The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was founded under a different name in 1906. Its goal was to “protect young people from the dangerous and exploitative athletic practices of the time.” However, it would be naive to believe that its objective today is anything other than to profit on the backs of students. Some students…
The SAT is supposedly an objective, merit-based assessment; the harder you work, the better you score. But that’s not the reality. Family income and race play too large a role in determining a student’s score. As a result, the SAT is not a fair metric to assess a student’s performance in high school or to…
As of Sept. 12, 18-year-olds enlisting in the military may be sent to fight in Afghanistan in response to attacks that occurred before they were born. The undeniable tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks has led to a prolonged U.S. military presence in Afghanistan that has put American lives at stake, while doing very little…
Since Feb. 1, D.C.’s bright red and yellow Circulator buses have been free to ride. A sack is slung over the fare box bearing the slogan “Fair Shot”—the name of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s initiative to boost access to public transport. On the Georgetown Circulator, you can get from the Safeway on Wisconsin Ave. to Union…
In 1998, D.C. legalized medical marijuana. But in the two decades since, Congress has blocked D.C. from spending any money on regulating marijuana, whether for medical purposes or recreational use, which voters legalized in 2014. As a result, it is legal in D.C. to possess up to two ounces of marijuana if you are over…
Every year, we at the Voice write a letter to incoming first-years, welcoming you to campus. The hospitable sentiment generally seems simple enough. But this year, we felt that our current political climate necessitates an explanation of what the word “welcome” really means. We are excited that you are here and, no matter who you…
The Department of Disability Services (DDS) announced on May 31 that it would terminate its contract with Georgetown University at the end of August. Georgetown runs the District of Columbia DDA Health Initiative for DDS—a program that provides medical specialists to D.C. residents with disabilities. Terminating this contract directly contradicts DDS’s stated mission to “provide…
Early this June, D.C. councilmembers Robert White, Anita Bonds, and Brianne Nadeau introduced a bill that would decriminalize sex work in the District. The Community and Safety Health Amendment Act of 2019 is designed to remove certain criminal penalties for engaging in sex work in order to promote public health and safety. However, despite not…
Early this June, at-large Councilmember Robert C. White Jr. introduced the Restore the Vote Amendment Act of 2019. This bill would make D.C. the first jurisdiction in the country to restore voting rights to felons who are incarcerated, reversing the felony disenfranchisement instituted in D.C. in 1955 as part of the D.C. Election Act. This…
The Native American Student Council (NASC), the only Native undergraduate student group at Georgetown, submitted a petition to the Office of the President on April 3. The petition reminded the campus that despite progress made regarding the university’s history with slavery in the form of the GU272 Referendum, Native issues remain largely unrecognized. This…