Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Great Chinese Takeout: Sub-Saharan Africa’s misfortune

By now we’ve probably all heard how China is taking over Africa. But it’s one thing to read about it, and another thing to have your water shut off for three months in your dorm in Botswana as a Chinese firm diverts all of the town’s water to its construction site. Everywhere I went in sub-Saharan Africa, the phantom of China followed me. Scuba diving in Mozambique, I was told illegal Chinese fishing boats had overfished the last tiger shark in the area four months before my arrival. The Chinese-made truck I was hitchhiking in the back of broke down two hours after we crossed the border back into Botswana.

By September 8, 2011

Voices

Carrying on: She doesn’t even go here

My name is Emma and I am an overachiever. Last week I went out for dinner with a mixed group: some friends, some acquaintances, and a couple of total strangers. During the chips and salsa course, I was chatting with one of the unfamiliars, following the standard get-to-know-you protocol of a first encounter: who are you, what do you do, etc. I think I was explaining one of my extracurricular activities, when one of my friends at the table butted in, “Yeah, Emma is pretty much that kid Max Fischer in Rushmore.”

By September 8, 2011

Editorials

University wireless remains inadequate

For years, Georgetown students have been waiting for an expanded and protected wireless internet network on campus, a standard service at most universities. When University Information Services announced the launch... Read more

By the September 8, 2011

Editorials

Obama disappoints on environmental policy

Last week, President Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to drop proposed revisions on existing ozone regulations. Ground level ozone is the primary component of smog, which is known to... Read more

By the September 8, 2011

Editorials

New MLK memorial dishonors his dream

While many have heralded the unveiling of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial on the National Mall as a major milestone for race relations in America, the way it... Read more

By the September 8, 2011

Voices

Fight for your rights before labor unions unravel

When I told my boss about my father’s position as the leader of a prominent labor union, he responded the way a lot of people do: “Your dad, he must be a real legbreaker.” My father, a legbreaker? My dad is a sweet man who plants the daisies in our family’s front yard and bought me my senior prom dress. He’s a foodie who has taken me to every quality pizza joint in the tri-state area. “Legbreaker” would not make the list of adjectives I’d use to describe him. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time I’ve heard the term in reference to my dad, and it wouldn’t be the last.

By August 26, 2011

Voices

Multiculturalism shouldn’t take a beating even if players do

The shocking headline appeared all over the country last week: “Wild brawl ends Georgetown’s exhibition game in China early.” Some combination of the words China, Georgetown, and brawl appeared in each of the numerous emails, Facebook messages, and tweets I received this summer from friends and family eager to break the news to their Georgetown friend about our basketball team’s on-court battle with their Chinese counterparts. Their descriptions—spectators hurling chairs and water bottles, players throwing punches at their opponents, and foul play all around—portrayed scenes of utter chaos on the court. The incident, which unfortunately coincided with Vice President Biden’s visit to China, was labeled by many major news agencies as a diplomatic disaster.

By August 26, 2011

Voices

From Hoosier to Hoya: a guide to incoming transfers

During my first few weeks at Georgetown, I was asked the question approximately 343 times: “So, why did you transfer?” At first, I would give long-winded explanations, getting tangled in my own reasons and excuses to explain why I decided to leave Indiana University. I learned to avoid this. There are tons of reasons I could list: desire for a strong international relations program, longing to explore a world outside of the Midwest, hopes for a challenge. Or even the more candid responses: a disappointing Greek system, regrets of choosing the safe option, following a boyfriend. Eventually I learned that I really didn’t need an excuse to offer other people. Just knowing that my first year wasn’t just right is reason enough.

By August 26, 2011

Voices

Carrying On: Check me out

Though most of my West Coast-bred friends scoffed, Tuesday’s 5.8-magnitude earthquake really upset me—mostly because I didn’t feel it at all. As my Facebook news feed blew up with first hand accounts of the quake, I sat at my desk with an acute sense of disappointment. Somehow I had missed what would surely become one of the biggest news stories of the end of the summer. I had to disappoint the family members who had emailed me asking for an eyewitness report. Worst of all, I had to come home from work and listen to everyone telling me how cool it was to feel an earthquake as if I hadn’t been in DC at all.

By the August 26, 2011

Editorials

Thompson key to salvaged China trip

The Georgetown men’s basketball team’s trip to China was intended to be an opportunity for the University to use “basketball diplomacy” to strengthen its brand internationally and to allow the players to test themselves against a different kind of opponent. But the bench-clearing brawl cast a pall over a trip designed to foster goodwill between the University and the most populous nation in the world. The rest of the trip, however, went off without a hitch, and credit should go to coach John Thompson III both for his on-court leadership during the fracas and for his diplomatic handling of its aftermath.

By the August 26, 2011

Editorials

Protect your voting rights from the ANC

Last week, the ANC’s redistricting task force, which was created to draw eight single-member districts within the ANC’s turf in order to reflect population growth, adopted a proposal that would cram students living in University-owned buildings into two massive districts. It is crucial that Georgetown students turn out in force to oppose the continued trampling of their right to equal representation in D.C. government.

By the August 26, 2011

Editorials

Fighting for adequate contraceptive access

After the Department of Health and Human Services announced its decision to require full contraceptive coverage on all new insurance plans after January 2012, Georgetown Professor Dr. Hal Lawrence, in a commendable break with official University policy, spoke out in favor of the change. In his capacity as vice president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Lawrence said, “The women of this country deserve no less than access to all comprehensive and clinically effective preventative care.”

By the August 26, 2011

Editorials

GOP defense of DOMA deflects real issues

When the Justice Department announced in late February that it would no longer defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, a law prohibiting federal or interstate recognition of same-sex marriage, it put itself on the right side of the struggle for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

By the April 28, 2011

Editorials

Dialogue on sexual health issues works

Earlier this month, Georgetown’s Health Education Services rolled out a new initiative to foster improved sexual health education on campus. Although the process is not complete, it is encouraging to see that H*yas for Choice was involved in the creation of a program that would both improve sexual health education at Georgetown and respect the University’s Catholic identity. If this plan gets off the ground, it will demonstrate that student engagement with the University on touchy issues like sexual health can succeed.

By the April 28, 2011

Editorials

Endowment Commission shows its chops

In its final vote on Tuesday night, the Student Activities Fee Endowment Commission made the right move in recommending close to full funding for the Healy Pub, an idea backed by widespread support from students, but it should also be applauded for putting together a set of proposals that responds to popular demand for student space without ignoring the other diverse and creative proposals put forth by the student b

By the April 28, 2011

Voices

Carrying On: A colorful past

When I heard that Sean Penn had won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in Milk, I was curious to see how Penn’s portrayal of a dairy farmer garnered the attention of the Academy. It was only later that I learned that Milk, contrary to my assumption, is a biographical film detailing the life and struggles of Harvey Milk, a gay rights advocate and the first openly gay person to be elected to public office. Call me ignorant, but how was I supposed to know that?

By April 28, 2011

Voices

Look who’s coming to dinner: An open invite to new elites

“Are you smart enough to eat here?” When I go out to eat, these are not typically the first words out of the host or hostess’s lips. But then again, Number 68 Project isn’t your typical restaurant. Part of a new “pop-up” restaurant fad, this originally London-based dining experience has made its way to the District and brought with it a new outlet for creative chefs, intrepid diners, and elitist aspirations.

By April 28, 2011

Voices

Tapping into thirst for space

The merit of a single idea is based on three different factors. First, it has to be the right idea. Second, it has to be the right time. Third, it has to be the right place. On Tuesday night, the GUSA Endowment Commission—of which I was a member—made the correct choice in allocating the full amount of the $3.4 million available to both the Healy Student Space proposal and the Georgetown Energy proposal in its primary recommendation.

By April 28, 2011

Voices

Money with a mission

Vice President Joe Biden often says, “Don’t tell me what you value; show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” When looking at the final recommendation from the GUSA Endowment Commission, which passed up supporting the Georgetown Social Innovation and Public Service Fund in favor of allocating $3.2 million to the Healy Pub proposal, it’s difficult to tell what, exactly, our community values. The commission had the opportunity to get behind a more balanced proposal—one that would have suggested allocating $2 million to developing student space and $1 million to the SIPS Fund—but by a single vote, the commission elected not to even consider it. This proposal would have impacted many students by expanding student space, and at the same time, empowering students to positively impact the world by investing in their own ideas and potential.

By April 28, 2011

Editorials

Vote Bryan Weaver for D.C. City Council

From the oppressive new D.C. noise law to the fight over the 2010 Campus Plan, Georgetown students have learned just how overbearing the District government can be. This month’s special election for the D.C. City Council’s at-large seat is an opportunity for students, who make up one-eighth of D.C.’s population, to change that, showing lawmakers their importance to this city. Bryan Weaver (D) of Adams Morgan is the best advocate for students among the wide field of candidates, and he is the right choice on Election Day for students seeking to stop more anti-student measures.

By the April 14, 2011