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

Lessons from the tweenage wasteland

On the edge of the scene, I sympathized with the intimidated professionals and the weary grandmother, but part of me envied the energetic horde—social anxiety, overactive hormones, and all. Watching from the outside, I noticed the loss of my connection with their age group and I felt old. Unlike members of that raucous mob, I am no longer engaged in the exuberant assertion of my newly-discovered individuality. To wake up, I require two or more shots of espresso. I cannot imagine the preemptive wasting of energy on the doorstep of academia at the beginning of a day. I doubt any of the frightened, drowsy suits at the bus stop could either.

By October 16, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

The dearth of discussion about depression

The repercussions of depression are great for those who deal with it daily. Depression is more than just its physical symptoms.

Antidepressants can dramatically affect your social life at college; anyone who’s been on them knows that it’s not a good idea to drink while taking medication. Some would choose not to drink anyway, but being on medication means that you never get to make that choice.

By October 16, 2008

Voices

Unmasking the Man at the DNC and RNC

About a month ago, I was staring into the barrel of a gun. I remember the nauseating feeling in my stomach—an intoxicating blend of extreme fear, shock and blinding anger. During my time spent protesting the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Denver, Colorado and St. Paul, Minnesota, I felt these emotions many times: fear because of the burning sensation as my body was coated in chemical spray; shock at seeing clouds of gas, tinted red by the lights, engulfing us as we ran, coughing and gagging: even terror at hearing the concussion grenades bursting over our heads, making us stumble amidst the whirlwind of chaos.

By October 16, 2008

Voices

Re-finding Ramadan

This past month, my phone went one step further and served as my trusty alarm clock as well. It provided a jarring, whining five a.m. wake-up call. This past month was the month of Ramadan, and every morning, just before the sun rose, my phone and I shared a pre-dawn meal. It’s not quite the same as sharing your pre-dawn meal with your parents and siblings. The automated, unrelenting sound of an alarm clock is nothing near the gentle touch and voice of your mother by your bedside.

By October 9, 2008

Voices

He said, She said, God said?

I didn’t even think of “Lord” as a particularly male word until the first time I heard a rabbi awkwardly trying to cut it out. That’s become the norm these days for reading aloud from a traditional prayer book: convoluted verbal gymnastics and ad-libbed word substitutions that make everyone, reader and listener alike, uncomfortable. Replacing every “He” with “God” sounds like a good idea until you listen to it for thirty seconds—that’s when you realize pronouns are a great invention.

By October 9, 2008

Voices

One, two … three hundred strikes, Cubs still out

On Monday, after reading a particularly inspiring article—Bob Verdi, on how it would be “a colossal disappointment” if the Cubs didn’t make it to the World Series—I began to hope, though I did have the sense to ask the friend who had sent the article if Verdi was just trying to jinx us.

So, on Monday, I started to hope. On Wednesday, the Cubs started to fall apart. On Saturday, the demise was complete.

By October 9, 2008

Voices

I want you: to be poor in the peace corps

Apparently, there are two reasons to go to rural Siberia. One of them involves the KGB and something called a Gulag. The other one is a prestigious, resume building experience for privileged young Americans.

It’s official: the Peace Corps is no longer limited to bearded, granola-munching outdoor education kids. What began in the 60s as an idealistic movement to aid developing countries has become a favorite post-graduation back-up plan, one that is sure to rise further in popularity now that the banking crisis has knocked everyone down a rung on the employment food chain.

By October 9, 2008

Voices

Hi, my name is Dan, and I’m a TV addict

I will gladly concede that there is garbage on TV that insults the intelligence and competence of all Americans (Two and a Half Men, I’m looking at you). But there is not a soul who can argue that the same garbage doesn’t exist in print or music. Every medium has a significant low-brow contingent, but no one who has seen an episode of Mad Men, Arrested Development, or The Wire can deny the high art that television can achieve.

By October 2, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

GUMBO: understanding the internal melting pot

There are no easy answers to the questions “What are you?” or “Where are you from?” Which is more important: the part of me that loves to make my paternal grandmother’s Indian recipes, or the part of me that loves to bake Christmas cookies with my maternal grandmother? The fact that my dad is Indian or that he’s Catholic?

By October 2, 2008

Voices

The school junkies’ club: no ‘old boys’ allowed

Though my fellow students challenged me during every discussion and project, my teachers ultimately rendered life at Andover the most embracing of the “life of the mind” of any school I’ve attended—including Georgetown. Most Andover teachers live on campus in apartments attached to dorms or in houses adjacent to them. In choosing that lifestyle, each teacher makes educating and mentoring students the primary purpose of his or her life.

By October 2, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

My field trips bring all the boys to the art

The likes of Georgetown art aficionados include freshmen, seniors, exchange students, grad students, econ majors, sculptors, computer scientists, and more. Some of us overdosed on Jackson Pollock and Rembrandt in high school art, some of us have never taken an art class, some of us doodle masterpieces on our Problem of God notebooks. No matter what their academic pursuits or previous exposure to art, students from all walks swarmed to the general body meeting.

By October 2, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

All we are saying is give football a chance

I’m not an unrealistic idealist: I know as much as anyone what our season was like last year. I know we’re still building a program that only recently joined I-AA. And I know that we’re facing as tough a schedule as ever. So I don’t have expectations of sweeping the league or watching a Football Championship Sub-Division playoff game on TV this season. But I do know that anything can happen on the gridiron, that every game is a fresh start, and that our team is talented enough to put up a fight every week. So I show up every Saturday ready to watch something special happen, to witness a time-expiring field-goal or a game-ending sack, to stand at the front of the bleachers when the game is over and triumphantly sing the fight song with a victorious team.

By September 25, 2008

Voices

Flirting with finance as time runs out

When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut (until I heard about the Challenger disaster). I wanted to be an astronomer (until I figured out they have to stay up all night). Then I realized that I just wanted to be the person who gets to make up the stories about the constellations—an illustrious profession I refered to as being a “mythologist.” And since the cosmos-naming gig never came through, here I am: suit-less and clueless and feeling incredibly behind because I have neither a job offer from Crédit Suisse nor a second round interview with Goldman Sachs.

By September 25, 2008

Voices

One thing that the Dems and CRs can agree on

Last Friday, The Hoya ran a column entitled “Fight for your Political Rights” by D.J. McLaughlin (SFS `10), which contained numerous factual inaccuracies and misquotes. McLaughlin irresponsibly lambasted the College Democrats and College Republicans for being “censored” by University policy concerning political activity on campus. He demonstrated an appalling lack of understanding of federal election and tax law, as well as the activities and goals of the College Democrats and Republicans. Both organizations, in a bipartisan fashion, would like to use this opportunity to debunk his fallacious accusations.

By September 25, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

Bomb blast in Islamabad affects more than just Pakistan

Although I did not realize it at the time, the hotel is eminent not only because of its extravagance, but because it neighbors the embassies of foreign dignitaries, the President’s office, and the parliament building. Perhaps most importantly, the Mariott serves as a symbol of corrupt Pakistani decadence and of the government’s unpopular alliance with the United States.

It is no shock, then, that it was the prime target of a terrorist attack.

By September 25, 2008

Voices

Give booze unto others as others gave booze unto you

While friends at large state schools reported that frats often charged entry fees to offset costs, all the parties I attended were free. I was sort of proud of this. As one particularly generous host explained, “It’s about taking care of our own. We crashed parties when we were freshman; now it’s our turn to pay it back.” His pay-it forward logic struck me as oddly chivalrous, especially for a guy in a “Kiss Me I’m Irish” t-shirt.

By September 18, 2008

Voices

Trains: they’re the only way to fly

After a few too many flights where pilots sighed, “Well, we made it,” and fellow passengers made the sign of the cross as the wheels finally managed to stick their landing, I knew it was time to find a different way to get around. Because they seemed to succeed where planes failed—with wheels firmly attached to the ground at all times—I began to take trains everywhere I went.

By September 18, 2008

Voices

The SAT is to Georgetown what the appendix is to your body

Georgetown’s emphasis on standardized testing is harmful to both the University and prospective students. Georgetown should follow in the footsteps of Wake Forest, Bowdoin, Smith, Bard, Middlebury, and other highly regarded institutions of higher learning that have recognized the limitations of the SAT. It’s time to phase out the SAT and make the test optional for applicants to the class of 2014.

By September 18, 2008

Voices

The disturbing way of the world

Suskind’s book, when put together with Scott McClellan’s What Happened, Barton Gellman’s Angler, and Bob Woodward’s The War Within, paints an extremely dark, deceptive, and frankly, evil picture of the Bush administration. While there have been many accusations over the past eight years, these books offer fairly definitive proof of Bush and Cheney’s two terms of illegal operations. Unfortunately, with the media completely fixated on the election, no one seems to care. Bush is hardly talked about anymore (with the exception of comparisons to McCain), and outrage at his presidency seems to be dwindling.

By September 18, 2008

Voices

Law, order, and crappy coffee

As impassioned soliloquies ran through my head, my mother sought to bring me back to earth. She explained the mind-numbing boredom that accompanies jury duty of any duration. Worse, she explained that it is incredibly unlikely that I would ever be chosen for a jury because my father is a lawyer and I have an aunt and an uncle who are former members of the NYPD. No matter how reasoned her thinking, I dismissed everything mother dearest said, and began to prepare my remarks for the other members of the jury.

By September 11, 2008