The Hoya: December 8, 2015

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 24, © 2015

TuesDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

STREAK CONTINUES

The Georgetown men’s baksetball team earned its fourth straight win over Brown.

EDITORIAL Sexual assault and race relations dominated this semester’s dialogue.

NASA ON CLIMATE CHANGE NASA’s chief scientist discussed climate change at campus event.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

SPORTS, A10

GU Signs Low-Carbon Agreement matthew larson Hoya Staff Writer

The university joined over 217 institutions in signing President Barack Obama’s American Campus Act on Climate pledge in support of the ongoing 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Nov. 19.

Other universities that signed the pledge include Brown University, Dartmouth College, Duke University and Johns Hopkins University. The pledge demonstrates the university’s solidarity with the Obama administration’s stated goal to reduce climate change through negotiations at the Paris Climate Change Conference. The conference, which began Nov. 30, aims to establish an international legal agreement on environmental issues.

“We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community.”

AMERICAN CAMPUS ACT ON CLIMATE PLEDGE

“As institutions of higher education, we applaud the progress already made to promote clean energy and climate action as we seek a comprehensive, ambitious agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris,” the pledge reads. “Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”

The university added four points See CLIMATE, A6

University Considers Live Registration Students voice concerns on effects of possible new system on class preferences Jack Lynch

Special to The Hoya

The Office of the University Registrar is evaluating alternative options for replacing Georgetown’s current class registration system by February 2017, including changing the current preregistration system to a live registration program.

Georgetown University Student Association’s Outreach Committee organized a townhall discussion on the future of Georgetown’s registration system in the Healey Family Student Center Social Room last night. University Registrar John Q. Pierce spoke about the two potential systems and fielded questions from around 30 students for over an hour.

Georgetown currently has a registration system where students pre-register for classes before they finalize their registration. In a live registration system, all students would register for classes at the same time and learn their results instantly.

The re-evaluation of Georgetown’s registration system was spurred by the need to upgrade the current registration software system, which was introduced in 2009.

The university has the option to upgrade from the current registration software system, a product of Ellucian Higher Education called Banner 8, to a newer system, Banner 9. Banner 9 would include a number of changes from the current software, most prominently the introduction of the live registration system without a pre-registration period.

The university’s second option is to purchase an entirely new student registration system from Workday, the company that currently provides Georgetown’s human resources and finance software. The Workday system — which is still under development — would include a pre-registration system.

Georgetown has signed on as a partner for the Workday development program and will have

KARLA LEYJA/THE HOYA

University Registrar John Q. Pierce explained two potential new class regristration systems that the university is considering implementing at a town hall in the Healey Family Student Center Social Room. substantial input into the company’s new student registration software.

Implementing the Workday system would be a major financial investment for the university in comparison to upgrading from Banner 8 to Banner 9. When the university last purchased student registration software in 2009, the software cost the university $17 million.

Pierce said he believes that upgrading to Banner 9 would incur a number of fiscal and convenience benefits for the university.

“We think the [Banner 9] registration process might be actually better; it would facilitate the mobile app, and if we went to cloud computing where we didn’t have to invest so much money in it

… it would cost less to maintain it and thus keep tuition dollars down,” Pierce said.

“We’re exploring different ways to gauge student opinion because this affects every single student.” richie mullaney (COL ’18) GUSA Outreach Committee Chair and Henle Village Senator

GUSA representatives originally raised the possibility of eliminating the pre-registration system with university adminis-

New IPPS Fellows Bring Varied Perspectives Ashwin puri Hoya Staff Writer

The Institute of Politics and Public Service announced its spring 2016 class of fellows yesterday — IPPS’ second class of fellows — consisting of five prominent figures from the realms of politics, gov-

ernment and the media.

The new fellows include former Mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., Alvin Brown, former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla (GRD ’89), former Deputy White House Political Director and Special Assistant to the President Patrick Dillon (COL ’99), Senior Politics

COURTESY THE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AND PUBLIC SERVICE

Laura Chinchilla, Jackie Kucinich and Alvin Brown are among the five new fellows for the spring 2016 class in the IPPS program.

Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947

Editor for The Daily Beast Jackie Kucinich and former Deputy Campaign Manager for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign for president Katie Packer.

The fellows will begin a semester-long term at Georgetown in which they will participate in oncampus discussions, hold office hours for students and lead weekly discussions on relevant political topics and domestic and international events.

The IPPS Fellows Program, an initiative launched by the McCourt School of Public Policy, began with its first class of fellows in August 2015. Executive Director of IPPS Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94) said the fellows program is an important way in which IPPS improves political discourse on campus and engages with the Georgetown community.

“The fellows program is really the cornerstone of GU Politics. Each semester we bring five practitioners who live in the trenches of politics and public service to do two things: 1) pull back the curtain of politics and help students understand how our political system really works, and 2) engage students to find ways to make it work better,” Elleithee wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We had an amazing first class of fellows, and we’re particularly psyched about this one.”

Elleithee said that the diversity of each fellow’s background will allow for greater impact on the Georgetown community.

“This mix of professionals, which includes a foreign head of state, a Published Tuesdays and Fridays

big city mayor, a top political journalist, a White House official who has also helped run a state and a top Republican campaign operative is going to allow students to really dive into politics from a bunch of different angles,” Elleithee wrote.

“We can’t wait for them to get here.”

Chief of Staff to the Office of the President Joe Ferrara said that the new class of fellows will continue to contribute to IPPS’ overall goal of finding solutions to make American politics more efficient.

“We congratulate the McCourt School on a terrific new class of fellows at the Institute of Politics and Public Service. This innovative program connects students with leaders in politics, government and media to engage together to make American politics work better,” Ferrara wrote in an email to The Hoya.

IPPS fellows will engage with the Georgetown community directly through discourse and collaboration with undergraduate and graduate students. Students may apply to join “student strategy teams” that will be formed

by IPPS for each individual fellow in order to contribute to research and campus outreach. Students on the strategy teams will also participate in a “political hackathon” in the spring to come up with groundbreaking political ideas.

An in-depth profile of each IPPS fellow will appear in a future issue of The Hoya.

trators last year but have since changed their stance on the issue. “[GUSA] started having some conversations with students and found that their sense of what students wanted was not actually shared with everybody, and I would say what happened this year is the active students now believe that we should keep preregistration,” Pierce said.

According to GUSA Outreach Committee Chair and Henle Village Senator Richie Mullaney (COL ’18), GUSA has considered the possibility of implementing a student-body referendum on the pre-registration issue to further gauge student opinion.

See REGISTRATION, A6

FEATURED OPINION Open Doors to Refugees

The confusing of terrorists with refugees is politcally and morally misguided.

A3

OPINION Hidden Costs of Healthcare Georgetown’s Premier Plan comes at too high a price for many low-income students.

A3

NEWS DC a City of Snobs

Washington, D.C., was named the snobbiest city on the East Coast in a recent survey.

A4

sports Road Defeat

The Georgetown women’s basketball team lost out to St. Bonaventure A3

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

Tuesday, DECEMBER 8, 2015

THE VERDICT

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Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIALS

Defined by Truth The 2015 fall semester has been marked by powerful examples of student activism and a campuswide commitment to social justice in a myriad of forms. Over the past few months, passionate students and student groups have taken to social media, Red Square and even the president’s office to confront many issues. Though every issue is of importance, this editorial board would like to focus on the events that occurred this semester pertaining to race relations and sexual assault. Although each of these movements has encouraged dialogue and succeeded in enacting meaningful policy, more systematic reforms need to address race relations and sexual assault education must be expanded.

Race Relations On the heels of last spring’s decision to implement an academic diversity requirement beginning with the Class of 2020, this semester saw renewed energy on campus surrounding issues of race. The events unfolded in part because of a larger, national and international movement across institutions of higher education. Georgetown students joined the ranks of those at Yale University, the University of Missouri, the University of the Western Cape and numerous others by protesting against racial campus climates, the honoring of problematic historical figures and the underrepresentation of minorities among faculty.

The #GU272 campaign focused specifically on acknowledging the legacy of slavery that built and sustained our campus. After a demonstration in Red Square and a one-day sit-in in University President John J. DeGioia’s office, Georgetown changed the names of Mulledy and McSherry Halls to Freedom and Remembrance Halls, respectively, on an interim basis.

The Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, comprised of students, faculty and administrators, convened in December and held a teach-in last week to acknowledge Georgetown’s historical ties to slavery. In addition, this semester saw a student-organized petition to establish an African-American studies major that will ensure a vote that could approve the major by the university’s board of directors, which was proposed years before with little headway.

These campaigns illustrate clearly the level of dedication from student advocates and alumni in support of racial justice, along with backing from DeGioia and the administration to incorporate substantial policy changes. Georgetown students have invigorated an important conversation — about racial identities, privilege and institutional racism — that becomes ever more relevant in light of national events. It also remains to be seen whether Georgetown will make an explicit effort to address more systemic concerns, such as the small number of professors of color on campus or whether the

administration’s racial consciousness ends at the doors of Freedom and Remembrance Halls.

Sexual Assault This summer, sexual-assault policy reform moved to the fore of student dialogue with the launch of the #IStandWithWilla op-ed published in The Hoya in July 2015. The pro-survivor movement that would come to follow made numerous calls for administrative action, some of which were answered. With the fall semester in the rearview mirror, students and staff should be proud of the strides made in cultivating a more survivorcentric campus; however, as this editorial board previously mentioned in “Expand Consent Education” published September 2015, the university must commit to providing ongoing consent and bystander-intervention education.

One of this semester’s greatest victories came with the six-point memorandum of understanding reached by the Georgetown University Student Association and administrators in September. The MOU outlined an agenda of specific, measurable and time-bound objectives to be met over the course of the 2015-16 academic year, ranging from the formation of a campus-climate questionnaire on sexual violence to the expansion of student health resources and staff. The MOU is a significant step in the right direction, demonstrating both the responsiveness of administration and the initiative of student leaders in the service of survivor well-being.

Despite the MOU, certain hurdles still remain.

A study published in The Washington Post – Kaiser Family Foundation poll, as previously cited by this editorial board, revealed that 40 percent of college students remain divided on the definition of consent. Though this confusion is not unique to Georgetown, instituting mandatory sexual assault education during the New Student Orientation program for incoming freshmen and transfer students through the I Am Ready program is not enough to develop a campus-wide understanding of consent and change students’ behaviors and attitudes in the long-term as effectively as consistent programing.

With more education, survivors and advocates would have the opportunity to stimulate healthier and more productive dialogue, furthering the aims of the students advocating for sexual assault reform and helping to foster a safer, more nurturing environment for all Hoyas.

This semester has seen a great amount of growth for Georgetown on many issues. Georgetown administration has recognized issues regarding race and sexual assault on campus and worked with students to move forward. While this progress is admirable, there is always more work to be done and we hope that the administration will continue to work with students on issues that

Go Beyond Galas With the holiday season at Georgetown comes a number of annual traditions — the Christmas tree lighting in Dahlgren Quad, selfies in front of the “Hoyas” sign on the front gates, Christmas caroling by various a cappella clubs — and a number of formal holiday events put on by student clubs and organizations.

These events, which range from the Students of Georgetown, Inc.’s annual holiday gala to the semi-formals and formals hosted by various clubs and societies, often try to balance relieving stress in the time before finals, celebrating the holiday season and engaging in philanthropy for a good cause at Christmastime. But while there is nothing intrinsically wrong with these philanthropic efforts, they should not be mistaken for the only kind of service that Georgetown students can or should engage in with the holiday spirit in mind.

The Corp, for instance, usually picks one charity or cause to donate the proceeds from gala ticket sales; last year it picked the Georgetown Scholarship Program and this year it is donating to St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, an AIDS orphanage in Kenya. Similar galas and formals also have charitable causes and often raise a significant amount of money, for which they should be lauded.

However, student groups’ engagement in charitable work tends to end with the moral justification that they sold an expensive formal ticket with the rationale that they are contributing to those in need. Rather, it is just as important to engage

those we seek to serve and understand better the challenges that they face.

As the freezing cold temperatures of winter approach, the situation for the homeless in Washington, D.C., inexorably worsens, and the volunteer work of students in soup kitchens and homeless shelters around the District becomes all the more important.

The annual Hunger and Homelessness week, a partnership between the Center for Social Justice and the Georgetown Ministry Center, serves as a great example of an awareness-raising event. The CSJ also organizes a Hypothermia Outreach Team, in which Georgetown community members who volunteer are trained in conducting street outreach and distributing emergency supplies during times of extreme weather.

Many groups — among them, other CSJ groups, campus ministry groups and the Secular Student Alliance — work with local organizations to sponsor and deliver food to homeless individuals experiencing poverty during the Thanksgiving season.

There is no reason that all clubs should not similarly extend such service events. In the future, without eliminating their formal Christmastime events, student clubs should consider adding or participating in service opportunities, like those of the CSJ, campus ministry groups and the Secular Student Alliance, which work with disadvantaged groups in the surrounding area. In doing so they would fulfill the true message of a kind and compassionate holiday season.

Jess Kelham-Hohler, Editor-in-Chief Katherine Richardson, Interim Executive Editor Jinwoo Chong, Managing Editor Shannon Hou, Online Editor Ashwin Puri, Campus News Editor Emily Tu, City News Editor Tyler Park, Interim Sports Editor Toby Hung, Guide Editor Lauren Gros, Opinion Editor Naaz Modan, Photography Editor Matthew Trunko, Layout Editor Jeanine Santucci, Copy Chief Catherine McNally, Blog Editor Reza Baghaee, Multimedia Editor

Syed Humza Moinuddin Ian Scoville Aly Pachter Andrew Wallender Maureen Tabet Madeline Auerbach Darius Iraj Andrew May Sean Davey Tom Garzillo Kate Kim John Miller Anthony Palachio Cleo Wienbar Julia Weil Robert Cortes Daniel Kreytak Stanley Dai Charlotte Kelly Jesus Rodriguez Alyssa Volivar Yuri Kim Emma Wenzinger Sarah Wright Jarrett Ross

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A Saint Has Risen — Kanye West and Kim Kardashian had their second child on Saturday, a son named Saint West. To the dismay of many, Saint did not join his older sister North in having a direction-based name.

Trumpocalypse — Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said, in the wake of the San Bernardino attack, that no Muslims should be allowed to enter the U.S. This comment joins a long list of offensive remarks the candidate has made.

Holiday Cheer — D.C. police officer plans a ‘12 days of giving’ endeavor to give care packages to homeless Washingtonians during the 12 days before Christmas.

A New Kind of Barbie World — A limited-edition Barbie doll modeled after Selma director Ava DuVernay sold out within an hour of being released for sale online.

The doll has been praised for celebrating a woman who has broken barriers.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Michelle Xu

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Do You Love Medicine?

To all pre-med “Josh” Hoyas, I write this as I sit in the depths of another university’s library, preparing myself for yet another physiology test in less than 36 hours.

I was privileged, unlike many Hoyas, to be able to make it through the rigorous curriculum and approval process from Georgetown’s Pre-Medical Committee. I know how difficult it is to balance a pre-medical “concentration” along with one’s own major, minor/certificate, extra-curricular activities, research and professional opportunities and personal life. Despite a precocious attraction for my budding profession since childhood, Georgetown continuously asked me, “are you sure that you love medicine?” along my journey.

None of this is unique to our in-

stitution.

While it may be true that Georgetown’s infectious whitecollar culture is prevalent in many circles, it holds equally true that other areas to develop one’s passion for medicine exist on our Hilltop. Unlike hereditary conditions, this calling is not received through Mendelian inheritance. Our university is exceptional in that it offers a plethora of spaces for pre-meds to explore medicine and the impacts it has on patients’ lives — people ranging from undocumented immigrants unable to obtain employment, to bluecollar workers who struggle to make ends meet for their families and even white-collar laborers who are fortunate to have time to discuss issues such as the one we visit now.

Lauren Gros, Chair

Samuel Kareff (F ‘13) is a second-year MD/MPH candidate at the University of Miami Miller

CORRECTIONS The article “Three Students Win Renowned Scholarships” (The Hoya, A1, Dec. 4, 2015) referred to the Marshall Scholarship as founded in the 1990s. The Mitchell Scholarship, not the Marshall scholarship, was named for George Mitchell in the 1990s.

The article “Transportation Roundtable Solicits Student Input” (The Hoya, A8, Dec. 4, 2015) included a reference to the University of Maryland as located in Fairfax Va,. The university in question was George Mason University.

The op-ed “Why Am I Choosing to Wear This Suit?” (The Hoya, A3, Dec. 4, 2015) was noted as authored

by Parth Shah. The op-ed was written Josh Puthumana, not Parth Shah.

The article “Tigers Are Bad For Horses” (The Hoya, B3, Dec. 4, 2015) refers to the band’s first single as “Revolver.” The band’s first single is “Recovery.”

Evan Zimmet, General Manager Selena Parra, Director of Accounting Addie Fleron, Director of Corporate Development Nicky Robertson, Director of Human Resources Lucy Cho, Director of Sales Ashley Yiu, Director of Technology Brittnay Logan Senior Accounts and Operations Manager Matt Zezula National Accounts Manager Connor Mayes Local Accounts Manager Alexander Scheidemann Treasury Manager Daniel Almeida Online Sales and Accounts Manager Galilea Zorola Subscriptions Manager Emily Ko Alumni Engagement Manager Shreya Barthwal Special Programs Manager Elizabeth Sherlock Personnel Manager Walter Lohmann Organizational Development Manager Natalia Vasquez Market Research Manager Steven Lee Public Relations Manager Julie LeBlanc National Advertisements Manager Local Advertisements Manager

Editorial Board

Emily Kaye, Irene Koo, Jonathan Marrow, Sam Pence, Sharanya Sriram

It is also true that it is notoriously difficult to matriculate into medical school in this — and many other — countries.

However, one truism holds among all institutions: medical schools are looking for future physicians, not consultants nor bioengineers. They are not as interested in financial headlines, the glamour of some Northeast city’s downtown neighborhood, or the high-paying salaries of other professions as they are about the struggles of dealing with chronic illnesses or obtaining care for rare and neglected diseases.

So, my question remains: are you sure that you love medicine?

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Sam Abrams, Kara Avanceña, Madison Ashley, Alexander Brown, Kim Bussing, David Chardack, Robert DePaolo, Kristen Fedor, Ben Germano, Penny Hung, Natasha Khan, Lindsay Lee, Carolyn Maguire, Emily Min, KP Pielmeier, Elana Richmond, Zack Saravay, Eitan Sayag, Katherine Seder, Mallika Sen, Ian Tice, Michelle Xu, Jason Yoffe

Board of Directors

Christina Wing, Chair Lena Duffield, Chandini Jha, Jess Kelham-Hohler, Katherine Richardson, Daniel Smith, Evan Zimmet Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-800 words.

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 Katherine Richardson at (310) 429-5752 or email executive@thehoya.com.

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OPINION

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • Smith

if a tree falls

The Hidden Costs of Student Healthcare

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Grace Smith

How I Met My Friend Bibi Geggy T

he day I told my mom about my imaginary best friend I was four years old and being driven home from daycare. He was a 41-year-old, divorced Jewish man named Bibi Geggy.

Our conversation went something like this: “Mom, there’s a man who comes and talks to me, and only me, on the playground, and he brings his dog with him, too.”

“Oh? And what’s his name?” Sirens of maternal, protective instinct had just gone off in my mom’s head.

“Bibi Geggy. He comes by every day to talk to me, and we have great conversations.”

“I see. And does anyone else know him? Have your teachers said anything?” Her fingers gradually crept closer to her phone as she prepared herself for my answer.

“No, Mom. Just me. And he’s my best friend.”

And so began our discussion on Bibi, my imaginary childhood friend whose many divorces, relationships and pets would remain integral parts of my upbringing. He was a middle-aged man whose complex love life and loyal police dog, Walter Fleischman, allowed him to travel the globe as an undercover cop with his wife, Acalcia, posing as his sister for confidentiality purposes. I was a four-year-old kid whose concerns ranged from who would get to play with the red truck to what snack would be given during recess. But Bibi is whom I came up with, whom I fell back on when I needed someone.

However, in many ways, the specific details of his life were not what mattered; what was important was how he allowed me to forge my own life. When I felt limited by my own life, Bibi was the malleable reality to which I could escape; he reminded me of my ability to be a unique individual. In wholeheartedly believing in him and his life, I was able to navigate my own better as I began to understand my creative power.

Bibi Geggy was the first clue that radical thinking and redefinition of reality were themes that would come to characterize much of my life.

The worlds I imagine can be present in the worlds I live and that bridge between the two can be the place I call home.

Imaginary friends mark the first moment in which we dare to challenge our own perceptions of reality by creating a world entirely different and entirely our own. In imagining new people and new circumstances, we begin to distinguish between the details of our life we want to replicate and those we want to leave behind. Through our imagination, we turn the cacophony of the world around us into a harmony that is both universal and individual, foreign yet distinctly familiar.

Bibi taught me that overlap is possible, that the worlds I imagine can be present in the worlds I live and that this bridge between the two can be the place I call home. All it takes is being surrounded by a loving community that is invested in your reality as much as its own. Bibi quickly became friends with some of my parents’ friends, as phone calls to our family often began with, “So how is Grace doing? And how is Bibi?”

Their acceptance helped me find the kind of peace and unconditional love unique to true solidarity. They believed in my world as much as I did, and the blurring of the boundaries between the two taught me that my truth mattered.

Bibi taught me how to build communities, dreams and realities.

Years later and up until now, when the world in which I live has caused me strife, especially stemming from misrepresentation of identity, I always know that I have the ability to escape into this world I can create. This imagined place was once full of Bibi Geggy and his stories; now, it’s full of dreams in which my identities are not liabilities and my very existence is not resistance. My life’s work has been, and will continue to be, dedicated to connecting these worlds until there is no distinction between the two.

To this day, on my dad’s cell phone, we have a phone number for Bibi Geggy.

One day, I’ll have to call him and thank him.

Grace smith is a sophomore in the College. This is the final appearance of IF A TREE FALLS this semester.

hen enrolling at a private school such as Georgetown, there are often “hidden costs” that not all students and their families may be aware of.

These costs have the most serious consequences for students from lowincome backgrounds and are significant. At Georgetown, the forefront of these hidden costs is the student health insurance policy.

Beginning in 2014, 28 states and the District of Columbia expanded Medicaid eligibility to include households whose income was at least 138% of the federal poverty level. Figures vary according to state., it is currently 210% in D.C. This expansion finally made healthcare accessible to millions of Americans who were previously uninsured.

I applied for and received my first health insurance policy through MediCal, Medicaid of California, earlier this year. When I finally received my card from Anthem Blue Cross, it was the first day of my life that I knew if I fell and broke a bone, it wouldn’t break the bank.

The fear that comes with living uninsured is a feeling known all too well for millions of Americans. For uninsured families, sickness means long waits at free clinics and the overarching fear of the financial strife, or even bankruptcy, that a medical condition could cause. We grow up knowing that the best thing to do when you are sick is to simply hope it passes without escalating. “Unless you’re dying, just wait it out,” was a common phrase in my household growing up.

But all that is supposed to change in college. We have a student health center on campus, a program for student health insurance and a hospital. Certainly it is important when students are living in such close quarters to be able to access adequate health services, if at the very least to prevent the spread of potentially hazardous infectious disease. This is ostensibly why most colleges, including Georgetown, require all students to have full healthcare coverage before enrolling and living on campus.

Many Georgetown students have a form of health insurance, either

The administration should embody its own values and realize the student health insurance policy is unjust. through a private provider or their parents’ job, and are therefore able to waive the Premier Plan. However, for students who are either uninsured or beneficiaries of Medicaid, that is sadly not an option. The Office of Student Health Insurance capitulates the requirements that an existing policy must have in order to waive the Premier Plan — and no out-of-state Medicaid coverage is eligible. This begs an important question: If students who have other health coverage can opt out of it easily, for whom is the Premier Plan designed? It seems likely that it is targeted at low-income stu-

dents who are otherwise uninsured and cannot afford its high price.

When I received my first Georgetown bill in August, I was surprised to see the $2,375 health insurance fee, a fee that I had not been made aware of earlier during the financial aid process. I called the Office of Student Health Insurance and explained to them that I was receiving state benefits and could not pay for the student coverage. They informed me that my Medi-Cal was not adequate.

When I asked if D.C. Medicaid would be accepted, I was told that no information about anything besides the Premier Plan could be provided. Another stu-

VIEWPOINT • Forsyth

dent was told that she “shouldn’t have come here if she couldn’t afford the Premier Plan.”

As previously mentioned, the expansion of Medicaid in D.C. allows all adults who make less than 210 percent of the federal poverty line to obtain free health care coverage (319 percent for children under the age of 18 and pregnant women, and 216 percent for parents).

However, D.C. residency is required — something that a student living in California before Georgetown cannot possibly have. Even if D.C. Medicaid were to be accepted as a viable way to waive the egregious Premier Plan requirement, students wouldn’t be able to obtain coverage until their second year.

Admittedly, the Georgetown endowment is comparatively small, so there is not as much money to devote to student needs, but not small enough that it cannot afford to give low-income students equal access to affordable health coverage. The administration should embody its own values of “women and men for others” and realize that the student health insurance policy is unjust. For Georgetown, University $2,375 might be negligible, but for many low-income students it poses a significant hardship that may prevent them from attending this university, accessing its resources and benefitting from the excellent opportunities that a Georgetown education undoubtedly provides.

I propose that for the first year, Georgetown should waive the cost of the student health insurance plan for families who are beneficiaries of Medicaid or who are uninsured in states that have not expanded Medicaid but whose income falls within federal Medicaid guidelines. After that, the Premier Plan could be waived for D.C. Medicaid. Alternatively, scholarships and/or grants should be available to cover this hidden cost that disproportionately affects low-income students.

And last but not least Georgetown should offer counseling and information to its students on different health care options including applications for D.C. Medicaid.

SERAFINA SMITH is a junior in the College.

[and Service]

The Refugee Crisis: The Lasting Value Tales of Misplaced Fear Of Peers in Education

A

t the 11 p.m. Mass in Dahlgren Chapel last week, one of the intentions was for “those who are hungry, homeless, feel unloved or feel like they have no one to love; may they see the face of Christ in our own faces.”

In the wake of the terror in Paris and around the world, we seem to have forgotten this intention as tensions around border control and refugee resettlement have escalated.

More than two dozen U.S. governors have proposed to block resettlement in their states, while Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has suggested instituting religious testing to admit only Christian refugees. Republicans on the Hill led the push to pass legislation in the House of Representatives to block President Barack Obama’s proposal to increase admittance of Syrian refugees to 10,000 next year, less than 1 percent of the 4 million people who have already fled the country. The American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, House Resolution 4038, is now before the Senate, and proposes to create insurmountable procedural obstacles for these refugees seeking asylum in the United States from Syria and Iraq, neglecting to acknowledge the serpentine path asylumseekers must already follow.

Under current U.S. policy, refugees already undergo levels of scrutiny higher than any other individuals entering the country. The vetting process, which includes FBI, Department of Defense, and National Counterterrorism Center background checks, in its entirety often takes as long as two years, and therefore serves as the least convenient, least likely route for potential terrorists to take.

In fact, of the 745,000 refugees admitted in the United States since the 9/11 attacks, only two Iraqis in Kentucky have been arrested in connection with terrorist plots. Americans have more to fear among their fellow citizens: According to Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and David Schanzer of Duke University, right-wing extremists, including white nationalists, have killed more innocent Americans than any jihadists identified in the United States.

What each of these ludicrous responses lack is what should inherently follow in times of crisis: compassion.

Governors and lawmakers seeking to block resettlement in their states have no legal authority to do so, but these politicians may succeed in engendering fear — a deeply ignorant, xenophobic and heartless fear — in the hearts of the American people.

As most of us do in crisis situations, these people fear the unknown. Rightfully, they fear the extremism that has taken countless lives in acts of senseless, unimaginable violence. They fear for their families and their friends, and they fear the intrusion of the evils of terrorism upon their own comfortable lives. There is nothing at all wrong in yearning to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the danger and the destruction that has already touched many corners of the world. It is our most basic human instinct: to protect the ones we love.

This fear, however, has been wrongly misplaced in the thousands of Syrian refugees who, just like us, so passionately yearn to protect their own lives and the lives of their children from the violence and extremism they have experienced in their own home country.

So passionately do they yearn for this protection, for safety, for some sense of hope and home, that they crowd smuggler-run boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea and enter Europe, often losing loved ones tossed overboard or succumbing to hypothermia and other afflictions. As the winter months encroach, the refugee crisis will become dire, as those without status, safety and shelter will be left to brace the elements.

By confusing refugees with terrorists, we risk finding ourselves seriously misguided, both morally and strategically.

Refugees do not deserve our fear, stigmatization and rejection; rather, more than anything, Syrians and the many other refugees seeking asylum from war and terror deserve compassion.

These people constitute the most vulnerable in the Syrian war, such as single mothers and their children, young orphans, victims of violence and torture and religious minorities.

Above all, refugees are human beings; they are us.

They are the faces of our loved ones, the embodiment of the hunger for hope and refuge that is the very essence of our nation. They are, quite literally, the tired, the poor and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, as inscribed upon Lady Liberty’s pedestal.

We must implore our lawmakers to adhere to her claims, to remember the very soul of our country as a haven of freedom, and to reject the misguided bill that does little more than stigmatize and politicize the tragic plight of refugees.

By confusing refugees with terrorists, we risk finding ourselves misguided.

Meredith Forsyth is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service.

P

rofessor Steenhuisen was just the sort of sweet, grizzled presence that I needed to ease into university life. She posed questions to students with immense tenderness, smiling at every response as if she had never heard anything as poignant in her 20 years at Georgetown.

During my last visit to her office, she told me “to take all the good in life and leave everything else behind.”

At the time, I remember thinking I had already found the best “good.”

After all, I met Naman in professor Steenhuisen’s class. We sat next to each on the first day. Naman — sagging jeans, bright flip-flops, UC Berkeley t-shirt — leaned over and asked if I was on the waitlist.

I was. “Cool,” Naman said. A week later, we were both off the waitlist and “Problem of God” soon became the staple of my first semester.

Professor Steenhuisen’s class consisted of four “credos.” These were Shetty 15-page essays — though the word “essay” perhaps belies the endeavor’s informality.

Credos were a seamless blend of textual analysis and personal reflection. They were a space to let ideas marinate, settle and sink in.

Naman and I worked on a few of these credos side by side. I mostly watched as he attempted to write 15 pages in one night. It was a messy and heavy affair — threading together cohesive thoughts about God and existence is not for the faint of heart.

Those nights, and many others with Naman, are the best classes I’ve ever taken.

Naman is one of the most gifted teachers I have ever had. He has never given me a problem set or delivered a lecture, but he has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. That thirst — that desire to dabble in many disciplines, to weave together disparate insights with relative ease, to cultivate a healthy entrepreneurial streak — is contagious.

Two summers ago, Rohan and I went to watch “Boyhood” at E Street Cinema downtown. Still full from grabbing pizza beforehand, we decide to walk from E Street to Burleith. Over the two hours, we reminisced on everything from our childhood and cultural heritage, growing up Indian, to American politics; I once again tried to convince him on several nonsensical

startup ideas.

“Problem of God” will have been the only class we have taken together in college, and while all-nighters cemented Lauinger as the antithesis of happiness, they were also a serious exercise in peer-driven education.

I have learned more from Rohan than most of my classes at Georgetown. His level of patience is unmatched; he is not one to talk for the sake of talking. He is quick to build emotional connections with all of his friends because it is clear — through his calm tone, awkward giggles, and ridiculous hypothetical questioning — that he truly cares.

Indeed, over the past four years, parts of our friends have been irrevocably chiselled into our cores: Josh’s ability to fuse levity and focus so gracefully; Tarren’s incredible warmth and comfort in his own skin; Danny’s endlessly admirable brotherly love and ability to lead; Max’s con& Trevedi ciliatory nature and infectious spurts of creativity; Emily’s unabashed charisma, a beacon for us all; Allie’s wonderful appetite for life, her selflessness and compassion for others. Anirudha is one of the truest friends we will ever meet — kind to a fault with his selfless attitude, ear-toear smile and endlessly inquisitive mind. Lanier’s cheerful wisdom, her air of prescience always so timely; Shweta’s listening ear, her elegance and unshakeable kindness. She’ll always be there for you at moment’s notice — just after she finishes introducing Bernie Sanders to Georgetown.

I could go on. In a sense, we’re only as good as our peers.

Georgetown is a special place — it’s filled with incredible characters with incredible stories and experiences, all wonderfully cuddled inside the front gates.

Make no mistake: In college, your peers are your education. In them, you will find kernels of truth no textbook can express and a sameness that is deeply unsettling. Cling to your peers and you will find the education for which you came.

Rohan shetty is a senior in the McDonough School of Business. naman trevedi is a senior in the School of Foreign Service.

This is the final appearance of [and Service] this semester.

news

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

THE HOYA

A5

NASA Chief Scientist Awad Discusses Somali Relations Talks Climate Change Cheryl Liu

Hoya Staff Writer

Gaia Mattiace Hoya Staff Writer

NASA’s chief scientist Ellen Stofan emphasized the reality of climate change and advocated for increased reliance on scientific data in the Philodemic Room of Healy Hall on Wednesday.

Around 60 students, faculty and community members attended the talk, entitled “Helping Countries Build Climate Resilience.”

Stofan began the event by countering the common misconception that NASA’s work is only focused on space and not on earthly problems.

“When I talk about what NASA does, I like to use the phrase ‘we look outward, inward and homeward.’ I think outward is the part you’re most familiar with; we look out into the solar system, out into the universe,” Stofan said.

Stofan said that climate change is a reality that has been confirmed by climate models.

“The global deviation from surface temperature from the late 1800s to the present day … [shows that] as we come towards the [present], especially in the last 15 years, the planet gets warmer and warmer … [and] I have a lot of people who come to me and say ‘I didn’t know you had evidence like this’,” Stofan said.

Stofan emphasized that there is no possibility that climate change is theoretical as shown by distinct scientific evidence.

“A lot of people think that climate change is something theoretical; it’s not theoretical, the climate is changing, the Earth is getting warmer and we have clear evidence of that from the temperature record,” Stofan said.

Part of NASA’s work on climate change involves modeling future temperatures on the basis of two climate models, one estimated on conservative emission levels and one on a worse-case scenario estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Climate change models are based on Representative Concentration Pathways, predictions about climate change emissions until the year 2100. An RCP of 4.5 predicts low emission growth, while an RCP of 8.5 predicts higher emission growth and is the worse-case scenario.

The RCP 4.5 scenario assumes emissions will peak around 2040 and then decline, while RCP 8.5 takes into account rising emissions through the 21st century.

“RCP 4.5 says that within the next 20 years, based on things like the discussions that are going on at [Conference of Parties 21 in Paris ] over the past week, we’re going to radically cut carbon emissions and slow the pace of climate change,” Stofan said.

Even under the more optimistic RCP 4.5, Stofan emphasized that surface temperatures will rise as high as 109 degrees Fahrenheit based on NASA”s climate models. Stofan said that if emission levels exceed the predictions of RCP 4.5, and instead reach the emissions levels of RCP 8.5, whole sections of the earth might become uninhabitable.

“You can see the earth is well above 45 degrees [Celsius] which is about 117 [Farenheit]. Huge sections of the earth in July of 2099 are going to be so hot that it can’t support things like photosynthesis … photosynthesis shuts off,” Stofan said.

NASA works with over 122 countries and two organizations and has 19 satellites operating in an effort to better understand the planet.

Of all 60 current NASA operating missions, 44 have some international component. Stofan also spoke of the possibility of NASA identifying and researching other habitable planets, or planets that have water on their surfaces.

“Right now we’re only able to determine about [planets’] size and their orbit, but in 2018 we’re going to launch a new telescope called the James Webb Space Telescope. this is going to start looking at the atmospheres of some of these potentially habitable planets,” Stofan said.

Stofan said although the reality of climate change is depressing, it must be shared so that countries can make decisions that will benefit their populations in the long run.

“So these are really worrying scenarios.

On the other hand, we’re putting these models out there with this high resolution to allow countries around the world to say, ‘Do I grow the right crops? What’s going to happen to my precipitation, my temperatures, so that I can start making decisions about how I’m going to feed my population?’” Stofan said.

Kyle Rinaudo (SFS ’18) said hearing from NASA’s head scientist was inspiring.

“It’s fascinating just to hear about all the things that are going on and all the problems that are being solved by NASA that otherwise I would have never known about. … It’s actually inspiring to see these people that are doing these things that I would have never imagined,” Rinaudo said.

Victorino Floro (MSFS ’17) said he particularly enjoyed hearing about NASA’s international aid efforts and projects.

“I don’t think that a lot of the different programs that NASA does [are known] … they are doing a lot of work in relation to looking at the earth, and particularly because of climate change more people have to become more aware of the work that NASA is doing,” Floro said. “All we need is the will to use the data so that Earth can stay habitable.”

Recently appointed Somali Ambassador to the United States Ahmed Isse Awad and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs Shannon Smith emphasized the improved U.S.-Somali relationship and discussed strategies to defeat the terrorist group Al-Shabaab at an event in the Intercultural Center on Tuesday.

Director of the African Studies Program Scott Taylor moderated the event, which was the first event of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy’s series on African ambassadors.

Smith spoke about the history of the U.S.-Somali relationship and future plans for the strategic partnership. The United States stopped recognizing Somalia’s government in 1991, following a civil war in the country.

Smith said the 1993 battle for Mogadishu — Somalia’s capital — in which 18 American soldiers were killed in efforts to stabilize the country, served as a turning point in U.S.-Somali relations.

“It’s hard to overestimate the importance of this moment [in U.S.Somali relations],” Smith said. “It became seared into the memories of a generation of policymakers and legislators. ... It is the moment of Somalia that they most remember.”

Since the battle, Smith said U.S.Somali relations have moved in a positive direction in the last decade.

“It is incumbent on us to understand that it is the past and we must look forward to the future,” Smith said.

Smith and Awad also spoke about the 2012 Somali election. Following the elections, in 2013, the United States recognized Somalia as a country for the first time in 22 years. In early November, the Somali embassy reopened in Washington, D.C., and the State Department hopes to soon reopen its own embassy in Somalia.

Awad further discussed what he feels are the two narratives of Somalia. While Awad believes that the predominant global narrative is one of war and chaos, he said that the crisis-stricken image of Somalia does not truly reflect the country.

“75 percent of the narrative is the resilience of the Somali people,” Awad said. “Somali people have not only survived the devastating civil war but have actually thrived and prospered.”

Awad said the emergence of major cities in Somalia is proof of its evolution and modernization.

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA

Somali Ambassador to the United States Ahmed Isse Awad discussed U.S.-Somali relations Tuesday in the Intercultural Center.

“After Somalia collapsed in 1991, everything was in Mogadishu. You want to go to university, you go to Mogadishu. You want to go to the hospital, you go to Mogadishu. ...

Today, Somalia has more than two dozen major centers where there are airports ... [and] universities,” Awad said.

Praising the spirit of entrepreneurship throughout the country, Awad also said Somalia carries a reputation of economic success.

Taylor concluded the event by asking Smith how U.S. policymakers could best stop Al-Shabaab.

Smith said that a global approach to tackling Al-Shabaab would be tantamount in the group’s elimination.

“It will take the sustained commitment of the international community. ... It’s not just Soma-

lia’s problem; it’s the region’s, it’s the world’s,” Smith said.

Awad also offered specific solutions.

“You have to defeat them militarily, you have to defeat them ideologically ... and they have to be defeated economically,” Awad said.

Preetham Chippada (SFS ’19) said that the discussion about AlShabaab was particularly relevant to forging a path to stronger U.S.Somali relations.

“I liked the discussion about Al-Shabaab, especially about how the youth were susceptible and how the youth need to be empowered, because I think that’s a very relevant discussion to building a stronger country and building stronger relations with the United States,” Chippada said.

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news

THE HOYA

TuesDAY, December 8, 2015

University Signs Climate Pledge Course Registration CLIMATE, from A1 to the foundation of the pledge to specify its own actions on climate change. It promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2020, offer educational opportunities for students interested in the environment, research climate change issues and continue dialogue related to the environment.

“In keeping with Georgetown’s Jesuit heritage, our core mission of creating knowledge and our commitment to justice and common good, we are addressing critical sustainability challenges through our academic mission, our physical footprint and our financial operations,” the pledge reads. “We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community.”

Audrey Stewart, director of Georgetown’s office of sustainability, said that the climate pledge is an affirmation of a commitment to combating climate change from both the university and its peer institutions.

“The strong show of support on this issue from college campuses demonstrates that higher education is playing an important leadership role in finding global solutions to the critical issue of climate,” Stewart wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The pledge is a continuation and reaffirmation of GU’s existing and ongoing work to address climate change in our research and teaching, our engagement activities and our operational practices.”

Director of the Georgetown Center for the Environment Edward Barrows expressed satisfaction with the university’s decision to sign the pledge. Barrows noted that, despite the approach of exam season, students should still ensure that they do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s wonderful that GU signed the American Campus Act on Climate Pledge,” Barrows wrote in an email to The Hoya. “GU people are very busy, but it would well worth our time if we all united in this endeavor for the future of …

biodiversity and, in turn, our own society and health.”

Barrows added that while adhering to the mission of the pledge is a good starting point, members of the university community should still take further action in preventing climate change.

“All GU people should know about the pledge,” Barrows wrote.

“Each can help to reduce our climate crisis, including using renewable energy, reusing and recycling [and] reducing heating and cooling.”

“The pledge is a continuation and reaffirmation of GU’s existing and ongoing work to address climate change.”

AUDREY STEWART Director, Office of Sustainability

Barrows mentioned the danger that global warming presents to the planet, pointing to education on climate change as key in helping citizens understand the severity of this threat.

“People should change many of their habits if we are going to reduce our extreme output of greenhouse gas pollutants.

Global warming is the worst crisis we are facing,” Barrows wrote.

“There is so much we should all learn about our climate crisis.”

Zachary Larkin (SFS ’18) treasurer of EcoAction, which seeks to promote environmental conservation through education and advocacy, encouraged members of the Georgetown community to become more actively involved in campus environmental groups so that the goals of the pledge can be fulfilled.

“EcoAction is happy about this development and we certainly think it’s a step in the right di-

rection,” Larkin said. “EcoAction hopes we can work with [the community] in the near future to help Georgetown achieve its climate change-related goals.”

Efforts spearheaded by Georgetown University Fossil Free to create a student-wide referendum on divestment were rejected by the Georgetown University Student Association on Nov. 22. The referendum, which aimed to enable students to vote on university divestment from the top 200 fossil fuel companies, would have been placed on the GUSA executive ballot in February.

GUFF member Chloe Lazarus (COL ’16) said the group supports the university’s participation in the pledge but believes further action should still be taken, particularly in terms of divestment.

“GU Fossil Free is pleased to see Georgetown supporting action to combat climate change though we feel it is hypocritical that the university continues to profit off of systems that perpetuate climate change, namely fossil fuel companies,” Lazarus wrote in an email to The Hoya. “If Georgetown is committed to international climate action, it must begin by divesting itself from fossil fuel companies.”

In other efforts to address environmental issues, the university’s goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half from its 2006 level was met at the beginning of the 2014 fiscal year. It has also reduced its carbon footprint by 17 percent since 2005 and diverts over 90 percent of its waste from landfills each year.

In 2012, the university signed then Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray’s College and University Sustainability Pledge with eight other D.C. universities to establish concrete sustainability plans.

Additionally, the university hosts the Georgetown Climate Center, which seeks to enact policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has also established the Georgetown University Energy Prize, which will reward a community with $5 million in 2017 for sustainable innovations.

Options Discussed REGISTRATION, from A1 “We’re still learning about the potential changes, but [a student referendum] is absolutely a possibility in order to send a message to the administration about what students think, whatever that may be,” Mullaney said. “We’re exploring different ways to gauge student opinion because this affects every single student in a fundamental way.”

Mullaney said that student input on the issue of registration is important and stressed the necessity of communication between the student body and administrators.

“GUSA’s role at this early point in this conversation is to facilitate an honest transparency and communication between the registrar’s office and the student body,” Mullaney said. “GUSA really wants to inform the students of what’s happening and also gauge student opinion so the administration doesn’t make any decisions without knowing exactly what the students think.”

Many students at the town hall expressed worry about the effects of losing the pre-registration period with the Banner 9 software and having to compete heavily for courses against fellow students. Sarah Alshawi (COL ’18) said she enjoys the current pre-registration system due to its emphasis on comprehensive research for classes.

“I personally have had a decent amount of success with it. I like the fact that you can rank your preferences and also put alternates,” Alshawi said. “I think the way the system is set up encourages you to look at all of your options and really go through the course catalogue and see all of the courses that are offered to you.”

Other students expressed concern that a live registration process in place of a pre-registration period could make it more difficult to register for required courses and increase the possibility of falling off a fouryear graduation track.

Edom Tesfa (SFS ’18) failed to register for “Problem of God” her first three semesters and was finally en-

rolled in the course this semester.

She credits the pre-registration period for her current enrollment.

“Had I gone through live registration, I probably would not have gotten into the course, especially since the professor has reasonably high demand,” Tesfa said. “I work, I take intensive Chinese and I just don’t have that many options to take required courses. I would have been at risk of not graduating on time had this happened multiple times.”

Pierce said maintaining a strong four-year graduation rate remains a primary goal of the registration system and the registrar’s office.

“The underlying purpose of our job creating the schedule of classes and running registration is to see that particularly the students in the four traditional undergraduate schools graduate in four years. That’s one of our claims to fame, that’s one of the issues that keeps [Georgetown] ranked highly, that’s one of the reasons your parents are paying us all this money to educate you,” Pierce said.

Off-Campus GUSA Senator Eric Henshall (COL ’16) said he was surprised that student opinion at the town hall seemed so strongly in favor of keeping the pre-registration period.

“I think it was interesting to see that a lot of the students in the room like pre-registration, because I know there’s often a lot of angst especially this time of year when results are coming out. … And so I think that shows that students really do like the ability to prioritize their classes and then have the option to do preregistration completion in December,” Henshall said.

Alshawi said that while it is disappointing that the registration system might change, the consultation process has been beneficial.

“I was unpleased that things potentially will get worse, but I was relieved that there does seem to be a lot of thought being put into it and that the students’ concerns about how much the system represents them is being taken into account,” Alshawi said.

Student-Led Initiative Funds Winter Break Housing

Campus Organizations, Alumni Association and Administrative Offices Support GSP Program Syed Humza Moinuddin Hoya Staff Writers

The Students of Georgetown, Inc., the Georgetown University Student Association, the Georgetown Alumni Association, the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President contributed to the funding of a temporary house for students in unstable living situations for the upcoming winter break.

The initiative will provide 10 students a secure space to live and sleep throughout the winter holiday through the community marketplace Airbnb. This temporary housing is normally provided by direct funding from the Georgetown Scholarship Program, but student groups and administrative bodies stepped in to reallocate the GSP funding to other programs. The Corp donated $4,500 for the house while GUSA and GUASFCU both donated $500 each. Upon hearing about donations from student groups, GUAA contributed $1,000 along with the President’s Office, and the Provost’s Office donated $2,000.

GSP was founded in 2004 by the Office of Admissions to offer resources and community for students who receive scholarships and financial aid and first-generation college students to facilitate academic, extracurricular and social success at Georgetown. There are approximately 150 GSP-affiliated student in each class year at Georgetown and over 600 GSP alumni.

When an average of six to 12 students — regardless of their affiliation with GSP — requested a need for housing over winter break in the past, GSP contributed the funding necessary to ensure the needs of those students were met. This funding typically came from the GSP Necessity Fund, which consists of outside donations.

GSP then distributed grants to students in need and helped them obtain winter break accommodations. Those students did not have a dedicated house at which to stay , so they stayed at hotels or at the houses of fellow GSP students during winter break.

In September 2014, GSP Program Director Missy Foy (COL ’03) realized more should be done to ensure students with uncertain housing situations could be secure in the long term.

“I knew in our heart we weren’t doing enough,” Foy said. “We needed to do something more institutionalized and formal, less disorga-

nized.”

Foy soon discovered Airbnb, a community marketplace allowing individuals to list and book personal accommodations. Foy saw Airbnb as a viable and cost-effective way to make sure students could have adequate accommodation and began using the service in 2014.

“The one we rent is in Woodley Park. It’s downtown, right near a metro, and for a lot of the students ... the location is convenient. Students appreciate being placed all together,” Foy said.

While others advocated for students to live in dormitories during the break, Foy believed the shortterm solution with Airbnb was more viable and conducive for both the students and the university.

“The benefit of Airbnb is that it is cheaper than a hotel and it provides all of the amenities,” Foy said.

“And we’re going to push the administration to have two students stay in Harbin, one student stay in Village B, three students in Henle?

That’s hardly ideal.”

Foy said The Corp’s Social Impact Chair and GSP member Harrison Williams (COL ’16) approached her during the summer. Williams heard of GSP helping fund student housing during winter break with its own funds and expressed a desire to involve The Corp.

“After seeing some of the things that [Foy] had to go through to receive funding for the program, I wanted to help out in any way that I could to make the process easier for the following year,” Williams wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I reached out to [Foy] and I told her that I really wanted The Corp to get involved in any way that we could to support this initiative.”

“As we encourage more dialogue around the topic of socio-economic status on campus, we must ... push tangible projects and initiatives that the Georgetown community should all take on together.”

Harrison williams (COL ’16) Social Impact Chair of The Corp

GUSA President Joseph Luther (COL ’16) said Foy and Williams approached him about funding, so he began to reach out and organize community groups to secure donations to alleviate much of the burden from GSP. “We reached out to GUSA over the summer to talk about the house

FILE PHOTO: ROBERT CORTES/The Hoya

Georgetown student organizations, alumni and administration funded a GSP initiative for the housing of 10 students with unstable housing situations for the upcoming winter break. and other ways that we could help GSP’s mission,” Luther wrote in an email to The Hoya. “After a lot of discussion, we saw the best role GUSA could play would be to raise awareness and appeal to different offices for funding.”

Chief of Staff to the President’s Office Joe Ferrara said his office was happy to contribute after seeing student-led initiative on the issue.

“The President’s Office is always happy to partner with student groups and other administrative offices to advance important work across the university,” Ferrara wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We were happy to help with a financial contribution. We appreciate the positive initiative to address important needs in our community.”

Foy said that the alternative source of funding is noteworthy, as it allows GSP to allocate resources to other programs and as the initiative was student-led.

“Going from $10,000 to $3,000 makes a huge difference. There was a cobbled together solution last year, and the important thing this year was the student support behind it, which helped the administration see this as a student priority,” Foy wrote.

Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson praised the work of each group and said he looks forward to future discussion of the

issue.

“I am pleased that students and administrators have come together to support this opportunity for students,” Olson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I know it meets a need, and am encouraged by the collaboration that has gone into this.”

While the funding and involvement of student groups and administrative bodies has drawn praise, many still see future challenges.

Luther said housing students with Airbnb is effective in the short term, but that the university should consider more long-term solutions.

“Our main goal at the moment is to institutionalize the program so in years to come the funding isn’t so ad hoc,” Luther wrote. “There are plenty of hurdles students from low socioeconomic backgrounds face and while the winter house is a great step forward, there is still much work to be done.”

Williams said there is a necessity for greater attention in the community to students in need.

“As we encourage more dialogue around the topic of socioeconomic status on campus, we must also start to push tangible projects and initiatives that the Georgetown community should all take on together, rather than placing the onus entirely on the back of the Georgetown Scholarship Program and a few concerned students,” Wil-

liams said.

Going forward, GSP is continuing to look for a long-term, institutional solution for students seeking housing during both winter breaks and other long holiday breaks.

Foy said that an additional solution is to reach out to local D.C. hotels for accommodation, but stressed that the ideal solution would be for the university to establish a designated house for students in unstable situations to occupy.

“A variety of spaces could serve our students’ needs, including the [Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center],” Foy wrote.

“But if I had a magic wand ... my dream of dreams would be that the university dedicated space that is open for necessity type situations.”

GSP member Jonathan Ulmer (COL ’18) said Georgetown should be proud of the collective action of many community members to recognize the situation of low-income students.

“This is so important not only because of the people it helps, but because of the message it sends,” Ulmer said. “Having our community help low-income students is a great symbol of the level of care we wish to show for those who may face hard times. It really makes a difference when we tell students who face situations at home that they will have a place here if they need it.”

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SPORTS

THE HOYA

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Women’s Basketball

Track & Field

Hoyas Start Indoor Season On High Note in Annapolis daniel baldwin Hoya Staff Writer

After capturing 20th place at the 2015 NCAA Championship meet with 491 points, the Georgetown women’s cross country team transitioned to the indoor track and field season, competing in the Navy Lid Lifter meet in Annapolis, Md. The Hoyas started the season with strong performances from several athletes, placing first in three different events.

This was the first track and field meet of the season.

According to Head Coach Michael Smith, the focus of the meet was to smoothly transition from the grueling cross-country season into the track season.

“Coming off of cross-country, we don’t typically have the athletes that ran a lot during the cross-country season, especially the national meet, run in early meets for indoor track,” Smith said. “For the meet at Navy for the women’s team, that’s for people who have not been running a lot of cross-country or who have been waiting to start their year off.”

The Hoyas’ 4x400-meter relay team claimed first place with a time of 3:52.15. The relay team consisted of junior Sabrina Southerland, junior Ebony McKeever, junior Emma Keenan and sophomore Aleta Looker. Southerland was impressed with her teammates’ determination and grit.

“Winning the 4x4 was a great way to open the season,” Southerland said. “None of us thought we would be able to sprint this early, so each of

us definitely surprised ourselves when we received the baton. We all had amazing splits and can’t wait to see what the future holds for our next relay.”

Senior Sarah Cotton also secured first place in the women’s 3000m, running a time of 10:01.82. Sophomore Madeline Perez followed Cotton by finishing in fifth place with a time of 10:18.47.

“Sarah had some injuries in the fall,” Smith said. “It’s not just an opening indoor meet for her, it’s her first meet since outdoor track last season. You can train all you want, but returning to racing after you haven’t raced in a while is a very difficult process for any athlete. So to start off by getting on the track with a win, being able to get in the front and push, that’s going to serve her well later in the season.”

“As the season progresses, I think that we should focus on unity.”

Sabrina southerland Junior Runner

The Hoyas’ early-season success continued in the 1600m where Southerland placed first overall with a time of 4:51.66. Following Southerland for the Hoyas were her 4x400-meter relay teammates Keenan and Looker, who placed second (5:01.86) and third (5:03.03), respectively.

“As the season progresses, I think that we should focus

on unity,” Southerland said.

“Though it’s an individual sport, it’s often easy to only be focused on yourself. If we focus on winning together and lifting each other up, we will receive great results this season.”

Sophomore Jody-Ann Knight competed in both the 60m and the 200m. Knight placed sixth in the 200m with a time of 25.85 seconds and ninth in the 60m, crossing the finish line in 7.99 seconds.

“Jody ran the 1600-meter and the 200-meter,” Smith said. “I think Jody is off to a great start. We don’t typically focus on time this early in the season, and focus on the technical aspects of the race and getting a feel for the track. So I think Jody and Ebony are off to a really good start when it comes to those things.”

The Hoyas will continue to train through the holiday break as they prepare for the long track season ahead.

“The holiday break at Georgetown is an important time for us,” said Smith. “We get a lot of the pieces in place before they go as far as fitness goes, but we really want their training during that time to be quite focused. Because the track season goes so long, this is still a period where training is so important. So leaving Georgetown for a month is a very crucial time for us.

They will have really clear directions for what to do.”

The women’s indoor track and field team will compete in the George Mason Father Diamond Invitational meet Jan. 9 in Fairfax, Va. while the men will open their season Jan. 16 at the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge.

More Than A Game

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tograph and a handicapped man who insinuated that Cobb was partially black.

If integrity matters, why is Gaylord Perry in the Hall of Fame? Perry’s success came in part because of his tactic of illegally doctoring the baseballs by spitting on them. MLB banned spitballs in 1920, and despite openly admitting to consistently using the spitball, he was still deemed worthy of a Hall of Fame selection. The spitball, like performance-enhancing drugs, gave pitchers an unfair competitive advantage.

Nick Barton On top of all this, why is Pud Galvin in the Hall of Fame? He openly injected himself with monkey testosterone prior to games, yet the Veteran’s Committee put him in the Hall of Fame. If the Baseball Writers’ Association of America can overlook Perry’s spitball and Galvin’s elixir, they should overlook the use of steroids.

Another problem with voting on players from this era is that it is impossible to differentiate which players used steroids and which were clean. Currently, many of the players who the public knows used steroids admitted to it themselves, failed a test or were mentioned in the Mitchell Report, which was the result of an investigation into PED use in baseball. Yet, the Mitchell Report lacks credibility. According to the report, the only teams that had no players doping while with their team were the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. Senator George Mitchell, who led the investigation, was a Red Sox fan, and former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig once owned the Brewers.

The investigation lacked thoroughness and it is unjust to say that a player is not a Hall of Famer because

Streak Ends in Loss to SBU BONNIES, from A10

Hall of Fame Voters Should Focus on Stats Over PEDs little more than a year before his 756th homerun, I watched Barry Bonds play a game in Philadelphia. The fans booed and jeered, throwing syringes at him as he took his place in left field. All that changed when Bonds ripped his 713th career homer over the outfield.

The crowd showered him with cheers. For a fleeting moment, nobody thought about Bonds’ congressional hearings, his obstruction of justice charge or his polarizing demeanor. Instead, people in the stadium soaked in that moment of baseball history; a moment that they would undoubtedly share with their children and grandchildren. When my children ask about Barry Bonds, I will tell them about how I saw the home run that brought him within one homer of Babe Ruth’s career mark before I say anything else.

With the National Baseball Hall of Fame election ballots due in two weeks, anecdotes of Bonds’ greatness will fall by the wayside. For a fourth consecutive year, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa will probably not be voted in, while some less notable names such as Tim Raines may sneak into the Valhalla of baseball.

The vague criteria that define a Hall of Famer contribute to the issues with the voting process. Some voters will select Bonds, who holds the record for most home runs but still received less than 40 percent of the vote last year, on their ballot, but will omit Clemens, who won a record seven Cy Young awards. Others will vote for Clemens but not Bonds based on their own interpretations of what defines a Hall of Famer.

Many of those who choose to exclude Bonds from their ballot cite Rule 5, which emphasizes that the integrity and character of the player should be considered when deciding who to choose for the Hall of Fame.

If character matters, why is Ty Cobb in the Hall of Fame? Cobb assaulted several people during his career, including an African-American who just wanted his au-

FILE PHOTO: STANLEY DAI/THE HOYA

Sophomore guard Dorothy Adomako scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in the Georgetown Hoyas’ 69-54 loss on the road to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.

he was on the Mitchell Report, but another player is because even though he may have taken PEDs, he was not mentioned. Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez found themselves left off of the Mitchell Report, but in the following years, Ramirez would test positive while somebody leaked Rodriguez’s name from a 2003 drug test that was supposed to be confidential.

In my opinion, the best measure of what makes a Hall of Famer is his star appeal. Years from now, I will not be telling my children about the time Craig Biggio turned a double play; rather, I will tell them about how I got to see Barry Bonds hit balls into McCovey Cove. I will tell them about how Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire captured the attention of the nation for a summer.

In no way is that a knock on Biggio, but his career statistics simply pale in comparison to the aforementioned group of hitters.

The BBWAA wants to pretend that the accomplishments of some players are tainted, but at the end of the day, Barry Bonds’s record of 762 home runs has no asterisk. All of Roger Clemens’ Cy Young Awards sit on his shelves without asterisks. Bonds hit those home runs and Clemens received those awards. By not voting these players into the Hall of Fame, the BBWAA is whitewashing the steroid era, ignoring that PEDs were a huge part of the game.

Voters need to recognize that my generation grew up only watching these players and that most of my childhood memories involve players who took steroids.

Additionally, the BBWAA needs to realize that the steroid era must be put into a different context. How does the BBWAA possibly know if someone like John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez or Craig Biggio took steroids? The answer is that they do not.

Nick Barton is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. This is the final appearance of More Than a Game this semester.

guard DiDi Burton closed out the first half and Georgetown headed to the locker room down by nine.

“For the first time [this season] we were just a step slow,” Adair said. “We just weren’t in rhythm. We got shots. They just didn’t fall. … They were good shots. They were shots I have seen us take and make. It was just the night that they didn’t fall.”

The Hoyas continued to struggle in the third quarter, as the Bonnies extended their lead to as many as 15 points. Georgetown managed to string together a 5-0 run in the last two minutes of the period to cut the deficit to eight points heading into the final quarter.

The Hoyas were unable to sustain the momentum from the closing minutes of the third quarter and never seriously threatened the Bonnies’ lead in the fourth quarter. St. Bonaventure maintained a double-digit advantage for the final eight minutes of the contest.

When the final buzzer sounded, Georgetown trailed by 15 points.

“Your hat goes off to St. Bonaventure. They made some big shots. They made some contested shots. They were in a rhythm on their home court and we gave that momentum,” Adair said. “We tried to rev it up defensively, and we were there. They just did one heck of a job making their shots and being disciplined.”

Freshman guard Dionna White led the way for the Hoyas in the loss, recording a teamhigh 17 points and continuing the impressive play that has defined her freshman campaign thus far. White has been the leading scorer in three of the Hoyas’ first seven games and has been named Big East Freshman of the Week on two occasions.

“It is always great to have a freshman that is coming in and doing well. We just have to continue to push her up and give her the ball at good spots,” sophomore guard Dorothy

Adomako said.

Adomako was the only other player who managed a double-digit scoring performance. She chipped in 10 points along with five rebounds.

After scoring eight first-quarter points, Vitalis was held scoreless for the remainder of the game. However, the senior forward continued to contribute on the boards throughout the contest, pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. “[Vitalis] has been playing really well in the post and I think she has been doing a really good job of rebounding,” Adomako said. “She has to continue it and I am really happy for her.”

With the Bonnies’ leading scorer, senior forward Katie Healy, sidelined due to injury, the team had to find other sources of offensive production. Sophomore forward Miranda Drummond and redshirt junior forward Gabby Richmond filled the void Healy left, each netting 17 points each in the contest. Senior guard Nyla Rueter also contributed 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“They didn’t miss a beat without [Healy] and that goes to show the depth of their team and the discipline of their team. They didn’t get rattled. They had other scorers that stepped up,” Adair said.

Georgetown will pursue its sixth win of the season when it takes on Delaware (4-3) Thursday at McDonough Arena. The Blue Hens will come into the contest looking to extend their current winning streak to three games while the Hoyas will seek to preserve their unbeaten record at home. “[Delaware] is going to come in with a sense of toughness,” Adair said. “We have to make sure we defend home court. We have to be excited to be home and playing on our home court, but it is going to come down to defensive stops, and that will allow us to run in transition and play up-tempo the way we want to play.”

SPORTS

TUESDAY, December 8, 2015

Upon Further Review

GU Shows Depth in Home Win BROWN, from A10

ligaments to keep his streak alive, and thus ended up battling an addiction to painkillers for much of his career.

But this standard cannot be the same for twisted ankles and bruised brains. There is no known “split for your head” or “magic noggin” pill that cures concussions, and we have come to know from the tragic stories of retired NFL players that the brain is not just another muscle to be tested.

Playing through the pain of a pulled hamstring could mean a future of struggling to run around with your kids — playing through a concussion could mean a future of struggling to remember their names. But to a 285-pound Goliath of a man who essentially earns his pay by being tough, the future is not on his mind when the doctor asks what symptoms he is experiencing.

Being a great football player means being indestructible. Being a great teammate means getting back out on the field after being injured and not missing another play. Playing through a sore wrist and a throbbing cranium become one in the same. It is all written in the job description.

We need to take another look at whom this whole concussion revolution in football is targeting. On Dec. 25, the much-anticipated movie “Concussion,” starring Will Smith, will be released and is expected to put a great deal of heat on the NFL for hiding the truth about head injuries.

Past coaches at the University of Illinois and Columbia University have lost jobs due in part to their carelessness with concussions. Team trainers and doctors are receiving more pressure than ever to prevent players from playing until they are no longer exhibiting signs of head trauma.

However, at the end of the day, there is only one group alone that can accept responsibility when it comes to health concerns surrounding concussions, and it just so happens to be the same group that has the most at stake.

who was unable to see and the other was a linebacker who could not distinguish up from down, much less a pass play from a run play, Roethlisberger and Shazier had to be benched for the remainder of the game.

They both showed up for practice the next day — suited up and ready to participate in a full-pads, full-contact practice. Both were allowed back onto the practice field only after telling team doctors they were experiencing no concussion-like symptoms, much to the surprise of Steelers fans, who had just heard Head Coach Mike Tomlin announce Roethlisberger had, in fact, sustained a concussion.

Football fans should struggle mightily with their consciences over instances like these, which are by no means specific to just the professional ranks of football. The whole world has seen the autopsies of former NFL players like Junior Seau and Jovan Belcher.

NFL and college teams have hired hoards of neurologists to stand on the sidelines at all times to help treat head trauma at a moment’s notice.

Lab tests on dozens of NFL players’ brains revealed that over 95 percent have CTE. But every ounce of scientific data is being rendered effectively useless, because at the end of the day, the athletes allow the culture of football to trump anything that someone in a white lab coat can say.

This culture is a result of the grit and toughness of football players, meaning adequately treating a concussion in a football player is like trying to convince the Hulk that he can, in fact, destroy himself beyond repair. It is a cruelly ironic situation where the trait that makes a football player a legend is the same attribute that ultimately leaves him with a crippling disease.

Football players are heralded for their toughness by playing through injuries at all costs — take for instance future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. The all-time Packers great is known most for having started an NFL-record 297 consecutive games. Favre had to play through many broken bones and sprained

Jimmy McLaughlin is a sophomore in the College.

This is the final appearance of Upon Further Review this semester.

second half, their sloppiness with the ball and consistent fouls allowed the Bears to outscore them by 14 in the second period.

“We’re going to have to take care of the ball significantly better against Wilmington,” Head Coach John Thompson III said of the team’s next game against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (5-0). “That’s what they do, they turn you over. We’ve got to look at that, we’ve got to analyze that and we’ve got to get better at that.”

Still, Georgetown was able to showcase its depth throughout the game and received significant contributions from all three of its freshmen: guard/forward Kaleb Johnson, forward Marcus Derrickson and center Jessie Govan. The three combined for 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting. While Derrickson has been a starter since the opening game, the other two freshmen each provided contributions off the bench. “[Johnson and Govan] are good players

and it’s not the first time that they’ve come in and contributed,” Thompson said. “I don’t think today was opening up

“We’re going to have to take care of the ball significantly better against [UNC] Wilmington. That’s what they do, they turn you over.” john thompson iii Head Coach

the skies for them, but what they did today they’ve been doing.”

In the second half, Govan found John-

son on two backdoor cuts leading to the Hoyas’ easiest baskets of the game. However, easy baskets slowed down once the Bears switched to a zone defense and the Hoyas were forced to shoot contested jumpers and three-pointers.

Regardless of the team’s offensive struggles and inability to control the ball without turning it over, the Hoyas’ threequarter-court press helped build Georgetown’s ultimately insurmountable lead.

“They’d shown it and I kind of expected them to do that. We worked on it a little bit today in shootaround. It is just hard to simulate that length and that athleticism,” Brown Head Coach Michael Martin said of Georgetown’s defensive pressure.

For the second time in three games, the Hoyas played their entire healthy roster, with senior guard Riyan Williams recording the first field goal of his entire career.

Georgetown will stay at home to face UNC-Wilmington on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

The beautiful game

Low-Level Clubs Surprise in EPL This Year

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s the semester winds down and we approach winter break, I cannot help but marvel at what a soccer season it has been so far. Granted, the usual suspects like F.C. Barcelona and Bayern Munich have continued to dominate their respective leagues without much fanfare, although Real Madrid has been surrounded by controversy lately.

I am talking specifically about the Premier League, where 2015 appears to be the year of the little teams. That’s not to say that the heavyweights aren’t doing well. In fact, with the exception of Chelsea — much to my delight — the big clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Tottenham are all currently in the top eight. But besides this expected success from historically dominant teams, this season has been absolutely wonderful for the smaller clubs.

Leicester City, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Watford: These are the teams that round out the top 10. It’s almost mindboggling to see a newly promoted team like Watford doing well, let alone to see a team like Leicester City leading the league. Had you told me at the beginning of the season that Leicester City and West Ham would be better than Chelsea, I would have laughed. It is just crazy.

This season has been uncharacteristically unpredictable, and that is what I love most about the Premier League.

The EPL is not like La Liga — where you can say with almost certainty every year that Barcelona or Madrid will win the league — or the Bundesliga, where it is no longer even a question whether Bayern Munich will win the title. In the Premier League, anything can happen.

As we have seen this season, this chaos

certainly holds true.

So far, West Ham United — a team that usually languishes in the mid-tolower table range — has beaten Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, not that beating Chelsea is terribly difficult this season. Just this past weekend, the Hammers held a rather boring Manchester United side to a draw. West Ham United is essentially the new Crystal Palace in terms of upsetting the big teams.

Vanessa Craige In fact, Crystal Palace has yet to live up to its reputation this season. The only big club it has beaten so far is Liverpool, when it handed Jürgen Klopp his first loss. Nevertheless, Palace is doing pretty well and it is quite feasible that the team will finish in the top 10 this year.

While I am very excited to see what Leicester City will continue to do, I am most excited to see what Watford will accomplish. Every year, I always pick a dark horse team I want to do well. Last year, it was Leicester City. This year, it is Watford. First of all, I love the Watford logo, although I am a little confused as to why it shows a moose when the team is referred to as the Hornets.

I also love the team’s energy. It is very clear that the players are extremely

SUDOKU

happy to be in the Premier League.

While the Hornets have yet to beat a truly big team, I like to think that they will manage to stay up in the Premier League and defy all expectations.

By far though, the best thing to happen in this chaotic season has been the downfall of mighty Chelsea. After yet another loss — against Bournemouth, mind you — manager Jose Mourinho admitted that Chelsea is now targeting a top-six finish rather than a topfour finish. I offer my apologies to all Chelsea fans out there. It is nothing personal, but I am so glad your team is doing so poorly. It is really a great feeling to be able to bash another team, after years of having everyone make fun of me for supporting Liverpool. Who’s laughing now?

Here are some of the games that you should try to catch over the winter break: On Dec. 14, Leicester City takes on Chelsea. I’m mainly just pointing this out because I fully expect the Foxes to hammer the Blues.

On Dec. 21, Arsenal plays Manchester City. This should be a good game, and hopefully the Gunners will win.

Liverpool takes on Leicester on Dec. 26. Just two days later, Manchester United faces off against Chelsea in what should be a heated game. Leicester plays Manchester City on Dec. 29 in the last important game of 2015.

Happy holidays, Hoyas. I can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for us all.

Vanessa Craige is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. This is the final appearance of The Beautiful Game this semester.

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men’s basketball

Football Culture Prevents Proper Concussion Care MCLAUGHLIN, from A10

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Ball Movement Solves SU’s Zone SANTAMARIA from A10

Derrickson, the three-headed, perimeter-oriented unit tallied the highest plus/minus of any Georgetown lineup.

Beyond just outscoring Syracuse, the trio of Smith-Rivera, Campbell and Cameron moved the ball and created many open three-point looks for Copeland and Cameron.

Campbell and Smith-Rivera swung the ball between the two of them before passing to Cameron on the wing. With a pump fake, the defender bit and Cameron either stepped through for an easy midrange jumper, or, if a defender from the corner rotated onto the sharpshooter, passed out to an open Copeland.

A necessary departure from the man-to-man-based Princeton offense, the Hoyas played smart offense against the two-three zone, which allowed them to capitalize on the slow rotations that unavoidably mar Boeheim’s famed defensive scheme.

On the other side of the ball, Georgetown’s defense slowed down senior guard Trevor Cooney and freshman forward Tyler Lydon, who were averaging 14.9 and 10.8 points per game on the season, respectively. Combining to shoot a mere 4-of12 from beyond the three-point line, two of Syracuse’s three best shooters — the other being senior guard Michael Gbinije, who finished with 23 points — had little impact on the game outside of fouling, with Cooney picking up four fouls and Lydon committing three.

A team known for its limited yet purposeful depth, the Orange were forced out of their comfort zones and made to play a very physical game.

“We stayed in attack mode. We wanted to be aggressive, very, very aggressive, without being selfish,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “I thought our

guys did that. We wanted to keep coming at them.”

An aggressive and ferocious mentality on both ends gave the Hoyas bragging rights with a much-needed victory over their rival but also gave them the team’s first victory over a ranked team this season.

In a heated game, White and freshman guard/forward Kaleb Johnson played fewer than 10 minutes combined.

As the team moves into an easier part of its schedule, the rotations that Thompson employs will likely solidify, and while the games are fluid and the Hoyas are adaptable, Georgetown’s overall versatility and depth will mean more inconsistent minutes for some of the team’s talented players.

Paolo Santamaria is a sophomore in the College.

MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA

Senior guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera penetrates Syracuse’s famous 2-3 zone defense Saturday in front of a packed Verizon Center crowd.

SPORTS

Women’s Basketball Georgetown (5-2) vs. Delaware (4-3) Thursday, 7 p.m.

McDonough Arena

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

TRACK & FIELD

TALKING POINTS

Sabrina Southerland led Georgetown at the Navy Lid Lifter meet in Annapolis, Md. See A8

“

“We wanted to be aggressive, very, very aggressive, without being selfish.”

HEAD COACH JOHN THOMPSON III

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Hoya Staff Writer

A second-quarter slump proved to be the downfall of the Georgetown women’s basketball team (5-2) in Saturday’s matchup with St. Bonaventure (5-2). The Hoyas fell 69-54, snapping a three-game winning streak and suffering their second loss of the season.

“Our kids were disappointed, and they weren’t okay with that outcome,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said.

“We grow from it, we move on and we get ready to compete.”

Georgetown dominated the first four minutes of play and managed to take an early lead. Senior forward Dominique Vitalis led the way for the Hoyas, scoring the team’s first six points and quickly tal-

21

The number of points senior center Bradley Hayes scored against Syracuse, a career high.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Slow 2nd Quarter Costs Hoyas in Road Defeat MOLLY O’CONNELL

NUMBERS GAME

lying three rebounds.

The Bonnies battled back from the initial deficit and tied the game halfway through the opening quarter. There were six lead changes in the final five minutes of the period as the teams traded baskets.

The second quarter opened with Georgetown leading by one point, but that advantage quickly disappeared as junior guard Imani Outlaw made two free throws, igniting a 14-2 run for NATASHA ADAIR St. Bonaventure.

Head Coach A three-pointer from senior guard/ forward Logan Battle slowed the Bonnies’ momentum and gave the Hoyas their first field goal in more than nine minutes. A jumper from sophomore

“Our kids were disappointed, and they weren’t okay with that outcome.”

See BONNIES, A8

MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA

Sophomore guard L.J. Peak scored 13 points in Georgetown’s 74-57 win over Brown on Monday night. Peak made 5-of-9 field goal attempts, including 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range.

Co-Captains Lead GU to Win PAOLO SANTAMARIA Hoya Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO: KARLA LEYJA/THE HOYA

Freshman guard Dionna White scored a team-high 17 points in Georgetown’s loss to St. Bonaventure. White averages 14.1 points per game this season.

After a dominant first half, the Georgetown Hoyas (5-3) cruised to a 74-57 victory over the Brown Bears (3-6). Led by senior center and co-captain Bradley Hayes’ 12 points and 11 rebounds, the Hoyas exploited the Bears on the glass, securing eight more rebounds than Brown.

“Defensively in the first half I think we did a tremendous job of rebounding and limiting them to one shot,” senior guard and co-captain D’Vauntes SmithRivera said.

Sophomore forward Isaac Copeland provided a well-rounded performance with nine points, five rebounds and four assists, and sophomore guard L.J. Peak led the team in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Smith-Rivera tallied four assists as well, to go along with 12 points and just one turnover.

The Hoyas broke out of the gate with a flurry of baskets, fouling just five times and shooting 49.2 percent from inside the threepoint line and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc in the game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Georgetown limited Brown

COMMENTARY

Small Lineup Lifts Hoyas Over Orange

to just 28.1 percent shooting from inside the three-point line and 15 percent from outside it.

The Hoyas are ranked as one of the best teams in the country in both efficient scoring and defending, ranking in the top 50 of offensive-shooting efficiency and the top 20 in defensive-shooting efficiency, per KenPom.com.

Despite a 46-15 first-half lead, the Hoyas still turned the ball over nine times and finished the game with 18 turnovers along with 22 fouls. Though the Hoyas’ defense remained effective in the See BROWN, A9

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

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furious rally almost erased possessions.

Moreover, the Hoyas shot 54 a 21-point lead for the Georgetown men’s bas- percent on 31 attempts inside ketball team (4-3) against Syra- the three-point line against the cuse (6-2). At the game’s end, Orange, a team that had one of the Jim Boeheim-less Orange the best interior defenses in the instituted a full-court press, nation, holding opponents to trapping the Hoyas and forcing just 45 percent shooting inside four turnovers in the final two the arc.

Crucial ball movement helped minutes of game time.

“They were moving fast. They senior center Bradley Hayes post were covering a lot of ground. I his career high of 21 points on 8-of-12 shootfelt like as soon ing, almost exas I caught the clusively inside ball, everyone the paint. In adwas just all dition to Hayes over the place,” carrying an insenior guard creased scoring D’Vauntes Smithload, the Hoyas Rivera said. rolled out a But the Hoyas, new perimeterwho at one Paolo Santamaria oriented lineup point saw their in the wake of 21-point lead shrink to seven points, managed sophomore guard L.J. Peak’s to hold off the Orange and held foul troubles.

Smith-Rivera, sophomore on to win 79-72. “[The full-court press] worked, guard Tre Campbell and junior we were able to cut it close; we forward Reggie Cameron created just couldn’t get that one more space on the perimeter for the stop or make that one more Hoyas and excelled at moving shot,” Syracuse Assistant Coach the ball. Along with freshman Michael Hopkins, who replaces center Jessie Govan and one of Boeheim while the head coach two sophomore forwards, either serves his nine-game suspen- Isaac Copeland or Paul White, these five-man units outscored sion, said.

Fortunately, the Hoyas had the Orange by seven points over the support of a 21-point lead. the duration of the game. Besides Against the Orange’s famed two- the team’s starting five of Copethree zone — which had allowed land, Hayes, Peak, Smith-Rivera 96 points per 100 possessions, and freshman forward Marcus good for 25th in the nation — the Hoyas scored 120 points per 100 See SANTAMARIA, A9

Jimmy McLaughlin

NFL Culture Hinders Proper Head Treatment

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MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA

During a strong performance that caught national attention, senior center Bradley Hayes records two of his career-high 21 points.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

n the last few years, there has been a considerable amount of research done on the seriousness of concussions in sports, particularly in football.

The discovery of a disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, found in many football players, has helped doctors develop a safer protocol for diagnosing and treating concussions. From professionals to amateurs, everyone is taking head injuries more seriously.

Everyone except the athletes, that is.

Take a look at last weekend’s Steelers-Seahawks game. Two Steelers starters — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker Ryan Shazier — were removed from the game following helmet-to-helmet hits.

Roethlisberger exited the game after admitting to the team neurologist he could no longer see with his peripherals and Shazier had to be helped off the field as he stumbled around, following back-to-back blows to the head in the same play. Seeing that one was a quarterback See MCLAUGHLIN, A9

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THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Somali Ambassador Ahmed Isse Awad discusses the future of US-Somali relations at Georgetown. Story on A5.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

verbatim

SNOWY DAYS

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Having our community help low-income students is a great symbol of the level of care we wish to show for those who may face hard times.”

GSP member Jonathan Ulmer (COL ’18) on community response to housing needs. Story on A6.

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DC Ranked Snobbiest Book Analyzes Gun Violence City on East Coast MOLLY COOKE Hoya Staff Writer

MELINA DELKIC Hoya Staff Writer

Washington, D.C., was named the snobbiest city on the East Coast, ranking seventh nationally, in a survey from RoadSnacks, a regional-data information website.

The survey, published Nov. 11, compiled information using designated affluence indicators including income, home prices, education levels, theaters and Whole Foods Market stores per capita.

Georgetown sociology professor and affluence researcher Peter Cookson said that D.C.’s position as the only East Coast city on the list of 10 represents the country’s shift in wealth away from the region and transformation of elite culture.

“In previous times, being snobby was associated with being East Coast, going to the right school. You didn’t have to be fabulously wealthy but you had to be affluent,” Cookson said.

“So much of the money has shifted to the West Coast, and I think there’s a different culture there. So the definition of snobby changes a little bit.

It has more to do with lifestyle. You could be a billionaire in Silicon Valley and maybe not even graduate from high school.”

Cookson said that understanding D.C.’s history is essential to making sense of the city as it is now.

“During the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was actually kind of a poor city and a lot of businesses were closed up along Pennsylvania Avenue. It was small.

There were no outdoor cafes like there are now,” Cookson said. “Since then, it’s become much more cosmopolitan and sort of European.”

According to Cookson, an influx of ambitious young homeowners has resulted in a culture shift, with the city now revolving around its culture of professionalism, which many deem the cornerstone of its snobby reputation.

“You have this sense of competition and excitement, located throughout, but primarily on Capitol Hill and obviously the White House,” Cookson said.

Additionally, Cookson said that although the survey measured average income, an accumulated-wealth factor is missing.

“If you did an accumulated-wealth dimension, New York would certainly win. I mean, D.C. is not even in the same category as New York,” Cookson said. “New York is still the Mecca for really, really big money.”

Sophia Anwar, who moved to D.C. in 2014 andserves as legislative cor-

respondent for Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (D-M), disagreed with the snobby label attributed to the District. She argued that it stems from misperceptions of the city’s fast-paced and professional atmosphere.

“I don’t think it’s snobby. I think it’s just a very, I don’t want to say exclusive, but because everyone lives kind of the same type of lifestyle here, we’re very in tune to the way that D.C. works,” Anwar said. “That can sometimes be hard to grasp if you don’t also work or live in the District.”

Anwar attributed the snobby reputation of the city to the focus on networking and scheduling, emphasizing that this might be intimidating to young professionals.

“These people have really busy schedules. So I think that can be sometimes daunting,” Anwar said.

“People think that other people are blowing them off or being snobby, but in fact they’re just really busy.”

Priya Bhaidaswala (MSB ’17) objected to the use of the label and the potentially negative associations that accompany it.

“I’d say snobby usually indicates a sense of being better than others,” Bhaidaswala said. “And then that betterness is usually portrayed through elitist behavior, like not being inclusive, interactions that show a divide between people.”

Bhaidaswala also said she was surprised at the survey’s results and disagreed with its conclusion.

“I don’t think that D.C. is snobby.

There are a lot of nonprofits and charities and such,” Bhaidaswala said. “People who are working for these companies, even though paid well, usually want some kind of social impact or work for the greater good.”

Cookson also pointed to the possible benefits of the label, including perceived prestige and, consequently, higher location values.

“I think, not to be facetious, that it helps real estate a great deal. I think people buy real estate based on location,” Cookson said. “If they think it’s an affluent, snobby neighborhood, then the real estate values will increase.”

Cookson added that the humorous nature of the report could minimize the importance of class differences in these cities.

“It kind of is a little misleading, the snobby label, because it sort of makes it all fun,” Cookson said. “But class differences matter in people’s lives.”

Georgetown University School of Medicine psychology professors Liza H. Gold and Robert I. Simon argued that links between mass gun violence and mental health are exaggerated in their book “Gun Violence and Mental Illness”, which will be available for sale in December.

Gold said she was inspired to begin research for the book after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

“I just decided that I needed to educate myself about what was going on with this,” Gold said. “The more I learned, the more I felt that if I, as a regularly well-educated, professional psychiatrist, didn’t know some of this data, then how likely was it that many other people didn’t know either? And so was born the idea for the book.”

In her research, Gold found that of the roughly 33,000 deaths from guns per year, two thirds are firearm suicides, with most of the rest resulting from interpersonal violence. Mass shootings account for less than 1 percent of gun related deaths, peaking at 0.53 percent in 2012, the year of the shootings in Aurora, Colo. and Newtown, Conn.

According to Gold, the relationship between gun violence and mental illness is most prevalent in cases of suicide.

“It’s hard to talk about mental illness without raising all these negative stereotypes associated with it,” Gold said. “The reality is that most people with serious mental illness are not violent. ... What they tend to do is commit suicide, not any other kind of violence. The incidence of a person with mental illness committing gun violence against a stranger is one of the rarest forms of gun violence in the country.”

Gold argued that the policy response should be refocused from broad gun-control legislation to firearm regulation based on individual histories of risk factors.

“I don’t think people should be talking more about gun-control policy. Gun control is a dead issue,” Gold said. “I think we need to be talking about sensible firearm regulation and raise the standards for people to whom we are willing to sell firearms to make them more accountable ... with or without mental illness.”

Gold advocated temporarily separating someone at risk of

harming himself or others from his weapon. She cited California’s 2014 Gun Violence Restraining Order, which enables people to petition for law enforcement to take an individual’s firearm if they believe that the person is at risk of committing violence.

“Most people will voluntarily give up their firearms to family members or friends,” Gold said.

“It doesn’t mean they have to sell them or get rid of them, but when the person is in crisis, for however

“The incidence of a person with mental illness committing gun violence ... is one of the rarest forms of gun violence in the country.”

LIZA GOLD Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine

long that may be, if they care about their loved one, they shouldn’t have access to firearms.”

Georgetown Against Gun Violence President Emma Iannini (SFS ’16) said that people often turn to mental health issues as the easiest problem to address after the tragedy of a mass shooting.

“There’s this false narrative in the media that people who are prone to mental health crises are more likely to engage in gun violence, either against themselves or others, and that’s really a huge fal-

lacy that unfortunately underpins a lot of the public policy suggestions that elected officials have put forward at the congressional level,” Iannini said. “After Newtown, we saw a lot of focus on what can done on the mental health issue, because that’s the least controversial facet of the problem that impacts gun violence.”

Iannini agreed with the book’s emphasis on firearm regulation.

She said there is a need to establish a mental health database that limits the quantity of guns and ammunition an individual can purchase within a given timeframe, based on his status in the database.

“The deadliest incidences of massacre shootings are where you have casualties or injuries of over half a dozen people. A lot of times that level of violence is able to be done because people have purchased multiple rounds of ammunition and have multiple weapons on them,” Iannini said. “I would say that quantity restriction has, at least in my personal opinion, some merit to it.”

Michael Khan (COL ’18), a writer for “The Right Way,” the Georgetown College Republicans’ blog, agreed with Gold’s advocacy of action other than gun control. [Disclaimer: Khan is also a columnist for THE HOYA.] “These mass shootings, as horrific as they are, really won’t be solved by any more gun control,” Khan said. “Most gun crime is committed with handguns. There’s no gun control that could solve any of those problems. Their findings seem to work against it.”

COURTESY LIZA GOLD AND AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE LAW

GUMC professors Liza H. Gold and Robert I. Simon analyze gun violence and mental illness in their new book.