Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Twuesday Tweetacular: dispatches from the hashtag front

A few days ago, a friend of mine was sitting at her computer, her face expressing deep, hopeless concentration—writer’s block if I’ve ever seen it. When I asked her what was stumping her, she sounded exasperated: “I can’t think of anything to tweet about.” Her answer surprised me, but not because of the importance that she was assigning to coming up with a bite-sized sentiment to bestow on her dozens of followers. Rather, I was baffled that she had enough self-awareness not to just type up her latest passing thought and throw in some number signs and words without spaces between them. From my experience, that’s what Twitter is all about.

By November 3, 2011

Voices

Founding Fathers fought slavery in their own way

As many have noted, ”all men are created equal” did not hold true for the vast majority of Americans until 1865, 1919, and even beyond. The founders did not create a republic for all; they created a republic for the few, but even this was a significant accomplishment—no other country had affirmed and secured natural rights in the same way that the United States did in 1788. In any case, this hasn’t stopped Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law, from categorically negating the legacy of the founders. In an editorial special to CNN last month, Kennedy writes that black Americans, in large part, reject Herman Cain because he esteems the founders as great men, who “did their job … a great job.”

By November 3, 2011

Voices

Troy Davis is yet another victim of a broken system

Troy Davis was convicted and sentenced to death before many students at Georgetown today were born. His fate has been sealed our entire lives. On September 21, 2011, yet another American man was killed for a crime he did not commit. Having spent most of his adult life on death row, Davis had to spend his last day in an agonizing battle. First the world heard that the President would not intervene. Then, the Supreme Court deliberated for hours over a stay of execution, which he had successfully received three times before. But he was denied a fourth. From his fatal injection at 10:53 p.m. to death at 11:08 p.m., Troy Davis passed away and became a pallid shadow cast long and low over the United States.

By November 3, 2011

Voices

No more stolen lunch money

To my disappointment, the Internet recently seems to have become more about social change and less about LOLcats. From the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, broadcast all across the world during the 2009 Iranian election protests, to the subsequent coverage of the Arab Spring, it became clear how powerful viral material could be. With that in mind, the It Gets Better Campaign was launched to end bullying and what seems like an increase in bullying-related suicides. The organization targets youth by releasing videos urging the bullied masses to keep on keeping on, and boasts videos from the likes of President Obama, various members of Congress, and professional athletes.

By the November 3, 2011

Editorials

SAC reforms are just more of the same

This week, the Student Activities Commission launched its latest club funding structure, called the Comprehensive Budget System. Though SAC Chair Andrew Koenig (COL ’12) called it a “fundamental departure from the ‘programming arc’ system of financial allocation, as well as a significant change in the way SAC approves organization events and operations,” the new system is neither a departure from the previous, flawed system nor a significant change in SAC’s labyrinthine bureaucracy.

By the November 3, 2011

Editorials

Anti-piracy effort crushes Internet freedom

Last Wednesday, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), introduced the E-PARASITE Act, a measure that will shackle innovation and freedom on the Internet in an attempt to stop piracy.

By the November 3, 2011

Editorials

Sky is the limit for the capital campaign

Last Friday, the University launched “The Campaign for Georgetown: For Generations to Come,” a $1.5 billion fundraising initiative aimed at comprehensively improving life on the Hilltop. The campaign is a necessary response to the needs of our community and a notable exception to the perceived inattention of the administration to improving the undergraduate experience in recent years.

By the November 2, 2011

Voices

A colorblind case for income-based affirmative action

Recently, while filling out forms for a fellowship, I found myself confronted with the all too familiar race-based form that instructs me to please mark the box titled “White/Caucasian.” Of course, if I object to providing this information, I do have the option of marking the corresponding box. But I think it’s safe to say that marking the “I decline to respond” box is basically saying, “I’m white or another race that isn’t considered diverse enough for this institution.”

By October 27, 2011

Voices

Tricks and treats: college unmasks a new Halloween

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. It’s not just the scary movies, the haunted houses, the crisp fall weather, the pumpkin pies, the apple cider, the bonfires, the haunted corn mazes, and the hayrides. What other holiday encourages, even requires, you to put on a crazy costume and get tons of treats (or perhaps more realistically for the average Hoya, a sloppy makeout with someone whom you think is the hot guy from your English class, though you can’t really be sure under his Dread Pirate Roberts Mask)? And no, Mardi Gras doesn’t count.

By October 27, 2011

Voices

High hopes for Libya and the future of U.S. intervention

Congratulations are due to the people of Libya. After months of civil conflict, the tyrant who oppressed them with his iron fist is gone. However, a warning is needed as well: that was the easy part. What Libya is faced with now is much more cruel and much more destructive than any tyrant could be. It lurks behind the joyous celebrations, behind the statements of global political leaders, and behind the news streams around the world of Gaddafi’s death. It is the potential that Libya’s reconstruction will fail.

By October 27, 2011

Voices

Facebooking the dead

Every October 25, my Facebook experiences its annual flood of wall posts. This inundation of birthday wishes from friends, family, distant cousins, Sunday school teachers, past hookups, and people I just plain forgot about is something only Facebook could facilitate. But another event on that day spawns an almost equally predictable outpouring of well-wishers—the death of my soccer teammate and friend, Will Wardrip.

By October 27, 2011

Editorials

Occupy DC movement at a crossroads

Since the Occupy DC protests took root in McPherson Square at the beginning of October, over a hundred tents have been erected, as well as more permanent set-ups to service the everyday needs of the occupiers such as food, basic medical care, clothing, and reading material. As the occupation approaches its second month, participants must work to ensure the longevity of the movement while facing two big challenges: the fast-approaching winter and ideological issues that threaten the unity of the movement.

By the October 27, 2011

Editorials

U.S. wars end, foreign policy lessons abound

This week, the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi coincided with the announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of the year. The conclusion of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the NATO-led campaign in Libya should provide an opportunity for American policymakers to learn from both our failure at nation building in Iraq and the relative success of our measured strategy in Libya.

By the October 27, 2011

Editorials

Complaints about Leo’s deserve attention

For years, complaining about the quality of the food provided at Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall has been among Georgetown students’ most common conversation topics. As healthiness and food choices have declined in recent years, prices have increased. Since Georgetown’s contract with Aramark, the company the University contracts to operate the dining hall, expires next year, the administration has an opportunity to address one of the most persistent, and easily addressed, sources of student discontent.

By the October 27, 2011

Voices

For Millenials, too many choices and not enough options

This week, Georgetown alum (and former Voice editor) Noreen Malone (COL ‘07) wrote a feature story for New York Magazine encouragingly titled, “The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright: My screwed, coddled, self-absorbed, mocked, surprisingly resilient generation.” I started reading it in the library today and had to leave because I felt near a breakdown (and a breakdown in Lau 2 is just not okay). As if I needed another reminder that the next stage of my life is a complete mystery to me.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

Steve’s greatest job: the editor to Apple visionaries

When Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., died a fortnight ago, my dad went out and bought an iPhone. This emotional response was hardly atypical: rock stars, journalists and politicians alike lauded the man whose sense of showmanship had helped him transcend the shadowy ranks of the business world into the stratosphere of celebrity and brought sleek premium electronics to the hands of millions of Americans.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

Beyond Ahmadinejad: the Iranians’ democratic potential

Gradually through the years, European and American foreign policies have managed to construct a Western vision of Iran that associated the country with the so-called “axis of evil” states and al-Qaeda. But the Iranian government actually desired cooperation with the U.S. on terrorism. However, the Bush administration did little to foster dialogue. As a result, hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President in 2005, ushering in an era of renewed anti-Americanism.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

An imaginary community

When I was a senior at Hill, I felt inextricably connected to the place and to everyone who was a part of it. But when I arrived at the promised land of higher-level academia, I couldn’t help but be let down. Of course it’s natural to feel lost going from being a big fish in a small pond to a lowly first-year guppy. But as a freshman at Georgetown, once the NSO Cheerleaders strip off their neon t-shirts and cease all their “HOYA SAXA”-ing, it is incredibly easy to disappear into gateway class oblivion.

By October 20, 2011

Editorials

Coulter’s hate speech has no place here

The Georgetown Lecture Fund has brought many respected figures from across the political spectrum to campus for free guest lectures. But its latest invitee, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, is a disappointing and worrisome departure from the Fund’s standard of speakers.

By the October 20, 2011

Editorials

Support medical marijuana for PTSD victims

Luckily for PTSD sufferers, whose ranks have been swelled by veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a promising alternative: preliminary trials and user testimony point to marijuana as an effective replacement for Risperdal and other drugs.

By the October 20, 2011