News

What’s happening on campus and in D.C.

News

Occupy activists look to revive movement with May Day

As the spring months begin, the Occupy movement faces questions about how to stay relevant since the forced evictions of major camps in D.C. and New York. Members of Occupy Georgetown are similarly grappling with how to create an activist movement on campus. Both Occupy D.C. and Occupy Georgetown hope to build strength by uniting activists from different causes. A May 1 general strike known as “May Day” aims to demonstrate the continuation of the movement.

By April 26, 2012

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Letters to University show campus divide on birth control

In the past two weeks, President John J. DeGioia has received two letters from groups of students, both on Georgetown’s Main Campus and the Law Campus, concerning the current debate over the University providing birth control under the student health care plan.

By April 26, 2012

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Union Jack: Crony capitalism at NLRB

In a well-functioning democracy, it would seem that a high-ranking public official passing on sensitive information to the industry which he or she is in charge of regulating would cause an immense political scandal—especially when the official in question is leaking information to a top advisor of one of the major presidential candidates.

By April 26, 2012

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Students demand that GU terminate contract with Adidas

Yesterday, members of Georgetown Solidarity Committee and Georgetown Occupy gathered in Red Square to protest Adidas’s refusal to pay its workers severance at the PT Kizone apparel factory in Indonesia. The students claim the unpaid severance is in violation of both the University’s code of conduct for its licensees and Indonesian law. After demonstrating in Red Square, the crowd marched to President John DeGioia’s office to officially deliver a letter requesting that the University exert more influence on Adidas to pay $1.8 million in severance for the 2,800 workers.

By April 19, 2012

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Dean of Admissions says record low admissions rate not paramount

Georgetown’s acceptance rate for next year’s freshman class was a record low at 16.5 percent, with 3,316 students admitted out of a pool of over 20,000. But while other universities strive to attract more applicants to lower acceptance rates, Dean of Admissions Charles Deacon says his office has not been seeking to increase the volume of applications, due to the time and effort his staff takes to review each candidate.

By April 19, 2012

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CSJ initiates personnel search

A committee at Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice, which has been without a director since 2010, is currently in search for a new permanent director.

By April 19, 2012

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Saxa Politica: Wax-a nostalgic-a

Over the past 10 or so years, the crusade to improve student organizations has focused on programming. The creation of the student activities fee and the subsequent funding board reforms increased groups’ financial capabilities. The ongoing discussions about space are trying to make it easier for groups to find places to program. Although the obvious mission of organizations is programming, their function on campus is to facilitate social life.

By April 19, 2012

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GU announces new Provost

On Tuesday, President John DeGioia announced the appointment of the University’s next Provost and Executive Vice President, Professor Robert M. Groves. A professor at the University of Michigan, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau since 2009, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, Groves will assume office on Aug. 20.

By April 12, 2012

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Wisconsin median to be widened

This Thursday, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B will address the District Department of Transportation’s plan to reduce the number of lanes of traffic and widen sidewalks on a stretch of Wisconsin Avenue north of campus in Glover Park. At the meeting, ANC and D.C. government officials are expected to discuss concerns from residents that reducing lanes of traffic will only compound congestion on the road and hurt local businesses.

By April 12, 2012

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Students, professors debate future of Affordable Care Act

Yesterday, the Georgetown University Student Chapter of Academy Health held a panel entitled “Constitutional Challenges to the Affordable Care Act: Perspectives and Reactions” in the Leavey Center Program Room. The panelists tackled the constitutionality issue surrounding the Affordable Care Act, and took a largely liberal and supportive stance.

By April 12, 2012

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From beef to bracelets: Farmers’ Market returns to Copley Lawn

The Georgetown University Farmers’ Market made its spring semester debut yesterday on Copley Lawn. Vendors in attendance included Beechwood Orchards, Burekg Homemade Turkish food, Salsa Las Glorias, and Panorama Bread Company.

By April 12, 2012

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City on a Hill: Fewer dollars for charters

On March 29, some of the biggest names in educational reform descended on the District for a ritzy dinner and discussion on the future of school choice and public charter schools in the city.

By April 12, 2012

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Stafford loan interest rate set to double by summer

Unless Congress acts before July 30, the interest rate for federally subsidized Stafford loans will increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, potentially increasing the debt load for over 6,000 Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students.

By March 29, 2012

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Newt Gingrich speaks at Georgetown amid protests

A group of 22 students gathered on Healy lawn yesterday to protest former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s lecture in Gaston Hall. The talk, entitled, “Giving Young Americans the Right to Choose a Personal Social Security Account,” was sponsored by Georgetown University College Republicans and the Lecture Fund. The Lecture Fund has invited all 2012 presidential candidates to speak at Georgetown, and Gingrich is the first candidate to have accepted the invitation, an interesting move in what seems to be the death rattles of Gingrich’s bid for the 2012 presidency.

By March 29, 2012

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GUSA executive establishes Georgetown Day committee

Since news of the lack of Georgetown Day planning hit campus last week, the GUSA executive has spearheaded an effort to salvage this year’s festivities and put the event on firm footing for the future.

By March 29, 2012

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Saxa Politica: Oppose the campus plan!

In a Feb. 9 D.C. Zoning Commission hearing, Zoning Commissioner Peter May picked up a stack of letters written by Georgetown neighborhood residents, read off some excerpts, and said that students were creating objectionable impacts in the neighborhood.And with that, the neighbors won in their opposition to the University’s 2010 Campus Plan. Georgetown now has to prove that it will reduce student impact before the plan can be approved.

By March 29, 2012

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Students advocate for University Office of Sustainability

Last week, a group of students and faculty planted flowers and removed trash along O Street between 35th and 36th Streets in an effort to improve neighborhood relations and demonstrate environmental commitment.

By March 22, 2012

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GUSA executive appoints diverse cabinet and staff

Last weekend, newly inaugurated GUSA President and Vice-President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13) announced their selections for their executive cabinet. Out of a record 80 applicants, the executive appointed six women and five men, including former GUSA senators Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) and Yupang Chang (MSB ’15), forming a staff that will be one of the most diverse cabinets in recent memory.

By March 22, 2012

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University to implement anti-sweatshop regulations

As early as this summer, Georgetown is likely to implement the Designated Suppliers Program, a system in which all suppliers of University apparel must verify that they pay their workers a living wage and allow their workers to unionize and collectively bargain, according to Associate Vice President for Federal Relations Scott Fleming.

By March 22, 2012

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City on a Hill: Troubled by preemptive arrests

Back in October, Metropolitan Police raided two Capitol Hemp locations in Adams Morgan and two in Chinatown, confiscating water pipes that they claimed were up for sale expressly for the consumption of marijuana. While offering these pipes (most people call them bongs) at head shops is perfectly legal, the police justified their actions by pointing to other items for sale in the store that expressly referenced cannabis use and evasion of law enforcement, such as the book Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use, and the DVD 10 Rules for Dealing with Police.

By March 22, 2012