Opinion

Thoughts from the Georgetown community.



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.

Editorials

University debuts poor man’s Gmail

When the University switched to Hoyamail on Tuesday, most students probably did not mourn the death of its predecessor, GUMail. An e-mail server run by Google, Hoyamail comes with over 7,000 megabytes of storage space—a welcome boost from the paltry 20 megabytes GUMail provided for students. But Hoyamail is a deliberately crippled version of what it could be, preventing students from taking advantage of all the applications Google offers.

Editorials

Covering up IHS sparks Catholics’ outrage

President Barack Obama’s address last week in Gaston Hall elicited national outrage in the wider Catholic community when it was revealed that Georgetown covered a Christian symbol, the letters IHS,... Read more

Editorials

Safeway closes

Georgetown’s Safeway supermarket on Wisconsin Ave and 34th Street will close for renovations on Sunday, with plans to re-open in March 2010. During the construction, Safeway will waive its delivery... Read more

Voices

Georgetown is great, just not Catholic anymore

Although varying in tone, the condemnations of the University’s decision to hide the “IHS” symbol in Gaston Hall last Tuesday at the White House’s request have one thing in common:... Read more

Page 13 Cartoons

Despite the drug violence, life on the border goes on

If you Google “Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,” you will find a long list of bleak news articles regarding the recent escalation of a drug war that has driven the Mexican government... Read more