Voices

Voices is the Op-Ed and personal essay section of The Georgetown Voice. It features the real narratives of diverse students from nearly every corner on campus, seeking to tell some of the incredibly important and yet oft-unheard stories that affect life in and out of Georgetown.

Voices

Struggling for sovereignty, Hong Kong marches on

When people ask me if I’m from China, I happily say yes. China is my country; it is where I am from. Based on that alone, most of my friends... Read more

By September 19, 2012

Voices

Honey Boo Boo: More than just roadkill and Mountain Dew

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is a lot of things: child exploitation, caffeine science experiment, and the funniest thing on television. But, if you can crack through the exterior of... Read more

By September 19, 2012

Voices

Art for art history’s sake

Toward the end of my sophomore year, I realized that I could not delay declaring a major anymore. Unable to choose between Government and Art History, I opted for both.... Read more

By September 19, 2012

Voices

Watch out bras, there’s a new feminism in town

There’s more than one “f” word in modern society. And, if you can believe it, the one I have in mind is considerably more incendiary than the one you’re probably... Read more

By September 12, 2012

Voices

Through food, remember nature in this concrete jungle

As a nursing major, I’m taught to see dirt as a source of infectious disease–something to be sterilized out of wounds, washed out of bedding, or scrubbed out of hands. ... Read more

By September 12, 2012

Voices

Everything in moderation, except maybe moderation

Over the last year, I’ve gotten a lot of flak for being too moderate. Why don’t I take a stronger stand? Why am I afraid of pissing people off and... Read more

By September 5, 2012

Voices

Dirt-y politics expose the House’s eco-irresponsibility

It was my first day on the job and as I entered the cafeteria for my lunch break, I froze in horror at what I saw—Styrofoam everywhere. It was July... Read more

By September 5, 2012

Voices

It’s never NSOver: The life and times of a freshman

According to the Oxford English dictionary, the word “orientation” is derived from the French, and originally denoted the placing or position of a church, house, tomb, or other structure relative... Read more

By September 5, 2012

Voices

Carrying On: Believing in disbelief

Last semester, I found myself surrounded by waves of nonbelievers at the Reason Rally, a forum for secular thought held at the National Mall. As the virulent freethinkers indulged themselves... Read more

By September 5, 2012

Voices

The hair-raising tale of a razor-averse Hoya woman

During recent years, I’ve been called many things.  I’ve been called a boy, a dirty hippie, a hairy mountain woman, a bearded lady, and, most affectionately by my parents, a... Read more

By August 30, 2012

Voices

Confessions of a library junkie: I just can’t get enough

On a whim this summer, I bought the newest Game of Thrones book. 35 dollars later, I was sitting in my apartment staring at the cover and debating how to... Read more

By August 30, 2012

Voices

Poverty is everywhere, except on the campaign trail

American elections suffer from a number of sad realities, but few are as disheartening as the absence of poverty from the mainstream political discourse. For how little the two main... Read more

By August 30, 2012

Voices

Study Abroad in Dupont

It’s strange coming back to a place I’ve called “home” for the past two years, only to feel like a freshman all over again. I don’t know or recognize anyone... Read more

By August 30, 2012

Voices

New South, old memories

Due to a slight Housing Office mix-up, when I arrived on campus for early move-in a few days ago I was informed that my apartment was not quite ready, and... Read more

By August 24, 2012

Voices

Pre-med devotee adjusts to life after organic chemistry

This summer was the worst of my life. No one I know died, I didn’t contract the Black Death, and America kicked ass at the Olympics, but something far worse... Read more

By August 24, 2012

Voices

Where are the jobs? Ask the Republican legislatures

If you want to find the single biggest drag on job growth in the United States, don’t look to the president. Don’t look to Congress, or at least not directly.... Read more

By August 24, 2012

Voices

Hunger Games obsession helps ease post-graduation fears

Sophomore year is coming to an end, and the dreaded slump has set in. Combined with the recent streak of bad weather, this has lead to a complete and utter lack of desire to do anything. I’ve found other ways to occupy my time, like thinking about how I’m pursuing a degree that, especially in these tough economic times, isn’t exactly practical—it’s sometimes pretty difficult to see how the skills the SFS has taught me can translate into a career. Still, one cannot spend hours dwelling on insecurities without going insane, so I have turned to my favorite fictional world for solace—Panem.

By April 26, 2012

Voices

Religious plurality at Georgetown inspires contemplation

At Georgetown, religion is everywhere. And for me, whose only religious experience pre-college was a third-grade Christmas gift exchange in which I gave a teacher a Barbie I didn’t like, a Jesuit university was quite the jump. And while my Catholic friends here might remind me that this is “barely Catholic” in comparison to their private high schools, I feel the strength of faith everywhere I go.

By April 26, 2012

Voices

Carrying On: Down, but never out

It’s an all too common conversation opener at NSO: “Well, my dad’s from Singapore, my mom is French and Japanese, but I grew up in South Africa and then went to high school in New York City…” In these situations, quite a few Georgetown students can rattle off impressive and exotic responses about their own backgrounds, very often in several languages. I’m not one of them. After the cosmopolitan Hoya has recited a laundry list of enviable places of origin, it’s my turn to declare that I hail from Michigan—more specifically, from the Detroit area. My interlocutor usually responds with something to the effect of, “Ouch,” or “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

By April 26, 2012

Voices

Gay-dar culture doesn’t encompass range of sexuality

About 16 months ago, Michael, my best friend since age six, told me that he was gay. He knew I had no problem with gay people in the abstract, but he also knew that I, 16 years old and from Georgia, had scarcely interacted with anyone of alternate sexual orientations. Nothing changed; Michael is still my best friend. What troubled me, however, were the stories of bigotry he experienced growing up, of which I had only been peripherally aware. Only with his reminder did I realize just how liberally the word “faggot” was used all throughout elementary and middle school. In eighth grade, our health teacher basically told us that LSD would turn you gay, as it would make you suddenly want to make out with other men. The class responded with the requisite disgust and mutterings of “so gross,” thoroughly alienating the kids who might actually be attracted to the same sex.

By April 26, 2012