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

Geography porn, or: How not to study abroad

My interest in studying abroad was inspired by my first visit to the Epcot World Showcase at age eight. For those of you who weren’t as lucky as I was, Epcot’s World Showcase is Disney’s take on globalization, a mini-park featuring small-scale replicas of eleven countries, centered around a beautiful lagoon. At Disney’s Epcot Center, not only is China walking distance from Belgium, but every “country” serves French fries, accepts VISA and closes at midnight. The fantasy climaxes every evening in a choreographed display of global friendship performed to inspirational music and accompanied by fireworks and lasers. This experience is the reason I thought the entire world spoke English until I was 12.

By April 17, 2008

Voices

Trying to cut down on the costly habit of parking in Georgetown

It’s 6:03. I race past St. Mary’s and down Reservoir Road. I’m stopped by the ridiculously long light on the corner of Reservoir and 37th Street. I check the street for cars as I race across the street. I continue down 37th looking for my car. There it is. Damnit, I’m only three minutes late. I curse loudly while removing the offending leaflet from my windshield—another ticket to add to the ticket wall.

By April 17, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

The refusal to veil religious freedom in the U.S.

My English friends and Dutch cousins are smart, contemporary, educated and enlightened. But over the last few years, whenever we’ve discussed the differences between how Europe and the U.S. have handled Islamic women’s veiling, I’m always somewhat shocked at how, uniformly, my enlightened “Euros” are passionately biased against the veil, saying that they wish Muslim women in Europe would be prohibited from the practice.

By April 10, 2008

Voices

Combatting homelessness and its preconceptions, one paper at a time

How many times have you walked down M Street and carefully averted your eyes, sped up or even crossed the street to avoid someone asking for change on a street corner? Trained from a young age in the philosophy of hard work and self-sufficiency, my own justifications for doing so are almost automatic—“How dare they stir up these feelings of embarrassment and discomfort? Why don’t they get a real job instead of sitting on the corner, or worse—sleeping (even though it’s known that many sleep during the day so they can stay awake at night and guard themselves and their belongings)? Won’t they just use the money for drugs or alcohol? It’s just a scam.”

By April 10, 2008

Voices

The political purgatory of abortion

Assessing my political beliefs is a simple enough task. I am a liberal and a Democrat. I believe in healthcare for the needy, in the critical need for compassionate government and true to my rust belt roots, I believe in the importance of unions. I also believe in gay rights, in the decriminalization of marijuana, the importance of sex education and making birth control available. I am a feminist, and will accept all the bra-burning connotations that come along with that.

By April 10, 2008

Voices

Shattering the myths of recycling on campus

Some people say it with a hint of boastful pride. “Me? No, I never recycle!”

By April 10, 2008

Voices

Pushing papers all around campus

Seeing that The Fire This Time’s latest edition had come out gave me a strange thrill.

By April 3, 2008

Voices

Shirt is a symptom of a larger problem that afflicts the campus

We are not saying that individuals in the Georgetown University Grilling Society are sexist, but the marketing tools that the Grilling Society and other organizations on this campus choose to employ systematically serve to demean women. The decision to associate their week with “Girls Gone Wild” and their initial decision to sell a t-shirt that read “GUGS, Grade A, Size D,” was a combination of marketing tools that we found offensive. There is a fine line between humor and sexism, and this line has been blurred—especially for the average Georgetown student.

By April 3, 2008

Voices

GUGS admits shirt has offended some, Grills Gone Wild moves forward

From April 21 through 25, the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS) plans to hold Grills Gone Wild Week, which will include a GUGS burger eating contest, ribs and pulled pork day, a grilloff competition, a sausage extravaganza on Georgetown Day and a BYOF (bring your own food). The GUGS Grillmasters will be grilling up pizzas, lamb, kebabs and all sorts of delicacies throughout the week to celebrate yet another successful semester on the Hilltop.

By April 3, 2008

Voices

April Fools’ Hoya issue is tasteless and mean

A disclaimer on the front page of the Hoya’s annual spring joke issue advises its readers to proceed with caution. “Chill out, tight-ass,” it reads. “This issue is a joke.” Ah, so Jack the Bulldog didn’t actually have an affair with the West Virginia Mountaineer.

By April 3, 2008

Voices

Looking past the smoke and mirrors

Contemporary airlines have done everything they can to convince squirrelly passengers that riding in their jolly contraptions is virtually the same as traveling in a car. Southwest Airlines, with its uniformly perky staff, brightly colored planes and incessant “ding!”-ing has become an industry leader, largely thanks to the company’s ability to make truculent travelers feel at ease. Nevertheless, on March 6th, the F.A.A. levied a record-breaking $10.2 million fine on the airline for its failure to ground planes that had not been properly inspected and certified as up to code. And no khaki-clad, coddling flight attendant or cute cobalt-blue plane could change that.

By March 27, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

Lying her way to the highest office in the land

When did misspeaking become synonymous with lying? When Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) suggested that she merely misspoke about coming under sniper fire in Bosnia, her statement was not an error in recollection, it was a lie. It is only one of many lies put forward by the junior Senator from New York as she desperately scrambles to save her nearly mathematically impossible campaign for the Democratic nomination.

By March 27, 2008

Voices

Promoting abstinence while screwing students

“For a while, I honestly wondered whether it was worth using a condom at all,” a friend told me when I asked her—a well-grounded, intelligent girl what she thought about her four years of abstinence-only sexual education at our high school.

By March 27, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

Helping Haiti to help itself

The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere is merely a few hundred miles from the tip of Florida. What was once France’s richest colony and the first Caribbean island to gain its independence is now a country where people lack the basic amenities of the 20th century—running water, electricity and plumbing. Haiti is an incredibly beautiful island, but it has been afflicted and bankrupted for decades by despotism and conflict.

By March 27, 2008

Voices

Rebuilding New Orleans

My last few spring breaks have consisted of lounging around, drinking heavily and doing a lot of nothing. I was sick of it, so last week I chose to mix it up and head down to New Orleans with GU’s Habitat for Humanity group. The 24 of us were excited to get down to business and build some houses when we arrived.

By March 13, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

The El Salvador Experience

What I heard at dinner on the first night of spring break was hard to believe. A group of seven other Georgetown students, two leaders from Campus Ministry and I spent the break in El Salvador as part of the “Magis Immersion and Justice Program,” and to kick off our trip we went to a small restaurant with our guide and bus driver. I was practicing my Spanish and chatting with our driver, Santos, about how much I was looking forward to the week. It was Santos’ response that took me by surprise. Rather than returning my excitement or laughing along with me, he became very solemn and told me this would be one of the most important weeks of my life. He told me that our group would be learning and seeing so much during our time there that our lives would be changed afterward. I found Santos’ statement touching, but couldn’t help but think he was being a little dramatic. I knew I would be exposed to different lifestyles and challenges during the trip, but it seemed unlikely that one week could change my life.

By March 13, 2008

Voices

Time to live up to Catholic justice

An institution has got to live by a code. That goes for Georgetown, too, and its Jesuit ideals.

By March 13, 2008

Voices

Blogging your way to the rich and popular table

In the space of a year and a half, I have managed to further the independence movement of a small African country. Am I staging a die-in in Red Square? No, I’m doing something that actually achieves results: blogging.

By March 13, 2008

Voices

A dose of reality and disillusionment

If I had to pinpoint the problem with the United States government, my answer would be simple. Me.

By February 28, 2008

Voices

Trying to translate the US political system to German

In the month that I’ve been working in Germany before my semester begins, I’ve learned plenty: what a plus sign in a phone number means, how to say instantaneous [augenblicklich] and to buy groceries on Saturday, since everything is closed on Sunday.

By February 28, 2008