Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.



Voices

Transparency needed on student-centric plans

In the coming months, students will have their say on the University’s Ten Year Plan, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, who said that the administration would... Read more

Voices

9/11 remembered: a ringing phone and rising smoke

I don’t like to answer the phone. Even when my caller ID tells me who is calling, my throat still tightens and a small pit forms in my stomach. The... Read more

Voices

Healthcare, money, and you

Here’s an oft-cited figure in the debate over health care reform: U.S. health care expenditures—16 percent of gross domestic product in 2007—are outpacing GDP growth by so much that the... Read more

Voices

U.S. past point of no return in Afghanistan

In an editorial last Tuesday, Washington Post columnist George Will, a prominent conservative voice, called for “rapidly reversing the trajectory of America’s involvement in Afghanistan.”  The piece was plainly titled:... Read more

Editorials

Baseball’s errors can’t be repeated

Although the assistant coach who told his players that they could report a set number hours each week is most to blame, we must question the competence of an athletic director who allowed seven years of such dishonesty to occur unnoticed. We hope that the interim athletic director, Daniel R. Porterfield, will no longer hire coaches who actively go against the often-quoted moral ideals of the University.

Editorials

Healthcare reform, at any cost

Among the options presented to Congress for making effective, affordable healthcare available to every American is the creation of a self-sustaining public option to compete with the insurance companies. A public option undoubtedly lies at the heart of any substantive healthcare reform package. Nonetheless, at this point in Obama’s presidency, it would be nothing short of an absolute disaster for the President (and future efforts at healthcare reform) if he were to fail to accomplish any reform at all.

Editorials

GU needs The Hoya’s independence

As one of only three top 25 universities without an independent paper, Georgetown deserves an autonomous news source. Once the suspension period ends, the University should allow The Hoya to go independent and should extend to it the same conditions stipulated in last year’s agreement. The paper should be allowed to keep its name and be distributed on campus, as it would have if it had been permitted to go independent this year.

Editorials

GU’s financial foresight paid off

The financial crisis has shaken many aspects of the economy to the point of near-collapse, but Georgetown’s administration should be applauded for recognizing the crisis early in 2008 and making intelligent decisions that have allowed the school to maintain stability and decrease the crisis’ negative impact on major university priorities.

Voices

Sibling love from the backyard to the battlefield

“You’re the look-out. So you can’t fall asleep, otherwise we will fail our mission,” Stuart said. “If you complete your mission, you will be promoted to a lieutenant sneak. You... Read more

Editorials

This fall, take advantage of RAD

The Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with the Women’s Center, the University’s Human Resources Department, and several other on-campus groups, has finally succeeded in securing funding for the program, first announced by DPS last fall and scheduled to begin the middle of next month. RAD, the country’s preeminent self-defense program, teaches women physical defensive methods and instructs them about risk reduction, awareness, avoidance, and recognition, and should be especially advantageous for Georgetown students in light of the recent assaults

Voices

NSO overload leaves former freshman feeling cold

Only one short year ago I was an incoming freshman—soon to be alone and already scared.  This is where New Student Orientation is supposed to help you. On the whole,... Read more

Voices

Slim health facts can’t hide expanding waistlines

Of the various health care bills currently floating around the House and Senate, the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) wrote the one with... Read more

Editorials

AlcoholEdu: a lesson in futility

At times, AlcoholEdu’s stories and graphics are so outdated and out of touch that they make the cheesy Academic Integrity tutorial seem like gripping edutainment. Another solution is needed to get across the important message of how to drink alcohol safely.

Voices

Waxman-Markey overlooks outsourced emissions

With the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (also known as the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill), the House of Representatives took a bold step to address the long-neglected... Read more

Voices

Steel Butterflies and the Back to School Blues

I briefly considered retiring from my formal education a few days ago. It seemed to me that I had had enough—for real this time. The thought of going back to... Read more

Voices

This Georgetown Life: Stories of College Infancy

I was awakened by a knock on my door around 10 a.m. on Homecoming Weekend my freshman year. At the door was a preppy, intoxicated senior followed by an apologetic,... Read more

Voices

10 Year Plan: Then and Now

On a Saturday morning in late May, a handful of Georgetown administrators gathered at the nearby Duke Ellington School for a five-hour sparring match with the neighbors. It was the... Read more

Page 13 Cartoons

GUSA President: Open Letter to Incoming Students

When trying to define the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), I have not found a succinct statement that adequately encompasses every aspect of this organization. In essence, GUSA consists of... Read more

Editorials

GU fumbles response to summer rape

On July 10, 2009, a Georgetown student was raped at her residence on the 3500 block of O Street, according to a report filed with the Metropolitan Police Department. Most of the student body, however, could be forgiven for not understanding the gravity of the event. Georgetown’s Department of Public Safety’s subsequent Public Safety Announcement, released five days later, described the incident as a “sexual assault,” a vague term whose varying degrees of seriousness can indicate anything from groping or fondling to rape.

Editorials

Work with the town, help the gown

Historically, Georgetown University’s ten-year plans have exacerbated the already-tense relationship between the school and its neighbors. This year, as the University looks to create and submit its plan for 2010-2020, is no different.