Editorials

Don’t forget about us

On Jan. 7, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Tom Birch was chosen to succeed Peter Pulsifer as Chairman of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, which includes Georgetown and Burleith. Birch will lead an ANC that would seem on first glance to be less student friendly.

By the Voice Staff January 16, 2003

Editorials

Dead men walking

The legacy of former Illinois Governor George Ryan will be difficult to determine. During his four-year term, Ryan switched from staunchly supporting capital punishment to become a key advocate of death penalty reform. Adding to this transformation was his announcement last weekend that he would empty Illinois’ death row.

By the Voice Staff January 16, 2003

Editorials

We’re not in Kansas anymore

Though overall crime is down, theft from automobiles in Burleith and upper Georgetown has recently increased, and students comprise about 30 percent of those victimized, according to Lt. Brian Bray of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District. MPD’s biggest concern is the carelessness of residents and visitors who leave their cars unlocked or valuables visible.

By the Voice Staff January 9, 2003

Editorials

Too serious for tactics

On Tuesday, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill in Congress calling for the revival of the military draft. The proposed draft would apply to all men and women ages 18 to 26, with exemptions granted to high schoolers but not college students. Impaired persons would perform community service instead of military service.

By the Voice Staff January 9, 2003

Editorials

This sanction is a sham

Two weeks ago, the parents of David Shick, a Georgetown student killed during an alcohol-fueled fight behind Lauinger Library in Feb. 2000, released the results of the University’s disciplinary hearing concerning his death. The “respondent,” the University adjudication system’s equivalent of a defendant, was found responsible, and was ordered to write a ten-page reflection paper and to serve a conditional suspension.

By the Voice Staff December 5, 2002

Editorials

One asinine law

The Supreme Court’s docket for the coming term will include a case that deals with two gay men convicted of sodomy in Texas. You may be surprised to learn that sodomy, generally defined as oral or anal sex between adults, is still illegal in 15 states. The Supreme Court ruled 16 years ago that states had a right to regulate “public morals” and upheld sodomy laws.

By the Voice Staff December 5, 2002

Editorials

3,000 sheets to the wind

A war is being waged on the Georgetown campus, a war for the hearts and minds of students, a war over, well, war. In the weeks before a Thanksgiving cease-fire the action intensified with new rounds of flyers fired off daily by Georgetown Peace Action and the College Republicans.

By the Voice Staff December 5, 2002

Editorials

Care to buy a calendar?

Georgetown University is in the throes of an identity crisis. It is famous, but relatively poor. It is well-regarded, but slipping in rank. Solutions that address the root of the problem have ranged from fiscal cuts to a reorganization of the University’s entire mission.

By the Voice Staff November 21, 2002

Editorials

This stadium is no home run

In his quest for a legacy beyond being “the mayor who isn’t Marion Barry,” Mayor Anthony Williams has made acquiring a major league baseball team for D.C. a major priority. In 2000, when the nation was still tipsy with cash from the tech boom, he pledged $200 million of the District’s money to build a baseball stadium in the city.

By the Voice Staff November 21, 2002

Editorials

Don’t tell mom and dad

This week, the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed a bill requiring all public and private school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or sing “The Star Spangled Banner” every day. According to this bill, school administrators are required to notify in writing the parents of any student seen not participating in the pledge or anthem.

By the Voice Staff November 21, 2002

Editorials

Radio utopia

I figure the point of having a column is to make one’s own views available to a wider audience. Thus, shameless self-promotion is a privilege that comes with the turf. So, as a somewhat less-than-responsible music director for WGTB, Georgetown’s student run radio, I have compiled a list of the cr?me de la cr?me of student shows.

By the Voice Staff November 21, 2002

Editorials

Out and a Scout

Last week, a D.C. appellate court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America did not violate D.C. law when it did not allow two gay men to become Scout leaders. This ruling overturned the District’s Commission on Human Rights’ order that the Boy Scouts reinstate the men.

By the Voice Staff November 14, 2002

Editorials

Are we a red light district?

Is Georgetown a place for free speech? If you’re a member of The Georgetown Academy, whose most recent issue was stolen shortly after it was distributed on campus last week, you probably don’t think so. If you’re the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which just gave Georgetown a “red light” rating for free speech protection, you probably don’t, either.

By the Voice Staff November 14, 2002

Editorials

Guard-ing student opinion

At the beginning of the school year, the administration implemented a new safety policy which restricts student access to dormitories and other campus buildings. Unlike the old policy, which allowed students to enter all residence halls with a valid Georgetown ID, the new policy restricts entrance to residents of the building.

By the Voice Staff November 14, 2002

Editorials

Hope you like dorms, kids

Starting next year, there will be no more sophomore apartment lottery, no more exiled first-years will be holed up on the first floor of Darnall, and seniors will be partying it up in Village B.

Last week, the Office of Housing and Conference Services informed undergraduates that it can now guarantee four years of on-campus housing to all interested students.

By the Voice Staff November 7, 2002

Editorials

Justice for all … even snipers

The arrest of sniper suspects John Muhammed and John Malvo at first seemed to have ended the story of violence that gripped the D.C. area for over three weeks. However, the suspects have now been linked to other crimes across the nation, leading the Justice Department to debate where the two men should first be tried.

By the Voice Staff November 7, 2002

Editorials

Metrobusted

It’s dark, cold and raining, and you are in downtown D.C. All you want to do is get back to Georgetown, but there’s no way you’re walking more than 30 blocks in weather like this. The solution? Take the bus. Although this may seem like a straightforward process, a recent survey of bus service shows that riding the Metrobus isn’t all that easy, or even that safe.

By the Voice Staff November 7, 2002

Editorials

Only YOU can prevent injustice

Interested in improving community relations? Sick of fighting with your neighbors about noise? Want someone who’s not necessarily a “resident, tax-payer, or home-owner” to represent you on the Advisory Neighborhood Council? You’re in luck, but you’re going to have to vote.

By the Voice Staff October 31, 2002

Editorials

Obstacles at the polls

How many people would think twice about going to the polls if they knew that a person would be standing in the booth with them? For D.C. voters who are visually impaired or have limited hand mobility, and are thus unable to vote using standard methods, this is the reality of going to the polls, and it constitutes a clear infringement on their right to vote in private.

By the Voice Staff October 31, 2002