Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Discouraging lunacy

In 1973, New York University professor Oscar Newman published a book called Defensible Space, in which he analyzed the spatial layout of a number of housing projects, mostly in New York City, and compared their designs with their crime rates and their level of safety as perceived by residents.

By the August 21, 2003

Editorials

A tasteless commencement

The commencement speaker at Georgetown’s college graduation ceremony this May was Cardinal Francis Arinze, a well-known Nigerian prelate who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II. Suggested as a speaker by College Dean Jane Dammen McAuliffe, the Cardinal was expected to discuss interreligious dialogue (he has a great deal of experience with Muslim-Christian relations).

By the August 21, 2003

Editorials

Too many buses

When Georgetown University sold the Medical Center to MedStar in 2000 to avoid further financial losses, part of their agreement addressed traffic and parking issues. It was agreed that by 2002, MedStar would control almost 2,800 of the 4,080 on-campus parking spaces allowed by zoning laws—800 more than the hospital could use previously.

By the August 21, 2003

Editorials

Nice quads

After many months of construction, the Southwest Quadrangle project is complete. Students have been moving in, and the building should be filled to capacity by this time next week, mostly with sophomores surly for having been denied a shot at a Village A rooftop.

By the August 21, 2003

Voices

Letters to the Editor

Abortion satire “fell short” I just wanted to write to express my disappointment at the section on Pro-Life fliers in the Leisure section (“Coat hangers & pacifiers,” p. 11, April 10). I appreciate the attempt at humor and satire, but I think it fell a bit short.

By the April 24, 2003

Voices

Correction

In “GUSA passes sex assault resolution unanimously,” (p. 6, April 10), Kate Dieringer should been attributed as NHS ‘05, not CAS ‘04.

By the April 24, 2003

Voices

Going to the chapel

My cousin got to stand in the middle of the couch and sing the solo in the Bonnie Raitt song “Something to Talk About.” We have it on tape. I was incensed. She is four months younger than me and is always getting the better end of the deal. She’s getting married in a month.

By the April 24, 2003

Editorials

In compliance, at last

On Monday, April 14, the D.C. Zoning Commission finally gave preliminary approval of the construction of the University’s new MBNA Performing Arts Center, ending a semester-long fight between the University and local residents’ groups. The Commission’s decision should be applauded for allowing Georgetown to better serve its students and community, if not for its tardiness.

By the April 24, 2003

Editorials

Trusting students and faculty

In the coming months, faculty at the University of California will vote on whether or not to institute a ban on professors dating their students. The ban will only apply to relationships between students and professors who have an academic relationship; the idea is to prevent a possible abuse of power by faculty members who find themselves responsible for turning in their date’s grades.

By the April 24, 2003

Editorials

Support the court

The Bush administration refuses to join the International Criminal Court, which was officially founded last month and selected Luis Moreno Ocampo as its first prosecutor this week. Though the war in Iraq has eclipsed this issue, the International Criminal Court remains pertinent.

By the April 24, 2003

Voices

Not Nirvana, just clarity

I cried the day that Kurt Cobain died. That night, nine Aprils ago, friends and I lit candles and listened to “Pennyroyal Tea” as a meaningful, if juvenile tribute. I cried the next year too, playing my guitar as my mother consoled me, even though she had until that spring disdained Nirvana and their lyrical content-unsettling material for an impressionable nine-year-old, I understand.

By the April 24, 2003

Voices

My 20 Years with the Voice

All good things must come to an end. Today, The Georgetown Voice publishes my byline for the last time. My first byline ran when I was a first-year, in the fall of 1983. Or was it 1982? No, it had to be 1983 because the theme for my senior prom was “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” and I don’t think Culture Club was too popular in the spring of 1982.

By the April 24, 2003

Editorials

A diverse requirement

On April 2, the College dean’s office issued the spring edition of The College, the online newsletter for students. An easy-to-ignore section near the top, pointed to the possibility of a major shift in the way the College approaches core requirements. Associate Dean Anne Sullivan is conducting a review of the College curriculum measuring the number of diversity-related courses offered.

By the April 10, 2003

Editorials

A major choice

While students in the School of Foreign Service are often stereotyped as workaholic pre-professionals, it is becoming increasingly easier to manage the school’s curriculum. The SFS requires a core of 16 classes, a 10-12 class major, many of which have been recently reduced, and proficiency in a foreign language.

By the April 10, 2003

Editorials

A Sweet choice

Goldman Sachs called. They’ve heard that you’ve been doing great things in the MSB and offer you $1 million to leave Georgetown a year early and work for them. All your life you have prepared to work at Goldman Sachs, so you seriously consider their offer.

By the April 10, 2003

Voices

Adjust your clocks to hippie time

I love Georgetown. I am not an anti-establishment whiner who doesn’t appreciate the opportunity I’ve been blessed with for four years. I don’t hate my parents. I got enough hugs. I love America, and I shower with amazing frequency. I’m a big fan of Neutrogena body wash.

By the April 10, 2003

Voices

Letter to the Editor

I almost cried with anger when I read the editorial on how Club Filipino’s event on Mar. 28 attracted more people that the Nappy Roots concert (“I-not So-Weak,” April 3 ). Few people know that the African Cultural Showcase was on the same night. The attendance there was sad, despite the efforts of the African Society’s board.

By the April 10, 2003

Voices

Letter to the Editor

Rape scenes in movies make me think that everyone is insane. I have been raped and do not need to shell out $8 to watch the fantasy of violence unfold before me. I can peruse my own, very solid memories any time I feel like it, which is pretty much never. I was disappointed at Gilbert Cruz’s review of the film Irreversible (”’Irreversible’ unforgettable,” April 3), because I found it decidedly shallow and cavalier in relation to the question of rape scenes in movies.

By the April 10, 2003

Voices

Applauding a bold new foreign policy

Now that the bombs are dropping, it seems that it has become (pardon my French) pass? to criticize the war in Iraq. Both the policies that got us to this point and the President who used the bully pulpit to spearhead the effort are equally off-limits. Supposedly, this rule of etiquette did not go into effect until after the Republicans were done trashing President Clinton’s military efforts while we had troops on the ground in Kosovo.

By the April 10, 2003

Voices

If you’re happy and you know it

My senior year of high school I played the lead role in our spring musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I’ll be the first to admit that it was one of my highest moments of dorkdom, but somehow I recovered to become the hip, suave person that I am now.

By the April 10, 2003