly racial past and present, but he also understood that America itself — “a democracy that must never acknowledge the weight of race, even while being shaped by it” — is equally responsible for his silence. Fortunately, Attorney General Eric Holder, who announced his resignation Thursday, had no such qualms about speaking out, even when sometimes put under a spotlight as blindingly hostile as that which is focused on the president. He is, after all, the only cabinet member to ever be held in contempt of Congress. Calling America “a nation of cowards” in 2009 for its reticence to discuss race, Holder told ABC News in July that he still stood by those remarks. As attorney general, Holder is in charge of the federal end of the criminal justice system, the perversion of which (through racially tinged mass incarceration) Michelle Alexander, in “The New Jim Crow,” calls “the most damaging manifestation of the backlash against the Civil Rights Movement.” Holder has made the system more equitable, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for many non-violent drug offenders, letting Colorado’s and Washington’s marijuana quasilegalization proceed uninhibited and curbing federal agents’ legal use of racial profiling. What Holder admits he is most proud of fighting, however, is something out of the old Jim Crow: attempts to limit voting rights. Despite the decision of Shelby County v. Holder, where the Supreme Court majority, by invalidating Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, told America that systemic racism was over, the Justice Department nonetheless fought new voter ID laws created by states no longer burdened by pre-clearance, such as Texas and South Carolina. These, in tandem with his civil rights investigations of local police departments in places such as Maricopa Country, Ariz., and Ferguson, Mo., leave Holder with an admirable civil rights record, especially in an administration forced to walk a delicate line on race. But when looking at Holder’s tenure as attorney general as a whole, his civil rights triumphs look like high points in an overall murkier legacy. Most egregious is his failure to prosecute any finance executives culpable for leading the world into an economic recession at the end of the last decade, exemplifying an economic recovery where gains have gone almost entirely to the wealthy, setting the stage for another collapse sometime in the near future. The recession, like most events in our history, has disproportionately disadvantaged black Americans, and Holder’s decision to let its main perpetrators off scot-free flew in the face of his civil rights achievements. The wealth gap between white and black Americans is an enormous impediment to racial justice in this country. According to the Center for Global Policy Solutions, the median wealth of the former is around 20 times that of the latter. Predatory loans and mortgages and denial of access to meaningful employment are just a few of the ways wealth accumulation, usually passed on through generations, has been stymied for blacks. Wealth provides a safety net for households, allowing them to more easily weather unexpected catastrophes, such as illnesses or natural disasters, and it gives them the means to make investments. This general absence of wealth makes economic mobility for black households as a whole much more precarious; a 2007 Brookings Institution study found that middle-class black children are nearly three times more likely to fall to the bottom quintile of income distribution than their white counterparts are. And what has happened during the most recent recession? The devastating wealth gap has nearly doubled in size, from a 12 fold gap in 2005 to the 20 fold gap today, due in part to the fact that black families were disproportionately offered the subprime mortgages that helped trigger the collapse. Although on its surface, the financial crisis had little to do with civil rights, it has nonetheless done an extraordinary amount to exacerbate the systemic economic disadvantages felt by black Americans. Let me be clear: The federal prosecution of those responsible for the financial crisis would not have solved this country’s problem with race. However, it would have shown Holder’s support for ending more insidious barriers to civil rights — those that are the most entrenched and the most damaging. Because he failed to enact even the minimum amount of punishment on those complicit in maintaining these racial obstacles, however, Holder can be considered more of a member of the “nation of cowards” than he may like to admit. Hunter Main is a senior in the College. Left Behind appears every other Tuesday.
A3
ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come to the United States with great expectations, after his party was the first to win a majority in India in 30 years. After a brief immigration mishap, Modi arrives with a singular mandate — to give a renewed impetus to U.S.India relations. Modi enthralled the Indian Diaspora at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, providing a sense of leadership, which was lacking under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and appealing to a sense of patriotism. His address had all the hallmarks of a typical Modi speech. There was extemporaneous rhetoric, philosophizing, a potshot (or two) directed at political pundits and a declaration of the need for Indians all over the world to unite in order to make the 21st century India’s century. In his speech, Modi set himself, and his whole country, lofty goals for 2019 — a clean India — and 2022 — shelter for all Indians. Above all, Modi’s speech served two broad purposes. First, it re-energized both his party and Indians at home for upcoming state elections, and second, it allowed him to sow the seeds of a strong India-focused “interest group” in the United States. Interestingly, Modi’s speech at Madison Square Garden prominently featured an emotional appeal to those with Indian roots. Modi urged them to come back to India and contribute to their motherland. He cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi, who returned to India from South Africa in 1915 to serve his country. In many ways, this can be seen as Modi’s attempt to forge an Indian interest group to influence the United States, similar to Israeli lobbies in Washington. One can understand Modi’s point of view given the tremendous, powerful role Indians play in the private
Modi enthralled Madison Square Garden, providing a sense of leadership his predecessor lacked. sector — especially in Silicon Valley — and their strong support for Modi’s politics. While U.S.-India relations have historically been fractious, the U.S.India civilian nuclear deal in 2008 marked a watershed moment in relations between the two countries. President George W. Bush and Singh shared great relations, exhibiting deep commitment to the partnership between these two countries. Taking this forward, President Barack Obama stated during his
VIEWPOINT • Flashner
speech at the Indian parliament in 2010 that “the relationship between the United States and India — bound by our shared interests and our shared values — will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.” Yet, the two countries have not seen major collaboration in working toward achieving this common goal. One of the most important items on Modi’s New York agenda was a breakfast meeting with CEOs of large companies, including Indra
Nooyi of PepsiCo, Eric Schmidt of Google, and Michael Corbat of Citigroup. With his plans of boosting manufacturing and job creation in India, he extended an open invitation to the private sector. By promising “red carpet and not red tape,” he says India will welcome foreign investors. By promising clarity in lawmaking and a reduction of time required to obtain clearances to start businesses in India, Modi offered commitments which the U.S. business community had long desired. Modi had a number of other meetings. The Clintons, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg were just some of the luminaries who called on the Indian prime minister at the New York Palace Hotel. For Americans there seems to have been a turnaround. A man once considered a pariah in his own country is now the talk of the town. There seems to be hope, as well as a sense of relief, that after a long time, Americans are talking to an Indian prime minister who enjoys a majority in Parliament and is not bogged down by the compulsions of coalition partners. There is no doubt Modi is a very good orator. Even skeptics will concede that he has said all the right things. However, many of his plans have been repetitions of what he promised on the campaign. Given that he has only had four months on the job, there is not a lot more to expect. The real challenge will be delivering on these promises. Abhinav Tyagarajan is a senior in the School of Foreign Service. Jeh Tirodkar is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. They are founding members of The GeorgetownIndia Dialogue.
CULTURE CLASH
Moral Neutrality’s Tales From the Metro: Threat to Free Speech Trivializing Racism
I
n her critique of a perceived lack of substantive pluralism on campus, H*yas for Choice President Abby Grace (SFS ’16) appealed to the university, “Please don’t bestow a degree completely willingly upon someone who takes positions that we feel to be rather controversial and offensive.” This plea concluded her attempt to defend free speech and the diversity of ideas on Georgetown’s campus following the controversial removal of HFC protesters from the front gates during Donald Cardinal Wuerl’s honorary degree ceremony. In Grace’s view, the university should not endorse moral claims that might give offense or start controversy. In fact, this request to deny validation to “controversial and offensive” positions constitutes an insidious threat to the very free speech and public discourse that Grace was trying to defend. For students invested in a robust free speech policy, it is important to recognize the dangers posed by avoiding making moral claims for the sake of avoiding offense. This suppression of morally positive claims often appears under the guise of “political correctness,” which claims to be morally neutral but in fact cannot escape making moral assertions. Take, for instance, an institution that embraces environmentalism but claims this position is purely secular and amoral. Such a group might want to claim that its views are not charged with the kind of metaphysical angst that populates religious or moral ideas; it presents its views as purely scientific. However, no matter how conclusive scientific evidence of climate change is, there can be no “environmentalism” without the moral judgment that humans have a duty to be good stewards of the environment. This pretension to moral neutrality is precisely what breeds intolerance, for when a group denies the moral quality of its principles, it removes them from the realm of intellectually tenable moral dissent. If the environmentalist claims that environmentalism is amoral, then it can enforce its views on others without guilt of coercion. As such, the rise of this illiberal “liberalism” has the potential to destroy the classical liberal conception of freedom of speech. Only patently obvious moral
or religious claims, such as the freedom to worship, will be protected, while secular claims that obscure their own moral groundings, such as environmentalism, sexism or LGBT rights, will be enforced without possibility of dissent. This “error has no rights” outlook flattens discourse and establishes a superficial consensus. Thus, universities that do not recognize that their own policies constitute a moral judgment do more violence to students’ free speech than those who are aware of the moral character of their positions. As a Catholic university, Georgetown does not pretend to be neutral on moral positions. It makes positive claims to some very controversial and potentially offensive positions, positions held as true by the Church based on the teachings of scripture and tradition. However, the refusal to claim neutrality on these positions does not hinder discourse; rather, it opens dialogue by presenting one view. It is precisely Georgetown’s Catholic identity that both allows Georgetown to invite Cardinal Wuerl to receive an honorary degree and encourages students to discuss openly his beliefs. Importantly, by asserting the existence of truth, Georgetown’s moral claims endow the process of intelligently seeking truth through dialogue with a high degree of dignity. On other campuses, freedom of speech may exist merely for the sake of letting students express opinions; at Georgetown, freedom of speech is necessarily endowed with the weight of the search for truth. It is a freedom for inquiry into the truth of things. GUPD has since apologized for removing HFC from a public sidewalk, and I defer to university policy on this particular issue. But there is a much more pernicious threat to free speech than the issue of when and where students are allowed to table. Denying the university the ability to affirm positive moral claims has the unintended consequence of limiting the free speech of students. Rather, in taking a clear position on moral claims, Georgetown invites discourse about the morality that necessarily underpins the many positions of its students.
Pluralism is not restricted to the views of H*yas for Choice.
EVELYN FLASHNER is a senior in the College.
I
t’s a question not uncommonly What are the implications of this heard on Georgetown’s campus, sudden debunking of a cherished asked by tour groups, visitors and Metro myth, more nefarious than even the random Georgetown stu- what Dan Brown did to Mary Magdadent wondering why she has to walk lene in “The Da Vinci Code?” More imto Rosslyn. portantly, what does this myth’s lonWhy doesn’t Georgetown have a gevity say about us, those who have stop on Washington, D.C.’s otherwise been telling it to friends and guests extensive Metro system? Why did we for decades? get passed up while nearly every othFirst, like all folklore, it points out er neighborhood in the city gets one the danger of our reductionist color even two stops? (We see you, Far- lective memory. The implicit moral ragut Square.) of this story is that Georgetown’s It’s not a bad question, and because wealthy white elites were racists. of the overflowing traffic in George- Simple story, easy to understand. town, it’s definitely a fair one. The reality, inevitably, is more nuThroughout American history, es- anced. pecially in the early 20th century, Although everyone who has ever wealthy neighborhoods were the first lived off campus knows that vilifying to receive desirable public transporta- the “town folk” is a barrel of laughs, tion access — the fruit of political pa- the residents of Georgetown are no tronage and influence — while poor more culpable than the university communities had to wait for decades. and its students in this city’s legacy Regardless of the unfairness of the of struggling for racial justice. situation, why do Metro trains run This brings us to the more unsetat 60 mph in some of D.C.’s poorest tling reality lurking behind this areas while the G2 bus myth. By trivializing crawls at 5 mph up P an episode of racism Street, given the usual — real or fictitious — pattern? just enough to place The answer to this it in the canon of tour question is a sacrosanct group lore, we have chapter of Georgetown made institutional history. When D.C. was racism cute —just planning the Metro sysenough the way that Tucker Cholvin & tem in the 1960s and Wiley Coyote can be 1970s, wealthy Georgeendearing. Thomas Christiansen town residents aimed Notice that the to block the creation of mustache-twirling a Georgetown station. villain of this myth They feared that pubis never us. It’s them: lic transit would allow old, wealthy, local, poor, predominantly whatever. Georgeblack families entry town? An innocent by into the neighborhood, causing de- stander to entrenched racism. creased real estate values for the comWhen we tell this story, however munity values for station. T white trite or lamenting, it is almost always residents. As hundreds of wealthy so- told as though we are throwing our cialite wives clutched their pearls and hands in the air, unable to do anyfainted at the thought, hundreds of thing. Race problems in D.C.? Sometheir well-connected husbands dialed one else’s problem, surely, and it’s too the highest echelons of power and late to do much anyway. blocked the Metro. Georgetown — rePresumably, this is not what St. Igspectable, white Georgetown, at least natius had in mind when he told us — was saved. to set the world on fire. The story is simple: Rich people Nearly 40 years after the Metro first didn’t want poor people around, started rolling in the deep, it’s finally which meant no Metro station. Sorry, time — not just because it’s incorrect Georgetown students. Enjoy walking but because Georgetown must engage across the Key Bridge. differently in this city. While this story provides a conveWhere institutional racism exists, nient explanation, it is not true in the our role is not to turn it into an anslightest. ecdote for prospective freshmen on As Zachary Schrag writes in The campus tours but to fight it instead. Great Society Subway, “Although Where historical wrongs exist, our Georgetown residents did oppose job is not to trivialize them but to a transit station, their attitude was shine a light on them. essentially irrelevant, for a GeorgeAs long as Georgetown students town station was never seriously understand D.C.’s haunting history considered… Any tunnel under the of racism through simplistic, imagiPotomac would have been so deep at nary plot lines, they will never have the river’s edge to render a station any tangible impact on the legacy of there impractical… Highway plan- that history. ners, not Georgetown residents, vetoed this option.” Tucker Cholvin and Thomas ChristianHow bold of Schrag to rob us so sen are seniors in the School of Foreign quickly of one of our founding leg- Service. Culture Clash appears every other Tuesday. ends.
Institutional racism should not be an anecdote.
A4
THE HOYA
PAGE FOUR
NEWS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Prospect Lot will be torn down and converted into a new two-story retail center. See story on A5.
Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.
IN FOCUS
PROFESSION PARADE
verbatim
“
Honestly nobody who smokes is unaware of the health consequences. I just don’t really care.” Clarissa Reichblum (COL ’17) on a study aiming to improve warning labels on cigarette packages See story on A5.
from
TOPUNIVERSITIES.COM
DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
The Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center ballroom played host to the Crawley Career Center’s fall career fair, which featured recruiters and representatives from 95 different companies from various industries last Friday.
BLOGGER TAKES TURKEY Merhaba from Alanya: Follow a 4E blogger’s study-abroad adventures at the McGhee Center villa on the Turkish riviera. blog.thehoya.com
Kristof Addresses Inequalities Syrian Refugees
Closer to US Visas
SARAH SMITH
Special to The Hoya
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Nicholas Kristof spoke to Georgetown students Sunday about his new book, “A Path Appears,” and his experiences with human rights and political issues plaguing our world today. The event, sponsored by the Lecture Fund, took place in the Intercultural Center Auditorium, drawing an audience of 100 students. Kristof began the presentation by showing a brief video promotion of his book, which will be turned into a documentary set to premiere next January. Kristof spoke about issues and stories he has encountered throughout his career as a journalist, ranging from education to human trafficking to equality both abroad and in the United States. Lecture Fund Vice Chair of External Affairs Helen Brosnan (SFS ’16) introduced Kristof and said that each student who reads his columns and novels experiences a moment of inspiration. “I have this belief that at some point in everyone’s young adult life they go through what I like to call a ‘Kristof Moment,’” Brosnan said. “To me, a ‘Kristof Moment’ is when you read one of Mr. Kristof’s books or read one of his columns and you singlehandedly think you can go change the world in 24 hours.” When talking about the motivation for writing “A Path Appears,” a follow-up book to his 2009 book, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” Kristof said that he and his co-author and wife Sheryl WuDunn wanted to address inequality throughout the world and give readers tools to help make small changes. The name of the novel is based on a proverb by Chinese scholar Lu Xun, according to Kristof. “He had this wonderful saying that said, ‘Hope is like a path in the countryside. First, there is nothing, and then because people walk this way again and again, a path appears,’” Kristof said. Kristof said that he and WuDunn wrote the book in response to questions from readers about how they could help make global change with the resources that they have. “I think that there are a lot of people who would like to engage in the world in some way, but are worried about corruption or inefficiency or whether anyone really can make a difference in the world. I am just a huge believer that one can,” he said. Kristof spoke of the many different stories and people he has seen throughout his time in journalism, which he said inspired “A Path Appears.” “Somebody asked me the other day,
MOLLY SIMIO
Hoya Staff Writer
NATASHA THOMSON/THE HOYA
Author and columnist Nicholas Kristof, the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, spoke on human rights and global inequalities Sunday. ‘What is your favorite story?’ And it’s a little like choosing which one of your kids is your favorite” Kristoff said. Kristof also spoke about his experience with international and domestic issues of inequality. One particular issue that he mentioned was intestinal worms in school children in African countries. According to Kristof, these worms can be eradicated for a cost of 50 cents a year per child. “We don’t think of that because in this country, kids don’t have intestinal worms,” Kristof said. “In much of the developing world, kids do, and they become anemic, they are less able to concentrate on their work and are more likely to be sick and be absent from school. But, you can deworm a child for 50 cents a year.” Kristof also spoke about his motivation to follow stories about social inequality, and said that giving is both altruistic and rewarding. “There are obviously a lot of altruistic reasons people get engaged, but it’s also kind of clear that there are selfish reasons to be altruistic,” Kristof said. “Or that altruism is a tremendous source of selfish pleasures.” Before opening the floor up to questions, Kristof spoke about what motivated him to help others by taking risks. He told a story about his father, who was imprisoned in a concentration camp in Yugoslavia. After his eventual release, he took refuge at a Catholic church in Portland, Ore. “I’m very much a beneficiary of people who took a risk. It didn’t solve
a global problem ... but was transformative for my dad and ultimately for me,” he said. A question-and-answer session followed Kristof’s remarks. When asked if there was an experience that shaped his career path, Kristof told a story about meeting two young victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia during a trip early in his career. “I could not believe this was happening,” he said, “It was really hard to then go from talking to these two vibrant, smart young girls who are imprisoned in a brothel to writing about exchange rates. I came back and hugged my family and I could not get that out of my system so I came back again and again. The things I write about are very much a result of my experience as a reporter in the field.” The event concluded with a book sale and book signing during which students had the chance to meet Kristof. David Tian (GRD ’16) attended the event because he follows Kristof’s work and was interested in hearing more. “I came to Nicholas Kristof’s event today because I have been following his column for a long time and he touches on a lot of issues I’m interested in, like human trafficking,” Tian said. “I think his writing really empowers people to believe in themselves, believe they can make a difference in the world and it was really an honor to see him in person.”
The dozen Syrian women who were scheduled to perform the play “Syria: The Trojan Women” on campus last week before the State Department denied their visa applications saw their chances of eventually performing in the United States advance, after receiving their re-entry passes for Jordan, where they are living as refugees. This document is expected to aid the refugees, who were blocked from entering the United States due to uncertainty about whether they will leave, in obtaining U.S. visas. “The U.S. consulate in Amman had no reason to suppose that they would even have the ability to return [to Jordan], should they wish to do so. Now … the one issue that represented an immutable barrier to their ability to obtain visas has been removed,” said Jonathan Ginsburg, an immigration lawyer who has been assisting the university with the visa approval process for the refugees. The Jordanian government changed its policy to refuse the re-entry of refugees without passes while the women were in the midst of the visa application process with the U.S. State Department this summer. The U.S. government is typically unwilling to admit refugees who are not assured of return. The women received their re-entry passes two days before they had been scheduled to come to Georgetown University on Sept. 19. “It looks like we will be able to bring them to Georgetown after all. [The reentry permits] were the stumbling block. It’s very exciting,” Charlotte Eagar, the production’s co-producer, told THE HOYA. In place of the performance last week, the university’s Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics hosted a summit featuring footage from a documentary about the making of the production and a panel discussion featuring regional experts and the show’s producers. Additionally, there was a live video chat with the refugees, who were in Amman. The refugees will be performing in Switzerland in late October, and obtained their Swiss visas earlier this month. According to Ginsburg, the Syrian refugees will be able to make the strongest case for their U.S. visas if they reapply after they return from Switzerland. “At that point, two things will have changed. First, they will have the permission they need to re-enter Jordan
should they depart,” Ginsburg said. “They’ll also have demonstrated by going to Switzerland and returning [to Jordan] that they won’t jump ship at first chance to leave the Middle East.” The university is currently working with the refugees to prepare their visa applications. “Probably what we’re going to do is get everything in place to apply for their visas and actually do the application after they get back from Switzerland, which will be late October,” Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, a cofounding director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, said. Ginsburg said that, despite the State Department’s previous decision regarding the refugees, the women may receive U.S. visas after they reapply. “I think, realistically, that they do have a chance. It’s a high-profile matter. A lot of people were very disappointed [by the State Department’s decision],” Ginsburg said. If the women are able to come to Georgetown, they will perform “Syria: The Trojan Women,” as well as participate in a panel discussion. Although the Gonda Theatre, where the show was supposed to take place, is completely booked through the remainder of the school year, Schneider said that she is considering holding the performance in an off-campus theater or in Gaston Hall. The performance is a part of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics’s Myriad Voices: A Cross Cultural Performance Festival, a series that will take place over the course of two years and explore Muslim communities around the world. According to Schneider, the group of refugees will also stay on campus for about a week. “They’ll be able to visit classes at Georgetown and interact with the students and faculty,” Schneider said. “It will go beyond the performance. They’ll really become a part of the Georgetown community.” Schneider said that she is excited about the recent development, as the refugees had been highly anticipating their trip to the United States and were disappointed when their visa applications were denied. “I think it will really mean the world to them. These women have been through so much,” Schneider said. “They were so looking forward to coming to the United States and being able to tell their stories and tell their dreams for Syria. … To be able to come and to interact and to be present in this place, Georgetown, will be even more meaningful than it would have been if they had come initially.”
news
tuesday, september 30, 2014
THE HOYA
A5
Peace Corps Reforms DC Circulator Raises Fares Application Process Lucy Prout
Special to The Hoya
Jack Bennett
Special to The Hoya
Facing declining numbers of completed applications, the Peace Corps enacted major reforms to their applications in July to reduce the length of the process and increase transparency throughout the application period. In addition to allowing applicants to select the countries and programs to which they want to apply, the new process limits the estimated time needed for the application from eight hours to one hour. After submission, applicants receive a date by which applicants can expect a response from the organization. Applications for the current cycle are due today. “We’re reducing the red tape and bureaucracy our candidates have had to deal with in the past,” Chuck Cascio, the Peace Corps recruiter for Georgetown, wrote in an email. “Adding transparency and specificity to the application and response timeline will provide a higher quality experience for our applicants while ensuring we connect the best possible people with the right projects for them, for us, our host countries and the communities we serve.” In contrast to the original application, which asked multiple in-depth questions to match skills and experience with a fitting program, the new application is comprised largely of personal questions. Additionally, applicants can now choose up to apply to up to three programs. If they elect not to specify a program, applicants may alternately choose to be sent where help is most needed. Possible volunteer options include advising nongovernmental organizations, assisting with sustainable agriculture, teaching English and working with disadvantaged youths. Since the creation of the Peace Corps in 1961, all volunteers were sent to programs based on the organization’s discretion. Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet, who took over the position in June, announced the reforms in July as a way to reignite interest in the Peace Corps. “With our new, shorter application process, we’re seeing record numbers of Americans apply for Peace Corps service,” Hessler-Radelet said in a press release this month. “While the school year may have just begun, I want to make sure college seniors considering the Peace Corps apply as soon as possible so they can secure the volunteer position of their choice and leave for service shortly after graduation.” Georgetown is the seventh largest producer of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized universities. Since 1961,
over 900 alumni have served abroad, and the university deployed 27 students in 2013. Cascio said he anticipated that the numbers will increase in this cycle. “I would expect to see more applications at Georgetown this year because of both Georgetown’s history of producing a high volume of volunteers and the new Peace Corps application process that is faster and allows applicants to choose where they serve,” Cascio wrote. The Peace Corps’ recruiting efforts on campus include career fairs, informal coffee meetings and office hours every Friday at the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington D.C. “The Peace Corps and Georgetown University have always had a strong relationship,” Cascio said. Assistant Director for Alumni Relations at the Cawley Career Education Center Erin Ferree attributed the high numbers to a strong interest in international affairs from the student population. “Students and alumni who enter the Peace Corps often have a strong desire to continue acts of service that they began while at Georgetown University or to gain entry-level experience for a career in international development,” Ferree wrote in an email. “There is also high interest in living abroad in the early years after graduation and in representing the United States in cross-cultural settings.” Zoe Mowl (SFS ’15) applied to the Peace Corps around two weeks before the reforms, but she was still given the option of selecting her top location choices to a recruiter after the reforms were implemented. She also stressed the importance of service to graduates. “Part of the Jesuit values is ‘Men and Women for Others.’ I think that actually holds true for the student body,” Mowl said. Mowl selected Kosovo as her number one choice. She outlined the exhaustive format of the old application; for each “yes” or “no” question there were up to 20 new in-depth questions every time she responded “yes.” In contrast to Mowl’s exhaustive application, Meghan Burns (NHS ’15) applied after the reforms took place and was motivated to apply by the shorter process. “[The application is] really just the motivational statement and the resume,” she said. “Everything else is just formalities.” Burns, who chose Guatemala and Belize as her top two countries, noted that the application appeared impersonal. “I wish there were a little bit more on there just so I could let them get to know me better, but it is an easier application,” she said.
New Retail Hub Will Replace Prospect Lot Lucy Pash
Special to The Hoya
One of Georgetown’s oldest parking lots, located at 3320 Prospect St. NW across from Café Milano, will soon be replaced by a new retail center called Prospect Place. The current 82-space parking garage will make way for 27,600 feet of retail space; a 101-space parking garage will lie underground. The Weaver family, who currently owns Prospect Street lot, has hired the Chicagobased real estate development company McCaffery Interests Inc. to reconstruct the lot. The family will exercise full approval of the project and retain ownership of the property. “The owners of the property, who have owned the property for 100 years, and have been in Georgetown for over 200 years, have wanted to develop the site for a long time. They engaged our company to develop it on their behalf. The Weaver family will maintain 100 percent ownership of the lot,” said Juan Cameron, partner at McCaffrey Interest and senior managing director of development and acquisitions. The project’s timeline remains to be determined, since McCaffrey Interests still awaits approval on the project plans. “We still need to go through municipal and community approvals,” Cameron said. The Advisory Neighborhood Commission for District 2E, which includes Georgetown, discussed the plans for the project in a meeting Sept. 29 and the Old Georgetown Board will have the chance to
discuss the plans on Oct. 2. “We don’t know exactly what they have in mind. All we’ve seen are the press reports. At some point, they will have to get design approval, and then they come to the ANC for design, put it on our agenda and then we will know a lot more about it,” ANC Chair for District 2E Ron Lewis said. Georgetown students were excited about the new retail options, the increased shopping opportunities and the employment opportunities. “Although there are already so many stores in Georgetown, I think it will be a positive impact to have more, and it will be convenient to have many stores centralized together. Opening more stores will also benefit the greater community by providing more job opportunities,” Kathryn Coughlin (COL ’18) said. Rachel Morota (SFS ’17) said that she hoped to see more affordable shopping options at the retail complex. “I think it depends on what retail store opens. ... Georgetown’s shops are very expensive right now. Apart from H&M, almost anything on M Street is ridiculously expensive, especially since this is a student town. If the shops that open in this new retail store are more affordable to regular people who don’t shop at J. Crew, then I think that there will be a definite influx of Georgetown students that will be shopping there,” she said. Surrounding restaurants, including Mai Thai and Café Milano, could not be reached for comment.
In a bid to increase efficiency, the District of Columbia Circulator will expand its routes, accompanied by a 50 percent fare hike for SmarTrip card users. The additions are accompanied by reductions in Circulator service that particularly affect residents in the Georgetown neighborhood, eliminating service to Union Station from Wisconsin Avenue north of M Street. Starting in fiscal year 2015, the Circulator will add two new routes: one will tour the National Mall, including the Tidal Basin and Union Station, while the other will connect National Cathedral to McPherson Square. Other changes extend the Rosslyn-Georgetown-Dupont route to U Street and Howard University, which would connect all five Metrorail lines, and the Navy Yard-Union Station route to Eastern Market. By 2024, D.C. Circulator hopes to double the number of bus routes. To offset the increased cost of the routes, the proposed changes are expected to increase the $1 flat fare to $1.50 for riders using a SmarTrip card and 2 dollars for people paying in cash, higher than Metrobus’ cash fare of $1.75. Another public comment period and hearing on these proposed modifications will precede the implementation of the changes. After a report released earlier this year concluded that wait times exceeded 15 minutes roughly 20 percent of the
time, the demand to increase efficiency led to the creation of Phase I, the D.C. Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan to reduce wait time to 10 minutes by expanding available routes. “There is already a lot of excitement about some of the
“The combination of the price and the inconvenience outweigh the benefits of the Circulator.” KOBBY ADU-DIAWUO (COL ’17)
routes we are expanding and adding. Right now we are currently in a phase of answering questions of anticipation — when routes will be running — which is dependent on the next steps of receiving public comments and then how quickly we can implement [the plan],” DDOT Project Manager Circe Torruellas said. Calvin Millien (COL ’16) was undeterred by the price hike. “At the end of the day, if the Circulator can get me to where I need to go, I’ll take it regardless of the price change,” Millien said. Pointing to the inconvenience of the change in routes, Kobby Adu-Diawuo (COL ’17), who used the Circulator to commute to his summer in-
ternship, was less enthusiastic. “While the additional routes to the National Cathedral and Mall are great, now that I’m a Georgetown student, the combination of the price and the inconvenience outweigh the benefits of the Circulator,” AduDiawuo said. Sam Wolter (SFS ’16) said that while the price increase was inconvenient, the new routes would be a positive addition. “I’d be disappointed if the price went up, if there is in an increase in options, especially ones such as the National Mall, I wouldn’t mind too much,” he said. “At the same time though, one of the big rulers of the Circulator is the $1 flat price, you know what to expect. It would take out the convenience.” Created in 2005 to complement the existing Metrobus and Metrorail systems, the Circulator operates under a public-private partnership between the D.C. Department of Transportation, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, D.C. Surface Transit and the private company First Transit. In 2013, the five routes of the service include 49 buses and carried 5.6 million passengers. “D.C. Circulator has always been at the forefront of transit innovation and is now recognized throughout the region,” DDOT Acting Director Matthew T. Brown said in a statement. The DDOT will hold an open house for comment from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Pinstripes located at 1064 Wisconsin Ave. NW and allow comments on its website starting on Nov. 7.
Study: Pictures Deter Smokers Deirdre Collins Special to The Hoya
Research from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Research Center found that pictorial warnings are more effective at dissuading cigarette usage than messages containing only text, according to a study released on Sept. 14 in “Nicotine and Tobacco Research”. Spearheaded by Darren Mays, assistant professor of oncology at the Georgetown University Medical Center, the study was done as part of ongoing research conducted by the center in coordination with the American Cancer Society. “My research focuses on behavioral cancer prevention — how the onset of cancer can be prevented through behavior change, such as preventing tobacco use and helping tobacco users to quit,” Mays said. “It is the public health impact of tobacco use on lung cancer and other diseases that inspired this work.” The study evaluated the effectiveness of different types of warning labels in motivating smokers to quit. The researchers asked standardized questions about participants’ attitudes toward smoking and then evaluated how different types of pictorial warning messages worked best for people with different attitudes towards smoking. He stressed the importance of message framing, or the way in which the researchers pose their questions in order to elicit a certain kind of response. “We looked at an idea called message framing for the warnings. When we communicate information about health risks, it can be done two ways — emphasizing either the benefits of changing a risky behavior or the risks of a behavior,” Mays said.
The idea for the study arose from the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which mandated that pictorial warnings cover half of the cigarette pack to show the health risks of smoking. In addition to the effectiveness of pictorial messages, the study found that gain-framed messages, which emphasized
“Measures to help young smokers quit are key to reducing the risks associated with tobacco use later in life.” DARREN MAYS Assistant Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center
the benefits of not smoking, were most effective for smokers preoccupied with the difficulty of quitting. Loss-framed messages that emphasize the negative effects of smoking, however, appealed most to participants who thought they could quit whenever they wanted. “These warnings are more effective than text-only warnings for grabbing people’s attention, generating an emotional and cognitive response,and potentially prompting behavior change,” he said. Though the study focused on the general population and not specifically college students, Mays explained that his research would affect young people beginning to form habits such as smoking. “Measures to help young smokers quit are key to reducing the risks associated with tobacco use later in life,” he
said. Despite efforts by researchers to enforce these new policies, students who smoke seemed skeptical that targeted messages would significantly change habits. Clarissa Reichblum (COL ’17), a self-described social smoker, said that she did not think increased warnings on cigarette packages would discourage smokers from smoking “Honestly nobody who smokes is unaware of the health consequences. I just don’t really care,” she said. Salma Khamis (SFS ’17) agreed that messages on packages did not dissuade her from smoking. “It’s not like I don’t know that cigarettes are bad for me, so I’m really not bothered by them,” she said. “I associate a lot of things with having a cigarette — after food, when I’m stressed or when I’m happy.” Ruby Velasquez (COL ’17), however, said that the change to larger and more targeted pictorial messages displayed on cigarette packages in other countries could be more effective than the current text-based warnings. “For American cigarette packages, the messages are small and understated so I don’t look at them, but for international cigarettes packages, I look at the warnings more because they have images on them and pictures are more effective,” she said. Mays acknowledged the varying opinions on smoking but said that he hoped the study and future research from the Lombardi Center would change the future of smoking and people’s willingness to quit. “This study will be helpful to inform decisions moving forward about what messages to use to optimize their public health impact,” he said.
GUPD Catches Burglars, Flasher GUPD, from A1 information from LiveSafe, they immediately dispatched to Regents Hall, identified the suspect and arrested him. “It’s a real success story,” Gruber said. “We may not have gotten that information quickly, the victim may have felt uncomfortable making a phone call while the guy was there, so the app worked just like we hoped it would.” Livesafe founder Shy Pahlevani said that the app has contributed to many arrests on college campuses because it provides students with a familiar and user-friendly interface. “It’s very common [to catch criminals with LiveSafe],” Pahlevani said. “When you give students a medium that they feel comfortable communicating through, messaging through an app, they’re much more likely to be sharing
information. We get a high level of tips that come in that lead to arrests.”
“Obviously these things can’t stop tragedies, but they can definitely be preventative.” SHY PAHLEVANI LiveSafe Founder
LiveSafe is currently utilized in 18 states, but Pahlevani said he hopes to expand to enhance safety in campuses all over the country. “I’d love to be able to share this with as
many campuses as possible,” Pahlevani said. “With the amount of sexual assault incidences going on, we get a lot of tips about that. We’ve seen a lot of adoption of our technology across the country. We’d like to get it to more campuses across the country so that people have more access to tools. Obviously these things can’t stop tragedies, but they can definitely be preventative and they can assist in ways that student networks couldn’t before. ” Alex Feltes (COL ’18) said that the enhancement of technological safety feature on campus makes him feel more secure. “I feel like having cameras around campus, having closed circuit TV, makes us a safer campus because it helps prevent burglaries and things that could be harmful to both facilities on campus and students as well,” Feltes said.
A6
news
THE HOYA
tuesDAY, September 30, 2014
In Wake of Health Scare, Students Voice Concerns HEALTH, from A1 weeks ago after feeling physically ill for a morning. Smith said that this instance was a recurrent symptom of an ongoing illness, so he decided to go to the health center, but could not get an appointment until late the next day. “Since at that moment, I wasn’t super sick, they said I couldn’t get an appointment,” Smith said. Smith said that although he was not exhibiting urgent symptoms while he was at the health center, he felt that it was probable that he would become sicker before his appointment the following day. The health center did not offer him an alternative for immediate treatment. According to Assistant Vice President for Student Health Services Jim Welsh, the health center is supposed to determine how quickly students get appointments based on the severity of their illnesses. “The Student Health Center triages appointments with the information they are provided over the phone or in person,” Welsh wrote in an email. “If a convenient same-day appointment is not available and a student wishes to be seen, a nurse will triage the student that day at the Student Health Center and will then recommend a later appointment, schedule a same day appointment that may require staff and physicians to work beyond scheduled hours (overbooking) or recommend an emergency visit in critical situations.” According to Smith, the health center did not evaluate the severity of his symptoms when he went in to make the appointment.
“They were really pressing, like, ‘If you’re not about to be sick in some way, shape or form, right now, you can leave,’” Smith said. Smith became ill again over the weekend and opted not to seek treatment from the health center. “I was deciding whether to go to the Student Health Center or not … but I was like, ‘I’m not going to sit there with the possibility that I might get turned away again,’ so I just went to the hospital,” Smith said. Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson said that he was not aware of any specific reports from students about difficulty in scheduling appointments. “With just about every office on campus, you can find students that say, ‘I wanted to get in but they couldn’t see me at the time I wanted,’” Olson said. “I’m not saying there’s never been a complaint, I’m just saying I’m not aware of particular complaints this semester.” According to Welsh, the health center keeps a large percentage of the day open for urgent issues. “Appointments are offered out of convenience for students — first to make sure patients can access the Student Health Center when they are sick, and second to allow students who are experiencing an illness to avoid long waits to be seen,” Welsh wrote. Caroline James (COL ’16) said that she has also had difficulty scheduling timely appointments with the health center on multiple occasions. One morning during James’s freshman year in 2012, she woke up with severe shoulder pain. When the pain began to limit her from performing ev-
eryday activities, she sought an appointment from the Student Health Center. “It was getting to the point where I couldn’t type. I couldn’t sleep,” James said. “I called the health center, saying, ‘I’m in incapacitating pain, and I can’t even do my schoolwork. When can you see me?’ And they said in three weeks.” After being unable to schedule an immediate appointment with the health center, James called the physician on call at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. The physician referred James back to the Student Health Center, and when James explained that she could not get an appointment, the doctor suggested that she take Tylenol. “I ended up just having to wait it out. I was in pretty bad pain for about a week, and then [the pain] went away on its own. But that was a week that I was struggling,” James said. According to James, when she called the health center, the person she spoke with did not make an attempt to evaluate the severity of her injury. “It kind of felt like because it wasn’t an illness, they dismissed it a little bit more, because it was an injury,” James said. “In that case, it didn’t really feel like they asked all the right questions.” Last year, James tried to schedule an appointment with the health center again when she was experiencing a sore throat. “My tonsils were really inflamed so I asked to schedule [an appointment] and they said the usual, which is that they could see me in two weeks,” James said. Since scheduling an appointment over the phone was not successful, James went to the Student Health Center the next day, and was able to be seen
by a doctor after about half an hour. James said that although her appointment went well, she tries to avoid going to the health center when she is sick because of her past experiences. “I try everything I can to not have to go to the health center,” James said. “If I can wait it out, I figure that I should try.” While James was able to see a doctor when she went into the health center, other students have not had the same experience. Julian Graham (COL ’17) was unable to be seen for a same-day appointment when he went into the health center last January with a shoulder injury, which turned out to be a strained rotary cuff that he had sustained while playing rugby. He went in on a Monday, and was not able to schedule an appointment until Friday. “The painfulness of my injury compelled me to take the Friday appointment even though it involved missing a class discussion,” Graham wrote in an email. Graham had previously experienced a similar situation with the Student Health Center. Last October, he called the center after injuring his knee, but had to wait over a week for an appointment. Graham said he was able to receive proper treatment during his appointments, but that he would consider other options before going to the Student Health Center in the future. “Although the costs are greater, in the future I would go see a private practitioner for anything that wasn’t mundane,” Graham wrote. “The time it take to get an appointment is very inconvenient and potentially detrimental to patients
depending on their ailments.” Jonathan Espinoza (COL ’16) said that he went to the Student Health Center on Aug.22 to schedule an appointment to see a general physician and refill a prescription. Although Espinoza’s concern was not urgent, he said that it was still an inconvenience, as he had to wait almost two weeks to get an appointment. When Espinoza went to his appointment Sept. 5, he had to wait an additional three hours past his scheduled time to see a doctor. Phil Dearing (COL ’15), who goes into the Student Health Center a few times a month for allergy shots, said that he’s satisfied with the center and is understanding of the delays that students sometimes face. “There are [15] employees … that are in charge of taking care of the health and wellbeing of 7,000 undergrads, as well as the law school and the medical school. … Therefore, it’s not unreasonable, if you show up that day, for them to have a ton of people who are also sick and showing up that day,” Dearing said. “They are doing the absolute best they can.” Smith, however, said that he feels that being unable to schedule a prompt appointment with the health centeris a hindrance to students. “Having to deal with going to the health center and having them turn you away or tell you to come back later just doesn’t seem right,” he said.“Students should be given the top priority.” Students have made similar complaints in past student media reports about the Student Health Center since its opening in 2003.
Investor Encourages Risk-Taking DC Readies for Tax on Gyms, Yoga Studios
Ashley Miller Hoya Staff Writer
Venture capitalist John Doerr spoke at the latest installment of the Stanton Distinguished Leader Series in Lohrfink Auditorium Friday afternoon, speaking about entrepreneurship, staying current in rapidly changing times and finding the “next big thing.” Doerr’s presentation was centered around questions from the audience, which he wrote on a whiteboard. As a venture capitalist, Doerr highlighted the role of entrepreneurs and the work that they do. “Entrepreneurs do more than anyone thinks possible with less than anyone thinks possible,” Doerr said, “Entrepreneurs are the great disrupters. Oftentimes they’ll start a business or imagine a new world because they don’t know any better. I say that with deep respect because inspired to see the world differently, they’ll achieve it while the naysayers won’t even try.” Doerr also talked about the importance of a strong team, which is the building block for getting any entrepreneurial project off the ground. “Thomas Edison said, ‘Innovation without execution is a hallucination,’ and so execution is everything. I’d rather have a B idea with an A level team or A level execution than an A idea with B execution or a B team,” Doerr said. Doerr said that within these teams, leaders play an important and necessary role in helping the group execute its plans. “Relatively speaking those ideas are easy, it’s execution that’s everything. So if you can learn one thing at Georgetown, if you can get one set of experiences, they would be to learn to be a better leader because it takes a team to win and it is leaders that are in the most short supply,” Doerr said. As the event coincided with the day of the Cawley Career Education Center’s Fall Career Fair, Doerr spoke about what students should look for in a job. “When you begin your career, look for, select for the places where you’re going to learn and grow the most, not just for the compensation,” Doerr said. According to Doerr, his college experience helped him develop a love for learning, which propelled him to work hard in his career and stay pas-
TAX, from A1
JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA
Venture capitalist John Doerr highlighted non-traditional career paths in entrepreneurship in Lohrfink Auditorium on Friday afternoon. sionate about his work. “I think the one thing I got out of my undergraduate education, sort of the second most valuable thing was a love or a hunger, or a mania for trying to continue to learn,” Doerr said. “So for those of you at Georgetown, if you can leave here with anything, I don’t think it’s a degree in a particular field, it’s that love for learning and continuing to learn.” Derek Embry (MSB ’15), who attended the event, said the presentation showed that there are options, such as entrepreneurship, for after graduation other than traditional routes. “I thought it was incredibly helpful for anyone who is considering starting a business out of college,” Embry said. “I thought his advice was really great for any inspiring
entrepreneurs particularly young people like us that are facing a time in our lives when we’re considering a lot of risks and whether or not we want to take a safe route with a job.” Mike Mezzino (MSB ’15), another attendee, said he liked that the event took place on the same day as the career fair, since it helped provide a unique perspective. “It’s really cool especially given that I’m a senior and a lot of my friends and myself are going through the job recruitment process,” Mezzino said. “Getting a different perspective than the go down the popular routes that Georgetown sponsors was really, really cool especially that it was right here on campus the same day as the career fair.”
Akerlof Joins McCourt Faculty AKERLOF, from A1 the University of California, Berkeley, said that he expects to work with graduate students at the McCourt School. “I think it’s going to be quite different from Berkeley because students here will have different goals — it will be quite different from teaching undergraduates because the students are older and have more focused goals,” Akerlof said. “The students at Georgetown have a special spirit and commitment to school and learning, and I find the same thing among the faculty.” Akerlof attended Yale Univer-
sity and received a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before teaching at the London School of Economics and UC
“We are uniformly delighted at having him here.” MARK ROM Assistant Dean of the McCourt School
Berkeley. Georgetown recently had one other Nobel Prize winner on its faculty. Mario Vargas Llosa, who taught in the Spanish and
Portuguese Department, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2010. In a statement on the university’s website, McCourt School Dean Edward Montgomery said that Akerlof will help provide a unique perspective on economic topics. “Dr. Akerlof is one of the most gifted economists of our day, unafraid to take an unconventional approach to studying markets and our economy,” Montgomery said. “We are honored to have him join our school and grateful that our students will have access to one of the most original thinkers in the field of economics.”
be lowered for all businesses, including gyms and yoga studios. The personal income tax rate will be lowered for all of their customers who pay D.C. income taxes. The tax reform package was the recommendation of a blue ribbon commission,” Mendelson wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “The overall package provides relief to District families struggling with the high cost of living, and ensures that tax savings are reinvested into our neighborhood businesses. I know some gyms have said this will hurt business, but a 5.75 percent sales tax on a $100 membership is unlikely to have that effect.” According to The Washington Post, the tax will raise $5 million every year to offset tax cuts and save taxpayers up to $143 million a year. Gilroy said that the cost, though minimal, might still deter individuals from exercising at Yates. “There might be a cumulative effect since everything will be taxed. There may be a point at which individuals just start to say no to some things. Increased cost is a deterrent for most anything,” Gilroy said. Gyms and fitness centers around D.C. have promoted “beat the tax” programs, encouraging both new and returning customers to sign up or renew their memberships before the tax takes effect. Stroga, a yoga studio in Adams Morgan, is promoting annual membership deals and fitness class packages that customers can buy this month before the tax is implemented. Jeffrey Melvin, general manager at Stroga, said that the program had received mixed reactions from the public. “There were a couple of bad reviews from it. A couple people were shocked that we were trying to cheat the system when we were only trying to inform people what was going on, give them a way to help themselves,” Melvin said. “We just wanted to get the word out. At the same time, we’ve gotten emails saying, ‘Oh, this is a great idea.’” Georgetown students who use both Yates and off-campus studios had mixed reactions to the tax. “I don’t understand how the U.S. and the D.C. government plan on decreasing obesity levels when they are putting a tax on the mechanism
to keeping yourself in good shape,” Ileana de la Cruz (COL ’17), who exercises off campus at cycling chain SoulCycle, said. Marcela Gelhoren (MSB ’18) questioned whether the implementation of the tax would bring any major benefits, but thought that the tax would probably encourage students to exercise at Yates rather than off-campus. “For me this doesn’t make any difference, since I don’t pay any income taxes. My gym membership will become more expensive and I will get little to no return from that,” Gelhoren said. “Many students don’t have that much money to spend … so if Yates is the cheaper option of all, they will go to Yates.” For a one-year commitment membership at Washington Sports Club, located at 3222 M St., members pay an initial fee of $49.99 and then an additional $64.99 a month. After three months, this would cost $245, about $50 more than the student semester fee at Yates. Lydia Hennessey (COL ’18) supports the tax for reasons of financial efficiency, but worries about the effect on health. “Overall, I think that it’s really hard to argue here because if we have to balance our taxation system, and this a way that this city is doing it, then it is positive. But at the same time, health is so important, and if we do want to combat obesity, that is where you want to start — making affordable means of exercise. Making that more difficult for people to obtain could be a drawback,” Hennessey said. “The only argument that I can see against this is that if you can afford a gym membership, it probably means that you are making a larger income then people who this tax would benefit and this money wouldn’t be affecting your survival.” Gilroy urged Yates members not to use the tax as an excuse to avoid exercise. “Fifty cents a week isn’t a lot, and the benefits one receives from regular exercise, for both physical and mental wellness, can make a huge difference in your well-being and quality of life,” Gilroy said. Other items under the new D.C. sales tax include water delivery services, storage lockers, carpet cleaning, car washes, bowling and billiards.
news
tuesday, september 30, 2014
THE HOYA
A7
After 27 Years in DC, Wilcox Shifts to SFS-Qatar Matthew Larson Special to The Hoya
Government professor Clyde Wilcox, who has taught at Georgetown’s main campus since 1987, transitioned this year to the School of Foreign Service in Qatar, where he will remain for two years. Wilcox reflected on his experience living in a foreign country for the first time and teaching American politics to students in the Middle East. What prompted you to move to Qatar? I’ve been invited to come over here and teach in the past, but my children were still in high school. So now my kids are in college and grown, it’s an interesting challenge to teach students with different backgrounds and to prepare new kinds of classes. It’s the chance to do something different. What are some differences between the campus [in Qatar] and the campus [in Washington, D.C.]? Well, we’re all in one building here: it’s only the School of Foreign Service. The students are mostly from the Middle East. … I teach American politics, and so they haven’t really travelled to the United States. Most of them don’t know much about the United States, so it’s a bit of a challenge. One thing that was kind of interesting was that none of the students [have] their photos on Blackboard, because it is a pri-
vacy issue for them. How has your daily routine changed with being over there? Well, one thing that’s different is that … Sunday is a teaching day and Friday and Saturday is the weekend. They have me living in the Pearl, which is a complex on an artificial island, and so there is a little shuttle bus that comes and picks us up and takes us to campus.
over there? So far, I’ve been exploring Doha and getting out to the other parts of the country. It’s a pretty small country… It’s a very international campus. I mean, the Georgetown main campus is very international, but this is extremely international, and the faculty and staff and the students are from all over the world. So there’s a lot of learning different cultures.
What are some cultural changes you’ve had to make? I’m teaching religion and politics, a very delicate topic over here. This is a country that has laws against blasphemy and laws against proselytizing — it’s not that I would ever be blaspheming or proselytizing anyway. It’s also a country where there’s one established religion, and there is not much politics [since] it’s a kingdom, no elections. So teaching religion and politics is a bit of a difference — more of a challenge — than it is on the main campus.
Would you encourage other faculty members to make the move? You know, I think that it’s always good to kind of shake up your routine. This is a pretty interesting challenge. I’m enjoying it so far.
What is [Doha] like compared to Washington, D.C.? Doha is a very hot place. High temperatures are in the 100s, usually, and the low temperatures by now are around 90 degrees at five in the morning. It’s pretty dry, it’s mostly desert. What do you do in your free time
What classes are you teaching currently? I’m doing religion and politics, and interest groups and social movements. How are those classes different from the ones you taught at [the main campus]? I’ve taught the interest groups course at Georgetown in the past. I taught a course about politics and the Christian right on the main campus, but I’ve never [taught] just generally religion and politics. Although there are American politics courses, I teach more comparative content over here, because [the students] don’t know much about the U.S., so
COURTESY CLYDE WILCOX
Government professor Clyde Wilcox has transferred to the School of Foreign Service campus in Qatar for the next two years. I have to [say] ‘this is how we’re different from Europe, this is how we’re different from other countries.’ I’m also teaching women and politics in the spring, which I’ve never taught before, but that’s going to be a bit of a challenge. Are you going to come back to the country to see the World Cup in 2022? I don’t know. That’s an interesting proposition. I have to tell you,
it’s really hot here. I just don’t know how they’re going to be able to manage to have outdoor games in the summer. It’s a very ambitious country; they’re doing a lot of building and construction. They have totally transformed [Doha] in a matter of 10 years. But, in the middle of the summer, it’s 110 degrees in the middle of the day, very humid, and then it cools down to 100 at night. Outdoor soccer seems very challenging.
Online Service Maps District Neighborhood Crime Tom Garzillo
Special to The Hoya
Walk Score, an online neighborhood rating service, launched a new feature this month that maps out crime in major cities, including Washington, D.C. Founded in 2007, the online service rates neighborhoods in the United States, Canada and Australia based on walkability, or proximity to public transit, access to parks and public space, affordable housing and complete streets designed for pedestrians and bicyclists. The new crime map feature will now grade neighborhoods on the amount of crime within the region, taking into account the severity of the crime and comparing the neighborhood to the city’s crime average. This information is produced for both personal and property crime. “Our Crime Grade is the first crime rating that is accurate in
walkable neighborhoods,” Walk Score Chief Technology Officer Matt Lerner said. “We compute an accurate per capita crime risk for each address.” Lerner said that unlike conventional crime mapping, the Walk Score crime map produces an accurate perception of danger, reporting the total number of crimes without adjusting for per capita population. Walk Score thus adjusts the amount of crime in the area for the population living there. “Walkable neighborhoods are often safer than people think,” Lerner said. “Your per capita risk is lower when there are more people around.” With the crime map, Walk Score enters an already established market featuring companies like Trulia, which launched its crime map in 2011 and does not use this per capita system, focusing instead on overall crime density.
“We want to show consumers what it is like to actually live somewhere,” Trulia spokesperson Erin Mackey said. “All of our maps give
“Your per capita risk is lower when there are more people around.” Matt lerner Chief Technology Officer, Walk Score
users a sense of what the neighborhood is all about, whether it is the crime rates, local school rating, as well as other local amenities.” The Metropolitan Police Department also maintains its own crime map. Private crime mapping companies, like Walk Score and Trulia, use information from local police departments as well as from third-
party crime reporting services like SpotCrime and CrimeReports. “Trulia’s crime maps are formatted in line with the data they receive from the various bureaus,” Mackey said. MPD could not be reached for comment. Lerner said that he hoped people would take into account information from the walkability index and the crime map when making real estate decisions. “Crime is one of the top concerns for people looking for a place to live,” Lerner said. The crime map for the Georgetown neighborhood reveals below-average rates of personal and property crime. There has been an overall decrease in the number of crimes reported over the course of the past year, with theft remaining the most common offense. Thomas Voreyer (COL ’16) pointed to information released by the Georgetown University Police De-
partment as sufficient to keep him informed. “The Public Safety Alert emails keep me well briefed on Georgetown and its surrounding areas, and so I can’t say I particularly care to read up on crime ratings of areas I am already familiar with,” he said. Michael Whelan (COL ’16) agreed that the map seemed less relevant in the Georgetown area, as he tends to value location over crime rates when making off-campus living arrangements as an upperclassmen. “I value location above all else when choosing where to live,” he said. “I’d even be willing to live in a slightly more dangerous neighborhood if it meant easier access to shops and transportation.” According to Walk Score, Georgetown is the 25th most walkable neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The crime map named Dupont Circle as the most walkable neighborhood in the District.
A8
SPORTS
THE HOYA
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
THE SPORTING LIFE
TENNIS
NBA Big Threes Risky for Teams
P
ippen, Jordan and Rodman. Pierce, Garnett and Allen. LeBron, Wade and Bosh. The NBA is littered with dynasties, and conventional wisdom seems to embrace the notion that success is built upon the power of three. The unveiling of the newest NBA “Big Three” – LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers – brings this phenomenon into the spotlight with renewed focus. Salary cap is certainly a factor in why trios dominate many of the NBA’s top teams. unlike in baseball and international club soccer, there is a limit to how many superstars you can fit on your payroll. Three seems to be the limit for maximum contracts in the NBA, and you can see that even keeping three stars can be difficult. For example, both LeBron-based trios were only possible because of LeBron’s willingness to take a pay cut. In Miami, LeBron took the pay cut in pursuit of a championship, and in his return to the Cavaliers, James again took a pay cut in the interest of winning back in Cleveland. Both Miami and Cleveland already featured established all-star caliber guards in Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving, respectively. The Heat and the Cavaliers were able to parlay James’ reduced wages into acquiring a complementary superstar eagerly escaping a long stint at a struggling franchise, like Chris Bosh and Kevin Love. Two dynamics have been created by the successful trios in Miami and Boston. The first is on the court, with good chemistry between a pre-eminent scorer, a forward with great rebounding and defensive skills and a supporting shooter. The other is in personality; you need the alpha male superstar (LeBron and Garnett), the confident star willing to concede the spotlight he once didn’t have to share (Wade, Pierce and Irving), and the underappreciated
complementary player, who does his role professionally and efficiently without making a scene (Bosh, Allen and Love). The Lakers of recent years — even when Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash were healthy — failed because although they had the roles balanced, in reality, the personalities on the team did not mesh. Dwight Howard was as unwilling to be the complementary player as Kobe was unwilling to cede sole custody of the L.A. spotlight. Frankly, the Big Three concept is not always suc-
Darius Majd
The Cavaliers are the latest NBA team to try winning with a Big Three. cessful because it is not the most efficient avenue to a title. Granted, the blueprint is effective and simple if the right situation arises. However, putting most of a team’s salary into three players is extremely risky, as one injury or locker room incident can derail a season. But there are other ways to build a lineup — based on depth, and with only one true superstar. The Heat of recent years had some nice role players in Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, Chris Anderson and Mike Miller, but as seen in the NBA Finals this past year, a team built on depth and great role assignment can trump star talent. Although some will label Tim Dun-
can, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker a Big Three, the truth is they do not operate in that manner, and they do not have the individual talent we have come to associate with other trios — Ginobili even operates as a sixth man most of the time. The Spurs have one aging superstar (Duncan), but the real star is Gregg Popovich’s system. The Spurs are the anti-Heat; they play a lot of guys, and they spread the ball to all of their players. The result is an efficient offense that does not rely on a few guys getting hot; the Spurs get high-percentage shots, they keep everyone well-rested, and most importantly, they make every player feel involved and energized by giving them a role to play. The Spurs harassed the Heat this year — and were unlucky not to win in last year’s Finals — because their role players were just as deadly as their three best players. Patty Mills was spreading the defense with his range, Boris Diaw led all players in assists in the Finals and Kawhi Leonard combined lethal shooting with lock-down defense to earn MVP honors. The Big Three is an undeniably splashy short-term strategy, but it is not the only model that works. At the end of the day, teams are as good as the sum of their parts; they can be comprised of a few bigger stars or a multitude of role players. Still, even in a sport that puts only five players on the court at any time, I’d much prefer the staying power of an effective system and the flexibility of having a variety of options. It remains to be seen if Irving, James and Love will be able to give Cleveland the championship it has long craved. If they do, James’ move from Miami will be justified, and the acceptance of the Big Three model will grow further. Darius Majd is a senior in the College. THE SPORTING LIFE appears every Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Yankee Great Played With Class JETER, from A10 than his career statistics. Jeter was never ejected in 20 years. He always faced the media, even after poor performances or heartbreaking losses. He never spoke ill of his teammates. He always tried to keep his personal life private. And through it all, he played for one team; he was always a Yankee. So when Derek Jeter walked off the field for the last time on Sunday, Major League Baseball and sports lost an icon that was more than his on-the-field contributions. We lost a player who could captivate the sporting world through his play and also through his character. Is there another “Derek Jeter” in sports? A player who has been with the same team his entire career, who has won numerous championships, all while simultaneously achieving historic personal statistics. While many athletes meet two of the three requirements, there is only one other active player in the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL who meets all three: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. In his first year as a starter, Brady led the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory in 2001. Since then, he has appeared in four more Super Bowls, winning
two Lombardi Trophies, and has appeared in two others. He was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice — and in 2010 was the first unanimous winner of the award. In 2007 he was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. But even Brady does not perfectly embody all of Jeter’s characteristics. He speaks his mind when he believes Patriots management has made a mistake (i.e. this offseason’s controversial Logan Mankins trade to Tampa Bay). At times, he has a bad temper, especially when the stakes are high. Lastly, he and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen are frequently in the tabloids. Regardless, Jeter and Brady are both polarizing players. In their hometowns of New York and Boston, respectively, they are bigger than life, the face of the city. Outside, both Brady and Jeter are largely antagonized. Despite this, most fans and the media respect them. They are perhaps the last incarnation of the “old-school” athlete. Years ago, players consistently spent their entire careers with one team, won championships and produced phenomenal statistics. All the while, they became integral to their home cities. For all these reasons, the public adored them. However, that is no longer the norm. Athletes have criminal records. They con-
stantly change teams, signing with whichever team will pay them the most. With Jeter now gone, and Brady rapidly declining, sports needs another “old-school athlete.” Fans need to be reminded that loyalty and class behavior are not things of the past for the athletes we support. Perhaps baseball will be the sport to produce that icon. The MLB is currently littered with talented players: Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw to name a few. All these players have the potential to evolve and hold a similar legendary status as Derek Jeter. These aforementioned players are potential Hall of Famers. They will win awards and set records. Odds are, at least one will win a World Series Championship. But there are many components to become the next Jeter: Win over the fans, win over the media, win championships and more. It is without a doubt a tall task. On Sunday, Jeter walked off the field, and the world took notice. All recognized the impact he had on sports and acknowledged the void he will leave. The 2014 playoffs start tonight and will mark the beginning of baseball without Jeter. But the playoffs are also a time when new heroes are born. Here’s to hoping that another Jeter emerges soon.
THE WATER COOLER
Nats, O’s Ready for October Baseball
F
or the past several weeks, the sports world has been occupied with the National Football League both on and off the field. For those of us living in Washington, D.C., however, football season has offered few reasons to smile. Washington is 1-3, having suffered a humiliating defeat to the New York Giants and an even worse public relations battering through parodies aimed at changing the team’s racially insensitive moniker. Unfortunately, all of this negativity has caused D.C.’s most successful team, the Washington Nationals, to fade from the spotlight. Across the Beltway in Baltimore, the Orioles are likewise enjoying their best season in over a decade, and both teams find themselves playoff bound. Their respective chances in the postseason warrant further coverage. This is the second time in three years the Nationals have won the National League East and made the playoffs. The Nationals are the third-highest scoring team in the National League at 4.25 runs per game. Advanced statistics help make the case that the Nationals have another vital offensive weapon: base running. Fangraphs.com’s advanced calculations estimate that the Nationals’ quality base running has been worth about five additional runs over the second-best team in the majors this season. Washington’s top-five on-base percentage means that its hitters get on base frequently and make opportunities count by not getting out on the basepaths. While Washington possesses a capable offense, its biggest asset all season has been an elite pitching staff. After Jordan Zimmermann notched the franchise’s firstever no-hitter Sunday against the Miami Marlins, Washington’s pitchers extended their league-best total WAR, or wins above replacement, to 22.8. This means that they have been worth an additional 22 wins compared to that of an average rotation. The Nationals also have the lowest team ERA in the National League at 3.04
runs per game. Their closest potential playoff opponents, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have a team ERA of 3.39, in large part due to the efforts of ace Clayton Kershaw. The Nationals have the better rotation and a quality bullpen that has seen them allow the fewest runs per game in the National League. Turning to Baltimore, there are a number of reasons why the Orioles should be prime contenders in the American League. Like some of their AL counterparts, the Orioles play fantastic defense, and estimates show that their defense
Michael Ippolito
Baltimore and D.C. have a chance to make this postseason special. has been 59 runs better than an average defense over the course of the season. The O’s are also second best team in fielding percentage. Like Washington, Baltimore also has an amazing bullpen and Baseballreference.com ranks it first in the American League. Fangraphs calculates the WAR of Baltimore’s bullpen at an impressive 4.5 wins, so its 19 blown saves this season are not truly indicative of their bullpen talent. Baltimore will host the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series on Thursday and the Nationals will host the winner of the San Francisco-Pittsburgh wild card game with home field advan-
tage throughout the National League playoffs. Washington’s postseason prospects look much brighter for two reasons. First, avoiding the Dodgers in the first round means that the Nationals’ highpowered offense will not have to run into Kershaw. The Nationals have a 5-3 record this season against the Giants and a 4-3 record against Pittsburgh, so, regardless of whom they play, Washington has had success against its opponent in a limited amount of games. Unfortunately for Baltimore, saying it has lacked success against Detroit this season is an understatement. The O’s are 1-5 against the Tigers this season and have averaged just three runs per game in those contests. The Tigers’ pitching staff could pose problems for an O’s team with the fourth-highest strikeout rate in MLB. Although the Orioles sport a fantastic bullpen, getting to the late innings with a lead could prove difficult against a Tigers’ starting staff that is ranked as the thirdbest in baseball by Fangraphs and that is far superior to Baltimore’s. In addition, perennial all-stars Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler will all pose offensive threats for the Tigers. While there is a great deal to be excited about this fall across the Beltway, I feel that the region’s best hopes for a championship are right here in D.C. The Nationals will be able to enjoy the perks of a number one seed and should advance into the NL Championship Series at least. While there are obvious reasons to be bullish on Baltimore, the likelihood that it will be upset by Detroit in the first round is far greater than Washington losing to San Francisco or Pittsburgh. Either way, an exciting October awaits the Beltway’s baseball fans. Mike Ippolito is a sophomore in the College. THE WATER COOLER appears every Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA
Senior co-captain Shane Korber won his singles match 6-0, 6-1 against St. Joseph’s at the Penn Invitational tournament.
Men Show Depth At UPenn Matches MADDIE AUERBACH Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown men’s tennis team impressed at the Penn Invitational this past weekend, utilizing squad depth to win three of its four matches during the three-day tournament. On Friday, Georgetown defeated St. Joseph’s University 4-2 in a match composed of two doubles matches and four singles matches. Sophomore Jordan Portner and freshman Marco Lam fell in their doubles match 8-6, but Georgetown’s other pair — senior John Brosens and sophomore Jack Murphy — won 8-5. Besides senior co-captain Alex Tropiano’s loss at secondseeded singles in a tight threeset competition, Georgetown triumphed in the remainder of singles play against the Hawks. Senior co-captain Shane Korber dominated in the third singles slot with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 win. Junior Daniel Khanin notched a solid victory in firstseeded singles with a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline, while sophomore Yannik Mahlangu won at fourthseeded singles. Georgetown went 1-1 Friday as it followed their victory over St. Joseph’s with a loss to Cornell. Though the Big Red handed the Hoyas a loss, Head Coach Gordie Ernst saw the Cornell match as the more encouraging matchup of the tournament. “The match that I felt was the most significant was the Cornell match because they’ve been a nationally ranked team the past couple years and [are] right in the middle of the Ivy League, and we just went toe-totoe with them the whole way,” Ernst said. Freshman Peter Beatty and Murphy both were neck-andneck with their Cornell counterparts. Murphy won the first set and mounted a 4-1 lead in the second, but ended up losing the second set. With the scored tied at 4-4 in the deciding third set, the match slipped away from Murphy. Though Beatty competed strongly with a veteran Cornell player, he also fell at singles. “He got a little tight, and the experience paid off for the Cornell guy,” Ernst said of Beatty’s play. The next day, Georgetown lost only two matches in a 10-2 rout
of the Temple Owls. The Hoyas only suffered two defeats: Korber’s straight-set loss at fifth singles and Khanin and Lam’s doubles loss. Though Khanin lost at doubles, his singles victory signified a strong rebound from the Cornell match. “Danny bounced back and beat Temple’s number one player 6-0, 6-0, so we had a lot of good results, not just the freshmen this weekend,” Ernst said. Beatty and Lam had impressed in last weekend’s Georgetown Classic and matches against the University of D.C., and that progress only continued at the Penn Invitational. “They were playing like veterans out there in terms of their competitive fire, and I’m just really proud of them,” Ernst said. “They were competing as hard as anyone would compete for me in years and that’s the most important thing.” Georgetown competed with Lehigh on the final day of the tournament and won 7-5. The Hoyas won three out of their four doubles matches courtesy of pairs Tropiano and Beatty, Khanin and Lam and Murphy and Portner. Lam, Mahlangu, Brosens and Portner won their singles matches against the Mountain Hawks. The large size of the Penn Invitational enabled almost all of the Georgetown men’s tennis team to compete, which exhibited the Hoyas’ depth. “The thing that really stuck out to me is how deep we are and how many guys we have this year who can really go at any time. I think that’s going to help us as we get into the meat of the season,” Ernst said. Although the Hoyas competed well at the tournament, adjustments still need to be made to ensure repeated success. “We still have plenty of work to do. The big thing right now is those critical points,” Ernst said. “We still have to get to the point where we’re playing the big points well and we’re not there yet, and that just means we need more experience.” The Georgetown men’s tennis team will travel to Charlottesville, Va., for the ITA Regionals on Oct. 16, while the women’s tennis team, which did not compete over the weekend, will travel to Blacksburg, Va. for their ITA Regionals on the same day.
CLASSIFIEDS INDEX FOR RENT 100 Senior couple near Georgetown University will rent furnished bedroom at reduced rate to nursing student in exchange for light housework\companionship for one of us with early-stage dementia. Private bath, shared kitchen. One-year lease with summer sublet possible. Please email dwrankin@usgs.gov and k.rankin@utoronto.ca with expression of interest, resume, and 3 references. Senior couple near Georgetown University seeks nursing student for companionship for one of us with early-stage dementia and light housework (preparing meals, tidying up, laundry). Arrangements to be worked out depending on student schedule. 18 hours/week, $1520/hour. Please email dwrankin@ usgs.gov and k.rankin@utoronto.ca with expression of interest, resume, and 3 references.
THE HOYA Classifieds LINE AD RATES Regular line classified ads are $0.50 per word. OPTIONAL EXTRAS Bold words: $1.00 per issue. Make individual words or an entire ad stand out. Large headline: $1.50 per issue. One line of 16-point bold, centered and capitalized. Two-line large headline: $2.50 per issue. Boxed ad: $2.00 per issue. Add a one-point box around your ad. DEADLINES & PAYMENT Copy and payment must be received by 12 noon, one business day before publication. All classified ads must be paid in full at the time of placement. Visa, Mastercard, cash or personal checks are accepted. Cancelled ads may be removed from the paper if notification is made before deadline. No refunds will be given, but the unused portion of the payment will be held as a credit. For more information, please email classifiedads@thehoya.com
SPORTS
tuesday, september 30, 2014
THE HOYA
football
A9
VOLLEYBALL
Hoyas Outmatched in Butler Wins 3-1 Dogfight Patriot League Opener Russell Guertin Special to The Hoya
COLGATE, from A10 “I think having a sack in eight straight games just means I’m doing my job,” May said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help us win and my job is to get pressure on the quarterback. The stats don’t mean much unless we win.” For his performance against Colgate, May was given a Patriot League Honorable Mention, his third Patriot League weekly honor this season. He is having a spectacular senior season, leading the Patriot League with 11 tackles for loss and all of Division 1 FCS, Football Championship Subdivision, with 9.5 sacks. May was named FCS National Defensive Lineman of the Week against Brown and continues to pick up more accolades every week. He is now seventh on Georgetown’s career sack list with 22 for his career.
“We’ve got a bunch of great players on our defense and it makes it a lot easier to make plays when I know the guy next to me is going to do his job,” May said. “[Senior defensive lineman] Richard Shankle and [junior linebacker] Hunter Kiselick are great pass rushers and some of my sacks are just the result of the QB not having anywhere to go in the pocket because of their pressure. It’s a lot easier too to make plays in the run game when Nick doesn’t let any play get up the middle. I really couldn’t have had any of this success without those guys.” Now May hopes that success starts to translate into wins during Patriot League play. With only five league games remaining, the Hoyas cannot afford another shutout loss. The Hoyas will host 2013 Ivy League champions Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. on the MultiSport Facility.
MEN’S SOCCER
GU Notches 1st Big East Win in Indiana Butler, from A10 Georgetown’s first penalty kick of the year after a Butler defender dragged him down in the box in the 79th minute. Allen then put the game out of reach in the 89th minute when he put a pass from sophomore forward Alex Muyl in the back of the net. “As soon as [Allen] stepped foot on campus as a freshman he has been [scoring goals],” Wiese said. “He is as sharp as he has ever been in terms of his ability to finish the chances he gets. … He is just very dangerous.” The Hoyas earned their fourth shutout of the season, but had to do so without junior defender Cole Seiler. Seiler picked up a leg injury Sept. 7 in a 4-1 win over Wisconsin. He had not missed a minute since that game, but Wiese decided to rest the centerback in favor of senior defender Jared Rist, who played all 90 minutes in the win over Butler. His performance in his second career start was impressive enough to earn him Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors. “[Seiler] could have played last night if we needed him, but we thought that [we needed] to get him healthy. It is a long season, and we want to get him back up to full health, if at all possible. The fact that we have someone of [Rist’s] quality to put in makes it an easy decision for us,” Wiese said. While a senior earned the call to replace Seiler, the team’s youngest members have also seen significant playing time in the last several games. Freshman midfielder Arun Basuljevic got the first start of his
career and split playing time with fellow freshman midfielder Christopher Lema in the center of the park, next to senior midfielder and captain Tyler Rudy. Freshman forward Declane McCabe has also worked his way into the crowded Georgetown offense, coming on as a substitute for Muyl in two consecutive games. McCabe was on the field when Georgetown scored its first goal, and Muyl soon re-entered the pitch to assist the second Hoyas score in the waning moments. Georgetown will play one nonconference game Tuesday before returning to Big East play, against the University of Maryland. The two teams last met in an instant-classic NCAA College Cup semifinal match in 2012, when Georgetown defeated Maryland on penalty kicks after the second overtime ended with the game tied at 4-4. Allen scored in the game, and a large number of current Hoyas participated in that victory. This year’s Maryland team, however, has not has the success it expected entering the season. The Terrapins are 3-3-2 and have fallen out of the Top 25 rankings after losses to Louisville, Navy and Michigan State. Despite a slow start for the opponents, Wiese is still excited to play one of the top programs in the area. “The reason it is on the schedule is because we want to put together a season and a schedule that is exciting for us to play in and that will benefit us long term and this is an RPI game,” Wiese said. “Maryland has held court for a while now … so it is a fun challenge to look forward to.” Kick-off at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md., is set for 7 p.m.
Heading into Sunday’s match against Butler (9-5, 1-1 Big East), the Georgetown women’s volleyball team (6-10, 0-3 Big East) looked to earn its first conference win of the season and end a six-game skid. The Hoyas were coming off home losses to the Creighton Bluejays (10-6, 3-0 Big East) and the Xavier Musketeers (8-6, 1-1 Big East), and the Butler Bulldogs also proved too tough an opponent, with the Hoyas falling 3-1. The first two sets were neckand-neck throughout. The Hoyas came out strong, taking the lead early in the first set through great play from senior outside hitter Alex Johnson, who ended up with five kills and eight digs in the set. Georgetown took the first set 26-24 but was unable to capitalize on this momentum as Butler struck back in another hotly contested set, which the Bulldogs won 28-26. “In the first set, if you look through the stats, we didn’t score that many points,” Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. “We scored 17 points. Butler had eight unforced errors though and that’s how we got to 25. In the second set, we actually [scored points]. We earned the points on our kills, our blocks and our serves. And that made the big difference for us.” The third set saw the Hoyas off to an early 8-4 lead, but Butler responded with a 14-3 run that left the score 18-11 in Butler’s favor. The Hoyas kept their heads up, however, and rallied with kills from sophomore middle blocker Ashlie Williams and senior middle blocker Dani White, shaving the margin to 19-21. Butler managed to hold on with another run, winning the set 25-19. Blocks were the difference-maker in the set, as Butler dominated the net with 6.5 blocks to Georgetown’s zero, and made tips over the net a key fixture in its offense. “We definitely let a lot of tips fall, which is something we haven’t experienced against a team before, so that was a whole new element of the game that we haven’t really had much practice with. If we could have gotten those tips up a little quicker, we probably wouldn’t have had as many points lost,” Ashlie Williams said. The Hoyas regrouped in the fourth set to pull ahead 10-9, fueled by three straight kills from Johnson. From there, the set was back and forth, but Butler ultimately won 25-22. Although the Hoyas fell 3-1, Ashlie Williams, who led the
SUDOKU
Senior libero MacKenzie Simpson led the team with 20 digs, and sophomore setter Caitlin Brauneis added 18 digs and 55 assists. Coach Williams remains unfazed by the recent losses. “We come in every single day, and our job is to compete as hard as we can, to play with enthusiasm and to make sure that we’re productive. We focus on that every single week, just being aggressive and taking care of strengths,” she said. However, she also noted that the team must improve its consistency. “We do a lot of good things and we just need to figure out how to string them along and not just have them in short sprints,” Williams said. In a weak and wide-open conference that currently features no Big East schools in the national top 25, the Hoyas still have much to play for. Georgetown will have a second chance to earn its first Big East win this Friday at Marquette (11-3, 2-0 Big East). The game in Milwaukee, Wis. will serve as the first in a series of conference away games.
Andrea Keklak Stars in 2 Sports
9 6
Kara Avacena
Special to The Hoya
3 4 8 7
8 5
9 4
5 2
4
6
8 7 2
8
Last issue’s solutions
9 3 5 1 6 8 7 6 8 2 9 4 4 1 2 7 5 3
4 7 2 3 5 1 9 8 6 5 4 7 6 2 3 8 1 9
3 8 6
4
2
7 3 5 2 6 8
1 5
1 9
team with 17 kills and a .484 hitting percentage, thought the squad played some of its best volleyball of the year. “I felt really good. We played a lot better today than we’ve played in the past couple weeks, so it’s definitely a building process,” she said. “We’re figuring out what we need to do on the court to get points and we definitely improved that today. Although we had some missteps, I think we made some great strides today.” The Hoyas also featured some great individual play in the match. “I was real happy with how Ashlie Williams played tonight,” Coach Williams said. “She had a really good match for us. She was very effective offensively. She was touching a lot of balls blocking-wise. I think she did a really nice job there. [Freshman outside hitter] Terese Cannon played well on the pin as well in the fourth set, just making sure we got great big swings from both her and Alex Johnson when we needed them. Those things are huge and we’ll continue to build on them.”
cross-country Feature
7
3
FILE PHOTO: MICHELLE XU/ THE HOYA
Senior outside hitter Alex Johnson had 16 kills and 17 digs against the Butler Bulldogs in four sets played during the 3-1 away loss.
2 1 6 8 9 4 5 7 5 7 3 4 7 6 8 3 8 9 4 2 4 3 9 1
9 1 2 5 6 7
After senior Andrea Keklak excelled in the 2013 Indoor Track and Field Championships last season, one would assume that she would continue on her path to track stardom. Instead, Keklak added an entirely different running style to her arsenal, emerging as a budding leader on the cross-country team. In addition to her fourth place finish at the 800-meter indoor nationals last season, Keklak also earned recognition for her academic achievements. Her naming to the Academic All-American Second Team in 2013-2014 notched Georgetown Track and FIeld’s first national academic accolade since 2001. Despite her success on the track circuit, Keklak decided to push herself further and explore cross-country as another way to utilize her passion and talent for running. In each of the first two cross-country meets of the year, Keklak finished in second place. Her time of 18:19.30 at the Sept. 13 James Madison Invitational, the first meet of the year, marked the third-fastest time in course history. Her impressive race on the 2.7-mile course helped the Hoyas win the sixteam tournament. While running track might seem like a world away from the longer distances of cross-country, Keklak has actively trained and prepared for both events since March with Women’s Cross-Country Head Coach Michael Smith. “Training [for track and cross-country] is cyclical, and so great track leads into great cross-country, great crosscountry leads into great track,” Smith said. “I think that the two go hand-inhand.” Keklak embodies the excellence that comes with training for and running both track and cross-country. During her high school career in Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Mass., Keklak was a star in both disciplines. She was an All-American run-
ner, a Massachusetts State Champion for the 800m race and a two-time Massachusetts State Champion in crosscountry and the 1000m race. Keklak continued to race in all of these events when she attended Princeton University. Even when she was at the Ivy League school, Keklak had an eye on Georgetown’s athletic programs. When she had the chance to compete for the Hoyas, she decided to transfer away from Princeton. “I always wanted to be at a college where athletics and academics were both priorities, and while both schools had incredible academic opportunities, I ultimately found that the track program at Georgetown was just a better fit for me,” Keklak said. Despite her track and cross-country achievements in high school, and a
“Great track leads into great crosscountry. ... I think that the two go hand-in-hand.” Michael Smith Women’s Cross-Country Coach
promising start to her Ivy League career, upon her transfer to Georgetown for her sophomore year, Keklak did not officially join the cross-country on the Hilltop until she felt she could make a positive impact as a top-seven runner on the team. “Here at Georgetown, we have this great cross-country team, so you could be a really good cross-country runner and not make our top-seven [runners],” Smith said. “[Andrea] was running cross-country, but she wasn’t ready to make an impact yet. Now, she’s ready to make an impact.” This season marks the first time that Keklak has been able to run with the cross-country team at a more competi-
tive varsity level. “This is the first year where I’ve been able to score points for Georgetown, which is an amazing feeling,” Keklak said. “It’s definitely a big shift watching your team compete from the sidelines at [cross-country] meets, and then becoming one of those people who are actually in the race.” The physical differences between running track and cross-country involve significant investments in strength and endurance training, as well as working on one’s aerobic system, according to Smith. However, these challenges did not deter Keklak, as she saw these obstacles as a way to cement her status as an elite competitor. “Her attitude and her ability to embrace something that is new and different, I think is really crucial,” Smith said. “We’re only willing to try hard at things where we know success is assured, but if you’re willing to think outside of that box, then you can be really good.” Keklak will continue to run for Georgetown’s indoor and outdoor track teams during the winter and spring seasons. The team aspect of cross-country, in contrast to track, contributed to Keklak’s decision to continue her crosscountry career with the Hoyas. “Cross-country season is special in a way because it’s the one time of year where everyone runs together in the same race, and all the goals are teamoriented,” Keklak said. Furthermore, Keklak also enjoys the change of pace and scenery that crosscountry provides. “No matter where you go, a 400-meter track is always the same,” Keklak said. “But with cross-country, everywhere you go to race is going to be really different, which is exciting.” Keklak and the rest of the No. 32-ranked Hoyas women’s cross-country team will look to build on their early-season success when they travel on Friday to the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., for the Paul Short Invitational.
SPORTS
Women’s Soccer Butler (7-5) at Georgetown (6-2-3) Thursday, 3 p.m. Shaw Field
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
VOLLEYBALL
TALKING POINTS
Georgetown lost a hard-fought 3-1 decision at home against the Butler Bulldogs. See A9
“
NUMBERS GAME
22 ”
It makes it a lot easier to make plays when I know the guy next to me is going to do his job.
Senior Defensive Lineman Alec May
FOOTBALL
MEN’S SOCCER
Offense Blanked in Away Loss The Hoyas rushed for just 35 yards against Colgate on Saturday. NADAV SENENSIEB Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown football team’s first win streak since 2012 came to an end this Saturday, as the Hoyas dropped a 19-0 decision at Colgate on Saturday. The loss, its first in Patriot League play this season, was the first time Georgetown had been shut out since the final game of 2012. In the loss, the Hoyas (2-3, 0-1 Patriot League) struggled offensively, mustering only 163 yards of total offense while the Raiders (2-2, 1-0 Patriot League) exploded for 349 yards. Georgetown also struggled on spe-
cial teams. In the victory over Brown last week, special teams helped lift the Hoyas, with sophomore placekicker Henry Darmstadter kicking a career-long 44-yard field goal and the team pulling off a fake punt in the fourth quarter to help ice the game. However, Saturday was a different story. Colgate blocked two punts in the first half, both of which resulted in points for the Red Raiders. The first resulted in a safety while the Raiders picked up and returned the second 10 yards for a touchdown. “Blocked punts are the product of misalignment and poor technique,” Head Coach Rob Sgarlata said. “On both of the blocked punts we had both. I coach that unit and have to do a better job preparing our players in practice to execute in the games.” Although Georgetown was able to control the Colgate pass attack —
FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA
Senior running back Daniel Wright was held to just five yards on five carries against Colgate. He has 161 yards rushing this season.
only allowing 30 passing yards on 4-of-12 passing — Colgate exploded for 319 rushing yards. With 40 seconds remaining in the first half, Colgate running back Jake Melville broke free for a 38-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown the Georgetown defense gave up since Week 2 against Dayton. Despite that, Sgarlata was pleased with his defense’s effort. “I don’t think the defense felt or did anything different,” Sgarlata said. “They played the same way they have all year. They were very solid the entire day and held Colgate to the equivalent of their lowest offensive point total for the season. We forced four three-and-outs to start the second half.” It was the offense, though, that doomed the Hoyas in the loss. After rushing for 250 yards last week against Davidson, Georgetown managed only 35 yards rushing on 31 carries Saturday. The passing attack did not fare much better, as junior quarterback Kyle Nolan gained just 128 yards on 18-of-28 passing, good for a paltry average of 4.6 yards per attempt. It was an all-around subpar effort that the Hoyas need to improve upon if they hope to find success in the Patriot League. “We had 12 possessions in the game. In 11 of these drives we had an unforced error. These errors ranged from a dropped ball, to a fumbled handoff, to a protection breakdown. In total, we allowed five sacks and had five three-and-outs on the day,” Sgarlata said. One of the few bright spots for Georgetown was the continued excellent play of senior defensive lineman Alec May. May collected eight tackles to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. He now has at least one sack in eight consecutive games dating back to last season. See COLGATE, A9
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Corboz Sisters Combine to Lift GU CHRIS BALTHAZARD Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown women’s soccer team (6-2-3, 1-0-1 Big East) eeked out a 1-0 win against Xavier University (3-7-2, 0-2-0 Big East) in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon thanks to a late goal by freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz, assisted by her sister senior midfielder Daphne Corboz. With the victory, the Hoyas picked up their first Big East win of the season after drawing with DePaul University on Thursday. Now they stand two points behind conference leaders Marquette University and St. John’s University. After the Hoyas scored seven goals in last season’s matchup, the Musketeers took a more defensive approach, playing five defenders and five midfielders, in hopes of stymieing the prolific Georgetown offense. “I felt with the team they had this year and how they set up to play against St. John’s on Friday night, that we were going to see them withdraw into a defensive shell, which is what they did,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “If I was playing against a far superior team, I probably would’ve done the same thing.” Despite the one-goal margin, Georgetown dominated the game, controlling possession and rarely allowing Xavier out of its own half of the field. This has been a consistent theme for the Hoyas this season. Sunday’s match resembled others the Hoyas have played, including the recent game against Duquesne University, where opposing teams have played for a draw and challenged the Georgetown offense to break them down. Georgetown was unable to break down the Xavier defense and it was unable to capitalize on the few chances it did create. The Hoyas’
best half-chance came in the 18th minute when junior midfielder Marina Paul redirected a free kick that ended up hitting the cross bar. “We struggled to create clear-cut chances on offense just because of the lack of space and I was a little bit disappointed at our play,” Nolan said. “But it’s a win on the road. The most important thing is to pick up the points. We got a good point against DePaul on Thursday and we knew coming into this game that it wasn’t going to be easy.” In the beginning of the second half, Xavier threatened but Georgetown responded quickly. In the 84th minute, Daphne Corboz crossed the ball and Rachel Corboz buried a shot in the left corner. The goal gave the Hoyas the 1-0 lead, the score by which they would win. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Trower started her second career game and made a save in the victory. Senior goalkeeper and usual starter Emma Newins did not play. The defense impressed as well, especially in their ability to create attacking chances. “I thought [freshman defender] Taylor Pak did very well,” Nolan said. “And [senior forward] Jessie Clinton continues to do well attacking out of the back. [Freshman defender] Liz Wenger did a good job for us today attacking out of the back because we knew we needed to commit our defenders into attack because they were the ones who would have the most space in front of them with the ball at their feet.” Two Hoyas were recognized for their weekend performances on Monday. Rachel Corboz was named Big East Rookie of the Week while junior forward Sarah Adams was named to the weekly honor roll. The Hoyas are currently unbeaten in their last four games. With the recent success, Daphne Corboz has high expectations for the rest of the season. “Obviously, our goal every year
The number of matches won by the men’s tennis team this weekend.
FILE PHOTO: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA
Junior forward Brandon Allen scored twice in the last 11 minutes of Georgetown’s 2-0 win over Butler. He has seven goals this season.
Allen’s Brace Wins Conference Opener ANDREW MAY Hoya Staff Writer
The No. 16 Georgetown men’s soccer team (5-1-3, 1-0-0 Big East) won its Big East opener Saturday, defeating Butler University (4-3-3, 0-0-1 Big East) 2-0 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Hoyas outshot the Bulldogs 21-7, calling upon senior goalkeeper and captain Tomas Gomez to make just two saves the entire game. Those impressive statistics, combined with two clutch goals from junior forward Brandon Allen in the last 11 minutes of play, secured an important road conference victory. Entering the match, however, a positive outcome seemed less cer-
tain to Head Coach Brian Wiese, because of less-than-ideal playing conditions at the Butler Bowl stadium. “I thought the guys handled the situation really well,” Wiese said. “The football lines were all over the field, the lacrosse lines are all over the field and it is an older field so the ball is more bouncy. That is something that you have to manage.” Despite the difficult conditions, Allen thrived. The star forward is tied for fourth in Division I soccer with seven goals in just nine games, and has scored on nearly 22 percent of the shots he has taken this season. Allen also converted See BUTLER, A9
COMMENTARY
Sports May Never See Another Derek Jeter CAROLYN MAGUIRE Hoya Staff Writer
FILE PHOTO: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA
Freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz scored in Georgetown’s 1-0 win over Xavier. is to win the Big East,” Corboz said. “And I really hope, outside of results, that we play good soccer and really dominate the games that we go into. But we’re all very excited for the Big East to start.” Though the team has certainly dominated games, it has room to improve when playing both the most challenging opponents and the most beatable conference rivals. Xavier is currently ranked 235 in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index, compared to Georgetown’s 45, but the Hoyas still struggled to prove that they were the better side. The win gave Georgetown three points in the conference table, bringing the team’s total to four, but its RPI ranking fell from 37 last week. Georgetown will next take on Butler University on Thursday at 3 p.m. on Shaw Field, followed by Providence College on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports
There, in his Gatorade-soaked uniform, he crouched on the lip of the outfield grass between short and second — the same area of the field he had taken countless times in his 20year career. But this time it was different, and all of Yankee Stadium knew it. The flash of thousands of cameras created one final spotlight for the captain. People wanted to preserve this moment — not only the walk-off hit, but the end of an illustrious career. When Derek Jeter announced his
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter retired Sunday after an illustrious 20-year career in New York.
retirement in February, the sports world prepared to say goodbye to the Yankee great. Throughout the 2014 season, each team honored him in its own way when New York came in for a road series. Surfboards, cupcakes and cowboy boots were just the beginning. All the gifts and ceremonies led up to the final two events of the Jeter farewell tour: his last home game against the Orioles and his final game on the road against arcrival Boston. In true Jeter fashion, both games were instant classics. The Orioles and Yankees were tied in the bottom of the ninth in his final game at Yankee Stadium. Jeter stepped up to bat with a man on second and lined a single into right field, scoring the runner from second with his classic inside-out swing. As he rounded first, Jeter leapt and raised both hands. The roar of the adoring Yankee crowd was a fitting ending to a storied career. After 2,746 games, Derek is officially retired. He will never wear pinstripes again. He will never bat second in the lineup or make his famous over-theshoulder throw from shortstop to first. This season also marked the last time we will ever hear the late Bob Shepherd introduce a Yankee again. Where Jeter ranks among the alltime great baseball players is uncertain. However, he is undoubtedly a Hall of Famer. He won five World Series, five Gold Gloves and appeared in 14 All-Star Games. He has a .310 career batting average and totaled 3,465 hits. But Jeter means more to baseball See JETER, A8