Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Questions without answers: Grieving my friend lost to suicide

Grief is a solitary experience on some level—it’s personal, intimate. But people can still grieve collectively. Placing grief in a community context elicits solidarity and a stronger ethics of interpersonal care. It helps unmask the shame, guilt, and blame that surround suicide. It names these questions, so at the very least, one knows other people are asking the same things, too. Discussing grief openly won’t diminish the loss, but maybe it can make the pain less hollow—less lonely.

By February 17, 2024

Editorials

To build progressive power everywhere, cast your ballot

There is a collective exhaustion around politics. The disillusionment with its ability for true, progressive change is not unfounded—once again, many of us feel forced to choose between two presidential... Read more

By the February 17, 2024

Voices

This Lunar New Year, make tradition trendy

Western brands didn’t begin creating Lunar New Year (LNY) collections until recent years, but like all trends, once the bandwagon gets moving, it barrels forward at full force. Yet, with all things that demand precision and care, speed and quantity alone don’t—and can’t—guarantee success.

By February 16, 2024

Voices

A not-so-short defense of the short story

But putting economics aside, there is a wonderful beauty to the short story. With no hard rules on length, short stories can span from a few sentences to tens of pages. Free from the space requirements of a novel, the core element of a short story is brevity. It must avoid convoluted plots and unnecessary descriptions, focusing only on the essentials to bring a story across. Every word must count.

By February 2, 2024

Editorials

Black History Month calls for racial justice action

While Black History Month is a time to reflect on the stories and progress of Black people at Georgetown, this reflection cannot occur without meaningful action. Each February should remind... Read more

By the February 2, 2024

Voices

We will not wait for the next school shooting

Some of us hear the sound of gunfire when we watch fireworks on the fourth of July, or when we watch a drumline performance at halftime. But all of us have heard the siren of an active shooter drill and fear that one day our campus will be next. By painful necessity, we have grown to become much more than students learning in a classroom — we have shed every last remnant of our childhood innocence. The steady silence of Congress is as deafening as gunfire.

By , and January 24, 2024

Voices

There are no thrift stores in Georgetown––but maybe there shouldn’t be

Yet, aside from Reddz Trading consignment store on Wisconsin Avenue NW, there are no thrift stores or affordable clothing options around Georgetown (nor are there many in the D.C. area as a whole). But maybe opening a thrift store in Georgetown isn’t actually the best idea––the last thing this already-gentrified neighborhood needs is yet another pricey shop for rich people.

By and January 20, 2024

Editorials

The genocide in Gaza demands ethical and compassionate journalism

The endless social media footage has made the situation in Gaza impossible to ignore. It is, in the words of a South African lawyer suing Israel at the International Court... Read more

By the January 19, 2024

Voices

Let’s hibernate our way out of stress culture

As finals rise to our horizons, days get shorter, and the weather gets colder, there’s something magical and all too appealing about crawling into a cozy cave and sleeping until spring. As it turns out, it’s a part of our body's natural rhythm to slow down during winter months. Yet, stress culture and the structure of our school system causes these months to be the busiest times for us, with our newfound exhaustion making it even harder to achieve our goals. We need to implement structural and societal changes to live more attuned to our natural rhythm.

By December 13, 2023

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Arabic professors story lacks context

Dear Editors of The Georgetown Voice, I read the article you published on November 17th , 2023, entitled “Three Arabic department professors on leave amid student allegations of racism and discrimination” with considerable dismay.

By December 8, 2023

Voices

It may be “cuffing season,” but you might be better off unattached

Something about winter creeping up is enough to make anyone want to trade the “Hot Girl Summer” mindset for a “Settle Down Winter” one. Or better yet, a “Time to Lower my Standards” mindset, as I like to call it. The need to be in a relationship can be so completely consuming that people will be quick to view themselves as the problem and lower their standards, when it’s more about luck and timing. Furthermore, this downgrade of standards may not be setting them up for a successful and healthy relationship.

By December 7, 2023

Voices

Disgruntled Patriotism

From the very beginning of this country's settler-colonialism to the most modern manifestation of Jim Crow through the prison system, these historical examples are part of larger systems upholding the white upper-class power structure. It shows us that there is an intentional inability to establish our values for all Americans. Patriotism should not find its foundation in this history, but rather in the advocates that challenged them. While exclusion is a fundamental part of American history, so too is resistance. Dissent is pivotal in dismantling these exclusionary visions of America. In particular, dissent rooted in fundamental principles of democracy, justice, and equality is one of the most American things imaginable.

By November 28, 2023

Editorials

Support collective liberation, protect pro-Palestine activism

For all the talk about free speech and expression, universities across the country, empowered by governmental institutions, have severely suppressed pro-Palestine activism since Oct. 7. On Oct. 26, Sen. Josh... Read more

By the November 24, 2023

Voices

The University Mission and the Freedom to Define and Decry Atrocity

Shocking. Cruel. Terrifying. Devastating. Criminal. Some say there are "no words" to describe the searing events of October in Israel and Gaza. But these words and many others accurately describe the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians at this terrible moment in the history of the modern Middle East. As scholars of the region who have devoted years of research, study, teaching, and discussion to the Israeli-Palestinian tragedy, we implore our students, administration, and colleagues to care for all humans impacted by the ongoing carnage flooding our news feeds.

By , and November 19, 2023

Voices

Language lessons from my grandmother

For the next year, my grandmother lived with my family to help raise my sister and me. Her gentle touch and her kind eyes grew familiar, so much so that I would often mistake her for my Mamu. It only made sense that my first word was addressed to her: “Aama,” which in Nepali, means “mother” and not “grandmother.” She wore the title proudly, like a pageant sash. I’d like to think this was the beginning, that the first word that spilled out of my mouth was in my mother tongue—a phrase dedicated to the woman who meant the most to me, yet I called her the wrong name. This is a story about words: the ones that were shared, others that were lost in translation, and some that never needed to be spoken aloud.

By November 18, 2023

Voices

Oh, the places you won’t go (if you want to pursue education at Georgetown)

If you want to pursue a field other than law, healthcare, politics, or business, you’re left with few options; there are few productive majors for a college student, like myself, who is interested in early education. As I browsed my options for a new major, I started to question why the options were so limited. While the school offers a myriad of options for students pursuing high-earning fields, the same kind of variety doesn’t exist for students pursuing typically low-earning fields.

By November 17, 2023

Editorials

Combating crime requires conscious, community-oriented solutions

Amid a spike in violent crime in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser released her new public safety legislation, called the Addressing Crime Trends (ACT) Now Act, on Oct. 23. This editorial... Read more

By the November 17, 2023

Voices

Finding GSPride: Navigating My First-Generation Low-Income (FGLI) Identity at Georgetown

GSP, Georgetown’s program for first-generation and/or low-income students, was the one organization I knew about before arriving on campus. They had reached out to me after my acceptance, assuring me of support in my first year and beyond. When I finally set foot on campus, they welcomed me with a complete bedding set, offering a warm and reassuring sense of belonging.

By November 7, 2023

Voices

SAT/ACT Scores: To Require, Or Not To Require?

With test centers shutting down due to the pandemic, most colleges and universities across the country, including Georgetown, instated test-optional policies beginning in the Fall 2020 admissions cycle. While many of these institutions have maintained these policies, Georgetown has since returned to requiring prospective students to submit their SAT or ACT scores as part of their application. However, this move is contrary to many of the Jesuit values that Georgetown claims to uphold, and the university should revert back to a test-optional admissions policy.

By October 30, 2023

Voices

At Georgetown, diversity should be more than clickbait

Sure, Georgetown has done some truly meaningful work, at least in my experience. It was the first American university to appoint a full-time Muslim chaplain and establish a mosque complete with ablution stations and a halal kitchen, and the resources provided by Muslim Life heavily influenced my college decision. But at the end of the day, the attention Georgetown gives to these religious and ethnic minorities on social media is not reflective of the attention it gives them with policy and action. In reality, Georgetown has a tendency to act for these minority communities only in response to student mobilization.

By October 22, 2023