The Hoya: March 18, 2016

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 38, © 2016

FRIday, March 18, 2016

FOOD ISSUE

Indulge your appetite with this guide to the best restaurants, cafes and dishes in D.C.

EDITORIAL Student demands to improve worker conditions need precision.

OPEN DIALOGUE ON ISLAM Nationwide Islamophobic rhetoric requires student attention.

OPINION, A2

OPINION, A3

GUIDE, B1

Groups Condemn Richards haley snyder

Special to The Hoya

Conservative and religious groups both on and off campus are raising voices of opposition over the Georgetown University Lecture Fund’s announcement that President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Cecile Richards will speak at Georgetown in April.

“Either you accept Catholic moral teaching as true or you do not.”

PATRICK REILLY Founder and President, Cardinal Newman Society

Since the announcement March 3, the Cardinal Newman Society, the Archdiocese of Washington and students have spoken out against the student-run Lecture Fund’s invitation.

Georgetown University released a statement March 3 reaffirming its commitment to freedom of speech on campus in a statement, but neither condoned nor condemned Richards’ upcoming visit.

“We recognize that the perspectives of some speakers run counter to the Catholic and Jesuit values that animate our university,” the university wrote. “We work very hard to ensure that these values maintain a privileged place in our community while at the same time providing a forum that does not limit speech either in See RICHARDS, A6

COURTESY ROM FAMILY

Nathan Kittredge “Kitt” Rom (SFS ’19), pictured here coxing for his high school crew team, died in a skiing accident while on vacation with his family in Colorado on March 9. Rom was known for his enthusiasm, curiosity and independence.

Rom’s Adventures, Remembered

Loved ones reflect on Nathan ‘Kitt’ Rom’s (SFS ’19) passion, intellect MOLLY SIMIO

Hoya Staff Writer

By the age of 19, he had supported himself by working as a barista in Sydney and picking grapes in Italy. He had been chased by a pack of wild dogs in Bangkok, narrowly avoiding an attack. He spent his mornings behind the counter at Saxbys Coffee, turning coffee into art, and he spent evenings perfecting the fundamentals of boxing.

He loved going on adventures,

and always encouraged others to go on their own.

Nathan Kittredge “Kitt” Rom (SFS ’19) lived with extraordinary passion. Those close to him remember how this passion both colored his pursuit of his distinctive interests and manifested itself in an eagerness to learn about and relate to what interested others.

Rom died after skiing into a tree while wearing a helmet March. 9, during a family vacation in Colorado. He was 19.

Passion, Lightly Roasted On his first day of work at Saxbys, Rom was so excited that he jumped out of his car, leaving it running while he ran into the coffee shop, according to Saxbys Assistant Manager Latasha Brunson.

Coffee, for Rom, was more than just a drink — it was a passion. He enjoyed brewing coffee both at Saxbys and in his dorm room on the fifth floor of Darnall Hall, where he was known

for sharing it with his friends and neighbors who were up late studying or doing homework. He even had a tattoo of a coffee plant sprawling down his left forearm.

“His passion for coffee was so great that I was hoping that he would consider making a career out of it, just the way that he talked about it and the way that he took serving coffee so See ROM, A6

University Appoints Mental Health Staff Christian Paz Hoya Staff Writer

COURTESY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Chester Gillis, dean of Georgetown College since 2009, will retire from the position at the end of the 2016-17 academic year, and return to the theology department in 2017.

Dean Gillis Steps Down jack lynch and william zhu Hoya Staff Writers

Georgetown College Dean Chester Gillis will conclude his duties as dean at the end of the 2016-17 academic year, University President John J. DeGioia announced in a campus-wide email Tuesday.

“As Dean of the College, Chet has overseen the implementation of many new academic programs, including new majors in African-American Studies; Justice and Peace; Biological Physics; and Environmental Biology; and new minors in Business; Film and Media Studies; Journalism; Education, Inquiry, and Justice; Philosophy and Bioethics; Cognitive Science; and Korean,” DeGioia wrote.

In the email, DeGioia said he would create a committee to find a replacement for Gillis.

“Please join me in expressing our sincerest gratitude to Chet for his deep care and dedication to the members of our George-

town community and wishing him all the best as he prepares to conclude his service as dean,” DeGioia wrote.

Gillis was unavailable for comment as of press time.

Gillis has served in his current role since 2009. Prior to becoming dean of Georgetown College, Gillis served as the amaturo chair in Catholic studies in the Georgetown department of theology. Gillis will return to the theology department as a faculty member in 2017 after a brief sabbatical.

Gillis has published numerous works on topics such as comparative religion and Roman Catholicism. Gillis also co-edits the Columbia University Press Series on Religion and Politics.

Chief of Staff of the Office of the President Joseph Ferrara praised Gillis’ contributions to the Georgetown community, adding that he is eager to cooperate with Gillis in finding his successor. “His leadership and vision have advanced the College and the Georgetown com-

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

munity in countless ways. We look forward to working with [Gillis] over the next year to ensure a smooth transition in the leadership of the College and to support his return to the faculty,” Ferrara wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Students also expressed their gratitude for Gillis’ work in the College. “I think that it’s sad to see him go. His many years of service, as well as everything he’s done for the school, will definitely be appreciated,” George Jose (COL ’18) said. “He’s been serving as an advocate for the students and he won’t be easy to replace.”

Students outside Georgetown College also acknowledged Gillis’s work, particularly in expanding minor and certificate programs for non-College students.

“I think it’s really cool how he started many programs like the justice and peace program,” Megan Patel (SFS ’18) said. “It’s hard for schools to partner with each other, so his work to help with that was really good.”

Georgetown will hire three new staff members, two to Counseling and Psychiatric Services and one to the Division of Student Affairs, in an effort to expand mental health resources, according to a campus-wide email sent by Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson on March 15.

Current plans propose adding a staff psychologist and a case manager to CAPS on the main campus and a staff psychologist to CAPS at Georgetown

University Law Center. The new positions will be filled by fall 2016.

Olson wrote that the decision to add the three new hires is part of the university’s ongoing efforts to strengthen mental health services on campus.

“Colleges and universities across the country have seen greater use of mental health services by students in recent years,” Olson wrote. “At Georgetown, we recognized similar needs for additional counseling services for our students.

Over the past few months we have See CAPS, A6

FEATURED NEWS Fiorina Addresses Georgetown

Former presidential candidate in the 2016 Republican primaries Carly Fiorina shared her views on the race.

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NEWS Hearing Examines Free Speech

Sports NCAA Champs

NEWS Cantor Evaluates Congress

Sports

GULC’s controversial prohibition of student campaigning for political candidates comes under scrutiny.

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Former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor reflected on balancing short- and long-term goals.

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Published Tuesdays and Fridays

The women’s track team won first place in the DMR at the national championships.

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A Disappointing Season The men’s basketball team fell well below its high expectations this season.

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Send story deas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

FRIday, MARCH 18, 2016

THE VERDICT

A Meager Victory Many students praised the announcement earlier this week that the administration will add three new employees to Counseling and Psychiatric Services — two of the three to work on the main campus — to respond to excess demand that has long been a central part of student complaints about CAPS. The added employees will without doubt cut down on waiting times for appointments and requests to see individual psychiatrists at CAPS. The university’s choice to finally take seriously student complaints about the quality of service at CAPS, especially its bureaucratic and staffing limitations, is also encouraging.

However, while hiring more psychologists merits praise, the change will not fix the other, underlying structural problems within CAPS. The growing demand coupled with limited supply has long been a feature of student criticisms of CAPS; in the 2014-15 academic year, the service received 11,472 visits from 1,772 students, including 39 cases of psychiatric hospitalization.

Scheduling counseling appointments is difficult because CAPS operates on a 9-to-5 daily schedule, which is inconvenient for many students whose classes and sports practices fill up that time period. Although CAPS offers an on-call clinician during the evenings, nights are often also a time when students need psychiatric services most.

Other central issues with CAPS are its payment model and referral structure to other psychiatric services. Cur-

rently CAPS offers on average three free initial counseling sessions before charging students or referring them to outside services — an incredibly limiting restraint that cuts off students in financial need when they are suffering at the height of an acute situation. What’s more, this limitation is laughable by the standards of most peer schools — Creighton University, a fellow Jesuit university, offers unlimited free counseling to all full-time students. And because supply is currently so inadequate to meet demand at CAPS, the service is often too quick to refer students in need of long-term treatment to outside services — not taking into account the sometimes calamitous consequences that can come about when continuity of care is severed. In particular, CAPS should be more responsive to students whose outside care is stopped due to scheduling or cost concerns and who need to temporarily return to on-campus services to guarantee their emotional health in the meantime.

More resources and more staffing will dramatically improve the daily experiences of many students at Georgetown who are suffering from mental and emotional conditions. But if CAPS truly wishes to augment its services, it needs to dramatically rethink its very structure. And the Georgetown administration should aid CAPS by both listening to student voices and providing commensurate resources, financial and otherwise.

Metro Shutdown — The D.C. metro system shut down for over 24 hours Wednesday, inconveniencing many residents by creating more traffic on streets throughout the city.

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DIY Braces — Amos Dudley, a student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, used a 3-D printer to make his own braces, proving again that college students will do anything to save money.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day — St. Patrick’s day celebrated Irish heritage this Thursday with festivities across the country, including the Chicago Plumbers Union’s dying the Chicago river green.

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EDITORIALS

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Founded January 14, 1920

March Madness — The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, commonly known as March Madness, began this week as the country’s top 64 teams compete for the national championship.

Another Crusade — Harrison Ford recently announced that he would reprise his role as Indiana Jones in a 2019 film directed by Steven Spielberg. The 73-year-old actor first portrayed the iconic character in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981.

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Bye Bye, Shamu — Seaworld recently announced that it will no longer breed orca whales in captivity and will eventually discontinue the killer whale shows that made the theme park famous. This decision comes in response to fierce criticism and accusations of animal cruelty sparked by the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.”

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Derek Nelson

Work With Dignity It is often joked that even the faintest hint of snow will send Washington, D.C., to a screeching halt. For the approximate 200 employees of Georgetown’s Planning and Facilities Management, however, Winter Storm Jonas was no joke. Those who stayed on campus overnight were handed bags containing a blanket, a sheet and a pillow, then told to fend for themselves to find a place to sleep. This past Wednesday, students in the Georgetown Solidarity Committee protested these conditions, handing a list of demands to university President John J. DeGioia, Vice President of Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey, Chief Operating Officer Chris Augostini, Business Policy and Planning Director Cal Watson and Vice President of Public Affairs and Senior Advisor to the President Erik Smulson. The university has an obligation to care for those who care for our students and faculty; students ought to rally behind a cause that addresses the university’s failure to enforce fair business practices. While the audacity of this campaign is admirable, there is still work to be done to smooth out some of the demands that are disjointed and vague.

GSC’s recent effort, “A Call for Work With Dignity,” lists the demands under three categories: accountability with and for others, hiring and staffing a community in diversity, and “Cura Personnel-is.” All three include a variety of reasonable demands for a university whose much-touted Just Employment Policy aims to protect workers and the rights they deserve. Written demands such as making public “a detailed plan of how the University [sic] will operate when weather conditions create a state of emergency in D.C., including paid leave for workers unable to make it to campus and adequate sleeping accom-

modations for all workers remaining overnight” directly address the problematic manner with which the administration has handled working conditions during severe weather. The same is the case for the enforcement of a “transparent [and] impartial process for determining overtime and work assignments.” These are cogent requirements that, if implemented, will prevent the shameful lack of worker accommodations from happening when the next winter storm hits.

Nevertheless, it is important that this effort does not get bogged down by some of its less reasonable and often disconnected demands. Requests for a “process through which student workers can receive raises above the minimum wage on the basis of seniority” or to “replace any student jobs lost in RHO restructuring or other similar changes” deviate from the movement’s main goal. This isn’t to say that calls for the university to “provide training opportunities for workers who want to gain the skills necessary for advancement within their department” should be disregarded. However, in order to ensure the best chance of success, institutional change requires focused efforts, not a shotgun approach.

This broader approach risks confusing students and administrators alike as to what demand is supposed to solve what problem. A clear and concise list is better than one whose length detracts from its clarity and strength.

GSC’s list of demands is well-built and, for the most part, offers logical and reasonable methods through which the university’s failure to enforce fair business practices can be amended. If students are to rally behind their cause in the long-term, however, a more focused movement is needed.

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

Editorial Board

Lauren Gros, Chair Daniel Almeida, Emily Kaye, Irene Koo, Jonathan Marrow, Sam Pence

Syed Humza Moinuddin Deputy Campus News Editor Deputy Campus News Editor Ian Scoville Deputy City News Editor Aly Pachter Business Editor Deirdre Collins Deputy Sports Editor Madeline Auerbach Deputy Sports Editor Darius Iraj Paranoia Editor Russell Guertin Deputy Guide Editor Sean Davey Deputy Guide Editor Tom Garzillo Deputy Guide Editor Kate Kim Deputy Guide Edtior John Miller Deputy Opinion Editor Anthony Palacio Deputy Opinion Editor Vera Mastrorilli Chatter Editor Julia Weil Deputy Photography Editor Robert Cortes Deputy Photography Editor Daniel Kreytak Deputy Photography Editor Stanley Dai Deputy Layout Editor Charlotte Kelly Deputy Layout Editor Jesus Rodriguez Deputy Layout Editor Alyssa Volivar Deputy Copy Editor Yuri Kim Deputy Copy Editor Emma Wenzinger Deputy Copy Editor Sarah Wright Deputy Multimedia Editor Jarrett Ross Deputy Online Editor Kelly Park

This week on

[ CHATTER ]

Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces.

Grace Wydyven (COL ’18) weighs the questions of faith and spirituality in the context of reaching adulthood: When I was in grade school, I thought that faith was a matter of possession, not necessarily one of practice.

As long as you had ‘faith’ you fulfilled whatever spiritual or religious requirement you were supposed to satisfy. From baptism to Catholic pre-k, confirmation to Georgetown, I’ve adhered to the image of a good Catholic girl for the better part of my existence.”

“

Find this and more at

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

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Madison Ashley, Sara Bastian, Michael Begel, Isabel Binamira, Alexander Brown, Robert DePaolo, Megan Duffy, Sophie Faaborg-Anderson, Cleo Fan, Kristen Fedor, Jesse Jacobs, Caroline Kenneally, Courtney Klein, Charlie Lowe, Carolyn Maguire, Andrew May, Tyler Park, Monika Patel, Jesus Rodriguez, Becca Saltzman, Zack Saravay, Joseph Scudiero, Mallika Sen, Kshithij Shrinath, Molly Simio, Natasha Thomson, Ian Tice, Andrew Wallender, Michelle Xu

Board of Directors

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

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600800 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@ thehoya.com.

Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue. The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints.

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Editorial: (202) 687-3415

OPINION

Friday, MARCH 18, 2016

MANY GEORGETOWNS

THE HOYA

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VIEWPOINT • Bhutta

What Are We Waiting For?

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Parth Shah & Charlie Lowe

How We Build A Class

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he admissions process is the necessary evil that every college applicant encounters.

Whether through the Common Application or Georgetown’s tailormade application process, we all know what it means to slave over every word and mark of punctuation before hitting that dreaded but cathartic submit button.

Despite our hard efforts, and the repeated advertisement of a “holistic review of the student’s application,” we still viewed the admissions office as an impersonal bureaucratic machine, churning through the thousands of applications it receives year after year.

Surely our SAT scores and the constant and banal struggles of teenage angst in our admissions essays bored the admissions officers.

Moreover, we now realize that after getting accepted into Georgetown, we feel totally and completely divorced from the admissions office — an institution that looms all too large, and may be the most visible, when applying.

The realization of this separation led us to the front doors of White-Gravenor. We wanted to know more about whether the admissions office truly operates as an assembly line or if there was more of a personal element to the admissions process. To refine our understanding of the process as a whole, we sat down and spoke at length with Berkley Braden (COL ’11), an admissions officer and a Hoya alum.

What Ms. Braden revealed to us was that the application process echoes the values of the Georgetown community in structure and in function. Applicants are assessed on their candidacy within the context of their environments; someone who is a first-generation college student in an impoverished neighborhood will be evaluated on a different standard than someone from a top-flight prepatory school.

Despite our relatively low endowment in comparison with our peer schools, it is encouraging that this effort is embedded in how admissions make its decisions.

The commitment to cura personalis and service is also reinforced in the application process. Georgetown has consciously shied away from using the Common Application because our current system gives the school more flexibility to ask the questions that it wants.

It also ensures a more self-selecting applicant pool; students must actively go out of their way to apply to Georgetown rather than just submitting an addendum to a Common Application. In order to further evaluate a candidate holistically, 6,400 alumni interviewers, who come with their own Georgetown experiences, donate their time to help craft each class. The admissions officers themselves also seem to exude the characteristics Georgetown cherishes. Braden has focused extensively and deliberately on service and education by serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia and with Teach for America for two years.

After speaking to Braden, we re-examined our own perceptions of the admissions process. We are often left with the perception that the system is impersonal. It often feels like a crap shoot, since most of the applicants are decidedly academically qualified. But all students are given their due concern, and are evaluated in the reference frame of their life circumstances.

The committee’s work spans the entire year and is clearly thorough.

Overall, the impression we got was that every student who submitted an application was given due concern and evaluated very fairly in the context of their life circumstances. But even with this more or less fair appraisal, there are clearly tough choices to make.

At one end, do we give preference to students from elite preparatory schools with more resources? Do we focus solely on kids with fewer resources? What is the right balance? We cannot take everyone who is qualified, and there is no perfect solution. But the general process Georgetown employs is a solid framework for building the jigsaw puzzle that is a college class.

Parth Shah is a senior in the College. Charlie Lowe is a senior in the School of Foreign Service. many georgetowns appears every other Friday.

or most Americans, election years promise spirited debate, embarrassing gaffes and plenty of fresh material for late-night comics.

For me, and for other Muslims across the country, election years promise sideways glances, scapegoating and pervasive Islamophobia.

Last December, Georgetown made headlines by hosting an “Interfaith Gathering for Solidarity.” Members of the gathering included leaders from six different faith traditions, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Vice President Joe Biden.

I was in Gaston Hall that day, enjoying my view from the middle of the upper deck. The speeches focused on shared humanity, a message that was especially resonant in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., and the reactionary surge of Islamophobia that followed.

I appreciated Georgetown for responding to the wave of hatred with an act of harmony and love. My university — the university I had chosen to attend eight months prior — had brought the vice president of the United States to join it in taking a stance against Islamophobia. After the event, I told The Georgetown Voice, “Being Muslim, I notice [Islamophobia] especially because I pay attention, but it’s amazing how Georgetown’s actually addressing it. … For Georgetown to acknowledge it first and then to actually do something about it and invite important people, it’s amazing to see.”

After the gathering, I waited for my university to take the next step. In my mind, there were so many possibilities. Will Georgetown reach out to Muslim communities and continue interfaith dialogues? Would an Islamic studies minor be added? Would the campus ministry have its own “Interfaith Gathering for Solidarity”? I waited patiently for the university to act. Unfortunately, I was left waiting.

But I am used to waiting. I already

know that public desire to take action against Islamophobia only lasts as long as animosity remains in the headlines. I have already seen my aunts and cousins become hijabwearing tokens, used for an “Islam is peace” soundbite before promptly being forgotten. The truth is that sympathy for Muslims passes in and out of fashion more quickly than a hashtag does on Twitter. It may be a sad truth, but truthfully I am numb to it. I am used to having temporary allies, and I am used to fleeting sympathy.

I cannot forget about Islamophobia because Muslim issues are my issues. I cannot scroll past them on Facebook to make them disappear. I live them every single day. Muslim issues are so ingrained in my daily experience that it takes a lot to make me angry about bigotry. I did not get mad a month ago when I opened Twitter and read a tweet from @_AltRight_ that said, “Protip: #Muslims & other

non-Whites can’t blow you up, rape you, murder you or steal your kids’ future if they aren’t in your country #Paris.” But sometimes I do get angry.

I got angry when “grown” men in a pickup truck yelled slurs at my 5-yearold brother in a parking lot. I got angry when a belligerent football fan yanked my mother’s hair while yelling “Osama bin Laden.” I was angry, but not at those whose hate bubbled up to the surface. I was angry at the apathy in the hearts of those who remained silent, and those who refused to act.

Some will unavoidably ask: “Why should Georgetown care? Why should we have to do something?

Isn’t it someone else’s responsibility?

After all, this is a Catholic school, not an Islamic one.”

Recently, I listened to Fr. O’Brien, S.J., discuss Jesuit values. He said Jesuits separate themselves from other religious orders by doing the work

VIEWPOINT • Reiter

A Losing Game For Recreation

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ith its jagged edges, deep indents and torn seams, Kehoe Field wears the scars of an overdrawn battle that has finally come to an end after 37 years.

On Feb. 2, it was announced that Kehoe Field was unfit for student use, which the athletics department determined for varsity athletes nine years ago.

While we are happy that the field is closing for the safety of students, this is not the end of the problem, but rather the beginning.

The abrupt closing of the field means that this semester’s club sports will be without field access for four weeks, and in the coming fall that number will grow to eight. Club sports athletes are a huge demographic in the Georgetown community, with about one in every seven undergraduates participating on some of the most competitive teams at our school. It is unreasonable and unfair to have club sports teams attend tournaments having not practiced for a week and a half; they usually only get two practices a week as it is.

At the Hoya Roundtable addressing recreational athletic concerns on Feb. 3, Robin Morey, the vice president for planning and facilities management, discussed the plan to build a new fitness complex.

This new fitness complex would replace Yates Field House and would be situated where Shaw Field is now. The plan involves starting construction on the complex in a minimum of 10 years with an estimated cost of $75 million. This plan would greatly benefit the campus in the long term, resulting in the expansion and modernization of facilities. However, it does little to address the needs of the students now. Georgetown students have expressed concerns through many different outlets about the future of Kehoe, and we were excited about the Hoya Roundtable last month when we heard about it. Unfortunately, the followup from the Roundtable was disjointed and underwhelming. After three weeks without any discussion of the roundtable, we received an email with what amounted to a list of sentence fragments and phrases that were recorded during the roundtable. There was no apparent reflection on what was said, nor was there a coherent next step.

Georgetown recreational athletics cannot be expected to continue on at such a limited capacity for the next 10 and more years. This would mean

that entire classes of Georgetown students would spend their four years on the Hilltop knowing nothing but restricted programming and with access to only a single field on our campus. Campus recreation is important to a large portion of prospective students every year, and our current situation is in no way competitive with peer universities. We, the Advisory Board for Club Sports, support an intermediate plan that involves completely renovating the roof of Yates, which would help to stop the ongoing leaks within the building and remedy the structural problems affecting the field above, and laying down a new turf field.

Because the expected life of a turf field is about 10 years, this would bridge the gap between the current and the future fitness complex. The roof renovation and new field would take about six months to complete and would cost about $10 million, according to Mr. Morey’s presentation, a price that is well worth it considering that there are over 1,100 club and 2,800 intramural athletes. The closing has also forced Intramurals to limit the number of outdoor sports they can offer and has forced them to significantly cut the amount of games played in outdoor sports leagues.

Georgetown’s club sports have experienced incredible success over the past few years; however, we are not sure they will be able to continue this success without consistent access to facilities and field space.

We hosted our own roundtable with leadership from the teams that regularly practiced on Kehoe. Together we went through the possible options for alternative field space outside Georgetown’s gates and attempted to find a solution that worked for as many teams as possible. The main issues for teams were finding places for them to practice at night so as not to interfere with their academic schedules and attempting to keep travel distances and costs to a minimum.

We continue to work to find a sustainable place for our field teams to practice for the near future, but we implore the university to strongly consider refurbishing Kehoe as soon as possible.

We hope that the next ten years of Hoyas do not have to walk past a dilapidated Astroturf eyesore on their walk through campus, but rather have a place to practice and compete.

Julie reiter is a junior in the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

that no one else will do, the work that most needs to be done. Their founders went to the pope and asked to be sent wherever they could advance the glory of God and the common good.

Their commitment to take on the world’s most challenging problems has inspired the Jesuits to be educators, scientists and astronomers in all corners of the world. Their commitment founded Georgetown University.

In the spirit of this commitment, the university has done inspiring work through the Center for Social Justice, the Beeck Center and many other organizations. Additionally, Georgetown is a leader among universities in working against Islamophobia; Georgetown has established the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Bridge Initiative, which are both designed to foster love and eradicate hatred. Georgetown has set itself up to make a serious impact on the national discourse about Islam in America, yet the university is missing a key component: Muslim communities. Georgetown’s top-down approach has addressed Islamophobia in academic settings, but has isolated the university from those who have to face hatred every day.

I look at Georgetown and think, “What are you waiting for?” A university’s primary function is to gather people to start conversations. Georgetown is uniquely poised to engage thousands of Muslims in the national dialogue about Islam in America. I just hope that instead of sitting on the sidelines and in the classroom, this Jesuit university will once again make a commitment to go out into the world and to tackle its toughest challenges head-on. I just pray that my university will trade its sympathy for action.

baasit Bhutta is a freshman in the College.

SENSE OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Cautious Optimism After Iran’s Elections

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oters in the Islamic Republic of operations in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and YeIran turned out en masse Feb. 26 men that perpetuate Iran’s cold war with to elect representatives for par- Saudi Arabia. liament and the 88-member Assembly The only Iranian politician possessof Experts tasked with appointing the ing the clout to influence the traditioncountry’s next supreme leader. While ally conservative and insular IRGC is the these elections, considered a referendum anti-Western Khamenei himself. While on President Hassan Rouhani’s policies he did condone the nuclear agreement, of political and economic openness, hint- Khamenei also called on the Iranian ed at transformative change, enthusiasm people to elect a legislature that would must be weighed against Iran’s region- “stand up to world powers,” a veiled referally destabilizing military assertiveness. ence to the United States, and characterResults, which are contested by vari- ized American attitudes toward Iran as ous media sources, appeared to illustrate “open hostility.” a conclusive victory for reformists. ParticIranian behavior reflects ambitions of ularly, the List of Hope, an alignment of hegemonic expansionism rather than Iranian liberals, centrists and moderates, reconciliation with the global commuwon 85 seats in the legislative assembly. nity. On March 7, 222 Iranian lawmakers Combined with the 73 held by moder- condemned a Gulf Cooperation Council ate conservatives, Rouhani’s coalition decision to label Lebanese militant group now possesses the majority necessary to Hezbollah a terrorist organization, laudpass legislation in the 290-member body. ing the regional proxy as a “symbol of In contrast, the “Principalist” hardliner resistance against the Zionist regime.” camp won only 68 seats, down from 112. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official sugWhile these figures do not reflect sub- gested that the IRGC could escalate its stantive shifts in the involvement in Yemen Iranian political enviby deploying advisers ronment, an altered to assist the Houthis in ideological complextheir struggle against ion will allow Rouhani the Saudi-backed govmore leeway in purernment. Most consuing domestic and spicuously, Iran continforeign initiatives. His ues to provide support administration seeks to the embattled Assad greater market liberalregime in Syria.

Matt Gregory ization and regulatory Iranian military reform as vehicles to assertiveness is most increased foreign investment and new clearly demonstrated by its latest ballistic avenues of diplomatic cooperation with missile launch. On March 8, the IRGC the West. While hostility to change will test-fired several medium-range Qiam-1 certainly remain, greater parliamentary missiles, which have a range up to 2000 backing will markedly augment Rou- kilometers and can carry a nuclear warhani’s ability to implement previously head. This launch came after Washinginconceivable policies ton sanctioned institutions related to the The List of Hope additionally tri- Iranian missile program over Tehran’s umphed in elections for the Assembly test of the Emad rocket in October 2015. of Experts, winning 20 seats, including Both violate U.N. Security Council Resoall 16 allocated to the municipality of lution 2231, which demands Iran refrain Tehran. Moderates and reformists now from “any activity” relating to ballistic possess a majority of 52 seats in the elite missile development. body, a figure that skyrocketed upward The United States must adopt a stratfrom 20 in the previous cycle. Ideologi- egy of cautiously optimistic engagement cal shifts in the assembly could impact with Iran as a political partner while conIranian governance more than parlia- currently condemning its destabilizing mentary developments. If the 76-year-old conduct. Rouhani should not be made Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who recently to pay the price for IRGC incitements, as underwent prostate surgery, vacates of- the United States has a vested interest in fice in the near future, the appointment sustaining his moderate governing coaliof a more moderate supreme leader tion. Nevertheless, violating U.N. resolucould usher in a permanent Iranian po- tions or propagating proxy warfare must litical orientation favoring liberalization beget harsh responses, for signs of weakand democratization. ness or appeasement will be taken by The elections additionally served as Tehran as permission to continue, if not a barometer for public opinion on the expand, the scope of its operations.

P5+1 nuclear agreement. The accord was Adopting a firm stance against IRGC a wedge issue that divided conservatives, flaunting of international law while prompting 73 traditionalist assembly- cooperating with the Rouhani adminismen to abandon the bloc for Rouhani’s tration will be difficult for American legcoalition. While other domestic factors, islators. Policymakers must comprehend including frustrations with governmen- the nuance of the Iranian power structal corruption and inefficiency, played a ture, particularly the sluggish rate of role in the upsurge of moderate support, political transformation in an autocratic the List of Hope victories reflect a popular theocracy, if there is to be hope for the desire for the furtherance of Rouhani’s recent elections to translate into changes most significant initiative to date. benefitting the United States.

However, the elections are unlikely to alter Iran’s most belligerent foreign poli- Matt Gregory is a junior in the cies. Indeed, the Iranian Revolutionary School of Foreign Service. sense Guard Corp Qods Force, not Rouhani, of the middle east appears every is responsible for orchestrating military other Friday.

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Fiorina Talks Presidential Campaign, Future Plans IAN HARKNESS

Special to The Hoya

Carly Fiorina, former chief executive officer of tech giant HewlettPackard, spoke about her recent presidential campaign Tuesday night in the Fischer Colloquium as part of Georgetown University Politics’ ongoing series, “Reflections on Running.” Fiorina spoke to a standing-only audience, describing the intricacies of her presidential race with a sort of political candor that can only occur in retrospect.

Fiorina opened the event by addressing her lack of interest in politics earlier in her life, saying she gradually transformed from being politically apathetic to fervently active in politics.

“As a student I didn’t care anything about politics,” Fiorina said.

“Frankly, there were a lot of times in my life when I didn’t bother to vote. I thought politics somehow existed in a different world, which had nothing to do with me. … As I spent more and more time in business I came to realize that actually politics and politicians and the policies they pursue impact every one of our lives whether we know it or not.”

Fiorina also discussed her unhappiness with the political landscape she encountered that prompted her run for the California Senate in 2009 to address her dissatisfaction with the state’s policies.

“I had seen the impact of many liberal policies on the state that I loved, [California], which has the highest income inequality in the country, which spends more money per pupil on education than 49 out of 50 states and yet has outcomes that are 49th out of 50,” Fiorina said. “California is kind of a test case, in my mind, of what happens when you have wrong-headed policies for too long.

It works really well for the rich and it doesn’t really work for anyone else.

And so I ran.”

Although her bid for the California Senate was ultimately unsuccessful, Fiorina did not regard the attempt as a failure, but rather as an encouragement for future political action.

“It’s a demonstration, I think, that as Americans we actually have more common ground than we imagine sometimes. That’s certainly what I found, and I found it to be true in the presidential election as well,” Fiorina said.

After battling breast cancer and losing her daughter, Fiorina officially announced in May 2015 she would be running for president.

Fiorina said the decision was driven, in part, by her desire to rebuild the reputation of conservative women in the United States.

“I wanted to reintroduce people to what being conservative is because there are a lot of things that people think they know about conservative women, but those are just caricatures,” Fiorina said.

With her hat officially in the ring after her announcement video went up on her website on May 4, 2015, Fiorina said she began looking for opportunities to improve her discouraging initial odds.

“We always knew that because we didn’t have the years of building up the political infrastructure, I mean I started literally from ground zero, [that it would be hard],” Fiorina said.

“I had a team of two people, I had less than four percent name recognition nationally. Most people had never heard of me.”

Fiorina said she knew the debates would be important for building her reputation among voters.

However, Fiorina did not initially make the main debate stage and was instead featured on what she called the “happy hour debate,” the less publicized debate which aired before the main presidential debate. This debate featured candidates considered to have an outside chance in the presidential race.

Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94), the executive director of GU Politics and the event moderator, said Fiorina first captured the public eye in this debate, highlighting her own performance and its impact on her campaign.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who would disagree that she was the star of that night among both debates,” said Elleithee. “She saw a surge right after that, people did begin to hear her name, and did begin checking up on what she was talking about.”

Fiorina was invited to the next Republican debate at the Reagan Library during which her sparring with Donald Trump and stern words for Planned Parenthood saw her polling number rise to its eventual peak in the next few weeks.

“I was very satisfied,” Fiorina said on air with American Broadcasting Company’s “Good Morning America”. “When I went into the debate, almost half the audience didn’t know my name, and I introduced myself successfully.”

Fiorina’s rising polling numbers stalled weeks later and after lackluster results in Iowa and New Hampshire, Fiorina officially bowed out of the race Feb. 10, citing lack of media attention as a major factor in her campaign’s fall.

“We couldn’t get any oxygen.

When I was no longer on the debate shows there was no path forward,” Fiorina said.

Having traced her campaign’s trajectory in the primary race, Fiorina

STANLEY DAI/THE HOYA

Former Hewlett-Packard Executive Officer Carly Fiorina discussed her bid for the 2016 presidential nomination as part of the GU Politics series “Reflections on Running” March 15. then spoke about the presidential race going forward, fielding several questions about the campaign of the Republican Party’s frontrunner, Donald Trump.

“Politically speaking, I think I probably thought what a lot of people thought, that [Donald Trump] was going to go away,” Fiorina said. “Well, we were wrong, he did not go away, which is why, on the Republican side, the only thing we can do now is beat him.”

Fiorina said she formally endorsed Senator Ted Cruz since she believes he is capable of beating Trump. “[One of the reasons] I’m campaigning for Ted Cruz is because he’s the only one who can beat Donald Trump, and Donald Trump has to be beaten. He cannot be the nominee of the Republican party,” Fiorina said. “When the Republican establishment gets together and says, ‘we’re going to pick the nominee,’ it doesn’t work. … The only candidate who has a chance at beating him fair and square at the ballot box is Ted Cruz.”

The event ended after nearly an hour and a half of Fiorina’s reflec-

tion.

An attendee of the event, Jason Gusdorf (SFS ’16) believed Fiorina’s response to a question about Trump’s candidacy to be unaligned with the reasons the public criticizes Trump, but enjoyed the event nevertheless.

“Fiorina declared that Trump and Clinton were ‘two sides of the same coin,’ since Trump donated money to politics and Clinton accepted it; Clinton and Trump were equally guilty. This won Fiorina a round of applause from the audience. Not only was her thought patronizingly simple, but it implied that the criticisms of Trump centered around how much money he has donated to politicians …

How an audience of Georgetown students could applaud such a statement baffled me,” Gusdorf said. “Regardless, I appreciated the chance to see such a high-profile political leader.”

Anthony Persico (SFS ’19), who also attended the event, said he considered Fiorina’s talk as a candid look into the unseen aspects of a political campaign.

“It was refreshing to hear somebody as intelligent as Mrs. Fiorina talk outside of a political setting.

She was able to speak openly and honestly without worrying about how people would really react,” Persico said. “She spoke about personal stories and experiences that only somebody on the inside of the campaign for the White House could have known.”

The event marked the second in a series of talks by former presidential candidates, the first being a talk by Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor who also ran in the 2016 presidential election.

GU Politics announced another installment of the “Reflections on Running” series Tuesday. Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and two-time candidate, will be speaking about his recent campaign March 21 at 7 p.m. in Old North. It also announced Thursday that the fourth installment of the series will be held March 22 at 6:45 p.m. in McShain Lounge with a talk from Martin O’Malley, former Maryland governor and presidential candidate.

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Congressional Committee Scrutinizes GULC Policy LISA BURGOA Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University Law Center’s prohibition of students campaigning for the upcoming presidential election came under congressional scrutiny at a Subcommittee on Oversight hearing of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee entitled “Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses” on March 3.

The GULC cites its tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, which precludes nonprofit organizations from supporting political candidates, as grounds for its prohibition of student participation in campaigns.

GULC student Alexander Atkins (LAW ’17), who has spearheaded efforts in the past six months to revise the policy, testified before the subcommittee, which isthe chief tax-writing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Atkins has challenged the policy since he and other law students comprising an informal grassroots group supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were prevented from tabling outside Georgetown Law’s McDonough Hall in September and distributing campaign materials altogether in October.

Atkin received support in his efforts from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting individual rights at American universities. FIRE issued an open letter in February to GULC Dean William Treanor urging the university to lift its restrictions on student expression.

Following FIRE’s letter, the center announced its intention to revise its policies and has allowed Atkins to provide feedback on draft revisions, but still prohibits candidate advocacy on campus.

Georgetown Law’s acting Executive Director of Communications Anne Cassidy said the center has committed to implementing changes in its policies.

“We’ve been revising our tabling procedures and expect they’ll be updated soon,” Cassidy wrote in an email to THE HOYA. GULC also issued a statement written by the university’s Associate Vice President for Federal Relations Scott Fleming to the subcommittee stating that an internal review of the policy is being conducted.

“We are adjusting the policies to make very clear that individuals as well as groups are able to reserve tables for organized activity and that all members of our community are able to make reasonable use of University resources to express their political opinions,” Fleming wrote.

Atkins, who was invited to testify alongside FIRE’s Associate Director of Litigation Catherine Sevcenko and experts in the fields of free speech and tax law, said the hearing represented significant progress for political engagement on campuses.

“For many members, especially those who attended college in the sixties and seventies, the idea that America’s campuses would be anything other than hot beds of free expression and political thought came as a counterintuitive shock,” Atkins

wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “I think my testimony helped to paint a startling picture of the way that previous generations’ understanding of the culture of college campuses differs dramatically from present reality.”

In her testimony, Sevcenko stressed FIRE’s stance that cultivating political expression on college campuses requires cooperation across party lines.

“This is a bipartisan issue,” Sevcenko said.

“Georgetown prevents students from campaigning for Bernie Sanders, but about the same time American University prevented students from campaigning for Rand Paul. As long as the IRS guidelines remain unclear, censorship will win out every time.”

The hearing revealed a rift between Democrats and Republicans on the subcommittee. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) mentioned recent speakers invited to speak on Georgetown’s campus, including Sanders and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, to demonstrate the university’s politicized climate.

“What we’re seeing today in this subcommittee, in my opinion, is really searching for a problem that doesn’t exist,” Crowley said. “Georgetown University isn’t bound to the First Amendment, but they are on their own initiative devising a policy that ensures full inclusivity for all of their students.”

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) characterized the situation as indicative of a culture of excessive political correctness, stating that the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment applies to every American university.

“I don’t care what kind of college it is, private or public,” Kelly said. “I think it’s absolutely chilling that we have to have this kind of hearing to expose what’s going on.”

University of Miami law professor Frances Hill, who was summoned to testify because of her expertise in tax law, argued that legal precedents have existed since 1972 that indicate that student campaigning does not jeopardize a university’s taxexempt status, as GULC claims.

“On the tax side, it’s a well-settled issue, it’s not one of the hard ones in tax law,” Hill said. “One just has to assume that university officials were misinformed or improperly briefed on tax law, and that’s where the solution has to lie.”

FIRE’s Senior Program Officer Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon said that although she commends the GULC for reviewing its policy, it should immediately suspend its ban as it makes its decision.

“These students are rapidly losing their window of opportunity to weigh in the primaries,” BeckCoon said in an interview with THE HOYA. “They definitely should be allowed to engage in speech on some kind of interim basis while they’re revising their policy.”

Atkins highlighted his satisfaction that the subcommittee called a hearing focused on the issue of free speech and political activity on university campuses.

“Challenging authority is never comfortable or easy,” Atkins wrote. “It was very rewarding to finally have a captive audience – let alone Congress – that was interested in hearing about our experience.”

COURTESY ZIMBIO

Former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor discussed the dangers of political “short-termism” at a GU Politics event Wednesday.

Cantor Talks Partisanship CHRISTIAN PAZ Hoya Staff Writer

Former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor argued that an excessive concern with short-term political goals sacrifices longterm success in Congress at an event hosted by Georgetown University Politics on Wednesday.

The conversation, titled “How Short-termism is Breaking Washington,” was moderated by GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94) and GU Politics fellow and senior politics editor at the Daily Beast, Jackie Kucinich.

According to Cantor, short-termism is a phenomenon in national politics in which members of both parties grow increasingly polarized and prioritize small political victories in the short term at the expense of long-term stability, cooperation and progress.

“Short-termism is the result of degradation and a lack of trust in our leaders and our political institutions,” Cantor said.

Cantor argued that in the 2016 election, shorttermism is visible in the factions within the Republican Party that support Donald Trump and the progressive wing in the Democratic Party that back Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“If you think about short-termism and what is infecting so much of the public discourse today, there is this trend toward short-termism in both the corporate and business arena as well as in government and politics,” Cantor said.

“Where they have something in common is this lack of trust or faith in institutions.”

Cantor cited the public outrage that resulted from the 2005 Parade Magazine cover story on the “Bridge to Nowhere” project in Alaska — a project that sought to connect the small town of Ketchikan with its airport — as an example of how the public began to lose faith in the federal government and see Congress as a body full of inefficiency, wastefully spending taxpayer dollars. “[They] are saying, ‘Why would I trust these people who say they have this long-term vision where they are taking us, if this is the result,’” he said. “A big reason Republicans lost the majority in 2006 is because of those types of decisions that were allowed to take place.”

He proceeded to explain that this phenomenon could have been prevented shortly after the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.

“The election of Barack Obama held so much potential and promise for this country. I was just elected into Republican leadership and be-

came the minority whip when Barack Obama was sworn in,” he said. “As Republicans, we were in the extreme minority. He had supermajorities in the Senate and overwhelming majorities in the House. It allowed him to do a lot of things.”

Cantor said that with the overwhelming presence of Democrats in the federal government, the House minority was the most powerless body.

“The powerless force was we in the House. We had such a small minority,” Cantor said.

Cantor recalled his first negotiations with Obama and the White House team.

“The president reached out to [former Speaker ]John Boehner and me and he said, ‘Hey, we want to work with you. Come on in to the White House, bring us your ideas’,” Cantor said.

“That quickly dissipated after the inauguration.

We were dispensed with because that month we got no feedback from the White House and they announced they were going forward with their stimulus bill … We felt we were given the cold shoulder.”

“Shorttermism is the result of degradation and a lack of trust in our leaders.”

ERIC CANTOR Former Republican House Majority Leader

Cantor said following that meeting, Democrats forced a series of bills through Congress along partisan lines including the 2009 stimulus package, the 2010 Affordable Care Act and the 2010 Dodd-Frank reforms. Cantor said he believes these types of legislation contributed to the rise of the Tea Party and increased distrust in the federal government.

“That evolved into the mandate we got in the elections of 2010 and put us in the majority. It wasn’t necessarily that they became confident in us,” Cantor said. “They said, ‘Hey, Republicans, get in there and be that check and balance on what we believe is the administration run amok with all this legislation and regulatory overreach.’”

Cantor said that until the Republicans gained control of the Senate, their primary role was as a balance to a largely Democratic government with the aim of preventing future Democratic policies. Then, due to a variety of factors, expec-

tations began to shift.

“All of a sudden, you weren’t just there to block, you’re there to undue it,” Cantor said.

“Well how in the world does one House repeal these legislations? It’s not going to happen.

That became the new test. My side played into that and we started passing repeal bills, over and over again.”

Cantor said Republican voters expectations were difficult to meet, and contributed to more distrust as the House failed to make changes.

According to Cantor, whenever movements formed to try to make compromises, voters confronted their legislators with anger.

Cantor said he himself was a victim of his constituents’ anger in Virginia when he lost the republican primary to a Tea Party candidate.

Cantor said Trump’s rise in the Republican Party is a concerning sign for the party.

“How do you go about being a party of inclusion? You stay away from the kind of statements being thrown around by some from my side,” Cantor said. “Trump is really worrisome. If he is the standard bearer of our party, what does that say? You don’t say that about Mexicans, you don’t say that about minorities, you don’t say that about women.”

Ellie Singer (COL ’18), who introduced the congressman, said she appreciated the opportunity to hear him speak.

“It’s such an honor. I love him to death and I have admired his work for quite some time,” Singer said. “As a Republican myself, it is difficult to watch our party going through so much infighting, so it is refreshing to introduce a speaker who is so focused on dialogue.”

Elleithee said in an interview with THE HOYA that speaking with Cantor was especially important to him because of his own background in Virginia politics.

“It’s kind of surreal for me, because I came up through Virginia politics and he was majority leader when I was at the DNC. A lot of my career was spent attacking Eric Cantor. Now that we have stepped away from the political arena, we have different perspectives,” Elleithee said.

Elleithee said he hopes students left the event with a glimpse at the perspective of a national leader.

“To be able to hear from someone at the highest level of government and who fell victim to some of this distrust and short-termism, to hear from him and engage with him is important,” Elleithee said.

“So much of what we do is to begin to see if we can impact the discussion now.”

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University Faces Kitt Rom’s Memory Honored Ire Over Visit ROM, from A1

RICHARDS, from A1 the content of the view being expressed or the speaker expressing the view.”

Planned Parenthood and Campus Ministry declined to comment. For an earlier brief on this story, the Lecture Fund released a short statement.

“The Lecture Fund strives to bring speakers to Georgetown’s campus to enlighten, educate and, occasionally, entertain. The Lecture Fund has been a student organization at Georgetown for many years and our process on bringing speakers has remained the same.”

The Lecture Fund declined to comment further.

Cecile Richards has served since 2006 as the president of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization founded in 1916 dedicated to promoting and delivering reproductive health care, sex education and contraceptives internationally. Richards previously founded and served as president of America Votes, a coalition affiliated with the Democratic Party, and as deputy chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi, the democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Planned Parenthood has come under fire during the 2016 electoral cycle after undercover anti-abortion activists alleged, based on secretly recorded videos, that the organization sells aborted baby organs to scientific laboratories for profit. In response to the allegations, Planned Parenthood claimed it only received compensation for the transport and storage of the organs, which have been used in research contributing to a Polio vaccine, as well as in treating Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

The Archdiocese of Washington released a statement March 7 regarding the event, urging Georgetown’s Jesuit community to better impart the Catholic Church’s values on the university.

“The Jesuit community on campus clearly has its work cut out for it and a long way to go as it tries to instill at Georgetown some of the values of Pope Francis. Until then it is hard wholeheartedly to share in the cry, ‘Go Hoyas!’” the statement reads.

The Cardinal Newman Society, which was founded in 1993 by Catholic college alumni with the goal of promoting and defending Catholic education created a petition March 9 urging the university to cancel the event. The petition, titled “Tell Georgetown: Say NO to Planned Parenthood President,” received over 7,000 signatures in its first 24 hours.

As of March 16, the petition had 13,000 signatures.

Patrick Reilly, founder and president of the Cardinal Newman Society, spoke with CNS News on the issue, claiming the allowance of Richards’ visit shows Georgetown’s lack of commitment to its Catholic morals and identity.

“Besides a clear bias in the choice of speakers, there’s no sense of moral truth, which is the central point of a Catholic university. Either you accept Catholic moral teaching as true or you do not. In the case of Georgetown, they simply do not,” Reilly said.

Maya M. Noronha (COL ’05, LAW ’10) published a petition March 7 titled “No Planned Parenthood at Georgetown” demanding that the university prevent Richards’ visit. The petition states that hosting the president of Planned Parenthood would violate Georgetown’s free speech and expression policy that bans dangerous and threatening speech. The petition has been cosigned by over 70 members of the Georgetown community as of press time.

“First, the policy prohibits expression that ‘endangers or imminently threatens to endanger the safety of any member of the community’ Ce-

cile Richards advocates for the killing of innocent human life by abortion,” the petition states. “Hosting an abortion advocate on campus is offensive and hurtful to those healing from a past abortion.”

Noronha asserted Richards’ visit stands contrary to Georgetown’s Jesuit and Catholic identity.

“A university group giving Cecile Richards alone the platform to advocate for abortion is contrary to Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit identity,” Noronha wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Conservative student groups have similarly voiced their opposition to the Lecture Fund’s invitation.

Michael Khan (COL ’18), the president of Vita Saxa, also known as Georgetown University Right to Life, an access-to-benefits university organization which serves to promote anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia and anti-death penalty views, also critiqued the upcoming event.

“The problem here is that it’s a recognized student group that gets funds from the university and resources from the university,” Khan said. “With the Lecture Fund, the budget it has and the prominence it has on campus, it really seems like an endorsement from the university and that’s really troubling.”

Ximena Céspedes (COL ’19), a member of Vita Saxa and the Catholic Daughters, voiced her concerns about Richards’ lecture topic and how it aligns with the message of H*yas For Choice, an on-campus student organization dedicated to proabortion rights activism. H*yas for Choice, which is not recognized by the university, is the only provider of free condoms on campus and is also a provider of comprehensive information on sexual health and pregnancy services.

“If H*yas for Choice had invited her to speak on campus, I don’t think it would’ve been a problem, but there’s the fact that the Lecture Fund is recognized by the university,” Céspedes said.

H*yas for Choice President Sophia Kleyman (COL ’16) said she appreciated the university’s dedication to free speech in light of the controversy surrounding Richards’ invitation and hoped others would recognize how such a dedication does not take away from its Jesuit identity.

“I think first of all, it’s important to know that, just because Georgetown is hosting a speaker that goes in contradiction to what the church believes, doesn’t mean that makes Georgetown any less Catholic, any less dedicated to upholding Jesuit values,” Kleyman said. “The conversation should be applauding Georgetown for the fact that they’re able to acknowledge the contradictory views but also on the fact that it’s important to uphold a diversity of ideas and viewpoints.”

Alliemarie Schapp (COL ‘19), who plans on attending the event, said she came to Georgetown for its open dialogue and conversation on pressing issues in modern society, exemplified by events like these.

“Planned Parenthood has a lot of services beyond promoting abortions, and if that’s an individual’s only objection to having [Richards] come and speak, then I think that that objection should be evenly applied to anyone who comes to campus who holds the view of being prochoice, and that is simply illogical,” Schapp said. “If President DeGioia rescinded the invitation it would affect my view of Georgetown negatively.”’

Richards is scheduled to speak at Georgetown in April, with the Lecture Fund so far only confirming that the event will be closed to the public and that it will consist of remarks followed by a question-andanswer period.

CAPS Welcomes Additional Staff CAPS, from A1 worked closely with students to address these needs on our campus.”

By expanding the staff, the university aims to reduce waiting times for routine appointments and to offer more personal support for students with complex issues.

The added case manager position will double the size of the current case management staff, according to a press release from the Georgetown University Student Association.

“They will be available to serve students’ mental health needs, ensuring that students receive proper follow-up care and can continually receive support when taking or returning from a medical leave of absence,” GUSA Director of Communications Will Simons (COL ’16) wrote in the press release.

GUSA President Joe Luther (COL ’16) said that he hopes this does not mark the end of mental health reform on campus.

“We view these hirings as a step

in the right direction. One of GUSA’s priorities is to ensure that students have access to timely and highquality mental health services,” Luther wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We will continue to work with the university to ensure that CAPS is adequately staffed and work to change the culture around mental health on campus.”

GUSA President-Elect Enushe Khan (MSB ’17) said while she is excited by the new hires, mental health reforms need to continue.

“This is amazing news, and something students have been advocating for a while, so it is incredibly exciting to see the university work towards expanding mental health resources,” Khan wrote in an email to The Hoya. “There is a lot more to be done, and this great addition to the CAPS program shouldn’t end the conversation on mental health resources and policies. We need to ensure that the conversation on mental health on our campus continues to expand.”

seriously,” Saxbys owner and manager Jim Hilson (COL ’08) said.

Rom, an Arlington native, began his barista career at Saxbys during the summer of 2014, after graduating high school and prior to embarking on a gap year during which he traveled to Italy, the United Kingdom, Thailand and Australia. During his time in Australia, he supported himself by working at a coffee shop in Sydney.

“It’s where he learned a lot about coffee,” said Vance Vaughan (SFS ’19), a Saxbys employee and a close friend of Rom. “He learned a lot about the science behind it, and how to make the perfect espresso. It became something that he really had a passion for.”

Rom was perhaps so drawn to coffee because he found that it combined two of his favorite things — science and art.

A science, technology and international affairs major, Rom had a particular interest in chemistry and physics. He was especially excited when he could apply scientific concepts to his favorite drink.

“He related what he was learning about equilibrium of the chemicals in the solution and how reactions happen with changes of heat, and he would talk to me about how he could relate that to coffee,” Rom’s roommate Calvin Griffin (COL ’19) said.

Coffee was also an art form for Rom. In his dorm room, he brewed pour-over coffee, embracing a method that requires patience, skill and high-quality coffee beans, in order to produce coffee with a distinctive taste.

“Everything I do is an opportunity for art, and I will take these opportunities. I will perfect my craft,” Rom’s father, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the McCourt School of Public Policy Mark Rom, said, reading a piece he had written from his son’s point of view at a memorial service in Dahlgren Chapel on Thursday afternoon.

Rom often hand-crafted the mugs from which he drank his coffee. Rom enjoyed creating pottery, and he often gifted mugs and dishes to his friends, family and co-workers. A blue mug that Rom sculpted for Hilson now sits on the counter near the cash register at Saxbys, holding flowers as part of a makeshift memorial for Rom. “He used to make cups and mugs and stuff for us and bring them in here and put his signature on it,” Brunson said. “During the time when he came here, I was about to get married, and he made me a mug in my wedding colors.”

Vaughan, who planned to room with Rom next semester, said some of his favorite memories with Rom happened in Saxbys early on Sunday mornings.

Rom returned to work for Saxbys once he came to Georgetown in August 2015. The pair would often open the shop together on Sundays, which meant they were required to be there at 6 a.m. Oftentimes, Vaughan said, they would arrive at Saxbys having only slept for two or three hours the night before.

“That was always fun to be in a crazy mental state and be opening up a coffee shop and watching the sunrise and listening to good music,” Vaughan said.

Residents of Darnall’s fifth floor knew they could count on Rom when they needed a boost to get themselves through a long night of studying.

“I’m often up late studying and stressing out, and I could ask him, ‘Hey Kitt, can you make me a cup of coffee?’ and he would make me a cup of coffee that was unlike anything,” Rom’s friend and floor mate Grant Olson (COL ’19) said. “He really put a lot of effort into it, and he loved what he did.”

Pursuing the Wild Things During his gap year, Rom travelled across three continents, often arriving in a country with no plan for where he would live or how he would support himself. He spent a rainy November backpacking across the U.K. before moving on to Sydney. He climbed mountains, jumped off cliffs and played jump rope with a cord that was on fire.

“Whenever I listened to his stories, I always came out thinking, ‘Wow, this is an adult. He has lived a life.

He knows how to live in the world, and he has had more life experience than almost any of us.’ He used that gap year that he took to do amazing things,” Olson said.

Rom undoubtedly lived a life of excitement while abroad, but he also found adventure in quieter, everyday moments.

Rom’s friend and floormate Alexandra Foley (COL ’19) remembers receiving a text from Rom as she left class one day, telling her that he was outside of Dahlgren Chapel and that she should stop by to say hello.

“I’m walking into [Dahlgren Quad] and I don’t see him anywhere; I don’t know where he is. And then I see that he put a hammock between two trees, and he was lying in the hammock. He was just like, ‘Why don’t you sit over here?’” Foley recalled.

“People around us would be looking at the hammock and would be like, ‘Who are these crazy people?’ And he just didn’t care.”

Another friend and floormate of

Courtesy rom family

Rom had a passion for adventure and spent a gap year travelling throughout the world. He is pictured here in New Zealand.

Rom’s, Isabel Lord (COL ’19), recalled a fond memory with Rom spent in her dorm room in Darnall one quiet morning, the last time she spent time with her friend one-on-one.

“He texted me and said, ‘Hey, I’ll trade you a pancake for some maple syrup,’ because he just got into a pancake-making kick. But he didn’t have a pan, he had a … pot, and so he poured the batter in the bottom of it,” Lord said. “We sat in my room at 10 in the morning eating pancakes off of the cutting boards I had in my room.”

“He was passionate about science, he was passionate about having a positive impact on the world.” anthony pirrotti Associate Dean, SFS

Some of Rom’s newest adventures occurred as a part of Georgetown’s boxing club, which he joined this semester, though he had little experience. Other boxers remember Rom’s eagerness to learn about the sport and his diligence as he worked toward mastering its fundamentals.

“Kitt brought a passionate enthusiasm to everything he did, and boxing was no different. He welcomed the challenge of the fight, of the mental and physical preparation,” members of the boxing club wrote in a collective statement to The Hoya.

At Thursday’s memorial service, Chris Rom (COL ’16) recalled some of his younger brother’s final adventures as the two skied together in Colorado.

“On Monday … his skis had caught a bump and he tumbled head over heals into the fresh powder. He fell so hard that his pants fell off,” Rom said, drawing laughter from the crowded church. “And he told us this story as he skied to catch up with me and [my girlfriend] Julie, still zipping and buttoning things back together. And he said that when he looked up from the snowdrift he ended up in, there were two adults staring at him with very concerned expressions, to which his only response was to just giggle.”

Many of those who knew him agree that “Where the Wild Things Are,,” a children’s book by Maurice Sendak, serves as a powerful symbol of Rom’s sense of adventure and fierce independence. Rom had a poster of the book’s cover hanging in his dorm room, and he recently had an image of the book’s protagonist, Max, tattooed on his rib cage.

“I think that demonstrated a lot.

He was a wild thing. He was crazy. He wore these really, really tight jeans that were ripped but he could pull them off. He had the tattoos and the nose piercing. He didn’t really care.

He just did himself, and that reflects the independent spirit he had,” Olson said.

Vice President for Mission and Ministry Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., used the book as a motif throughout his remarks at Thursday’s memorial service.

O’Brien summarized the book, which tells the story of a young boy whose imagination takes him on an adventurous romp with wild things after he is sent to bed with no supper.

The boy eventually grows lonely and returns home, finding a warm meal waiting for him.

“For every good adventure — even the best of adventures — there is an ending,” O’Brien said. “Better, there is a coming home. … Now, when you think about it, in the divine embrace, [Kitt] experiences both the ultimate homecoming and the ultimate adventure.”

An Inventive Thinker By all accounts, Rom had an incredibly bright mind, a creative thought process and a marked humility about his intelligence.

Rom had an affinity for the hard sciences, and especially loved physics. He was interested in how science could be used to improve the world,

and was perhaps drawn to the School of Foreign Service’s science, technology and international affairs program because of its interdisciplinary focus.

“What was cool about Kitt was that he was very ‘sciencey,’ and that’s what he loved, but he also had this kind of creativity about him. In some ways, I think a lot of people assumed just by talking to him that he was going to be doing something in the humanities or the arts, because that’s kind of what he was like,” SFS Associate Dean Anthony Pirrotti, Rom’s freshman advisor, said.

STIA assistant professor Sarah Stewart Johnson remembers how Rom’s intellectual creativity and multidisciplinary interests shone in her class “The Search for Life on Mars,” which Rom took as his freshman proseminar last semester.

“He had really creative thoughts about things,” Johnson said. “He wrote this term paper and was able to combine Greek philosophers with viruses. He was looking at the idea of life and what it means, these different definitions of it and how modern discoveries in biology blurred the lines between animate and inanimate objects.”

Rom, who many said was more interested in living in the moment than worrying about the future, was uncertain of his career aspirations.

He did know, though, that he was interested in science’s practical implications and its potential to help people.

“He was passionate about science, he was passionate about having a positive impact on the world and he was also passionate about experiencing life,” Pirrotti said.

Remembering Kitt Hundreds of Rom’s friends and family members gathered in Dahlgren Chapel on Thursday for a service that was uniquely tailored to the freshman. Lord, Griffin and Vaughan offered reflections, as did Rom’s father and brother. The service opened with jazz music — Rom’s favorite — and Saxbys coffee was served at a reception in Dahlgren Quad following the service.

Rom’s funeral will be held March 24 at the Luthern Church of the Redeemer in McLean, Va. The university has arranged for a bus to take students from campus to the service.

Informal remembrances and celebrations of Rom’s life have also continued throughout the week.

A picture of Rom sits on the counter at Saxbys, and employees have pledged to donate their tips to the Georgetown Scholarship Program Necessity Fund, where the Rom family has requested donations to be directed in lieu of flowers. The Saxbys employees aim to raise $500, and Hilson and his two co-owners plan to make a separate contribution to the fund.

On Monday evening, Rom’s floormates gathered in their common room, where they shared some of their favorite memories of their friend and sat in reflective silence. Other Darnall residents and friends of Rom eventually joined them.

“It was definitely hard because there really isn’t anything to say, because it’s still really shocking to us. Most of us are still waiting for him to come around the corner and say hi,” Nelson said.

Even as those close to Rom share their memories of him, he still remains somewhat of an enigma.

No one truly knew what to expect from Rom, or which adventure he would pursue next.

“I will be glad to have been a mystery,” Mark Rom said, speaking again from the perspective of his late son. “Because mysteries leave us wanting more.”

Hoya Staff Writers Ian Scoville and Syed Humza Moinnudin contributed to reporting.

A full version of the story is available on thehoya.com.

News

friday, MARCH 18, 2016

THE HOYA

A7

Hoya Housing Introduced Liquor License Ban Under Consideration

Matthew Larson Hoya Staff Writer

Ahead of the upcoming 2016 housing selection, the Office of Residential Living has launched a new housing selection portal called Hoya Housing. The redesigned housing management system replaces Georgetown University Student Housing, the university’s housing portal for over a decade. Hoya Housing will provide students with a greater range of features and a more streamlined housing selection process, among other upgrades.

Under the new Hoya Housing portal, the number of room selection phases will be reduced from five to two. Students will select apartments, suites and townhouses in the first phase, and singles, doubles and triples in the second phase, according to Director for Residential Services Patrick Killillee.

In GUSH, students were assigned time intervals one minute apart for their initial housing selection process. A student’s number of housing points, which were distributed by school year with extra available to those who attended certain events, determined these time intervals.

With Hoya Housing, the one-minute intervals will be replaced by a 15-minute exclusive time period in which an undetermined number of groups — possibly 20 — will search for rooms before the next group of students has access.

“Every group will have this time when they’re the only 20 groups in that 15 minutes. But you’re up against everybody at the same time, there’s no time that’s all yours,” Killillee said. “If you don’t pick in that 15 minutes you won’t get locked out, but the longer you wait, the less options you have.”

Under the previous system, a group sponsor would be solely responsible for taking group members’ selection codes, but in Hoya Housing, every group member must individually add himself to the group.

Additionally, there will be a new roommate-finding feature through which groups of students may look for others who may help them fill a vacancy in their room. As part of this process, students will be expected to update their living preference questionnaire.

“If you’re in a group of three

Lisa Burgoa Hoya Staff Writer

COURTESY HOYA HOUSING WEBSITE

The Office of Residential Living introduced Hoya Housing, a new portal replacing Housing-At-A-Glance. and want to find a fourth person, you can search around and find someone to be part of your group,” Killillee said. “Or, if you’re an individual and you want to find someone to live with you can find a roommate that way.”

Students living in apartments, suites and townhouses must select in advance which members of their group will live together in each room and who will take a single room.

According to Killillee, the change from GUSH to Hoya Housing occurred due to a university-wide initiative to eliminate “homegrown” systems made in house. A few years ago the Office of Residential Life redesigned the housing system and settled on a proposal by StarRez, a company providing housing software for other universities.

While many new features exist as part of Hoya Housing, Killillee noted how there are a few things that the system does not do that GUSH did do. Hoya Housing does not have a room specification feature like GUSH, so students will have to research the specifications of each room ahead of time.

The Office of Residential Living has held three information sessions about Hoya Housing since the beginning of February and received a record turnout of students. The Office of Residential Living is currently hosting office hours about the new system in case students have questions, and the new system has been well-received by students.

“We’ve had students go in

and test the application as testing users and they have had positive things to say,” Assistant Director of Assignments Krista Haxton said. “I think they like that it seems a bit cleaner, it seems like a newer look, and so we’ve gotten good feedback there.”

Nicholas Ebert (SFS ’18) said the new feel of Hoya Housing works better than the old GUSH portal. Ebert noted that the twenty-minute intervals in which multiple groups compete would be better than the one-minute exclusive periods groups, as they would make the process more expedient.

“I think it’s good that they’re changing Housing-AtA-Glance because it always felt outdated when I was using it for things other than housing selection,” Ebert said. “The twenty-minute block works better than the one-minute intervals. I think the process will be more efficient.”

Aditya Pande (SFS ’18) said he admired the automation of the additional features, including the check-in and check-out process. Pande noted the modernized housing system could be more effective for the student body.

“I think it’s good. They’re bringing more features to where people are, on the internet,” Pande said. “It’s the way people communicate, and this is how our housing process should operate.”

The 2016 housing process will begin with phase one from March 23 to 30, consisting of selection for apartments, suites and townhouses.

Georgetown’s decades-long ban on new liquor licenses – long accused by business owners of atrophying the neighborhood’s restaurant industry – faces an uncertain future.

The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will issue its decision March 30 on whether to extend, modify or allow the moratorium to expire.

Implemented in 1989 following complaints from Georgetown residents of noise and rowdy behavior from unruly patrons, the moratorium capped the number of establishments that could attain a Class C/R license, which permits the sale of beer, wine or spirits on premises.

Within the past five years, liquor licenses were hoarded by landlords and resold at exorbitant prices, in some cases even fetching $15,000. The resulting license shortage saw prospective restaurant businesses fleeing Georgetown for more restaurant-friendly areas like Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle. In 2009, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue auctioned off a seized license to Johnny Rockets on M Street for $100,000.

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission, in collaboration with Georgetown’s Business Improvement District, drafted a settlement agreement this past December that outlines how establishments can operate even without the moratorium in place. The ANC, a body composed of District residents, considers government policies that directly affect the neighborhoods it represents.

Student ANC 2E Commissioner Kendyl Clausen (SFS ’16) predicted that the proposed settlement lifting the moratorium would not cause Georgetown’s restaurant scene to revert back into the rowdiness that irked residents in the eighties.

“This covers everything from hours, where noise can be heard from before you get a violation, how many people you can have, whether or not you can have live entertainment there and an entire array of things,” Clausen said. “It addresses all the problems they had during the ’80s and has formal mechanisms that make it more standard of a process.”

Clausen added that the Georgetown neighborhood itself is no longer conducive to a party scene.

“The popular bar, clubbing areas aren’t in Georgetown anymore,” Clausen said.

“People don’t come from Northeast to club on M Street, that’s just not a thing that happens. A lot of the fears are no longer there, because the moratorium has so successfully worked that we are actually losing a lot of our hip restaurant life as well, and I don’t think we’re at risk of any craziness happening again.”

Student ANC 2E Commissioner Reed

Howard (SFS ’17) said the moratorium arose from Georgetown resident apprehensions about the neighborhood’s identity. Howard said that now, with shuttered businesses, the community is confronted with a fresh bout of soul searching.

“When it was first imposed, neighbors were really looking to protect the character of the neighborhood. They were anxious that it would turn into an entertainment district, and it was really put in place to protect the identity of Georgetown,” Howard said. “Throughout the years, neighbors have agreed that so far it has hurt businesses, and there haven’t been as many local restaurants opening up in Georgetown and it’s been harder for their doors to stay open.”

Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration Public Information Officer Jessie Cornelius said the board plans to take these issues into account as it makes its decision.

“When making a decision regarding a moratorium zone, the board takes several factors into consideration,” Cornelius wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It would consider all public comment that it receives and examine the effect of establishments on neighborhood peace order and quiet, including noise and litter issues; crime statistics, residential parking needs and vehicular and pedestrian safety.”

Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington legal counsel Andrew Kline stressed his client’s opposition to all liquor license moratoria, but he said the lifting the ban is unlikely to impact restaurants in Georgetown because the shortage has lessened over the past three years. Of the 68 total restaurant licenses, he estimated that over 20 are currently not in use, making them readily available for new restaurants that wish to operate in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s all kind of much ado about nothing,” Kline said. “It’s kind of like lifting an isolation order when there’s a disease outbreak when no one has seen the disease in two years. It’s just like ‘Okay, so?’

It’s an odd event.”

Restaurateur Ian Hilton, owner of the French bistro Chez Billy Sud on Georgetown’s 31st Street, agreed. Though the moratorium had deterred him from opening a restaurant in Georgetown in the past, he said other factors are more responsible for stifling the neighborhood’s restaurant development, particularly the neighborhood.

“The biggest factor is rents,” Hilton said.

“Rents in Georgetown are extremely high, particularly on M Street where only really national chains can afford the types of rents they have there. So I would say the moratorium is a factor, definitely not the biggest factor, but lifting it is a good step for Georgetown to come out of its bit of isolation and get some new operators in the area.”

A8

sports

THE HOYA

friDAY, march 18, 2016

women’s lacrosse

baseball

GU Picks Up 2nd Win Over GMU Baseball Builds Six-Game Streak Claire Schansinger Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (2-5) beat George Mason (2-2), 15-12 on the road in its second victory of the season Wednesday night. The win marked the 13th consecutive time the Hoyas have beaten the Patriots dating back to the beginning of George Mason’s program in 1994.

Senior attack Corinne Etchison and freshman attack Taylor Gebhardt each scored four goals for the Hoyas. Etchison has scored nine goals so far this season, while Gebhardt currently has scored seven. Senior attack Kelsey Perselay added two goals, and five other players each scored a goal, including senior midfielder Kristen Bandos for her 13th goal of the season.

On George Mason’s team, junior attack Jacquelyn Spalding led the way with three goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Brooke Lorber also had a hat trick and an assist.

Georgetown graduate student attack Morgan Rubin scored the first goal of the game within the first minute, followed by a goal from Etchison, giving the Hoyas an early 2-0 advantage. George Mason responded with two quick goals and the teams went back and forth to end the first half with a 6-5 Patriots lead.

After trading goals with the Patriots in the beginning of the second half, the Hoyas went on a 7-0 run within a span of 13 minutes.

Head Coach Ricky Fried said this stretch created the momentum that led Georgetown to victory.

“George Mason played really well and they played hard. It took us a little while to get the game going with the rain delay, but going into the second half we had a seven-goal run where we did everything really well, from picking up ground balls to forcing turnovers on defense to executing down the field, which really separated us at the end. This run showed what we were capable of and how well we can play together,” Fried said.

After the Patriots notched two goals to end the Hoyas’ run, Georgetown came right back less than 20 seconds later, eventually extending its lead to 14-9. The Patriots rallied with three more goals, but the Hoyas’ defense stayed strong, and they closed out the game with a goal from senior defender Natalie Miller with 1:36 left.

This win was crucial for the Hoyas, who started the season on a

alexander yurcaba Special to The Hoya

FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

Senior attack Corinne Etchison has scored nine goals so far this season and is tied for first in assists with six. She has started all seven games this season. four-game losing streak. Fried said his team needed this win as they look toward the rest of the season.

“The biggest thing from this game is taking away the confidence that we can win. We need to focus on playing with more consistency,” Fried said.

Senior goalkeeper Megan McDonald had two saves in goal for a total of 26 this season, and junior goalkeeper Maddy Fisher recorded four saves during her time in the cage in the second half.

The Blue and Gray outshot the Patriots 24-21 and clinched 17 draw controls to George Mason’s 11. George Mason held a slight advantage in ground balls, 15-13, but the Hoyas took nine free-position

shots, converting on six of them, compared to the Patriots’ 2-of-3.

The Hoyas will face No. 19 Johns Hopkins (6-3) at home on Cooper Field on Saturday afternoon. Johns Hopkins will enter the contest coming off a narrow 12-11 victory over Vanderbilt (4-4).

Fried stressed the importance of the upcoming games in order for his team to make it to championship play at the end of the season.

“We have two games left in the non-conference part of our season, so we need to focus on those two games. The conference games are a critical part of our season and we need to do well in order to complete our NCAA aspirations,” Fried said.

The water Cooler

RFID Improves Rosters T

he dawn of free agency in the NFL free agency calls “right” — signing the cormeans that teams will now spend rect players for the appropriate amount of hundreds of millions of dollars on money. a wide array of talent in a process that has Another consequence will be the price always been something of an imperfect sci- of efficiency. Players will be divided because ence. Teams attempt to use a player’s past this new technology and data has both benperformance as a guide for their future val- efits and risks. For example, in addition to ue, and they are often incorrect. One com- RFID technology, there are also apps that pany, Zebra Technologies, has attempted to can give teams instantaneous, in-game inchange that. By installing radio frequency formation on player health. Dehydration, identification chips in each player’s shoul- cramping and more serious injuries can der pads, teams will have instant access to now be better anticipated and potentially real-time data involving speed, velocity and prevented before they become major issues. other previously unobtainable metrics.

However, some players, like the Browns’ Over time, RFID chips should revolutionize wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, feel that the game both by making coaches better at such data would be used against players in their jobs and franchises smarter when it contract negotiations. In fact, it is difficult comes to making offseason moves. to see how this will not happen, because One of the most common debates about teams will have actual proof of a player’s dethe NFL offseason is whether or not cer- clining ability. That idea works both ways, tain free agents are worth the money they though. It is also possible for players to imrequest. It should come as no surprise that prove during their time in the league, and players whose positions require a high level the data will objectively reflect that. of speed, agility, accelerIn addition to off-theation and closing time field impacts, this techhave a limited window nology and data has the to hit their peak and potential to revolutionize flourish. RFID chips will coaching and make it more give teams data meaadaptable than ever before. suring players’ capabiliCoaches are beginning to ties in these categories envision worlds in which that can then be used they can adjust defensive to make personnel depersonnel based on data Michael Ippolito cisions. In theory, this received from offensive should lead to less guesslinemen.

Coordinators work and intuition within scouting and could also call plays that incorporate their more pure analysis. Numbers, after all, do secondary’s speed and reaction time based not lie. With a salary cap and rosters limited on certain coverage packages. Though such to 53 people, every signing is important. The advents have not occurred yet, they are first batch of this accumulated data will be quickly approaching and will undoubtedly released in May, after the draft and the bulk be a part of the game’s future. of free agency are concluded.

Fortunately for statistics aficionados, At the beginning of the 2014 season — these kinds of developments appear to be their first season in use — these chips gar- the dominant trend in sports. Zebra Technered little attention, but they now stand nologies, along with similar groups, has to make a big impact, especially in the talked with the NBA to provide a similar front office. General managers and coaches service for a similar purpose. Even for the who are responsible for putting together more traditional fan who does not want to the roster will have access to richer data bother with so much quantitative jargon, than before. But with big data comes big re- this can still be beneficial, because teams sponsibility. Every stadium is equipped to will have more information to use to purhandle and gather such data, so at least in sue success. one regard, every team is on an even playSomething like free agency, or even ing field in terms of scouting. quantifying sports in general, may never One potential side effect of using RFID be a perfect or an exact science, but that chips is the increased pressure and scru- should not stop teams from using everytiny that coaches and executives will ex- thing within their disposal to make the perience in building their rosters. With best possible choices to produce the best massive amounts of data and a growing possible product. number of fans and pundits wanting to apply mathematical, statistical and eco- Michael Ippolito is a junior in the nomic data methods to sports, teams will College. The water cooler appears be under more pressure than ever to get every Friday.

Following an impressive five-game winning streak on the team’s spring break trip to the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Florida, the Georgetown baseball team (10-7) embarked on a stretch of five straight home games on Tuesday with a 5-4 win against Yale (0-8) in the first game of this week’s homestand.

In a closely fought matchup, the Hoyas overcame the Bulldogs on a walk-off home run by junior outfielder Beau Hall.

“I actually thought to myself before I came up to bat that I’ve never hit a walk-off before in my career,” Hall said. “[I was] just going up looking to get on base, get a good pitch to hit, get the next guy up and keep our chances alive.”

Hall referred to his gamewinning home run — his first of the season — as “one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever been a part of.”

Hall’s late-game heroics continue a personal hot streak for the hard-hitting outfielder, who was recently named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

The dramatic finish to the game against Yale continues a hot stretch for the Hoyas, who have not lost since March 9 against Western Michigan.

“The bottom line is these guys don’t quit and they keep battling, and I’m very proud of that,” Head Coach Pete Wilk said.

As the team continues to find success on the field, Hall explained that the team is focusing on keeping its composure.

“A five-game winning streak is cool and all … but nobody’s pressing. It’s a very loose and confident atmosphere,” Hall said.

Georgetown began a four-game home series and continued its winning momentum against

Princeton (2-7) yesterday when the Hoyas defeated the Tigers in a 10-inning 4-3 win.

Sophomore shortstop Chase Bushor led the Hoyas with four hits, including a walk-off single in the tenth inning in Thursday’s win. Bushor also hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to start the scoring.

Senior pitcher Matt Smith gave up just two hits and one run in eight innings on the mound in the win. After junior pitcher David Ellingson gave up two runs in the ninth inning without recording an out, senior pitcher Tim Davis pitched two scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season.

Slugging first baseman Nick Hernandez leads the Tigers on offense. Hernandez brought a seven-game hitting streak into the series, but recorded one hit in Thursday’s game. Wilk noted before the start of the series that he will rely on the team’s starting pitching to contain Hernandez.

“It’s always nice to have Matt Smith starting us off.

It all starts with the guy on the hill. He, followed by [junior pitcher] Simon [Mathews], I don’t know a better 1-2 in the league,” Wilk said.

The Hoyas will seek to extend their six-game winning streak during this series, their last at home until April. Hall noted that the team is poised for victory entering the weekend.

“We go out expecting to win, expecting to play well. … We’re going to keep this winning streak going — we’re the better team and if we stay focused we can win this series,” Hall said.

The second game of the Georgetown-Princeton series will begin at 3 p.m. today at Shirley Povich Field in Rockville, Md.

SPORTS

friDAY, march 18, 2016

upon further review

THE HOYA

A9

track & field

Hoyas Close Indoor Season

NCAA Tourney Snubs Deserving Programs

TRACK, from A10

Joe White, junior Amos Bartelsmeyer and senior Ahmed Bile finished in 12th place overall with a time of 10:29.70.

On the second day of the meet, Coogan continued her outstanding performance, placing third overall in the women’s 3000-meter event.

Coogan went out aggressively as she challenged senior Molly Seidel of Notre Dame for the lead. However, Coogan eventually claimed third, finishing with a time of 9:07.74.

Coogan highlighted the difficulty of maintaining focus

MCLAUGHLIN, from A10

“Just look over the years. It is what it is. Again, we don’t have basketball people in that group.

The criteria, I argued with them. What is the criteria? You ready? Every member has his own criteria. What? So, is it top-50 wins? Is it road wins? Is it strength of schedule? Is it team efficiency, which should play a part in this. That means you understand basketball,” Calipari said.

Calipari hit the nail on the head. What is the biggest difference between the selection committees for the College Football Playoff and the NCAA tournament? Actual experience in the sport for which they are being tasked to evaluate teams.

The CFP committee has 13 members, 10 of whom coached or played football at the collegiate level, and three of whom are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Compare that to the NCAA selection committee, where only four of the 10 have any sort experience in college basketball.

The chairman of the CFP committee, Kirby Hocutt, was an all-conference linebacker and team captain for Kansas State in the ’80s. Joe Castiglione, the chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee, was a walk-on at the University of Maryland — for football.

The CFP selection committee boasts a variety of men and women with an array of jobs giving them different perspectives of college football, including former coaches, journalists and former players. The NCAA tournament selection committee is made up entirely of current athletic directors.

after the record-setting DMR performance. “[Director of Track and Field] Mike [Smith] told me I had to put it out of my mind because I had a race tomorrow,” Coogan said. “But that was impossible for me to do because I was so pumped. I probably slept three hours last night because I couldn’t stop replaying it in my head.

So I felt pretty tired in the 3K. Because that was a huge goal for us for four years so coming off of that and just all the emotions, the 3K was just harder. But we still ran hard and competed well.”

Keklak followed up the women’s DMR with an impressive performance of her own in the women’s invitational mile. Keklak finished in fourth place, clocking in at 4:38.44.

Like Coogan, Keklak also found it difficult to mentally recuperate coming off the DMR performance.

“Coach Mike said I was not allowed to think about the DMR on Saturday. But I think we were both a little tired. But I felt tired as Katrina probably did as well,” Keklak said. “In a weird way, it was one of the least stressful races of the weekend because in the prelim you are worried about

making the final and there is a lot of emotional energy and obviously the DMR is emotionally taxing. By the third one you have spent your nerves. It wasn’t the best I’ve felt in the mile, but coming off the relay I felt confident.”

Bile competed for the men’s team in the 3000m run. During the race, Bile tripped over the legs of another runner and fell down. This proved to be costly for Bile, as he crossed the finish line in 14th place with a time of 8:24.15.

The NCAA championship meet concluded the indoor season for both the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

men’s basketball COMMENTARY

Support for GU Slips After Season BASKETBALL, from A10

crippling injuries. Sophomore transfer forward Akoy Agau missed the entire season with a torn ACL. Sophomore forward Paul White missed all but seven games with a hip injury. Hayes missed a key stretch of games at the end of conference play with a broken hand.

Agau showed great promise in summer play and the Kenner League, showing an outside touch and a great rebounding presence. White was the team’s leading scorer off the bench last season. Hayes averaged 8.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over the season and provided muchneeded defensive presence down low.

The team, in addition to missing three key contributors for long stretches, was also the youngest team Thompson has coached in years. Smith-Rivera was the only player who had seen more than a season of significant minutes.

Still, the season was nothing short of disappointing no matter what angle or analysis it is broken down into.

“One of the hard things — it’s every year except for whoever the team is that is going to cut down the nets in a couple of weeks — is to get this point,” Thompson said of the season ending. “You realize that it’s finite. It comes to an end.”

And Thompson is right: 350 teams’ seasons come to an end short of the ultimate goal of Division I basketball — the NCAA championship. But far fewer than 350 teams end their seasons in total disappointment, falling well short of the expectations set for them at the start of

The NCAA tournament selection committee lacks crucial experience in basketball.

And the experience speaks for itself. In the very first year of the CFP, the general public thought the committee should not have chosen Ohio State to make it. The Buckeyes shocked the nation, and went on to win the national championship that year because the experts on the CFP committee saw something the rest of us did not.

Granted, we must acknowledge that the NCAA basketball tournament committee has the tougher job here. Seeding 68 teams is significantly more difficult than picking four teams for a football playoff and then four more games for the New Year’s bowls — though if that is the case, why are there more people in the CFP committee than the NCAA tournament committee?

But this does not mean we should give the tournament committee a pass when we see glaring errors that would not have been a problem if we had just used a bracket made by one of the dozens of bracketologists out there, like Joe Lunardi of ESPN. Teams like Monmouth have a chance to make the NCAA tournament once in every blue moon, and it is not fair that they should lose out on the chance of a lifetime because the people deciding their fate have less experience in the sport than the players themselves.

Jimmy McLaughlin is a sophomore in the College. Upon further review appears every other Friday.

the season.

Georgetown managed to reach as high as 35th in the rankings after an early-season top-30 ranking — 23rd in ESPN’s power rankings — gaining a couple votes in the AP poll. For a team that expected to dwell in the top 25 for the majority of the season, Georgetown hardly played to its statistical projections.

What is perhaps even more disappointing is that the Hoyas performed worse according to what is known as the “eye test.”

The team would barely cling to leads, almost losing games down the stretch due to fouling and carelessness with the ball.

Development and player growth, often times the only saving grace in losing seasons, was lackluster to say the least.

Sophomore forward Isaac Copeland and freshman center Jessie Govan moved back and forth between consistently good and consistently poor. Sophomore guard Tre Campbell exploded for a career-high 21 points against the Xavier Musketeers (27-5, 14-4 Big East) before scoring just 52 points over the next 14 games.

Only sophomore guard L.J. Peak took the leap, scoring in double figures the last 15 games of the season and remaining the team’s best on-ball defender. He also became the only player on the team to adjust to the NCAA rule changes that restrict handchecking and discourage a more physical style of defense. Peak, in most circles of pundits and fans, became Georgetown’s best player and looks to continue that role next season.

Smith-Rivera, in his swan song and much-anticipated return from the NBA, broke re-

SUDOKU

FILE PHOTO: DANIEL KREYTAK/THE HOYA

Sophomore guard L.J. Peak averaged 12.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game this season. cords and finished as the fifth all-time scorer in Georgetown history and the all-time leader in three-pointers made. But those records came at a cost. The senior guard shot the lowest percentages since his freshman season from the field, three-point line and free-throw line — all in a losing season.

Some analysts described Smith-Rivera’s record-breaking season as “a looter in a riot” — the team’s leader made out okay, but what does that even matter? Peak’s season is cast in a similar light — that is, unless he can repeat and build upon his progress next season. The team, however, has much less to build on. In fact, it will likely need to rebuild. With the departure of Smith-Rivera, Georgetown is in a

position in which it has not been in years. The team has no definitive leader to step up in SmithRivera’s absence and its coach is one of the most polarizing figures in college sports.

Though there is much uncertainty surrounding the team, one thing does remain certain: The team is losing support. Attendance numbers are lower than ever. Fox Sports 1 is hemorrhaging money as the Big East’s television network. Georgetown, after the formation of the new Big East, was supposed to be the conference’s flagship program.

But instead of sailing the flag as a national contender, Georgetown is sinking faster than ever.

Paolo Santamaria is a sophomore in the College.

Men’s Lacrosse

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always has to be accounted for all over the field so we need to be aware of where he is,” Coach Warne said.

Jones’ involvement in Duke’s offense has only improved over the course of his collegiate career. Not only does he dodge and score big goals for the Blue Devils, but he also has added a new element to his game by focusing on creating opportunities for his teammates to score and has started to appear on the assist section of the stat sheet more often.

“He’s a two-headed monster, so we’re going to make sure we do the right things. If we’re going to support the guy playing him, we have to do it correctly and make sure we limit his ability to hurt us with his

passing that has improved unbelievably,” Warne said.

Jones and Guterding are only two assets of the top-ranked Duke offense. Duke owns the fourth-ranked offense in the nation, averaging 14.1 goals per game. In comparison, the Hoyas average 8.5 goals per game.

The Hoyas’ defense will be on its toes all game and must be ready to help each other out to slow down the Blue Devils’ juggernaut offense.

“It’s going to take a team effort [on defense] and it’s not going to be just one guy. It’s going to be all of us playing together defensively as a team,” Bucci said.

Warne recalled last year’s meeting between the two teams, when Georgetown battled hard throughout the whole game and fell 15-13.

Warne wants his defense to re-

member that it is capable of competing with high-caliber teams. “[The defense] needs to take it upon themselves and have a lot of pride. It’s a team we played last year and [we] lost by two goals, and I think we are very capable of playing well. Whether its communication, sticking to our fundamentals, or doing the little things that will help us in the big picture over the two hours that we play on Saturday,” Warne said.

According to Bucci, the key to beating Duke is simple. “[We need to] just play our game. Nothing is going to be special. We’re going to go out there, stay together, play for each other, and play good lacrosse,” Bucci said.

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The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team has won one game so far in its 2016 campaign against thenNo. 8 Hofstra. Two of the Hoyas’ five losses have been against ranked teams.

SPORTS

Women’s Lacrosse Georgetown (2-5) vs. Johns Hopkins (6-3) Saturday, 1 p.m.

Cooper Field

FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016

TALKING POINTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

“

Georgetown fell 57-55 to Rutgers in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night.

See thehoya.com

NUMBERS GAME

We’re going to go out there, stay together [and] play for each other.”

MIDFIELDER JOE BUCCI

MEN’S LACROSSE

TRACK & FIELD

GU Continues Tough Schedule SEAN HOFFMAN Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (1-5) will travel south to Durham, N.C. this Saturday to take on the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils (5-3). The Hoyas lost both of their games last week, including a one-goal loss to the Hobart Statesmen (4-3).

The start to the Hoyas’ season has been a tough one. Three of Georgetown’s first five opponents were ranked in the top 20, including the No. 1 team when No. 2 Notre Dame (4-1) sat atop the rankings in Georgetown’s season opener.

Graduate student midfielder and captain Joe Bucci said the team remains confident in weeks leading up to a tough opponent. “[Staying confident] is about refo-

ings after back-to-back losses to the No. 14 Harvard Crimson (4-2) and the No. 18 Richmond Spiders (6-1) earlier in the season. In their most recent contest, the Blue Devils defeated the No. 13 Loyola Greyhounds (4-2) in a decisive 15-6 victory.

Duke has a fire-powered offense, led by senior midfielder Myles Jones and sophomore attack Justin Guterding. Jones, who was the first overall pick in the 2016 Major League Lacrosse draft, has 31 points this season. A young talent on an experienced Duke offense, Guterding leads the team in goals with 20.

The Georgetown defense has a tough task ahead of them to shut down Duke’s top players. “[Jones is] a talented player. He

cusing and focusing more on ourselves. We have to remember that lacrosse is fun, and once we do that and enjoy time with each other, that’s how we stay confident and find our groove again,” Bucci said.

Head Coach Kevin Warne said he looks at the upcoming game against Duke as an opportunity to prepare Georgetown for the upcoming Big East play.

“When you play college lacrosse, you know Duke has had a ton of success the past decade and we want to play the best we can team-wise, and there have been other top teams in the country in the past that have been a great gauge for us as we head into conference play in a couple of weeks,” Warne said.

The Blue Devils, who started the season ranked No. 3, fell in the rank-

See DUKE, A9

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The place the women’s track team finished in the DMR at the NCAA championships.

COURTESY GEORGETOWN SPORTS INFORMATION

The women’s track and field team finished first in the distance medley relay at the NCAA championships with a time of 10:57.21.

Women’s Squad Shines at NCAAs DANIEL BALDWIN Hoya Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO: ELIZA MINEAUX/THE HOYA

Graduate student midfielder and captain Joe Bucci was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll this week for his recent accomplishments — scoring seven goals and tallying an assist in two games.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

The No. 23 Georgetown men’s and No. 11 Georgetown women’s indoor track and field teams each competed at the NCAA championships in Birmingham, Ala. last weekend. The women captured 21 points and secured ninth place overall at the meet, and the men fell short of placing in the top 10.

The Hoyas were led by the relay of graduate student Andrea Keklak, senior Heather Martin, junior Emma Keenan and graduate student Katrina Coogan in a historic performance in the women’s distance medley relay. The foursome captured Georgetown’s third national championship in the event in program history

with a time of 10:57.21, the ninth fastest time in NCAA history.

“That was one of those moments you wait your entire collegiate career for,” Keklak said.

“I think that night we were all ready. It wasn’t like one person had an amazing leg. Everyone went out there, was calm, was confident and did their job. At those meets, I think that’s 90 percent of what you have to do and it’s easy to lose confidence at that moment. I don’t know, before the relay we all got inside a huddle and looked at each other and smiled. We were ready. I’ll never forget that.”

The men’s distance medley relay team, consisting of senior Michael Lederhouse, sophomore See TRACK, A9

MEN’S BASKETBALL COMMENTARY

Hoyas’ High Expectations Flounder PAOLO SANTAMARIA Hoya Staff Writer

Jimmy McLaughlin

Selection Committee Falls Short H

ow is it that in just two years of having its own playoff selection committee, college football has already shown that it is incredibly more adept at ranking its teams at year-end than the NCAA basketball selection committee? College basketball has been picking teams for its March Madness tournament since 1939 and for some reason still does not seem to have a clue what it is doing.

Aside from the brutal snubs the NCAA tournament committee dished out to several teams this year — Monmouth, your bench will be missed — the seeding of the teams that are actually in the tournament is puzzling to say the least. There is no reason that Oregon should be a one-seed over Michigan State — the Spartans’ only loss since mid-January was to the 10th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, whereas Oregon has three losses to teams ranked 100 or worse this season. It is inexplicable why the overall No. 1-seed Kansas is in a region stacked with the Villanova Wildcats, Miami Hurricanes, California Golden Bears and Maryland Terrapins. And why are the No. 1 overall Jayhawks not seeded in the region closest to them?

Perhaps no one expressed anguish at the committee’s job this year better than University of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari. After learning his SEC-champion Wildcats had been seeded lower than the Texas A&M team they had beat just hours earlier, Calipari went on an impressive rant on live television: See MCLAUGHLIN, A9

Voices echoed down hallways and balls bounced in the background in McDonough Arena.

It was Media Day in October, and the outlook for the Georgetown men’s basketball season was strong.

“As many players as we have returning and with the group we have, I think we’re better than people perceive us to be.

And we just got to go and prove that,” senior guard and co-captain D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera said of the team’s potential at the beginning of the season.

“I’m not really going to say too much of what we can do, but you’ll see when the games come around and the teams that we play.”

Now with the NCAA tournament just starting, as well as the National Invitational Tournament, the Hoyas’ season is over. They won just one game in the Big East tournament, finishing 15-18 on the season and 7-11 in conference play.

Seniors Smith-Rivera, center and co-captain Bradley Hayes and guard Riyan Williams have played their last games in Georgetown uniforms.

“You feel bad as a coach — as much as you want the big-picture look, okay, how the season went, is the season over, is it not over?” Head Coach John Thompson III said after the Hoyas lost to Villanova (29-5, 16-2 Big East) in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. “You just wish it could end different for these guys because of all they’ve given to me and to Georgetown.”

The season relative to preseason expectations was a failure. Pundits and fans expected Georgetown to be a top-25 team and to finish in second in the Big East standings. It finished

FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

Senior guard and co-captain D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera finished his senior season with a teamhigh 16.2 points per game, 4.5 assists per game and 3.6 rebounds per game. eighth.

The Hoyas had two major problems: fouling and turnovers.

Of the 351 teams in Division I, the Blue and Gray had the 345th worst fouling rate in the entire country. They ranked 244th in turnover rate, turning over the ball on offense over 19 percent of the time.

Many pundits and fans con-

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sider Thompson to be in the hot seat. Social media now clamors for his firing. But Thompson offers something Georgetown cannot easily replace on the coaching market — stability.

His recruiting pipeline and the influence he has in the D.C., Northern Virginia and greater Maryland area is matched by few. While the Hoyas’ lack of a true point guard this

season hurt their ball control skills, Thompson has recruited guards for the next two classes and offered scholarships to even more, including Keldon Johnson, the younger brother of freshman guard/forward Kaleb Johnson.

Furthermore, the season and the team saw its share of See BASKETBALL, A9