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September 2011


News

September 11 a catalyst for better vets programs at GU

Prior to September 11, 2001, Georgetown was virtually bereft of a military veteran’s presence. The campus was still brimming with anti-military sentiments, remnants from the Vietnam War. Today, a number of organizations and support groups for both soldiers on active duty and veterans exist on campus: Hoyas for Troops, Georgetown University Student Veterans Association, Georgetown Allies, and the Georgetown University Military Association. But that wasn’t always the case.

Leisure

Throwback Jack: Ignatian seismology

This year’s freshman class literally shook campus with its arrival. The earthquake that struck D.C. during move-in week was entirely unexpected, disrupting orientation events and forcing buildings to be evacuated. In the midst of this minor crisis, University officials employed email, text messaging, and nearly every other conceivable medium to get students updates as quickly as possible.

Leisure

Critical Voices: Lady Antebellum, Own the Night

Yes, it’s country music. But it ain’t about sexy green tractors, farmer’s tans, or improper grammar. In fact, iTunes first mistakenly labeled all the tracks from Lady Antebellum’s third studio album, Own the Night, as “pop.” Perhaps the trio has begun to head the way of Taylor Swift: cranking out faux-country for a mainstream audience with little respect for true southern rock. Much of the new album, which drops on September 13, is missing the twang of older hits, such as “Lookin’ For a Good Time.” But oddly enough, the group’s transition to an increasingly diverse sound has, for the most part, worked.

News

GU Farmers’ Market returns

Despite the heavy rain that had been falling all day, Georgetown University’s second Farmers’ Market took place Wednesday afternoon in Healy Circle, as students lined up for everything from Belgian waffles to peaches.

Leisure

Critical Voices: CANT, Dreams Come True

If anyone in the music industry is on top of their game right now, it’s Chris Taylor. Best known as the bassist and backup vocalist for Grizzly Bear, Taylor has also done behind the scenes work on other well-regarded projects, producing records for Twin Shadow and the Morning Benders. Dreams Come True, the debut album from Taylor’s new solo project CANT, is predictably well-produced, but few of its songs display the songwriting ability that made Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest an indie classic.

Voices

A child’s vocabulary of terror from ground zero

I remember hearing the words vividly, sitting in the cafeteria of my Chappaqua, NY, middle school: “Planes have crashed into the World Trade Center. We don’t know much else right now, but we believe it to be the work of terrorists.” As time went on, hysterics escalated. When we returned to our classroom, one kid broke down in nervous, hiccupping tears. His mother worked on one of the top floors of one of the towers. We didn’t know what to say. We were kids. We tried to grasp the situation and assure ourselves everything would be okay. I remember feeling helpless and having no idea how to feel, what to think, or what to expect.

Voices

Crew coach sets sail, rower lays anchor with a new one

When we come to this lovely institution of higher learning, no matter if we shuffled straight out of boarding school or have never spent more than a few nights away from home, we all look for someone to replace the comfort and sense of calm our parents instill in us. Your parents may drive you up the wall, but I have never come across anyone who was not thrilled at the thought of having a home-cooked dinner with a family member they love after months of nothing but Leo’s. For the past three years, my sense of calm has always come from my coach, Glenn Putyrae.

Voices

Great Chinese Takeout: Sub-Saharan Africa’s misfortune

By now we’ve probably all heard how China is taking over Africa. But it’s one thing to read about it, and another thing to have your water shut off for three months in your dorm in Botswana as a Chinese firm diverts all of the town’s water to its construction site. Everywhere I went in sub-Saharan Africa, the phantom of China followed me. Scuba diving in Mozambique, I was told illegal Chinese fishing boats had overfished the last tiger shark in the area four months before my arrival. The Chinese-made truck I was hitchhiking in the back of broke down two hours after we crossed the border back into Botswana.

Voices

Carrying on: She doesn’t even go here

My name is Emma and I am an overachiever. Last week I went out for dinner with a mixed group: some friends, some acquaintances, and a couple of total strangers. During the chips and salsa course, I was chatting with one of the unfamiliars, following the standard get-to-know-you protocol of a first encounter: who are you, what do you do, etc. I think I was explaining one of my extracurricular activities, when one of my friends at the table butted in, “Yeah, Emma is pretty much that kid Max Fischer in Rushmore.”