GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 95, No. 39, © 2014
FRIDAY, march 7, 2014
FASHION ISSUE
EDITORIAL Decriminalization is not enough to solve law enforcement inequality.
Go bold with patterned pants and bright colors this spring. SPECIAL PULLOUT GUIDE
A YEAR OF HEADLINES University President John J. DeGioia sat for an extended interview.
FINAL ROAD TEST Georgetown will face No. 6 Villanova in its regular season finale.
NEWS, A4
SPORTS, A12
OPINION, A2
Northeast Triangle Wins OGB Approval Two more rounds of approval needed before construction begins Molly Simio
Hoya Staff Writer
CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA
Former men’s basketball Head Coach John Thompson Jr. acknowledges his fans at Verizon Center during a halftime tribute at the game against Creighton on Tuesday evening. The IAC will be named after him.
IAC Named for Thompson Jr. Carolyn Maguire Hoya Staff Writer
Construction on the Intercollegiate Athletics Center, which will be named for former men’s basketball coach John Thompson Jr., will begin this summer, University President John J. DeGioia announced in a campus-wide email Tuesday. The athletics department again announced the center’s full name, the John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center, at halftime of the men’s basketball game at Verizon Center on Tuesday evening. “It was very appropriate to have Coach Thompson Jr.’s name used on this facility,” Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Lee Reed told The Hoya. “He has meant so much,
not only to Georgetown athletics and basketball, but to this university.” According to Vice President of Public Affairs Erik Smulson, the university did not consider any other namesakes for the IAC. Thompson served as the head coach of the men’s basketball team from 1972 to 1999 and, in 1984, became the first black coach to win a major collegiate title. In his 27-year tenure, Thompson collected 596 wins and 13 Big East championships, including seven regular-season titles and six tournament titles. After his retirement in 1999, Thompson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “He has impacted professions beyond being a basketball coach. He is bigger than a basketball coach,”
Reed said. “To be able to now have him and his name on this great facility, people will now remember his legacy forever. It couldn’t have happened to a better, more deserving person.” The IAC will replace the adjacent McDonough Arena as the primary athletic center for Georgetown. When McDonough was built in 1951, there were 250 studentathletes and nine varsity sports at Georgetown. Today, however, there are 750 student-athletes and 29 varsity sports. Although McDonough is no longer capable of fully serving Georgetown athletics, it will still be used, according to Reed. “McDonough still has life,” Reed said. “We will still use McDonough and repurpose it because the See IAC, A6
Marijuana Addressing Access, No Longer SAT Receives Revamp Criminal Mallika Sen Hoya Staff Writer
Suzanne Monyak Hoya Staff Writer
Possession and private use of marijuana will no longer be treated as a criminal offense in D.C. for individuals over 21 under a bill passed by the D.C. Council with a vote of 10 to one Tuesday, pending approval by Mayor Vincent Gray and Congress. The bill will reduce the sentence for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a criminal offense of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine to a civil offense with a fine of $25; reduce the sentence for smoking marijuana in public from up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine to 60 days in jail; and disallow police from detaining, frisking, searching and arresting individuals based on possession of less than an ounce of marijuana or just on the smell of marijuana. According to Grant Smith, policy manager for the pro-legalization Drug Policy Alliance, decriminalization of marijuana possession should result in fewer arrests across the District, thus saving taxpayer dollars and reducing the number of youths with arrest records. “Our view is that marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol and should be available for adults, with proper regulations and with restrictions in place,” Smith said. Legislative Counsel K.J. Bagchi, who spoke on behalf of Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), emphasized Graham’s support for the bill as a way to provide aid for youths struggling with substance abuse. See MARIJUANA, A6
The College Board announced extensive changes to the SAT on Wednesday that will eschew the mandatory timed essay and esoteric vocabulary to return to a two-section format with a maximum score of 1,600 points — rather than 2,400 — and an optional essay. The changes, which will take effect in 2016, are designed to enable accessibility for students of all backgrounds and provide results more indicative of academic knowledge and capability, as well as to reduce the role of test preparation courses in determining a student’s score. The writing and critical reading sections will be condensed into a singular category, with vocabulary questions testing
words more commonly used in university settings. The math section will also be altered to better reflect math skills students will need after high school, like percentages and ratios, as well as some algebra, equations and their applications. The onefourth point penalty for incorrect answers will be eliminated. An elucidation of the full scope of the changes will be revealed April 16. “We will honor the qualities which have made the SAT excellent. We will build on the remarkable care and expertise which statisticians have used to make the exam valid and predictive,” College Board President David Coleman said at the announcement event in Austin, Texas. “While we build on the See SAT, A6
After months of negotiations and redesigns, the university’s Northeast Triangle Residence Hall was awarded final concept approval by the Old Georgetown Board at its monthly meeting Thursday. “We’re feeling very good about the direction the project is taking, so we have taken action to approve conceptual design,” OGB member David Cox said. The meeting, held at the National Building Museum, was attended by several Georgetown representatives including Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey and architects representing Sasaki Associates, the architecture firm that designed the Northeast Triangle. Since the university announced plans to construct a new dormitory July 5, the Northeast Triangle project has been beset with roadblocks. Original concept designs for the residence hall were reworked after concerns were raised by students and alumni about the design’s perceived architectural incoherence with respect to other university buildings. While the design received approval from the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E in November, architects went back to the drawing board to win the approval of the Old Georgetown Board, and the project was forced to push back its scheduled completion date from fall 2015 to fall 2016. Georgetown University Student Association Director of Student Space Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14), who served on the Northeast Triangle Planning Committee, expressed excitement that, with approval, students would
COURTESY SASAKI ASSOCIATES
Pending approvals, Northeast Triangle construction is set for summer.
soon be able to see more tangible aspects of the residence hall taking shape. “I really think it’s an exciting and imporant step in the project,” Appelbaum said. “It’s definitely a big change we’ve seen from the initial concepts over the summer. I think it’s really exciting to see things progressing and moving forward, and I think it means that people are going to start seeing more realities of the project starting to pop up. The university won the OGB’s approval after changing the design for the residence hall based on input received from the board. The OGB had previously approved the proposed dorm’s height, massing and siting at its meeting Dec. 5. “We’ve continued our efforts in refining the design, integrating the feedback from the larger community and we have received what we consider significant, enthusiastic support from the larger community as well as our main clients, the student body,” Morey said in an interview with The Hoya. The new dorm, which will house approximately 225 students in accordance with the 2010 Campus Plan agreement, will feature suite-style housing primarily for sophomore students, similar to Copley Hall. Throughout the most recent stages of the design process, architects worked to incorporate the suggestions of the OGB without straying from the initial design concept released in June. “We felt our team had done a good job of integrating the comments from the OGB while still respecting many of the primary tenants that students wanted to see in the building. There’s a fine balancing act there and I think that … we were successful in trying to balance all of this competing interest,” Morey said. Although they granted concept approval, OGB members still had objections to certain aspects of the Northeast Triangle’s design. After previous feedback suggested that the design did not address heavy foot traffic on the south side of the building, Sasaki Associates added a new primary entrance on the south side of the residence hall that will lead into a large open social space on the ground floor. Cox said he thought that the design for this entrance could still be improved upon. “At the south entry, you don’t have enough depth. It’s like you came to it late and it hasn’t yet taken on a stake in your minds as important,” Cox said. The final concept also featured a facade that was altered to incorporate elements of stone, brick and glass that are reminiscent of the stone buildings surrounding Healy Lawn and the brick buildings like Henle Village on the north side of campus, after being contested by OGB members in December. A second cause of concern was the varying sizes of windows throughout the building. In the current design, the windows vary in width, which OGB member H. Alan Brangman likened to the design of a prison. “I’m struggling to understand the See NET, A6
Pope Francis’ Influence Reaches Georgetown Nick Simon
Hoya Staff Writer
COURTESY GEORGETOWN COLLEGE
Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., has found that Pope Francis has affected discussions in his courses, including “Comparative Political Systems.”
Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
Published Tuesdays and Fridays
Already nicknamed “Francis the Frugal” by international media in the 11 months since his elevation to the papacy, Pope Francis has influenced global political thinking and prompted interfaith conversation within the Georgetown community. Born Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, Francis became the first South American as well as the first Jesuit priest to hold the position of pope when he was chosen March 13, 2013. Pope Francis’ influence on the American political dialogue has been especially visible in his increased emphasis on legislation
regarding poverty, according to Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J. “Some people who have been talking about poverty and inequality for a long time have been vindicated by Pope Francis. Other people have been challenged,” Carnes said. “Poverty seems to be something that everyone seems to be on the same side on. That’s a remarkable change.” Professor of ethics and global development Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J., concurred, noting Francis’ seamless ability to transcend the religious realm and enter the political. “World leaders need a way to express their conviction in a way that takes hold. Moral authority in this See FRANCIS, A6
Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com