Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Out of power, Gaddafi leaves mixed legacy in Africa

Recently, a friend asked me whether, as an African, I thought the ongoing revolution in Libya was good or bad for the continent. In my attempt to answer, I realized that, like many Africans outside of Libya, I harbored a little bit of sympathy for Muammar Gaddafi—not for his deposed regime or his domestic policies, but for his contributions to the development of the African continent as a whole, a part of his legacy that is largely overlooked in the West.

By October 13, 2011

Voices

Dog days are over

In a boy’s life, there are a number of rites of passage allowing him, in some sense, to become a man. There’s his high school graduation, his first car, and his 21st birthday, to name just a few. For me, however, each has come with great ceremony but no great sense of growth. I feared it might only be at my retirement party that I no longer felt like a little kid anymore. Until my dog died.

By the October 13, 2011

Voices

Hoya Saxa: the evolution of the yell of all the yells

Students making their first tour of Georgetown are first directed to Leo’s, then introduced into the cult of Hilltop mythology centuries-old buildings, a legendary basketball team, Bill Clinton. Somewhere over the years, “Hoya Saxa” became part of that arsenal. We chant it, we wear it, we tell the story. We love it. If you’re unfamiliar, the tale goes something like this: once upon a time, Georgetown boasted a stellar football team, who kicked and pummeled their way to victory every week on Copley lawn. Fans would watch from the stone wall bordering the lawn.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Back from summer camp, into the wild of Georgetown

If you think walking on cobblestones is difficult, try running barefoot through the woods. For every time you’ve sworn at the uneven sidewalks outside the front gates, I’ve cursed at protruding tree roots and thorny green briar bushes that seem to be purposefully mauling my legs. Believe me, I have more than a decade’s worth of scars, and one nerve-damaged pinky toe, to prove it. Why on earth would anyone want to keep going back to the middle of some God-forsaken forest for 11 years? It’s called summer camp, and I go back because I love it.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Poker bluffing its way into sports fans’ hearts and hands

This week has been an interesting one for online poker. Last spring, a number of online poker sites—including Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and AbsolutePoker—were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for bank fraud and money laundering, among other allegations. On Monday, French investment company Groupe Bernard Tapie purchased online gambling website Full Tilt Poker. Even though poker has gained a lot of mainstream exposure in the past decade, and the game’s competitiveness has risen, it still does not get the attention given to other entertainment sports.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Locked up abroad

The decision to study abroad can be daunting. With single-semester, summer, and yearlong programs in an endless number of exciting, exotic locations, the abundance of study abroad experiences gives students the ability to craft an ideal program that combines fun with enrichment. Still, I doubt a nearly four-year stint in an Italian prison is on anybody’s shortlist.

By October 6, 2011

Editorials

Club disciplinary process needs reform

This Friday, the University will evict the Voice from its office in Leavey 413. The Center for Student Programs has ordered the paper to switch offices with the Georgetown Debate Team after an incident in August, which caused $4,000 worth of damage to several Leavey Center offices, that allegedly involved two (since dismissed) Voice editors and a former staffer who were attempting to report on damages to the new Science Center caused by Hurricane Irene.

By the October 6, 2011

Editorials

Education reforms deserve an Incomplete

Although Washington is touted as a promising laboratory for national education reform, alarming reports released last week by D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson show that school reforms in recent years have done little to alleviate the problems D.C. public school students face.

By the October 6, 2011

Editorials

GU’s Indian initiatives hold great promise

Georgetown’s international collaborations expanded again last week with the announcement by Nirupama Menon Rao, the Ambassador of India to the United States, of a new Chair of Indian Culture and Society affiliated with the School of Foreign Service and Georgetown’s English department.

By the October 6, 2011

Editorials

City leaders disappoint on ethics reform

In recent months, D.C.’s government has come under fire for corruption and shady relationships with lobbyists. Now, more than ever, the D.C. City Council needs ethics reform.

By the September 29, 2011

Editorials

Davis died unjustly, but hopefully not in vain

On Sept. 21, Troy Davis was executed at a Georgia state prison after 20 years on death row. His case received minimal press attention for two decades until the week before his execution date, when an impassioned effort to save his life began across the world. The use of the death penalty in a case with “too much doubt,” as Davis’s supporters chanted outside the prison, sparked outrage as petitioners critiqued Georgia’s insouciant decision to kill a man who was never proven irrefutably guilty.

By the September 29, 2011

Voices

Georgetown and the CCP: an exclusive relationship

Let me say from the start that I have nothing at all against dialogue. However, when dealing with an authoritarian regime like the Chinese Communist Party, there seems to be a fine line between an open exchange of ideas and an approach to engagement that is more permissive than it is persuasive.

By September 29, 2011

Editorials

Fairfax County deer culling is good for all

Last week, deer hunting season officially commenced in Fairfax County. This year, the county’s government has allowed bow hunters to hunt deer in the county’s 18 parks as part of an effort to combat dangerous and ecologically harmful deer overpopulation in the area

By the September 29, 2011

Voices

Candidates full of hot air and not running out of steam

While watching a recent Republican Presidential debate, I was puzzled by the reaction to Rick Perry’s signing an order that required mandatory vaccination against human papillomavirus for sixth grade girls in Texas—an uncharacteristic move for a staunch social conservative like Perry.

By September 29, 2011

Voices

Smithsonian 9/11 exhibit captures a moment in time

Partially overlooked in the glut of media coverage of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks were two exhibits here in Washington which used artifacts from the three attacks. For just nine days leading upto September 11, the Smithsonian Museum of American History displayed a small collection of visceral reminders of 9/11 that gave viewers an intimate sense of what exactly happened to victims that day.

By September 29, 2011

Voices

Qwikster off to a slow start

Last week I got an email from Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, that began, “Dear Emma, I messed up. I owe you an explanation.” Well thanks, Mr. Hastings, but … excuse me? I do have a Netflix account, but the letter seemed a little more personal than anything I usually hear from heads of major companies.

By September 29, 2011

Voices

Waking up to the harsh reality of public education

Last year, my mother retired from teaching after 35 years of dedicated service. At her retirement party, I was unable to count the number of former students in attendance. A number of them gave speeches praising her for her talent and her ability to inspire. Now lawyers, doctors, authors, dancers, and musicians, they all recognized her enthusiasm and dedication as the catalyst for their intellectual growth and success.

By September 22, 2011

Voices

This is just the same old story: another Hollywood remake

A few months ago, I found myself tossing back my usual concoction of Sour Patch Kids and popcorn at the K Street Theater while watching the previews before No Strings Attached. The previews, in line with the coming movie, consisted of much of the same repetitive rom-com themes that every girl occasionally indulges. When the preview for Friends with Benefits came on, however, I did a double take—wasn’t that the exact same movie I came to see?

By September 22, 2011

Voices

Injury drives student skeptic to peace of mind at Down Dog

If you live in West Georgetown, chances are that sometime during the day you’ve noticed any number of well-toned young women clad in yoga pants and toting a tightly rolled mat, trooping off to some hidden fountain of youth. It’s a mesmerizing migration, and one that until fairly recently I’d thought to be off limits to the general population. Their destination, Down Dog Yoga —located behind Dean and Deluca off of M street—has in recent years become a staple for both aspiring and established Georgetown yogis.

By September 22, 2011

Voices

Fighting Irish take on Vatican

Studying Irish history is a lot like watching Rocky. As with every Irish hero, Rocky is an underdog with a lot of heart, a lot of will, and an incredible ability to accept a beating. And like every Irish hero, Rocky loses. Unlike Rocky, however, the Irish continue well past six fights. Ireland’s history is marked by rebellion after rebellion. The legacy of the bloodshed and failed freedom fighters belie, by stereotype and by my experience, the true nature of the Irish people: boisterous, but ultimately passive and habitually willing to submit to (Catholic) authority.

By the September 22, 2011