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Day: October 23, 2008


Leisure

Critical Voices: Deerhunter, “Microcastle”

Fast-forward to 2008: Cox now has two critically-acclaimed bands to his name (Deerhunter and Atlas Sound), Mee has been replaced by Whitney Petty (a former cheerleader), and the band stands on the verge of releasing their third LP, Microcastle. The release is accompanied by more drama from Cox, who accidentally leaked new material from both of his bands a few months ago.

Leisure

Central Michel Richard’s: only fancy on the outside

Sometimes you just get the urge to go out for a “nice dinner” at a place where, as Homer Simpson put it, they call you “sir” without adding “please leave.” Central Michel Richard, Michel Richard’s attempt to combine a relaxed environment with high-end feel-good food, is a place where you can satisfy that urge. Central is billed as a bistro, and is promoted as a more affordable, more down-to-earth incarnation of Richard’s D.C. flagship Citronelle. While Central succeeds in creating an unpretentious and inviting atmosphere uncharacteristic of fine dining establishments, the quality of food does not live up to expectations

Sports

Nasty turf burn

If you’ve played soccer or flag football on Kehoe Field lately, you know about the landmines. You’ll be in the midst of a great run down the left wing, or backpedaling toward the end zone to break up a game-winning touchdown pass, when one of them sneaks out of nowhere, grabs your leg, and twists. You’ll writhe on the ground for a minute, stand up, and try to walk the injury off. No such luck. Whether it’s a sprained ankle, pulled hammy, or twisted knee, you’ve been bested again by one of those tricky Kehoe specials—the bumpy irregularities that litter Georgetown’s only recreation field for student use.

Sports

Umar, Hoyas aim for upset

A week after its 27-24 loss to a mediocre Bucknell squad, Georgetown’s football team will need a superhuman effort to compete with the championship subdivision’s ninth-ranked team, Richmond University.

Sports

Georgetown notches ninth shut-out of the season

Head coach Dave Nolan’s Hoyas (11-3-2, 6-3 BE) have prided themselves on getting big plays from many different players this season. After dropping two overtime heartbreakers over the weekend, Georgetown needed one of those plays on Tuesday against St. John’s (7-4-4, 3-3-3 BE). This time, they got it from sophomore defender Courtney Kent, whose first career goal gave the Hoyas an important 1-0 victory.

Sports

Mountaineer net-minder offers stiff challenge

With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (8-3-3, 3-2-3 BE) is looking toward the playoffs. The Hoyas, currently third in the Big East’s Blue division, are in prime position to move up to the top two and earn an important first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Editorials

Representative gov’t: ever heard of it?

The Georgetown University Student Association Senate, for all of its flaws, has one thing going for it: its members are elected by the student body. Call it ineffective or irrelevant or self-important, but at least each Senator represents a constituency of students and is, in theory, held accountable by these students. That’s what makes a recently enacted modification to GUSA’s bylaws that allow a non-GUSA Senator to head a GUSA commission so troubling: it undermines the very foundation of GUSA’s credibility. Getting outside students involved in GUSA is a worthy goal, but GUSA should reverse the change so that they don’t put a non-elected student in a position of power and responsibility.

Editorials

Raise the bar with tougher tenure

Last year, the Main Campus Executive Faculty wagged its collective finger at Georgetown students, calling student life a “culture of functionality” and “underachievement” with too much partying and not enough academic excellence. The Intellectual Life Report, though not without its flaws, was refreshing in its willingness to unflinchingly scrutinize Georgetown’s academic environment. Today, as the MCEF brings recommendations for stricter tenure criteria before the Georgetown Faculty Senate, the Faculty Senate once again has an opportunity to prove its dedication to improving Georgetown’s academic environment. The Senate should approve the MCEF’s proposal and vote to strengthen the Faculty Handbook’s guidelines for tenure-seeking professors.

Editorials

GU needs a mail system makeover

If you’re obsessively checking your mailbox for an overdue absentee ballot: don’t hold your breath. At Georgetown, letters can take weeks to arrive when they should take mere days, students’ bills are placed in mailboxes from years past, and missent mail gets held up in sorting for indefinite periods of time or, worse, simply discarded by students who receive mail addressed to someone else. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to the problem of Georgetown’s unreliable mail system: get rid of it. In its place, Georgetown should establish a centralized mail system, with everyone’s P.O. boxes in one building and each student having the same box for all four years.

Leisure

Regime change starts at good art

If you take a stroll or a G2 bus down P Street toward Logan Circle, you’ll notice the upward gazing face of Barack Obama on the side of a small white roof. Though the image’s presence isn’t surprising—politics is inescapable in D.C., even when it isn’t election season—the stenciled blue and red portrait is striking and fresh, and stands apart from those stodgy logos on bumper stickers and window panes across the city. Step into the Irvine Contemporary gallery and you’ll discover the man behind the iconic portrait, and some of the most politically confrontational artwork to be found in the capital.