The Hoya: April 8, 2022

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Meissner Since 1920 FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 103, No. 15, © 2022

GU Community Stages Counterprotest Against Anti-LGBTQ Protesters

CAITLIN MCLEAN/THE HOYA

Dozens of students staged a counterprotest against transphobic demonstrators outside GU front gates.

Caitlin McLean Senior News Editor

When Siena Hohne (COL ’22) discovered transphobic protesters had gathered outside of Georgetown University’s front gates, she immediately put on her “Homo Saxa” sweatshirt and brought a speaker to the front gates, where she blared Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way.” Hohne was joined by around two dozen other Georgetown community members to oppose a group of protesters from the anti-LGBTQ organization American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (American TFP).

Around 11 TFP representatives had gathered around noon April 4 outside Georgetown’s front gates at 37th and O St. NW, holding signs that read “God created them Male & Female. Stop the ravages of transgender ideology.”

With origins dating back to 1971, the American TFP, which is part of a larger internation-

al TFP, describes itself as “an organization of lay Catholic Americans concerned about the moral crisis shaking the remnants of Christian civilization,” according to the group’s website. TFP did not respond to The Hoya’s request for comment.

Hohne, former co-president of GU Pride, said it is important that students joined the counterprotest to stand in solidarity with transgender people, especially given the rise of anti-trans bills being introduced across the country.

“The counterprotest is a really essential thing for allies to do to show that we do love trans folks here, that we love kids — that we are not going to let these people get away with spreading lies and hate, just ruining people’s day,” Hohne told The Hoya.

The American TFP strongly opposes gay and transgender rights, and “pro-homosexual clubs on Catholic college See PROTEST, A6

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Hundreds of Georgetown community members have signed a petition calling on the university to dedicate greater resources to South Asian academic programming on the Hilltop, such as creating South Asian language courses.

Petition: Expand South Asian Studies

Adora Zheng

Student Life News Desk Editor

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ore than 240 students have signed on to a petition urging Georgetown University to expand South Asia-related curricula and institutional support.

The petition calls on the university to increase its offerings of South Asian languages, South Asia-related courses and

university sponsored academic programming. The petition, which was written by Nikash Harapanahalli (SFS ’24), Suhani Garg (SFS ’23) and Shevani Tewari (SFS ’24), also calls on the university to hire more faculty members who are experts in the region of South Asia.

South Asian students deserve the opportunity to study their diverse heritage at Georgetown, the petition says.

“Academic discussions about South Asia must reflect this innate diversity of the region and its people,” the petition reads.

The university currently offers 14 languages that students can pursue as a major or minor, none of which are South Asian. Next fall, students can take coursework in Sanskrit and seven Hindi classes, according to the fall

2022 class schedule.

Despite South Asia being home to hundreds of languages, the university has failed to expand offerings to include South Asian languages, Harapanahalli said.

“South Asia has over 650 languages. It has every single major world religion. It has a history stretching back to the See PETITION, A6

All-Women Venture Capital Rabid Fox Wreaks Havoc Team Heads to Global Finals On Capitol, Attacking 9 Eli Kales

City Desk Editor

As she left the U.S. Capitol building on the afternoon of April 5, POLITICO Reporter Ximena Bustillo felt a nip at the back of her foot. When she turned around, she expected to see a squirrel or a rat. Instead, Bustillo came face-to-face with a fox that had sunk its teeth into her ankle.

Bustillo was one of at least nine people attacked by the rabid fox that incited chaos at the Capitol building in Washington,

D.C., before Capitol Police and the Humane Rescue Alliance captured the creature April 5.

The fox was euthanized April 6, and D.C. Health confirmed the animal to be positive for rabies that same day.

The attack came as a surprise to Bustillo, who was walking in the grass on the northern Senate side of the Capitol building.

“I was walking and it bit me from behind so I didn’t even see it,” Bustillo wrote to The Hoya.

“It wasn’t like I was trying to feed or pet it.”

Bustillo went to the emer-

gency department to receive rabies and tetanus shots, despite her injury being minor. She said many people reached out to check in on her after she tweeted about the fox attack.

According to D.C. Health, the fox’s three kits were later discovered in the fox family’s den, but had to be euthanized April 7 because of their exposure to rabies from the mother fox.

Elisabeth Wachtel (SFS ’24), who works as an intern at the U.S. Senate, was leaving her ofSee FOX, A6

@MSBGU/TWITTER

Georgetown’s first all-women venture capital team — Team Elm — will compete at the global Venture Capital Investment Competition April 8 and 9.

Julia Kelly

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown’s first all-women team will compete in a global business venture capital competition final against 19 teams from around the globe.

Georgetown’s Team Elm will compete April 8 and 9 at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIV), an event based on venture capital startup pitch analysis, due diligence and written deliverables. The event is hosted by the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Team Elm won the MidAtlantic regional competition in February against teams from American University, Elon University, Emory University and the University of North Carolina,

where they competed to present the best hypothetical investment before a panel of judges.

Teams are judged on the quality of their diligence sessions, term sheets and partner meetings.

The team is composed of five undergraduate women: Erin Connery (MSB ’24), Kate Gilles (MSB ’23), Betsy Ratliffe (SFS ’23), Tian Shi (COL ’22) and Sydney Yin (SFS ’22). Former championship winner Sara Zulkosky (GRD ’14), a Georgetown entrepreneur advisor, is their coach.

Gilles said it was inspiring to be a part of an entirely female team in what is traditionally a male-dominated field.

“It’s been exciting to see that people are inspired by an allfemale team. At our regional competition, one of the judges re-

marked that he felt inspired when he saw our team competing,” Gilles wrote to The Hoya. “He has daughters and hopes that they feel empowered enough to also enter male-dominated spaces as we have.”

Only 4.9% of venture capitalists in the United States are women.

White women disproportionately make up this already small figure, with only 0.2 % of Latinx and 0.2% of Black women representing venture capitalists. Furthermore, female founders in the United States secured only 2% of venture capital funding in 2021.

At VCIC, teams must conduct independent research, craft diligence questions and term sheets, participate in diligence sessions with entrepreneurs and have See TEAM ELM, A6

@CAPITOLPOLICE/TWITTER

A rabid fox attacked at least nine people at the U.S. Capitol on April 5, including a Congressperson and a POLITICO reporter. Officials euthanized the fox April 6.

NEWS

OPINION

GUIDE

SPORTS

Horse Herpes Outbreak

Implement Metro U-Pass

“Violet” Captivates Audiences

Women’s Tennis Prevails

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Following a definitive win over Seton Hall, Georgetown women’s tennis trounced the Providence Friars 7-0.

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Over 40 horses at Meadowbrook Stables, home to Georgetown’s Club Equestrian Team, have contracted Equine Herpes Virus.

Georgetown must honor the 2021 student referendum that called on the university to join the Metro U-Pass program.

The student-produced musical “Violet” amazed audience members with a stellar cast and engaging live music.

Taking the Stage

Wear A Mask

Mitski’s Concert Disappoints

Destined for Success

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Catherine Shonack’s (COL ’22) play “Huelga!” tells the story of Latinx advocacy in Houston, Texas.

Given the ongoing threat of COVID-19, the university should never have implemented a mask-optional policy.

Despite her vocal talent and expert songwriting, Mitski failed to meaningfully engage her live D.C. crowd.

Published Fridays

Thanks to recent triumphs and a promising roster, the Memphis Grizzlies may be on track to secure the season title.

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

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THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

OPINION EDITORIAL

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

Modernize GU Application While the recent admission of the Class of 2026 was exciting as always, the college acceptance season continues to serve as a sobering reminder of the inequities and unnecessary barriers involved in Georgetown University’s application process.

Georgetown’s outdated, separate application portal requires more time, effort and steps than more mainstream application platforms such as the Common and Coalition applications, adding unnecessary stress for college applicants and disproportionately affecting low-income and non-legacy students in the process.

Given these disparities, the Editorial Board urges the university to shift its application process onto standardized applications, like the Common or Coalition applications, to increase accessibility and attract more socioeconomically diverse applicants.

The Common App, which was created in 1975 to standardize the college application process, allows students to provide personal information, write a standard personal statement and school-specific supplements, and pay application fees all in one place.

More than 900 universities, including highly selective institutions like Harvard, Yale and Stanford, have adopted the platform.

Although Georgetown requires similar application materials to peer universities, it is one of the few remaining selective institutions that does not use the Common App, instead electing to use its own application, which includes several more supplemental essays.

The university uses a private application to ensure the process highlights students’ individual strengths, according to a university spokesperson.

“Georgetown’s application keeps our process as personal as possible and allows us to coordinate an alumni interview for nearly all candidates. The Common Application promotes a larger volume of applications,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “Even though Georgetown’s application asks students to do more, it puts students first.

The university’s applicant pool continues to grow in quality and diversity, and has reached record highs the last two years.”

In reality, however, switching to the Common or Coalition Application would increase access for high school students by making the school’s application more visible, eliminating the barrier created by a separate portal and streamlining the application fee waiving process.

The university’s application fee only worsens this accessibility barrier for low-income students. Whereas the Common App allows applicants to pay fees at the end of the application process, Georgetown’s $75 fee must be paid before applicants can even access the application questions and supplements.

For lower-income students, paying the fee right away can pose undue hardships in an already financially intensive process.

Obtaining a fee waiver through Georgetown’s distinct application is more difficult than doing so through the Common App. The Common App fee waiver needs to be

approved once by a guidance counselor and subsequently applies to all schools to which students apply through the platform. Conversely, Georgetown requires high school guidance counselors to directly submit a fee waiver request via a separate form.

Switching to the Common App and creating a more centralized platform to submit fee waivers and application documents would lessen the burden on low-income students, teachers and counselors.

The barriers to low-income students’ application prospects are further perpetuated by the university’s practice of legacy admissions, which gives a greater advantage to children of university graduates. Given that legacy applicants are more likely to be white, affluent students, the application impedes access to more competitive institutions for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students. Though the university does not recruit legacy applicants, it nonetheless grants preference to applicants with family ties when evaluating students on equal academic standing.

Since Georgetown is not on the Common App, legacy applicants with graduate relatives may know more about Georgetown’s application process and could thus have an advantage over underrepresented students with no prior exposure to this separate application.

As such, the university attempts to recruit a diverse array of prospective students through various programming and outreach efforts.

“While each individual staff member works within their own geographic region to recruit to a diverse group of prospective students, a Diversity and Access team coordinates outreach to first-generation college students and students of color through programming with a variety of organizations (including Kipp, Cristo Rey, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, Chicago Scholars and others) for presentations, college fairs and mock interviews,” a university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya.

These efforts to recruit diverse candidates are commendable, but the university must switch to the Common App to make the application process more accessible to low-income and underrepresented students, thereby reducing any adverse influence legacy admissions may have on low-income students’ admissions prospects.

Georgetown applicants, and particularly low-income students, already face a plethora of stressful challenges when applying to college, and having to complete a separate, costly application, while contending with the unfair advantages for legacy students, produces an unnecessary burden. The university must switch to the Common App to create a more equitable admissions process that prioritizes accessibility for a more socioeconomically diverse applicant pool.

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We pride ourselves on ‘cura personalis,’ but true respect for one another means prioritizing the health and safety of our entire community.

Georgetown should not have lifted the mandate, especially in classrooms.”

Isabel Janovsky (COL ’23) “Maintain GU Mask Mandate” thehoya.com

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

GDA: Protect Disabled Students As the Georgetown Disability Alliance Board, we are writing in response to Liam Jodrey’s “Respect Georgetown Mask-Optional Policy” to urge the student body to consider the immense harm of this policy.

For many disabled folks, the mask-optional policy was a reminder of what we’ve always known: our lives have been deemed expendable by others.

The mask-optional policy was implemented just one week after spring break ended, despite the arrival of the new COVID-19 variant omicron BA.2.

Since then, the percentage of positive cases has more than doubled between the weeks of March 13-19 and March 20-26. Now, we feel more vulnerable than ever at an institution that only pretends to care.

Jodrey wrote that COVID-19 is “no deadlier than the flu” for “healthy college students.” But what about the rest of us? According to the 2020 Campus Cultural Climate Survey, 14% of undergraduate students reported that they identify as disabled. In a post-COVID-19 climate, this percentage is likely on the rise, with many students experiencing the effects of long COVID-19. These estimates also do not include those who live with immunocompromised or disabled individuals.

Writing that “the majority of Georgetown community members will be just fine,” not only invalidates the terror of navigating the pandemic for many of us –– it tells us that our lives don’t matter.

The COVID-19 crisis is a public health issue for a reason –– we exist in communities with each other; we contract the virus from each other. While it’s true that one-way masking is better than no masks at all, it’s much more effective when we all wear them.

When Georgetown’s public health officials are determining steps forward, we ask them to consider the lives of disabled students and all those particularly at risk. Our critique is not a personal attack against Jodrey; rather, it’s about the institutions that have cast us out and told everyone that this is a matter of “individual choice,” when it’s actually a matter of life and death for many of us. Yes, life in the pandemic is tiring, but it is even more exhausting when we have to carry the weight of adaptation –– the weight of fighting for our lives.

Sincerely, The Georgetown Disability Alliance Board

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Natasha Leong

The Hoya’s editorial board is composed of six students and is chaired by the Opinion Editors.

Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.

HOYA HISTORY

Father Healy Elected GU President April 15, 1976 We applaud the election of the Rev. Tim Healy, S.J., as the 46th president of Georgetown University. The Board of Directors has shown a rare wisdom in choosing a man who is uniquely suited to deal successfully with the serious problems that hang darkly over the university’s future.

Fr. Healy’s experience lies precisely in those areas which beg vigorous action if Georgetown is to do more than survive. The trials of holding a major post at the City University of New York, particularly as academic vice chancellor, are the perfect crucible for forging a man with the temper to run this university at this time.

For the university student body, faculty and administration the future demands much greater concern and involvement in the molding of life at Georgetown. It is their implicit responsibility to offer as much cooperation, guidance and constructive criticism to Healy as is demanded by circumstances.

The most important task confronting Fr. Healy is establishing Georgetown to its claim as the leading Catholic and more importantly Jesuit institution of higher education in the U.S. It’s time that someone gave Notre Dame a run for its money.

The dormant legacy of an outstanding Jesuit tradition must be reaffirmed and blended with the progressivism of the seventies to define Georgetown’s role in the future.

Although Father Henle’s program of financial development proved to be outstanding in its scope, it is imperative that a private institution such as Georgetown remain financially independent and solvent. Above and beyond the normal budgetary needs we see glaring funding deficiencies in areas such as the library, athletic development, student services and facilities. The choice of Fr. Healy reflects an awareness that Georgetown needs a man who grasps the awful reality of massive financial collapse.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND 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 600-700 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

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The new president also boasts a strong record in the area of community relations and minority programs. Even if it were not our moral duty as a religious and educational institution, pragmatic politics would dictate some accommodation to the District community. When outgoing President Fr. Henle first arrived at the university, he enunciated a clear commitment to the D.C. community and to minority programs in the teeth of withering opposition from much of the alumni, faculty and students.

What little of this commitment was actually translated into concrete action has usually been torpedoed before it got afloat or shuffled off into institutional oblivion. Tokenism reigns.

Georgetown has debts long past due in this area and only a dim recognition of the responsibility owed to the District and the local community.

Founded January 14, 1920

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FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

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OPINION VIEWPOINT • FLORES

Implement Metro U-Pass Program

I

t has been 11 months since 84.03% of voters approved of a referendum, drafted by Georgetown University Student Association’s (GUSA) leadership, requesting that Georgetown University join the Metro U-Pass program offered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

If implemented, the program would automatically charge all full-time undergraduate students $127 per semester for unlimited rides in WMATA’s train and bus services in the region.

The university’s failure to act is indicative of a long history of the administration’s disconnect with the student body.

By not respecting the results of this referendum and failing to implement the Metro U-Pass program, the university openly dismisses the views of over a thousand students. As GUSA’s leading senator on the project, I implore the university to take the necessary steps to implement the Metro U-Pass on the Hilltop.

In our research to push for the referendum, the authors of the bill — including former President Nile Blass (COL ’22), Senators Dominic Gordon (SFS ’23), Leo Rassieur (COL ’22) and myself — looked at American University’s participation in the Metro U-Pass program and found that of 10,000 AU students enrolled in the program, approximately 9,000 students used their U-Pass Smartrip cards in 2017 alone.

This statistic shows that the program is not just another added fee to our cost of attendance; rather, it’s a program that is utilized by all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

George Washington University recently joined AU as the second university in Washington, D.C., to enroll in the program. In December 2021, GW pushed through a trial period to collect data on student usage of the program and then fully implemented the program a month later.

At the bare minimum, the university should consider implementing a trial period. While the Office of Transportation Management can push out numerous transportation surveys, the feasibility and demand of the Metro U-Pass can only be accurately measured by a trial program, which is inherently not binding. Therefore, the university

has no excuse for not pursuing a trial program.

Although GUSA has provided various proposals to make transportation equitable on campus, such as a transportation stipend program, there has been little movement on the university’s part.

In a March 31 article in The Hoya, the university cites the Capital Bikeshare Universities Program and free transportation services via the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttles (GUTS) as sufficient alternatives to the Metro U-Pass.

However, these transportation options are simply not enough.

For instance, most GUTS buses do not operate on weekends, when students usually plan to get out of the Georgetown area to explore the city and attend to their personal matters.

There is a common misconception among opponents of the Metro U-Pass that Georgetown students will not benefit from the Metro U-Pass program because we don’t have a Metrorail station, but that is not true.

Georgetown repeatedly uses its location in the capital to market the school to prospective students and donors. Nevertheless, it has done very little to help students, especially financially disadvantaged students, get around the city to explore, pursue opportunities and get out of the Georgetown bubble.

The Metro U-Pass started as a GUSA initiative, but is now supported by many in the student body. As one of the authors of the referendum, I find it necessary to hold the university accountable to listen to student perspectives and act on them.

This led me to introduce a resolution that reaffirmed the 2021 referendum vote and emphasized the university’s inaction on an overwhelmingly popular proposal.

However, we must remain clear that this resolution is not the end of GUSA’s efforts. GUSA must continue to pressure the university to implement the program even after a referendum vote or having peers sign a petition. Effective policies can only happen when the Georgetown community is engaged at every step of the process.

ILLUSTRATION BY: ALAN CHEN/THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • MARGULEAS

Exonerate Faarooq Mu’min Mansour

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eorgetown University’s “Making an Exoneree” class has secured three exonerations during its four years of operation. I am fortunate enough to be a student in the course’s fifth year. My group, “Team Faarooq” — made up of Ty Greenberg (SFS ’22), Symone Harmon (COL ’22) and myself — believes our case will be the fourth. We are working to exonerate Andrew D. Lee (now Faarooq Mu’min Mansour) who has been imprisoned for 20 years for a crime he did not commit.

Having reviewed the case in its entirety and gotten to know Faarooq on a personal level, we support his innocence — and know that significant exculpatory evidence exists.

On March 25, 2002, Shauna Sandercock, the owner of a video game store, was murdered in the back room of her establishment. Her gun, stolen during the commission of the crime, was found in the possession of a known criminal in Atlanta months after the murder.

A friend of Faarooq’s has signed an affidavit stating that the two of them were together outside of his house while the true perpetrator committed Rowlie Flores is a senior in the crime. Most importantly, the College.

DNA profiles of two different

men were found on the victim but were never run through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database that consists of the DNA profiles of convicted offenders. CODIS also includes profiles developed from evidence in unsolved crimes and evidence used to identify missing persons.

Faarooq was scientifically excluded as matching neither of these profiles. The answers that CODIS could provide are essential to his exoneration.

On March 29, 2002, three dozen police officers and SWAT agents surrounded Faarooq Mu’min Mansour outside of his family home in Columbus, Ohio. Without knowing the crime for which he was being arrested, Faarooq believed this was a case of mistaken identity. Following the advice of his father, he allowed the police to handcuff him and take him for questioning. Unbeknownst to Faarooq and his parents, he would never return home.

Faarooq was wrongfully convicted in 2003 of robbery, kidnapping, rape and murder.

He was, consequently, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At the root of his wrongful conviction is the insidious, pervasive and fatal grip that racism holds over the United States

and its justice system. The Innocence Project found that “innocent Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people.” The statistic is even higher when the victim is white.

Furthermore, exonerating innocent Black people takes approximately 45% longer than exonerating innocent white people. Faarooq’s life is forever changed by the racism and injustice epidemic plaguing the U.S. justice system.

His case is representative of how white supremacist ideology relies on the stereotyping of Black men as predators to justify mass incarceration, and Faarooq, a wrongfully convicted Black man, understands the role that racism played in his trial and conviction.

Addressing the jury in his closing speech during sentencing, Faarooq noted that innocent Black men are too often accused of raping and murdering white women. For the past 20 years, he has been one of countless innocent Black men wrongfully convicted and wrongfully incarcerated. His jury, supposedly composed of 12 of his “peers,” included only one Black member, Faarooq said.

Ever since his conviction, Faarooq has maintained his innocence and pleaded for

more DNA testing to be done, knowing that it will prove without a doubt that he is telling the truth. His case, however, is at a standstill due to the denial of his motion to request a new trial.

Additionally, the three eyewitnesses who saw the suspect inside of the video store on March 25 were all white and their descriptions of the suspect’s physical appearance did not match Faarooq. Two of them picked Faarooq out of a photo lineup. The photo of Faarooq used in the lineup, however, was around a year old and did not match his appearance at the time of the crime.

What’s more, the defense never called an expert witness to address potential issues with the administration of the photo lineup, or concerns about crossracial identification, stress factors and weapon focus.

Now is the time to show Faarooq that you, the Georgetown community, believe in his innocence. Join us in our fight to exonerate him by spreading the word and garnering awareness. Faarooq, silenced and forgotten by our justice system, has been wrongfully incarcerated for 20 years — 20 years too long.

Anna Marguleas is a junior in the College.

VIEWPOINT • JANOVSKY

IDENTITY IN DEPTH

The Burden of Imposter Syndrome Maintain GU Mask Mandate Christina Suh Columnist

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eorgetown University welcomed its class of 2026 on March 29, bringing a very competitive application season to a close. The glee among prospective Hoyas reminds me of my own joy over a year ago.

However, this time is also a sour reminder of the feelings of rejection that inevitably stained my decision week. The mercurial rush of the college application season — this liminal space of highs and lows — is a defining, coming-of-age moment for high schoolers.

College acceptance felt like a personal form of validation, a recognition of all of my accomplishments that confirmed my self-worth. But conversely, rejection felt like a devastating condemnation of all of my failures and evidence that I wasn’t enough.

This choice to spotlight our accomplishments when we succeed and our failures when we don’t reveals an inherent masochism that strains our conceptions of ourselves.

However, we should be doing the very opposite.

We should extend ourselves enough grace to focus on our achievements in order to detract from feelings of overwhelming inferiority. We should have enough humility to focus on our inadequacies in order to protect ourselves against unchecked superiority.

My Georgetown acceptance was a potent dose of validation, but it wasn’t permanent.

When I arrived on campus, I was surrounded by peers who had achieved the same feat,

dulling any edge that I may have previously felt I had.

A selective school like Georgetown can easily induce a sense of nonbelonging for the individuals that make up the student body, manifesting in imposter syndrome. Predicated on notions of relative inferiority, imposter syndrome is a deeprooted personal insecurity brought to the surface by external factors.

It’seasytolookupandseepeople who appear much more confident, more accomplished, more able and subsequently internalize these comparisons as indicators of your own shortcomings. This process can happen anywhere, but the harsh reality is exacerbated when you’re extracted from a small pond and dropped into a big one.

Georgetown is indeed a big pond, filled with big fish. And it feels like there’s limited space, makingthepondanon-conducive environment for growth.

Because even if you’re sufficiently motivated by an internal pressure to catch up with your peers, it’s impossible to do so when external circumstances don’t let you try.

Exclusivity breeds a vicious cycle of depreciating self-worth, and Georgetown’s notorious club culture is a prime example.

Students want to get involved, proven by the influx of applicants that clubs attract every semester.

But with high rates of application come high rates of rejection, effectively killing any personal effort to grow. Rejection comes as a shock to anyone, but when you’ve been historically proven academically competent by statistics like a 12% acceptance rate, the blow can be especially crushing. What feels like personal failure, placed in the context of a campus where 92.9% of the student body participate in extracurriculars, perpetuates

the inferiority complex that contributes to imposter syndrome.

It’s easy to question your identity when enveloped in feelings of inferiority. Strengths are shrouded by weaknesses, and the very things that establish character feel threatened. The way we understand ourselves is left vulnerable to external influences, and our sense of self is obscured by how these externalities diminish our self-worth.

Imposter syndrome is founded on the assumption that we alone are the interloper, that our identity fails to stand against everyone else’s.

Almost 70% of people feel like imposters at one time or another, which reveals the fallacy of the phenomenon itself. We must recognize that we are fine-tuned to fixate on our inadequacies while we remain ignorantly blind to the weaknesses of others. In a desperate attempt to prevent the revelation of ourownfraudulence,wepresentthe most polished versions of ourselves by maximizing our strengths.

Consequently, our perceptions of our peers are based entirely on what they want us to see, but we don’t have the same privilege of selective perception in judging ourselves.

Your own impostor syndrome likely contributes to someone else’s.

So to both future and current Hoyas alike, understand that perceived inferiority is a systemic plague, not an individual one.

Imposter syndrome is an inevitable symptom of a competitive culture that conditions us to view ourselves relative to those around us, but by consolidating our personal identity by giving our strengths the same weight we give our weaknesses, we can break out of this trend that makes us all feel out of place.

G

eorgetown University’s mask-optional policy went into effect March 21. The case rate has since risen from 1.5% during the week of March 13-19 to 3.82% during the week of March 27 to April 2. Outbreaks of a new COVID-19 variant, BA.2, are causing spikes in cases across Europe and Asia, an indication of possible outbreaks here in the United States.

The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic is not over; Georgetown should not discount the dangers of “long COVID-19” nor the devastating impacts of COVID-19 for atrisk populations on campus.

To embody its Jesuit value of “cura personalis,” Georgetown should not have gotten rid of the mask mandate in classrooms to begin with. Only when COVID-19 became a danger for the community at large did Georgetown finally act to protect those who are most vulnerable.

Moreover, those calling for the continued lifting of the mask mandate are disregarding the health of their most vulnerable community members.

Immunocompromised students deserve to learn and live in a safe environment.

Commuters risk bringing the virus home every day to their family members, many of whom are older parents or young children. Professors and staff members face the danger of infection every time they show up to work.

Although the death and hospitalization rates among younger people are substantially lower than those of older populations, COVID-19 Christina Suh is a first-year in continues to pose serious the School of Foreign Service. dangers to young people.

Identity in Depth is published A United Kingdom study every other week. found that approximately

10% of those who have had COVID-19, including young people, experience prolonged symptoms even if their initial symptoms were relatively mild.

“Long COVID” refers to symptoms that last longer than three weeks after infection and can include difficulty breathing, fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations, joint or muscle pain, changes in taste or smell, changes in the menstrual cycle and even a potential increased risk of developing diabetes.

There is very little else currently known about long COVID, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes it as a prominent threat for young people, even for those without underlying conditions. The U.S. Department of Education has recognized long COVID as a disability to be accommodated in schools, demonstrating the severity of the disease.

Although vaccinations are very effective in preventing deaths and hospitalizations, masking on campus is still necessary to limit viral transmission spread and protect against long COVID. Results have varied on the efficacy of vaccine protection against long COVID. For example, a U.K. study in February 2022 found that close to 10% of fully vaccinated participants showed symptoms of long COVID three months later. For those who are immunocompromised, certain drugs to treat chronic conditions can lower the antibody production response of the vaccine. The best way to prevent long COVID, for now, is to avoid infection in the first place.

Masks work best if everyone wears them: a National Academy of Sciences study found that one-way, well-fitted masking posed a 20% risk of

infection, while universal, wellfitted masking dropped the risk to 0.4%. Wearing a fitted N95 or KN95 mask offers a great deal of protection, but not nearly as much if nobody else is.

Dropping the mask requirement in the classroom is dangerous. Neither students nor professors should feel as if they are putting their health or their families’ health at risk in the classroom. However, with the mandatory in-person class policy in place, vulnerable students and professors have little choice but to attend class, regardless of masking policy.

In some cases, masks may hinder communication.

To remedy this difficulty and facilitate conversation, individuals can wear seethrough masks, hold classes outside, allow for virtual instruction or institute any other mutually agreed-upon measures between students and professors.

Almost one million people in the United States have died of COVID-19 as of April 6, 2022.

The pandemic isn’t over, and pretending it is won’t make it go away. It will only make things worse for those who are the most vulnerable.

Georgetown students are meant to be “people for others.” We pride ourselves on “cura personalis,” but true respect for one another means prioritizing the health and safety of our entire community.

Georgetown should not have lifted the mandate, especially in classrooms. Only through collective action and responsibility can we protect those who are most at risk in our communities.

Isabel Janovsky is a junior in the College.

A4 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

FEATURES

Profile: Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner Wants To Break the Cycle of Indigenous Erasure

COURTESY SHELBI NAHWILET MEISSNER

Professor Meissner’s activism focuses on improving representation of Indigenous communities at GU and advocating for a formal land acknowledgement.

Since she came to Georgetown University in 2019, Professor Meissner has worked to expand Indigenous studies and secure more support for Indigenous students.

Liberty Phelan, Melinda Reed and Liana Hardy Hoya Staff Writers

S

helbi Nahwilet Meissner, one of Georgetown University’s only two Indigenous professors, grew up believing that her tribe’s language, ‘atáaxum pomtéela, had died out.

“When I was a kid, in college, I had always thought that nobody spoke our language,” Meissner said in an interview with The Hoya.

Meissner, who is Luiseño (Payómkawichum) and Cupeño (Kuupangaaxwichem), spent her undergraduate years at New Mexico State University, where she earned her degrees in philosophy, English and linguistics. In one linguistics class, a particular assignment caught her attention.

“The linguistics professor gave us a worksheet of a random language to work with,” Meissner said.

“And the language was my language — my ancestral language.”

Meissner went on to take language classes in ‘atáaxum pomtéela while in graduate school at Michigan State University, where she received a Ph.D. in philosophy with a graduate affiliation in American Indian and Indigenous studies.

After studying the language for several years, Meissner went back to the Luiseño reservation in California where her family was from and designed language classes for youth in the area.

For Meissner, whose academic work involves studying and recovering Indigenous languages, the process of reconnecting with her ancestral language was especially meaningful.

“It was a really beautiful experience to get to go from being that linguistic student, seeing this weird language on a paper and not having a relationship with it, to then suddenly now, this language is so important to me,” Meissner said. “Now being able to pass it on to another generation of kids who want to learn it is a really special experience.”

Meissner is now an assistant professor in Georgetown’s philosophy department teaching courses like “Intro to Indigenous Philosophy.” She also researches the role language plays in Indigenous knowledge systems, as well as trauma and wellness in Indigenous populations. For each of her syllabi, Meissner tries to involve Indigenous voices and case studies.

On top of her teaching duties and research, Meissner is working to promote the inclusion of Indigenous voices in academic spaces and advocates for increased resources for Indigenous students on the Hilltop.

Bringing Home into Academia Since coming to Georgetown as an assistant professor in fall 2019, Meissner has specialized in Native American and Indigenous philosophy, feminist epistemology and the philosophy of language.

She researches the intersection of language, philosophy, social issues and Indigenous experiences, ranging from In-

digenous issues in healthcare policy to the revitalization of Indigenous languages, she told The Hoya.

“We see Native communities all over the world saying things like, ‘We need to save our languages,’” Meissner said. “The kind of work that communities do around language is really interesting to me.”

Meissner also focuses her teachings on Indigneous gender and sexuality, land and environmental philosophy, and on recent Indigenous movements advocating for cultural reclamation and landback — the process of returning Indigenous land to Indigenous communities.

During her time at Georgetown, Meissner has taught classes like “Philosophy of Language,” “Indigenous Epistemologies and Higher Education” and “Topics in Anti-Colonialism.”

Meissner said her studies in Indigenous languages and knowledge systems led her to become a cultural consultant for federal and tribal child welfare programs. Her work involves training social workers on Indigenous cultures and values, as well as the historical connections of Child Protective Services to violence against Indigneous communities.

“There’s lots of studies that show that people who have connections to their languages have a healthier sense of self or have a stronger connection with their communities,” Meissner said.

Growing up in the American Southwest, Meissner was always surrounded by Indigenous peoples and communities. Before she went to college, she spent her time between Albuquerque, N.M., Phoenix, Ariz., and Southern California — all areas that have large Indigenous populations.

Even when she went off to college at New Mexico State University, which reported that only 1% of students identified as Indigenous when Meissner graduated in 2014, Meissner said she still felt the large presence of Indigenous communities and culture in the surrounding area, providing her with a larger sense of home.

“If you get out of a plane in New Mexico, you could not go 10 feet without seeing representation of Native art or representations of Native people,” Meissner said.

But when Meissner went on to pursue her Ph.D. at Michigan State, she said that representation disappeared.

“It wasn’t until I moved to a place where there were not a lot of Native people that I became really aware of it. It’s just something I didn’t realize was unique until I didn’t live there anymore,” Meissner said. “It made me homesick.”

Michigan State is a predominately white school with just over 0.2% of undergraduate and graduate students identifying as Indigenous when Meissner graduated in 2019.

Despite the lack of Indigenous students and faculty at Michigan State, Meissner said she still felt at home among Indigenous aca-

demic communities.

Facing a Lack of Representation

When looking for a job in academia after her doctoral studies, Meissner said she believed Georgetown would provide an opportunity for her to expand support for and research on Indigenous peoples, since Georgetown had already made space for other marginalized and nonWestern communities.

“It seemed like an opportunity for me, like a place where the soil was fertile for building more resources for more marginalized communities,” Meissner said.

After moving to the East Coast, however, Meissner encountered a shocking lack of understanding of Indigenous communities and history.

“There’s so much erasure of Indigenous communities here on the East Coast that I think your average person who grows up on this side of the country doesn’t know that Native people even exist,” Meissner said.

“Which is just such an intense form of gaslighting to navigate a part of the country that doesn’t even know that I exist or that my communities exist or that the people whose land this is exist.”

Despite having a significant presence of Indigenous tribes, the East Coast has fewer tribal communities that are federally recognized, and federally recognized tribal lands are smaller than those on the West Coast.

Meissner attributes this to the fact that Indigenous tribes on the East Coast are often more subject to colonial narratives, and are often seen as relics from the past rather than present communities.

“There’s a lot of differences in the ways that colonialism is experienced, time- and space-wise,” Meissner said. “Nobody experienced more genocide than the other. They’re just different forms of the same type of colonialism.”

Not only do federal and state institutions on the East Coast deny recognition and support to Indigenous tribes, but also Georgetown specifically has failed to make Indigenous studies and Indigenous students a priority, according to Meissner.

“Georgetown has room to grow and work to do with respect to connecting with Indigenous students, connecting with Indigenous communities, and building resources for those relationships,” Meissner said.

As of 2019, only 0.1% of Georgetown students identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, and only 0.1% identified as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders. Indigenous people comprise less than 1% of the U.S. undergraduate and graduate student population, according to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute.

Georgetown does not have data on the number of Indigenous students currently enrolled, but the university is working to collect and store more data on the Indigenous

identity and tribal affiliation of Georgetown students, according to a university spokesperson.

The university works to recruit Indigenous students by engaging with current students, graduates and staff of marginalized identities, according to a university spokesperson.

Meissner is one of only two Native American faculty members at Georgetown, and the only one currently teaching classes on the main campus. Bette Jacobs, one of the first tenured American Indian/Alaskan Native professors at a private university in the United States, was also the first American Indian/ Alaskan Native professor hired

by Georgetown in 2000.

Meissner was the second.

“It’s very embarrassing for Georgetown,” Meissner said.

After spending almost two decades as the sole Native American faculty member at Georgetown, Jacobs said that she welcomed Meissner’s arrival at Georgetown and admires her dedication to Indigenous studies and her students.

“I was very excited to have not only the broader reach, but a young spirited, energetic philosophy professor,” Jacobs said. “Her ability to relate to all students and generate some interest and enthusiasm and to support Native students is a real asset.”

Fellow D.C. universities, such as American University, have official land acknowledgements, which recognize that the schools are on land that was originally inhabited by Indigenous peoples.

Georgetown does not have a land acknowledgement to the Piscataway and Nacotchtank tribes, whose land the university occupies.

“Georgetown so far has not even been interested in pursuing one of those, and so when I got here, that was something I noticed that was a major missing piece,” Meissner said.

Meissner proposed a land acknowledgement process in the form of a student seminar, which would involve students in determining what a mean-

ingful land acknowledgement looks like for Georgetown. Land acknowledgement is a topic Meissner discusses in all of her classes, she said.

Georgetown is continuing to work on how best to recognize, respect and support Indigenous communities, according to a university spokesperson.

“We deeply respect and are open to engaging with the Piscataway Tribe, whose ancestral lands include the District of Columbia,” the spokesperson said.

Georgetown’s lack of Indigenous academic programming denies Indigenous students and faculty the chance to pursue activism and education in the nation’s capital, according to Meissner.

Despite this lack of representation, Meissner loves working with and sharing her knowledge with Georgetown students.

“Every single day I get up excited to come work with Georgetown students, to build with Georgetown students, and to give them my all because they’re just such phenomenally dedicated and compassionate people,” Meissner said.

Meissner said that student activism is essential for promoting indigenous issues on campus from student groups such as the Native American Student Council, a student group that advocates for Indigenous community members on campus.

The Native American Student Council did not respond to The Hoya’s request for comment.

As one of the only Indigenous faculty members at Georgetown, Meissner said she takes on a lot of organizational and advocacy responsibilities.

“Georgetown needs to hire more people who are trained in Indigenous studies,” Meissner said. “Student pressure might be one of the only ways to go about getting that because there’s only so much I can do.”

Georgetown, but in the country as a whole when making critical policy decisions.

“People don’t include Native voices in a lot of the spaces where Native voices seem like they would be a natural fit,” Meissner said. “For example, when people talk about environmental justice, but don’t include Indigenous people in that conversation.”

Meissner hopes to amplify Indigenous voices on campus through an initiative she is proposing to the university: the Georgetown Initiative for Indigenous Futures, Thought and Sustainability (GIIFTS). The program would connect Indigenous thought leaders to policymaking and work to produce more research on Indigneous history and language, as well as help Georgetown create a land acknowledgement process.

“I proposed this initiative, kind of hoping that this initiative could play a role in establishing Georgetown as a place where we have some cutting edge research,” she said. “What Georgetown can do to support Native students and faculty is support an initiative that’s dedicated to bringing Indigenous voices to campus.”

Meissner said another aim of the initiative is to recruit more Indigenous students and faculty by providing more support for the current Indigenous community at Georgetown.

“We have a hard time recruiting and retaining Native students because we don’t have any Native students, and we have a hard time recruiting Indigenous faculty because we don’t have Indigenous faculty. It’s a vicious cycle of a lack of representation,” Meissner said.

Georgetown must prioritize Indigenous studies by providing more institutional funds and working to bring in Indigenous postdoctoral students and specialists to empower the work of different departments, she said.

“I think that Georgetown A Future of Indigenous needs to put its money where its Leadership mouth is when it comes to proMeissner expressed frustra- viding the resources around Intion that Indigenous voices digenous studies,” Meissner said. aren’t heard enough, not just at

COURTESY SHELBI NAHWILET MEISSNER

Meissner hopes to establish an intiative at Georgetown to bring more Indigenous thought leaders to campus and connect Indigenous voices with policymaking.

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Onward for Afghan Women, an initiative by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, published a paper outlining recommendations for girls’ education in Afghanistan.

Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa, The dean of GULC signed on Samoan public policy. a letter urging Biden to end Story on A8 Title 42. Story on A7.

Over 40 Equestrian Club Horses Tech and Society Week Connects Contract Equine Herpes Virus Variety of Students, Departments Adora Zheng

Student Life News Desk Editor

Over 40 horses at Meadowbrook Stables, the facility that Georgetown’s Club Equestrian Team uses, have contracted Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). One horse has died from the illness.

The facility, located in Chevy Chase, Md., is monitoring the horses’ symptoms and will remain closed through at least late April. Since Meadowbrook Stables closed March 10, Georgetown’s Club Equestrian Team has been unable to practice at the facility.

Equestrian Club co-captain Hunter Spillan (SFS ’22) said the club is currently unable to practice because the facility has to restart a 28day quarantine cycle every time a new horse tests positive for EHV-1.

“It’s a full quarantine — horses are not being used at all right now,” Spillan told The Hoya. “It’s pretty tough because it’s my last season, and basically we’re suspended for the time being.”

EHV-1 typically causes respiratory symptoms like nasal discharge and coughing, but dozens of the horses at Meadowbrook Stables have also shown unusual neurological symptoms, Meadowbrook’s Executive Director Katrina Weinig said.

“The virus can mutate when it’s spread, and there are certain strains that can become neurologic and cause neurological symptoms, such as stumbling and disorientation,” Weinig said. “We’ve never had neurologic symptoms before.”

River, a pony at Meadowbrook Stables, was euthanized March 10 after demonstrating neurological symptoms. Later tests showed that River had EHV-1, according to a Facebook post March 18.

In an effort to mitigate the spread of EHV-1, Meadowbrook Stables quarantined their horses in 24 temporary

stalls, while staff members and volunteers continue to take the horses’ temperatures, perform neurological exams and give medications multiple times per day, according to a Meadowbrook email obtained by The Hoya.

Meadowbrook Stables set up a GoFundMe fundraiser March 21 to raise donations to support the barn while it is closed and help pay for the horses’ treat-

“It’s like losing a pet or a teammate. For some of them it’s fatal, which is really upsetting and scary.

As a team, we’re really rooting for them and hoping for the best, and thankfully it seems like they’re getting it under control.”

HUNTER SPILLAN SFS ’22

ment. As of April 7, the online fundraiser has reached $32,875 of its $85,000 goal.

The EHV-1 outbreak will ultimately cost Meadowbrook Stables about $150,000, according to a Meadowbrook email obtained by The Hoya.

Refunding all riders for canceled lessons would cost the barn around $180,000, which could impact the facility’s ability to continue operations, the email said. As a result, the barn will not be refunding riders.

Rather than offer refunds,

Meadowbrook Stables’ riders can either opt for a partial credit to be used for future lessons after the horses recover or make a charitable donation equal to the amount of their canceled lessons, according to the email.

Although EHV-1 is common in horses, with most contracting the virus before the age of two, this is the first time horses at Meadowbrook Stables have become sick with EHV-1, according to Weinig.

“We’ve had a potential exposure before and we implemented biosecurity protocols to make sure there were no sick horses and no transmission, but we had no positive cases that time,” Weinig told The Hoya.

Sofia Houts (COL ’25), a member of Georgetown’s equestrian team from California, said this is the first time she knows that horses she rides have been infected.

“The virus has been prevalent for over a year and it shut down a lot of shows in California in the fall,” Houts told The Hoya. “In the past it’s been spread at shows, so if we’ve had horses at our barn who were at a show that the virus was at, we would quarantine them in a separate space, but it never infected my barn.”

Weinig said that most of the horses are recovering well, but Meadowbrook will allow the horses to build up their fitness level after weeks of sickness before resuming the typical lesson program.

The equestrian team hopes that the horses recover quickly and that the team can resume practice soon, Spillan said.

“It’s like losing a pet or a teammate. For some of them it’s fatal, which is really upsetting and scary,” Spillan said. “As a team, we’re really rooting for them and hoping for the best, and thankfully it seems like they’re getting it under control.”

Laetitia Haddad

Academics Desk Editor

The Georgetown University Initiative on Tech and Society is hosting Tech and Society Week, a festival demonstrating the challenges and opportunities within technology.

This week of events, which started April 4 and ends April 8, includes workshops, research presentations, lectures and multiple virtual events exploring the issues of technology and society.

The student-run event included programming from Georgetown professors and organizations.

The Georgetown Ethics Lab, the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, and the Institute for Technology Law and Policy all helped with programming for the event.

Evagelia Tavoulareas, the managing chair of the initiative, said the week of events will help to connect students and professors on the topic of technology.

“There is so much great work happening across the campus that comes at questions at the nexus of technology and society from different angles,” Tavoulareas wrote to The Hoya. “Events like this allow us to spotlight that, and build connective tissue between the people and organizations who are immersed in these issues.”

Hosting the event in-person was a good way to bring people together on this topic, Tavoulareas said.

“Tech and Society launched right before the pandemic, so it’s really wonderful to see this all surfacing in such an engaging way across the campus. In many ways it is a physical manifestation of the work happening across tech and society, and we hope this is just the beginning,” Tavoulareas wrote.

The Georgetown Tech Policy Initiative (GTPI), a student-led group at the Mc-

Court School of Public Policy, was also involved with this year’s Tech Week. GTPI engages in policy discussions on the future uses of technology and connects students with leaders in government, academia and civil society.

GTPI President Jordan Miller said that the high turnout for events throughout the week demonstrates growing demand for discussions about technology policy.

“We hope that students will absorb both the gravity of this moment in history, including what is at stake if we do not course correct from technology that thrives on partisanship and outrage, but also the possibilities that are now within reach due to emerging innovation, as well as the need for further involvement by tomorrow’s policy leaders who can set rules of the road,” Miller wrote to The Hoya.

Shelby Switzer, a Beeck Center Fellow who works on an intergovernmental collaborative software project, planned two events for this year’s Tech and Society Week.

One of the events, a virtual panel called All Roads Lead to Procurement, examined how to apply new technologies across jurisdictions, Switzer said.

“On Thursday, we’re having a virtual panel called ‘All Roads Lead to Procurement’ where we’re going to talk about the challenges facing city and state procurement thresholds and how we can help improve the way that government at the local and state level buys better tech,” Switzer said in an interview with The Hoya.

Faculty members are also involved during the week of events. Donald Moynihan, a professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy who studies how technology can enhance citizen-state interactions, spoke at an April 5 event titled “Is Tech A De-

pendence of Public Policy?”

The event explored the role of technology responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moynihan said establishing relationships between a variety of departments across the university is essential to enhance technology policy.

“Georgetown has a great many faculty interested in the topic of how tech matters to society, in places like our public policy school,

““We hope that students will absorb both the gravity of this moment in history, including what is at stake if we do not course correct from technology that thrives on partisianship,” JORDAN MILLER GTPI PRESIDENT

computer science department, and law school, as well as specialist centers like the Beeck Center,” Moynihan wrote to The Hoya.

Switzer hopes students will walk away gaining something from Tech and Society week.

“I personally am most looking forward to meeting more people across Georgetown and seeing the really cool work that I know is going on here and hopefully getting to connect with these folks. I hope that everyone else kind of gets the same out of it. It’s a great chance to connect with real work on the ground and talk with people doing that work,” Switzer wrote.

Event: US Politics Will Benefit From Young Leaders’ Empathy Shajaka Shelton Hoya Staff Writer

The United States political system has become increasingly polarized and requires bipartisan collaboration to best serve U.S. citizens, Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said at an event.

At the April 5 event, “How to Heal: Pushing Through Polarization,” Kinzinger spoke about how fear worsens political polarization and his hope for future generations’ ability to resolve it.

The event was hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics), the Georgetown College Republicans and the Georgetown Bipartisan Coalition. This event is the first in GU Politics’ new forum series titled “How to Heal: A Series on Pushing Through Polarization,” aiming to bring together political leaders and activists across the political spectrum to discuss the issue of polarization.

Kinzinger said fearmongering has become an in-

creasingly popular tactic used by politicians, which has contributed to the polarization within the U.S. political sphere.

“Members of Congress raise a ton of cash on fear,” Kinzinger said at the event.

“If I tell you that I am the one that’s going to protect either Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell from killing your family — it’s almost that bad — in fundraising, you will part with anything, including your money, to prevent that from happening.”

Kinzinger is one of two Republican lawmakers on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. He was also one of 10 House Republicans to vote for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump following the insurrection.

Political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years — faster than the rise of polarization in European and other prominent democracies, according to a January 2020 National Bureau of Economic

Research working paper.

Centering humanity can provide a solution for polarization, according to Kinzinger.

“For the most part, in a political setting, people are scared that this country is not going to accept them or leave them behind,” Kinzinger said.

“When both people who have very different views recognize and look in each other’s eyes and say ‘your fear is the exact same as mine,’ that disarms everybody and you begin to see things sympathetically.”

Kinzinger said a key part of easing polarization is not for people to abandon their beliefs, but to learn how to coexist.

“It’s important for us to put that message out there to folks and just say ‘demand better.’ When we talk about compromise and common ground, I’m not talking about somebody giving up what they believe and going and becoming moderate or squish or not arguing. Like, keep that, but recognize you live in a society with people that are different than you,”

Kinzinger said.

It is up to younger generations to foster bipartisanship within U.S. politics, according to Kinzinger.

“There are too many kinds of old people in politics that are still fighting the same battles they’ve always fought, you know? They’re arguing the same stuff they were arguing in the sixties, right?

Same solutions to the same problems. You guys will be the ones that are going to have to fix problems and also change how we deal with each other,” Kinzinger said.

A disproportionate number of American lawmakers represent older generations, with baby boomers making up 53% of the House of Representatives and 68% of the Senate, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center report. Furthermore, the Silent Generation makes up 38 members of congress. There is only one millennial member of the Senate and there are 31 millennial members of the House.

Kinzinger said future gen-

erations are capable of taking action against the polarization plaguing U.S. politics.

“Your guys’ generation, I’ve got to tell you, is so interested and engaged in this stuff, and they’re so fed up

that we’re not going to see a generation of people that are fed up and say, ‘we’re just not going to pay attention,’” Kinzinger said. “You all are fed up and you’re going to be spurred to action.”

@GUPOLITICS/TWITTER

In an April 5 event, Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) discussed the importance of bipartisanship.

A6 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

NEWS

GU Students Oppose Transphobic Students, Faculty Demand Increase Protesters Outside of Front Gates In South Asian Studies Courses PETITION, from A1

CAITLIN MCLEAN/THE HOYA

In response to a group of transphobic demonstrators just outside campus, dozens of students staged a counterprotest to show support for the transgender community.

PROTEST, from A1 campuses,” according to their website.

For transgender students at Georgetown like Elliott Lloyd (COL ’24) the presense of transphobic protesters outside of Georgetown’s front gates was especially distressing.

“This incident was particularly disturbing just to see how much hate people really have,” Lloyd said in an interview with The Hoya. “And as an openly trans student on campus, it definitely did not make me feel safe to go to that protest.”

Lloyd, who joined counterprotesters after hearing about it in the “Gaytown” Georgetown student GroupMe, a group chat, said it is important to stand in solidarity against transphobia, especially given the rise of anti-transgender legislation being introduced across the country.

“We want to stand up so that trans students at Georgetown know that we’re welcome and an important part of the community,” Lloyd said.

Since the start of 2022, almost 240 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the United States, with more than half specifically targeting transgender people. In comparison, 41 bills similar to these were introduced in 2018, and 191 were introduced in 2021.

Georegetown has no affiliation with the TFP, according to a university spokesperson, and condemns the beliefs of the organization.

“As an institution that values interreligious under-

standing, inclusion and respect for all persons, we find the viewpoints of this group offensive, degrading and hateful,” the spokesperson wrote.

Gracie Coughlin (COL ’22), who joined counterprotesters at the front gates after hearing about the transphobic protest from a friend, said protests like these are harmful to students.

“People telling you that your identity isn’t real is just really hurtful to students.

And trans people have been facing this for all of time. So I feel like we’ve got to stop,” Coughlin said in an interview with The Hoya.

Transgender people, especially transgender people of color, have historically been excluded from the LGBTQ community, even though those communities have been at the forefront of the fight for LGBTQ rights for decades. Through the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s white, cisgender gay and lesbian rights activists acively excluded trans people from their activism.

Georgetown’s LGBTQ Resource Center, which provides support for LGBTQ members of the Georgetown community, condemned the TFP protests in an April 5 email.

“However, what we witnessed yesterday is a clear example of what many Trans people live with on a daily basis, we witnessed the hatred and bigotry that continues to be present in our country,” the LGBTQ Resource Center wrote in the statement. “We want to remind all our Trans students that you belong

here, you are welcomed, and you are loved.”

The university could not take action against protesters standing outside of campus grounds, according to a university spokesperson.

“While external protestors have the right to stand on the sidewalk outside of the front gates, which is public property, they are not permitted to enter campus,” the spokesperson wrote. “GUPD officers continuously monitored the situation to ensure protestors remained off campus property.”

The Georgetown University Police Department did not respond to The Hoya’s request for comment.

Lloyd said Georgetown should be doing more to support transgender students, including providing more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus and changing housing policies.

“I’m facing a lot of transphobia, pretty much on a weekly basis. I’ve been called a lot of slurs here. I faced a lot of harassment. And that sort of made me a little frustrated to see some of the same people who hadn’t really done anything in those instances show up sort of only in this case, when it was protesters from outside Georgetown,” Lloyd said.

The campus community has the responsibility to fight transphobia everyday, Lloyd said.

“I sort of wish that people would also make an everyday commitment to looking at how they can fight against transphobia. And other moments in their life, not just moments like these,” Lloyd said.

first civilizations. Yet at the best institution for international relations, there is almost nothing for a structured and long-term degree program or certificate program,” Harapanahalli told The Hoya. “My freshman fall, there were no South Asian languages offered.”

According to the MyAccess records of the fall 2020 course offerings for undergraduate students, Georgetown did not offer any South Asian language courses.

Professor C. Christine Fair, who was the first professor to sign the petition, said this effort is a step in the right direction.

“This is the first real show of force among our students, the first and most significant push towards the university leadership,” Fair told The Hoya.

“I’m here to support it. I’ll do everything I can to support these students.”

However, Fair said language expansion efforts can be complex and costly, requiring student commitment to enroll from the introductory level until reaching proficiency.

“We have an obligation to get those who want proficiency to proficiency, and you can see how that’s a geometric expansion of manpower with each additional year,” Fair said. “To get the university to invest in that commitment, we need students who are going to vote with their feet and

take those classes.”

The petition also calls for the creation of an interdisciplinary academic program that would focus on all of South Asia. This program, according to the petition, should replace Georgetown’s “India Initiative” which only advances research and teaching around India with relation to global affairs.

The SFS’s lack of diverse South Asian programs contradicts its aim to create globally minded students, Harapanahalli said, citing the India Initiative as an example.

“It is a volunteer-based initiative that didn’t meaningfully academically connect students to the subcontinent,” Harapanahalli told The Hoya.

Georgetown is committed to exploring course options that reflect the broad interests of students, according to a university spokesperson.

“Georgetown thrives by sharing our extraordinary range of life experiences and learning from our differences, and is committed to making sure that campus programs and services respond to the needs of all students,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya.

The university is working to increase South Asian course offerings, as well as creating a more diverse faculty, according to the spokesperson.

“Our Asian Studies program recognizes the need to deepen engagement with the South Asia region and is actively work-

ing on efforts to expand our course offerings, convenings and opportunities to understand the critical importance of South Asia to global affairs,” the spokesperson wrote.

Professor Shareen Joshi, an India and South Asia scholar, said the petition will show the university how much student support there is for South Asian studies.

“At Georgetown, if you want to see a new curriculum and you want to see change, you can certainly have your voice heard,” Joshi told The Hoya.

Harapanahalli said it was meaningful to see so much support from students and faculty for South Asian studies.

“Seeing faculty support means that there are people in our community that want to see this happen, that want to see South Asia and South Asian dignity honored, that want to see the vibrancy of this subcontinent — home for our parents and for hundreds of students here at Georgetown — being meaningfully studied and discussed,” Harapanahalli said. “The petition would have allowed us to show that our community, whether you’re South Asian or not, deserves better.”

Joshi said the student and faculty support is there, and that the university has the resources to make this change.

“We have the expertise, we have pretty much everything we need to do this,” Joshi said.

“When the will is there, I believe it will happen.”

Rabid Fox Bites Reporter, Legislator On US Capitol Building Grounds

@CAPITOLPOLICE/TWITTER

GU Venture Capital Team Goes To Compete in Final Competition TEAM ELM, from A1 In venture capitalism, due diligence refers to investigating an investment opportunity before committing funding.

The team was commended by judges for their ability to engage with entrepreneurs, something they were told male-majority teams lacked, according to Shi. “During the feedback sessions from our regional competition, one of the judges said that the main difference between our all-female team and male-dominated teams is that we are more cognizant of how to interact with the entrepreneur and better at establishing rapport,” Shi wrote to The Hoya.

Georgetown Entrepreneurship Founding Director Jeff Reid said it is symbolic that an all-women team made it to the final of the competition.

“The fact that they are all women is important in a symbolic sense, but nobody should forget that they are also extremely talented and each one of them has dem-

onstrated a strong understanding of venture capital,” Reid wrote to The Hoya. “This is not a gimmick; they are very good at what they do.

And they want to win.”

Georgetown Entrepreneurship, a program that fosters an entrepreneurial environment across campus to make an impact on the world, is committed to diversity, Reid wrote.

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values for Georgetown Entrepreneurship, so I am happy that this team can bring some attention to how the Venture Capital industry is trying to change,” Reid wrote.

Applications for the team opened this past fall to all undergraduate students, where students outlined their interest in venture capital, relevant skills and experience, according to Reid. Teams are then formed based on this information, he said.

Although the final competition will take place April 9, Ratliffe said she is confident

that the team will continue to support one another in the future.

“Although the competition ends this weekend at Global Finals, I feel confident that our team will continue to support each other long after the competition is over,” Ratliffe wrote to The Hoya. “We are very lucky to have spent a significant amount of time with each other over the last few months and we have gotten quite close.”

Ratliffe looks forward to seeing what her fellow teammates accomplish in the future at Georgetown and in venture capitalism.

“As five women all interested in the venture capital space, a notoriously maledominated business sector,” Ratliffe wrote. “We are extremely supportive of each other’s goals. I know this support will continue moving forward, and I am personally excited to see all of the amazing work my teammates do long after their time at Georgetown.”

A rabid fox caused chaos at the United States Capitol on April 4 and 5, biting at least nine people before Capitol Hill Police captured and euthanized the animal.

FOX, from A1 saw a flash of orange fur in front of her.

“I was really confused, because I did not expect that at all,” Wachtel told The Hoya.

“Even when you see a dog that’s loose, it’s a little concerning, so to see a fox is just crazy. Also, because the Capitol isn’t near a park, I don’t know how a fox would even get to the Capitol.”

Full disclosure: Wachtel is a news writer at The Hoya.

The District is home to many animals that have become accustomed to city life, including foxes, and this particular fox was seen around the Capitol grounds in the days leading up to the attack.

Wachtel heard screams, and ran toward the Metro as quickly as possible to avoid becoming the rabid fox’s next victim.

Wachtel was scared to return to her internship Wednesday after reading about the fox on the news.

“I didn’t go outside for lunch, which I normally do, because I just wanted to stay in the building and I didn’t want to leave unnecessarily,” Wachtel said.

The fox also attacked Congressman Ami Bera (D-Calif.) the evening of April 4, biting into his pant leg. Despite not sustaining a direct injury, Bera visited a physician and received a set of shots out of an abundance of caution.

D.C. Health will be contacting everyone the fox bit and encouraged anyone who came into physical contact with the fox or its kits to reach out to D.C. Health.

“The DC Public Health lab has confirmed the fox that was captured yesterday tested positive for the rabies virus,” D.C. Health wrote to The Hoya. “DC Health is contacting all human victims who were bitten by the fox.

Animal control will post informational flyers around Capitol Hill advising of the fox’s positive rabies status and encouraging people who might have been exposed to call DC Health.”

Foxes are one of the most likely carriers of rabies in the region, and the most common way for humans to contract rabies is through a rabid animal bite. The best way to prevent serious illness or death from rabies is to receive a series of rabies vaccinations — five shots

over the course of 14 days — soon after being bitten.

Rabies has a mortality rate of 99.9% for those who do not obtain treatment.

Even though the fox tested positive for rabies, District officials have no plans to round up other foxes in the area or to remove wildlife unless rabies testing is warranted by human exposure, according to D.C. Health.

News of the fox attacks quickly circulated on social media, causing a frenzy across the District. A Twitter account was even created for the fox — with the handle @ thecapitolfox — and posted a statement from the fox’s perspective satirically denying biting any individuals.

“Today, I was forcibly removed from my den by very scary and mean individuals,” the tweet reads. “I am innocent of the crimes in question. This will not be the end.”

Despite the fear that came along with encountering the fox first-hand, Wachtel said she felt like a celebrity after seeing the fox that became internet famous.

“I almost thought it was a fever dream that I had made up,” Wachtel said. “I do feel like I really saw the current politics.”

THE HOYA | A7

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

McCourt School Ranks in Top 5% of Public Affairs Programs Giulia Testa

Hoya Staff Writer

The McCourt School of Public Policy climbed seven places in rankings compared to last year to reach the top 5% of all public affairs programs in the United States this year.

The U.S. News and World Report, which publishes annual rankings of the best colleges and graduate schools based on various criteria such as academic reputation and peer assessment scores, ranked the McCourt School in 12th place for public affairs programs.

Barbara Schone, associate dean for academic affairs at the McCourt School, said she credits the increase in ranking to the school’s expansion over the past few years.

“The McCourt School has been an area of growth at Georgetown that has happened, in part, due to the generous gifts by alumnus Frank McCourt (who just gave his second $100 million to the McCourt School last spring),” Schone wrote to The Hoya. “These gifts have enabled us to invest in ways that are unique. Our move to the

Capitol Campus in a brand new building in the summer of 2024 will also enable us to be at the center of policymaking in DC.” Maria Cancian, dean of the McCourt School, said she was pleased to see the improved rankings and acknowledgment of the school’s dedicated faculty.

“Our mission at the McCourt School is to provide a worldclass education,” Cancian said in a statement to the McCourt School. “I am delighted to see the work of our faculty, researchers, students and alumni continue to be acknowledged by U.S. News voters as we strive to solve the most pressing challenges of our time and help shape more equitable and inclusive communities in the U.S. and around the world.”

The school’s inclusive and diverse community and location in Washington, D.C., make it stand out from other public policy programs, according to Schone.

“We have an unusual community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff that are committed to policymaking,” Schone wrote.

“Further, being able to study public policy in Washington, DC, is

hard to beat whether one is interested in domestic or international policy. We also have a strong commitment to making the McCourt School the most inclusive Public Policy school in the nation.”

The rankings are based solely on peer assessment data from academics and leadership within public policy programs across the country. Because of this, Schone said she believes that the rankings might not reflect all of the McCourt School program’s strengths.

“The rankings can be somewhat idiosyncratic since they aren’t based on concrete criteria,” Schone wrote. “I would say that we pay some attention to the rankings, but we also realize that due to their idiosyncratic nature, they might not reflect all of the strengths of our program. It is hard to know from year to year how the rankings will adjust.”

In addition to ranking graduate schools overall, the U.S. News and World Report ranks specialty areas for programs of excellence.

This year, the McCourt School ranked 4th in International Policy and Administration, 11th in Pub-

SAMI POWDERLY/THE HOYA

The McCourt School of Public Policy was ranked 12th by U.S. News & World Report for public affairs programs, rising seven places from last year’s rankings. lic Policy Analysis, 13th in Social Policy, 14th in Health Policy and Management and 14th in Public Management and Leadership.

Atsuhiro Oguri (GRD ’22), who is studying International Development Policy at the McCourt School, was particularly excited to hear about the improvement of the International Policy and Administration ranking, as the field aligns with his interests and career goals.

“The MIDP at McCourt stood out to me with its unique program design when compared to other master’s schools,” Oguri wrote

to The Hoya. “I have enjoyed its well-structured curriculum with its strong focus on quantitative analysis. Also, the small cohort size and collaborative atmosphere have allowed me to build a tightknit community with incredibly talented cohorts.”

The success of a variety of programs at the McCourt School reflect the dedication of the faculty and students, according to Schone.

“These are areas that have been core strengths at the McCourt School for quite some time,” Schone wrote. “We have a

wide array of faculty doing exciting research in these areas, and I believe that the rankings reflect that work.”

Schone said that she attributes the large improvement, particularly in the Public Management and Leadership ranking, to the recent faculty hires over the last few years.

“I am extraordinarily confident that the investments that we are making at the McCourt School will continue to pay off in terms of the quality of the educational experience we provide our students,” Schone wrote.

GUSA Votes to Reject Professor Erin Cline Proposed Restructuring Receives Academic Referendum Again Council Honors Samuel Yoo

Student Life Desk

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) Senate voted against holding yet another student referendum to restructure GUSA at an April 4 meeting.

The proposed referendum, which fell short of passing by two votes, would create policy committees and appoint student representatives to university boards, councils and committees. The goal of the proposal was to restructure GUSA to be more accessible, as well as increase involvement and participation in the organization.

Restructuring through a student referendum is the best way to make meaningful changes to GUSA, according to GUSA Senator Bora Balçay (SFS ’23), who introduced the bill.

“I think the biggest problem that we face right now is an excess of bureaucracy and a lack of direction,” Balçay said in an interview with The

“Let’s move on.

Let’s start working on getting textbooks into people’s hands and getting laptops — stuff we can actually change. If we want to improve the perception of GUSA, doing internal restructuring isn’t going to solve that issue.”

ZEV BURTON GUSA Senator

Hoya. “Few people in a very large organization are dedicated to the actual path, and unless we fundamentally change how we do things, I don’t think that can be solved. I think it is very easy to get involved on the ground level, but I think it is impossible, if you’re a dedicated person, to be satisfied with the institutional constraints of the organization.”

Still, GUSA Senator Zev Burton (SFS ’22), who voted against the referendum, said the primary issue with GUSA is not its structure, but rather low involvement from current members.

“When you have a third of senators not showing up, that’s as big a red flag,” Burton told The Hoya. “The real issue here isn’t students want-

ing to be a part of GUSA. It’s just that once they’re part of it, once they have that title of senator, they don’t actually show up. Restructuring doesn’t get rid of the lack of willingness to show up and do the work like that.”

GUSA previously attempted to restructure itself through a student referendum that failed Nov. 7 due to lack of student turnout, with only 20.11% of the student body voting in the election, which fell short of the required 25%.

Unlike the previous referendum, which called to abolish the GUSA Senate and Executive and replace the bodies with a student activist assembly, the most recent proposal would have maintained the GUSA Senate and Executive.

If the recent referendum had gone to the student body and succeeded, it would have increased enthusiasm for GUSA, thus promoting student involvement in the organization, according to Balçay.

“We would have seen a lot more excitement around elections in the first place.

Also, we would have a lot more dedication and a lower turnover rate,” Balçay said.

“As is, too many people are on tasks that really don’t make sense and don’t really deserve their time.”

However, Burton said that the referendum failing to make it out of the Senate is a victory for both GUSA and the student body.

“I think it was rushed, and I think it would be too embarrassing if it were to have gone to the student body and failed again,” Burton said. “I think the student body has already weighed in. Let’s move on. Let’s start working on getting textbooks into people’s hands and getting laptops — stuff we can actually change. If we want to improve the perception of GUSA, doing internal restructuring isn’t going to solve that issue.”

GUSA President Kole Wolfe (SFS ’24), who remains in favor of GUSA restructuring, said it is necessary for the organization to effectively serve students.

“Some senators believed that we would not be able to reach the minimum number of votes needed to pass a referendum, and said that this failure would be ‘embarrassing’ for GUSA,” Wolfe wrote to The Hoya. “I believe in, and vocalized, the notion that we should be more concerned about be able to fulfill our duty to adequately provide for student need instead of public opinion surrounding GUSA, especially when we are already generally viewed in an unfavorable light.”

Wolfe said GUSA leadership plans to reintroduce similar legislation again in the fall and will focus on internal reform in the meantime.

Laetitia Haddad

Academics Desk Editor

The Georgetown University College Academic Council recognized professor Erin Cline with the College Honors for her meaningful impact on students.

Each year, undergraduate students in the College can vote for up to three professors for the award, selecting those who have most influenced their academic experience at Georgetown. This is the 16th iteration of the award.

Cline, a professor of philosophy and theology who specializes in Chinese philosophy, received the most votes in this year’s award cycle.

Cline said she is grateful to her students for nominating her for the award.

“I am deeply honored by this award especially because it comes from the students. One of my colleagues told me he thinks it is the most important award Georgetown gives, for that reason. I have a deep affection for my past, present and future students and so it means the world to me,” Cline wrote to The Hoya.

Cline said she shares the honor with her fellow colleagues in the theology department.

“I am also grateful to teach alongside so many other excellent teachers in Theology & Religious Studies who inspire me and from whom I

have learned much, and so I share this award with my department,” Cline wrote.

Kate Chaillet (COL ’23), was a student in Cline’s Ignatius seminar, “Human Flourishing: East and West,” which focused on what it means to live a deep and fulfilling life, as well as what it takes for the spirit to flourish amid challenges like poverty, grief and disability.

Chaillet said she is grateful for how Cline and the course gave her the tools to make the most of her time at Georgetown.

“This class afforded me a place to slow down, reflect, and think deeply about how I wanted to live my life and the person I wanted to be over the next four years and beyond,” Chaillet wrote to The Hoya. “The thing that struck me most about Professor Cline’s teaching style was her incredible ability to listen. She listened carefully to each and every student.

And, rather than respond right away to a student’s comments, she often allowed for silence.”

The course specifically drew on lessons from a variety of Buddhist, Confucian, ancient Greek and Jewish traditions.

Cline hopes that through her courses her students can derive life lessons from the classroom.

“My pedagogy is deeply Ignatian. I aim to teach the whole person, and to practice cura personalis in my

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Erin Cline was honored for her impact on students at the College Academic Council’s 16th awards ceremony. classes,” Cline wrote. “I also aim to get students to take seriously the idea that there is a spiritual dimension of human life, and that the spirit, like the body, needs exercise, as Ignatius of Loyola argued.”

Lin Henke (COL ’23) took an Ignatius seminar, “Introduction to Chinese Philosophy and Advanced Readings in Chinese Philosophy,” with Cline. Cline will also serve as Henke’s thesis advisor next year.

Henke, who voted for Cline to win the award, admires her personal approach to teaching, which helped to engage students in the coursework.

“Professor Cline is a very warm and expressive teacher. She brings in examples from her personal life and checks in with us about our own lives,” Henke wrote to The Hoya.

Lucy Doyle (COL ’22), president of the College Academic Council, said the award is

meant to strengthen ties between professors and students.

“College Honors is a perfect example of what we aim to do: showcase the reciprocal relationship between students and the college, and celebrate how professors and students contribute to and improve each other’s academic experiences at Georgetown,” Doyle wrote to The Hoya.

Cline hopes she can continue to foster close relationships with her students to facilitate insightful learning.

“I strive for students to find me approachable partly by sharing of myself openly in my teaching,” Cline wrote.

“I find that they respond in kind, and all of us learn more deeply when we feel that we have a safe space to share our experiences openly—and in order to best interrogate the truth, beauty and goodness in different texts, we need that kind of openness.”

GULC Urges President Biden to End Title 42 Annie Kane

Hoya Staff Writer

The dean of the Georgetown University Law Center (GULC) signed onto a letter urging the Biden administration to end the use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Title 42 public health order, an immigrant expulsion policy established during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dean William Treanor signed onto the letter, which was signed by leaders at 14 Jesuit law and immigrant advocacy institutions, including Fordham University School of Law, Boston College Law School and Loyola University Chicago School of Law, on March 30. Two days later, on April 1, the Biden administration announced that it would end its use of Title 42, which was first implemented under the Trump administration in March 2020.

Title 42 has been harmful to migrants seeking to enter the United States, according to the letter.

“The harms visited on vulnerable migrants by the Title 42 Order are extensive and well-documented. From March 2020 to February 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported more than 1 million expulsions at the U.S. Southwest land border under Title 42,” the letter reads.

The order, which the Trump

administration implemented in March 2020 terminated migrants’ rights to enter the United States. The Trump administration said the order was intended to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at border stations and detention centers.

The order has allowed border control authorities to bypass typical immigration screening measures, allowing them to expel border crossers to their countries of origin or Mexico without allowing them to seek humanitarian protection.

The letter expressed concern about the Biden administration’s continued use of the order in expelling migrants seeking humanitarian protection at the U.S.-Mexico border. Detailing the harms the order has caused migrants seeking to enter the United States, the letter argues that migrants do not pose a serious threat to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States.

Treanor, who wrote the quote alongside Fordham Law School Dean Matthew Diller, said he believed the voices of Jesuit institutions would impact Biden.

“It was our belief that the voice of Jesuit law school deans would be singularly important, particularly to President Biden, as we called for the immediate rescission of the Title 42 Order and the protection of refugees, the pro-

motion of justice, and adherence to rule of law principles,” Treanor wrote to The Hoya.

GULC Professor Elisa Massimino was proud to see GULC call for the end of what she viewed as a cruel and unnecessary order.

“The use of Title 42 was a cruel and cynical ploy by the Trump administration to shut down access to refugee protection at the southern border,” Massimino wrote to The Hoya. “It has been condemned by public health experts as unnecessary and counterproductive.

I was proud to see our dean and other leaders of Jesuit institutions call for an end to it.”

Since the legal provision’s enactment it has been used to expel over 1 million people seeking humanitarian protection.

The CDC announced that termination of the order will be implemented beginning May 23. The CDC decided to end the order after considering current public health conditions and increased tools that can be used to fight COVID-19, including vaccines and therapeutics.

Jesuit institutions have been advocating for the end of Title 42 since its implementation, according to Giulia McPherson, director of advocacy and operations at Jesuit Refugee Service/ USA (JRS/USA), an international Catholic organization that sup-

ports and advocates for refugees and forcibly displaced persons around the world, who signed onto the letter.

“Jesuit Refugee Service/USA welcomes last week’s determination by the Centers for Disease Control to terminate Title 42,” McPherson wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “Since its implementation in March 2020, JRS/USA has advocated alongside partner organizations and fellow Jesuit institutions for the U.S. government to rescind this harmful policy.”

McPherson said that her organization is ready to support asylum seekers impacted by this change in policy through psychosocial and legal assistance.

“Throughout this transition, we will continue to urge the Administration to place the rights of asylum seekers at the center of all policy decisions,” McPherson wrote.

Treanor said it was overwhelming to see so much support from peer institutions.

“This call reflected the core Jesuit principle of commitment to the protection of all people.

We were both overwhelmed, but not surprised, by the enthusiastic support we received from our colleagues at other Jesuit law schools, and we were delighted by the Administration’s decision,” Treanor wrote.

A8 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

NEWS

Panel: Unity, International Support Fellows Program Matches Students Critical to Pacific Nation Well-Being With Venture Capital Internships Caleb Richmond Special to The Hoya

In an increasingly interconnected and polarized world, intergovernmental organizations and powerful nations must uphold international law and respect the sovereignty of smaller states, Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa said at an April 4 virtual event.

The event, titled the “Peter Tali Coleman Lecture on Pacific Public Policy,” consisted of a lecture hosted by Georgetown University’s Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies (CANZPS) in commemoration of the legacy of Peter Tali Coleman, the first ethnically Samoan and popularly-elected governor of American Samoa.

The event was part of the Blue Pacific Futures lecture series, hosted jointly by CANZPS and the Center for Pacific Island Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Mata‘afa, a member of the new Fa‘atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party, became Samoa’s first female prime minister in July 2021, putting an end to the 40 year rule of her opponent’s party, the Human Rights Protection Party.

Samoa is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands, two small inhabited islands and several small uninhabited islands. The country is 1,093 square miles in size and has a population of 198,410 people as of 2020.

Mata‘afa said that Samoa’s voice on the global stage is crucial, particularly when it comes to handling issues that distinctly impact islands and their inhabitants.

“The objectives of Samoa’s foreign policy are to protect Samoa’s independence and sovereignty, to expand opportunities for our citizens to overcome our geographic limits, and notwithstanding the current challenging environment, to leverage our strong relationships with

global partners to Build Back Better post-COVID-19 and to continually address the formidable challenges of climate change, considered the single greatest threat to small island countries of the Pacific and our peoples’ livelihoods,” Mata‘afa said.

International relationships help overcome difficulties that arise with Samoa’s status as a small country, according to Mata‘afa.

“We may not be a powerhouse in the global order, but we will not be discouraged or compromised in our determination and commitment to inspirational leadership of Samoa.”

FIAMĒ NAOMI MATA‘AFA SAMOAN PRIME MINISTER

“These have facilitated the negotiation of our positions, the implementation of our obligations, as well as developed new opportunities to expand trade for Samoa through development cooperation,” Mata‘afa said. “Our ministry of foreign affairs and trade is very small. Our overseas representation is even smaller. One can therefore imagine the strain on our limited resources from the many complex structures and processes of multilateral diplomacy.”

Mata‘afa said that a strong alliance of Pacific island states is key to amplifying all of their respective voices on the global stage.

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“The common and united nature of island countries often represents a formidable voting bloc in the United Nations, and the ability to influence the shaping of global decisions facilitated by the United Nations,” Mata‘afa said. “Given our obvious limited resources, diplomacy is vital in our approach to ensure our place and role in international peace, security, cooperation, prosperity and the protection of human rights.”

Even if all Pacific island nations work in collaboration and partnership, Mata‘afa said that international laws regarding each nation’s sovereignty must be upheld for the voices of small nations to be heard.

“The expansion of Samoa’s presence overseas is important in sustaining our international relationships to achieve the objectives of our foreign policy and to ensure our priorities and interests remain high on the agenda of the region and the U.N.,” Mata‘afa said An example of Samoa’s increasing international presence is the recent opening of the Samoa High Commission to Fiji, which aims to create a point of contact between Samoa and other nations in the Pacific Islands Forum. Samoa plans to continue to expand by opening a permanent mission in Geneva in the coming months.

Mata‘afa believes in diplomacy as a means to further the interests and well-being of Samoa, as well as other small nations.

“We want practical benefits.

We want to achieve real outcomes. We want to improve the way we interact in the international arena,” Mata‘afa said. “We may not be a powerhouse in the global order, but we will not be discouraged or compromised in our determination and commitment to inspirational leadership of Samoa, and of our Blue Pacific continent, and the maintenance of peace and security, prosperity and wellbeing of all Pacific peoples.”

MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

The Venture Fellows Program welcomes four undergraduate and 13 graduate students to its eighth annual cohort, who will intern for 8-12 months with a firm.

Laetitia Haddad

Academics Desk Editor

Select Georgetown University students were chosen for the opportunity to work at venture capital or investment firms to complete tasks including due diligence, deal sourcing and assisting portfolio companies.

The Georgetown Venture Fellows Program, a joint collaboration between the MBA Career Center at the McDonough School of Business (MSB) and Georgetown Entrepreneurship, welcomed four undergraduate and 13 graduate students to its eighth annual cohort. The Venture Fellows will work at one of 11 different firms part time during the spring and fall semesters and full time during the summer.

Eric Young, managing director and assistant dean at the McDonough School MBA Career Center, said Venture Fellows learn crucial investing skills during their participation in the program.

“Students gain exposure to the venture capital lifecycle, get involved with deal flow, financial modeling, due diligence, attending investor meetings, even taking part in company retreats. Sometimes they’ll work with portfolio companies,” Young wrote to The Hoya. “One of the greatest benefits is the networking students do and the relationships they build, within Georgetown and beyond.”

The Venture Fellows Program offers an entry point into the competitive venture

capital industry, and applications for spots within the program were at a record high this cycle. The MBA Career Center coordinates with regional and national companies, while aspiring Venture Fellows submit applications and complete one to five interviews at firms, where they often receive job offers in the venture capital industry after graduation.

Jeff Reid, director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship, said that firms were previously unsatisfied with traditional interns, which created demand for longer programs like the Georgetown Venture Fellows Program.

“If the internship is just a few hours a week during the school year, it’s difficult for the student to get into the flow of the workweek,” Reid wrote to The Hoya. “And if it’s just a few weeks during the summer, the VCs told me that by the time the student learned enough, the summer was over. Thus, our Fellows Program runs from January through at least August, and sometimes an entire 12-month cycle. By the time the Fellowship is finishing, many firms tell me the Fellows were so valuable they can’t wait to get the next one.”

Taylor Deasy (MSB ’24), a Venture Fellow interning with Qodeo, a startup that matches venture capital and private equity firms with entrepreneurs, said that the Venture Fellows Program has already opened up doors to the industry of venture capital.

“It has been an amazing

experience so far,” Deasy wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The ability to work so closely with the management team and have a visible impact on the company has been super cool. I am flying out to Boston for a VC event tomorrow, which should be an amazing experience as well. The fellowship has exceeded my expectations and I look forward to moving along with the process.”

Jacob Berns (GRD ’23), a Venture Fellow working with StepStone Group, a private markets firm which leads a group for venture investing, said the work he does aligns with his interests.

“I’m a Team Lead in the InSITE Fellows program, which is a program that matches local startups with teams of MBA students to help in a consulting-style capacity,” Berns wrote to The Hoya. “I come from a consulting background and really enjoy working with startups, given my interest in venture capital, so this program was also a great fit for me.”

Berns said the program’s network effect benefits both individual students and the larger Georgetown reputation.

“The Venture Fellow program provides a great community for both graduate and undergraduate students interested in venture capital to connect,” Berns wrote. “The more and more interest and participation we get into the program, the more recognition and awareness Georgetown will get in the national venture capital conversation.”

Smithsonian Begins Return To Pre-Pandemic Scheduling Nicholas Sheherlis Hoya Staff Writer

“What Mike’s book does is really focus on the community organizing itself, engaging to make a strong community within Chicago and doing it by engaging the city’s political powers and other ethnic groups.”

JOHN TUTINO PROFESSOR

Following two years of modified schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages, most of the Smithsonian museums will return to a seven-day schedule by the end of May. The Smithsonian announced a return to a traditional schedule for most of its facilities March 29, with gradual scheduling changes until May 30, when prepandemic schedules will return for all but two of the Smithsonian museums. The National Air and Space Museum will remain closed for renovations, and the Arts and Industries Building will remain on a reduced schedule until the end of July.

Alexandria Fairchild, a Smithsonian spokesperson, said the gradual opening will enable the Smithsonian museums to prepare for the challenges related to staffing and security of returning to prepandemic operations.

“Opening Smithsonian museums and the Zoo for additional days is a complex process and requires support from departments and resources that are shared by all Smithsonian museums,” Fairchild wrote to The Hoya. “We are increasing days of operation on a gradual basis so we don’t overwhelm these offices and can offer full support to each museum and the Zoo.” Samantha Yi (SFS ’22), who frequently visits Smithsonian museums in her free time, said the return to a seven-day schedule will make the Smithsonian museums more acces-

sible for students or employees with busy schedules.

“Many people in the workforce are often only free during the weekends, so going back to the traditional schedule will allow more people to visit the museums and attend events that were not possible during the height of COVID-19,” Yi wrote to The Hoya.

The museums that are temporarily closed will take longer to reopen, whereas the museums that are now on a modified schedule will be easier to open, according to Fairchild.

“There is no specific answer why each museum or the Zoo is returning to seven days a week on a specific date, it depends on many factors like staffing, exhibition changes, and the specific needs of each museum,” Fairchild wrote. “For example, it’s easier for museums that have been open five or more days a week (like the American History and African American museums) to return to seven days, than it is for museums that were temporarily closed until March (like the Anacostia Community Museum), so those museums are earlier on the list.”

The Smithsonian Institution Building, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the National Zoo and the National Museum of Natural History have already been operating on a seven-day schedule.

While the Smithsonian schedule will soon mimic prepandemic operations for the first time since March 2020, staff will continue to monitor COVID-19 trends and take steps to reduce operations or close locations entirely.

Visitors to Smithsonian mu-

seums have not been required to wear a mask since March 11, and no longer need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Despite the removal of COVID-19 safety protocols required of visitors, the Smithsonian is committed to creating an environment in which visitors feel safe, according to Fairchild.

“Any visitor who prefers to wear a mask during their visit is encouraged to do so. Our museums get very crowded in the Spring and Summer so we cannot always enforce social distancing, but continue to encourage it when possible as good practice,” Fairchild wrote.

Still, Yi expressed concerns about the lack of safety protocols, especially when large numbers of tourists are all in the same buildings.

“When it comes to more popular museums, it tends to be crowded with a lot of children as well, which is not an ideal environment to be in when the majority is maskless and the status of vaccination is unclear,” Yi wrote.

“This is especially concerning in areas such as the cafeterias within museums where people congregate.”

Staff at the various Smithsonian museums have been trying to reopen since the pandemic forced closures, according to Fairchild.

“Prior to March 2020, Smithsonian museums and the Zoo operated on seven day a week schedules,” Fairchild wrote. “It has always been our goal to return to that schedule, and several factors made that possible this spring including guidance from the CDC and local and national guidelines around COVID-19.”

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FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

Georgetown Professor Authors Book on West German Activists Brooke DeLucia Hoya Staff Writer

A Georgetown University professor wrote a book entitled “The Other ‘68ers: Student Protest and Christian Democracy in West Germany,” which focuses on centerright student activists in West Germany in 1968.

The book, written by history professor Anna von der Goltz, was released last June. On March 30 a reception was held to launch the book, which was published

by Oxford University Press.

Through oral interviews and archives, the book explores the effects of the protests in the 1960s on German student activists across the political spectrum, specifically focusing on the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

Christian Democrats are often left out of post-World War II German history, von der Goltz said, despite the large role they played in German history.

“It really started with a question: What about them?

What did they make of student protest, of cultural upheaval — everything that is certainly associated with the 1960s,” von der Goltz said in an interview with The Hoya.

“I just started looking into it a little bit, and then was quite struck by how much I found and their presence in a lot of key protest events.”

The CDU party is a centerright German political party that supports a free-market economy and social programs, but holds conservative social views. The party was founded in 1945 by Catholic activists, liberal and conservative Protestants and members of the middle class who wished to prevent the rebirth of facism in Germany after WWII. The CDU believed that a federal republic would best protect against a resurgence of facism in Germany and that the far left was a new embodiment of facism, according to von der Goltz.

Georgetown History Department Chair Bryan McCann said von der Goltz’s book provides a perspective about German youth that is

not typically told.

“Von der Goltz’s book overturns previous understandings of young leftists challenging a staid establishment. She demonstrates that Christian Democratic students participated in a project of challenging an older generation in their own way,” McCann wrote to The Hoya.

The use of oral history and von der Goltz’s interviews with veterans from political campaigns mentioned in the book added more depth to the storytelling of the book, according to McCann.

Von der Goltz said her research highlights the tension that existed between generations during this period of German history.

“There’s this famous quote that also made it into West Germany about how you don’t trust anyone over 30,” von der Goltz said. “That is sometimes taken to mean that really, the main conflict here is an agerelated one with young people versus old people, and what I share is really that it’s also young people against each other. I think that has larger

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

A new book by Professor Anna von der Goltz examines the effects of protests by center-right activists against fascism in Germany during the 1960s. repercussions for how we think about the role of generations in history.”

Ideological division, as shown in the book, remains a relevant topic today, von de Goltz said.

“The ’60s and ’70s in West Germany were an era of intense polarization,” von der Goltz said. “There are many echoes obviously between the American ’60s and the present here, but also between what was going on then.”

Von de Goltz has taught an undergraduate proseminar course focused on divi-

sions within Germany entitled “Europe’s 1968.” She plans to teach this course in fall 2022 as well.

Professor Aviel Roshwald said the book was an original take on the experiences of the 1960 generation in West Germany by focusing on political activity .

“She shows how the era around 1968 proved a rite of passage for them as well, but as part of a distinctive political and cultural trajectory that was to have a lasting impact on the substance and style of the Christian

Democratic party in decades to come.” Roshwald wrote to The Hoya.

Studying this era of German history can inform current political circumstances, especially given polarization, according to von der Goltz.

“I think studying this period can sharpen the analysis of the present. I think in some ways, maybe it shows us that there were other outcomes possible,” von der Goltz said. “What we’re experiencing here now isn’t the only way the story could have unfolded.”

McCourt Launches Community Lecture Series Georgetown Students Named Goldwater Research Scholars Akashdiya Chakraborty Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy launched a community lecture series that will focus on fostering community dialogue about inclusion as it relates to democracy, politics and policy.

Each event will feature a speaker sharing their perspective on and experience with community inclusion, followed by comments from a member of the McCourt School faculty and a question-and-answer session.

The series aims to foster a dialogue among community members and the public, all of whom can attend the events to gain a better understanding of inclusion, according to Sharon Mar, chief of staff at the McCourt School.

“Our goal with these community lecture series is to build a more inclusive community and more importantly develop the knowledge and skills so our community can engage in productive dialogues,” Mar wrote to The Hoya.

The series provides a space for students, community members and the public to engage in lectures and question-and-answer sessions that expand community understanding, according to Maria Cancian, dean of the McCourt School.

“As part of our commitment to inclusion, the McCourt School established this new public lecture series to provide a forum for community dialogue on a wide range of topics,” Cancian wrote to The Hoya.

The inaugural event in the community lecture series took place April 6 featuring speaker Wendy Castillo, senior director of equity, data and impact​at the N ​ ational Urban League, exploring the intersection between inclusion and data analysis. Castillo discussed QuantCrit, a field of study that seeks to apply Critical Race Theory to improve the use of statistical data in social research. Nora Gordon, professor at the McCourt School, offered a follow-up after Castillo’s lecture before Cancian moderated a question-and-answer session.

During the lecture, Castillo said it is crucial to consider the impact of a researcher’s own background when analyzing their work and data.

“Who are the researchers?”

Castillo said at the event.

“What are their backgrounds?

And how might their backgrounds really be influencing the assumptions that they are making? Whose interests are being displayed in the research agenda? Who is benefiting from the research agenda?

Who is funding them? And who is their prime audience?”

Castillo said that she encourages researchers to always include positionality statements in quantitative research to make the answers to these questions more transparent.

“The idea of a positionality statement is to reflect on your position in society and think about your biases, your blind spots, it’s also about exploring the position you have, but also the power you have in society,” Castillo said

Nina Raj

Special to The Hoya

SAMI POWDERLY/THE HOYA

The Georgetown Univeristy McCourt School of Public Policy launched a lecture series on inclusion in politics. during her lecture.

According to Castillo, remaining cognizant of existing racial biases influences the way we view data.

“Numbers are not neutral, because at every point in the process of collecting and analyzing and interpreting numbers, decisions are made and categories are given,” Castillo said at the event. “We choose the categories, and those are arbitrary. There’s not something that is telling us to choose.

We are deciding that subjective choice. Voice and insight data cannot speak for itself.

We speak for data; the numbers are accurate.”

In September, the commu-

nity lecture series will host Randall Kennedy, a Harvard Law School professor and the author of “Say It Loud!

On Race, Law, History, and Culture.” Kennedy will discuss the intersection of race and the law. The McCourt School plans to continue hosting lectures, making this an ongoing series.

Gordon hopes that the takeaway from the lecture is to consider a variety of factors before analyzing research results.

“I hope students will take away that with the power of interpreting and analyzing data comes important responsibility,” Gordon wrote to The Hoya.

‘Huelga!’ Shares Stories of Latinx Activists Adora Zheng

Student Life News Desk Editor

After spending three days in the Houston library archives, watching hours of film and reviewing 4000 pictures of newspaper clippings, manifestos and letters, Catherine Shonack (COL ’22) was ready to tell the story of the Huelga schools.

The Georgetown University Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society’s play “Huelga!” tells the story of a group of Latinx advocates’ fight for recognition as a minority group in Houston, alongside two other productions in its annual Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival on April 7.

The production was written

by Shonack, who first read about the Huelga schools in a history class in the fall of 2020 and decided to go to Houston to do further research for the play in December 2021.

Shonack said the show covers the advocates’ efforts to secure a better education for Mexican American students in Houston.

“It’s really centered on the activists doing the best that they can to fight for the education that they think their kids and their community deserve,” Shonack told The Hoya. “They’re seeing that the school district is taking advantage of the fact that some

Mexican Americans have white skin and had fought to be white previously to force unequal integration in the schools and pair disadvantaged communities together as opposed to giving kids the chance for equal education.”

Maggie Cammaroto (COL ’22), director of “Huelga!,” said viewers can expect singing, dancing and a staged reading of firsthand accounts by the activists.

Shonack and Cammaroto prioritized including students who identified as Latinx in “Huelga!”

While the original version of the show had seven Latinx characters, only three Latinx-identifying actors auditioned, with just two opting to stay as part of the cast. As a result, Cammaroto and Shonack decided to restructure the script around the Latinx actors that they had on board.

Cammaroto said that “Huelga!” now takes the form of a reading set in a modern school.

“I actually appear on stage as a professor in the very beginning and the very end saying, ‘We’re going to learn about Huelga schools today. Open your books up, and we’re going to be reading firsthand accounts of what happened,’” Cammaroto told The Hoya.

Ulises Olea Tapia (SFS ’25), festival publicity director, said that Georgetown’s predominantly

white population made casting Latinx actors more difficult.

“Because Georgetown is a PWI, it is hard already to find Latinx people, and then to find the subset within the subset, like Latinx people who like theater, who are willing to give that type of time commitment, is even harder,” Olea Tapia told The Hoya.

“There were even talks about possibly not doing ‘Huelga!,’ but we truly believe that telling these stories is fundamental.”

The change forced the cast to start from scratch after learning choreography and scenes that would no longer be included, but Cammaroto said it was necessary to preserve the authenticity of the history.

“I knew that was the right decision and that would be in the service of the story,” Cammaroto said. “It’s been quite a journey — I’ve had to switch things around and the cast has been so patient and resilient through all of that, and I think it’s finally starting to feel like we’re comfortable with the material.”

Shonack said having Latinx-identifying actors play the advocates was essential, even if that meant having to cut some characters.

“As a writer, it’s always difficult to get rid of characters — I feel like after doing all the re-

search and reading about their lives and experiences I got to know them so well, so to pick and choose between them, it feels like picking and choosing between your kids,” Shonack said. “I think for me, having people of Mexican American heritage or Latino heritage playing these characters was something that was really important to me.”

Olea Tapia said the production is important for the representation of Latinx people in theater.

“Next time, more people will show up because they will see themselves represented in the stories we tell,” Olea Tapia said.

“Continuing to tell these stories is hugely, hugely important.”

Shonack said she is excited for the community to see a show that features Latinx actors and tells Latinx stories.

“I think in my time at Georgetown, I’ve never seen a play that really starred Latina actors,” Shonack said. “I’m just excited for everyone to see the story and really feel the passion and the struggles that these activists faced. It’s these people going out there, everyday people doing what they believe is best for their future because they didn’t get the same opportunities as other people do. And I just really hope that their story resonates with people that come and see it.”

Four Georgetown undergraduate students have been named 2022 Goldwater Scholars in honor of their research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, an agency that partners with the U.S. Department of Defense to recognize student achievements in scientific research, gave the awards, which consist of up to $7,500 to be used for tuition, fees, books, room and board for sophomores and juniors.

This year’s Goldwater Scholars — Aryaman Arora (COL ’24), Adrian Kalaw (COL ’23), Dominic Pham (COL ’23) and Nadia Sadanandan (NHS ’24) — were selected from a pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors.

This year marks the first time since 2006 that more than one Georgetown student has been named a Goldwater Scholar in a given year, according to Lauren Tuckley, director of Georgetown’s Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF). The center supports Georgetown students in applying to competitive fellowships like the Fulbright Student Scholars Program.

Arora, who centered his research for the award on computer translations and the encoding of South Asian languages, said this work allowed him to connect to his heritage while also contributing to an often overlooked field.

“I really like this kind of research — it appeals to both my academic interests and is a way to engage with my culture,” Arora wrote to The Hoya. “At the end of the day I want things I work on to benefit people and be openly accessible, and research is a practical way of doing that.”

Sadanandan, whose research focuses on tumor biology in zebrafish, hopes to apply what she learns through research as a Goldwater Scholar to eventually become a pediatric oncologist.

“In high school, one of my best friend’s fathers passed away from cancer and that drove me to wanting to research this,” Sadanandan said in an interview with The Hoya. “Also, one of my favorite teachers from high school passed from cancer, which has led me to wanting to discover more and help find solutions for this.”

As a Goldwater Scholar, Pham is excited to continue to pursue and conduct research, which he became passionate about while at Georgetown.

“I entered Georgetown knowing I wanted to try scientific research, but I didn’t really know what it was,” Pham wrote. “My journey to

getting involved in research was filled with a lot of luck— being in the right place at the right time and having research mentors who guided me from one step to the next.”

Pham previously served as Managing Editor and Creative Director at The Hoya.

Kalaw’s submission for the Goldwater scholarship applied computational methods to the examination of protein mutation in antimalarial drug resistance, which he said was an unconventional and unprecedented research strategy.

“I was in uncharted territories for our lab and our field applying novel methods at the boundary of what we do and do not know,” Kalaw wrote to The Hoya. “I had never felt more excited to be a scientist.”

Becoming a Goldwater Scholar is an honor for students who devoted time and effort to research that they are passionate about, according to Pham.

“I really like this kind of research. It appeals to both my academic interests and is a way to engage with my culture. At the end of the day, I want things I work on to benefit people and be openly accessible, and research is a practical way of doing that.”

Aryaman Arora (COL ‘24) Goldman Scholar

“The Goldwater Scholarship really validates my work thus far and my decision to pursue a research career,” Pham wrote to The Hoya. “I’m incredibly grateful to my academic mentors, family, and friends for their support and inspiration.”

The Goldwater Scholarship’s esteemed reputation in the science fields makes this an impressive accomplishment for the university, according to CRF’s Tuckley.

“The Goldwater is our nation’s most prestigious undergraduate STEM scholarship,” Tuckley wrote to The Hoya.

“This achievement reflects both the high quality of our students’ engagement in rigorous research and the outstanding faculty mentorship that occurs at the university.”

A10 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

SPORTS SOFTBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Four Players Enter Transfer Portal Following 6-25 Season

GU Swept by Providence In Weekend Series Maisy Liles and Saar Shah

Aiden Penry Hoya Staff Writer

James Akinjo. Mac McClung.

Qudus Wahab. These are just a few of the names to leave Georgetown University men’s basketball through the transfer portal in the Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) era.

And, apparently as is tradition, four more names have been added to that list, as junior center Timothy Ighoefe, first-year forward Jalin Billingsley, sophomore forward Kobe Clark and first-year guard Tyler Beard have entered the transfer portal this year.

What’s more, stand-out firstyear guard Aminu Mohammed plans to declare for the NBA draft.

While Mohammed still has the option to return to Georgetown, losing him to the draft would be a massive loss for the Hoyas’ hopes next season. Mohammed finished the season as one of three players at Georgetown averaging over 30 minutes per game. He was also the Hoyas’ leading scorer and rebounder.

The five-star recruit seemed to be a likely one-and-done candidate entering college, but Mohammed still needs to polish certain areas of his game. If Mohammed declared for the draft, he would most likely be picked in the second round, if at all, according to the Associated Press.

Of the transfers, Ighoefe had the largest impact on the team this past season. He averaged 15.6 minutes per game, mostly contributing as a rebounder and interior defender.

His departure leaves the Hoyas even thinner than they already were at the center position, with the only other centers on the roster now being first-year Ryan Mutombo and junior Malcolm Wilson. Despite playing limited minutes, Mutombo still managed to average the sixth most points on the team.

With the departure of these four players, only three recruits from the class of 2021 remain on the Hoya roster; that will drop to two if Mohammed decides to go pro.

Senior Sports Editors

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Four players have entered the transfer portal, continuing a recurring theme in the Patrick Ewing era.

Billingsley and Beard both played roles coming off the bench this past season. Their departure will hurt more in the future, as both showed promise and were on their way to becoming significant contributors.

Beard took to his Instagram to express gratitude to the Georgetown program while announcing his decision to transfer.

“Big thanks to Georgetown for taking in a kid from the Chi. Y’all took me in and changed my life.

Forever grateful…….but with that being said, I will be entering the transfer portal,” Beard wrote.

Clark has dealt with nagging injuries the past two seasons, only playing a total of 21 career games and averaging 4.5 minutes per game, but Hoya fans will still be sorry to see him leave.

Georgetown has struggled to retain players during head coach Patrick Ewing’s tenure, losing stars like McClung, Akinjo and Wahab. The constant turnover has no doubt contributed to the Hoyas’ lack of success, posting only one winning season under Ewing from 2018-19.

There are many questions surrounding Georgetown’s inability to retain players, especially when considering Ewing’s recent contract extension. Despite only leading the Hoyas to the NCAA tournament once in a mediocre 13-13 regular season, Jon Rothstein reported that Georgetown signed

Ewing for an extra three years past his original contract.

Many of the team’s issues this past season stem from losing players expected to be key contributors in the transfer portal, like Wahab and Tre King.

Instead of building off their surprise run in the tournament, the Hoyas were left with the shell of a winning team.

Coming off the worst season in Big East history does not help on the recruiting trail either.

Georgetown currently has one signed player and one committed player from the class of 2022.

Filling the roster holes left by transfers and the possible departure of Mohammed would be a major task for Ewing.

Georgetown lacks the recruiting ability of blue bloods such as Duke University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Kansas. NBA-ready players are not going to suddenly start appearing on the Hilltop and lead the Hoyas back to their former standing as a basketball powerhouse.

For the Hoyas to become competitive again, the staff needs to recruit, retain and develop its younger players so they can evolve into serious contributors by the time they are upperclassmen. But with only three players currently considering Georgetown, according to ESPN, it looks as if the Hoyas will continue to struggle retooling for seasons to come.

BEWARE THE HYPE

The Young, Talented Memphis Grizzlies Might Just Win It All Christian Baldari Columnist

With its young, talented roster, the Memphis Grizzlies appear destined for an era of success in the near future. Impressive recent performances, in my opinion, suggest the Grizzlies could even hoist the title this season.

The Phoenix Suns may be the nominal leaders of the Western Conference, but the game between the Grizzlies and the Suns on April 1 suggested that Memphis — not Phoenix — might be the team to beat in the West.

The Suns played their best starting five, whereas the Grizzlies were missing several key contributors, including Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Steven Adams. Despite these notable absences, the Grizzlies prevailed, 122-114.

Morant has justifiably commanded the headlines in Memphis with his AllNBA-level production — 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game — but the Grizzlies’ game against the Suns suggests that perhaps their most valuable attribute lies in their depth, not their point guard.

Morant will be the go-to guy in playoff crunch time, but Memphis is much more than a one-man show. The star has missed 21 games — over one quarter of the regular season — due to injury, and in those games, the Grizzlies have a near-flawless record of 19-2.

The fact that the Grizzlies

have clinched their division for the first time in franchise history despite missing Morant for a significant portion of the season is a testament not only to the depth of their roster but also to the effectiveness of their system.

Head Coach Taylor Jenkins’ team is built on collective effort, not the individual talent of any one player.

What makes Memphis a nightmare playoff matchup for opposing teams is that it can win in a variety of ways.

When Morant gets cooking, driving into the paint and dunking mercilessly on anybody who is unfortunate enough to stand in his way, there is little opposing defenders can do to stop him.

However, Memphis is designed to win even when its best player is not on the court at all. The Grizzlies have five other players besides Morant who average more than 10 points per game. In the playoffs, when injuries can instantly derail a team’s title chances, Memphis’ deep rotation could give it the edge in a tight series.

On defense, too, the Grizzlies are designed for playoff success. Led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Jackson, Memphis’ defensive unit revels in disruption, leading the league in both steals and blocks.

The Grizzlies have a knack for turning defense into good offense. When their half-court offense fires blanks, they stay patient and feast off their opponent’s mistakes. They force turnovers at an impressive rate, and they are fourth in the league in points scored off turnovers.

There is also something

to be said about the importance of momentum.

In the past 25 games — stretching back to the beginning of February — the Grizzlies have only lost five games. Heading into the playoffs with such a sustained stretch of dominance will only boost the confidence of this young team.

Although youth has been one of Memphis’ greatest strengths in the regular season, doubters will say it may prove to be one of its biggest weaknesses in a high-stakes playoff series; young teams typically lack the experience and savvy to navigate a deep playoff run.

That said, this Grizzlies team — on pace to finish with the best record in franchise history — has already bucked trends and is poised to prove that a young team could go all the way. Many current Grizzlies logged meaningful minutes in the 2020-21 playoffs, defeating the Golden State Warriors in the play-in before falling to the Utah Jazz in the first round, which only hardened Memphis’ resolve and boosted its confidence.

Some inexperienced teams shrink in the playoff limelight, but this Memphis team can rise to the occasion, talking trash and backing it up all the while.

The Grit and Grind era ended in Memphis with a single Conference Finals appearance, but these Grizzlies are hungry to give the smallest market in the NBA by population something to cheer about.

To cap a disappointing road trip for the Georgetown University softball team, the Providence Friars shut out the Hoyas in a 6-0 victory April 3. The Friars’ win closed out their threegame weekend sweep of the Hoyas, who now sit in eighth place in the Big East.

In the first contest of the weekend, Georgetown (1217, 2-5 Big East) suffered a 6-8 April Fools’ Day loss at the hands of Providence (219, 8-4 Big East). Both sides remained deadlocked until Georgetown graduate first base Abby Smith went yard in the top of the fourth to put Georgetown up 1-0.

The Hoyas’ happiness was short-lived, however, as the Friars came screaming back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning and 5 more in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead.

Going scoreless through the sixth, Georgetown began its equalizing push in the top of the seventh, when senior catcher Mae Forshey crushed a pitch for a 3-run homer, bringing the score to 4-8.

Capitalizing on this momentum, Smith added another RBI to her stat sheet when her left-field shot drove in graduate shortstop Savannah Jones for the Hoyas’ fifth run. Providence pitcher Jessica Walter delivered a basesloaded walk to Georgetown graduate center fielder Cameron Kondo, allowing graduate outfielder Alyssa Chavez to cross the plate.

However, senior left fielder Cassie Henning struck out swinging to end the Hoyas’ comeback effort in their 6-8 defeat.

The next day, Georgetown got out to a hot start in the second game of the series and quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Forshey got things going for the Hoyas with a double to left-center before advancing to third on a Chavez single.

First-year pitcher Kayla Dunn batted a single of her own to push Forshey across the plate, giving the Hoyas their first run. Dunn and Chavez both scored off of a Kondo double to end Georgetown’s firstinning scoring drive.

Providence made the most of Georgetown’s lackluster pitching in the bottom of the second inning, when 3 successive walks and a passed ball allowed the Friars to notch an unearned run.

The bases were still loaded when Providence shortstop Rachael Petrarca fired a double into left field, sending all three of her teammates home and giving the Friars a 4-3 lead.

Georgetown could not score in the fourth, but Providence again benefitted from wild pitching by the Hoyas when Providence center fielder Elysia Cunnigan scored on a passed ball. Again in need of a comeback, Georgetown found the spark to snag 2 runs in the top of the fifth off of a single from Jones and a double from Dunn to tie the score 5-5.

In the bottom of the sixth, though, Providence snagged another run from an RBI double, sending the Hoyas into their last at-bat down by one.

Georgetown was unable to plate any runs in the seventh, leaving one runner on base and securing its second loss of the series, 5-6.

The April 3 matchup proved to be the Hoyas’ worst offensive performance of the weekend; they gave up 6 runs to the Friars while notching none of their own. Providence second

baseman Madi Traver hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning to open the scoring for her team.

Although Georgetown was able to hold Providence scoreless through the third, the Friars’ bats got hot in the fourth. Petrarca led off with a right field triple and was then pushed across the plate off of a double by Friars designated player Kari Shedrick.

Providence loaded the bases after a fielder’s choice and a walk, and, not intimidated by the two-out disadvantage, pinch hitter Lea Kosinski strode up to the plate and hit a grand slam, putting the Friars up 6-0.

Neither side scored after the fourth, and the Hoyas retired to their dugout with the loss.

This series marked five straight losses for Georgetown. Over this losing stretch, they gave up an average of 6.4 runs per game and scored just 3.6 of their own.

The Hoyas have since taken steps to right the ship, winning a midweek away matchup against the Towson Tigers (11-20, 1-5 CAA) 9-6 on April 6. They still have five more series against Big East teams before the conference tournament begins May 12, so they can build upon this win as they prepare to contend with the Big East’s best.

@HOYASOFTBALL

Georgetown softball nearly mounted two comebacks against the Providence Friars, but ultimately fell in all three weekend contests.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Georgetown Crushes Friars 6-1 To Nab Second Conference Win Peter Dicioccio Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University women’s tennis was coming off a definitive 6-1 trouncing of Seton Hall to play the Providence Friars — a team the Hoyas haven’t lost to since 2001. Georgetown (6-12, 2-3 Big East) continued the hot streak and took all seven matches from the Providence Friars (49, 0-2 Big East) April 2, marking their second consecutive victory over a conference opponent.

The two squads converged at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School for their first meeting in over two years. Like the Hoyas, the Friars also carried a great deal of momentum into the matchup, coming off of a decisive 7-0 win over Bentley University March 31.

But from the moment the two teams took to the court, it was clear that Head Coach Freddy Mesmer’s Hoyas would carry the day. The action got started with three one-set doubles matches, with the contest’s first point promised to whichever side won the majority of the pairings.

This proved little challenge for Georgetown, with the Hoyas cruising to wins in all three matchups. Particularly impressive were sophomores Morgan Coburn and Olivia Ashton, who clobbered Providence’s Vannelie Melendez and Elisa Davalos 6-0.

Christian Baldari is a sophoTheir effort marked the first more in the College. Beware of four shutout sets recorded by the Hype appears online and the Hoyas that day. The Hoyas in print every other week. were leading 1-0 heading into

the six singles matches.

Georgetown’s dominance continued unabated in singles, with all six competing Hoyas emerging victorious and just one match requiring a tiebreaking third set.

The most lopsided result was posted by junior Carmen Aizpurua, whose 6-1, 6-0 steamrolling of Melendez represented one of the largest total margins of victory by a Georgetown singles player this season.

Sophomore Avantika Willy turned in an equally commanding performance in the number one slot, making light work of the Friars’ Olivia Wright on the way to a 6-1, 6-1 triumph. The straight-sets affair represented Willy’s first conference singles win and lifted her all-time collegiate record to an even 3-3.

Willy’s outing highlighted a Hoya campaign largely paced by underclassmen. Five of the nine matches carried by the Hoyas were secured by firstyears and sophomores, signaling a bright future on the Hilltop’s hardcourt.

Sophomores Coburn and Ashton proved as effective working individually as they were together, with Coburn breezing past Lauren Carson 6-2, 6-0 and Ashton outclassing Davalos 6-4, 6-0.

Elsewhere, junior Chloe Bendetti picked up her third singles victory in her last four appearances, outmaneuvering Providence’s Julia Migliorini to take a competitive first set 7-5 before easing to a 6-2 win in the second.

The most hotly contested

matchup of the day belonged to the No. 3 singles duel between Georgetown first-year McHaley Ho and Providence junior Katie Mulvey. Although Ho took the first set by a comfortable 6-2 margin, Mulvey managed to fend off her Hoya challenger with a 6-4 rebuttal in the second to extend the match.

With the results of the other singles matches having already clinched a team victory for Georgetown, Ho and Mulvey battled through the third set with pride on the line.

The wildest set of the day witnessed a back-and-forth affair that extended for thirty games, finally concluding with a razor-thin 16-14 triumph for Ho. Her handiwork ensured a final match score of 7-0 in favor of Georgetown, handing the Friars their second shutout loss of 2022.

However, the Hoyas had no time to rest on their laurels.

The next day, they traveled to Towson (4-9, 1-2 Colonial) and fell 3-4. Still, Georgetown’s results against Providence continue a pattern of success on the home front, with Georgetown having now prevailed in both home matches this season. The 2021-22 squad’s win total has now risen to six, the highest figure in four seasons.

With a strong victory led by younger talent, the Georgetown women’s tennis team seems on the rise.

Now, they look back to the Big East as they return to Visitation Prep April 9 to take on the UConn Huskies (8-8, 2-1 Big East).

THE HOYA | A11

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

SPORTS WOMEN’S LACROSSE

MEN’S LACROSSE

Georgetown Pummels Pioneers 17-9 DENVER, from A12

Georgetown still went into halftime up 7-5.

The start of the second half proved to be much the same as the second quarter, with Georgetown’s offense scoring at will while the defense locked down the Pioneers. Georgetown rattled off 6 consecutive goals to start the third quarter, opening up a 13-5 lead.

Junior midfielder Graham Bundy Jr. led the scoring run and scored all 3 of his goals in the third quarter. Sophomore attacker TJ Haley also dished out two of his game-high 5 assists in the third quarter.

While the Hoyas dominatANNA YUAN/THE HOYA ed in nearly every statistical The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team outshot the category, much of the offensive success can be attributVillanova Wildcats 27-23 and scored back-to-back ed to Georgetown’s flawless fourth quarter goals to take a 13-11 win. execution of extra man opportunities. The Hoyas went 4-4 for the game, including 2-2 in the third quarter, punishing Denver for its defensive penalties.

Georgetown ultimately entered the fourth winning 13-6. The two sides traded goals throughout much of the final quarter, but Denver was unable to mount a sig-

Hoyas Vanquish Villanova 1311 With 3 4thQuarter Goals

GUHOYAS

After a relatively slow start, the Hoyas came to life in the third quarter, scoring six straight goals en route to a 17-9 win over Big East rivals in the Denver Pioneers. nificant comeback. Big East Midfielder of the Week, graduate Alex Trippi, scored the final goal of the game with 4:42 remaining, securing a

17-9 victory for Georgetown.

With the victory over Denver, Georgetown opens conference play as the heavy favorite to win the Big East

title. The Hoyas will be back in action April 9 at 12:00 p.m. as they take on the Providence Friars (5-5, 0-1 Big East) in Rhode Island.

AROUND THE ASSOCIATION

All-NBA Choices, From a Writer With No Vote

Gaven saved a shot on goal

by Wildcats attacker Olivia Just like they did in the Piccirilli. Just a few seconds first quarter, Villanova got later, Hoyas graduate deoff to a good start in the sec- fender Nicole Massimino ond, scoring 2 goals in two was shown a yellow card. minutes. Frustrated, the Up one player, the Wildcats Hoyas committed a couple scored two consecutive goals of fouls on the Wildcats, al- to even the score at 10-10. lowing Villanova to score off Encouragingly, the Hoyas free position shots and take were not as far behind on a 7-3 lead with 10:41 left on draw controls in that quarthe clock. ter. They won 3 draw conGeorgetown finally inched trols as compared to the back into the game with a goal Wildcats’ 4. from first-year attacker Emma The fourth quarter began Gebhardt. After exchanging with a quick goal from Georgegoals, the Wildcats led 8-5. town sophomore midfielder With just over a minute left Tatum Geist. The Hoyas then in the second quarter, Bakes led 11-10. Soon enough, the scored another goal for the Wildcats got a goal back. Both Hoyas, completing a first-half teams were driven to win. hat trick. But again, the WildWith 8:36 remaining in cats dominated the stat sheet, the game, Georgetown began winning 7 draw controls com- to pull away, scoring 2 goals pared to the Hoyas’ 2. in under two minutes. VillaAlthough they returned to nova fought hard but could the locker room down to Vil- not manage to score in the lanova, the Hoyas burst out little time remaining. in the second half on fire.

The close game ended Georgetown started the third with the Hoyas up 13-11. In quarter strong with 4 consec- total, the Hoyas outshot the utive goals, taking a 10-8 lead. Wildcats 27-23. The Wildcats @BUCKS/TWITTER Still, the Hoyas’ aggressive won 19 draw controls, dou- Tim Brennan breaks down his All-NBA choices, including the race between Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid run did not last forever. With bling the Hoyas’ 9. for first-team, and LeBron James’ case for a spot despite the Lakers’ failure to make the playoffs. exactly a minute left in the Next, the Hoyas will visit the third quarter, Georgetown Butler Bulldogs in Indianapowhile the Bulls are locked into to his individual success. more important than MitchBRENNAN, from A12 junior goalkeeper Emily lis, Ind., on April 9 at 12 p.m. a top-six seed in the Eastern The second forward spot ell’s individual stats, given the games to be first-team.

Conference. On top of playing was not as easy a decision, but Jazz’s recent slide. Trae Young’s The elephant in the room is 17 more games than James, Butler is my pick. He’s been es- sensational season, averaging Joel Embiid’s absence from the DeRozan has had an incredible sential for the Heat this season, a hyper-efficient 28 points and first team. He is likely going to fin- season in his own right — 28 doing everything from initiat- 10 assists, catapults him over ish third in MVP voting, but due points, 5 rebounds and 5 as- ing offense to playing stellar Mitchell, too. to positional requirements, he sists — in addition to being the defense and has the Heat in 2 These are, of course, just regugets pushed to the second team clutchest player in the league. contention for the East’s first lar season awards. The playoffs behind Jokić’s superior advanced seed. Towns easily makes this are looming, and for many of 6 3 statistics and passing ability.

Third Team: (G) Trae slot, averaging 25 points, 10 these guys, that’s where their The second forward spot is be- Young, (G) Chris Paul, rebounds and 4 assists as the legacies will really get tested.

3 1 9 4 tween LeBron James and DeRo- (F) LeBron James, (F) best player on an overachieving zan. LeBron is on pace to win Jimmy Butler, (C) Karl- Timberwolves team.

Tim Brennan is a sophothe scoring title and has been a Anthony Towns Selecting the two guard more in the McDonough 7 9 4 8 cornerstone of the Lakers when While the Lakers are strug- spots was tricky. I had a tough School of Business. Around he has played this season. gling and are likely to miss the time leaving the Jazz’s Dono- the Association appears 8 6 However, the Lakers will playoffs, it’s impossible to leave van Mitchell off, but I felt Paul’s online and in print every probably miss the playoffs, LeBron off the third team due contributions to winning were other week.

VILLANOVA, from A12

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Montes On Finding Success in Soccer LONERGAN, from A12

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Yeah. Obviously there is the starting group, but our coach did really well to mix things up. The day before a game, we wouldn’t know who the starting group was.

Everyone was always competing, and that was the main thing.

We just held ourselves to a really high standard whether you were coming off the bench or not, and I think if you look at the statistics that year, our coach made more subs than the rest of the coaches combined. It was crazy how many subs he would make.

with the group, you get the feeling as a team like, ‘We have the potential to do something special this year.’

We had one goal: to not only win the Big East but win the national championship, and we were able to do that. The main reason we were really successful that year was the environment we had in training every day. It was really competitive, and everyone had the ability to sacrifice for themselves. The seniors who weren’t playing weren’t bitter, Georgetown men’s socand the guys on the bench would cer did very well again this be the first to celebrate a big goal. year. Did you follow their success?

Did having a team-first Of course. It was unfortunate mentality help take the to lose. I think the program itself pressure off you? after the national champion-

ship win is held to such a high standard. It was good to see Dante [Polvara] winning the Mac Hermann Trophy, the first one in our history.

Dante’s impressive, isn’t he?

Yeah, he’s a really good player.

Sometimes in training, he would just make these runs out of nowhere from the deepest position possible and be in the box in seconds. We were like, ‘What is this guy doing?’ I still keep in touch with him, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he does in Scotland. *In Jan. 2022 Polvara signed a two-year contract with Scottish Premier League Club Aberdeen F.C.* Who’s the best player you’ve played with?

Sean Zawadzki. When I was playing for Georgetown, it felt as if you didn’t have to worry about anything when he was playing in that six role.

What do you want to achieve in the next six months?

It hasn’t been a breeze for me in Belgium. I haven’t played too many matches, and although I feel like I train very well, it’s hard to break into the squad.

In my first year as a professional, I think it’s something I need to learn how to deal with mentally.

Is your dream to play in the Premier League?

Yeah. The Premier League is the best league in the world. It would be interesting to see if I could play to that level, at that pace and to that level of physicality. I believe I can.

Sports

WTENNIS

Georgetown (6-12) vs UConn (8-8) Saturday, 11 a.m.

Washington, DC

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

TALKING POINTS

SOFTBALL Georgetown softball picked up three losses on a weekend road trip to

NUMBERS GAME

We had one goal: to not only win the Big East but win the

Providence.

national championship.”

See A10

Jacob Montes (COL ’21)

4

Four men’s basketball players have entered the transfer portal following the team’s 6-25 season.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

GU Downs Nova 13-11 For 1st Big East Win Maahira Jalan Wadhwa Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team kicked off their Big East schedule on the right foot, earning a win over the Villanova Wildcats 13-11. Despite an even 6-6 record on the season, the Hoyas still have a chance to become serious conference contenders with just four games remaining.

The first quarter of the April 2 game was intense.

Villanova (4-8, 0-1 Big East) won the first draw control and put pressure on Georgetown (6-6, 1-0 Big East). After the Wildcats committed an early foul, the Hoyas quickly took advantage.

Georgetown graduate midfielder Erin Bakes fired the ball into the net from a free position shot to bag the first goal of the game.

Villanova won draw control following Bakes’ goal and scored with 12:07 left on the clock. Their attacking momentum led to 2 more goals in quick succession.

Soon, the score was 3-1 in favor of the Wildcats with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Those four minutes proved to be ample time for the Hoyas to push back. Another goal from Bakes and Georgetown senior attacker Ali Diamond leveled the score to 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The stat sheet still appeared uneven, though, with the Wildcats winning 6 draw controls to the Hoyas’ 1.

See VILLANOVA, A11

@HOYASMLACROSSE

Georgetown prevailed against another ranked opponent as it overcame a first-quarter deficit to down the Denver Pioneers.

MEN’S LACROSSE

Hoyas Dominate Big East Foe Denver 17-9 Brendan Quill Hoya Staff Writer

Down 4-2 to No. 17 University of Denver midway through the first quarter, it appeared that Georgetown men’s lacrosse was in for another close, gritty game coming off a narrow 3-goal victory against No. 19 Lehigh.

But the No. 3 Hoyas (8-1, 1-0 Big East) pulled through, going on an impressive 11-1 scoring run stretching across nearly 30minutes of game time to propel themselves to a decisive 17-9 victory against the Pioneers (5-5, 0-1 Big East).

Georgetown opened its Big East regular season with a win. Following its fifth victory against a top-25 opponent, the Hoyas remain the No. 3 ranked team in the nation.

Georgetown and Denver traded goals to begin the game as the two conference rivals felt each other out in the opening five minutes.

While senior faceoff James Reilly scored his fourth goal of the season to give Georgetown an early 2-1 lead with 11:39 remaining in the quarter, the Pioneers quickly stormed back with 3 unanswered goals.

For Denver, attacker JJ Sill-

strop scored 2 goals in 40 seconds, putting the Hoyas on their heels down 4-2 with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter.

However, Georgetown senior attacker Dylan Watson quickly used a man-up advantage, scoring his first of a career-high 7 goals to bring the score to 4-3 at the end of the first quarter. The team’s leader in goals, Watson was later honored as the Big East Attack Player of the Week for his impressive individual performance.

Georgetown came out strong at the start of the second, with Watson scoring his second goal of the game nearly three minutes into the

quarter to tie the game 4-4.

Graduate attacker Connor Morin then scored 2 goals in just over one minute to give the Hoyas a 6-4 lead. Georgetown held on to this lead for the rest of the game.

While the offensive outburst early in the second quarter put the Hoyas ahead, their defense also held strong, stifling the Denver attack and holding the Pioneers to just one goal in the quarter.

Georgetown’s defense, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in fewest goals allowed per game, held last year’s Big East Midfielder of the Year and

USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Midfielder of the Year Jack Hannah to zero goals and zero assists.

While it was an all-around team effort, graduate defender Will Bowen won the Big East Defensive Player of the Week award, forcing two turnovers and holding his matchups scoreless.

First-year goalie Michael Scharfenberger was also stout, making 13 saves for the Hoyas.

Denver attacker Richie Connell stopped the bleeding with a man up goal late in the second quarter, but See DENVER, A11

AROUND THE ASSOCIATION

PROFILE

Jacob Montes: Career in Consideration Who Should Earn All-NBA Honors?

Jack Lonergan Hoya Staff Writer

A national champion and Big East midfielder of the year, Jacob Montes (COL ’21) is one of the best Hoyas in recent Georgetown soccer history. After graduating in 2021 he was offered a trial and eventually signed by Crystal Palace. He continues to play in Europe today where he is playing his trade for Belgian side RWD Molenbeek on loan from the South London club.

The Hoya sat down with him to discuss his career at Georgetown, his signing with the English Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C. and his soccer aspirations.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is the biggest difference between playing at Georgetown and a professional European league?

What have you had to adapt to?

The first thing that stands out is not the quality. It is not much better than even the MLS [Major League Soccer] or the higher levels of college football. But it is more physically demanding. I had to adapt to this as I like to be a more technical player. But it is good for my development and is

Tim Brennan Hoya Staff Writer

Each year, a group of NBA writers vote on All-NBA teams, a snapshot of the best 15 players in the league each season.

Since I just spent three hours figuring out my personal ballot, I ought to share it here. As of April 4, there is still a week of basketball left, so picks and relevant stats are subject to small tweaks and changes.

GUHOYAS

Jacob Montes, a former Georgetown midfielder who starred on the 2019 National Championship squad, reflected on his college success and current career abroad.

good preparation for later on in Timbers Academy offered me my career where hopefully I’ll be an MLS contract. At that point, playing at a higher level.

I think I was too far along in the college process to not get my Why did you elect to go degree from Georgetown. That’s to college and then Eu- why I elected to not do it at that rope, rather than go the time.

MLS route?

After my junior year, when we During that 2019 national See MONTES, A11 won everything, the Portland championship season, you

starred as a midfielder with 11 goals and 5 assists. What was that run like?

From the beginning of that year, we knew that it was going to be our really good year, whether we made it to the national final or whether we lost in the Big East tournament. Throughout the season when you are training

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

First Team: (G) Devin Booker, (G) Luka Dončić, (F) Jayson Tatum, (F) Giannis Antetokounmpo, (C) Nikola Jokić Let’s start with the easy ones.

Jokić and Antetokounmpo are likely going to finish first and second in MVP voting in some order, so they’re no-brainers for the first team. They account for the last three MVP awards and, incredibly, both of them are top 25 all-time in player efficiency rating (PER), an advanced statistic that combines all of a player’s efforts into a single number.

It’s between four guards — Booker, Dončić, Ja Morant and Stephen Curry — for two spots. This season, Booker has averaged about 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game, effectively propelling the Phoenix Suns to the far-and-

away best record in the league.

Easy lock.

As for the other three, all have led their teams to success, as the Grizzlies, Warriors and Mavericks respectively make up the second, third and fourth seeds in the Western Conference. For me, the tiebreaker is that Doncic is averaging an absurd 28 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, while his competitors have slightly less impressive statistics.

The last forward spot is a tossup between the Celtics’ Tatum and the Nets’ Kevin Durant. While Durant has been incredible, he has played 20 fewer games than Tatum this season, and the Celtics are going to be a top four seed while the Nets could lose in the play-in tournament.

Second Team: (G) Ja Morant, (G) Stephen Curry, (F) Kevin Durant, (F) Demar DeRozan, (C) Joel Embiid Morant and Curry are both having seasons that could be considered first-team quality, putting up huge numbers and leading their teams to high seeds. Durant is an easy pick, too, putting up MVP numbers (30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists). He just missed too many See BRENNAN, A11