Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Georgetown, it’s not you, it’s me

My thoughts as I gazed out the airplane window were those of hopelessness, nervousness and regret. I was convinced that my decision to withdraw for a semester was probably the worst mistake of my life.

By September 6, 2007

Editorials

A Rhee of hope for D.C. schools?

In order for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s much-publicized school takeover to actually be a success, though, completed textbook orders must be the rule, rather than an exception.

By the August 30, 2007

Editorials

Roy looks tiny from the upper level

The Athletic Department should give Hoya fans the opportunity to watch their classmates play ball close.

By the August 30, 2007

Editorials

Some GERMS are worth spreading

Students and neighbors should recognize all that GERMS does to keep us all safe.

By the August 30, 2007

Voices

Remembering Fatema

I’ll always remember the way Fatema looked hip and coordinated even though she was wearing two patterns, six colors, shoes with glitter, crazy earrings and of course a matching head scarf.

By August 30, 2007

Voices

Talk It Out

If you’re not unhappy with the new party regulations, you should be—even if you don’t drink. They represent a betrayal of Georgetown’s tradition of consulting with students before making policy changes.

By August 30, 2007

Voices

Tea Time with the Turkish Police

Sitting in a Turkish police station next to an accused criminal is not how I expected to spend my Thursday night. Even less did I expect the night to end with a pratical joke played on me by the Turkish police.

By August 30, 2007

Voices

The Deepest Aftershock

Information spread early after an disaster is usually wrong. When my Mom received the first phone call about the quake, she was told that the epicenter had been in Ancash, Peru—my parents’ home region, and the center of a 1970 quake. That information wasn’t right; the quake hit hundreds of miles south. But with that one wrong word, a lifetime of mental scars were reopened.

By August 30, 2007

Editorials

Register for your right to party

We like to think of Georgetown as a “work hard, play hard” school, but last May an e-mail from Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson informed the student body that Georgetown would be cracking down on the play part of the equation this year.

By the August 24, 2007

Editorials

Rocco’s Georgetown Life

Being the new kid in school is tough. In middle school it means devastating nicknames and getting pantsed in gym class. For Georgetown’s new Vice President for Safety and Security, Rocco DelMonaco, Jr., it means adjusting to a campus of several thousand college students.

By the August 24, 2007

Editorials

Penn who? We’re so hot right now

Money can’t buy us love, but it could buy Georgetown a better U.S. News and World Report ranking. Since 1983, the magazine has published a list of the country’s “best” colleges, fueling college-application fervor nationwide. This month, U.S. News ranked Georgetown 23rd for the second straight year. Whether or not Hoyas admit it, most are dissatisfied with that number. When it comes to college rankings, a school’s financial resources play a big part.But because Georgetown’s endowment and alumni giving trail behind those of other schools, the University lags unfairly behind in the rankings.

By the August 24, 2007

Voices

Judge Judy day camp

Halfway through my summer job as a camp counselor for kids between ages 7 and 10, I threw fairness out the window and began acting like Judge Judy: assume both parties are lying and rule against both.

By August 24, 2007

Voices

Lost (and injured) in Translation

My plane landed in Tokyo and I was filled with excitement to be in a foreign country for the first time. My previous summer vacations had been limited to Florida and the continental U.S. Almost completely out of the blue, I purchased a ticket to Japan to visit a friend living there, simply for the experience of seeing Japan. Regardless of the fact that I spoke absolutely no Japanese, and knew little about Japanese culture, I felt prepared for my trip—I wasn’t.

By August 24, 2007

Voices

Not exactly a disco with books

In High School, everyone wants to know where everyone else is going for college and nobody feels uncomfortable asking. However, in my high school, one group of students seemed uncomfortable about answering, for they know that they will be instantly judged, pitied or disregarded—they were going to community college.

By August 24, 2007

Voices

This Georgetown Life: Fabulous freshman mishaps

This Georgetown Life is a collection of stories written by Georgetown students all based on the same theme. [Cue trendy jazz music.]

By the August 24, 2007

Editorials

The greening of the District

Most Georgetown students—and for that matter, many District residents—recognized Earth Day two weeks ago as little more than a chance to snag a free cone at Ben and Jerry’s. But a few hundred miles north of us, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken a major step towards making New York environmentally friendly by unveiling a set of new policies that could cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 percent. Mayor Adrian Fenty should follow his example and develop a concrete long-term plan for reducing D.C.’s negative impact on the environment.

By the May 3, 2007

Editorials

Good night, Martha, and good luck

The richness of life on Georgetown’s campus is drawn from its civil society—the clubs and organizations who hold events and speeches, throw parties, raise money and awareness and, yes, publish newspapers. These organizations are our passions, and no one is more passionate about them than Martha Swanson, the outgoing Director of Student Programs.

By the May 3, 2007

Editorials

Time for the Smithsonian to rebound

Things over at the Smithsonian are about to get a little bit pricier. The Institute has just announced that it will charge visitors five dollars to enter a section of a special butterfly exhibit. This is only the most recent misstep by a prestigious institute recently marred by scandal, most significantly the resignation of its former Secretary, Lawrence Smalls. Instead of changing its commendable and longstanding policy of free admission, the Smithsonian should use this moment to start anew and regain its past reputation as one of D.C.’s most amazing resources, open to all.

By the May 3, 2007

Voices

A life seen through the lens

Photographs are the standard against which we can measure our eroding memories.

By May 3, 2007

Voices

Marking the miles along the road

If I have noticed anything in people, it is that they tend to use relationships and love interests as milestones and reference points when they speak about their pasts.

By May 3, 2007