Archive

Extra, extra!

Instead I calmed down and mostly forgot about Field Music until last week, when the other Brewis, Peter, released his side project, The Week That Was. I didn’t have high expectations going in—how could he make Field Music without Field Music? But, much to my surprise, he pulled it off. And in my joy I started to remember some other impressive side projects.

By Justin Hunter Scott October 9, 2008

I want you: to be poor in the peace corps

Apparently, there are two reasons to go to rural Siberia. One of them involves the KGB and something called a Gulag. The other one is a prestigious, resume building experience for privileged young Americans.

It’s official: the Peace Corps is no longer limited to bearded, granola-munching outdoor education kids. What began in the 60s as an idealistic movement to aid developing countries has become a favorite post-graduation back-up plan, one that is sure to rise further in popularity now that the banking crisis has knocked everyone down a rung on the employment food chain.

By Sarah Harman October 9, 2008

For whom the bar tolls

U Street has recently come to rival Adams Morgan as the District’s new happening neighborhood, and Bar Pilar is a must if you are looking to see hip young D.C. at its finest. For a dark, low-key ambience hit up the bar between Monday and Thursday; to be a part of a larger, rowdy crowd, come on Friday and Saturday nights—but get there early to get a seat from which to view the action.

By Caitlin Simard October 9, 2008

House cleans up

Yet, what Clean House lacks in subtlety and realism it more than makes up for in punchy dialogue, solid performances, and natural chemistry. Their interactions, whether comic or dramatic, are entertaining and compelling to watch. The cast has great comedic timing, especially Joelle Thomas (SFS ’10) as Virginia. Thomas masters her character’s quirks, making someone who could easily be two dimensional and irksome delightful, yet full of pathos. Her rambling, stream of consciousness monologues hop from a peppy punch line to a heartfelt confession without losing a beat or the audience’s attention.

By Vivian Chen October 9, 2008

One, two … three hundred strikes, Cubs still out

On Monday, after reading a particularly inspiring article—Bob Verdi, on how it would be “a colossal disappointment” if the Cubs didn’t make it to the World Series—I began to hope, though I did have the sense to ask the friend who had sent the article if Verdi was just trying to jinx us.

So, on Monday, I started to hope. On Wednesday, the Cubs started to fall apart. On Saturday, the demise was complete.

By Allie Reiner October 9, 2008

He said, She said, God said?

I didn’t even think of “Lord” as a particularly male word until the first time I heard a rabbi awkwardly trying to cut it out. That’s become the norm these days for reading aloud from a traditional prayer book: convoluted verbal gymnastics and ad-libbed word substitutions that make everyone, reader and listener alike, uncomfortable. Replacing every “He” with “God” sounds like a good idea until you listen to it for thirty seconds—that’s when you realize pronouns are a great invention.

By Anna Bank October 9, 2008

Re-finding Ramadan

This past month, my phone went one step further and served as my trusty alarm clock as well. It provided a jarring, whining five a.m. wake-up call. This past month was the month of Ramadan, and every morning, just before the sun rose, my phone and I shared a pre-dawn meal. It’s not quite the same as sharing your pre-dawn meal with your parents and siblings. The automated, unrelenting sound of an alarm clock is nothing near the gentle touch and voice of your mother by your bedside.

By Sadaf Qureshi October 9, 2008

Sure, hop on board another football Express

The Express, Universal Pictures’ latest sports biopic, is guaranteed to please sports and schmaltz lovers of all ages. The story centers on the life of Ernie Davis, the first African American athlete to win college football’s prestigious Heisman Trophy, paying particular attention to the racial barriers he confronted and shattered as a standout running back at Syracuse University.

By Eliott Grover October 9, 2008

Two artists, two visions, one landscape

“Natural Affinities” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum marks the first time in history that the works of painter Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer Ansel Adams have been paired in an exhibition, and it seems long overdue. Both icons of the American art scene, they explore and interpret the landscape of the American southwest in their works, drawing parallels between the land and artistic expression, and pointing toward two distinct visions of the natural world.

By Madeline Reidy October 9, 2008

Virus subsides, source still unknown

As the total number of Georgetown students who sought medical treatment for a norovirus infection climbed to 215 on Wednesday, the Leo J. O’Donovan dining hall resumed normal operations for the first time in a week, and the University’s cleaning and sanitization project for high-traffic areas continued.

By Alisha Crovetto October 9, 2008

Saxa Politica: GU owes students a free lunch

After Kathrin Verestoun (SFS `11) watched her norovirus-infected roommate vomit all over their room last week, it took her a while to muster the faith to trust Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall again. But on Sunday night, out of Flex dollars and short on cash, Verestoun decided to brave Leo’s once more.

By Kate Mays October 9, 2008

Political Profs

Last year, Professor Mike Green of the School of foreign Service arrived in a New York airport on his way to meet with the top advisers to presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Both campaigns were seeking his services as a top foreign policy adviser.

By Molly Redden October 9, 2008

On the Waterfront

Georgetown Waterfront Park opened last week nearly two decades after the initial proposal was put forward, and after several delays and design changes.

By John Cooke October 9, 2008

Metro expands its cell service

On October 1, Congress passed a law that will require the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to allow any cell phone service provider to operate within the Metrorail system. Currently, only Verizon Wireless customers receive service in the Metro because Verizon built WMATA’s emergency communications network in 1993.

By Juliana Brint October 9, 2008

Med student victim of hate crime

Last Friday at around three a.m., two men shouted homophobic slurs at a Georgetown University medical student, and one struck him across the face with a Grey Goose Vodka bottle.

By Marie Negrin October 9, 2008

Hot in the saddle: Georgetown’s newest club sport

If there’s an epicenter of equine activity in the United States, it’s probably not far from here.

“Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania—these are historically the hotspots in the United States,” trainer Jeff Becker said. “It’s probably the largest concentration of horses in the country, literally thousands of stables and every week new ones open.”

Becker runs one such stable, Lakeside, which he calls “the best office in the world.” This “office,” located on 200 acres at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain in Clarksburg, Maryland, is home to some 50 horses, a donkey named Jacob, and one of Georgetown’s newest club sports: the GU Equestrian Team.

By Anthony Francavilla October 9, 2008

The Sports Sermon: Washington International Horse Show

The first words of the equestrian feature on the opposite page are easily the first I’d ever written about horse shows. But now that I’m in the equine spirit, I may as well take it a little further—that’s what happens when someone who has never been within 20 feet of a horse finds himself surrounded by dozens on a Sunday afternoon. Besides, Greg Monroe won’t take his first official shot for over a month, but in just a few weeks the Verizon Center will play host to the 50th Annual Washington International Horse Show.

By Anthony Francavilla October 9, 2008

Fast Break: Women’s soccer takes on top-ranked Notre Dame

After an unexpected weekend off due to the norovirus outbreak on campus, the Georgetown women’s soccer team (8-0-2) spent the week regrouping in preparation for their biggest challenge of the season: the top-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

By Liz Kuebler October 9, 2008

Hoyas fresh for Penn

The Georgetown Plague made its way onto the gridiron last week, forcing the Hoyas (1-4) to cancel their scheduled game against Colgate, a match-up which will not be made up this season. While no one likes to miss a game, head coach Kevin Kelly’s players made good use of the break.

By Tom Bosco October 9, 2008

Men’s soccer can’t find winner against Seton Hall

With eleven teams within two games of first place, the Big East is as muddled a field as it has been in recent memory. True to form, 120 minutes couldn’t decide a winner between Georgetown (7-2-2, 2-2-2 BE) and Seton Hall (6-5-1, 2-3-1 BE). The two teams settled for a 1-1 tie yesterday evening on North Kehoe Field.

By Anthony Francavilla October 9, 2008

It’s not so bad

Trojans, Gators, Buckeyes, and Bulldogs, fear not: Although your teams have already marred their records with the dreaded “one loss” that has plagued national championship hopefuls in recent years, your title hopes are still alive and kicking. Gone are the days when undefeated teams could be left out of the BCS title game, as was the case with Auburn in 2004. Not long ago, BCS detractors pointed out that the greatest flaw in the now ten-year-old system was its inability to accommodate more than two unbeaten teams. But after 11-2 LSU took home the trophy last year, more complicated problems have surfaced: what does the committee do when three teams, even four, are tied atop the rankings with one or two losses?

By Walker Loetscher October 9, 2008

Editorials

Vote for ‘that one’ to rebuild America

“Every generation needs a new revolution.” Although Thomas Jefferson spoke these words over 200 years ago, he could have been talking about the 2008 presidential election. With less than a month left before the election, America is in its worst shape in recent memory. The economy is crumbling, we’re stuck in an unnecessary war that has cost us thousands of lives and hundred of billions of dollars, and our civil liberties have been shredded by eight years of executive power run amok. These conditions all point to one thing: the time for our revolution, a revolution of rebuilding America and moving away from the failed policies and ideology of the past eight years, has come. For this reason, the Voice editorial board endorses Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for President of the United States.

By the Editorial Board October 9, 2008

Editorials

Facing norovirus, University didn’t blink

Too often Georgetown’s response to a campus crisis can be described in four words: too little, too late. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case when the norovirus, a highly contagious disease marked by vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, hit campus last week. Hours after the first feverish student appeared in the Georgetown University Hospital emergency room, the administration jumped into action. Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson kept the Georgetown community informed with numerous email updates and press conferences, Facilities took steps to stem the spread of the virus, and a combination of departments provided support to those unlucky enough to have caught it. With the exception of Georgetown’s replacement dining options while Leo’s was closed, Georgetown’s administration deserves credit for its rapid, comprehensive response.

By the Editorial Board October 9, 2008