John Lawless

News

Saxa Politica: MyAccess: because nobody’s perfect

It turns out that proverbs are not always the best life guides. For example, if unbroken items were not occasionally fixed, we would still be living in caves tending to mediocre fires. Progress is all about taking something that does its job adequately and finding a way to make it better.

By April 2, 2009

Voices

A theory about theories

The idea that science gives us insight into today’s major policy issues—the most important, of course, being the financial crisis—hugely misrepresents what social science can tell us about the economic world.

By April 2, 2009

News

Saxa Politica: GUSA’s democratic deficit

The Georgetown University Student Association has long suffered from a democratic deficit: students often feel detached from the organization and see it as uninterested in their needs. To a large extent, this image is unwarranted. Over the past several years, the Student Association has developed into a respectably effective organization, thanks to a string of committed presidents and a number of institutional reforms.

By March 19, 2009

News

DeGioia discusses GU’s financial strategy

At a town-hall meeting on Monday in the ICC auditorium, University President John DeGioia discussed how Georgetown is coping with the recession: moderate tuition increases, increased commitment to financial aid, and delayed staff and faculty salary increases and construction projects.

By March 5, 2009

Voices

A break up of operatic proportions

So perhaps a happy relationship was never in the cards for Wagner and me; perhaps there was just too much baggage. We both did what we could. He got me cheap tickets, and I struggled to accept his mythological quirks and overpowering brass section. But in the end, we’re just two very different people. But maybe we can still hang out sometime.

By March 5, 2009

News

Saxa Politica: Let SCUnity Go

The Georgetown University Student Association is supposed to be a forum for public discussion and informed action, but their relationship with the Student Commission for Unity—arguably one of the most important projects GUSA has undertaken in recent years—has been marked by impatience and apathy. Given GUSA’s dereliction of their oversight duties, SCUnity is justified in its decision to split from GUSA.

By February 26, 2009

News

Saxa Politica: Going parental

Why was this weekend different from all other weekends? There wasn’t unleavened bread, bitter herbs, or haroset, but just like at your Passover Seder, there were lots of old people.

By February 12, 2009

Voices

Just because it’s real doesn’t mean it’s not terrifying

When I get bored, I slip into a sort of steady state of mind, my own personal state of nature. Oddly, that condition has come to involve watching a lot of horror movies. It isn’t that I particularly prefer slashers or monster romps to romantic comedy or drama. It’s more force of habit than conscious choice.

By February 12, 2009

News

Saxa Politica: Understaffed information services

Remember John Dewey’s groundbreaking decimal system? When it was introduced in 1876, the card catalogue revolutionized library organization and, by extension, research and education. But if you’ve used it in the past 10 years, odds are good it was the same way you might use an abacus—for laughs. The face of information dissemination and utilization is changing rapidly, and with it the way universities need to do business.

By January 29, 2009

News

GERMS aids, warms crowd

In preparation for the huge influx of visitors to the District for Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration, the D.C. Department of Health called for the assistance of Emergency Medical Technicians from across the city. Many students in the Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Services, who are certified EMT-basic, answered the call.

By January 22, 2009