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

Spearhead with Mommy

“No thank you,” my mother said politely declining the joint a scrappy twenty-something stoner offered her. To some, it might seem bizarre to have complete strangers offer your parents drugs. By this point in the evening, though, nothing could faze me.

If someone had predicted this situation a mere week earlier, I would have bet my very life against them.

By the April 29, 2004

Voices

Enslaved by Zara

I see it. I am on a path toward it. Nothing will deter me now. With arms shaking under a load of acrylics and wool knits, I look straight ahead and imagine myself there-at the red and orange clothing rack across the room. The obstacles ahead present a challenge: meandering customers with wandering eyes, glancing at the shiny white walls in search of the perfect evening ensemble, a smart suit or a sales associate to assist them with their shopping needs.

By the April 29, 2004

Voices

Veggie nuts

Alex Johnston (SFS ‘07) plans on taking next year off to pursue an exciting career in the budding “nutraceutical industry.” Then he plans on retiring. “My parents made me promise that after I retire I’ll come back to my studies,” he says. But that doesn’t make it any easier for a budding millionaire to concentrate on school.

By the April 22, 2004

Voices

All the best cheerleaders get murdered

In 1991, a Mrs. Wanda Halloway was imprisoned for six months for plotting to kill Verna Heath, a prospective cheerleader, in an attempt to clear a spot for her own daughter on the cheerleading squad. This sordid tale has recently been adapted into a made-for-TV-movie.

By the April 22, 2004

Voices

Another pint for the expatriate

It was beautiful, really. Craning my neck to see past the crowd, I spotted my friend take hold of the two pints of Guinness from the bar and begin to weave his way through the throngs of the tipsy back to our table. He bumped into people, sure-it was impossible not to-but not even a drop of foam, let alone beer, skated down the sides of the glasses.

By the April 22, 2004

Voices

Read into this writing

I’m reading a book, and it’s a good book, but that’s just the problem. In the thick of the text, when plots and characters and language merge, and when scenes connect and stories layer, it all makes just too much sense. The details fit too well. The book crested into its crescendo, and I felt pressed to escape back into reality, back into my own head where questions are more common than manicured realities.

By the April 15, 2004

Voices

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

Athletic traditionalists in America have decried the on-the-field antics of modern professional athletes, which they warn have trickled down to youth playing fields. They are nostalgic for the days when a player would just hand the ball back to the referee instead of working on his dance moves in the end zone.

By the April 15, 2004

Voices

Education is costly, sleep is priceless

Once again, the time has come to register for classes. Most people pretend that they choose their classes for their academic value, challenging topics, famous professors or utility. Others, like me, will admit that although these concepts linger in the back of their minds, in truth, their registration choices are largely driven by an innate laziness.

By the April 15, 2004

Voices

Georgetown’s colorful past

VOICES BY DONALD SHERMAN In the spring of 2000, students rallied in Red Square demanding that Georgetown University’s administration respond to racial discrimination and threats of violence on campus. The local news media interviewed student leaders and published stories highlighting these pockets of ignorance within our community and their effect on student life.

By the April 1, 2004

Voices

Here, child, finish your nothing!

It’s dark inside the room where I sit with the blinds drawn and the door locked, the only source of light a faint glow emanating from the tip of my cigarette. I’m naked, slumped in a chair with my shoulders hunched forward and squinting into the shadows around me, a half pot of cold coffee sitting next to me on the desk.

By the April 1, 2004

Voices

Born to run

It’s late February in Yates Field House. All of the treadmills and stair climbers are in use and students eagerly wait in line for their turn to exercise. The runners trot along while watching ESPN, witnessing a thrilling intramural basketball game head into six overtimes, or staring at the cracks in the wall.

By the April 1, 2004

Voices

Letter to the Editor

Unfair portrayal of British media

By the April 1, 2004

Voices

Correction

The Georgetown Voice takes mistakes seriously. We correct all errors of substance in our stories and publish appropriate clarifications as soon as possible.

By the April 1, 2004

Voices

Correction

The Georgetown Voice takes mistakes seriously. We correct all errors of substance in our stories and publish appropriate clarifications as soon as possible.

By the March 25, 2004

Voices

Communist ball games

VOICES BY JULIA COOKE The first time my friends and I tried to go to a baseball game here in Cuba, we rode the bus for 45 minutes, got off at the wrong stop, and walked to the stadium, which turned out to be deserted. “No hay,” a guard at the stadium told us, “no more.” Instead of happily watching a baseball game we were stranded in the outskirts of the city.

By the March 25, 2004

Voices

Georgetown’s basketball webpage of record

John Reagan is into Georgetown basketball. He graduated from the McDonough School of Business in 1984, having capped off his senior year by taking one of the University’s charter flights to Seattle, where he slept on the floor of a local gym with other fans and watched the Hoyas win their only national championship.

By the March 25, 2004

Voices

All the news that’s fit to ignore

Imagine an entire country where the only inhabitants are 14-year-olds. Gossip lurks behind every corner. The system of government features a roomful of uptight, insecure representatives shouting insults at one another. Almost everyone is in need of braces.

By the March 25, 2004

Voices

Letter to the Editor

“Classroom incident misrepresented”

By the March 25, 2004

Voices

Eagle Scouts gone wild

“And now we … we … uh…” Armando stepped down from the podium to confer with Scoutmaster Miller. The two huddled together against the church basement’s wall, seemingly unaware that they were in plain sight of the forty or so individuals assembled. Uncomfortable silence filled the room as the ceremony to induct my good friend John into that venerable brotherhood, the Eagle Scouts, ground to a halt for the third time in the ten minutes it had lasted thus far.

By the March 18, 2004

Voices

Keyboard confessional

VOICES BY ROB ANDERSON Forgive me Father for I have sinned. I’ve stopped going to confession. Well, I haven’t stopped, but I don’t go to a priest anymore. See, there’s this website now, Father. It’s called grouphug.us. It’s just, I don’t know, a lot less awkward than honestly confessing my sins to an 80-year-old man sworn to a life of poverty and chastity.

By the March 18, 2004