Editorials

Opinions from the Voice’s official editorial board.

NBA misses its shot at meaningful reform

While most of the sports world was focused on football and the fallout of the Penn State scandal, National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern and Players Association Executive Director Billy Hunter were secretly hashing out an agreement to end the 150-day NBA lockout. Then, last Saturday, the Commissioner’s Office announced that an agreement was in place, and that the season would tentatively begin on Christmas day.

By the Editorial Board December 1, 2011

Emulate Sweeney’s spirit, not his actions

While most Georgetown students were enjoying turkey and family time, one of our fellow students found himself incarcerated by a violent military regime. Derrik Sweeney had been studying abroad in Egypt, but was forced to bring his semester to an end after being arrested near Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the country’s most recent pro-democracy protests. Along with two other American students, Sweeney was captured after the demonstrations turned violent, and was accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at security forces

By the Editorial Board December 1, 2011

Today’s GOP has succumbed to extremism

The 2012 Republican field is a laughable parody of presidential candidates. Perry and Michelle Bachmann are under-informed extremists, and Cain is an unqualified pizza magnate dogged by sexual harassment allegations. All three have become popular because Republicans can’t stomach the idea that a nominal moderate like Mitt Romney might actually be the nominee. Meanwhile, less than half of Republicans even recognize the name of candidate Jon Huntsman, a successful two-term governor and former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore and China.

By the Editorial Board November 16, 2011

Immediate action needed to save our river

The report on the State of the Nation’s River is a frightening document, citing increases in both human and agricultural waste along with the emergence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the waterway. These chemicals, though they are linked to a wide-range of biological disruptions, remain largely unregulated. “In essence,” the report said, “we are conducting a grand chemistry experiment on the Potomac; so far, the results don’t seem encouraging.”

By the Editorial Board November 16, 2011

GU offers Zoning Commission a fair plan

Today, after years of planning and negotiating, D.C.’s Zoning Commission will officially begin considering Georgetown’s final 2010 campus plan, the decennial review of plans for expansion and growth that all District universities must submit. In looking at the University’s proposal, the Commission must remember that Georgetown, the District’s largest private employer, has gone to great lengths to consider and address the complaints of the local neighborhood organizations that have spoken out so vehemently against the plan.

By the Editorial Board November 16, 2011

Veterans’ Day reminds us of our obligations

On Veterans’ Day tomorrow, we honor those servicemen and women who were willing to sacrifice everything in the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and other conflicts. But we must not lose sight of the hidden battle that veterans fight when they come home.

By the Editorial Board November 10, 2011

Common fiscal policy offers hope for Europe

Although Europe’s financial chaos shows no sign of ceasing, the events of recent days suggest that there is still hope for a unified European fiscal policy. The welcome subordination of short-sighted political debates in countries like Greece and Italy to the broader economic needs of the European continent is ultimately necessary for the stabilization of the global economy.

By the Editorial Board November 10, 2011

JTIII’s postseason story has to change

When this year’s senior class came to campus in 2008, the Georgetown men’s basketball team was only a season removed from its fifth NCAA Final Four appearance and hailing the arrival of highly touted forward Greg Monroe, ranked one of the best freshmen in the country. But three years later, Monroe has left campus for the NBA, and the team has not won a postseason tournament game. The team has only an outside shot at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in 2012. While there are plenty of guilty parties in the program’s recent struggles, the lion’s share of the blame for the Hoyas’ underperformance lies with one man: head coach John Thompson III.

By the Editorial Board November 10, 2011

SAC reforms are just more of the same

This week, the Student Activities Commission launched its latest club funding structure, called the Comprehensive Budget System. Though SAC Chair Andrew Koenig (COL ’12) called it a “fundamental departure from the ‘programming arc’ system of financial allocation, as well as a significant change in the way SAC approves organization events and operations,” the new system is neither a departure from the previous, flawed system nor a significant change in SAC’s labyrinthine bureaucracy.

By the Editorial Board November 3, 2011

Anti-piracy effort crushes Internet freedom

Last Wednesday, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), introduced the E-PARASITE Act, a measure that will shackle innovation and freedom on the Internet in an attempt to stop piracy.

By the Editorial Board November 3, 2011

Sky is the limit for the capital campaign

Last Friday, the University launched “The Campaign for Georgetown: For Generations to Come,” a $1.5 billion fundraising initiative aimed at comprehensively improving life on the Hilltop. The campaign is a necessary response to the needs of our community and a notable exception to the perceived inattention of the administration to improving the undergraduate experience in recent years.

By the Editorial Board November 2, 2011

Occupy DC movement at a crossroads

Since the Occupy DC protests took root in McPherson Square at the beginning of October, over a hundred tents have been erected, as well as more permanent set-ups to service the everyday needs of the occupiers such as food, basic medical care, clothing, and reading material. As the occupation approaches its second month, participants must work to ensure the longevity of the movement while facing two big challenges: the fast-approaching winter and ideological issues that threaten the unity of the movement.

By the Editorial Board October 27, 2011

U.S. wars end, foreign policy lessons abound

This week, the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi coincided with the announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of the year. The conclusion of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the NATO-led campaign in Libya should provide an opportunity for American policymakers to learn from both our failure at nation building in Iraq and the relative success of our measured strategy in Libya.

By the Editorial Board October 27, 2011

Complaints about Leo’s deserve attention

For years, complaining about the quality of the food provided at Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall has been among Georgetown students’ most common conversation topics. As healthiness and food choices have declined in recent years, prices have increased. Since Georgetown’s contract with Aramark, the company the University contracts to operate the dining hall, expires next year, the administration has an opportunity to address one of the most persistent, and easily addressed, sources of student discontent.

By the Editorial Board October 27, 2011

Coulter’s hate speech has no place here

The Georgetown Lecture Fund has brought many respected figures from across the political spectrum to campus for free guest lectures. But its latest invitee, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, is a disappointing and worrisome departure from the Fund’s standard of speakers.

By the Editorial Board October 20, 2011

Support medical marijuana for PTSD victims

Luckily for PTSD sufferers, whose ranks have been swelled by veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a promising alternative: preliminary trials and user testimony point to marijuana as an effective replacement for Risperdal and other drugs.

By the Editorial Board October 20, 2011

Groups seek collective voice through Union

For the past few years, student groups at Georgetown have been held down by near-constant struggles with redundant layers of financial and administrative bureaucracy, forcing student leaders to spend endless hours filling out paperwork. When student leaders should be devoting their time to managing their clubs, they are far too often dealing with the Center for Student Programs and advisory boards. Student life at Georgetown suffers from these oppressive levels of bureaucracy.

By the Editorial Board October 20, 2011

Occupy Wall St. movement at a crossroads

Despite the initial disregard of national media outlets, the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement has managed to propel itself into the country’s political consciousness. The occupations are a reminder of the power that members of a democratic society possess beyond the ballot box – to add our voices to a political discourse that has become cluttered with useless rhetoric and endless politicking.

By the Editorial Board October 13, 2011

Follow-through necessary for new forum

The initiative raises hope for a more open relationship between the administration and the student body. The open exchange of ideas between students and administrators that happened Wednesday makes the potential of a forward-thinking event like this one clear.

By the Editorial Board October 13, 2011

States filling void on immigration policy

In the absence of federal policy, California’s leaders have admirably decided to act on their own. The state recently passed its own version of the Dream Act, which will allow undocumented immigrants to qualify for financial aid at state schools, a welcome step toward a more humane and realistic immigration policy.

By the Editorial Board October 13, 2011

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