Voices

Burma for cheap

I was walking along a crowded Bangkok plaza when my eyes locked onto the sign: “Burma for Cheap.” Normally, I wouldn’t be lured into Thai places that advertise anything “for cheap,” but Burma seemed to be an interesting place to go during a break from my summer internship in Thailand. After about thirty minutes of strained discourse with the travel agent and lots of hand motions, I decided to go.

By David Lee October 25, 2007

Voices

Abandoning the nuclear family

Imagine a little boy who lives with parents who love him. At dinnertime, one parent is cooking in the kitchen and the other is at the table making a mock airplane out of a fork and some spaghetti. This picture-perfect scenario could be a reality for more children living in foster care if couples who pass the rigorous adoption standards are no longer barred due to their sexual orientation.

By Katharine Lang October 18, 2007

Voices

He’s more fly than superfly

When my father walks into a room, he cannot help but radiate badass. Since high school, he has often reminded me how much cooler he is than I am. I usually ignore the comment and roll my eyes, but deep down, I know he’s right.

By Nicole Bush October 18, 2007

Voices

It’s all about how you play the political game

Try this pop quiz for a second: two senators are running for president. One encounters major opposition in poll after poll, while for the other you’d be hard-pressed, as far as my experience goes, not to find an admirer. The first inspires as much divisiveness as praise, while the second is almost universally regarded as an American hero. One seems to have spent most of her life planning a way to the presidency; the other has served his country, to the point of torture and near-death in war, since his college days. Who are they?

By Tyler Stone October 18, 2007

Voices

Carrying On

My own introduction to Siobhan consisted of a half-hour conversation wherein she pointed toward the kitchen and squawked something I couldn’t understand, and made the angry-eyebrow face. I am unsure if she was she trying to warn me that the grease build up on the gas burner was a fire hazard or was just commenting that the dinner I was cooking looked toxic.

By Sarah Harman October 18, 2007

Voices

Action, not reaction

On Tuesday night, I received an e-mail from President John DeGioia, reassuring the Georgetown community that he “will not tolerate homophobia or any other form of discrimination on our campus.” The e-mail marked exactly a month of DeGioia’s silence after a Georgetown student was assaulted for being gay, so I guess you could say it came in the nick of time, just as I was starting to wonder whose side DeGioia was on, anyway.

By Sam Sweeney October 11, 2007

Voices

An afternoon with the Scientologists

We passed the Church of Scientology, and, luckily, they were offering free personality tests and guided tours. It sounded like a pretty sweet deal. Who doesn’t like free things from an organization that’s well known for being controversial? We approached the ornate wooden doors and entered without knowing it would be another three hours until we would manage to escape.

By Katie Boran October 11, 2007

Voices

Carrying On

The most surreal part of becoming a United States citizen, and there are many, is the citizenship exam. In a few months, I will have the privilege of standing before some bored INS official and answering ten randomly selected questions, needing six correct answers to get that elusive right to vote.

By Marco Cerna October 11, 2007

Voices

Burmese monks give peace a chance

For this supreme act of peaceful courage, I submit that the spiritual force behind Burma’s democracy movement should receive the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

By Dominic Nardi October 4, 2007

Voices

Keep it movin’, Hoyas

Every time I eat at Leo’s, I encounter groups clustered at the top and bottom of the stairs. What causes this? Why can otherwise intelligent and competent Georgetown students not handle something as simple as stairs?

By Allie Reiner October 4, 2007

Voices

D.C. schools changing for a better future

There may now be fewer Catholic elementary schools from which to choose from if the Archdiocese goes through with its plan to change eight schools that have until now participated in the D.C. voucher program into charter schools. The proposal has sent up a predictable storm of protest among parents, which is unfortunate, since such protest obscures the brightest prospect for education in D.C. in many years.

By Louisa Aviles October 4, 2007

Voices

Carrying On

My mother thinks of herself as a modest hippie. After years of being a single parent in a very traditional town, she feels “out of the rat race” and free from the country-club concerns of our neighbors. She lives relatively uninhibitedly, even while affectionately inhibiting my brother’s and my lives. So I was only mildly surprised when I learned that she had decided to pick the drums.

By Kent Elliott October 4, 2007

Voices

No justice, no peace in Jena, La.

The much-reported Jena 6 incident serves as a reminder that the fight for civil rights is still a relevant social movement. The case is today’s most notable example of social and racial inequality.

By Jheanelle Brown September 27, 2007

Voices

Practicing humility

When I need to get away, I go to a crypt. No, I don’t frequent tombs for kicks (Save a certain bar on 36th St.). It’s more chapel than crypt, but the solemnity remains the same. It was once the Crypt of the North American Martyrs; today it’s the Copley Chapel. Small as it is, it serves a very special function, for me anyway.

By Tyler Stone September 27, 2007

Voices

No soapbox for Ahmadinejad

Free speech is an important right we have as Americans, and as human beings. When Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke on Monday at Columbia University, I hope he learned a few lessons about the value of free speech. I hope he takes those lessons to heart as he returns to a country where his government exercises complete control over the press.

By Or Skolnik September 27, 2007

Voices

Carrying On

My father hates goodbyes almost as much as he hates paying for parking.

The day of my flight to Georgetown, he pulled into the drop-off lane at the airport and pressed a twenty into my hand. “Well,” he said. “Good luck.”

By Sarah Harman September 27, 2007

Voices

Spreading our moment

Many of us at Georgetown wish to help these billions of people by committing our undergraduate studies to understanding the complex dimensions of global poverty and development, evaluating the mistakes and successes of the past and exploring innovative ways to effectively and responsibly address them in the future. The International Development Certificate provides a broad framework of study for student wishing to work in this field. Unfortunately, only students in the School of Foreign Service are allowed to pursue it. Students in other schools at Georgetown University should also have access to the certificate and its benefits.

By Courtney Ivins and Bryn Bellamy September 20, 2007

Voices

Peace out and we’re selling your stuff

While most parents get empty nest syndrome, mine were too excited about my departure. They celebrated my empty room with constant house parties, a month long vacation touring China and Japan and what seems to be an epic redecoration project. But worst of all, they’ve started to sell my stuff.

By Vivian Chen September 20, 2007

Voices

It’s a people-watching party

My window is my favorite part of my Village A apartment. My room is too small to hold two desk and two beds, so I put my desks by the window in the living room, directly across from the old Jesuit residence, west of the library. The view has become quite a distraction. I’d much rather people-watch out my window than study Italian or stare at my computer screen.

By Nicole Bush September 20, 2007