Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Voices

Messages provide necessary link to home

My dad got a Droid for Christmas last year. I guess it was about time—he’s been toting around a five-pound Nokia since 1997—but it still kind of perplexes me that my 66-year-old father has a cooler phone than I do. I spent Christmas morning envying the sexagenarian as he sat next to the tree fandangling away on his touch screen.

By February 3, 2011

Voices

Phones are damaging English

Having grown up with instant messaging and texting, I don’t bat an eye at slang as diverse as “irlol” (or “in real life laugh out loud”) and “iucmd” (my friend Matt’s favorite, meaning “if you catch my drift”). Yet I was shocked a few weeks ago when my dad sent me a text message for the first time. It read “miss yu, yu have pro status as spanish tutor lv dad.” I had helped my 14-year-old brother Sam study for a Spanish exam over Christmas break, and it was nice to be informed he did well. However, I was more interested in those dropped vowels. I love my dad, but I don’t consider him to be the most culturally adept person. He uses email, but I’ve always found his communication there to be very precise. As recently as a few months ago my brother was still showing him how to open the text messages he had received, so I wasn’t prepared for his sudden embrace of text slang.

By February 3, 2011

Voices

Declining music sales require industry adaptation

You may or may not remember the band Cake, best known for a pair of novelty hits at the end of the ‘90s. But apparently someone does. The group’s latest album, Showroom of Compassion—released ten years after their last charting single (“Short Skirt, Long Jacket” got to 124 on the top 200) and 13 years since anyone thought they were relevant—hit number one on the Billboard charts last week. It was far from an impressive accomplishment, however: at just 44,000 units sold, Cake’s sixth album was the lowest-selling number one since the advent of SoundScan in 1991.

By February 3, 2011

Voices

Qatar student discovers treasures in Moroccan medina

Morocco, If you were a person, you would be one with multiple personalities. In the past two months, I have discovered your ethnic richness, multi-linguistic culture, and different moods. You can be the hottest person in the world and at times, the coldest, conservative, liberal and sometimes in-between. Most importantly, you have, in your own charming way, allowed me to explore your various characteristics in a series of epic adventures.

By February 3, 2011

Editorials

Endowment growth a welcome development

Well-endowed has never been the first adjective that comes to mind when describing Georgetown, but that is slowly changing. Last week, the University’s endowment was ranked 67th largest in the country by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, up four spots from 2009 and a full 10 spots from 2004. This climb reflects prudent fiscal management and bodes well for Georgetown’s financial future.

By the February 3, 2011

Editorials

Outage response leaves students in the dark

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for students living in the East Campus. On Wednesday night students in LXR and Nevils were hit by a power outage that lasted into Thursday morning. The situation was exacerbated by the largest snowstorm of the year, which hindered efforts to restore power. The well-being and safety of the students, who were forced out of their pitch black rooms into the storm, should have been the top priority of administrators that night, but, as is often the case, the University’s response was marked by poor communication and poor planning.

By the February 3, 2011

Editorials

University stuns with capable Cairo response

Students studying abroad in the Middle East understand that living in the tumultuous region comes with a degree of risk. But for the 15 Georgetown students studying in Cairo, that risk became a reality on Sunday. The University’s decision to pull the students out of the country when it did was appropriate, and it conducted its evacuation effort amidst massive protests with surprising quickness. Georgetown should be commended for its well-organized response, but its support should continue as these students adjust to the rest of their semester.

By the February 3, 2011

Voices

Carrying On: Need for freedom of Twitter?

Once something is on the Internet, it’s there forever. From awkward pictures to secret government communiqués, the Internet has revolutionized the spread of information. Two summers ago, the Internet transformed the death of a young Iranian woman named Neda into “probably the most widely witnessed death in human history,” according to Time. Thanks to Twitter and YouTube, the unintentional martyr became a global symbol for the growing opposition to the oppressive Iranian regime. A mere decade ago, the death of a civilian in the chaotic streets of Tehran would have quickly become a statistic. Today, a photo shot on a cheap cell phone can crisscross the world in a matter of seconds, tweeted and re-tweeted across every national, lingual, and cultural boundary.

By January 27, 2011

Voices

The Golden Globes reveal the golden era of television

As I settled in to watch the 68th Golden Globes two Sundays ago—I was one of dozens who did so—I couldn’t help but notice an unusual occurrence. No, it wasn’t host Ricky Gervais’ scathing monologue, in which he told Johnny Depp that the trend of three-dimensions in movies applied to everything except the characters in The Tourist. Nor was it Robert De Niro’s awkward acceptance of a lifetime achievement award, which featured off-the-cuff immigration jokes and heavy silence from a crowd that is usually prone to courtesy laughs.

By January 27, 2011

Voices

Obamacare is not sufficient for frustrated future physician

For the last two years, Democrats and Republicans have drawn battle lines over health care reform. As a pre-med student, I look with dismay upon this current mess, but Tuesday’s State of the Union address offered an encouraging sign when Presdient Barack Obama indicated his willingness to consider the Republicans’ suggestion of medical malpractice reform.

By January 27, 2011

Voices

It’s all relative: Finding family in a Finnish playboy

When I was a young child, my older sister had a necklace with a bird on it that had been a gift from my father’s cousin. It was a small ceramic bird that whistled when you blew into its mouth. Throughout my childhood, this bird symbolized the mystery of my father’s rarely mentioned cousin. His name was Raimo, and he lived in the city of Turku, Finland making these bird-whistles that we saw in every crafts store during our summers in Scandinavia.

By January 27, 2011

Editorials

Obama on message with energy and education

Much of the talk in the media leading up to Tuesday’s State of the Union address focused on how many of his goals President Barack Obama would concede going forward, given the new makeup of Congress. Even with his approval rating back above 50 percent, it was unclear if Obama would reaffirm the more progressive ideas in his agenda or commit only to moderate goals. It was reassuring that the president did not disappoint his supporters and crafted a refreshing, sensible speech that transcended political squabbling and presented a new path for the nation.

By the January 27, 2011

Editorials

Athletes’ priority enrollment needs limits

For student athletes, class registration is a balancing act between meeting Georgetown’s extensive academic requirements, qualifying to play under NCAA standards, and leaving enough time for hours of practice and study. In order for athletes to have more control over their schedule, the University offers some of them priority registration, which allows them to enroll in classes before the registration period for the general student body. Unfortunately, as the Voice reported in its Jan. 20 issue, athletes’ priority registration has become a detriment to the academic experience of some students.

By the January 27, 2011

Editorials

Keep Wal-Mart’s rotten business model out of D.C.

The largest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart has always promised to bring low-cost goods to suburban and rural Americans. Recently, the company has announced plans to build four locations in the District of Columbia. However, given the company’s poor labor practices, historical intolerance of unionization, and damaging effects on the surrounding community, the D.C. Council should demand that Wal-Mart amend its predatory business practices before it opens its doors in the District.

By the January 27, 2011

Editorials

Support businessmen and women for others

Few Georgetown programs capture the spirit of the school as perfectly as the Compass Fellows program. The fellows, a group of 30 freshmen and sophomores who each create a socially conscious business, are determined to be successful while following the Jesuit ideal of men and women for others. But oddly enough, this quintessentially Georgetown program operates without much institutional support from the school.

By the January 20, 2011

Editorials

Don’t let the Campus Plan go up in smoke

On Dec. 30, Georgetown filed its 2010 Campus Plan with the D.C. Zoning Commission. The plan includes renovations to Lauinger Library, a new student center in New South, and a new athletic training facility on campus. President John DeGioia said the campus plan “represents modest, targeted growth opportunities that will meet our strategic needs for the next decade, enabling us to further strengthen our position as one of the world’s leading universities.” But for the Citizens Association of Georgetown and the Burleith Citizens Association, even modest University growth has become unacceptable, and both groups have expressed strong, and unjustified, opposition to the plan.

By the January 20, 2011

Editorials

Tunisian uprising is a message of change

When Mohamed Bouazizi lit himself on fire over a month ago to protest the confiscation of his fruit and vegetable cart in the resort city of Sidi Bouzid, almost nobody could have predicted the immense popular uprising that would soon engulf Tunisia. After sustained protests spread across the nation and into the capital of Tunis, Tunisians—from middle class professionals to the urban poor—eventually succeeded in ousting the authoritarian United States-backed regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

By the January 20, 2011

Voices

Late bloomer close to realizing her gasoline fight dream

For most people, their sophomore year of high school was a time of sweet sixteen parties and the increased independence that came with learning how to drive. For me, it was the year I had no friends and watched Zoolander every weekend.

By January 20, 2011

Voices

Big Brother: Leo’s edition

The Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall is many things to many people. It is a study spot, a breeding ground for awkward situations, a prime observation point for Like A Little posts, and a veritable feast of subpar foods. Regardless of how students view Leo’s, it is one of the most familiar places on campus.

By January 20, 2011

Voices

A petition to the Academy on behalf of How to Train Your Dragon

I’ve never been big on award shows, nor do I consider myself a movie buff. I admit that I have made bets on Oscar ballots, but I would be willing to bet on anything, as long as I can make it a competition among my family or friends. This year, however, I plan on following the Academy Awards with as much passion as I bring to family-night Scattergories. How to Train Your Dragon, reeling from its defeat at the Golden Globes, will most likely go head to head with Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Film.

By the January 20, 2011