Archive

Hunger Games obsession helps ease post-graduation fears

Sophomore year is coming to an end, and the dreaded slump has set in. Combined with the recent streak of bad weather, this has lead to a complete and utter lack of desire to do anything. I’ve found other ways to occupy my time, like thinking about how I’m pursuing a degree that, especially in these tough economic times, isn’t exactly practical—it’s sometimes pretty difficult to see how the skills the SFS has taught me can translate into a career. Still, one cannot spend hours dwelling on insecurities without going insane, so I have turned to my favorite fictional world for solace—Panem.

By Sara Ainsworth April 26, 2012

Religious plurality at Georgetown inspires contemplation

At Georgetown, religion is everywhere. And for me, whose only religious experience pre-college was a third-grade Christmas gift exchange in which I gave a teacher a Barbie I didn’t like, a Jesuit university was quite the jump. And while my Catholic friends here might remind me that this is “barely Catholic” in comparison to their private high schools, I feel the strength of faith everywhere I go.

By Abby Sherburne April 26, 2012

Carrying On: Down, but never out

It’s an all too common conversation opener at NSO: “Well, my dad’s from Singapore, my mom is French and Japanese, but I grew up in South Africa and then went to high school in New York City…” In these situations, quite a few Georgetown students can rattle off impressive and exotic responses about their own backgrounds, very often in several languages. I’m not one of them. After the cosmopolitan Hoya has recited a laundry list of enviable places of origin, it’s my turn to declare that I hail from Michigan—more specifically, from the Detroit area. My interlocutor usually responds with something to the effect of, “Ouch,” or “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

By Tori Jovanovski April 26, 2012

Gay-dar culture doesn’t encompass range of sexuality

About 16 months ago, Michael, my best friend since age six, told me that he was gay. He knew I had no problem with gay people in the abstract, but he also knew that I, 16 years old and from Georgia, had scarcely interacted with anyone of alternate sexual orientations. Nothing changed; Michael is still my best friend. What troubled me, however, were the stories of bigotry he experienced growing up, of which I had only been peripherally aware. Only with his reminder did I realize just how liberally the word “faggot” was used all throughout elementary and middle school. In eighth grade, our health teacher basically told us that LSD would turn you gay, as it would make you suddenly want to make out with other men. The class responded with the requisite disgust and mutterings of “so gross,” thoroughly alienating the kids who might actually be attracted to the same sex.

By Connor Jones April 26, 2012

Editorials

Conscious consumerism proves detrimental

Last Sunday marked Earth Day, an occasion meant to raise awareness of environmental issues. The holiday usually produces a number of environmental rallies, film screenings, recycling raids, and other eco-friendly... Read more

By the Editorial Board April 26, 2012

Editorials

Relay for Life not the most worthwhile charity

On April 20, a crowd of 1,732 students, staff, and cancer survivors gathered on Multi-Sport Field to celebrate Georgetown’s 2012 Relay for Life, the primary fundraising arm for the American... Read more

By the Editorial Board April 26, 2012

Editorials

Administration’s attack on GU Day misguided

Yesterday, the Office of Student Affairs announced that it would be imposing new restrictions on the previously unmitigated free-for-all that students knew and loved as Georgetown Day. According to an... Read more

By the Editorial Board April 26, 2012

Faculty question Rep. Paul Ryan’s use of Catholic social teaching

Today, Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) is slated to arrive on campus to speak at the 2012 Whittington Lecture, Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s annual event designed to promote education and awareness about policy issues. Since the announcement of his speech, Ryan has sparked controversy among the University’s Jesuit community over his use of Catholic social teaching in support of his budget policies. In anticipation of his presence on campus, Fr. Thomas Reese wrote a letter to Ryan on behalf of Georgetown’s Jesuit scholars, challenging his use of Catholic social teaching to defend his budget and its destructive impact on the poor.

By Julia Jester April 26, 2012

Occupy activists look to revive movement with May Day

As the spring months begin, the Occupy movement faces questions about how to stay relevant since the forced evictions of major camps in D.C. and New York. Members of Occupy Georgetown are similarly grappling with how to create an activist movement on campus. Both Occupy D.C. and Occupy Georgetown hope to build strength by uniting activists from different causes. A May 1 general strike known as “May Day” aims to demonstrate the continuation of the movement.

By Eileen McFarland April 26, 2012

Letters to University show campus divide on birth control

In the past two weeks, President John J. DeGioia has received two letters from groups of students, both on Georgetown’s Main Campus and the Law Campus, concerning the current debate over the University providing birth control under the student health care plan.

By Morgan Manger April 26, 2012

Union Jack: Crony capitalism at NLRB

In a well-functioning democracy, it would seem that a high-ranking public official passing on sensitive information to the industry which he or she is in charge of regulating would cause an immense political scandal—especially when the official in question is leaking information to a top advisor of one of the major presidential candidates.

By Cole Stangler April 26, 2012

Features

Voice Photo Contest 2012

Check out the winners to our annual photo contest!

By Lucia He April 26, 2012

Sports Sermon: Rethinking the Brooklyn Nets

Personally, I can’t blame the Nets for bolting to the greener pastures of Brooklyn.

By Kevin Joseph April 26, 2012

Sporty Spice: The Saints go marching down

Unfortunately, over the next few weeks, we’ll all keep watching sadly as the Saints go marching down.

By Abby Sherburne April 26, 2012

Hoyas salvage disappointing season, defeat Syracuse

“I think all of us are pretty upset about not making the Big East Tournament, as well as the NCAA Tournament. I know the guys next year will work extremely hard to get Georgetown back into postseason play.”

By Steven Criss April 26, 2012

Sims and Clark bid farewell at banquet

“We’re going to be good,” Thompson III confidently stated. “I wish we could start practice tomorrow.”

By Tim Shine April 26, 2012

Students demand that GU terminate contract with Adidas

Yesterday, members of Georgetown Solidarity Committee and Georgetown Occupy gathered in Red Square to protest Adidas’s refusal to pay its workers severance at the PT Kizone apparel factory in Indonesia. The students claim the unpaid severance is in violation of both the University’s code of conduct for its licensees and Indonesian law. After demonstrating in Red Square, the crowd marched to President John DeGioia’s office to officially deliver a letter requesting that the University exert more influence on Adidas to pay $1.8 million in severance for the 2,800 workers.

By Connor Jones April 19, 2012

Dean of Admissions says record low admissions rate not paramount

Georgetown’s acceptance rate for next year’s freshman class was a record low at 16.5 percent, with 3,316 students admitted out of a pool of over 20,000. But while other universities strive to attract more applicants to lower acceptance rates, Dean of Admissions Charles Deacon says his office has not been seeking to increase the volume of applications, due to the time and effort his staff takes to review each candidate.

By Matthew Weinmann April 19, 2012

CSJ initiates personnel search

A committee at Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice, which has been without a director since 2010, is currently in search for a new permanent director.

By Morgan Manger April 19, 2012

Saxa Politica: Wax-a nostalgic-a

Over the past 10 or so years, the crusade to improve student organizations has focused on programming. The creation of the student activities fee and the subsequent funding board reforms increased groups’ financial capabilities. The ongoing discussions about space are trying to make it easier for groups to find places to program. Although the obvious mission of organizations is programming, their function on campus is to facilitate social life.

By Ryan Bellmore April 19, 2012

Carrying On: Holy mole-y!

When I first heard there was a mole at Fox News, I was pretty damn excited. For years I have hoped for a popular backlash against not only Fox News, with its blatantly fear-mongering conservative agenda, but all the major American news networks, which consistently embellish, distort, and manipulate facts to boost both network ratings and the political stances they subscribe to. But after a week of behind-the-scenes leaks from “America’s most trusted news network,” I feel little more than disappointment for a lost opportunity to instigate a desperately needed change in the culture of news.

By Daniel Kellner April 19, 2012

You may be able to pay for school, but you can’t buy class

When the recession began in the United States in the fall of 2008, American universities felt the hit in all of their main sources of revenue—fewer students able to pay high tuition, attendance down at sporting events, and donors contributing significantly less to endowments. Georgetown, for one, set priorities based on financial constraints by attempting to stifle staff layoffs and focusing alumni money on financial aid.

By Ambika Tripathi April 19, 2012

A misunderstood mission: U.S. charitywork misses the mark

Growing up in an evangelical Christian household and attending a fundamentalist Christian high school, charity and service were held next to godliness. Each year our school sent off groups of students to preach the gospel and do charity work. Whether in Thailand, the Dominican Republic, or South Africa, we had God’s work to do—charity wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command. To aid us in this imperative, our school worked closely with local San Diego missionaries who were doing inspiring work building houses in Mexico or spreading literacy in Mauritania. Usually after a brief video showing starving babies covered in flies, these missionaries would teach us the tools of the trade—mosquito nets, ministry, and moral absolutism. One of these motivational speakers was a young man named Jason Russell, founder of Invisible Children and the filmmaker behind the Kony 2012 viral video that blew up this March and has been viewed over 100 million times since.

By Keaton Hoffman April 19, 2012