The Hoya: March 31, 2017 by The Hoya

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

FRIday, MARCH 31, 2017

REUNITING THE LADS

Award-winning director Danny Boyle speaks about “T2 Trainspotting” in an exclusive interview.

EDITORIAL College rankings reports assign too much value to quantitative factors.

ADVOCACY FOR ALL In its inaugural year, UndocuWeek seeks to build community.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A7

GUIDE, B2

GUSA Approves Acceptance Rates Hit Record Low Budget, Media 15.4 percent of applicants were admitted to the Class of 2021 Board Sees Cut Aly Pachter Hoya Staff Writer

Ben Goodman Hoya Staff Writer

The Media Board’s student activities fee funding is set to decrease from $95,000 to $57,500 — a 39.5 percent cut — as approved Sunday in the Georgetown University Student Association Finance and Appropriation Committee fiscal year 2018 budget. The budget, approved unanimously by the 28-person GUSA senate Sunday, allocates exactly $1,000,640 collected from the annual student activities fee to Georgetown’s advisory boards and other student activities, including the Lecture Fund and Georgetown Program Board.

“No one has any idea what the percentage of print readership is, and if there’s no justification for printing more — we have a very limited budget.” Alejandro serrano (MSB ’17) Fin/App Media Board Liaison

Most advisory boards received an increase in their appropriations, with the Advisory Board on Club

Sports receiving an 8 percent increase from $185,000 to $200,000 and the Campus Ministry Student Forum gaining a 4.9 percent increase from $18,500 to $19,400. GUSA received $23,950, with a requirement that the GUSA Fund allocation, which provides funding for other student groups, must not exceed $15,000 and that the Transfer Council, which coordinates programming for transfer students, shall receive a $5,000 internal budget allocation. The overall allocation represents a $2,438 increase from last fiscal year’s $998,202 budget. Advisory boards requested a total of exactly $1,344,242.63. Members of Fin/App serve as liaisons to the advisory boards in the budget allocation process. Fin/App Media Board Liaison Alejandro Serrano (MSB ’17) said the Media Board had not shown requisite responsibility for its own expenditures and needs, especially relating to the media outlets that print their publications. “The consensus was that they were not as fiscally precise as other budget boards. No one has any idea what the percentage of print See ALLOCATIONS, A6

Georgetown accepted a record-low 15.4 percent of students to the Class of 2021, an overall 3,313 out of 21,465 applicants.

The 15.4 percent acceptance rate marks a full point percentage drop from the rates of the last five years, which hovered between 16.4 percent and 16.6 percent. Of the total accepted ap-

plicants, 931 were accepted in the early action cycle while 2,382 were accepted in the regular cycle. The applicant pool this year also marked the largest pool in Georgetown’s history, topping the previous

ESTHER KIM/THE HOYA

The university saw both a record-high number of applicants and a record-low acceptance rate for the Class of 2021. Three of the four schools saw an increase in applications.

high of 20,111 applicants in 2012. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions sent out acceptance letters for the regular application cycle Friday. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon (CAS ’64, GRD ’69) attributed the increased applicant pool to the school’s focus on the individual student and a national spotlight on Washington, D.C., during the 2016 presidential election. “We did not do anything different to increase the pool. In fact, we actively try not to increase it, because we really would like it to be representing people who really are interested and are willing to go through the extra effort,” Deacon said. “Even though we make it harder for people, the pool goes up, which is good. That partly is because the combination of Georgetown’s identity and the location together.” Georgetown College, the School of Foreign Service and the School of Nursing and Health Studies all saw increased number of applications. The College had a pool of 12,920 applicants, compared to 11,674 applicants last year with 1,883 applicants for an acceptance rate of 14.6 percent. See ADMISSIONS, A6

Reports of Missing Youth Garner National Attention Matt Larson Hoya Staff Writer

A new Metropolitan Police Department initiative to publicize reports of missing black and Latino youth in Washington, D.C., has drawn national attention and public outcry to a perceived increase in missing persons of color. The Congressional Black Caucus called on

the FBI to assist the MPD in investigating cases of missing children March 23, according to the Associated Press. MPD has reported a total of 861 missing person cases since the start of 2017, prompting Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to introduce a series of six initiatives to address missing young people in D.C. However, MPD maintains there is no signifi-

cant increase in missing young people in the area. Instead, MPD has expanded upon an information sharing technique, which debuted in December 2016. The department has been posting photos and personal information about individuals reported missing on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to recruit public assistance in locating the missing.

The situation of many of those reported has been deemed “critical,” a definition that includes individuals under the age of 15 or over the age of 65, as well as chronic runaways and those who present an imminent danger to themselves or others. In the past, MPD has used its discretion to distribute photographs and names of some of the missing. Since December,

the department has begun posting every missing person’s information. The technique was announced in a March 16 press conference with Bowser, MPD Commander Chanel Dickerson and interim MPD Chief Peter Newsham, after a post on Twitter and Instagram claiming that 14 young women of color had been reported missing in a 24hour time span went viral

MIRANDA TAFOYA/THE HOYA

The Metropolitan Police Department’s new incentive to publish critical missing person reports on social media has sparked public outcry and concern over unresolved cases. There are 17 juvenile cases and 14 adult cases yet to be resolved, which MPD has mantained represent typical numbers.

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and the hashtag #MissingDCGirls began trending. At the press conference, Dickerson urged the community to stay calm and explained that the number of missing person cases in D.C. had not increased. “Let me first reassure you, we have no indication young girls in the District are being preyed upon by human traffickers in large numbers,” Dickerson said. “But when we talk about numbers, I’m not trying to minimize when I say there’s not an uptick or there’s been a decrease. It’s just that we wanted to be transparent.” Newsham explained that MPD’s social media strategy may have caused confusion and concern among D.C. residents, but is serving its purpose. Bowser affirmed this, saying that the social media approach has facilitated MPD’s ability to find missing persons. “What we are seeing is an increase in the amount of attention and awareness that we are putting on children that have been separated from families,” Bowser said at the press conference. “In fact, we think MPD is leading in See MISSING, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Representation for 272 A group of descendants of the 272 hired legal representation to mediate conversations with the university. A4

Free Verse Poetry liberates readers from the oftenlimiting and enclosing boundaries of day-to-day reality. A3

Maneuver Around Manziel With his flawed character and troubled past, signing Manziel would be a mistake for the Saints. B8

NEWS HoyasForShe Launches

opinion Major Fumble

SPORTS Conference Success

Students and administrators launched the HoyasForShe initiative to raise awareness for gender equity. A5

The GOP’s botched efforts to repeal Obamacare underscore an innerparty civil war. A3

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

The women’s lacrosee team looks to remain undefeated in Big East play as it hosts Temple on Saturday. B10

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, MARCH 31, 2017

THE VERDICT

Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIAL

Rankings Prove Insufficient C that these rankings are largely predicated on outsider evaluations rather than students’ lived experiences. Even objective factors like acceptance rate, which makes up 10 percent of the student selectivity metric, are misleading when taken out of context. For instance, Georgetown is one of few prominent universities that does not use the Common Application, which means that each of Georgetown’s 21,465 applicants this year were self-selected through a separate application process. This drives down the overall number of applicants to Georgetown and may hike up the acceptance rate, but it bolsters the quality of applications as prospective students must apply more effort than checking a box in the Common Application. Even Georgetown’s smaller endowment, which manifests in rankings in the financial resources section, neglects to paint a full picture of the Georgetown experience. Although the university does not offer merit aid and cites the lack of financial support as the largest reason accepted students do not enroll, Georgetown has made tremendous strides in expanding financial resources for low-income students, especially through its trailblazing Georgetown Scholarship Program. Instead of evaluating the national standing of schools based on factors like acceptance rate and endowment, parents, counselors and prospective students should look for other factors neglected by traditional ranking methodologies. No quantitative method could truly capture a university’s culture, but certain metrics can tell you more about a university than average SAT score or acceptance rate. For instance, geographic diversity can be a telling sign of a school’s national reputation. While many schools have one state represent half their student body, Georgetown goes through seven of its largest feeder states before reaching 50 percent of its student population’s makeup. Many will look upon Georgetown’s lowered acceptance rate as a sign of our upward trajectory in national rankings or fret over the university’s endowment as a drag on our standing. In reality, neither of these factors fundamentally changes the Georgetown experience nor affects the lives of students on a daily basis. Both those inside and outside the university community must acknowledge that the university’s value lies beyond its rankings.

Internet Investigation — After Congress voted Tuesday to dismantle Internet privacy legislation, opponents of this move banded together to raise money to purchase lawmakers’ browsing histories. The protesters, combined, raised over $200,000.

The Great Escape — A South Dakota driver is being charged with felony grand theft after stealing the squad car of a deputy who he had called for help after running out of gas. He was caught when the escape-car also ran out of gas.

For those who view rankings as a barometer for a university’s excellence, the past year has yielded mixed results at Georgetown. On one hand, the university’s record-high application season yielded a record-low acceptance rate of 15.4 percent, admitting a full percentage point less than the average acceptance rate of the past five years. At the same time, Georgetown’s endowment saw a precipitous drop of 3 percent between the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years, limiting the university’s ability to offer competitive financial aid packages to prospective students, invest in projects to improve the student experience and attract talent to campus. This has only exacerbated the $8.59 billion chasm between Georgetown’s $1.48 billion endowment and the $10.07 billion average of other top 20 universities, excluding the University of California system. This places Georgetown dead last in terms of endowment out of the top 20 universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report’s best colleges. Georgetown is tied for No. 20 overall. Both these factors — acceptance rate and endowment — are taken into account directly and indirectly when computing university rankings. However, this editorial board cautions against assigning great value to these figures and recommends dispensing with the idea that rankings are a proxy for educational value. Last September’s national college rankings saw Georgetown tied with Emory University and the University of California, Berkeley. Although viewed by many as an authoritative compendium on university quality, these lists rely on a flawed methodology that fails to capture a school’s true value. None of the metrics used in the U.S. News & World Report — graduate and retention rates, undergraduate academic reputation, selectivity, faculty resources, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rate performance — account for student input or surveys to gauge their experience at a university. Instead, two-thirds of the undergraduate academic reputation score — one of the ranking’s biggest components — comprises peerassessment survey, which asks administrators from other schools to grade a university based on their perception. Aside from the absurdity of asking a university administrator to surmise the worth of 309 other schools, this reflects

A Colorful Goodbye — On Thursday, Crayola announced that its classic yellow hue, dandelion, will be retired from its 24-count pack and inducted into the Crayola Hall of Fame. The color was first introduced in 1990.

A Real-Life Sharknado — A dead shark was discovered on the streets of Queensland, Australia after a powerful cyclone. Observers have drawn comparisons to the popular film series, “Sharknado.”

C C C

Better Late Than Never — A Montana library patron returned Richard Matheson’s “Bid Time Return,” a book that he had borrowed in 1982, as well as a $200 donation “for a chance at redemption.” The man returned the copy after having it restored and autographed. Target Acquired — Police in Fairfax County, Va., are seeking to identify a woman who impersonated a Target employee and stole $40,000 worth of iPhones. Pip Pip Cheerio! — The first egg of two bald eagles dubbed Mr. President and First Lady hatched at the U.S. National Arboretum on Wednesday. The second eaglet pipped, or cracked its eggshell, on Thursday morning, indicating it will likely emerge in the next 24 hours.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Elinor Walker

Bolster Event Engagement In anticipation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech today, Georgetown students equipped with sleeping bags camped out near Gaston Hall before 11 p.m. the night before the 10:30 a.m. event, much like they did when she spoke in 2014. The traditional rite of passage of spending hours in line to make the cut for a prestigious Gaston speaker presents itself a few times a year — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to name a few. However, the pomp and circumstance surrounding these superstar visitors makes it all too easy to overlook the fact that extraordinary speakers come to Georgetown practically every day who are mostly ignored by the campus community. The Georgetown International Relations Club hosted its annual Georgetown Diplomacy and International Security Conference last Saturday, which, despite hosting speakers like National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael S. Rogers and former Obama Deputy Assistant Colin Kahl, struggled to fill half the seats at its panels held in Healy Hall classrooms. These names only touch on the number of impressive speakers at Georgetown every week across many buildings on or near campus. The issue is not that these events receive no participation — nearly all have dogged, dedicated followings from a select group of students. But often these events are under-attended relative to the prestige of the speakers, perhaps because students are so acclimated to an onslaught of famous speakers that they take for granted the other opportunities the university provides. Speakers who could easily fill auditoriums at other schools may find sparsely oc-

cupied seating at Georgetown. Though this may be partly attributed to Georgetown student’s general busyness — with class conflicts and commitments to other student organizations — much of this may stem from the inconsistent means of promotion across campus, through emails, flyers and Facebook event invitations. The mass notifications create a clutter that makes it easier to overlook certain events, and attendance at certain programs suffers because only a select few subscribers are notified. Nevertheless, students have resources at their disposal that could alleviate this clutter. Despite the efficiency of underused tools such as the Georgetown Event Calendar launched by the Georgetown University Student Association last year, students nevertheless often neglect to reap the benefits of opportunities offered on campus. The lack of awareness about these events is detrimental to students who miss out on opportunities, to student groups who organized the events and to the speakers themselves who encounter underwhelming audiences. In light of student apathy, this editorial board beseeches students to combat “event fatigue” by accessing campus resources like the events calendar and educating themselves about opportunities on campus. A key distinguishing element of the education provided at Georgetown through its D.C. location and prestige is its capacity to attract prominent, intellectually engaging speakers every week. While Georgetown students are undoubtedly occupied with responsibilities in their academic and extracurricular lives, resources exist to help students identify opportunities and enrich their experience at Georgetown by engaging with speakers.

Toby Hung, Editor-in-Chief Cirillo Paolo Santamaria, Executive Editor Jeffrey Tara Subramaniam Jesus Rodriguez, Managing Editor Christian Paz

Ian Scoville, Campus News Editor Aly Pachter, City News Editor Sean Hoffman, Sports Editor Marina Tian, Guide Editor Lisa Burgoa, Opinion Editor Lauren Seibel, Photography Editor Alyssa Volivar, Design Editor Sarah Wright, Copy Chief Kelly Park, Social Media Editor Alessandra Puccio, Blog Editor Jack Martin, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Lisa Burgoa, Chair CC Borzilleri, Laila Brothers, Daria Etezadi, Ellie Goonetillake, Jack Lynch, Jack Segelstein, Bennett Stehr, Annabelle Timsit

William Zhu Alfredo Carrillo Emily Dalton Dean Hampers Cynthia Karnezis Viviana De Santis Dani Guerrero Meena Raman Maya Gandhi Grace Laria Jacob Witt Elinor Walker Derrick Arthur Anna Kovacevich Karla Leyja Stephanie Yuan Michelle Kelly Esther Kim Peter Shamamian Eleanor Stork Anna Dezenzo Janine Karo Sterling Lykes Catherine Schluth Charlie Fritz Kathryn Baker Dan Baldwin Yasmine Salam

Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy City News Editor Business Editor Deputy Business & News Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Guide Editor Deputy Opinion 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 Design Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Copy Editor Deputy Blog Editor Deputy Social Media Editor Deputy Social Media Editor Deputy Social Media Editor

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The Rostrum

“T

hese anti-trans bathroom bills are not really about bathrooms. They’re about whether we want and believe that trans people have a right to exist in public space. When trans people can’t access public bathrooms, we can’t go to schools effectively, go to work effectively, access health care facilities. … It’s really about us not existing, about erasing trans people.”

Laverne Cox, MSNBC Interview, Feb. 23, 2017

Daniel Almeida, General Manager Emily Ko, Director of Alumni Relations Brittany Logan, Director of Financial Operations Gabriella Cerio, Director of Human Resources George Lankas, Director of Sales Karen Shi Galilea Zorola Matt Zezula Tara Halter Brian Yoffe Emily Marshall Akshat Kumar

Personnel Manager Senior Accounts and Operations Manager Treasury Manager Accounts Manager Accounts Manager Alumni Engagement Manager Local Ads Manager

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Madeline Auerbach, Kara Avanceña, Chris Balthazard, Isabel Binamira, Elizabeth Cavacos, Tom Garzillo, Lauren Gros, Shannon Hou, Darius Iraj, Yuri Kim, Dan Kreytak, Andrew May, John Miller, Syed Humza Moinuddin, Tyler Park, Becca Saltzman, Sarah Santos, Jeanine Santucci, Kshithij Shrinath, Emily Tu, Emma Wenzinger

Board of Directors

Kristen Fedor, Chair Daniel Almeida, Jinwoo Chong, Toby Hung, Arnosh Keswani, Selena Parra, Matthew Trunko Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words. Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-700 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions. Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya.com. Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue. The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints. Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Paolo Santamaria at (703) 409-7276 or email executive@thehoya.com. News Tips Campus News Editor Ian Scoville: Call (202) 602-7650 or email campus@thehoya. com. City News Editor Aly Pachter: Call (916) 995-0412 or email city@thehoya.com. Sports Editor Sean Hoffman: Call (703) 300-0267 or email sports@thehoya.com. General Information The Hoya is published twice each week

during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University. Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya. Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors. The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2016. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 4,000

OPINION

Friday, MARCH 31, 2017

THE SENIOR COMPASS SERIES

THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • PEREYRA

Sydney Jean Gottfried

Enriched By Empathy

nlike some of my peers, I did not come to Georgetown for its Jesuit or Catholic affiliation. The daughter of a seldompracticing New York Jew and a largely agnostic Australian woman, religion played no role in my upbringing, nor did I seek it in college. I was, however, impressed by Georgetown’s commitment to social justice and its unique ability to facilitate student engagement in public service in the heart of our nation’s capital. When I arrived on campus, I dove into that culture. In my time as a Hoya, I worked on two political campaigns. One promised to pour money back into Pennsylvania’s public schools and successfully did so. The other sought to prove that love trumps hate. As we know, that campaign failed, but in many ways its message resounded. Ten weeks later, I sat on the Capitol steps at the winning candidate’s peaceful and democratic inauguration. Even before then, I attended a public health summit with a faculty member-turned-aid worker, and Skyped an African head of state in the height of the Ebola crisis. I wrote about women in leadership and interviewed the director of the Peace Corps. I sat in the Senate press gallery with the individual who brought political news to BuzzFeed and taught me that journalism is not about glamour, but about giving a platform to the people and issues that lack one. I delivered hundreds, if not thousands, of cups of coffee. On many occasions, Georgetown enabled me to stand close to the halls of power and wonder what it might be like to one day fill them. But I did not expect Georgetown’s set of Jesuit ideals to change the reasons I would want to do so. I came to Georgetown believing the only thing I held in common with the Jesuits were the initials S.J. But through the reluctant fulfillment of theology class requirements and the hunger-fueled attendance

of many a chaplains’ tea, I was pleasantly proved wrong. I learned that the ideals that drew me to Georgetown were the same ones that inspired the Jesuits to found our university. I came to see that the Jesuit values printed on posters around campus — “Men and women for others,” “Care for the whole person,” — were exactly what I had found appealing about Georgetown, far more so than a proximity to our federal government. My professors of the Jesuit tradition, other faith traditions and no tradition incorporated these values into their classrooms and opened my mind to things I had long since decided were not for me. They helped me replace apathy with curiosity, and they forever gifted me with the ability to respect traditions and ideas I do not claim as my own. Weeks away from receiving our diplomas, I am proud that my peers and I will graduate with an enriched capacity for empathy. Additionally, I hope that we will graduate with a renewed call to service. We are living through days that will be a formative time for our generation and a critical point in our nation’s history. Now is the time to stand up for Americans who have not had the same advantages that we have been afforded. Groups and identities across the U.S. are under attack. Freedoms that are uniquely American are at risk. Georgetown has given us the toolkit, the connections and the sense of responsibility to protect them. Upon graduation, I am hopeful that my fellow members of the Class of 2017 will reject cynicism, fear and division. I am confident that they will remember the Jesuit values with which they were instilled and will continually prove that they are indeed men and women for others.

Sydney Jean Gottfried is a senior in the College. The Senior Compass Series

will launch online Wednesday.

Contrary to popular belief, poetry is not uninviting or antiquated; rather, it is an extended invitation to sit at the table.

Poetry’s Beauty and Bewilderment

n her collection “The Summer Day,” poet Mary Oliver is famous for these lines:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life? An invocation to our vulnerability and truest selves, Oliver asks us: What does it mean to live a wild life and to be wild? What do we do when time is so precious? What does it mean to live a fulfilled life? When we feel fearful, tribal and antagonistic, we need poetry. We need poetry and its humble wonders. We need poetry to remind us of our impermanence. We need poetry to help us to live as better, more generous people. To help us connect to our earth, roots and one another. Poetry slows down our lives in a world that tells us to speed up. Poetry forces us to consider alternative possibilities in a world that is saturated and obsessed with fast facts, “Breaking News” headlines and definite answers. Poetry is absence and ev-

erything all at once — when poetry reaches out to us, no matter our present circumstance, we are expected to meet it halfway. Contrary to popular belief, poetry is not uninviting or antiquated; rather, it is an extended invitation to sit at the table. To meet the poet where he or she is. To grapple with personas, elegies, ekphrasis, limericks, tankas, haikus or ghazals. To sit, and just be with it. We have grown accustomed to dreading poetry. It is too complex, strange and subjective. Poetry does not matter, because it is too emotional and less objective. It is useless because it is not real life. But tell me, what is more compassionate and fearful than engaging with a stranger’s lived experience? Or his or her hunger to capture what is whole and broken about our world? Poetry both fills the gaps and creates the necessary silences. It translates and makes language incomprehensible. It is constricting in its form and it is free. Poetry is not concerned about having the definite answer at the end.

Rather, as Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote in his diary, live the questions now. One’s lostness in the wildness of language is the central narrative. Our idea of knowledge is foolishly seen as attainable. We must be a neophyte, lost in a museum of undiscovered objects. There is simplicity and wonder in not knowing — poetry is about being grounded and having gratitude, no matter life’s most brutal and unresolved consequences. In the poem “Thank You,” Ross Gay pens:

If you find yourself half naked / and barefoot in the frosty grass, hearing, / again, the earth’s great, sonorous moan that says / you are the air of the now and gone, that says / all you love will turn to dust, / and will meet you there, do not / raise your first. Do not raise / your small voice against it. And do not / take cover. Instead, curl your toes / into the grass, watch the cloud / ascending from your lips. Walk / through the garden’s dormant splendor. / Say only, thank you. / Thank you.

No matter the war, poetry will be the gift that keeps on giving. No matter the loneliness, a poem will keep you company. No matter the dust and despair, poetry will teach you hope and forgiveness. My old poetry mentor, Harryette Mullen, wrote one poem a day in her collection “Urban Tumbleweed: Notes from a Tanka Diary.” Out of the 365 tankas that she recorded in Los Angeles, this one compels me to remember what is most essential about our bare lives:

As you have forgotten, so one day / might you remember how to be wild / and bewildered, to be wilder and be wilderness? In poetry, we see the world as is — the feral, the splendid, the bleak, the simple, the ephemeral and the unknowable. Poetry forces us to consider beauty, pain and redemption as we walk barefoot in this wild world, together. JEWEL PEREYRA is a graduate student in the School of Continuing Studies.

playing politics

As the jesuit sees it

A House Divided

Revolutions of the Heart

ne thing the two of us share is a love of the Los Angeles Lakers. Once a source of pride for the fans, the team has fallen from relevance to the point where fans no longer identify as such. Since Kobe Bryant’s last great season in 2013, in which he led the league in scoring the majority of the season, the franchise has fallen to last in the NBA’s Western Conference. Lost in despair, Lakers fans like us are left to reminisce about the glory days rather than watch a game in realtime. We remember the team’s dominance in the 1980s, when stars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the team to five championships. Fans are left to wallow as our beloved Lakers flounder. It is a bit like the current situation for many Republicans. Despite a resounding victory last November, elected Republicans have repeatedly shown that they are unprepared to lead the country and deliver on key elements of their agenda. This has left many long-time conservatives wondering how a party so dominant and influential over the last decades now faces an intra-party civil war. Let us examine the most recent instance of the GOP’s failure: the implosion of the American Health Care Act. Last week, House Republicans retracted their proposed measure, which would have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act, before it went to a vote. With a majority in the House, Republicans could have passed the bill if all but 22 GOP members voted in favor of it. Though that seemed like a safe margin, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan quickly realized that, despite the president’s alleged deal acumen, they lacked the

votes to pass the bill. On Friday afternoon, he removed the bill from the docket — effectively killing the AHCA.

Christian Mesa & Aaron Bennett This political fumble reveals the bitter infighting and weak leadership rampant within the Republican Party. We are reminded of a memorable Lakers moment from last year when rookie guard DeAngelo Russell let slip that teammate Nick Young had cheated on his girlfriend, pop star Iggy Azalea. Needless to say, this incited a teamwide feud, turning the locker room chemistry toxic. That, we imagine, is the atmosphere within the House Republican caucus. What ultimately brought down the AHCA was that it found itself lodged ideologically in between the arch-conservative Freedom Caucus and the moderate wing. Upon introduction of the bill, members from each side withheld their support, believing the bill was either too conservative or too liberal. Any adjustments that could have been made to appease one side and earn their votes would have lost votes from the other end of the Republican spectrum. Unable to reconcile the factions of his party, Ryan decided to pull the bill rather than suffer the inevitable defeat of a failed passage vote. There is also a clear parallel between personnel problems on both the Lakers and in the

GOP. When traded to the Lakers in the summer of 2012, the emotionally volatile superstar Dwight Howard was assumed to be leader of the new-look Lakers. However, his constant criticism of the organization and selfish play quickly isolated him from the team. When it came down to the wire in the 2013 playoffs, Howard choked under pressure and failed to lead the team to victory. Ironically, the ultimate deal-maker, President Donald Trump, failed to close the deal on the AHCA when Republicans needed him most. For almost seven years, the GOP has railed against the ACA and vowed to implement an effective replacement. Most national Republicans in the last seven years have run on the platform of repealing the ACA. However, when thrust into the spotlight, Trump and his congressional allies presented a mess of an attempt at a conservative health care system that raised premiums, reduced protections for the elderly and uninsured millions. Although the GOP controls two — soon to be three — branches of government, rankand-file Republicans should brace themselves for a Lakerlike experience, with more infighting and botched execution in the coming months. Republicans are learning that it is easier to oppose something than to solve the actual problem. Next up on the docket are tax reforms and budget battles, both of which, with firm opposition from Democrats, will prove difficult for a splintered governing party.

Christian Mesa and Aaron Bennett are sophomores in the College. Playing Politics appears every other Friday.

rtistic works rendering the process of conversion and transformation are often externally dramatic – be it Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul or Flannery O’Connor’s Revelation. While such depictions capture the power of human transformation, they also might sway one to believe that a conversion – in belief, attitude, way of thinking or acting – must necessarily entail an intense external rupture in one’s life. Quite often, these moments are quieter, more subtle and sublime, but nonetheless equally life-changing. Sometimes it occurs by something so simple, so seemingly mundane, as ordering ice cream. We had the great privilege to speak with Mike Wilson, a tribal member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, on this year’s MAGIS spring break immersion trip to the ArizonaMexico border. Mike has spent years putting out water across the Nation’s lands for migrants crossing the desert, as well as housing migrant families in his home with his wife. Yet Mike’s journey to becoming a social justice activist is a winding one. In the 1980s, Mike served as an advisor for the U.S. Special Forces in El Salvador during the country’s civil war. How is it that a Green Beret with his own security detail makes the dramatic shift to becoming an active promoter of human rights? Such a journey, in Mike’s words, involves openness, humility and a revolution of the heart. Mike had been in San Salvador for quite some time when he was invited to dinner by the woman who sold him pu-

pusas every day on his way to work. Later that Friday afternoon, Mike decided to indulge himself by stopping off at the ice cream shop for a banana split. When it came time to pay, he realized that he was overcharged for the dessert. Though Mike said nothing, he seethed over this perceived injustice.

Fr. Gregory Schenden, S.J. He arrived that evening at the humble family home of his hosts. His host informed him that her husband – a bus driver out in the rural areas far outside the city – was not yet home. When he returned, long after dinner was over, he sat down with them at the dinner table. His wife brought out his late dinner and a beer. As they sat, the husband counted his wages for his 14-hour day, placing the centavos into small stacks. As Mike watched, he had a jarring realization – the husband’s wages for driving a bus for the past 14 hours did not amount to as much as Mike’s overpriced banana split. As Mike tells it, in that low-lit room around a dinner table in San Salvador, everything changed. He was, in his words, not merely humbled, but also humiliated – he recognized his entitlement, his privilege and prestige, and all that he took for granted. As Mike tells it, it was in that

moment that everything shifted for him on a heart level. He would return home to Arizona still as Mike Wilson, but a transformed Mike Wilson. His eyes were opened to the needs of immigrants without documentation crossing the desert of the Tohono O’odham Nation. He would begin his mission of placing water throughout the desert. He embraced his own prophetic vocation to reach out to those on the painful and life-threatening margins. Such transformation allows Mike to continue to do so, even when his actions went against the wishes of his tribe and church. So it is with a revolution of the heart. Ernest Hemingway wrote that “there is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Such is the path to personal transformation and conversion. This journey indeed consists in humility; a humility that necessarily entails a willingness to allow one’s attitudes and perceptions to be radically altered – altered by not simply concepts and theories, but by experiences and relationships. A radical transformation demands radical openness — openness to the seemingly minute and seemingly inconsequential events of our day to day lives – events like ordering a banana split, or sitting quietly at a dinner table. Only then are the possibilities of an authentic revolution of the heart to be realized.

Fr. Gregory Schenden, S.J., is the Catholic chaplain at Georgetown University. As THIS jesuit sees it appears every other Friday.

NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017

PAGE FOUR

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen spoke at a Lannan Center Symposium event. Story on A7.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

verbatim

IN FOCUS CHOICE WEEK

“

Proper immigration status is the best mental health intervention for refugees, or for anyone.” Georgetown Institute for the Study of Migration Research Professor Elzbieta Gozdziak. Story on A8.

from our blog

ELLA WAN FOR THE HOYA

Planned Parenthood Metro Washington CEO Laura Meyers discussed the effect of President Donald Trump’s election on Planned Parenthood and reproductive rights Tuesday as part of H*yas for Choice’s Choice Week.

THE 7 PERSONALITIES AT RECRUITING EVENTS Recruiting season has started, so prepare yourself by brushing up on everyone you will run into at recruiting events. blog.thehoya.com

DNC Chair, Vice Chair Discuss Future of the Party MARINA PITOFSKY Hoya Staff Writer

The Democratic Party must continue outreach efforts to millennials to remain the progressive organization it claims to be, argued Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the chair and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday. Perez also addressed growing young immigrant populations around the country and emphasized that the Democratic Party stands with immigrant communities. “No matter where you were born, no matter what your first language was at home, no matter who you worship, no matter who you love — there is a place for you at the American table, and those are the pillars of the Democratic Party,” Perez said. Hosted by the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, the former rivals for the DNC chair position analyzed their party’s strategy to engage young voters in the political process and convince millennials their values align with Democrats. Perez and Ellison were the two front-runners during the nearly four-month race for the DNC’s chairmanship. The election marked the first contested election since 1985. Perez, the labor secretary under President Barack Obama, received backing from former Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and represented the moderate wing of the party. Ellison, then a congressman from Minnesota, received support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (DMass.), as well as members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Perez defeated Ellison in the second round of voting in the Feb. 25 election and motioned for Ellison to be selected as vice chair. GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee, a former DNC communications director and spokesperson, guided Perez and

Ellison’s discussion of what defines the Democratic Party. Perez said millennials should be drawn to the Democratic Party because it addresses the issues about which they are passionate in a both a comprehensive and compassionate way.

“The way that we reach millennials is to recognize that this economy has shifted dramatically.” KEITH ELLISON (D-Minn.) Vice chair, Democratic National Convention

“We have the common man and the common woman in mind — fighting for them, fighting for fairness, fighting to level the playing field,” Perez said. Ellison said millennials should be able to identify with the party’s economic

vision. “The way that we reach millennials is to recognize that this economy has shifted dramatically. The people in their forties and fifties may remember a time where you can work your way through with a parttime job. You can’t do that no more,” Ellison said. According to Elleithee, 29 percent of millennials identified with the Democratic Party in 2015, 17 percent identified with the Republican Party and 48 percent identified with neither group. Elleithee asked Perez and Ellison to consider how the Democratic Party can not only maintain its base, but also attract those who do not identify with either party. “I was Democrat because my dad was a Democrat. That is not a good enough a reason for the next generation,” Perez said. Perez added that the generational gap can be bridged through action, which will attract younger voters. “The good news is that

our values are the same,” Perez said. “The challenge for us is to put our values into action.” Ellison said Democrats must continue to develop an economic message designed for millennials and ensure they are aware the Democratic Party stands for strong economic policy. Ellison referenced the 2016 presidential election, stating that though the party developed an economic strategy within its platform, it was not effectively communicated to young voters. “We are very clear that all over the country, the Democratic Party stands for raising the wage, the right to organize in a labor union, to fighting for overtime, to protecting and defending and advancing that. It is not just what we say in terms of message,” Ellison said. “The real problem is not that we didn’t have an economic message, we didn’t articulate it and we didn’t bring it to the people.”

CAITLYN BRANDON FOR THE HOYA

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, top, spoke with DNC Vice Chair Keith Ellison about the future of the Democratic Party at a Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service event with GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee.

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THE HOYA

Descendants of 272 Recruit Legal Representation Alex Mooney

Special to The Hoya

The Legacy of GU 272 Alliance, a group of descendants of the 272 slaves sold to a Louisiana plantation in 1838 whose sale benefited Georgetown, has hired lawyers to facilitate talks with Georgetown as the university looks to reconcile its slaveholding past. The group, which is made up of about 100 descendants of the 272 slaves, is hoping its attainment of a legal team will help it gain more of a voice in the reconciliation process. The group is separate from the GU 272 Descendants Association, another group of descendants of the 272 slaves. Adjoa Aiyetoro, a professor at the University of Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and one of the six lawyers working pro bono to aid the Legacy of GU 272 Alliance, said the group’s main goal is to be more involved in the reconciliation process with the university. “What has happened to date is that Georgetown is making decisions about what to do and they aren’t really reaching out to descendants as a whole to ask what is it you would like us to do,” Aiyetoro said. “In talking with Georgetown, they felt that it was important that they get people who are skilled in negotiations and discussions with institutions such

as Georgetown. They felt they would be heard better that way.” Senior Director for Strategic Communications Rachel Pugh said the university is committed to including descendants in ongoing conversations throughout the reconciliation process. “Our senior leaders have met with descendants and their representatives who have approached the university and our students, faculty and administrators have traveled to meet descendants where they live. We will continue to seek their input while working to promote racial justice through research and teaching,” Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We look forward to continued dialogue within our community and across the nation.” University President John DeGioia announced a series of initiatives to address the university’s connections with slavery in September, including the granting of legacy status to the descendants of the 272 slaves sold by the university to a Louisiana Plantation in 1838 and the establishment of an institute dedicated to scholarship on slavery and its implications in the United States. The university announced plans March 24 to rename Freedom Hall as Isaac Hawkins Hall, in honor of the first enslaved person recorded in the 1838 sale of the 272 slaves that

benefitted Georgetown, and Remembrance Hall as Anne Marie Becraft Hall, in honor of a free women of color and educator in the Georgetown neighborhood during the 19th century, on April 18. The university originally planned to rename Freedom Hall as Isaac Hall, but agreed to rename it as Isaac Hawkins Hall after discussions with the university, according to Pugh. The two halls that constitute the Former Jesuit Residence were first renamed from Mulledy Hall and McSherry Hall after a series of student protests and a sit-in in DeGioia’s office in November 2015. Former University President Thomas Mulledy, S.J., authorized the sale of the 272 slaves to a Louisiana plantation, while former University President William McSherry, S.J., served as Mulledy’s lawyer during the sale. The university also plans to offer an official apology for the university’s relationship with slavery in a spiritual ceremony in partnership with the Archdiocese of Washington and the Society of Jesus on April 18. According to Aiyetoro, the group feels the university has not done a sufficient job of fulfilling the recommendations put forth by the working group in its report. “Once they revealed and disclosed these injuries back

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

University President John J. DeGioia has met with a series of descendants since this summer in an effort to reconcile Georgetown’s history with slavery. in 2015, they are continuing to make decisions without full inclusion of descendants,” Aiyetoro said. History professor Adam Rothman, who was a member of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, said the university’s efforts to tell the history of its involvement in slavery could also involve

descendants more substantially. “There’s a lot of room for collaboration on that project between descendants and those who are doing research here at the university. That could be very constructive and very productive,” Rothman said. Aiyetoro said the Legacy of GU 272 Alliance legal

team remains hopeful for more tangible involvement of descendants in university discussions. “We hope that the university will have a forum on April 18,” Aiyetoro said. “Where descendants can ask specific questions of and make comments to the leadership both of the Jesuits and of Georgetown.”

Students, Administrators Launch HoyasForShe Initiative to raise awareness for gender equity Tara Subramaniam Hoya Staff Writer

ILLUSTRATION BY: Aly pachter/The hoya

The District unemployment rate has reached its lowest level since 2008, whileunemployment rates in Wards 7 and 8 remains disproportionately high to other wards.

District Unemployment Rate Remains Steady

5.7 percent rate marks lowest since 2008 Madeline Charbonneau Hoya Staff Writer

Unemployment rates in Washington, D.C., remained stable at 5.7 percent, according to preliminary data released by the the District Office of Unemployment Services on March 24. Steadily declining since 2011, the current unemployment rate, which has been the rate since December, marks the lowest unemployment since January of 2008. The rate last February was 6.2 percent. Though the February unemployment rate itself remained unchanged, the District added 4,400 private sector jobs and lost 1,800 public sector jobs between January and February. However, trade, education, information, financial, manufacturing, professional, construction and leisure sectors all saw job growth. Together, the trade, information, financial, construction and transportation and utilities sectors saw a collective loss of 2,600 jobs between January and February. Though this is the lowest unemployment rate in 9 years, the rate is still a full percentage above the national unemployment rate. District Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said the rate’s stability demonstrates her continued dedication to getting more D.C. residents back to work. “My Administration is committed to inclusive prosperity, which means more jobs and economic opportunity for residents in all eight wards,” Bowser wrote in a March 24 press release. “Our economic strategy prioritizes communities often left behind by focusing on ensuring that

residents have the skills they need to participate in D.C.’s workforce.” Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce Senior Research Analyst Andrew Hanson said stagnation in unemployment rates over two months should not raise concern, but this trend can be concerning if it continues for an extended period of time. “In general, as we look at the longer term unemployment rate and see its direction, if we see that it stays the same for 3 to 6 months in a row, that’s when there should be cause for concern. I don’t think we should be too upset or outraged for the moment,” Hanson said. Hanson also explained that the unemployment rate in the District is more complicated to analyze than looking at the unemployment rates of other U.S. states or territories due to the significant number of commuters the city employs. When the District metro area is taken into consideration, the unemployment rate is approximately 3.9 percent. Comparable metros such as Boston, New York City and Atlanta, have unemployment rates of 3.5 percent, 4.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively. “In real economies, people commute across state lines, and for the metropolitan area the unemployment rate is actually substantially lower than the national average. It’s 3.9 percent, and it’s actually one of the better labor markets if you look at the entire metro area,” Hanson said. Hanson added that the unemployment rate within the District tends to be higher due to the low-income popu-

lations living within the city and not in the surrounding metro area. “What makes it slightly worse in the city as opposed to the entire metro area is that the population is a little bit lower income, is a little bit less educated and has a bit harder time finding work compared to the broader metro area,” Hanson said. Hanson also suggested that reducing the city’s high transportation costs and providing more low-income housing could also help decrease the unemployment rate in the District. “If they can’t find an affordable way to get to jobs that are available, oftentimes that’s a huge barrier for them. In terms of housing, finding ways to promote or find affordable housing so that people can move to the more vibrant, enterprising areas of D.C.,” Hanson said. “In other cities, these are initiatives that have been launched on the micro scale across the country.” Hanson predicts the unemployment rate in D.C. will continue to decline in the near future. However, he believes that the more distant future is uncertain. “It looks like it will continue to come down, it’s been a pretty continual downward trajectory since 2011, and so you can expect that for the near term. There’s a lot of uncertainty about the longterm of that,” Hanson said. “All of the signs indicate that the labor market is basically at full employment, so eventually it will come to a point where we won’t see much further downward trajectory unless we’re able to find ways to really address the skills gaps in the city.”

Students and administrators launched HoyasforShe, the student advocacy component of the university’s United Nations HeForShe campaign commitment, with plans to coordinate gender equity marketing efforts among clubs in Copley Formal Lounge on Thursday night. University President John J. DeGioia was named one of 10 IMPACT champions by the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign in 2016, requiring the university to build a grassroots advocacy movement, engage the university community and raise awareness to fight for gender equity. The movement requires the university to enlist students and other student groups in its gender equity movement. Students of Georgetown, Inc. hosted HoyasForShe week from Feb. 12 to Feb. 17, where it hosted events and promoted gender equity in its storefronts, as part of a larger push by student groups to push gender equity. The university also plans to advance of the role of women globally through the Institute for Women Peace and Security Studies and Initiatives and the university’s first Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey completed between Jan. 14 and Feb. 15. DeGioia said Georgetown’s involvement with HeForShe and UN Women is in line with university values, in particular cura personalis, or care for the whole person. “The only way we will realize the full development of all of our people is if we empower women for leadership,” DeGioia said in a video statement. “No one will be denied the opportunities that will ensure a full development of all of her capacities.” According to its mission statement, the HoyasForShe student movement, in support of the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, aims to create con-

ditions for gender equity and human dignity to flourish on campus and worldwide. Camille Bangug (SFS ’19), an at-large member of the board, said HoyasForShe emphasizes intersectionality. “We want to achieve gender equity by recognizing the contributions of all genders, so not just empowering women but empowering people of every single gender identity,” Bangug said. “This meant to us focusing on how we can empower individuals across the gender spectrum, and working with them to create solutions that are inclusive, and to change Georgetown’s gender climate, not just so it serves women but so it serves all of us and the way that we perceive gender to be on our campus.” According to Bangug, HoyasforShe aims to promote gender equity over equality. “Achieving gender equity on our campus would mean providing recognition in the differences that make our campus so diverse and then ensuring that everyone has the ability to flourish [as] a member of our community,” Bangug said. Madison Thomas (COL ’19), at-large member of the HoyasforShe Executive Committee, said engaging a variety of communities on campus is important to achieve the goals of the HoyasforShe movement. “It’s really important that we remember that this is a really intersectional movement on campus. We need every voice on this campus to be involved,” Thomas said. “It is creating unity to recognize and fight the inequity on this campus. Every community matters in this fight.” Former Georgetown University Student Association President Enushe Khan (MSB ’17) said she believes the university is not currently achieving gender equity. “What I love about the HoyasforShe initiative is that it recognizes that the fight for gender justice and equity is a community effort and not

just a fight led by one gender I think as we approach this conversation on gender equity, we need to be mindful of how gender can intersect with identities to just raise ethnicity, socio-economic class, ability, sexual orientation and how those intersections can create additional social barriers here on our campus and beyond,” Khan said. According to Khan, Georgetown should focus on achieving gender equity in social life, academic life and club leadership. “We need to think about how we can improve our conversations and our learning environments so that it is equally empowering for people of all gender identities. How can we reform our club and social culture so that they are inclusive?” Khan said. “During my time here, I’ve learned that sexism and gender injustice not only exist, but they are very prevalent. I’ve seen firsthand, other women be victims of sexism, objectification, misogyny and disempowerment and sexual violence. This needs to end.” Khan said the university and student body should commit to developing a gender inclusive community. “The time has come to mobilize, organize and enact real change in procedures and policy,” Khan said. “Our aim with this initiative should be to ensure that we have a community where all Hoyas, regardless of gender identity, can thrive and feel empowered enough to succeed after graduation.” Bangug said she hopes the Georgetown community will join HoyasForShe to change the university’s gender climate. “If you can join us in recognizing, accepting and celebrating those differences so that when we change Georgetown’s gender climate, it’s not just for men and women, it’s for all individuals across the gender spectrum, along with recognizing how our identities interact with those relationships,” Bangug said.

ELLa wan for The hoya

Students and administrators launched the HoyasForShe initiative, part of the university’s HeForShe requirements, in an effort to raise awareness for gender equity.

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THE HOYA

FRIday, MARCH 31, 2017

Georgetown Admits Lowest Percentage of Applicants ADMISSIONS, from A1 The SFS saw 3,994 applications, up from 3,792 last year and accepted 666 applicants at a rate of 16.7 percent. The NHS had 1,268 applicants, up from 1,227 applicants last year and saw an acceptance rate of 17.8 percent with 226 students accepted. The McDonough School of Business saw a slight decline

in application numbers, with a pool of 3,283 compared to last year’s pool of 3,304. The MSB accepted 538, or 16.4 percent of applicants. Of the admitted students, 12 percent, or 393, are black, 635 or 19 percent are Asian and 410 or 16 percent identify as Latino. According to Deacon, these numbers have increased steadily with the pool, though the number of accepted stu-

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Of the accepted students, 12 percent are black, 19 percent are Asian and 16 percent identify as Latino.

dents who are Latino increased slightly more from last year’s 11 percent. The average admitted student ranked in the top 3 percent of their class. The Class of 2021 accepted students from 64 countries and a student from all 50 states, with California, New York and New Jersey having the highest number of applicants. According to Deacon, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions tries to focus on individual students during the application process rather than the numbers of applicants. “We try to make it studentcentered, so we don’t look at driving numbers way up, we look at trying to create an opportunity for you to actually talk to us,” Deacon said. “In many ways, there no place better to be than right here.” Deacon said before the final pool numbers came in, the Office of Undergraduate admissions made the decision to increase the size of the incoming class, combined with the number of transfers, from 1,580 to 1,600. Additionally, Deacon said part of the heightened numbers of applications this year can be attributed to the changes the College Board made to the SAT tests, which included a lowering the maximum score to a 1,600 as opposed to 2,400, combining the critical reading and the writing sections and eliminating the penalty for wrong answers. Of admitted students, the

middle 50 percent scored between 690 and 770 on the writing and language section and between 680 and 770 on the math section. On the ACT, the middle 50 percent scored between 31 and 34. Deacon said that students taking the new test tended to score higher, which would have encouraged them to apply to top-tier schools like Georgetown. “This was a redesigned test that sort of made it more like the ACT in the sense that it was more aligned with curriculartype things as opposed to just academic power,” Deacon said. “Our overall SAT averages of the pool increased by 25 points. That would suggest that the people who were getting higher scores decided to apply to tougher colleges.” Though the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has not collected finalized numbers on first-generation college students, Deacon said around 12 percent of the pool is composed of first-generation students. Programs like the Georgetown Scholarship Program and the Community Scholars Program, both of which provide financial and support to first-generation students, have strengthened Georgetown’s ability to encourage more applicants, according to Deacon. “What GSP is all about, what Community Scholars is about, is trying to move beyond the elite schools to schools where students would not necessarily apply to Georgetown, they try

to give them some consideration,” Deacon said. However, Georgetown’s relatively low endowment impedes its ability to support higher numbers of students from lowincome backgrounds. “If we had more money, we would have more first-gen kids, I guarantee you. But we don’t have more money right now,” Deacon said. “Really since the ’80s, we have been competing at the highest level. But it’s hard when everybody else has a lot more money.” Deacon also predicted changes to the financial aid protocol given President Donald Trump’s and the Republican-controlled Congress’ hints at cutting back on Pell grants and federal work study programs, which are both incomebased financial aid programs. “I don’t know what is going to happen in this current Congress and administration. They’re talking about cutting Pell Grants, and we’re going to have to rethink the way that financial aid is distributed in general,” Deacon said. Georgetown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are the two schools across the country that utilize their own applications as opposed to the Common Application. Deacon did not predict the university will move to the Common Application any time soon. “We couldn’t accommodate doing the Common Application. It would change everything if we did it and it would probably change, to a degree,

the student body we get — not for the better,” Deacon said. Deacon said that Georgetown’s independent application lends itself to a more committed pool of applicants, which in turn increases the yield. “It means that there’s some sort of self-selection in our applicant pool, which means that we don’t have those kind of people in the pool who are really good students, but for whom we are just one of many,” Deacon said. “We get people who actually have a good reason to be in our applicant pool.” For students who end up in Georgetown’s Class of 2021 because they did not get into their first-choice schools, Deacon said students end up satisfied with their choice because Georgetown’s external application necessitates extra work. “We’re doing things that make you do more, and yet the pool keeps going up. That would suggest that people are willing to do it,” Deacon said. “If they end up here even if we weren’t the first choice, I think they feel like they earned it.” Admitted students will be invited to attend the Georgetown Admissions Ambassadors Program Open Houses on the weekends of April 7 and April 22. Final enrollment decisions are due by May 1. Deacon anticipates the yield will remain steady at about 48 percent.

GUSA Senate Allocates 2018 Student Activities Fee ALLOCATIONS, from A1 readership is, and if there’s no justification for printing more — we have a very limited budget,” Serrano said. Serrano said The Hoya’s decision to become a full-scale online daily and print weekly starting next school year reaffirmed Fin/App’s reasoning for cutting the Media Board budget. “The moment we found that out was during the appeals meeting, and when they said that, I thought there was no reason, then, to ever increase it. It reinforced our conviction,” Serrano said. Media Board Chair Paul Henderson (COL ’18), who represents Georgetown University Radio, said Fin/App does not understand the value the Media Board offers the Georgetown community. “I don’t know whether to call it lack of understanding or lack of concern with the value of media organizations on campus from Fin/App,” Henderson said. “During the whole process, they very much expressed their discontent that Media Board organizations don’t generate a lot of revenue, and it’s true; they don’t.” Henderson said the budget cut will have a significant impact on the products Media Board groups can offer next year. According to Henderson, WGTB will most likely not be able to host its Fall Concert next semester. “It will be pretty drastic,” Henderson said. “What this effectively does is freeze Media Board organizations. This will mainly hurt marketing, outreach and events, which are

really the three things within a publication that draw new members.” The Performing Arts Advisory Council received an $82,000 allocation, identical to its allocation from last year. However, the allocation was only 72 percent of the about $113,000 requested. In Fin/App’s explanation of the budget allocations, PAAC Liaison Senator Josh Sirois (SFS ’20) said PAAC did not receive its full allocation because students should not be paying for capital improvements to university facilities — the portion of the allocation PAAC was denied. Poulton Hall, the home of Mask and Bauble, requires a $100,000 renovation to its floor, according to PAAC Vice Chair Taylor Oster (SFS ’17), PAAC’s representative to Fin/App. Oster said Fin/App’s funding decision is still concerning regarding the future of performing arts. “We will be able to ensure the programming performing arts groups put on on campus,” Oster said. “We were flat-out rejected for our capital improvements request, which has not happened in years past, which was a little disconcerting. If the university isn’t fulfilling its obligation to student groups in terms of capital improvements, then someone needs to pick up the bill, and we needed the student activities budget.” Fin/App declined the Council of Advisory Board’s first budget request in recent memory due to a lack of clarity in the proposal over how CAB would use its funding. Oster said Fin/App’s rejec-

tion of CAB is fair considering the quality of CAB’s funding proposal. “CAB is a relatively new entity, so it’s still finding where it belongs on campus. We were brainstorming ways to reach out to students, and we realized we can hold these events, we can do programming, but you need funding for that,” Oster said. “Because this is a new concept for how CAB will interact with the student body, we didn’t really have a set game plan, and I understand why Fin/App was hesitant to offer any kind of funding.”

The Georgetown Program Board, which arranges social and leisure events for the student body, received $93,340, just short of its total from fiscal year 2017 of $94,000. GPB saw its budget cut by $12,000 last year, down from $106,000. GUSA senator Zachary Oschin (SFS ’20), who is the Fin/ App liaison to GPB, said the Board was able to reverse a trend of having its budget cut through a well-attended year of programming. “GPB has been the most cut group in Georgetown history, partially because some of the previous Program Boards

had been irresponsible with their money, and mostly because it was an easy thing to pick on,” Oschin said. “To their credit, they had an amazing board this year, put on amazing programming, put on events throughout the year; Mr. Georgetown, the hockey games, the movies — they did really well.” GPB received an additional $8,340 in the appeals process for its spring concert. The Georgetown Day tradition returns to the budget for fiscal year 2018 with an allocated $11,500. This April’s Georgetown Day is not financially sponsored by GUSA

after the Georgetown Day Planning Committee failed to submit a requested budget to Fin/App last spring. Serrano said a divide persisted within Fin/App between freshmen and upperclassmen over the importance of Georgetown Day and how much of the yearly budget should be dedicated toward it. “As a senior, I won’t see the benefit of increasing funding for Georgetown Day — this is for you guys. We know how special it is,” Serrano said. “It’s the one day where there are no other plans, and the entire student body loves it.”

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The Georgetown University Student Association Finance and Appropriations Committee allocated the FY 2018 student activities fee budget, including a 39.5 percent budget cut for the Media Board.

DC Officials Explain New Strategy for Missing Youth MISSING, from A1 best practices that other departments should follow.” Bowser announced March 24 she would establish six new initiatives to help find missing young people. Among these

are increasing the number of MPD officers assigned to the Children and Family Services Division, expanding the MPD Missing Persons webpage and creating a public service announcement to support the 1 (800) RUN-AWAY hotline for

MIranda tafoya/the hoya

Of the open missing person cases in Washington, D.C., 35 percent are adults and 65 percent are juveniles.

missing youth. “Through social media, we have been able to highlight this problem and bring awareness to open cases, and now we are doing more to ensure that families and children are receiving the wraparound services they need to keep families together and children safe,” Bowser said in a March 24 press release. Various posts on social media have relied on information collected from MPD’s social media posts reporting the disappearance of 22 people, including a dozen black or Latino minors in the span of five days this month. Several tweets that have gone viral have underscored a lack of media attention on the disappearance of people of color when compared to white individuals. Of the missing youths reported between March 19 and March 24, two remain missing. Since the start of 2017, MPD has been able to resolve 830 cases, due in part to its social media strategy. Thirtyone missing people cases re-

main open, 17 of which are juvenile cases, according to MPD data. The confusion over a perceived uptick in missing children in D.C. provoked public pressure for increased efforts to prevent disappearances and improve MPD resources dedicated to finding missing persons. According to MPD data, 3,547 missing person cases were recorded in 2016, with 2,443 cases deemed critical. Six missing person cases remain open, with four critical and two non-critical cases. The MPD has pushed back against press coverage that has suggested there has been an increase in the number of missing person cases in D.C. Instead, the department reports fewer missing persons cases in 2017 thus far than in years past, about ten fewer per month. Mindy Good, communications director for the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, said that most missing person cases do not result from human trafficking, but rather from unstable person-

al situations. Good said there must be a conversation around what the causes are and how it can be mitigated. “These are legitimate issues but not at the rates many people seem to think,” Good wrote in an email to The Hoya. “However, runaways are far more vulnerable to kidnapping or trafficking even if that wasn’t their original situation so all the more reason to identify and address the root causes of what’s troubling these young people.” Good praised one of Bowser’s initiatives involving members of the CFSA in analyzing open missing person cases. “While all her six approaches may be helpful, we especially like the approach of seeing running away as a symptom and getting to the root of what’s troubling youth runaways,” Good wrote. “The mayor has set up a task force/ work group with our CFSA Director serving as a co-chair.” MPD Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist Margarita Mikhaylova said the increased publicity surrounding miss-

ing young people has helped to bring awareness to the domestic situation causing many young people to run away. “As we’ve said previously, we are working to increase community awareness surrounding missing people, and missing children,” Mikhaylova wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The complex factors involved with some of the circumstances surrounding young men and women in D.C. and nationwide are ones that deserve in-depth review and discussion.” Mikhaylova said the decision to release more details about the subjects over social media has been an effective tool in bringing more awareness to missing young people. She asked that community members be aware of their surroundings to help find more missing people. “The idea behind the aggressive social media push is to increase community awareness of the missing individuals and assist with bringing them home,” Mikhaylova wrote. “We believe it has been successful.”

news

friday, MARCH 31, 2017

THE HOYA

Asian-Pacific Islander Leadership Forum Launches Maddi Charbonneau Hoya Staff Writer

A group of 15 students launched the Asian-Pacific Islander Leadership Forum on March 19 in an effort to provide a unifying space for Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander students on campus. The organization “seeks to create spaces for celebrating, affirming, and mobilizing Asian and Pacific Islander students at Georgetown,” according to the group’s mission statement. The forum joins the Black Leadership Forum and the Latinx Leadership Forum on campus. All forums function as both advocacy and organizational bodies for student groups representing the interests of black and Latinx students at Georgetown. The group is not planning to seek formal recognition by Georgetown in order to ensure it can take stands on university policy, according to Zachary Frial (SFS ’18), who is the history and education chair for APILF. The Black Leadership Forum and the Latinx Lead-

ership Forum are also not formally recognized by the university, but work with the Center for Multiequity & Access to organize programming. Frial, who initially started setting up the forum with the other students four months ago, said the leadership forum follows in the footsteps of the Black Leadership Forum and the Latinx Leadership Forum in looking to bring students of Asian and Pacific Islander descent together. “Like the Black Leadership Forum and Latinx Leadership Forum, we initially wanted to create a unified and organized space for Asian/AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander student groups to meet and mobilize,” Frial wrote in an email to The Hoya. According to APILF Relationship Liaison Gina Kim (SFS ’17), students from Asian and Pacific Islander descent do not have currently have an effective venue to express their political opinions as they relate to their cultural identity. “Although there is a Political Activism Committee

within AASA, as a student organization funded by the university AASA often cannot take clear stands on issues on campus and advocate for student needs in this capacity,” Kim wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The organization hopes to provide a space for people to express their concerns and create real and tangible solutions to those problems.”

“A big part of our mission is to also forge connections with other student groups on campus.” zachary frial (SFS ’18) History and Education Chair, APILF

Frial said APILF also aims to include students not traditionally represented in student groups like the Asian American Student Association. “AASA has a history of being East-Asian dominated, so creating a new, separate group had the purpose of

moving away from EastAsian centeredness so prevalent in many AAPI circles,” Frial wrote. “AASA, as an ‘Asian-American’ Student Association, also does not directly represent the interests of Pacific Islander students, so we made sure that APILF would center on Pacific Islander identities.” The AASA did not respond to requests for comment as of 2:30 a.m. According to Frial, the group originally intended to be a forum of leaders from various Asian-Pacific Islander student groups already in existence, such as the Asian American Student Association, with a similar structure to the Black Leadership Forum and the Latinx Leadership Forum. However, the forum ultimately chose to become a group of individuals, rather than a representative body of student groups. The group currently consists of a 15-person board to organize the forum, with all meetings open to members of the Georgetown community. According to Frial, in addition to unifying Asian and Pacific Islander stu-

dents, the group seeks to connect with other student groups of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. “A big part of our mission is to also forge connections with other student groups on campus that are not Asian- or Pacific Islander-affiliated. For example, we are currently planning one event on Black-South Asian solidarity at the Black House and another on shared Filipino-Latinx heritage at Casa Latina,” Frial wrote. “We would also like to have a discussion on Pacific Islander identity with Native American students on campus.” APILF Co-Chair of Advocacy Jasmin Ouseph (SFS ’19) said APILF will learn from other cultural groups on campus how to advocate for important issues within their communities. “By following the lead of the BLF and LLF, I hope that the APILF can create a more active API community that is aware of the racially triangulated position of Asian Americans in the U.S. and seeks to actually do something about the way we fit into the racial hierarchy in this country and be more ef-

fective, accountable allies to the Black and Latinx communities,” Ouseph wrote in an email to The Hoya. Georgetown University Student Association President Kamar Mack (COL ’19), said APILF will fulfill several important needs of the Georgetown community, including organizing the AAPI Heritage Month. “We believe this is important, since it is trying to bring awareness to a community that is not spotlighted enough on Georgetown’s campus,” Mack wrote in an email to The Hoya. Mack said cultural organizations such as APILF, AASA, BLF and LLF are important because they help Georgetown students look outward to the global community. “As Hoyas, we should be become involved in these organizations or attend their events, so that we can become more knowledgeable on their rich culture and heritage as well as the issues that these communities face at Georgetown and in the US,” Mack wrote. “This is an important step in embracing the global campus that we are.”

Author Advocates Role of Cosmopolitanism in Peace Patricja Okuniewska Hoya Staff Writer

Cosmopolitanism can serve as an agent for peace in an age of conflict, according to Pulitzer Prizewinning author Viet Thanh Nguyen at a talk during an annual symposium hosted by the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice in Gaston Hall on Tuesday. “There are two Americas. There’s the America of openness, inclusion, and there’s the America of Make America Great Again,” Nguyen said. “No, we’re not winning, because as soon as we make an advance in one direction towards good or inclusion, the other side is getting ready to try to counter that in some way.” This year’s two-day symposium, “The Global Soul: Imagining the Cosmopolitan,” focused on issues of nationhood, identity and transnationalism among others. Nguyen said opposition to immigration and refugees is rooted in historical attitudes. “Now we’re living in an era, of course, where the feeling against immigrants and against refugees has heightened in American society, but it’s not a new sentiment,” Nguyen said. “Racism, xenophobia, the desire to close the door against refugees and immigrants has also been as much a part of American society as has been this idea that immigrants should be welcomed and

included here.” Nguyen said refugees are cosmopolitans of a different kind than most that Americans may encounter.

“There’s the America of openness, inclusion and there’s the America of Make America Great Again.” Viet thanh nguyen Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

“If they’re bilingual, if they cross borders, if they survived from one country to the next, they are much more cosmopolitan than your average American, who has never left this country, only speaks one language, and could not survive if you put them into a very difficult situation,” Nguyen said. Nguyen stressed the importance of confronting America’s negative attitudes toward immigrants, especially those who are writers, students and scholars. “These two realities of America: the cosmopolitan America that welcomes immigrants and refugees, and the imperial

America that bombs these countries from which immigrants and refugees come is the same reality. It’s a difficult reality to confront,” Nguyen said. Nguyen emphasized the importance of minority writers contributing stories about people and groups whose perspectives might otherwise go unvoiced. “We are going to be forever fighting this conflict because we are never going to have equal access to storytelling. We are never going to have equality in narratives. People for the majority live in an economy of narrative plenitude, they have thousands of stories about them. So one story more or less doesn’t make any difference,” Nguyen said. “But for us, who are in an economy of narrative scarcity, where there is such few stories, every story counts.” According to Nguyen, minority writers face pressure from their own communities when writing about underrepresented populations. “Minority writers often feel tempted to humanize because there is this perception that they are working against stereotypes, working against these inadequate understandings of whatever community they are talking about,” Nguyen said. “They want to foreground something positive about that community, and they’re also worried about their communities response to their work.”

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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen defended immigration as a part of a cosmopolitan view of world affairs in an event co-sponsored by The Hoya.

UndocuHoyas to Host Inaugural UndocuWeek Ben Goodman Hoya Staff Writer

In its inaugural UndocuWeek from April 2 to April 7, student advocacy group UndocuHoyas plans to host various public discussions and film screenings highlighting the experiences of both the on-campus and nationwide undocumented community. The events are co-sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Equity & Access and Georgetown Scholarship Program, and mark the first anniversary of the Undocumented Student Resources website, launched April 7, 2016. Undocumented Students Adviser Arelis Palacios said UndocuWeek seeks to educate the community about the strength and courage of undocumented students. “It’s an educational series designed to raise awareness about these topics to the broader campus community, and also a great opportunity to showcase the successes and resilience of our students and their advocacy,” Palacios wrote in an e-mail to The Hoya. The week kicks off against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s

White House, which has drawn attention to immigrants without authorization through inflammatory statements and executive policies.

“We really want to shift that national narrative to show that immigrants are here and undocumented students are here.” MIZRAIM BELMAN GUERRERO (SFS ’20)

Trump said in his June 15,2015 campaign launch speech that Mexican immigrants were “rapists,” and he has pledged to build a border wall with Mexico during his administration at the cost of the Mexican government. Trump’s latest decree is Executive Order 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” which blocks so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to comply with

immigration enforcement measures from receiving federal grants. The order garnered criticism and legal challenges from the city and county of San Francisco and the Massachusetts cities of Chelsea and Lawrence. Mizraim Belman Guerrero (SFS ’20) said UndocuWeek could serve to dispel stereotypes and misinformation about all immigrants, not just those without documentation. “We really want to shift that national narrative to show that immigrants are here and undocumented students are here and there is really a lot of misinformation out there,” Guerrero said. “These stories are often very powerful and really get to the heart of why people immigrate. It’s not because people come to the United States and want to take advantage of everything — it is because of hardships people go through that force people to migrate.” Georgetown University Student Association President Kamar Mack (COL ’19) and Vice President Jessica Andino (COL ’18) said UndocuWeek supports

Georgetown’s goals of creating an open and compassionate community. “Our administration is committed to supporting and standing with our fellow members of the Georgetown community,” Mack and Andino wrote in an email to The Hoya. “UndocuWeek embodies this principle through the inclusive and meaningful dialogues it fosters, and we are excited for its resounding success next week. GUSA is proud to support this initiative and look forward to working with more passionate student groups to advance similar initiatives that enhance the Georgetown experience for students from every walk of life.” Considering the current national discourse around immigration, Palacios said it is more important than ever to reassure undocumented students that they have a right to an education at Georgetown. “We believe that it’s important given the current climate of uncertainty for immigrant populations across the U.S.,” Palacios said. “As a Jesuit institution, we believe that all students should have the

right towards educational attainment, regardless of immigration status.” Guerrero said he has mostly encountered positive interactions with members of the Georgetown community. “I definitely think that, for the most part, everyone that I have come in contact with has been very supportive. The university as a whole is really doing things that other universities aren’t,” Guerrero said. Andino said her previous experience as the GUSA Undocumented Student Inclusivity Chair taught her the importance of recognizing the often-invisible undocumented population at Georgetown. “It’s important because undocumented students are a student population that not many people know exist on campus, so it’s a chance for students to learn about a student population that they may not know about,” Andino said in an interview with The Hoya. “Obviously there’s still a lot to do, but it’s a chance for them to have their voices heard.” Palacios said educators

have a special duty to focus on students’ education, not on political discourse. “As educators, our support of undocumented students is apolitical,” Palacios said. “GU has had policies in place for supporting undocumented students for well over a decade, and we continue to affirm GU as a culturally pluralistic environment where individuals of all backgrounds can thrive and be successful.” Andino said students who may be less knowledgeable about undocumented students’ issues should bring to the UndocuWeek events an openminded, respectful attitude that acknowledges all students’ humanity. “If a student doesn’t know anyone who is undocumented or doesn’t know a lot about the issue, just being open-minded, realizing that these students are their peers and as a result we have to be respectful of one another and learning about the unique challenges that undocumented students face that other students may take for granted,” Andino said. “Listening goes a long way.”

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THE HOYA

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017

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Clinical social worker Goli Bellinger, left, Georgetown Institute for the Study of International Migration research professor Elzbieta Gozdiak, George Washington University art therapy program director Heidi Bardot and GWU medical professor Amir Afkhami said refugees suffer marginalization and discrimination during resettlement.

Panel Urges Focus on Refugee Mental Health JEFF CIRILLO

Hoya Staff Writer

Addressing the mental health and wellness of refugees is a critical challenge after resettlement, according to panelists at an event hosted yesterday in Lohrfink Auditorium by the student refugee advocacy group No Lost Generation. The panel included four professionals in mental health, social work and refugees: Georgetown Institute for the Study of International Migration research professor Elzbieta Gozdziak, clinical social worker Goli Bellinger, the George Washington University art therapy program director Heidi Bardot and GWU medical professor Amir Afkhami. Gozdziak said for most

refugees, the primary requirement for mental wellness is full legal status and decent living conditions. “Proper immigration status is the best mental health intervention for refugees, or for anyone,” Gzodziak said. “The second would be a job. A good job that provides for self-sufficiency, that kind of stuff. Everything else is secondary or tertiary.” Afkhami stressed the importance of not overlooking the small number of refugees who have serious pathologies that need attention. “We shouldn’t pathologize everything, but if something is a pathology, it’s a pathology,” Afkhami said. “Major depressive disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, all of these things can be just as debili-

tating as the psychotic disorders we typically associate with chronic debilitating effects.” According to Gozdziak, some of those involved in refugee and immigrant policy, though well-intentioned, succumb to negative and unrealistic stereotypes of the refugees they serve. She recalled one social worker suggesting the Muslim husbands they would work with might beat their wives. “Before we start talking about helping, we have to examine our own prejudices,” Gozdziak said. “Before we worked with the refugees directly, we had to deal with our workers who haven’t seen a refugee, haven’t pinched a refugee, haven’t been a refugee

themselves.” If there is anything social workers need to know about refugees, according to Bardot, it is that they have all survived by displaying resilience. “It comes down to one aspect of resiliency that will get you through the traumas of war and makes you that survivor,” Bardot said. “If you label someone with that victim mentality, you take them out of a role of control, it’s inevitable that they become a victim. But if you treat them with respect, and you respect and honor that strength and resiliency, it allows them to enter the world very differently.” Afkhami said many of the difficulties facing resettled refugees when they come

to the United States are not unique to their refugee status, but simply extensions of policy weaknesses that affect marginalized citizens as well.

“If you label someone with that victim mentality, you take them out of a role of control, it’s inevitable that they become a victim.” HEIDI BARDOT Art Therapy Program Director, The George Washington University

“You look at Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia, you have the same access

challenges for populations just a few miles away from this auditorium,” Afkhami said. “While we have this global outlook, usually we forget those right in front of us.” Afkhami said students should advocate for health programs that would help newly settled refugees and lifelong citizens alike. “It’s very easy to get discouraged in this political environment,” Afkhami said. “But all of you have the power to be advocates, and if there’s one thing you can do it’s really to advocate for increased access, increased funding for mental health care, which is something we desperately need in these times when this is an area that is under assault.”

Librarian to Retire After Over a Decade of Service HANNAH URTZ Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University Graduate Association of Mexican Students

Reporting While Latino: Covering The Trump Administration by Univision's Enrique Acevedo

Healey Family Student Center - Herman Room April 3, 2017 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch will be provided

University Librarian Artemis G. Kirk will retire in October 2017 after almost 16 years at the university, according to a campuswide email sent by University Provost Robert M. Groves on Wednesday. “I am grateful for the multitude of ways that Artemis has expanded and deepened the University Library’s engagement with the Georgetown University community,” Groves wrote. “I am grateful for her service to Georgetown and her work over the past sixteen years to advance the University’s prominence in research, teaching and learning.” Groves will appoint a search committee to lead the search for the next university librarian in the coming weeks, according to the email. During her time as university librarian, Kirk has undertaken a number of projects and programs to improve the library and its resources and collections. Kirk led the planning and funding of the newly renovated Booth Family Center for Special Collections, home to Georgetown’s rare book and manuscript collections, the Georgetown University Archives and the University Art Collection. Under her leadership, the library raised close to $24 million in the For Generations to Come campaign, which in total raised $1.67 billion for the university’s programs. Kirk said her favorite endeavors have been those that have expanded the library’s collections and resources. “I have so many favorite projects. Working with a great library staff; adding new resources - -especially the finest collection in private hands in the world, of rare materials on Wordsworth and his Circle -- a

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Librarian Artemis Kirk will have been at Georgetown for almost 16 years when she retires in October. gift of Professor Emeritus of English Paul Betz,” Kirk wrote in an email to THE HOYA. According to Groves, Kirk has led Georgetown to become a member of multiple national and international higher education and information associations. Kirk has worked to develop the Lauinger Library in London program, which arranges author events for Georgetown alumni in London, and relationships with the Pontifical Institute libraries in Rome and the proposed Jesuit Liberal Arts College for Hong Kong. Kirk recalled many fond memories of her time at Georgetown, including her trip to Doha, Qatar, to create a plan for the library at SFS-Q, as well as working with architects to create the library’s Master Space Plan. “I think one favorite

[memory] would be the first-ever ‘Party at Club Lau’ in 2007, which was attended by students, senior leaders, and two Jesuits -- Fr. Francis Schemel, Chaplain to the staff, and Fr. Christopher Steck, who brought Jack the Bulldog to the party,” Kirk wrote. Kirk has not yet made plans for her retirement. She said looks forward to the future progress the library will make. “No one could ask for a better group of people to work with, and I owe them a great debt of gratitude,” Kirk wrote. “Collaborating with remarkable friends and colleagues at the university makes it difficult for me to relinquish the satisfaction that such work brings, but I hope that my successor in this exciting position will lead the library brilliantly into the next segment of the 21st century.”

news

Friday, MARCH 31, 2017

THE HOYA

Former Energy Secretary Discusses Resource Security ENERGY, from A10

below 20 percent out of safety concerns. Although alternative forms of renewable energy were starting to emerge, they were not expected to contribute significantly to power generation in the short run. Over the years, technological and technical innovations like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have given the United States’ sufficient gas and petroleum resources to be self-sufficient, according to Abraham. “Our dependency is now going in the other direction. In fact, oil prices, for example, are now too low and not too high,” Abraham said. Abraham cited the lifting of the crude oil ban in Dec. 2015, which allowed American companies to export oil to the rest of the world. Abraham said such a development would have been unfathomable during his time as Secretary of Energy.

“Energy is at the center of almost all geopolitical issues of the moment.” abraham spencer Former Secretary of Energy

“When I left office, if someone had even said we would be considering lifting the ban on exporting crude oil from the United States, I would have thought they were crazy,” Abraham said. Abraham observed that this could result in the increased use of energy as a political tool. “The new ability the U.S. has of exporting energy to countries which may be under political turmoil can drastically change the political and security scene of the planet,” Abraham said. Abraham noted, however, that the low energy prices caused by increased U.S. oil production may result in other sources of power generation becoming less attractive. Abraham said that, the price of natural gas, in particular, remains low, alternative forms of energy, including nuclear and renewable sources, would become too expensive to encourage further production and development. Regardless of this, Abraham

highlighted the advances made in addressing climate change, which he said has become a bigger issue across the years. “On all fronts, the discussion on climate is a much bigger discussion point in comparison to 12 years ago,” Abraham said. According to Abraham, decreased levels of carbon emissions result from the transition from coal to natural gas as the primary resource for the generation of energy. “Our emissions are coming down in comparison to the projections, because natural gas is being substituted for coal in an alarming amount,” Abraham said. “Natural gas burns about 50 percent less carbon than coal.” Speaking about the future of the Department of Energy under President Donald Trump, Abraham said its path is unclear, because the administration is now mainly focused on social and economic issues. “We’ll have to wait to see some clarity, because I think that the focus now is mostly on the health-care debate and taxes,” Abraham said. With regards to the United States’ relations with energyproducing countries, Abraham said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will continue to respect the status quo of oil prices. “OPEC policy will remain unchanged from what it has been from the last couple of years,” Abraham said. “They will take minimal action and will not try and adjust price fluctuations.” In addition, Abraham said Iran could become an important player in the future, as the lifting of U.S.-imposed sanctions would allow its energy sector to develop. “If the U.S. does not reestablish the ban against Iran, the Iranian energy sector will grow exponentially. Without sanctions, they will be a growing force in the energy sector,” Abraham said. According to Abraham, energy is and will remain at the core of international development and security in the Middle East and North Africa in the context of the fight against the Islamic State group and other terrorists. “The central issue in the battle between ISIS and the governments in the Middle East and North Africa is the control of energy. It has become an important strategy for terrorists,” Abraham said. “Energy is at the center of almost all geopolitical issues of the moment.”

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courtesy innovation foundries

To an audience of students in the Baker Scholar’s Conference Room, President of Gruppo Illy S.p.A Ricardo Illy said Italian manufacturers will have a prosperous future due to the creation of new markets for their goods.

Illy Exec Advocates for Italian Products ILLY, from A10

able to produce it.” According to Illy, this creativity and appreciation for aesthetic pleasure translates not only to quality in finer products but also to quality in heavy industry. “Italians are champions of fashion, furniture, food and wine, but they are also champions in producing machines,” Illy said. Illy said Italy’s strong machinery industry will become more profitable as a result of increased industrialization and automation in developing countries, particularly China. “In China, they are going more and more to automatize the production. What does it mean globally for the Italian manufacturing sector? They are going to buy machines, and Italy is great in producing machines,” Illy said.

Illy noted that rising average incomes in developing nations will also help Italian manufacturing, as people in foreign countries will be able to purchase a larger share of Italy’s exported goods, which are usually expensive. “While their average income is increasing, they can pass from mass-market products to quality products,” Illy said. “And so they can buy closets, they can buy furniture, they can buy food and wines of higher quality, and again, Italy is a master in all of these productions.” Illy acknowledged that jobs have flowed out of Italy in the past in search for cheaper labor. He also noted that, as wages in developing countries catch up to domestic wages, Italian manufacturers are reconsidering keeping production within the country. “In Italy we have many companies who were going to

Romania to manufacture and now are coming back to Italy, because, in about 15 years, the cost of labor in Romania almost reached the cost of labor in Italy,” Illy said. Illy concluded, then, that the future of Italian manufacturing is promising, as demand for Italian products will increase, and Italians will thus be able to reap the benefits due to higher job inflow. The conversation then turned to his family’s business, which began operating in 1933, when his paternal grandfather, Francesco Illy, who served for Austria-Hungary in World War I, opened the first illycaffè in Trieste. Illy said that family-operated businesses provide exclusive opportunities for high-risk investments. Illy illustrated this by recounting the leap of faith the company took in investing

in a vineyard, which took 10 years to be profitable. Illy argued that a publicly owned company would not have had the patience necessary to support such a venture. “For a family-owned company, it’s normal to make an investment to get the first sales in 10 years. For a company with spread ownership, with a public company, you are looking at a quarter – what about 10 years?” Illy said. When asked about Starbucks’ expansion into Milan, Illy said he not only was not worried but that he believed it would bring about healthy competition. “Starbucks is a global company, so they had to come to Italy sooner or later,” Illy said. “In any case, I consider any kind of competition as a good one, because it will solicit the existing company to improve.”

Fresh Prints Expands in Georgetown PRINTS, from A10

have provided T-shirts for the Internation Relations Club, GAAP and Senior Week. Fresh Prints fulfills smaller orders from small groups of students who want shirts for Georgetown Day as well. Ronga finds clients in a variety of ways, including posting in GAAP Facebook groups and reaching out to student leaders directly. Additionally, potential clients who have become familiar by word-of-mouth sometimes approach her. After sorting out logistical and design details with clients, she works directly with the company to take care of the rest. Running the business is not always without its challenges. From last-minute changes to technical issues, Ronga takes everything in stride and works with clients to provide what they need. Ronga said they often deal with last-minute changes and work to accommodate all client requests. “It’s almost never something we can’t solve. We want to be that company where, if you come to us five days after you placed the order and say you want more shirts, we’re always going to try our best to do that,” said Ronga. Since many orders come in from Georgetown student organizations, Ronga said she has to be careful not to step on the university’s toes when it comes to using Georgetown’s trademarked name. “The biggest problem is probably licensing. It can be

very ambiguous, so if you want us to put ‘Georgetown’ on a shirt, it’s technically a neighborhood but the university has a lot of stuff trademarked, so you just want to make sure you can get all of that approved,” Ronga said. “It’s trying to meet student needs while balancing what’s appropriate for the university.” Fresh Prints, itself started and run by student entrepreneurs, aims to provide a business opportunity for likeminded students. Co-president of Fresh Prints Jacob Goodman said the company

provides students a practical skillset and educational experience that can’t be found in the classroom. “The goal of the campus manager program is to provide a platform for entrepreneurial education for college students. We want to provide students with resources to start and run their own businesses, because universities are failing miserably at teaching entrepreneurship,” Goodman said. According to Ronga, working at Fresh Prints has given her the opportunity to run

part of a business very independently, understanding what it takes not only to manage a business but to maintain high levels of quality and customer satisfaction. “I would say 95 percent of what I do is autonomous. That said, I do get really great support from my bosses. But, when it comes to making decisions about price and stuff like that, that comes down to me,” said Ronga. “It’s very student-driven, and we’re going to do our best to give the best apparel possible and meet student demands.”

courtesy alchemista

Fresh Prints a custom apparel company, makes custom clothing for a variety of customers on campus ranging from large organizations to small student groups.

Botnets, A Potent Cyberthreat MURPHY, from A10

may rent time on an underground botnet made up of a few thousand computers. These computers would navigate to the blogger’s website, click advertisements, and earn the blogger advertising revenue from the affiliated advertising network. This has the added effect of boosting the blogger’s search ranking on search engines like Google and potentially increasing the blogger’s organic reader base by causing the blog to trend on social media. In an interview conducted by “60 minutes,” Scott Pelley investigated the real “fake news” that has become increasingly prevalent in internet blogs. During his investigation, he discovered that a primary driver behind fake news is the utilization of botnets to promote articles until they pick up traction for their decidedly inflam-

matory titles and content. These fake news articles can earn over $10,000 per month in advertising revenue. If all it takes is a few thousand bots to manipulate public opinion; hundreds of thousands can do significantly more damage. In late 2014, hacker group Lizard Squad launched a denial of service attack that took down Microsoft’s Xbox Live (LIVE) and Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN), two of the largest online gaming networks, totaling over 150 million combined users. Despite nearly two weeks of warning from Lizard Squad about the attacks, neither Sony nor Microsoft could preemptively prepare their networks. During the attack, PSN and LIVE were barraged with billions of bits of data per second from hacked networking devices, overloading the network and preventing legitimate users from connecting

to the service. Microsoft restored its services within 24 hours, but Sony lagged in restoring its services. Eventually, Lizard Squad ended the attack of its own accord. The susceptibility of Microsoft and Sony’s online services to this attack dealt a large blow to their reputations. The size of these denial of service attacks has gotten larger over the past several years. Last year, the well-known cyber-security blog, krebsonsecurity.com was hit with a record breaking 665 Gbps denial of service attack. Fortunately, the attack failed due to the efforts of Akamai Technology, the company contracted by krebsonsecurity.com to prevent these types of attacks from succeeding. Still, this attack has raised significant concern among cyber-security experts about the abundance of poorly protected and often difficult-to-update devices that make up the Internet of

Things, such as IP Cameras, Digital Video Recorders, and more. Using these devices as an entry point, hackers can launch attacks on a scale that has never been seen before. While a great read, krebsonsecurity.com is a relatively lowprofile target. As the Internet of Things expands to include more devices, the relative power of individual’s, corporation’s, and government’s presence on the internet will be diminished, and they will be unable to keep pace with the scale of attacks made possible by these unprotected devices. As hackers become more brazen and their capabilities become stronger, global economic and government institutions face increasingly dangerous threats to their stability.

Kevin Murphy is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. BYTE OF WALL ST. appears every other Friday.

Business & Tech FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017

Tech Tips London Banks Reassure Staff Amid formal brexit process Despite Great Britain’s call to leave the European Union on March 29, London banks are encouraging staff not to panic. In a statement to Reuters, JPMorgan Chase acknowledged its employees’ fears of relocation and stated it intended to limit the number of movements. Similarly, Richard Gnodde, co-CEO of Goldman Sachs’ international sector, said many areas of the company would continue to operate for now as they did before. Overall, firms are not ready to commit to major long-term changes until they can obtain a clearer outlook of the implications of Brexit. Reuters reports banking and regulatory experts in London are considering a solution of “mutual recognition,” through which both the EU and Britain would continue to acknowledge each other’s financial markets on the basis of similar regulatory systems. This would ensure that firms in London can continue to provide service to European clients.

Gruppo Illy President Promotes Italian Goods

Maddi Charbonneau Hoya Staff Writer

Italian businesses and manufacturers have a bright future ahead of them, according to Gruppo Illy S.p.A. President Riccardo Illy, who shared his experiences and perspectives with a group of about 30 students at the Baker Scholars Conference Room on March 24. The Georgetown University Italian Research Institute hosted the discussion titled “The Future of Italian Manufacturing” that was moderated by McDonough School of Business Professor Michael R. Czinkota, Director of the Italian Research Institute Serafina Hager, Dean of Georgetown and College Chester Gillis were also present for the event.

“Italians are able to understand and to appreciate what is a higher aesthetic content.”

Facebook releases new chat bot for mobile messenger aPP

Ricardo illy President, Gruppo Illy S.p.A.

In response to underwhelming reactions from the public to its 2016 introduction of chatbots, Facebook plans to reveal a new type of chatbot at this year’s F8 Development conference, according to a TechCrunch article published March 29. The chatbots will act more like information tickers as opposed to virtual human discussion partners. They will update the chat’s participants on real-time developments. Facebook also aims to allow other developers to make their own chatbots to assist users in coordinating events. There are already chatbots currently in use, like sports bots and food delivery bots. These chatbots will also be used in group chats, allowing them to be more visible to users. Past chatbots could only be accessed by a single user typing their name in the messenger search box, making them relatively unknown to most users.

After joining the family business in 1977, Illy redesigned the company’s commercial structure and marketing strategies. Today, Gruppo Illy S.p.A. is a holding company that owns five companies, including coffee chain illycaffè and chocolate producer

Internet developer tencent invests $1.78 billion in tesla Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. bought a 5 percent stake of U.S. car company Tesla Inc. for close to $1.78 billion according to Reuters on March 28. In a statement to CNN, Beijing-based business analyst Kitty Fok said Tencent’s recent partnership with U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Tesla will integrate one company’s vast knowledge of artificial intelligence with another company’s passion for auto-tech innovation. Tencent’s expertise with developing artificial intelligence for its gaming products is expected to complement Tesla’s expertise in electric car manufacturing. In addition, this move may enable Tesla to sell more cars in China and even potentially manufacture them there. Tencent, China’s largest video game developer and publisher, is managed by CEO “Pony” Ma Huateng, and holds a market value of over $275 billion. The platform also connects over 889 million of its users on its messaging app WeChat, according to CNN. Hoya Staff Writer Paula Hong compiled this week’s TECH TIPS.

courtesy innovation foundries

Gruppo Illy S.p.A. President Ricardo Illy, left, and McDonough School of Business professor Michael R. Czinkota examined the fate of Italian manufacturing in a increasingly globalized world. Domori. Illy also served as mayor of Trieste from 1993 to 2001 and as president of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region from 2003 to 2008. Illy oversaw the expansion of his company firsthand for 40 years. Commenting on Italian manufacturing, Illy said Italians have a competitive advantage over

other countries because of their inventiveness and ingenuity, as well as their high regard for aestheticism. “The Italian population has two main competitive advantages. One is genius, and the capability to create, to invent, to put together existing technologies

Bush Official Stresses Oil, Security

in new and in original ways,” Illy said. “The other comparative advantage is related to aesthetic. Italians are able to understand and to appreciate what is a higher aesthetic content, but what is more important is that they are See ILLY, A9

byte of wall st.

Julianna Hoff Special to the Hoya

Former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said that during the last 12 years, energy has become an increasingly important component of American and international society and politics in a lecture held March 23 at Lauinger Library. Abraham’s tenure as Secretary of Energy lasted from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush’s administration. The Department of Energy has, in its history, been perceived as unnecessary; Abraham himself at one point even endorsed a bill to abolish the department. However, upon becoming Secretary of Energy, Abraham said his opinion changed and today, he sees energy as one of the most important issues in America. “Out of all the departments, other than the glamorous departments like the State Department, I don’t think there is a more challenging or interesting job in this government,” Abraham said. According to Abraham, upon entering office he saw the United States increasingly dependent on foreign nations as a result of the gradual depletion of natural gas reserves and a lack of exports. Abraham said this caused the United States to rely on oil imports from countries that were often politically unstable. “In 2005 America was dependent in an ever-increasing amount on imported oil, over 60 percent and growing,” Abra-

Kevin Murphy

The Rising Dangers Of Botnets

courtesy Department of energy

Former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham spoke about the importance of energy security and the role it will play in international politics. ham said. “With each increase in that dependency came more economic and energy superiority, as were we dependent on countries, many in turmoil.” Abraham also said the issue

was exacerbated by the government’s desire to reduce the percentage of power generated through nuclear energy to a level See ENERGY, A9

Student Works to Create Custom Apparel Megan Carey Hoya Staff Writer

courtesy SOPHIA RONGA

The custom apparel company Fresh Prints has a growing presence on Georgetown’s campus, employing students to help design clothing.

Headed by Sales Director Sophia Ronga (COL ’18), the Georgetown branch of the custom apparel company Fresh Prints has established a growing presence on and around campus, handling clothing orders for various student groups and events on the Hilltop. Ronga became involved with the company her freshman year after seeing a post in a Georgetown Admissions Ambassadors Program Facebook group. Ronga said the chance to both make money in a business and interact with people really appealed to her. “She posted something along the lines of ‘Do you like to talk to people?’ and ‘Do you like to make money?’ I was like, ‘yes and yes,’” Ronga said. After the senior who recruited

Ronga graduated, Ronga took on a more involved role in the company. She now manages all of the company’s sales operations at Georgetown. Throughout her time at Fresh Prints, Ronga says the company’s sales at Georgetown have skyrocketed. When she took over, the company was selling about $10,000 worth of merchandise per year. Her first semester, she sold $14,000 worth of merchandise and two years later expects to see $30,000 in sales this semester alone. Currently, Fresh Prints operates at 120 campuses nationwide and is aiming to be at 2,500 fouryear universities in the United States — nearly every university in the country — within the next few years. Fresh Prints apparel can be found all around campus, as they See PRINTS, A9

t is today estimated that the internet connects over 28 billion devices: computers, phones, thermostats, lockboxes, pet-food dispensers, power grids and much more. While a growing network of 28 billion devices presents an enormous opportunity for individuals and companies to connect, communicate, and transact, it also presents an enormous risk. At the click of a button, hundreds of thousands of unsecured devices could be hijacked and turned toward illegal activities like credit card fraud, denial of service attacks, and market manipulation.

At the click of a button, hundreds of devices could be hijacked and turned toward illegal activites. Attacks like these are made possible by botnets, which are networks of devices controlled by a central machine or machines. Typically, these work in one of two ways: peer-to-peer communication where every infected device both receives and distributes commands to other infected machines or client-server communication where a central machine distributes commands to other machines, which are then executed on those machines. It should be noted that not all botnets are illegal or malicious. Some are created out of self-owned hardware for ethical academic or commercial uses. However, botnets that infect others’ devices and use their system resources without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the hardware are illegal. On a small scale, botnets are commonly used to engage in click fraud. For example, a blogger with a few dozen readers See MURPHY, A9