The Hoya: April 20, 2018

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 99, No. 25, © 2018

friday, april 20, 2018

The Power of silence Campus groups encourage meditation to relieve stress and improve well-being.

EDITORIAL Georgetown’s housing problems are best served by an increase in facilities workers.

A TEST FOR TRANSIT Uber expands Washington, D.C. presence, sparking concerns about accessibility.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A6

B2-B3

Student Leaders Scrutinize Handling of Activities Fee GUPD, GEMS accumulate over $40,000 in charges Katrina Schmidt Hoya Staff Writer

A Georgetown University policy requiring student groups to hire campus police for certain on-campus events constitutes a burdensome misuse of Student Activity Fee funds, according to some student leaders.

Current university policy requires student groups to hire Georgetown University Police Department officers as security guards when hosting high-attendance or high-profile events. Fees and minimum-hours requirements are set by GUPD rather than by event organizers.

GUPD received $10,218.38 in security fees from seven student groups funded through the Student Activities Commission — a club advisory board that allocates funding to over 110 student organizations — for police services at campus events between July 1, 2017 and the end of the fall 2017 semester, according to documents provided to The Hoya by SAC Chair Kylie Navarro (COL ’20).

Georgetown administrators maintain that the policy reflects the importance of security to ensure a safe campus and that security fees are not a barrier to groups seeking to host events.

The majority of the budget SAC distributes to student groups, in excess of $325,000, comes from the Student Activity Fee, an $80-per-

semester fee paid by students. The commission allocates this funding to student groups through a semesterly budget summit, while also reserving about $150,000 to cover ad hoc requests from student groups who must cover new costs.

When a student group requests SAC funds for an event requiring GUPD security, the money comes

“We could use more money for clubs. Instead of taxing ourselves more, we should find ways to make our current budget more efficient and I think this is one.”

Ricardo Mondolfi Former Chair, Student Activities Commission

from the ad hoc reserve from the Student Activity Fee, according to former SAC Chair Ricardo Mondolfi (SFS ’19).

GUPD security fees are therefore a misappropriation of the Student Activity Fee funds because these funds are meant to be spent entirely on students, their events and programming, Mondolfi said.

“The agreement that was reached was that it [the Student Activity Fee] is managed, distributed and spent by students — theoretically on students,” Mondolfi

said. “This is money that is from students, supposedly for students, going into the university’s hands.”

Security costs have risen in recent years because of GUPD policy changes. About three years ago, GUPD implemented stricter guidelines requiring clubs to hire an officer to secure events with high expected attendance, or any event deemed to need security at the department’s discretion.

The typical rate for GUPD security is $50.75 per hour for one officer. Event organizers are typically required to hire one officer per 75 attendees, according to GUPD policy, and must hire officers for at least four hours regardless of the length of the event — making $203 the minimum security fee for a single event with high expected attendance.

The newer, more rigorous protocols, which apply to both student and administrative group events, are in response to “world, regional and local events,” according to GUPD’s website.

Erika Cohen Derr, assistant dean for student engagement, said the university’s “top priority is the safety and security of our community.”

“While event organizers are responsible for the cost of security, no one will be prevented from hosting an event due to the cost of security,” Cohen Derr said.

The Center for Student See FEES, A6

RICHARD SCHOFIELD/THE HOYA

Deshaun Rice (COL ’19), left, and Elisabeth Kutek (MSB ’21), right, both find themselves constrained by their schedules and financial situations when purchasing meals.

Lacking Time, Funds for Meals, Students Face Food Insecurity Sarah Wright Hoya Staff Writer

Two days since his last meal, Deshaun Rice (COL ’19) cannot concentrate. Fatigue seeps in. Words blur together. He sees things from the corners of his eyes — things that are not actually there.

Hunger was never something Rice expected to encounter at Georgetown University. He thought college would provide an escape from the poverty and insecurity of life in his hometown, Memphis, Tenn. Instead, he frequently finds himself running out of swipes on his meal plan, money to spend on food and energy to attend class.

“You get to class, you are expected to be alert, attentive, responsive and things of that nature,” Rice said in an interview with The Hoya. “But you can’t if you’re going around and you haven’t eaten for two or three days.”

Food insecurity is not anomalous among college students nationwide. When the Wisconsin HOPE Lab and Temple University released their report on food insecurity April 4, the study found 36 percent of surveyed college students across the country reported experiences of food insecurity in the 30 days prior to being surveyed.

The study, which defines food security as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally

adequate food, is the most comprehensive of its time, gathering data from over 43,000 students at 66 schools in 20 states and Washington, D.C. At Georgetown, food insecurity is a gnawing problem for the student body. A 2016 survey conducted by the Georgetown University Student Association found 54 percent of the 351 students surveyed — two-thirds of whom received need-based financial aid — responded that they experienced food insecurity at Georgetown due to cost, often at least once a week.

See FOOD, A6

Dominican Author Reflects on Work, Urges Solidarity NOAH BERMAN Hoya Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO: STEPHANIE YUAN/THE HOYA

Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) signed legislation on April 13 hiking a tax on ride-sharing services, including Uber and Lyft, as part of a plan to provide a dedicated source of funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Bowser Signs Tax on Uber to Fund Metro Deepika JoNNALAGADDA Hoya Staff Writer

The cost of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft is expected to increase in 2019 when a tax will help fund the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority takes effect.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) signed the Dedicated Funding for the WMATA Emergency Act of 2018 on April 13. Authored

by D.C. Councilmember and Chairman of the Metro Board Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and

featured

passed unanimously by the Council, the bill authorizes the district to collect taxes to fund WMATA. The legislation allocates $178.5 million per year in dedicated funding for WMATA through the 2059 fiscal year. These funds constitute the District’s share of an $500 million per year joint commitment with Virginia and Maryland to fund WMATA. The Virginia general assembly pledged $154 million per year to Metro funding on March 7 on the condition that Maryland and D.C. also

increase their contributions.

Bowser pledged $178 million per year in her State of the District address on March 15.

The decision was part of a negotiation between Virginia, Maryland and D.C.’s whereby each party would provide the $500 million that Metro’s leadership argued is necessary to make Metrorail a world-class system.

The additional funding aims to fix issues with Metro’s infrastructure, Bowser said.

Metro plans to use the money to buy new rail cars and buses, upgrade track and power

systems, modernize stations and make other broad improvements, according to a March 22 Washington Post Article.

“The region has been working for years to solve the dedicated funding question, and now we finally have a path forward,” Bowser said in an April 13 news release. “With this commitment, we will get Metro back to a state of good repair so that Washingtonians have access to a safe and reliable Metro system for years to come.”

See UBER, A6

Solidarity and friendship within communities of color are key to overcoming racial prejudice, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and immigration reform advocate Junot Diaz said at an event hosted by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund on Monday evening.

Diaz is a professor of writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 2012 recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, awarded annually to individuals in any field for “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction,” according to the MacArthur Foundation.

The event, held in Lohrfink Auditorium, was cosponsored by the Provost’s Office, the Spanish and Portuguese Department and the American Studies Department.

Diaz was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New Jersey with his family at the age of six.

During his childhood, the Dominican Republic was still recovering from the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. This re-

covery, along with racism and the importance of “coming into modernity,” or the time at which societies determine what norms and rules of conduct are important to them, have been the recent focus of his art, Diaz said.

“We are in a society less willing to engage in any type of critical race approach but has become much more enamored or addicted to racial oppressive agendas.”

Junot Diaz Pulitzer Prize-winning author

“I as an artist have become very much interested in people like myself who enter into modernity explicitly inside of a racial dictatorship,” Diaz said at the event.

The Dominican Republic has suffered a past riddled with racism, making it difficult at times for Dominicans to come to terms with their identity, Diaz said. In 1937, the Dominican Army massacred between See DIAZ, A8

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

The Future of Fares Metro will launch an app allowing rail riders to pay using their smartphones and obtain real-time service information.

A7

Committing to Our Roods Holy Rood has profound historical importance. Georgetown must commit to its maintenance.

A3

Ewing Hot on Recruiting Trail Head Coach Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) landed a pair of 4-star recruits for the Georgetown men’s basketball team.

A12

NEWS Israel Peace Week

opinion Limitless Liminality

SPORTS From the Jaws of Defeat

The Georgetown Israel Alliance’s first annual Israel Peace Week urged a peaceful solution to Israel-Palestine disputes.

A8 Printed Fridays

Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J. reflects on the transition between different versions of ourselves.

A3

Georgetown women’s lacrosse defeated UConn 15-14 Wednesday on a finalminute goal.

A12 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

friday, APRIL 20, 2018

THE VERDICT Dead on Arrival — A high school senior arrived at prom in a casket. She wanted to promote her dreams of becoming a funeral director and send an unforgettable warning about drunk driving.

C EDITORIALS Increase Maintenance Staff C C

Yeezy’s Back — Kanye West reactivated his Twitter account this week to announce the upcoming release of two new albums. The first album is set to be released on June 1 and the second one, a collaboration with Kid Cudi, is set to drop a week later.

C

Concrete Jungle — A terrified New Yorker called police to report a tiger prowling the streets of Harlem last Thursday. The woman had mistakenly identified a racoon as a big cat. In her defense, both have stripes.

C

One Mean Spleen — Researchers have found that the Bajau people of Southeast Asia have developed bigger spleens for diving to collect shellfish. The bigger spleen makes more oxygen available in their blood.

Founded January 14, 1920

Health and safety issues in Georgetown University student housing go unaddressed by the Office of Planning and Facilities Management for far too long.

To address the deplorable conditions of its facilities, Georgetown must hire more facilities and maintenance employees.

Mice and rats bring the risk of disease into dorm rooms; mold on ceilings and walls exacerbates allergies; and frequent elevator breakdowns make the campus inaccessible for many students with disabilities. The frequency of these problems is alarming, but Georgetown can and should take immediate steps to ensure students can live more safely and comfortably.

The pervasiveness of maintenance issues is hardly a revelation to the Georgetown community; every student seems to have a story about a poorly addressed housing problem.

“Last year, it took 30 calls over the course of five months to get [facilities] to remove the black mold in my room that I was highly allergic to,” Katarina Stough (COL ’19) wrote to The Hoya.

“In my Village B apartment last year, facilities came to take measurements since it was one of the apartments being renovated and they broke our window so that it couldn’t open and they would not fix it,” Meghan Vinnicombe (MSB ’18) wrote to The Hoya.

Students deserve to be safe, comfortable and healthy in their living spaces. While the existing facilities staff works hard to resolve as many issues as they can, the department would be well-served by resolving understaffing problems.

The existing facilities and maintenance workforce has clearly been outmatched by housing issues and is thus unable to address every grievance, no matter how severe the issues may be.

With more facilities and maintenance workers, Georgetown would be able to address these fixable problems in a reasonable amount of time.

As Harrison Hurt (SFS ’20), an opinion assistant for The Hoya, argued in his March op-ed, Georgetown’s maintenance issues are largely a result of poorly prioritized funding (“Why Housing Fails Students,” The Hoya, March 23, 2018, A3).

“University fundraising tends to highlight new construction while avoiding student maintenance needs,” Hurt wrote.

By prioritizing the construction of new buildings, Georgetown has neglected much of its inadequate

infrastructure. To compensate for lost time, the university must follow through on its recent promise to start prioritizing renovations and maintenance.

In April 2016, Georgetown contracted architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross to determine a path forward for immediate and long-term housing renovations.

Since then, Georgetown’s maintenance efforts have included a major renovation to O’Donovan Hall and changes to Alumni Square, Village A and Village C East such as new windows, furniture and lighting.

These changes are a helpful step, but insufficient in the pursuit of clean and safe housing for students. As Georgetown looks toward major renovations for student living, it must recognize its current inadequacies by hiring more maintenance and facilities workers to address existing and prevalent problems.

Peer universities have recognized the importance of ensuring their student housing is safe and clean.

For example, The George Washington University’s 2014-15 Annual Report cites six student dormitories renovated in the previous year.

By contrast, Georgetown has a transparency problem regarding facilities issues.

“Annual maintenance reports are noticeably absent from Georgetown’s public releases,” Hurt wrote.

As Hurt noted, Georgetown’s most recent financial plan, which outlines specific spending from 2019-22, commits more spending to maintenance priorities than its predecessor. The university must follow through with this plan and include the hiring of more maintenance workers along with any other facilities priorities.

In October 2016, The Hoya’s editorial board implored Georgetown to hire more maintenance workers (“Fair Treatment for Workers,” The Hoya, Oct. 6, 2016, A2). The university has since failed to address the understaffing problem outlined by the editorial board.

Today, this editorial board returns to the concerns of its predecessors because the university continues to look the other way as many of its students are subjected to unsafe and unhealthy living conditions.

A top-tier university has no excuse for inadequate housing.

To meet the reasonable living needs of its students, Georgetown must hire more maintenance staff and further prioritize renovations of existing facilities.

Duckworth-It — After Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) became the first senator to give birth while in office, her daughter, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, will be allowed on the Senate floor for senatorial votes.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Adam Semprevivo

Adjust Marijuana Punishments Georgetown University’s sanctioning guidelines provide harsher punishments for marijuana usage than the use of alcohol. The university should remedy this unnecessary discrepancy by revising marijuana-related punishments to be more similar in severity to alcohol-related ones.

When Georgetown students are disciplined for possession or use of marijuana or alcohol, their punishments are largely determined by the damage they did to the community around them, according to the Georgetown Office of Student Conduct sanctioning guidelines.

Although marijuana users are no more likely than alcohol users to pose a risk to the Georgetown community, they are punished more harshly under Georgetown policies.

A first-time violation of alcohol possession carries with it a required online “Think About It” course to educate students on the harms of substance abuse, a $50 fee to pay for the course and five work sanction hours, according to the Code of Student Conduct. A firsttime marijuana-related violation is punished by “likely” housing probation, a $50 fine and the completion of an educational project.

Georgetown’s disparity in punishments does not reflect the respective dangers of marijuana and alcohol use.

Alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of all violent crimes, according to Business Insider. The Georgetown community itself has been a victim of alcohol-driven violence in the past. In 2000, an altercation between two groups of students led to the death of David Shick (MSB ’01). Both groups had been drinking.

Marijuana has not been scientifically connected to these dangerous effects, nor has it led to violence on Georgetown’s campus. Conversely, a National Institutes of Health study found marijuana users were significantly less likely to commit violence against a partner.

While the full effect of marijuana usage remains inconclusive because of a lack of scientific research, Georgetown’s current punishment system defies existing evidence about

the consequences of both substances.

Marijuana is not harmless: Like alcohol, its usage can lower grades, impair memory and harm vision, according to a study conducted

by Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center and Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. However, it poses no more danger than alcohol to “the level of risk and/or harm of the Respondent to the University community,” the sanctioning standard recommended by the university in its stated guidelines.

Despite available evidence, Georgetown’s marijuana-related policies do not reflect reality — or even its own guidelines.

Administrators have previously cited Washington, D.C., and federal law to defend the university’s harsh standards.

“Federal law prohibits possession, manufacturing, and use of marijuana,” then-Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh wrote in a 2014 email to The Hoya. “As a recipient of federal funds — including campus-based student aid funds — we comply with federal laws, such as those requiring a drug-free workplace.”

However, federal law simply requires the university to forbid marijuana usage on campus and develop a drug prevention program.

Georgetown can change marijuana-related policies to match alcohol-related ones without the threat of losing any federal funding.

Changing Georgetown’s marijuana policies should not be limited to sanctioning guidelines. In addition to changing punishment policies, the university should create an online course — modeled after “Think About It” — that educates freshmen about the detrimental effects of marijuana.

Georgetown students deserve sanctioning guidelines that reflect the actual danger — or lack thereof — that their actions bring upon the community.

Administrators must match marijuana policies to alcohol policies to ensure students are being treated fairly and proportionally to their crimes.

Ian Scoville, Editor-in-Chief Maya Gandhi, Executive Editor Christian Paz, Executive Editor Emma Wenzinger, Managing Editor Jeff Cirillo, News Editor Hannah Urtz, News Editor Dan Crosson, Sports Editor Mitchell Taylor, Sports Editor Kathryn Baker, Guide Editor Mac Dressman, Guide Editor Will Simon, Opinion Editor Lisa Burgoa, Features Editor Anna Kovacevich, Photography Editor Saavan Chintalacheruvu, Design Editor Janine Karo, Copy Chief Katie Schluth, Social Media Editor Charlie Fritz, Blog Editor Anne-Isabelle de Bokay, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Will Simon, Chair

Alexandre Kleitman, Grace Laria, Tanner Larkin, Emma Lux, Daniel Wassim, Alexandra Williams

Will Cassou Madeline Charbonneau Erin Doherty Yasmine Salam Yasmeen El-Hasan Allie Babyak Ben Goodman Josh Rosson Maddie Finn Noah Levesque Eliza Phillips Julia Yaeger John Crawford Yumna Naqvi Adam Semprevivo Will Cromarty Amber Gillette Subul Malik Caroline Pappas Grace Chung Anna Kooken Mina Lee Susanna Blount Anna Dezenzo Catriona Kendall Juliette Leader Joshua Levy Laura Bell Caroline Bucca Lisa Park

Academics Desk Editor City Desk Editor Events Desk Editor Student Life Desk Editor Deputy Features Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Cartoonist Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Design Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Blog Editor Deputy Blog Editor Deputy Blog Editor

Contributing Editors

Dean Hampers, Meena Raman, Lauren Seibel, Alyssa Volivar, Sarah Wright

HOYA HISTORY: April 19, 1994

New Grading System Brings Little Change The institution of “minus grades” last semester had little effect on the number of grades B or higher that were awarded, according to statistics released last week by the Registrar’s Office, challenging student concerns that the new policy would lead to grade deflation.

The statistics show that in the fall of 1993, the first semester minus grades were given at Georgetown, 76.1 percent of the grades submitted for the main campus were B or higher, compared to 78.9 percent five years ago and 73.4 percent 10 years ago. The figures demonstrate that the grade distribution had shifted, with more As falling to A-minuses than

B-pluses rising to A-minuses, but also with some Bs rising to B-pluses.

The main campus statistics include the graduate school and all five undergraduate schools except for the School of Nursing, which is technically part of the medical center but was included the switch to minus grades.

“It was the faculty that pushed for the minus grade,” University Registrar John Pierce said. “One of the reasons was, if three-quarters of the people are in this range [B and above], then it’s more equitable to have four grades to distinguish levels of work than three,” he said.

Pierce said his office ana-

lyzed each semester’s grades and then forwarded the results to the Office of the Executive Vice President for the Main Campus, the deans of each school and to all department heads.

According to Marie Helene Gibney, associate vice president for the main campus and chair of the Council of Associate Deans when the administration initially considered establishing minus grades in the spring of 1991, the council works to ensure consistency among the academic regulations and procedures of each of the five undergraduate schools.

Eric Schwager Hoya Staff Writer

For letters to the editor and more online content, visit thehoya.com/category/opinion.

Sagar Anne, General Manager Karen Shi, VP of Corporate Communications Andrew DeFriece, Director of Alumni Relations Tara Halter, Director of Financial Operations Mark Tremoglie, Director of Human Resources Nicole Crilly, Director of Sales Eliza Hayes, Director of Sales Brian Yoffe Jocelyn Hernandez Neal Sarup Sebastian Velastegui

Treasury Manager Manager of Financial Operations Manager of Financial Operations Manager of Financial Operations

Board of Directors

Marina Tian, Chair Sagar Anne, Karla Leyja, Aly Pachter, Jesus Rodriguez, Ian Scoville, William Zhu Letter to the Editor and Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-700 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya. com.

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.

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.

Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Ian Scoville at (202) 602-7650 or Executive Editor Marina Tian at (480) 334-9672. Both editors can be reached by email at executive@ thehoya.com.

© 1920-2016. The Hoya, Georgetown University 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.

Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 4,000

News Tips News Editors Jeff Cirillo and Hannah Urtz: Email news@thehoya.com.

Guide Editors Kathryn Baker and Mac Dressman: Email guide@thehoya.com.

Sports Editors Mitchell Taylor and Dan Crosson: Email sports@thehoya.com.

General Information The Hoya is published once a week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to:

OPINION

friday, april 20, 2018

As This Jesuit Sees It

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • ESTES

Fr. Matthew Carnes

I

Embrace Uncertainty

t is April, and in the Jesuit community that means that Fr. Otto Hentz, S.J., has begun offering his annual daily prayer of petition at our evening Mass, “for students, and especially seniors, at this ambiguous time of the end of the semester and preparing for graduation.” That word — ambiguous — always stands out to me, and over the years I have come to appreciate the wisdom it contains, for this time of year is indeed an ambiguous one.

With the end of the academic year approaching, we feel the pressure of finishing our courses and commitments well. Yet, we are also thinking ahead to summer jobs and internships. Part of us is drawn to linger, to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and friendships and new sense of ourselves that we have gained since September.

Seniors especially feel this sentiment, as they savor their final days on the Hilltop as undergraduates and reflect on the highs, lows and in-betweens that they have experienced; yet they know they are entering a future whose contours are yet to be discovered.

However, this time is no less ambiguous for first-year students, who have experienced what seems like 10 years of life in only nine months. These students wonder if it is possible to return to home and their pre-Georgetown selves. Even faculty and staff, who each year undergo this cycle, still struggle with the goodbyes and wonder what next year will bring.

At Georgetown University, most of us are not very comfortable with ambiguity and we try our best to avoid it. We plan ahead and we hedge our bets with multiple applications and fallback plans. We find coded ways to discuss what we do not yet know, speaking about the many “options” we are considering, and we gently avoid difficult conversations about the future.

And when we look backward, we paper over our past struggles, not sure how to integrate them into a narrative that we think is only supposed to contain successes.

But this ambiguous time is special, deserving of our attention even if we cannot fully understand or control it. Anthropologists and theologians who reflect on life stages call it a liminal time — a

L

threshold moment — when we are suspended between one defining sense of ourselves and another.

This limbo is disorienting, yet also pregnant with the promise of new life and a new way of being.

Religious traditions tell us that at this moment grace is given, and the mystery of ourselves touches the mystery of being and we find ourselves open enough to be transformed and given new purpose.

This threshold moment is a sacred time.

The Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin — whose words are inscribed above the notorious “stairs of death” in the Intercultural Center — composed a prayer for this time. In words that perfectly fit our Georgetown community, he notes that “we are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.” Yet, he tells us, all progress “is made by passing through some stages of instability.” In fact, he calls this suspended time holy, and invites us to trust in the “slow work of God.” Teilhard’s embrace of the uncertain makes me wonder how to better acknowledge the limits that are at the core of our humanity.

We are used to celebrating achievement and mastery, but perhaps we would do well to also embrace our limits and half-successes and still-not-decided efforts. Maybe we should give ourselves — and God — the benefit of the doubt that what lies ahead, yet unrevealed, will actually fulfill us and make us even more whole. It could be that by recognizing that we are incomplete, we can allow grace to complete us in ways previously unimaginable.

Transformation—both personal and communal—happens at unsettled moments like these. Out of ambiguity emerges the person long dreamt of, and we come to see that the dream has been as much God’s as our own. So in these days of April, let us choose to live our liminality, letting grace carry us over the threshold into a future not yet known but overflowing with possibility.

Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., is an associate professor in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service. He is a Jesuit-inResidence in Kennedy Hall. as this jesuit sees it appears online every other Monday.

The cemetery has recently fallen into disrepair due to a lack of attention. Many of the tombstones have been broken or vandalized. Trash is often scattered around the burial ground.

T

Forsaken Obligations in Holy Rood

he words “Holy Rood” are a reference to the sacred relic of the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. Holy Rood also, however, refers to a seemingly forgotten cemetery on Wisconsin Avenue, the care of which was entrusted to our university.

Furthermore, the cemetery is one of the largest slave burial grounds in the country, and if Georgetown is committed to reconciling with its historical connection to slavery, then it must protect this land and respect the history of those buried there.

In 1832, Holy Trinity Church established a burial ground on what is now Wisconsin Avenue. In 1942, the Archdiocese of Washington entrusted Georgetown University with the important task of caring for the land — now the cemetery known as Holy Rood.

The historical site contains the graves of Revolutionary War heroes, priests, the founder of Tenleytown and hundreds of Georgetown residents. Moreover, up to 1,000 freed and enslaved black people are buried in the cemetery in unmarked graves. Holy Rood is most likely the most documented slave burial ground in all of Washington, D.C., according to historians of Glover Park, which encompasses Holy Rood.

The cemetery has recently fallen into disrepair due to a lack of attention. Many of the tombstones have been broken or vandalized. Trash is often scattered around the cemetery.

The entire fence line is crumbling, and the back field of the cemetery, which is also the oldest part — and where most of the enslaved and freed black people were buried — is, sadly, used by neighbors as a dog park. Little has been done to preserve and respect the memory of those buried in Holy Rood, which means many of the graves have been lost over the burial ground’s 186-year history.

Under the leadership of President Timothy Healy, S.J., in 1984, Georgetown explored the option of exhuming the bodies buried in the cemetery and selling the land. As the land sits at one of the highest points in D.C., it has a beautiful view of the Rosslyn, Va. skyline and would likely sell for a high price. However, the university is barred from selling the land because of D.C. law surrounding burial rights.

Thankfully, the land was not sold; however, it is still sparsely attended to. The Washington Post and The Hoya have both criticized the university for its disregard for the cemetery before. These pieces encouraged the university to recommit itself to its care for the grounds in years past. Today, we need a new commitment by the university to Holy Rood.

Georgetown’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation yielded much positive change, including with the renaming of buildings and exploring the stories of modern

descendants of the 272 slaves sold by Georgetown. However, if we as Georgetown community members are truly committed to the process of reconciliation, we must reflect and change our care of Holy Rood Cemetery.

April 16 was Emancipation Day, and in an effort to continue a discussion of Georgetown’s involvement in the legacy of slavery, the Office of the President hosted a conversation on Anne Marie Becraft, who founded a day school for girls of color and for whom we recently named a campus dormitory.

Becraft herself is intricately connected to Holy Rood Cemetery: Holy Rood’s archives reveal at least a dozen of Becraft’s direct family members are buried there. If we are truly committed to remembering and preserving Becraft’s legacy, we must preserve the grounds in which her family is buried.

Georgetown needs to take action and correct the failures of its past care. First, it should be made clear through signage that dogs are not allowed in the park. The university should also consider gating off the grounds to discourage dog walkers from bringing dogs into the cemetery.

Moreover, the university should place a plaque that recognizes the historic nature of the cemetery and the hundreds of unmarked graves that exist in the back area of the holy ground.

Georgetown should ensure the cemetery has a regularized maintenance schedule, so grass re-

mains well-trimmed and trash is removed. Furthermore, grounds crews should be given the time necessary to properly care for the land, as years of hasty mowing jobs have left tombstones marred by cuts and marks.

The university should also invest in the removal of the crumbling, decrepit back fence of the cemetery and trim back the decaying trees that hang over the back grounds.

Finally, other ways to pay respect to the history of the cemetery should be discussed further with the Office of the President, as well as continuing the work of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation. Georgetown has an obligation to honor the memories of the individuals buried in Holy Rood.

Too few students know the story behind Holy Rood. The sacred ground was entrusted to this university. We are bound by a duty to preserve it. Georgetown’s Catholic faith calls on the school to respect those who have passed, something it has failed to fully do for this cemetery.

If we are truly committed to the process of reconciling with the university’s past, the next step must be centered around proper care for the burial grounds that continue to call to mind our university’s connection to slavery.

Hunter Estes is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

viewpoint • andreoni

Proud to be GSP

A Regrettable Sacrifice

Navigating Unfamiliar Resources

ast night I stayed up sick until 6 a.m. By 8 a.m., I settled into work at my internship with a backpack under my desk and bags under my eyes.

No surprise there. I handed in my thesis last week and I am graduating next month. At this point in the semester, I always find myself sacrificing health to achieve other goals. My hectic class and work schedule does not accommodate regular meals, and my workload and perfectionism does not allow for the physician-recommended amount of sleep. This neglect of my well-being is not ideal, but I manage.

However, during times of extreme stress, the sacrifices become more pronounced. I substitute coffee for sleep and productivity for sanity. Inevitably, my body breaks when I fail to maintain my health.

My most notable failure here was repeatedly sacrificing my own health to achieve a short-term goal. Georgetown is a wonderful place with a debilitating stress culture.

These sacrifices have benefits. I have published literary magazines, run budget summits and organized over 30 student events. Most importantly, through this work I have gained awe-inspiring mentors and developed incredible friendships. My successes motivated me to overexert myself to exhaustion.

Now, in my last month as an undergraduate, I am experiencing stress-related symptoms of a kidney illness that brought me to the emergency room during my first month at Georgetown University.

During that same semester, the entire Georgetown community wrestled with the passing of Andrea Jaime, who, upon returning for her sophomore year in fall 2014, contracted meningitis and died. Her death was sudden and shocking. Her disease

was incredibly rare, and there was nothing anyone could do to help. One day she fell ill, and the next she was gone.

The entire campus was devastated. I cannot fathom the loss her family and friends experienced. I never met her, but her death has profoundly affected me.

Regina Andreoni I will never know why I walked out of the ER, healed, and she did not.

When my body does break, it forces me to a stop. I miss classes, forgo events and delegate my leadership responsibilities to others. I feel like a failure, but not because of the forced hiatus from my responsibilities.

Whenever I get sick, I wonder: if my body failed completely — if I died right now — would I be content with the life I have lived?

As a freshman, I answered “no.” I had not accomplished the goals I envisioned or visited the places I dreamed of.

Four years later, I still wouldn’t be content if I died on the spot, but for different reasons. I still haven’t accomplished my life goals in the last four years — they are designed to take a while — but I have made measurable progress towards them. More importantly though, I am now more satisfied in the strength of my relationships.

I have slowly learned that the best way to take care of yourself is to surround your-

self with people who are invested in your well-being.

When I got sick as a freshman, no one noticed. I asked a girl in my first-week-of-freshman-year herd to walk me to the health center. She declined and went to the dining hall instead. I did a long stint in the hospital, but it was weeks before anyone noticed that I still had not returned to New South 4.

Today, I saw the same doctor whom I met back then for the same health issue. This time, one friend accompanied me and many others checked in remotely.

I call that progress.

Friendships, like all relationships, take work, and I have learned the value in finding friends who cared about me. I became much happier when I stopped trying to please everyone. I learned to gently let go of people who drained me.

But letting go of bad friends isn’t a failure; it’s a choice to prioritize your well-being.

I failed worst when I neglected myself. I failed every time I sacrificed sleep for school. When I over-exhausted myself with busyness, I failed to meet my basic needs.

My advice is to take care of yourself. Find people who care about you and your well-being. Develop relationships with professors who care about you as a whole person.

Limit yourself to extracurriculars that give you purpose. Learn to say no. Learn to say goodbye. Learn to say goodnight.

I’m trying to follow my own advice.

So, I’m graduating in May and I don’t have a job yet.

What are my next steps?

First, I’ll nap.

regina andreoni is a senior in the College. This viewpoint is the first installment in the Senior Compass Series, which offers seniors a chance to reflect on their biggest failures at Georgetown. Read more at thehoya.com/category/opinion.

A

lthough we came from different backgrounds, we are often reminded that as first-generation students from immigrant households, our paths to Georgetown University share many similarities.

Our parents constantly reminded us about the importance of obtaining an education. We would hear our moms say, “The two happiest days of my life will be the day my children were born and the day they graduate from college.”

Raised by immigrant parents who never had the opportunity to pursue higher education, the priority for us and our siblings was always extremely clear. The ultimate goal, as inspired by our parents, was to get into college.

However, that goal became so pervasive for us that achieving it became life’s sole purpose and focus. We never had room to think about what would happen during college — let alone after.

When we began our college careers at Georgetown, the goal shifted from receiving an acceptance letter to receiving a diploma.

Our freshman years were extremely difficult. The courses were 10 times more intense than high school courses, and as the youngest — and first in the family to leave home — we often felt homesick.

Furthermore, we found ourselves struggling to find a community to identify with on campus.

As first-generation students, we are not afforded the same expectations and clear paths to success as many of our Georgetown peers. This institutional awareness — and our lack of it — upon arriving to campus contributes heavily to a knowledge gap between us and our non-first-generation counterparts.

The knowledge gap is the divide between what students should know to have a successful undergraduate career and what they actually know. First-generation and low-income students experience a wider knowledge gap, as they often start with less background knowledge of the opportunities a

college education can truly offer, according to Forbes. Many firstgeneration students do not start their college experiences with the same context built into traditional educational circles. As a result, we lack the initial direction to guide us toward success on campus.

Renzo Reyes & Luis Sorto The knowledge gap affects firstgeneration students well before they step foot on a college campus.

Throughout high school, first-generation students struggle to find resources to help them apply to school, attain much-needed scholarships and grants and determine whether college is actually worth going to in the first place. If we, as first-generation college students, succeed in overcoming these obstacles and ultimately decide to attend college, we are confronted with even greater ambiguity.

Upon our arrival to campus, we understood we were here to earn our degrees. But what was to follow? Only after fully realizing and accepting that we would actually graduate did we begin to think about our careers. Then, we encountered the unfamiliarity of networking and applying for jobs, the fact that internships are vital for landing a job after graduation and the struggle of finding jobs that are actually available.

Without a set community, firstgeneration students often face these struggles alone. Many universities have yet to create spaces for first-generation students on their campuses; however, those that have successfully created these communities are well on their way to closing the knowledge gap.

The Georgetown Scholarship

Program has proven that the creation of these spaces leads to higher success among firstgeneration students by creating a center on campus dedicated to providing academic, professional and personal support. Today, GSP proudly holds a graduation rate of 96.4 percent, compared to the national average of 24.9 percent for first-generation students and 10.9 percent for students who are both first generation and low income, according to a 2011 Pell Grant Institute study.

These efforts are not about offering everyone the same job or even the same college experience. Rather, programs like GSP work toward providing everyone the same opportunity to pursue their passions. The duty of each higher-ed institution is to foster a community of learning; by extension, it must also create a community for its first-generation students to break down barriers that hinder their abilities to effectively learn.Through GSP, we have witnessed that investment in supporting and empowering students like us leads to an immeasurable impact on our success and enables us to create our own futures.

As graduating seniors, we have realized that our “ultimate goal” is not merely to graduate and obtain a diploma. Today, we define our ultimate goal as having the power to pave our own paths: to take back our agency, to independently choose our own careers and vocations and to turn our families’ dreams into a reality during our lifetimes and into a precedent for future generations.

Renzo Reyes is a senior in the McDonough School of Business. Luis Sorto is a senior in the School of Foreign Service.

GSP offers support services to over 650 low-income and/ or first-generation college students. PROUD TO BE GSP appears online every other Tuesday.

A4

NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018

PAGE FOUR

INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Georgetown Israel Alliance hosted its inaugural Israel Peace Week to discuss solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Story on A8.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

verbatim

IN FOCUS TWO-STATE SOLUTION

“

I am confident that President DeGioia, as well as Chief Gruber, would go to great lengths to train their officers in applying the law.”

GU Advocates for Responsible Defense Leader T.J Collins (COL ’18) on arming GUPD officers on campus Story on A8.

from our blog

TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK Lau is beautiful and the food at Leo’s tastes great.

Let’s be real, Blue and Gray. For a more honest tour, 4E’s got you.

HANNAH LEVINE FOR THE HOYA

Former Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, left, and Ambassador Dennis Ross discussed the future of the two-state solution at an event April 13 in Riggs Library hosted by the Georgetown Israel Alliance.

blog.thehoya.com

Corp Staff Advocate for Greater Diversity Fascism Rising, Albright Warns

KATRINA SCHMIDT Hoya Staff Writer

A new hiring process and organizational structure must be considered to improve service and expedite the current processes across all storefronts, Students of Georgetown, Inc. leaders said at Tuesday evening’s Corp Town Hall, hosted by the organization’s leadership to reflect on current operations.

The event, which was led by Corp CEO Alex Gong (SFS ’20) and Director of People Operations Lindsey Watson (COL ’19), drew a crowd of about 26 students — mostly Corp employees.

The event aimed to identify areas of improvement for the student-run business, according to the event’s Facebook page.

The idea for the town hall originated when leaders recognized the number of changes that The Corp has made in recent years, including its decision to go cashless in February and the opening of new storefronts such as Grounded, a coffee shop that opened next to Hilltoss in the Healey Family Student Center in January.

Gong hoped that the public forum would create a platform for students to reflect on the recent changes made in the organization and discuss potential future ideas.

“I think over the past two years or so, The Corp has been

making a lot of changes to be more inclusive, to be more sensitive and to contribute more positively to the community,” Gong said. “But so far, we have not had any formal public forums through which we can collect feedback and really connect with people on that level.”

Attendees broke into four groups to discuss specific topics: diversity, sensitivity and inclusivity; customer experience; product offerings and affordability; and community relationships. The themes were identified to reflect The Corp’s areas for improvement, Gong said.

“We focused a lot on the internal and external issues that I think are plaguing our company, and we touched upon the issue areas that I think are relevant to the community at large,” Gong said. “We had a lot of productive discussion.”

When the groups debriefed after the discussions, students shared potential problems in the four themes. They then identified steps that can be taken to change operations, a process that yielded new ideas, according to Watson.

“It was helpful to hear some things that we can improve upon and just ideas that we had never thought of ourselves,” Watson said. Going forward, The Corp is “trying to continue to make sure that we’re im-

proving and implementing the things that were said.”

Students who discussed the theme of diversity said The Corp should reassess and modify its hiring process by making sure that application readers are trained to select a diverse range of applicants. Updating the application process and questions, which have changed little in recent years, would help diversify The Corp and eliminate biases toward hiring, students said.

Developing a more professionally focused hiring process, rather than a socially focused one, could also help alleviate stereotypes associated with various Corp storefronts, students said.

Enhancing transparency emerged as a solution to increasing diversity and forging stronger relationships with community members, according to the students at the event. One way The Corp should increase transparency, according to the students, regards The Corp’s status as a work-study employer: a fact that few students know. Increasing awareness that The Corp offers work-study opportunities would not only be more transparent to the community but could also diversify The Corp’s applicant pool.

Students from multiple discussion groups noted that new-hire training and training

throughout the semester could be redeveloped to improve storefront service and the organization as a whole.

Customer service would particularly benefit as a result of better training, the students said. While these improvements could take several forms, ranging from new hires shadowing experienced employees to limiting phone usage during workers’ shifts, attendees said that bettering service could make a difference in day-to-day operations.

Improved training could also benefit affordability. Increased efficiency during shifts would allow storefronts to cut unnecessary shifts and save money, thus lowering prices — an important consideration, particularly as minimum wage in Washington, D.C., continues to rise.

Watson and Gong both said they hope to have similar events throughout their time in their positions, which they are set to hold through March 2019.

“One of the biggest takeaways for me from today was making sure that we don’t just wait for people to come to us, but that we go to them, and that we’re making more intentional efforts to reach out to groups and other student leaders to show that we’re really trying to be better,” Gong said.

SHEEL PATEL/ THE HOYA

Georgetown students, most of them employees of Students of Georgetown, Inc., discuss the student-run business’s culture and relationship, focusing on the club’s diversity and transparency with the community at a town hall Wednesday.

SOPHIE ROSENZWEIG Hoya Staff Writer

Fascism is on the rise in the United States and could dismantle the nation’s democratic norms, former Secretary of State and Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy Madeleine Albright said at an event to discuss her new book, “Fascism: A Warning,” on Monday afternoon.

Albright said the book intends to warn readers about the dangers of modern fascism. Albright spoke with School of Foreign Service Dean Joel Hellman before taking questions from the crowd at Monday’s event in Lohrfink Auditorium.

Albright described a fascist society as one with a leader belonging to a hyper-nationalist “tribal party” who violates civil liberties and uses propaganda techniques to force their message onto the population.

“It’s not easy to define fascism, frankly,” Albright said.

“It’s a way of organizing the government in a way to control everybody and really have an opportunity to deliver this message and aggregate power to himself and really undermine democratic institutions.”

A fascist leader is a dictator who presents him or herself to the population as the solution to grievances, according to Albright. The difficulty in defining a fascist is the paradoxical nature of fascism, Albright said.

“A dictator might not become a fascist but a fascist is always a dictator,” Albright said.

Though she said she would not call President Donald Trump a fascist, Albright is concerned by his disrespect toward democratic institutions and belief he is above the law.

“I do think he is the most undemocratic president in history, because the issue here is that he has identified himself in a group and really wonders what the civil liberties are of the other,” Albright said. “There are a number of similar tendencies, but I would not call him a fascist.”

Albright described herself as a “centrist” who believes in compromise. The extreme right and the extreme left, she said, only serve to feed the growing division between the country’s “haves” and “have-nots.”

“The far right and far left is helping to divide the population, and what we really should be doing is trying to find common interest and common ground and solve problems,” Albright said. “I believe in government, but in order to make it work you do have to have problem solvers that understand common ground.”

When researching the growing fascist leaders around the world, Albright said, she was most surprised that most leaders were either elected or gained their power constitutionally.

This revelation points to the grievances of the “have-not” populations across the globe who elect them, according to Albright.

As the title suggests, Albright’s book is a warning against fascism largely based on the historical context around the division between people who feel they are not being heard by their governments.

“I think we can learn from history and the fact that the people who want to become fascists are using the democratic institutions that they have and really manipulating them in a way that they are going to undermine democracy,” Albright said.

Shifting focus to U.S. international relations, Albright said the United States should continue to be involved internationally, as it makes the world safer.

“President Clinton was the first one to use the term ‘indispensable nation,’ but there is nothing about the term indispensable that means alone,” Albright said. “It just means we need to be engaged, so my sense is that America needs to be engaged with others.”

One of Albright’s biggest concerns in today’s America is complacency in responding to threats to democratic norms.

Democracy is resilient but fragile, Albright said; she encouraged listeners to take steps to preserve democratic norms, even at the local level of government.

“I do worry that we are complacent, that’s the part that really worries me at the moment,” Albright said. “It took me a long time to find my voice — until I was at a high-level job when I was 55 — and now I’m not going to be quiet.”

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018

THE HOYA

A5

22 Faculty Members Selected to Join Gender Equity Task Force WILL CASSOU Hoya Staff Writer

Twenty-two members and two special advisers were selected to serve on the Gender Equity Task Force, a committee created in March 2018 to address issues of gender inequity among the university’s staff and senior leadership, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia announced April 13.

Jane Aiken, vice dean and professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, has been selected to lead the 22-member task force. Aiken served on a similar task force at the University of South Carolina and chaired the Arizona Governor’s Task Force on AIDS before coming to Georgetown.

Members of the task force repre-

sent the main campus, the Medical Center and the Law Center, as well as a wide array of departments, including the African American Studies department and the oncology department among many others.

Diversity was a key consideration when selecting members for the task force, according to Aiken.

“I’m working closely with President DeGioia to assemble a diverse team of faculty from different disciplines with expertise that would be helpful to this work,” Aiken said in a March interview with THE HOYA. “Georgetown is a large and diverse place, and tapping into the broad expertise we have here is both a challenge and an exciting opportunity.”

The task force, which held its inaugural meeting this week, aims

to further gender equity among the university’s staff and senior leadership, Aiken said.

Aiken oversaw the selection process, which consisted of meetings with over 100 faculty members and a consultation period. The process concluded with nominations from the faculty senate and official appointments by the president.

The faculty senate is a 75-member governing body that includes faculty members from all three Georgetown campuses. It advises the university on academic, administrative and financial issues, and appoints faculty to other committees including the University Committee on Rank and Tenure, the Grievance Code Committee and the Faculty Responsibilities Committee.

The task force is set to meet once more as a full body before organiz-

ing into smaller subcommittees, according to Rachel Pugh, Georgetown’s senior director for strategic communications.

These smaller committees are delving deeper into research that will address the task force’s four main areas of focus: studying practices that have improved gender equity among the Georgetown faculty, assessing how current practices affect gender equity among faculty and senior leadership, recommending steps to improve gender equity among faculty and senior leadership and recommending methods to measure continuing progress.

Rosemary Kilkenny, vice president for institutional diversity and equity, and Lisa Brown, vice president and general counsel for the university, are serving as special advisers to the task force

but will remain separate from the general body members because of their current roles in Georgetown’s administration, according to Aiken.

“Rosemary Kilkenny and Lisa Brown have unique expertise to offer in their roles at the university and we look forward to consulting them on a range of topics and will use them as resources to gather additional information and insight,” Aiken wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “Because they are involved in the governance of our existing policies, we created special advisor roles to leverage their expertise while maintaining the independence of the task force.”

Kilkenny said she looks forward to the ways this task force will further Georgetown’s commitment to gender equity.

“A great deal of progress has been made toward gender equity at Georgetown,” Kilkenny said.

“This task force builds on the efforts of so many community members, who in the past have worked to establish these programs and many others, and gives us the opportunity to do even more.”

Aiken said she is eager to begin her work as a part of the task force.

“We are fortunate to have a number of people who are willing to serve as an advisory group,” Aiken wrote.

DeGioia echoed this sentiment in the April 13 news release.

“In this moment, we have the opportunity to look ahead to the important and necessary work that remains to achieve greater gender equity in our community,” DeGioia wrote.

Students Declare Candidacy for April GUSA Senate Election ELIZABETH ASH Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University Student Association senate elections for sophomore, junior and senior representatives are set to run between Wednesday and Thursday evening, following a current GUSA senate campaign to promote greater diversity and inclusivity within the body.

Six rising seniors, 12 rising juniors and 13 rising sophomores have declared candidacy in the upcoming race. Each grade receives six seats in spring elections. Another round of voting will elect seven freshmen and three at-large representatives next September.

This year marks the first spring elections for GUSA senators. A campuswide referendum passed Feb. 22 switched the senate from geographic representation, which divided voting districts by dorm region on campus, to yearbased representation. This referendum also moved upperclass senate elections to April.

After the passage of the referendum, current GUSA senators Juan Martinez (SFS ’20) and Madison Álvarez (SFS ’21) planned Senate Outreach Week from April 4 to 8 to empower students

who might not have otherwise run for GUSA senate. Martinez serves as chair of the equity and access committee and Álvarez is vice-chair of the GUSA’s socio-economic advocacy policy coalition. Álvarez said they reached out to students to offer mentorship for those who may feel intimated or excluded from GUSA. “We wanted to let these students know that they are welcome and wanted by the Senate, educate them on the often confusing internal structure of the Senate, and offer ourselves as mentors for those who wanted extra support during their campaign,” Álvarez wrote in an email to THE HOYA. The week included Facebook publicity campaigns with the hashtags #BecauseInclusivityMatters and #BecauseDiversityMatters, as well as office hours during which prospective candidates could meet with former senators for advice.

Martinez said inspiration for the project came from his personal experiences with GUSA senate campaigns.

“The original inspiration for Senate Outreach Week came to me my freshman year. As a queer Latino and an undocumented student, the idea of putting my-

self out there in running for Senate was terrifying,” Martinez wrote. “For one, friends who held similar identities to me were simply not involved in GUSA and could therefore not provide advice on how to run a senate campaign took into account my various identities.” Álvarez agreed, adding she would not have run for senate without the email of support she received from former GUSA Vice President Jessica Andino (COL ’18).

“When I got an email from the outgoing VP (a woman) offering herself as a source of support for any women who took the risk of running, I decided to go for it, even though I was the only female contending for an At-Large seat,” Álvarez wrote.

Giving back through mentorship is crucial for GUSA’s future diversity, Álvarez said.

“Now that I have the chance to mentor other new candidates in the same way I once was, I feel like I’m giving back to the same community that once supported me in my time of need.”

The outgoing senate class has the best socio-economic and LGBTQ representation compared to previous years, according to demographic data compiled by

Martinez and Álvarez. Forty-three percent of senators identified as a part of the LGBTQ community, compared with an estimated 4.1 percent of the national population. However, the survey showed underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities and religious minorities.

Candidates who attended office hours praised the program for providing support and helpful advice.

Candidate Kimberly Nuñez (COL ’21) attended office hours with Martinez and credited him for her decision to run.

“While I was considering running for GUSA senator, he made me realize the extent to which being a student senator can contribute to enforcing the action that is needed on this campus,” Nuñez wrote in an email to THE HOYA. Senators offered honest insight, according to candidate Jaydon Skinner (COL ’21).

“They were very transparent about their experiences in the Senate, and more than willing to share their advice with me about running,” Skinner wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “I left feeling encouraged to make an election bid.”

Current GUSA senator Eliza Lafferty (COL ’21), who said she intends to continue hosting weekly office hours if re-elected, commended the Senate Outreach Week for promoting diversity and gender equality.

“I’m so proud of how many female candidates and people of color are running,” Lafferty wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “Last election, and in the past, the senate has been a male-dominated entity. It is incredibly empowering to see such a strong, diverse group seeking leadership positions.”

Although attendance at office hours was not as high as was hoped, Martinez is optimistic for the future of the program and its impact.

“Taking into consideration the short timeline we had due to the changing in elections’ time I would say outreach was pretty successful,” Martinez wrote.

“Although attendance was not spectacular at every session, an overwhelming majority of individuals that attended went on to sign up to run this elections cycle.”

Senator Chad Gasman (COL ’20) said the week was “marginally successful,” but was doubtful about progress. Gasman said

more students of color are running this year than before, but fewer women are running than ran last year. Álvarez and Martinez acknowledged it is too early to assess Senate Outreach Week’s success. However, a March 25 amendment to GUSA bylaws, which modified the candidacy registration form to ask optional questions about identity, seeks to track diversity in the senate.

Students can vote at the GUSA Election Commission’s booth in Red Square on Thursday afternoon or via HoyaLink. The GUSA Election Commission hopes to release results by Friday at 1 a.m., Election Commissioner Minji Doh (SFS ’19) said.

The Election Commission will compile responses and present findings to the senate, according to Doh. “The data collected in this form will only be viewed by members of the Election Commission, who are authorized to handle private information, and under no circumstance be revealed outside of this body,” Doh wrote. “The information is collected to be used to form non-identifying aggregate statistics that will be presented at a public meeting of the GUSA Senate.”

A6

news

THE HOYA

friday, april 20, 2018

Students Question GUPD Fees Tax on Uber, Lyft Proposed to Boost Metro Funding FEES, from A1

Engagement includes information during student leader training sessions on how to effectively plan for the year, Cohen Derr said. The CSE also helps clubs pay for security when clubs cannot pay.

Mondolfi and Navarro said the costs of Georgetown Event Management Services fees, which are payments to rent major event spaces on campus, are also significant and high.

For example, from July 1, 2017 through February 22, 2018, SAC spent $32,765.82 on GEMS services, in addition to the $10,218.38 spent on police fees.

“You have to wonder, ‘What else could that have gone to?’”

Navarro said in an interview with The Hoya. “It’s a big source of frustration for us.”

Mondolfi said SAC and the administration have made progress on providing free or inexpensive event spaces for students. For example, spaces in the Healey Family Student Center are free to rent for student groups.

But a lack of engagement on the issue between GUPD, administration and students has led to “astronomical” security costs, Navarro said.

Since the Georgetown University Student Association senate passed a resolution unanimously expressing concerns about the security costs in April 2017, Mondolfi and Hunter Estes (SFS ’19), a former GUSA senator who introduced the resolution, said the administration, GUPD and student leaders have had little discussion about this issue.

While Estes met with GUPD

for a preliminary conversation last spring and Mondolfi met with Cohen Derr in the fall to discuss security costs, little concrete action has been taken.

GUPD has not worked with the administration to evaluate alternate funding sources for event security, according to GUPD Chief Jay Gruber.

“To date the issue of having the University fund GUPD to staff these events has not been discussed,” Gruber wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Estes also questioned GUPD’s discretion to determine whether an event requires their security and how much the service would cost. Generally, Mondolfi and Gruber both said, a student group is aware if their event will require security and submits an event security request to GUPD. However, GUPD can ultimately decide whether an event needs security.

“We occasionally reach out to a group hosting an event if they have not notified us,” Gruber wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Estes said he is concerned this policy could deter student groups from hosting events that engage with controversial topics.

“They make very clear in their policy statement online that they reserve full authority to send GUPD officers to any event that they deem of a controversial nature, a controversial topic or anything that could elicit some kind of protest,” Estes said in an interview with The Hoya.

“There are a million topics that we should be discussing that, at any given time, could be deemed controversial.”

While Estes also noted he supports security measures, he

said student input must be included in future policies and the four-hour minimum for hiring GUPD officers must be re-evaluated.

“No student events, besides conferences, are running for four hours,” Estes said. “You have these hour-long speaking events and they automatically get charged four hours.”

Both Mondolfi and Navarro stressed the complexity for SAC that unpredictable GUPD security costs create.

“We have no way to estimate what their costs will be for events,” Navarro said.

GUPD determines the number of officers required to be at events and the length of time for which they are hired, which makes it difficult to properly account for security costs.

SAC-funded groups are not the only student organizations that struggle with GUPD security costs. The Georgetown University Lecture Fund, which often hosts prominent speakers who draw large crowds, has been met with setbacks when trying to meet security costs, according to former Lecture Fund Chair Aiden Johnson (COL ’19).

“In an effort to fund the vital assistance that GUPD provides to our events, the Lecture Fund has often had to allocate significant portions of our budget or appeal to various administrative departments to cover those costs,” Johnson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Eleven Lecture Fund events have required GUPD security since spring 2016, according to Lecture Fund Chair Nicole Heitsenrether (SFS ’19). She said that the Lecture Fund has been

able to receive assistance from the administration with GUPD fees.

“The Lecture Fund wants to acknowledge the help and support that both the administration and GUPD have given us, while also recognizing that security costs are a burden that many other student groups face,” Heitsenrether wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Regardless of what steps are taken next, Mondolfi said he does not believe raising the student activity fee is the solution.

“We could use more money for clubs,” Mondolfi said. “Instead of taxing ourselves more, we should find ways to make our current budget more efficient and I think this is one.”

Johnson said leaders of the Lecture Fund hope to work with involved parties to use the student activity fee appropriately.

“We look forward to participating in any upcoming dialogue between student groups, the administration, and the GUPD to find a solution that both equitably and responsibly uses student funds while also respecting GUPD’s financial and logistical needs,” Johnson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

While working with the administration, GUPD and students to find a compromise will take time, Mondolfi said it is a worthwhile effort.

“Even if we fix this today, this wouldn’t kick in until fiscal year ’20,” he said. “But I think we should start.”

Hoya Staff Writer Christian Paz contributed reporting.

UBER, from A1 Bowser’s Budget and Financial Plan for fiscal year 2019, a $14.5 billion budget, proposes funding the commitment through several channels which will remain sustainable and competitive in the future.

About $80 million of the annual revenue will come from increased taxes, including the rideshare tax.

The commercial property tax rate is set to increase by 2 cents and the sales tax will rise to 6 percent from 5.75 percent.

The tax on “for-hire” vehicle services such as Uber and Lyft will rise to 4.75 percent from 1pecent and is projected to account for nearly 10 percent of the $178.5 million allocated to WMATA funding.

Any increase in the tax will ultimately be reflected in the cost paid by users of ride-sharing apps, according to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

This increase would bring the cost of using ride-sharing services up to that of taxis, which are taxed at 50 cents per trip, according to a March 21 Washington Post article.

The increased tax burden will likely fall on riders unable to access Metro transportation, Lyft Communication Manager Campbell Matthews wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“While we are supportive of efforts to improve transit options, it is also critical that rideshare remains affordable for the tens of thousands who rely on Lyft in DC – particularly those who live further from transit or need a ride when public transit doesn’t operate,” Matthews wrote.

The announcement of the tax follows an expanding partnership between the District and Uber, first announced at an April 11 panel discussion with Bowser and Khosrowshahi at Uber’s new Greenlight Hub, a location where drivers can receive inperson support.

Prior to the funding commitment, Metro was the only subway system in the United States that lacked consistent funding.

“Achieving a dedicated funding source for Metro is truly a historic occasion,” Evans said in the April 13 news release. “With these resources, soon, Metro will be able to adequately address deferred maintenance issues with the goal of making the system reliable and safe for riders.”

The tax on for-hire vehicle services follows the success of a similar policy passed last fall in Chicago to raise the tax to 52 cents from 37 to fund the Chicago Transit Authority.

Uber Weighs Plans for DC Pantry Project Aims Transportation Network To Address Food Insecurity josh metzger

Special to The Hoya

Uber is seeking to expand beyond the ride-sharing industry in Washington, D.C., to provide a larger transportation network for District residents, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a panel discussion on the future of mobility with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on April 11.

Uber’s new Greenlight Hub, a driver resource center in Ward 7, hosted the event, led by Robert Puentes, the CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, an independent think tank dedicated to improving transportation and its public and private leadership in order to increase the system’s mobility, safety and sustainability.

Bowser and Khosrowshahi emphasized the need to ensure that District residents all have equal access to the transportation services developed by Uber through increased safety measures, affordability and equity, while stressing the importance of resolving disparities in transportation access.

“Urban transportation has a major impact on the daily lives of all D.C. residents,” Bowser said at the event. “That is why we are committed to being the capital of mobility innovation and continue to invest in strategies that make our commutes safer, stronger, more reliable and more efficient for residents across all eight wards.”

Khosrowshahi challenged Bowser’s plan to raise taxes on ride-hailing companies like Uber to generate sufficient funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s funding package announced earlier this year.

In the plan, which was approved Friday, taxes on Uber will increase to 4.5 percent from 1 percent to fund a revitalization plan for the Metro transit system, which has suffered from safety and reliability issues, as well as a declining ridership.

Bowser defended the plan and said that it was the best option for the District moving forward.

“That is the package that we think is the most fair — that hits property owners, it hits visitors, it hits residents and it hits the ridesharing services — that we think is best for the city,” Bowser said.

But Khosrowshahi said the tax is a reallocation of similar resources and argued the plan was taxing one form of transportation for another, rather than a productive tax.

Uber’s D.C. Director of Public Relations Colin Tooze said the company does not see itself in competition with Metro or public transportation but rather sees itself as a part of a “complex ecosystem” of different transportation options.

Uber’s recent acquisitions and partnerships demonstrate the company’s interest in moving into the public space, however.

One recent acquisition, Masabi, a London-based mobile ticketing service, will allow Uber to integrate into public transportation.

“You can use your Uber app to take a train, to take a subway, to take buses again on a global basis so that we are promoting masstransit solutions as well,” Khosrowshahi said.

Uber’s recent acquisitions include bike-share startup JUMP and mobile ticketing service Masabi, both of which allow the company to move into new transportation areas.

Uber’s partnership with SharedStreets allows D.C. and the company to share transportation data. Aggregated traffic information will help cities solve congestion, Khosrowshahi said. Uber Movement uses this aggregated user data to work with cities to improve urban planning.

The panelists said they hope D.C. residents will be empowered by the wide range of transportation options planned to become available to them through the public-private partnerships, allowing them to have easier transportation throughout the city.

“Uber is transitioning from being a service that allows people to request cars at the tap of a button, to being a mobility platform that brings together all kinds of ways to get from A to B,” Tooze said.

food, from A1 The University View According to university spokesperson Bethany Imondi, resources offered by the Georgetown Scholarship Program — a source of financial and academic support for first-generation and low-income students — serve students who are vulnerable to food insecurity. One such resource, the “GSP Break Grocery Stipend,” provided $50,000 of GSP funds in the last year to spend on food when campus dining options were closed.

Imondi also cited new food options and more flexible meal plans implemented on campus this year as helping better meet the needs of the community.

“Georgetown meets the fullneed of students who require financial assistance paying for college, which includes tuition, housing and meal expenses,” Imondi wrote in an email to The Hoya.

But for GSP student Elisabeth Kutek (MSB ’21), this assistance is still not enough to alleviate vulnerability to hunger. Kutek said time proves to be as much of a constraint as does money, as she struggles to find options available on her meal plan that fit into her busy schedule.

Kutek gets out of class at 3:15 p.m. most days, when the upstairs portion of O’Donovan Hall is closed and healthy on-campus dining options are scarce. She then often attends events or meetings that end after Leo’s closes at 8 p.m.

She said that the late-night options of Royal Jacket and Bulldog Tavern do little to satisfy her hunger.

“It sucks to say that you have food insecurity and for people to say, ‘But you could eat this,’” Kutek said. “I might want a healthier option, but because I can’t afford a healthier option, I’m not allowed one? It’s interesting how food can turn into a privilege.”

Mariama Barry (NHS ’19) said her experiences with food insecurity arise from her dietary restrictions as a Muslim student, which preclude her from eating products that are not certified to be halal.

She said she constantly worried about finding nutritional, reliable and affordable options at Leo’s before ultimately deciding this burden was not worth the price of her meal plan.

Each semester since her freshman year, Barry cut down her meal plan until she fully eliminated it this semester. She said that since she started cooking, her health has improved.

“Last semester I lost like 15 pounds, whereas this semester, I am staying at a constant weight level,” Barry said.

A Teacher’s Take Psychology professor Paul Merritt, who himself had brushes with food insecurity during his time in college, said skipping meals could have deleterious effects on students’ learning and well-being.

“When you don’t have sufficient nutrition, you can’t function; you can’t sustain your attention. Your mind wanders; you get headaches,” Merritt said in an interview with The Hoya. “Worrying about where you’re going to find your next meal, that also has some pretty significant consequences for cognition and mood and health.”

Inspired by his college struggles with food insecurity and the findings of the Wisconsin HOPE LabTemple University study, Merritt sent out a survey to his two nearly 100-student psychology classes asking for their experiences April 5.

Merritt found the results shocking. Of the 168 respondents, 11 students said that in the last month they did not eat for three or more full days because they did not have enough money for food. Seventeen students skipped eating for a full day within the past month, and 20 students said they lost weight because they could not afford food.

“This whole thing just really upsets me,” Merritt said. “This place is stressful enough.”

tem, where you’re still answering Google forms and filling out that you’re going and what you’re getting, but it’s pretty much an open space,” Barnes said. Álvarez said that while her hope was to have a Hoya Hub prototype operational by the end of the semester, the administration has stalled progress in securing and even inspecting potential sites, lengthening the timeline.

Barnes and Álvarez also noted that they hope to someday expand the Hoya Hub beyond food options to include items like pots and pans, school supplies and clothing for students to borrow.

“We also want to be a source of advocacy in the long term, so once we are able to meet full need, to work to actively combat the stigma around food insecurity and look at the larger systemic issues that lead to this problem existing in the first place,” Álvarez said.

Students Respond Establishing a food pantry on campus has been a focus of student activists’ efforts to alleviate food insecurity.

Madison Álvarez (SFS ’21), who now is a deputy chief of staff for the GUSA administration of Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) and Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) after having previously serving as a vice chair of GUSA’s socio-economic advocacy policy team, said the movement has a long legacy at Georgetown.

“About eight years ago, a bunch of admins got together and tried to create a food pantry, and there was no centralized space,” Álvarez said.

“And without student support, things tend to fall apart. So we’re kind of picking up those pieces.”

The efforts to create a food pantry called “Hoya Hub” are being spearheaded by the GUSA socioeconomic advocacy team and supported by a laundry list of campus organizations and off-campus partners, such as Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Hungry Harvest, a company that delivers misshapen produce, are also set to contribute food to stock the pantry.

Caroline Barnes (COL ’19), the previous GUSA administration’s socio-economic advocacy chair and Hoya Hub coordinator, said the initiative was modeled after existing food pantries at universities across the country, particularly the student-run food pantry at The George Washington University known as “The Store.”

Though the Hoya Hub team is still seeking a permanent location for the pantry, the current plan envisions a five-year, three-phase model, including beginning by providing nonperishables as part of a pilot program to be improved upon based on need and feedback, and the eventual establishment of a permanent space.

“It’s a trust and honor sys-

A Greater Significance Fax Victor (COL ’19), the GSP outreach and strategic membership chair, is collaborating with the Hoya Hub initiative after conducting research about food pantries at peer institutions, such as Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, over the summer.

But Victor stressed that once Hoya Hub is established, he would like to see changes implemented at the policy level.

“Our next task is figuring out how we can deal with food insecurity on a greater scale,” Victor said. “A food pantry is great, but it’s like a band aid effort.”

Specifically, Victor hopes to challenge the default 14-mealsper-week option for students on financial aid, which he said leaves students short one meal per day.

“So the fact that we have, as the default option, 14 meals weekly, that means that seven meals are gone,” Victor said in an interview with The Hoya.

“How can we expect students in general, not just GSP students, to really produce and be their best self with only two-thirds of the nutrition?”

Rice agrees. He wants the university to be more transparent and informative about food options on and around campus during the New Student Orientation program so that students can make smart purchasing decisions and nutritional choices.

In the meantime, Rice said hunger may prevent some students from fulfilling their potential in learning.

“Maybe if they understood how many students do go some days without eating, maybe they would address it,” Rice said. “It’s a lot of students who don’t eat, two, three days sometimes.”

News

friday, April 20, 2018

THE HOYA

A7

Metro Plans Engine Changes WMATA to Introduce Following Incidents, Injuries Smartphone Payment App Karena Landler Hoya Staff Writer

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans to make engine changes to address unexpected engine failures that affected two Metrobuses and led to decision that pulled 164 buses from service March 28.

The buses were moving at speeds under 10 mph when the engine failures occurred, causing two people to sustain minor injuries as automatic brakes kicked in to stop the malfunctioning vehicle. While the other 162 buses in the fleet did not show signs of engine failure, concerns about safety led to their removal from service.

“While we have not yet identified a root cause for the two engine stalls, the experts have made recommendations that could reduce the probability of this type of incident in the future,” Joe Leader, WMATA chief operating officer, said in an April 10 statement.

Experts from New Flyer, the manufacturer of the buses, and WMATA have been testing and examining the buses. The buses

are relatively new, having been manufactured mostly in 2015-16, and are still under warranty.

While WMATA uses other bus models from New Flyer, the company believes other models are not affected by the malfunction — only buses operating in the Bladensburg Bus division in northeast Washington, D.C., and the Four Mile Bus division in Arlington, Va., may be at risk according to a March statement from WMATA. One such recommendation Metro plans to implement is increase the “low idle” setting in the engine from 700 rpm to 800 rpm, according to the statement. Experts hope this setting, which is still within manufacturer recommended limits, would reduce the probability of a stall in the future.

A similar problem plagued buses from North American Bus Industries’ hybrid models in 2014, though those concerns have since been identified and resolved.

Testing is continuing with the use of high-tech monitoring equipment on test runs of the buses under regular conditions, though without passengers. If during these trials buses encoun-

ter similar engine problems, the equipment will be able to gather data about a failure and inspectors will be able to examine it.

However, if the test runs proceed without incident, Leader said customers could see the buses return to service in the coming weeks.

The fleet of buses removed from service makes up about 10 percent of the Metrobus force.

Although about 80 reserve buses have been employed, they do not fully account for the pulled New Flyer fleet. “More than 1 percent of scheduled daily bus trips have not run” since the incidents, and some customers have experienced delays, according to an April 10 WTOP article.

WMATA has clarified that delays resulting from these safety tests will not be subject to its Rush Hour Promise, which guarantees riders who wait for buses that are more than 15 minutes behind schedule.

“While we know that some bus customers have experienced varying degrees of inconvenience as a result of this process, Metro’s commitment to you is that ‘safety trumps service,’” Leader said.

Aaron Weinmann for The Hoya

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has pulled 164 buses from service for inspection and repairs after engine failures on two buses caused two people to suffer minor injuries.

Jessica Lin

Hoya Staff Writer

A new fare payment app that would allow Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority riders to pay using smartphones is planned to launch next year, WMATA announced April 10.

The app, designed to serve as a virtual alternative to the SmarTrip cards currently required to pay fare, would enable passengers to tap their smartphones to pass through fare gates, according to the April 10 news release.

The mobile fare payment platform would minimize costs for Metro and save time for riders, according to WMATA General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld.

“Mobile fare payment is the future of transit, giving customers the ability simply to tap their phone and go, all without stopping at a fare vending machine or using a separate card,” Wiedefeld said in the news release.

“Not only will this be a better, easier experience, but will cost less to operate.”

Through the app, users would be able to check fares, obtain real-time service information and add money to their SmarTrip accounts. Riders can also set their balance to reload automatically.

Sean Hampton (COL ’20), a regular Metro rider, takes the Orange, Blue and Silver lines from Rosslyn to Capital South and back three times a week for an internship. He said the ability to view his card balance on the app would ease his commute.

“I think the most helpful feature would be the ability to check how much is on your card in somewhere that’s not the station,” Hampton said. “There have been times where I’ve been in a rush, and I get up to the stall, and I find out I only have $1.”

The new program addresses some of the complications that caused a similar pilot program for mobile fare payment to fail two years ago, according WMATA Manager of Media Relations Sherri Ly. “[The new program] builds upon the existing SmarTrip

Sheel Patel For The Hoya

The mobile app would lessen costs facing riders and increase efficiency, according to WMATA General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld. platform, rather than a wholesale change to an open payment system,” Ly wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The technology, approach and solution is different, the mobile fare payment system leverages the existing infrastructure and does not require modification of hardware.”

The app attempts to improve on the service of existing fare vending machines, which are often inconsistent, Hampton said.

“Sometimes I’ll be trying to catch the [Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle] bus that comes back from Rosslyn, and then I find out I have to go put in exit fare, which is not that easy to do,” Hampton said.

“Often, the machines that take cards don’t work and you have to use cash, and I don’t always have one or two dollar bills on me.”

The app is part of WMATA’s ongoing initiative to improve its fare collection program, which includes upgrading existing fareboxes, faregates and fare vending machines, according to the April 10 news release. The initiative is set to be completed by the end of 2019, and the new models of equipment, which would be replacing 15-yearold machines, are set to be installed by 2020.

The app attempts to save money in the long run, as WMATA would be able to limit the number of vending machines needed in stations for riders.

“By accepting mobile payments, we can reduce the number of vending machines in stations, which will save several millions of dollars annually and more than offset the cost of mobile implementation,” Ly wrote.

Hampton noted having both platforms would allow for protection in the case of a technical malfunction.

“We’ve seen the entire Wi-Fi at Georgetown go out for a day,” Hampton said. “I have no doubt in my mind that the D.C. Metro can have some sort of technical failure, and I can only imagine the kind of trouble that they’d have in the city if all of sudden everyone was unable to use their Metro app.”

Despite potential technical challenges, Greg Garback, executive officer of WMATA’s finance department, said he trusts the app’s technology, noting it will make metro riding more efficient.

“It’s remarkably elegant in its simplicity,” Garback said in an interview with The Washington Post.

A8

news

THE HOYA

friday, April 20, 2018

Author Junot Diaz: Promote Solidarity in Communities of Color diaz, from A1

Aaron weinmann for the hoya

Georgetown Israel Alliance organized its first annual Israel Peace Week, which aimed to encourage dialogue surrounding potential peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

17,000 and 35,000 Haitians in what is now known as the Parsley Massacre.

Diaz is currently working on a book that addresses the uptick in neoliberal racism and the way societies come enter modernity. Neoliberal racism is the idea that we live in a post-racial world, and that the ideas of racism have been completely dismantled or blunted, Diaz said.

“Nowadays I’m thinking about how prophetic the regimes of oppression and exclusion on the island on which I was raised are,” Diaz said. “The violence within the Trujillo regime seems to have been weaponized, if only by coincidence, by the larger powers on our planet.”

“The Dominican Republic is one of the few New World African-descended nations that has an anti-black genocide at the center of its history,” Diaz said.

The idea that racism is no longer a prominent issue has manifested in an increase in white supremacy, Diaz said.

Educational institutions that have curtailed their efforts to tackle racism have enabled attitudes of white supremacy to flourish, according to Diaz.

The number of extremist hate groups in the United States has increased by 4 percent

since 2016, according to a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“The neoliberal evacuation of public education across the developed West has created an enormous opportunity for opportunistic ideologies like the kinds of white supremacies we are seeing to spread across the U.S., Western Europe and beyond,” Diaz said.

This evacuation is the culmination of the idea that there is no more work to be done with respect to racism, Diaz said.

While white supremacy negatively affects people of all races and religions, neoliberal racism is equally problematic because it means society is overlooking racial tensions, according to Diaz.

“We are in a society that seems less willing to engage in any type of critical race approach but has become much more enamored or addicted to racial oppressive agendas,” Diaz said.

In some ways, the identities of people with different non-white identities have fused into “things which the West fears,” often mobilizing “white supremacy factions and formations to make an argument that their sacred homelands and civilizations are under terrible threat,” Diaz said.

To prevent instances of

white supremacy and neoliberal racism, it is important that communities of color band together and demonstrate solidarity with one another, Diaz said. Countries like the Dominican Republic and Brazil have convinced societies that their people are not black so that they cannot gain solidarity around their blackness and gain the power to rebel, according to Diaz.

A product of the confused identities perpetuated by a system of racial governance, the problems of white supremacy can become systemic, regardless of the presence of actual white supremacists, Diaz said.

“We’re just a bunch of white people in colored masks,” Diaz said. “Instead of building our solidarities and understanding that our solidarities are what’s going to overthrow this system, we’re building these wild exclusionary tactics.”

Balancing an identity built upon black culture with the desire to belong in a white environment can be difficult, especially at predominantly white institutions like Georgetown. As a result of this identity struggle, many students feel grief about going to Georgetown or similar institutions, Diaz said. However, Diaz believes this grief can be overcome through friendship.

Georgetown Israel Alliance Hosts Inaugural Israel Peace Week Sarah Mendelsohn Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown Israel Alliance’s inaugural Israel Peace Week, which consists of five events aimed at fostering meaningful conversations about a peaceful solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, began on April 13.

The weeklong event began with a discussion with former Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice Tzipi Livini last Friday.

A vigil to commemorate Yom Hazikaron, a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, was held Wednesday.

GIA also hosted Uri Keidar, executive director of Israel Hofsheet, a grassroots movement that advocates for civil rights, Wednesday. The week culminated with a celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary of independence, “Israel Day,” on Thursday.

The week was dedicated to understanding steps that Israel has taken to achieve peace with Palestine and to explore plans for reconciliation, according to GIA President Tanner Larkin (SFS ’20), who hopes to encourage meaningful conversations about potential solutions for peace (Full disclosure: Larkin is a member of The Hoya’s editorial board).

“We launched Israel Peace Week because we want to change the conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and get people talking about peaceful, win-win solutions to the conflict,” Larkin wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Too often, the conflict is approached in terms of a zero-sum game, and we’ve seen campaigns that are more about tearing

down one side than building anything constructive.”

GIA cultural chair Andrew Boas (SFS ’20) said the student group has tried to provide an immersive opportunity for Georgetown students who have ties with Israeli culture throughout the week.

GIA invited Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine to participate in the events of Israel Peace Week, according to Boas and Larkin.

SJP President Ahmad AlHusseini (NHS ’20) said that SJP plans to protest the celebration of Israel Day, which is known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” in Arabic.

“SJP’s only involvement in this week’s events will be protesting their disgusting celebration of the 70th year anniversary of the Nakba, which forced out 700,000 Palestinian natives from their homeland as the human price for creating the state of Israel,” Al-Husseini wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Larkin said that Israel Peace Week neither presents a onesided version of the conflict nor ignores the suffering of Palestinians, despite criticism of the event.

“I understand why someone might think that, but if they were to come to an IPW event, they would see that was not remotely the case,” Larkin wrote.

SJP treasurer Olivia Vita (COL ’19) expressed doubt about the effectiveness of pursuing dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, noting that tangible changes are likely the only way to forge peace .

“We don’t need words, we need systemic change,” Vita wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Israel Peace Week does not effectively address the problems faced by people of color in Israel, according to Vita, as she believes they are not culturally relevant.

“As a black Jewish young woman with family in Israel, when I think of peace and Israel I think of the ongoing African refugee crisis, recent state violence in Gaza and day-to-day lack of accessibility of resources to people of color in Israel, Jewish and non-Jewish,” Vita wrote. “The events are neither relevant to current events nor reflective of the ever-diversifying population of Israel and Palestine.”

Israel Peace Week aims to present the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a multifaceted topic with speakers who advocated for a solution that would benefit both Palestinians and Israelis, according to Larkin.

“One consistent motif throughout IPW has been to showcase the complex, multidimensional character of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Larkin wrote. “That’s why we hosted Tzipi Livni and co-hosted Nadav Tamir with J Street U Georgetown, both of them repeatedly stressed the need for reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis and the need for a Palestinian state in order to fulfill Palestinian national aspirations in their own space.”

Larkin said that Israel Peace Week is a positive way for Jewish students to finish the school year, especially after the start of the school year, when swastikas were found painted inside an LXR hallway during Rosh Hashana, he said.

“In a school year that started off with swastikas, Israel Day will end things on a high note,” Larkin wrote.

CLASSIFIEDS INDEX MISCELLANEOUS

Live Near Campus Senior Year. Visit www.Georgetown.Rentals to view 2019-20 houses.

Charles Town Homes LLC, 202-558-5325

Advertise with The Hoya 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

file photo: ali enright/the hoya

GU Advocates for Responsible Defense, a group of about 20 students, presented University President John J. DeGioia with a letter pushing to arm GUPD officers with firearms.

Group of Students Advocates For Arming GUPD Officers meena morar Hoya Staff Writer

About 20 students presented University President John J. DeGioia a letter April 13 advocating for the Georgetown University Police Department to equip its officers with firearms.

The group, GU Advocates for Responsible Defense, recommends that armed Metropolitan Police Department officers patrol campus temporarily while GUPD officers undergo firearms training, according to T.J. Collins (COL ’18), a leader for the group.

“We don’t want just another review that ends in no action,” Collins said in an interview with The Hoya. “We want immediate resolve from President DeGioia. As a first step, we would like DeGioia to work with Metro PD in order to place armed security on campus. Second, we want him to give GUPD Chief Gruber the authority to train and equip his officers with firearms. We need armed security today.”

The administration has received the letter and is reviewing it, according to Rachel Pugh, Georgetown’s senior director for strategic communications.

“Our top priority is the safety and security of our community and we are constantly working to prevent violence and ensure the security of our community,” Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya.

In the letter sent to DeGioia and Gruber, Collins and Amelia Irvine (COL ’19) said the recent shootings in Parkland, Fla., and Great Mills, Md., inspired them to call for immediate action by the administration.

Fourteen students and three staff members were shot and killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland by 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz on Feb. 14.

The shooting provoked a call for increased gun control and gun violence prevention, and precipitated the March for Our Lives, a studentled movement demanding gun reform. About 2 million people gathered at Pennsylvania Avenue and

at over 800 other locations around the world on March 24 to protest gun violence and mass shootings as part of the March for Our Lives movement.

About one month later, 17-yearold Austin Wyatt Rollins injured one student and killed student at Great Mills High School in southern Maryland. After the shooting began, an armed school resource officer, Blaine Gaskill, responded to the shooting but did not fire the shot that killed the shooter.

“The tragic shooting in Maryland proved the wisdom in having capable law enforcement protection in schools,” Collins and Irvine wrote in the letter. “The heroism of Officer Gaskill saved lives, as did the school’s policy to employ an armed school resource officer. Because of Officer Gaskill’s presence inside the school, he was able to respond to the shooter in less than a minute. At Georgetown, campus police have no means of stopping a similar shooting.”

The letter compared Georgetown’s policy with those of other surrounding universities and high schools with armed officers on their campuses. Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia have armed police on campus, according to the letter.

GUPD currently employs the same policy as The George Washington University and American University, Pugh said.

GUPD officers currently carry pepper spray and batons, and GUPD regularly conducts drills with the MPD. Collins declined to disclose the names of the members of GUARD, but said there are currently at least 20 members, representing all four schools and class years.

“It is a movement about an idea, not as much about individuals,” Collins said. “So, while I’m here speaking with you today, it’s really all about the idea. Students that we have in GUARD will be writing letters and doing other activities to promote the movement. It’s really not about individual names.”

GUARD is not advocating arming students, Collins said, a depar-

ture from Irvine’s previously public stance.

In a viewpoint in The Hoya, Irvine advocated for arming both students and GUPD officers (“Expand Campus Gun Rights,” The Hoya, April 16, A3). Irvine said she has not changed her opinion, but the group’s advocacy focuses on the measures that are most feasible.

“My personal views haven’t changed, but when it comes down to what is actually viable, and what is the most important, [Arming GUPD] is what I view as the appropriate course of action,” Irvine said.

“Getting a law changed would take years, this is just an administrative decision. It is well within our reach as students.”

GUARD’s movement to increase the presence of armed officers comes despite a series of incidents of armed police officers fatally shooting people of color as well as issues of police brutality at large.

On March 18, Stephon Clark was fatally shot by the Sacramento Police Department, who fired 20 rounds with eight shots hitting him while investigating a vandalism complaint. On April 16, video released by The New York Times showed police tackling and punching a naked and disoriented Harvard University student.

Three hundred and thirtythree people have been shot and killed by police in 2018, according to The Washington Post.

Collins said concerns about the misuse of firearms by GUPD can be dispelled by instituting a proper training program for officers.

“I am confident that President DeGioia, as well as Chief Gruber, would go to great lengths to train their officers in applying the law equally. I know they would go through extensive training to ensure that those things don’t happen,” Collins said. “All students are vulnerable if a mass shooting were to occur … presenting this deterrent and response to an active shooter on campus protects all students.

news

friday, april 20, 2018

THE HOYA

A9

VCW Terrace Honors Jesuit Air Force Veteran Elizabeth douglas Hoya Staff Writer

The former Village C Terrace was dedicated this Monday to Fr. Martin J. O’Gara, S.J., a Georgetown faculty member who was killed while serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. O’Gara’s name was previously given to O’Gara Hall, a dormitory, infirmary and office building that stood near the site of the Terrace. The building was torn down in 1984 to make room for Village C residence halls.

O’Gara served as part of the Air Transport Command, which oversaw and carried out transportation of supplies without engaging in conflict. He died in 1946 in a plane crash while flying from India to the United States to be discharged.

O’Gara’s plane caught fire south of the island of Capri, off the west coast of Italy. O’Gara gave up his parachute to a passenger and chose to stay on the plane to give his fellow servicemen time to escape. Eight passengers were saved before the plane crashed with O’Gara still on board, according to a news release on the Georgetown website.

The memorial is particularly significant because there is currently only one veteran memorial on campus, Cristine Pedersen, president of the GU Veterans Association, said.

“There’s one memorial to post-9/11 veterans on campus, but now that the campus has grown, it’s in a really weird spot: a parking lot,” Pedersen said. “That’s why I thought it was really important.”

The push to rename the terrace was initiated roughly a year ago by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (GRD ’86), a Republican from Nebraska, Pedersen said.

Fortenberry serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veteran Affairs.

Remarks were delivered at the dedication by Pedersen,

Fortenberry, University President John J. DeGioia, University Vice President for Mission and Ministry Rev. Mark Bosco, S.J., and Rector of the Georgetown Jesuit Community Rev. Joseph Lingan, S.J. In her speech, Pedersen said Georgetown students should reflect on more than just the political consequences of violent conflicts and appreciate the service of those like O’Gara and Capt. Andreas O’Keeffe (LAW ’06), who was killed on the border between Iraq and Syria on March 15.

“As we current Georgetown students rush from class to class, debating foreign policy and adequate responses to various conflicts around the world, we must continually and intentionally engage in discussions on the real human impact of these conflicts and honor the sacrifices of heroes such as Fr. O’Gara and Capt.

O’Keeffe in not only formal events such as these but in our daily actions and work,” Pedersen said.

Fortenberry cautioned against progress without consideration of the past.

“Those of us in public office have a responsibility not to just look forward but to think about how we carry forward in time the great traditions and wisdom of the ages,” Fortenberry said. “And a lot of times we take for granted the formative institutions that give rise to right reason, to remembrance, to understanding, to concepts of nobility and sacrifice and dignity, because we’re caught in the tyranny of the urgency of the moment, always reflecting about what could be.”

Fortenberry also expressed hope that the terrace would be a more lasting memorial to O’Gara than O’Gara Hall was.

“I’m glad we have a terrace.

That seems to be a little more permanent,” Fortenberry said.

“It’s not going to get pushed down, perhaps, for progress.

Because I think progress is truly found in the remembrance of those who sacrificed and gave their all.”

georgetown University

Amanda Scott (COL ’19), left, and Shakera Vaughan (COL ’19), both government majors at Georgetown, are among this year’s Harry S. Truman Scholars. Scott intends to use the award to attend law school and Vaughan plans to pursue a master’s degree in public administration.

2 Students Win Truman Scholarship Sarah mendelsohn Hoya Staff Writer

Government majors Amanda Scott (COL ’19) and Shakera Vaughan (COL ’19) were each awarded $30,000 by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation for their government-related extracurricular activities and community service. The scholarship, awarded to students dedicated to implementing positive change through public service, must be used for graduate education.

Scott plans to use the award for law school, while Vaughn intends to apply hers toward a master’s degree in public administration.

Scott and Vaughan are both members of the Georgetown Scholarship Program, which provides programmatic and financial assistance to students from low-income families and first-generation college students. Their receipt of the Truman Scholarship marks the second consecutive year in which two Georgetown students received the scholarship.

Scott, who grew up in Mobile, Ala., attended a community college for two years and

graduated summa cum laude before starting at Georgetown.

Scott said that her experience with prejudice as a bisexual woman in Alabama inspired her to pursue a law degree. Scott views a career in law as a way for her to advocate for poor and marginalized communities and push for progressive change, she said.

“I came to be interested in studying law indirectly through my interest in civil rights advocacy,” Scott wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“Growing up openly bisexual in Alabama and experiencing prejudice, I became involved in the movement for LGBTQ civil rights and came to see the law as a means to achieve justice for the poor and marginalized communities. I came to see civil rights attorneys as the champions of progressive change.”

Scott said the Truman Scholarship will ultimately enable her to use her law degree to pursue her goal of helping disadvantaged communities.

“Receiving the Truman Scholarship is a life changing opportunity, in the same way being admitted to Georgetown was, because it will give

me the resources and network to help me achieve my dreams of going into public service,” Scott wrote.

Scott said she applied to the Truman Scholarship to prove to herself that she is capable and worthy of a prestigious award.

“I’ve gone through a lot in my life to get to this point and to stay here,” Scott said in an April 13 university announcement. “I applied because I wanted to show myself that I am good enough — that people like me are good enough.”

Vaughan grew up in Richmond, Va., and intends to go to graduate school to study public administration next year. Vaughan said she hopes her master’s degree will equip her with skills to implement change in Richmond’s city government.

“Studying public administration will help me to gain the skills in public management and policy analysis, both skills I believe are vital to enact structural change in my city’s local government back home,” Vaughan wrote in an email to The Hoya.

By attending graduate school, Vaughan said she will be able to achieve her goal of

addressing income inequality, an issue she believes stems from ineffective policy.

“I know that a lot of poverty and the education gap can be traced back to poor policies and also how they are administered,” Vaughan wrote. “I know I want to spend my life dedicated to fixing that and a graduate degree would bring me one step closer to that.

The Truman Scholarship now makes my goal possible.”

Vaughan draws her inspiration to work for policy changes from her community in Richmond, according to the university announcement.

“I am doing all of this for my community back home,” Vaughan said. “Ultimately, it is the city of Richmond that drives me towards my goals.”

Receiving the scholarship is especially meaningful for Vaughan, who now sees graduate school as an attainable goal.

“This scholarship means everything to me, because it makes graduate school an option now,” Vaughan said in the April 13 news release. “It brings tears to my eyes knowing that the people who sat on my panel believed in my vision and wanted to help me accomplish this.”

Earn credit on campus or online this summer

summersessions.georgetown.edu/online

A10

sports

THE HOYA

TENNIS

Under review

Strategizing NFL Draft Day Jeff Swanson

T

he 2018 NFL Draft is only a week away and it has the makings of an exciting event, as college players will realize their dreams of playing professional football.

Meanwhile, executives will make decisions that will define their own careers and influence the next five to 10 years of the their own respective franchises.

Some teams have more at stake than others, and the team with the most interesting decisions to make is the New York Giants, who own the second overall pick.

There are several avenues that the Giants could go down with the second pick and the most obvious one is to select a quarterback. The Cleveland Browns appear poised to anoint their franchise quarterback with the No. 1 pick and the Giants will have the opportunity to choose between three of the top four quarterbacks — Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield — in the draft at No. 2 .

Despite the Giants’ public allegiance to Eli Manning this offseason, their need for a quarterback remains quite apparent. Even at his peak, Manning was not considered one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Now, Manning is entering the twilight of his career at age 37; it is uncertain how long he will continue to play at a serviceable level.

Last season, the Giants’ offense was abysmal. The receivers were injured and the offensive line was porous, but Manning performed poorly and deserves to shoulder some blame. Manning’s performance was so bad that Coach Ben McAdoo benched him in favor of unheralded veteran

journeyman Geno Smith. Although McAdoo was a mediocre coach criticized for questionable decision making, he likely would not have benched Manning if he believed Manning truly presented the best chance to win.

As a result, the Giants should select either Sam Darnold or Josh Allen to groom behind Manning for the last year of his contract, before handing over the franchise to the new quarterback. Aside from the Browns, teams are rarely presented with a top two pick and the opportunity to select a premier quarterback prospect.

The Giants should make the most of this opportunity and draft a quarterback, which would render their public endorsement of Manning one of the best draft smokescreens in recent memory.

Yet, if the Giants are sincere about building their offense around Manning, they can draft Saquon Barkley or even trade down for a lower pick and then draft him. Barkley is heralded as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson. He would serve as a dynamic runner, adding balance to the Giants’ offense and reducing pressure on Manning.

Manning would likely elevate his play if given an effective running back, which the Giants have lacked since Ahmad Bradshaw left in free agency after the 2012 season.

The 2017 New Orleans Saints serve as a template for the Giants, demonstrating how a running back can help an aging quarterback. After selecting Alvin Kamara last year, the Saints had more balance to their offense.

Thus , Drew Brees threw for 874 fewer yards and 14 fewer touchdowns last season compared to 2016. Yet, the Saints improved from 7-9 to 11-5 over the same period. If the Giants select Barkley, they will do so with the intention of maximizing their championship window while Manning is the quarterback.

In the event the Browns select Barkley and the Giants do

not want a quarterback, the Giants should explore the market to trade down. The Jets, Browns and Broncos pick third, fourth and fifth, respectively, and each of these teams has some interest in moving up to draft a quarterback.

The Giants may be able to persuade one of these teams to move up for a quarterback, which would allow the Giants to acquire extra draft capital and then draft either Bradley Chubb or Quenton Nelson.

Chubb could form a formidable defensive line with Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon while also filling the hole that opened up after the trade of Jason Pierre-Paul to Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, Nelson could form a much-improved line along with newly acquired offensive lineman Nate Solder.

While deliberating what to do with the No. 2 pick, the Giants must also consider how to approach the future with talented but mercurial receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The Giants have expressed frustration with some of Beckham’s antics both on and off the field.

The team went as far as to shop Beckham on the trade market, with an asking price beginning at two first round picks. A trade seems unlikely because of the high asking price. However if Barkley is available, the Giants could also trade Beckham to the Browns for the No. 4 pick, which is likely more valuable than two first round picks from another team.

Barkley has the skill to replace Beckham’s playmaking, and Barkley would earn significantly less money on a rookie contract than Beckham would on a massive extension. For these same reasons, the trade may not make sense from the Browns’ perspective, but if history has shown us anything, it is do not underestimate the Browns on draft day.

Jeff Swanson is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. This is the final installment of UNDER REVIEW.

BASEBALL

GUHOYAS

Senior first baseman Alex Bernauer has a .325 on-base percentage and two home runs in 68 at-bats this season. The Hoyas swept George Mason over the weekend and defeated UMBC on Wednesday.

Hoyas Sweep, Win Streak at 7 TOMMY SIMONETTI Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown baseball team continued its hot streak last weekend, winning all three games in a series against George Mason University. The Hoyas followed up the weekend sweep with an 11- 9 win over University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Tuesday.

The Hoyas (14-20, 2-1 Big East) opened up the series against the Patriots (15-20, 6-3 Atlantic-10) with a 7-3 win Friday afternoon at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md. Junior right-hander Jack Cushing started on the mound for Georgetown and went seven strong innings, allowing just three runs. Cushing’s performance earned him his second win of the season. Sophomore right-hander Nick Morreale came in on relief and fired two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

Georgetown scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. Freshman outfielder James Gabor and senior infielder Jake Bernstein hit back-to-back home runs to get the rally started, with Gabor’s home run being the first of his career. Bernstein was the Hoyas’ main

offensive catalyst, recording three hits, a home run and three runs batted in on the day.

Games two and three were part of a doubleheader played Saturday. The Hoyas took the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 6-2 thanks to a stellar pitching outing from sophomore lefty Brent Killam.

Killam went six innings and allowed only two runs while striking out eight.

While the game began as a pitcher’s duel, the Blue and Gray was able to get the offense going in the sixth with an RBI single from sophomore infielder Ryan M. Davis. Later in the inning, junior infielder Ryan Weisenberg knocked in a pair of runs with a base hit, and the Hoyas were able to hang on to the lead.

The Hoyas won the series finale against the Patriots in a 10-7 offensive battle. Senior first baseman Alex Bernauer led the offensive with three hits, including a grand slam.

Bernauer’s five RBI tied his career high.

The game was tied going into the ninth inning, but Georgetown was able to put up four runs behind hits from Bernstein, Bernauer and Ryan M. Davis. Senior right-hander

Jimmy Swad came on to close the game and recorded the final three outs for the Hoyas.

On Tuesday, Georgetown won another offensive showdown against UMBC (11-19, 4-5 America East) by a score of 11-9.

The contest was played in Baltimore, Md., at the Retrievers’ home field. The win was the Hoyas’ seventh straight victory.

Ryan M. Davis had a perfect day at the plate, going 6-6 with four runs scored, four RBI and two stolen bases. Freshman shortstop Eddie McCabe and senior outfielder Michael DeRenzi each contributed two hits to help power the Hoyas to victory.

The Hoyas trailed 8-4 after five innings, but they took the lead in the eighth following a throwing error by UMBC’s catcher that led to two runs.

Swad came on to pitch in the bottom of the ninth and shut the door once again with his sixth save of the season.

Georgetown will resume play this weekend with a threegame Big East series against St. John’s (23-10, 6-0 Big East) in Queens, N.Y. Both teams are riding impressive winning streaks, with the Hoyas having won their last seven games and the Red Storm having won their previous nine.

friday, april 20, 2018

GUHOYAS

Freshman Charlie Sharton and his partner and brother, junior Will Sharton, won the doubles point against The George Washington University at Georgetown Visitation last weekend.

GU Dominates GWU at Home EvAN MORGAN Hoya Staff Writer

Looking to round into form before the Big East Championships next weekend, the Georgetown men’s tennis team defeated crosstown rival The George Washington University for the first time in a decade.

The Hoyas’ (6-5, 1-0 Big East) overall strong play yielded a 4-1 victory, with dominant performances in both singles and doubles competition.

The match opened with doubles play, where the combination of junior Will Sharton and his brother, freshman

Charlie Sharton, earned a 6-3 victory. The duo of sophomore Ian Witmer and junior Michael Chen clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win over the Colonials.

In singles play, Chen continued his successful day with a gritty comeback effort. The junior dropped the first set to his Colonial counterpart 4-6, but rallied to win the next two 6-4, 6-2, respectively, to prevail .

Needing two more singles wins to clinch the match, the Blue and Gray showcased both its experience and youth in collecting two more points. Senior Marco Lam won in straight sets

7-6, 6-0, and Charlie Sharton dominated, not losing a game in his 6-0, 6-0 triumph.

Assistant Coach Courtney Dolehide emphasized the significance of the win for the Hoyas as they look forward to the Big East Championships.

“There’s no question that this was a big moment for us and a historical win for the program,” Dolehide said. “We have aspirations that go far beyond what we did today.”

The Hoyas will play one more match before the championships begin, as they battle conference rival Villanova on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

SPORTS

friday, April 20, 2018

THE HOYA

A11

hidden opponent

WOmen’s Lacrosse

Reflecting on My Mental Health Journey OWEN, from A12

AMANDA VAN ORDEN FOR THE HOYA

Sophomore attack Michaela Bruno is second on the team in goals and assists this season with 30 and 11, respectively.

control. I tricked myself into thinking that I didn’t deserve happiness because I didn’t bring enough of it to my parents and that I couldn’t live in a way that made both them and myself proud.

Perhaps the harshest challenge we can face is the rejection of the very people we are trying to please. It is difficult to accept that you cannot meet everyone’s demands, especially for young people with all the time and potential in the world. Failure is never easy. We may have our strange coping mechanisms — crying, eating, drinking, smoking, exercise — but at the end of the day, failure leaves a sting that you can’t ever quite get rid of.

The self-acceptance I sought for my entire life had eluded me despite my best efforts.

While my insecurities weren’t physical, they hurt like hell. I wanted to be content enough with who I was that I didn’t need validation from others.

Yet because I didn’t receive enough empowerment from those I loved, I sought it externally. I then became so reliant on those external devices for my own happiness that I never learned how to empower myself without them.

Once in college, I started doing things I loved on my own terms and became a much happier and more fulfilled person, taking more pride in my achievements for what they meant to me, not for how they were seen.

Even this column is the product of my changed mindset. I was finally able to live for myself. Now, I approach who I am with realism and acceptance; I am shocked at how much easier it is. No lon-

ger do I succeed just to beat others and no longer do I let my fear of failure and rejection determine my actions.

Owning up to my insecurities took their power away and made me a better person for it.

Once in college, I started doing things I loved on my own terms and became a much happier and more fulfilled person.

Now, if something scares me, I force myself to face it without the need to overcome it. If something worries me, I meditate on it to find peace. I would be lying if I said those feelings of self-deprecation don’t return every so often,

most notably when I screw up. But I have come to accept those feelings and instead let them provoke reflection on how far I have come. At the end of the day, I am only trying to please one person.

To those who have taken time to read my work this semester, I thank you.

I also encourage anyone struggling with their mental health to spend time in thought. My peace has come from hours alone, mostly in silent meditation, but never feel afraid to talk with someone about what you’re facing.

Lastly, if you ever feel lost or overwhelmed: carterowen@ icloud.com. #BeWell.

Carter Owen is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. This is the final edition of The Hidden Opponent.

Hoyas Defeat men’s lacrosse Conference Foes, Rise in Standings GU Moves Up to 17th in the Nation VILLANOVA, from A12

VANDERBILT, from A12

Hannah Seibel scored soon after, seemingly to secure her team’s lead, but the Huskies went on a four-goal run, their second longest of the day, to put them up by two.

Georgetown answered with four more, scored by Lynch, Ryan, McCarthy and freshman midfielder Caroline Frock. The four were broken up by a single UConn goal.

Then, UConn scored again before Georgetown went on its longest scoring spree of the day. The Hoyas scored four straight, one before the half and three right after, to lead 11-7. Lynch scored before the half, and McCarthy, Ryan and Seibel netted one each during the run after the half.

After a bizarre shot that appeared to hit a Georgetown defender, UConn suddenly gained momentum and scored six unrequited goals to regain the lead, 13-11, with just under 10 minutes left in regulation. The Hoyas rallied to tie it up again. With just under three minutes to play, senior attack Sarah Cheney finessed one into the cage off a quick feed from Bruno.

Fried said he told his team to be more disciplined amid UConn’s comeback.

“We have to play to our standard and be more disciplined,” Fried said. “We got out of our game. We got re-

active, and that didn’t serve us very well, so we need to be more disciplined, and if we are disciplined, we’ll play the way we’re capable, to our standard.”

UConn tied it up for the last time with just around two minutes left to play. Lynch secured the final two draw controls, one of which came after the Hoyas were back on top. Lynch also raked in a ground ball.

With a minute left to play, UConn received a yellow card, putting Georgetown at an advantage as the clock ran out.

Gebhardt scored her 44th goal of the season with under 30 seconds left to play off an assist from Frock.

Chomo had 12 saves against the Huskies; Fried credits her with anchoring the defense despite some errors and hopes she will have to do less going forward.

“I thought Haelle Chomo did a really great job covering for us today on some mistakes,” Fried said. “At this point in the season, it’s about focusing and being a little bit more locked-in in practice mentally, so we don’t have the errors that we had today,” Fried said.

The Hoyas will try to extend their winning streak to six this weekend at home against Marquette. The Hoyas take to Cooper Field at noon Saturday in yet another conference showdown.

SUDOKU

8

5 9 3 6 8 2

5

5 6 8 3 1 8 7 5 4 1 9 8 6 1 7 9 5

8 9 2 5 7 3 6 4 1

7 3 5 6 4 1 8 2 9

The victory moves Georgetown to third in the Big East conference, ensuring them a spot in the Big East tournament.

Georgetown rode this momentum into the second half, as sophomore attack Jake Carraway scored four consecutive goals during a three-minute span in the third quarter and gave his team an 11-5 lead.

The Hoyas’ offense slowed down after Carraway’s offensive outburst, however, and the Wildcats scored two goals late in the quarter to cut the Hoyas’ lead to 11-7.

While Georgetown dominated the third quarter, Villanova put up a similar performance in the fourth. Though another goal from Clark gave the Hoyas a five-goal lead early in the quarter, the Wildcats came roaring back with four goals of their own in under three minutes, cutting the Hoyas’ lead to just one with over eight minutes to play.

Georgetown won the following faceoff, however, and the ensuing possession resulted in a goal by junior attack Daniel Bucaro that gave the Hoyas a two-goal lead. In the final seven minutes following the goal, both defenses held their opponent scoreless; the final result was a 13-11 Georgetown victory.

Georgetown’s leading goal scorers on the season, Bucaro and Carraway, tallied six and five points, respectively, and netted nine of the team’s 13 goals. Junior midfielder Lucas Wittenberg also contributed two goals and two assists, and Tagliaferri won 15 of 25 draws

TOP: ALLAN GICHOHI FOR THE HOYA, BOTTOM: SHEEL PATEL/THE HOYA

Junior midfielder Lucas Wittenberg, bottom, was named Big East Midfielder of the Week. He had three goals and five assists last week. Junior defender Drew Abate, top, has collected four ground balls this year.

Commentary

2 Stars Head for Draft, Ewing Adds Talent

7

Last issue’s solutions

4 1 6 2 8 9 3 7 5

a rebound and scored. The Wildcats clawed back into the game and netted two straight scores to tie the game at five apiece, but the Hoyas answered with two goals of their own and entered halftime with a 7-5 lead.

overall.

Senior goalkeeper Nick Marrocco had 15 saves in the cage — his highest total this season. With this performance, Marrocco has accumulated over 600 saves in his career, becoming the first Big East player in five years and just the fourth Hoya in program history to reach this mark.

This performance, along with a six-save game against Loyola Maryland, earned Marrocco his second straight Big East Defensive Player of the Week award.

The victory moves Georgetown to third in the Big East conference, ensuring it a spot in the Big East tournament barring a loss to last-place St. John’s in its final conference game. Georgetown will play its final home contest against New Jersey Institute of Technology this Saturday at 3 p.m.

9 5 4 7 3 8 1 6 2

SACHS, from A12

1 7 8 9 2 6 4 5 3

6 2 3 1 5 4 9 8 7

5 8 9 3 6 7 2 1 4

2 4 1 8 9 5 7 3 6

3 6 7 4 1 2 5 9 8

for a few seasons and need increased production from their backcourt, especially with point guards senior Jonathan Mulmore and graduate student Trey Dickerson graduating. Akinjo, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard, made noise last summer when he was named MVP of Nike’s Peach Jam while leading his Oakland Soldiers to the title.

Ranked lower in ESPN’s top 100 than Georgetown’s 2017 recruit Tremont Waters, who left to play for LSU, Akinjo nevertheless provides many of the same talents. Akinjo, also a smaller-sized guard, averaged 18.7 points per game in the Peach Jam League and shot 46.7 percent from threepoint range, making him an asset who will surely help the Hoyas’ backcourt.

Yurtseven’s decision to join the Hoyas is a huge boost,

even if Govan decides to come back for his senior season, as the team will need a frontcourt presence after Govan leaves. Yurtseven has great size at 7-feet, 245-pounds. He averaged 13.5 points per game along with 6.7 rebounds per game at NC State.

Yurtseven, a Turkish-born star, also has professional aspirations. He went through the NBA Draft process following his freshman season without hiring an agent. After attending the NBA Draft Combine and working out for several teams, scouts saw him as a late first-to early secondround pick.

With his transfer to Georgetown, Yurtseven is demonstrating his desire to take his game to a higher level under Head Coach Ewing. Ewing’s mentorship has proven beneficial so far to the Hoyas, as Govan’s numbers jumped from 10.1 points and 5.0 rebounds

per game in the 2016 to 2017 season to 17.9 points and 10.0 rebounds this past season.

With his transfer to Georgetown, Yurtseven is demonstrating his desire to take his game to a higher level under Ewing.

In any fashion, it will be a new look for the Hoyas next season. Akinjo comes in alongside four-star forward Josh LeBlanc, four-star center Grayson Carter and three-star point guard and dunking sensation Mac McClung. Ewing’s first recruiting class looks hopeful as it now ranks third in the Big East, after national champion Villanova and Providence, and 24th in the nation according to 247Sports,

an online data-driven sports website owned by CBS Sports Digital.

Uncertainty remains as to how the Hoyas, who may have four new players in their starting five, will perform after a 15-15 season under new coach Ewing. If Govan decides on the NBA, the Hoyas’ top remaining scorer will be rising sophomore guard Jamorko Pickett, who averaged just 9.6 points per game last season.

However, Akinjo and his fellow recruits will certainly have the chance to contribute early on and help Georgetown rise above the bottom third of the Big East conference.

Looking ahead, it will be up to Ewing and future recruits, which now includes Yurtseven, to bring the program back to prominence.

Matt sachs is a sophomore in the College.

Sports

Women’s Lacrosse Georgetown (7-4) vs. Marquette (6-5) Saturday, 12:00 p.m.

Cooper Field

friday, april 20, 2018

NUMBERS GAME

talkING POINTS

Baseball The Georgetown baseball team extended its winning streak to seven games, sweeping George Mason.

See A10

“

I’m happy with our progress as a team. We executed on both ends of the field.”

HEAD COACH RICKY FRIED

23

The number of runs the baseball team scored against George Mason.

Women’s LAcrosse

commentary

Hoyas Extend Winning Streak to 5 Games Bridget Mcelroy Hoya Staff Writer

Matt Sachs

Ewing Secures Pair Of 4-Star Recruit Commitments

T

James Akinjo, a four-star he past week has been a whirlwind for George- point guard and top-100 prostown men’s basketball. pect from the Class of 2018, On April 9, the Hoyas lost All- signed his national letter of Big East junior forward Mar- intent to play for the Hoyas. cus Derrickson unexpectedly, Akinjo was released from his as he announced his intent commitment to the Univerto hire an agent for the NBA sity of Connecticut in March Draft, making him ineligible and picked Georgetown over to continue his college career. top programs such as Arizona, Virginia, Two days latTennessee er, the team’s Provileading scor- Head Coach Patrick Ewing and dence. er, junior Along with center Jessie strengthened his recruiting Akinjo, North Govan, also classes with two key Carolina State announced he would additions, both of whom junior center Omer test the NBA signed on Monday.

Yu r t s e ve n , Draft waters, all-ACC third but he speciteam last seafied he would not sign with an agent to tem- son, will transfer to the Hoya porarily preserve his NCAA squad. Yurtseven, who has played two years at NC State, eligibility.

To make up for the poten- must sit the 2018-19 season tial departures of George- before using his final two town’s two key players, Head years of eligibility to play at Coach Patrick Ewing (CAS Georgetown.

The Hoyas have been search’85) strengthened his recruiting classes with two key addi- ing for a dynamic point guard tions, both of whom signed See sachs, A11 on Monday.

Last week, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team won two games, first dominating Vanderbilt and then edging out a game against the University of Connecticut to extend its winning streak to five. On Saturday, the Hoyas downed the Vanderbilt Commodores 15-9 in Nashville, moving to 5-1 in conference play.

The win placed Georgetown in a tie for second place standing in the Big East with three more conference games to play in the regular season.

The Hoyas (10-4, 6-1 Big East) scored the first goal of the game against Vanderbilt (8-7, 3-4 Big East) on Saturday in under 30 seconds and did not trail for the rest of the hour. Vanderbilt tied it up right away, settling the score at 1-1 three minutes later — the only time when the score was tied for the entire game.

Eight Hoyas had points in the campaign against the Commodores, and junior attack Taylor Gebhardt and junior goalie Haelle Chomo surpassed 100 career goals and saves, respectively.

Gebhardt led the squad with seven points, consisting of six goals and an assist. Her assist was the only one of the day for the Hoyas; the rest of their 14 goals were unassisted, and two were scored on free position opportunities.

Junior attack Morgan Ryan and sophomore midfielder Liza Liotta had two goals each.

Sophomore attack Michaela Bruno, sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch, graduate student attack Cristina McCarthy, junior attack Mariah Matheis and freshman midfielder Mary Pagano each notched one goal as well.

Head Coach Ricky Fried said he

Amanda van orden/the Hoya

Sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch, right, has scored 20 goals and tallied eight assists so far this season. Lynch scored three goals in the Hoyas’ two games last week. was glad to see his team execute so well on both ends of the field.

“I’m happy with our progress today as a team. We executed on both ends of the field, so I’m pleased with the performance overall,” Fried said.

Gebhardt’s third goal of the game was her 100th career goal, and she is one of only 17 players to tally 100 in program history.

With 10 saves against Vanderbilt, Chomo became the 15th Hoya

to save 100 shots. Both players will look to up their individual counts as they finish out the season and prepare for another full year of lacrosse.

Georgetown returned to action Wednesday at home on Cooper Field to face another conference foe, defeating UConn 15-14 in a hard-fought nail-biter that came down to the final seconds.

The game was intense throughout and saw 46 fouls in

total, 29 of which were committed by the Hoyas. The two teams were tied for ground balls with 21 apiece. Aside from 0-0 at the start, the game was tied seven different times.

Gebhardt scored the first two goals of the game for Georgetown, but UConn quickly answered with one of its own.

Georgetown senior midfielder See VANDERBILT, A11

hidden opponent

men’s lacrosse

GU Defeats Big East Rival Villanova Henry Mihm

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team improved its conference record with a 1311 victory at No. 13 Villanova on Saturday. With this win, Georgetown moves to 8-4 overall and ranks No. 17 in the nation after not being ranked before Saturday. Its 2-2 record

in the Big East puts Georgetown above Villanova in the conference standings.

Following narrow losses to ranked opponents in matcups against No. 3 Denver and No. 9 Loyola Maryland, and in four of its last five games, Georgetown (8-4, 2-2 Big East) bounced back to remain competitive in the standings as the season nears its end.

The game’s start was eventful, with seven goals and six penalties in the first quarter alone. The Wildcats (8-4, 1-2 Big East) started off the scoring and took an early 3-1 lead, but the Hoyas pushed back with three consecutive goals to end the first quarter with a 4-3 lead. A large part of Georgetown’s offensive success came from senior faceoff

specialist Peter Tagliaferri, who won all eight of his faceoffs in the first quarter.

A Wildcat penalty allowed the Hoyas to start the second quarter with a man advantage, which junior attack Robert Clark capitalized on with less than 30 seconds into the frame when he scooped up See VILLANOVA, A11

Carter Owen

How I Overcame My Own Challenges

A

allan gichohi For the hoya

Junior attack Daniel Bucaro leads the Hoyas with 34 goals and 21 assists this season. Bucaro has scored 92 goals in his career to go along with 47 assists. He led the team with five goals against Villanova on Saturday.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

t long last, mental health seems to finally be getting its due attention in mainstream society.

Through the stories of professional athletes like Michael Phelps, Terrell Owens, Clint Malarchuk, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Love and Royce White, the public and the Georgetown community have hopefully gained a greater understanding of the vulnerability mental illness can bring, famous or not.

Though athletes’ stories may grab headlines and inspire outpourings of public support, they often overshadow the struggles faced by everyday people. As a person who has written about all of these athletes’ stories, it is only right I now share mine.

Throughout my life, my self-image has always been an issue. Despite growing up in a well-to-do family, my upbringing was never easy. Alongside walking and talking, I learned to excel in everything I did; from a young age, my parents instilled in me a desperate need to succeed.

Since the two of them had flourished in the beacon of competition that is Wall Street, effort was never enough; results were all they cared about, and I tried like hell to make them proud.

I saw my parents’ praise as validation from two people who I thought had reached life’s summit, yet they never seemed satisfied with me, which I took as an indictment of my worth to them as a son.

I sacrificed my social life and a large part of my mental health to do well in high school. I let my fear of failure dictate my life. I let the end justify the means, even when I knew the means were wrong. Though things are far better for me in college, that emptiness and futility still come back every time I make a mistake.

Still, the toughest thing about my bad habits is that they are objectively justifiable. Both of my parents grew up poor: My mother was raised by an abusive, alcoholic father and a perpetually sick mother, while my father’s mother died when he was a teenager and his father never cared for him much at all. I will forever feel the need to validate the sacrifices they have made to ensure my early years were far more comfortable than theirs.

Yet, the trouble with that way of thinking is that it places your self-esteem in the hands of something you can’t See OWEN, A11