Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Irish heritage marred by St. Patrick’s Day culture

I have developed a sixth sense during my time at Georgetown, and five times a semester, as each of my new professors calls attendance for the first time, I am able to use it. “Here,” I interject, recognizing the glimpse of panic on the professor’s face moments before he or she is surely about to butcher my name. “It’s pronounced like Aidan.” At times I’ve entertained hearing what awful, but understandable, pronunciation they might offer, but usually I save us both the embarrassment.

By the March 22, 2012

Editorials

Georgetown should encourage neurodiversity

Gender equality, respect for the LGBTQ community, and racial diversity are all common topics of discussion at Georgetown. But most students remain unaware of another movement on campus—neurodiversity, a philosophy that acknowledges neurodevelopmental differences, such as developmental, cognitive, learning, or behavioral disabilities, as a normal part of the human experience. Although this mindset is beginning to take hold on campus, students and the administration alike can do more to ensure that those with mental abilities different from the stereotypical norm are comfortable and welcome on campus. The admissions office should also actively recruit these individuals to encourage a wide range of perspectives and experiences in the Georgetown community.

By the March 21, 2012

Editorials

Rutgers suicide highlights persisting prejudice

On March 16, a New Jersey jury reached a verdict in the case of Dharun Ravi, a student at Rutgers University who was accused of spying on his former roommate. In September 2012, Ravi set up a webcam with which to record and broadcast his then-roommate, Tyler Clementi, having sex with another man. Three days later, Clementi, who was not out to the general public, committed suicide by jumping off of a bridge. On Friday, the jury found Ravi guilty on charges including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

By the March 21, 2012

Editorials

Goldman won’t change until we make them

Last week, Greg Smith decided to resign from his position as an executive director at Goldman Sachs with a bang. He lashed out, via an op-ed in the New York Times, at the predatory and indecent banking culture that is the norm at Goldman Sachs, claiming that the company had detracted from its previous mission of “teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility and always doing right by our clients.”

By the March 21, 2012

Voices

“Frothy mixture” definition hurts more than Santorum campaign

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has become an object of ridicule in popular culture. Santorum’s statements—including ones describing how President John Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religious liberty made him want to “throw up” and claiming that Obama wanted to send more kids to college to make them liberals—raised eyebrows even inside Republican spheres.

By March 15, 2012

Voices

Carrying On: Capitalism on cable

While surfing TV channels over spring break, I noticed a show on ABC called Shark Tank. A knock-off of a British and Canadian show called Dragon’s Den, Shark Tank provides entrepreneurs and ambitious small business owners with a chance to pitch their business or product to boardroom of “sharks,” shrewd, self-made millionaire investors with a considerable talent for making money. The contestants approach the sharks requesting a specific dollar amount for a percentage of their company, make their pitch, and wait to see if the sharks care to make them an offer. Many propositions are immediately dismissed as ridiculous and hopeless, while others are so potentially lucrative that the sharks will compete with one another for the contestant’s partnership.

By March 15, 2012

Voices

Hunger pains: Teens starving for better literature

March 23 is generally not a particularly memorable date. But this year, it is a day of incredible importance for a multitude of children and young adults: At 12:01a.m. on Mar. 23, 2012, the first Hunger Games movie premiers. The first book of Suzanne Collins’s trilogy appeared in print in September 2008 and has since become a critical success, having been named one of the New York Times’s “Notable Children’s Books of 2008,” translated into 26 languages, and published in 38 countries. But all this hype begs one very important question: does The Hunger Games deserve of all its acclaim?

By March 15, 2012

Voices

Corp controversy shows need for more civil discourse on campus

In the past few weeks, media attention has fixed on Georgetown as a result of Rush Limbaugh’s slanderous comments against Sandra Fluke (LAW ’12). President John DeGioia came to the defense of Fluke and Georgetown women with a well-received letter to the Georgetown community.

By March 15, 2012

Editorials

We are all to blame for sensationalist media

Even for the exceedingly low standards applied to the American press, in these past few weeks our media machine has outdone itself. The public has been exposed to an uncommon amount of sensationalized, dubious news reports surrounding topics like insurance coverage for contraception and the Invisible Children documentary about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Although not altogether uncommon, this round of media malarkey is especially destructive for what it covers up—the civilian killings in Afghanistan, a pressing transportation bill in the house, Voter ID laws, and more. Sensationalism has become a natural part of our media’s culture, as people follow trends instead of properly informing themselves. We must commit to consuming thoughtful, competent media and shaping a society where others do the same.

By the March 15, 2012

Editorials

Voter ID laws undermine American democracy

On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department blocked a proposed voter identification law from taking effect in Texas, saying it violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure, approved in May 2011, would have required voters to show photo identification in addition to already stringent voter registration requirements in the state. The DOJ’s move is undoubtedly the correct one, but more must be done to combat these overt conservative efforts to disenfranchise minority voting blocs.

By the March 15, 2012

Editorials

Military culture must change after killings

In the early morning of March 11, a U.S. Army sergeant stationed near Kandahar, Afghanistan, slipped away from his base and murdered 16 civilians, including women and children. Evoking memories of the Haditha killings of 2005, as well as the recent urination on civilian corpses by U.S. Marines and the burning of Qur’ans on military bases, the tragedy provides an opportunity for the leaders of our armed forces to examine a military culture in which these atrocities arise.

By the March 15, 2012

Voices

To the old, new social networks hard to pin down

Last Thursday, a couple of my friends and I were asked to appear in a news segment for CNN. What hard-hitting story marked my national television debut? No, it wasn’t an in-depth commentary on Harry Potter—it was a piece on not-so-new social media sensation, Pinterest.

By March 1, 2012

Voices

Finally, an online home for politically-minded loudmouths

Recently, Votizen, a new media startup, has grasped the attention of entrepreneurs and policymakers alike—including the 2012 U.S. presidential hopefuls. The startup seeks to change how our democracy works by using a national database of 200 million voting records to connect to friends on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on the basis of ideological preferences.

By March 1, 2012

Voices

Virginia is for lovers, unless you love women’s rights

With presidential campaigns intensifying in the face of the upcoming elections, attention has recently been drawn to the state of Virginia and its numerous reproductive rights bills targeting issues like contraception and the definition of personhood. News of these bills, currently being discussed in the state’s legislature, has spread over the past few weeks.

By March 1, 2012

Voices

Carrying On: “I’ll make a man out of you”

Princesses, distressed damsels, and sidekicks—for years these roles have composed the majority of female roles in children’s literature and film. Even Pixar, with twelve animated major productions since 1995, has yet to produce a film with a female protagonist. This comes as no surprise.

By March 1, 2012

Editorials

Crimes expose twisted safety priorities

On Sunday, February 26, Georgetown students received email alerts from the Department of Public Safety regarding two crimes committed that day against students within blocks of the front gates: one sexual assault and one armed robbery. These reports are worrisome not only because the very occurrence of such crimes so close to campus is shocking, but also because the language employed in the reports perpetuates a blame-the-victim attitude with regard to sexual assault that is harmful and irresponsible.

By the March 1, 2012

Editorials

Georgetown undervalues alternative opinions

On Sunday, the Georgetown Occupy contingent facilitated eight hours of workshops and teach-ins in Red Square, in direct response to a Wall Street Boot Camp training session that occurred on the same day. Georgetown students, faculty, and even alumni from the Chimes a capella group contributed to the vibrant discussions of the day.

By the March 1, 2012

Editorials

Racial prejudice alive and well in America

This month, several media outlets have been criticized for their use of racial slurs in coverage of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin’s ascent to stardom. ESPN.com published an article about Lin with the word “chink” in its headline, a clear allusion, intentional or not, to the racial epithet, and Fox Sports reporter Jason Whitlock publicly apologized after tweeting a joke about Lin’s sexual capabilities. Saturday Night Live responded with a skit in which four reporters, two black and two white, made racial jabs at Lin. The script flipped when a white reporter began making jokes about blacks, and the others admonished him for his offensive allusions to social conditions still stifling the growth of black communities—which they had all done to Asians moments before.

By the March 1, 2012

Voices

Endemic intolerance: The flippancy of anti-Mormon bigotry

This Tuesday, Rev. Franklin Graham, the influential son of the famed evangelist Billy Graham, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Mitt Romney is not a Christian. Even though Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, considers himself a practicing Christian, Graham said he outwardly respects Romney’s faith but considers it too unfamiliar to be grouped with his own.

By February 23, 2012

Voices

Overzealous GUSA candidates take battle to YouTube

Dorm-storming, flyering, and Red Square antics were once enough to win an election. But members of today’s generation of would-be GUSA executives would be remiss if they neglected to engage students on the Internet as well as in real life. Whereas online campaigning may have started out as a way to get a leg up on the competition, it is now expected that candidates keep up appearances on multiple social networking sites.

By February 23, 2012