The Hoya: October 6, 2017

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 99, No. 6, © 2017

friday, october 6, 2017

THE CRAFT OF FILM

“Lady-Like,” the directorial debut of Brent Craft (COL ’08) is set to premiere this month.

EDITORIAL The redesigned O’Donovan Hall fails to be a quick and convenient option for students.

B2, B3

NEW GUSA SENATE Twenty-nine new senators were sworn in Sunday as bureaucratic tensions brew.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A5

2017 Crime Report Sees Uptick in Burglary, Fondling Incidents Sarah Wright Hoya Staff Writer

ALI ENRIGHT FOR THE HOYA

Kehoe Field, which closed in February 2016 due to safety concerns, is set to undergo reconstruction after the university’s board of directors approved a design study plan yesterday. The renovation is slated for a 2019 completion.

University to Reconstruct Kehoe Field Following Board Approval Jeff Cirillo

Hoya Staff Writer

The university is set to construct a temporary replacement for Kehoe Field after the board of directors approved a design study plan yesterday. The announcement follows nearly two years of lobbying from student leaders to renovate the field, which sits atop Yates Field House. Kehoe was closed in February 2016 after club sports teams and university officials raised concerns over safety. Club athletes had complained

about uneven playing surfaces, exposed concrete and large sections of torn-up artificial turf. The decision also represents a stark reversal from board members, who in June rejected proposals for a short-term fix until the university could construct a permanent replacement, according to Ricardo Mondolfi (SFS ’19), the Georgetown University Student Association representative to the board. University officials gave student representatives a “definitive no” on a temporary replacement at a June board meeting, Mondolfi said.

Board members concluded that the short-term replacement, expected to last 10 years, would not be worth its multi-million dollar cost. Instead, the board expected to leave Kehoe shuttered for at least the next decade until Yates is ultimately demolished and entirely replaced by 2036. Officials hope the renovation project will be completed by the spring or summer of 2019 and cost about $5 to $10 million, according to Mondolfi. The new renovations are See KEHOE, A6

Reported cases of fondling on Georgetown’s main campus increased threefold from four in 2015 to 12 in 2016 and reported burglary cases increased from 31 in 2015 to 47 in 2016, according to the 2017 Annual Security Report released Sept. 29 by the Georgetown University Police Department. In addition, three arsons were reported on campus in 2016. Until then, no arsons had been reported since 2012. Disciplinary referrals for alcohol increased by 28 percent, or 63 incidents, from 2015 to 2016. The report, published each year in early October, provides crime statistics from the previous three years and offers information and resources on crime prevention for each of Georgetown University’s six campuses in Washington, D.C., Qatar, Italy and the United Kingdom. According to GUPD Chief Jay Gruber, crime rates at Georgetown tend to stay consistently low overall — most year-to-year changes are not statistically significant. “The good thing about Georgetown is crimes are very, very low,” Gruber said. “It’s difficult to see trends or any statistically significant increases or decreases at this point in time.” Gruber said that the increased number of reported fondling crimes might not reflect an increase in crime, but rather an increase in reporting due to expanded sexual as-

sault awareness on campus. “Because of all of the work that has been done by the Title IX office and by the sexual assault task force based on the recommendations, there may be an increase in reporting by survivors of sexual assault,” Gruber said.

“One of our most important goals is making sure that there’s increased reporting because a lot of the time, these incidents go unreported.” KAMAR MACK (COL ’19) President, Georgetown University Student Association

Georgetown University Student Association President Kamar Mack (COL ’19) said that GUSA is working to encourage students to report crimes to GUPD. “One of our most important goals is making sure that there’s increased reporting because a lot of the time, these incidents go unreported,” Mack said. Mack also said that GUSA is working both in the short and long term to improve student safety on campus, citing the university’s LiveSafe app as the most useful safety resource for students. See CRIME, A6

Georgetown to Avoid GUPD, MPD Investigate Hate Crimes Private Prison Investments Police increase patrols, install security cameras in LXR Jeff Cirillo

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown will continue its practice of not investing in private prison companies in keeping with the university’s Socially Responsible Investing Policy, the university announced yesterday. The board’s Committee on Finance and Administration, which oversees the university’s management of financial resources, accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility, announced in March, for the university to avoid investments in private prison companies. CISR makes recommendations to the board on ethical investment policies and consists of 12 members, including faculty, administrators and three students. The university will “encourage” its external investment managers to “avoid investing in the companies,” according to a university news release Thursday, which said the decision continues an existing practice. The decision follows the board’s approval of a broad SRI policy in June, which established a general ethical framework for the university’s investment policy. The guidelines broadly require the university to consider the social and environmental impact of companies in which it invests. Though the SRI Policy requires the university to make “reasonable efforts” toward these goals, it did not strictly require any new divestments, nor did it mandate any policies that would compromise the university’s financial interests. Investments discouraged under the policy include

featured

Isabelle Groenewegen

companies involved in providing abortion services, as well as companies deemed to violate “human dignity.” The recommendation that the university establish a policy of “no direct investment” in private prisons passed in March by a majority vote of the CISR. The recommendation followed a divestment proposal submitted in January by three students: Eman Abdelfadeel (COL ’17), Sophie Bauerschmidt Sweeney (COL ’17) and Salma Khamis (SFS ’17). The students’ proposal advocated divestment from “all private prison companies and companies that sustain private prisons,” as well as divestment from “companies that knowingly and consistently enable and profit” from the “violent Israeli occupation of Palestine.” CISR adopted a narrower version of the students’ proposal on private prisons, recommending divestment from private prison companies themselves but excluding any judgment on investing in any other companies that are themselves invested in private prisons. “The Committee determined it is inconsistent with Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit values to hold investments in companies that profit from the incarceration of human beings,” a CISR memo announcing the recommendation read. While partially supporting the students’ petition on private prisons, the CISR rejected divestment from Israel, citing Georgetown community members’ “many different perspectives” on how to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and doubts that the university’s divestment would be an “effective tactic” to end hostilities.

Hoya Staff Writer

ALI ENRIGHT FOR THE HOYA

The Georgetown University Police Department is continuing its investigation of anti-Semitic graffiti found in LXR Hall last month.

The Georgetown University Police Department is narrowing a list of potential suspects in its investigation of incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti and threatening messages directed at women in LXR Hall last month. GUPD installed security cameras and established 24-hour patrols on the second floor of LXR Hall while it continues its investigation with Metropolitan Police Department officers and forensic scientists of the incidents reported in the floor’s bathrooms in September. GUPD has also cut a lock for restroom use on the floor and assigned officers to question students on the floor for information, according to GUPD Chief Jay Gruber. “We are conducting an aggressive investigation into these hate crimes. Our detectives are focused on these crimes,” Gruber wrote in an email to The Hoya. Since the beginning of September, seven incidents of vandalism with graffiti depicting swastikas have been reported to the GUPD; four of them were found in LXR. The university stopped notifying the university community of the incidents by email after the incident Sept. 20 in an effort to avoid directing undue attention to the acts, according to a university spokesperson. The university has continued to send emails to East Campus residents only. See investigation, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Hoyas for Others Hoyas unite to raise funds for Puerto Rico disaster relief after Hurricane Maria. A5

The Unexpected Path Low-income, first-generation students often face uniquely challenging journeys to the Hilltop. A3

Soccer Showdown The No. 12-ranked men’s soccer team and No. 15 Butler square off in Big East Showdown. A12

NEWS King Speaks

opinion Cut the Catcalls

SPORTS Tie Breaks Streak

Former Secretary of Education John King Jr. advocated for diverse public schools Tuesday. A7 Published Fridays

Productive dialogue about sex positivity and consent are vital to stopping catcalling. A3

The women’s soccer team snapped its seven-game shutout streak as Hoyas tie Blue Jays 1-1. A12 Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com


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