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October 2011


Voices

Steve’s greatest job: the editor to Apple visionaries

When Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., died a fortnight ago, my dad went out and bought an iPhone. This emotional response was hardly atypical: rock stars, journalists and politicians alike lauded the man whose sense of showmanship had helped him transcend the shadowy ranks of the business world into the stratosphere of celebrity and brought sleek premium electronics to the hands of millions of Americans.

Voices

Beyond Ahmadinejad: the Iranians’ democratic potential

Gradually through the years, European and American foreign policies have managed to construct a Western vision of Iran that associated the country with the so-called “axis of evil” states and al-Qaeda. But the Iranian government actually desired cooperation with the U.S. on terrorism. However, the Bush administration did little to foster dialogue. As a result, hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President in 2005, ushering in an era of renewed anti-Americanism.

Voices

An imaginary community

When I was a senior at Hill, I felt inextricably connected to the place and to everyone who was a part of it. But when I arrived at the promised land of higher-level academia, I couldn’t help but be let down. Of course it’s natural to feel lost going from being a big fish in a small pond to a lowly first-year guppy. But as a freshman at Georgetown, once the NSO Cheerleaders strip off their neon t-shirts and cease all their “HOYA SAXA”-ing, it is incredibly easy to disappear into gateway class oblivion.

Editorials

Coulter’s hate speech has no place here

The Georgetown Lecture Fund has brought many respected figures from across the political spectrum to campus for free guest lectures. But its latest invitee, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, is a disappointing and worrisome departure from the Fund’s standard of speakers.

Editorials

Support medical marijuana for PTSD victims

Luckily for PTSD sufferers, whose ranks have been swelled by veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a promising alternative: preliminary trials and user testimony point to marijuana as an effective replacement for Risperdal and other drugs.

Editorials

Groups seek collective voice through Union

For the past few years, student groups at Georgetown have been held down by near-constant struggles with redundant layers of financial and administrative bureaucracy, forcing student leaders to spend endless hours filling out paperwork. When student leaders should be devoting their time to managing their clubs, they are far too often dealing with the Center for Student Programs and advisory boards. Student life at Georgetown suffers from these oppressive levels of bureaucracy.

Leisure

Throwback Jack: Ms. Georgetown mishaps

Traditions abound on Homecoming Weekend—alumni return to their old stomping grounds, everyone goes out to see the football game (or at least tailgate for it), and students crown a champion in the annual Mr. Georgetown Pageant. Some of those traditions stretch back over 70 years to Georgetown’s first homecoming. Others have evolved. For example, it wasn’t always about Mr. Georgetown. Up until 1971, it was all about Ms. Georgetown, the Homecoming Queen.

Leisure

Idiot Box: The renaissance of reality TV

Earlier this week, I kept running into news about the all-important story of the week: Gene Simmons is getting married. Well, not actually—apparently the ceremony already happened on October 1. But on Monday and Tuesday, Simmons’s wedding was televised in a two-night special edition of his reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

Leisure

Critical Voices: Justice, Audio, Video, Disco

Do you ever wish you could return to the straightforward goals and limited social interaction of an old-school arcade? If so, the French electro-house duo Justice may have created the album for you. With an overwhelming ‘80s vibe, the band’s second album, Audio, Video, Disco, is crafted mostly from the sounds of the synthesized background music of our video game-playing youth. But while its resemblance to the Pacman anthem may excite quarter machine wizards, the album’s eternally retro quality is frustratingly inconclusive. Though its synthy nostalgia might strike a sentimental chord, its artistic value is significantly less certain.