Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.

Editorials

Make recycling easier for GU students

In his book The Daily Planet, environmental activist Paul Griss observed “just as we cannot blame others for destroying the environment, so we cannot look to others to protect the environment.

By the March 25, 2010

Voices

Turnitin.com turns profit on students’ work

Georgetown University prides itself on a strong ethical tradition. In my own journalism masters program, an ethics class is one of two mandatory graduation requirements. The University also boasts a policy-oriented ethics institute whose mission is to “serve as an unequalled resource for those who research and study ethics, as well as those who debate and make public policy.”

By March 25, 2010

Voices

One student’s premeditated path to medicine

Even before you get to college, people ask what you want to major in, a choice that could set out what you’re doing for the rest for your life. You did pretty well in all your math and science classes in high school: all APs, all fives, no big deal. So you say that you’ll go pre-med. Hey, after all, a doctor’s salary doesn’t sound too shabby.

By March 25, 2010

Voices

Oh V.P. Magoo, you’ve done it again!

Vice President Joe Biden is one of the most recognizable men in the country. He is Barack Obama’s right-hand man. He helped pass universal healthcare. But when he said, “this is a big fucking deal” on national television, Biden cemented his place in my heart. Biden was embracing the president in front of television cameras and microphones, and he probably thought that he was speaking out of range when he blurted out this statement to his boss. He was not.

By March 25, 2010

Voices

Agoraphobia on the Hilltop: Unreasonable insularity

Ask Georgetown students to list the top five reasons they chose this school, and the one thing that almost everyone will include is the location. Here we have the best of both worlds: a beautiful campus on a hilltop overlooking our nation’s bustling capital. But how often do Hoyas really venture beyond the brick paths of M Street and cross over to the cemented reality of what is commonly known as Pennsylvania Avenue? Not very often.

By March 25, 2010

Editorials

Spring for transparency in the District

Washington’s local government is theoretically supposed to be open to the public, but corruption scandals and everyday laziness often prevent the District from achieving that goal.

By the March 17, 2010

Editorials

No love or benefits from Catholic Charities

A famous bearded carpenter once said: “So in everything you do, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” As wise as Bob Villa is, the actual credit for that line belongs to an older, swarthier carpenter—Jesus.

By the March 17, 2010

Editorials

Epicurean: Take food safety seriously

You might expect that a restaurant that deals with raw fish and cafeteria-style service would take care to stay sanitary. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case at Georgetown’s own Epicurean.

By the March 17, 2010

Voices

This Georgetown Life: The Blarney Stone, Voice Staffers’ Legendary St. Patty’s Days

My friends and I began drinking around 10:30 a.m., and after a few beers we were ready to “go to the parade.” By noon I was six beers in and showing no signs of slowing down. The last thing I remember from that day is downing Irish car bombs with my friend and her mom at six in the evening. I woke up the next morning to see the DVD menu for Atonement playing on a loop on my computer screen and a half-eaten hero resting on my chest.

By the March 17, 2010

Voices

You had me at hello, so why the silence now?

In many cultures, a casual hello is expected during sidewalk run-ins, a wave across the bar to a classmate is the norm, and even a smile to a current fling wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. But at Georgetown we suppress the wave, the hello, the smile. We walk with heads held high and cell phones held higher, not because we really have so many people to text or call, but because the cell phone is a barricade behind which we feign ignorance to passing glances and mumbled hellos.

By March 17, 2010

Voices

Of mice and men: A boarding school bildungsroman

A few weeks ago, I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and heard a soft, yet distinct, rustling sound coming from the corner. I looked to my right—no, it wasn’t my roommate, she had taken two Nyquil before falling asleep and hadn’t stirred since. As my mind continued to race, I quickly settled upon the only possible conclusion: it was the resident mouse paying me my nightly visit.

By March 17, 2010

Voices

Checks and balances? Not at GU

When I first heard that the Georgetown University Student Association wanted to strip the advisory boards of their votes on the Funding Board, I thought it was a joke. I know GUSA senators sometimes demonstrate an inferiority complex about their perceived inefficacy, but this seemed to be an outrageous power grab, even for them. Moreover, I was convinced that it couldn’t be done.

By March 17, 2010

Editorials

GUSA makes the right move on SAC

Members of the Georgetown University Student Association Finance and Appropriations Committee sat down on Tuesday night to draft a budget for the allocation of $315,000 from the Student Activities Fee paid by undergraduates.

By the March 4, 2010

Editorials

Address Plan A for reproductive justice

Debates concerning sexual and reproductive rights are always contentious, particularly at a Catholic university like Georgetown. Rather than shy away from argument, however, the unofficial student coalition Plan A: Hoyas for Reproductive Justice

By the March 4, 2010

Editorials

Right kind of federal control for WMATA

The year was 1995. Pierce Brosnan revealed the dangers of bathroom assassins in Goldeneye, and Shaggy delighted the country with his sexual exploits in “Boombastic.” For most of America, it was a good year.

By the March 4, 2010

Voices

The effortless transcendence of Gucci Mane

As someone who enjoys listening to and thinking about rap music, I’ve always had a hard time appreciating Gucci Mane. His tinny, dime-a-dozen synth beats make a mockery out of the sampling process that hip-hop was built on, and his unwillingness to rap about anything outside of his cars, jewelry, and guns, combined with his general aversion to making his lines actually rhyme, made most of his admittedly prolific output tough to stomach.

By March 4, 2010

Voices

“I am the Lord of the Dance,” said he, nervously

I sat in the auditorium waiting for my turn. Each camper stood, said his or her name and something he or she enjoyed doing, and sat back down. It was simple, and by the end of the exercise we knew at least a little bit about every other kid. As the girl next to me sat down, I stood up and told every other nine-year-old at Camp Rae my name. Next I told them the only thing I enjoyed doing, the only thing I was actually good at, and frankly the only thing I didn’t quit within a week of starting: Irish dance.

By the March 4, 2010

Voices

Post-irony is real, and so what?

What we’re left with today is often called “post-irony,” although the term does a poor job of describing the state of things. We now have a smarter form of irony, irony used as a scalpel as opposed to a mallet. And it makes sense—even if irony can no longer serve its original purpose, it’s become such an integral part of American culture that it has become subtly embedded in everyday use.

By March 4, 2010

Voices

Facebook: Trying to resist the universal influence

Facebook is a big part of my life—I can’t deny that. I, like many of my friends, check it obsessively, especially when procrastinating or waiting for someone to post pictures from last weekend. But since I haven’t yet found myself online chatting on a Friday night instead of going out to dinner with friends, it hasn’t seemed like a problem.

By March 4, 2010

Editorials

Keeping Sex Positive Week productive

This week, you may encounter some unexpected, in-your-face activities around Georgetown—perhaps some student “guerrilla theater” volunteers demonstrating sexual positions in Red Square, or students in drag crowding The Tombs on Wednesday evening. It’s all part of this year’s Sex Positive Week.

By the February 24, 2010