Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.



Editorials

Impending paranoia

There are many good reasons why Hoyas should breathe a big sigh of relief after receiving the news of the expansion of the Big East conference, which will take effect in the 2004-05 season. While the addition of Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida to the league will have a positive impact on the competition level of many sports Georgetown participates in, the effects will be felt most on the hardwood floors of the MCI Center.

Voices

Continuous reconstruction

On Monday, Georgetown University hosted the “Afghanistan-America Summit on Recovery and Reconstruction,” a half-day affair in Gaston Hall that featured speakers from Afghanistan’s two year-old government, several American officials, and a panel of journalists from American publications.

Voices

A hipster’s life of longing

I’ve spent the better part of this past year trolling through various movies, with the help of Netflix.com, the local arthouses, the well-appointed new Loews on K Street and a car.Of the many, from subte and profound to bombastic and Bruckheimerian, only one has truly captivated me: Kill Bill, Vol.

Editorials

We’ll drink to that

In an effort to accurately assess the drinking culture at Georgetown, the Office of Planning and Institutional Research e-mailed a survey to all undergraduates last week. It asks students to answer a series of questions about their own drinking habits and general perceptions of the role that drinking plays for the majority of Georgetown students.

Voices

Fear and loathing in Lyon

VOICES BY KATHRYN KING I’m no longer a fan of cat stationery, horse figurines or T-shirts with zoo scenes airbrushed onto them, if I ever was. Animal memorabilia may be juvenile and trashy, but real animals are more appealing. At least I feel more affection for them than some of my friends who wish they were all eradicated.

Editorials

A new hospital for D.C.

Southeast Washington has had a rough time over the past few years. Politicians and residents were up in arms when Mayor Anthony Williams announced the closure of D.C. General Hospital, one of two full-service hospitals in the District’s poorest quadrant in 2001.

Voices

Letter to the Editor

As a cosignatory of the original petition that prompted the Senate’s resolution rejecting Cardinal Arinze’s Commencement comments, I am saddened by the University administration’s unresponsiveness to the Senate’s concerns, as reported in your article of October 30.

Editorials

Hungry like the Wolfowitz

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, in a speech delivered last Thursday in Gaston Hall, discussed the American invasion of Iraq and reflected on his recent trip there. “We had a fairly exciting trip to Iraq this weekend,” he noted. His speech had some great lines, including one rather evangelical-sounding claim: “Today there is plenty of good news in Iraq.

Voices

An unlikely subculture

Waiting in line has become cool. People dressed in strange costumes, attempting to resemble characters from the films, gather to wait in line days before tickets go on sale. These fanatics only come out of their mom’s basement once a year, and when they do, they are dressed as Yoda.

Voices

The greatest column ever written

VOICES BY SCOTT MATTHEWS “My temple should be a house of God,” he proclaimed, voice cracking as he strained to hit the high notes. “But you have made it a den of …” “Hold it … today High Priest Caiaphus ‘The Dick’ Cheney is set to speak here, and in accordance with our policy of tolerance and free speech we have limited free speech to the designated tolerance zone, which is fifty cubits hence.”

Voices

Jack your lantern

Think you carve a pretty pumpkin? You’re probably wrong. Pumpkins carved from a pattern aside, pumpkin carving is like singing: While everyone else is terrible, you think you’re really something. Turns out you probably should save it for the car or the shower.

Editorials

Odd bedfellows unite, again

Take Back the Night and the College Republicans might seem like unlikely partners, but these two campus groups are working together on the annual Take Back the Night rally this year. The College Republicans intend to co-sponsor the event by donating money and providing personnel and advertising resources.

Voices

An authentic Red Sox fan

Until this year’s American League Championship Series, I thought I knew what it meant to be a Red Sox fan. I have lived in New England all my life. I got my first Sox cap in third grade. Since coming to Georgetown, my mom has faithfully sent me all the team news from the local paper.

Editorials

Policing (and arresting) MPD

According to a Washington Post report Sunday, 24 Metropolitan Police Department officers have been arrested on charges ranging from attempted murder to drunk driving since the beginning of the year. Sound like a lot? It is a lot for the 3,700-officer department.

Voices

Correction

“Taking out the trash” (Cover, Oct. 23) states that Georgetown University reached a peak recycling rate of 43 percent in 1996. However, this figure does not account for waste produced during move-in and move-out. The actual rate at that time, accounting for those figures, was between 16 percent and 18 percent, according to University Recycling Coordinator Pat Dollar.

Editorials

Why is voting this hard?

Electronic voting was originally hailed as the solution to all voting problems. Hanging, pregnant and otherwise illicit chads would be a thing of the past, and confusing butterful ballots would be replaced with state-of-the-art touchscreen displays. But now that such voting machines have been implemented in many states, Florida 2000 is beginning to look like a walk in the park.

Editorials

Sports Sermon

“Whatever system Steve is using isn’t working. That’s not a criticism, it’s a fact.” – ESPN analyst Joe Theismann

The time has come to focus on some real sports in D.C. Forget about Steve Superior’s hapless Redskins. Poor Patrick Ramsey has the spinal structure of a 75-year-old construction worker thanks to all the hits he’s absorbed over the past three weeks.

Voices

Six degrees of Schwarzenegger

VOICES BY BILL CLEVELAND Five years ago, Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota in a tightly contested three-way election that pitted him against another local mayor and Hubert Humphrey’s son. Ventura served one term as governor, then left to return to the private sector, because he figured he could make more money there.

Voices

Redefining pathetic

Every so often, a friend offers to me the following conclusion about his current state of affairs: “My life sucks.” When such feelings of overwhelming self-pity are related to me, the complainer typically has recently had something extremely embarrassing or unfortunate happen to him.

Voices

I’ll mess with Texas

I’ll admit that adjusting to life on the hilltop has been something of a challenge for me. I know you may be thinking, “don’t worry, everyone goes through the trials and tribulations of leaving home for the first time, making new friends, adjusting to a roommate, et cetera.