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

SAFEguarding student life: Vote yes on fee reforms

“As students concerned with building a campus community … we believe that a current systematic neglect of student life issues means a neglect of the whole person. The Main Campus manifests this neglect primarily in areas of the funding of student organizations and activities.” These words are not recent.

By December 1, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: Porterfield reconsidered

Anyone who has used CHARMS, Georgetown’s online roommate matching service, knows that first impressions are sometimes incredibly wrong. One of my current roommates and I unknowingly talked for the first time through CHARMS, but we did not decide to live together freshman year. We were in the same New Student Orientation group.

By December 1, 2010

Voices

Sports fanatics drowning in unlimited Internet streams

On Monday night, for the first time in my two-plus years at Georgetown, school was in session and I was not at the Verizon Center for a men’s basketball game. When the Hoyas played Tulane, I had plans I couldn’t change, so I missed my first home game while school was in session.

By November 18, 2010

Voices

Bulking up, SAC looks to improve allocation procedures

Most people would call me crazy for spending six hours of my Monday nights in a room with 13 other people discussing student activities. If I were to think about it logically, I would probably agree with them. However, this is part of the job of a Student Activities Commission Chair.

By November 18, 2010

Voices

Wingardium Leviosa: Pottermania continues to reach new heights

There’s magic in the air as fans all over the world are preparing themselves for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, set to arrive in theaters tonight at midnight. The buzz surrounding the film is by no means temporary.

By November 18, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: The taxes are too damn high

Imagine that one day you unintentionally discover a very simple cure for the common cold. With few side effects and relatively cheap ingredients, this cure is a miracle drug. You make the first several doses yourself in a makeshift kitchen laboratory, but soon realize that you’re going to need more money.

By November 18, 2010

Voices

There are two sides to every brain, why not use both?

Two weeks ago, knee-deep in midterms with no end in sight, I was sitting in a Lau cubicle staring at a pile of books and an empty Microsoft Word document. As an English major, I’ve written plenty of literature papers, but this particular essay was giving me a massive case of writer’s block.

By November 11, 2010

Voices

Slipping on a peel, Hoya flounders in Japanese job market

“I’m sorry to say that this time, we are unable to offer you this job...” This phone call rejection, which I received this summer, did not come from a law firm, top-notch investment bank, or government bureaucracy. It wasn’t from the White House or a marketing company.

By November 11, 2010

Voices

Modern art: Refreshingly abstract

What if I told you that the cardboard box sitting in the trash room of your dorm is a piece of art? Modern art aficionados might be impressed with its artistic flair and the provocative stance the piece takes on human consciousness. But what if, for you, it’s just a box?

By November 11, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: Isolationism in Italy

When I was 12, I read Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, a novel about two runaways who become thieves in the city of Venice. I instantly fell in love with its romantic portrayal of Italy and read it over and over again.

By November 11, 2010

Voices

To national detriment, Golden State voters defy the high

California has been through a rather tumultuous decade of politics: a recall election in 2003 featuring bodybuilders and child actors; the 2008 ban on gay marriage; and in Tuesday’s election, a failure to legalize the state’s most popular recreational drug. In many elections, the nation watches the West, and we always manage to disappoint.

By November 4, 2010

Voices

Censure for censor? Accepting a blogger’s remorse

At least once a week, I censor my peers. This is an aspect of my job as editor of Vox Populi, the staff blog of the Voice, that I rarely question. Inappropriate comments, like those that include slurs or offensive language, always catch my attention as if they have flashing lights attached to them.

By November 4, 2010

Voices

Advent of an age of reason: Moderates rally for cause

My life is insane. Being a Pre-Med Biology major and living in Harbin have forced me to accept that madness is par for the course at Georgetown. Yet this Saturday, as I stood on the National Mall, I realized that this was not the way the rest of the country ought to be.

By November 4, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: Administrative error

Georgetown is a great university—in spite of its administration. I know I will look back happily on my time here long after I’ve graduated—in spite of its administration. Every year, we learn about something stupid the administration has done and it aggravates students whose disappointment with the University usually lays dormant.

By November 4, 2010

Voices

E-reader, Kindle, and Nook, let me read my freaking book

When I read a really great book, “smaller, lighter, faster” are not the first words that come to mind. I don’t love my favorite stories because they come with high quality, built-in WiFi. In short, e-readers aren’t for me. My least favorite thing about e-readers is that in Kindle-land, all books are created equal.

By October 28, 2010

Voices

Hailing from the Most Serene Republic of San Marino

Like many people my age, I have a grandfather who came to America through Ellis Island in search of a better life. Only he didn’t come from a big country like Italy, Ireland, or Russia as many other immigrants did. He traveled from a small country known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

By October 28, 2010

Voices

Globe warms up to green economy, U.S. left out in the cold

America is losing its edge. Or at least, that’s what the experts would have us believe. From professors to politicians, nothing has gotten our educated crowd more hot and bothered for the past decade than the future of American economic power—except maybe for Christine O’Donnell’s views on masturbation.

By October 28, 2010

Voices

Carrying On: The healthy Danish?

As is typical of the fall semester, last week I found myself facing a daunting pile of homework, impending deadlines, and to top it off, a poorly-timed bout of influenza. This time I was not terribly upset about my illness, because I’m in Denmark, a country with free healthcare.

By October 28, 2010

Voices

Ugly edifice of evil of praiseworthy beacon of learning?

We are all lucky enough to attend a school with a truly beautiful campus. And yet, tucked in the corner of our picturesque front lawn, beneath the austere and regal façade of Healy, lies the squat, angular Lauinger Library—a gloomy, gray structure that looks more like a decrepit Soviet housing project than a comfortable place to study.

By October 21, 2010

Voices

The social network: Where business is all up in my business

I think I may have told Mark Zuckerberg too much. First, on a sidebar, Facebook asked me, “Do you know this person?” and showed a picture of my father. Next Facebook started displaying “photo memories,” pictures of people I occasionally Facebook-stalk that were taken at events I didn’t attend.

By October 21, 2010