The Hoya: The Guide: February 26, 2016

the guide FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016

We, the Jury BEAU DEALY AND ELEANOR TOLF Hoya Staff Writers

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mong the hastily crafted messages etched into one Lauinger Library fourth-floor cubicle, three pen-scribbled words blend in almost unnoticeably: “Free Steven Avery.” Upon first glance, this message, which is no bigger than its neighboring notes, does not stand out. But its weight can be found in the earnest plea the three words represent: justice for Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wis., who is currently serving a life sentence for a 2007 murder he claims he did not commit.

In December, Avery’s name and bearded mug shot resurfaced in the mainstream media. He was the subject of a 10-episode Netflix documentary series: “Making a Murderer,” directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.

The series brought to light the complexity and possible judicial malpractice in Avery’s case, raising questions about the justice system and reminding audiences of the power of documentary filmmaking. “Making a Murderer” caught the attention of binge-watchers worldwide, including students and professors alike on the Hilltop, who have formed their own analyses of the case.

See MURDERER, B2 Warning: Spoilers ahead NETFLIX

THIS WEEK FEATURE

FOOD & DRINK

Art as Activism

Football star-turned-activist discusses the power of art

Jaco Juice and Taco Bar

The new taco eatery and juice bar impresses with its healthy, delicious and affordable options. B5

MOVIE REVIEW

Triple 9

Driven by an all-star cast, John Hillcoat’s latest directorial effort is an action-packed, albeit mediocrely written, thriller. B6

ALBUM REVIEW

Animal Collective

The experimental four-piece’s newest album will appeal to its existing fanbase. B7 AARON MAYBIN

THEHOYA.COM/ GUIDE

Aaron Maybin, who spoke to the university community Tuesday night, left the National Football League to pursue a career in activism, starting his own nonprofit Project Mayhem in 2009, and art, with a repertoire of paintings, including “Game of Life” (pictured).

KATE KIM AND SABRINA FINCHER Hoya Staff Writers

@thehoyaguide

Aaron Maybin, a former National Football League star, retired from professional football

in 2014 to pursue a notable track in art and philanthropy full time, with the mission of encouraging underprivileged youth to create art. On Tuesday night, the Women’s Center, Health Education Services and

the Center of Multicultural Equity and Access invited Maybin to Georgetown to speak about his personal journey that culminated in a unique intersection of art and activism.

Maybin started a career root-

ed in activism in 2009 when he established Project Mayhem, a nonprofit foundation with the goal of helping underprivileged youths excel beyond what their See MAYBIN, B3

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friday, FEBRUARY 26, 2016

FEATURE

NETFLIX

In 2005, Steven Avery of Manitowoc County, Wis., was arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, despite his claims of innocence. Ten years later, the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer,” which was released in December, presents evidence suggesting judicial malpractice in the case.

Anatomy of a Murder

Georgetown reacts to the Netflix series “Making a Murderer” MURDERER, from B1 A Broken System On Oct. 31, 2005, a 25-year-old photographer named Teresa Halbach went missing. She was last seen alive on Steven Avery’s family’s auto salvage lot taking pictures of his car on assignment for Auto Trader Magazine. On Nov. 11, Steven Avery was charged with the murder of Halbach after her car keys were found in Avery’s bedroom and bone remains were unearthed on his property. Avery steadfastly maintained his innocence and alleged that he was set up for a crime he did not commit, again.

In fact, two years earlier, Avery was exonerated of a crime for which he spent 18 years in prison on the basis of new DNA evidence. In 1985, Penny Beerntsen was sexually assaulted while jogging on a beach near her home in Wisconsin, and police officials pointed to Avery as a prime suspect based on questionable evidence. He was subsequently convicted of sexual assault, attempted first-degree murder and false imprisonment, all the while maintaining his innocence.

Soon after his release, Avery began the process of filing a lawsuit against the organization responsible for his wrongful conviction: the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department, citing a negligent and discriminatory approach to his investigation. This advocacy was halted with Avery’s arrest for Halbach’s murder.

Despite Avery’s insistence that he was not responsible for the murder and that the sheriff’s department was out to get him again, key pieces of evidence built a compelling case against him. Investigators conducted a thorough search of his home and the salvage lot, finding a blood sample in Halbach’s car that

matched Avery, and discovered her Toyota RAV4 car keys that contained his DNA in his bedroom, casting doubt on Avery’s claim of innocence.

On paper, the evidence appeared to be damning. But, as the series shows, it became increasingly clear that there was reason to doubt Steven’s guilt. Months after his arrest, Avery’s defense lawyers, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, found a vial containing Avery’s blood with a hole through the seal, signaling that the vial had been tampered with. Suspicion was also raised when Halbach’s car keys were only discovered under a shoe in Avery’s bedroom weeks after the detectives initially searched the premises.

Despite the sheriff department’s promise to stay out of the investigation lest allegations of a conflict of interest be raised, two members of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department contributed to the search effort. In fact, it was these two members who were responsible for finding the keys and submitting them as evidence.

Justice Unserved John Copacino, director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Criminal Justice Clinic, said he was shocked by the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department’s active participation in the investigation, despite the evident conflict of interest.

“That shouldn’t be happening. It’s not against the law, but it’s against the ethics of the police department. So it’s not an illegal search, but it gives the defense a whole bunch of arguments which they had and which they pressed very well, that [the jury] can’t trust [the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department]. The sheriff’s department had every incentive, be-

NETFLIX

The Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer” sent shockwaves across the Internet, reaching a large number of young audience members.

cause of this lawsuit, to be biased against Steve Avery,” Copacino said.

The possibility of impropriety is hard to deny. However, Copacino said accusations of law enforcement tampering with or planting evidence are difficult to prove. “[Claims of evidence tampering] are all circumstantial evidence cases — very rarely do you have an admission or proof in the form of direct evidence. So usually, you’re making inferences,” Copacino said.

Although the accusations of evidence tampering seemed credible, they would be difficult to prove in a court of law without evidence. The physical evidence found in the investigation was enough to raise suspicion of Avery. But it was only months into the investigation that the real nail in his coffin was hammered in by a lumbering, diffident 16-year-old: Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey.

When first interviewed by police, Dassey told investigators that neither he nor his uncle had any involvement in Halbach’s disappearance. A few months later, in March 2006, the investigators requested another interview with Dassey. The recorded video of the interview, as shown on the series, depicts Brendan — a boy who “had trouble in school,” according to interviews from family and friends — as nervous and uncomfortable as investigators probed deeper into his testimony.

The investigators promise Brendan that it would be advantageous for him to tell the truth. Brendan, quite possibly guided by the investigators’ leading questions, told them that his uncle had sexually assaulted Halbach, forced Brendan to take part in a gruesome rape and made him help with disposing the body. The confession was equally appalling and dubious. There was no physical evidence to corroborate Dassey’s ghastly recollection of the day Halbach went missing, engendering skepticism on the veracity of his confession.

“He said she was tied up and her throat was slit on the bed, and raped there. There wasn’t one speck of evidence — no semen, no blood — if that had happened, there would be DNA all over that room, and there’s nothing,” Copacino said.

Although Brendan’s account seems unlikely, his confessing to a crime he did not commit seems equally unlikely, if not counterintuitive. However, Copacino said individuals may sometimes be motivated to tell false confessions. “[Lead prosecutor Ken Kratz] got up and said people don’t confess if they’re innocent, and that is simply not true.

There are dozens and dozens of exonerations where the defendants confessed, and they confessed because they were led down a path and they were told that it was going to be better or they thought it was going to be better [if they confessed]. And people confess to things they didn’t do all the time for all sorts of different reasons. And the jury needed to know that,” Copacino said.

Avery’s defense attorneys were unable to prove any impropriety on the part of law enforcement, and the jury found Avery guilty of the murder of Halbach and felony possession of a firearm, beyond a reasonable doubt. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of pa-

role. Dassey suffered a similar fate in his trial: He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2048 for his involvement in the rape and death of Halbach, despite the inconsistency of his confession and the lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Wisconsin courts have denied both Avery’s and Dassey’s requests for new trials.

According to Copacino, their only real chance of exoneration is if new evidence is presented. The 10th episode’s concluding fade to black mirrors the same finality of Dassey and Avery’s prospects: They have essentially reached the end of their legal road.

Documenting or Depicting?

The series weaves down a winding path of emotion; viewers vacillate between disbelief, relief, shock, ambivalence and anger. It is this strangerthan-fiction, unsettling narrative that enthralls its viewers and arrests them to the screen. The long-form style of this documentary gives the viewer a front row seat to the reality of the judicial system in our country — witness statements, interrogations, courtroom proceedings.

“Episode by episode you develop an opinion until the very end when you have this formed opinion.”

Justin Chen (COL ’17) The show’s directors, Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, spent 10 years researching and following Avery’s case, gaining access to many important documents, footage and testimonies. After the show was rejected by PBS and HBO, the pair pitched it to Netflix. From there, the show reached the computer and television screens of millions of young viewers who would possibly have otherwise missed the show entirely.

“What’s really attractive about this show, to audiences and to me, is the idea that you essentially get to be on a jury, playing the role of juror in deciding whether this evidence is enough to convict [Avery]. Episode by episode you develop an opinion until the very end when you have this formed opinion,” Justin Chen (COL ’17), an avid fan of the series, said.

Chen’s fascination with the case speaks to the influence of documentary filmmaking on the audience’s investment in what it often believes to be an objective presentation of reality. While such an approach affords the viewer inside access to the complexities and procedures of such processes, it also gives viewers the false illusion that they know everything about the situation and can make a truly informed conclusion.

According to Bernard Cook, associate dean of film and media studies at Georgetown, documentary viewers often place more trust in the filmmakers and approach it as an objective depiction of reality, rather than a “creative treatment of actuality.”

Since the release of the documentary, pieces of information that had been left out of the series have been disseminated

to the public. In December, OnMilwaukee.com published an article entitled “14 Pieces of Troubling Evidence ‘Making a Murderer’ Left out or Glossed Over.” The list cited reports that Avery’s DNA from his sweat was found under the latch of Halbach’s car, and that various women had raised allegations of sexual misconduct against Avery in the past. These facts, which raise questions about Avery’s claim of innocence, went unmentioned in the series, highlighting the difficult question documentary filmmakers face: How do you frame a compelling narrative and depict the truth as accurately as possible?

“Documentaries are always part entertainment, part real, part shaped, part actual. And the art of documentary is in the blend of those two things — shaping access to reality. So no documentary is ever showing us the real world, because the real world is much bigger and more complicated than the apparatus of the camera or whatever can capture. People want more,” Cook said. “It’s still leaving out an enormous amount of information, which is where the Internet comes in.”

“Making a Murderer” has infiltrated current debates, primarily thanks to the Internet. When the series was released, viewers quickly took to Reddit to broadcast their own theories or to exclaim their love or hatred of a specific “character.” Two petitions have formed in the past two months, one on Change. org and another on the White House website, to grant Avery a federal pardon.

Even Avery’s lawyers are receiving attention from viewers. For Valentine’s Day, Buzzfeed featured 15 Dean Strang- and Jerry Buting-themed gift ideas.

Neil Stroul, an adjunct professor in the School of Continuing Studies who has worked in the field of psychology for 40 years, said there is a connection between the media’s obsession with the Avery case and a decades-old traffic problem. According to Stroul, when there is an accident on the highway, it is often the other drivers – those not involved in the crash – who are making you late for work, as many people feel compelled to slow down and evaluate the extent of the collision.

“There’s some perverse voyeur curiosity that we all possess to witness these train wrecks,” Stroul said.

This may explain the public’s fascination with crime in general. Although many audience members come from different backgrounds, and therefore are unable to relate with Avery, many viewers, including those in the Georgetown community, have found themselves invested in the case.

As Stroul suggested, the magic element that keeps students rooting for Avery – the underdog of the justice system – may be our age.

“Injustice still elicits a big reaction when you’re young. You haven’t become cynical enough yet to say, ‘Well that’s the way the world works. You get screwed,’” Stroul said.

Whether it is the naivete of our youth or the skillful hand of a persuasive documentarian, “Making a Murderer” has seemed to do the impossible. It has made viewers fall in love with a man convicted of murder, and left them itching to sit through another 10 hours of witness statements and court proceedings.

the guide

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016

CULTURE WARPED

THE HOYA

B3

ARTS FEATURE

Jack Bennett

Drug Warped: Please Dope Responsibly

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HE EDGE, HISTORY- Greetings from the frontlines of the Drug War. No, not the War on Drugs, which has come to exemplify everything bad about American governance. From the racism of sentencing disparities between white drug users and those of color, or the undue influence of corporate money in politics demonstrated in the privatization of prisons, or the class antagonisms found in the different minimum sentencing for crack — poor — to powder — rich — cocaine, or the voter suppression of disproportionately black prisoners, to the ridiculous hypermilitarization of police forces.

No, not that war. This is the war of ideas which works as the underlying justification for that war.

Only recently has the insurgency of those in support of legal, safe, smart, responsible, recreational drug use arisen out of the continuing devastation and havoc incurred by the War on Drugs. For the last century or so there was no drug war; it was a given that all nonpharmaceutical drugs were bad, so bad in fact that we declared war on them. Well, unless their names were “alcohol,” “tobacco” or “firearms” — those guys got their own bureau so they could continue killing us under the innocuous guise of the free market. For years, the ideological foundation for the Drug War was rarely questioned, and it appeared unnecessary to justify why the government legally forbade even the most basic research into the various narcotics it deemed Schedule I — the most illegal classification.

Under current federal law, marijuana, LSD-25, peyote and a few others are all Schedule I drugs. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 codified into law the notion that “The drug … has a high potential for abuse. … no currently accepted medical use in treatment … [and] a lack of accepted safety for use … under medical supervision.” But this simply is not true for many of the drugs listed, and it is logically fallacious to ban research while declaring that the drugs are not safe. We now know that marijuana has a myriad of medical benefits, is not addictive and its users cannot overdose. But we also know that it has its drawbacks, such as memory loss and a possible relation to psychotic episodes. LSD, as well as being nonaddictive and nonoverdose-able, is also gaining recognition in the medical community for its ability to treat end-of-life anxiety, depression and certain brain conditions related to headaches. There is no evidence that “High Culture” cannot incorporate high culture. Recreationally, LSD has advanced the arts, sciences and even the realm of theology — priests and believers alike have reported revelatory religious trips. Again, LSD has its drawbacks, especially if used by those with pre-existing neurological conditions.

Aside from the government’s decision to intervene to suspend the progress of scientific discovery and the drug laws’ most explicit encroachments on individual liberty, the government also ignores the correct approach to addressing the scourge of drug addiction: responsible drug use. We need politically incorrect, but scientifically founded, and supremely honest education on how to approach recreational drugs as safely as possible. We already know from the statistical evidence that abstinence-only sex education does not work. Kids will bang regardless of their elders’ approval. And if you only teach them not to bang, rather than how to bang safely, you get teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease outbreaks. But when you teach a student how to bang safely, including all the risks, as well as possible approaches to contraception and their respective efficacies, without moralist polemics about whether or not to bang, you get fewer negative “sexternalities” like abortion, STDs or unwanted children, which then cost society more. So too is it with drugs.

When you tell a kid marijuana is addictive, and he or she Googles it and finds that it is not, then you lose credibility. Then he or she is going to do the drug anyway without investigating the actual risks involved. But if you teach a kid how to do drugs responsibly, if you teach them honestly, then you avoid the negative externalities of drug use, such as STDs through needles and addiction.

AlcoholEdu, the mandatory web course for freshmen at many universities, provides a good example. It doesn’t just say, “Don’t drink alcohol,” which is a drug. Instead, it teaches you how to drink responsibly. The War on Drugs has already been prematurely eulogized as a misguided disaster. After our policymakers recognize this, we can use the funds to rework drug education and approach the underlying conditions that lead to America’s drug problems. Why don’t we focus on a war on poverty? A war on abusive, cost-cutting corporate prison practices like solitary confinement and chain-gangs — the form of pseudo slavery that still exists in the 21st century — that create high recidivism rates? A war on mental illnesses — which could be aided by the medicalization of currently illegal narcotics? A war on addiction? Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Bill Wilson used LSD to help cure his alcoholism, and some contemporary research has backed this up.

We also have to teach kids how to learn about drug safety for themselves. So in the meantime, here’s the skinny on all those drugs your mom warned you about. Before trying any drug for recreational purposes, do your research: Check Reddit’s r/Drugs page, flip through the entries of your substance of choice on Erowid or read the Doper’s Dictionary. Hell, read the Wikipedia page. Don’t do drugs on a whim, especially if you’re already on something — alcohol, I’m looking at you. Don’t do drugs you haven’t researched, much less, heard of. Do drugs with people who have done them before. Supervise your friends when they try a drug with which you have experience. Talk to your doctor — they have patient confidentiality — about what medical conditions you may have that preclude certain drugs. Don’t do drugs if they are affecting your ability to strive in any aspect of your life — academic, social, sexual, mental or physical. Don’t take drugs from strangers. Don’t do drugs because you’re self-medicating or are just feeling low, unless prescribed by a doctor. Do drugs if you want to open yourself up to new and exciting experiences that could shape your worldview in profound, fundamental and revolutionary ways. But don’t take my word for it — I am no doctor. Take a critical approach and do your research before your drug.

Jack Bennett is a junior in the College. CULTURE WARPED appears every other Friday.

BUFFALO NEWS, CARLA LEYJA/THE HOYA

Aaron Maybin is on a mission to prove the power of artistic expression. After Baltimore cut its arts and music programs, Maybin launched his own program in the city with a focus on underprivileged and at-risk youth.

Artist on a Mission

Aaron Maybin is ready to make an impact MAYBIN, from B1 current conditions would permit. Maybin launched the program in his hometown of Baltimore, which saw major budget cuts for schools in recent years. According to Maybin, the arts and music programs were cut first, both of which were of personal interest to Maybin, a street artist himself.

Maybin said the power of artistic expression can make one a leader in the community.

“Whenever I create something, before I start, I ask myself two questions: One, what positive will people be able to walk away with this? Two, how will the messages I am about to convey positively affect my community and those that follow my work?” Maybin said.

Much of Maybin’s personal artwork, which includes painting and photography, highlights themes and issues for which he advocates. For instance, Maybin’s “Kings Still Exist” series includes a nod toward Nelson Mandela, whom Maybin considered one of the strongest civil rights activists in the world, and boxing icon and social activist Muhammad Ali. “Painting can be a powerful tool for or against the black community. How will you choose to portray your people? This is by no means an indictment for those artists who choose not to use 100 percent of their platform to fight for the cause. But it is indeed a call to action to anybody who doesn’t understand the responsibility of their platform,” Maybin said.

Maybin said he believes his art has the ability to create a meaningful discussion between unlikely participants.

“I see my work simply as a platform to start difficult conversations. If by me creating a piece of artwork I can have two people that are on completely opposite sides of the spectrum sit in front of this piece and interpret it differently,” Maybin said. “It forces them to have a conversation that needs to be had especially when you are talking about issues that are extreme relevance socially and culturally.”

Maybin’s exposure to activism began while he was still a successful football player. In the 2009 NFL draft, Maybin was selected 11th overall by the Buffalo Bills, and later played for the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. He was the youngest in the league at the time at just 20 years old, and he was, as he self-identified, very opinionated.

Maybin described his initial naivete during

his time in the NFL, when he was enthralled by the glitz and glamor of being a professional football player. Although Maybin always retained his roots, he confesses that at that point in time, he was not fully devoted to taking action to instill a change.

Recalling an encounter he had with a young child, who explicitly called him out by pointing out his jewelry and clothing choice when he was speaking to an underprivileged community, Maybin said, “I then realized I was a part of the exact system I was retaliating against.”

A period of selfdiscovery ensued, which inspired Maybin to begin his involvement in activism, an experience he found liberating.

“Football is AARON MAYBIN Former NFL Player great, but it’s a game. It’s a kid’s game,” Maybin said. “I hated the idea of dancing to someone else’s tune. I am now my own boss – I can say what I want, publish what I want.”

To explain his focus on social and racial in-

“I am now my own boss — I can say what I want, publish what I want.”

equality, Maybin presented a scenario of two students enrolled in a single class from two very different households: One child eats three meals a day and comes from an encouraging environment and a stable household, while the other could be hungry, come from a single parent household and even could have been abused.

“Just because you’re in the same classroom doesn’t mean you have equal opportunity. Some kids just don’t have that safety net,” Maybin said.

Maybin recognized that there are still many obstacles in addressing poverty within the black community.

“I wanted to kill the idea of success as ‘moving out of the hood.’ … I can’t change the infrastructure of the black community. But I can say, ‘Let’s make sure a city full of kids have the same opportunity to chase the same dreams as I could.’”

Students who attended the event said they were inspired by Maybin. “Oftentimes, we get wrapped up in our worlds and what surrounds us. We do not understand the other side of the story, and I really think he does,” Ahmed Latif (COL ’19) said.

“We hear in the news about activism, and we see people posting about Black Lives Matter, feminism and other issues,” Claire Smith (COL ’19) said. “I think he gave a whole new perspective from both sides and why you need to go in and make the change yourself.”

BUFFALO NEWS

Aaron Maybin, a former NFL player-turned-activist, poses with a collection of his own artwork. Maybin spoke with Georgetown University students Tuesday.

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the guide

THE HOYA

Feature

Friday, February 26, 2016

This week’S TOP FIVE

2016 Oscar Predictions

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1. original score: ‘The hateful eight’

Legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone completed the score for Quentin Tarrantino’s newest film, “The Hateful Eight.” One of the most influential composers of the 20th century, Morricone is credited for almost 530 works and is a veteran of the Western genre. Having worked for Sergio Leone in the 1960s, Morricone is the mind behind some of film’s most recognizable scores. The moody and tense score lends to the film’s aesthetic and is the finishing touch to another Tarrantino masterpiece.

2 NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA

Alice Sheppard, a renowned dancer and choreographer, performed her piece “Trained to Kill: Reading Disability and Race in Dance” on Monday night.

Promoting Disability Activism Through Dance Jasmine White Hoya Staff Writer

Dancers often infuse their performances with social and political undertones. This expressive ability was demonstrated by Alice Sheppard during her performance at the Davis Performing Arts Center on Monday night, which intertwined speech and choreography to invoke a unique conversation about the stigma of disability in art.

The piece, titled “Trained to Kill: Reading Disability and Race in Dance,” featured three different sets of choreography, each followed by a short talk by Sheppard. In the talks she discussed a variety of issues ranging from culture to race to the difficulty of receiving recognition as a disabled dancer.

Sheppard, who has been dancing for 10 years, appeared flawless and fluid during Monday night’s performance. In one dance, Sheppard used crutches in addition to her wheelchair as a way to both manipulate movement of her chair and also to produce musical effect, snapping them together to create the effect of percussion instruments.

According to Sheppard, the combination of these two techniques was extremely difficult. It took her two weeks to learn how to move around using both, and much of the inspiration for her movement came from watching YouTube videos of spiders and giraffes. Displaying her athleticism, Sheppard also completed an impressive number of spins and tumbles all while still strapped to her chair.

Sheppard said some people have actually questioned her disability because of her remarkable physical ability. She believes this problem stems from how society typically has one generalized view of the disabled.

“My wheelchair in this world symbolizes the utter failures of my body’s disabilities,” Sheppard said in a question-and-answer session after the show. “However, the thing that is wrong with me is half of what is making my movements possible. … My body does not conform to everyone’s imagination of what disability looks like.”

Before Sheppard began her career as a professional dancer, she received a Ph.D. in medieval studies from Cornell University and worked as an English professor at Pennsylvania State University. Sheppard said her life took a turning point after she saw a performance by disabled

dancer Homer Avila. After the show, Sheppard asked Avila, “Does disability dance always have to come from a place of loss or compensation?”

In response, Avila told her “No,” and dared her to take a dance class. She hasn’t stopped performing since.

Sheppard has performed with a multitude of dance companies in a variety of countries. She also choreographs a number of pieces for both able-bodied and disabled dancers, though she said she gives preference to the latter.

Sheppard’s performance was sponsored by Georgetown’s newly formed Disability Studies Initiative, a multi-campus interdisciplinary group of students, staff, faculty and community members who are interested in studying the experience of disabled individuals.

According to professor Libbie Rifkin, who is currently serving as the spring coordinator for the Disability Studies Initiative, the initiative hopes to expand its efforts in the near future.

“We would like to broaden the conversation about what disability looks like and the ways in which it is produced and experienced in contemporary culture. We aim to produce accessible events that raise awareness about issues of disability justice at GU and beyond,” Rifkin said after the event. “This semester, our events share a particular focus on disability in the arts.”

For disabled dancers, the plight toward a career in the arts begins way before they even get a chance to see the stage. Even finding a trainer is an ordeal in itself. The number of disabled choreographers is sparse, and nondisabled classes require a great deal of adaptation. Sheppard also said that even dancers who do receive training may still not be given opportunities as a result of the reproach surrounding the work of disabled artists.

“We learn from nondisabled dancers and then invent and reinvent,” Sheppard said. “Too often disabled artists are not given credit for our training.”

However, Sheppard said she hopes her work will continue to shed light on the world of disabled art and dispute stigma surrounding disability art.

“I don’t intend to hide,” Sheppard said. “Performance is an opportunity for the disabled to discover themselves as whole, able. … Just because you can’t do something doesn’t make it disabling.”

Actor in a leading role: Leonardo Dicaprio

One of the most influential actors of his generation, Leonardo DiCaprio is still without an Oscar. Having been nominated four times for best actor in the past, DiCaprio is set to finally earn his due. After being snubbed for his work in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” for which he received a nomination but did not win, Leo has returned with arguably his most intense and convincing performance as Hugh Glass, a member of a trapping party unexpectedly attacked by Native Americans in the film.

His grief-stricken and vengeance-fueled performance is among the best work of his career.

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20th CENTURY FOX

actress in a leading role: brie larson

After years of pursuing an acting career in television with only moderate success, actress Brie Larson has recently come to prominence following roles in “21 Jump Street” and 2013’s critically acclaimed indie-drama “Short Term 12.” “Room” sees Larson realize her acting potential in her portrayal of a captive woman, who is trapped in a shed with her young child, a product of the frequent rape she endures at the hands of her captor. The film portrays her attempt to free her son and navigate their foreign experience in the outside world.

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Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu has been the Academy’s darling as of late, and remains at the top of his field on a global scale. His five previous feature films have garnered widespread critical acclaim, though 2014’s “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” which won him three Academy Awards, is his crowning achievement. However, “The Revenant,” a 19th-century period drama about a fur trapper, is surely his most ambitious project to date. The strikingly beautiful film is unique in that Iñárritu declined to employ computergenerated imagery enhancements, a foregone conclusion on many of today’s blockbusters.

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DOUBLE FEATURE FILMS

“The Big Short,” directed by Adam McKay and featuring a star-studded cast including Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling, is based on Michael Lewis’ 2010 book of the same name. The film analyzes the 2008 financial crisis, but includes comedic elements to keep it accessible. Focused on four Wall Street financiers who see a profit in the collapse of the housing market, the film cuts deep in its analysis of greed, corruption and lack of foresight.

The film nears perfection in its writing, acting and directing concurrently, in a unique marriage of talent unseen in other films of 2015.

A24 FILMS

best director: alejandro Iñárritu

20th CENTURY FOX

best picture: ‘The Big Short’

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

“All old music was modern once.” — Peter Warlock

NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA

After the event, Alice Sheppard, left, and professor Libbie Rifkin engaged in a questionand-answer session, touching on Sheppard’s experiences as a choreographer.

ROBERT CORTES/tHE hOYA

the guide

friday, February 26, 2016

THE HOYA

B5

RESTAURANT review

A Taste of Belgium Via Wisconsin Avenue The sovereign

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1206 Wisconsin Ave NW | Cuisine: Belgian | $$ Dede Heldfond Hoya Staff Writer

Hidden in an alley off Wisconsin Avenue, The Sovereign is local chef Peter Smith’s newest culinary creation. Opened two weeks ago, the gastropub is the District’s newest go-to spot for authentic Belgian brews and traditional European fare. With over 500 different types of bottles and 50 drafts from which to choose, the chic eatery impresses with a wide selection of Belgian dishes and beverages.

Despite its hidden location, one cannot miss the illuminated path lit by a wonderful array of lanterns. Dining at The Sovereign immediately transports you to Europe.

The underground restaurant is dimly lit, and both the bar and restaurant sections are beautifully finished with dark wood, which gives the impression of a sophisticated pub. The large communal table, which sits just beside the bar, was completely full at 9 p.m. on a Thursday.

While we waited for our table, we perused the beverage selection. The Sovereign boasts an innovative cocktail list, which in-

NAZCA MOCHICA

Nazca Mochica offers a contemporary version of authentic Peruvian fare.

EDIBLE DC

Tasty as the Belgian brew may be at The Sovereign, it comes at a steep price.

cludes a mixed drink that uses absinthe.

The vast beer list was impressive even to my German roommate, who accompanied me. With a selection that includes cherry beer, the beverage list at The Sovereign is any college student’s dream. However, compared to the average Natural Light, the beers served at the restaurant come with quite a steep price tag.

After a 20 minute wait, we were seated in a cozy back booth and greeted by our waitress.

Opened two weeks ago, the gastropub is the District’s newest go-to spot for authentic Belgian brews and traditional European fare.

While I had little previous exposure to Belgian cuisine, the menu — which consists solely of meat, cheese and potatoes — was very appealing. Of the dishes we ordered, the moules, or mussels ($20), were the most delicious. The mussels were served mariner-style, with white wine, garlic, lemon and parsley; they were accompanied by frites, or fries, as per traditional Dutch style. However, the fully loaded fries ($9) that we ordered were relatively less memorable.

Next, we ordered the bitterballen ($6), which are balls of crispy, fried beef. This dish was one of the highlights from the restaurant, and paired excellently with Dijon mustard. For the table, we ordered a traditional flame cake ($10), which is similar to flatbread and topped with creme fraiche and bacon. My roommate appreciated the dish’s authenticity. For dessert, we ordered numerous Belgian waffles for the table, smothered in Nutella and Speculoos ice cream, ending the meal on a sweet note.

Prior to visiting the restaurant, I expected The Sovereign — which is managed by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group — to be similar to Birch and Barley, a New American eatery in Logan Circle that also has an extensive beer list. With an immersive European decor and ambience, the restaurant definitely met my expectations, and is a much-needed addition to the Georgetown neighborhood — especially after the closing of student-favorite Rhino. Its lively and hip atmosphere is sure to attract students who desire a hearty meal and a nice glass of beer close to campus.

EDIBLE DC

Situated at the end of a pathway illuminated by lanterns, the restaurant offers a cozy yet sophisticated space that doubles as a pub and an eatery.

RESTAURANT review

At Last, an Alternative to Chipotle Jaco Juice and taco bar

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1614 Wisconsin Ave | Cuisine: Mexican | $$ Anna Shuster Hoya Staff Writer

Students looking for a new, affordable and delicious eatery with a diverse selection from tacos to green smoothies: look no further. Last month, Jaco Juice and Taco Bar, located at 1614 Wisconsin Ave., opened its doors, championing locally-sourced ingredients and giving Georgetown students what they need most during the season — a sunny hideaway from the cold weather.

The restaurant decor reflects Jaco’s mission of

healthy, fresh food. Wheatgrass plants and bottles of hot sauce line the orange and blue accented walls, and juicers, blenders and grills make up an open kitchen that is viewable from the taco bar. The fast-casual vibe is cheerful, with a steady stream of reggae and Jack Johnson-esque acoustic tracks to accompany the hum of blenders and the sizzling grill. Overall, the ambience exudes a sense of warmth.

The menu offerings are impressive in their diversity, combining both Mexican cuisine and health food. Breakfast burritos, quesadillas and Jaco’s signature tacos make up the Mexican food selection, while acai bowls, juices, salads and smoothies represent the health food half of the deal. In a slight but delicious departure from the fresh-Mex vibe, Jaco also serves excellent La Colombe coffee, and New York bagels hold their place alongside the quinoa porridge and granola on the breakfast menu.

The fast-casual vibe is cheerful, with a steady stream of reggae and Jack Johnson-esque acoustic tracks to accompany the hum of blenders and the sizzling grill.

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The Brooklyn is the must-have smoothie at Jaco Juice and Taco Bar.

All of the tacos I tried were excellent. The meat in every taco — from braised beef to chicken to pulled pork — was tender, and the housemade corn tortillas were just the right texture to wrap up all the flavors. The chicken tinga taco — its spiciest offering — had a strong kick to it, though bolder patrons may want to reach for the hot sauce. The unique flavor combinations — especially the pineapple salsa on the fish taco — upgraded the tacos to the next level without slapping on a gourmet price tag; tacos cost $4 each or $6 to $7.50 for two.

The tacos looked just as good as they tasted.

The pulled pork and the fish taco came topped with a brilliant cabbage slaw that even tasted bright, making for an Instagram-worthy presentation.

Jaco’s stellar Mexican food was weakened only by its rather wimpy burritos. Though the

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The restaurant offers a refreshing and creative combination of fresh-Mex cuisine and standard healthy fare including vegetarian options. meat was still top-notch, the Sante Fe burrito — which consists of braised beef — seemed to be about 50 percent rice. Having really enjoyed the corn tortillas, I had high hopes for a floury, soft wrapping for this burrito, but was disappointed by a nondescript, vaguely stiff flour tortilla.

On the green side of the menu, the juice and smoothie offerings were fantastic across the board. The Mean Green juice ($6) tasted very healthy with its blend of apple, kale, cucumber, celery, ginger and lime. The flavor of the vegetables overtakes that of the fruits, and while the apple and lime make the drink sweet, the kale and celery still manage to be the dominant taste.

The highlight of the meal by far was the liq-

uid sunshine of one of its signature drinks: the Brooklyn ($6.50). Easily the best green smoothie I have tasted in D.C., its sweet pineapple and agave fully tame the kale flavor. If the idea of drinking your greens does not pique your appetite, other options range from the classic “Island in the Sun” (mango and pineapple) to the chocolatey “Hipster” (banana and Nutella).

With its cozy space, Jaco is not the best place to take a large group — the seating is fairly limited, with several seats along the raised taco bar and a couple of small tables. However, as warmer weather rolls in, the restaurant plans to build a 30-seat deck for patrons to enjoy their juice and tacos in the sunshine.

There is no better way to ring in the spring than with a Key Lime smoothie and a fish taco.

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the guide

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016

ABROAD WITHDRAWAL

MOVIE REVIEW

Triple 9

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Starring: Casey Affleck Directed by: John Hillcoat SARAH JACKMAUH Special to The Hoya

Packed with nearly two hours’ worth of nonstop action, director John Hillcoat’s “Triple 9” is a madcap thriller brimming with dirty cops, Russian mobsters and gruesome gang violence, all set in Atlanta, Ga. Boasting a star-studded cast including Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie and Woody Harrelson, the film benefits from its terrific action sequences, but is ultimately weighed down by an overly complicated plot and bland dialogue.

Written by Matt Cook, “Triple 9” follows a group of corrupt policemen and criminals who work together to pull off dangerous heists for Russian-Israeli crime lord Irina Vlaslow — a stand-out performance from Winslet. In order to save her husband from prison, the mafiosa blackmails her own personal police cartel to access files that will result in his freedom. The group, three cops and two brothers, must

OPEN ROAD FILMS

Elizabeth Harvey

distract local officers while they sneak into the city’s Department of Homeland Security. To do so, they must enact a “triple 9” — 999 being the police code for a downed officer — to throw authorities off their trail. The target: Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), a straight-laced newcomer to the Atlanta police unit.

While the plot is somewhat muddled and unoriginal, Nicolas Karakatsanis’ cinematography and the wealth of action sequences provide a great source of entertainment for the thrill-seeking viewer.

The high quality of the acting overshadows the complexity and confusion of the film’s plot.

The opening scene alone is worth the price of admission, featuring an elaborately choreographed bank robbery carried out by the gang’s leader Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his associates.

A frantic car chase ensues, and the resulting pileup and highway shootout is as marvelously filmed as it is bloody. There are scenes of graphic violence throughout the movie, and Cook doesn’t hold back on the gore, subjecting the viewer to splattered brains and blown-off limbs.

The high quality of the acting overshadows the complexity and confusion of the film’s plot. Winslet revels in the darkness of her role, and Aaron Paul is compelling to watch as he struggles with inner conflict and depression following the death of his brother (Norman Reedus) at the hands of Vlaslow. Paul’s character, Gabe Welsh, resembles his prior role as Jesse Pinkman in “Breaking Bad” — a confused criminal with moral intentions. Mackie delivers another impressive performance

OPEN ROAD FILMS

as deceitful police officer, Marcus Belmont, who has to betray his partner to play a role in the 999 scheme.

Unfortunately, these stellar actors are hampered by bland dialogue and poor character development. Although Cook attempts to intricately weave together the characters and their respective stories, the old screenwriting adage of “show, don’t tell” must have slipped his mind, as critical details are revealed over pithy dialogue and short phone calls. More is revealed in a 30 second phone call than in seven minutes of arguing and fighting.

In an attempt to be relatable, some of the characters and plot twists strike a little too close to home. Gratuitous violence on behalf of the cops, coupled with a negative portrayal of stereotypes makes “Triple 9” a source of debate. Considering the controversies over the lack of diversity in Hollywood productions, some of the themes in “Triple 9” remind viewers all too well of the domestic issues the country still faces, especially within the police force. Additionally, the male-dominated cast overshadows the only matriarch — played by Winslet — in the film, whose role should be highlighted instead of hidden.

Despite the star-studded cast and brilliant action sequences, “Triple 9” lacks the sophistication of many other crime thrillers like “The Town” or “The Departed.” Its slow-moving dialogue and over-complicated plot are offset by the stunning violence and constant action, but these qualities alone are not enough to save the film.

MOVIE REVIEW

Only Yesterday  Voiced by: Daisy Ridley Directed by: Isao Takahata MADISON STINGRAY Hoya Staff Writer

Produced by acclaimed animator and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki and Academy Awardnominated director Isao Takahata, “Only Yesterday” was released exclusively in Japan in 1991. Now, 25 years later, the surprise box office success is finally being shown in theaters across North America. Still, despite boasting the bells and whistles moviegoers have come to expect from production company Studio Ghibli — “Spirited Away,” “Ponyo on the Cliff” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” are considered some of the best animated films of all time — “Only Yesterday” lacks a real spark.

The film follows the story of Taeko — voiced by “Star Wars” star Daisy Ridley — a young office worker who leaves her home in Tokyo to participate in the safflower harvest on her family farm in the countryside. As she takes a sleeper train away from the cramped city to a seemingly boundless new world, Taeko experiences flashbacks of her childhood, specifically the fifth grade — a pivotal time that unconsciously continues to shape her life and decisions.

As Taeko confronts love, family and the future, she looks back on her struggles with boys, puberty and her younger and more vulnerable self. “Only Yesterday” sees Taeko reevaluate the life she has made and take a second chance at fulfilling her childhood dreams.

From the very beginning of the film, the plotline switches back and forth between past

and present. While a writer or director can apply the idea of nostalgia to foster a unified thread throughout the nonlinear narrative, the result in “Only Yesterday” is a story that feels disjointed.

There is a disconnect between Taeko’s modern experiences and the memories that coincide with each event. In one sequence, the movie uses a flashback to when Taeko’s father slapped her for forgetting her shoes to connect to an incident on the farm in which Taeko’s niece cannot get the new sneakers she wants.

While both episodes are linked in their reference to footwear, the relationship is not fleshed out to the extent it could be.

This specter of disconnection bleeds over into the soundtrack, arranged by music director Katz Hoshi. The film is plagued by a muddled amalgamation of dissident tracks ranging from traditional Japanese culture to new-age techno beats. While certainly interesting to listen to, the blend isn’t quite as compelling as it could have been.

Takahata has Taeko narrate the entirety of the movie, reflecting back on her childhood and relating those memories and what she makes of them to her life as an adult. However, the excessive narration becomes frustrating as it frequently overtakes the movie’s action scenes. The film would have benefitted from allowing the scenes to speak for themselves.

In some ways, it condescends the viewer: Passive retelling that becomes monotonous after about 40 minutes isn’t necessary.

STUDIO GHIBLI

While some particular scenes — such as the moment Taeko and her family first try pineapple and she forces herself to finish everyone’s tart fruit, as well as some of the harvesting sequences — are interesting and engaging, the story as a whole is stagnant and choppy. The viewer learns some fascinating facts about farming and making dye, and the rural world through Taeko’s eyes is certainly a unique view.

However, the abrupt jumps between each scene prevent an overarching appreciation for the film or its meaning.

Lovers of Studio Ghibli’s previous gems like “Spirited Away” will recognize that the production of “Only Yesterday,” with all its color and sentiment, lacks the magic and charm of Miyazaki’s previous movies, though not for lack of trying. There is no spark to the movie’s characters, who fall flat in their own animated world, and their relationships fail to feel relatable or truly significant enough to invest anyone deeply in their story. “Only Yesterday” has its own life “spirited away,” leaving it nothing more than a beautifully decorated, hollow shell.

A View Of Europe at a Crossroads D

uring my last semester spent at the Villa Le Balze in Florence, I was fairly sheltered from the crises that have plagued Europe, notably the ongoing refugee crisis that European political leaders have continued to face. In the United States, Donald Trump makes the issue of xenophobia relatable for the average American through his persistent promotion of his inspired diplomatic panacea: the “Wall.”

While I was in Florence, my observations of the crisis remained in the realm of the theoretical, the abstract, the ideological. I followed news of the refugee crisis from frantic news reports, email alerts warning of thousands arriving in Munich during Oktoberfest and the occasional murmured opinions of Italian locals. But I never knowingly came into direct contact with them. Although we traversed the very same landscape as fellow itinerants and fellow foreigners, I, armed with my American passport and the privilege I acknowledge it brings, perhaps blinded by my own wanderlust, only saw their shadows imprinted in foreign headlines and flapping in the wind on a giant white banner tied to Madrid’s City Hall that spelled out “Refugees Welcome,” in black, block-print letters.

My experience of the Islamic State’s attack on Paris in November — another crisis that rocked Europe last fall — was, thankfully, just as distant. Along with the rest of the students at the villa, I was safe on an art history field trip in Venice. Having ignored the initial CNN notifications on my phone, I was first made aware that the attacks had occurred by a text from my mom in New York. I did not comprehend the true weight of the news until I learned that one of my best friends, who was spending the semester in the quiet town of Salamanca, Spain, was in Paris at the time. In fact, she was on the Eiffel Tower at the exact moment of the shootings. I can only assume that she was led high up in the air by the same force of paradoxical good luck that led her father down from the top floors of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001.

These somber memories of my semester abroad were brought back to me on the train home over Presidents’ Day Weekend with Henry Porter’s article “The War for Europe” in Vanity Fair, which discusses the “How do we handle this?” question. Porter suggested that the end is nigh for the modern political Europe as we know it, and that it would descend back into the medieval abyss from whence it came.

“It is very hard to be positive about much in the E.U.’s reaction to the events of 2015. Its institutions are basically unfit to respond,” Porter wrote. “If reform does not come quickly, that wonderful, grudging affinity [that is the Schengen Area] will be at an end, and Europe will return to its old ways.”

Its conclusion gave me pause. Although I would certainly place myself on the pessimistic end of the spectrum when it comes to projections on the spread of radical Islamist terrorism, I am critical of Porter for waxing a bit too much “doomsday.” Hiding behind the drama of this fatalistic language, however, is the very real importance of concern for the future of the identity of the European Union.

What does the refugee crisis mean for the future of Georgetown study abroad in Europe? In a purely practical sense, stricter visa policies would make the application process much more difficult. Tightened border controls would restrict or completely impede students’ ability to freely and easily travel throughout the continent, which has always been one of the most attractive aspects of spending a semester abroad. But above all, as international relations become increasingly volatile and personal safety that much harder to guarantee, will Americans continue to study in or travel to Europe at all?

After speaking with past and prospective study abroad students, it appears that outlooks on this topic vary. Many Hoyas share the belief that allowing fear of the crisis to impact the decisions they make about their own intellectual and spiritual goals would be an unacceptable way of “letting the terrorists win.” However, they cannot help but concede that traveling to Europe at this time constitutes a conscious decision to put oneself at risk by giving up the basic but incredibly effective protection of the Atlantic Ocean, among other things. This decision is one that many college students — or their families — are not willing to make; several students chose or were forced to come home early in the aftermath of Paris, while others cancelled their plans for 2016. These cases constitute the minority, but do reflect this new sense of fear.

I will confess that I spent a large part of the holiday weekend wallowing in nostalgia from last fall. I see now, however, that my memories of study abroad should be a source only for the purest joy and gratitude. The opportunity for American college students to discover the beauty of European culture stands threatened. I am lucky that I was able experience it when I did.

Elizabeth Harvey is a junior in the College. ABROAD WITHDRAWAL appears every other Friday.

NEW NETFLIX RELEASES FULLER HOUSE

At long last, network executives have heard the pleas of fans of “Full House,” the beloved ’90s sitcom that catapulted Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen into fame, and answered with Netflix’s aptly titled reboot, “Fuller House.”

Unfortunately, if early reviews are anything to go by, the series seems to be a poor rehash of tired sentimental gimmicks and an uncreative inversion of the original show’s premise.

Saddled with the tough job of satisfying diehard fans and appealing to a new audience, the show fails in a measly attempt to do the bare minimum of both.

STARRING: CANDACE CAMERONBURE, JODIE SWEETIN

COOKED

Acclaimed food critic Micahel Pollan takes viewers on an informative and compelling journey through the evolution of food, the history of food preparation and its universal ability to connect us. Through anecdotal trips around the globe, Pollan highlights cooking as a primal human need and urges a return to the kitchen to reclaim lost elements of culture. If you loved Netflix’s 2015 mini-series “Chef’s Table,” you’ll love “Cooked.”

STARRING: MICHAEL POLLAN

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: SWORD OF DESTINY

Based on the fifth and final book from the Crane-Iron Series, this sequel to 2000s martial arts phenomenon and Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon follows a new adventure on the hunt for a legendary sword. Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Yu Shu Lien from the first film, with Donnie Yen and Harry Shum Jr. co-starring.

STARRING: DONNIE YEN, MICHELLE YEOH

NETFLIX

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” stars Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen.

the guide

friday, February 26, 2016

THE HOYA

album review

Painting With Animal Collective Pranav Marupudi Special to The Hoya

Fifteen years ago, the members of experimental pop group Animal Collective were working mundane desk jobs in New York City.

Following their decision to pursue careers in music, David Portner, Noah Lennox and Brian Weitz — better known by their stage names Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist, respectively — have since released nine critically acclaimed studio albums, unveiling their 10th, titled “Painting With,” last Friday.

The four-year interim following the release of their last album, 2012’s “Centipede Hz,” saw

DOMINO

Animal Collective brings psychedelic pop to the masses with its 10th album.

MUSIC

New Releases

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Portner and Lennox working on solo projects, while Weitz spent time with his child. A definitive maturity shines through in “Centipede Hz,” one that marks a departure from their uniquely innovative past work in favor of a safer and blatantly unoriginal approach.

The album features a complexity exceeding that of Animal Collective’s most well-known effort to date, 2009’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” which was highly praised for its original and progressive ideas including the intentional incorporation of dissonance, often obscuring the lyrics without fear of losing the listener. “Painting With” not only packs each song from end to end with vocals influenced

by Dadaism, but also omits the unique flourishes that characterized its 2009 work.

“Painting With” is unsubtly pervaded by the theme of Dadaism, an early 20th-century art form that arose from the discontent in the world following World War I, mocking the ideologies of materialism and nationalism.

The first song, unsubtly named “FloriDada,” is an example of this influence. Feelings of anti-materialism permeate the album, and numerous songs like “Hocus Pocus” and “On Delay” invoke the nonsensical attitude of Dadaism, delivering songs lacking any discernible meaning. The group entreats listeners to be honest with themselves and to avoid selfdeception as Avey Tare and Panda Bear sing on “Lying in the Grass”: “It’s a gut that feels all things unknown / And a ring within the brain, you know / Not ashamed to say the instinct’s there / But a virtue to deny the bait.”

While the album clearly takes a different path than its predecessors, its most striking feature is the band’s clear lack of confidence on this record. The tracks are overburdened with superfluous elements, as if in fear of losing the listener’s attention. “Painting With” contains so many similar songs that the majority of the album is sonically indistinguishable. Indeed, nearly every song features the singers alternating line by line or even syllable by syllable. The result is annoying moments like the beginning of “Hocus Pocus.”

DOMINO

In this manner, the consistency of the album becomes its greatest weakness.

Regardless, the project’s interesting subtleties make it a fun and enjoyable listen. The positive tone adopted by the singers belies the despairing themes of societal problems and marks a thoughtful contrast. Songs that disrupt the structure of the album create sonically memorable moments. “Vertical” starts with a distorted verse and repeats the word “vertical” in a manner that illustrates the pressure financial success has on the average man. “Golden Gal” starts with a sample from the titular television show and criticizes the social constructs to which women fall prey despite the progression that has occurred in society.

“Painting With” offers an interesting departure from Animal Collective’s discography.

The heavy-handed inclusion of Dadaist concepts shapes the theme and sonic elements of the album. Meanwhile, the glorification of psychedelic drugs, a trademark of the group’s previous work, is far from forgotten. For a fan of Animal Collective, this album showcases the fun the group had creating the project and represents the group’s continued reinvention and evolution. Others who enjoy experimental pop or groups like Vampire Weekend may be better off checking out just the singles “FloriDada” and “Golden Gal”.

Kanye West Pranav Marupudi Special to The Hoya

In a grand showing Feb. 11, Kanye West took over Madison Square Garden to debut his latest fashion installment, “Yeezy Season 3.” Although the show combines elements of both clothing and shoes, fans have always clamored over the footwear produced in his partnership with Adidas. Previously released as the Yeezy 350s, 750s and 950s, these shoes sold out almost instantly, leaving sneaker fans eagerly awaiting the next new product from West.

Vanessa Beecroft, an Italian contemporary artist known for her art performance pieces and a longtime collaborator of West’s, helped him create this latest installment. “Yeezy Season 3” coincided with the debut of West’s newest album, “The Life of Pablo,” further garnering excitement from fans of the hip-hop mogul.

Fans crowded into theaters across the world to see West’s new ideas live.

The show began ominously, with camera shots of the arena from different angles, showing two large blankets covering a massive object. The next shot zoomed in on West, dramatically walking in with Lamar Odom and the Kardashian clan, leading them to their seats before walking down to the side of the arena. He plugged in his laptop and started playing the album, surrounded by other hip-hop stars like A$AP Rocky, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott and Pusha T. After the music ended, the covers came off, revealing two raised stages each holding about 20 models, surrounded by nearly 200 people dressed in bright, eye-catching clothing.

The cinematography presents a complex aspect of the show. Many shots were close-ups of faces that exhibited nothing from West’s fashion line. However, the shots helped capture the stoic emotion of the models, a staple of Beec-

BEST BETS Hypnotist flip orley

Spend an evening with America’s premier comic hypnotist, Flip Orley. Frequenting the D.C. area since the early 1990s, Flip’s shows are uniquely unforgettable, and have been immensely popular among audience members.

Turning his volunteers into the stars of the show through audience participation, Orley leads them through surprising scenarios yielding incredible reactions. His rapid-fire delivery and ability to access the audience’s subconscious is sure to entertain loyal fans and newcomers alike.

Where: D.C. Improv Comedy Club When: March 3 to 6 Price: $17 info: dcimprov.com

LIONBOY

leading to a show that included clothes not of his own design.

The biggest weakness of the show arose from a consistent air of amateurishness that came from West’s actions, most of which did not seem rehearsed, even though the show had nearly 20 million viewers. Not only did he show up late to the event, but he chose not to perform the album live, instead using his laptop to play the music. As the album played, he simply stood around dancing to the music, and later, even began passing the auxiliary cord to his friends.

However, in terms of the holistic experience presented, the show was a satisfactory celebration of West’s achievements and a showcase of his abilities. West continues to challenge conventions, even allowing fellow rappers such as Young Thug to smoke marijuana on stage during a performance in “Yeezy Season 3”. West’s success is evident in his ability to sell out a world-renowned arena such as MSG in 10 minutes. Despite all the imperfections of “Yeezy Season 3”, the remarkable combination of the launch of West’s newest clothing line and an album debut still created a historic show for both fashion and music.

Friday music series: aaron broadus & Lura johnson

Deleveled

Where: Davis Performing Arts Center When: Feb. 26 at 1:15 p.m. price: Free info: guevents.georgetown.edu

Where: Davis Performing Arts Center When: Feb. 26 to 27 Price: $8 info: georgetown.edu

Support Georgetown music professor and trumpet player Aaron Broadus as he takes the stage alongside pianist Lura Johnson.

Broadus has performed at some of D.C.’s most prestigious venues including Blues Alley, The Howard Theatre, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Johnson has been hailed by the Washington Post as “brilliant,” is the Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony, and has collaborated with Yo Yo Ma.

Following up on the critical and commercial success of 2014’s “LP1,” Tahliah Barnett, better known by her stage name FKA Twigs, is back.

On her new single “Good to Love,” Twigs’ haunting vocals shimmer over understated, emotional production that marks a change in sound from the aggressive, throbbing “Two Weeks” that first introduced her to us. A supine ballad that builds to a poignant finish, “Good to Love” proves that Twigs in all of her overwhelming decadence was sorely missed.

After giving the single treatment to “Leave a Trace” and “Never Ending Circles” off its 2015 album “Every Open Eye,” CHRVCHES is finally recognizing the standout track of the record, “Clearest Blue.” The group’s signature charging electronic production and metallic timbre blend with lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry’s voice for a vulnerable and ultimately ecstatic finish. The song evokes a fusion of catharsis and possibility that earns it a place among the very best songs released so far this year.

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roft’s performances. The steady panning over the clothes and the lack of consistent camera angles added a refreshing twist to the performance, even though the same subjects were shown for over an hour. However, the show did not feature enough of the shoes, which remain the highlight of “Yeezy Season 3”.

“I mean, it’s the number one shoe,” West said to the camera after the show. The 1050s, a brand-new type of Yeezys, were mostly absent from the camera shots, with more coverage of West’s clothing. Designed in a similar fashion to the 950s, the new 1050s are bulkier and waterproof, almost like a Yeezy snow boot. West told the audience he hopes the shoes will eventually become cheaper and produced more widely.

The clothing remains reminiscent of his past lines, and will likely never see mainstream appeal. Similar to before, many of the outfits emphasize minimalism and the innovative footwear. This year, the line features a lot of earthy tones, but with accents of bright hues such as purple or pink. Perhaps most interesting about the presentation was the models’ variety of poses with accessories and bags. Furthermore, each model wore clothing of differing lengths and styles, a departure from the ordinary shirt-and-pant combination.

Compared to previous seasons, which included mostly monochrome clothing, this season saw a wider use of color and combinations that made even the natural colors seem vivid. Also incorporating a greater selection of fabrics, such as leather, this year’s line added a new dimension to West’s previous signature designs. Interestingly, out of the 200 people surrounding the bottom of the stages, none seemed to be wearing clothing designed by West. Rather, most of the clothing looked thrifted and dyed to fit the color scheme of the show, evidence of West’s lack of forethought,

FKA Twigs ‘Good to Love’

CHVRCHES ‘Clearest Blue’

Fashion Review

Yeezy Season 3

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Tove Lo ‘Scars’ What the “Divergent” trilogy lacks in critical acclaim, it makes up for in its stellar soundtracks crowded with hit-makers from Ellie Goulding to Tove Lo. The latter has just dropped a new single, “Scars,” that coincides with the release of the upcoming third and final film, “The Divergent Series: Allegiant.”

The synth-pop track hardly marks a step outside the Swedish singer’s comfort zone with its midtempo melody and powerful chorus, but it proves a strong and radio-friendly effort nonetheless.

Don’t miss the Georgetown Dance Company’s Spring Dance Showcase titled, “Deleveled.” The performance features a number of diverse contemporary and jazz pieces choreographed by Georgetown students as well as a piece by critically acclaimed choreographer Constantine Baecher. Come support the ladies of Georgetown’s oldest dance group as they channel their classical ballet training into a hard hitting, upbeat, and energetic affair.

Established 1974, the Georgetown University Dance Company will perform this weekend.

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Sports

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Around the District

Men’s Lacrosse

RG3’s Contributions to DC Should Not Be Overlooked C ynically submerged on the roster of a team that has no intention of keeping him, quarterback Robert Griffin III is being disrespected by his Washington Redskins franchise, his city and his fans. We all seem to know it’s time for a split. The ride is over for RG3 in D.C., and the city is ready to move on. A season buoyed by unexpected success culminating in a brief playoff stint captured our hearts, easing a transition that probably should have been much rougher. Above-average play from quarterback Kirk Cousins grabbed the headlines and plastered a new face on the billboards, tentatively anointing a new king for the Washington Redskins.

Through it all, RG3 sat third on the QB depth charts. Game after game, he was penciled in as inactive while backup quarterback Colt McCoy suited up behind Cousins. Somehow Griffin maintained a semblance of dignity on the sidelines, seen interacting with Cousins while the defense was on the field or huddling with coaches and players during games. But that was all we got of RG3 for the 2015 NFL season.

Since the 2014 offseason, which featured the hiring of current Head Coach Jay Gruden, Griffin’s relationship with the Washington coaching staff was strained at best.

Gruden, a traditional coach who ran a traditional offense as former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator, did not seem to find his system suited to the scrambling, structured-improvisation style that had Matt brought Griffin to his highest heights. There were allegations of a personality clash as well that simmered under the surface, brought to a head on Aug. 20 against the Detroit Lions. Gruden left Griffin behind an overwhelmed offensive line in a meaningless preseason game, where he sustained hit after hit until he was forced out and eventually pronounced concussed.

Griffin would not start another game. His tenure in D.C. was up.

As a Kirk Cousins skeptic, I have been mostly convinced of his ability. He could develop into a solid passer, the type of player who keeps an offense running. But his notable performance this year — sixth in total quarterback rating among starting QBs, per ESPN — leaves plenty of room for regression.

I was never convinced, on the other hand, of the failure of Griffin. As the 2012 Rookie of the Year led his team on a seven-game romp to snag the NFC East and a playoff berth that season, I was captivated. Sure, my captivation was seriously derailed by his injuries. But two of Griffin’s most prominent injuries — the grotesque collapse of his knee in the 2012 Wild Card Game against the Seahawks and

the aforementioned concussion incident — can be attributed to bad coaching. Mike Shanahan infamously let RG3 back on the field despite clear indications that he was in no shape to do so.

Griffin possessed an arm and a presence that were critical, along with the electrifying running back Alfred Morris, in revitalizing a franchise in 2012. I have always contended that if you confine him to the pocket, RG3 would still stand out as one of the best arms in the game. He was a gunslinger with precision.

In 2013-14, however, Griffin would never recapture the glory of his rookie year. It was often chalked up to that devastating playoff knee injury, among other ailments. It was perhaps also the symptom of a stalled franchise that was lacking talent at key positions, including throughout the offensive line. Whatever the case, by the start of the 2015 season, Gruden seemed reluctant to hand Griffin the starting job, even if he had earned it.

Griffin’s potential, however, is still very much there and should be celebrated. Griffin presently remains stuck to the roster by General Manager Bruce Allen, who made comments implying that Griffin would get a chance with another team, but still has not cut him officially, according to the Washington Times. The Redskins will certainly not be picking up his $16.2 million team option for the upcoming season, but seem to be waiting to cut him until the March 9 deadline, Raab keeping him in limbo as long as they can.

Above all, RG3 has been a great figure for D.C. He galvanized a fan base. He participated in the community. He captivated everyone who was paying any attention to his incredible rookie campaign. For all that, Griffin deserves a lot more recognition than he is getting. Perhaps this can be read as an overreaction, considering other teams have quarterbacks who contribute a decade or more of sustained success, but RG3 brought a season of compelling, even great, quarterbacking to a city that hadn’t seen it since the early ‘90s. For that, he has my respect.

So thank you, Robert Griffin. What you have done for this city and your team was genuine and inspired. I hope and expect that you will get your chance with another team, come back and beat us — just once. Until then, this city and the Washington franchise need to give RG3 the respectful goodbye he deserves. It’s just the right thing to do.

Matt Raab is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. Around the District appears every other Friday.

Friday, February 26, 2016

FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

Sophomore midfielder Craig Berge scored 16 goals and had 21 assists during the 2015 season. This week, Berge was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List for 2016.

GU Preps for DMV Rivalry Sean Hoffman Hoya Staff Writer

The No. 17 Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (0-1) will travel to Towson, Md. on Saturday to take on No. 14 Towson (2-0) in its second regular-season game. The Hoyas look to bounce back from a 12-7 loss to the No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0) last Saturday. Towson will enter the matchup coming off a 9-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1-2) last Saturday.

“They’re a really gritty team,” senior captain and defender Nic Mahaney said of Towson. “They’re patient with the ball and they will pepper us with shots. They have a lot of talented players on the team, and [Head] Coach [Shawn] Nadelen has done a lot for that program, and we’re expecting a dogfight on Saturday.”

To properly prepare for the Tigers, Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne said he believes the team needs to focus not only on its opponent but also on improving its own game. “[The] biggest thing [we need to do] is to learn from last week,” Warne said. “Now that we’re in season mode, practice is a bit different, and we have to find balance between focusing on our opponent and making sure we get better at things we need to get better at. We [have] to stick to our fundamentals.

That’s been a really big stress point to our coaching staff — telling players to do things the right way.”

Warne concentrated on ground balls this week in practice, an area in which Georgetown struggled against Notre Dame. The Hoyas only came up with 23 ground balls compared to the Fighting Irish’s 35, giving up offensive opportunities in key 50-50 situations.

Towson boasts the number one defense in the nation, only allowing 3.5 goals per game.

For the Hoyas to have an opportunity to win their game against the Tigers, they must convert on every ground ball opportunity to wear down the Towson defense. “[We] focused on getting ground balls, on offense taking care of the ball a lot better and capitalizing on opportunities,” sophomore midfielder Craig Berge said of what the team has been focusing on in preparation for Saturday’s game.

Berge, who was held pointless last week, looks to be more active offensively. The Tewaaraton Foundation named Berge to its Tewaaraton Award Watch List for the 2016 season this week, and though he described this acknowledgment as an honor, he said he recognized that the game comes down to a team effort, especially on the offensive end.

“I wouldn’t have gotten this [recognition] if it wasn’t for the ball movement and the team offense we played [last] year.

We had six guys on the field at all times that could score the ball, pass the ball and be in the right spot to make things happen. It’s definitely an honor, but more of a team thing than anything else,” Berge said.

Another area where the Hoyas struggled last week was at the faceoff X, winning only five of 22 faceoffs. Coach Warne praised the Hoyas’ faceoff squad but said believes that the play of the other midfielders on the wings needed to be improved.

“We have been working a lot on our wing play. We noticed that our faceoff guys did a real good job at scrapping, we just need to do a better job on the wings and make it a three-onthree rather than a one-on-one

battle,” Warne said.

Towson went to the NCAA tournament last season, losing in the second round to Notre Dame. Towson senior goalkeeper Tyler White remains one of the best goalkeepers in the nation and was named to the All-American second team last season.

On the other end of the field, Towson’s most significant offensive threats are junior attacks Ryan Drenner and Joe Seider, who both have scored four goals so far this season.

Georgetown will not only have to get good looks against a top goalie but must also stop an excellent team offense. “[In order to win] we must match their intensity. Towson is going to come out hot and we [have] to fix everything we’ve been working on, have a good rest of the week at practice, do everything we can to get our minds right and get the win,” Berge said.

According to Mahaney, the Hoyas must move on from their mistakes and focus on the next play, rather than dwell on the past.

“I think we need to fight for every ground ball, every play and have a short memory. … This year we have a great group of guys who understand our position and that we need to take a breath and flush down the last play that just happened,” Mahaney said.

Warne emphasized the importance of fundamental skills as the Hoyas look ahead.

“I think that [focusing on fundamentals] is a good basis for game planning and puts us in a good position to win on Saturday,” Warne said.

Georgetown will face off against Towson on Feb. 27 at 12 p.m. in Towson, Md., at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

Softball

Hoyas Aim for Consistency Elizabeth Cavacos Hoya Staff Writer

After a tough slate of games last weekend that saw the Georgetown softball team (1-7) give up 63 runs in five losses, the Hoyas are looking to get back on track when they head down to Chapel Hill, N.C., this weekend for the Carolina Classic tournament at the University of North Carolina.

Georgetown will open the weekend against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (3-6) on Friday. The team will play against Fairfield and in a second game against IUPUI on Saturday and will close out the weekend against host North Carolina (4-6) on Sunday.

Georgetown’s roster is currently under strain with the absence of several players to injuries and a lack of experience among its pitchers, forcing Head Coach Pat Conlan and her active roster to be more flexible with the lineup to compensate.

Conlan said that the Hoyas have responded positively to these changes in the first few weeks of their spring season.

“I think they’re responding very well. Our whole model this year has just kind of been ‘all hands on deck.’ … Everyone on our roster right now has an opportunity to contribute every single game, so while there are certainly some negatives with being so depleted, I think the positive is that we need everybody and we get everybody to step up,” Conlan said.

Conlan said she is pleased

with the efforts that she has seen across the board in having players step up into new positions, but there are still some wrinkles in Georgetown’s game that need to be smoothed out.

“I think first and foremost, we have to find consistency across the board in everything that we do, so with our defense, with our offense and with our pitching,” Conlan said. “Those three areas have been a little bit inconsistent, and I think if we can get two out of three on a regular basis consistent, then we can work with the other one — with the pitching.”

Last weekend, senior pitcher and second baseman Samantha Giovanniello stepped into key offensive and defensive roles for the Blue and Gray when they competed at the Dolphin Invitational tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. Though the Hoyas struggled against their opponents defensively — especially Friday, when they gave up 21 runs to the University of Pittsburgh Panthers (6-4) — they showed tremendous effort in filling their new positions on the field.

“We’ve had a bunch of kids who are just doing what they’ve been asked to do and doing it the best they can, and I appreciate that,” Conlan said.

When Georgetown returned to practice after its tournament this week, the team worked on fine-tuning its fundamental skills and addressing its pitching game.

“We had a good workout this week, and we’re going to go day to day, game to game

and work on the little things.

Our biggest problem has not been giving up the hits, it’s been putting extra people on base. So we’ve walked quite a few people, hit a few people, and unfortunately that wreaks a little bit of havoc on our defense,” Conlan said.

After starting the season with poor weather and virtually no practice time outside, the Hoyas are enjoying their opportunities to hit the dirt when they travel for tournaments. Now that they are in the swing of their spring schedule, Conlan said that playing outside consistently helps Georgetown improve in certain areas of its game.

“I think it’ll help tremendously as we move forward, to shore up our defense especially,” Conlan said of playing and practicing outside.

Starting with their upcoming tournament this weekend, the Hoyas are looking to build a strong foundation during practice as they look ahead to the bulk of their season.

Senior third baseman Taylor Henry said that things are coming together one step at a time.

“We’re just working on improving every day and doing the little things. … We try to focus on that in practice — making the most of the time that we have is important, and I think we do a really good job of that. Everyone is always 100 percent working hard all the time,” Henry said.

Georgetown kicks off the Carolina Classic at noon against IUPUI on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

sports

FRIDAY, february 26, 2016

THE HOYA

B9

men’s basketball

GU Searches for Offensive Efficiency Against Butler BUTLER, from B10

After three years of hardly playing, Hayes broke out in the NCAA tournament at the end of 2014-15 season.

Starting every game this season until his injury, Hayes notched impressive performances in many games, including debatably the most symbolically important game of the season against Syracuse. Hayes scored a career-high 21 points against the Hoyas’ fiercest rivals in one of the biggest wins of the season.

After breaking his wrist in practice right before Georgetown’s game against Providence (19-9, 7-8 Big East), Hayes’ story of redemption is on hold with no timetable for his return, but he still retains his captain position and leads the team vocally alongside Smith-Rivera.

The four-year veteran of the program and the sixth all-time leading scorer in Georgetown history, Smith-Rivera has been a staple in the Hoya offense since his freshman year — having gone from playing for a Georgetown team that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament to missing the tournament altogether to now leading the team on his own.

Smith-Rivera was expected to leave before the season began after declaring for the NBA draft. But upon his return to the Hoyas, the aspirations for the team skyrocketed and placed immense pressure on Smith-Rivera to lead Georgetown both on and off the court.

He entered the season ready for that responsibility.

“Since my sophomore year I found out how I could be a leader in different ways, by example and when [my teammates] want to know about certain things, they come to me on the side instead of going to [Head Coach John Thompson III],” Smith-Rivera said during media day. “When you’re playing you may see different things out there,

so as long as you make the right decision, he’ll be fine with it.”

Thompson has relied on the leadership of his seniors for much of this season, and on Saturday, they will celebrate their last home game, a rematch against Big East rival Butler.

In their earlier matchup this year, the Hoyas fell to the Bulldogs 87-76 after allowing a career-high 35 points to sophomore forward Kelan Martin. The Bulldogs shot an incredibly efficient 56 percent from inside the three-point line.

While the Hoyas did shoot 41 percent on their three-point attempts in the last time out against Butler, the rest of their offense was stagnant, shooting just 45 percent from inside the arc.

Now, coming off a blowout loss to No. 5 Xavier (25-3, 13-3 Big East) at home, Georgetown must find its offensive efficiency, at least to the level that it did at Butler.

“It’s more so about the guys making reads and making plays,” Thompson said about improvements to the team’s offense after the Xavier matchup. “We try to put them in different positions and they have to make plays. Xavier did a good job of making you think one thing was open and taking it away.”

In order to secure a win for the seniors, the Hoyas will need to read and react better and more rapidly, starting with Smith-Rivera.

In a season that has fallen below expectations, a win at home for fans of this year’s seniors who have followed this team since the 2012-13 season would at least end their time following the team on a positive note. Moreover, going into a two-game road trip to close the season, Georgetown needs a confidence-boosting win for the seniors, the fans and the entire team.

Tipoff is set for 12 p.m., and the game will be televised on CBS.

STANLEY DAI/THE HOYA

DANIEL KREYTAK/THE HOYA

Senior guard Riyan Williams, left, walked on to the basketball team his junior year. Senior center and co-captain Bradley Hayes emerged as a starter this season, averaging 8.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The water cooler

Track & field

Emphasis Hoyas Look to Build on Record Times On Skill Refines Play TRACK, from B10

IPPOLITO, from B10

compile a video montage of college and professional players mauling each other on drives down the lane in the 1990s and contrast it with the myriad of flopping that many feel exists today. The rules have certainly changed, but it should also be obvious as to why the NBA and NCAA aren’t exactly eager to bring back the days of men like Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, who terrorized and sometimes injured other players down low. Physical play is desirable up to a point, but the last thing any league whose revenue is driven by star power wants is to see its stars getting hurt.

Aside from the rule changes that banned hand checks, use of the forearm and rerouting players, and increased the consequences of flagrant fouls, the fundamental changes to the game itself have also added to the perception that today’s players are not as tough as past ones. For example, in 2014 Kobe Bryant said, “It’s more of a finesse game, it’s more small-ball, which, personally, I don’t really care much for. I like kind of smash-mouth, old-school basketball because that’s what I grew up watching.” Note what Bryant does not say, however. Bryant’s preference stems from his youth — not from his belief that style was necessarily better basketball or better for the league.

Teams can no longer win championships by dumping the ball to seven-foot centers and relying on them to back down defenders to the basket. The “mathimatization” of basketball has led executives and coaches to embrace quicker players, more off-ball plays and significantly higher quantities of three-point shooting. The starkest example of increased emphasis is on three-point shooting. In 1999-2000, albeit a strike-shortened season of 50 games, the NBA leaders in three-point attempts per game were the Sacramento Kings with 20.2.

This season, through slightly more than 50 games, 24 out of 30 teams in the NBA average more than the 1999-2000 Kings. To put it simply, driving to the basket for layups has largely been replaced by driving and kicking the ball out to a shooter on the wing freed by an off-ball screen.

Judging by math and stats, the NBA has only gotten better since the physical days of the ’80s and ’90s. Judging by interest, the league is also markedly improving. Just last year, the NBA had its best inperson attendance season ever, and with advances in broadcast and social media, overall interest in the league has exploded. In the fall of 2014, the NBA was able to cash in on this increasing wave of popularity and inked a nine-year $24 billion media deal that is set to begin next season. In turn, this means that salary caps and the quantity of revenue that goes to players will explode and reach heights never seen before. If Bryant is correct, and the league has become less physical or softer, few really seem to mind. Fans are buying tickets, the NBA is becoming a more global brand and there is more money for everyone involved.

To be sure, the physical era of the ’80s to ’90s featured some of the best players to have ever played the game. To say the quality of play was low or lacking for what it was at the time would simply be untrue. In a perfect world, we could get the efficiency of this era combined with the physicality of the past, but that simply is not possible. If you want to call today’s NBA soft, that’s fine, but that still hasn’t stopped its critics from watching.

Michael Ippolito is a junior in the College.

The water cooler appears every Friday.

with an injury and it was extremely difficult for her,” Smith wrote in an email. “I see someone who has overcome great adversity and still allows herself to take that great risk to be great and that makes her successes now all the more enjoyable.”

Even in more recent meets, the Hoyas have continued their early-season success. Senior Heather Martin recorded a time of 2:04.93 in the women’s 800-meter race at the Penn State Tune-Up meet last weekend. Earlier in the season, Mar-

tin clocked in at 4:49.49 in the women’s mile at the Villanova invitational at Ocean Breeze.

Martin said she believes that remaining focused will be the key to success this weekend.

“I think we are just going to try to race really hard regardless of what other people in the race are doing,” Martin said after the Penn State Tune-Up. “We are going to run our own race and if we are just focusing on our race and not what other people are doing, hopefully we can run some fast times.”

Continuing this indoor season’s trend of impressive num-

bers, junior Sabrina Southerland broke her own school record of 2:03.10 in the women’s 800m event at the Villanova invitational. Later, graduate student Katrina Coogan ran a time of 4:37.29 in the women’s mile at the Penn State Tune-Up meet.

Regardless of all these individual achievements, Smith said he wants his team to focus on competing together.

“This is the accountability that we preach. We hold ourselves accountable in what we do in practice, meets,” Smith wrote. “In our sport, there are a lot of individual pursuits each weekend,

so rarely do we all get to line up together for one purpose. Athletes that come to Georgetown know that we approach Big East, we always have and we always will, so it is not a shock that we have arrived at this weekend. So we hold true to the same tenets as we go about our practices and our competitions.”

After competing in the Big East Championships, the women’s team will travel to Boston to compete in the ECAC Championships from March 5 to 6.

The men’s squad will also travel to Boston to compete in the IC4A Championships.

Home Schedule Closes With Senior Day BULLDOGS, from B10

scored 12 points against the Hoyas to go along with a gamehigh six assists. Sophomore guard Sydney Buck added another 10 points for Butler.

“We’re going to attack them a little differently. We’re conscious of [Butler’s] bigs. We may trap a little more and try to get

the ball out of their hands,” Adair said. “They have skilled bigs and perimeter players that can shoot threes, so we just have to make sure that we are on our mark defensively.”

The Bulldogs, who have struggled in conference play this season, will come into Friday’s matchup with the Hoyas riding the momentum of a narrow 62-

FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

Senior forward Dominique Vitalis averages 5.9 points per game, scoring 15 points against Butler on Dec. 31.

58 upset victory over St. John’s (19-8, 10-6 Big East) that snapped a three-game losing streak. St. John’s is currently tied for the number two spot in the Big East standings, whereas Butler ranks ninth out of 10 teams. “[Butler] is playing well,” Adair said. “For a ninth-place team, they are not playing like it and that shows the parity in this league, from top to bottom.

On any given night you can get beat. They are going to come in here focused. They are going to come in here feeling good coming off a win over St. John’s.”

After Friday’s matchup with Butler, Georgetown will turn its attention to Xavier in preparation for Sunday’s contest.

This season’s earlier game between the two teams was a closely fought battle as neither was able to establish a substantial lead during the first half. Xavier obtained the largest advantage in the opening half when junior forward Leah Schaefer hit a layup to put her team up by six with 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

“That game was just a battle.

[Xavier] is always a battle for us for whatever reason,” Adair said. “They are a very good team. They are a team that is balanced.”

Xavier maintained its lead throughout the third quarter but was never able to pull away.

The Musketeers led by 10 points, the largest lead of the game, with 58 seconds remaining in the period, but a three pointer from junior guard Tyshell King followed by a layup from Burton cut the deficit to five points and gave the Hoyas momentum heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth period, a three pointer from junior guard Jade Martin gave the Hoyas a twopoint lead with 5:29 remaining in the contest. Xavier tied the game on its next offensive possession. With 3:44 left on the clock, Burton was fouled and

went to the free-throw line, going 1-of-2 and giving the Hoyas a one-point advantage.

Redshirt junior guard Raeshaun Gaffney, who scored a game-high 19 points, answered back for the Musketeers, hitting a three with 3:33 left on the clock to give her team a twopoint advantage. A free throw from senior guard/forward Logan Battle brought the Hoyas within one point with 2:21 left to play. However, a made jumper from senior guard Aliyah Zantt ignited a 4-0 run for Xavier to close out the game. When the final buzzer sounded, Georgetown lost 59-54.

“We’re still working on the consistency of our finish and [Xavier] was at home. They wanted to make sure they took care of home court,” Adair said.

“They made some toughness plays down the stretch.”

Xavier has lost four games straight and will come into Sunday’s contest looking to turn things around before the start of the postseason.

The Hoyas’ biggest focus this weekend will be protecting the home court for their final two games of the regular season and obtaining valuable momentum heading into the Big East tournament.

“Every game is important, but it is extremely important to get these two wins and have a sweep at our home court to finish off the regular season,” Vitalis said.

Adair echoed that sentiment.

“We have to be dialed in for both games,” Adair said. “It is the last time … for our fans to be able see us this season, and we want to go out on a very high note.”

Friday’s game against Butler is set to tip off at 11 a.m.

Sunday’s game, before which the team’s four seniors will be honored, is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. Both contests will be played at McDonough Arena.

SPORTS

Men’s Basketball Georgetown (14-14) vs. Butler (18-9) Saturday, 12 p.m.

Verizon Center

FRIDAY, FEBR UARY 26, 2016

TALKING POINTS

SOFTBALL Georgetown will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Carolina Classic this weekend.

See B8

“

NUMBERS GAME

When everyone scores you just can’t compete with us.”

JUNIOR FORWARD FAITH WOODARD

1

The rank of Heather Martin’s time in the 800-meter event last weekend in the Big East.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

TRACK & FIELD

Hoyas Host Bulldogs on Senior Day GU Travels To Big East Meet PAOLO SANTAMARIA Hoya Staff Writer

This season’s Senior Day for the men’s basketball team (14-14, 7-8 Big East) will be a far cry from the Senior Day of last season — both in terms of where the team is this year and in terms of the seniors themselves. As Georgetown prepares to take on Butler (18-9, 7-8 Big East) on Saturday at Verizon Center, only one senior is slated to play significant minutes: guard and co-captain D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera.

Senior center and co-captain Bradley Hayes is out indefinitely with a broken hand, and guard Riyan Williams only

sees spot minutes. However, despite the differences in each of their seasons, they have all contributed in their own ways throughout their Georgetown careers.

Riyan Williams, son of vaunted Georgetown player Reggie Williams, walked on to the team his junior year, and despite not playing much of the 2014-15 season, he has played in key moments this year. In Georgetown’s comeback win against Creighton on Jan. 26, Williams helped lead the full-court press against the Blue Jays in the final minutes, cementing an improbable 7473 victory.

Williams, though he has often gone the entire game without seeing the

floor, admirably comes in at the end of games and delivers on defense.

Hayes, while he must watch his final home game as a Hoya in a suit, has arguably been one of the best stories of the season.

Looking back on media day at the beginning of the season, the team, particularly Smith-Rivera, sung his praises.

“I’m excited for him and I know he’s going to take full advantage of his opportunity and he talks about people not recognizing him and what he brings to the table, and I told him, wait, they’ll see,” Smith-Rivera said.

See BUTLER, B9

JESUS RODRIGUEZ/THE HOYA

Senior guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera leads Georgetown in scoring this season with 16.3 points per game and in assists with 4.4 per game. Smith-Rivera became the all-time leader in made three-pointers against Xavier on Feb. 20.

THE WATER COOLER

DANIEL BALDWIN

of graduate student Andrea Keklak. After recovering from a serious injury that The Georgetown men’s sidelined her for the entire and the No. 14 Georgetown 2015 indoor and outdoor women’s indoor track and track and field seasons, field teams will travel to Keklak returned to form Staten Island, N.Y. this in the 2015 cross country weekend to compete in the season. She continued to seasonal Big East champion- improve throughout the inship meet. The Hoyas will door track and field season, look to senior Ahmed Bile and now Keklak has broken to continue to lead both on two Georgetown records and off of the track at the this semester.

Big East championship. Bile At the Penn State Nittany has displayed impressive Lion Challenge in January, performances this indoor Keklak set a new school season, running a 3:57.84 record in the women’s in the men’s 10 0 0 - m e i n v i t a t i o n - “Vulnerability ter event al mile at with a time the Boston requires risk in our of 2:42.76.

Un i v e r s i t y Keklak consport and when Scarlet and tinued to White Invi- they take risks they perform at tational on a high level, Feb. 6 and can be hurt.” setting a a time of school re7:51.77 in MICHAEL SMITH cord in the Director of Track & Field the men’s women’s invitational mile later 3000-meter event at BU Val- in the season, running a entine Invitational meet on 4.33.24 at the BU Valenthe weekend of Feb. 12-13. tine Invitational meet. The Senior Michael Leder- Hoyas hope Keklak can conhouse and junior Amos Bar- tinue this successful jourtelsmeyer have shown their ney into the postseason. fitness this season as well.

Director of Track and Like Bile, Bartelsmeyer and Field Michael Smith said Lederhouse also broke four Keklak’s competitive nature minutes in the men’s invi- helped her overcome diffitational mile at the BU Scar- cult setbacks. “Vulnerability let and White Invitational requires risk in our sport meet, clocking in at 3:58.22 and when they take risks and 3:58.42, respectively. they can be hurt. Keklak The women’s team has was out two track seasons also seen success this season, especially in the case See TRACK, B9

Hoya Staff Writer

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Team Focuses on Balanced Attack MOLLY O’CONNELL Hoya Staff Writer

Michael Ippolito

Strict NBA Rules Boost Team Stats F

or all of the statistical and data innovations in basketball that prompted unique lineups, more scoring opportunities and more fluid pacing, the game still feels harder — or at least more frustrating — to watch. In large part, this sentiment exists because officiating and what constitutes a foul have evolved as the game itself has evolved. At the college level, we at Georgetown are wholly used to seeing Big East referees blow more air than the big bad wolf did

Are the allegations of the league being soft true, and if so, does it matter? in the Three Little Pigs. Everything from a hand check to the slightest contact warrants a whistle. In the NBA, this has increasingly been a topic of conversation as Hall of Fame players along with future Hall of Famers constantly label the NBA as a “soft” league relative to what it was like in the 1980s and 1990s. This begs two questions: are the allegations of the league being soft true, and if so, does it matter?

Unfortunately, there is no real way to quantify “softness.” It is extremely easy to See IPPOLITO, B9

The Georgetown women’s basketball team (14-12, 7-9 Big East) will close out its regular season schedule this weekend with two games at home against conference opponents. On Friday, the Hoyas take on the Butler Bulldogs (9-18, 4-12 Big East) before facing off against the Xavier Musketeers (17-10, 8-8 Big East) on Sunday afternoon.

Georgetown has already faced both Butler and Xavier this season. The Hoyas fell to the Bulldogs 82-76 on Dec. 31 and to the Musketeers on Feb. 5, losing that contest 59-54.

Against Butler, Georgetown managed to keep the game close throughout the opening half. The Hoyas trailed by a mere two points at the end of the first quarter and by only seven points at the break.

However, in the third quarter the Bulldogs pulled away, extending their advantage to 16 points.

“I think [Butler] just fought harder [in the third quarter]. They were tougher. I just remember them fighting for rebounds. They were just tougher than us overall and they wanted it more,” senior forward Dominique Vitalis said.

Although the Hoyas trailed by double digits for most of the fourth quarter, they made a run late in the game and managed to cut the Bulldog’s lead to five.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late for Georgetown. The Hoyas were unable to finish out the contest, and when time expired they trailed by a six-point margin.

“We just weren’t in synch,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said.

“That was so early in the season and so long ago. Both teams are different. We are in rhythm now.”

Georgetown was missing sophomore guard Dorothy Adomako — one of the team’s greatest of-

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Freshman guard Dionna White scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Georgetown’s first game against Butler on Dec. 31, 2015. White averages 14.8 points per game and six rebounds per game. fensive threats — in its earlier matchup with Butler. In Adomako’s absence, the Hoyas turned to a balanced offensive attack that saw four players score in double figures. Freshman guard Dionna White led the way with 17 points, followed closely by Vitalis, who scored 15. Junior forward Faith Woodard had 14 points, and sophomore guard DiDi Burton chipped

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in another 10.

“When everyone scores you just can’t compete with us. If five people score 10 points or higher, that’s 50 points right there and if you score 60, then you’re probably going to win the game. When there is balanced scoring, the other team can’t just guard one person because everyone is a threat,” Woodard said.

Butler also had four players post double-digit performances. Senior forward Belle Obert poured in a game-high 19 points for the Bulldogs, and the team’s second leading scorer, freshman forward Tori Schickel, scored 14. Senior guard Blaire Langlois, who averages a team-leading 13 points per game, See BULLDOGS, B9