Alison Crowley

News

Union Jack: Of mortgages and MSBers

It was easy for people like me—freshmen, liberal arts majors—to ignore 2007’s rumbles of a subprime mortgage meltdown. I barely blinked in December when Bear Stearns, one of the largest underwriters of mortgage bonds in the nation, announced losses of $854 million. But for Georgetown students readying themselves to enter the banking and finance job market this fall or next, these economic tremors are making the employment search an uncertain task.

By April 10, 2008

News

Union Jack: Obama gets Georgetown’s race relations problems

New York Times op-ed contributor Bob Herbert suggested on Tuesday that Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) March 18 speech on race, which gained publicity for its willingness to tackle a difficult topic, should be required reading in classrooms across the country. He may be years removed from a college campus, but Herbert has the right idea. Obama’s claim that society still needs inflammatory remarks to drive people to action is certainly relevant to Georgetown’s campus.

By March 27, 2008

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Student-run class visits sweatshops

It was late last week when Manuel and Julio, union leaders at a textile factory in the Dominican Republic, rushed into their factory office and shouted triumphantly, “We got our visas!” Days later, the two men boarded a plane to the United States to speak at universities along the East Coast about the poor working conditions—verbal abuse, low wages, unpaid overtime and discrimination—they experience as laborers in Dominican sweatshops.

By March 13, 2008

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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 February 28, 2008

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Union Jack: A bill every college kid can afford

Thanks to a bill passed by the House on Feb. 7, applying for and receiving financial aid could become a reality for more college students.

By February 14, 2008

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Union Jack: Woes of the poorly endowed

Georgetown was among the 137 colleges to receive a letter last week from Senator Charles Grassley (R – Iowa) asking for more information about their financial aid and endowment spending. Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, wants to use their repsonses to gain support for a bill requiring universities to spend a certain portion of their funds annually

By January 31, 2008

News

LGBTQ: working it out

Based on recommendations by a working group formed in November to assess the efficacy of the University’s bias reporting system, Public Safety Alerts will undergo several changes in the spring semester. The alerts, which previously included only robberies and assaults, will now notify students of incidents of bias and will be available every day of the week

By January 24, 2008

News

Union Jack: Lame-duck diplomacy

With the public’s attention turned inward on the looming South Carolina and Nevada primaries, the Bush administration has trained its eye toward foreign policy. In a six-nation tour covering Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the course of the week, President Bush has reached some startling conclusions.

By January 17, 2008

News

Rethinking Curriculum

Seated in a high-backed leather chair in his cluttered office, Provost James O’Donnell stroked the head of a stuffed rhinoceros and explained that, much like his office, Georgetown’s academics might need to be redecorated. O’Donnell has recently established two working groups to consider making changes in the Georgetown curriculum and to analyze the best ways to foster an academic culture on campus.

By December 6, 2007

News

Calif. fires hit home for Hoyas

Mackenzie Williams (COL ’09) received a call from her mother, asking her what mementos she would want saved if the family was forced to evacuate. A San Diego resident of ten years, Williams is one of many Georgetown students whose families and hometowns have been affected by the wildfires throughout southern California last week.

By November 1, 2007