Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Editorials

Gray’s patronage, spending, raises questions

Vincent Gray swept into the D.C. mayor’s office partly on his promise to weed out corruption and restore legitimacy to the city’s government. Two months into his term, Gray has failed to uphold that promise. The unscrupulous behavior of his administration may not be criminal, but it has seriously eroded what little trust D.C. residents still have in their government. Gray needs to clean up his image.

By the March 3, 2011

Voices

The Wheel World: D.C.

Everyone is familiar with the urban cyclist stereotype—he or she is skinny, wears spandex but not a helmet, and is usually plotting a way to slip through a red light, only to be narrowly missed by oncoming SUVs. I’ll admit I have a certain fascination with these law-defying speed demons. Because rather than zooming past them in a car or observing them from a clunky Circulator bus, I generally find myself in front of them, then blocking their path, and finally watching them zip through an intersection, barely avoiding traffic, as they rush ahead of me.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Pop music’s legitimacy may render Bieber fever terminal

He’s watching you as you walk to Lau. He’s at your Thursday evening pregame. He’s balling out in the NBA. He’s rocking the red carpet in Hollywood. He’s in the Super Bowl (albeit in a Best Buy commercial). He’s even in a body bag on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Though only 16 years old, Justin Bieber has gone from lowly Ontario preteen to international superstar in the blink of an eye.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Law enforcement needs to prioritize for student safety

For reasons that are unclear to me, last semester I began seeing excessive numbers of law enforcement officers in the Georgetown area. Their teeming presence did not by itself bother me. Whatever the reason, I still felt a sense of security knowing there were always police nearby if needed. But at the same time, I noticed an increase in Department of Public Safety-issued write-ups for rambunctious parties and Phishy aromas, and it seriously irked me.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Finding a sense of self by blogging as The College Prepster

Traveling is quite the ordeal for me. There I was, pacing back and forth between Dunkin Donuts and the newspaper stand in Reagan International Airport. Fellow travelers were whizzing by, only adding to my growing anxiety. Caught up in my own thoughts, I whipped around when I heard my name, “Carly?”

By February 24, 2011

Editorials

Charlie Joyce and Paige Lovejoy for GUSA

In a Georgetown University Student Association election that features high-profile running mates, a deluge of YouTube commercials, and cliché campaign slogans, it can be easy to miss the presidential ticket marked by sound judgment, competence, and a clear work ethic. Charlie Joyce (COL’12) and Paige Lovejoy’s (SFS’12) campaign has made few waves, but their combined experience and knowledge of the issues make their ticket the most effective and refreshing choice for executive.

By the February 24, 2011

Editorials

Defend Pell Grants against political assault

For the past two weeks, House Republicans have been preparing to square off with President Barack Obama and Democrats over next year’s budget. Some 800 Georgetown students who receive Pell Grants will have a serious stake in this fight—billions of dollars in federal student aid hang in the balance. Republicans would like to cut the maximum Pell Grant by $845 per year and eliminate more than $1.8 million for the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant program.

By the February 24, 2011

Editorials

RJC needs real reform, not a hasty makeover

When the Residential Judicial Council disbanded in October 2010 in order to reorganize, there was hope that with time to reflect on its shortcomings, the RJC would return ready to be an important voice for students in Georgetown’s opaque disciplinary process. Unfortunately, the proposed reforms announced Feb. 16 do little to address the fundamental issues that have plagued the RJC in the past. If the reforms are adopted as proposed, the RJC will return just as ineffectual and insignificant as it was before.

By the February 24, 2011

Voices

Disneyland do’s and don’t’s

Summer jobs have long been the subject of coming-of-age teen comedies, elementary back-to-school essays, and of course, youthful scorn. All the same, they are usually the only way to make decent money before resuming an education (unless you really took Risky Business to heart).

By February 17, 2011

Voices

Recent debate fails to sway Texan on gun legislation

A few weeks ago I found myself sitting across from two of my friends listing off, bullet by bullet, why I firmly believe in the right to bear arms. It was unexpected, considering I’m not a staunch defender of the Second Amendment.

By February 17, 2011

Voices

A guide to midterm getaways for all styles of study

It’s the middle of February: officially too late to pretend it’s still winter break and too soon to pack a suitcase for Cancun. Stuck in this in-between phase of school, it’s hard for me to get excited about the long weekend this Presidents’ Day or the warming weather when something is weighing me down. I thought it was far away, but it suddenly leapt out from behind a corner to scare me: that sneaky, stressful surprise some people call midterms.

By February 17, 2011

Voices

Food truck craze hits Georgetown student, but not campus

Foodies everywhere are rejoicing at the latest culinary trend sweeping the nation: food trucks. And unlike the personal espresso maker or the “foam on food” trend, this one is cheap. These trucks are not the traditional roach coaches that serve construction workers greasy burgers with a side of Twinkies, but rather adventurous, relatively low-risk ventures in unconventional cuisine that bring high quality but inexpensive food to anyone willing to wait for it.

By February 17, 2011

Editorials

Support Leo’s workers in unionization efforts

Georgetown students may dislike the Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall, with its mediocre food, limited space, and exorbitant meal plan prices. For the people employed at the dining hall by Aramark, a large foodservice company, the experience is even worse. Workers report having their hours randomly reduced, and they work for meager pay and benefits under disrespectful managers. Such treatment of workers is unacceptable and it is commendable that Leo’s workers have decided to fight back against their poor treatment by forming a union.

By the February 17, 2011

Editorials

Sentence in DMT case reveals judicial injustice

On Friday, the D.C. District Court handed down its decision in the case against John Perrone and former Georgetown student Charles Smith, who were accused of manufacturing the hallucinogenic dimethyltryptamine in Smith’s Harbin dorm room. The penalty for producing DMT, a Schedule I controlled substance, can be up to $1 million in fines and 20 years in federal prison. Thankfully, the defendants each received three years probation in a plea-bargain agreement with prosecutors—but that is a far cry from the sentence an average defendant would receive.

By the February 17, 2011

Editorials

D.C. suffers from Congressional interference

Ever since the new Republican Congress swept into the Capitol last month, D.C. residents have been anxiously anticipating a period of unwanted federal involvement in their city’s affairs. Constitutionally, Congress is given extensive jurisdiction over the District, and historically Republicans have been eager to interfere and impose their own agenda. Accordingly, Republicans have proposed a budget for the rest of fiscal year 2011, which includes cuts to Metro funding as well as several budget “riders,” restrictions on the ways the D.C. government can spend its money.

By the February 17, 2011

Voices

Georgetown must facilitate use of its resources for students

Since the first day I stepped on campus as an eager freshman, I wanted to take advantage of everything that Georgetown had to offer. Like most students, I went through a phase where I eagerly and enthusiastically pursued every available opportunity. I am proud to say that I’ve accomplished every item on the Center for Student Programs “Top 25 Things Every Hoya Should Do.”

By February 10, 2011

Voices

An Iris by any other name would smell as sweet

Syllabus week is a wonderful time of reunions, reclaimed freedom from parental oppression, and a disregard for that thing that seems to pester us each morning (or early afternoon, for the less ambitious) — class. In the haze of first lectures and discussions, I always experience a syllabus week tradition of my own—my professors’ inevitable confusion as they stumble through my first name during roll call.

By February 10, 2011

Voices

Rite of passage ruined by continued decline of print media

It is said that smell is the sense most closely associated with one’s memory. It should be no surprise to me then, that whenever I read a newspaper, I am almost instantly brought back to my childhood, sitting in the kitchen, watching my dad read the newspaper. Along with the dusty smell of the paper, I can recall the smell of coffee brewing.

By the February 10, 2011

Voices

Theory is not flawless policy

We often hear the phrase “Georgetown bubble” used to describe the experience of students who seldom venture beyond M Street and Wisconsin Avenue except to watch the Hoyas play basketball at Verizon Center. To some, it suggests a heavy workload, to others, elitism. The term conjures an image of undergraduates safely ensconced behind the walls of Georgetown, reading the likes of Hobbes.

By February 10, 2011

Editorials

Repeal and replace arbitrary noise ordinance

When the D.C. City Council passed the now infamous amendments to the District’s disorderly conduct law, the changes were meant to clarify what one subcommittee had called a “vague and ambiguous” statute. But the new measure only creates more confusion and questions by greatly increasing penalties and police discretion in noise violations. College students can be especially vulnerable to the vagaries of law enforcement, and it is essential that student leaders and University officials press the D.C. Council to revise the amendment.

By the February 10, 2011