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

Twuesday Tweetacular: dispatches from the hashtag front

A few days ago, a friend of mine was sitting at her computer, her face expressing deep, hopeless concentration—writer’s block if I’ve ever seen it. When I asked her what was stumping her, she sounded exasperated: “I can’t think of anything to tweet about.” Her answer surprised me, but not because of the importance that she was assigning to coming up with a bite-sized sentiment to bestow on her dozens of followers. Rather, I was baffled that she had enough self-awareness not to just type up her latest passing thought and throw in some number signs and words without spaces between them. From my experience, that’s what Twitter is all about.

By November 3, 2011

Voices

Founding Fathers fought slavery in their own way

As many have noted, ”all men are created equal” did not hold true for the vast majority of Americans until 1865, 1919, and even beyond. The founders did not create a republic for all; they created a republic for the few, but even this was a significant accomplishment—no other country had affirmed and secured natural rights in the same way that the United States did in 1788. In any case, this hasn’t stopped Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law, from categorically negating the legacy of the founders. In an editorial special to CNN last month, Kennedy writes that black Americans, in large part, reject Herman Cain because he esteems the founders as great men, who “did their job … a great job.”

By November 3, 2011

Voices

Troy Davis is yet another victim of a broken system

Troy Davis was convicted and sentenced to death before many students at Georgetown today were born. His fate has been sealed our entire lives. On September 21, 2011, yet another American man was killed for a crime he did not commit. Having spent most of his adult life on death row, Davis had to spend his last day in an agonizing battle. First the world heard that the President would not intervene. Then, the Supreme Court deliberated for hours over a stay of execution, which he had successfully received three times before. But he was denied a fourth. From his fatal injection at 10:53 p.m. to death at 11:08 p.m., Troy Davis passed away and became a pallid shadow cast long and low over the United States.

By November 3, 2011

Voices

No more stolen lunch money

To my disappointment, the Internet recently seems to have become more about social change and less about LOLcats. From the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, broadcast all across the world during the 2009 Iranian election protests, to the subsequent coverage of the Arab Spring, it became clear how powerful viral material could be. With that in mind, the It Gets Better Campaign was launched to end bullying and what seems like an increase in bullying-related suicides. The organization targets youth by releasing videos urging the bullied masses to keep on keeping on, and boasts videos from the likes of President Obama, various members of Congress, and professional athletes.

By the November 3, 2011

Voices

A colorblind case for income-based affirmative action

Recently, while filling out forms for a fellowship, I found myself confronted with the all too familiar race-based form that instructs me to please mark the box titled “White/Caucasian.” Of course, if I object to providing this information, I do have the option of marking the corresponding box. But I think it’s safe to say that marking the “I decline to respond” box is basically saying, “I’m white or another race that isn’t considered diverse enough for this institution.”

By October 27, 2011

Voices

Tricks and treats: college unmasks a new Halloween

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. It’s not just the scary movies, the haunted houses, the crisp fall weather, the pumpkin pies, the apple cider, the bonfires, the haunted corn mazes, and the hayrides. What other holiday encourages, even requires, you to put on a crazy costume and get tons of treats (or perhaps more realistically for the average Hoya, a sloppy makeout with someone whom you think is the hot guy from your English class, though you can’t really be sure under his Dread Pirate Roberts Mask)? And no, Mardi Gras doesn’t count.

By October 27, 2011

Voices

High hopes for Libya and the future of U.S. intervention

Congratulations are due to the people of Libya. After months of civil conflict, the tyrant who oppressed them with his iron fist is gone. However, a warning is needed as well: that was the easy part. What Libya is faced with now is much more cruel and much more destructive than any tyrant could be. It lurks behind the joyous celebrations, behind the statements of global political leaders, and behind the news streams around the world of Gaddafi’s death. It is the potential that Libya’s reconstruction will fail.

By October 27, 2011

Voices

Facebooking the dead

Every October 25, my Facebook experiences its annual flood of wall posts. This inundation of birthday wishes from friends, family, distant cousins, Sunday school teachers, past hookups, and people I just plain forgot about is something only Facebook could facilitate. But another event on that day spawns an almost equally predictable outpouring of well-wishers—the death of my soccer teammate and friend, Will Wardrip.

By October 27, 2011

Voices

For Millenials, too many choices and not enough options

This week, Georgetown alum (and former Voice editor) Noreen Malone (COL ‘07) wrote a feature story for New York Magazine encouragingly titled, “The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright: My screwed, coddled, self-absorbed, mocked, surprisingly resilient generation.” I started reading it in the library today and had to leave because I felt near a breakdown (and a breakdown in Lau 2 is just not okay). As if I needed another reminder that the next stage of my life is a complete mystery to me.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

Steve’s greatest job: the editor to Apple visionaries

When Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., died a fortnight ago, my dad went out and bought an iPhone. This emotional response was hardly atypical: rock stars, journalists and politicians alike lauded the man whose sense of showmanship had helped him transcend the shadowy ranks of the business world into the stratosphere of celebrity and brought sleek premium electronics to the hands of millions of Americans.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

Beyond Ahmadinejad: the Iranians’ democratic potential

Gradually through the years, European and American foreign policies have managed to construct a Western vision of Iran that associated the country with the so-called “axis of evil” states and al-Qaeda. But the Iranian government actually desired cooperation with the U.S. on terrorism. However, the Bush administration did little to foster dialogue. As a result, hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President in 2005, ushering in an era of renewed anti-Americanism.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

An imaginary community

When I was a senior at Hill, I felt inextricably connected to the place and to everyone who was a part of it. But when I arrived at the promised land of higher-level academia, I couldn’t help but be let down. Of course it’s natural to feel lost going from being a big fish in a small pond to a lowly first-year guppy. But as a freshman at Georgetown, once the NSO Cheerleaders strip off their neon t-shirts and cease all their “HOYA SAXA”-ing, it is incredibly easy to disappear into gateway class oblivion.

By October 20, 2011

Voices

Breast cancer research, overfunded and overexposed

This Monday, I sat in a hospital waiting room, anticipating news of my mother’s condition. Her breast-cancer surgery was supposed to take five to seven hours, but the surgery was approaching hour eight. Luckily, we found out that the extra time was due to a delay, not a complication. She asked to see my sister and me only a few minutes after she woke up from the anesthesia.

By October 13, 2011

Voices

Occupy movement awakens Americans’ preoccupations

Much of the American populace seems dormant in the face of two wars and the growing contingent of radical, anti-progressive right-wing politicians in Congress known as the Tea Party. I have no problem with the actual existence of the Tea Party—they have every right to organize themselves and implement policies—but where was the opposition? Sitting quietly on the sidelines, hoping for “change we can believe in” from Obama?

By October 13, 2011

Voices

Out of power, Gaddafi leaves mixed legacy in Africa

Recently, a friend asked me whether, as an African, I thought the ongoing revolution in Libya was good or bad for the continent. In my attempt to answer, I realized that, like many Africans outside of Libya, I harbored a little bit of sympathy for Muammar Gaddafi—not for his deposed regime or his domestic policies, but for his contributions to the development of the African continent as a whole, a part of his legacy that is largely overlooked in the West.

By October 13, 2011

Voices

Dog days are over

In a boy’s life, there are a number of rites of passage allowing him, in some sense, to become a man. There’s his high school graduation, his first car, and his 21st birthday, to name just a few. For me, however, each has come with great ceremony but no great sense of growth. I feared it might only be at my retirement party that I no longer felt like a little kid anymore. Until my dog died.

By the October 13, 2011

Voices

Hoya Saxa: the evolution of the yell of all the yells

Students making their first tour of Georgetown are first directed to Leo’s, then introduced into the cult of Hilltop mythology centuries-old buildings, a legendary basketball team, Bill Clinton. Somewhere over the years, “Hoya Saxa” became part of that arsenal. We chant it, we wear it, we tell the story. We love it. If you’re unfamiliar, the tale goes something like this: once upon a time, Georgetown boasted a stellar football team, who kicked and pummeled their way to victory every week on Copley lawn. Fans would watch from the stone wall bordering the lawn.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Back from summer camp, into the wild of Georgetown

If you think walking on cobblestones is difficult, try running barefoot through the woods. For every time you’ve sworn at the uneven sidewalks outside the front gates, I’ve cursed at protruding tree roots and thorny green briar bushes that seem to be purposefully mauling my legs. Believe me, I have more than a decade’s worth of scars, and one nerve-damaged pinky toe, to prove it. Why on earth would anyone want to keep going back to the middle of some God-forsaken forest for 11 years? It’s called summer camp, and I go back because I love it.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Poker bluffing its way into sports fans’ hearts and hands

This week has been an interesting one for online poker. Last spring, a number of online poker sites—including Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and AbsolutePoker—were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for bank fraud and money laundering, among other allegations. On Monday, French investment company Groupe Bernard Tapie purchased online gambling website Full Tilt Poker. Even though poker has gained a lot of mainstream exposure in the past decade, and the game’s competitiveness has risen, it still does not get the attention given to other entertainment sports.

By October 6, 2011

Voices

Locked up abroad

The decision to study abroad can be daunting. With single-semester, summer, and yearlong programs in an endless number of exciting, exotic locations, the abundance of study abroad experiences gives students the ability to craft an ideal program that combines fun with enrichment. Still, I doubt a nearly four-year stint in an Italian prison is on anybody’s shortlist.

By October 6, 2011