Archive

Hard time has come for reform

Prison, meant to be a punishing interlude before a return to society, has become a way of life for too many Americans. The Pew Center on the States released a report last month that found the United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, with one in every 99.1 adults an inmate in a federal or state prison.

By the Editorial Board March 13, 2008

Bill leaves D.C.’s workers ailing

Last week, Washington became the second city in the country to force businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees. While the Council should be commended for following San Francisco’s lead and protecting the city’s working poor, it should reverse the pro-business amendments that dramatically reduce the legislation’s effectiveness.

By the Editorial Board March 13, 2008

How to repair our national lawn

Although the National Mall is home to memorials to our nation’s Founding Fathers, it is treated like Washington’s ugly stepchild. The facilities are neglected and dirt patches grow faster than grass. As the front yard of the nation’s capital, the Mall deserves better than its current disgraceful state.

By the Editorial Board March 13, 2008

Voices

Time to live up to Catholic justice

An institution has got to live by a code. That goes for Georgetown, too, and its Jesuit ideals.

By Tim Fernholz March 13, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

The El Salvador Experience

What I heard at dinner on the first night of spring break was hard to believe. A group of seven other Georgetown students, two leaders from Campus Ministry and I spent the break in El Salvador as part of the “Magis Immersion and Justice Program,” and to kick off our trip we went to a small restaurant with our guide and bus driver. I was practicing my Spanish and chatting with our driver, Santos, about how much I was looking forward to the week. It was Santos’ response that took me by surprise. Rather than returning my excitement or laughing along with me, he became very solemn and told me this would be one of the most important weeks of my life. He told me that our group would be learning and seeing so much during our time there that our lives would be changed afterward. I found Santos’ statement touching, but couldn’t help but think he was being a little dramatic. I knew I would be exposed to different lifestyles and challenges during the trip, but it seemed unlikely that one week could change my life.

By Brandi Streauslin March 13, 2008

Voices

Rebuilding New Orleans

My last few spring breaks have consisted of lounging around, drinking heavily and doing a lot of nothing. I was sick of it, so last week I chose to mix it up and head down to New Orleans with GU’s Habitat for Humanity group. The 24 of us were excited to get down to business and build some houses when we arrived.

By Justin Hunter Scott March 13, 2008

Sports

Hoyas drop Louisville for Big East regular season crown

None of the 19,000 fans piled into the Verizon Center on Saturday could hold the Big East regular season championship trophy higher than seven-foot senior Roy Hibbert. At his side, fellow seniors Jonathan Wallace, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Tyler Crawford did their best, each taking his turn displaying the trophy for the Hoya faithful. These four, honored before the game during the Senior Day celebration, are part of the first ever Georgetown team to win back-to-back Big East regular season titles after the 11th-ranked Hoyas (25-4, 15-3 BE) defeated the Louisville Cardinals (24-7, 14-4 BE), 55-52.

By Anthony Francavilla February 28, 2008

Crosswords

Crossword Answers

By Cal Lee February 28, 2008

NEWS HIT

Free national newspapers are finally set to arrive on campus the Monday after spring break, almost a month after Student Association President Ben Shaw (COL ’08) promised the papers would be here.

By Yamini Kalidindi February 28, 2008

Georgetown Law goes international

This fall, the Georgetown Law Center will expand overseas as it begins a partnership with nine other top law schools from around the world to create the Center for Transnational Legal Studies in London.

By Lynn Kirshbaum February 28, 2008

GUSA election part II

As of 5:36 p.m. last night, 2,437 votes had been cast in the run-off election for GUSA President, nine more than the 2,428 cast in the first election. Voting will continue until noon today. The election is a the result of a GUSA Senate vote not to certify last week’s elections, based on the recommendation of Election Commissioner Maura Cassidy (COL ’08).

By Juliana Brint February 28, 2008

Clinton shouldn’t fake comeback

One year ago, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) seemed poised to win the Democratic presidential nomination in more of a plebiscite than an election.

By the Editorial Board February 28, 2008

GUSA: Out with old, in with new

Ben Shaw (COL ’08) took office last February promising to bring the student body free national newspapers, extend the add-drop period and represent the student body to the University administration. As Shaw’s term ends, two of those goals have been fulfilled.

By the Editorial Board February 28, 2008

Time to run off voting system

After deciding which Student Association tickets to vote for from the plethora of candidates, actually casting the vote should have been the easy part. But when Georgetown students logged on to vote last Thursday, they were greeted with a ballot that managed to be an online analogue to GUSA itself: confusing and tedious. Voting was so flawed that GUSA will hold a run-off between the top four tickets because the GUSA Senate refused to certify the results. It’s time to ditch the multiple-choice ballot and instant-runoff voting.

By the Editorial Board February 28, 2008

Features

Foreign Policy Maverick

Irving Kristol, a founder of neoconservatism, once said that a neoconservative is a liberal who’s been mugged by reality. At Georgetown, we have Raymond Tanter, a conservative who’s had his bike stolen.

As the president of the Iran Policy Committee, a non-profit organization that promotes using Iranian oppositionists against Iran, Tanter is a tireless booster for the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an armed group of Iranian exiles that seeks to overthrow the Iranian government.

By Will Sommer February 28, 2008

Union Jack: Bringing equality to Afghanistan

In a small Afghan town of mud huts with just two paved roads, a nine-person provincial council recently took a very progressive step forward—its members elected three women to their highest official positions. For Karen Chandler (SFS ‘02), the State Department’s representative on the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Afghan province of Farah, this egalitarian move symbolizes some of the positive changes that this undeveloped country has seen in recent years. Chandler has worked in Afghanistan since May 2007, helping to strengthen and rebuild the local government.

By Alison Crowley February 28, 2008

Howard Dean talks politics in ICC

Howard Dean showed up to talk about Black History Month but the focus quickly changed to politics Tuesday night in ICC Auditorium.

By John Cooke February 28, 2008

On the Record: DPS Director Darryl Harrison

After 38 years in law enforcement and security, Department of Public Safety Director Darryl Harrison is ready to call it quits. Harrison, retiring in May, has spent nine years in charge of Georgetown’s on-campus police force. The gruff former cop, who started his career with the Metropolitan Police Department in 1970 and worked as an international security consultant for five years before coming to Georgetown, talked to the Voice about his time here and the future of DPS.

By Tim Fernholz February 28, 2008

Forte: Emo rebirth

This illusion of commonality emerges whenever we identify with an artist’s body of work, and often spurs an unrealistic set of expectations. As Lacey puts it: “When you do an interview or meet a fan, the only reference they have of you is an album. So it’s almost that they want or expect you to be that [way] when we were really those people for four or five months.” This idea carries over into the long-term as well—we expect artists to stay the same and feel cheated when they don’t fulfill our preconceptions (insert references to Bob Dylan, Black Flag and more).

By Daniel Cook February 28, 2008

DVD killed the video stars

Be Kind, Rewind, French director Michel Gondry’s most recent film, is average as a comedy, continuing the trend started by Gondry’s last offering, the disappointing The Science of Sleep. Despite falling far short of the visual inventiveness and splendor of the acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), though, Be Kind provides keen insight into the nature of filmmaking and the importance of community.

By Eliott Grover February 28, 2008

Beyond the chili bowl: U St.

If you’re looking for a fresh spot for dinner or drinks, leave pricey M Street behind and take a spin further down the alphabet to U Street, a neighborhood that’s up and coming so fast you want to make sure you get to it before it loses its edge.

By Naja Baldwin February 28, 2008

Critical Voices: Stephen Malkmus, Real Emotional Trash

Stephen Malkmus’ Real Emotional Trash is his first solo release that sounds as willfully sprawling as his best work with his old band. Backed once again by the Jicks, Malkmus has abandoned the clever, artsy pop of his last few releases, opting instead for a heavy jam-fest. Finally achieving the mix of hooks and guitar freakouts that fans have been awaiting through his four releases since the dissolution of Pavement, Real Emotional Trash is his best solo album to date.

By Justin Hunter Scott February 28, 2008