Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Editorials

Gray skies ahead for D.C. public schools?

As candidates for mayor, incumbent Adrian Fenty and victor Vincent Gray, who will almost certainly replace Fenty as mayor in November, agreed on many issues. Gray, however, has been clear that he does not want to duplicate the uncommunicative atmosphere in which Fenty and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee carried out their biggest reforms of the District’s flailing public schools. But, as he undertakes his own education plan, it is important that Gray does not let a more open process interfere with progress.

By the September 23, 2010

Editorials

A DREAM deferred for immigrant students

Six weeks before the general elections, it seems that more often than not politics takes precendence over the common good. Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to filibuster a comprehensive defense authorization bill that would have vastly improved higher educational opportunities for children of illegal immigrants. The “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors” Act, attached to the same bill that included legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” fell victim to a partisan Congress playing politics in an election year.

By the September 23, 2010

Voices

The nation of Puerto Rico, an unrealized dream

“But you don’t look Puerto Rican...” I get that a lot. I’m light-skinned and somewhat blonde, have a German last name, and speak English without a heavy Latino accent. But yes, I am Puerto Rican, born and raised.

By September 16, 2010

Voices

Affirmative action neglects real disparity: Wealth

In the heat of the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama said something important about the role of affirmative action in college admissions that should give pause to those who favor the status quo.

By September 16, 2010

Voices

A lifelong world traveler unpacks her global identity

“Can you pass the rubber?” Yes, I am now aware that in the U.S., I should use the word “eraser.” A rubber, I have realized, is a condom. But so goes my cultural adaptation to life in the U.S. I also spell “humour” with a “u,” I can’t pronounce “literally,” and I get annoyed when I can’t use the passive voice.

By September 16, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: The unsexy reality of an ad agency

This summer I found myself interning for two months at an advertising agency. I know what most of my fellow TV buffs out there are already thinking: Mad Men. I was curious to see if the fictional world of Don Draper’s 1960s Madison Avenue philandering had any resemblance to the modern world of marketing.

By September 16, 2010

Editorials

GU must improve sexual assault education

At Georgetown, we often hear a deeply troubling statistic, that one in four to one in five women on this campus will be the victim of sexual assault before they graduate from Georgetown. Although many high-profile cases involve strangers, the vast majority of sexual assaults and rapes are perpetrated by acquaintances or friends. Given the prevalence of this horrible crime, it is essential that Georgetown improve its efforts to educate students about sexual assault.

By the September 15, 2010

Editorials

ANC candidate needs to get off the fence

Single Member District 3 of the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which includes Copley and Harbin Halls, as well as dozens of student townhouses, also hosts the strongest opposition to Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan. The winner of the November’s ANC election will be an important voice in ongoing debates over the plan as the community pushes the University for more concessions. Unfortunately, the only candidate on the ballot has explicitly avoided voicing his position on the campus plan.

By the September 15, 2010

Editorials

Free Newspapers Apparently Too Expensive

Print journalism just lost another audience: Georgetown students. As the Hoya reported last week, students will no longer be receiving free copies of three national newspapers, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today due to lack of funding. The second demise of the College Readership program in two years should have both faculty and administration concerned about the deterioration of Georgetown’s intellectual environment.

By the September 15, 2010

Editorials

Where in the world is Jack DeGioia?

Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman holds regular, open office hours with undergraduates. When he walks around campus, DePaul University President Brian Casey greets most of the students he passes by first name. But at Georgetown, it is extremely rare to see President John DeGioia unless he is giving a guest speaker on campus a brief and formulaic introduction.

By the September 9, 2010

Editorials

Pushing campus toward green roofing

An environmentally friendly roofing method that is catching on across the nation should have Georgetown University thinking about using its many flat-topped roofs for more than parties and gravel. Green roofing, which retrofits existing roofs to support the growth of grasses and shrubs grown in sod over a waterproof membrane, carries with it serious environmental and financial benefits, making it well worth the University’s consideration.

By the September 9, 2010

Editorials

D.C. schools recieve much-needed cash

In late August, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that the District, along with nine states, had won the second round of the Race to the Top grant competition, earning $75 million to invest in D.C.’s dismal public school system. This is a huge victory for the District’s struggling public school system, which badly needs the funds, and more proof that Fenty has capably managed education reform over the last four years.

By the September 9, 2010

Voices

Prevent sexual assault by blaming the perpetrator

When we make jokes about “The Cuddler” or suggest that girls who wear “slutty” clothing should expect sexual assault, we are telling any rapists or would-be rapists in our midst that we don’t take these crimes seriously. When we imply that victims are responsible for preventing their own assaults, we give perpetrators the green light to keep assaulting.

By September 9, 2010

Voices

American public apathetic to Afghan War brutality

This October, the United States will enter its 10th consecutive year of war in Afghanistan. When you come to terms with what this reckless and increasingly desperate military adventure really means—especially considering the 50,000 troops still stationed in Iraq and the hundreds of American military bases abroad—it is reasonable to ask whether the United States is managing an empire.

By September 9, 2010

Voices

Contemplation in action star: Ethics at Georgetown

Bradley Cooper’s (COL ’97) appearance at Georgetown was one of the liveliest and most popular on-campus speeches in recent memory. The A-list alum discussed topics ranging from college advice to underwear preferences. But one serious inquiry stood out from the otherwise light-hearted question-and-answer session.

By September 9, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: “Jai No” for this Hoya

I am a failed Indian. At least, that’s what another Indian girl clearly thought when she told me I was saying my own name wrong. “No, no—it’s pronounced ‘Sath-in-derr, not ‘Sat-in-dur.’ You have to soften the ‘t’ and roll the ‘r’ more,” she explained. There I was, a freshman sitting in my common room, seething with rage. Who the hell did she think she was, being that abbrasive when I had merely introduced myself out of politeness?

By September 9, 2010

Editorials

Blaming the victim is not good police work

Early last Sunday morning a woman was raped in her home in Burleith. The crime itself is horrifying. Unfortunately, the misleading responses issued by both Georgetown and the Metropolitan Police Department are seriously dismaying and raise questions about how both organizations treat sexual assault.

By the September 2, 2010

Editorials

SmartBike expands, DDOT spins it wheels

Over the next two weeks, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation will extend and rebrand SmartBike, the local bike sharing pilot program. Dubbed “Capital Bikeshare,” the new program may improve bike sharing’s visibility in new neighborhoods. It will do little, however, to combat the larger problems of traffic and congestion plaguing D.C.

By the September 2, 2010

Voices

Polarization at Georgetown kindles political fire

The second week of my freshman year at Georgetown, I talked my roommate into attending a H*yas for Choice meeting with me. Not for political reasons, but, clever freshman that I was, so he and I could “meet girls who will remember to take their birth control.”

By September 2, 2010

Voices

The 27 levels of compatibility I’m not looking for

The perfect man is out there. He’s dating your best friend. Or maybe they hooked up at Thirds last March and now he’s off-limits. He’s your boyfriend’s much older brother. He’s not your boyfriend. Perfect guys are out there, but for whatever reason, you’ve never actually met one who’s perfect for you.

By September 2, 2010