The Hoya: April 6, 2018

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 99, No. 23, © 2018

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

A NEW LENS

Meet the World Bank videographer who is working to improve disability inclusion.

EDITORIAL Residential Living cannot continue ignoring the complaints of student employees.

WIFIRE A fire at a university data center Wednesday caused Wi-Fi and other Internet service outages.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

B2-B3

Georgetown Sees Record-Low Acceptance Rate JEFF CIRILLO

Hoya Staff Writer

A record-high number of students applied to Georgetown University in this year’s undergraduate admission cycle, resulting in a 14.5 percent acceptance rate — the lowest rate in the university’s history.

In total, 22,897 students applied to Georgetown’s Class of 2022 and 3,327 of them were admitted. The applicant pool is the university’s largest ever, breaking the previous record of 21,459 applicants set last year, according to university documents provided by Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon (CAS ’64, GRD ’69).

“It’s the most competitive group ever admitted,” Deacon said in an interview with THE HOYA. This year marks the second consecutive record-breaking application pool. Before last year’s cycle Georgetown’s applicant pool had been relatively steady since at least 2012, with about 20,000 applicants each year, according to Deacon.

Georgetown admissions officers believe a surge in youth political engagement since the 2016 presidential election has attracted more students to the university’s location in Washington, D.C., according to Deacon. He said students pursuing a variety of fields and not just Georgetown’s popular government and politics programs are increasingly drawn to “being in the presence of things that matter.”

“There is definitely more of a feeling among more young people that they need to get more engaged in their country,” Deacon said. “I do think there is sort of a magnet that makes Washington, D.C., interesting.”

All four of Georgetown’s undergraduate schools saw an increase in applicants compared to last year. Georgetown College’s applicant pool increased to 13,809 applicants from 12,920; the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s pool rose to 4,166 from 3,994; the McDonough School of See ADMISSIONS, A6

FILE PHOTO: ANNA KOVACEVICH/THE HOYA

The Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees received approval from the university to hold a graduate student union election next fall, following two years of advocacy by graduate students seeking recognition of a labor union.

Graduate Workers to Hold Union Election CADY STANTON AND HANNAH URTZ

Health Sciences Edward Healton announced the agreement between the university and the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees, a group of graduate students affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers who negotiated approval to hold graduate student union elections, in a campus wide email Sunday.

The election, which is open to all Georgetown University graduate student assistants, allows workers to determine

Hoya Staff Writers

Georgetown University and its graduate student workers have negotiated approval to hold a graduate student union election next fall, a move that follows a nearly two-yearlong push from graduate student workers for university recognition of a graduate teaching assistant labor union.

Provost Robert Groves and Executive President for

if they want to be represented by a union. If a majority vote in favor of unionization, GAGE/AFT would become the collective bargaining representative of all eligible graduate student assistants, according to the email.

GAGE, which is associated with the American Federation of Teachers, an education-focused union that has been designated as the labor advocacy group’s bargaining agent, had been in negotiations with the administration

about the prospect of an election throughout the spring semester.

Georgetown’s administration verbally expressed its desire to negotiate a private election agreement that would have a neutral thirdparty organization oversee the election, rather than the National Labor Relations Board, which typically handles these elections in a meeting with GAGE on Feb. 1. The See GAGE, A6

As Accessibility Falls Short, Students Take Charge For over a decade, student advocates have worked to combat an apathetic culture toward accessibility MAYA GANDHI Hoya Staff Writer

Anna Landre (SFS ’21) knew Georgetown University was her dream college — cobblestone paths, steep hills and all.

Landre, who uses a motorized wheelchair, understood inaccessibility would be an issue at Georgetown. Still, the Hilltop felt like the right place.

“I came to Georgetown because it’s arguably the best foreign service school in the U.S. — in the world — and I want to pursue foreign service,” Landre said in an interview with THE HOYA. “It just seems like the best place to be.”

Landre has faced physical accessibility issues traversing campus both as a prospective and enrolled student, as well as underwhelming administration responses to her concerns about campus accessibility and the university’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA, signed into law in 1990, mandates both public and private postsecondary universities provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities.

Violations of the ADA can lead to costly lawsuits and fines up to $150,000.

Landre’s first time seeing the inside of Healy Hall was during her Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program admitted students weekend, the third time she toured Georgetown. During previous tours of the campus, Blue and Gray tour guides failed to adequately direct her to an accessible entrance to Healy, leaving her family to find it on their own — but they were unsuccessful.

FEATURED

AMBER GILLETTE/THE HOYA

Anna Landre (SFS ’21), who chose to attend Georgetown despite its lack of accessibility, has spent her freshman year pushing the administration to prioritize the issue while dealing with the physical challenges the Hilltop’s campus presents.

Moreover, Landre’s struggles with campus inaccessibility did not end upon her enrollment. Today, she continues to encounter broken elevators, nonfunctioning ADA buttons on automatic doors and slow responses from administrators.

For students with disabilities of all kinds, Georgetown falls short of providing equal opportunities: Past criticisms levelled by students have focused not only on physical inaccessibility, but also inadequate accessibility for students with visual or hearing impairments, such as limited availability of interpreters

for deaf students.

TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE CAMPUS When discussing accessibility on campus, all paths lead to the Academic Resource Center. A hub of resources and support for disabled students, student-athletes and other students needing academic assistance, the center has faced both praise and critiques.

Although Academic Resource Center Director Jane Holahan declined to provide statistics about the current size of the disabled population at Georgetown, a 2016 report in THE HOYA noted around

750 students had registered disabilities at the time, an increase from the 200 students with registered disabilities in 1998 (“ARC Weaknesses Revealed,” THE HOYA, April 12, 2016, A1).

A 2016 external review of the ARC harshly criticized insufficient resources, inadequate staff size and its small, wheelchair-inaccessible location on the third floor of the Leavey Center; the report was never made public, but was provided to THE HOYA in 2016.

The report recommended the hiring of two additional full-time coordinators to supplement its

then five-person staff. Today, the center features seven full-time employees, according to its website.

Yet, the ARC’s shortcomings are far from the only issue with on-campus accessibility. In a 2016 interview with THE HOYA, Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey assigned the university a “C” grade for its historic handling of accessibility issues (“Accessibility Push Faces Tricky Terrain,” THE HOYA, April 22, 2016, A1).

“We’ve got some more do. We definitely have more to do,” University President John J. DeGioia

said in a March interview with THE HOYA. Across campus, ADA buttons on automatic doors — including in the Leavey Center, throughout academic departments in the Intercultural Center and at the Student Health Center — are broken or merely absent, as Landre noted in a November op-ed in THE HOYA (“Address Accessibility Shortcomings,” THE HOYA, Nov. 3, 2017, A3).

Broken elevators also often exacerbate campus inaccessibility: Landre cited at least two incidents during her first semester when the elevator in O’Donovan Hall broke down. Similar malfunctions have occurred in Copley Hall, the Leavey Center and Southwest Quad this year alone.

The university stands by its accessibility efforts, though it acknowledges the inherent physical challenges Georgetown’s campus presents.

“Georgetown is committed to ensuring that our campus is accessible and inclusive,” university spokesperson Matt Hill wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “With a twohundred year old campus on hilly terrain, we have faced a number of accessibility challenges over the years, but we are continuing facility enhancements across campus to ensure ADA compliance.”

Progress is being made: The Healey Family Student Center and Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Hall — two of the newest buildings on campus, opened in 2014 and 2016, respectively — were both designed with accessible ramps and entrances.

Forthcoming projects for Cooper Field, the de la Cruz Art Gallery in See ACCESIBILITY, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Yates Defends Democracy Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates cautioned against the erosion of democratic norms Wednesday.

A5

A Call for Halal Georgetown dining must accomodate the religious dietary needs of Muslim students who eat halal.

A3

Women’s Lacrosse The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team defeated Cincinnati and Denver to improve to 3-1 in conference play.

A12

NEWS You’ve Been Served

OPINION A Check on Tech

SPORTS Defend the District

People experiencing homelessness in Washington, D.C. are suing the District government over search and seizure.

A7 Printed Fridays

The nearly unchecked power over consumers’ information prompts a demand for transparency.

A3

The softball team beat The George Washington University 4-0 on Wednesday.

A10 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

friday, APRIL 6, 2018

THE VERDICT

C

EDITORIALS

Specify GUSA Objectives The recent swearing-in of Georgetown University Student Association President Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) and Vice President Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) brings to mind their campaign promises of an inclusive and opportunity-driven approach to GUSA. However, the pair must overcome significant shortcomings in its institutional knowledge to enact clear policy priorities.

As this editorial board warned in its Feb. 16 endorsement of former GUSA executive candidates Josh Sirois (SFS ’20) and Casey Doherty (COL ’20), Nair and Rahman lack the institutional knowledge of GUSA necessary to implement the inclusive policies they seek (“EDITORIAL: Vote Sirois and Doherty,” The Hoya, Feb. 16, 2018, A2).

Former GUSA President Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and Vice President Jessica Andino (COL ’18) faced a similar barrier upon their inauguration and were plagued by a lack of cohesive vision and an inability to execute or monitor projects throughout their term. Mack and Andino, like Nair and Rahman, had no prior experience in the GUSA senate or executive. Their misunderstanding of policy-making processes showed in their governance — policies were mismanaged and students were underserved.

To remedy this concern, Nair and Rahman should draw on the experience of those with GUSA experience by positioning them in leadership roles. The inclusion of Aaron Bennett (COL ’19) —previously Mack and Andino’s press secretary — as campaign manager is a positive step, but Nair and Rahman should integrate GUSA insiders into policy roles and consult insiders throughout the semester.

Nair and Rahman must also clearly determine and state their priorities to avoid a wide-reaching but ultimately ineffective term. Their platform, which included 30 policy areas, too often centered on vague aspirations and buzzwords like “creating options,” “grow transparency” and “elevate voices.” The pair should clarify concrete, actionable priorities under its three existing platform pillars: inclusivity, accountability and opportunity.

The executives’ inclusivity focus is best served

by pursuing the concrete, achievable projects discussed in other candidates’ platforms. For example, Sirois and Doherty’s plan to add a wheelchair accessible entrance to the first floor of Lauinger Library is a meaningful step toward a campus that better serves all of its students; Nair and Rahman should incorporate this proposal into their inclusivity priorities.

Moreover, this GUSA executive can promote accountability by addressing the affordability problems that plague many Georgetown students. Nair and Rahman should consider policies like those proposed by former GUSA executive candidates Hunter Estes (SFS ’19) and Richard Howell (SFS ’19), who called for professors to reduce textbook expenses by posting relevant excerpts of textbooks and other readings online.

Nair and Rahman should also prioritize university transparency on the use of students’ tuition dollars. Right now, data about how Georgetown spends tuition money is available only through an appointment with the Provost; this data should be freely available to all students through MyAccess or a similarly convenient forum.

To foster opportunity for students, Nair and Rahman have stated a desire to meet with every student group as a key component of their “Because Every Voice Matters” campaign. The sheer multitude of clubs makes this goal wholly unrealistic. However, their community advisory groups, which they describe as “collections of student clubs and groups organized by issue area of interest,” could serve as effective means to integrate new voices and perspectives into student government. Targeted focus groups with specific themes or purposes like social advocacy groups or cultural organizations could efficiently incorporate the voices of Georgetown students to yield necessary social change.

This editorial board believes Nair and Rahman are certainly capable of a productive year as GUSA executives. The first step on this path, however, is the prioritization of clear policy goals and the incorporation of those with GUSA experience.

C C

Wikileaks Uses SaxaNet — Ecuador prevented WikiLleaks founder Julian Assange from accessing the internet following accusations of his interference in foreign elections.

A British member of Parliament called Assange “a miserable little worm” during a parliamentary session.

Altocumulus and ABCs — Tennessee kindergartener Carden Corts’ weather report went viral with over 2 million views on Youtube. Corts remarked, “I’m not a meteorologist, but I do know my sight words!”

C

Founded January 14, 1920

Sharknomore — The Syfy channel has decided to conclude the “Sharknado” film series with the sixth film coming out this August. The final movie in the saga will feature a “time travel” theme.

Turned the Other Cheek — Celtics power forward Marcus Morris slapped a referee on the backside after being ejected from a game for fouls. After his public apology, the NBA will not penalize or fine him further than the ejection.

C

America Runs on Donut Fries — On Wednesday, Dunkin’ Donuts introduced “donut fries” to menus at Boston locations. Despite the limited availability of donut fries, the deep-fried, sugary treat has already gained popularity on social media.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Adam Semprevivo

Listen to Student RHO Workers Without student workers employed by the Office of Residential Living, Georgetown University would not function properly.

Student employees are vital to the maintenance of the residential communities they serve. They distribute packages, issue communal resources like vacuums and umbrellas and provide loaner keys to students who are locked out of their rooms.

Yet, the Office of Residential Living regularly undervalues its employees, particularly by excluding students when making decisions that affect their livelihoods. Administrators must respect student workers by incorporating their input into future Residential Living policies.

Georgetown’s habitual disregard of workplace discontent betrays a view of student employees as unnecessary and replaceable.

Former RHO Manager Daniel Ernst (COL ’18) said Residential Living administrators reguarly dismissed his frustrations with sweeping apathy during his nearly three years as an employee of Residential Living.

“The most disheartening line that was uttered with growing frequency was that ‘if you don’t like it we can check your contract.” [...] The threat was clear, if you don’t get on board you can leave,” Ernst wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The demoralizing frustration of many RHO employees, including Ernst, intensified because of Residential Living’s inability to clearly communicate standards to its employees.

On March 21, the student employees of the New South RHO received an email from Tori Costa (COL ’18), the acting student manager at the time. Costa informed the students --- several of whom recieve Federal Work Study, which provides funding for students with financial need to work part-time jobs — they needed to decrease their working hours.

The email asked employees to respond “naming at least 3 hours worth of shift hours [students] would be willing to cut.” This request created great anxiety for students who rely on their RHO income for meals and other necessities like paying their tuition.

Patrick Killilee, executive director for residential services, claimed the hour cuts were voluntary, not mandatory — directly contradicting the wording of Costa’s email.

“We did not cut any hours. We did however ask for any volunteers to reduce hours,” Killilee

wrote in an email to The Hoya. “RHO Managers were asked to identify if there were any overstaffed shifts. If so, students were asked to identify if there were any overstaffed shifts.”

Residential Living’s initial email unfairly put students’ much-needed income in question without first consulting the employees the decision would affect. To better determine and communicate important decisions, administrators must consult student employees.

The disconnect between Residential Living administrators and student employees also created workplace inefficiencies at the beginning of this academic year. Despite an excess of packages, only three student employees were permitted to work at a time. Despite student complaints, administrators did not change this policy. RHO employee Harry Clow (MSB ’19) expressed frustration with his bosses’ unwillingness to listen to students.

“This is an example of the professional staff not really knowing what goes in an RHO or what the beginning of the semester means for the student workers,” Clow wrote in an email to The Hoya.

To easily remedy these problems, Georgetown must change Residential Living operations to include the voices of student workers in decisions.

To minimize the frequency and scope of these situations, Residential Living should officially consult with RHO managers and employees when planning its budget and making decisions that affect the conditions of student workers.

These changes must also be clearly explained to student workers by official representatives of Residential Living, not student employees.

Residential Living professionals are generally capable of making decisions on their own, but they must acknowledge the frustrations of their student employees — members of the Georgetown community who have a right to be treated fairly. As the university has demonstrated willingness to incorporate the voices of graduate student workers, it should extend the same willingness to listen to and include the concerns of student workers.

As employees who rely on their income, student workers deserve transparency in decisionmaking. As members of the Georgetown community, they also deserve to be consulted in decision-making processes to minimize anxiety and confusion.

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 6, 1984

2,500 Fans Welcome Hoyas Back to Georgetown “When I die, if I can’t go to heaven, then take my body back to Georgetown.”

With these words, the lively John Thompson greeted over 2,500 members of the Hoya faithful who turned out to welcome their conquering national champions early Tuesday morning. Despite adverse weather conditions, an hour and a half delay, and classes the next day, Healy Circle was packed with hoarse but happy Hoyas for the midnight pep rally.

Though the rally had been planned for a few days, threats of rain made things very difficult for Lou Sharp and his assistants from Audio Systems of Georgetown.

Finally, early Monday afternoon, the go-ahead was given to hold the rally outside. Television crews, who had been on campus all day interviewing students, began set-

ting up. The victory celebration was covered by the major and local networks. James Brown, an announcer from Channel 7, WJLA, broadcast the event live.

Originally scheduled for 10:30 p.m., the rally was moved back to midnight, due to the basketball team’s flight delay. Thanks to the dedication of Sports Information Director Steve Hurlbut, the majority of the students found out about the change in time to don their blue and gray.

First up on the speaker’s list was Student Association President Paul Evert. He thanked Jack DeGioia and University President Timothy Healy, S.J. DeGioia, Healy’s assistant, worked closely with the Corp Travel Service and the Student Association in setting up the reduced fare for tickets and accommodations in Seattle.

Next, Healy took the podium. An earthshattering roar was let up when Healy told of an article in a Seattle paper which declared that the Hoyas not only had the best team in the country, but they had the second-best team as well. This statement referred to Thompson’s 12-player rotation, which won 34 games and achieved a unanimous No. 1 ranking.

An evening of celebration was capped off as Thompson led the “Defense, defense!” chant. The last cheer of the night was the ever popular “We are Georgetown!” After winning the National Championship, it is assured that millions around the nation have gained greater respect and admiration for the team and the school.

Bryan Keegan Assistant Sports Editor

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 6, 2018

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • AHMAD

this week in history

Nabil Kapasi

The Tortured Artist Trope

O

n April 5, 1994, musical sensation Kurt Cobain committed suicide. Lead singer of Nirvana, Cobain is considered one of the voices of his generation — he is remembered for being a reluctant rock star, a tortured genius and a heroin addict.

To this day, he represents the sad contradiction of a man convinced of his inadequacy yet adored by the masses: A treasure gone too soon.

Cobain’s powerful, emotional lyrics and outsider status established him as a pop culture icon.

Legendary albums “Nevermind” and “In Utero” mixed raucous rhythms with raspy vocals, dubbed “grunge,” a sound that connected with angsty teens everywhere. The band sold over 75 million records, establishing it as one of the most influential groups ever.

In many ways, Cobain exemplifies our stereotype of an artistic prodigy. Scarred by his parents’ divorce and his own struggles with depression, the Washington state native captured life in a unique yet relatable form expressed in his music. From Vincent Van Gogh to Sylvia Plath to Robin Williams, the trope of the tormented visionary is a regrettable commonality.

Anecdotal and scientific evidence align on the often-simultaneous presence of mental illness and creativity. Studies in Iceland found genetic dispositions to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were 25 percent higher in “creative professions” like art, music, literature and dance, compared to careers including farming and labor.

Cobain is a noted member of the “27 Club,” a group of musicians and actors who tragically died at the age of 27 from suicide, overdose or accident. Singers Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and Jim Morrison join Cobain in this group. The rapid rise and imminent destruction of promising talents is a far-too-frequent trend.

The majority of people dealing with mental illnesses do not enjoy a platform of fame and wealth like the 27 Club. Lack of proper treatment and facilities drives many to homelessness, something Cobain claimed to have experienced as a teen, and drug abuse, which he struggled with until his death.

Many of the mentally ill find difficulty assimilating within the boundaries of our institutions, as

O

Cobain did. Most do not find expressive outlets like music was for Cobain, and some are forced onto the streets, failing to stay in school or keep a job. Around a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness in America deal with “severe mental illness.” People with mental disabilities are more likely to experience homelessness as well.

Once fallen into this hole, reintegration into society becomes difficult; bad hygiene, drug addiction and lack of prior qualifications block employment opportunities.

Cobain’s prominence put a face to the reality of mental illness, as have other profound characters in pop culture. Donnie Darko and John McLemore, from the movie “Donnie Darko” and podcast “STown,” respectively, demonstrate the neurotic, suicidal existence of those with untreated illness.

Despite difficulties functioning in society, both individuals are caring and selfless in unconventional ways. Though not encapsulating the entire range of mental illness, these stories show us a misunderstood nature and internal beauty.

The suicide note Cobain left explains the harrowing view he held of himself. He felt the world would be better off without him, saying, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” The failure to make troubled individuals feel accepted leaves them disillusioned and hopeless, sentiments expressed by the Nirvana frontman.

Creative people bring the most beautiful forms of human nature to fruition. We live for the wonderful music, art, film and comedy produced by those who feel rejected by us, a heartbreaking paradox.

The new and exceptional ways people like Cobain enhance the human experience grant the rest of us relief from monotonous lifestyles. The hidden potential and the ability to brighten our lives with their craft should inspire us to help find more appropriate ways to support them in times of need. Relegating others to homelessness, drug addiction and loneliness robs us of wonderful people with the potential to change the world, like Cobain did.

Nabil Kapasi is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. This Week in History appears online every other Thursday.

To truly embody religious tolerance, Georgetown must offer a station that caters to halal restrictions, such as Harvest, which only serves vegetarian cuisine, or Allergen, which accomodates allergies.

I

Cater to Halal Restrictions

am not a vegetarian, but at Georgetown University, I often have no choice but to eat like one — unless I compromise my faith.

Like many other Muslim students on campus, I ascribe to a halal diet — a religious dietary standard requiring meat to be prepared according to Islamic rituals and prohibiting consumption of pork, alcohol and some seafood. However, halal services currently offered by Hoya Hospitality are inconsistent, inadequate and poorly advertised, forcing students who eat halal to either remain unfulfilled or compromise their religious beliefs.

To better serve students, Georgetown should offer a station in O’Donovan Hall that only serves halal meals.

In response to an email inquiry about halal options available on campus, Hoya Hospitality manager Heather Krieger, listed just three out of 14 locations that offer halal services — Fresh Food Company, which serves the bottom floor of Leo’s, LEO|MKT Olive Branch and Bulldog Tavern.

In fact, Hoya Hospitality rarely provides what is promised, even at these few locations.

At the Grill station of Fresh Food Company, students are supposedly able to request halal grilled chicken. However, employees who are unaware or misinformed about the availability of halal foods of-

ten turn students away, contributing to confusion about the options offered.

Moreover, because halal service is a special request, it is often treated as a second priority. This semester alone, I have been told halal options were unavailable because of inclement weather, special events hosted by Leo’s and even because another station took the chicken allocated for halal requests and used it in a different dish.

Olive Branch, one of Leo’s upstairs locations, comes closer to fulfilling the needs of halal restrictions, but it too falls short. While Krieger’s email claims that all chicken and lamb and most pizzas are halal at Olive Branch, this claim is largely unproven. Aside from an expired halal certificate for poultry and “halal” occasionally written underneath some of the items on the menu board, there is no way for students to identify what is halal. There is little value in offering an increased number of halal products if students who adhere to the restriction are not aware of the options.

Moreover, Olive Branch is inconsistent in adhering to the principles of halal, often cooking dishes with alcohol while advertising them as halal. Students only become aware of the contradictory nature of these dishes after carefully reading ingredients on Olive Branch’s menu

board or online menu. When students brought this concern to managers in previous instances, the dishes were replaced with another one — also cooked with liquor. Such inconsistent and inadequate food preparation has caused students to lose trust in Hoya Hospitality.

At Bulldog Tavern, meanwhile, halal options are nonexistent. Krieger claimed in her email that grilled chicken and salmon would be available on request. Yet, after placing an order, I was told the service has yet to be implemented and is only being discussed as a possibility at this stage.

With these abysmal options to choose from, Georgetown forces Muslim students to change their diets and eat vegetarian instead. The severely limited options for halal are restrictive and unfair.

Muslim students pay just as much for the meal plan, but leave Leo’s feeling hungry. As a result, some students give up the halal diet, understandably feeling that their health is negatively impacted. Contrary to the religious tolerance Georgetown preaches, its lack of a halal station pressures Muslim students to violate their faith.

To truly embody religious tolerance, Georgetown must offer a distinct station that caters strictly to halal restrictions, such as Harvest, which only serves vegetarian cuisine,

or Allergen, which accommodates allergies. Such a station would demand accountability in actually providing the halal service the current system is unable to consistently achieve. Moreover, it would mitigate the current state of confusion by distinguishing what offerings are halal.

A separate halal station would also be easier for Hoya Hospitality to implement in the long run, requiring investment only in the sperate cooking equipment and grills for the halal station.

In implementing halal options, Georgetown should follow the example of Columbia University, which offers separate stations serving halal versions of the hot meals that day. Students who participate in a meal plan can choose Columbia’s halal meal plan, in which a halal sticker is placed on students’ ID cards, allowing them to order from the halal station. Such a system ensures students who eat halal receive the services they need and eliminate the risk of resources running out.

To address its hypocrisy in the discrepancy between preached Jesuit ideals and dining services, Georgetown must implement a halal station and allow Muslim students to practice — not compromise — their faith.

Hiba Ahmad is a freshman in the McDonough School of Business.

viewpoint • mason

ones and zeros

WGST: Impactful Inquiry

A Call for Open Data Collection

uting myself as a women’s and gender studies major used to be harder than outing myself as a lesbian. I used to mention it quietly after announcing my government major, so white, middle-aged men I introduced myself to at my father’s retirement ceremony would not ask the inevitable followup questions: “So, is that just like learning women’s history? … What can you do with that?”

I used to talk about women’s and gender studies as though it were a supplement to my broader liberal arts education: I would tell job interviewers that it put my understanding of government and politics into perspective. I now engage with knowledge critically, politically and personally; I used to obtain knowledge for obligation’s sake, just to say that I posessed it.

I spent the early part of my Georgetown education feeling like academia was something to endure. I thought if I could just get past introductory classes or finish my government major requirements, I would finally be able to take classes that interest me. Yet, I have realized that what has drawn me to women’s and gender studies is not that the courses interest me but that they provoke me.

Theory became praxis.

Whether learning about rape culture in “Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence” or biopolitics in “Intro to Sexuality Studies,” there was no academic membrane separating the language I learned in my coursework from that which I could use to describe my social location at Georgetown, in the United States or in my own family.

As a queer, indigenous woman, these classes not only opened my eyes to unfa-

miliar injustices and atrocities but also spoke truth to familiar experiences I had tried to push to the side of my academic pursuits. Power was not simply theoretical; understanding my relationship to it was a practice in pursuing personal and academic truths.

You experience a special amalgamation of disappointment and validation when you think you have the perfect, nuanced thesis proposal for a women’s and gender studies paper. Inevitably, you will discover that a feminist scholar already wrote a journal article on it, a gender theorist recently published a book about it and an indigenous critical theorist now teaches a graduate course centering it.

Today, the value of a gender studies education is clear to me: It makes academia accessible and relevant while challenging students to push its boundaries and widen its scope. Women’s and gender studies is a participatory, interdisciplinary field rich with the contributions of women of color, queer and trans folks and indigenous people who continue to humble me in my own pursuit of academic enrichment.

At Georgetown, I have the distinct pleasure of sitting in classrooms with women’s and gender studies students who share their empathy, engage critically with differing perspectives and participate in wider campus activism to make this university one we try to be proud of — nearly as proud as we are of the women’s and gender studies program itself.

Women’s and gender studies faculty are integral to our campus community: They are not afraid to host difficult conversations. They help students create liberating spaces

for mourning and reflection.

My women’s and gender studies professors see my role as a student on this campus and recognize the labor and anxieties that come with that role. Whether in office hours, after class or passing by in Red Square, they offer their time, energy and resources to let students vent and process the privilege and burden of acquiring an education from a predominantly white institution.

In my third and final year as a women’s and gender studies major, I am still in awe of the people, ideas and transformative spaces the program has introduced me to and allowed me to grow in. In the 30th year of the women’s and gender studies program, I cannot even imagine how many other students, faculty, staff and alumni share this sentiment with me.

It is time for the university to invest in women’s and gender studies. We are a strong, loud, committed and passionate community, and we will fight tirelessly for the women’s and gender studies program that has empowered our voices and given us a home at Georgetown.

In recognition of all women’s and gender studies has done for me, when I introduce myself today, before offering my pronouns, I proudly state that I am a women’s and gender studies major. I cannot wait for people to ask me questions about it. What can women’s and gender studies do for you?

Annie Mason is a senior in

the College. This viewpoint is the third and final installment of WGSTea, a miniseries reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the women’s and gender studies program. Read the rest of the series online at thehoya. com/category/opinion.

A

s Georgetown University students, our daily interactions with technology span a wide array of products and companies. We use Facebook to keep tabs on friends, Google’s search engine for questions and Microsoft’s software for productivity purposes.

Yet, even with this interaction, we need to ask ourselves how much control we are willing to give to a handful of companies.

Individuals, businesses and policymakers are growing wary of how a select number of technology companies, especially Facebook, Google and Amazon, are deeply entrenched in the lives of people around the world. There are recent privacy and anti-competitive cases raised against Google and Facebook in Europe, and researchers are even discussing Amazon in monopolistic terms in the United States.

The control some technology companies like Facebook and Google exert should invite greater scrutiny in the hopes of defending consumer concerns, namely privacy, security and monopolistic behavior. As the companies grow and expand, we must demand greater transparency — especially when it comes to data collection — and openness if they make mistakes that negatively affect consumers.

In the past 10 years, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have swallowed up hundreds of companies worth billions of dollars. The iPhone, Apple’s only smartphone offering, controls nearly 45 percent of the total smartphone market in the United States. Google’s email client, Gmail, is used by about 1.2 billion out of 4.4 billion total email accounts, and Facebook holds nearly 2.2 billion active monthly users. In a different space, nearly 43 percent of all online sales in the United States were handled by Amazon, and, with the company valued at $356 billion, it is worth more than the next eight biggest brick-andmortar retailers combined.

The statistics, while hardly allencompassing, shed light on the

power these companies have and should trouble even the most indifferent consumer. Recent developments should also help make the case that it is not out of the question that the government should require greater transparency in its operations and data collection and further investigate wrongdoing.

Humza Moinuddin In recent weeks, the story of how one data-based consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, violated Facebook’s terms of service and improperly accessed data from nearly 50 million Facebook users illustrates an aspect of the current problem. Facebook had known the company obtained improper access since 2016, and while it moved to initially stop the company from using this data, the crux of the matter remains: Facebook made it too easy for developers to improperly access data, and failed to properly alert consumers about the breach until long after the fact.

Currently, there are reports that U.S. senators are calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about the company’s actions, while the Federal Trade Commission and British authorities are investigating Facebook’s practices.

Such a response, while reactionary, is appropriate and perhaps what is needed for technology companies beyond Facebook. So much of what companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon do, what data they collect and how they address security breaches remains opaque.

Attempting to shed light on the activities of tech companies and hold them accountable does not extend only to Facebook. In Sep-

tember 2017, a European Union court fined Google 2.4 billion euros after ruling it illegally skewed search results and hampered consumer choice. Even more recently, Japanese regulatory authorities raided Amazon’s Japan offices over concerns that the Seattle-based retailer engaged in improper business practices with other sellers.

Ultimately, such events illustrate how large tech companies have the potential to cause harm, thus needing further inquiry and investigation. Governments and consumers must demand, at the very least, transparency of practices and openness in reporting flaws, leaks, hacks and other mistakes. Today’s negative publicity about Facebook, for example, could have been largely mitigated if the company had alerted consumers promptly and transparently. Instead, Facebook faces numerous government inquiries and one of the worst publicity crises since the firm’s inception.

The issues of Facebook, Google and other tech giants cannot be entirely mitigated. Rather, these recent incidents and overall expanding growth of these companies should galvanize calls for scrutiny.

Perhaps we should require large tech companies to disclose what data they collect and how they do so, keeping in mind trade secrets. Partnerships with consumer watchdogs could also give consumers and governments some peace of mind knowing that their actions are watched to an extent.

In the end, as long as these companies continue to grow and expand their influence, there should be some commonsense approaches to protecting consumers. At the very least, we should be able to live our daily lives knowing which information we are willingly giving up, which we are not and what these companies are actually doing behind the curtain.

Humza Moinuddin is a senior in the School of Foreign Service.

Ones and Zeros appears online every other Wednesday.

A4

NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

PAGE FOUR

INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Georgetown Midwest Club hosted its inaugural s’mores event to foster a more inclusive club culture on campus. Story on A8.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS 24 HOURS AT GEORGETOWN verbatim

“

Too often, sexual violence in conflict is marginalized. It’s got to end, and we’ve got to figure out better ways to address it.”

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Executive Director Melanne Verveer on sexual violence in war.

Story on A8.

from our blog

IT’S BEEN SO LONG! IT’S BEEN SO LONG! Since we’ve been in the Final Four! Tired of basketball, or just life in general? We’ve got all the sweet spots for those not-so-sweet moments in life.

WILL CROMARTY/THE HOYA

Clockwise from top left: A Washington, D.C. sunrise viewed from a Village A rooftop, Blue and Gray tour guide Emily Ma (MSB ’19) addressing visitors on the Leavey Esplanade, O Street pictured at dusk and a meal shared among friends at the Tombs.

blog.thehoya.com

Q&A: Mack and Andino Reflect on GUSA Progress, Faults YASMINE SALAM Hoya Staff Writer

Former Georgetown University Student Association President Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and Vice President Jessica Andino (COL ’18) entered office on a campaign platform that promised a “Fresh GUSA,” focusing on affordability, health resources and student entrepreneurship.

The duo won the 2017 executive election with a narrow victory of 34 votes and entered office with the goals of making a Georgetown education more affordable and ensuring GUSA is inclusive of all students. Their tenure in office included notable achievements like establishing an off-campus mental health stipend for students and a fund for students with unpaid internships.

A week after leaving office, Mack and Andino discussed their proudest accomplishments, biggest obstacles and the path to creating a more diverse and accessible GUSA. What are you most proud of from your term, as a collective administration and as individuals?

Mack: Expanding the narrative of who GUSA is for and who is involved in GUSA. When I was a freshman, I did not see as many people who looked like me in GUSA and that was something I’m very proud to know that a lot of people have been able to build relationships with me and say that ‘hey, if I’m a black student on campus, I can run for GUSA and I can be successful in GUSA.’ Not only that, but just having people know someone in GUSA is huge.

Obviously, it can never be perfect, but I think Jessica and I have been able to expand that narrative in a very successful way.

Andino: Learning how to be more empathetic towards student experiences and meeting so many people across campus that I would have otherwise never met is probably the thing I am most proud of, because there are so many students on this campus that are really passionate about making projects happen and making Georgetown better. I am proud that, leaving Georgetown, I have this very holistic understanding of students’ interests, which has even shaped my own interests.

One of your main campaign pillars was entrepreneurship. How do you evaluate your success in developing an entrepreneurial community on campus?

Mack: I think we definitely prioritized it throughout our term and we were able to make a lot of really good progress. As far as entrepreneurship goes at Georgetown, it’s really two main things: It’s improving the academic curriculum around entrepreneurship on campus and bringing in more students who don’t think of themselves as entrepreneurial and exposing them to that as well as providing more resources and building a community.

As far as the academic curriculum side of things, a really important thing was that the entrepreneurship minor got approved [in February by Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business]. So many students who had business ideas reached out to us and we were able to point them to various resources. I, and a couple other students, were able to pilot a student-run accelerator, which has then grown to be Georgetown Ventures, that has really made entrepreneurship more vibrant on campus, taught students what it is like to work for a startup and help students’ startups with grant funding, financial services and consulting. Prioritizing entrepreneurship was definitely a curveball for a lot of people because it is not something that traditional GUSA campaigns did, but we were able to get a lot done.

Can you talk about the progress you have made for the mental health stipend and how you hope to see it grow? What other student health initiatives did you prioritize throughout your term?

Andino: The off-campus mental health therapy stipend is the first step in addressing the cost barriers the people have if they can’t afford long-term care. It is a step forward. Hopefully the administration will find a successful solution that is good long-term. The therapy stipend is being assessed this semester to see how it works and if this model works or if another model works better, such as having partnerships with MedStar [Georgetown

University Hospital].

Mack: As far as student health goes, something that is super important for GUSA to prioritize is sexual health, and so when we first got elected and started our role in GUSA it was really unclear as to what the future of the Affordable Care Act and various health services that are covered through that law is. It was important for us to work with administrators and say that regardless of what legislative changes happen, students still need access to contraception. That was something we were able to work on so that Georgetown could commit to that on the university level.

Sylvia Levy (SFS ‘18), who was vice speaker of GUSA senate, was also very passionate about that and did a lot of phenomenal work. We were also able to work with Dr. Vincent WinklerPrins and express the importance of STI screenings and that it is something that needs to happen more than once a semester.

How would you evaluate your success in tuition advocacy?

Andino: The Office of the Provost and its student advisory committee always asked for agenda items for each meeting, and tuition was something we always made sure to talk about in those meetings.

In the summer, we solidified we wanted to do a tuition roundtable with the provost’s office. So, that stems from students saying this is what we want to do. The tuition freeze [an initial goal of the campaign] is something that we asked about, but when we learned more about it we realized, OK, that is not doable.

Mack: Our work with the provost’s office is really where we do most of our tuition advocacy. We always stressed to the provost that students care about affordability. Everything that GUSA pushes for costs money. Things like unpaid internship funds, better transportation infrastructure, things like that all cost money. With that understanding, our biggest thing was to make sure tuition increases are as low as possible, if not decreases. We really pushed for the fact that if we are charged more money, we need to directly see those benefits for students.

We were able to have those

conversations through a master planning setting like the master planning consortium and Georgetown Community Partnership, where we were able to get things like a commitment to renovating Kehoe Field and the Yates roof.

ship with LimeBike and have bikes for students to rent. If you sign up with your Georgetown email, you get a 50 percent discount. We are laserfocused on how do we expand access and how do we make things more affordable.

able to expand the narrative of who can run for student body president. I remember when we were running it was such a weird concept that a sophomore was running for president and now that is a lot less taboo.

Do you feel you adequately tackled the “hidden costs” you advocated students struggle with at Georgetown?

Andino: The main thing was the unpaid internship fund, which I learned about through an organization in D.C. called Pay Our Interns that was started by this Capitol Hill guy who advocates for paid internships in D.C. So, that’s something we started on during the summer, and we realized it was part of an affordability committee’s recommendations to establish that.

Mack: We were able to really accelerate that timeline of implementation and for this spring semester, there are 17

What is the biggest challenge GUSA President Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) and Vice President Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) face entering office and the biggest thing they have working in their favor?

Andino: They did step into their first challenge already, which is fighting for funding for GUSA Fund and trying to prove to the students who make those decisions. It looks like they may not have the money for the things they want to do. Proving that the act of student government is funding events that would otherwise not happen, proving that that’s important.

That is an important power that GUSA has to reach all corners of campus.

Mack: They have a lot of leadership experience on campus, which I think will help them implement all the changes they have set out to do. They have a lot of chemistry with one another and they have Aaron Bennett (COL ’19), who is their chief of staff. He has worked with me and Jessica this past year and has a lot of experience in policy and communicating to the student body. So, I think the three of them as a combo are really in a good place to get a lot of the things done that they are set out to do. They have a lot of energy, they are fresh and it’s a trifecta — it really is.

What are your biggest regrets from your term as a collective administration?

Mack: Something that has been a real learning moment is the importance of bringing as many voices as possible to the table.

There have been a couple of initiatives that we not necessarily would have done differently, but it would have been better to have brought in more organizational input and more student input in order to make that buy-in happen. Because when people don’t feel like they are a part of the process, a lot of the policy changes are a bit harder to follow or even might be seen as negative. That was a big regret that I talked about in our State of the Campus [address]: bringing in more student voices is just so important.

That’s why it’s great that Sahil and Naba have been prioritizing that in their own slogan, Every Voice Matters, because that’s very pertinent and very timely and key for GUSA to do.

“Our biggest legacy is continuing to push this conversation on mental health.”

KAMAR MACK (COL ’19) Former President, Georgetown University Student Association

students on campus who got funding for their unpaid internships. That’s a really big win and something we are really proud of. Also making sure that that program can continue to grow, because the applicant pool for this first iteration, it was only open to juniors and seniors, and it was only open for just the spring. That does not fully capture the demand for this program: it doesn’t account for sophomores, it doesn’t account for freshmen and it doesn’t include summer internships.

Mack: As far as hidden costs go, transportation is always big. Georgetown doesn’t have a Metro stop, so, in a lot of ways, if you can’t afford Uber then you are cornered into Northwest D.C. We worked with administrators and neighbors to secure a partner-

What do you see as your legacy?

What do you hope students took away from your leadership this year?

Mack: Our biggest legacy is continuing to push this conversation on mental health.

Administrations before us were able to do phenomenal work like lowering the Counseling and Psychiatric Services fee to $10 a session; that was humongous. The next step is that there is an affordable arc of long-term coverage throughout their entire time at Georgetown. I think continuing this conversation on off-campus therapy under the pretense that there has to be long-term care is huge. I also think the fact that we were

For Jessica, what are your plans for after Georgetown, and, Kamar, what are your plans for your final year at Georgetown?

Andino: I will be working for a local election back in my county [Montgomery County Executive Election in Maryland] and depending on the primary election results, that will determine what I will do for the next few months.

Mack: I’m really transitioning to focus fully on entrepreneurship for my senior year.

I will be living in the Yellow House, which is the house dedicated to entrepreneurship on campus, and serving as CEO of Georgetown Ventures, which is the organization that I and a couple of other students started to help students get experience in startup life. I’m also going to be coming out of my summer internship with GU Impact.

After graduation, hopefully I will be working for a startup, one that I’m launching or one that I care about.

news

friday, APRIL 6, 2018

THE HOYA

A5

Sally Yates: Trump Eroding Democratic Norms, Public Trust Elizabeth Ash Hoya Staff Writer

The erosion of democratic norms and public trust under President Donald Trump’s administration threatens U.S. democratic institutions, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates said at a Wednesday evening event cosponsored by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and The New York Times.

Yates said she is worried by the “relentless attack on democratic institutions and norms” coming from the administration, which she said may result in a long-term decline in public confidence in government.

These concerns, she said, are more serious than typical partisan disagreements.

“With this sort of barrage that we experience every day, in a defense mechanism if nothing else, we tend to normalize this, because it’s kind of exhausting to stay in a state of constant outrage,” Yates said.

Yates pointed to Trump’s attempts to discourage the pros-

ecution of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who faced charges for profiling Latinos in July 2017 as an interference with the justice process.

“Whether that actually has an impact on the decisions that are made at DOJ or not, the damage is done by the public’s loss of confidence that the Department of Justice is acting independently,” Yates said.

Yates, a distinguished lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center, served as deputy attorney general under former President Barack Obama and briefly served as acting attorney general in Trump’s administration. Trump fired Yates in January 2017 after she refused to defend his first travel ban executive order, which restricted travel from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days.

Yates recalled her short time in the Trump administration at Wednesday’s event: She said the Justice Department had just 72 hours to analyze the ban’s legality and anticipate

legal challenges, because the rollout of the order was not coordinated with government agencies.

Once she and her team decided the travel ban discriminated against Muslims, she knew she could not defend the order, Yates explained.

“It became apparent to me that to defend this, we would have to advance an argument that the travel ban had absolutely nothing to do with religion,” Yates said. “That meant, from our perspective, that we would have to advance a defense based on a pretext, we would be doing that not just on some tangential issue, but on a core, defining value of our country: religious freedom.”

The event was moderated by New York Times reporter and adjunct Georgetown professor Matt Apuzzo. Apuzzo asked Yates if she had considered resigning her position when she disagreed with the ban; Yates replied it was worth attempting to fight the executive order from within the department for as long as she could.

“Do I just resign and say, ‘OK, I’m not going to be part of this,’ or do I direct the department not to defend?”

Yates said. “From my view, that would have protected my personal integrity, but it wouldn’t have protected the integrity of the Department of Justice.”

“With this sort of barrage that we experience every day ... It’s kind of exhausting to be in a state of constant outrage.”

Sally Yates Former Acting Attorney General

Though Yates condemned Trump’s disregard for democratic norms, she declined to comment on the legality of his interference or his role, if any,

in the ongoing investigation about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Yates defended the DOJ against Trump allies’ accusations that the department committed abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to obtain a surveillance warrant for Carter Page, who had previously served as an aide to Trump’s presidential campaign.

The FBI’s surveillance of Page was approved by a FISA court because of Page’s contacts with Russian individuals, according to declassified summaries of the FISA order. The circumstances of the surveillance have come under fire from Republican members of Congress and Trump himself.

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced March 28 he will investigate the matter.

Yates said she has no reason to suspect improper behavior in the FBI or the DOJ, however, because of the nature of the individuals who work for both institutions.

“The career men and women at the DOJ and FBI are the ones who initiate FISAs, not from the top, but from the bottom up,” Yates said. “They take the obligations they have incredibly seriously.”

Noting the widespread recognition Yates received for her defiance of the Trump administration — from praise in the media to “Sally Yates 2020” t-shirts — Apuzzo asked Yates if she considered herself a leader of the resistance against Trump and his administration.

Yates said she viewed standing up to the administration as just doing her job.

“I don’t view myself as a hero at all, and this is not in an ‘aw shucks’ kind of way. I did my job. That’s not being a hero,” Yates said. “Am I troubled by some of the actions of the administration? Yes. Do I speak out, in selective ways, about those? Sure, I do. I think that this is not a time for us to admire the issue, but rather to stand up and speak out about those things that we think are wrong or unjust.”

Former GU Politics Fellow Founds Internship Stipend

Trump Signals End to DACA Deal, Alarming ‘Dreamers’

noah berman

josh metzger

Special to The Hoya

Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service at the McCourt School of Public Policy plans to partner with the television network Telemundo to launch a stipend program to award six students $3,000 grants for unpaid summer internships in politics, media, government, public service or journalism.

José Díaz-Balart, a fall 2017 visiting fellow and host of Telemundo, decided to donate his stipend from GU Politics to better facilitate opportunities in public service for a wider range of students, according to GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee.

The fund also benefits from a donation from the network for which Díaz-Balart is a newscaster.

GU Politics seeks to grant the award to students whose background or experience suggests that they contribute to the diversity of the Georgetown University community and could extend those contributions to a summer internship, according to a GU Politics news release about the internship fund.

The goal of the internship fund, which will be named for Díaz-Balart, will be to increase accessibility to careers in public service.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to support students in their academic development at Georgetown, a unique and extraordinary institution,” Díaz-Balart said in an April 4 news release. “I am honored by this partnership, which enables future leaders to pursue and secure competitive internship opportunities.”

Unpaid internships are not possible for many students due to socioeconomic constraints, Elleithee said.

Through the José Díaz-Balart internship fund, GU Politics

hopes to alleviate those constraints.

“We’re hoping that we can really help a handful of students who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to take an unpaid internship or who might be struggling to take an unpaid internship,” Elleithee said in an interview with The Hoya. “To the extent that we can encourage more people to get into public service regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, we should be looking for opportunities to help those persons to do so.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to support students in their academic development at Georgetown, a unique and extraordinary institution. I am honored by this partnership.”

JOSE DIAZ-BALART Telemundo Host

Each semester, GU Politics selects five individuals who are practitioners in public service to spend a semester as fellows at the Institute. DíazBalart was named the inaugural visiting fellow by GU Politics in fall 2017 for his work as an advocate for public service through journalism. Visiting fellows spend a shorter period of time on campus compared to resident fellows, who are on campus for a full semester, according to the GU Politics

website.

“As soon as he and I had our very first conversation about him being a GU Politics fellow, we knew it would be a great fit,” Elleithee said.

Díaz-Balart has been a news anchor since 1996, and he was the first Cuban-American to host a newscast when he became the anchor for the CBS News program, “This Morning.” Prior to his current network news program position as anchor for Telemundo’s Spanish news program “Noticiero Telemundo” and public affairs program “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart,” he worked as an anchor at CBS and MSNBC and served as the NBC News Senior White House correspondent.

Díaz-Balart came to campus four times throughout the fall semester and always brought a fresh perspective to the conversation, Elleithee said.

“Here’s a guy who’s the only person right now who is an anchor in both English language and Spanish language news,” Elleithee said. “He really treats it as a form of public service, and he brought with him a commitment to having discussions around diversity in public life.”

As with resident fellows, students interacted with Díaz-Balart in the fall through discussion groups, open office hours and student strategy teams.DíazBalart also brought in distinguished speakers several times over the course of the semester across several fields of public service.

One such discussion group featured a Skype conversation between Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Congresswoman Ileana RosLehtinen (R-Fla.).

“It was a really fascinating, engaging conversation about the need to increase diversity in politics,” Elleithee said.

Campus Internet Services Shut Down by Data Center Fire Will Cassou AND NOAH BERMAN Hoya Staff Writer and Special to The Hoya

A fire occurred in the electrical room of Georgetown University’s Laurel Data Center in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in campuswide Wi-Fi outages and the shutdown of services like SaxaNet and educational platforms such as Blackboard.org.

Most services were functioning by 6 a.m. at the main campus and services were restored at the Georgetown University Law Center by 10 a.m. on Thursday, according to Judd Nicholson, vice president for Information Technology and Georgetown’s chief intelligence office.

Yet, some services were still not yet operational at 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to a universitywide email sent out

by Nicholson. The university intends to examine the cause of the fire, which is currently not known, in the coming weeks after it ensures services

are stable.

Nicholson said the event is most likely isolated and should not have any long-term consequences.

“I think this is just a very unfortunate, isolated incident, and we should have no long-term effects by it,” Nicholson said.

The fire caused the main and backup power systems at Georgetown’s primary data center to fail, which led to the systemwide shutdown.

Within an hour of the first report of the fire, a HOYAlert with information about the fire was sent out to the Georgetown community at 1:54pm. A second HOYAlert was sent out at 2:54pm.

Following the release of the first HOYAlert, many people called GUPD’s emergency line, leaving GUPD unable to take emergency calls. According to Nicholson, the second HOYAlert was sent out to clarify that the outages were related to the fire at the data center so people would stop calling the GUPD emergency line.

Once the fire department allowed the University Information Services department into the data center Wednesday, the university partnered with electrical contractors and a maintenance company to begin restoring power to the building.

Power was restored at the data center at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Once power came on, we systematically and very methodically start bringing up both the physical servers and virtual servers,” Nicholson said.

The university will soon be switching its primary data center to another site in Ashburn, Va., as part of the university’s modernization strategy. This decision was made before the fire.

“It’s just a natural transition for an institution of our size to move from a data center that wasn’t quite fitting our needs to a more, to a larger, state-of-the-art data center is just part of our modernization strategy,” Nicholson said.

Special to The Hoya

Students without documentation at Georgetown University were met with an unpleasant surprise Easter Sunday morning, after President Donald Trump fired off a flurry of tweets signaling the end to a potential deal to pass a legislative replacement to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, further thrusting the future of nearly one million students into uncertainty.

After wishing the nation a happy Easter early Sunday morning, Trump denounced what he called weak immigration policies. He referenced a caravan travelling through Mexico containing students without documentation who may be seeking asylum in the United States. He also criticized the U.S. “catch and release” program, a policy that allows illegal immigrants deemed to not pose a security risk to be temporarily released in the country in order to free up space in detention centers He ended his tweeted remarks by blaming Democrats for failing to come to an agreement on an immigration reform bill, urging Republicans to “go Nuclear” and pass a Senate bill with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than reaching the current 60-vote threshold.

“Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. ‘Caravans’ coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!” Trump wrote in a tweet Sunday morning.

Trump published another tweet later that morning proclaiming, “These big flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA. They want in on the act!”

DACA is an administrative program established by former President Barack Obama that provided work authorization and legal protection to about 800,000 immigrants without documentation who entered the United States as children. It applies only to immigrants who were under the age of 16 when they arrived in the United States in 2007 or

earlier.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the rescission of DACA last September. Trump gave Congress six months to create a permanent replacement.

Trump’s comments on the elimination of a deal to replace DACA were felt strongly on Georgetown’s campus.

Luis Gonzalez (COL ’19), a student with documentation and member of UndocuHoyas, found great trouble in the president’s remarks.

“This happened right after he wished Americans a happy Easter,” Gonzalez said in an interview with The Hoya. “The compassion and empathy that you associate with Easter was lacking in his tweets. Instead, he’s rallying up his base and throwing ‘Dreamers’ under the bus.”

Ultimately, Gonzalez sees a future without DACA, or a program that is similarly structured, as a disastrous one.

“You’ll have 800,000 people that will eventually not have status and have to go back into the shadows,” Gonzalez said.

Aware of the growing concern of students without documentation, Georgetown University Student Association President Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) and Vice President Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) are seeking to allay fears, assuring the student body that they “stand in solidarity” with students without documentation.

“As we noted during the campaign, the rights of Undocumented Hoyas are the rights of every Hoya,” Nair and Rahman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We are working with the University to make sure that Dreamers on campus know that we stand with them and will do everything we can to protect them. I can’t imagine how undocumented students feel about these comments.”

Despite floating the prospect of extending a pathway to citizenship for immigrants without documentation, some of whom were previously protected by DACA, Trump has also embraced the option of denying them such status.

Scott Fleming (SFS ’72), Georgetown’s associate vice president for federal relations, is optimistic about the effects Trump’s recent tweets will have on advocacy in favor of DACA protections.

“There are members of Con-

gress on both sides of the aisle eager to pass a legislative solution that protects Dreamers,” Fleming wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We believe the Trump administration’s recent proclamation will only energize advocacy efforts nationwide to protect Dreamers.”

When the stated deadline to find a replacement for DACA came last month, Congress failed to pass a bill that guaranteed legal protection to the residents without documentation. Congressional deliberations were further stagnated by a ruling by the Supreme Court that prohibited the Trump administration from denying new renewals.

“Just as the March 5 deadline initially set by the administration to end the program drove Congress to consider a number of legislative proposals, the recent proclamation will hopefully do the same,” Fleming wrote. “We hope advocates and students will remain engaged throughout the summer.”

The programs and policies in place at Georgetown aim to provide a sense of security to students without documentation, providing them resources to feel at home on the Hilltop and thrive, according to Associate Director for Undocumented Student Services Arelis Palacios.

“Whether it be free legal services through our partnership with Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services or on-campus advising, we remain fully dedicated to supporting our undocumented students and the unique challenges they face,” Palacios wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Despite the growing concern over developments in the political arena, Gonzalez said such efforts on campus gives Georgetown students without documentation a sense of security, protection and hopefulness.

“I think the university has done a phenomenal job of doing as much as it can to protect Dreamers, and I think it’s gone out of its way through the variety of resources that it’s put together, everything from hiring Arelis as the Associate Director for Undocumented Student Services to partnering with Catholic Charities to ensuring that we have the support that we need,” Gonzalez said.

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

A6

news

THE HOYA

friday, april 6, 2018

Student Advocacy Fills Void of Campus Accessibility Action ACCESSIBILITY, from A1 the Edmund A. Walsh building and White-Gravenor Hall also all seek to expand accessible routes and entrances, Morey wrote.

Additionally, Facilities Management introduced a new feature to the work order system last semester to allow students to flag ADA violations, which the office will monitor and prioritize to ensure compliance, Morey wrote.

The university also recently received an undisclosed donation to renovate the ARC as “a bigger and more inviting space for students on the third floor the Leavey Center,” according to Morey. Renovations are set to be completed by the fall semester.

University initiatives seek to improve not only the physical accessibility of the campus, but also the community’s overall culture toward disability and accessibility.

Just a year ago, a disability studies minor was introduced, the product of three-year advocacy process spearheaded by students.

Landre described the frustration of her first year on campus, during which she has navigated the de facto role of advocate that has fallen to her, reaching out to one office after another to report accessibility issues and ensure they are addressed.

“It really did start to become a burden,” Landre said. “But I know that if I don’t do it, no one else is going to. So I’m here and I’m doing it because I’m not just going to sit around and complain about it and expect someone else to — because I know that’s not going to happen.”

Anastasia Somoza (COL ’07), a

leading international disability rights activist, also uses a motorized wheelchair and worked to improve on-campus accessibility while at Georgetown. Since graduating, she has gained recognition worldwide, even speaking in support of former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Somoza acknowledged the need for the university to prioritize its accessibility. Still, she spoke positively of Georgetown’s efforts to address problems, citing its willingness to knock down a wall in Village C to make a room accessible for her when she insisted she live in traditional freshman housing.

“Whenever I was having issues, Georgetown’s staff and students were really good at solving those issues and accommodating me,” Somoza said in an interview with The Hoya.

Advocacy, Apathy But after a decade of students’ accessibility advocacy, challenges persist.

Somoza said she usually turned to the ARC when she faced an accessibility issue, and the center would contact facilities for her.

Landre however, attributed the university’s slow response to inaccessibility to “a disconnect between the ARC and facilities.” She was told to reach out to the ARC with accessibility issues and ADA violations, so it could contact facilities.

Yet as Landre noted, the ARC is primarily intended to address academic issues, such as providing accommodations to students with

disabilities and academic support more broadly. As she sees it, when she reaches out to the ARC about a facility issue, the center merely gives an extra push to a request Landre could have filed herself.

“I wish that I could go to the ARC and tell them about an issue I’m having with accessibility on campus and just know that it’ll be taken care of because the ARC is powerful,” Landre said. “But I don’t see that they can do much outside of that academic realm.”

This disconnect can make it difficult for student input to be translated into tangible accessibility improvements.

Morey said his team meets with students to receive feedback about campus accessibility improvements, but not all student advocates feel their comments are taken into account.

Landre said while the will to enact change is present, action does not always follow. She recounted one instance when she took Morey on a walkthrough of campus last semester to identify accessibility issues but saw no subsequent action.

Lydia Brown (COL ’15) — an autistic activist, writer, educator and organizer who was also a disability rights activist while at Georgetown — agreed with that characterization of Facilities Management.

Brown, who prefers they/them pronouns, was not initially planning to get involved in disability activism when they arrived at Georgetown, but a sense of responsibility drew them to advocacy.

Somoza echoed that sentiment, but, rather than viewing this advocacy role as a negative experience, she embraced the opportunity.

“I didn’t choose advocacy. Advocacy chose me,” Somoza said.

Brown, like Somoza, had to become a self-advocate during her time on campus, serving for two years as the Georgetown University Student Association’s undersecretary for disability affairs, from 2013 to 2015. In that capacity, Brown lobbied for the university’s first access coordinator and for the creation of a funding pool to cover accommodation costs for events.

Brown was also involved in the early stages of the disability studies course cluster and minor, which was first offered in fall 2017.

Brown’s signature initiative was their proposed Disability Cultural Center, which would have served as a centralized hub of accessibility resources and activism. The DCC never came to fruition, despite the backing from the GUSA executive, because of a lack of widespread support and institutional discrimination against disabled individuals, according to Brown.

“There was never funding and there was never broad support.”

Brown said.

At the time, university administrators expressed their desire to further engage with the idea of the DCC; but, the proposal never advanced.

Brown was also critical of the ARC and its limited scope, citing examples like a 2014 incident when GUSA requested funds from the ARC for a sign language interpreter at a Law School Admission Test preparation class they were organizing. The center denied the funds because of budget constraints.

Brown believes the administra-

tion has failed to fulfill its responsibility to disabled students, leaving student advocates no choice but to step in to work toward equal opportunity.

“Georgetown has an ethical obligation to actually care — cura personalis — for its disabled students.

But it continues to fail to do that,” Brown said.

The Vicious Cycle As inaccessibility persists and student advocates struggle to translate their voices into administrative action, student organizations have begun to take steps to ensure accessibility. Yet, such efforts can be difficult within a campus culture that often does not prioritize accessibility.

Though Blue and Gray has taken steps to ensure tours are accessible for all students, such efforts can fall short. Ari Goldstein (COL ’18), a guide who has vocalized concerns about tours’ accessibility, noted the group has an alternate, wheelchair-accessible route and a video to teach guides this route.

Goldstein recalled one instance last semester in which, of the 10 available tour guides, only he and one other guide felt comfortable enough with the accessible route to lead the tour.

“The ADA tour route is not widely used nor widely known at Blue and Gray to the extent that it really should be,” Goldstein said.

The incident led Goldstein to speak up about the issue and to additional calls by Blue and Gray’s leadership for tour guides to familiarize themselves with the accessible route.

Goldstein said such accessibil-

ity concerns have the ability to profoundly affect prospective students’ decisions, but some disagree. Somoza noted she would — and has — encouraged disabled students to consider Georgetown, citing her own positive experiences with its handling of on-campus accessibility problems.

Still, the university’s neglect of accessibility has created a cycle in which inaccessibility can drive away disabled students, according to Landre.

“I haven’t seen a very active disabled population on campus or of disabled allies on campus.

And I think part of the reason we don’t have a very large population of students with disabilities is because of all the accessibility problems,” Landre said. “It’s a vicious cycle: If you’re not having students who have these needs, then these problems aren’t going to get fixed, which means you’re again not going to recruit students with these needs and again and again and again, it goes around.”

Landre has seen some improvements, including some automatic door buttons that were fixed following her complaints. Yet, as she noted, these simple results came only after her extensive lobbying — numerous emails, work orders, a walkthrough with an administrator, a GUSA resolution and more.

“It was just a big, long process that I feel like is cyclical and seems to happen every few years every time someone, a new student in a wheelchair comes, because we know Georgetown doesn’t have many, probably for these particular reasons,” Landre said. “It just should be easier.”

Admissions Rate Drops To Record-Low Level ADMISSIONS, from A1

FILE PHOTO: ANNA KOVACEVICH

Graduate student workers celebrated administration approval for them to hold an election to determine if the Georgetown Alliance for Graduate Employees can serve as their labor union.

Following Negotiations, Graduate Workers Plan Vote GAGE, from A1 email announcement this week marks the formal commitment to this agreement.

The election, for which a date has yet to be set, will determine whether GAGE can act as a collective bargaining representative. If a majority of students vote in favor, GAGE will be able to negotiate on behalf of all those eligible to vote, regardless of how or whether they voted.

Chad Frazier, a sixth-year doctoral student and a member of the GAGE Election Negotiation Committee said because the election process typically takes 30 to 40 days, it will not take place before the end of the spring semester.

“We indicated early in our negotiations with Georgetown that we wanted to hold a union election this semester,” Frazier said.

“Unfortunately, because it took the administration longer than we would have liked to come to an agreement with GAGE, there just isn’t time for a union election before the end of this semester.”

Sarah Gilkes, a second-year student pursing a master’s degree in the Security Studies program, said the agreement marks an historic win for graduate student workers everywhere.

“As a graduate worker, I’m excited about continuing to build GAGE’s support among all segments of the Georgetown community and negotiating a meaningful contract ensuring just labor rights for myself and my peers,” Gilkes said.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said the AFT plans to continue to support GAGE throughout the election and bargaining process.

“This blueprint for voice is due to a relentless two-year organizing effort by the Georgetown graduate workers, who understood unions make possible what would be impossible for individuals acting alone. Their tenacity exemplifies what can be achieved when people unite for a say over the work they

do,” Weingarten said in a statement released by the AFT. “I am so proud of them, and it goes without saying we will support them in every way during the election, bargaining and beyond.”

An independent government agency, the NLRB has issued varied rulings over the past four decades on whether graduate students in certain teaching and research positions at private universities are eligible for unionization. The NLRB ruled in 2016 that graduate assistants are employees.

While the NLRB typically oversees such proceedings, the election is instead being held and overseen by the American Arbitration Association, a neutral third party proposed by GAGE during negotiations and approved by the university. As the NLRB is comprised of voting members appointed by the President of the United States, both the university and members of GAGE had concerns about whether the board’s ability to serve as a neutral third-party.

Frazier said GAGE was largely motivated by the current political situation in the United States.

“We decided to propose a union election with the AAA rather than the National Labor Relations Board,” Frazier said. “We were worried that President [Donald] Trump’s appointees to the Board would overturn the August 2016 decision allowing graduate workers at private universities to unionize.”

Following the verbal agreement with the university in February, GAGE held multiple events aimed at drawing attention to the university’s lack of a written agreement.

The group partnered with local artist and activist Adrian Parsons in a Red Square demonstration March 26, projecting phrases from Georgetown’s Just Employment Policy, which outlines the rights and benefits of university workers, onto the walls of the Intercultural Center.

In December 2017, seven of the 11 committee members of George-

town’s Advisory Committee on Business Practices resigned after unanimously passing a resolution urging the university to recognize the rights of graduate students to unionize during a meeting with the Provost and other senior administrators. This came after the university announced it would not recognize a union of graduate students because it did not consider them employees on Dec. 7.

Frazier said the agreement does not mark the end of GAGE’s work or activism.

“We want a big turnout for the election to place us in the possible position for bargaining,” Frazier said. “Our members have been consistently willing to show up and ensure that Georgetown lives up to its values as a Catholic and Jesuit university because we have taken the time to talk with them one-on-one about their experiences as graduate workers.”

The Georgetown Solidarity Committee, an undergraduate organization that advocates for the rights of workers at Georgetown, has also supported GAGE’s efforts.

“We fundamentally see the labor that graduate workers perform for the university as work, and not simply a part of their educational process,” the GSC said in a statement to The Hoya. “The administration’s initial refusal to recognize grad workers as workers and their stalling in negotiations fundamentally undermined the university’s Just Employee Policy, endangering the work of all student workers and campus workers alike.”

Deidre Nelms, a third-year doctoral student and a member of GAGE, said the agreement will have an impact beyond Georgetown’s campus.

“This agreement shows that it’s possible for private universities all over the country to respect their teachers and researchers’ right to organize,” Nelms said. “We hope that it will inspire other universities to hold private elections as well.”

3,422 from 3,283 and the School of Nursing and Health Studies pool rose to 1,500 from 1,268.

Other highly-ranked schools have seen increasing applicant numbers as well.

Out of the nation’s eight Ivy League schools, seven saw record-low acceptance rates this year, according to an analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Deacon explained that some of the reasons for recent application pool increases are not specific to Georgetown. Rather, the increase was partly caused by a nationwide rise in SAT test scores.

As students’ scores increase, Deacon said, an increasing number of high school graduates see top schools such as Georgetown as being “within their reach.”

But the continuing rise in test scores, according to Deacon, is “largely a factor of the revised testing system itself.”

The national average SAT score increased dramatically last year after the the test was overhauled in 2016, which made the test more curriculum-focused, combined the previously separate reading and writing sections and made the essay section optional. Average scores on the redesigned test were about

20 points higher on the math section and about 40 points higher on the combined reading and writing section compared to previous years.

At Georgetown, the average SAT scores of admitted students this year were the highest ever: 725 on the evidencebased reading and writing section and 742 on the math section.

Because so many Georgetown applicants had high test scores this year, exceptional scores alone were no guarantee of admission. Of this year’s applicants who scored a perfect 800 on the SAT evidence-based reading and writing section, fewer than half were admitted.

Students with high scores were still substantially more likely to be admitted than their peers. Yet, rising scores require admissions officers to give greater consideration to students’ talents and achievements outside the classroom — what Georgetown has called its “holistic admissions process.”

“I think because so much of the testing went up, the holistic process actually took greater effect — in the sense that it took more than just good grades and test scores.

You also had to back that up with a pretty interesting set of accomplishments,” Deacon said.

Students were admitted

from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The top states for admitted students were California and New York, followed by New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Admitted students also came from 81 foreign countries, though slightly fewer self-identified foreign nationals were accepted this year compared to last year: 255 in 2018 compared to 274 in 2017.

Twelve percent of students admitted to Georgetown’s Class of 2022 are black, 12 percent are Hispanic and 19 percent are Asian. Georgetown admitted slightly more black, Hispanic and Asian students this year compared to last.

Eleven percent of admitted applicants — 354 students — are first-generation college students, similar to previous years. Deacon said administrators are “anxious” to accept and enroll more firstgeneration students in the future.

Looking forward, Georgetown plans to stick with the same admissions policies it has had in the past: no Common Application, no early decision and no “score choice” — a policy which allows students to send schools only their best test scores rather than sending scores for every SAT or ACT they took.

Will Cromarty for the hoya

Eleven percent of admitted applicants are first-generation college students, and Georgetown admitted slightly more black, Hispanic and Asian students this year compared to last year.

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

THE HOYA

A7

WMATA Buses Pulled From Homeless DC Residents File Service Following Injuries Lawsuit Against District JACK HORRIGAN Special to The Hoya

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority removed 164 buses from service last week after unexplained engine shutdowns caused two people to suffer minor injuries.

In two separate instances, buses travelling at low speeds suffered unusual engine failures. WMATA immediately removed all 2015-16 New Flyer bus models from service and opened an investigation into the cause of the problem.

The bus models affected by the WMATA’s decision make up 10 percent of Metro’s bus fleet.

While only two of the 164 vehicles in service showed signs of problems, Metro immediately pulled all vehicles of the same model from service, citing “customer and employee safety as our highest priority,” Manager of Media Relations Sherri Ly said in an interview with THE HOYA. The affected buses are still under the manufacturer war-

ranty, and representatives from the manufacturer, New Flyer, are joining WMATA in inspecting the vehicles.

Testing began late last week, though Ly said the cause of the malfunction has not yet been identified. Evaluations are continuing throughout the week and include test runs of buses without passengers to gather more information. Ly could not discuss any liability the manufacturer may face under the terms of its contract with WMATA. If and when the buses will return to service is undetermined, as of Thursday night.

“The timeline will be determined by the investigation, and there is no specific date as to when these buses may return to service,” Ly said.

New Flyer is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg that manufactures buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. It is one of the largest bus manufacturers in the world and built almost half of all heavyduty transit buses made in North America in 2016.

WMATA operates many oth-

er buses of different models manufactured by New Flyer, but the company believes those models are unaffected by the issue and will keep them in normal service, according to Ly. WMATA has supplemented its remaining active buses with 80 “reserve” buses, fewer than half the number of buses forced off the roads as a result of the safety concerns.

“While we understand there may be some customer inconvenience as a result of this action, safety must trump service,” Chief Safety Officer Patrick Lavin said in a March 28 news release.

While some bus riders may notice slightly longer wait times, WMATA does not expect the inspection to have a large impact on overall service, the organization said in the March 28 news release.

“There are no significant customer impacts to report, as reserve buses have been placed into service and equipment has been redeployed to cover most scheduled trips,” Ly said.

FILE PHOTO: ANNA KOVACEVICH/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.

EMMA KOTFICA Hoya Staff Writer

A group of Washington, D.C. residents experiencing homelessness have filed a class-action lawsuit against the D.C. local government, claiming it unfairly disposed of their property during homeless encampment clearings.

The lawsuit, filed March 28, claims that District government violated the Fourth Amendment by performing unreasonable searches and seizures of their property.

Shanel Proctor and Charlaine Braxton, the named plaintiffs in the case, said they sleep in tents outside Union Station. They allege the government has been ignoring city protocol while clearing homeless encampments.

According to the protocol, property confiscated during the clearings must be stored for up to 60 days, allowing the owners to retrieve their items.

“I am fearful that the District will take and destroy my unattended belongings again,” Braxton wrote in a declaration attached to the lawsuit. “Losing my property would harm me because I cannot afford to replace my belongings. I would be uncomfortable without my bedding. If the weather is cold, I could freeze.”

The suit asserts that the city has been ignoring this rule, instead following “a consistent practice of destroying unattended belongs,” leaving the owners no chance to recover their items. The suit claims that the government is taking possessions required for survival, such as tents, from people experiencing homelessness, leaving them more vulnerable.

Sean Barry, communications director for HyeSook Chung, deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, wrote in a statement to The Washington Post that the clearings are motivated by “real security, public health, and safety concerns.”

Barry also said that the clearings are conducted “in a manner which is respectful of individuals experiencing homelessness and those individuals’ personal property.”

FILE PHOTO: SPENCER COOK/THE HOYA

Washington, D.C. residents experiencing homelessness have accused the District government of performing unreasonable seizures of property.

The District has the fifth-highest homelessness rates in the country, and as of January 2017 there were an estimated 897 people without shelter, according to a March 19 Washington Post article.

The homelessness problem may have been exacerbated by unusually warm weather last winter that deterred people from seeking shelter, according to some city officials.

Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has launched a number of programs to combat the growing homelessness problem: She celebrated the signing of leases with over 60 families and individuals experiencing homelessness on March 28, the same day that the suit was filed.

The homes leased are managed

by E&G Group, a local real estate development and consulting firm that has pledged 575 units to their partnership with the District.

“We’re proud to partner with Mayor Bowser and her administration to end homelessness in the District,” said Thomas Gallagher, E&G Group president in a March 28 news release. “Through our efforts, we are working to help families and individuals experiencing homelessness find permanent housing quickly and give them a much-needed second chance. I encourage the other district land-

lords to do the same.”

The mayor’s homelessness plan also focuses on housing-first policy with a long-term goal of permanent housing for all residents.

The administration has prevented shelter stays for over 5,000 families, according to the March 28 news release.

The mayor’s budget proposes $23 million to Homeward DC, the Interagency Council on Homelessness’ strategic plan. It also proposes $40 million to the construction of a replacement facility for 801 East, a men’s shelter.

“Our plan to end chronic homelessness is working, but we have more work to do,” Mayor Boswer said in the March 28 news release.

“One way we are getting more Washingtonians into permanent housing faster is by focusing our attention on building new partnerships with local landlords and other public-private partnerships.”

Still, critics have said the mayor’s homelessness efforts have not gone far enough. Ed Lazere, the executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, said the mayor’s 2018 budget “put tax cuts ahead of fully funding homeless services,” according to an April 2017 article by NBC Washington.

A8

NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

UN Sanctions Can Prevent Sexual Rising SAT Scores Lead to Surge Violence in Conflict, Report Argues In Applications to Elite Colleges OLIVIA EGGERS

Special To The Hoya

United Nations sanctions can be used to limit the weaponization of sexual violence in conflict situations, Sophie Huvé (LAW ’17), a Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security fellow, argued in a report published by GIWPS last week.

Huvé has been asked to present her findings to UN representatives later this month.

The GIWPS report is the first of its kind to review the use of sanctions as a tool to combat conflictrelated sexual violence. Huvé gathered research from UN documents, nongovernmental organization reports and interviews with diplomatic experts for her report.

Later this month, the UN Security Council is set to hold debates about the use of sanctions, with Huvé briefing delegations on her report in preparation.

Conflict-related sexual violence, as defined in the report, is “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls, or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict.”

GIWPS Executive Director Melanne Verveer (SLL ’66, GRD ’69) said the report focuses specifically on gender-based violence and its impact on women as a tool of war.

“Sexual violence today has been

weaponized,” Verveer said in an interview with THE HOYA. “It is a tool of war. It is, in many of these conflicts, the preferred tool of armed combatants, and it’s highly effective.”

Huvé said sanctions can be used effectively against sexual violence, as it is used against traditional weapons of war, to increase the cost of committing violence in war.

“It doesn’t cost anything to use sexual violence as a weapon of war,” Huvé said in an interview with THE HOYA. “It’s not a weapon you have to buy. How can we change what’s happening on the ground? Well, we can increase the cost of the weapon. What is one of the most effective ways to increase the cost of that weapon? It’s to target the key stakeholders with individual sanctions.”

The report challenges current UN precedent: While UN sanctions have been used in the past to combat broader humanitarian crises, they have never specifically targeted acts of sexual violence.

Huvé’s report presents several methods to increase the effectiveness of the proposed UN sanctions.

According to Huvé, UN sanctions committees are often limited, sometimes by word count, in the amount of information they can include about human rights violations. In these situations, sexual violence is often overlooked.

Huvé’s report argues that the UN should clearly define what it means to perpetrate sexual violence and make doing so a stand-

FILE PHOTO: ANNA KOVACEVICH/THE HOYA

Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, gives remarks.

alone justification for sanctions, to draw attention to sexual violence in particular and distinguish it from other crimes. Huvé also advocates for more UN experts focused on the protection of women in conflict.

“Sexual violence for a long time has been considered a women’s rights issue, and not a peace and security issue,” Huvé said. “If most of the diplomats are men, well, women’s issues are not going to be the priority for them. The experts are the eyes and ears of the Security Council, so if you do not have a gender expert, how can you focus on sexual violence?”

Huvé also noted that the proposed solutions, which include the creation of definitions for sexual violence and a panel of experts as well as the use of sanctions, would come at a low cost — which may make them appealing in the eyes of the Security Council.

However, Verveer said that implementing sanctions against political actors presents a large challenge for those attempting to protect women from sexual violence.

“Political will is always the biggest challenge,” Verveer said.

“There’s a political hesitancy to go after the governmental criminal actors.”

Some member states of the Security Council are reluctant to impose sanctions for sexual violence given their own past transgressions, according to Huvé.

“You have a lot of the Security Council members, including P-5, who commit sexual violence on a daily basis,” Huvé said. “They’re not using it as a weapon of war, necessarily, but so many of them have been accused of sexual violence as a practice.”

Discussions about conflict-based sexual violence therefore represent a threat to members of the UN, a roadblock to potential reform. The threat of sanctions incentivizes them to change their behavior.

“They don’t care about sexual violence,” Huvé said. “But they do care about their self-interest.”

Verveer said this report has the potential to make substantial and impactful change.

“It’s breaking new ground,” Verveer said. “Too often, sexual violence in conflict is marginalized. It’s got to end, and we’ve got to figure out better ways to address it. Sanctions are one of those ways.”

JESSICA LIN

Hoya Staff Writer

The redesigned SAT is yielding higher average scores than both the old SAT and the ACT, according to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon (COL ’64, GRD ’69).

Released in March 2016, the new SAT tests students on more curriculum-based content, combines reading and writing into one 800-point section and makes the essay section optional. The point distributions for the verbal and math sections on the new SAT still each range from 200 to 800, together constituting a 1600-point scale, rather than the previous scale of 2400.

After compiling the initial scores, the College Board released concordance tables translating ACT and old SAT scores to their new SAT equivalents. According to the tables, medium scores of 500 on old SAT sections translate to scores of 530 on the verbal and math sections of the new SAT. The 30-point increase represents a larger nationwide surge in SAT scores, which partially accounts for the growing number of students applying to Georgetown and other elite universities, according to Deacon.

In total, 22,897 students applied to Georgetown’s Class of 2022, and 3,327 of them were admitted. The applicant pool is the university’s largest ever, breaking the previous record of 21,459 applicants set last year, according to university documents provided by Deacon.

“The scores are much higher, which means more people have moved toward the top and therefore see themselves as being in the running for these top schools,” Deacon said.

Among Georgetown applicants, score improvements in the math section were more significant than those in the verbal section. In this year’s applicant pool, 2,548 applicants scored between 790 and 800 on the math section, while only 292 applicants tested within that range on

the verbal section.

Deacon said that the university’s specific admission policies, which include a Georgetown-specific application and three recommended SAT subject tests, have historically kept its application rate lower than that of similar-caliber schools. The size of Georgetown’s applicant pool remained steady between 2012 and 2016 and only began rising after the new SAT was introduced in March 2016.

“We don’t know for sure why our pools have been going up in the last two years, but it certainly statistically tracks with the up increase in the SAT,” Deacon said.

“The correlation between our jump in applications and the test scores is pretty clear.”

The university’s 2015 applicant pool had an average verbal SAT score of 672, while the 2018 applicant pool had an average of 692. The average math score over these two years jumped from 677 to 702.

The SAT scores of recent applicants to Ivy League schools mirror this upward trend.

The percentage of freshmen who scored between 700 and 800 on the verbal and math sections of the SAT has increased steadily each year following the release of the new SAT, according to their Common Data Set information.

Deacon said that the general increase in SAT scores has led even more students to take the SAT over the ACT, a choice that pushes them toward top-tier schools.

“The most competitive colleges have primarily used the SAT as their triaging tool for the admission pool because it has more points than the ACT,” Deacon said.

Receiving more eligible applicants requires admissions officers to factor student interest in Georgetown into their admissions decision, Deacon said.

“Because more and more people are falling into that narrow range of top schools, there’s an increasingly reasonable chance that they’ll get into lots of schools because their numbers are high, so now we’re going

through a period of having to predict yield,” Deacon said.

As more applicants cluster to the top, high test scores do not carry as much weight in the admissions process, which has subsequently become more holistic.

“Whereas testing used to be one of the things you could use to triage your pool, personal qualities now become even stronger because more people are meeting the high end,” Deacon said.

“The whole person becomes a greater differentiating factor.”

Nonetheless, Georgetown applicants with high scores on the new SAT were more likely to be admitted than their peers. Students in the last application cycle who received perfect scores on their verbal and math sections had admit rates of 46 percent and 32 percent, respectively. For applicants who scored between 600 and 649, the chances of admission dropped to 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Deacon also emphasized the continued weight of SAT subject test scores, or the SAT II, in the admissions process.

“We still encourage three SAT IIs, which are much more predictive than anything else,” Deacon said.

However, an increase in test scores among first-generation college students is a positive outcome of the new SAT, Deacon said.

“A subset of that population scoring higher on the SAT — the first-generation, low-income kids — did much better and probably benefited even more from a curriculum-based test than say, kids who went to elite schools in Manhattan,” Deacon said.

“And we talk in terms of upward mobility as being our goal.”

The growing applicant pool has helped positively shape the university’s student body, according to Deacon.

“I’m happy about our pool being higher,” Deacon said.

“I truly do think it is the most competitive, and it’s probably more interesting of a student body because personal qualities did play an increased role.”

Georgetown Midwest Club Launches With S’mores Social JOE EGLER

Hoya Staff Writer

ARMY ROTC. GATEWAY TO THE BEST COLLEGES IN AMERICA.

Becoming an Army officer allows you to empower and inspire strength in others. When you lead Soldiers, you gain the strength to lead in life.

What’s the best way to get there? Army ROTC. Available at more than 1,100 colleges nationwide, it gives you unmatched personal development while offering great benefits like advance career training, opportunities for scholarships and the chance to be commissioned as an officer upon the completion of ROTC courses. Many of today’s most successful business leaders got their start with Army ROTC – so can you.

Learn about paid summer internships and Army ROTC at Georgetown University. Contact Mr. Ray at 202-687-7094 or email armyrotc@georgetown.edu

©2015. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.

The Georgetown University Midwest Club, which hosted its inaugural social event March 27, providing s’mores to prospective members on Healy Lawn, aims to create a more inclusive club culture on campus by targeting students from the continental United States for its upcoming events.

Two of the club’s co-founders, Henry Gunderson (SFS ’20), a native of Des Moines, Iowa, and Eric Ren (MSB ’20), from Detroit, said they were excited for the future of the club as it works to provide an opportunity to foster a community at Georgetown not currently offered by other clubs on campus.

Currently, the Midwest Club is undergoing the “new club development” process, outlined by the Student Activities Commission, the advisory board that allocates funding to university-recognized student groups. Gunderson said the club’s interest meetings and its recent s’mores event play a role in the club’s status with SAC. All clubs must host a certain number of events per semester, and SAC members base part of next year’s budget allocation on the number of events the club is predicted to host. The club must also illustrate a sufficient amount of student interest for it to receive funding from SAC, according to Ren. SAC rules mandate that the Midwest Club should hold three meetings with at least a third of the people who expressed interest.

About 150 students have expressed interest in joining the Midwest Club, according to Ren. The club awaits SAC’s decision on whether it will become an officially recognized Georgetown student group with allocated funding, according to Gunderson.

Gunderson said the primary reason for the club’s creation is to combat the noninclusive nature of bigger student groups on campus.

“So, it came in two parts. The first part is, we all really enjoy the Midwest,” Gunderson said.

“And the other part, and this one sounds a little bit deeper, we were all on the same floor last year, and a lot of us joined different clubs.

And there was not a lot of chance to connect, because all the clubs at Georgetown are awesome, like the [Students of Georgetown, Inc.] and [Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union] are awesome, but they’re very internal-facing. Once you join, that’s your crew. We wanted to create a club that was very externalfacing, and was almost not a club in the sense that it brought people from all of the different spaces at Georgetown together, or gave the option to.”

Future events include a cornhole tournament, a movie showing and a barbeque on Healy Lawn, according to Gunderson. The club also plans to host bonfires and partner with other organizations, like the Georgetown Program Board.

Students who hail from states outside the Midwest are welcome to participate in the club’s events, Gunderson said.

“We want to do very external, community-facing events. That was part of the drive. All of us were on the same floor last year and some of us lost contact with each other because we’re all in different clubs, and in some ways, it’s creating a huge freshman floor, where we can come together and be part of a community and just get to know other people,” Gunderson said.

Ren echoed Gunderson’s views that the Midwest Club strives to be

accessible for all students irrespective of their interests.

“Another good thing about having a club that’s external-facing is that there’s really no ‘culture’ with it that comes with the club,” Ren said. “You don’t have to be interested in a certain aspect. For example, if you’re in GUASFCU, you’re interested in finance or helping people manage their savings account. I think the Midwest Club is good for having an open environment, where you can be who you are.”

The co-founders said there would be no club membership dues, citing the importance of removing obstacles for Georgetown students to participate.

Gunderson said socio-economic inclusivity is integral to the club’s community-driven objectives.

“We decided we really didn’t want membership dues because we wanted anybody to be able to come,” Gunderson said. “And to be honest, a fair amount of people that come here from the Midwest are on scholarship, which is really interesting, at least for me.”

Ren added that a lack of membership fees would foster a stronger bond within the club.

“We really believe in high-quality, low-cost community events, and what really helps with that is just having members from different backgrounds able to pool our resources together to host stuff,” Ren said.

HANNAH LEVINE/THE HOYA

Students enjoy s’mores on Copley Lawn at the inaugural event of the Georgetown Midwest Club on March 27.

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

THE HOYA

A9

GU Politics Funds Students Advocate Workers’ Rights Student Mexican Election Trip KARENA LANDLER Special to The Hoya

DEEPIKA JONNALAGADDA Hoya Staff Writer

Eight to 10 Georgetown students will be selected to travel to Mexico this summer to observe the country’s 2018 general election as part of a trip organized

by Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.

GU Politics, with support from the School of Foreign Service, will sponsor and fund the trip, covering the costs of housing, airfare to Mexico City from Washington, D.C., local transportation and most meals for each of the attending students.

Students are set to arrive in Mexico the week leading up to the July 1 election and head back to the United States the morning after the election. Applicants must be available from the morning of June 24 through the evening of July 12, according to the GU Politics website.

GU Politics Chief of Staff Hanna Hope and Office Assistant Jennifer Solorio will lead the trip, titled #HoyasinMexico.

The goal of the trip is to provide students with the opportunity to observe the workings of an election firsthand, Hope said.

“We are so excited that once again we can offer Georgetown students a chance to have a behind-the-scenes look at a major political moment,” Hope wrote in an email to THE HOYA. Students will have the opportunity to interact with candidates, campaign staffers, party leaders and journalists during their visit.

“The week before any election is an exciting time,” Hope wrote. “We wanted students to have a chance to experience the final days of campaigning in the run-up to the July 1st vote.”

Mexico’s general election includes a presidential election for a six-year term and elections of 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 128 members of the Senate. It is

set to be one of the largest elections in Mexican history with 18,000 seats open overall at local, state and federal levels. The incumbent president, Enrique Peña Nieto, is not eligible for re-election.

The leading presidential candidate, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, is the left-leaning former mayor of Mexico City.

Lopez Obrador promises to combat inequality and corruption, and leads his nearest opponent, Ricardo Anaya Cortés, a former leader in the Chamber of Deputies running with the support of a coalition of conservative and center-left groups.

An important aspect of the trip is the participation of students in sharing their experiences to social media, according to Hope. Students will use GU Politics social media accounts, as well as their own, to produce and share articles and videos for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

GU Politics has held similar trips to observe party conventions and elections for students in the past.

GU Politics sponsored students to attend both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention in summer 2016, and brought groups to observe both a Georgia special election and the snap general election in the United Kingdom last year.

Any student with an interest in learning more about a moment in Mexican politics and travelling with their peers is encouraged to apply, according to Hope. Any student who is currently enrolled at Georgetown and plans on enrolling at the university in the fall is eligible .

“I hope that our #HoyasInMexico will develop an understanding of Mexican politics, create once in a lifetime memories, and develop wonderful relationships with their fellow

The Georgetown Solidarity Committee, a worker’s rights advocacy group, delivered a letter on March 27 outside University President John J. DeGioia’s office to protest the administration’s efforts to change Washington, D.C.’s Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016.

The university has engaged in lobbying efforts to change certain parts of the bill, which is intended to provide paid family leave for District residents through the creation of a social insurance fund run by the District Department of Employment Services. Georgetown’s current lobbying efforts advocate system and pay out leave claims with their own policies already in place.

The act, which became effective on April 7, 2017, provides covered employees with 8 weeks of paid parental leave, 6 weeks of paid family leave, and 2 weeks of paid personal medical leave. The paid leave will be funded by a 0.62% increase in DC employer payroll taxes.

GSC wrote a letter condemning these actions, which was co-signed by 12 other student groups, including the Georgetown University Student Association, H*yas For Choice, the Black Student Alliance and GU Pride.

GSC member Logan Arkema (COL ’20), who recently ran a satirical ticket in the GUSA executive election, said GSC’s campaign efforts is meant to keep the university’s actions in check. “[GSC members] have a history of being willing to call the university out when we feel like it strays from its publicized values, and we feel like this is one of those instances,” Arkema said in an interview with The Hoya. “We’re just reminding the university that we’re watching them, and that we think that this is antithetical to what being a university for others and caring about the broader community means.”

University Media Relations Manager Matt Hill said Georgetown already provides benefits superior to those that would be available with the new legislation.

GEORGETOWN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE

The Georgetown Solidarity Committee delivered a letter protesting the university’s stance on D.C.’s Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 to University President John J. DeGioia’s office March 27.

“Georgetown supports the DC Council’s efforts to provide paid leave. Georgetown already provides benefits in a number of areas that are more generous than most provisions of DC’s Paid Leave Law,” Hill wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Georgetown supports a model that would allow employers with a proven track record of offering these types of benefits to continue to administer paid leave so long as they meet or exceed DC’s minimum levels.”

Yet many student organizations claim that the university’s lobbying would undermine paid leave for employees both within and outside of the Georgetown community.

The GUSA Senate unanimously voted in favor of a resolution in support of university and D.C. workers on March 18.

According to the resolution, Georgetown’s adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, subcontracted employees, part-time university employees, fulltime male university employees, and male tenured faculty members do not currently receive paid parental leave.

30DAYSOF

The bill is currently slated to take effect with a 0.62 percent payroll tax to large employers, including Georgetown, on July 1, 2019 for leave claims to become available on July 1, 2020.

GUCD Chair Maria Cornell (SFS ’20) said the university is engaging in delay tactics to stall the bill’s implementation.

“By lobbying for changes to the bill, the university is trying to delay its implementation, which would prolong the timeframe that workers throughout D.C. would not have access to the paid leave that many of them desperately need,” Cornell said.

In addition the support from GUCD, this issue has support from undergraduates on both sides of the aisle, Arkema said “This is a very broadly supported undergraduate issue — it passed the GUSA senate unanimously, there are board members of the College Republicans in GUSA senate that voted for this, and other people who identify to the right,” Arkema said.

GSC concerns do not only affect workers within the

Georgetown community, according to Arkema.

“Even if we [students at Georgetown] might not be workers now in the District, a lot of us will be, and for the best majority of us will be better if the bill stays the way it is,” Arkema said.

Beyond the potential harm for workers in the area, the university’s lobbying efforts are a waste of resources better spent on student-focused programs, Cornell said.

“The administration has chosen to make a poor investment of the university’s limited resources by lobbying for changes that wouldn’t benefit students and would hurt D.C. workers and their families,” Cornell said.

Arkema echoed Cornell’s view and said that the university is prioritizing its selfinterest over the well-being of students and workers.

“They’re not using our resources to fix our Henles,” Arkema said. “Instead they’re paying lawyers to go undermine the interests of workers just so that the university might have a bit of an easier life.”

30 Days of

SECOND CHANCES Day 7 Starts with a Walk

April is Second Chance Month.

Join us for Road to Second Chances, a special community-wide prayer walk to celebrate the dignity and potential of men and women with a criminal history. Local leaders will lead the walk, and along the way men and women who have paid their debt to society will share stories of their search for a second chance.

The walk will begin at the Anacostia Park Skating Pavilion and finish at the DC Dream Center, where a free resource fair will connect returning men and women and their families with information on legal, educational, employment, advocacy, and counseling services, and more.

Your voice matters. Let our voices be louder together as we walk to unlock second chances!

Wear white to show support for second chances. Event is free. Free food and T-shirts will be provided on a limited basis.

START Anacostia Park Skating Pavilion 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE Washington, DC

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2018 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Featuring Pastor Ernest Clover, National Community Church Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, Anacostia River Church Rev. Dr. Harold Trulear, Howard University School of Divinity Shon Hopwood, Georgetown Law Professor and Former Prisoner

FINISH DC Dream Center 2826 Q St. SE Washington, DC

Learn more at

SECOND

CHANCE MONTH

prisonfellowship.org/gtown #RoadtoSecondChances

A10

sports

THE HOYA

friday, april 6, 2018

softball

The Hidden Opponent

NBA Turned Blind Eye to Royce White GU Defends District, Carter Owen

T

he NBA’s decision to institute a leaguewide mental wellness program last month provided hope the league is ready to take concrete measures to ensure the mental health of its players.

The two players credited with prompting this change are All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love, who publicly shared their stories in February and were met with widespread support from fans and the league.

White, who was officially diagnosed with generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder as a teenager, tried to get permission to ride a bus to away games instead of flying, but was met with hesitation.

However, neither DeRozan nor Love started the conversation about the hidden stressors of professional basketball: That distinction belongs to Royce White, the NBA’s self-proclaimed mental health pioneer who you probably have never heard of.

A 6-foot-8, 260-pound point forward, White was one of

the best Minnesota high school prospects in history.

After a standout freshman year at Iowa State in 2011, he was selected 16th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 NBA Draft and signed a $3 million, two-year contract.

A tumultuous NBA career saw White play in only three games because of a generalized anxiety disorder that prevented him from flying. He now plays for the London Lightning of the Canadian Basketball League.

White, who was officially diagnosed with generalized anxiety and obsessivecompulsive disorder as a teenager, tried to get permission from the Rockets to ride a bus to away games instead of flying on the team plane. He was met with hesitation, as the exception could set a precedent for the rest of the league.

When he asked for a meeting with thencommissioner David Stern about the issue at large, he was flatly rejected.

White's rapid fall from the highest levels of basketball had nothing to do with his talent, which is indisputably NBA-worthy: He currently averages 24.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game in Canada. Rather, his move to London is the product of a standoff with the NBA over how it addresses mental health issues.

Unlike almost every aspect of players' physical health, players' mental wellbeing was not mentioned in the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the National Basketball Players Association when White was drafted, despite its emphasis in the current version of the agreement.

White’s battle with the

NBA has brought into conflict what one sports league is — and what it should be. Especially in professional sports, a fine line exists between employer and community.

White believes NBA culture has a societal responsibility that extends beyond its courts. Over the past several years, athletes who have been diagnosed with mental illness ranging from depression to anxiety disorders to bipolar disorder have started speaking out about their struggles.

Still, no player except White has put his NBA dream on hold and turned down a massive paycheck to become a symbol for mental health policies.

The current salary cap in the Canadian league is about $110,000, just over 20 percent of the NBA’s minimum salary of $543,471.

White's decision not to return to the NBA has baffled many in the basketball world.

However, White says the Canadian league offers him something more valuable than money — a personalized mental health care system.

Today, White continues to preach mental health on Twitter to over 308,000 followers, often posting reassuring messages and retweeting stories about his journey, always followed by the hashtag #BeWell.

Yet, despite how content he seems with his post-NBA life, White has not forgotten how cheated he feels by the league.

In response to the outpouring of support for DeRozan and Love, White seemed frustrated that others were being recognized for sharing their stories while he was not.

“It’s strange to see people take the credit for something

that you pioneered,” White wrote.

Additionally, in an interview with Yahoo Sports, White confirmed his skepticism the league will welcome him back with open arms.

“I believe in order for true progress to happen, there has to be genuine care,” White said.

Still, White’s fight is not a selfish one. He is “totally in support” of Love and DeRozan coming out about their battles with anxiety and depression, but he laments it took this long for other players to feel comfortable speaking up. White also argues the league’s receptiveness to the complaints of two AllStars further validates his concerns that voices will not be heard without the proper clout.

On the whole, White is not angry about his brief NBA career. Even if the issue of mental illness, which he sought to bring to light several years ago, is finally gaining some official traction, White does not expect the league to attempt to or actually repair burnt bridges. For now, he keeps playing north of the border and sharing his story to those who will listen.

To access mental health resources, reach out to Counseling and Psychiatric Services at 202-687-6985, or for after-hours emergencies, call 202-444-7243 and ask to speak to the on-call clinician.

You can also reach out to Health Education Services at 202-687-8949. Both of these resources are confidential.

Carter Owen is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. The Hidden Opponent appears every other Friday.

Defeats GWU 4-0 At Mount Vernon gueinah blaise Special to The Hoya

After losing three of its last four games, the Georgetown softball team defeated George Washington University 4-0 for a much needed victory.

Going into the second half of the season, Head Coach Pat Conlan said he felt optimistic the team would finally flip the script of their season and string together consistent wins.

Unfortunately for the Hoyas, this winning streak has eluded them.

In the second half of their season thus far, the team has lost by an average of five runs per game and has only two wins. Still, this week’s shutout win against GWU is a step in the right direction.

Wednesday’s game was a slow and relatively uneventful affair. Georgetown (9-25, 1-4 Big East) had three consecutive productive innings at the beginning of the game.

By the sixth inning, however, the Hoyas reached a wall, ending the inning with no runs, hits or errors and two people left on base.

The Colonials (22-12, 2-4 Atlantic-10) struggled throughout the game. They ended the game with zero runs, five hits, two errors and eight people left on base. GWU stuggled to find its rhythm, failing to get a hit in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings. Georgetown managed four runs, eight hits, zero errors and 10 people left on base by the end of

the game.

Sophomore first baseman Noelle Holiday led the Hoyas’ offense, going 3-4 with one RBI. Senior left fielder Theresa Kane went 1-2 with two walks and a single RBI. Freshman pitcher London Diller shined on the mound, pitching a complete game shutout. Diller gave up five hits, two walks and one hit batter, while striking out three.

Georgetown pulled out the win, but struggled to convert runners into runs.

During the game the teams left people on base a combined 18 times with 10 of those coming courtesy of Georgetown.

Georgetown has struggled to drive runners in all season, a trend Conlan identified as one of her team’s weaknesses in previous interviews.

Going forward, Conlan said the team must stop leaving runners on base in order to perform well and put points on the board.

Despite this challenge, however, Georgetown dodged the consequences of wasted opportunities by converting with runners in scoring position.

Following a tough nonconference schedule, Georgetown is currently standing with an overall record of 9- 25 and a 2-3 record in the second half of their season. Still, the team could go on a run in its upcoming conference games.

The Hoyas have 17 games left in their season — plenty of opportunities to string together a few wins.

sailing

Team Dominates in Virginia sean haggerty Hoya Staff Writer

commentary

Matt Sachs

Over the Easter break, Georgetown’s sailing team took a break from the regatta season and practiced hard on a weekend off. The weekend previous, however, the co-ed team won its fourth victory of the season at the Hanbury Trophy Team Race in Newport News, Va. The sailing team cruised to a dominant 20-0 performance, defeating the sixboat field. Georgetown bested Jacksonville University, The George Washington University, The U.S. Naval Academy, Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University in the regatta. The Hoyas went 5-0 in the quartet of round robins.

The crews were skippered by sophomore Sean Segerblom, senior Roger Dorr and senior Rose Edwards, who have led the Hoyas all season. The crews also benefited from strong leadership from junior Haley Shea and freshman Caroline Teare.

The Hoyas received more good news last week, when

GUHOYAS

The Georgetown sailing team cruised to a dominant 20-0 performance at the Hanbury Trophy Team Race in Virginia. they were recognized by Sailing World as the third-ranked co-ed team in the nation. The Georgetown women’s sailing team was ranked number

eight in the national rankings.

Georgetown will compete in the MAISA Team Race Championship this weekend in Ithaca, N.Y.

mEN'S gOLF

Hoyas Finish 2nd in Greenville jp harrison Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s golf team came home with a second-place finish out of a nine-team field at the Eastern Carolina University Intercollegiate, which took place Monday and Tuesday in Greenville, N.C. Senior Sam Madsen carded a 74 on Tuesday, putting him in a three-way tie at 218 for medalist honors; he won the event outright on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.

The Hoyas finished with an overall score of 886, one stroke behind the tournament hosts and champions.

Campbell University finished close behind in third with a score of 887, followed by Charleston Southern University, Elon University and Radford University, who scored 897, 898 and 902 respectively.

Sophomore Patrick DiPasquale matched Madsen with a final round 74, while

senior Cole Berman shot a 75.

Sophomore Eduardo Blochtein and senior Jack Musgrave both carded a 79 on Tuesday.

The Hoyas have two more events until the Big East

Championships. The next stop for the men’s golf team is the Princeton Invitational this Saturday, which will be played at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J.

GUHOYAS

Senior Sam Madson carded a 74 last Tuesday at the Eastern Carolina University Intercollegiate, where the Hoyas finished second as a team.

SPORTS

friday, April 6, 2018

THE HOYA

A11

UNder review

Track & Field

5 Bold Takes Following Opening Day SWANSON, from A12

Quintana must establish himself as an ace, while the perplexing Yu Darvish tries to validate his new $126 million contract and Jon Lester aims to evade Father Time for another year. Furthermore, this season will be a tougher test: The NL Central has gotten more competitive after the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals made significant upgrades in the offseason by adding players like outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcel Ozuna, respectively.

4. The Toronto Blue Jays will

be an underdog contender and will make the playoffs as a wild card.

The Blue Jays will find success because of their healthy pitching and a lineup full of underrated potential. Entering the year, both Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez are healthy and each will have the opportunity to realize their ace-like potential. Additionally, third baseman Josh Donaldson is one of the most underappreciated sluggers in baseball, who should perform exceptionally well in his contract year. Finally, Aledmys Diaz and Randall Grichuk will have the opportunity to re-establish them-

selves as ascending players who have the ability to jumpstart an offense.

5. The Baltimore Orioles will fall out of contention and will trade Manny Machado at the trade deadline.

After a final unsuccessful run with their prized superstar third baseman Manny Machado, the Orioles will determine that it is time to trade Machado in an effort to expedite their next rebuilding process. Moreover, the Cleveland Indians will be a surprise acquirer, who will view Machado as a final piece in their World Series quest.

The acquisition of Machado would be timely, as it would allow the Indians to go all-in during the final year with Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Furthermore, Machado would upgrade the Indians’ offense as he would slide in at third base, enabling Jose Ramirez to play either right or left field. Adding Machado to an already stacked Indians team would present a daunting matchup for opponents through October.

Jeff Swanson is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. under review appears every other Friday.

men’s lacrosse

GU Cooling Off in Conference Play DENVER, from A12

GUHOYAS

Graduate student Michael Crozier finished ninth in the 10000-meter run at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 29:14.68.

Hoyas Prepare For NCAA Regional Championships RALEIGH, from A12

one guy run times that should get them into the NCAA Regional Championships in May,” Culley wrote. “[Senior distance runner] Piper Donaghu in the 1500m, [graduate student distance runner] Meredith Rizzo and [sophomore distance runner] Margie Cullen in the 3000m steeplechase and [graduate student distance runner] Mike Crozier in the 10000m.”

Donaghu finished seventh in the 1500m in Florida with a time of 4:20.44. Rizzo earned seventh place in the 3000m steeplechase at Stanford, finishing just over a second behind Cullen, who completed the race in 10:32.10.

At the Stanford Invitational, the Hoyas’ success in the steeplechase over the weekend earned three top 10 finishes.

Junior distance runner Nick Wareham finished tenth in the event with a time of 9:09.07.

Additionally, graduate student distance runner Michael Crozier earned ninth place with a time of 29:14.68 in the 10000m.

The Hoyas also sent multiple relay teams to compete at the

three meets, with two relays earning top 15 finishes. The men’s 4x400m relay in Raleigh, composed of Leake, sophomore sprinter Quincey Wilson, freshman sprinter Josiah Laney and freshman sprinter Kino Cheltenham, earned eighth place with a time of 3:17.68. The women’s 4x400m relay in Raleigh, led by Meisberger, senior sprinter Jody-Ann Knight, graduate student sprinter Taylor Williams and freshman sprinter Bryann Sandy, finished 12th with a time of 3:52.45.

This weekend, the Hoyas will compete at the Virginia Quad Meet in Charlottesville, Va. Culley is hopeful both teams will continue to improve throughout the season.

“We have two low-key meets coming up the next two weekends and then we have a big opportunity to hit some good marks at the Virginia Challenge, a large invitational at the University of Virginia.

Then we head to Penn Relays prior to Big East,” Culley wrote. “We have some work to do ahead of us, but we have some great opportunities ahead.”

five minutes in, but Georgetown responded quickly with two goals from senior midfielder Craig Berge, putting the score at 2-1 going into the second quarter.

A long Hoya possession started around the 10-minute mark of the second quarter, and, despite having a shot clock imposed upon them, the Hoyas held the ball for nearly four minutes until sophomore attacker Jake Carraway scooped up a loose ball, sliced through the center of the Pioneers’ defense and netted his only goal of the game.

With a 3-1 score in favor of Georgetown at halftime, Denver tried to close the gap.

Denver sophomore attacker Ethan Walker contributed two impressive third-quarter goals, one on a backhand shot and the other from a seemingly impossible angle. Each goal, however, was followed by a Georgetown goal in response, and the game entered the fourth quarter with the scoreboard reading 5-3 in favor of Georgetown.

In the fourth quarter, the Georgetown defense held strong in the face of long Denver possessions, but it proved unable to prevent a comeback.

Denver’s senior faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste, a threetime Tewaarton Award Nominee and 2017 finalist , got the ball off the opening faceoff and took it down the field to score, bringing the game within one. Baptiste went 12-15 on faceoffs in the game..

Two more Denver goals followed Baptiste’s while Georgetown’s offense struggled with turnovers and was unable to capitalize on any of its possessions. In a final defensive stand, down 6-5 with under a minute left, Marrocco stepped out of net and forced a turnover to get

SUDOKU

the ball back with 0:24 remaining. A Pioneers penalty soon followed, giving the Hoyas a one-man advantage with 0:08 on the clock in their offensive zone. The offense, however, was unable to get a quality shot on net, ensuring a Denver victory.

The game was notable for outstanding defensive performances from both squads.

Disciplined defense and patience from both offenses led to 13 shot clock warnings, and Denver’s six goals represented its lowest scoring total in over a decade.

Leading the Hoyas’ defense were senior midfielder Greg Galligan and freshman defender Gibson Smith, who both deftly handled an onslaught of dodges from the Pioneers. Senior goalkeeper Nick Marrocco contributed nine saves in net, helped by solid team defense that forced Denver to settle for outside shots for much of the game.

On the offensive end, Berge led the team in scoring with three goals and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Massimo Bucci had two assists and junior midfielder Lucas Wittenberg had a goal and an assist.

Junior attacker Daniel Bucaro and Carraway, both of whom usually make up a large part of the Hoyas offensive attack, found themselves smothered by Pioneers defenders. The Denver defense’s aggression elicited constant angry calls from the sideline and the stands, where those watching demanded the referees call a penalty. The officials, however, allowed the game to remain physical throughout and did not call any penalties until 1:46 remained in the final quarter.

With their third straight loss, the Hoyas are entering the final stretch of their sea-

AMANDA VAN ORDEN FOR THE HOYA

Junior attack Daniel Bucaro leads the team with 27 goals and 14 assists this season. He is tied for sixth in the NCAA in goals per game with 3.0. son with a team struggling to regularly play up to the potential it demonstrated earlier in the year.

Warne, however, knows they will have to find consistency to make a run into May. “When you get to the month of April, you really have to figure out who you are, how you’re going to play,” Warne said. “You’ve got to figure out what you do best, things you

can work on, and then tweak those things a little bit and ride the wave of what you do really well.”

Georgetown’s first home loss, albeit against a powerhouse program, ensures it will remain unranked in national polls. The Hoyas will look to right their course, when they continue Big East play against Providence on Saturday at Cooper Field.

Women’s lACROSSE

9

4 9 6 3 2 8 1 3 8 2 5 9 3 9 8 2 7 8 1 5 7 4 3 9 2 4 1 8 9 1 4 8

Hoyas’ Defense Stymies Opponents in Wins CINCINNATI, from A12

14 of their own.

On Wednesday, the squad travelled to Colorado to take on another Big East opponent. In a strong showing from the Hoyas’ defense, the team topped the university of then-No. 24 Denver Pioneers (7-4, 3-1 Big East) in a close and exciting 8-7 win. The win is Georgetown’s second this season over a ranked opponent.

Fried gave nod to his strong

defensive unit against Denver.

“Our defense was stellar all day, and [junior goalie] Haelle [Chomo] came up big at the end,” Fried said.

“We’re excited to come away with a conference win on the road, and I’m very proud of our ability to overcome adversity today.”

The Hoyas led the entire day, beginning with a quick 3-0 lead. The adversity Fried mentioned began in the final six minutes of regulation time, when Denver went

on a sudden three-goal run, shrinking Georgetown’s lead to one goal with a little over three and a half minutes left to play.

The Blue and Gray stuck together and stopped the Pioneers from netting any more goals, tying the game. Chomo made a save with just under 30 seconds left on the clock, and a successful clear secured the win for the Hoyas. Chomo had eight saves over the course of the game against Denver.

Gebhardt and Bruno each

scored a hat trick and had an assist. Ryan tallied a goal and an assist, and Lynch also scored a goal.

Defensively, junior defender Josie Zinn forced three turnovers. The Hoyas forced 23 turnovers total. Georgetown raked in 19 ground balls to Denver’s eight and received 20 fouls to Denver’s 30.

Georgetown returns to action Saturday to take on the Butler Bulldogs (1-11, 0-4 Big East). The opening draw is set to be at 11:30 a.m.

Last issue’s solutions

2 8 9 4 3 7 6 1 5

4 5 7 1 9 6 8 3 2

6 3 1 5 2 8 4 9 7

3 4 8 2 5 9 7 6 1

1 7 5 6 4 3 2 8 9

9 2 6 8 7 1 3 5 4

8 6 4 9 1 2 5 7 3

5 1 3 7 8 4 9 2 6

7 9 2 3 6 5 1 4 8

ALLAN GICHOHI FOR THE HOYA

Sophomore defender Noel Peragine has fielded 14 groundballs this season, good for third on the team in that category. Peragine fielded two groundballs against Cincinnati in Georgetown’s 16-10 victory while fielding two more in their 8-7 win over Denver.

Sports

Women’s Lacrosse Georgetown (7-4) vs. Butler (1-11) Saturday, 11:30 a.m.

Cooper Field

friday, april 6, 2018

The Georgetown men’s golf team finished second at the Eastern Carolina University Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

See A10

“

Squad Drops 3rd Straight After 6-0 Start to Season Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team lost its third straight game Saturday with a 6-5 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Denver. With this loss, Georgetown moves to 6-3 overall and 0-2 in Big East play after starting the season with six consecutive victories, while Denver continues its strong season.

Though the Hoyas (6-3, 0-2 Big East) were not able to secure a win, a close game against the highly ranked Pioneers (7-2,1-0 Big East) team is a positive sign for the team, especially given the history

I’m very proud of our ability to overcome adversity today.”

HEAD COACH RICKY FRIED

11

The number of female Hoyas who scored in lacrosse’s 16-10 victory over Cincinnati this week.

Women’s LAcrosse

Men’s Lacrosse

henry Mhim

NUMBERS GAME

talkING POINTS

men’s golf

of the two teams’ past matchups. In their five most recent meetings, Denver won all five by a margin of at least eight goals.

Going into the game, Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne said he and his team had moved beyond their recent struggles.

“Our seniors were really disappointed with the way we handled the last two weeks,” Warne said, referencing recent losses to Drexel and Marquette. “We just worked this week to hold each other a little bit more accountable.”

Denver opened the scoring See denver, A11

ALLAN GICHOHI For the Hoya

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team currently ranks fourth in the Big East with a record of 3-1 in conference play. The Hoyas defeated rivals Cincinnati and Denver this week by scores of 16-10 and 8-7, respectively.

GU Secures 2 Conference Road Wins bRIDGET mCeLROY Hoya Staff Writer

Amanda Van Orden For the hoya

Senior goalie Nick Marrocco, right, has 77 saves this season, while allowing 71 goals. He is currently fourth in the Big East in saves.

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team downed two Big East Conference foes this week. Last Saturday, Georgetown triumphed 16-10 over Cincinnati in Ohio. The win marked the Hoyas’ second league victory for the season, with their only loss of the season to Florida on March 24 .

“It was a big conference win today,” Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “We competed well in all aspects and had contri-

butions from many different players.” In fact, 11 different Hoyas scored.

Cincinnati (6-5, 0-4 Big East) scored the first goal of the game, but fewer than 10 seconds later, junior attack Taylor Gebhardt answered with a goal off an assist from sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch. Gebhardt’s goal, one of two for her in the game, propelled Georgetown (7-4, 3-1 Big East) into an unanswered five-goal run.

During the run, sophomore attack Michaela Bruno scored

her first of two goals. Bruno led the Georgetown squad Saturday with two goals and three assists for a five-point game.

The next two goals were tossed in by freshman midfielders: Caroline Frock and Mary Pagano both scored to push Georgetown ahead by two. Frock had two total goals and an assist against the Bearcats.

Senior captain midfielder Hannah Seibel also scored once before Cincinnati finally answered. Seibel’s goal

was off an assist from junior attack Morgan Ryan. Ryan finished the game with four points, composed of three goals and her assist. Seibel finished with three points — two goals and an assist.

The Hoyas dominated in many aspects, outshooting the Bearcats 41-31. Georgetown also obtained 15 draw controls, while Cincinnati only secured 13. In addition, Georgetown’s defense forced 16 turnovers and committed See cincinnati, A11

Under review

Track & Field

Teams Post Stellar Results Across Country Ethan Cohn

Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s and women’s track teams competed across the country last weekend, displaying strong individual and relay performances at the Raleigh Relays, the Pepsi Florida Relays and the Stanford Invitational.

Director of Track and Field

Julie Culley said the team tries to place runners in events in which they can be successful.

“We try to evaluate which competition the individual can be most successful in,” Culley wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Freshman sprinters Shannon Meisberger and Lawrence Leake gave strong performances over the weekend at

the Raleigh Relays. Meisberger finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.75 and Leake ran a personal best in the same event.

“Both Shannon and Lawrence had strong openers in the hurdles to start their freshman outdoor campaigns.

If Shannon can dip under 60 seconds, she will have a great shot at making the NCAA East

Regional Championships,” Culley wrote. “Both should be at the top of the Big East when we head to the championships in May.” Culley singled out four other runners whom she expects to compete at the postseason meets in May. “We had three women and See RALEigh, A11

Jeff Swanson

MLB Predictions For 2018 Season As the calendar turns to April, baseball is back. Fans were treated to a superb Opening Day last Thursday, which featured games from 26 MLB teams. After the inaugural weekend, it is time for some bold predictions about the future of the upcoming season.

1. The Washington Nationals will have the best record in MLB. While the reigning champions, the Houston Astros, are the popular choice for this year’s best record, the Nationals have an incredibly talented team to match them. The Nationals’ pitching staff is exceptional, anchored by aces Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. The offense also has the potential to be dynamic, with Trea Turner and Adam Eaton setting the table for Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy, once he returns from injury.

Additionally, the Nationals will have the opportunity to feast on a relatively weak National League East division comprised of a middling New York Mets team, young but still developing Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies squads and the perpetually frustrating Miami Marlins.

GUHOYAS

Sophomore distance runner Margie Cullen finished sixth in the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational in California last weekend with a time of 10:23.10. Cullen’s time defeated her previous personal record by more than 16 seconds.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

2. J.D. Martinez will prove to be a more influential acquisition for the Boston Red Sox than Giancarlo Stanton was for the New York Yankees.

In 2017, the Yankees were sec-

ond in the American League in runs and first in home runs, so the acquisition of Stanton is a luxury pickup. This season, the Yankees will go as far as their pitching staff will take them, especially in the inevitable games when the Yankees are unable to hit home runs and score runs in bunches. Conversely, though the 2017 Red Sox ranked sixth in the AL in runs scored, they demonstrated meager power numbers: They were last in the AL in home runs and second to last in slugging percentage. Martinez will help immensely in this regard, if he can come close to replicating the 45 homers he bashed in 2017.

Additionally, the presence of Martinez should have a trickle-down effect on the entire lineup and will alleviate some pressure on players like outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. 3. The Chicago Cubs will not win the National League Central.

After the Cubs’ championship breakthrough in 2016, the franchise appeared to be on the brink of a dynasty, as the club will maintain the same core of young position players for years to come. However, this season will be a tougher test for the Cubs, especially for their starting rotation, which suffered the loss of starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

For the Cubs to be truly elite, Jose See swanson, A11