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

Lead me into tempeh-tation and deliver me from cheese-vil

Growing up in a conservative Christian household, observing Lent has always been an intricate part of my cultural and religious identity. But this year I wanted to abstain from something that would truly challenge my willpower—my Diet Dr. Pepper fast from last year didn’t quite cut it.

By April 7, 2011

Voices

Dancing into the hearts of Georgetown’s Best Buddies

Ever since I began Irish dance lessons in second grade, the month of March has always been filled with performances. Whether marching in my town’s parade or dancing at black-tie events, during the week of St. Patrick’s Day, my dance shoes almost never leave my feet.

By March 31, 2011

Voices

More practice space is instrumental to musicians’ growth

When I made the decision to go to Georgetown last spring, I knew what the school was known for and, well, what it was not known for. The strengths, which in my eyes outweighed any drawbacks, included its relatively small size, location in D.C., and academic reputation. But my decision still meant making sacrifices. As a musician who plays many instruments, including piano, guitar, and (my personal favorite) drums, I found Georgetown had relatively few outlets to satisfy a non-music major’s cravings for jamming.

By March 31, 2011

Voices

The Times, it is a changin’

The New York Times has always held a special place in the hearts of liberal elitists like myself. When I was young, I grabbed the Los Angeles Times on Sunday to read the color comic strips. Decidedly uninterested in the latest shenanigans of Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, or that cheeky bunch over at Family Circus, my parents went for the Gray Lady’s news and opinion sections. Long after our subscription to the L.A. paper was cancelled, the New York Times remains an integral part of my family’s breakfast routine. It is considered a grave offense to throw the paper away before both of my parents have the opportunity to read it.

By March 31, 2011

Voices

A mural dilemma: Looking for inspiration on the Leo’s wall

Like almost every Georgetown student, I don’t enjoy much of the time I spend in Leo’s. But it’s not the food that bothers me. I love the “Flavors of Home” line, I love the sweet potatoes and the white sauce on the boiled noodles, and I love making myself waffles downstairs. People who complain about the food in Leo’s are either spoiled or not hungry enough. But, though it has nothing to do with the dining hall’s gastronomic offerings, my lunches and dinners are still unsatisfying.

By March 31, 2011

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Support the Healy Pub

The vision of a University Center in Healy basement belongs to Sue Palmer Johnson, the Director of Student Activities in the early 1970s. I was fortunate to work with her, other administrators, and many fellow students in opening the Café in 1973 and the Pub in 1974. Since those beginnings, numerous friendships were made and fond memories are now shared by the many employees and patrons of the Café and Pub during its 14 year existence. However, the issue today is not about the past, but the future. There is an apparent need for student study and social space.

By March 28, 2011

Voices

Finding faith in the last place you would think to look

Though I had already convinced my parents to let me take Elmo as my confirmation name, I ultimately chose Anthony. My last minute decision was in part because I wasn’t actually ballsy enough to pull off the irony of entering Catholic adulthood with a name that conjures up nothing but images of childhood. But mostly it was because St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost items, was the only saint I had ever actually prayed to. I’m sure St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors, would not have appreciated my summers spent at camp purposely capsizing boats, either.

By the March 24, 2011

Voices

Liberating Libya

Almost eight years to the day after the War in Iraq commenced, our new conflict in Libya began. Allied planes now fly over Libya; enforcing a no-fly zone and targeting forces loyal to Gaddafi. And while I don’t mean to conflate Iraq and Libya, growing up with the failure of Iraq makes me leery of our third military engagement in a Muslim country. In the post-Vietnam era, applications of U.S. force have consistently led to consequences we had no way of predicting ahead of time, a danger that often seems lost to policymakers and pundits. When the use of force is not used as a last resort, we frequently risk the danger of creating more problems than we solve.

By March 24, 2011

Voices

Summer internship forces student out of Wonderland

My family is about as Disney as you can get, without actually being part of the Disney family. My mother, father, and grandfather have worked at Disney for a combined total of almost 111 years—longer than the Walt Disney Company has been in existence. All of them have worked for the small and mysterious division of the Walt Disney Company known as Imagineering. The so-called Imagineers design Disney’s parks and resorts and, as they like to say, “make the magic.”

By March 24, 2011

Voices

Multiple online personalities change the rules of dating

As I was searching for “friends” on my new Twitter account, I came across some of my old high school flames relaying the sultry details of their latest exploits. These tweets more or less consisted of dirty spin offs of a Tri Delta catch phrase or how “swoll” they are in preparation for some spring break debauchery.

By March 24, 2011

Voices

The kids aren’t all right

I’ll come right out and say it: Children repulse me. They frighten me. They make me anxious. Babies all look the same, and they are all ugly. Toddlers are praised for doing ordinary things like speaking and waving. Children have a comment and a question about everything. And adolescents—if YouTube sensation Rebecca Black has taught us anything—are totally self-absorbed and completely lacking in any sense of shame. Each stage of development brings with it new things to annoy me.

By March 17, 2011

Voices

A Hoya’s future depends on Congress renewing Pell Grants

Everyone spends a lot of their life waiting, but most of the time we spend in limbo is pretty trivial. Sure, no one enjoys the hassle of being patient, but what we’re waiting for rarely determines our future. I face the exception now. I am waiting for a decision that may decide everything in my near future. On the brink of financial disaster, I’m enduring a wait that makes me unbearably anxious and often sick to my stomach. My future, my senior year at Georgetown, is on the line.

By March 17, 2011

Voices

Students must step in to reduce Georgetown’s footprint

Georgetown students are well-informed and resourceful, and often uphold the University’s values of service, community, and global engagement. Environmentalism, however, is not one of the more widely discussed global issues on campus. Perhaps out of convenience, most students don’t see sustainability as especially important. Yet as Georgetown students, who typically place a high premium on international issues we must make the effort to prioritize environmentalism.

By March 17, 2011

Voices

Rounding the bases in an Australian league of their own

As spring training comes to a close, I’m beginning to feel baseball in the air. I’m just counting down the hours until Opening Day. However, my wait hasn’t been as long as most Americans. While the last whiff of baseball most got was the World Series in October, I found myself wrapped up in the world of Australian baseball through December.

By March 17, 2011

Voices

Warm weather brings about Georgetown day dreaming

There are few people on campus awaiting spring break more eagerly than I am. Only halfway through my midterm minefield, I already have my blinders on, focusing all my extra energy on thinking about 10:05 a.m. on Friday when I’m finished with my last test. Making things worse, it’s getting nice out. While the temperature is still hovering only around 50 degrees in the past few days, it’s nice enough for me to look out the Lau windows and feel especially miserable.

By the March 3, 2011

Voices

The Future M.Vee.P.

Sometimes, sophomore Vee Sanford reminds us what makes him such a likeable basketball player. Against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament last year, he introduced the Hoya faithful to his beautiful teardrop floater, which he has since used to similar effect against Memphis in December and against Syracuse again on Saturday. Vee, however, does not see a lot of playing time. When point guard Chris Wright broke his hand against Cincinnati last week, most analysts believed that Sanford, along with fellow backup guard Markel Starks, would pick up the bulk of Wright’s minutes against the Orange. In the end however, Sanford played just five minutes, compared to Starks’ 24.

By March 3, 2011

Voices

Protests must defend Planned Parenthood and women’s rights

When Wisconsin approved an anti–union bill, protests flared up across the state. These protests soon spread to other states, as well as Washington, D.C., as other state legislatures attempted to pass similar bills. When violence and human rights abuses began in Egypt and Libya, protests erupted in front of the respective embassies. Yet legislation in at least five states and a national bill to limit women’s reproductive rights, have gone without widespread protests.

By March 3, 2011

Voices

The Wheel World: D.C.

Everyone is familiar with the urban cyclist stereotype—he or she is skinny, wears spandex but not a helmet, and is usually plotting a way to slip through a red light, only to be narrowly missed by oncoming SUVs. I’ll admit I have a certain fascination with these law-defying speed demons. Because rather than zooming past them in a car or observing them from a clunky Circulator bus, I generally find myself in front of them, then blocking their path, and finally watching them zip through an intersection, barely avoiding traffic, as they rush ahead of me.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Pop music’s legitimacy may render Bieber fever terminal

He’s watching you as you walk to Lau. He’s at your Thursday evening pregame. He’s balling out in the NBA. He’s rocking the red carpet in Hollywood. He’s in the Super Bowl (albeit in a Best Buy commercial). He’s even in a body bag on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Though only 16 years old, Justin Bieber has gone from lowly Ontario preteen to international superstar in the blink of an eye.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Law enforcement needs to prioritize for student safety

For reasons that are unclear to me, last semester I began seeing excessive numbers of law enforcement officers in the Georgetown area. Their teeming presence did not by itself bother me. Whatever the reason, I still felt a sense of security knowing there were always police nearby if needed. But at the same time, I noticed an increase in Department of Public Safety-issued write-ups for rambunctious parties and Phishy aromas, and it seriously irked me.

By February 24, 2011