GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 26, © 2016
TUESDAY, january 26, 2016
WILDCATS DEFEATED
The Georgetown women’s basketball team ends four-game losing streak with Villanova victory.
EDITORIAL GULC’s decision to end early assurance needs an explanation.
CHINA’S $10 MILLION GIFT Hong Kong-based conglomerate funds new Georgetown initiative.
OPINION, A2
NEWS, A5
SPORTS, A10
Historic Jonas Blizzard Hits DC
JENNA CHEN/THE HOYA
Burying Georgetown under approximately 2 feet of snow, Winter Storm Jonas hit D.C. with the fourth most snowfall on its record. Georgetown’s Planning and Facilities Management employees found themselves searching for beds on campus as they stayed to keep the university running, while the homeless faced tough nights in freezing temperatures in the District..
Lack of Beds for Staff
Homeless Brave Jonas
owan eagan
aly pachter
sity staff to sleep in on-campus accommodations for as many nights as services, such as snow shoveling, are required. One facilities As Winter Storm Jonas blanketed the Dis- employee, who has worked at Georgetown trict of Columbia with approximately 2 feet for over a decade and requested anonymity of snow, around 200 emsaid the university offers ployees from Georgetown’s limited amounts of cots Planning and Facilities within campus buildings Management slept on camfor workers staying overpus to keep the university night. running during the storm, “They haven’t … [prosome of whom found vided enough cots] in themselves without a bed. the past,” the employee Aramark employees at said. “Because they’ll be Leo O’Donovan Hall also like: ‘We don’t have no remained in the area in ormore cots,’ if you asked der to ensure the Georgefor one.” EsmereldA huerta (SFS ‘17) Georgetown Solidarity Committee Member town community had According to Vice Presaccess to meals, while ident of Facilities Robin a number of employees of The Tombs and Morey, the university noted that it did not 1789 ensured that The Tombs stayed open have enough cots during the week prior to all weekend. See EMPLOYEES, A6 Snowstorms like Jonas can cause univer-
Hoya Staff Writer
“The point is, while there are resources, there hasn’t been a lot of planning, or it’s very inadequate”
Hoya Staff Writer
Winter Storm Jonas, which covered Washington, D.C. with over 2 feet of snow this weekend, has tied for the storm with the fourth most snowfall on record in the District, aggravating an existing homelessness problem and essentially halting all activities across D.C. The storm, dubbed “Snowzilla,” shut down federal, state and local governments as well as the D.C. Metro and public schools and universities. The total snowfall ranged from 10 inches to 35 inches in and around the city. The White House lawn measured 22 inches of snow as of 6 a.m. Sunday. Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighted the potential dangers of the storm in a press conference last Friday. “It has life-and-death implications and all the residents of the District of Columbia
should treat it that way,” Bowser said. At least one death, that of an 82-year-old man who died from a heart attack after shoveling snow, has been reported in the District. Eight more were reported dead from blizzard-related incidents in Maryland and Virginia. National Weather Service meteorologist Isha Renta said members of the homeless population had been calling to check on conditions. “I know that we get calls at least several times a day,” Renta said. “[The callers] get briefed by us on snowfall amount, windchill and all that and then they make their decisions based on what we tell them.” Gunther Stern, executive director of the Georgetown Ministry Center, a homeless shelter in Georgetown, said that although his center was unable to open, he personally checked on the conditions of homeless
Campus Plan Looks to Include Student Voices Christian paz
FILE PHOTO: MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA
The campus plan is the city zoning approval for the university to use its land for future construction projects and current utility. Universities in residential areas of the District are required to obtain formal approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission to operate land within a residential area. The decision to move the schedule forward came after representatives of GUSA, MedStar Georgetown Hospital, the Burleith and Foxhall Village Citizens Associations and Georgetown University met Friday afternoon to discuss goals for the first draft. Among the priorities discussed were MedStar Georgetown’s plan to construct a new surgical pavilion in the north of the university campus and the need for students and residents to have sufficient time to review and comment on the plan before this semester ends. “This is something we have been talking about through all of last semester,” Luther said. “We had talked with the university and the neighbors about our perspectives and my biggest concern is that there is a completed draft by the time the semester ends, because I think it is really important that we create this first draft while school is still in session so they [students] can input commentary.” Luther said moving up the release of the draft will make it easier for students to have their voices heard.
Following the Georgetown Community Partnership Steering Committee’s agreement to accelerate the 20year campus plan, GUSA will seek to ensure that the final plan adequately incorporates student opinions.
See CAMPUS, A6
Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown Community Partnership Steering Committee agreed Friday to accelerate the
drafting of the university’s next campus plan over the next six months and anticipates filing a finalized 20-year plan with the District of Columbia by the end of the summer.
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According to Georgetown University Student Association President Joe Luther (COL ’16), the first draft of the 2017-2037 Campus Plan is anticipated to be available to the entire community in April.
Published Tuesdays and Fridays
See HOMELESS, A6
FEATURED OPINION Control Your Safety
A website launched by GUPD and students seeks to improve campus safety. A3
OPINION Rubio’s Education Plan
When it comes to economic and political practicality, Senator Rubio’s plan wins. A3
NEWS Schwarzman Scholar
José Miguel Luna (SFS ’15) will pursue a master’s at Tsinghua University, Beijing. A4
sports Cameron, Hayes Step Up
Reggie Cameron and Bradley Hayes have earned their places in the Hoyas’ rotation. A10
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