Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Editorials

Reconsider District school consolidation

Last month, D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced her plan to close 20 traditional D.C. public schools before the beginning of the next school year. This plan is estimated to displace approximately 3,000 students across six of the city’s eight wards. Henderson’s reasoning behind the closures is that a consolidation of schools will strengthen DCPS by redirecting funds from the maintenance of under-enrolled schools to the improvement of academic programs.

By the December 6, 2012

Editorials

‘Fiscal cliff’ threatens student prospects

As the U.S. edges closer to the sequestration stipulated in the Budget Control Act of 2011, debate is heating up between President Obama and the House Republican leadership about how to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” Originally conceived as a perverse incentive for Congress to agree on an acceptable debt-reduction solution, the Act stipulates an automatic spending reduction of up to $1.2 trillion of the federal budget on Jan. 1, 2013 if a budget compromise cannot be reached before that time. While politicians on both sides of the aisle badger on about the need for a grand compromise of revenue increases and spending cuts, it is clear that any austerity deal that puts the overall health of the economy at risk is unacceptable for America’s college students.

By the December 6, 2012

Voices

If the Grinch can glorify Christmas, so can atheists

Last Christmas Eve, a rumor started making its way around the dinner table. “The atheists are trying to ruin Christmas again,” the more religious of the company proclaimed. The situation,... Read more

By December 6, 2012

Voices

Carrying On: Single-sex schools are so fetch

In that oft-quoted scene from Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan’s voiceover describes Cady Heron’s classroom interactions with the dim but studly Aaron Samuels: “On October 3rd, he asked me what day... Read more

By December 6, 2012

Voices

Georgetown student activism extends just short of their iPods

It doesn’t take long to realize that the range of musical interests here on the Hilltop is minimal. Nearly every party and friend you encounter will be blasting the same... Read more

By December 6, 2012

Voices

Literally drowning one’s sorrows, Mayan apocalypse style

In 17 days, the Earth as we know it will no longer exist. Following the Mayans prediction, we will all perish on Dec. 21, 2012. Those that are unfortunate enough to be some of the last to die will watch everything that mankind has built crumble in front of them.

By December 6, 2012

Editorials

Little hope for Doha environmental conference

This week and next, signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its principal treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, are gathering in Doha, Qatar, to coordinate an international... Read more

By the November 29, 2012

Editorials

Look to living wage bill for D.C. Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart was the target of protests at stores nationwide on Black Friday, when many workers threatened to walk out over a long list of complaints about unfair labor practices–unlivable wages,... Read more

By the November 29, 2012

Editorials

ACC an unlikely option for GU basketball

In the latest installment of the NCAA conference realignment saga, Rutgers announced last week that it would be leaving the Big East Conference for the Big Ten, and yesterday Louisville... Read more

By the November 29, 2012

Voices

Voyage to foreign land of Tennessee leads to reflection on faith

Years ago, in the South, “pounding of the preacher” was a common custom used to welcome newly hired priests to the town and to the congregation. Members of the church... Read more

By November 28, 2012

Voices

Imagine all the people

Carl Sagan was not alone in thinking that “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were.  But without it we go nowhere.” Indeed, imagination’s undeniable connection to art,... Read more

By November 28, 2012

Voices

Hipster hysteria! Much maligned epithet must ironically die

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment, but at some time early on in my freshman year, my fellow floor residents decided to collectively brand me as a hipster. Perhaps... Read more

By November 28, 2012

Voices

Happiness is a warm, but ignored, mark of success

Holidays are a stressful time; there are drunken relatives, nagging relatives, and generally just a lot of relatives. Inevitably they corral the younger generation to talk about their lives and... Read more

By November 28, 2012

Editorials

Section 5 of Voting Rights Act still necessary

On Friday, Nov. 9 the Supreme Court agreed to review Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a key piece of Civil Rights-era legislation that requires the U.S. Department... Read more

By the November 15, 2012

Editorials

A vote for a minor party could make it major

Last week’s elections marked a significant victory for the District’s Libertarian Party. Although he predictably lost the race for D.C.’s House Delegate seat to 11-term incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, Libertarian... Read more

By the November 15, 2012

Editorials

Consider B of A, (Product) Red’s social impact

On Monday, U2 frontman Bono came to campus to speak about the potential for political activism to address poverty and related social ills. The event was co-sponsored by Bank of... Read more

By the November 15, 2012

Voices

Oh, zombies! Disease prevention lurches to the forefront

Through different stages of my life, I’ve always been haunted by certain temporal terrors. From death by fire after a particularly gruesome PSA when I was in the fifth grade... Read more

By November 14, 2012

Voices

Teach for what? Troubling questions surround the TFA model

For most students, landing a highly competitive and coveted job is a momentous occasion, complete with the obligatory call home to Mom, a boozy celebration with friends, and the immense... Read more

By November 14, 2012

Voices

Testing teachers’ tolerance

It’s Education Week, a week of lectures and panels put on by the D.C. Schools Project and D.C. Reads, and Georgetown students have been exploring issues like racial diversity, income... Read more

By November 14, 2012

Voices

Life lessons from Georgetown’s own lifelong learner

Every so often, and more frequently now that I’m a senior, I find myself in a bit of an academic rut. Whenever it happens, I tend to take a step... Read more

By November 14, 2012