Archive

Scoring a goal: African citizens beaming with pride

“When I get older, I will be stronger, they’ll call me freedom, just like a waving flag! And then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back, oh!” This summer little kids ran through the streets and waved their Ghanaian flag to the rhythm of that K’naan song whenever Ghana, or any African country, was playing in the World Cup, which was unique in how successful it was in bringing people together.

By Michael Appau September 30, 2010

OCSL and SNAP stuck in logistical and ideological snafu

Life on the Village A rooftops last year was a good time. Every weekend, the parties made the week worth wading through. I figured it was only going to get better when my friends and I decided to move into an off-campus townhouse for our senior year. Unfortunately, that is not exactly what happened. In reality, leaving campus doesn’t actually mean you’re free from Big Brother’s scrutiny.

By Jay Bush September 30, 2010

Congress is our name and procrastination is our game

I love American politics. I love it because it mirrors the way I think and live as a typical college student. Congressmen and college students alike sit in large lecture rooms and ignore what the speaker is saying. Both Congressmen and college students fail to complete crucial readings, forcing themselves to bullshit their way through the relevant sessions.

By Kyle Zhu September 30, 2010

Carrying On: Stars unaligned for GU Observatory

Every time I tell people I’m the President of Georgetown’s Astronomical Society, two things happen. First, they laugh. Then, they ask me if I can give them a tour of Georgetown’s Heyden Observatory. The observatory never fails to intrigue people, but this universal fascination makes the current state of the observatory all the more pitiful.

By Satinder Kaur September 30, 2010

Features

WGTB: Back on the beat

During New Student Orientation this year, freshmen packed into Yates Field House for a “Party Like It’s 1999!” mixer. Of course, NSO’s inherent awkwardness meant there wasn’t much partying going on. So the event’s DJs took it upon themselves to start off the dancing. “Not a lot of people danced, because they’re all freshmen and embarrassed of each other,” GT Wrobel (COL ’11) said. “But we danced a lot.”

By Tim Shine September 30, 2010

Editorials

Bed bugs at GU: Insects of mass destruction

It was only a matter of time before bedbugs came to Georgetown. If Georgetown wants to stop further infestations, it must communicate with students effectively and spare no expense in treating the few infested areas on campus.Otherwise a few isolated cases can quickly spread to become a campus-wide problem.

By the Editorial Board September 30, 2010

Editorials

Soda Tax a sweet deal for District residents

Government revenue has to come from somewhere, so it is valuable when the government can levy taxes that have societal benefits, too. So as the local government faces an increasingly dire fiscal situation, the District of Columbia’s policymakers made a sound decision in turning to an unconventional tax on sugary drinks for spare change.

By the Editorial Board September 30, 2010

Editorials

Appalachia Rising to stop surface coal mining

This weekend, more than 700 Appalachian residents, retired coal miners, and students held a three-day conference at Georgetown to protest the practice of mountaintop coal removal. The group, Appalachia Rising, unites residents from West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, states whose streams and mountains have been negatively affected by this harmful mining practice.

By the Editorial Board September 30, 2010

LGTBQ activists reflect on Newsweek rankings

Of all the arbitrary college rankings that have recently been released, one stands out as particularly puzzling: Georgetown’s 24th place showing on Newsweek’s “Best Gay Friendly Schools” list. When it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues, Georgetown’s recent history is marred by hate crimes and institutional intolerance. But some said the ranking reflects ongoing institutional efforts to improve the on-campus environment for LGBTQ students and faculty.

By Rachel Calvert September 23, 2010

Corp sees 10 percent rise in applicants

Three hundred eighty-five students applied to the Students of Georgetown Inc. this year, an unusually high number. But the entirely student-run company, better known as the Corp, hired only 57 new employees, for a total acceptance rate of 14.8 percent. They received up to 10 percent more applications than they had in any previous year.

By Galen Weber September 23, 2010

Leo’s introduces changes

Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall has made several changes to its layout for the 2010-11 academic year. The upstairs dining area has been most significantly altered. The salad and sandwich bar, which used to take up a large portion of the upstairs floor space, has been removed. The wrap station now also serves salads, but it no longer offers a weekly rotation of wraps or any meat options.

By Matt Kerwin September 23, 2010

On the record with Joe Hill: Student, Perkins loan advocate

On Wednesday evening, Joe Hill (COL ‘10) sat down with the Voice to discuss the testimony he delivered before the House Budget Committee in support of the Perkins Loan Program. Interview conducted and transcribed by Emma Forster. How did the Perkins Loan help you personally? When I began to apply to colleges, the price tag was a big factor in where I would go.

By Emma Forster September 23, 2010

City on a Hill: Gray’s growth problem?

At approximately 2 a.m. on May 26, D.C. Councilmembers received a startling surprise in the draft budget submitted to them by then-Chairman Vincent Gray. Despite assurances Gray had made the previous night that the long-awaited streetcar project would be included in the city’s budget, it had mysteriously disappeared.

By Eric Pilch September 23, 2010

Beauty is in the eye of the professor

Have you ever taken a snazzy picture of the Potomac from your walk across the Key Bridge and thought “Wow, look how beautiful D.C. is?” Probably. Have you ever thought the same about a photo you took of the grimy outside of a Metro car, or traffic moving through DuPont? Probably not.

By Brendan Baumgardner September 23, 2010

Encyclopedia Prep-tannica

When Lisa Birnbach’s The Official Preppy Handbook came out in 1980, its audience was the yuppies who had just graduated from college. But while TOPH parodied the lives of preppy college and boarding school students, Birnbach’s True Prep is geared towards those who’ve grown up, weathered a divorce or two, and still wear their collars high.

By Nico Dodd September 23, 2010

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor – 9.23.2010

In the Voice’s Sept. 16 article “On the Record: Álvaro Uribe,” the former President of Colombia said that I am “completely wrong” for suggesting that he has shown contempt for... Read more

By Letter to the Editor September 23, 2010

Crosswords

Crossword 9.23.2010 – “Queen of Pop”

ACROSS 1. Looney Tunes company 5. Ending indications (abbr.) 9. Therefore 14. Lewd look 15. Place between hills 16. Make disappear completely 17. 4% say, on a bank acct. 18.... Read more

By Mary Cass September 23, 2010

Food trucks: Like restaurants, only faster

Fresh peppers, onions, and Cuban roast pork sizzle on the grill, producing a mouth-watering aroma that draws a serious crowd. Could it be? A new grilling station at Leo’s? Not a chance. This is the work of Rebel Heroes, one of the many food trucks that are popping up all around D.C.

By Mary Borowiec September 23, 2010

Page 13 Cartoons

Spiral (Part 2)

Continued from last week’s edition.. My mom died six months after I was born. Pneumonia, an infection. I’m not exactly sure, I never really wanted to talk with my dad about it. I never really want to talk to him at all anymore. Weird, right?

By Joseph Romano September 23, 2010

Dirty old Town

This settles it. With the release of The Town, the gritty Boston crime drama is officially its own genre, comprised of such films as The Departed, Mystic River, and The Boondock Saints. The main reason The Town stands apart, is that it has the dubious honor of being the first of its kind to feel cliché.

By Brendan Baumgardner September 23, 2010

Critical Voices: Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest

I was a Deerhunter virgin before I had heard Halcyon Digest. There’s something exciting about diving into a new artist, and when the minimal, ambient sounds of Halcyon Digest first washed over me I was immediately intrigued.

By Paul Quincy September 23, 2010