The Hoya: March 6, 2015

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 96, No. 39, © 2015

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

FASHION ISSUE

This semester, trade in Georgetown’s classic prep for a more diverse ensemble.

SENIOR DAY Men’s basketball will honor its seniors in its final home game.

EDITORIAL Netanyahu’s U.S. visit is more showmanship than substance.

SPECIAL ISSUE

SPORTS, A10

OPINION, A2

GSC Claims Aramark Intrusion Toby Hung

Hoya Staff Writer

Thirty students from the Georgetown Solidarity Committee participated in a rally at the Georgetown University Hotel and Convention Center on Thursday,

in light of recent allegations that members of Aramark’s management have interfered with the hotel workers’ rights to association.

The students marched from Sellinger Lounge to the front desk of the hotel, where a delegation from the committee read a letter

FILE PHOTO: DAN GANNON/THE HOYA

This is the second protest against Aramark in 30 days, after another for better wage conditions for unionized workers Feb. 18.

Bill Focuses OnCampus Assault

to the management staff addressing the allegations, warning that they would notify the university administration and police if such violations continue.

According to GSC member Chris Wager (SFS ’17), committee members met with workers at the hotel over the past several days to discuss the process of unionizing under UNITE HERE, the same labor union that workers at Leo’s, Cosi and Starbucks joined in 2011. Managers of the hotel, which is operated by Aramark, allegedly surveilled the conversations and warned the workers against meeting with the committee at a captive audience meeting Thursday. “[Workers’ freedom to association] was violated by Aramark managers at the hotel, who surveilled hotel workers while they were having conversations with Georgetown students,” Wager said. “They followed the workers out into the parking lot while they were having conversations, they listened to the conversations, they watched the conversations, all of

FILE PHOTO: DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA

Adjunct professor Ron Klain, pictured in Gaston Hall in November 2013, ended his term as “Ebola czar” on Feb. 13. He will return to Georgetown.

After 130 Days, Klain Ends Ebola Czar Term

See HOTEL, A7

Q&A With Eric Holder

Kelsey Quackenbush

the source in West Africa and to fortify our preparedness here at home.”

The outbreak, which began in 2014, Adjunct professor Ron Klain (CAS ’83) was the first Ebola crisis to reach epiconcluded his 130-day appointment as demic levels. The World Health Organithe White House’s Ebola response co- zation, as of March 4, has reported over ordinator Feb. 13, having directed the 24,000 confirmed, probable and suspectUnited States’ reaction to the outbreak ed cases of Ebola around the world, with both domestically and internationally. more than 9,800 deaths. Over 23,900 Klain, who was apcases and all but 15 pointed by President “I have known him to deaths occurred in Barack Obama as a Guinea, Liberia and special government be nothing less than Sierra Leone. employee on Oct. 17, was appointan effective, dedicated edKlain midway through his to his position fall-semester course, and tireless manager after four confirmed was colloquially cases of Ebola apknown as the “Ebola and leader.” peared in the United czar.” After leaving the States in the last BARACK OBAMA government position, week of September U.S. President he returned to investand the first three ment firm Revolution LLC, where he weeks of October. serves as general counsel, and will reOf the four cases in the United States, sume teaching at Georgetown in the fall. one patient died Oct. 8, while the other Obama praised Klain’s leadership three were declared Ebola-free by the over the past five months. first week of November. Klain said he “I chose Ron for a reason: I have was never concerned about the outbreak known him to be nothing less than an of a full Ebola epidemic in the United effective, dedicated, and tireless man- States, focusing instead on improving faager and leader,” Obama said in a Feb. cilities across the country to handle the 12 statement. “And those traits have magnitude of such diseases. been on full display since October, as “We’re very fortunate in America to Ron has helped marshal our whole-ofgovernment approach to tackle Ebola at See RESPONSE, A6

Special to The Hoya

Ashwin Puri Hoya Staff Writer

“This act will hold schools accountable to Title IX and also pursue legitimate culture change.”

LAURA KOVACH Women’s Center Director

rent incentives of a broken system to provide real accountability and transparency from higher education institutions,” according to a joint press release from all 12 senators.

An enhanced version of an earlier bill proposed in July 2014, the legislation was formed with input from sexual assault survivors, college students, university faculty, law enforcement and sexual violence reform advocates nationwide. The Senate Subcommittee on Financing and Contracting Oversight, chaired by McCaskill, distributed a survey to over 350 public and private colleges and universities in April 2014 in an attempt to discern the current state of sexual assault response on college campuses.

The bill serves to make universities more accountable by enforcing stiffer penalties for violations of Title IX, a 1972 educational amendment that aims to prevent sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving federal funding.

Georgetown University Women’s See SENATE, A6

COURTESY ERIC HOLDER

Lucy Pash

Hoya Staff Writer

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation in September after six years, during which time Holder presided over the response to the 2008 financial crisis, the War on Terror and, most recently, the national furor over race relations in the criminal justice system. In an interview with The Hoya, Holder, the first black Attorney General, reflected on his time in the Cabinet.

See HOLDER, A4

Despite Policy, Abroad Apps Rise Deirdre Collins & Sarah Fisher Hoya Staff Writers

The Office of Global Education received a slightly higher number of study abroad applications for fall 2015 and the full academic year, marking an upward trend in applications since 2011.

The OGE has 499 active study abroad applications for fall 2015 and the full year, and applicants must accept their nominations to study abroad by March 18. Students applied to fall and full-year study abroad programs by Feb. 10 and were notified of their acceptances by Feb. 27. Students studying abroad in this class make up around 30 percent of the total class.

In fall 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011, 444, 411, 370 and 377 students studied abroad, respectively.

In the spring semester, the numbers are significantly lower, with 219 applicants for spring 2015, 270 for spring 2014, 230 for spring 2013 and 304 for spring 2012.

This upward trend comes as students express distaste for a housing policy instituted in February 2014 for the Class of 2017, forbidding students from participating in the

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

400 400

444

411

377 300 300

370 304

270 230

200 200

219

100 100 00

FEATURED

STUDY ABROAD NUMBERS

500 500

Number of Applications

A bipartisan coalition of 12 U.S. senators led by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced legislation Feb. 26 to reform the way colleges and universities nationwide handle sexual violence on campus, emphasizing the protection and rights of both survivors and students accused of sexual assault.

The proposed bill, titled the Campus Safety and Accountability Act, increases penalties for universities in violation of Title IX, establishes new resources for survivors, adds transparency to disciplinary procedures and mandates campus climate surveys to assess further action.

As the culmination of the efforts of six Democratic and six Republican senators to reform sexual assault response at institutions of higher education, the bill aims to “flip the cur-

F ’11 S ’12 F ’12 S ’13 F ’13 S ’14 F ’14 S ’15 Application Period

spring housing lottery if they are studying abroad in the fall.

Upon return, students who study abroad in the fall will be assigned a random roommate or fill the space of a student studying abroad in the spring through a direct swap, and are not guaranteed to receive specific or desired housing on campus.

This policy change was previous scheduled to go into effect for the Class of 2016, but a February 2014 Published Tuesdays and Fridays

student petition called “Students Against Restrictive Housing Policy,” headed by Will Simons (COL ’16) gained over 500 signatures and caused the housing office to delay the implementation of the policy by one year. Students in the Class of 2016 will also receive priority in housing selections after a separate policy shift last February gave priority to rising seniors over rising

sports Back to .500

Men’s lacrosse beat Hofstra and Mount St. Mary’s this past week to raise its record to 2-2.

A10

NEWS Nuclear Threats

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and former Sen. Sam Nunn spoke to The Hoya in an exclusive.

A5

NEWS “Happy Birthday!”

GU celebrated the 200th anniversary of its federal charter, to warm wishes.

A5

See HOUSING, A6 Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, March 6, 2015

THE VERDICT

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Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIALS

Avoid Empty Rhetoric Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress on Tuesday was nothing if not controversial. Both the timing of his arrival and the content of his address polarized groups on Georgetown’s campus and across the nation. It is important, however, to take the claims and justifications of both sides of this argument with a few grains of salt.

Departing from convention by inviting a foreign leader to speak in front of Congress rather than waiting for the president to extend an invitation, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) called the bipartisan unity of the American government into question.

Critics of the speech noted its close proximity to the Israeli legislative elections, raising concerns over Netanyahu’s visit being more about his re-election than any substantive apprehensions about Iran.

Although it is certainly valid that the timing of the speech seems questionable, this does not make Netanyahu’s message any less significant: It is important to note that Iran, if allowed to continue its nuclear program with a relatively early breakout period and diminished sanctions, could become an incredibly dangerous force.

While Iran’s government maintains that it desires nuclear capabilities only for the purposes of producing power and advancing medical pursuits, its recent actions would seem to contradict its declarations of peace.

Less than two weeks ago, in the midst of negotiations focusing on the question of whether to lift sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, a branch of the Iranian military destroyed a life-size model of a United States aircraft carrier during a training exercise off the coast of Larak Island in the Persian Gulf. The message this sort of demonstration sends is not one of peace, but one of

defiance, or worse — one of intimidation.

All this controversy surrounding Netanyahu’s speech occurs in the midst of the Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine’s Israel Apartheid Week, an annual event protesting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — yet another divisive issue. There are strong opinions and tensions on both sides as to whether the connotations associated with apartheid are being fairly applied by the pro-Palestine organization.

Moreover, the recent GUSA campaign season witnessed controversy over a petition created by the Georgetown Israel Alliance, in which a pre-emptive commitment to end Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions was included. After a dance of endorsements and retractions by several campaigns, the petition was reworded to best encourage free speech and dialogue on the contentious nature of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Clearly, the BDS movement and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally are relevant points of discussion even on college campuses like ours. An education on the international context is essential to make dialogue at our university more fruitful.

As an internationally conscious student body, we should consider it our responsibility to educate ourselves on these topics, so that we may contribute to constructive dialogue, rather than spout someone else’s half-remembered opinions on the subject.

We must also be mindful of the rhetoric that we use in fostering this dialogue, because too often is the true situation distorted by the misuse of language, whether on campus or in national leaders’ speeches. If we do so, we can usher in a new paradigm of understanding — and perhaps greater hope for peaceful resolution.

RSVP to Reflection

Last week, a group of students launched a dinner party too cool for your parents. Dinner With 7 Strangers aims to provide a forum in which seven randomly selected members of the Georgetown community can share a meal and conversation.

Combining things students love — free food and meeting new people — and presented within an attractive online platform, Dinner With 7 Strangers is an intriguing concept, made more so by the program’s anonymous coordinators. It serves as a chance to step away from the usual clubs in which we can name every member’s school and year and friend groups where we know each other’s stories by heart, and willingly place ourselves in a room full of strangers — something many of us likely have not done since New Student Orientation.

Yet the new program speaks to something much larger, a pushback against the exclusivity and applications that

so often dominate our experiences on campus. Perhaps the DW7S website says it best: “We understand that Georgetown and its organizations can’t accept every person that applies. But truth be told, we believe any Hoya should have a standing invitation to dinner.”

With DW7S, students choose to take time out of their day to be with one another; it is the recognition that no matter where one is in their Georgetown career, there is always someone new to meet and conversation to be had. Because the supper club is not affiliated with any on-campus programming, the conversation can go in any direction and develop organically according to the interests of each respective dinner party.

While the idea of dining with seven strangers may seem daunting, we urge students to take advantage of this opportunity and look forward to seeing how it develops in the months and years to come.

Tread Warily, Ice Ahead The arrival of March and impending start of spring break normally suggests that a changing of the seasons is in the air.

However, fickle Mother Nature does not seem to agree. Yesterday’s snow day, in spite of the warm welcome with which it was met by students, highlights an important issue: The weather is still poor and often dangerous, and we need to account for that fact.

Icy sidewalks have been an impediment to normal campus life for weeks and have transformed normal activities — like walking to class — into perilous treks, often jeopardizing student’s personal safety.

This becomes especially clear when walking through residential neighborhoods surrounding Georgetown, which fall not under the responsibility of the Office of Facilities, but the residents

Carolyn Maguire, Executive Editor Alexander Brown, Managing Editor Jess Kelham-Hohler, Online Editor Katherine Richardson, Campus News Editor Kshithij Shrinath, City News Editor Kara Avanceña, Sports Editor Hannah Kaufman, Guide Editor Jinwoo Chong, Opinion Editor Daniel Smith, Photography Editor Shannon Hou, Layout Editor Zack Saravay, Copy Chief Emily Min, Blog Editor Molly Simio, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Jinwoo Chong, Chair

Madison Ashley, Kit Clemente, Francisco Collantes, Ed Crotty, Johnny Verhovek

themselves.

The university has done an admirable job in keeping the pathways on campus clear; however, the sidewalks that surround the campus in adjacent neighborhoods have not received the same sort of treatment, despite the fact that students use them almost as frequently. Ice remains on Prospect Street and much of the residential sidewalks in on 37th and 36th streets, as well as in Burleith.

Those who live in the neighborhood need to adopt the same sort of vigilance in handling this problem as the university and strive to keep the sidewalks clear, both this year and in the future.

Doing so will help tremendously in making the Hilltop a place where all students can feel safe at all times during the year, and help make a long, cold winter like this one a lot more bearable.

Total Recall — The new marijuana law in D.C. means that if police seize your marijuana based on suspicion of it being over the legal limit of 2 ounces or that you are underage, you may demand it back if you prove innocence.

Allergic to Fun — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s recent appeal to the U.S. Capitol Police Board to waive the sledding ban on Capitol grounds was rejected, inciting anger from D.C. families and children.

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House of Sharks — The cast of “Sharknado 3” has recently been announced with billionare and star of the show “Shark Tank” Mark Cuban and conservative TV host Ann Coulter playing president and vice president, respectively.

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Freedom — With a snow day on Thursday, spring break for many started on a bit of a chilly note, but was nevertheless welcome on campus after a hard midterm season.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Redefine Opportunity Dear Editor, I write on behalf of my fellow Aramark workers at Georgetown University, in response to Mallory Carr’s article “Increase Opportunity, Not Wages” published in the Hoya on February 25th.

Increasing wages does in fact provide opportunity in the most direct and tangible way: the opportunity for survival.

You read that right: survival.

With the cost of living skyrocketing, in many situations one must choose: Do I pay for health in-

surance or do I pay rent? Do I buy food or do I pay rent and leave the refrigerator empty until my next paycheck? As long as we are treated as second-class, we are forced to make such choices.

My goal is to go to college and study history. Instead, at 23 years old, I live with my family and help them pay bills. Not only is it impossible to save, I am in debt from paying for necessities. This contract is the only feasible way for me to save money for the future that I want.

Joshua Armstead Employee, Leo O’Donovan Hall

Weighing Censorship and Sensitivity Dear Editor, Regarding campus reaction to the Voice’s nowretracted beating-a-dead-horse cartoon, I point out that a sizable portion of the Georgetown community has mistaken poor editorial judgment and a lapse in good taste for a malicious and intentional attack on women and minorities. In so doing, it has replaced these transgressions with the far worse ones of censorship and character attack.

This should be a teachable moment for students, rather than an escalation of fears and passions.

If an author or illustrator decides to stand behind his or her published work no longer, that’s a difficult decision he or she must come to on their own.

He or she should not be terrorized, threatened, or

This week on

otherwise coerced into submission. As citizens and academics, we should be far more concerned about censorship than sensitivity. We should also have the courage and consistency to defend the right to air unpopular and even insensitive viewpoints in our own newspapers — not just those in, say, France or Holland, comfortably removed from us by an ocean.

I understand that the pain of seeing something offensive in one’s own university media is very real and palpable, but that trauma will pass. The precedent of not only censoring a peer, but of publicly and ritualistically shaming and humiliating him is far more dangerous and insidious.

Lou Caravella (COL ’03) Former cartoonist at The Hoya

[ CHATTER ]

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

Emily Paragamian (SFS ’16) examines a unique perspective on deadlines and watching them pass:

“

While many Israeli Arabs still face discrimination in Israel, these rights would not be afforded to the black community in the case of South African apartheid. While I recognize that Israeli democracy is flawed and that the occupation of the West Bank is unacceptable, Israel has not annexed the region. This context fundamentally differentiates the occupation from the conditions of apartheid. The injustices perpetrated in the West Bank are the result of an enduring conflict over land.”

Duy Mai (SFS ’18) reflects on the importance of the gun control debate: Despite the revived debate on guns, no concrete actions have manifested. In the past two years since Sandy Hook, there have been 98 more incidents across America in which a firearm is discharged inside a school or institutions of learning. The sensational, short-sighted and polarized politics prevent any concrete and unified response to the incident.

Tragic as it might have been, the shooting was not seen as a tipping point in the ongoing gun debate. Instead, the horrendous shooting is now only a statistic, a could-have-been-pivotal event, something that is only visible through the rear mirror.”

“

Find this and more at

thehoya.com/chatter Corrections

A previous version of “The Teacher’s Work” (The Hoya, A3, March 3) stated that Teach for America Corps member Justin Pinn was a 2012 graduate of Georgetown. He graduated in 2013.

Mallika Sen, Editor-in-Chief

Brian Carden, General Manager

Toby Hung Deputy Campus News Editor Andrew Wallender Deputy Campus News Editor Kristen Fedor Deputy City News Editor Elizabeth Cavacos Deputy Sports Editor Tyler Park Deputy Sports Editor Andrew May Sports Blog Editor Michael Fiedorowicz Deputy Guide Editor Gianna Pisano Deputy Guide Edtior Daniel Almeida Deputy Opinion Editor Parth Shah Deputy Opinion Editor Sarah Kim Opinion Blog Editor Isabel Binamira Deputy Photography Editor Dan Gannon Deputy Photography Editor Julia Hennrikus Deputy Photography Editor Cleo Fan Deputy Layout Editor Elana Richmond Deputy Layout Editor Matthew Trunko Deputy Layout Editor Katherine Cienkus Deputy Copy Editor Becca Saltzman Deputy Copy Editor Gabi Hasson Deputy Copy Editor Courtney Klein Deputy Blog Editor Reza Baghaee Deputy Multimedia Editor

Jason Yoffe, Director of Accounting Brenna Muldrow, Director of Corporate Development Genie Douglass, Director of Marketing Ellen Zamsky, Director of Human Resources Lena Duffield, Director of Sales Matthew De Silva, Director of Technology Laura Tonnessen Monika Patel Sean Choksi Kevin Wilson Joseph Scudiero Tessa Guiv Kristen Chapey Natalia Vasquez Caroline Gelinne Sarah Hannigan Gregory Saydah William Lowery Casandra Schwartz Zoe Park

National Accounts Manager Local Accounts Manager Accounts Manager Treasury Manager Operations Manager Alumni Relations Manager Market Research Manager Public Relations Manager Personnel Manager Organizational Development Manager Local Advertisements Manager National Advertisements Manager Systems Manager Web Manager

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Sam Abrams, Katy Berk, Zoe Bertrand, David Chardack, Nick DeLessio, Robert DePaolo, Ben Germano, TM Gibbons-Neff, Michal Grabias, Chris Grivas, Allie Hillsbery, Emma Hinchliffe, Emma Holland, Penny Hung, Nicole Jarvis, Sheena Karkal, Hanaa Khadraoui, Natasha Khan, Lindsay Lee, Charlie Lowe, Hunter Main, Jackie McCadden, Suzanne Monyak, KP Pielmeier, Eitan Sayag, Katherine Seder, Sharanya Sriram, Sean Sullivan, Natasha Thomson, Kevin Tian, Laura Wagner, Emory Wellman, Christina Wing, Michelle Xu, Janet Zhu

Board of Directors

Sheena Karkal, Chair

Brian Carden, David Chardack, Lindsay Lee, Mallika Sen, Zach Singer, Laura Wagner Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

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

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya. com.

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

Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Carolyn Maguire at (908) 447-1445 or email executive@thehoya.com.

News Tips Campus News Editor Katherine Richardson: Call (310) 429-1440 or email campus@thehoya. com.

City News Editor Kshithij Shrinath: Call (408) 444-1699 or email city@thehoya.com.

Sports Editor Kara Avanceña: Call (510) 8613922 or email sports@thehoya.com.

General Information The Hoya is published twice each week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University.

Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya.

Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board.

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The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2015. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each.

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OPINION

friDAY, March 6, 2015

The Century Cap

Nikita Deshpande

DNA: An Invaluable Resource I

t is quite alarming to realize that all humans originated in Africa around 60,000 years ago. In a world where humans are often segregated according to continent and country, it is difficult to conceptualize such commonality of origin.

The reason we are scattered across various regions can be traced back to when our ancestors left the African continent long ago and dispersed throughout the globe: Some occupied the Fertile Crescent, some discovered the dramatic vistas of the Andes Mountains, while others preferred the thrill of a nomadic lifestyle. Understanding how humans came to populate Earth fascinates me and prompted me to discover National Geographic’s Genographic Project.

The initiative collects DNA samples from simple cheek cell swabs in order to inform individuals of their ancestral migration path from Africa. A laboratory identifies genetic markers on mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to child, in order to reveal maternal ancestry. The lab also examines markers on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, in order to reveal paternal ancestry. This information helps reconstruct our ancestors’ trekking routes out of Africa.

Time and time again, the power of DNA surprises me. That we can obtain so much information from a string of nucleotides is astounding. Yet, it is crucial that we understand the potential dangers of distributing our bodily blueprints to society in this modern age.

We are at the crossroads of DNA technology, and we must think about whether we want to hand over our personal information to those that could use our sequences against us.

23andMe, a genomics and biotechnology company based in California, offers a genetesting kit that allows customers to send in a sample of their DNA in order to receive a personalized description of certain diseases for which they are at risk. Although these tools are certainly an interesting way of exploring DNA, there are greater dangers at hand. 23andMe is a commercial enterprise.

Currently, the company has analyzed over 500,000 individuals’ DNA; this means it has the genome sequences of half a million people and can do what it pleases with the information.

Once you hand your DNA sequence to the company, you lose your right to privacy.

23andMe reserves the right to share customers’ genomes with third parties. Recently, the company has expressed an interest in using the sequences for medical research purposes.

However, the company could potentially sell the sequences to the pharmaceutical or insurance industries; these sectors would want to use our DNA to develop more lucrative policies and products.

Once our DNA falls into the hands of the commercial industry, all vestiges of privacy are shattered. The sequences will be stored indefinitely on online databases — at risk of falling into the hands of hackers. As more individuals begin to share their genomes, everyone is at risk because it only takes a few relatives’ DNA to intuit another relative’s sequence. The most dangerous aspect of companies having access to our DNA is that we no longer have control over our deepest, most personal information; our sequences could be used against our interests.

23andMe is not the only company constructing an aggregate DNA database; Roots for Real, Sorenson Genomics, Genebase and hoards of others have launched similar operations. The frightening thing about these enterprises is that selling DNA kits is not their primary goal or main source of revenue; once the kits are used to assemble a considerable DNA collection, the genomes will be sold to various other industries to rake in enormous amounts of cash.

Although these companies provide DNA analyses, this service is but a clever ruse for nefarious purposes.

We are currently at the crossroads of DNA technology, and we need to think critically about whether we truly want to hand over our personal information to commercial entities that could use our sequences against us. Although determining our ancestral journeys from Africa and discovering interesting genetic quirks from our DNA sequences are quite enthralling endeavors, the potential consequences of DNA databases being abused by governments and corporations are chilling.

I recommend that we keep our precious blueprints to ourselves; they wield too much power to be shared.

Nikita Deshpande is a freshman in the College. The Century Cap appears every other Friday.

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • Weil

The View From the Stage I

remember my kindergarten production of “The Little Mermaid” very clearly. In the second that I wobbled dangerously from side to side, I saw several things at once. The crowd of small children, my classmates with eyes widening in terror to the side of me, the pitcher of water I had just spilled beneath my feet and the row of chairs filled with parents I was about to crash into.

I hid myself under a patchwork blanket in a corner of the room for the remainder of our show. Even with this disguise completely veiling my presence, I could feel my cheeks heating as they turned a cherry red and tears poured down my face.

Same goes for summer camp, years ago. In retrospect, it is extremely easy to see how that situation had spiraled so completely out of control. My friends, in a bout of the classic game of truth or dare, had concocted a hideous blend of juices, crackers, vegetables, spices, sauces and the grilled cheese served for lunch that day for me to drink. Hesitantly, I brought it to my lips and immediately a wave of nausea rolled over me. I sprung from the table and, cup in hand, bounded toward a trashcan; before I could make it, another camper, innocently, naively and unfortunately, wandered in my path.

I could hardly hold back a scream as the concoction slid down the back of his neck and darkened his white Tshirt. When he turned around to face me, an entirely new feeling of nausea hit and then his feet too were dampened as I bent over to throw up.

Following this experience, as in the last, I was incapable of speaking to anyone for days — and these two anecdotes of extreme discomfort and distress that plague my 18 years of existence are not the only ones.

Now, the casual observer could de-

Embarrassment was a constant fixture of my life. It was a defining portion of my being. But instead of drowning in it, I learned to accommodate my inability to function normally. scribe a number of lessons from these experiences. Perhaps carrying water through a kindergarten show is not the best of ideas. Maybe balance is something to be worked for instead of hoped for. Avoiding truth and dare at all costs, especially in situations involving food, would most likely be a good strategy.

Indeed, such caveats did cross my mind, but something much more

important occurred as a result of the aggregation of all these ordeals.

When I was younger, I was much shier. I jumbled words, botched simple interactions and trembled, all out of nerves. This disposition itself was enough for hours of anxiety, but combined with my lack of balance and control, it resulted in countless humiliations.

Embarrassment was a constant fix-

VIEWPOINT • Dowd

ture of my life. It was a defining portion of my being. However, instead of drowning in it, I learned to accommodate my inability to function normally. It is not that I somehow evolved to avoid such situations, but I gradually grew less bothered by them — I learned that, regardless of the severity of my embarrassment, I would survive and that this feeling would eventually fade.

In consequence, my cheeks flamed up less and less and the amount of time I spent replaying cringe-worthy scenes in the night decreased dramatically. Today, I have arrived at the point where I rarely feel myself twitching out of mortification, to the point where I simply do not get embarrassed. From opening my computer in class and finding it blasting “Baby Got Back,” to tripping over my own feet and falling to the ground in front of a tour group, to unwittingly having sung songs from “Annie” at the top of my lungs while unaware that others were in the room — all of this I am able to brush off and unabashedly continue about my day.

I think that my past as a timid, accident-prone person has been extremely important in shaping my character, outlook and attitude in life. It has given me a sort of energy and excitement to pursue all aspects of life, because embarrassment, I have learned, is merely an intrinsic portion of being alive. Fearing such a sentiment, dreading mistakes and attempting to avoid mortification all mean hiding from reality and not fully living.

Now, I welcome and embrace the outrageous, humiliating and mortifying as a sign of complete engagement in my surroundings — and plus, they make great stories.

Julia Weil is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service.

EIGHTEEN WEEKS

Speaking the Language Georgetown’s Integral Of Laughter in Jordan Culture of Diversity

I

didn’t realize it at the time, but the C+ that ticked me off in my senior year in the School of Foreign Service would turn out to be an important lesson. So, too, was a comment a professor made to me during a conversation about my fascination with documentaries: If you want to be a filmmaker, you have to actually make a film.

That dream is now much closer to becoming a reality.

I recently returned from a month in Jordan, where I was directing my first documentary film. We were shooting just a few miles from the Syrian border in Zaatari, a refugee camp that is now home to over 120,000 refugees.

The numbers are depressing — altogether, more than three million Syrian have fled to neighboring countries — and so was much of what we saw. Life there is bleak, at best. But, the story at the center of our film is one of hope, proving that the power of laughter can break through pain and suspicion. Our story focuses on two young women: a Slovakian clown named Timea and a Syrian refugee named Hanadi. One is on a mission to spread laughter, while the other is convinced she will never laugh again.

Timea calls herself a “clowndoctor.” She was in Jordan as part of the Emergency Smile team, eight clowns handpicked by a Vienna-based organization called Red Noses.

Before making this documentary, I spent a couple of years reporting on and working in Washington, D.C. politics. So, you might say covering clowns wasn’t such a crazy idea.

Hanadi has been living in Zaatari with her three young daughters for more than two years. Her husband was arrested in Syria before they fled, and she has no idea whether he’s still alive. To add insult to injury, her father passed away shortly after they arrived at the refugee camp. At just 26, Hanadi is brave. She marches to the beat of her own drum — I guess she has no choice. She was reluctant at first, but over time, she trusted us enough to let us roll cameras as she went about her daily life. It was a unique window into a world to which very few are granted full access.

I’m determined to share what we captured with the world. We recently launched a Kickstarter campaign called The Language of Laughter to help get this film to the finish line.

I’m convinced that we have a story worth telling.

Throughout the course of our shoot, Hanadi and Timea developed a remarkable friendship — despite both linguistic and cultural barriers.

And something happened to transform them both. In many ways, God was the director of this film, not me.

Of course, my opportunity to pursue the story was not without speed bumps. There is tension in the camp, and Westerners are warned about the risk of kidnapping. In addition, we were in Jordan this January when ISIS burned alive the Jordanian pilot it was holding prisoner.

Working as a young woman — especially an American woman — brought its own set of challenges. I recalled a moment at Georgetown when I was taking Secretary Albright’s national security toolbox course.

When asked how she was treated while working in the Middle East as secretary of state, she responded, “When you show up in Air Force One, it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a skirt. I had more difficulty dealing with the men in our own country.”

It wasn’t in her toolbox, but she taught me the importance of having a sense of humor.

Contrary to popular opinion, I found the camp to be an incredibly welcoming place filled with peaceful people. Many were curious about life in America, eager to open their doors and offer us tea.

But, it wasn’t all tea and sunshine.

One afternoon, I was with my producer and two NGO workers, driving past a checkpoint just outside Zaatari. A guard motioned the car beside us to stop. Before I realized what was happening, the guard pulled out his gun and started firing. We sped off, stunned. I was later told the incident was likely drug-related. It was a sobering reminder. Yes, there’s beauty here — that’s the story we came here to tell — but there’s also evil. Calm can turn to chaos in the blink of an eye.

Looking back, my Georgetown experience was invaluable. The many late nights I spent in Lau, wondering why I was bothering to read the pages I was assigned, made a lot more sense when I was in Jordan.

Not to mention that C+.

It was from Defense Secretary Hagel, for a policy memo I wrote in his class about the U.S. role in Syria.

I thought it was pretty good. He didn’t. Now, I get it.

If you really want to know what’s happening on the ground, you have to go there. Buy a ticket. Talk to cab drivers. Talk to politicians. Talk to refugees. Talk to NGO workers. Talk to military guards. Talk to street vendors. Ask questions. Take a risk … or two. Don’t just sit in the library reading Foreign Policy magazine.

After spending a month filming a documentary in Jordan, I’ve returned with a story that I’m determined to share.

Reilly Dowd is a 2012 graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

O

ne of the bittersweet joys We are fortunate, in a 21st-centuof senior year is seeing your ry country, to be largely rid of overt, campus evolve without cross-burning, separate-drinkingyou; watching younger students, fountain versions of racism. But with as much love and passion for what remains are the invisible this place as you have, take steps to forms of racism and they most ofimprove the quality of experience ten play out on an individual, relahere, and feeling proud to watch tional level. this change happen.

In our experience, it is within This is how we feel about the re- the context of friendship — genuine cent demands for a diversity require- friendship, not tokenism — that we ment at Georgetown. We have read can give each other the space and The Last Campaign for Academic the grace to talk about these issues Reform petition callhonestly. It is uning for Georgetown der the auspicto include a series es of friendship of courses on dithat a student versity and various with racial privtypes of oppression ilege can unas a part of its core derstand why a curriculum and we certain word or commend such a action is hurtproposal. ful to another We believe it is person, and has Kendall Ciesemier and an incredibly ima vested interest Camille Squires portant addition to in not being a the academic currepeat offender riculum for all uniIt is under versity students and the auspices of especially timely in friendship that light of recent events a minority sturelated to race nadent can call tionally and on camout a friend on pus. a racist word On the one hand, or action and the current lack of know that they a diversity requirewill be believed ment is a glaring reminder of the and validated. Unforced, unschedimmense progress Georgetown uled, raw social interaction is where still needs to make toward ensur- true progress takes place. ing that students of all identities We can speak to this truth from feel welcome here. our own experiences. Our friendBut at the same time, this move- ship has allowed for a unique opment to have the diversity require- portunity to engage in important, ment passed is an encouraging honest conversations about race sign of Georgetown students’ drive that were perhaps at times uncomto constantly question the status fortable, but were never enough quo and improve it. to tear down the strong bond of We believe the diversity require- friendship that we had established. ment is an excellent and necessary Having a diverse friend group alstep toward progress, but it is not lows us to engage with a commuenough. To really improve George- nity different from our own and town — to ensure that it is no longer gives a completely new mindset the type of place where students through which to view our own acregularly report bias incidents tions or social standing. Cross-racial committed against them — we as a friendships give us the opportunity student body must extend the prin- to speak about the pricklier topics ciples of the diversity requirement around race and racism in an honbeyond the classroom and into our est, cathartic way. social interactions.

When we make the conscious Different types of diversity exist choice to broaden our circles of on Georgetown’s campus, and it friends and speak about these is important that we engage all of important, but admittedly scary, them, but time and again, one of topics, we come away with deeper, the most consistently relevant ones more fruitful friendships and allies is racial diversity and the issues that in the struggle for racial justice. surround it. It is of the utmost imWe have experienced this in our portance that we make conscious own friendship, and we are both decisions to cultivate friendships excited and hopeful for future across races because it is in these generations of Hoyas to experience informal settings that we learn the similar revelations through both most about one another and, in the diversity requirement inside turn, ourselves. the classroom and a commitment It is also within these settings toward building diverse friendships that we get into examining the beyond the classroom. “weeds” of race, privilege and oppression — those microaggressions Kendall Ciesemier and Camille that often cause the greatest of- Squires are seniors in the Colfense, do the most damage to our lege. Eighteen Weeks appears community. every other Friday.

Different types of diversity exist on campus, and it is important that we engage all of them.

A4

THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE A diversity course requirement was the focus of a Tuesday discussion and a Thursday town hall. See story at thehoya.com.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

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FIRST SERVE

“

Instead of pushing that snow around, you’ve got to put it somewhere.”

Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey on the emergency response to snow days. Story on A5.

from

TWITTER

JULIA ANASTOS FOR THE HOYA

President Barack Obama’s daughter Malia was spotted playing tennis at Yates Field House on Tuesday. The Obamas frequently play on the tennis courts at Georgetown, with first lady Michelle Obama also making an appearance this year.

STUDENT APPEARS ON LARRY WILMORE Georgetown Against Gun Violence co-founder Emma Iannini (SFS ’16), right, discussed guns on college campuses on “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” on Tuesday. blog.thehoya.com

Holder Talks Race, Drug War in Reflection on Tenure HOLDER, from A1

Of what accomplishments are you most proud?

I think what we’ve done in criminal justice reform, in starting not only the conversation but a substantive change in that area, making the justice system more fair, more economical, more efficient.

The work we’ve done with civil rights, especially with regard to the protection of the right to vote.

What we’ve done for our LGBT citizens, trying to make their lives better: marriage equality is obviously something that we are arguing for.

And the way in which we’ve done our national security work.

We’ve done work in a way that is consistent with our values. We don’t use enhanced interrogation techniques or torture, something the president said very early on, that we would keep our nation safe but do so in a way that is consistent with our values.

Some have criticized the president’s use of executive power, for example, in immigration. I assume you expect the president’s actions to be upheld in court. But do you think that inaction in Congress is a sufficient basis for action by the president?

I think that the president has a unique responsibility to promote the national welfare, and in the absence of action by Congress, and in the obvious presence of the ability for the president to act, it would almost be irresponsible of him not to use that power to benefit the nation.

If you look at the number of times in which he has used executive power as opposed to, say, Teddy Roosevelt, Roosevelt dwarfed him in terms of the number of executive actions that he used to try to move the nation in a way that a reluctant Congress was, and [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] did the same thing.

One of the major cases during your early years came in response to the financial crisis, and many feel that the Justice Department let brokers and elites on Wall Street off the hook for their involvement in the crisis. Do you agree? Why did you make the decision you did?

I would say I don’t agree with that. If you look at the statistics, we indicted a number of individuals for conduct related to the financial crisis. We extracted record penalties from financial institu-

tions. [On Feb. 17] I directed U.S. attorneys who were involved in the residential mortgage-backed securities to take 90 days to look at all the cases that they had been working on in those institutions to see if they could bring cases against individuals, and I think they will report to my successor whether or not they can make these cases towards individuals.

You are the first black attorney general, and you presided over a time when race relations and law enforcement have emerged in the national consciousness. How can the criminal justice system regain the faith of minorities that are disproportionately arrested?

How can you improve the relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve without alienating police officers?

There’s a real desire on the part of everybody for better relationships, and so it’s a question of having some hard conversations, sharing some hard truths, and getting people to just work together.

Police officers go into policing for altruistic reasons, and people in our most blighted communities have the greatest need for police protection. You would think that those two things would marry up, but for some reason that has not been the case, so it is something that we have to focus our attention on. The president has. I would bet that, by the end of his second term, police-community relations will be in a better place.

They won’t be perfect, but we’re starting to see the beginnings of a positive change.

During the campaign in 2008, then-Senator Obama gave a speech in Philadelphia about the state of race relations in the United States. You responded saying, “I wish my father had been alive to hear this.” Why was the speech so powerful to you?

I thought it was as clear an explanation of the race problem in the United States as I had ever seen a major figure give, and it was the kind of speech that I thought all Americans needed to hear. It would have been something reaffirming for my father given all the things that he had been through in his life.

First off, to see a major presidential candidate who was African-American giving the speech would have been something he would have thought [was] pretty powerful, but the message itself was extremely positive, frank,

balanced, and it would have been something that he would have enjoyed. If he was not before, he would have been converted into an Obama supporter after that speech.

Despite disapproval from certain members of Congress, D.C. just legalized marijuana, primarily because of the disproportionate effect of the War on Drugs on minority populations within the District. What is your assessment of the War on Drugs, and is the country moving towards legalization — or at the very least, decriminalization? What is the relationship of the Justice Department to state legislation?

What we have said with regard to state legislation with what we’ve seen in Colorado and Washington is that we have limited resources: almost every drug case that is made in America can be brought into federal courts, but that is not a good use of our limited resources. So what we’ve done is set up a series of eight or nine factors, and if one of those factors is implicated under a particular fact situation, we will take federal action.

But in the absence of that, we will leave to our state counterparts their ability to enforce their own laws. We have said to Colorado and to Washington to experiment, but we reserve the right to pre-empt those laws if we think they are not being carried out in a way that is consistent with the way that you have set up your regulations.

Whether or not the country ultimately legalizes marijuana, I don’t know. I think there is certainly a generational change that is going on and certainly more study needs to be done so that we base marijuana policy on the best scientific research as opposed to myths about what marijuana does to people. So, hopefully with this better understanding of the impact of marijuana, we can come up with a better law enforcement policy.

Last week, at your departure ceremony, the president highlighted your personal qualities. As a judge and attorney general, how did these qualities of morality come into play when you made the difficult legal decisions that you had to make?

As you get older, everything that you’ve done before has an impact on how you view the world.

I was a judge in the late ’80s and early ’90s when Washington was

considered the murder capital, when crack wars were in effect, and became attorney general after that.

I saw young black men who should have been the future of this community going off to jail in record numbers. I saw violence that was racking certain communities. Those experiences were searing ones for me and always led me to believe that we have to protect our citizens from that kind of violence but also from the poise in which we prevent young people from getting involved in the system. And if they do become involved in the system, come up with ways in which we make them productive citizens at the end of the time in the time that they spent incarcerated. So I’ve tried to base Justice Department policy, at least in part, on some of those experiences.

What advice do you have for young people who see conflict and partisanship and wonder if their lives will be as good as the lives of their parents?

With the widening gap that we see in this country of income inequality, there is a legitimate question of whether or not the next generation will have it better. But we have really talented young people who are entrepreneurs and are creative and have great ideas about things that we can’t even begin to imagine will come to exist years from now. The American people are an ingenious group, we are industrious, and if any country has a shot at making it better for the next generation, I think it is true for this country.

But it is important that we remain true to who we are, which means having an immigration system that works, welcoming people from around the world who have great ideas and who constantly revitalize this nation.

We’re not a homogenous, closed, old nation. We are young and dynamic, and as long as we continue to be, I think we will increase the chances that we will make things better for the next generation.

What are your expectations for the remainder of President Obama’s term, and how do you think history will evaluate President Obama’s administration?

I expect that he is going to be a very involved and active president. He is not a guy who can coast. I think history is going to be very kind to him. Historians will see that he came into office

during a financial crisis the likes of which we had not seen since the Great Depression, and he managed that extremely well. He put in place a healthcare system for the first time. He’s managed our foreign policy extremely well; he’s asked questions about domestic policy; he’s moved the needle on a whole bunch of places, and I think he will be seen as a great president.

Do you expect any openings on the Supreme Court, and would you be interested in an appointment to the Court?

I would bet that over the next presidency, there would be maybe a couple of vacancies on the Supreme Court, which is why I think the 2016 election is so important.

That president, I think, will make maybe two selections to the court, which potentially change the court from five to four conservative to five to four progressive.

I absolutely do not want to be a member of the Supreme Court.

I was a judge for five years, and there is not enough money in the world for me to want to become a judge again.

What are you most looking forward to as you prepare to return to life as a private citizen?

Trying to reclaim some of my anonymity, just to be regular old Eric again, being able to walk down the street without a security detail, look at stores, drive my car, and just be a regular person.

I miss that.

What advice do you have for your successor? [Editor’s Note: U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch was nominated as Holder’s successor

by President Obama in November. Lynch, who would be the first black woman to be attorney general, was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee Feb. 26. While her confirmation vote in front of the entire Senate has yet to be scheduled, it is expected to occur within the next two weeks.]

Loretta Lynch is a great lawyer, so I would say she needs to base her actions on her experience and worldview, and that she should be unafraid. She’ll anger some people with some of the things she needs to do; she’ll have people who support her, but if she works with the great men and women of this department and focuses on the priorities that I know she has and not get distracted by the noise here in Washington, D.C., she’ll be just fine.

news

FriDAY, march 6, 2015

THE HOYA

A5

Snow Days Require Coordinated Strategy Andrew Wallender Hoya Staff Writer

At 4 a.m. Thursday, three Georgetown administrators convened on a conference call to decide whether thousands of university students and faculty would have class.

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Augostini, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and School of Medicine Executive Dean Howard Federoff and Provost Robert Groves are delegated with the task of deciding university operating status. If the call is particularly early in the morning, this group is replaced by representatives from each department, including Medical Center Senior Associate Dean Elliot Crook, Registrar and Assistant Provost John Q. Pierce, and Associate Vice President for Human Resources John Greeno.

The forecast called for a heavy day of snow, possibly up to 10 inches, but as the call began, there was only rain. Around 15 minutes prior, the federal government had announced its closing as well as numerous school districts the evening before. But the storm was coming in the midst of midterms, two days before Georgetown’s spring break.

“I kept hoping there would be some maneuvering room to start late because I had heard from faculty members who were very worried about their students having to miss the exam,” Pierce said.

Eventually the group decided to close Georgetown University for the duration of the day. The information was posted on the university website at 4:35 am. Students received texts and emails shortly after that.

Every time a major weather event is expected for D.C., the Council of Governments, an association consisting of all the local governments as well as Metro and the federal government, convenes via conference call. The group conferences at 9 p.m. or 3 a.m., depending on the timing of the weather event, and receives a briefing from the National Weather Service.

After the Council of Government’s teleconference, Georgetown’s administrators convene at 10 p.m. or 4 a.m. Students can expect word from the university shortly thereafter.

A number of factors go into deciding whether Georgetown remains open or closed, according to Associate Vice President for Risk Management Joseph Yohe.

“The university utilizes a ‘risk-based’ decision-making process for making operational status decisions related to inclement weather,” Yohe wrote in an email.

The university pays attention to what

service disruptions Metro will be running, as many faculty members rely on public transportation to commute to campus.

Georgetown also closely watches the actions of the federal government and area schools. But the final deciding factor is how well the Office of Facilities can clear the campus for student safety, according to Pierce.

During weather emergencies, the Office of Facilities asks for volunteers to work extra hours, preparing the campus for snow and clearing the snow after it begins to fall.

Wednesday night into Thursday, about half a dozen facilities workers stayed at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, according to Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey.

“It’s one team, one mission,” Morey said.

“Part of that is that you don’t necessarily want to send people away. The first reason is, in a snow like this, you don’t want your people out, driving on the street. Secondarily, if they go, they might get stuck and not be able to come back.”

Snow removal involves the efforts of approximately 100 to 150 staff members working at various times of the day and night to ensure the university is safe to navigate.

In addition to snow plows and salt, the university utilizes its snow melter machine, which uses steam to heat and melt large snow piles brought in by front loaders.

“Instead of pushing that snow around, you’ve got to put it somewhere,” Morey said.

“We probably wouldn’t necessarily need it in a snow storm of this size [referring to Thursday’s storm], but, boy, it sure makes it easier to do that. And then those piles don’t sit around for so long.”

Pierce and Morey both said that having an instructional continuity system eases the burden of snow days.

“I think that the instructional continuity policy opens up a whole other set of options for us,” Pierce said.

The instructional continuity system, which allows professors to still hold classes remotely during snow days, was implemented during the 2013-2014 academic school year.

But Pierce said that instructional continuity plans are never a proper substitute for inperson class time.

“It’s my sense that switching to an instructional continuity plan is two or three times harder on the faculty member than going to class,” Pierce said. “And our programs are planned as face-to-face programs so we try to make sure that they can continue that way.”

ISABEL BINAMIRA/THE HOYA

A snow day was called at 4:35 a.m. Thursday, cancelling classes. The decision propelled into action snow removal and instructional continuity plans.

FILE PHOTO: DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA

The federal charter of Georgetown University was signed into law by President James Madison on March 1, 1815, formally recognizing the university and authorizing it to grant degrees.

Federal Charter Marks 200 Years Matthew Larson Hoya Staff Writer

From the White House to the Capitol, politicians took to YouTube to offer Georgetown words of congratulations on the 200th anniversary of its federal charter.

The charter, signed into law by President James Madison on March 1, 1815, granted Georgetown federal government recognition and the authority to give academic degrees, which it previously lacked.

University President John J. DeGioia sent out a congratulatory email to the Georgetown commuity to mark the occasion, writing that the celebration was special because of all the people who have been a part of Georgetown over its 225-year history.

“A defining strength of Georgetown has always been and still remains our community — our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends,” DeGioia wrote in the email. “As we continue forth into the next 200 years, I wish to thank you for your innumerable contributions both on the Hilltop and beyond.”

Professor Emeritus Robert Emmett Curran, author of “A History of Georgetown University,” said that Georgetown received its charter in a unique way. While most other universities date their founding to the year they received their charter, Georgetown received its charter 25 years after its founding in 1789. “[Georgetown] bases its start on when the first building went up,” Curran said. “Georgetown is the only institution I can think of who gets its charter 25 years after its own beginning.”

Federal charters are important because without them, universities cannot grant degrees to their graduates, which for a time made Georgetown an oddity among peer institutions. Curran noted that at the time, founder John Carroll was extremely reluctant to get a federal charter because of the state interference that would follow in the university’s affairs.

“A charter was considered as something that was a public investment that the state had a great deal of authority over and need to control,” Curran said. “Any institution that had a charter very often found itself under state regulation and interference.”

Curran said that the way Catholics were discriminated against in early America contributed to Carroll’s hesitancy to apply for a federal charter. Carroll feared that the government would interfere in university affairs as a result of the charter, diluting Georgetown’s Catholic identity. “[Catholics] couldn’t vote, they couldn’t hold arms, they couldn’t hold office, they couldn’t educate their children in a Catholic institution,” Curran said. “So that was the background that Carroll was looking at, where Catholics had historically been in a vulnerable position in American history.”

For its first 25 years, Georgetown had no contact with the federal government as a result of Carroll’s desires to avoid allowing the government to get involved in university affairs. It is unknown whether or not Carroll was involved in the decision to apply.

“Georgetown [was] the most private of private schools in the country,” Curran said. “It [had] no governmental connection.”

But by 1815, the notion of a charter had changed. The courts had ruled that just because the federal government granted charters to an organization did not mean that it could interfere in how that group was run. “[Charters] had been judged to be a guarantee of independence,” Curran said. “The charter was now not something that inherently weakened an institution but was really a safeguard for its integrity.”

Georgetown President John Grassi, S.J., decided in 1815 that conditions had sufficiently improved to request a charter. He asked Georgetown’s first student, William Gaston, a member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina, to introduce and petition for

Georgetown’s charter in Congress, which President James Madison signed into law on March 1. “[Georgetown’s] the only institution of higher education whose first student was the person responsible for getting its charter,” Curran said. “It’s the first Catholic institution of higher education to get a charter.”

In addition to DeGioia’s congratulatory message, Georgetown received videos from prominent government officials and lawmakers on the 200th anniversary of the federal charter. President Barack Obama recorded a message in which he celebrated Georgetown graduates, who he said have made an extraordinary impact not only on the United States but also the world.

“Simply put, this country and this world benefit from you commitment to Jesuit principles, to being men and women for others,” Obama said. “Here’s to the next 200 years.”

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Oh.) applauded the ties between the federal government and Georgetown. He also spoke warmly of the 16 current members of the House of Representatives who are graduates of Georgetown.

“I have great affection for the value and purpose of a Jesuit education,” Boehner said. “It’s my privilege on behalf of the whole House to recognize this bicentennial and congratulate Georgetown on all of its accomplishments.”

Georgetown also received congratulatory remarks from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (DCalif.) and Senator Patrick Leahy (L ’64, D-Vt.).

Billy Rydzewski (COL ’15) said the amount of praise Georgetown had received from politicians like Obama and Boehner showed how influential Georgetown remains to this day.

“Georgetown is obviously a great institution,” Rydzewski said.

“The fact that we’ve been around and established for that long is just great. … I think it’s definitely an accomplishment for us.”

Exclusive: Nunn, Fortenberry Discuss Future of Nuclear Security Kshithij Shrinath Hoya Staff Writer

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (GRD ’86, RNeb.) and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), along with former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and former U.K. Defense Minister Desmond Browne, will discuss nuclear security threats in the 21st century at a March 16 event cohosted by the Center for Security Studies and the International Relations Club.

Fortenberry, who currently cochairs the Congressional Nuclear Security Caucus, and Nunn, who is the CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nongovernmental organization focused on reducing the risk of the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction, each spoke to The Hoya in advance of the event to discuss emerging threats, the ongoing Iranian nuclear negotiations and their desire to involve college students in the issue.

Fortenberry, who co-founded the nuclear security caucus in 2008, noted that advances in technology had made nuclear weapon proliferation even more dangerous, requiring the caucus as a specialized response.

“The technology for nuclear weapons making has spread very rapidly and it will only continue to spread,” Fortenberry said. “And the key here is to develop a heightened awareness and deeper understanding not only in Congress but throughout the world of the great dangers of this so that we can all try to come to some various

kinds of agreements that would control particularly the materials that go into nuclear weapons production.”

Of particular concern to Fortenberry was the danger of nuclear material, or even entire weapons, falling into the hands of terrorist organizations.

“The problem in the 21st century is if a non-state actor were to get a hold of a completed nuclear weapon or the materials that could make some sort of rudimentary dirty bomb type element that wouldn’t be destructive as a nuclear weapon itself but nonetheless it could cause widespread damage and panic,” Fortenberry said.

After the September 11 attacks, worries about outdated missile technology and faulty security mechanisms were widespread. Through the efforts of the Nuclear Threat Initiative in setting up the World Institute of Nuclear Security, nuclear material has increasingly been secured around the world.

“The number of states that no longer have any loose fissile material has been cut basically in half,” Fortenberry said.

In addition to the worries over nuclear terrorism, Nunn said that the threat of nuclear war between states still loomed large.

“If you look at it, the old threats haven’t disappeared. … We’re in a new era, but we still have the old ones, so that’s the challenge,” Nunn said. “It’s pretty clear we have significant dan-

weapons.

“Iran has had the knowledge and technical capability to at least enrich and establish their commodities,” Nunn said. “The question is if we can stop them from converting that technical knowhow into making the bomb.”

Acknowledging that governments had much more sway in diplomatic affairs than nongovernmental organizations such as NTI, Nunn said that the challenge of the negotiations was keeping domestic and foreign interests united.

“If you look at the nature of the challenges here in Iran, it’s having Congress and the president work together, and that’s obviously not happening,” Nunn said. “The second major challenge is having the United States and its key ally of Israel SAM NUNN working together, and that’s Nuclear Threat Initiative CEO and former Senator obviously not happening. And the third challenge is keeping bring that war to a halt before it was the countries that are engaging in the too late,” Lieber said. “Deliberate ra- boycott together, Russia, China and tional state use of nuclear weapons as Europe. That’s not an easy group to part of a coercive escalation strategy is keep together.”

Fortenberry said that he had no dia real danger, and it’s not clear to me that we’ve focused enough attention rect involvement with the negotiation but was informally involved in diploon this.”

The panel comes in the middle of matic discussions around the issue: one such state-centered challenge, the If an agreement is reached with Iran, current nuclear negotiations between Congress will have to vote on whether Iran and the United States, United to lift sanctions on the country. AcKingdom, France, China, Russia and cordingly, the congressman said that Germany, who are attempting to cur- the issue of nuclear weapons must tail Iran’s ability to develop nuclear be a bipartisan effort, pointing to his gers in terms of possible state conflict.”

Professor of government Keir Lieber, who will deliver opening remarks at the event, concurred, explaining that the theory of mutually assured destruction, which states that the threat of retaliation would prevent countries from using nuclear weapons, was a false comfort.

“U.S. nuclear policy throughout the Cold War was to escalate conventional war to the nuclear level in order to

“We’re in a new era, but we still have the old [threats], so that’s the challenge.”

relationship with Rep. Adam Schiff (DCalif.) with whom he co-founded the nuclear security caucus.

“This is a matter of life and death, it’s what we call an existential issue,” Fortenberry said. “It should transcend any kind of partisan divide.”

On March 16, the two will speak at a panel at Georgetown to attempt to convince college students of the importance of nuclear security in coming years.

“It’s a complicated set of issues, and it doesn’t lend itself necessarily to motivating and exciting people,” Fortenberry said. “The tragedy of what could happen is so great that nobody really wants to look at it, think about it, so that’s why [we’re having] this event. …

Hopefully, it gains momentum among the next generation for engagement.”

Since many of the goals of the Nuclear Threat Initiative require a long-term focus, such as significantly reducing the nuclear arsenal, Nunn emphasized the necessity of involving students in the issues.

“I would like to see nuclear weapons eliminated ultimately and have a world with tight verifications … but that’s many years down the road,” Nunn said. “The young generation is going to have to live with this for a long time … so having a knowledge about the dangers here and the continuing challenge for the younger generation is very, very important.”

Hoya Staff Writer Katherine Richardson contributed reporting.

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news

THE HOYA

FRIday, March 6, 2015

Alleged Exploitation Sparks Protest Bill Addresses Sexual Assault HOTEL, from A1

which counts as surveillance, which is not legal.”

GSC member Vincent DeLaurentis (SFS ’17) said that the managers intimidated the hotel workers at the captive audience meeting into not speaking with the committee.

“The managers called all the workers into a captive audience meeting, which is a meeting in which they call the workers in and close the doors and say, ‘Hey, we can’t tell you not to talk to all of these people, but we would be really cautious about talking to all these people.’ So this is a tactic that the management uses to intimidate workers,” DeLaurentis said.

The alleged violations add to an ongoing series of allegations that university workers have made against Aramark. In February, GSC amassed 2,021 signatures in support of workers at O’Donovan Hall and Hoya Court who spoke out about poor wage and work conditions.

Last week, Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Joelle Wiese and Director of Business Policy and Planning J. Callahan Watson sent a letter to Aramark Corporation Chairman Eric J. Foss requesting that Aramark managers respect workers’ rights in negotiating a fair process for unionization.

“As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown University is committed to justice and common good, which includes affirming the dignity of human work and respecting the rights of workers,” the letter read. “We strive to uphold these principles and values in our business operations to foster a fair and just workplace for all members of the Georgetown community, including the employees of vendors that provide services on campuses.”

The letter also mentioned that Aramark

must respect the rights of its employees as per the Just Employment Policy, which was established as part of Georgetown and Aramark’s contract.

Watson said that the administration is in full support of fair negotiations between Aramark, the union and workers on campus.

“We expect that Aramark and the union will continue to negotiate in good faith to reach agreement on their new contract,” Watson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

During the rally, GSC member Erin Riordan (COL ’15) reiterated the administration’s request in the letter to the hotel management and said that the committee would act upon further violations of workers’ rights to association.

“If you engage in any of this intimidation again, whether it’s monitoring conversations or another captive audience meeting, we will go directly to the administration and see that Aramark is directly removed from this campus,” Riordan said.

When GSC member Julia Hubbell (COL ’15) asked Georgetown University Hotel General Manager Kevin Morris whether or not he plans on respecting workers’ rights to a fair process, Morris declined to commit immediately to any requests made by the committee.

“At this point, I am not in a position to accept or acknowledge anything that is being requested today,” Morris said.

Aramark Corporate Communications Director Karen Cutler said that the company respects its workers’ right to unionize.

“We have a great deal of respect for our employees and we fully support their democratic right to understand all of the issues and choose for themselves on the matter of union representation,” Cutler wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Aramark has a long history of fully supporting union organizing processes based upon the rules and regula-

tions established under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and monitored by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).”

However, DeLaurentis said that federal law requires that Morris comply with the committee’s demands for a fair process. “[Morris] should have been able to say yes because supporting the fair process is required under federal law,” DeLaurentis said.

“So what he was saying was that he can’t be sure right now if he’s going to respect workers’ rights to talk to us without intimidation, which is required under federal law.”

Workers at Leo’s, Cosi, Starbucks and the Jesuit Residence construction are the only workers on campus who are represented by UNITE HERE, which Hoya Court and hotel workers wish to join.

Josh Armstead, a worker at Leo’s, said that unionization has protected workers from abuse and workers’ rights violations, which are often experienced by workers at other Aramark vendors on campus.

“I really do think [unionization has helped Leo’s workers] because from the stories I’ve heard from other community members [before unionization] … it was kind of bad,” Armstead said. “Now, if the management has something to say, he or she has to choose their words carefully. ... He can’t be vindictive against you for a personal reason. … They can’t target you, they can’t intimidate you.”

DeLaurentis said that the solidarity committee will continue to support workers at Leo’s, Hoya Court and the hotel as they renegotiate terms on their contract with Aramark.

“This is something we’re doing at the workers’ request, with the workers’ support, in solidarity with the workers,” DeLaurentis said. “This is what we truly believe and what workers have told us is what they want for their workplace and their lives, so we’re trying to act in solidarity with that.”

Study Abroad Applications Rise HOUSING, from A1 juniors to encourage students to pursue oncampus housing.

This year, a similar student petition on Facebook and IdeaScale called “Change the Study Abroad Housing Policy 2015,” created

by Simons, Declan Kelly (COL ’17) and Ken Nunnenkamp (MSB ’16), has amassed over 530 signatures since its creation on Feb. 2.

The trio aim to ensure that students are not penalized for studying abroad, and they met with Executive Director of Residential Services Patrick Killilee to discuss altering the policy Feb. 25. The group resolved to create a housing working group, currently in its nascent stages.

A definitive list of names for the working committee has not yet been released, but Kelly, Simons, Nunnenkamp and Killilee will be involved. In addition, Simons and Nunnemkamp will be members of the cabinet of the incoming Georgetown University Student Association executive team. Assistant Director for Assignment Krista Haxton and Assignment Specialist Darnell Hammock from the Office of Residential Living will most likely also be involved in the working group.

“The working group we are forming will bring students and administrators together to devise creative solutions for the housing selection process that will ensure students who study abroad can receive desirable housing with their friends. The group will meet regularly and hopes to quickly solve the issue for the class of 2017,” Simons, Kelly and Nunnenkamp collectively wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Killilee said he is open to student suggestions within the working group but will not allow students studying abroad in the fall to participate in the spring lottery.

“The only topic that is not on the table is allowing students going abroad in the fall to select housing, only to be dropped from that process the very next day,” Killilee said.

“Students accepted to study abroad will not be able to participate in the 2015-16 room selection process. They will be able to request housing for the spring semester. We are open to discuss ways to house students upon their return from abroad.”

Housing selection begins Feb. 23 with single room selection sign-ups and ends April

18 with male and female residence hall selections. If a student decides against studying abroad March 18, they will be eligible to enter the lottery for apartment, suite and townhouse selections that begin March 24 in addition to triple and residence hall selections that begin April 7 and April 18, respectively.

Simons said he is hopeful that the working group can work with Killilee before March 18.

“Killilee agreed with us on some of the principles behind the campaign: that students should be able to live with their friends and live in desirable housing — especially juniors and seniors coming back and living in apartments, even though they studied abroad in the fall,” Simons said. “We will have to put in the time to work and develop a creative solution over the next two and a half weeks because that nomination deadline is coming up. ... I don’t want to lie and say it’s going to be easy, but I think we still can do it.”

Simons also said that he is not discouraged by the high number of active applicants for study abroad in the fall, since his petition does not aim to deter students from fall study abroad.

“The first thing I want to stress is that our students against restrictive housing campaign is in no way wanted to dissuade students from studying abroad. Actually it was the opposite; we wanted to ensure that students weren’t dissuaded from studying abroad despite the new housing selection process,” Simons said.

According to Office of Global Education Director Craig Rinker, despite the new housing policy, students still showed high interest in study abroad.

“I truly believe most students believe that study abroad is an investment in their undergraduate academic experience and don’t view their time away from campus as an opportunity cost, ” Rinker said.

The Office of Global Education participated in the decisions regarding the new housing policy, maintaining their priority of providing students with the best possible experiences.

“The Office of Global Education had continuous dialogue with the Division of Student Affairs and Office of Residential Living related to changes in the housing lottery process,” Rinker said. “I don’t find the change in the housing lottery process to be prohibi-

tive, but simply another consideration for students to weigh. ... I believe students will continue to see it as an investment in their education.”

Rinker expressed that while the housing policy may not affect student interest to study abroad, there are other reasons why Georgetown students decide not to study overseas.

“I truly believe that there is a study abroad opportunity for any student who wants to have one,” Rinker said. “Often, it is simply a matter of whether a student places study abroad as a higher priority.”

Adrienne Taylor (COL ’17) plans to study abroad in either Florence, Italy at Georgetown’s Villa Le Balze or at the McGhee Center in Alanya, Turkey to experience another culture and develop her major, art history.

“I’m going abroad because I feel as though this time in our lives is a really unique point where we are both flexible and supported,” Taylor said.

Taylor said that the changes in the housing policy did not affect her decision to study abroad.

“The housing policy hasn’t really affected my decision but it is definitely an added stress and a real disappointment,” Taylor said.

“When we were all shopping for schools, Georgetown in all of their promotional material and information sessions is proud of their commitment to supporting students decisions to study abroad and the new housing policy seems to go against that.”

Christy Leonhardt (COL ’17), who will study abroad at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen, plans to learn more about European health care systems and mental health in different countries.

Leonhardt said that she was disappointed by the new policy, but decided to go abroad regardless.

“While I ultimately decided to go abroad anyways, the new housing policy definitely influenced my decision,” Leonhardt said.

“I do not think that it’s fair that I should be penalized for choosing to do something that Georgetown largely encourages. If this policy continues, I would not be surprised if Georgetown saw a drop in applications.”

Hoya Staff Writer Katherine Richardson contributed reporting.

SENATE, from A1 Center Director Laura Kovach said that CASA helps to supplement the policies already in place through Title IX at Georgetown.

“The Campus Accountability and Safety Act will enhance the work that is currently happening under Title IX,” Kovach said.

Schools that are not in compliance with the bill may face a financial penalty of up to 1 percent of the school’s operating budget.

The funds will go to a competitive grant program, which will fund colleges and universities to apply to research best practices for addressing these issues.

As of January 2015, the Department of Education is investigating 94 postsecondary institutions for Title IX violations, including the Catholic University of America, Harvard College, Dartmouth College and Brown University.

“Right now, some colleges and universities are more inclined to expel a student for cheating on an exam than for committing sexual assault,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a press release. “We know this problem is pervasive and too often swept under the rug by institutions that fail students.”

The act also attempts to change campus culture by establishing new support services for survivors, such as designated confidential advisers to assist their interaction with law enforcement.

Jen Schweer, the associate director of sexual assault response and prevention services, emphasized the importance of confidential resources, ensuring that students are able to report sexual assault cases with minimum risk.

“These pieces allow students to learn about and access a system that may have previously felt like too much of a risk for them to enter,” Schweer said.

Take Back the Night President Sarah Rabon (COL ’16) added that additional staff on college campuses to address sexual assault could be key to CASA’s success at Georgetown.

“Georgetown has some truly fantastic resources that assist survivors of assault. However, these staffers tend to have countless responsibilities,” Rabon said. “If Georgetown had more staff to serve survivors, the quality and quantity of programming and education on sexual assault would undoubtedly increase.”

Transparency and fairness in disciplinary processes are another key part of the bill, which mandates a single uniform process for campus student disciplinary proceedings, coordinating with law enforcement and enforcing minimum training standards for campus employees.

Kovach emphasized the need to hold perpetrators of sexual assault accountable for their actions and believes CASA will help ensure universities, including Georgetown, live up to such a standard.

“The statistical reality is that there is a small number of perpetrators who are committing the majority of rapes,” Kovach said. “Accountability is key, and this law wants to reinforce that universities are doing everything within their power to provide a process that is safe for survivors to come forward and seek out the on-campus adjudication process.”

Finally, the bill mandates student campus climate surveys to garner the feedback of students

regarding sexual assault on campuses, a potential landmark reform on incident reporting.

The proposed biannual surveys will be standardized, anonymized and published online for students to take into consideration when choosing colleges and universities to attend.

According to GUSA Secretary of Student Safety and Health Nora West (SFS ’15), Georgetown is already in the process of implementing a campus climate survey.

“As of now the survey is scheduled to be distributed in October or November 2015. The process is just beginning: a committee of administrators and students who work on this issue is being created,” West said.

As a sexual assault peer educator, West believes that the release of anonymous survey data would increase student awareness.

“The results of the anonymous survey will give us a better understanding of what’s happening on campus and will allow us to incorporate Georgetown-focused statistics into the workshops we lead,” West said. “Hopefully CASA will also increase student awareness around this issue and perhaps make them more likely to reach out to SAPE for a workshop.”

The Senate bill is an extension of an increased national focus on college sexual assault. The White House created a Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault in January 2014, whose recommendations led to changes in Georgetown’s sexual assault policy in September, including the addition of outside investigators in sexual assault cases.

Sexual Assault Peer Educator Haley Maness (NHS ’15) pointed out that Georgetown is in compliance with many of the policies CASA would mandate.

“Believe it or not, Georgetown is in beyond compliance with a number of initiatives in the act, including allowing survivors to know their rights and employing individuals who can report cases to the Title IX coordinator,” Maness said.

However, Maness stressed that there are many facets of sexual violence still unaddressed.

“Georgetown needs to expand its programming and its focus to include dating violence, stalking and harassment as well as sexual assault, so I’m glad to see that those initiatives are mentioned in the act,” Maness said.

Schweer stressed the importance of continual education on the topic of sexual violence on campus.

“It’s critical that we continue to educate on campus, through programs like ‘I Am Ready’ and ‘Are You Ready?,’ engage with our sexual assault peer educators and create policies on campus that show a commitment to being survivor-centered,” Schweer said.

According to Kovach, the most important shift CASA can make is one of culture, transforming how Georgetown as a community views sexual violence.

“Bottom line: We need rapists to stop raping. We need a culture that supports survivors when they come forward so we can hold rapists accountable for their actions,” Kovach said. “We need everyone on the same page regarding support, resources and roles so that survivors can begin their healing process and navigate either the on- or off-campus judicial systems. Title IX and CASA can help us meet those needs.”

Klain Departs Ebola Response Coordinator Post RESPONSE, from A1 have a fantastic public health system and fantastic set of private health care providers as well, and that was always our ace in the hole,” Klain said to The Hoya. “We did learn that we didn’t have enough facilities really ready to deal with this kind of infectious, dangerous disease … and we did beef that up over the course of my tenure.”

Obama sent an emergency funding request to Congress Nov. 5 asking for $6.2 billion to fund the international and domestic Ebola response. Within five weeks, a bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate approved an allocation of $5.4 billion.

According to Lawrence Gostin, the director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, Klain was instrumental in serving as a liaison between the White House and Congress. Klain previously served as chief of staff to both Vice President Al Gore and Vice President Joe Biden and directed the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“He was chosen because he has enormous experience in coordinating

multiple government activities and is a really good negotiator,” Gostin said.

“He built a bridge to the White House and Congress, and he had the ear of the president.”

During the outbreak, the number of hospitals nationwide that could treat an Ebola patient increased from three to 50. Similarly, the United States increased the number of labs that could test for Ebola from 12 to 47.

Klain noted that the improvement in domestic capacity was crucial to contain the epidemic of fear that had threatened to consume the country.

“I don’t think you can talk people out of fear, I don’t think you can persuade people that they are wrong to be fearful,” Klain said. “I think what people have to believe is that you’ve put in the measures to protect them, to the greatest extent possible, and to fight the threat to the greatest extent possible. That’s really what builds confidence and what eases fears.”

Days after Klain assumed his role, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced on Oct. 24 that healthcare workers returning to the two states after treating Ebola patients in West Africa would be put under a mandatory quarantine.

Klain vocally opposed these measures

and argued the quarantines unnecessarily added to public fear. During his tenure, Klain developed a separate monitoring system.

The policy, adopted by 38 states, included twice-daily temperature checks for the first 21 days the workers were back in the country. Quarantine would only be implemented if they showed signs of being contagious or dangerous, such as an increased temperature.

Despite the improved domestic response, the Ebola crisis showed flaws within the World Health Organization’s abilities to effectively detect and respond to the outbreak internationally.

“Globally we have a big challenge.

What Ebola showed is that World Health Organization isn’t really ready to deal with something like this. We need to reform the WHO to improve their ability to detect and respond to outbreaks like the Ebola outbreak before it became an epidemic,” Klain said.

Gostin praised Klain’s attention to the crisis in West Africa in addition to his development of domestic policy.

“The United States and particularly the president, with Ron Klain’s assistance, achieved a great deal in the Ebola response. They deployed military assets to the region, which I think was enor-

mously important and enormously inspirational,” Gostin said.

In 2015, the Ebola rate has declined even in the West African countries hit hardest by the disease; Liberia had no new cases this past week for the first time since May, while the total number of new cases per week globally has fallen to under 100.

O’Neill Institute Associate Ana Ayala (LAW ’10) emphasized the need for continued maintenance of public health systems globally.

“If there is anything that this experience has taught the world is that we are all very much interconnected, as well as the serious economic and social implications it can have on a country,” Ayala said. ”It is critical that the lesson stays with us for as long as it can, so that we do not lose sight of the importance of having strong public health systems across the world.”

When Klain was appointed in October, he drew criticism, primarily from Republicans in Congress, for his lack of scientific background. Professor of Health Systems Administration and Population Health Michael Stoto stated that Klain’s lack of experience allowed him to coordinate effective policy.

“I think it was right to have someone who was not [a scientist or physician],”

Stoto said. “What they didn’t need was one more expert. The challenge that they had to deal with was that they had a lot of experts, who all had different views, and what they needed was somebody to coordinate.”

Stoto praised Klain’s attention to quelling public fears, stating that other politicians exploited fear for political gain.

“I really think what some of the politicians have done for political advantage — they said things that are flat out wrong — were really shameful,” Stoto said. “For the country to respond to something like this, what we really need is trust in our system and trust in our elected officials.”

Upon his October appointment, Klain had to leave his government seminar, “Presidential Debates,” which he had taught since spring 2012, in order to assume his duties as Ebola czar.

Klain will return to teaching next fall.

“Part of being back in the private-sector is being able to return to Georgetown to teach. I felt very badly when the call came last fall, I had to leave my class in the middle of the term,” Klain said. “I will be back in the fall teaching again and I’m really looking forward to that, getting back on campus and having the chance to work with [students].”

news

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

THE HOYA

A7

Israeli Apartheid Week Campus Reflects on Speech Draws Polarized Response Toby Hung

Hoya Staff Writer

Jack Bennett Hoya Staff Writer

A microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached the Georgetown campus this week as the Georgetown branch of Students for Justice in Palestine hosted events for Israeli Apartheid Week.

The week, which is taking place this year at universities in over 55 cities and 19 countries, includes events that protest the Israeli occupation of Gaza and support the Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions movement. According to the event’s Facebook, the week is meant “to spark reflection on the injustices inflicted upon Palestinians, raise awareness about the historical and ongoing causes of injustice and promote dialogue about these issues in a respectful ... manner.”

The week included a Monday screening of “Roadmap to Apartheid,” a documentary film produced by a Jewish Israeli and a white South African. Students participated in a protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Tuesday speech to the United States Congress. Wednesday featured a screening of “The Promise,” a film series that compares current Israel to 1940s Palestine.

“I’m excited about Wednesday’s event because I think something that often gets overlooked is the historical reality of the issue,” SJP President Leila Shebaro (SFS ’15) said. “I think it helps to frame the modern Israeli state, the Zionist project, the Palestinian experience, all of it, in the context of the different structural controls that have existed since the opening of the century, and I think it helps people understand where Palestinians are coming from.”

On Thursday, the group hosted a discussion about the BDS movement, which advocates for the boycott of and divestment from Israeli businesses, cultural and academic institutions and sanctions on the Israeli government.

SJP contends that Israel is an apartheid state discriminates against Palestinians by limiting civil rights, restricting access to roads and water and demolishing homes. The organization constructed a wall representing the Israeli West Bank Barrier in the Intercultural Center Galleria.

“We mean a lot more than the wall,” Shebaro said. “There are a lot of structural aspects of Israeli policies and institutions that are even more the reality of apartheid than the wall itself.”

Due to its national policy of anti-normalization, SJP does not collaborate or co-sponsor events with any campus group that supports Israel.

“The policy of anti-normalization is that we’ll only engage with organizations that essentially come at the situation recognizing explicitly that Israel is an occupying state and that occupation is the cause of the conflict and the violence,” Shebaro said. “We’re not going to work with an organization that is not committed to justice for all people including Palestinians.”

In response to this policy, student groups including the Georgetown Israel Alliance and J Street U Georgetown hosted their own events to share varying perspectives.

GIA created a discussion table in the ICC on

Thursday to speak to students with questions about Israeli Apartheid Week. GIA President Harper Weissburg (SFS ’17) said that she would have liked to work with SJP to encourage discussion.

“We are not in a position to co-sponsor with SJP, which kills us,” Weissburg said. “We’d love to have that discussion, but because of this [anti-normalization] policy that is not in the cards.”

GIA disagrees with SJP’s claim that Israel is an apartheid state and adamantly opposes BDS. “Israel is not an apartheid state, blanket statement,” Weissburg said. “It is a misrepresentation of the horrific apartheid in South Africa and although GIA is first to admit that Israel, like all states, is not a perfect state and yes, racism exists in Israel as it exists in all states, apartheid is the de jure institutionalization of racism, the creation of a second-class citizenry if you will. And that is not the case in Israel.”

Also due to its anti-normalization policy, SJP has refused to work with J Street U, although the organization does acknowledge Palestinian oppression and Israeli human rights violations.

“We get a lot of questions about why we don’t work with J Street in particular, because they are the more moderate organization,” Shebaro said. “I think my problem, and the institutional problem with J Street, is that they have a tendency to portray the treatment of Palestinians … as unfortunate necessities or consequences of [Palestinians] being violent or [Israelis] being provoked.”

J Street U Co-President Natalie Magioncalda (COL ’16) said that the organization opposes BDS but wants to encourage an open dialogue.

“J Street unequivocally opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,” Magioncalda said. “We are open to open dialogue around BDS, but we don’t support BDS, because we feel that illustrates the conflict in black-and-white terms.”

Co-President Molly Wartenberg (SFS ’16) agreed with Magioncalda and added that she does not think BDS proposes any viable solution.

“Instead of trying to sit down and have those conversations with people on the other side … it is saying let’s reject Israel, let’s reject their institutions, let’s reject their industries and in doing this, draw attention to it. I think the only way to move forward is to have more conversations between people,” Wartenberg said.

J Street hosted its own discussion on Wednesday to discuss the SJP’s classification of Israel as an apartheid state, and even invited SJP to the event, despite the anti-normalization policy.

Wartenberg explained that J Street U’s more neutral approach to the issue and purpose of its event aimed to stimulate dialogue.

“We got involved in this week because we felt that ... the rhetoric surrounding Israeli Apartheid Week hurt our cause to find peace and coexistence between the two peoples and work towards that two state solution. We felt that using words like ‘apartheid’ and ‘genocide’ made it a one-sided conversation, and polarized the conflict, delegitimized Israel in a way,” Wartenberg said. “We wanted to open up a place for discussion rather than leading the week to become more polarizing.”

The community met yesterday to discuss free speech on campus at a forum hosted by the Georgetown University Student Association and the Speech and Expression Committee.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education recently ranked Georgetown among the top 10 worst colleges for free speech. The panel and this placement were not directly related, since the panel was scheduled before the ranking’s release.

The panel featured government professor Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., Director of Protestant Chaplaincy Rev. Bryant Oskvig, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, Sam Kleinman (COL ’16) and Chandini Jha (COL ’16), all members of the Speech and Expression Committee. GUSA hosted a similar panel in January 2014. GUSA President Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) moderated the panel and said he wanted to encourage honest and open discussion.

Tezel then introduced associate professor of theology Rev. James Walsh, S.J., who authored the first speech and expression policy in 1989. The policy was created after students protesting for divestment from South Africa’s apartheid regime were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Walsh said that the ideal free speech policy should encourage students to engage in respectful, intellectual dialogue, referencing John Henry Newman’s writings.

“Suppose you have a position that I disagree with. What I have to do is articulate your position and give the strongest possible case for what you hold, so that when you hear it, you say, ‘I’ve never been able to put that so well myself, that’s wonderful.

That’s exactly what I think.’ Then I would say, ‘I’ll tell you why I disagree with that.’ It is intellectually generous and in the spirit of friendship,” Walsh said.

The panelists discussed the Speech and Expression Committee’s role educating the community on free speech policies.

“I think that the strength of the committee is not [being centrist], but rather, to [serve as] a way of clarifying policies,” Jha said.

Oskvig said that it is vital for the committee to maintain free speech policies when tackling incidents of hate speech. “[We] find a lot of our delib-

erations centering around hate speech,” Oskvig said. “How do we move it into spaces to create and foster conversation where the speech itself is sort of cutting that conversation off? We want to create a robust conversation and dialogue in which ideas can be exchanged and we can all grow together.”

Kleinman said that the committee has improved from previous years by thoroughly examining complaints issued by students on free speech policy.

Kleinman also said that he wants the Free Speech and Expression Committee to begin developing an open, public case log so that students can see the way that the committee works and processes each case to create a precedent for the future.

In Olson’s opening remarks, he addressed Georgetown’s placement on FIRE’s list. While Olson acknowledged violations of free speech in the past, including the two instances in which pro-choice student group H*yas for Choice was removed by the Georgetown University Police Department, he said that those instances misrepresented how the university addressed such issues.

“I do want to say that our place on this year’s top 10 list doesn’t cause me to stay up all night worrying,” Olson said. “They also misrepresented the process that we followed over the last year when we committed with GUSA to working out this memorandum of understanding. … What FIRE reports is that it took me months to say something, which is just not true.”

In FIRE’s list this year, Georgetown was included for the lack of official recognition for H*yas for Choice. In September 2014, members of the group were removed from its previously approved tabling location outside of the front gates, and in January 2014, the group was forced to relocate after distributing condoms outside a pro-life conference on campus.

FIRE Program Officer Susan Kruth, who was not present at the panel, said that this treatment shows that Georgetown does not uphold its values of free speech.

“While the revised policies are better, Georgetown still won’t recognize H*yas for Choice, and its officers still seem confused about what the rules are,” Kruth wrote in an email.

Kruth also said that the administration’s disagreement with student groups over certain issues should not interfere with free speech policies.

“FIRE acknowledges that private universities have the right to prioritize other values over freedom of expression — they just have to be upfront about it,” Kruth wrote. “However, Georgetown states in written policies: ‘[A]ll members of the Georgetown University academic community … enjoy the right to freedom of speech and expression.’ ...

If it’s going to limit speech that conflicts with Catholic values, it must make that disclaimer here.”

FIRE also considered the recent criticism of the Georgetown Voice’s cartoon that was interpreted by many students as racist and misogynist. The Speech and Expression Committee received a complaint regarding the cartoon, prompting the dialogue about the free speech policy.

Kruth said that the publication of the cartoon is protected

by Georgetown’s free speech policy as well as the First Amendment.

“The committee’s response should have simply cited Georgetown’s promise of freedom of expression and clearly stated that the students involved may not be sanctioned by the university for creating or publishing the cartoon,” Kruth wrote.

Olson said that he was encouraged to see students engaging in thoughtful discussions following the incident.

“The response to the Voice editorial cartoon was a really encouraging response because it was students saying to other students, ‘Here’s the impact of that. Do you understand what that meant?’ And students really engaging in conversation,” Olson said.

H*yas for Choice President Abby Grace (COL ’16) said that she agreed with Georgetown’s placement on FIRE’s list and that the administration could improve its free speech policy by clarifying and correctly implementing its tabling policies.

“Given the overwhelming frequency at which Georgetown students utilize tabling as a form of speech in protected zones, the administration should recognize this as one of students’ preferred methods of expression,” Grace said.

A8

SPORTS

THE HOYA

FRIday, MARCH 6, 2015

women’s Golf

softball

GU Set for 12-Game Week Practices Limited

By Winter Weather

Tyler Park

Hoya Staff Writer

Bus rides can often function as a bonding experience for a group of teammates. No team knows that as well as the Georgetown softball team (6-5).

Due to inclement weather, Georgetown was forced to cover the distance between D.C. and Florida twice within the span of a week. The team made an unexpected bus trip back from the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., Sunday before making the same drive again Wednesday, this time arriving in Tampa, Fla., for the Under Armour Showcase.

In both cases, snowstorms disrupted the team’s travel plans. This past Sunday evening, the team’s flight was cancelled due to the snow in D.C., and Wednesday, the team decided to drive to Florida a day early rather than risk a flight cancellation due to a snowstorm on Thursday.

Nevertheless, the team still relishes the opportunity to play games in the friendly climate of Florida, and it takes the long road trips as a chance to bond as a team.

“Anytime we’re on the road, whether it’s a weekend or seven days down in Florida, I think it’s a huge opportunity for different people to get to know each other,” Head Coach Pat Conlan said.

This year, the team has a roster of only 13 players, which limits the team’s depth, but it also contributes to a close-knit atmosphere that is conducive to long road trips.

“I feel like we’re closer as a group, especially because we’re smaller in numbers. The team chemistry is awesome this year,” senior pitcher Megan Hyson said.

In the Under Armour showcase, the team will face off against Robert Morris (7-6), Southern Illinois (10-4), Western Michigan (1-5), Wagner (22) and Maine (4-6) over the three-day span from Friday to Sunday. The team will then play two games Wednesday against Lehigh (3-1) and South Florida (11-7) before travelling north to play in the Cherry Blossom Classic in Fairfax, Va., from Mar. 13 to 15, where they will play five more games: two against Wagner and Akron (6-7) and one against George Mason (0-9).

All of this adds up to a demanding 12-game schedule over spring break, particularly when factoring in the long-distance travel.

However, the team’s players will be aided by their weeklong break from academics, which simplifies their agenda and allows them to focus solely on softball.

“To be able to play where it’s warm and sunny, without the stress of school, for a week will be so much fun and much-needed,” senior right fielder Sophia Gargicevich-Almeida said.

Conlan echoed Gargicevich-Almeida’s sentiment.

“The fact that they are not worried about missing classes and studying for exams and things like that, it certainly takes a load off their shoulders.

They can concentrate on playing softball in warm weather, and that’s something that we don’t get to do that often,” Conlan said.

Hyson, who is off to a blistering start on the mound, will lead the Hoyas through their jam-packed week. She leads Big East pitchers with five wins, 50 strikeouts and 39 2/3 innings pitched, ranks second in the conference with a 1.06 ERA and also functions as one of the team’s best hitters. Even coming off a standout

junior season, Hyson worked hard in the offseason to improve her game.

“Me and my coach, we worked on getting ahead in the count, because I think that’s huge. Getting the leadoff batter out, also, was an issue last year, so I think those are two of the improvements that I’ve made,” Hyson said.

Hyson has been supported by an offense that boasts several much-improved players, including Gargicevich-Almeida. After receiving sporadic playing time during her junior season, Gargicevich-Almeida has seized a starting spot this season with consistent offensive production. She has already exceeded her totals from last year in hits and RBIs, and she leads Georgetown with three home runs, the first three of her career.

“I think it’s just her time. She’s worked really hard, and she’s been given an opportunity, and she doesn’t want to give it up. … She’s embracing her senior year and she’s going to get as much out of softball as it will possibly give her, so it’s really fun to see her perform right now,” Conlan said of Gargicevich-Almeida.

Gargicevich-Almeida attributes her improvement to her improved mentality at the plate.

“To be honest, I really have focused on my mental game. This sport is 90 percent mental, 10 percent physical.

I have learned to let go of trying to control outcomes and have used that energy to control my attitude and my effort,” Gargicevich-Almeida said.

Eight of the Hoyas’ 20 games this season have been cancelled due to inclement weather, but they hope to find better conditions in Tampa and Fairfax over the next week. The team’s first game of the Under Armour Classic against Robert Morris will start today at 1:45 p.m.

men’s basketball

Seniors Celebrate Final Game PIRATES, from A10 players are freshmen, and their youth and inexperience shows. Plagued by unwise shot selection and poor free-throw shooting — the team has made a mere 66 percent of its free throws this year, which is second lowest in the league — Seton Hall could prove to be a relatively easy win for the Blue and Gray.

The Seton Hall players to watch include freshman guard Isaiah Whitehead and junior guard Sterling Gibbs. Gibbs and Whitehead are the team’s two leading scorers, and they each pose scoring threats from any position on the court.

The game will cement the Hoyas’ position in the Big East tournament, but as the last home game for five graduating seniors, the game is also heavy with sentimental value. Ahead of senior day on Saturday, The Hoya looks back on the five seniors’ careers in blue and gray.

Center Joshua Smith

The path to senior day has been a circuitous one for Joshua Smith. The 6-foot-10 center transferred to Georgetown from UCLA during the latter half of the 20122013 season, a former McDonald’s AllAmerican looking for a second chance at a program renowned for sending big men to the NBA. Smith tantalized with 25 points in his first game as a Hoya, but struggled to replicate the performance and missed the entire second half of his junior season due to academic issues.

Facing the reality of his college career coming to a close, Smith has played with a newfound sense of urgency this season, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. As Georgetown’s top rebounder, second leading scorer and a troubling mismatch for most teams in the country, the Kent, Wash., native figures to play a

large role in any postseason success that awaits the Hoyas.

Guard Jabril Trawick

Jabril Trawick’s steady development as a college basketball player during his four years at Georgetown is not particularly extraordinary.

In his freshman season, the Philadelphia native averaged 11.4 minutes per game off the bench. Throughout his sophomore season, he started in 20 of 32 games. In his junior season, he averaged 9.1 points per game. This season, as a senior, he has started every game.

His statistics are not extraordinary, but his passion and drive are the skills that he has brought to every stage of his career, and they merit remark.

“His effort, his energy — he got beat up out there and he comes in, not necessarily scoring baskets, but on the defensive end and on the boards, making the passes on the offensive end,” Head Coach John Thompson III said of Trawick’s performance after the Hoyas’ upset win over Villanova on Jan. 19.

In the game, Trawick took an elbow to the eye but barely missed any minutes on the floor.

Trawick credits his hometown of Philadelphia for helping him develop that toughness that has helped define him on the court.

“It made me mentally tough, which helped to make me physically tough. It shaped me into who I am today,” Trawick said. “Philly is a tough town, and I like to carry that.”

Forward Mikael Hopkins

Hopkins arrived at Georgetown from DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., one of the premier high school programs in the country. Hopkins has aver-

aged more than 20 minutes per game since his sophomore season. Through offseason workouts, Hopkins has filled out his 6-foot-9-inch frame and evolved into a key rim protector for Georgetown.

“When you feel strong, you play strong; it’s all a mental thing,” Hopkins said. “You see yourself in the weight room lifting a lot of weights; a guy a little bit smaller than you isn’t going to be able to get past you.”

In last Tuesday’s crucial win over Butler, Hopkins’ performance embodied what he has meant to his team over his Georgetown career. With six points, six rebounds and four blocks, Hopkins did the dirty work that is absolutely necessary to grinding out wins down the stretch.

This season, Hopkins is fourth in the Big East with 1.7 blocks per game.

Forward Aaron Bowen

Aaron Bowen has a flair for the dramatic. Over his four years, the 6-foot-6inch swingman from Jacksonville, Fla., known simply as “AB” has come off of the bench to energize a sometimeslackluster Georgetown offense. On Dec. 27 against Indiana, Bowen had his best game as a Hoya, scoring 22 points in a 91-87 victory over the Hoosiers.

Center Tyler Adams

Adams played in four games in his freshman season before being permanently sidelined with a heart condition. He has remained as a part of the team for the past three seasons, providing support and advice for his teammates throughout his time on the Hilltop.

Hoya Staff Writer Tyler Park contributed to reporting.

greens, especially in the final rounds. We need to practice our short game, as we haven’t really had a chance to practice that due to the large amount of snow that we’ve had. Once we clean that up, we’ll be really ready to go,” Brophy said.

Eleey echoed her coach’s sentiments, noting that her performance could have improved even further with a sharper short game.

“I feel like I left some shots out on the course, and sharpening up the shortgame can save a lot of shots,” Eleey said.

Going forward, the team is focused on winning other tournaments, including the Big East Championships.

“For the second half of the season, we want to win tournaments,” Brophy said.

The Hoyas are also looking to build off their success during the fall season.

Georgetown played in five tournaments and finished the fall on a high note by winning the Lady Blue Hen Invitational in Rehoboth, Del. “Winning Big East and making it to regionals is definitely a team goal. I feel like we have accomplished so much in the fall season and this past tournament that can make winning Big East a reality,” Eleey said.

The team will have a few weeks to prepare for their next tournament, the Hoya Invitational, which will take place on March 29-30. The Invitational will be played at Four Streams Golf Course in Beallsville, Md.

KiaWah, from A10 players fed off of each other’s energy and relied on their team dynamic to improve their performance. Eleey credited her teammates for supporting each other as they went through their rounds.

“Our team had great communication between holes. We were always rooting and ceering for each other. We stayed positive especially on the first day when there were really tough conditions; it was a grind out there,” Eleey said.

Like many of Georgetown’s sports teams, the women’s golf team has been affected by recent weather conditions in the Northeast. The Hoyas have not had much outdoor practice recently, and as a result, the players were forced to make the abrupt transition from playing on turf to playing on grass.

“Getting back out on grass was great,” she said. “It was difficult transferring from turf to grass, but the team did a great job of handling it. We wanted to make the cut, which we did. There are definitely some kinks that need to be worked out but we showed up strong for our first tournament.”

The team’s lack of outdoor practice time has particularly affected the team’s play around the green. When a player is limited to indoor practice, it is particularly difficult to replicate the conditions of an outdoor greenside area.

“The team is really strong in hitting

MEN’S LACROSSE

Quinzi Leads Hoyas in Road Win as everybody is working hard,” Warne said. “If the seniors are doing a good The final quarter was slower — nei- job getting the ball to the freshmen, ther team scored a goal in the first half and they finish, then that’s great — evof the period — but Georgetown out- erybody wins. If Nick [Marrocco] does scored Mount St. Mary’s 2-1 in the last a great job in the cage, that’s probably stretch of the game to make the final because he’s seeing shots that we want score 11-5. him to see because the defense is doing Head Coach Kevin Warne credited a good job.” better positioning and execution as drivLooking ahead, Georgetown will ing forces behind Georgetown’s game- continue to address the challenges of reversing run of offensive success. short weeks of practice. Evening out “I think we just shot better and its record against Mount St. Mary’s was dodged harder. … We got to good spots the first step for Georgetown as it looks on the field, and we started finishing to build momentum as it prepares for our shots, which the slate of tough opwas most impor- “Nobody really cares ponents in coming tant,” Warne said. up on its schedule.

Standout con- about who gets credit Warne believes tributors for the that hard work and Hoyas included as long as everybody is concentration durfreshman attack working hard.” ing the limited pracStephen Quinzi, tice time between who notched three games will lead to KEVIN WARNE goals, marking his success in the future.

Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach second consecu“It puts a little tive hat-trick. Senior attack Bo Stafford more stress on us to get everything added another two goals and freshman ready and be prepared,” Warne said midfielder Ryan Hursey and freshman of the condensed practice schedule. attack Matt Behrens each scored a goal “When you have a shorter week … you apiece. Senior attack and co-captain need to concentrate a little bit more Reilly O’Connor contributed three as- on what you need to do because that’s sists to the effort. what you’ll fall back to.”

On the defensive end, freshman Georgetown still has a few days to goalie Nick Marrocco had 15 saves in practice before it faces Hobart (2-1) in the net for the Hoyas. a home game on Saturday. Though the Though Georgetown has only played Hoyas will shape a game plan around four games this season, several fresh- addressing their opponent’s strengths, men, particularly Quinzi and Marroc- they are more focused on executing co, have been making significant and their own style of play. consistent contributions on the field.

“Offensively, we know that if we play While their statistics may stand out, our game we’ll do well and defensively, Warne sees their strong performances the same sort of thing, too,” Bucci said. “In as a sign that they are blending into these short weeks, it’s really important to the team dynamic. make sure we know what they want to do “I think we’re starting to have that and are executing on our end.” brotherhood where nobody really Opening faceoff is scheduled for cares about who gets the credit as long noon at MultiSport Facility. mount, from A10

CLASSIFIEDS INDEX MISCELLANEOUS 800

The Hoya Classifieds The Writing Center is Now Accepting Undergraduate Tutor Applications for 2015-16 You can access the application by visiting the Writing Center website, writingcenter.georgetown. edu, and clicking “Be a tutor.”

Completed applications are due Friday, March 20, 2015. If you have any questions, please email Interim Director David Lipscomb, dcl@georgetown.edu.

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SPORTS

FRIday, MARCH 6, 2015

THE HOYA

WoMen’s Lacrosse

A9

The Water Cooler

GU Defeats George Mason for 1st Win Manfred Must Claire Schansinger Hoya Staff Writer

A rainy evening and a wet field were not ideal conditions for a game under the lights on Wednesday night, but the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (1-2) blocked out the weather and fought to earn its first victory of the season in an 11-9 contest against George Mason (2-2). The victory improves the Hoyas’ all-time record against the Patriots to 12-0, and now five of those victories have come at home.

Although Georgetown emerged from Wednesday’s contest with the win, Head Coach Ricky Fried noted that additional changes must be made during practice before the team heads into Saturday’s game against Towson University.

“The win wasn’t great,” Fried said. “In the first half we played smarter, faster and with more confidence. In the second half, we looked like [George Mason] wasn’t going to show up and didn’t play very hard, very fast or very tough. They

outhustled us across the board and we made mistakes, but fortunately, they made plenty of mistakes on their own.”

Despite the mistakes and slow pace during the second half, an early lead helped the Hoyas hold on for their first win. The Hoyas had a 7-3 lead after the first half, with senior attack Caroline Tarzian putting the Hoyas on the board with a goal in the first four minutes.

In addition, Georgetown edged George Mason in several important statistical categories to build a lead. Georgetown had 27 shots on goal compared with George Mason’s 16, and the Hoyas had 22 ground balls compared with the Patriots’ 13.

The Hoyas hit their stride through the first 22 minutes of the game, notching seven unanswered goals to build a sizeable lead. However, two unassisted George Mason goals closed the Hoyas’ lead to five and gave the Patriots momentum going into the second half.

Two more George Mason goals early in the second half

further encroached on Georgetown’s lead, and draw controls were leaning in the Patriots’ favor. However, a second-half draw control and goal from senior captain and defender Adrianne Devine reversed the trend.

“It felt good,” Devine said about her goal. “It was confusing at first because it dribbled in and everyone stopped and said, ‘Drop your stick!’ It was nice to get support from the attackers as a defender.”

Junior midfielder Kristen Bandos and junior attack Corinne Etchison each had hat tricks and helped the Blue and Gray maintain possession for the majority of the last 10 minutes of the game. Last weekend, Georgetown fell 11-7 to No. 11 Princeton University (30) in the home opener at MultiSport Facility. The Tigers had a late 7-1 first-half run, which was too much for the Hoyas to overcome.

Though Georgetown was able to build a first-half lead against George Mason, Fried felt that the team had room to improve.

“The biggest thing we have to do in the game every day is show up and compete,” Fried said. “We have to hold ourselves accountable and to a certain standard. Right now, we don’t do that consistently and if we continue, we are going to be in a close game every single game. We’re capable of playing very well but we pick and choose when we want to do that.”

Devine agreed with Fried.

“The win feels good, but we know we have a lot to work on,” Devine said. “We played well together when we did, but the most challenging part was the draws. We need to stay consistent throughout the whole game and keep up the momentum. For Saturday, we need to work on playing with a lot of heart.”

Georgetown’s upcoming game against Towson (1-0) is an important step in building that momentum. Towson is coming off of a 4-3 win over Monmouth University in its first game of the season.

The match is slated for 3 p.m. at the MultiSport Facility.

tennis

Top Calif. Teams Pose Next Challenges Madeline Auerbach Hoya Staff Writer

After beating DePaul right on its campus last Friday, the Georgetown men’s tennis team will travel 3,000 miles to California to compete in multiple contests, including the 126th Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles tournament and individual matches against UC Riverside (0-7), UC Irvine (6-8) and UC San Diego (6-4).

The Pacific Coast Doubles tournament, which will be hosted in La Jolla, Calif., is the second-oldest tennis event in the country.

“The Pac-Coast Doubles is the 126th annual tournament. How crazy is that?” Head Coach Gordie Ernst said. “USC, UCLA and Stanford — all of the best college teams — they’ll all be there, so it’ll be good for our guys to be playing at that level of competition.”

The Pacific Coast Doubles tournament will take place over the course of three days, spanning from March 5 to 7. After the Hoyas enjoy a brief break, they will return to action March 11 in Riverside, Calif. The next

day, they will compete with UC Irvine.

“San Diego is one of the best teams in Division II in the country, so they’re good,” Ernst said.

“It’s going to be a lot of competition for the guys. It’s not going to be a lot of beach time for these guys; [it will be] a lot of tennis.”

Other teams competing at the tournament include Big East rivals St. John’s and Villanova, as well as William & Mary, Boston College, Rice University, UC Davis and Ohio State, among others.

Graduate student Andrew Dottino and senior Shane Korber are seeded 12th in the tournament, and they will take on a duo from Ohio State this afternoon. Sophomore Jordan Portner and freshman Mac Rechnan are seeded 28th, and they will play against Villanova. Junior Daniel Khanin and sophomore Jack Murphy are seeded 52nd, freshman Marco Lam and senior Alex Tropiano are seeded 66th and freshman Peter Beatty and senior John Brosens are seeded 73rd.

Coach Ernst and Assistant Coach Brian Ward, seeded 123rd, will also compete.

“It’s an amazing tournament.

In fact, I’m going to play with

Brian; there are people who play who aren’t just college students,” Ernst said.

This is the second consecutive year in which the men’s squad has travelled to the West Coast during the Hoyas’ spring break.

Last year, they also competed against UC Riverside and UC Irvine. Georgetown fell to both teams.

In their match against UC Riverside, the Hoyas dropped two out of their three doubles matches, leaving the last match unfinished. They split the six singles matches, triumphing at first, third and fourth singles.

The following day, Georgetown fell to UC Irvine in a 5-2 result. Again, Georgetown lost two out of its three doubles matches. Then freshman Jack Murphy and junior Alex Tropiano won their match (8-4) in the second doubles slot, but the first and third doubles pairings dropped their matches 8-6 and 8-3, respectively. The Hoyas proceeded to fall in four of the six following singles matches.

UCSD lost 7-2 in its last match to Claremont-Mudd Scripps on Feb. 28, but it won its previous three matches in resounding

victories with scores of 7-2, 8-1 and 9-0.

The winless UC Riverside has had two consecutive disappointing seasons, as its victory against Georgetown last year was one of its two wins on the season. Though UC Irvine’s record is currently below .500, it is coming into March with a 4-2 record in its last six matches.

Meanwhile, the Georgetown women’s tennis team (6-1, 0-1 Big East) will take on the Seton Hall Pirates (3-4) in the Hoyas’ second Big East matchup of their 2015 spring season. The Hoyas are 5-1 in match play against the Pirates in the teams’ last six meetings.

“Every year — the last four or five years, at least — we’ve beaten Seton Hall,” Ernst said. “It’s always tight, they always play us hard, but we always seem to squeak by. We’ve got to be ready for them. I think [sophomore Victoire Saperstein] and the girls can get it done.”

The match was originally slated for Feb. 8, but weather conditions postponed it to tomorrow.

The contest will take place in Morristown, N.J., beginning at 5 p.m.

SUDOKU

Maintain MLB Status Quo IPPOLITO, from A10

pre-steroid product. Obviously there are limits to what the MLB is able and willing to do to boost offense because maintaining the integrity of the game is critical. One possible solution that was suggested by new commissioner Rob Manfred is the banning of the defensive shift, a strategy that involves realigning the defensive players on the field to adjust to the batter.

This is a horrible idea for several reasons. First, there is sparse analysis as to what impact it would actually have on offense; even if defenses are shifting more and the number of balls put into play while the defense is shifted is rising, there is not enough statistical data to provide a justifiable reason to ban shifts outright.

In fact, in 2013, defensive shifts were estimated to cost the league 300 runs, or about 1.5 percent of the season total. Even the best teams only saved eight to 10 runs because of shifts, so the impact on each individual game is miniscule.

Second, it seems wrong to limit teams’ defensive strategies when they have been deemed acceptable, regardless of their success rate.

When the NBA removed several of its defensive restrictions in 2001, some players and coaches, most notably current Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers, opposed the decision. Many critics argued that allowing certain types of zone defense would reduce overall scoring.

However, compared to 2001, scoring in the NBA is up five points per game per team this season. Thus, giving defenses freedom is not linked to declining offense, and regardless of the frustration baseball executives harbor about the state of offense in the MLB, there is not sufficient data to justify banning the shift.

Aside from declining offense, baseball is also seeking to tackle its alleged pace of play issue. In 2014, MLB games averaged a record time of three hours and two minutes, which is a 5.8 percent increase in the past five years.

In the upcoming season, baseball is going to experiment with a pitch clock, which would limit pitchers to a certain amount of time between pitches, similar to basketball’s shot clock. However, what most fans fail to realize is that a very similar rule already exists — it simply needs to be enforced.

Rule 8.04 in the MLB’s official rules gives a pitcher 12 seconds to throw a pitch after he receives the ball if the bases are empty; failure to comply results in an automatic ball awarded at the discretion of the umpire.

It is easy to understand why this rule goes universally ignored by umpires, as none of them want to be the one to potentially change the outcome of a game because a pitcher is slow to deliver.

It is clear that the MLB already supports the spirit of the rule, and this season’s experiment is a useful data gatherer. If this succeeds, then baseball should attempt to create some sort of compromise. In exchange for actual enforcement, pitchers should get a 20-second clock in between pitches.

The biggest potential variable in these rule changes will be batters’ habits. For the new rules to succeed, hitters need to limit their between-pitch routines, which include stepping out of the box, adjusting their helmet or taking excessive practice swings.

There may not be a perfect solution, and perhaps the pitch clock experiment will fail. If it does, it may be proof that baseball, especially its defense, is not meant to be tamed and timed.

Michael Ippolito is a sophomore in the College. THE WATER COOLER appears every Friday.

WOmen’S basketball

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10th-Seeded Hoyas Look to Surprise XAVIER, from A10

to open the second half, taking a onepoint lead with 17 minutes left to play.

Georgetown kept the score close until the final minutes of the contest.

The Hoyas grabbed a one-point lead with 3:06 left to play, but the Musketeers answered back, regaining the lead with a layup from senior guard Maleeka Kynard. Xavier then went on to score nine unanswered points.

Junior forward Dominique Vitalis hit two free throws with three seconds remaining in the game, but it was too little and too late for the Hoyas, as Xavier ended up with an eight-point victory.

Nearly a month later on Feb. 13,

tthe Musketeers came to McDonough Arena for their second matchup with the Hoyas. Georgetown led for much of the first half, extending its lead to 11 points with five minutes left to play before the break. However, Xavier closed out the half with an 11-3 run, leaving the Hoyas with a slim two-point advantage heading into the locker room.

The score remained close throughout most of the second half, but once again the Hoyas were unable to hold on down the stretch. Georgetown led by two points with 3:15 remaining, but a layup by junior guard Aliyah Zantt ignited a 7-0 run for Xavier. The Hoyas were held scoreless for the last three minutes of the contest and trailed by five points when the final

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Junior guard Brittany Horne averaged 13.5 points and 29.5 minutes on the floor in Georgetown’s two losses to Xavier this season.

buzzer sounded.

“It wasn’t so much what [Xavier] did as what we didn’t do,” Adair said. “It is a matter of making that layup, getting that stop, getting that rebound, making that free throw. We do so many things well, we just don’t finish.”

The Hoyas will need freshman guard Dorothy Adomako, who was recently named Big East Freshman of the Year, to step up against Xavier and to continue the dominant play that has defined her first collegiate season.

“Dorothy is a phenomenal player,” junior forward Brittany Horne said. “It is amazing to watch her and I don’t think anyone in the Big East deserved the honor like she did.” Adomako had two outstanding games against Xavier this season, scoring a team-high 18 points in the first matchup and contributing 10 points and eight rebounds in the rematch with the Musketeers.

“Dorothy is a fighter, she is a competitor,” Adair said. “Her work ethic is second to none. She is ready for Saturday and we are ready to have her on the floor to lead us.”

The Hoyas biggest defensive challenge will be stopping sophomore guard Raeshaun Gaffney. Gaffney led Xavier in scoring in both games against Georgetown. She exploded for a game-high 21 points in the first contest and was able to score 12 points in the second matchup. “[Gaffney] is a top player in this league,” Adair said. “We are going to have to contain her. We are going to have to make it hard for her.”

Georgetown will have to put together a full 40 minutes of play in order to beat Xavier on Saturday and avoid another late-game collapse.“We have to play tough and do the little things that have cost us games earlier this season,” Adomako said.

“I am ready to play hard and to go in there with my teammates and do what we have to do to win.”

Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

Hoya Staff Writer Emma Conn contributed to reporting.

SPORTS

Men’s Basketball Georgetown (19-9) vs. Seton Hall (16-13) Saturday, 12 p.m.

Verizon Center

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

TALKING POINTS

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

“

NUMBERS GAME

It’s not going to be a lot of beach time for these guys; it will be a lot of tennis.”

Georgetown fends off a second-half comeback to defeat George Mason 11-9.

See A9

TENNIS HEAD COACH GORDIE ERNST

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S LACROSSE

After 11-5 Win, Hobart Awaits ELIZABETH CAVACOS

CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

cord up to .500.

The Hoyas’ game against the Mount was the first midweek game on Georgetown’s schedule. From here, its games will continue to be close together, giving the team shorter windows of time to prepare for the next opponent.

Despite facing a 3-1 deficit early in the second quarter, Georgetown renewed its intensity and made several changes on both ends of the field to quickly overcome Mount St. Mary’s two-goal lead.

“I think in the beginning of the game, we were a little sloppy with the ball offensively. Defensively, we made a couple poor decisions that led to goals [from Mount St. Mary’s]. So we knew that everything was correctable, but we just needed to actually focus and make sure that we corrected those mistakes,” senior midfielder and co-captain Joe Bucci said.

On offense, the Hoyas scored five goals throughout the rest of the second quarter and added another after halftime to stretch their run to six unanswered goals. The Mount finally responded with their first goal to end their 22-minute scoring drought to make the score 7-4, but the Hoyas tallied two more to enter the final period with a 9-4 lead.

Freshman attack Stephen Quinzi is tied for first on the team in goals with nine so far this season. Quinzi has started all four games for Georgetown.

See MOUNT, A8

Hoya Staff Writer

After a slow offensive start and some defensive mistakes in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (2-2)

THE WATER COOLER

Michael Ippolito

Preserve Defense in The MLB A

s time passes, there are some initially transient cliches in sports that seem to gain a sense of permanence. The Chicago Cubs may never win a World Series, the city of Cleveland may be forever cursed by the sports gods and defense may never be considered sexy. While the fate of the Cubs and the city of Cleveland may very well change, the appeal and image of defense in base-

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred should not amend the rules of baseball as part of his mission to create more excitement and offense.

reversed the momentum with a sixgoal run in an 11-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1-3).

After dropping its first two games of the season, Georgetown fought back against Hofstra (1-3) on Feb. 28 and Mount St. Mary’s to bring its re-

WOMEN’S GOLF

Hoyas Finishes 21st inSpringTournament PETER HIGGINS Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown’s women’s golf team competed in its first tournament of the spring this past weekend at the Kiawah Island Classic in Kiawah Island, S.C. The Hoyas kicked off the second half of its season and finished in 21st place out of 40 teams.

After posting consecutive rounds of 315, Georgetown’s final round 309 gave the Hoyas a 54-hole score of 939 — good for a cumulative value of 75-over par.

Standout performers from the weekend included freshman Jacquelyn Eleey, who led Georgetown with a total score of 229, and junior Mackenzie Boydston, who posted the team’s best indi-

vidual score with a final-round 74. Eleey’s total score put her in a tie for 36th place overall among individual players.

Head Coach Kate Brophy was pleased with her team’s overall performance, especially considering the early-season nature of the tournament and the difficult weather conditions that the team endured.

“The team was really competitive across the board. We showed a lot of grit and determination in the first round in very tough weather conditions.… It was nice to get the early season kinks out,” Brophy said.

Although golf is primarily an individual sport, Georgetown’s See KIAWAH, A8

The number of consecutive hat tricks that freshman attack Stephen Quinzi has notched for the men’s lacrosse team.

#55 JABRIL TRAWICK GUARD Senior Year: 27 minutes per game (up from 11.4 in his freshman year) • 788 Points • 326 Rebounds • 193 Assists

#24 JOSHUA SMITH CENTER Statistics (in 2 seasons at Georgetown): • 464 Points • 213 Rebounds • 42 Assists • 29 Blocks

#3 MIKAEL HOPKINS FORWARD

#23 AARON BOWEN FORWARD

Senior Year: 22.8 minutes per game (up from 6.8 in his freshman year) • 602 Points • 458 Rebounds • 143 Blocks • 124 Assists

Senior Year: 15.4 minutes per game (up from 3.8 mpg in his freshman year) • 426 Points • 212 Rebounds • 62 Assists • 64 Steals

TOP LEFT, BOTTOM LEFT: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA; TOP RIGHT: FILE PHOTO: MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA; BOTTOM RIGHT: FILE PHOTO: CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA

DC Hosts Seton Hall, Senior Day DILLON MULLAN, TOM SCHNOOR & LAURA WAGNER Hoya Staff Writers

Locked in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East, the Georgetown men’s basketball team’s (19-9, 11-6 Big East) last regular season game against Seton Hall (16-13, 6-11 Big East) tomor-

row at noon carries huge implications for Big East tournament seeding.

Seton Hall has lost seven of its last eight games, including a 19-point loss to Georgetown on Feb. 10 in Newark, N.J. The Pirates are a young team; eight of their 13 See PIRATES, A8

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

GU Enters Postseason Amid 14-Game Slide MOLLY O’CONNELL Hoya Staff Writer

ball will always be a second fiddle to offense.

Recently, Major League Baseball has been the latest sports league to signal its willingness and desire to inject more offense into the game — at the expense of defense. Unfortunately, the league’s proposed suggestions are misguided and ignore viable solutions that are already factored into baseball’s rules.

First, it helps to understand the nature of the problem baseball is attempting to solve. At 8.28 runs per game, scoring in 2014 was at its lowest level since 1981, and was down nearly two runs per game and 20 percent from just 14 years ago.

However, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, scoring hovered between eight and nine runs per game and only shot up to over 10 runs per game in the mid1990s — the height of the steroid era.

Thus, offense was artificially inflated and today’s game more closely resembles the

When the Big East tournament tips off in Rosemont, Ill., tomorrow, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (4-26, 2-16 Big East) will have two options: beat Xavier (16-13, 8-10 Big East) or return to Washington, D.C. to wait for the start of next season.

For the Hoyas, who are seeded 10th out of 10 teams in the Big East tournament, a first-round win over the seventh-seeded Musketeers would be a significant upset. Georgetown lost 14 straight games to close out the regular season. Xavier delivered two of those defeats. “[The Big East tournament] gives us the opportunity to start a new season,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “We can rewrite this whole story. [Xavier] is a tough team, but a team that we competed with both times we played them.”

In the first matchup with Xavier on Jan. 16, Georgetown held a sixpoint lead at halftime. Despite their strong first-half performance, the Hoyas struggled to maintain their advantage after the break. The Musketeers scored seven straight points

See IPPOLITO, A9

See XAVIER, A9

FILE PHOTO: STANLEY DAI/THE HOYA

Freshman guard Dorothy Adomako followed through on preaseason expectations by earning the Big East Freshman of the Year honor. Adomako averaged 14 points in Georgetown’s previous matchups with Xavier.

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