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



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Eyewitness Report: Fire races through GU public library

Throngs of bystanders took a few minutes out of their afternoons last Monday to watch as the roof of the Georgetown Branch of the D.C. Public Library collapsed in on itself amidst tongues of flames and jets of water. The three-alarm fire, the second of the day after the blaze that destroyed Eastern Market, required 200 firefighters to subdue it.

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Former Fed. chair to speak for MSB

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman who purposely plunged the United States into a recession in order to drastically reduce the inflation rate, will speak at the McDonough School of Business’s commencement. Volcker served under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987.

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Jews: a history of reaction

Generalizing Jewish history as a “consistent reaction to Christians,” Chief Rabbi David Rosen composed a sketch of the history of Jewish-Christian relations in a lecture on campus yesterday.

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Shaw changes infrastructure, not much else

When Ben Shaw (COL ‘08) and Matt Appenfeller (COL ‘08) won the Student Association executive election with 52 percent of the vote, former Student Association president Twister Murchison (SFS ‘08) said that Shaw and Appenfeller had a “mandate for action.” Shaw and Appenfeller’s ticket was the first in recent years to win a clear majority.

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City on a Hill: a biweekly column on D.C. news and politics

As Oliver Wendell Holmes observed of the First Amendment, free thought is “not free thought for those who agree with us, but freedom for the thought we hate.” We must be willing to accept those protests which represent political orientations that we find distasteful. But regardless of content, there are some forms of protest that are inherently illegitimate. This week’s Save America Fund “Truck Out Rally,” which took a stand against allegedly lax immigration policy, was one such protest.

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Top rookie relay

Georgetown’s Relay for Life last Saturday night raised $283,953, making it the top-grossing first-year Relay event in the country.

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Geoscience professor wins fellowships

Georgetown is no MIT or Cal Tech, but a few gems can be found among the ranks of the University’s science professors. Among them is Timothy Beach, Associate Professor of Geography and Geoscience and Director of the Center for the Environment from 1999-2007.

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V. Tech comments cause anxiety

Reynold Urias (COL’10), who goes by the name Rei Sairu, moved out of his Harbin room on Tuesday under the unwavering watch of Lorenzo Caltagirone, an area coordinator for the Office of Residence Life. Sairu said he underwent a psychiatric evaluation on Monday after the University received word that he had made a threatening comment regarding Virginia Tech, and that he is no longer allowed on campus. Sairu will finish the rest of his classes while living off-campus.

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Bus crashes into Georgetown building

Georgetown faculty and staff in the Harris administrative building were rudely surprised yesterday morning to learn that a driverless D.C. Circulator bus left an employee injured after it rolled backward and knocked a large hole through the wall of the first floor. The Harris building, located near the intersection of Wisconsin Ave and 35th St., houses a variety of University administrative offices.

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Iraq, Darfur are top political priorities for US youth

The war in Iraq and the crisis in Darfur dominate the minds of 18 to 24 year olds across the country, according to a new Harvard University survey.

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Keeping quiet for gay rights

Campus was a little quieter than usual yesterday when over 100 students chose to remain silent throughout the day in observance of the national Day of Silence, an LGBTQ awareness day.

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SFS receives $1 million donation from Yahoo!

In response to concerns about its own human rights record, Yahoo! announced a $1 million donation last Thursday to the SFS’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, establishing an eight-year fellowship on the intersection of Internet technology and human rights.

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Saxa Politica: Keep JTIII in the $500,000-a-year poorhouse

While students across campus are chagrined over Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green’s decision to enter the NBA draft and put the prospect of another year at Georgetown in question, one Hoya basketball player is already long gone. Marc Egerson, who left Georgetown in January, failed 12 classes in high school, according to a New York Times article. His academic record, and the University’s eagerness to admit despite it, embarrassed Georgetown near the end of March Madness.

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Fenty tries to save gun ban

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Attorney General Linda Singer filed a petition on Monday for a full review of last month’s decision that struck down the District’s gun ban.

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City on a Hill: a biweekly column on D.C. news and politics

Brian Trivers has lived in the District of Columbia for all of his 59 years. His family has been on the same street in Southeast D.C. since 1869. Trivers loves the city and is about as Washington as they come. But as the Washington Nationals open their third Major League season, will Trivers be supporting them?

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The Governator gets green in Gaston

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger compared the challenges faced by the environmental movement to the struggles of bodybuilders when he spoke to a packed house of amused students in Gaston Hall yesterday, declaring that the environmental movement is now at a “tipping point.”

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Basketball graduation rate criticized

A recent Washington Post editorial criticized Georgetown for the low graduation rates of its men’s basketball team, stirring discussion about how the Univeristy educates its most famous athletes.

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Scholar shunned by State Dept. speaks by satellite

A controversial Muslim scholar, barred from entering the United States for three years, spoke by satellite connection to Georgetown audiences this week.

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The wrong side of the law

One Georgetown law student is accusing the Law Center of practicing cafeteria Catholicism – picking and choosing which Church dogma to uphold.

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DPS prepares for Final Four weekend

Despite college basketball’s history of violent student riots, Georgetown students managed to celebrate the Hoya’s NCAA Tournament wins this past weekend peacefully and responsibly.